and at some point ms. carson had a gun and shot the victim in this case. >> according to court documents, the bullet was lodged in the complainant's liver. it hasn't been removed because of the risk of complications and it causes the victim severe pain. last week our darcy spencer talked to the victim after he was released from the hospital. >> this particular type of hate in the city is nothing new. it's definitely not new to me. though i've never been attacked in this particular manner. >> reporter: the shooting has been described as a hate crime and today city leaders promised these kinds of attacks will not be tolerated. >> the crimes of this nature cannot and will not be tolerated in the district of columbia. because all of our residents have the right to walk our streets free of the fear they will be targeted simply because of who they are, whom they love,

or the way they choose to worship. >> reporter: now there is no official hate crime charge in the city of washington. but if hate is determined to be the motive for a crime, the convict can get a lot more jail time. for example, assault with a gun, the maximum penalty there, 30 years. but if hate is determined to be the motive for that same assault, the maximum penalty, 45 years in jail. live at the wilson building, pat collins, news 4. now to new information in the trayvon martin case as communities across the country rally to his defense. marches here in washington and in florida are helping mark a month since martin was shot and killed by neighborhood watchmen in sanford, florida. george zimmerman has told police he acted in self-defense. he has not been arrested. a friend of zimmerman's is now speaking out on his behalf. he says he cried for days after the shooting.

we're also learning that martin was in sanford because he was suspended from his school in miami after an empty marijuana bag was found in his locker. his mother says that's a diversion from the real facts of the case. >> they've killed my son and now they're trying to kill his reputation. >> right now hundreds are rallying in sanford to demand an arrest in this case. l's also a rally outside the justice department here in washington. news 4's derrick ward has more on that. >> reporter: the protests continue. today here at d.c. demonstrators showed up outside the justice department offices on new york avenue that house the u.s. inspector general's office. locations change but the goal of the demonstrations stay the same. demonstrators delivered petitions which were circulated online and signed by more than 500,000 people asking for the justice department to step in to the ongoing investigation into the death of trayvon martin and the arrest of george zimmerman the man who killed him.

>> i launched a petition on st. patrick's day and two days after that the justice department announced that they were going to launch an investigation. i take a lot of comfort in that but now it's two weeks after that, it's 30 days after trayvon was killed, and there's no arrest. the shooter george zimmerman hasn't even stepped foot in the police department to say this is what happened. >> reporter: it was one month ago today that martin was shot by self-appointed neighborhood watch captain george zimmerman. martin was returning to a home he was visiting in a gated community in sanford, florida when he encountered zimmerman. the facts and nature of exactly what transpired are at the heart of the controversy. zimmerman claims he shot the teen in self-defense after pursuing him through the sub division. he had called police to report martin as a suspicious person and was on the phone with police department dispatchers who had told him not to follow martin. for some families at today's demonstration the scenarios have

a haunting resresonance. two families one african-american and one white both saying their loved ones fell victim to laws like stand your ground and both families say they await justice. a new clue in the search for a man who assaulted a teenage girl walking home from school in fairfax. police have just released this sketch. investigators say the man confronted a 16-year-old who cut through a wooded path on her way home from woodson high school last monday. the girl was dragged into the woods but she managed to get away. police say the man may be driving a white four-door honda accord. this afternoon neighbors passed out flyers to try to get the word out. it has been a wild day at the supreme court as arguments got under way over the obama administration's health care law. the big question for the justices today is about the fine for those who don't get insurance. they're debating whether or not it's a tax. >> there is at least some doubt about it >> and this is not a revenue raising measure because if it's

successful, it won't -- nobody will pay the penalty. >> if they rule that the fine is not a tax, then they can move on to debating whether the health care law, itself, is constitutional. there are two more days of oral arguments inside the high court and action outside the court is expected to continue. darcy spencer is live at the supreme court tonight with more from the people on both sides. darcy? >> reporter: as you know this law is controversial and complicated. as soon as it passed two years ago, legal challenges were filed. supporters on one hand say americans need to have access to affordable health care. on the other side opponents say this law is unconstitutional. ♪ god bless america >> reporter: outside the u.s. supreme court there were demonstrators and activists all with an opinion on the issue being debated inside. president obama's signature health care reform law.

