the deadly shooting of trayvon martin. the police chief steps aside as outrage over the case continues to grow. good afternoon. >> sanford florida police chief bill lee said he is temporarily stepping down because he has become a distraction in the investigation. >> the man who fired the fatal shot claims self-defense but trayvon martin was not armed. nbc's jay gray has the latest. >> in several cities including atlanta hundreds gathered for a trip to florida before sunrise hoping to shed some light on the death of 17-year-old trayvon martin. >> we're just fed up. >> reporter: frustration pushing them to a rally in this park in sanford, the city where nearly a month ago the unarmed teenager was killed by community watch volunteer george zimmerman who told police he fired in self-defense. more than a thousand supporters are expected at the event organized by reverend al sharpton. >> they are believing zimmerman rather than believing other witnesses.

>> reporter: amid growing tensions, frustration, and calls for zimmerman to be arrested -- >> let's not rush to judgment. >> reporter: judgment that could come from florida's state attorney, the u.s. justice department, and the fbi, all three agencies investigating the case now but, clearly, patience with zimmerman and police is wearing thin here. >> as it is, he's going to continue to hide so we have to find him. so if the police won't do their job, we can take their place. >> reporter: as the call for answers and action continues to grow. the huge crowd expected here tonight will include martin's parents who say they will continue to speak out until something is done about their son's death. jay gray, nbc news, sanford, florida. and again, it's just been announced this half hour that sanford police chief bill lee is temporarily stepping aside because he says he has become a distraction in the investigation of the shooting of trayvon martin. coming up on news 4 at 5:00 news 4's jane watrel will have more on how the trayvon martin case has spurred local tsunamis to

organi -- students to organ make their voices heard in the case. the unborn child of a woman stabbed overnight in washington has died. the attack happened around 2:30 this morning in the victim's apartment on 9th street southeast. news 4's tracee wilkins spoke to the person who found the injured victim >> reporter: friends and family tell us she was brought here to howard university hospital where she is now under observation. d.c. police tell us she is in stable condition. this all started overnight in southeast. one neighbor tells us that while she is not sure where this stabbing initiated, she says that she found her neighbor bleeding and lying in the hallway while she was screaming for help. she says that she was bleeding from her stomach. now, police have confirmed that this all happened in the 4200 block of 9th street in the victim's southeast apartment building. they say the victim was stabbed in the stomach and is 8 months' pregnant. now, at this point the d.c. police say that they don't have

a suspect in custody. in northwest, i'm tracee wilkins, news 4. another grocery chain is getting rid of pink slime in its meat. today giant foods said it will no longer buy fresh ground beef that contains the filler. it comes a day after the companies that own safeway, shoppers food warehouse and food line stores announced that they are dropping pink slime products. pink slime is made from compressed bits of left over meat. the usda has deemed it safe for years but recently critics have raised concerns about bacteria in the filler. a traffic alert now for drivers who commute around walter reed medical center in bethesda. an anti-terrorism exercise is under way there today and will continue tomorrow. official is at walter reed say no one outside of the campus will see anything out of the ordinary but there will be increased security at the entrance gates which could back up traffic on the roads surrounding walter reed tomorrow morning so drivers in that area should be prepared for delays.

tonight we're learning more about the violent end to a standoff in france. police shot and killed a terror suspect as he jumped from his apartment window. the 32-hour standoff ended today in the city of teluse. the suspect mohammed merah was killed in a gun fight with police. they had hoped to capture him alive so costand trial. he was wanted in the deaths of several people including three children. he claimed to have ties to al qaeda. police have found videos that he made as he killed his victims. they're looking into whether he had any accomplices. today president obama reversed his position on part of the controversial keystone pipeline. his move is seen as an acknowledgment that gas prices are becoming a major factor in the race for the white house. steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: president obama went to oklahoma, republican territory, to defuse a charge republicans are using against him in the campaign. that high fuel prices are his fault, that he's restricting

domestic production. >> under my administration america is producing more oil today than at any time in the last eight years. >> reporter: amid piles of new pipe mr. obama announced he is fast tracking approval for the south section of the keystone pipeline from cushing, oklahoma to houston, texas. >> anybody who suggests that somehow we're suppressing domestic oil production isn't paying attention. >> reporter: critics charged the president is paying attention to public outrage and reversing himself on part of keystone, keeping the longer north section stalled under environmental review. >> so it's kind of hard to give the president a whole lot of credit for expediting something that he in fact stopped last year. >> pretty bizarre that we are here watching the president take credit for this. >> reporter: environmentalists aren't pleased with the president's move. >> this is about shipping some of the dirtiest oil in the planet through some the most

