rain drops will take care of the pollen today. welcome richard joining us on the weekend mornings. we'll see you every saturday and sunday morning from here on forward. >> let's hope i make it. as long as i get in, it'll be fine. brought the 80 degree weather with him. thank him. rain drops in your forecast for your saturday. if you'd like to get something done before the rain drops move into downtown or the immediate metro area, you have about an hour. maybe a little more in the northern viewing parts of the area. but that's about it. temperatures are mild bordering on muggy this morning. upper 50s and low 60s. heavier showers with some embedded thunderstorms now headed into the upper harbor of baltimore. but there's a whole lot more rain moderate at times now across central virginia. that's all lifting in our direction. so may not have any rain drops

on the capital beltway just yet. they're closing in fast. light to moderate rate expected in here through much of the afternoon hours. one or two hours can't be ruled out completely. so a rumble here and a rumble there. that's about it. and locally heavy rains into places as well. temperatures stuck in the upper 60s to near 70 today. mainly in the mid to upper 60s for your sunday. so an 80% chance you're raining on today. 60% chance tomorrow. but it's been awhile now. we've had two weekends in a row that's been off the charts nice. time to get the pollen count below 880. >> thanks, chuck. an attorney advising the neighborhood watch captain at the center of a deadly shooting in florida is speaking out this morning. craig sonner appeared on a local tv station in florida and maintains that george zimmerman shot 17-year-old trayvon martin

in self-defense. sonner says zimmerman suffered a broken nose and injuries to the back of his head. he as also advised zimmerman to stay in hiding and out of the public eye. he added that some of zimmerman's friends will be coming forward soon to tell his side of the story. >> and the outrage over that shooting and the fact that zimmerman remains a free man has spread across the country. hundreds of d.c. residents are expected to gather for the biggest rally in our area. >> reporter: indeed it is expected that this rally will start at about 2:00. behind me the capitol is still shrouded in mist. yesterday it was the scene of the local reaction to this case in florida that continues today. it was yesterday afternoon hoodies on the hill. the start of a series of local events happening in the wake of the death of trayvon martin. it was back on february 26th

when the teen was walking to a home he and his father were visiting in a sanford, florida, gated community. with george zimmerman armed with a 9 millimeter handgun started following him. marchs have been organized in many cities. the protesters calling for zimmerman's arrest have adopted hoodies as a symbol of their cause. trayvon was wearing one when he was shot. and those who have taken to protest say that the social issues of race amid what's going on today here have always been here and now they've arisen again with deadly consequences. >> everybody should be outraged about this. this was injustice for everybody. you would think we'd be beyond this in 2012 but we're not. now, again, this rally gets

underway at 2:00 p.m. they are lining up speakers from local organizations. they're trying to get people from the urban league, local naacp. they're urging people to wear hoodies and bring skittles. that's what trayvon martin was carrying when he was shot. expected to convene on april 10th. the chief of the department has stepped aside in the wake of the way his department has handled thus far. and come monday protests are expected at the justice department as well. a week or so of continuing outrage and expression of that outrage in the wake of this case. now back to you. >> all right. thanks a lot. >> what do we want? >> justice! >> the rally cries started yesterday with a similar demonstration by howard university students and members

of the anacostia community. community members wore hoodies and pass out skittles to remember trayvon martin. they say it's a tragedy that shouldn't have happened. >> george zimmerman got it wrong when he stereotyped trayvon martin. he comes from a good family and was innocent just passing through a gated community. >> the justice department has launched an investigation into martin's death. >> the world is tweeting out their support. lebron james tweeted out this photograph. it shows the entire team wearing hoodies. the team also wrote messages of support on their sneakers for their game against the detroit pistons last night. miami heat dwayne wade says it hits home for him as a father of two sons. behind bars this morning for threatening to kill the police chief in the community where martin was shot.

68-year-old john stewart was arrested after sending a profanity-laced e-mail to police chief bill lee jr. stewart upset over martin's death sent the e-mail with the subject line "coming after you" and said that lee and his family should be hunted down and killed. chief lee stepped down after receiving a vote of no confidence from city commissioners. the u.s. soldier accused of killing 17 afghan civilians in a shooting rampage this month has been charged with murder. but this morning the attorney for staff sergeant robert bales is questioning whether the government even has a case. brian mooar reports. >> reporter: staff sergeant robert bales officially charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and other offenses related to the bloody rampage targeting afghan children, women, and men. >> this case is still under investigation. and so what we saw most recently