>> it would be very unfortunate if this is struck down by the supreme court because as a primary care doctor i see the consequence of patients not having access to health care. >> if the government can do this, they can do anything. there is nothing holding them back. >> reporter: the main issue being debated is whether the law is constitutional. if the government can force americans to buy health insurance and fine those who don't. >> if they mandate that we have to buy health care, what will be the next mandate? will they mandate we have to buy a chevy volt? >> beginning of the line right here? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: some were fortunate enough to get one of the hottest tickets in town to sit in on the arguments. >> i think this is going to be a historical case. one in my lifetime. so i just want to witness history. >> reporter: the arguments are taking place over three days. some are already in line waiting to get tickets for tomorrow's proceedings. you came up here from north carolina? >> yes. >> reporter: how long are you going to wait to get tickets? >> i guess they hand out tickets tomorrow morning at 7:30. >> reporter: congressman jerry connelly of fairfax county says he is boycotting the proceedings

because video cameras are not allowed in the highest court of the land. i believe it is wrong of the supreme court to limit seating like this. i believe that there ought to be cameras in the court and the whole country ought to be able to watch their deliberations on one of the most seismic decisions they could ever make. >> reporter: they're expected to have oral arguments for six hours over the three-day period. tomorrow they are supposed to take up that very controversial part of this law and that is the individual mandate, whether you have to buy health insurance. the supreme court could rule on this issue as soon as june. reporting live from the supreme court, darcy spencer, news 4. republican presidential candidate rick santorum appeared outside the court today to press his argument that he is the best candidate to challenge president obama on health care issues this fall. he said his rival mitt romney is disqualified because he put a similar law in place in massachusetts. >> and there's only one candidate who has the chance of winning the republican nomination who can make this the

central issue that will be a winning issue for us to win the presidency back and that's rick santorum and, unfortunately, the worst person to make that case is mitt romney. >> rick santorum won the louisiana primary on saturday but remains far behind romney in delegates. well, the sun is out on this monday but it may not warm things up a whole lot today. doug is in the storm center with the latest. hello, pat. looking out there right now a beautiful afternoon. currently sitting at 58 degrees. abundant sunshine but the winds are blowing in some of the coldest air we've seen in the last couple weeks. 58 right now with the winds out of the northwest at 18 miles an hour. 32 miles an hour. that's the current wind gusts. we'll continue to see these winds throughout the next couple hours and eventually those winds will usher in that cold air. not too bad right now. 62 in fredericksburg. 59 manassas. frederick around 54 degrees. 55 in martinsburg.

the cold air will come in overnight tonight and we're talking about the potential to be near freezing in many areas, not just below freezing but into the 20s overnight tonight. so just about the entire area under a freeze warning now through tomorrow morning as temperatures will get down into the upper 20s to lower 30s even inside the beltway we can't expect temperatures close to the freezing mark. satellite and radar showing clear skies around the area right now. those clear skies will help things to cool as we make our way through the rest of the night tonight as you do move through. temperatures around 49 degrees by 9:00. 45 by 11:00. waking up to the coldest numbers we've seen in more than two weeks. wait until you see the forecast. i'll have it for you coming up. >> thanks, doug. another after shock rattles virginia. the 3.1 magnitude quake hit eight miles south of mineral just before 11:30 last night. no damage has been reported. mineral was the epicenter of the 5.8 magnitude quake in august. there have been more than a hundred after shocks since then and seismologists say they could

continue for months. the wife of the u.s. soldier who was charged in the massacre of 17 afghan civilians says she doesn't believe her husband was involved in those murders. this is the first time that keri bales has spoken publicly about the attack. she talked with matt lauer on the "today" show. staff sergeant robert bales is charged with killing 17 afghanees earlier this month including nine children. his wife says even though his fourth deployment into the war zone was a shock to both of them, she believes he was physically and mentally prepared for it and she says her husband would never hurt children. >> when i asked what kind of dad he was, you said he was so involved with his children. he loves children. >> he loves children. he's like a big kid himself. >> he is accused of killing nine children. >> right. >> innocent children. >> i have no idea what happened, but he would not -- he would loves children and he would not do that. >> army staff sergeant bales is being held at a maximum security

military prison in kansas. up next, on news 4 at 5:00, inside pope benedict's historic trip to cuba and the fight to free a potomac man who's been in custody for two years. consider yourself warned. d.c. plans to revamp its speed cameras and red light cameras to catch even more people and generate millions in revenue. plus a magic bullet to cure diabetes. tonight a breakthrough discovery could be a life saver for could b[ male announcer ] for the dreamers... and those well grounded. for what's around this corner... and the next. there's cash flow options from pnc. solutions to help businesses like yours accelerate receivables, manage payments, and help ensure access to credit. because we know how important cash flow is to reaching your goals.