sensitive environmental areas. >> reporter: rick santorum demanded more u.s. soil to put in pipelines. >> it is one reason you're seeing oil prices continuing to go up because the president refuses to open up lands for oil and gas exploration particularly oil exploration. >> reporter: it's an issue democrats worry will dog the president into the fall. the pain at the pump is increasing. this afternoon in ohio mr. obama is reminding voters he is also hiking automotive fuel efficiency standards so drivers don't have to buy so much fuel. i'm steve handelsman, news 4. house speaker john boehner called the president out today on the pipeline issue and said that the only permit that requires the president's approval is the upper portion because it crosses our national borders. turning now to the weather, it's sunny out there now. some might even say it's hot. but we knew the beautiful weather could not last forever. >> we've got more rain moving in. meteorologist doug kammerer is in storm center 4 with a weather update. hi, doug. >> hello, ladies.

we do have some rain moving in but that is just in time for the weekend. the next two days, today and tomorrow, are looking fantastic. out there right now just take a look at that shot. it is gorgeous. notice how green the grass is, the trees starting to green up a little bit. we'll see a lot of color over the next couple of days. let's take a look and show you what is happening as far as the temperatures are concerned. right now 74 at the airport. winds out of the south at about 8 miles per hour. temperatures around the rest of the region, look at these numbers. 80 la plata. 83 in fredericksburg and culpepper coming in at 82 degrees. even frederick, maryland right now at 79 with abundant sunshine. no rain right now on storm 4 radar. but watch what happens when we widen out. we've been showing you this massive storm since monday and this storm is continuing to make its way very slowly toward our region. and it will affect us big time over the weekend. but until then, we've got some nice weather to go. overnight tonight, 65 degrees around 9:00. 64 by 11:00. a beautiful evening tomorrow morning, however, we could start

off with fog and cloud cover. we'll talk more about that plus what to expect for this weekend in my full forecast. >> all right. thank you, doug. the national park service is making it easier for visitors to learn more about the cherry blossom festival. new signs posted around the tidal basin offer a brief history of the trees. they also allow people to take self-guided educational tours as they walk along the tidal basin. a smart phone app puts festival events right at the palm of your hands and also has a tool to find nearby restaurants offering cherry blossom festival specials. visitors were pleased. >> you can't have park rangers at every single tree. it's nice to have that information available for everybody. >> i think they're a great idea. education is always a good thing. >> this year marks 100 years since the cherry blossoms arrived to d.c. as a gift from japan. about 1 million people are expected to attend this year's centennial festival. >> and they are beautiful. >> aren't they? perfect right now. still ahead on news 4 at

4:00 the etch a sketch comment made by a romney staffer has made an unusual artist an instant online star. plus, alec baldwin's twitter war. how he has recruited his followers to help him stop a woman he claimed was harassing his girlfriend. and they are one of the most commonly stolen items. police say they have a plan to stop smart phone thefts but they claim cell phone companies won't coop turn left. the passat is one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. not that we'd ever brag about it. turn right. come on, nine. turn left. hit the brakes. huh? how'd that get there?

[ male announcer ] we can't hide how proud we are to have nine top safety picks like the passat and jetta. so we're celebrating with our "safety in numbers" event. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease the 2012 jetta for $159 a month.

in just a matter of hours "the hunger games" will begin. the highly anticipated movie will premiere at midnight in screenings across the country. "the hunger games" is based on a wildly popular book series. it tells a story of a futuristic society in which teenagers are forced to fight to the death on television. entertainment insiders think "the hunger games" could rival another book that hit the big screen. >> the fervor that we're seeing already for this film certainly mimics what we saw at the very first "twilight" film. >> fan dango says "the hunger games" has already sold out more than 2,000 screenings nationwide and that's a record for a nonsequel. martha stewart cooks up a dramatic primetime role and etch a sketch picture goes viral. >> alec baldwin wins a twitter war t's time for hollywood headlines. joining us now georgia alfredas heard week days on wkys.