was a first step in a long process. >> reporter: bales could face the death penalty. he's focused on the evidence or lack of it. >> there is no crime scene. there's no dna. there's no ballistics that we know of. in most cases there's a crime scene, there's ballistics, there's csi, there's confessions. which there isn't in this case. it's going ton interesting to see how the government proves this case. >> reporter: bales is being held at fort leavenworth, kansas. he served three tours in iraq and suffered a head injury. but then was sent to afghanistan to again witness the worst of war. >> if i told you some of the stories, you wouldn't able to put it on the air. >> reporter: meanwhile, the u.s. military is making its case in a crime that has shaken two countries. bales' attorney appears to be laying the case for a post-traumatic stress defense. but he says first military lawyers have to prove his client was responsible. brian mooar, nbc news,

washington. now to decision 2012 where early voting is about to start in maryland in just under an hour the polls will open in maryland for those who want to beat the crowds and vote. the state's primary ask april 3rd. there are specific early voting centers in each county which are open from 10:00 in the morning to 8:00 p.m. tomorrow the voting centers will be open from noon until 6:00. for a list of early voting centers in each county, head to nbcwashington.com and search early voting. right now the polls are open in louisiana for their presidential primaries today. yesterday mitt romney visited the city of shreveport and spoke at an energy event. the former massachusetts governor told the crowd he hopes to soon turn his attention during the general election. he also commented on the trayvon martin shooting calling it a tragedy and calling it

unnecessary. palin santor-- rick santorum wa in louisiana at a shooting range back track on things he said earlier this week. he said people should support obama over romney. yesterday he said he would support the republican nominee over the president no matter who it is. he turned his sights on romney saying he had no true core. >> it's the reason he hasn't been able to seal the deal in these primaries. because he's not giving the republicans a clear vision. and then we hear this week the etch-a-sketch which is -- i'll say what i have to to win this election. and gosh knows what he'll do if he does win. >> and there was a bit of controversy at his event at that firing range a woman yelled out pretend it's obama. the secret service is now trying to find is that woman. one company is probably writing a thank you note for the

etch-a-sketch comment. the tablet company has seen sales multiply after an aide compared his campaign to the classic toy. says they can shake it up and start all over again between the primary and the general election. the company has seen its stock price jump and downloads of a mobile app have tripled since the comment. the state budget and taxation committee passed a gaining expansion bill that would allow table games in casinos. the bill would also create a new casino at the national harbor if voters approve of it. the gaming expansion bill now goes to the full state senate. and the time right now just ten minutes after the 9:00 hour. it's been watching hundreds of thousands of times online. how this fight caught on cape at a maryland school was sparked by a simple french fry. and a close call. the scare in space that forced astronauts to seek shelter. ♪

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this morning we are hearing from the families of two teenagers killed in a horrific crash in chevy chaste. cousins emanuel nelson and kyrie nelson. they both died after a toyota echo they were riding in burst into flames. police say moments earlier an officer spotted that car and determined it was stolen. the car then sped off connecticut avenue and crashed in chevy chase circle. officers were able to pull the driver and the front seat passenger from the car. >> he put his life on the line. for my grandson. and for the other boy. and he was trying to save the rest of them. but he couldn't. >> i love them unconditionally. i can't even talk. words can't even describe right now. >> the driver of the car,

16-year-old raynard osmond, is still in the hospital with life threatening injuries. the officer wh tried to pull the teens from fthe car was also injured but is recovering. cell phone video showing a fight between a parent and student in howard county has more than 850,000 views online. it all started with a food fight. this video is from long reach high school on wednesday. school officials say a parent showed up on campus and attacked a student. it resulted after french fries were thrown in the cafeteria. students say this behavior is not common place at their school. >> when people say did you see that on youtube you say whatever. and try to highlight the better things like say oh did you see the basketball game this weekend? a double overtime win. >> everything that happens here is going to blow over at some point. we're getting over it. we're just waiting for everyone else to get over it. >> police charged the man's daughter with assaulting another student and will most likely

charge the father as well. police at syracuse university new york are investigating the death of a student from fairfax county. freshman courtney nash from mcclain was found dead yesterday in her dorm room. police say this does not look like a suspicious death. nash was majoring in economics. new this morning, the international space station has successfully dodged a piece of space junk. mission control says parts of the russian satellite late last night. it was too late to move the space station, so the six astronauts were forced to take shelter in two space capsules. by 2:30 this morning, the junk made its closest path but did not pose a threat to the space station. it's the third time in 12 years astrofoughts have had a seek shelter from debris. could you imagine? >> no. >> take shelter in space. all right. well, if you've got old documents and files sitting

around your house, today is the perfect day to get rid of them. >> the nbc washington pnc bank community shred is going on right now as we speak at montgomery college in rockville. joins us now is the executive vice president and the greater washington area market manager richard bynum. thanks for being with us. >> good morning. nice to see you. >> tell us about what's going on so far and the crowds you're already expecting today. >> well, we've got a terrific event out here so far this morning. the weather's cooperating with us nicely which is great. this is an important event for us. it helps us live up to the value of protecting the environment and helping people protect their identity. there's a lot of folks out there who could do unfortunate things with your identity. if you've got boxes of statements and other things. we can help you get rid of those this morning. >> it looks -- as we look behind you, richard, there is a string of cars already lining up.

