of killing 16 afghan villagers and then burning some their bodies. the military has not said what charges bales may face. his attorney says bales may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. >> there was an incident right before these allegations where one of his fellow soldiers was mortally wounded a few days before this incident. >> the transfer does not guarantee bales will not stand trial later in afghanistan. army private robert bales was known to be a highly decorated soldier before last week's shooting in afghanistan. bales is married and the father of two young children in washington state. his family has lived near tacoma, washington, for six years. neighbors say they were all friendly. some say the accusations don't add up. >> i'm just waiting for something to come out where it wasn't him that did it or there's more involved because he

was such a great guy. a great family. >> so this is just tragic. a tragedy for everyone concerned. and our heart aches for this family. >> bales' family is staying at a military base for their own protection. a beautiful day out there for our runners that are well under way. an hour into the race. i guess that means maybe mile six, mile seven. depends on their pace. some might just be getting started. >> the first hour i like to be eight miles in by the first hour. >> look at you. >> that's my face. you know, some races are faster than others. i've been known to be slower. >> it depends on how far behind you are in the pack in a race this big. >> the incline is around mile seven. they are toughing it out. >> foggy and mild start for the runners this morning. a lot of folks had to train

through the dead of winter, not that we had any cold weather, but those that trained in the winter time are running in what feels like may or june-like weather with temperatures this morning in the upper 40s and low 50s and a little sunshine out there. a couple sprinkles well down to our south and west. can't take out rain chances for today and tomorrow. most of your weekend will be rain free. that's welcome news. mild too. up into the low and mid 70s today. i do think we'll pick up a few extra clouds around this afternoon. on the whole a good looking saturday coming your way. your hometown forecast in frederick, maryland, off to a nice start. temperatures in the 50s this morning. climbing into the low 70s in frederick by early this afternoon. back down into upper 60s by evening time. so your forecast for today is pretty nice. mid 70s. tomorrow, cloud cover. a little bit more clouds tomorrow. as a result a touch cooler and a slightly better chance at a sprinkle or shower tomorrow. don't worry about rain a lot this weekend. can't completely take it off the table but most everyone will be

raindrop free for their weekend. >> a lot of st. paddy day revelers excited about that. >> be careful. >> thanks, chuck. new this morning, d.c. police are investigating a shooting involving an officer and have the suspect in custody. it happened around 1:00 this morning in the 300 block of atlantic street southeast. the suspect was taken to the hospital and later released into police custody. the washington examiner reports that the officer was not injured in the incident and it appears to be related to a robbery. meanwhile, police are also investigating a double shooting that killed one and critically injured another. it happened around 11:30 last night in the 4200 block of edson point southeast. they are not releasing too many details about the incident right now. they say they are on the lookout for three suspects who ran off after the shootings. a retired autoworker convicted of serving as a nazi

death camp guard died early this morning. german police say that he died in a home for the elderly in southern germany. in 2009, he was deportsed from the united states to germany to face war crimes. he was accused and convicted as se serving as a nazi at a death camp. he denied it and said he was held in concentration camps for much of world war ii. he was 91 years old. break out your green outfit as angie said and enjoy some corned beef and maybe some cabbage because it is st. patrick's day. i have my green on. for local police, it is also a busy time making sure that people stay safe after the party. >> reporter: too much wearing of the green can lead to flashing red and blue lights. in fairfax county last st.

patrick's day, there were 14 dwi arrests with 22 other alcohol related arrests. statewide in virginia, 28 st. patrick's day accidents resulted in one dead and 15 injured. startling numbers that have prompted agencies like prince george's county police to set up sobriety checkpoints on indianhead highway. >> we're out here to ensure their safety and make sure they arrive home safely. >> reporter: st. patrick's day preps are in full swing. at pat troy's ireland's own, 100 pounds of corn beef brisket are being readied for the big day with 1200 revelers expected for males alone. >> it takes six or seven hours to cook. it has to be simmered and done slowly. that's the secret. nice and lean. >> reporter: pub regulars look forward to the festivities which start promptly at 9:00 saturday morning. >> we like to come out and actually celebrate st. patrick's day. our irish heritage. and have a good time with our

friends. >> reporter: for those that prefer music over crowds, a popular st. patrick's day tradition is held in falls church. a concert at cherry hill farm. >> people feel good after they leave from one of these concerts. it's very uplifting. >> reporter: a chance to eat, drink be and be merry but also mindful that police will be monitoring the trip home. >> definitely have a designated driver. drink responsibly. we know people are going to drink. just do it responsibly and get home safe. >> reporter: fairfax county police and virginia state police say they plan to be out on saturday with dui patrols of their own. >> if you have had a little too much fun today, there are plenty of ways to get you home safely and for free. once again, washington regional alcohol program is offering you a free cab ride home on st. patrick's day.

all you have to do is call 800-200-8294 for a free ride up to $30. you must be 21 years of age to use the service and you can't schedule a pickup in advance. nine different cab companies are participating in this great program. right now, thousands of runners are weaving their way through the streets of d.c. for one of the district's largest races. the rock 'n' roll marathon. it's one of several big events in a jam packed weekend in d.c. news4's derrick ward is along the marathon route with more on the busy weekend. beautiful temperatures out there. almost makes you want to get out and run a full marathon. almost. >> reporter: indeed it does. actually i got caught on the other side of the marathon trying to get to our live shot location. i think i ran about that much of it. i ran in the course. you'll have a hard time getting around today.