>> good to see you. >> let's start with "the hunger games." everybody is talking about it. >> i read the trilogy in like five days. >> wow. >> it is one of the best books ever. of course i'm going to be there at midnight, probably the oldest person there. i don't care. i'm going to see that movie. >> a lot of folks liked the books. >> yes. jennifer lawrence plays katniss, the beloved. the thing is she is incredibly blonde and people who read the books, she is suppose today have brunette hair. it's part of it. and her hair kind of plays a big part in the movie and she spent $30,000 on wigs because she didn't want to have to dye her hair a million times to get it the right color. they tried out $30,000 worth of wigs. they finally dyed her hair but they had to try out $30,000 worth of wigs to get the right color because people who read that book, it can't stray too far from the book because people loved it. it's a great trilogy. >> and an expensive hair do.

>> i haven't spent $30,000 on my hair in my life. >> we go back to the original hair. a lot of money. let's talk about the attack of the tweets. it looks like alec baldwin is winning. >> alec baldwin knows how to use twitter to his advantage. somebody named scar face madame was on twitter saying really mean things about his girlfriend. so he asked his twitter followers like all 700,000 of them to, you know, talk to this person and read the tweets and tell them how they should really behave on twitter and they did that times ten so much so they bombarded this poor woman that she had to delete her twitter account. they went on her for days and days and so he was like, thanks, guys. >> a little help from his friends. >> a lot of friends. he really uses twitter a lot. >> i want to know about martha stewart hanging up her domestic diva outfit. what is that all about? >> really martha stewart as an actress? she is going to be on "law and order" and won't be stuffing a turkey or making drapes.

she'll actually be acting. this is like her first time really acting. she's been in a lot of different films and tv shows as herself but never really as an actor. and she is going to play the he headmaster. anyway, she'll play the head master of a private school and i think, you know, sometimes those head masters can be kind of mean. i think she can pull this off. >> you think? >> i mean, just from what i've heard about her. i think she can do it. so it should be interesting. i'll be watching. >> all right. different role for her. >> yes. >> yesterday's etch a sketch comment by mitt romney, a staffer of mitt romney's camp, has gone viral. everybody is talking about it on the net. >> my gosh. yes. do you know that etch a sketch is now number 91 in amazon's most bought or best selling 100 toys? here's what's crazy. this guy is the etch a sketch man and he claims to be able to sketch faster than anybody in the world. his phone has been ringing off the hook.

so, you know, if you're having a big party at nbc you should like have the etch a sketch guy here and he can do it really fast. i don't know what -- how cool that would be but, i mean, i guess. he says he's the fastest in the world. >> amazing. and he did a likeness of mitt romney. >> here's the thing. who can do anything but make buildings with an etch a sketch? who can do anything but make squares? >> i can do the lines. >> i've never even seen anybody do -- i don't even know how to make a circle on an etch a sketch. amazing. >> all right. what's coming up tomorrow? >> we have diggy simmons, pop sensation, coming into the studio. you have to have tickets to get into this. also the under shepherd, we're having a big hollywood premiere screening in d.c. go to kosdc.com to figure out how to get tickets. >> going to be a big party. >> next week. so excited. >> georgia alfredas, 93.9 kiss fm. >> thank you, georgia. >> thank you all.

coming up a new name for old town alexandria. there is a push to change what it's called but not everyone is onboard. >> the rutgers student convicted in connection with his roommate's suicide speaks out. he is answering the question why he set up that web cam. >> be sure to follow news 4 online. just search nbc washington on

many folks in this area know baltimore's nickname as charm city. now alexandria wants to rebrand itself the same way. the city council is thinking about expanding a marketing campaign that refers to old town as charmville. they want to spend an additional $100,000 in magazine ads this spring that push charm-ville as the perfect overnight destination for tourists. some residents think it is a bit trite and silly but officials say that is often how visitors describe their own community, as charming. the city council will have the final say on the charm-ville ad campaign. >> it is charming out there today with the weather we had this afternoon. not so great this morning though. >> no. a little bit of fog. we've seen the fog out there the last couple days. a lot of fog. that's dense fog advisories for

the second straight day. we'll probably see it again tomorrow but at least the fog gave way to some beautiful sunshine. >> look at that. >> it is gorgeous out there today. >> a great view behind us. >> i love this. i know. making me turn around to take a look. it is fantastic across the area. as a matter of fact, take a look at this shot here. plenty of sunshine. you can see the kennedy center off in the background and temperatures today are responding to the sunshine. up to 74 degrees right now at the airport. winds out of the south at 8 miles per hour. dew point of 61. any time you have dew points in the 60s, and normally we wait until the summer to get that warm as far as dew points are concerned, you deal with a little bit of humidity. we do have that to contend with a little bit during the day here too. as far as temperatures go what are we going to be seeing? the temperatures around the region orrin the warm side. how warm? well, some areas upwards of 83 degrees as i step out here and go over toward my friends from american university who are right by my computer right now. say hi, guys. >> hi. >> you guys could hear them. i know you could. 83 degrees right now. down toward the south.

