identified. we are told that they are 14 and 16 years of age and they did die. this video shows what montgomery county police say is a stolen toyota echo at a forest glen completely engulfed in flames. in it four young men. the driver and passenger rescued, the back seat passengers ages 14 and 16 died. their identities are unknown. >> i'm told that dental records will have to be used. >> reporter: police say the vehicle and four occupants were spotted driving the compact car on east/west highway and jones mill road. cops stayed on their tail until they got to the chevy chase circle in montgomery county where police say the vehicle accelerated and then slammed into this tree. charred from the flames. >> we heard some pops and bangs from the car. >> reporter: david evans lives right off the circle. the scene was so intense he took pictures. >> flames. flames about twice as high as the car, itself.

officers reported seeing smoke and then fire coming from the vehicle. they were able to rescue the driver and front seat passenger from the vehicle. >> reporter: but the fire quickly overpowered the police officers despite forcing them to back off and wait for firefighters to extinguish the blaze. police tell me the roof of the car had to be cut off in order to get the body of the two teens out of the back seat of the vehicle. d.c. council member jim graham tells news 4 the two teenagers that died were on probation with d.c. court. however, the reasoning for that is unknown. meanwhile, one of the first responders, a police officer that helped pull the bodies from the vehicle injured his shoulder and also suffered several burns on his arm but we are told he is recuperating this evening. we're live in chevy chase, erika gonzalez, news 4. >> rico richardson was the front seat passenger and his grandmother spoke to news 4 a

short time ago. he was a passenger in the front seat. she says she is grateful the police officer tried to save the other boys' lives. >> yeah, i appreciate what the officer did. you know, because he didn't have to. he could have just stood by and let it happen but he didn't. and i thank him from the bottom of my heart for what he did. he put his life on the line for my grandson and for the other boy and he was trying to save the rest but he couldn't. you know? >> she says the driver and one of the back seat passengers were brothers. we have the latest in the trayvon martin case. calls for justice have reached the top levels of government. 25,000 demonstrators gathered in sanford, florida last night and protests continued across the country today in dallas, miami, and here on capitol hill. florida's governor appointed a new prosecutor to investigate why the unarmed black teenager was killed by a neighborhood

watch captain last month. president obama made his first public comments about the shooting today revealing that the case hits home. >> this is a tragedy. i can only imagine what these parents are going through. and when i think about this boy, i think about my own kids. >> protests are continuing on social media and throughout other cities as the shooter george zimmerman remains free. a large protest is expected at freedom plaza tomorrow and tonight another rally at a d.c. landmark. news 4's derrick ward joins us live in anacostia with more. >> reporter: well, good evening. you can see we're here at the big chair in anacostia. one of the iconic locations at the city. later today it will be the scene of a prayer vigil that will be held by a group and it is the second event today that has been held here in d.c. all in the

name of trayvon martin. the normal hill dress code was altered a bit today despite the heat. it was about a hundred hill staffers who gathered on the east steps of the capitol, many donning hoodies and holding bags of skittles the symbols of the outrage that has grown out of the killing of trayvon martin at the hands of a self-appointed neighborhood patrol captain in a gated community in sanford, florida. >> we join here not only to unify but out of respect, respect not only for life but for each of our differences. what was trayvon's life has now become our movement. >> reporter: the capitol event was a smaller version of rallies, marches, and vigils across the country calling for a thorough investigation into martin's death and an end to what many see as an enduring pattern of racial profiling and perceptions. >> i'm going to fight until zimmerman meets justice in the courtroom. ♪ we shall overcome >> reporter: these demonstrators in washington say the death of the florida teen is a right to life issue.

>> right now we're talking about the right just to be, the right to walk on a street, the right just to be an individual. >> reporter: and it wasn't just hill staffers. jennifer brought her daughter, too young to work on the hill, but old enough to be touched by the events in florida. >> zahra is learning a lot about why there needs to be justice in the world and fairness. >> everybody should be out here about this. this was an injustice for everybody. like i said, you would think we'd be beyond this but we're not. >> reporter: across the river in anacostia another event focusing on the loss of a young life, not to be forgotten amid the social and legal outcries. >> one of the things we should concentrate on at this moment in time is the consolation of the family so that's why we're having a prayer vigil today to be one with the spirit of trayvon martin and with his family as well. >> reporter: now, again, they're emphasizing this as a prayer vigil to be held here at the big chair at 6:30 in anacostia. not to be forgotten come monday.