how is the parking situation? are you moving people in and out pretty easily? >> we're moving folks through pretty efficiently this morning. there's a little bit of a line out here, but if you get out here by 11:00 you'll be out of line in about 20, 25 minutes and on your way. it's a great morning to do it. >> and it's kind of liberating to put that stuff in the shredder. maybe old bills. sl you shred anything yet this morning. thanks so much. we'll check back in with you throughout the morning. >> have a great morning. >> and if you plan to go out and shred today, bring the umbrella. not a bad idea. before we do that, talk about the weather. big story here. >> gee, thanks. >> the new guy, here's here. >> let's not oversell it. >> you are kind of a big deal i take that from my favorite "anchorman" movie.

i had to slip that in there. you're from miami. >> that's right. coming in from miami. my hometown. was working there for four years. pretty big change for me to come here to d.c. but i'm excited. great time of year to be here. everyone's been great since i've gotten here. >> and you have some family in the area. >> i have a brother who recently moved here. >> is he watching? >> probably not. he might still be sleeping. >> around drinking late last night. you came straight to work. >> no he didn't. the boss might be watching. can't say that. well, it's great to have you here. one thing you're looking forward to is hockey. >> that's right. hockey's not big in miami, but i've been interested in it. >> playoff, stanley cup getting around the corner. playoffs start in march. last until june sometime. feels like june in the weather department. your weekend forecast is next. ♪ [ male announcer ] to hold a patent that has changed the modern world... would define you as an innovator. to hold more than one patent of this caliber...

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welcome back, everybody. the cherry blossoms. you're telling everybody get out there and enjoy them while you can. >> last chance today, right? >> i don't know if there's a thing as look fast. i don't know if you can look faster. if you can figure out a way to look quickly -- >> you can take a picture. >> you're going to need to go out today and get your pictures fast. these cherry blossoms are not going to make it much longer. last year we had the blossoms out for 14 to 17 days. we had the cool mornings and chilly afternoons. that has not been the case this week or last. four days above 80 degrees in the last two weeks. and this is going to bring a quick end to the cherry blossoms. 83 yesterday and now rain drops coming as well. that's the other thing. cherry blossoms hate the heat. those petals are so susceptible to rain drops and breezes.

and we have both of those in the forecast. not much of a wind blowing out there. out of downtown for now. they're getting close. 61 at national airport. a light breeze out of the north. it's a mild, feeling a touch muggy outside by march standards. so your saturday planner filled with cloud cover and filled with rain chances. and a couple of thunderstorms not completely out of the question today. temperatures will rise up to near 70 for a brief time today. but the cherry blossoms are passing peak very quickly. they'll be past peak after this weekend. outside it's raining now from falls church in fairfax westbound along i-66 towards the blue ridge. here we are zoomed in. the first rain drops just now getting ready to move into the

direct. showers now across much of prince welcome county. steadier rains now. just to the south and west. that's all lifting northbound so these rain showers are coming inbound towards the metro area. more rain chances linger across western virginia. that'll be e the rain chance this evening. area low pressure cut off. occasional thunder with the rain around today. that low sort of spinning its wheels across the virginia/north carolina border. problematic for forecasting. another chance for showers tomorrow but not as much rain likely tomorrow as we're probably going to get this afternoon. today cloudy, mild, and a little humid out there. no organized severe weather today, but a rumble or two can't be ruled out. brief periods of heavy rain under some of those thundershowers. then tomorrow a touch cooler. maybe a rumble or two tomorrow. if we'll have ten thunderstorms this weekend, eight or nine of

them today and one or two tomorrow. then as we get into sunday night/monday, cooler air rides in on a breeze. that'll be sayonara cherry blossoms there. a chilly day on tuesday. that'll be one of our first colder than average days in almost three weeks. >> looks like it'll actually feel good though. >> i think it'll feel great. i love those cool mornings. >> that 38 -- >> good running weather. >> 38 scares me. thanks. the time now 9:26. a fairfax county teacher in trouble. why some parents say a lesson was politically motivated. even superheroes must abide by ae law. what led police to pull over batman in our area. [ male announcer ] technology accelerates at a relentless pace.

