his two sons, and another child. he also hurt at least five people and seriously injured one. right after this happened the shooter sped away. now french president nicolas sarkozy spoke about the terror. >> translator: barbery, savagery, cruelty cannot win. hate cannot win. the republic is much stronger than this. >> reporter: investigators say it is possible the gunman killed three soldiers in two similar shootings in the same area a week ago. anti-terror investigators are helping out trying to figure out the motive. meanwhile, the gunman is still on the loose. in the newsroom, shomari stone, news 4. we are on the verge of a vernal equinox, the last full day of winter. >> you couldn't tell by our temperatures for the last two weeks. that's the way it's been. my son even asked me is it still winter daddy? i said technically, yes, but meteorlogical winter we consider december, january, and february

so that means is meteorlogical spring and mother nature is giving us a lot of spring weather. take a look at this picture of the cherry blossoms in full bloom out there right now. at least close to it. expected to reach peak bloom by tomorrow. so they're pretty darned close right now and simply a fantastic shot. look at the boaters on the potomac right now, too. you don't see that very often in mid march. 73 degrees the current temperature with winds out of the south right now about 9 miles an hour. your current temperature 77 in manassas. 79 in culpepper. and the temperature right now coming in gaithersburg and montgomery county of 72 degrees. we have a couple showers up there toward eastern portions of frederick county. also a few back toward the panhandle of west virginia. back around the martinsburg area. we'll watch those showers move off toward the east and stay to the north of washington. i do not expect to see any showers around here this evening. most of us would stay on the dry side if not all of us. about 67 by 9:00. down to about 56 when you wake up and step out the door on your tuesday at about 7:00 a.m. looking at another pretty good start. there could be a couple showers.

i'll break that chance down for you coming up in the full forecast. >> thanks, doug. tomorrow is the official start of the cherry blossom festival. if you plan on going down to the tidal basin get there early. tourists are already packing it in out there taking in the sights. we'll go live to melissa mele. >> reporter: you cannot be down here on a beautiful day like today and not have a big smile on your face. lots of people having fun. it's been packed all day with people enjoying the weather and the trees. take a look around. they are so gorgeous. it's hard to believe the peak bloom actually starts tomorrow. these blossoms showed up to their annual party a little early this year before some of the guests had even arrived. >> it's really pretty with all the flowers. >> reporter: 1 million people are expected to come see the trees this 100th anniversary season. it's a season highlighted by a

week early peak bloom. this same tree has been painted every year for the past seven. >> i was looking for something that framed the washington monument and a spot where i didn't see any other buildings behind the cherry blossoms. >> reporter: those coming to town for the festival likely hoping from afar for a few late bloomers. >> i was planning on coming next week, if i was planning on coming next week i'd be upset because they bloomed early. >> this year's centennial celebration means the typical two-week festival has been extended to five weeks. >> once they start blooming they're generally around for ten days so even though it's peak you can still come back in a few days and see blossoms. >> reporter: if you're planning to come and get a glimpse in person our best advice avoid crowds by coming early in the morning and since parking could be tough and pricey if you get a ticket riding the metro, taking one of the shuttle buses here, or grabbing a bike might be your best bet. >> we thought my parents when

they were still alive many years ago, we brought them and spent the whole day in traffic. anymore it is a two wheel exercise for me. >> reporter: a very good morning. lots of folks having a blast out here today. there are 3700 of the trees here in washington. at 6:00, why your great grandchildren may see the blooms come out a month earlier than we are right now. live at the tidal basin, news 4, back to you. >> thank you, melissa. the family of a woman killed by her estranged husband is hoping her death can help save others. fi philip gilberty killed her last tuesday. surveillance video shows him pushing her into the road in the middle of rush hour. he later killed himself. mcguire's family says for years she and her parents had protective orders against gilberty. he was arrested and released by montgomery county officials twice in the days before the murder. the victim's mother says the system let her down.