here's what's happening as we make our way through the next couple days. temperatures are going to be on the warm side. 83 for tomorrow. 67 on your saturday. 58 on sunday. but once again, that is going to be the rainy part of the week. saturday and sunday not looking very good right now. we could be dealing with a lot of rain. the potential is there for upwards of 1 to 3 inches of rain across the area as we make our way through the next couple days. here are the temperatures i'm talking about right now. we could see those numbers making their way in. i don't have a clicker. that's my problem so that is why i'm stepping over to the computer again. here are the numbers as we move through. 81 in cincinnati. 74 right now in washington. look at boston. 81 degrees in boston right now. we dealt with some clouds and fog earlier today. that's why our temperatures are still in the 70s. but i do expect them to climb during the day tomorrow. here's that rain that we were talking about off toward the west. you can see where that rain is right now. big storm system back toward wichita down through portions of alabama and in through the atlanta area some big time

storminess, too. we'll continue to watch out for that as well. and we'll see what happens the next few days as i move on through. we're trying to get all kinds of things here set up. let me get to my -- back to my four-day forecast. i'm just going to go sit back at the desk with my good friends pat and barbara because we'll be talking about this forecast the next couple days. i'll take care of my computer system and then we'll come back to you right there. there is the four-day forecast. you know what? it is not even going to pop up there. i'm not going to worry about it. i am going to tell you it's sunny right now. there is rain coming up this weekend. it's going to stay warm then get cool and then we'll look outside at the cathedral. there you go for a nice afternoon weather on your thursday. >> you look like you're sweating. >> i am sweating now. i've been moving all over. you couldn't see what was going on behind the scenes but it was all over the place. we'll figure that out and come back a little later on. >> all right. >> we got you. >> pat was trying to help me too. we're both sweating. >> trying to find a clicker. anybody have a clicker?

send us one. thanks, doug. >> thank you, doug. still to come on news 4 at 4:00 a radio show admission. >> hello. i just want to make a confession. i didn't want to do jury duty. i had too much on my platter. >> thousands listened to how she got out of jury duty, including the judge, and now she is back in court as the defendant. plus, stopping smart phone thefts. police chiefs say there is a ♪

♪ hit the road, jack ♪ and don't you come back no more ♪ ♪ no more, no more, no more ♪ hit the road, jack

♪ and don't you come back no more ♪ [ male announcer ] want your weeds to hit the road? hit 'em with roundup extended control. one application kills weeds and puts down a barrier to stop new ones for up to four months. roundup extended control spray once. stop weeds for months. pierre! your fashion is so "right now," but your banking is so last season! earn more with high yield free checking at capital one bank. instead of some unfashionable rate, your checking could be earning five times the national average. and free atms anywhere. five times the interest? that's hot. oooooo! let's catwalk! you want more interest? open an account at a capital one bank. what's in your wallet? does this make my tuches look big?

welcome back to news 4 at 4:00. i'm barbara harrison. >> i'm pat lawson muse. here is what is happening in the news at this hour. breaking news out of florida in the trayvon martin case. the police chief of sanford, florida says he is temporarily stepping aside. bill lee says he has become a distraction in the investigation. martin is the unarmed teenager who was killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer. that volunteer, george zimmerman, claims he fired the shot in self-defense. >> another grocery chain is getting rid of pink slime in its meat. today giant foods said it will no longer buy fresh ground beef that contains that filler. yesterday safeway and other chains announced they were dropping the products. pink slime is made from compressed bits of left over

meat. fans are gearing up for the premiere of "the hunger games" the movie to be shown in midnight screenings across the country. it's based on a popular book about teenagers forced to fight to the death in a futuristic society. the premiere is expected to break box office records. stocks closed in negative territory today. investors' concerns over china and the eurozone overshadowed better than expected unemployment numbers. the dow is down 78 points at the closing bell and the nasdaq was down 12 points and the s&p 500 down 10 points. let's check in again now with doug. >> did you find -- he found it. >> we've got the updated clicker, the engineers came in and worked on everything, and now i press a button and everything works. >> i can stay -- >> you don't have to get up. nobody has to get up and do any kind of movement. let's take a look and show you how things are going to be out there for our day tomorrow. clouds early and then some sunshine. after that early morning fog very warm and a bit humid. the numbers 79 to 85 degrees and