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welcome to news4 today. i'm angie goff. >> i'm richard jordan. here are some of the top stories we are following for you this morning. rallies are planned and hundreds of members of the d.c. community are expected to gather today in support of an unarmed florida teen shot by a neighborhood watch captain. a so-called justice rally is being held at freedom plaza from 2:00 to 4:00 this afternoon. participants plan to wear hoodies in honor of 17-year-old trayvon martin. the u.s. soldier accused of killing 17 afghan civilians is now formally charged. army staff sergeant robert bales faced 17 counts of murder. voters go to the polls today in louisiana. 20 of the state's 46 delegates are up for grabs in the bayou.

the next contests are on april 3rd. washington state man is behind bars after walking into a police station and saying he killed his wife. police found the woman's body last night in the couple's home. the man says he killed her on wednesday but police have not figured out a mow fif for the murder. had a restraining order against him two years ago. but had the order lifted. the man convicted of former a d.c. council intern will spend years behind bars. ed a sentence of 36 years for killing sutton two years ago. sutton was the former intern of michael brown. police say cotton shot sutton five times after the two got into an argument. sutton reportedly refused to give cotton's girlfriend a ride to work. his body was found in the woods on mother's day of 2010. the man who set fire to a

d.c. club will spend an additional 35 years in prison. vasile graure set fire to the club leaving the manager with severe burns to his body. he died in may of 2010. when he died, graure was put on trial for murder. he was originally sentenced to 24 years in prison. his second sentence will begin after his first one ends. right now president obama is on his way to south korea. he and more than 50 other world leaders are meeting to discuss how to keep nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists. the visit comes as tensions rise between the u.s. and north korea. the u.s. had planned to offer food aid to the country. north korea is planning a rocket launch that would scrap that plan. the president's first stop will be the demilitarized zone.

pope benedict xvi is in mexico today. the pope arrived yesterday and told the crowd that mexico must stop what he calls adultery of money. referencing the epidemic of gang violence in the country. mexican president felipe calderon called the pope's visit a momentous occasion after sunday mass that's expected to draw hundreds of thousands, he will head to cuba on monday. cuba is putting together the finishing touches for when he visits monday. it will be different than when pope john paul visited years ago. the pope is expected to talk about the importance of faith and human dignity. human rights act sliss are hoping he'll talk about religious freedom and political rights in the communist nation. batman finally found an opponent he couldn't defeat. the police. montgomery county officers

pulled over the caped crusader in his lamborghini on route 29. apparently his bat mobile didn't have tags. just his famed winged emblem. officers did not say if batman was charged or reveal his true identity. we all know it's bruce wayne. students get many snow days, but that may mean an early summer. fairfax county school officials are thinking of ending classes two days early. that means the last day for students would be friday, june 15th instead of june 19th. the county used only one of three allotted snow days and that was actually for flooding from rain back in september. a fairfax county school teacher is in hot water for a political research assignment. a teacher at liberty middle school told students to research the republican presidential candidates and find each one's weaknesses. parents began complaining about the project saying it favored one political party. the principal agreed asking the

teacher to revise the assignment for the future. >> that if he were to give this assignment again, give the kids the opportunity to pick the candidate of their choice, do some research from either party. and also to emphasize the fact that it has -- this assignment has more to do with learning about the political process and not endorsing one candidate over the other. >> school administrators say none of the research was forwarded to any campaign office and there was no intention of ever sending that either. and the time right now 9:35. facebook fightsback against reports of potential employers asked job applicants for their passwords. and hundreds of people are lined up to have their old documents shredded at this morning's washington pnc bank community shred. we'll go back live to montgomery college and find out why it's so important to properly dispose of those documents.

welcome back. facebook is coming to the defense of job seekers. the social networking site is warning employers that they cannot demand passwords for job applicants. they say it is an invasion of policy and have threatened to take legal action. documented several cases of jop applicants who were asked at the interview table to reveal their pas words for a background check. if that person is not hired it could be considered discrimination. >> that's odd. imagine someone asking you for your password. >> i would say no. absolutely. that's your personal information. >> i was just about to ask you too. >> i'm not giving you my password. spring is here and today's a perfect chance to do spring cleaning. >> head over to the nbc washington pnc bank community shred. it is going on in rockville.

