her? >> yes, she did. she knew it. >> reporter: the judge who let him out? barry hamilton. judge hamilton is featured as an expert on protective orders in a law school for the public tv special. now, last thursday heather mcguire moved in to sam helene's house because she was afraid gilberti was out to get her. >> brutalized her, stalked her, broke her down psychologically, broke her down physically. >> reporter: after gilberti was arrested the second time, helene says no one thought he'd be getting out of jail. >> did anyone call her to tell her he was out? >> no. >> reporter: tuesday morning sam helene goes to court himself to get a peace order against gilberti. he sees gilberti is out of jail and knows heather is home alone. trouble is on the way.

while sam helene was in court getting that protective order phil gilberti comes to the house in aspen hill, kicks in the back door, goes inside, beats up heather mcguire, drags her out, puts her in her van, and then takes off. minutes later philip gilberti shoots and kills his wife inside that van and dumps her body in kensington. later that night, gilberti kills himself at a friend's home in rockville. now gilberti had an extensive criminal record in montgomery county. it goes back to the '80s. we tried to talk to judge hamilton about this case. we called him a number of times. so far, no response. live in rockville, pat collins, news 4. >> thank you, pat. a virginia dentist under arrest tonight accused of illegally prescribing thousands of prescription pills and giving

them to patients and women he dated. 50-year-old hermana mccache called in prescriptions under the names of employees and patients police tell us. prosecutors say he told his patients to return their unused pills to him. he is accused of giving the pills to women he dated and then taking explicit pictures while they were passed out. mer cada could face 20 years in prison if convicted. some scary moments this afternoon at dwi airport after a small plane's nose gear collapsed forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing. about 2:30 the pilot and passenger were the only ones onboard and neither was hurt. the emergency landing did not impact other flights at bwi. turning to the weather, another amazing day in march. with near record temperatures across our area. >> we are loving it. doug has escaped the indoors to take it all in and he joins us live from shirlington. this time you're sporting flip-flops. is that right? >> i had them on yesterday but these match. yesterday my flip-flops did not match. i accidently grabbed the wrong

ones. you're not ready for this type of weather so you have to pull out the right ones. i did today. outside today this is going to be the place to be coming up over the next couple days. it is the irish pub right here in shirlington. of course we've got march 17th, st. patrick's day, just a couple days away. and the weather could not be better. you could see behind me quite a few people out there beginning to eat right now and the weather today? perfect once again. let's show you what's happening all across our area. current temperatures came down just a little bit from last hour. we hit a high so far of 80 degrees. that's the unofficial high. the record today at national airport is 81. so we'll wait and see if we hit the record. currently 78 degrees. the wind has shifted out of the east upwards of 20 miles an hour with the wind direction so we are starting to cool off with that wind but take a look at the numbers to the south. 85 right now in fredericksburg. 82 in manassas. 85 in la plata. very mild there. baltimore coming in at 69. we do have a few showers. i just had one go through us

here about 15 minutes ago. very light showers right now. making their way across the region. parts of showers right now down toward the south and back toward the west right along 66 around front royal in through portions of winchester just to the south of winchester and the wider view, well, we'll see more showers making their way in over the next couple days. isolated showers this evening. right around 9:00 and then clearing out later tonight. we'll call it partly cloudy overnight tonight. temperatures tomorrow morning, once again, around 57 degrees. we'll be out here all afternoon, guys, in shirlington. a great place to be. not only on a night like tonight but probably the rest of the week, too. >> don't suffer too much out there, doug. we'll see you in a bit. this early spring-like weather is good news for some businesses but for some others it is not so much. restaurants and cafes couldn't be happier. they have been able to set up patio seating doubling their space just about and just about everyone seems to be enjoying their meals outside in the warm weather. people are loving the

weather. we open at 7:30 and they're sitting outside. we close late at night and they're sitting outside late at night. everybody is loving it. >> it's great. we love it. i just put away my woolens and long underwear three days ago. other stores are sending a lot of winter staples to storage now. the hardware store in beth daes has a lot of left over ice melt. they didn't sell many snow shovels or sleds this year either. president obama visiting prince george's community college today talked about energy. in his remarks he answered political rivals who say gas prices would not be as high if more land were open for oil drilling. under my administration, america is producing more oil today than at any time in the last eight years. we have more oil rigs operating now than ever. so do not tell me that we're not growing. we're drilling all over this