some areas to the south could be a little warmer. 83 tomorrow then 67 on saturday. 58 on sunday. i expect storms and maybe some thunderstorms. maybe even a few strong storms during the day on saturday and then on sunday just a rain event. i do think some areas could easily pick up 1 to 2 inches of rain locally upwards of 3 inches of rain. we could see some problems with flooding and then cooler weather toward the beginning of next week. monday rather breezy. a temperature around 57. and then moving back up into the mid to upper 60s by the middle part of next week. so that forecast would have been the same if i would have given it to you ten minutes ago like i wanted to. >> well we liked the pictures. >> pretty pictures. >> we love your clicker. >> me too. >> thank you, doug. tens of thousands of high tech cell phones are stolen every year. often in violent robberies. police say the epidemic is getting worse. law enforcement authorities say there is an easy fix but say wireless companies are blocking the fix to protect their profits. nbc's jeff rossen has more.

>> reporter: san francisco, this unspectrometrying wom suspecting woman is about to get robbed. fort lauderdale, a thief sucker punches this man beating him to a pulp. the robber kicks him down and makes off with his iphone. in los angeles, one of the most brutal robberies caught on camera. a man follows this teenage girl into her apartment lobby just to snatch her phone punching her over and over again but this girl fights back. the crook pushes her against a wall and pummels her. >> i really wanted my phone. i worked hard for it. i was just going to hit him until i got my phone back. >> reporter: but he got the phone and is still on the loose. >> we had a case on capitol hill. >> reporter: washington, d.c. police chief cathy lanier sees it every day. >> this is a big business for thieves. >> it is a huge business. the after market resale of these phones is just driving this

whole problem. >> reporter: and she says the wireless industry is putting its own profit over your safety. allowing stolen phones to be react investigated later with a different phone number. yes, that's right. in most cases, black market buyers or even the thieves themselves can still buy service on that stolen phone. which means the wireless companies keep making money. >> reporter: what is your message for the wireless industry? >> shame on you. this is something that's fixable. it's not all about profit. >> reporter: now nearly 70 big city police chiefs are banding together sending this letter to federal officials that there is an easy solution, a fix that would cut these violent robberies. here's how it would work. every cell phone has its own unique i.d. or fingerprint. once the phone is reported stolen, it would be black listed in the u.s. wireless companies from verizon to at&t, t mobile to sprint would all share information banning service on that stolen

phone on all carriers forever. >> it becomes a brick. it's useless. so there is no profit anymore and when you take that profit away there is no motivation to stick a gun in somebody's face and take their phone. >> reporter: but police say the wireless companies won't do it. >> it's crazy. it's insane. >> it's a problem and why are we helping the criminals? >> reporter: we reached out to the wireless giants. sprint said it's open to discussion. the others simply directed us to an industry spokesman so that's where we went. >> the police chief here in d.c. said this is about money. >> well, it's a money loser in a lot of respects. >> you're at least 70 major department chiefs say this is the solution and this would cut crime. i as a consumer say why not try it? >> we want to make sure whatever we put in place works. and it's effective and it is comprehensive. >> reporter: but the technology already exists. they've been doing it in the uk for a decade and in australia,

too, where authorities say it's working. smart phone robberies are down. the industry's response? let's wait. it's not even worth trying until every country joins in. >> let's make sure we get for example mexican service providers, central american, south american, african, chinese. >> why not start with the u.s.? why not take that first step and fix it here? >> well, because i think the larger problem, the bigger problem is overseas. >> reporter: but police say americans will keep getting beaten and robbed as long as the wireless industry continues to drag its feet. tlnchts are liv >> there are lives at stake. this is a deadly situation and needs to be rectified immediately. >> the federal communications commission is investigating the issue and police say it is just in the nick of time. cell phone thefts continue to grow at an alarming rate. to give you an idea how bad things are, on the street, authorities say a stolen cell phone goes for more than a vial of pcp. the former rutgers university student convicted in

the web cam spying case that led to his gay roommate's suicide says he was insensitive but not biased. duran ravi was convicted of hate crime charges last week and could face ten years or more in prison. ravi told "the newark star ledger" he did not spy on his roommate's liaison out of hate. ravi says he was more concerned with the date's appearance which he calls strange. he said he'd have done the same thing if the date had ban woman. he added he is, in his words, very sorry about tyler. after years of declining home prices, it's now more expensive to rent an apartment than to pay a mortgage. that's according to a real estate site trulia. their 2012 rent vs. buy index found that in all but two of the largest cities in america you're better off paying a mortgage than paying rent. one brokerage firm estimates the average monthly rent for an apartment is just over $1200 and that's the highest since 2008.