joining us is district manager of operations for shred-it. how's the turnover? >> we got a great turnover. good morning. >> just real quick for people that are gathering their bags of stuff right now, how much when we're talking limits can they bring there as far as boxes are concerned? >> well, we're asking that residents no more than five boxes. we do have individuals bringing bags. but that's great. >> you say five boxes. are we talking big boxes? >> regular bankers boxes, paper boxes, anything of this size around here. >> okay. >> probably want it light enough so you can carry it. >> of course. just bring extra hands. we know people will have their bank statements and bills and all that in those bags. but there is a list of things not to bring. things turned away. what are those? >> hard drives, anything that's

for a computer, batteries, those things that are flammable. when we shred those could cause fire. we discourage that. >> we also see binders, hanging folders. >> media materials as well. and at the end of the day, do you have a goal as far as how many pounds of paper you plan to shred? this is a big thing for you. >> yeah. generally at your shred-it we gather about 20 to 30,000 pounds of paper. those are taken back to our facility here and destroyed. >> all right, shawn. thanks a lot of time for people to collect their paperwork and get it down there. be careful not to use your tax papers. it's tax time. >> that's important. thanks so much. >> thanks, shawn. we talked earlier with another person down there at the shred. they said there's a lot of people out there, but on average it's taking 20, 25 minutes to get in and out.

and for your personal security, that's not bad. >> it's worth it. >> yeah. you got a kbood point there. don't put your 2011 tax stuff in there. once it goes in, that's it. >> good-bye. >> irs won't take it then. >> no. bad stuff happens if it's in the shredder. outside, the rain drops are starting to move in as well. and i have a feeling your weekend forecast may be a little soggier than last few. don't go away.

we are following breaking news out of west virginia where six children and two adults have been killed in a house fire. a woman and a baby were also hurt in that fire in charles ton. firefighters say all the children are under the age of eight. there's no word yet on how that fire started. we'll continue monitoring the

situation down there and bring you more details as soon as they become available. the next few hours might be your last chance to see the cherry blossoms peak bloom. thousands have been descending on the basin to enjoy the blossoms. the warm weather made the flowers' peak bloom season earlier than usual. even if you cannot get down to the tidal basin, don't worry. the festival runs through april 27th. the festival will hold its opening ceremonies tomorrow. this year marks 100 years since japan gave the cherry blossoms to washington z. >> a new documentary shows how these beautiful flowers help give hope to japan after last year's devastating earthquake and tsunami. wendy reiger explains. >> reporter: this cloud of petals. it hovers like a still life.

time, worries, deadlines all momentarily suspended. as we are bathed in the blossoms' peal glow. they're alled sicora in japanese. the blossoms appear each spring. once a tree is very old it can be inhabited bay god and the spirits of the dead, it's said. last year just weeks after the tsunami killed so many in japan and destroyed so much, something wondrous happened. the cherry blossoms started to bloom. >> reporter: in her new dwoumtry, the tsunami and the cherry blossom, lucy walker documents the small glimmer that

i merged in this community as they witnessed the cherry blossoms coming to life in the midst of this devastation. >> the cherry blossoms have had an awareness of fleetingness of life. they're so beautiful. >> reporter: walker was in town recently for a showing of her movie. with a message of resilience from the japanese people. >> it is 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 of the samurai warrior. and pilots painted them on the side of their planes. like the blossoms, life is vulnerable. something to think of as we enjoy a flower whose presence is

about to pass. >> very interesting. that was wendy rieger reporting. you can see the film soon on hbo. looks interesting. >> it does. >> and the blossoms, you know, the 80 degree weather is not what they want at all. they like those nice cool mornings. people l forget our averages this time of year are upper 50s for average highs and upper 30s for average lows. that's what the cherry blossoms want. they want those cool mornings and the chilly afternoons to hang around. 80 degrees -- >> they'll get a chilly day later in the week if they last that long. >> by then the blossoms, i assure you by tuesday, gone. out of here. not a blossom petal left to be found by the time we get to about tuesday. at least on those particular cherry trees by the basin. there are other varieties around the area which may be able to hold on to flowers. but those ones down alongside the basin are in trouble.

the rain drops are coming on in. flower petals have been out awhile now. 83 degrees yesterday. that got the petals dry in a ready to fall down state. the rain drops today and the drops and breezes coming in tomorrow, that's all she wrote. 63 and mild and almost muggy outside today. dew points flirting with 60. that's normally where we look for humidity in the summertime. 57 now at gaithersburg. 63 in bowie. filled with clouds, filled with rain chances as well. temperatures are going to hover in the upper 60s to near 70 for a time today. one or two rumbles of thunder can't be ruled out. organized severe weather will stay away from us today. that doesn't mean we're going to be dry. the nearest of the rain drops moving to the western side of the district. most of fairfax county in on the

light to moderate. south of town, south of fredricksburg. they're going to come up i-95. do expect a very rainy finish to your saturday morning and a wet start to your saturday afternoon. the main area of low pressure is cut off from the jet stream. it's sitting and spinning out here around parts of kentucky. it's going to take the better part of the next 24 to 48 hours to go from kentucky to the virginia coastline. as long as that is close by, our clouds and rain chances will continue. so today feeling a little bit like summer humidity outside today. showers and thundershowers around again. not a whole lot of severe weather for us today. that low pressure spinning its wheels to our west and southwest for the next couple days. that's problematic for our weather. once it starts to pull out of here sunday night, early monday, the back end will come through here. today, though, cloudy, mild, and humid. passing showers, thundershowers as well.