there's a lot going on. adventures at the convention center. two marathons. and then there's a circus. there is the metro track work. there will be 15-minute delays all over the system. they will single track in some places and some stations will be closed and if you're going to these events by metro, add another 15 minutes to your travel time. indeed there are lots of reasons to be out and lots of adjustments to be made. take a look at some of the closures. this is the course of one of those marathons that are going on today. you start on 19th street heading west and then north. just make some plans to maybe go a little bit out of your way and take in the scenery. maybe it's not what you would normally see. make the best of it. when you have lemons, make lemonade. if you are taking part in one of these events, it's not lemons tall. it's cherries. back to you. >> enjoy yourself out there. take a few laps for us all. enjoy the sunshine. >> reporter: i'll do my best.

>> thanks. we'll see you soon. meanwhile, prince george's county can now only wait and see if it can build a new gambling facility. the state's gaming commission is considering a bill that would allow for a sixth site in maryland. state law only allows for five casinos in maryland. as the state debates that issue, prince george's county is trying to decide between slots and table games or gambling at national harbor. a pitch was made for a mixed use development to lure in tourism dollars. vegas on the potomac but a nice facility that will attract people not only in the washington region but worldwide. >> developers hoping to put slots in baltimore say they don't like the idea of a casino in prince george's county because it would take away business. others say gambling in prince george's county could create gambling problems among families in the area.

>> one slot machine parlor set to open. today that casino is looking to hire. maryland live is holding a job fair this morning and afternoon. its general manager says the company is looking to hire about 500 people including cage cashiers, bankers and servers. the job fair runs from 10:00 this morning until 4:00 this afternoon at the maryland live employment center on park circle drive. that's in hanover. you will have to apply for jobs online before the job fair. you can do so at jobs at maryland live casino.com. right now it's just ten minutes after the 9:00 hour. she's covered just about every major sporting event you can think of. now she's on a mission to get you and your family fit. bonnie bernstein will join us live in our studio with a get moving message. >> one of the men behind the viral video kofi 2012 hospitalized for an apparent breakdown.

she's covered the final four, the super bowl and the u.s. open. it's a race run by children that's brought bonnie bernstein to town this weekend. the award winning sportscaster joins us live in our studio to explain. welcome, bonnie. >> nice to be with you. >> i'm a fan of yours. i'm excited. >> i'm a fan of yours. mute aledual admiration society. >> what brings you back home? >> to a certain degree, i'm an ambassador for a wonderful program called ing kids rock. a youth fitness program that we do through schools. we'll hit the inner city schools. part of the free and reduced lunch program. it's all about teaching kids how much fun exercising and healthy eating can be. over the course of time we give them a training running program and they accumulate 25 miles over the course of six to eight

weeks and the event we had last night was the grand finale. they run 25 miles in the leadup and then last night they ran their final mile. and so officially they are marathoners and they are precious. it's of all ages. you saw kindergartners through sixth, seventh grade. they come flying across the finish line. they come across the finish line and get medals and t-shirts. >> and i believe there's about 600 runners out there. a huge showing. >> nearly a thousand. particularly because this is the first time we've done the event. we didn't know what to expect. we were really trying to push registration. and i have to thank dan because he encouraged the folks at channel 4 to come out and help push registration. we had a wonderful turnout. >> he needs an autographed card from you as well. don't forget to leave that for him of course. going back to the whole issue of

obesity. we've seen the first lady really push her let's move initiative. do we think these programs that they are helping curb this epidemic? >> i can't speak for every single program because there were so many out there. just getting the message out about being active. we've seen in our particular program the cardiovascular rates are so much better. so many kids start out and they can't even run a half mile. and as they accumulate the miles and they build the confidence and they realize that running and exercise can really be fun, it's great. more than anything, what we try to preach is prevention. if we can just change the thinking rather than having kids and parents for that matter look at exercise as a chore and look at healthy eating as a chore rather than a lifestyle, get them thinking early on it's not a bad thing, we can prevent obesity and other things associated with it like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

>> you have wonderful tips starting with exercise as a family and set those goals. >> that's right. not only is it a great idea for families to exercise together, because you're spending quality time with your kids, do goal setting. negotiate. if we exercise together, you'll get a little extra phone time with your friends or video games or maybe a fun snack. >> we're going to run right through these because we're running out of time. shopping, cook together. plant a garden. i love that. find healthy alternatives and spice up healthy foods. that's the last advice there. smear almond butter. >> almond butter is better than peanut butter. >> thank you for stopping by. it's a pleasure to meet you. a nice st. patrick's day. we'll head on over to chuck. >> all right. outside a little bit of fog to get your weekend started. it won't last too long. i'll be back in a couple minutes with a complete check of your ♪