country. >> republicans argue for building a pipeline that would run from canada to refineries on the gulf coast. they also want to open up additional drilling offshore and on federal lands. >> we pray for you! a swarm of reporters surrounding rod blagojevich as he left his home this morning. the former illinois governor now in colorado serving a 14-year prison sentence. the jury convicted him last year on 18 counts of corruption including trying to sell president obama's u.s. senate seat. before going through airport security, he had a few words for his supporters. >> i'm grateful to them and, god willing, i'll see them soon. >> during his stay at a minimum security federal prison blagojevich will be assigned to a two or four-man room and will have to wake up every day at 6:30 to work and will be limited to a list of 30 people who he can call. more developments tonight on the campaign scandal that's

shaking up d.c. politics. sources tell news 4 that mayor vincent gray at a crucial moment early in his 2010 campaign personally handled as much as $100,000 in campaign contributions given to him by businessman jeffrey thompson. thompson is the center of a sweeping grand jury probe. tom sherwood is here with the latest. for now there is no suggestion td mayor did anything illegal but this was unusual. this week news 4 first disclosed a flurry of new grand jury subpoenas going to city politicians for campaign information involving thompson and his associates dating back to 2003. jeffrey thompson's home and offices were raided by federal agents march 2nd. now two sources directly involved with gray's fund raising say gray himself personally showed up in his campaign headquarters on one day with as much as $100,000 in contributions from thompson and his associates. the block of checks came in on june 10th, 2010.

the crucial first reporting deadline when gray was trying to show he was a credible candidate against adrian efficienty. sources say all the $2,000 checks handed over on deadline created a problem to get them recorded before midnight june 10th. one source directly involved said of the thompson contributions the candidate did have them himself. the campaign until then had thought we were going to be lucky to be at $400,000. instead, the campaign reported $536,000. twice this week mayor gray has declined to comment to news 4 on his role with thompson and the surprisingly large block of checks. this was tuesday. >> let's let the investigation continue as it is. you know, we certainly raised money during the campaign. i appreciate the support of those who supported us during the campaign. >> and on thursday? >> we'll report that tonight because we want your chance for a comment.

>> really it's not something i can comment on. >> although there is no specific allegation of wrongdoing by gray, several political professionals say it's unusual for a candidate to handle large sums of campaign cash because at minimum it creates appearance problems. in a related development thursday, wamu reporter patrick madden disclosed that wamu had traced at least $59,000 in jeff thompson related contributions based on gray's official campaign documents. >> jeffrey thompson has retained counsel and declined to comment to news 4. jim? >> thanks. new information about the charges against army private bradley manning came out in court at fort meade today, accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of sensitive military reports and diplomatic cables to wikileaks. manning is charged with aiding the enemy and now the military prosecutors are identifying the enemy today as al qaeda. manning's lawyers say he was a troubled soldier and should never have been allowed access

to classified material and they say the leak did not affect national security. a gaithersburg priest is defending his decision to deny communion to a lesbian church goer. the same john newman catholic church suspended reverend marcelle garnizo who excluded a woman named barbara johnson from communion during her mother's funeral last month. in his first statement since the suspension he says johnson revealed her sexual orientation without being asked. and that he responded according to catholic doctrine. he writes today, i am confident that my own view that i did the only thing a faithful catholic priest could do in such an awkward situation, quietly with no intention to hurt or embarrass will be upheld. the church has said garnizo was suspended for intimidating behavior unrelated to the communion incident. still ahead, metro workers are patrolling parking lots making a list of what's inside your car. we'll tell you why. plus, this warm winter

weather, does it mean this year's stink bug invasion is going to be bigger than ever? i'm julie4++]l