highs today upper 60s in a few spots up to the low 70s. then cloudy and cooler. not as much rain tomorrow. but almost no chance at any sunshine on your sunday. sunshine returns on monday. breezy sunshine at that. that breeze, northwesterly breeze put temperatures back down. all things colder than average weather expected around here. still in first place, the number one warmest march on record for the month. we are plus 12 degrees for the month. it has been so warm that this would be two degrees above average for april. >> wow. >> that is crazy. >> it is a little crazy. >> like the summer's here already. >> have you had a chance to see the blossoms yet? >> i did. thank goodness otherwise i would have missed them. have to wait until next year to see them again. >> sad but true. >> thank you. a montana man is behind bars this morning for trying to bring four loaded handguns through

security at a california airport. 45-year-old harold waller was arrested at sacramento international airport. while going through security, tsa agents found he was carrying one semiautomatic handgun and had three more in his carry-on bags. when they serged his car, they found eight more guns and a significant amount of ammunition. ncaa favorite kentucky is looking dominant. they ran past indiana for a 102-90 win. tomorrow kentucky will play baylor for a trip to e the final four. the tarheels to defeat the ohio bobcats. with ohio leading late tarheels tied it up and took control of the game. final score, 73-65. they'll play the kansas jay hawk who is had trouble with their

opponent north carolina state. the jay hawks led most of the game. kansas hung on to win 60-57. right now montgomery college in rockville is hosting the latest nbc washington pnc bank community shred. it's going to happen until 11:00 this morning. so you have just over an hour to get down there. joining us is dr. judy ackerman. the provost of montgomery campus. thanks for being with us this morning. tell us what is going to happen to all that stuff after shredding. what do you do with all that? >> well, it's really exciting. people are arriving with big boxes. they're waiting patiently in line taking it to the shredder. >> not much time for people to get there. but i see a lot of cars moving in. a lot of people coming in, right? >> there are lots of people coming in. as long as they're in line by 11:00 this morning, we're good.

we'll get them in and get their things shredded. >> how long does it take to go through the process? >> it looks as if it's taking five to ten minutes. because it's moving steadily along. cars just are going. everyone in cars seem quite happy. they're delighted that the partnership of all the groups are out here making this happen. this is the third time this year we've done this. >> and is the college recycling this paper? all the shredded paper? >> we always recycle. the college annually is winning awards for all the recycling that we do of college paper. you know college has an awful amount of paper. >> that is true. thank you very much, dr. ackerman. about an hour to get down there and get your papers shredded thank you. >> thank you. thousands of years of asian culture is coming to life on the kennedy center stage.

joining us now more on the show is kelly wen. i came out and watched the show on thursday. a beautiful, beautiful piece that you put together. what makes it so unique compared to other dance programs that we've seen at the kennedy center? >> well, you know shen young is really a celebration of chinese culture. classical chinese dance is accompanied by orchestra. >> what's neat is you actually come out between each of these performances and so really you don't have to have full gras. of the culture. you help us along. >> my emcee partner and i are the ambassadors. we help follow along. we try to do it in an entertaining way. >> when we talk about entertainment, i was floored because it's like the performers

were popping off of the screen. tell me about that and the technical surprises that we'll see. >> sure. this ancient show 5,000 years in the making combine state of the art technology with the beautifully animated backdrop that transforms the audience into each scene. >> literally they pop out of screen. >> like in the monkey king. >> yes. my favorite was the dance of the little monks as well. not only a lot of drama, but there is humor. >> exactly. and i think that's really an embodiment of 5,000 b years. of that historical background. and so the show really takes you on a journey from ancient china up to today. and so during the show visiting different dine stis and ethnic groups and seeing the stories like the little monks come alive on stage. >> if you want to go out and see them come alive, you still have plenty of time. is that right? >> exactly.

we'll play at the kennedy center right up until next surnday. tickets are selling fast. >> now to april 1st at the kennedy center opera house. visit kennedy-center.org for more information. kelly wen, we appreciate you stopping by. >> thank you for having me here. >> back to you. actually, we're going to take a commercial break. ♪