san francisco and honolulu are the only cities where you get a better deal if you rent. that's due to tight supply of homes in those cities. beginning next month walmart shoppers will be able to shop online without using credit or debit cards. smart money.com reports the retail giant is adding a pay with cash option, which lets customers reserve items online and then pick those items up at the stores. they're targeting customers who don't have bank accounts or credit cards. a colorado woman who bragged about getting out of jury duty will now find herself on the other side of the courtroom. she called a radio station to admit that she tricked the judge. >> hello. i just want to make a confession. i didn't want to do jur duty. i had too much on my platter. >> reporter: susan cole told a radio program sharee went to court wearing hair rollers, reindeer socks, and mismatched shoes then said she had a mental illness so judge dismissed her from mental illness.

turns out the judge was listening to the radio. now she is charged with two felony counts. despite her confession cole says she actually does have a history of mental illness. but legal experts say it's going to be tough to defend her. >> the military threw me in the metal institution and kept me there for five days. >> the defense will have to show that she did not knowingly lie about a material fact. >> cole is charged with perjury and attempting to influence a public servant. there is more to come on news 4 at 4:00. saying "i don't." why more and more couples are opting to wait to walk down the aisle or never walk down the aisle at all. >> and a big send-off for a home grown star. news 4 was there. what the mayor of

maryland's own erin willett sang her way into the competition on season two of the hit nbc show "the voice." >> now she is getting a very special honor. willett was a guest on "the tommy show" in lanham this morning. today is her big local sendoff before she heads to los angeles to compete on the live episodes of "the voice." the mayor of gaithersburg called into the show and declared today be erin willett day. >> everybody is rooting for you. you have a wonderful voice and you're a wonderful person. >> thank you so much. thank you. that's all i wanted was a day for me. >> there you go.

>> that's all i did this for. >> erin won over judge blake shelton and a lot of new fans when she took the stage despite losing her father to pancreatic cancer. >> good for her. time to check out today's daily deals. >> today there are specials on a class for kids and one for adults, too. >> for the kids get them into the kitchen without the cleanup. on living social pay 29 bucks and kids 6 and up can take a two-hour after school cooking class at classy kids cook in northwest washington. menus change every week and there is a different theme for every day. for those 21 and up groupon has a chance for you to learn about the drinks that you may have at dinner. pay $22 for admission to an intro to wine, whiskey 101, or kraft beer class at locations in bethesda and arlington. don't forget you can download our own nbc 4 iphone app for free.

to stay up to date on the latest news and weather on the go. just search nbc washington on i-tunes. when news 4 at 4:00 continues a desperate call for help. >> i'm trapped in the water! >> the fight to save a man from rushing water as rescue crews hurried to the scene. plus, the state of unions. a new look at what's happening to the marriage landscape in the u.s. and what leads to a lasting relationship. nonstop thursday is design time primetime. >> a guest room is the perfect place to have fun with color. >> reporter: transform your space and your life. >> you've been rescued! >> reporter: with a little help from "open house." >> we've got you covered. >> "george to the rescue" and "house smarts." >> it's not all about the sexy stuff. >> thank you, george! >> design time primetime tonight only on nonstop thursday. never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days.

(woman) the goal is to bring an end to breast cancer. (woman) there's no doubt in my mind that komen's funding helped saved my life. the 3-day is my opportunity to help save others' lives. (woman) i'll never stop walking, not till we find a cure. it is the most rewarding experience i have ever had in my entire life. (man) register today for the... because everyone deserves a lifetime. because everyone deserves a lifetime. [ dog ] it's our favorite. yours and mine.itar: upbeat ] because we found it. together. on a walk, walk, walk. love to walk. a long walk. a walk with you. a walk i smelled squirrels on, but i stayed by your side because i could tell, could feel, that you had a bad day... and me being bad wouldn't make it any better. but being there was already helping a little anyway. and then we found that wonderful thing. waiting there. waiting for you and me. and you smiled.

and threw it. and i decided right when i picked it up, i would never, ever leave it anywhere. ever. because that wonderful, bouncy, roll-around thing... had made you play. and that had made you smile. [ announcer ] put more play in your day. beneful. play. it's good for you.

love and marriage. they are two words that don't necessarily go together anymore. more and more devoted couples are choosing to say "i don't" and those who do get married aren't always staying together. nbc's erica edwards reports. >> reporter: while over 2 million love birds say "i do" each year in the u.s. new statistics show the trend is to say "i don't."