menu next year. hashan pizza and black bean

salad not exactly what you would imagine finding in a school lunch line, right? as julie carey is here to tell us both are under consideration as fairfax county public schools look for new foods to add to the next year's menu. those are just some of the new food items being explored but first they have to get past the judges. a group of third, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. >> reporter: it was a break in the lunch line for these student leaders. today lunch was served to them. the reason? they're designated taste testers for new food that could appear on next year's menu. >> nothing goes on the menu without their input. >> reporter: gathered around the room, food brokers and vendors for the company's task with developing the new items. under consideration, oven fried chicken. hawaiian pizza. a 100% all beef patty. a black bean and corn salad adapted from a rachel ray recipe. spanish rice and a dessert called the swirl whole fruit cup. school officials say the new menu items reflect changing

attitudes about lunch room food. the fruit desserts for example have no added sugar, coloring, or flavoring. we are really striving. i really worked hard on this trying to get less ingredients, more, cleaner labeled products. >> the testers take their task very seriously. they rate each item and make descriptive notes. >> the crispiness of it and it was juicy and just brought all the flavors together and was really good. >> reporter: the bean salad has a somewhat cool reception. >> it's too cold and i don't get the flavors. some kids might not like it. >> reporter: hawaiian pizza? a potential hit. >> i liked the hawaiian pizza but to me it was a little bit too sweet. i think that they should put less pineapple in it. >> reporter: but those fruity desserts, well, future food critic dakota beach may have said it best. >> it was really creamy and

nothing scratchy. also i just like the blend of flavors. it's like popping your mouth like a piece of candy. >> reporter: the experts concluded in their one to three star rating system that the chicken gets -- three stars, too, for the dessert, spanish rice, hawaiian pizza, and beef patty all got about two and a half stars. the bean salad rated about a two. now, the opinions of those students more important than they realize. i'll tell you why menu decisions in fairfax county can affect lunch lines across the country. a lot of clout there. >> i want that job. taste tester. >> taste tester for a day. >> i like that. >> i got my lunch. >> four bean salad. >> should have known that wasn't going to work. >> thanks, julie. you are not the only one who wants to get outside today. the stink bugs really like the warm weather and the insects are leaving your attics and basements and heading outdoors

because of the warmer weather. it means unusually high temperatures will get them out early. one local expert on bugs says stink bugs cause a real problem however for the crops. the best thing to do when you see one is to get rid of it. >> when i see stink bugs in my house, i'm going to treat them with extreme prejudice because they're going to move outdoors and begin to feed on vegetables, on fruits, on trees, and shrubs unless we can get a handle on this thing this is probably going to be one of the worst pests we've ever seen in america. >> as the professor says stink bugs cause more than $37 million to apple and fruit crops alone in damages to them in 2010. >> have you noticed in our newsroom last year we got them. >> just don't squash them. that's what they say. don't swat or squash. okay. doug saw one and then went scrambling for shirlington today. he was so frightened. >> no. what? >> yeah. >> that wasn't me. you did not see me running out of the office because of that.

i'll tell you what, guys. just simply gorgeous. you know it's been so nice around the area. temperatures over the last couple days well above average. by about 25 degrees. and that is obviously bringing a lot of people out and about to sit outdoors the last couple days. and that's something that's really giving businesses across the area a real nice boom here. i'm with mark kerwin, the owner of samuel beckett's irish pub which is going to be a hopping place coming up in about two days. so good news about that. but this weather for you guys has been great. >> fantastic. it's great getting a head start at summer. for both me and doug as well. we were chock full tonight. the patio is great. we will be tonight as well. >> does it make a big difference to have the patio open? >> it is huge. it's a relief for the inside specifically coming up on st. patrick's day when we'll be swelling inside with the crowd so having the extra room is fantastic. >> i know they look forward to st. patrick's day. the forecast looking very good, too, mark. i wish you the best there. you gave me -- you already said the fish and chips are the best.