>> i couldn't believe that he walked out of that courtroom, no one notified her, and, i mean, it's just completely unbelievable. >> reporter: mcguire leaves behind four children, and her family hopes lawmakers will learn from her death and make changes to the law to protect other victims. formal charges could be filed this week against the american soldier accused of killing 16 civilians during a rampage in afghanistan last sunday. staff sergeant robert bales is now back in the united states being held at fort leavenworth, kansas. nbc's john yang is there and joins us with the latest on this. john, bales met with his attorney for the first time today. any news on that? >> reporter: i'm sorry. there was some noise here. >> i understand you're having some trouble hearing us. i understand bales met with his attorney for the first time today. do we have any information on

what was discussed? did the attorney speak after that? >> reporter: this is still going on. they met for about three and a half hours this morning, took a lunch break, then went back in. the attorney going in said he wanted to take this opportunity for the first time to hear bales' story in total. the previous discussions have been bits and pieces on the telephone. this is the first time they'll be able to sit down face to face, hear the whole story, and also get an assessment of this guy, sort of look him in the eye, and get a sense. at the lunch break he told reporters that this was the most emotional meeting he has ever had and considering that this attorney john henry brown represented ted bundy, the serial killer, represented the barefoot bandit, that really said something. >> we understand he hinted post traumatic stress disorder could be the defense. >> absolutely.

he has also talked about the number of deployments that staff sergeant robert bales has undergone. he's been, since 2003, to iraq and afghanistan four times, wounded or injured twice in iraq. i think that's going to be part of their defense. the ptsd, whether or not he has ptsd hasn't been officially diagnosed. with ptsd according to his military record. that'll be part of the defense. you know, military law experts say this really is untested territory. the ptsd defense. they're not sure whether it has much -- is going to have much traction. they point out that insanity defenses in military trials are very rare and very rarely successful. >> all right. thank you, john. we appreciate it. john yang reporting from fort leavenworth. in kansas you can see his full report coming up on "nightly news" tonight at 7:00 with brian williams. a fairfax county man is under arrest accused in a scheme that takes advantage of some of the most vulnerable victims.

an attorney says several people have come forward to say their loved ones were deported because they fell victim to a scam. erika gonzalez is here now with the story. >> reporter: thanks, pat. he was arrested back in january but is free. he posted bond. according to fairfax county police he has been allegedly swindling immigrants and their families out of thousands of dollars and like i mentioned earlier he is still on the loose. a scam artist, that's what one attorney is calling this man. former president of the virginia hispanic bar association, manuel leva says luis ramirez has been posing as an immigration attorney and offering services he legally can not. but we found this video

>> he would charge 2 to $8,000 cash for assistance with immigration matters and even told people bonds could be paid to him instead of a bondsman. >> for a lot of these people unfortunately their loved ones were deported as a result of him not doing anything. >> he was arrested in january and charged with five counts of obtaining money under false presences. he posted a $25,000 bond.

since then, fairfax county police say more and more alleged victims are coming out. he is scheduled to be in court this may. we went to his tysons corner office but had no luck. we tried contacting him and his attorney earlier today and to no avail. moments ago we got a call from luis ramirez himself saying that he has the documentation to prove that all of these allegations were false and that he intends on speaking with nbc 4 about this matter. we do intend on speaking with him. we'll have more on what he has to say about all of this in just a little while. stay with us for that. >> all right. erika gonzalez, we look forward to that. the republican presidential race, all eyes on illinois. it's a big swing state. and mitt romney needs a big win to prove he is the sure nominee. he and rick santorum are still trading jabs.

>> we're not going to be successful replacing an economic lightweight with another one. >> if i am a lightweight i agree he is a heavyweight, a big government heavyweight. >> romney is a heavyweight when it comes to delegate counts. santorum says he will not quit. meanwhile, democrats are stepping up their fund raising efforts. president obama's campaign raised $45 million in february roughly twice what the campaign raised in january. despite doubling his money in one month republicans immediately suggested the president is losing his touch. he raised nearly $57 million in february of 2008. he was in the midst of a tough primary battle then with hillary rodham clinton. next the "kony 2012" filmmaker's bizarre behavior. what his family says about the public outburst. a same sex couple from maryland heads to court and the

ruling could set a statewide precedent for divorce. shopping for a used car? well there is an app for that. your smart phone can help you uncover everything you need to know about a vehicle's history. [ male announcer ] at green giant we know nature gives us the most nutritious of gifts. but only when they are ready to be given. that's why green giant picks vegetables at their peak. ...and freezes them fast, locking in nutrients ...for you to unwrap. ♪ ho, ho, ho. green giant those five food groups sound a whole lot better when you put them in a taco shell instead of a pyramid. old el paso. when you gotta have mexican.