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this morning one of the creators of the kony 2012 viral video is recovering after a bizarre incident in san diego. jason russell was detained after running through the streets in his underwear vandalizing cars and acting strangely. they say he might have been under the influence of something. his charity, invisible children, released a statement that says that russell suffering from exhaustion, dehydration and malnutrition. the charity ceo says "the past two weeks have taken a severe emotional toll on all of us. jason especially. that toll manifested it self in an an unfortunate incident. the 30-minute video documenting joseph kony has gotten more than 80 million hits on youtube since going viral a few days ago.

a former rutgers student faces ten years behind bars and possible deportation for spying on his gay roommate. a jury found dharun ravi guilty of all 15 counts against him including a hate crime and invasion of privacy. ravi used a webcam to watch his roommate, tyler clementi, with another man. he then tweeted about it and tried to live stream another  encounter to friends just days later. clementi later committed suicide. after the verdict clementi's father told students to speak up if they see hate crimes happening. >> when you see somebody doing something wrong, tell them, that's not right. stop it. you can make the world a better place. the change you want to see in the world begins with you. ravi could be deported to his native india. he was living in the united states legally on a green card. sentencing is set for the end of may. some honda hybrid owners who didn't trust gas mileage estimates on their car are now getting money for it.

a california judge approved a settlement over claims that honda inflated fuel economy estimates. about 200,000 hybrid honda owners joined the case. those with model years between 2003 to 2009 will get up to $200 and a rebate towards a new honda. model year owners between 2006 to 2008 could get more because of another dispute over battery defects. how do you like that? a little more change in your pocket. stay safe. >> a lot of drivers. >> no doubt about it. >> weatherwise, if you are going to drive today, can we put the top down? >> yes. yes, you can put the top down today. absolutely positively do it. if you have the convertible, get it out today. it's march. these are bonus convertible days around here. into the 70s we'll go again this afternoon. plenty of fogginess out there first thing this morning. the sunshine will do its thing and take care of that fog by the next hour or so. a little bit of a foggy haze

hanging over downtown washington this morning. it is a mild start indeed. temperatures already 56. that's our average high temperature for this time of the year. we're already at the average high and we'll be 15 degrees above normal again today. a light breeze at only 3 miles an hour. light breezes out of the east eventually out of the southeast today. starting to influence our weather a little bit more. that onshore flow. for now, look at the metro temperatures now. 57 in gaithersburg. 53 at reston town center. 54 in dale city this morning. 54 in calvert county, maryland. 51 in the panhandle of west virginia. a pleasant start. mid 50s through the rest of the morning. up to low to mid 70s this afternoon. i think we'll pick up a few clouds around later today. not much of a rain threat. nothing showing up on storm 4 radar now too close to us. a couple spritzes down here in southern virginia.

all part of an upper level impulse that may generate a few showers just down to our south and west today and again tomorrow. i think rain chances as slim as they are, they are a little bit better out across our western and southern sections of our viewing area. here we go. there's satellite picture. clear skies over pennsylvania and clearing skies now around the washington area as high pressure is in charge. staying mild all weekend. hint of east to southeast wind bringing more clouds in here for the day tomorrow. onshore flow means temperatures tomorrow probably holding the upper 60s to near 70 as opposed to mid 70s today. a little better chance for a shower tomorrow afternoon. so for today, sun and clouds. maybe a quick shower possible. primarily well west and southwest of town. don't worry convertible owners, leave the roof down. i'm not worried about it. there's your extended forecast. keeping in mind that our average highs are mid to upper 50s. coolest day on the seven-day is monday with a high of 69 degrees. and then back. no flirting with records this week. we broke one record high last

week. i don't think we'll have any records this upcoming week. record temperatures are well up into the 80s. still awfully mild weather. you can stay ahead of the forecast. follow me on twitter. >> absolutely beautiful. thanks so much. >> all right. time right now is 9:26. thanks for joining us. it was one of osama bin laden's last big terror plots and its impact could have been more devastating than 9/11. details of that plan are straight ahead. also ahead, george clooney arrested here in the district. the cause the movie star feels

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morning, a u.s. soldier accused of killing 16 afghan civilians is in a military prison at ft. leavenworth, kansas. army staff sergeant robert bales was transferred to the only m maximum security prison from a military center in kuwait. the military has not said what charges he may face. d.c. police are investigating two shootings that occurred overnight. one shooting was in the 4200 block of edson block northeast. one man was killed. another in critical condition. >> streets across the district are closed this morning for one of the city's biggest races. thousands of runners are weaving through streets of d.c. for the sun trust rock 'n' roll usa marathon. it starts and ends at rfk stadium. most roads wishould be open by

3:00 this afternoon. >> we're used to seeing george clooney dressed up walking red carpet. a far cry from the george clooney on display yesterday in the district. police arrested him after he was part of the protest outside of the embassy of sudan. a country he says is headed for a humanitarian crisis. jackie benson has more on his message. >> reporter: in a town where political arrests are common place, this was a big deal. it is that urgent. that was the message from actor and activist george clooney as he, his father nick clooney and numerous dignitaries took part at the protest at the embassy of sudan. >> this is your third and final warning. you'll be arrested. step this way. >> reporter: clooney and others were taken to the police station for processing and released after paying a fine. >> what we're facing now is hundreds of thousands of people looking at the possibility of