some of the groups will be part of a coalition marching and protesting outside the justice department calling for further action in the wake of this case. now back to you. >> derrick ward, thank you. the man convicted of killing a bouncer at a d.c. strip club is going to spend an additional 35 years in prison for murder. today a d.c. judge added that time to his sentence. he is already serving 30 years for arson and assault. it was 2007, police say he poured gasoline on vladimir dorjovich a bouncer at the good guys club on wisconsin avenue in glover park. he was disgruntled after he was kicked oust the club for taking a picture of a dancer. he suffered severe burns and died two and a half years later. the first step in the military prosecution of the soldier accused in the afghan shooting rampage got under way today. 17 counts of premeditated murder were brought against staff sergeant robert bales in a military court at fort leavenworth, kansas where he is being held. the charges also include six counts of attempted murder.

it's too soon to know whether capital murder charges will be filed but that is a possibility. today's action launches a legal process that is expected to be lengthy. voters in maryland will start casting their ballots this weekend. early voting begins tomorrow. it runs through next thursday. maryland and d.c.'s primaries will take place april 3rd. early voting in d.c. started this week. the republican presidential primary in maryland is more than a week away and candidates are planning their visits. rick santorum's campaign says he'll be in maryland on tuesday. it's not clear yet where he will be. details are still being worked out. newt gingrich will also be visiting maryland on tuesday. wednesday texas congressman ron paul plans to hold a town hall at the university of maryland and front-runner mitt romney has already been here. he visited baltimore county on wednesday. maryland's primary takes place april 3rd. turning to the weather, another fantastic day but things are about to take a big turn. >> yeah. hope you got out there and enjoyed it now because it is

going to get ugly. doug? >> it could get a little ugly in someplaces during the day tomorrow and then again during the day on sunday. sunday could be the uglier of the two days. we are going to see some rain and really after two weeks of some phenomenal weather, we do need to see the rain. unfortunately, it's coming just in time for the weekend. look at this shot. simply gorgeous right now. take a look at the cherry blossoms. it is really just a great afternoon. it's going to be a great evening. 80 degrees right now with plenty of sunshine. one of the warmest days we've seen so far this year. winds out of the east at 7 miles an hour. picking up. you can see the camera actually shaking a little bit there. 86 in frederick. 84 down to the south in fredericksburg. culpepper coming in at 84 degrees and leesburg in winchester right now coming in at 81. what are we going to be seeing? we have a couple showers off to the west right now. we saw a few around the blue ridge a little earlier. those have died out but watch what happens when we widen out. you can see all of the rain making is way toward the region. we are in for an abundance of rainfall. i would say maybe 1 to 2 inches

of rain between now and sunday night. we'll talk about when that rain moves in and who has the best chance to see some thunderstorms. i'll have it for you coming up. >> all right, doug. thank you. well, today could be your last chance to see the cherry blossoms before they disappear completely. their beauty is always fleeting. but these weekend storms are not going to help. news 4's tom sherwood joins us live from the tidal basin with more. >> reporter: well, barbara, park rangers say it's been bus al day and they expect because of the weather for it to be busy here all night. before the cherry blossoms, you see bumpers. bumper to bumper traffic on roads anywhere near the tidal basin. the walking crowds are big, too. even though the extra warm weather has helped rush along the blooming season. this group came up for the spring festival from fayetteville, georgia. >> are they blaehaving?

>> quite well. >> have they picked any cherry blossom limbs? >> no they have not at all. >> did you warn them not to? >> yes. >> reporter: they look pretty law abiding. >> they are very law abiding. >> reporter: this looks like a rowdy group. >> oh, yeah. we get a little roud eight times. >> reporter: do you play poker on the bus? >> they don't allow that or drinking either. >> reporter: the cherry blossoms are early but people are enjoying them. >> they're beautiful. we are pleased to see them at full bloom, the whole group is. >> reporter: and nearly everyone is a picture taking camera enthusiast knowing that the rain and wind expected this weekend could bring the spring bonanza to an early close. did you come down from baltimore or you live here? >> live in baltimore area, yeah. >> reporter: and you came today because you knew what was going to happen this weekend? >> well, i've lived in the area for a long time but never have seen the cherry blossoms in bloom and i thought it would be a great day to take a day off and bring the dog. >> reporter: what's the dog's name?