an estimated 40 million used cars are going to be sold this

year and with the price of previously owned cars on the rise now, it pays to research it before you buy. liz crenshaw shares a handful of mobile apps to help you save time and money when shopping for a used car. >> it's convenient. it's easy. it's at our finger tips. >> christopher bassa with car fax says a handful of apps are available for your phone to help consumers make the best decision when buying a used car. >> you can find pricing information, vehicles listed for sale on your phone, and get the vehicle history information and make sure the car you're buying doesn't have any hidden problems. >> car fax provides millions of consumers' reports. now there is an app that brings that information to your phone. >> you want to find out if there's been any reported accidents for that vehicle. if the mileage is correct. if the air bag has deployed. if the vehicle has been well maintained. look for service records. all that information that's of value to you to help you make an educated decision. >> reporter: for $35 for one vehicle history report or $45

for five reports, you can use the app on your phone as you head out to the streets to find your used car. >> show me the car fax. >> probably the coolest way to check the information is by scanning the bar code. >> reporter: using the app you can scan the bar code on the dash board or the driver's side of the door jam or you can enter the license plate number or do it the old fashioned way and enter the 17-digit vin number. each way will return the vehicle's history. >> okay. >> here it is. >> let's see. no accident damage reported to car fax. one owner vehicle. personal vehicle. last owned in virginia. it gives you the last odometer reading. >> it was no critical information reported to car fax at all. all the information is about the vehicle not the person. >> reporter: in addition to the app there are others to help you be a conscious consumer when shopping for a used car. cars.com and auto trader.com have free mobile apps to let you find a new or used car for sale right in your zip code.

and then they let you compare prices. >> one of the hidden costs a lot of us don't think about is insurance. >> reporter: there is an app for that too called e-ssurance and it delivers a monthly insurance quote right to your phone. >> just add in 5714 as a baseline for your insurance cost and you're good to go. >> reporter: now you really know what the car will cost to own and operate. >> correct. there are so many things that are inherent with used cars that you really need to make sure you know what you're buying before you lay down your hard earned money. >> for more information and links to the apps go to nbc washington.com and search used car apps. if you want your name on a virginia street or bridge you'll soon be able to do that, get that for a price. state lawmakers have just approved a bill to sell road naming rights. it could cost up to $200,000 to put your name on a major intersection. 50,000 for primary roads and

about 70,000 for secondary roads. vulgar or offensive names of course are not allowed. opponents of the bill question the ability to raise substantial revenue for the state. >> it sure has people talking. doug kammerer boulevard. doug kammerer court. >> hum. oh, we don't like that. doug kammerer court is always crowded with too many people. we hate this. the weather is always bad on that court. horrible. >> don't forget pot holes. >> who is going to take care of the pot holes on your street? >> everyone loves seeing their name out there. we are seeing blossoms and we love that. >> it is just -- you can't say enough about the weather we've seen. temperatures have been absolutely amazing over the past couple weeks. we've only seen one day below 60 since last monday, simply amazing and our average high temperature this time of the year 56 degrees. now up to 58 actually for today. out there right now take a look.