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robert bales faces 17 counts of premeditated murder and six counts of attempted murder. bales could face the death penalty. in louisiana voters are heading to the polls for their republican primary. 20 delegates are up for grabs. mitt romney still holds a commanding lead of close to 300 more delegates. after today the next republican contests are april 3rd in d.c., maryland, and wisconsin. >> an attorney advising the man who shot and killed trayvon martin is speaking out today. craig sonner maintains that zimmerman shot martin in self-deference. he has advised zimmerman to stay in hiding and out of the public eye. hundreds of d.c. community members are expected to gather for one of the largest rallies yet in our area in support of trayvon martin. news4's derek ward joins us from freedom plaza where the group

will gather later today. good morning, derek. >> reporter: good morning. well, if you look behind me now, you'll see what's left of the occupy movement. it's a scaled down version but we mained here on freedom plaza. today they will be joined by demonstrators for another cause. between martin and zimmerman. in a gated development. yesterday it was hoodies on the hiel. the protesters gathered calling for justice and the arrest of zimmerman. a self-appointed neighborhood watchman. an fbi investigation has begun into that incident. meanwhile trayvon martin's name has now become a rallying point for those who see this as a social justice 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: now, the rally is expected to get underway here at 2:00 p.m. on april 10th, a grand jury is expected to convene in florida to consider whether charges will be brought here. on monday more protests are being held at the justice department all surrounding this case. gets underway at 2:00 p.m. and participants are enkrgeed to wear black hoodies. back to you. >> derrick ward reporting live, thank you for that report. >> that rally is ready around 2:00. showers by then? >> absolutely. if you're going to the rally, have an umbrella as well. rain drops already starting to sneak inside the capital beltway. if you wanted something done before the rain this morning, you may have already missed your chance. if only you'd set the alarm on saturday morning and been up early. why would you do that? outside we go.

cloudy skies. not a whole lot of rain just yet in downtown. but their drops are getting ever closer now. 64 manassas. 53 in upperville. 57 in chevy chase. 60 in annapolis. here you go. on storm4 radar, you can hardly see the radar beam zipping around. down across parts of lower southern maryland. be on the lookout for moderate to at times heavy rain today. not expecting a whole lot. half an inch to inch in some spots. keep the umbrellas ready to go. we've had a couple beautiful weekends in a row. yesterday the pollen count 882. rain drops appreciated because it will not be a problem tomorrow. >> i bet a lot of people are going to be glad to get relief. >> been swallowing claritin

whole. >> for about a month. >> i think i have a claritin addiction now. >> that's why you're so aquake and alert. that's whats. thank you, chuck. this morning you can get rid of all those personal documents at the nbc pashz pnc community shred. >> joining us now is the head of montgomery county's waste reduction and recycling section eileen cao. thanks for being with us. >> good morning. the crowd is just great. there are so many folks here. they're bringing us all their confidential papers that they want to shred and recycle. it's awesome. >> now, are you finding you have a enough trucks to take koir o it? i see you have a couple behind you. >> well, actually we've got 12 trucks for the shredding of the paper and the recycling of the

paper. we've got two additional trucks for card board. a lot of folks are bringing their papers in card board boxes. so we'll recycle all of it. >> so you shred the paper -- >> and recycle the boxes. >> great. and we know identity theft is a big issue. it only takes 15, 20 minutes to shred all those documents if you are a victim of identity theft it could take you years to recover. >> if you can recover, in fact. and i know you mentioned card board boxes. but there's a list of items people should not bring. you give us that list because people brought them in the past. what are those? >> we really don't want people to bring us their items in plastic bags because that is a problem. the plastic with the paper is considered a contaminant. so really we want them to bring us all of their paper in either paper bags or card board boxes. i've noticed this morning a lot of folks are bringing us their

confidential paper in reusable bags. and that's fine. that really is a great waste reduction technique. >> i think that's wonderful. >> yeah. it is wonderful. >> sounds great. everybody has until 11:00 to get out there and shred away. we appreciate your time. >> thank you. thanks so much. >> and there's not much time left. right now it is 10:08. it's considered the biggest accomplishment of president obama's first term. now the nation's highest court is preparing to review his health care reform law. and the wait is over. "the hunger games" is finally out. a look at whether the highly anticipated movie is living up to all that hype. [ female announcer ] with xfinity,

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all eyes will be on the supreme court next week as the justices will hear arguments for

and against president obama's health care law. it's been two years since president obama signed his massive health care overhaul into law. and it appears america is just as divided on the plan now as it was when it was first created. the lawsuit stems from the debate over whether it's legal to force americans to buy health insurance. opponents say the government should stay out of american's private lives. while supporters point to all the good the law has done. >> could the federal government then order you to eat carrots? could it order you to quit smoking? >> today no child in america is denied health coverage because of a preexisting medical condition. >> the legal arguments will last three days. then the justices will debate the issue. the decision will be announced in june. today police in maine are