starvation because the rainy season is coming. it needs to start now. best estimates are tens of thousands of people are going to die from starvation that is man-made. this isn't a famine. >> reporter: naacp president also arrested during the protest shared a cell with clooney. >> it was a father and son thing. they got into this together. his dad was here who is not a young man by any stretch going to jail with us. >> reporter: clooney has been a presence in washington over the last two weeks. he showed a very graphic video of had his trip to sudan to the u.s. senate and he was also a guest at the official dinner at the white house. jackie benson, news4. to a developing story now in syria. state tv is reporting a number of civilians and security forces have been killed in two explosions. blast believed to be caused by

car bombs in damascus. two buildings were hit. syrian's president calls the blast terrorist attacks while rebels claim the government is behind the explosions. the year-long uprising has seen thousands of civilians killed. new reports show osama bin laden was working on assassination plots against president obama and retired army general david petraeus. "the washington post" columnist reported the story. he saw documents taken from bin laden's compound after the al qaeda leader's death in may. bin laden ordered crews to begin organizing in afghanistan and pakistan. the reports show he believed america would fall apart if vice president biden became president. despite the scary details, u.s. officials say the plot was never a serious threat. an army private accused of leaking classified information to wikileaks is due in court next month after a legal setback for his defense team.

a military judge denied a request to let bradley manning's attorneys take sworn statements from eight people before his trial. manning is accused of downloading classified documents and sending it to wikileaks. defense lawyers say manning was a troubled soldier who never should have had access to the secret material. the next hearing is set for april 24th. so far no trial date has been set. this weekend a maryland family is celebrating the homecoming of a navy reserve officer who just returned home from afghanistan. kevin cruz was greeted by his wife and daughter at reagan national airport yesterday. cruz spent a year in afghanistan. he served as a maintenance supervisor and was responsible for keeping up repairs on ambushed vehicles. it was his fourth tour overseas and cruz says he survived an attack in october and is thankful to be home safe. >> glad i got out when i can.

it's sad with all of the incidents that's been happening. i wish things could turn out better. >> every day we talked as much as possible. that kept him in the loop of everybody that was going on. >> reporter: cruz works as a prince george's county police officer when he's not with the reserves. he says he plans to vacation in puerto rico before returning to work. if you are watching the ncaa tournament yesterday, you know exactly why they call it march madness. we saw two of the biggest upsets in tournament history in one day. we get highlights in this morning's sports minute. good morning, everyone. your sports minute begins with march madness. number three seed georgetown against number 14 seed belmont. 61% shooting from the floor. senior jason clark led the way with 21 points. georgetown beats belmont winning the first tournament game since 2008. they will play nc state on

sunday. two 15 seeds are still dancing. lehigh defeats duke and norfolk state upsets missouri. a game high 26 points and spartans beat tigers 86-84. norfolk state will play florida because gators crashed the cavaliers. only bright spot for virginia, mike scott had 15 points but florida shoots 70% in the second half and wins 71-45. capitals on the road against winnipeg. game tied at two. the caps fall 3-2 ending their four-game win streak. good news washington remains in the eighth and final playoff spot in the eastern conference. nba last night. hawks beat the wizards 102-88. that's your sports minute. have a great day. >> thanks so much. the time now is 9:36. you saw devastation left in its wake. this morning we're seeing new video of those devastating

tornadoes in indiana as they tore a path of destruction across the state. gas prices reach record highs. what's to blame for the pain at the pump and when those prices should finally start to fall. the biggest story of the week had to be the primaries in alabama and mississippi as well as caucuses in hawaii. the story line is what we saw after super tuesday. mitt romney is winning the delegate math but not the perception. >> the perception is the issue for him. he still can't put away rick santorum. >> and now the race moves on to illinois. that might be the biggest consequence of what happened in alabama and mississippi. the race continues to move on. >> don't forget about puerto rico tonight. 20 delegates up for grabs. and the candidates have spent a lot of time there.

the obama re-election campaign also ramped up this week. vice president we saw on the campaign trail with his first major speech and a 17-minute

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the more we help make opportunity possible. the republican candidates continue to push for votes before tomorrow's puerto rico primary. mitt romney is in illinois today defending statements that he made about supreme court justice sonia sotomayor. yesterday romney told reporters he does not support her as a justice because of their differing philosophies. the controversy stems from sotomayor being of puerto rican dissent. almost the entire country supports the justice including the governor who is a romney supporter. romney's main competitor, rick santorum, is traveling all over illinois stumping for last-minute votes in homes of another big win on tuesday. he told supporters to shake up the race and that he has a

unique duty to correct a wrong referring to president obama. the former pennsylvania senator hopes to do well in southern parts of illinois in order to carry the state to tuesday. president obama also spent time in illinois raising big bucks for his re-election campaign. while in the land of lincoln, the president pointed out the candidates do not change the same values as the 16th commander in chief. his fund-raiser in chicago was apparently successful with reports coming in that he raised at least $5 million from the crowd of about 600. the president then traveled to atlanta, georgia, for another fund-raiser which was closed to the press. gas prices have reached an all-time high for this time of year and with travel season still around the corner, expect to see them go even higher. this morning the average price for a gallon of regular in the district is $4.04. drivers in maryland are paying $3.86 up a penny from yesterday. lowest prices are in virginia at