you can see we are dealing with mostly cloudy skies but still some sunshine around the area. also seeing the cherry blossoms out there a little bit earlier today. absolutely fantastic. and it's going to stay that way right on through the rest of the week i believe. 73 degrees the current temperature out there. you can see doug kammerer highway right there. there it is right there. plenty of traffic along it. winds right now out of the south at 9 miles an hour. as far as temperatures go around the region 68 in hagerstown. 75 in frederick. 79 degrees down toward culpepper and right now patuxent river coming in at 70 degrees. we've seen a little shift in the wind off the bay. that's good news for the places like annapolis that are now at 70 degrees. here is a little storm system. you can see a little spin right there. see that little spin? it's actually producing shower activity and even a thunderstorm or two. just to our north. better chance back here toward parts of ohio. they're seeing pretty good storms back into that region but here are the storms right here around us. no storms really. just some shower activity moving into carroll county and was frederick county. just to the north and east mount

airy then back west into berkeley, morgan county, west virginia seeing shower activity there. this will try to come through the martinsburg area through i-81 over the next couple hours. very light wind for the most part. same for the showers just to the east and north of mount airy. you probably saw a couple sprinkles. here is the shower activity during the evening. warm temperatures today. you know that. watch what happens tomorrow. we'll see just some scattered showers during the day tomorrow. not a lot. just like today. most of us should be able to stay that way. same deal for wednesday. another chance for shower activity on wednesday with temperatures remaining on the warm side. this evening partly cloudy. continued warm. 60 to 68 degrees with winds on the light side as we make our way in through tomorrow morning. partly cloudy, still mild, and a shower possible. 49 to about 56 degrees. tomorrow afternoon not bad at all. as a matter of fact, another great one. 70 to 75. isolated showers possible. but once again most of us should remain on the dry side. next couple days. 75 on your wednesday. 79 on thursday. 80 on friday.

that's with plenty of sunshine. there will be a chance for shower activity on thursday. if you're going down to check out the blossoms take your umbrella and you might want to take pictures and send those to weather@nbc washington.com. you can also use your iphone or ipad and give us an insta gram using the hash tag dc gram. there you go. we want to see those pictures. >> thanks, doug. coming up, it mimics the effect of marijuana but is lethal in most states. why emergency room doctors are having such a tough time diagnosing teen patients who abuse the drug. >> reporter: i'm darcy spencer in burke, virginia. this 9/11 hero and fema dog was forced into retirement because of arthritis. today she received a special treatment aimed at putting a spring back in her step. i'll have the story coming up on news 4. and the harlem globetrotters show off their skills off the court. ♪

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the hoyas look sad. >> yes. >> that was sad. >> the ncaa tournament is always tough because everybody comes home sad except the eventual champion. >> the winner. >> georgetown back home after getting knocked out of the ncaa tournament by north carolina state yesterday. it's the third year in a row the hoyas have been upset in the tournament but this season was a

little different because so little was expected of this young georgetown teen when the season started. for the players though especially the seniors it didn't make losing any easier. a great season for georgetown ends in disheartening fashion after a rollercoaster ride of a game. georgetown was up big early and nc state was up big in the second half putting the hoyas in a hole they just couldn't dig themselves out of. >> we fought to the last second. they went on a run. it was difficult for us to bounce back. it just hurts. it just hurts. especially for our seniors. you know, it hurts. >> it's hard to see this group and obviously henry and jason are a special part of that but i think this group is one of the most special i've been associated with in terms of how they work for each other and,

you know, you c look at losses. you can look at bad times and only judge them on that but over all this group and what they do together was special and for each other. >> what's the hardest part about this loss for you personally? >> that it's my last college game ever. you know, i won't ever get to put on this uniform ever again. you know, i think that, you know, it's tough because as much as i put into this program, you know, all of my heart, i played hard for four years. you know it's tough to go out on a loss. especially when you had a very good chance of winning this game. >> the hardest part is actually i wanted to take these young guys. i wanted to take these guys deep into the tournament and give us some momentum for next year. but it didn't work out that way. >> they were picked to finish tenth. nobody expected them to make the ncaa tournament yet here they are and they got to the second round. they over achieved. would you say it's fair to say

the team over achieved? >> it is hard to assess that plainly right now just because you're so disappointed, you know, you say we over achieved but we also expected to be playing next week. so, i mean, this group has worked all year. this group has worked here but that's what stuck in my head is how hard they are committed to each other. and how they've, i think, represented this team, this program, this institution pretty well. >> always tough for the seniors on the losing teams in the ncaa tournament but the future very bright for georgetown. ten players returning including several freshmen and sophomores that were big time contributors this year. jt iii overall has done a heck of a job. >> that's good for the school. >> great for the school. i would be surprised if they're not one of the top 20 teams in the country next year. >> it's great. thanks, dan. after the break a same sex couple from maryland now fighting to get a divorce. their legal battle could make history.