reissuing an expanded search for ayla reynolds. six track dogs will also be used. she was reported missing al her father says he found her bed empty. police have not made any arrests. it's been almost 36 hours since "the hunger games" hit theaters. it's already making waves at the box office. the movie pulled in more than $19 million on midnight showings alone yesterday. that's good enough for a seventh all time. and presales for the movie were third all time behind "harry potter" and "twilight." forecasted to make $120 million this weekend. i want to see that. >> this could be a good weekend to go see that. >> indeed. foonlly a weekend more conducive to indoor activities than outdoor. but if you need a little sunshine in your life, i've got

good news in the seven-day forecast. don't go away. ♪

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welcome back, everybody. we want to extend a warm welcome to a guy from a warm place. >> nice one. >> i know. clever there. richard jordan from miami will be joining us every weekend now on saturday and sunday mornings. and it's great to have you here. >> great to be with you guys. fun day so far. >> how has the move been going? >> move is good. drove all the way from miami up here to d.c. a long drive. don't want to do that again. >> and did you pack -- you told us you have a pet st. bernard. >> i do. >> does he ride with the head out the door. >> he had the back seat for him. kind of made it tough for

packing bags and boxes. got a big dog in the way. but we made it. i think he's going to like it here. >> we'll have to have a doggy day. we all have pups. >> i wish i had a picture to show. >> big dog, little dog, little dog. >> i think atticus has 99 pounds on yours. >> he's feared in the neighborhood. nobody metsdss with him. >> what's your dog's name? >> teddy. >> teddy, atticus, nicolas. >> three important animals. no doubt about it. outside today raincoats required for everybody who's going to be spending a lot of time outside. if you got a slicker for the dog, maybe put it on him. nicolas loves the rain. outside we go. a little bit of rain starting to sneak into your weekend as well. today is going to be the rainier of the two days this weekend. if you have things to do inside, today the better day.

book reading, movie watching, card playing. competitive. how about competitive uno. one of my all-time favorites. 62 outside right now with mist and drizzle works its way into downtown washington. a light breeze at 8 miles per hour. blossoms passing peak quickly. i think they'll be done today or tomorrow at the latest. 70% of the blossoms out. and the showers and the wind spell trouble. plus all those 80 degree days did not help the cherry blossoms at all. helped us. didn't help them. 64 with the rain showers in fredricksburg. here's downtown washington. all of our western suburbs are already wet. most of the eastern suburbs had rain earlier today. break in the ax for now. all this is lifting northbound. this moderate to heavy rain,

there's fredricksburg. going to come up through fredricksburg and into maryland. could be a ponding of the water on the roadways. a little batch of moderate rain moves in for early afternoon time freight. the main area of low pressure is to the west. as a result it's going to me yander ever so slowly. to go all the way to the virginia coastline. as it wobbles around, it'll throw moisture in our direction. a lot of clouds this weekend. showers off and on through much of the night. then tomorrow can't rule out some passing showers. most of the day tomorrow will be cloudy and damp looking. the amount of rain will be fairly low. cloudy, milding with humid. passing showers are in the making. one or two rumbles of thunder already happened this morning. one or two stronger thunderstorms this afternoon. but no severe weather expected today. that's welcomed news.

kind of a stormy day today. rain drops off and on through much of the afternoon. not a watchout tomorrow. turning breezy on monday as the chill comes back. 38 in the morning and only 58 with sunshine for a high on tuesday. that's the kind of weather that would have kept the blossoms around a lot longer. but alas, done. we're all done with it. stay ahead of the weather by following me on twitter. >> will do. >> i'm going to follow you today. >> job well done. >> thanks. the time right now 10:22. now, we talked about this earlier. i think you're lying to me. ever lose your cell phone? richard says no. >> i don't know where it is now. i think i lost it for the first time today. >> you are not alone if you have. the toll lost phones take on american's wallets each year and the cities where you're most likely to misplace your phone. and are you looking for extra pocket change? no one last night's megamillions lottery drawing. ♪

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everyone these days has a cell phone. and that means you're a whole lot more likely to lose it. a new study by the mobile security firm lookout shows that just last year around $30 billion worth of cell phones were lost by a americans. on average consumers lose their cell phones about once a year. philadelphiians were most likely to lose their cell phone. people lost at the usual locations like straubts, bars, their offices. and be careful at night. the largest number go missing between 9:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. >> i lose mine in the taxi. >> really? >> uh-huh. >> well, you got to try to hold

on to it next time. buy a lottery ticket this weekend and it could make you a mega millionaire. >> the mega millions jackpot for tuesday's drawing will be the largest in history. it has hit $356 million. that's if you take the annual option. the cash payout is $255 million. the first time in u.s. history the payout has been that high. the jackpot went up after no one claimed the winning numbers. you need to turn your numbers in. >> i'm spending a buck today. >> okay. those numbers were 6, 17, 19, 20, 21, the mega ball was 20. >> no one won. thanks for watching.