>> absolutely. >> we'll try those a little later on. maybe at 6:00, guys. i want to show you what's going on right now. the winds have shifted a little bit in parts of the area. now a little gusty out of the east about 10 to 20 miles per hour. take a look at the temperatures right now. 78 currently at the airport with that wind out of the east at ten miles per hour but gusting over 20 right now across portions of the region. temperatures down to the south? a little bit warmer. look at 85 in fredericksburg. 85 in la plata. culpepper after a shower earlier now back up to 81 degrees. the cooler areas? north and east. baltimore right now with a temperature of 69. as far as the rest of the region goes, look at the cool air to the north. 50 right now in new york. 57 in philadelphia. that's that ocean influence making its way down here from the north and east. we are sandwiched in between cooler weather to the west and cooler weather to the east giving us highs in the 80s across parts of the region. storm 4 radar also showing a couple showers around the i-95 corridor but a huge mass of showers around cincinnati, back through portions of kentucky,

and now making their way in through west virginia. even some severe weather down in southwestern virginia. a little bit earlier. but for us it is just on the -- just been seeing some of those stronger storms. now down to the south and west of us is where we'll continue to see them and continue to watch out for those, too. there they are right there. just to the west of the warranton area, a pretty good storm actually making its way through there and another one along the chesapeake just to the west of allen's fresh getting ready to cross 301. as far as the rest of the weather goes overnight tonight and for the rest of the evening, temperatures will be on the warm side. you know that. but we are going to continue to see showers right on through the night tonight and then into the day tomorrow. take a look at 5:00 tomorrow afternoon and you can see we will be dealing with some shower activity around the rest of the region. during the day tomorrow maybe even some thunderstorms. let's get to the four-day forecast and show you how we'll break out for the temperatures there. first off, isolated showers tonight with a few thunderstorms. you know that. 63 to 67 and there is the next couple days showing highs around 73 on saturday. that of course is your st.

patrick's day. a temperature of 68 on sunday. there could be a few showers on sunday and then monday right back up into the 70s and, guys, i tell you this great weather looks to last right on through the middle part of next week. we'll talk more about that coming up in just a few minutes. >> cool. >> thank you, doug. still to come on news 4 at 5:00 tonight some call it pink slime. the change that could take a food additive off the school lunch menu. by the people.ak f-- tourna

we'lld puo columbus for a thep. georgetown is in ohio ready to go to the dance. >> they are ready to go. how is your bracket doing? >> i'm in no bracket. >> okay. all right. march madness is in session and for now all of the higher seeds have taken the lower seeds to school. georgetown hoping to do the same on friday. dan hellie tips off our coverage live from columbus, ohio. hello, dan. >> hey, yes. sitting right outside of nationwide arena, memphis is actually getting ready to leave momentarily so if you see a big bus go by, that's going to be

them. john thompson iii has his hoyas back in the big dance for the sixth time in eight seasons at georgetown and they have a very tough draw with belmont, a sexy, cinderella pick to make the sweet 16 as the hoyas history in the tournament did not bode well for them. they have been bounced in each of the last two years in the first round. john thompson iii will be the first to tell you this is a different hoya team this year. >> ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the georgetown hoyas. >> coach thompson led his guys out to practice here early afternoon in columbus and the main difference is youth. he said it's a different team and that's why they're young. a lot of these players making their first trip to the ncaa tournament. three of the hoyas' top six are freshmen or sophomores. big john thompson here chatting with j.t. iii, nice to be able to pull from that reservoir of experience whether it's the

coaches or the players, they are well aware of what it means to be here in the ncaa tournament. >> we've come to the hotel yesterday, people chanting with pom poms. that's exciting. but, you know, for the guys returning we went through this last year and i think it's in us to get back here and prove something. >> very focused on the game and you're thinking about what you got to do tomorrow to win the game but at the same time this is an amazing opportunity and place to be and amazing time. >> you definitely have a second to think about it. this is a blessing. you know? not everybody gets to come to this tournament, you know, this time of the year. you know, there are so many people that aren't in your position that would kill to be in your position. it's definitely a time where you sit back and think and say i'm definitely blessed to be in this position. >> now, belmont not just your average 14th seed happening to be here. the bruins have won 14 straight

and they're back in the big dance for the fifth time in seven years. this is a team that likes to chuck it up there a lot from distance. they have taken 20 three-pointers on average per game. their head coach has been around for a while. 26 years to be exact so he knows exactly how to spin this matchup with georgetown despite being a popular pick to pull off the offset. you know, the committee meets for a long time and they decide they were three and we were a 14 and that means they think it's one of the eight or ten or 11 most lopsided games in e tournament. so, you know, they earned their 3 seed and deserved it and, you know, a 14 can beat a 3 but it's less likely than other numbers. >> the numbers next to the name mean nothing. we've learned that the last couple years and if you don't come out ready to play you don't