>> zackary. >> reporter: bill lions from the park service says there are reports of some people breaking some of the limbs or climbing some of the trees. he is asking politely or actually saying, don't do that. at the tidal basin, tom sherwood, news 4. >> where is zackary now, tom? >> reporter: zackary is still yakking down the walkway down here. >> thanks a lot. still ahead, a rush hour money grab. commuters are accused of scooping up thousands of dollars that spilled on the highway. >> the coroner's office weighs in on whether whitney houston had a heart attack before she drowned. >> reporter: a school assignment turns into a political controversy for students in fairfax county who were told to ♪

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an election year seems like a good time to teach the children about politics. but there is a controversy over a political project at a fairfax county middle school. >> the assignment required students to research only republican presidential candidates and find the weaknesses of each candidate. this was richard jordan here now to explain what happened. welcome. >> thanks, barbara and wendy. and it turns out a group of eighth graders at liberty middle

school were asked to do a political research paper but the assignment was specific to the gop presidential candidates. the students were told to dig up the candidates' so-called vulnerabilities. the teacher also asked students to identify which campaign office would benefit from the research. that answer would be the obama campaign. when one student went home and mentioned the project, a parent became concerned. the assignment was taking a political side. the parent complained to a school board member, who alerted the principal at liberty middle school. the principal told the teacher not to assign the same project again. >> that if he were to give this assignment again that, you know, give the kids the opportunity to pick the candidate of their choice, do some research on either party and also to emphasize the fact that it has, this assignment has to do more with learning about the political process and not endorsing one candidate over another. >> school administrators say none of the research was forwarded to any campaign office and there was no intention of

ever sending it but it looks like it will be a new lesson plan next time. >> not that any campaign office wants to hear the research of an 8th grader but at this point, who knows where they are in the race? welcome. you are our new weekend morning anchor. >> that's right. >> joining angie goff tomorrow morning. >> that's right. i'll be here bright and early at 6:00. if you guys are up i hope you'll tune in and join us. >> is there a later time in the morning? >> yeah. then at 9:00, too. >> a chance of seeing you then. welcome. you just came up from what, miami? >> from miami. so a nice time to come up to d.c. >> are you loving our weather? >> loving it. >> don't get used to the winter. >> we did that for you, my friend. >> i appreciate it, doug. you always hook me up. >> you know it. >> glad to have you with us. and now the weather. >> it's going to be nasty. >> it feels like miami today, tomorrow it will feel like miami during the december months. >> during the hurricane. >> when the rain starts coming down. take a look right now. simply gorgeous. that's how you can describe the weather today. one of the warmest days we've

seen so far this year. and it's not going to get any warmer any time soon. enjoy the warmth right now. a lot of people, this is the way to see the cherry blossoms. look at this. the little tour boat out there in the potomac really, really a great day to get out and about on the water. one thing you may want to remember, though, if you're out during the day light today make sure you have plenty of sunscreen on. the sun is starting to make its way down so that is good news but i wouldn't be surprised if a few people are seeing some sun burns during the day today. 80 degrees the current temperature with winds oust the east about 7 miles an hour. look at the numbers around the region. 88 right now in frederick. 84 in fredericksburg. culpepper 81 degrees. camp springs at 83 degrees. what are we seeing? satellite and radar showing that we've seen sunny skies all day long. just a few clouds from time to time. here are the showers just off to our west right now and the thunderstorms and they'll continue to make their way our way as we make our way through the overnight hours. take a look at the wider picture. chicago all the way down toward

atlanta and into the gulf coast. that's the moisture train coming right out of the gulf of mexico so there is a lot of moisture here and even some severe weather. so far about 12 reports of tornadoes today including one fatality. that coming out of southern portions of illinois. a little bit earlier today. that system is moving our way. i do think we'll see a chance for thunderstorm activity durpg the day tomorrow but i do not anticipate anything too severe. as far as our storm 4 radar goes we've seen a couple showers really from 81 to the west and i think that's where they will stay throughout the rest of the evening. i do expect most of this evening to be dry at least through the 9:00, 10:00 hour and then we'll start to see our rain chances increase as we move on through the night tonight. very warm today and then here comes the frontal boundary. bringing in rain overnight. i think it will be raining when you wake up tomorrow morning. rain throughout much of the day but not an all day rain. there will be breaks in the rain maybe an hour, maybe two. but there will also be periods of very heavy rain during the day. that front moves through and then here comes the upper area of low pressure. we will continue to see rain on

