♪ ♪ welcome to "news 4 this week." >> hi, everyone. i'm veronica johnson. we'll show you some of the more interesting, local stories making news this week. among them, cell phone apps for buying used cars. how they can help you get a good deal without even talking to a sales person. and a breakthrough treatment for ailing service animals in the d.c. area. we'll introduce queyou to a 9/1 pentagon hero getting a new leash on life. we'll have a look at how fairfax county school kids are helping to shape what millions of other students eat while away from home. but first, a reminder, next time you leave your car at a metro parking garage, a few extra

seconds could keep you from being a victim of theft. metrotransity officers are out on patrol and they're looking for drivers who leave those hot items visible in their car, such as their laptop or cell phone as news 4's tracy wilkins reports, metro's parking garage crackdown holds you accountable. >> we're looking for broken glass on the ground. maybe the keyhole punched. >> a large portion of metro's crimes have been in the parking lot. specifically within and around vehicles. >> if a criminal sees it, they'll more than likely vandalize the car. >> metro police officers are on foot, on bikes and in vehicles patrolling their parking lots and garages, looking for what drivers often forget. >> the casing that they stick on the windows, the patrons should take those down because if a criminal sees that he'll think he just took the gps off and put it away in the car somewhere and

then they leave the charger and they should store all of those things away, that way it will cut down on the vandalism of the vehicle. >> a lot of times we see people leaving laptops or loose change, navigation devices in their windows. sometimes they'll leave cell phones. >> and when police find these devices, they'll send a yellow postcard like this one to the registered owner of the vehicle. >> i say hey, the way that you secured your vehicle is not the best way, there's a better way to do it. >> police say this program coupled with other initiatives have been working to cut down on parking lot crime. in 2008, there were 966 crimes in lots. since then, there's been a steady decrease and in 2011 metro transit police say there were 319 parking lot crimes system wide, a year low. >> people are in a rush running late so, you know, other things on their mind, i guess. >> it's a helpful initiative.

>> i think it's a good idea because you never know. i know there are lots of car thefts and stuff like that in the area. so i don't think it's a bad idea. >> police say you'd be amazed at how something as simple as the cable from your charger hanging out can lead to someone breaking into your vehicle. on this postcard they have a list of things that they'd like to see you avoid putting out in the open in your vehicle when you park. remember, this is not a ticket. it's just a warning to hopefully change your behavior in the future. i'm tracy wilkins, news 4. >> you know, i think part of the reason when we get out of our car we're also in a hurry. try to leave extra time and move everything out of sight. be safe. hey, an estimated 40 million used cars will be sold this year alone and with the price of previously owned cars on the rise it pays to do your research before you buy. liz crenshaw shares a handful of mobile apps to help you save money and time when you're shopping for a used car. >> it's convenient, it's easy

and it's at our fingertips. >> christopher basso says a handful of mobile apps are available for your phone to help consumers make the best decision when buying a used car. >> you can find pricing information and you can find vehicles for sale right on your phone and to make sure the car you're buying doesn't have hidden problems. >> carfax provides millions of consumers vehicle history reports. now there's an app that brings that information to your phone. >> you want to find out if there have been reported accidents for that vehicle, if the mileage is correct, if the air bag has deployed and if the vehicle has been well maintained and look for service records and all of that information that's of value to help you make an educated decision. >> for one history report or $45 for five reports, you can use the app on your phone as you head out to the streets to find your used car. >> show me the carfax. probably the coolest way to check the information is by scanning the bar code. >> using the app, you can scan the bar code on the dashboard or

the driver's side of the door jamb or enter the license plate number or do it the old-fashioned way and enter the 17-digit vin number. each way will return the vehicle's history. >> there it is. >> let's see, no accident damage reported to carfax. >> one owner vehicle, personal vehicle last owned in virginia. it gives you the last odometer reading. >> there was no personal information that supported carfax at all. all of the information is about the vehicle, not the person. >> in addition to the carfax app there are other apps to help you be a conscious consumer when shop for example a used car. cars.com and autotrader.com have free mobile apps that let you find a new or used car for sale right in your zip code and then they let you compare prices. >> one of the hidden costs that a lot of us don't think about is insurance. >> there's an app for that, too. it's called einsurance and it delivers a monthly insurance quote right to your phone. >> add $57.14 as a baseline for

your insurance cost and then you go. >> now you know what it will cost you to own and operate. >> free apps. >> free apps that put you in the driver's seat to help you decide which car to buy. >> there are so many things that are inherent that you let you know what you're buying before you lay down your hard-earned money. >> there's nothing like a good app that's got value to it especially if it's free and those, again, are. newborn babies are very fragile and while most are born very healthy one out of every 100 will be born with some sort of congenital heart problem. now the technology to screen for those defects have been around for years and doctors are warning that not enough physicians are using them and that's costing the lives of many babies. doreen gentzler has our report. >> looking at 6-month-old spencer gilman you would never know that he's undergone more surgeries than some people have in a life time. that's because before he was