come out sharp. you know, all 64, 65 teams can win. can win that game they're participating in and so you have to be sharp and not worry about seeding at all. >> you got to love the contrast in the two coaches there. rick bird from belmont. there is no way a 14 seed can win. jt iii the numbers mean nothing. hakem? >> thank you, dan. we'll check in with you at 6:00. looking forward to your report about 6:45 tonight. scheduled tipoff, 3:10 on friday. belmont, georgetown, let's get it on. >> all right. thanks, hakem. coming up at 5:00 the one coming up at 5:00 the one thing your kids can do right il?

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better grade. >> a robbery plot so bold it helped a thief walk off with $160,000 in cash. hello everybody. i'm doug kammerer here in shirlington. a beautiful afternoon with a high temperature of 80 degrees. we're watching some showers right now and even a thunderstorm. this one down around the warranton area making its way toward the east in forecaausier county. we'll continue to watch as the showers move on toward the east. you can see another one right around dulles airport. we'll watch out for that one too. just light to moderate shower activity at this time. we'll talk more about the showers for tomorrow and the potential for storms and how long this warm weather will last

as well. >> thank you, doug. there are people out there eying the electronics you leave right in your car but not necessarily who you might think. >> metro transit police are looking for drivers who leave hot items visible in their car. lap tops, cell phones all part of metro's latest crime crackdown that also holds you accountable for leaving all that stuff out. news 4's tracee wilkins has more from suitland. >> looking for broken glass on the ground, maybe the key hole punch. >> a large portion of metro's crimes have been in the parking lot, specifically within and around vehicles. >> if the criminal sees tell' come and more than likely vandalize the car just to get to it. >> now police officers are on foot, on bike, and in vehicles patrolling their parking lots and garages. they're looking for what drivers often forget. >> the casings they stick on the windows, the patron should take those down because if a criminal sees that he'll think you just took the gps off and put it away

in the car somewhere and then they leave the charger in. store all those things away. that way it'll cut down on the vandalism of the vehicle. >> a lot of times we see people leaving lap tops or loose change, navigation devices in their windows. sometimes it'll be cell phones. >> when police find the devices, they'll send a yellow postcard like this one to the registered owner of the vehicle. >> the materials say, hey, you know, you're -- the way you secured your vehicle isn't the best way. there is a better way to do it. >> police say this program coupled with other initiatives has been working to cut down on parking lot crimes. in 2008 there were 966 crimes in lots. since then there's been a steady decrease. in 2011 metro transit police say there were 519 parking lot crimes systemwide. a five-year low. metuchen-edis metro riders we spoke with say for those who aren't thinking -- >> people in a rush running late, so, you know, other things

on their mind, i guess. >> it's a helpful initiative. >> i think it's a good idea. you never know. i know there are lots of car thefts and stuff like that in the area, so i don't think it's a bad idea. >> reporter: now police say you'd be amazed at how something as simple as the cable from your charger hanging out can lead to someone breaking into your vehicle. on this postcard they have a list of things that they like to see you avoid putting out in the open in your vehicle when you park. they remember this is not a ticket, just a warning to hopefully change your behavior in the future. in suitland, tracee wilkins, news 4. by the way, new carrollton station was ranked number one for crime in metro's crime report last year. that's primarily because of parking lot thefts. metro tells us programs like this one are what took the station out of the top tenth year. a staff member at a d.c. middle school was hurt this afternoon after a fire broke out in the building. it started in the basement of johnson middle school on bruce place. about 12:30 the school quickly evacuated. no students were hurt.