the back side of this, too. that will also usher in some cooler temperatures on sunday so sunday a little bit cooler with rain mostly of the light to moderate side but it will continue to rain right on through sunday night and monday clearing out. we get a little cooler but still monday looking pretty nice. this evening just gorgeous. warm. enjoy it now. 70 to 75 degrees. winds out of the southeast 5 to 10. tomorrow we'll see rain likely early. some heavy. possible thunder. maybe some lightning out there. 53 to about 60 degrees. tomorrow afternoon, temperatures even cooler, will be cooler than they were today but still nice and mild with some thunder out there. 64 to about 70 degrees. here's the next couple days showing a high of 60 on sunday. 63 on monday. a cool 38 to start tuesday morning but right back up to around 58 degrees with abundant sunshine so even the coldest day in the next seven is still a pretty nice day. another chance of rain maybe next wednesday but this we could see 1 to 2 inches of rain here. we do need to see the rain.

one thing we'll see next week though is a lot of blossoms coming out and a lot of grass growing. we are going to see huge growth next week. >> 'tis the season for that. >> that's right. >> thanks a lot. still ahead, take a look at this. we explain why police pulled over batman in montgomery county. >> and how facebook is trying to stop your boss from getting access to your account. in sports, hakem is here with rare feats in this week's installment

it's friday. it's been a big week in sports. hakem is here with an installment of in case you missed it. >> my favorite time the week. hello, ladies. a slam dunk in the women's ncaa tournament. things you never thought you could do with a frisbee and plays that require a bucket and mop. all for you in this squeaky clean edition of "in case you missed it." in case you missed it, baylor's britney greiner is a talented young woman. against florida in the ncaa tournament, she throws it down. it's the first dunk of her junior year. but it's nothing new for greiner. during her freshman year she became the seventh woman to ever dunk in a college game.

forget about keeping up with the kardashians. try keeping up with the new jersey nets on this play. darren williams to gerald green, off the back board to chris humphries for the dunk. in case you missed it lebron james had a rough day at the office against the phoenix suns. morris with the hard foul that sends lebron to the floor. no problem. he gets right back up. so the suns try again. grant hill sets the pick on lebron. this time he's a little slower to recover. he stayed down for almost two minutes but in the end king james prevails, scoring 20 points in the miami victory. front row seats can be hazardous at clippers games especially when blake griffin is headed your way. the all star known for his vicious dunks makes a complete mess. >> attention. we need a cleanup in aisle one. seats 5 through 7. please bring a mop.

thank you. >> on the ice, capitals/islanders. new york on the offensive. matt moulson top of your screen shoots. michael deflects it but the puck bounces off the glass then goes off his chest and in. are you kidding me? the islanders would later go up 3-0 but washington comes back to beat new york 5-4. okay. so you know fights break out in hockey games, but have you ever seen a fight break out as soon as the game starts? devils and rangers at madison square garden right off the opening face-off not one not two but three fights. a total of 40 penalty minutes handed out between the teams. check out new jersey's brian carter. he is okay but pretty banged up. >> can we please bring that mop back from the basketball game? we need a cleanup on the ice. thank you.

>> this is brodie smith and his crew. they are well known among frisbee fans for outrageous tosses and catches. their latest act took place in birmingham, alabama where a pole vaulter clears the bar then catches the frisbee on the way down. hash tag awesome. in case you missed it, you have now seen it all. >> that is my by far favorite play of the year, the frisbee. >> hard to catch one standing still when you're aiming them at your head. >> just a great athleticism. >> yes. >> indeed. >> then there is the pole vaulting. >> and the pole vaulting. but catching it coming down? it's impressive. >> thanks. >> glad to see them. i had missed them all. still ahead the hunger games has arrived in theaters. we'll check out the reviews from the first fans to see what could be a record-setting film. >> we'll take a look at the deeper meaning of the cherry blossoms and how they are helping japan recover from the devastating tsunami. >> and a realtor attacked in a

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a fast forward through the headlines. two teenagers killed when a car slams into a tree at chevy chase circle on connecticut avenue bursting into flames. montgomery county police have been chasing the car which was reported stolen. the 16-year-old driver renard osmond and a front seat passenger 18-year-old rico richardson were hurt but survived. and they live in d.c.