3.75 a gallon and west virginians are paying $3.88. aaa says the price of crude oil is largely to blame and that the threat of war in the middle east is driving prices even higher. >> normal rules of supply and demand aren't happening here because supplies are up, demand is down, our prices are going up. >> aaa says the national average could reach $4.25 before we see any relief. 84% of american drivers have changed their lifestyle because of the increase in gas prices. maybe today taking the bike not a bad idea, right? >> you know how you can increase your fuel efficiency by 10%? drive 5 to 7 miles an hour slower. especially once you are over 50 or 55. >> if you don't mind someone honking behind you. >> that may not help a lot. when you honk, i'm improving

your fuel mileage too. a check of your weather forecast which includes the mention of

welcome back, everybody. boy, did we get spoiled these last couple days. >> it just doesn't take anything at all. i was out tuesday and all of those kids were already excited about the warm weather but they were a little upset because they build ten snow days into the school calendar. these kids will be about ten days smarter this year than most years because they will do 190 days instead of 180 school days. >> let's just make sure everyone knows. winter is out the door. >> done. no more winter for us. we made 80 degrees or better three times this past week. i don't think there's anymore 80s in our immediate future. boy, is it going to be mild around here all of the way through the rest of the weekend and even next week. no 80s on the seven day but a lot of temperatures which are 15 or more degrees warmer than average. outside we go. a little bit of sunshine bouncing off the roof of the

jefferson memorial. those cherry trees are getting close along the tidal basin. if you want to get a good picture, be ready to go at the moment's notice. they are not out yet but a couple days with weather this mild and that will be all she wrote. 56 at national airport. a light wind at 3 miles an hour. temperatures mid 50s around the metropolitan area right now. 55 at the naval academy in annapolis. almost 60 now in culpeper and fredericksburg. cooler across northern maryland but a nice one day. temperatures mid 50s here for the rest of this morning. jumping very quickly into the low and mid 70s for a brief time today. nothing on radar. i think 95% of us are going to stay dry all weekend long. that being said, there's a little impulse here in the atmosphere and it may kick off one or two showers west and southwest of the washington metro area here today and tomorrow as well. just sort of file that in the back of your mind. most of your weekend, no weather problems at all. a slight chance of a quick

passing shower today south and west of town and tomorrow really anywhere just out to the west of i-81. satellite picture shows clear skies in place. high pressure in charge. staying very mild today. temperatures this afternoon into mid 70s. a little area of storminess off the coast and high pressure off the jersey shore. that's going to provide an easterly breeze around here tomorrow and east wind and onshore flow is very tricky for us forecasting. it may lead us to more cloud cover tomorrow and temperatures just below 70 but if onshore flow isn't as strong, into the 70s tomorrow as well. so for today, a mix of sun and clouds. maybe a quick shower. certainly not going to bother anybody's weekend plans. your seven-day forecast looks mild all of the way through. i posted just to be safe 30% chance for a shower today. tomorrow as well. another chance on tuesday. not looking for a lot of rain here over the seven days. temperatures back into the mid 70s for much of next week. winter is all but gone now as spring break looms ahead for

most everybody. you can say hi to weather by coming to our website, nbcwashington.com/weather or follow me on twitte twitter @chuckbell4. >> along with spring comes allergies. i'm sniffing away. it's been a struggle this morning. all right. thank you, chuck. i want you to think way back. what were you doing when you were 11 years old? it's pretty safe to say you were not playing the piano in front of thousands of people. one little boy is about to do just that in our area. aaron gilchrist has details in the preview of this week's kids post. >> this week on kids post on tv the cherry blossoms get a new take. what a difference in the world you can make and an 11-year-old pianist gets his big break. tracy, thanks for coming in this morning. >> great to be with you. >> exciting stuff to talk about here. first up, cherry blossoms and kids. >> kids. we encouraged kids to draw what

their vision of the cherry bl blossoms were. we had a contest. we unveiled winners and judging this was really difficult. this is from an 8 year old from oakton, virginia. she's one of our featured -- we love the way the birds were sort of looking at each other perched on the cherry tree. this is just beautiful. this is by a 13 year old of gaithersburg. it was done in chalk and pastels. it's just beautiful. >> gorgeous. professional stuff there almost. >> right. and 11 of arlington, this wonderful winding path that almost looks like you can walk right into this. we have the whole section devoted to the cherry blossoms and the kids art work. it's really worth taking a look at. >> nice. next up an interview with an award winning author. >> jack is just delightful won the newberry for "dead end" this

year. it's a book that featured a character named jack. >> easy enough. >> he writes about his life growing up in this small town in pennsylvania. it's laugh out loud funny. some of it is fictional. some is factual. we have an interview with him in tuesday's kids post. >> looking forward to reading that. finally, highly anticipated concert and the star isn't even done with elementary school yet, right? >> this is amazing. you think about an 11-year-old revi recital, 11 years old will headline on friday night. >> check him out. >> he needs a booster seat to get to the piano bench. he's a remarkable talent. he will be the youngest headliner that they have ever had and we interview him in wednesday's kids post in advance of his big concert. >> fantastic. looks like he's interesting and obviously knows what he's doing