the staff member is supposed to be okay. the cause is under investigation. prince george's county workers will get a bonus next year if the proposed budget goes through. county executive baker presented his $3.19 million plan this afternoon. it includes money to add 150 new police officers. 50 new firefighters, an extra $21 million for the public school system, and one-time bonuss to all county employees. the budget is also balanced and should avoid any furloughs or layoffs. montgomery county council executive isaac leggett unveiled his plans for the 2013 budget today. more than $4.5 billion including 50 million more for the public schools. leggett also wants to add more police and firefighters. money set aside for expanding library hours and raises for county workers. the budget also includes funds for bike sharing, more ride on bus routes. it will be paid for in part by water and sewer increases. the montgomery county council has to vote on this budget by

the first of june. members of peta gathered outside the verizon center today to protest what they call animal abuse. the group claims ringling brothers mistreats the elephants in its traveling circus by chaining them up. peta wants the elephants retired and taken off the road trip. in the past ringling brothers has said the circus is committed to ensuring the best for the animals and those who care for them. the circus is in town through sunday. after the break the move that could mean pink slime is no longer on the school lunch menu. >> a vascular disease brought on by smoking. >> a shocking ad campaign about the harsh realities of cigarettes. >> they said no person would have survived that so i know i'm really lucky. >> this little boy is very lucky. his brother saved his life twice including when he was being buried alive. >> here's what you'll be waking up to tomorrow on news 4 today.

a hollywood superstar is in our area and wants your attention. plus the frenzy begins. plus th[ male announcer ] for the dreamers...

and those well grounded. for what's around this corner... and the next. there's cash flow options from pnc. solutions to help businesses like yours accelerate receivables, manage payments, and help ensure access to credit. because we know how important cash flow is to reaching your goals. pnc bank. for the achiever in you. we get started at eofff ink in news 4 your health tonight getting a good night's sleep may help if you're trying

to lose weight. researchers at the mayo clinic looked at sleeping and eating habits of 17 healthy adults. they found those who were sleep deprived ate an extra 5 50 calories every day. an estimated 28% of adults in the u.s. say they get less than six hours of sleep every night. experts say the study is small and needs to be tested on a larger scale. getting your kids to move could help raise their test scores. kids who perform physical activities before taking a test get better scores. that's the word from a study in the journal "medicine and science" and sports and medicine. researchers say exercise increases blood flow to the brain, releases hormones helping a child's mood. the ability to process information goes up 10%. mental exercises such as memory games also help but researchers say doing both physical and mental exercises before a test could be overwhelming. this is a vascular disease brought on by smoking. >> a new ad campaign launched today is highlighting the dangers of smoking in a graphic

way. the new commercials are produced by the centers for disease control. federal health officials say they're intended to show real people living with smoking related diseases. smoking kills more than 400,000 americans each year. it remains the leading cause of preventible death and disease in the u.s. coming up, the big heist that helped a thief walk away with $160,000. i'm liz crenshaw. viewers respond to some of our favorite stories. a followup to the thunder shirt. problems with canceling a gym membership. and this confusing fast food. what happens next? my story is coming up. another beautiful day out here. a great day to sit

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[ male announcer ] the all-new subaru impreza®. experience love that lasts. ♪ rightswve . fdejeecndaakoming un just an. it is a heist you have to see to believe. police in florida say a man pretended to be an armored truck driver and stole cash from a clothing store at a mall. the whole thing captured on surveillance video but they're still trying to track down the guy. officials say his outfit was so convincing they had to call brinks to confirm it was a fake. the thief got away with $162,000. it is referred to as pink slime, a geletin like meat by product sprayed with ammonia that recently dropped, was dropped from fast food chains and could soon be leaving your kids' school lunch menu where it has been for a while.

>> we got the pink memo today. >> that's not why we're wearing this. >> today the usda announced it will allow public schools to choose if they want ground beef with or without filler. michelle franzen has the latest on the pink slime debate. >> reporter: a beef product dubbed pink slime by critics and frequently found in school lunches has come under scrutiny for its nutritional value and how it's made. the usda under increasing pressure from parents and consumer advocates announced it is giving schools the choice not to buy products made with the trimmings. >> kids are growing. we don't know what can happen with long-term effects of doing these processes to our food. >> reporter: starting in the fall schools will be able to choose 95% lean, ground beef made with the trimmings or ground beef that is less lean but doesn't contain the product. its official name is boneless lean beef trimmings. left over muscle meat that is separated from fat using heat