>> the trayvon martin shooting is hitting home for thousands of people across the country including president obama. today he called on local, state, and federal authorities to get to the bottom of the 17-year-old's death, saying the tragedy makes him think of his own daughters. george zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain, says he shot the unarmed black teen in self-defense last month. he has not been arrested. a controversial research project at liberty middle school in clifton has forced the principal there to change the way politics is taught to students. administrators say an eighth grade teacher asked students to research the weaknesses of only republican candidates. the principal called the assignment one sided and said from now on students should be able to research the candidate of their choice from either party. let's fast forward to our beautiful friday weather. >> wendy, it really does not get much better than this. today a great day to get out and about no matter what you're thinking about doing this evening it is going to be perfect for it. out there right now take a look at these numbers, the high temperatures so far around the region.

81 today in washington. 84 in richmond. back to the west, charleston, west virginia coming in at 84 degrees. look out toward ocean city, maryland. temperature there of 70 degrees. memorial day ladies and gentlemen. just about two months away. as the rain begins to fall, some areas could pick up quite a lot. we'll show you the forecast one more time in a bit. police in prince george's county are looking for the man who sexually assaulted a realtor who was showing a home. the attack happened along dupont avenue in suitland wednesday evening. darcy spencer is live in that neighborhood with more on what happened. >> reporter: well, barbara, the attack happened right here in this home behind me. the woman had gone inside. she was getting the house ready for sale. she encountered the suspect down in the basement area. a lot of questions remain. who was this man? how did he get in the house? a realtor getting the suitland home ready for sale was attacked from behind and sexually assaulted in the basement. this was not someone she was

meeting or had an appointment with at that time? >> no, not that we are aware of. >> reporter: it happened around 7:40 wednesday night in the 2300 block of dupont avenue in suitland. police say the home was supposed to be vacant and the realtor was surprise bide her attacker. was there any sign the home had been broken into or vandalized? >> not that i'm aware of. >> reporter: no idea how this guy got in the house? >> no idea. >> reporter: there is a lot of safety information out there for realtors when they're meeting potential clients. this was a different situation. this realtor was coming to a vacant home and expected to be here alone. the victim was able to fight the man off. he ran away and remains at large. what do you think about a realtor going in to get a house ready and gets attacked in the basement? >> i don't know. people do some crazy things. i don't understand. >> reporter: the home has no for sale sign in the yard, no locked box on the door. neighbors say the residents of the home moved out over the last

few weeks. many are left wondering how this could have happened. >> i guess that's a danger of their profession because, you know, if you go to show houses you don't know. but it would seem odd that somebody was there already and so i don't know if she walked in on it or just what happened. >> reporter: obviously the incident has raised a lot of concern for anyone who does real estate here in the d.c. area. now i'm told there is a lot of safety information out there, realtors are provided tips and safety information to try to prevent these sorts of incidents from happening. coming up on news 4 we'll hear from the head of the prince george's county realtors association. reporting live from suitland, darcy spencer, news 4. >> thank you, darcy. the push to bring table games to maryland and a possible casino to prince george's county just took another step forward. this afternoon the state budget and taxation committee approved the gaming expansion bill 10-2. the measure would allow table

games, black jack and such in casinos. right now only slots are allowed. the bill would also clear the way for a new casino. the national harbor could be home to that casino if voters approve it in a referendum. the gaming bill now moved to the full senate. it might seem too tempting to pass up. $50 bills flying all over interstate 270. now maryland state police want the people who grabbed that money to turn it in. the cash came out of the back of an armored truck that was driving northbound on the roadway at the time just south of route 109. around 9:00 this morning is when it happened. somehow the back door came open. bags of bills ranging from 1 to $50 bills were lost. coins were spilled out, too. police say no charges will be filed if you return the cash to their rockville barrack location. this may be our last week to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom. the weekend storms may blow them away. this fleeting nature of the blossoms gives them a special meaning to the japanese, a