a show of support amid a series of hate crimes in the district. what people are doing to raise awareness as police zero in on the gunman. new video of the "kony 2012" filmmaker's naked r

calling it quits appears to be harder than saying i do for same sex couples. >> that's the dilemma a maryland couple is facing right now.

what happens in their case and cause could set a legal precedent. news 4's chris gordon is in silver spring with the story. >> reporter: good evening. a few same sex divorces have been granted in maryland. a couple have been denied. there is no case law. there is no precedent. and as this story appears to show it's up to each judge individually to decide whether or not to grant a divorce to a gay couple. >> we thought we were very much in love and we were. >> reporter: jessica port married her partner in 2008 when it was legal for same sex couples to wed in california. they moved from d.c. to maryland and after a couple years mutually decided to file for divorce. because it was uncontested they were told they didn't need lawyers. then a judge in prince george's county court denied the request. >> we were told that because of the unnatural circumstances of

our divorce we would get a ruling by mail so that for me, the word unnatural and the fact that nobody else had gotten that statement and everybody else got a ruling made me nervous that maybe this wasn't going to be as smooth as i thought. >> reporter: now jessica port and virginia cowan have had to hire lawyers. they find themselves on the same side in this case as they ask the maryland court of appeals to recognize their marriage and grant their divorce. >> i think there is no question this is discrimination. the fact that she and her spouse were able to marry in california but not able to divorce in her home state is absolutely discrimination. >> reporter: last month the maryland legislature passed the same sex marriage bill and governor o'malley signed it into law. it legalizes same sex marriage beginning next year but the law must first survive a petition drive for a referendum. opponents hope voters will reject same sex marriage at the polls in november. >> i think the judge made the

right decision in denying this divorce. same sex marriage is not legal in maryland at least not yet and therefore it would be illogical for him to recognize their marriage for the purpose of ending it. i hope it will remain that way. >> reporter: this case will be argued before maryland's highest court in april and depending on how the maryland court of appeals decides it could set a precedent, a new statewide standard for handling same sex divorces. that's the latest. live in maryland i'm chris gordon. news 4. back to you. >> thanks, chris. two former metro workers pleaded guilty today to stealing more than $400,000 in cash from fare card machines. police arrested horace mcdade and john hale in january. prosecutors say the pair would drop off bags of money on the way to the revenue facility and then hit them up after their shift. they say the two spent most of the money on lottery tickets. hale was allegedly seen buying

the tickets with bags of change worth about $500. both men face up to 30 years in prison. still no arrests in a series of hate crimes across the district. a gay man was shot outside an ihop in columbia heights last sunday and now that he is out of the hospital is talking exclusively to news 4. denot want to be identified saying it is not the first time he's been targeted because of his sexuality. >> i believe that, you know, this particular type of hate in the city is nothing new. it's definitely not new to me. i just hope that some wheels are being set in motion now to put an end to it. >> antihate crime advocates have organized a rally in response to that shooting and two other beatings involving a gay man and transgender woman in the district. the rally will be tomorrow night at 7:00 at the columbia heights ihop on 14th and irving streets. tonight there is a move to limit the widespread use and abuse of expensive money orders

in d.c. elections. a federal grand jury is investigating thousands of dollars in suspicious funds and now a d.c. council member wants to sharply limit money orders in future campaigns. tom sherwood has the story. >> reporter: a federal grand jury is probing the possible use of suspicious money orders in city elections going back to 2003. some money orders for $500 or a thousand dollars have shown up in a variety of campaigns although money orders can easily hide otherwise illegal cash donations. ward three council misdemeanor mary chay said she introduced legislation tuesday that would limit any money order contribution to just $25. >> i want to make it equivalent to cash. you are only allowed to give $25 in cash and we've seen from recent events the use of money orders can be a device to evade campaign limits. >> reporter: the grand jury is looking at tens of thousands of dollars of contributions by local businessman jeffrey thompson whose home and