and treated with a commonly used ammonia wash to kill bacteria before it is blended with ground beef. the usda says the process meets federal regulations. the beef industry says the process has been around for 20 years. >> this really is a great process that helps us prevent wasting beef from the cattle that we process and we do it under federal inspection so it's safe and nutritious. >> reporter: but others disagree including one houston mom who used her blog the lunch tray.com as a platform to create a petition asking the usda to get it off school menus. within a week, she had 225,000 signatures. >> the public outcry over pink slime has shown consumers do want to know whether this stuff is in their ground beef and they should have a choice about whether to purchase it. >> reporter: the usda says it is making the changes at the request of school districts who asked for more options. michelle franzen, nbc news. >> yum. i hope we didn't spoil your

appetite. j >> "the artist." >> our version. >> there we go. >> nope. >> okay. well, okay. hey, all it takes. where is his little dog? from the cash register confusion to the thunder shirt and gym membership warnings liz crenshaw has brought to light some important and interesting stories over the past few months. >> but what happened after those stories aired? liz is here now with followups to her reports. >> hi there. we are proud of the stories we report and are always happy when viewers take the time to respond to them. if you saw any of these recent stories, here is what happened next. >> all it takes is a noise and

he's scared. it takes a knock on the door. he's done. >> reporter: remember when we visited radio personality cane from the cane show on hot 99.5? it wouldn't take much for his dog parker to fly off the handle xs andcalm. >> reporter: she says she's off her medications since she bought the thunder shirt. >> we keep it close by and if i know a storm is coming i put it on her. if i know we're going to have company i put it on her. it really does work. >> remember our story about cash register confusion? this sign at a popeye's in montgomery county, maryland had customers confused about a fee the business was charging. pay less with cash. receive a 60 cent discount on cash sales, $5 and over. sales $5 and over include a 57 cent service fee. huh? >> getting something to eat at a fast food place should not be as

complicated or confusing. >> since our story aired the same popeye's changed the sign. it now reads, 57 cents service fee added to all sales over $5. pay with cash to receive a 60 cent discount after service fee is added to all sales over $5. is that clearer? remember melanie moses the woman who told us she canceled her gym membership but was still being charged every month for six years? apparently she is not alone. after our story aired vanessa gilbert wrote in and said she canceled her gym membership in november of 2010 but her checking account was still being charged $40 a month for a membership she didn't use. the lesson of the story? don't sign a long-term contract with a gym and do not sign up for automatic withdrawals from your account. remember our story good check bad check? >> i was kind of curious, you know, is this a legitimate check? >> it sure was. the check that read foreign currency fee litigation settlement claim payment was the

result of a class action lawsuit r two viewers wrote in to tell us they too received the $18.04 check and thanked us for the story. they both cashed in. remember our does it really do that segment on fast brite the do it yourself headlight repair kit that promises to remove the hazy, dull film? eric grubs of leesburg, virginia saw it and said he found something that works as well and is cheaper. polishing compound sold at automotive stores. >> all i do is take a little bit of rubbing compound. >> okay. >> squeeze it out on the cotton cloth. >> okay. >> okay. and then apply it to the headlights in a circular motion. >> wow. >> and it cleaned the headlights. >> yes. >> it did a great job. i was very surprised how well it worked. >> okay. so it's always fun to hear from our viewers. comments, etcetera. we love to hear what happened next. you can always reach out to us through e-mail and on twitter at liz crenshaw and search for us

on facebook liz crenshaw's consumer watch. tell us what you think about our stories and give us ideas and it's always good fun. >> yeah, it is. >> sounds great. how about a talking forecast now? doug is down in shirlington. >> the sound of his voice. >> loud and clear. >> actually, i got you for a second though didn't i? i'm with the mulcahy family, a very irish name. this is bill. we have lauren right here. take a look at this little guy, will, who is about to celebrate his first st. patrick's day. they've got family coming into town. they are excited. i said, who is going to be the baby-sitter? they said oh, no. will is coming with us. i have to ask you first off, you guys live around this area. you're looking for a good weekend and weather wise it's been nice. >> perfect and great. we couldn't ask for anything else. we have family coming in. the little guy is excited so life is good. >> life is very good. and have fun on saturday. if you need any help watching, i can always take over.