>> we're not doing so great when it comes to long lasting, committed marriages. >> reporter: a new report from the national center for health statistics finds half of all marriages still end in divorce, a number that hasn't changed in decades. however, the number of couples choosing to live together unmarried has nearly quadrupled since the early '80s. >> it's kind of a way to dip your foot into the water rather than diving into the deep end. >> reporter: but the study found those live-in couples who eventually take that plunge are more likely to divorce than spouses who never live together. higher education may be helping those whose marriages succeed. the study found people are waiting longer to get married, possibly because they're otherwise engaged getting a college degree. >> if people are waiting to get married until they're 25, 26, 28 they're probably able to make better judgments about what they're willing to be committed to long lastingly. >> reporter: and more women are staying single longer or avoiding marriage all together. >> i think the waiting again has to do with wanting to attain a certain spot, a career

objective. >> reporter: whether it's going for a career or after a new apartment with the partner there is one place many americans aren't going -- to the chapel. erica edwards, nbc news. well, let's talk about cherry blossoms, doug. they're peaking, aren't they? >> they are peaking right now. today a great day to get down there and see those. also i think tomorrow is going to be a great day but a lot of people are thinking maybe we'll head down this weekend. that may not be a very good idea as we are going to see some rain. i would try if you can to get down there tonight or tomorrow because we could also see some strong storms on saturday. that could take off a lot on the blossoms. we're hoping to make it through this weekend and hopefully next week we'll still have some good viewing. you could see the cherry blossoms out there right now. a beautiful sight along the potomac and the tidal basin. current temperature at 74 degrees right now. winds out of south at 8 miles an hour. this temperature actually held down a little bit by the potomac river, itself. because look at the numbers just down to the south.

82 right now in rockville. college park coming in at 88 degrees. another cool spot, annapolis, because of the water of the chesapeake. only 66 there. and hunting town right now at 76. let's see -- yep, i figured. there is warranton at 85 degrees right now. always one of the warmer spots on this map. storm 4 radar showing the wider view. nothing to show you around our region. we are going to be dry all night tonight. it is going to be a spectacular evening but once again talking about this weekend here is this storm. and this is over the last few hours. here's the center of the storm right here. doesn't move very much at all. the moisture coming out of the gulf of mexico just a ton of moisture here. we're talking about three, four, five inches of rain down toward portions of the south today. and i think that same scenario could play out here maybe one to two to three inches of rain this weekend. tomorrow morning, 54 in gaithersburg. 52 manassas. 57 fredericksburg. once again watch out for the areas of dense fog we're going to see tomorrow. tomorrow afternoon, look at these highs.

80 in frederick. 83 in washington. 87 to the south in fredericksburg. one of the warmest days if not the warmest day of the year is expected during the day tomorrow but normally last time we hit 82 that was a record. tomorrow, the record high temperature is 93. >> wow. >> really. >> we will not get anywhere close to that. >> okay. >> i don't think we're ready for that. we need spring first. >> thank you, doug. and still to come, a frantic 911 call, a man made about to be swept away. operators listen as his friend works to save his life. >> plus, the boom town. residents have reported hundreds of sounds in just a few days. but what's causing it? and i'm wendy rieger in the newsroom. coming up on news 4 at 5:00 parents and business owners furious over a local sex shop's recent promotion. a new campaign in prince george's county to boost your streets smarts. who it's targeting and how it can help save your life.

stick around. coming up on news 4 at 6:00 we have new details about which have new details about which vehicles will save you

never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. 60 miles in 3 days is-- is huge. if my mom can fight and beat breast cancer, i can walk 60 miles. you just put one foot in front of the other, and you know that you're walking for such a great cause that you just keep going. (man) that you have all these people coming together for one common goal. (woman) the goal is to bring an end to breast cancer. (woman) there's no doubt in my mind that komen's funding helped saved my life. the 3-day is my opportunity to help save others' lives. (woman) i'll never stop walking, not till we find a cure. with 3 days and 60 miles, you're making a bold statement. you're saying breast cancer is not going to win. (woman) and it has to end, but it starts with us. it is the most rewarding experience i have ever had in my entire life. we can do this. you can do this. we can all do this together.