there. >> very talented kid. >> all right. thanks for coming. >> great to be with you. >> for more fun family activities, you can visit nbcwashington.com or washington post.com and click on kids post. i'm aaron gilchrist. the flavors of spring will be on display next weekend at the park hyatt in northwest d.c. the hotel is hosting its masters of food and wine festival. here with a taste of what's being offered is the pastry chef from the park hyatt, peter brett. i have the pleasure of being with you. the pastry chef. i'm excited. what are we going to be cooking up or what are you preparing when one thinks of spring, what normally comes to mind? >> for me what comes to mind is rhubarb because that's one of the first local plants that comes available. >> i would never think of that. rhubarb, this is rhubarb. it kind of looks like a celery

stalk gone crazy. it's beautiful. >> the stalk is what we cook with. has big leaves. cut off the stalk already. >> does it taste like celery? >> it has a tart flavor. >> maybe even sweet or just -- >> no. very, very tart. something good to combine with sweeter ingredients. >> all right. so what are we preparing today? you have some type of a rhubarb pie? >> rhubarb tart. individual tart. we design our desserts for sharing. it's big enough for two people to share. we start off making very simple pie dough and i've got flour, sugar, salt, vegetable shortening and butter and i'm going to just mix them all together with my hands. this is something that's very easy to do with your hands. it's a very free formed tart. >> okay. from there this is what the dough looks like and what it

will look like once it's prepared. this is the sample we have in front. i guess you roll it, knead it, what's the word i'm looking for? >> once the ingredients are mixed together with fingers, add water to make a dough and form the dough into your individual size portions and roll it out. >> okay. so you make just like a patty out of it and roll it out. >> exactly. i'm just rolling it out here. >> you kind of make patty of it. obviously i'm not in the kitchen much. good lord. you roll it out. and then what kind of a shape are we supposed to make out of this? >> i like to mimic the shape of the rhubarb which is long and thin. i make a long, thin rectangular tart. >> how do you -- what goes in the consistency or filling of this tart? >> the filling is an almond filling. it's almond paste, butter, sugar, flour and eggs.

i've got some right here. >> highly nutritious stuff. >> delicious. the sweet almond goes well with tart rhubarb. >> wow. then you just spread that on there generously. >> spread it on the dough like that. >> okay. >> and then take some of this beautiful pink rhubarb and tut it into pieces. >> can you eat rhubarb like a piece of celery? >> it will be very, very tart. i do know people that do that. they pick it out of the garden. stick it in a bowl of sugar. >> give me a try. >> you have to stick it in a bowl of sugar. >> you have to. >> even more healthy. it gets better. >> okay. let's see. normally i could do this with celery and peanut butter. i don't know. okay. i take your word for it. goes better in the pie. all right. >> and texture is better too. it needs to be -- >> it's not too bad. it's a little tart. this goes in the oven for how

many minutes, chef? >> it takes 20 to 25 minutes in a very high oven. i cook it at 425 because you want to really, really brown the crust. >> egg wash goes over that. >> i brush it with a little bit of egg wash. >> let's remind people of when they can head out to the hotel for see and to taste better yet some of these delicious pastries. >> we have a cooking class next saturday from 3:00 to 5:00. it will be a very small, intimate class. eight people. it's going to be very hands-on. we'll all be making pie dough, rolling dough, making our own tarts and garnishing it with the cherry blossom sorbet. >> thank you so much for joining us. we'll have you stick around to put that in the oven here so we can try that as well. all right. don't forget about that event don't forget about that event march 23rd through the 25

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good morning, everyone. welcome to news4 today. i'm erika gonzalez. >> i'm angie goff. it's saturday, march 17th. checking our top stories right now, an american soldier accused of going on a deadly shooting rampage in afghanistan is in a lone prison cell in kansas this morning. army staff sergeant robert bales was transported from a detention center in kuwait. he's accused of killing 16 afghan villagers including women and children. d.c. police are investigating two shootings that happened overnight. one involved a police officer in the 300 block of atlantic street southeast. the washington examiner reports the officer was not injured in the shooting. the other was in the 4200 block of edson place northeast. one man was killed and another is in critical condition. one of the co-creators of the kony 2012 viral video is

recovering this morning after police detained him in san diego. witnesses say jason russell was running through the streets in his underwear and vandalizing cars. his charity invisible children released a statement saying russell was suffering from exhaustion. the summerlike weather is bringing with it a packed weekend in the district. it could mean major headaches if you are driving or using metro. lots of roads across the district are closed right now for the suntrust rock 'n' roll usa marathon. derrick ward is out there near the race route with more on the busy weekend and enjoying the beautiful temperatures. good morning, derrick. >> reporter: good morning, erika. indeed i am. that's what makes it all tolerable. this is a weekend. take a look. if you have to get around, this is what you'll run into in a lot of spaces. it will be a challenge if you are getting around today. now, they are running through the streets of d.c. refreshing themselves in some cases with

green gatorade. it's st. patrick's day. it's one of two marathons that are going on now. over at the convention center, they are steamed and climbing walls cooking and rock climbing are some of the activities at the travel and adventure show. meanwhile, at the verizon center, lions, tigers, and bears and elephants, oh my. the circus has come to town. beneath the city, the usual metrorail work causing 15-minute delays. time to add to your trip if you are going by rail. single tracking in a lot of places. indeed it is an active weekend if not one impeded by those very activities but down here along the marathon course, they are taking it in stride. >> we're working our way around. it seems not to run across the street with a stroller in front of the runners. >> reporter: lots of stuff going on around the city today. >> i love it.