businesses were raided march 2nd. mayor vincent gray's 2010 campaign for mayor is part of the probe. mayor gray spoke off camera with reporters monday for several minutes and he insisted he would have no further comment on the investigation, an investigation that he initially asked for. he did say he'd support the $25 limit on money orders. this comes on the first day of early voting for the april 3rd primary. hundreds of voters showed up for the first day of early voting. some of them brought in on yellow buses by council misdemeanor vincent orange who is seeking re-election against three opponents. any move to limit money orders to $25 would not affect the april 3rd primary but could be in place before fund raising begins for the november general election. in washington, tom sherwood, news 4. council member chay plans to introduce her money order proposal tomorrow. several council members have

already reported. the red top parking meters in the district are causing a lot of confusion. the meters are reserved for drivers with disabilities. a driver who parks in that space and isn't showing a permit could receive a $250 fine and a lot of residents and tourists don't understand this. d.c. council member mary chay who chairs the council's transportation committee says not enough public education is being done so tomorrow she says she'll seek emergency approval to suspend the program immediately and give d dot more time to educate local and out of towners about those red topped meters. coming up, big changes for older flyers. the pilot program that starts today and how it could speed things up at airport check points. the guy is yelling help and i'm not going outside. >> a neighborhood watch volunteer killed an unarmed teenager and claimed it was self-defense. but new 911 calls are telling a different story. [ male announcer ] what if you had thermal night-vision goggles,

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we want to update breaking news in prince george's county. 34 students have been taken to area hospitals for evaluation. after a crash between several school bus thaes happened just before 4:00 this afternoon when three buses rear ended each other on croom road in upper marlboro. the students are from frederick douglas high. authorities say all of the injuries appear to be minor.

right now school officials are in the process of contacting all the parents. starting today older travelers have fewer hassles to deal with getting through airport security. flyers 75 and older don't have to take off their shoes or their light jackets. in most cases they can also skip patdowns and just walk through metal detectors or imaging machines. the transportation security administration is testing the pilot program at four airports including chicago's o'hare, denver, orlando, and portland, oregon. if everything works well the tsa could expand the program. on a future flight you may not have to turn off your favorite electronic device like ipad or dvd player. the faa plans to review current rules governing electronic devices and retesting them. it is going to retest them to see how they might affect an aircraft during different points of the flight. new 911 tapes from the shooting death of a florida teenager announced sparking

outrage and the victim's family is demanding justice. >> he's yelling help? >> yes. >> what is your -- >> just, there are gunshots. >> george zimmerman a neighborhood watch volunteer shot and killed 17-year-old trayvon martin who was visiting family in an upscale gated community near orlando last month. zimmerman said the teen looked suspicious and had his hands in his waist band. turns out the boy was unarmed carrying only a bag of skittles and can of iced tea. several neighbors called police saying they heard the two wrestling before hearing gun fire and someone was yelling for help. his family believes martin was targeted because of his race and they are questioning zimmerman's claim of self-defense. >> that was my baby. he was plead forgue his life. i don't understand how that is self-defense. you can clearly hear him yelling

for help. >> martin's family is calling on federal authorities to investigate this case. sanford police say they have no evidence to charge zimmerman with a crime and they've turned the case over to the state's attorney's office. still ahead, stem cell surgery for animals. how the treatment is helping a 9/11 search and rescue dog get a lease on life. the cost of caring for a child with autistic disorder is moving a lot of mothers out of the household and into the work force. temperatures into the mid to upper 70s. i don't think this is going to last forever. i'll show you the forecast in a minute. ♪