(man) register today for the... because everyone deserves a lifetime. but in the sleep number store, we hear it all the time. nine out of ten couples disagree on the firmness they want in a mattress. i sleep on the couch. with our bed, the sleep number setting represents the firmness that you like on your half of the mattress. you can have it your way and i'll have it mine. so we save a lot of marriages. at our semi-annual sleep sale, save $400 to $700 on our most popular bed sets. sale ends march 31st. only at the sleep number store, where queen mattresses start at just $699. the megamillions jackpot keeps on growing. it is now at a whopping $290 million. it's the biggest it's been in a year. the drawing takes place tomorrow. virginia has seen quite a few winners during the last 12 months. brian mccarthy of mclean won a

jackpot back in july. your chances of winning are about 1 in 175 million. we have dramatic 911 calls from a water rescue in california. emergency crews almost didn't make it in time. it happened two weeks ago in bakersfield. a guy by the name of joe kerns was fishing with his friend josh. kerns took a wrong step and fell into a 20-foot long cement shaft that feeds into the swift, cold water of the california aqueduct. he landed under water in a cavern and was about to be swept away when he caught hold of a bar. but he was rapidly losing his strength. his friend used one hand to hold on to him and the other to call 911. >> you guys need to really hurry. >> we're coming as quick as we can. where exactly are you? >> you're going to be all right. but don't trip. he's trapped in the water. and i barely got him. what do you mean you barely got him, sir? >> i'm trapped in the water! >> i got him by the hand.

>> just holding on with all my might. i was praying for strength. >> lady, please. >> i know. i know. they're coming. >> firefighters finally arrived and pulled kerns out of the aqueduct with a rope. turns out the area where he fell should have been covered by a safety grate but for some reason the grate was missing. it has since been replaced. >> that's scary. >> that was scary. thank goodness for the strength of his friend. he was able to hold on. >> amazing. after the break mysterious booms are keeping an entire town up at night. nearly everyone has heard them and scientists are baffled

something is going boom in the night rattling a small town in wisconsin. the mysterious booms sound like thunder but seem to come from underground. it is causing some sleepless nights and residents are baffled by this all. nbc's stephanie gosk has more on the tremors that have some people thinking about leaving town. >> reporter: it's an unsolved mystery that has left people here in clintonville, wisconsin literally rattled. >> it was like a ground-shaking kind of push off the chest kind of feeling. >> we heard a boom, boom, boom. >> we have some weird banging going on and our whole house is shaking. >> reporter: all week overnight

noises and tremors have turned this quiet community of 4600 into a boom town, shaking people awake in the middle of the night. >> it's definitely something under ground and could lead to something really big. >> reporter: wednesday night concerned residents gathered at a community meeting. >> it is a strong possibility that some natural phenomenon is occurring under the ground. all of these dots represent the nearly 400 reports of mysterious noises to police, so far. >> did you hear a boom? >> yeah, right now. felt like it was right under my chair. city officials have been checking gas lines and sewers, anything to sniff out possible explanations. they've ruled out an earthquake, under ground blasting, and electrical problems. so far scientists say it's a head scratcher. >> that's the $64,000 question. why is poor clintonville subjected to this? >> reporter: some in town wonder if it's extra terrestial. >> maybe it's the astronauts

coming to get us. i don't know. >> reporter: someone even tweeted, i had no idea they were filming "the tremors" remake in clintonville, wisconsin. "tremors" is the cult sci-fi flick where aliens shake up a small nevada town from deep down underground. while there is concern in clintonville, many in town are taking it lightly. >> it is not giant ground hogs. >> others see it as a blessing in disguise. >> that was stephanie gosk reporting. the city has hired an engineering firm to place monitors throughout the town to gauge any seismic activity. that's news 4 at 4:00. news 4 at 5:00 starts right now.

a pregnant woman stabbed in d.c. what police have already ruled out in their investigation. >> a call girl for the alleged millionaire madame reveals a high profile client, the big name politician now connected to the prostitution scheme. >> reporter: controversy outside a local sex shop. a new ad bringing in a lot of customers but parents and businesses say it's crossing the line. good evening. welcome to news 4 at 5:00. i'm wendy rieger. >> i'm pat lawson muse. jim handly is off tonight. we begin with breaking news in the trayvon martin case. the police chief in sanford, florida says he is temporarily stepping down. bill lee had been heavily criticized after his officers decided not to arrest george zimmerman. zimmerman is the neighborhood watch volunteer who v-dot martin to death last month. zimmerman claimed he shot the teen in self-defense but martin was unarmed, carrying a bag of skittles. he was only 17 years old. today the police chief said he has become a distraction but he