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everyone grows with miracle-gro. some medical experts are coming to dick cheney's defense after he underwent a heart transplant this weekend. the former vice president had the procedure at inova fairfax hospital in falls church saturday. with thousands of people on the national waiting list some question if a patient cheney's age should receive a new heart before younger patients. cheney is 71. however, some doctors say the current rules place medical need as the top criteria for a heart transplant not age. they say cheney was on the waiting list for 20 months. that's longer than most patients. there is news today that could affect more than 20 million americans with type 2 diabetes. a new study suggests a surgical procedure that's used to help people lose weight could double as a diabetes treatment. erica edwards has that story.

>> reporter: keeping up with his kids wasn't easy for tim before he had gastric bypass surgery and lost 60 pounds. >> i can look at a picture from then and think man. i really was a fat dude then. i didn't really think of myself that way. >> reporter: but his weight wasn't the reason he had surgery. it was his type 2 diabetes. >> i was very, very concerned about what diabetes would do to me and this seemed to be the best shot at controlling that. >> reporter: dave was over 150 overweight adults who participated in a trial at the cleveland clinic testing whether stomach reducing surgery could manage type 2 diabetes bet thaern diet and exercise. >> just a little less than half of those that had gastric bypass achieved complete remission. >> reporter: compared to 10% of those on medication alone. patients who had surgery were also able to cut the number of

cholesterol and blood pressure drugs they were taking and lost significantly more weight. doctors say a hormone in the stomach released immediately after surgery appears to stimulate the pancreas to make more insulin. >> there are some medications that try to mimic what the operation does but so far they're just not quite as powerful as surgery. >> since the surgery i don't have to take anything for my diabetes or for high blood pressure or bad cholesterol, so, i am in much better shape overall. >> reporter: and he is taking steps to stay in shape for what he hopes are his healthiest years to come. >> sounds promising. well, our weather is pretty nice today, doug. >> and wow. it's going to be a shock to the system apparently tonight. we have to go find our winter coats. >> you could say that. that's the thing. tomorrow morning is really going to be a shock especially to the school kids that have been going out over the last couple weeks. the last two weeks we haven't dipped below 50 degrees. >> we've been spoiled. >> that's for the lows.

we've been extremely spoiled but we are going to go not just below 50. most areas will go below 30 overnight tonight. it is going to be a cold night. take a look out there right now. a very nice afternoon. a pretty afternoon with plenty of sunshine. bright blue skies. it is very bright outside today if you walk out there. that's because our dew point is so low and our humidity is only 25% so a very dry atmosphere. that's going to help things to really cool off later on this evening. winds right now out of the northwest at 18 miles an hour but gusting to 32 miles an hour. out there at the airport. here's the rest of the wind gusts gusting over 39 miles an hour across much of the region nearly 40 over toward hagerstown. 30 camp springs. 31-mile-per-hour wind gusts down toward pax river. we'll continue to see these winds gusting throughout the next couple hours. they should start to die down after about 8:00, 9:00 tonight. that's when the temperatures will start to plummet. 61 right now in culpepper. 62 in fredericksburg. 54 in gaithersburg. this time of the year normally we'd say this is a fantastic day but considering where we've

been, these temperatures are a lot cooler than we've been over the past couple weeks. satellite and radar showing why. we had our storm system that came through. didn't bring nearly as much rain as i thought we'd see this weekend. that is moving out. behind it clear skies. those clear skies will allow any radiation that we saw, any heat that we saw come into the atmosphere today move right back into that atmosphere this evening. breezy conditions. we do have the sunshine out there right now and we'll continue to see those clear skies. right on through the day tomorrow. tomorrow is going to start off cold and then it's going to end up rather cool outside. temperatures only in the mid to upper 50s during the day tomorrow. then we'll see a warm front pass us by. wednesday will be a warmer day. temperatures back to near 70 on wednesday. with a slight chance of a shower. maybe a rumble of thunder or two but this frontal boundary will not have a whole lot of rain associated with it. what we will be seeing though is that cold night tonight. and now just about everybody with the exception of extreme southern maryland under a freeze warning and many of you will see temperatures in the 20s tonight.