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mothers of children with autism make less money than mothers of children without developmental disorders. a new study finds mothers of children with autism earned 56% less than mothers with children who didn't have health limitations. they also worked fewer hours. the study did not find an impact on the father's employment or pay scale. synthetic marijuana often called k-2 or spice is becoming more popular with teens and sending more of them to the emergency room. but there is a problem. it doesn't show up on routine drug tests. doctors hope a new report will help emergency room doctors recognize the signs of synthetic marijuana abuse. not only do scenes experience euphoric sex, they can sweat excessively, lose the ability to speak and become more aggressive. k-2 is illegal in virginia and banned in ocean city. a dog who helped rescuers at the pentagon on september 11 is

getting a new lease on life. a breakthrough in stem cell surgery could help this four-legged hero. >> reporter: red's first assignment of the search, rescue, and recovery dogs was at the pentagon following the 9/11 attacks. >> she handled it like a pro. she didn't care about the machinery, there were bob cats moving debris and all the people and everybody in their suits looking funny with respirators and she didn't mind any of it and went to work. >> reporter: she was also called to duty after hurricane katrina and rita to go through the rubble looking for survivors and victims. >> we didn't find anyone and people often are disappointed with that. it's nice to be able to tell the community that nobody is there. >> reporter: now the 9/11 hero is in bad shape. all those years of rescue work, not to mention a 12-foot fall from a ladder, have taken a toll. arthritis forced her into retirement in july. >> most of her back is fused together. her shoulders from jumping on the hard concrete and rubble

just over the years, just like a runner on asphalt. you know, really is hard on her joints after a while. >> reporter: today the 12-year-old black lab is receiving a breakthrough stem cell treatment that will ease her pain and give her more mobility. the arthritis turned red into a virtual couch potato. the vet says within two to three months she should be running and playing once again. the procedure was performed by dr. john herrity at the burke animal clinic where he has done more than two dozen stem cell operations. med evac america developed the technology and donated the costs of the procedure. depending on what the body needs, cartilage, ligaments, whatever, they can then transform into those cells that will produce those so it can help heal it. >> reporter: the treatment will not enable red to go back to work but is expected to put the spring back in her step and make her retirement more enjoyable. in burke, virginia, darcy spencer, news 4. two other 9/11

search-and-rescue dogs have also been treated with stem cell therapy and we are told they're doing well and are back to normal activities. the harlem globetrotters are in town for a week's worth of good will appearances and three games this coming weekend. star player flight time lang helped the team arrive in style by dribbling and spinning basketballs across key bridge. he started on north lind street and lee highway and finished at the court at georgetown playground nearly a mile away. the team will spend the week visiting several schools and making other appearances. they've got shows on saturday and sunday at the verizon center downtown and the patriots center in fairfax. >> nice. here's doug with a final check on the weather. >> i know they won't let me play with the globetrotters but the generals, where are they from? >> anywhere. >> anywhere. yes. i want to play for the generals. i know i'll lose but i would at least like to get out there and play with those guys. they are a sight to see for sure. another sight to see the cherry blossoms. look how great they look right

now. of course peak coming up. just in the next couple days. it is just gorgeous out there and the weather is doing so well too. 73 degrees the current temperature right now. winds out of the south at 9 miles an hour. we're looking at partly cloudy to mostly cloudy skies. but no rain around the immediate area. i will show you though there is rain off to the west. leesburg 73 degrees. 77 in manassas. warranton right now coming in at 80 degrees. 76 at fort belmar. camp springs 73. college park at 74 degrees. everybody on the nice high but here is where the rain is back through the west through the panhandle of west virginia through morgan county, jefferson county, down through berkeley county, too. we'll continue to see this right around 81 over toward portions of martinsburg and then up through hagerstown. these showers all associated with a little system aloft is going to make its way toward the east. we could see some shower activity in through the winchester area of frederick county, virginia and also frederick county, maryland could see a few more. maybe up toward loudoun county. we'll watch out for those but most of us should stay on the dry side south of d.c.