having done marathons and tri-at there is so much energy. >> reporter: that energy comes in handy if you are on foot. if you are driving, expect these road blocks to go away completely around 2:00. they may open some streets as the race and events get by. expect to have some delays if you're going to drive around town and we showed you earlier that map so if you head north, if you stay to northern part of the city, you have better luck getting east to west. we're live downtown. back to you. >> all right. thanks so much. good luck to runners out there. a few more miles ahead of you. here's a good excuse to head to the national mall today. capital bike share has two new stations in that area. one is located on ohio drive near martin luther king, jr., memorial and other on jefferson drive between 14th and 15th streets. not far from the washington monument. eventually capital bike share plans to put five stations along the mall.

there are already more than 150 stations across the city. we've been saying it all morning. riding the bike not a bad idea in this weather. >> not a bad idea today. winter has long since left us in the washington area. springtime, early summer feel out there no doubt. whatever you need to do, get outside and enjoy it today. don't forget to put sunblock on. spf 15 or better i think. it's still a march sunshine. not that strong yet. we're getting close to the spring equinox around here. think about sun safety if you are going to be outside. temperatures upper 50s and low 60s. still not a drop showing up on storm 4 radar too close to us. a few better chances for sprinkles today south of the charlottesville area. don't turn your back on a stray shower chance today. most of it will be good. hometown forecast in virginia today with temperatures in the upper 50s now headed into the low 70s today with just a few

fair weather clouds around. a cool start by your sunday morning. start off temperatures right around 50 degrees. for today, sun and clouds. maybe a quick shower. primarily west of town. highs today low to mid 70s. nicer weather tomorrow as well. we'll talk more about how long we can keep the 70s around in the seven-day forecast coming up. >> looking forward to it. >> thanks so much, chuck. hurricane irene caused plenty of damage last year but scientists say it's nothing compared to the potential problems coming our way because of climate change. nbc's anne thompson explains. >> reporter: the ferocious surge of the atlantic powered by hurricane irene last august moved a lifeguard tower. >> look at that. >> reporter: broke through a sea wall and sent water rushing into the streets of new york's long beach. a scene that will become more common place a new study says because of rising sea levels

caused by global warming. benjamin strauss say odds of 20-year flood happening by 2030 doubles for two-thirds of the places study. >> once a 100 year flood becomes once a decade in southern california. >> who is at risk? the 5 million americans living on coastal land less than four feet above high tide lines. by 2050, it expands to 6 million people living less than five feet above high tide lines. here in new york city, the danger is not to low lying areas where millions live but to the very way people get around. the funnel shaped new york harbor could worsen storm surges that could flood the city's vital subway system. loading the dice, heat trapping gases from burning oil, coal and gas. melting polar caps and glaciers and warming the ocean. measurements taken in bermuda show 58 years of increases. >> the temperature will be in

red. more heat in the top couple meters in the ocean than in the atmosphere. >> reporter: climate change skeptics say you can't blame rising oceans all on global warming. >> the sea level rise caused from climate change is actually less than the sea level rise caused from land sinking and we can't stop it. >> reporter: a future dependent on the ocean and threatened by it. anne thompson, nbc news, new york. >> it is 10:08 right now. another twist in the lawsuit filed by a banished "desperate housewife." the real life drama playing out in the courtroom. >> it isn't just thieves looking

welcome back. nicollette sheridan must wait for a jury's drama to play out before hearing the verdict in her wrongful termination case. a judge ordered the jury to keep deliberating even though jurors say they hopelessly are deadlocked. the panel went home friday after reaching the impasse. the group is considering if sheridan was wrongfully terminated after complaining the series creator struck her. cherry and abc have denied any wrongdoing. both say they cut sheridan's role four months before the onset dispute. there are people out there

that are eyeing the electronics that are in your car. not necessarily who you think. metro transit police is looking for drivers who leave hot items visible in their cars. items like laptops and cell phones. it's all part of the metro's latest crime crackdown that also holds you accountable. news4's tracy wilkins has more. >> we're looking for broken glass on the ground. maybe the key hole punched. >> reporter: a large portion of metro's crimes have been in the parking lot. specifically within and around vehicles. >> if a criminal sees it, they'll like ll lly van lly vanr to get to it. the casings they stick on windows, the patrons should take those down because if a criminal sees that, you think you took

gps off and put it in the car somewhere. they should store those things away to cut down on the vandalism of the vehicle. >> many times we see people leaving laptops or loose change, navigation devices in their windows. sometimes they leave cell phones. >> reporter: when police find these devices, they send a yellow post guard licard to reg owner of the vehicle. >> the way you secured your vehicle was not the best way. there's a better way to do it. >> reporter: police say this program coupled with other initiatives have been working to cut down on parking lot crime. in 2008, there were 966 crimes in lots. since then, there's been a steady decrease and in 2011, metro transit police say there were 519 parking lot crimes systemwide. a five-year low. metro riders we spoke with say for those who aren't thinking -- >> people are in a rush. running late.