make sure you do what you need to do to protect those plants. we'll talk more about that in a second. but this evening mostly clear, breezy, cooling quickly. 49 to 54 degrees with winds out of the northwest at 10 to 20 miles per hour. gusting to 30. but overnight tonight into tomorrow we'll see those winds die down and the temperatures go way down. a cold start. 27 in the suburbs to about 36 in the city. northwest winds about 5 to 10 miles an hour. we have any wind at all that'll put our wind chills in the low 20s tomorrow for many of you. tomorrow afternoon plenty of sun. much cooler and not too bad for mid to late march. 53 to about 57 degrees. here's the next couple days. 70 on your wednesday. then 64 both thursday and friday. friday right now looking like a really nice day with plenty of sunshine too so a cold night tonight but just like the rest of this winter our cold is not lasting very long at all. >> we go from freezing to 70 degrees. >> yeah. >> tonight is just going to be a blip on the thermometer. >> very quickly. >> all right. thanks. tonight's freeze could wreak

havoc on your yard. up next how to protect your plants and your flowers from the frigid weather. >> and gas prices have hit record highs but the move could work in your favor and save you money on your car insurance. also a new tool to help groom your pet. a procedure with no pain and no mess. but does it really do that? liz crenshaw finds out tonight.

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we have breaking news in southeast d.c. a metro bus driver hospitalized after police say teenagers threw a chemical on him. the driver was working the a-32 bus route. he was at the corner of anger place and alabama avenue when this happened. hazmat crews had to be called to the scene. the teenagers responsible ran off and police are still trying to look for them. well, turning to sports, he is a two-time olympic kayak frer this area hoping to paddle his way to the olympic games in london this summer. >> dan hellie is here to tell us about it. >> he's living in bethesda now and is anxious to get back competing for the gold with the olympics quickly approaching. one local kayaker hoping to make his third trip to the games now. scott parsons has come out of retirement because of some unfinished business. >> it's an interesting sport. it attracts all kinds of people. i think for me it is a lot about

being an individual. >> reporter: doing things differently is part of two-time national champion kayaker scott parsons' dna. it's evident in the way he commands his canoe over water and his deliberate approach toward life. but it's on full display every day as the two-time u.s. olympian takes his daily commute to the office on the feeder canal. >> you can't beat the two-minute walk down to the main training site. this neighborhood brookmont where i live is kind of the center for kayaking or slalom kayaking in this area. i knew even while i was going to high school that the day after graduation i was backing up my car and moving to brookmont. >> reporter: following the interests of his father and older brother by 10 he had the boat. by 12 he was winning. >> reporter: i can't follow it at all. >> basically the idea is to negotiate the course using these gates. >> reporter: the season champion is in the process of qualifying for his third olympic games in london. it almost never happened.

after a crushing mistake in beijing. >> so after the first runs i was in third. had a mistake at the bottom of the course. i missed a gate. three or four years of all that work was just done in an instant. >> reporter: the loss killed his competitive spirit and he retired. but it wouldn't last for long. >> reporter: there is absolutely redemption at work here. you know, that left a pretty sour taste. i think i was pretty close to achieving, i mean, i guess it's pretty much been a life long dream. >> reporter: the course design requires parsons to work both with and against rivers' natural currents. if all goes as planned he'll make his way through 20 of these gates in about 90 seconds. while the feeder canal lacks the intensity of some of the man made portions parsons will ride in competition, it allows him to work on technique. the proven winner knows there is always room for growth. this time it's all or nothing. >> i want to win and i want an

olympic medal really badly. i mean, that's pretty huge. but there's just something about getting better each day and working hard to get better at what i've chosen to do. >> man, you got to want it badly. you go into retirement because you're so devastated by how things ended in the last olympics and now you devote the next couple years to training for the next olympic games in london. >> good for him. >> he's got, i love all the kayakers. we have some really great kayaking areas in this -- some pretty tough spots here. >> there are times. it's interesting though you look at the man made things he was talking about. looks so difficult compared to what they are training on here. >> gates. >> yeah, exactly. >> thanks, dan. still ahead, help from a higher power? a local family hopes the pope can do something no one else has been able to do after the arrest of a local contractor two years ago in cuba. also, cell phones swiped and sold on the black market. how d.c. police are working to change the law to protect your

property. >> we'll find out why the first lady gave some local students a special invitation to the white house today.