even born, doctors found a defect in spencer's heart. >> his tricuspid valve didn't form properly and he has a three-chamber heart instead of a four-chamber heart. i was so distraught. i thought is he going to survive? will he make it until he's born? >> spencer is actually one of the lucky ones. doctors were able to identify the condition during his mother's 21-week pregnancy ultrasound. so just days after he was born, surgeons were already prepared to fix the valve, the first of three surgeries to repair his heart. >> we have a baby come to us soon enough and is recognized early enough before they get sir, most of the heart diseases that we take care of have great outcomes. the problem is that babies sometimes don't make it to us before they become quite sick. >> dr. philip spevak specializes in pediatric cardiac, of the babies born with heart defects

every year only half will be diagnosed before they leave the hospital. >> if they are already getting very sick the horse is out of the barn so to speak. >> that means they can end up with brain damage, organ failure or dead. there are simple measures to improve early diagnosis and the first step is doing a thorough prenatal ultrasound exam. >> so screening ultrasound picks up pretty easily diagnosed abnormalities, but it sometimes misses heart disease. >> that's because most practices only spend 5 to ten minutes on that screening. other measures include educating doctors about symptoms and giving all newborns pulse auction imetry test, a tool that measures blood oxygen levels which can indicate whether the heart is pumping properly. >> it's cheap and relatively effective. >> katherine gilman says she's just thankful that doctors are able to diagnose spencer early. she's expected to make a full

recovery. >> he's really laughing a lot now and just babbling all of the time. >> yes. i think he's more relaxed and he's happy and he's extremely smiley, happy little guy. >> doreen gentzler, news 4. >> spencer is adorable for sure. we're glad he's doing better. a breakthrough medical treatment is promising to provide better lives for ailing rescue dogs. coming up, how a four-legged hero played a key role at the pentagon on 9/11 is getting a new boost in his recovery. and if you sit at your desk all day, you know who you are, and you can't quite touch your toes, most guys, i think, w

♪ >> now to a breakthrough treatment that's helping search and rescue dogs in our area. stem cell therapy is now part of the recovery process for animals who played key roles on september 11th and a couple of other disasters.

darcy spencer introduces us to a four-legged hero who is getting a new lease on life after years of heroic work. >> his assignment as a search rescue and recovery dog was at the pentagon following the 9/11 attacks. >> she handled it like a pro. she didn't care about the machinery. there were bobcats moving through debris and the people and the people looking funny with respirators and she didn't mind any of it and went to work stwhoo she was called to duty after hurricanes katrina and rita to go through the rubble looking for survivors and victims. >> we actually didn't find anyone. people are often disappointed with that, and it's nice to tell that to the community. >> now the 9/11 hero is in bad shape. all those years of rescue work, not to mention a 12-foot fall from a ladder have taken a toll. arthritis forced her into retirement in july. >> most of her back is fused together. her shoulders from jumping on the hard concrete and rubble just after all those years, just

like a runner on asphalt, it's really hard on their joints after a while. the black lab is receiving a stem cell treatment that will ease her pain and give her more mobility. the arthritis turned red into a virtual couch potato. within two to three months she should be running and playing once again. >> the procedure was performed at the brook animal clinic where she's done two dozen stem cell operations. medevac america donated the technology and donated the cost of the procedure. >> depending what the dog needs, ligaments and cartilage, they can transform into those cells that can produce those so it can help healing. >> the treatment will not enable red to go back to work, but it is expected to put the spring back in her step and make her retirement more enjoyable. from brook, virginia, darcy spencer, news 4. >> this next story, cows in clothes. you've got to see this.

some cows in maryland are getting a new set each and every holiday. no one can figure out who's behind doing it. the bovine's statue stands at maryland's department of agriculture entrance and exit. a lot of people seem to enjoy them. why wouldn't you? people drive either way to see what thir wearing and workers say it's all year long. even if they figure out who's behind it, they're hoping that the tradition will still stay alive. why not, right? cows in clothes. >> well, the idea of being close to thousands of bees is enough to make, well, me, run in the opposite direction. a lot of people shudder. still ahead, meet a georgetown man whose knack for bees is helping save dozens of local gardens and up next, the fairfax county kids who

okay. i'm getting hungry about now.

this sounds good. hawaiian pizza, black beans, salad -- not imagine what you would be finding in a school lunchtime. fairfax county public schools looks for better options to add to next year's menu as news 4's julie carey reports, the kids them themselves are getting a big say in the matter. >> i like the crispiness. >> the spanish rice. >> it was a little too spicy. >> i like healthy stuff, but they need to be, like, more taste. >> meet the food critics at herman coats elementary. they're taste testers that could appear on next year's lunchroom menu. >> i think it's really wonderful to get student input because they're the customer. >> gathered around the room, food brokers and vendors with the company's task for developing new items. under consideration, oven fried chicken, hawaiian pizza, a 100% all-beef patty. a black bean and corn salad adapted from a rachael ray recipe, spanish rice and a dessert called the swirl whole