you know, other things on their mind i guess. >> reporter: a helpful initiative. >> it's a good idea. you never know. i know there's lots of car thefts and stuff like that in the area. i don't think it's a bad idea. >> reporter: now police say you would 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 they would like to see you avoid putting out in the open in your vehicle when you park. remember this is not a ticket. it's just a warning to hopefully change your behavior in the future. tracy wilkins, news4. >> the new carolton station was ranked number one for crime in metro's crime report last year. that's mostly because of parking lot thefts. metro says programs like this are what took the station out of the top ten list this year. all right. talking about the weather. we had a lot of fog early this morning but looks like it burned out of the way. sunshine starting to peak out a little. >> later in the year june, july,

we can burn fog away more quickly because sun angle is higher. you can burn it more quickly. in early spring months like march, it takes longer to cook the fog away.

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in just 15 minutes, the light delicate layers add a layer of warmth to your next dinner. pillsbury grands! dinner ideas made easy. a dramatic look this morning at the force of nature. check out this surveillance video of a tornado as it rips through a school in henryville, indiana. that happened earlier this month. cameras caught the ef-4 twister turning the gym inside out and a roof being shredded to pieces. you can also see buses which were trying to get kids out of the storm being blown around like toys in the parking lot. about 80 students and staff were in the building at the time but all were safe. they took cover in offices and hallways and that's just absolutely remarkable. >> that's why you don't want to be one of those big gymnasium

areas. you are better in a smaller, more confined hallway space because you have more walls between you and the outside is important and sometimes those smaller nooks and crannies are better places. >> good to know m. >> very good stuff to know. for us, we don't have anything to worry about from a severe weather concern for today. tomorrow. i don't see any severe weather chances in our seven-day forecast. that's welcome news. may feel like springtime but we've avoided the springlike severe weather so far. outside on your saturday morning, live picture not too far from the title basin. those cherry trees are getting close. here's one already now spitting flowers out there. the tidal basin on the other side there. these are cherry trees along the potomac side of the river. a good looking day to get outside. cherry trees are just about on the verge of popping out blossoms over the next 24 to 36 hours. right along the basin, the cooling influences of the basin

will keep those trees quiet for another two or three days. mild weather coming our way. another well above average day on the way for this afternoon with temperatures ocean city maryland if you want to stay out of the 70s, go to the beach today. your friends at the beaches today. cloudy skies. onshore breeze. ocean temperatures still in the low 50s. a chilly day at the beach today. back into upper 40s to near 50 by tomorrow morning. not the best beach weekend but it is only march. outside for now, nothing showing up too close to us on storm 4 radar. a few dying showers down across parts of central virginia. there may be a few more of those to bubble up as we get into mid and later parts of the afternoon with an area of low pressure in the upper atmosphere and that may kick off one or two lonesome showers for today and tomorrow. high pressure building in. more easterly kpcomponent in th wind we get marine layer influence and we may need more

clouds in the forecast for tomorrow. today mild for sure. overnight tonight, clouds try to increase a little bit. you can see computer model trying to generate a spritz or sprinkle or two. that's about it. tomorrow a better chance for a few showers cooking up in the mountains of west virginia west of blueridge most everybody is going to be dry all weekend long and mild as well. just don't completely rule out the chance of a stray shower. today a mix of sun and clouds and quick shower south and west of town. a mild one today. temperatures up into low to mid 70s. a little cooler tomorrow because we'll have extra cloud cover courtesy of that easterly breeze and again a little chance for a sprinkle or two tomorrow as well. really not looking for much in the way of organized rain chances. showery pattern here lasts until the early parts of next week and then the mild weather zooms back in. i haven't posted any 80s on the seven-day forecast but just like last week when i said i wouldn't be surprised to see a few, this week coming up as well i would

not be shocked. somewhere down there might touch 80 this upcoming week. follow me on twitter. i'll tweet out my status updates as we go through the rest of the day today. taking pictures of cherry trees. >> someone on twitter wants to know where the ou mug is. >> i had tea for the 6:00 a.m. show is this morning and i switched to diet coke. the mug is safe. it's close. >> it will be okay. okay. thank you so much, chuck. right now it looks like it's just 22 minutes after the 10:00 hour. who needs an ipod? ♪ and i try ♪ i can't get no >> a look at one workout in which you

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♪ >> competition is heating up. those are highlights from last week's episode of "the voice." round three of the battles continues this monday night at 8:00 p.m. join us from 8:00 to 10:00 on nbcwashington.com. we'll be live web chatting during the show. my intel tells me -- >> your intel? what do they say? >> at the they will me that the local gal, one of the local girls from this area is going to be battling it out on stage this weekend. you get the inside scoop. all right. a d.c. gym found great way

to distract customers from a gruel be woling workout. ♪ walk out the door >> amazing. they'll do anything to get people in a gym. that's the class called karaoke ride. you get to sing to the music while working out. singing isn't mandatory. cyclers say they love it. karaoke ride is offered at crunch fitness in chevy chase and metro center. >> i give props. when i work out, i have to focus on breathing. to sing with that -- >> it's a lot harder to sing and cycle or talk and run or walk and chew gum. >> sing in the

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