spiritual essence, and a new documentary "the tsunami and the cherry blossom" explores this connection. it gives us a chance to see the blossoms in a new way as we bid them farewell. >> it's enchanting this canopy of soft pink, this cloud of petals. it hovers like a still life. time, worries, deadlines all momentarily suspended as we are bathed in the blossoms. they're called sukora in japanese, a bringer of new life. the blossoms always appear each spring for thousands of viewers. it is said that once a tree is very old, it can be inhabited by a god, spirits. last year just weeks after the tsunami killed so many in japan, and destroyed so much, something wonderous happened. the cherry blossoms started to

bloom. in her new documentary "the tsunami and the cherry blossom" award winning filmmaker lucy walker documents the small glimmer that emerged in this heart broken and grieving community as they witnessed the cherry blossoms coming to life in the midst of this devastation. >> the cherry blossoms have always had a wonderful significance about preciousness of life, fleetingness of life. they're here so briefly but they are so beautiful. >> reporter: walker was in town recently for a showing of her movie in the d.c. environmental film festival. with a message of resilience from the japanese people. >> it's about how human beings can come through tragedy, how do you get up the next day when your town has been literally washed away? >> reporter: the japanese have blossom viewing parties to ponder the transient nature of life, its beauty, and its

brevity. this is why the cherry blossom is the symbol of the samurai warrior whose life was so short. in world war ii the kamikaze pilot painted blossoms on the side of their planes. like the blossoms, life is vulnerable. something to cherish and something to think of as we enjoy a flower whose presence is about to pass. this film was nominated for an academy award. you can see this soon on hbo and you should. it is beautiful. still ahead, what the coroner's report doesn't show about whitney houston's death in a hotel bath tub. where did all the excedrin go? that's the question. the answer is coming up on "ask liz" on news 4 at 5:00. and local school systems reveal if pink slime is on the menu.

the coroner's report on whitney houston's death shows she was a chronic cocaine user and had heart disease but it is still unclear if she had a heart attack before she drowned in a hotel bath tub. the coroner ruled her death was accident accidental but said she had recently used cocaine. her family says they are sad to learn she had drugs in her system but say they are glad to have closure. houston died in a beverly hills

hotel the night before the grammy awards back in february. the army corps of engineers plans to tear down a d.c. home that's at the center of a military waste site in spring valley in d.c. the house in northwest will be removed in may. the army corps of engineers says it has found more than 500 munition items, 400 pounds of laboratory glass wear, more than 100 tons of contaminated soil on this property. the corps plans to build an enclosure when they evacuate the basement of this home and they plan to turn the property back to american university next year. still ahead how facebook is trying to protect your information from your boss. >> i'm sorry this happened to you. i'm here to help you any way i can. >> reporter: and "hunger games" hysteria. the views are in and the movie, did it live up to the hype. a pretty good day. temperatures reached 81 degrees one of the warmest we've seen

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you won't make it five miles. >> it was hunger games hysteria at midnight screenings across the country. the movie is based on a wildly popular book series. it tells the story of a

futuristic society in which teenagers are forced to fight to the death on television. local fans came out in droves to be the first to watch the film. many of them showed up at the uptown theater in cleveland park. hunger games took in 19.7 million dollars last night. that's the most ever for a nonsequel and the seventh best all time. >> reporter: for lots of movie goers around the country it was a late night. >> i wouldn't be here at 2:00 in the morning if it weren't for her. >> reporter: but the debut of "the hunger games" brought out both the novel's fans -- >> the action was a lot better than at least the glimpse that i got through the book. >> reporter: as well as the uninitiated. >> i have not read the book but it was really awesome. >> happy hunger games. >> reporter: indeed, the futuristic story of teens forced into a televised fight to the death has gotten largely positive reviews. it's poised to earn easily more than $100 million this weekend. >> i think it is a virtual given this is going to open north of