51 manassas. 56 fredericksburg. these are the overnight low temperatures. once again well above average by nearly 20 degrees for the overnight low temperatures. that is one reason why we've been able to get so warm. 72 for the high temperature tomorrow. manassas, 73 rather. 72 leesburg. 73 in washington. 74 in la plata. some fantastic weather coming up over the next couple days. 75 on wednesday. how about 79 on thursday with a chance of some showers and thunderstorm activity but not a big chance and then friday sunny with a high of 80. i will show you the weekend forecast though and the weekend things may start to change a little bit. i'll show you at 6:00. thanks, doug. while we are enjoying pleasant weather here other parts of the country are getting rough weather. two confirmed tornadoes touched down in western nebraska last night. winds of more than 110 miles per hour damaged homes and vehicles. authorities say some people were taken to the hospital but there have been no reports of serious injuries.

further west it feels like anything but the start of spring. take a look at this. a rare snow storm battered parts of arizona yesterday. some parts of flagstaff saw up to two feet of snow shutting down highways, stranding travelers, and if that weren't enough, some areas will get an extra 1 to 3 inches of snow throughout this day. i just didn't miss any of that. >> i'm sorry. i just didn't. >> it's okay. >> it was okay. welcome back, vance. how is your vacation? >> good to be back. coming up tonight on news 4 at 6:00 there is a report out that has found that the d.c. water and sewer authority intentionally misled the government about the way that it tested for lead in drinking water. we'll tell you more. apple corporation. if you have some stock you're looking good. they've been making so much money they've announced a new plan to share some of the wealth. and a family of eagles in virginia has found a home above the james river and they have

captured pretty big audiences as well. those are eglets. >> very cool. i was watching her sitting on her eggs earlier. very cool. there she is. thanks. see you then. up next the man behind the "kony 2012" documentary has a public meltdown. see new video of his shocking arrest. hi. i'm eun yang. tomorrow morning on news 4 today the always anticipated cherry blossom festival will start. the trees will be in full bloom. what will be the best day to head down through the tidal basin? we'll tell you what's happening at this year's festival and why it is unprecedented. wake us with us tomorrow morning for your overnight news, weather, and traffic from 4:28 to 7:00 a.m. see you then.

the filmmaker behind the wildly popular kony 2012 documentary is recovering from a mysterious meltdown near his home in san diego. >> the bizarre situation was captured on video before he was picked up by police and taken to a hospital last week. today his wife offers some insight. craig melvin has the story. >> reporter: this is not the

internet video suddenly famous filmmaker jason russell thought people would be talking about. this footage with tmz shows a man reported to be russell naked, ranting, and behaving indecently in broad daylight along this san diego street. he was detained but not arrested. >> during the evaluation with him we did learn that we probably needed to take care of him so the officers detained him and transported him to a local medical facility for further evaluation. >> reporter: russell's wife danica who he calls his best friend of more than 23 years and with whom he says he wants to have nine more children has not commented on the video but said in a statement jason has never had a substance abuse or drinking problem and this episode wasn't caused by either. yes desome irrational things brought on by extreme exhaustion and dehydration. on our end the focus remains only on his health and protecting our family. his colleagues at his charity invisible children also declined to comment on the video.

it's been an unusual month for russell, an evangelical christian whose video criticizing the ugandan warlord joseph kony has become a surprise internet sensation. >> what do you think we should do about it? >> we should stop him. >> reporter: so far more than 82 million have watched the serious discussion of african war on youtube. with that popularity came increased scrutiny. he talked about allegations his charity gives too little money to children. >> our motto is threefold. the movie, the movement, and the mission. and the mission is to end the war and rehabilitate these child soldiers. >> reporter: what could have caused the sort of breakdown? this doctor says russell's new found fame may have played a role. >> somebody who is under tremendous scrutiny who has never been so before, that is a lot of pressure. >> we haven't heard whether jason russell has been released from the hospital. that's it for news 4 at 5:00. news 4 at 6:00 starts right now.

the army sergeant accused of killing civilians in afghanistan met with his lawyer today. he is still not facing charges yet. >> it was a scary ride for about two dozen kids when three school buses collided on their ride home. >> the tidal basin busier than usual this tichlt year because the cherry blossoms have made an early and grand appearance. >> good evening everyone. i'm doreen gentzler. >> i'm jim vance. we begin with deadly shootings and a man hunt in france. french president nicolas sarkozy has raised a terrorism alert to its highest level across southern france. that's where a gunman opened fire at a jewish school today. here's the latest now. three children and a rabbi were killed in what is being called the worst ever school shooting in that country. one of the weapons used on monday was the same one used