fruit cup. school officials say the new menu items reflect changing attitudes about lunchroom food. they have no added sugar, coloring or flavoring. >> we are really striving for -- i worked really hard on trying to get less ingredients and more cleaner label products. >> the testers take their task very seriously. they rate each item and make descriptive note. the favorite in the one to three-star rating system the chicken gets three stars. >> the chicken because it is so tender and so crispy and the inside is so juice thome. >> the bean salad got a somewhat cold reception, 2.2 stars. >> it's, like, too cold. >> the spanish rice needs a little work, too, but a hawaiian pizza a potential hit with 2.4 stars. >> i liked the hawaiian pizza, but for me it was a little bit too sweet. i think they should put less pineapple inside it. >> and those fruity desserts,

three stars there, too. >> the texture was really creamy and not scratchy. and also the blend of flavors, it just, like, popped in your mouth like a piece of candy. >> as the 11th largest school district in the county, the opinion of fairfax county school kids matter a lot. for example, this true fat-free no-fructose chocolate milk was developed specifically for the fairfax county schools. julie carey, news 4. >> kids, aren't they so vocal about what they like and don't like? if you've got one you know. if you spend a lot of time behind your desk, can you touch your toes? there's a new fitness class that promises you to get lean, mean and transform you into what's called a flex-a-babe. so we asked them what's your workout? >> five, six, seven, nice and long. >> all cramped up in chairs in front of computers all day so it's good to get out there and

move around a little bit. if you're sitting on couch, lounging and watching tv, your body is always cramped up in some different position. >> five, six, seven, eight. >> the class is basically a class that involves many different genres. it's an eclectic style with isolations, you know, head, shoulders, torso, hips, knees, ankles just to warm everything up first, but then after the isolations i like to do a series of laterals to the side with hamstring stretches and then also to the front just to warm up the core, hamstrings, back. then i like to take it to the ground where we do more hamstring stretches. >> one, two, three. >> and end up working into the back which is so great. >> and then we do a few things to select the core and the arms, a few yoga poses.

something as simple as coming in and stretching for a little bit and doing a few strengthening exercises can definity relief, you know, some of the everyday stress that we have. >> challenging. that's the right word. it wasn't incredibly difficult. it's something that i think is accessible that anyone can do because the way she taught it, she would like you to modify it. >> you are more aware of your body. >> and the way that you fit in your clothes and getting rid of muffin tops. getting rid of saddle bags and things like that. with something like this over time, you tend to look longer and leaner. a lot of things the class does. the flex-a-babe class meets every sunday at the fitness studio that's located in mount vernon square neighborhood in northwest, d.c. >> georgetown is one of d.c.'s most sought-after neighborhood and hardly the place that you'd expect to find thousands of bees on a rooftop. up next, meet the urban

beekeeper who is working to give

♪ a man in georgetown has thousands of bees on his roof and he likes it that way. he's not a little odd. he's just an urban beekeeper and as melissa ma lay reports, his hives have become the buzz of the neighborhood. >> while the thought of being this close to bees might make you nervous. >> i don't want to get stung. >> i don't like bees. i'm allergic. >> urban beekeeper jeff miller is right at home looking at his honey combs. >> i've always been interested in food and cooking and started my own garden in the back of my house and i was having a hard time getting any fruit to set. tomatoes weren't growing and peppers weren't growing and they did research and knew that we didn't have that many in the city, so i started a hive or two. >> he now runs the non-profit d.c. honey bees and that hive or two. >> we would install 60 hives last year and we're on track for

over 60 this year. >> he offers hive kits and weekend classes to get people interested. >> i just want to show you how gentle they are. >> your starter hive would come in a hive just like this one with one queen bee and 10,000 worker bees and you dump them into a wooden hive and within six weeks you'll have 25,000 bees. >> the u.s. honey bee population has been hurt by a variety of parasites and diseases are killing tens of thousands of bees every day. >> when you lose a species at the rate that we're losing it it's a scary and dangerous game. >> miller breeds bees that are genetically strong to helpa, void disease. he thinks that will help. >> we think of it as an endangered species. >> he manages 20 city hives at schools and farms including here at this church. >> with the bees pollinating. >> the vegetables here are used to feed the homeless, beekeeping regulations in the district are a bit ambiguous and in maryland

and virginia the rules vary by county. >> now i get to taste the honey. let me see. unbelievably good. >> we call that georgetown gold. >> in georgetown, melissa ma lay, news 4. >> yeah, that's yum. aside from pollinating your garden or flowers, one hive can actually yield 60 pounds of honey each year. sweet! first dog bo and now there are animals trying to join him at the white house. take a look here. while they're not an invited guest, they're very welcome the the obamas. they're very cute. cameras were rolling when the mother duck wandered over to the white house lawn with ducklings in tow and they couldn't quite get over the concrete barrier. there was a group of uniformed secret service agents that jumped in to help and with gloved hands they personally escorted those little ones right through the gate and all of the visitors there applauded the agents for all of their work. the ducks were later seen

resting in the bushes. they're so cute. for news 4 week, i'm veronica johnson, hope to see you next time. ♪

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