125. i think some rival studios take 150. >> and while even that larger figure would fall well short of the record opening last year for "the harry potter" finale "hunger games" could still get one of the strongest starts ever for a nonsequel. >> i think people are going to be shocked at how strong this opens this weekend and how abnormally strong it holds next weekend. i think this will hold better than "twilight." >> that is in part because "the hunger games" faces few heavyweight film competitors over the coming weeks and its appeal is expected to extend beyond young adult women. >> it got great reviews. we were like it's such a good story we should just go check it out. >> reporter: millions of other movie goers are likely to feel the same way this weekend. nbc news. >> and "the hunger games" is expected to top the record for biggest march opening ever. that's currently held by the movie "alice in wonderland" which took in $116 million back

in 2010. >> are there rent control laws in our region? where did all the excedrin go? how do you dispose of old kitchen knives? liz crenshaw joins us for this week's "ask liz." happy friday. >> happy friday, wendy. >> our first question comes from arlington. his apartment wants to raise his rent more than 25% and he wants to know are there any rules on rent control or rent increases in our area? >> it is a good question. i like it. we turned to several jurisdictions for the answer. in arlington there are no laws regarding rent control. however, there are mediation services offered by the county and residents are encouraged to contact arlington's housing services for help. in montgomery there are also no rent control rules or laws but the county does set a voluntary rent increase guideline that landlords are requested to honor. another example in d.c. most buildings built before 1976 are rent control buildings. that means the rent can only be raised once every 12 months and

has to be less than the consumer price index of the property plus 10%. so d.c. has a limited one. other counties not so much. >> not so much. okay. our next question comes from marty in virginia. he says he hasn't seen any excedrin bottles on the local drug store shelves and wants to know where did it go? >> marty is not losing his mind. we contacted excedrin's parent company for the answer and it says that on january 8th it did announce a recall of all excedrin products with expiration dates of december 20, 2014. the recall was precautionary, taken after an fda inspection discovered some excedrin bottles may contain broken or chipped tablets or even tablets from other novartis products. since that time novartis has suspended production of excedrin at every large manufacturing site in nebraska but is expected to resume shipments by mid year. so more excedrin is expected to hit store shelves in the next couple months but you haven't lost your mind. >> a lot of people swear by excedrin for headaches.

>> that's right. you try to find some sort of generic versions of it but no excedrin products. >> all right. our last question comes from a viewer terry through e-mail. what is the best way to dispose of old kitchen knives? i didn't think about this. >> i never thought about this. the d.c. department of public works gave us this answer. it says that if your knives can be reused you should donate them and we did check with salvation army and good will and both will for example take old kitchen knives as donations. but if you think your knives are simply past the point of being reused, d.c. says you want to make sure you know how to throw them away safely. it says wrap each knife in card board then wrap it in duct tape after that to secure it. and then write something like danger, sharp object on the card board to let the sanitation workers know to use caution. so it is a difficult thing. >> sure. >> to get rid of. i thought it was an interesting question. >> almost like broken glass. you don't want those poor workers with their hands in there. >> if you have a question you'd like us to consider for ask liz send it to ask liz at nbc washington.com.

also connect with me on twitter. just search liz crenshaw and on facebook by searching liz crenshaw's consumer watch. >> all righty. go see the cherry blossoms. facebook is fighting back against employers who request pass words from job applicants. some companies are using the tactic to gather information about job seekers' backgrounds. today facebook threatened a lawsuit calling such policies an invasion of privacy. senator richard blumenthal a democrat from connecticut says he is working on a bill that would stop employers from asking for social media pass words. these pictures are proof that even super heroes are not above the law in montgomery county. police pulled over a black sports car in silver spring, maryland on wednesday. the driver was dressed in a full bat man costume. it happened on route 29 at prelude drive. apparently there were notation on the batmobile. montgomery county police posted pictures of the unusual traffic stop on their facebook and twitter pages. one of the officers is even smiling in one of the photos.

doug is here now with the final check of the forecast. and your secret identity, remains safe with us, my friend. do not worry. your secret identity is safe. lamborghini by the way, a pretty cool car. out there right now a great day. notice it was a convertible, perfect day for it. tomorrow however put the tops back up. keep the windows up. we'll see some rain across the area. out there right now 80 degrees with a gorgeous afternoon, winds out of the east at 7 miles per hour. around the region 83 in rockville. 82 in manassas. reston over toward herndon coming in right now at 81 degrees. over toward springfield sitting at 82 degrees. a very nice afternoon and a great evening, too. don't expect to see any rain. storm 4 radar, no rain right now. i don't expect to see any throughout the rest of the evening. then we'll start to see that rain move in overnight tonight in through the morning. there is a lot of rain out there from the gulf coast all the way up toward the great lakes and that whole system is slowly shifting off to the east. overnight tonight, down to about 59 in washington. 52 in leesburg.