i don't have a baby-sitter for saturday. i'm still working on that. let's take a look and show you what's happening outside right now. temperatures? they've been on the warm side. we have a little bit of the east wind we've seen so our temperatures have actually come down a little bit over the last hour or so. there are the numbers currently. 78 at the airport. winds east at upwards of 20 miles an hour for the wind gusts and we'll continue to see those winds gusting upwards of 20 miles an hour especially to the north and east of the potomac river. so watch out for that. you can see where the rain is right now on the radar. storm 4 radar showing that rain right now around montgomery county. you can see some of that rain up there toward frederick county, too, right around i-270 and 70 where they meet. that's where we're starting to see some of the showers also around the urbana area and another area down to the south. this one around warranton in toward faucier county. wouldn't be surprised to see a little rumble of thunder through that area. as far as temperatures go tonight it is still going to be on the mild side down to about

the low 50s in most locations into the mid 50s in the city tonight. we should clear out nicely. could be a couple showers overnight and in toward tomorrow morning but most of us should stay on the dry side. tomorrow afternoon not quite as warm as it has been but we're still going for a high temperature of 78 degrees inside the beltway down to the south i still expect you in fredericksburg to get above the 80 degree mark again, maybe even 84. to the north and east maybe a little cooler. everybody still remaining in the 70s so more great weather to come tomorrow and of course for st. patrick's day when this place is really going to be hopping, the weather also looking good. i'll show you the extended forecast one more time in a little bit. >> all right. >> thanks, doug. coming up tonight on news 4 at 6:00 a developing story out of the district. police preparing for a press conference to talk about the two attacks on gay people in columbia heights that occurred in less than 24 hours. a threatening video surfaced on youtube targeting hampton university. we'll show you how things have changed on campus since that

happened. and president obama making a surprise stop in prince george's county for a quick bite to eat of barbecue. those stories and more when doreen joins me on news 4 or i join doreen on news 4 at 6:00. >> they call that state dinner a barbecue but it was not. he had a hankering for some ribs. >> nobody figured out what that was. was it a barbecue or what was

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a michigan boy escapes death for the second time and he is calling his big brother a hero now. nicholas nelson was playing in a sand pit near his house when a hillcollapsed and buried him alive. nbc's lindsay dewitt has the story. >> it all collapsed on me and i started yelling and digging and then he stopped and he knew he was going to be able to get there in time so he just ran for help. >> reporter: it's safe to say nicholas nelson has a pretty great older brother. >> that is the second time he saved my life. >> reporter: that is because on sunday 16-year-old kyle nelson thought fast. >> nichol quick thinking when he realized he couldn't help and he came up here and got myself and my boyfriend saved nicholas.

>> reporter: it's not the first time kyle saved nicholas. a couple years ago he fell through the ice. this time it was sand and the sand fell on nicholas. >> i was passed out. i had a little gap though to breathe or i would have been gone. >> reporter: for nearly a half >> reporter: for nearly a half hour, nicholas was trapped the darkness. >>j$$ he i was going to make it so i started saying bye to people. then i passed out. >> reporter: while he was unconscious dozens of first responders -- he remembers being in the ambulance. >> they drove me up to the helicopter and that's kind of fun riding in the helicopter. >> reporter: helicopter ride aside, the operative word for nicholas is lucky. >> he is a very lucky little boy. >> they said no person would have survived that soer i know m really lucky. >> reporter: from now on nicholas won't be doing any digging and suggests you don't either. >> unless you have like a degree in digging or something or are a professional. >> good advice. nelson stayed in the hospital

for about a day after that accident. doctors was 11-year-old will be just fine. that does it for news 4 at 5:00 tonight. we're back again tomorrow. stayher news 4 at 6:00 starts life.d;nñ bher, was murdered. the man accused was set free after violating two protective orders. now a friend of the (6bt ill prs life. >> brutalized her, stalked her, broke her down psychologically, broke her down physically. >> and a celebrated dentist is accused of illegally prescribing pills to women he dated. and more warm weather today could put this one in the record books. and good evening. i'm wendy rieger sitting in for jim vance. i'm8 hard to avoid right now, the