53 in frederick. about 52 in manassas. could be some areas of fog with the bigger issue going to be the rain toward the morning hours. some of that rain could be heavy at times. tomorrow afternoon. 69 degrees in washington. 67 in gaithersburg. 70 in fredericksburg and the eastern shore coming in with temperatures in the upper 60s with the good chance for rain and thunderstorms. it will not be all day but i do expect rain for most of the day. here's what we're starting right now at 5:30. you could see showers back to the west where they've been, where they'll stay most of the night. we will see around 11:00 pretty nice conditions so if you're out and about this evening no problem at all. 11:00 at night tonight, friday night, good night to be out. looking very, very good. but then here comes the rain building around 3:00, 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 in the morning and around 7:00 just about everybody seeing some of that rain could be on the heavy side in some locations and watch what happens right around noon. we see an enhanced batch of rain coming through right around the washington, d.c. area so right around noon tomorrow we could see some rumbles of thunder coming on through the region. that could continue throughout much of the day but once again

this will be of the shower variety. we'll call it periods of rain and some of those periods of rain may be on the heavy side but it will not be an all day rain but it will be wet most of the day. here's your next four days. 69 tomorrow. 60 on sunday with more shower activity. a little bit less or a little bit more in the way of dry periods i think on sunday and then monday and tuesday temperatures fall off just a little bit but we dry out. the temperatures around 58 degrees on tuesday. ladies? >> all right. thanks, doug. they're considered some of the world's most endangered animals but were seen off the massachusetts coast today, 30 north atlantic whales seen this morning off cape cod bay. wildlife officials say the mammals are feeding on dense patches of plankton. they are expected to be around for several more days. the current population of whales is about 491. last year 313 were documented in cape cod bay. >> it's beautiful and good to see them. coming up tonight at 6:00 more fallout over the shooting death of the unarmed teenager in

florida. tonight in the district, we're live as demonstrators gather for a vigil in memory of trayvon martin. it is a crime that's become all too common and police say rising gas prices are to blame. chocolate coffee showers. a look at what people are willing to give up in exchange for internet service. next on news 4 at 5:00, is pink slime on your child's school lunch menu? >> for all your news follow news 4 online. just search nbc washington on facebook and twitter. we'll be right back.

there is a growing list of schools that will no longer use the beef filler known as pink slime. >> montgomery county schools says it will stop buying it for their school lunches. prince george's county, d.c. schools, they say it is not on their menus and fairfax county says it is investigating whether its vendors use it. >> grocery stores are doing the same. >> reporter: the beef with ground beef is that you may not be getting what you think. recent criticism against the so-called pink slime in some ground beef has chains like vons owned by safeway pulling products with what is known as lean, finely text chuured beef the shelf. >> nobody wants to be stampeded by american citizens running from their stores. >> reporter: that is the main reason this nutritionist says

after 20 years of pink slime use it is now raising concerns. the fillers made of meat excess that is heated to remove fat and treated with ammonium hi drox eyed gas to kill bacteria. the usda says the final product is generally recognized as safe and does not pose a health risk to consumers. dr. hurt acknowledges there is no direct health hazard. >> americans can't track nor can the government who is getting sick from what because nobody knows what is in the particular ground beef that they're eating. >> reporter: so why not label each package and let customers know what is inside? the usda does not plan on doing so insisting it starts and ends with beef. last week however it allowed school districts under the national lunch program to opt out of using meat with the filler starting next year. the meat will be less lean. customers say they, too, will be opting out. >> it will make me want to know what is in the ground beef and where to go to not have that. >> you buy ground meat and use it in so many things and so many

children eat it and it shouldn't happen. that's it for news 4 at 5:00. >> news 4 at 6:00 starts right now. a dramatic end to a police chase in maryland. two teenagers killed. two others rushed to a hospital. tonight some new clues about the moments leading up to the accident. a controversial lesson plan. why a school project on politics sparked complaints from parents in fairfax county. first tonight a call for answers and action nearly a month after the shooting death of an unarmed teenager in florida. good evening. i'm jim vance. >> i'm pat lawson muse. doreen is off tonight. politicians are among those now calling for justice in the death of trayvon martin. mitt romney called the 17-year-old boy's death a tragedy and said it shouldn't have happened. rick santorum c