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arrested. people attending the rallies are asking that zimmerman be charged. an arrest and shooting outside an ihop restaurant in columbia heights two weeks ago. today police charged 27-year-old leshawn carson in the assault on a 31-year-old gay man. the shooting has been described as a hate crime. first day of oral arguments over the health care law is wrapping up at the supreme court but the people are still camped out hoping to get a ticket to witness the arguments in person tomorrow. justices inside and activists outside are debating whether the mandate that requires people to buy insurance is constitutional. let's fast forward to our big change in the weather. >> a big change for sure. ladies, we have seen the warmest march on record here in the washington, d.c. area but tonight it's not going to be anything close to warm. it is going to be a very cold night tonight. as a matter of fact the national weather service putting out a freeze warning for just about every county in our viewing area. the exceptions down toward southern portions of maryland but everybody else has a good potential to see temperatures

not just below freezing but many of you could see temperatures in the upper 20s. you need to get ready for it. >> yikes. with the mild winter that we have a lot of people in our region got an early start on our spring gardening. >> but with tonight's freeze warning there are concerns that early efforts could all be for loss. >> news 4's melissa mey ll meles live in bethesda. >> reporter: it is good to be early for work, for a doctor's appointment, perhaps for your own wedding but if you are a bud or a bloom like those behind me being early is not so great when that colder weather blows in. >> hardly a snowflake. that's bad. >> reporter: the warm, winter months coaxing buds into blooms almost too early this spring with the wind whipping through the blooms that have actually stayed on the trees and flowers need to hold on extra tight for tonight's frost. bonnie edwards spent much of the

day pulling weeds in her northwest yard but she won't be planting for a while. she decided to keep her geraniums and pansies inside this winter. >> after the tuesday frost warning i might plant them out. you can't though quite yet. you just can't. you don't want to have a tragedy. >> reporter: at johnson's a florist and garden center, they're warning customers and prepping for a night that could damage or kill many fragile flowers. >> everything bloomed kind of early to mid march and then this cold snap is coming and it's knocking the blossoms off a little sooner and so when your typical april easter beauty is not the same. >> reporter: if all the warm weather got you revved up for spring -- >> everyone likes warm weather. >> reporter: -- but you prematurely planted covering your plants, flowers, and veggies may help but keeping your tarp on is key. a good wind could send it sailing. >> those who aren't hardy might

die. we have to bring everything inside. >> reporter: you might be wondering when is the right time to plant here in the washington area? those with a green thumb have a rule of thumb -- april 15th. this plant lover one of the few planting today but what she is putting in the ground can handle the colder temperatures. >> i'm planting some delaware white azaleas. >> wow. they can handle it? >> they can handle it. >> reporter: now, remember some flowers need a coat just like we do when the warm weather dips so plastic, burlap, even newspaper believe it or not, just a nice little coating of newspaper over your plants will help them tonight. live in bethesda, news 4, back to you. >> thanks, melissa. hopefully the white house kitchen garden will not be one of the casualties. today first lady michelle obama hosted her fourth annual spring planting. students from harriet tubman and bancroft elementary school in d.c. were among those invited to participate. the first lady created this garden to start a national conversation about children's

health. on the heels of an nbc news exclusive report several lawmakers have introduced a bill to force wireless companies to cut service to stolen cell phones. tens of thousands of high tech phones are stolen every year. sometimes in violent attacks. d.c.'s police chief kathy lanier says the wireless industry puts profits ahead of safety because unlike some countries u.s. companies will react investigate stolen cell phones. a spokesman for the wireless industry says u.s. companies want to make sure an effective plan is created before one is put into place. pope benedict is now in cuba for an historic three-day visit. he arrived in the coastal town of santiago about an hour ago. he will be celebrating an open air mass there later tonight. he will also be traveling to havana to meet with cuban president reuel castro. meanwhile, the relatives and friends of a maryland man who has been jailed in cuba are hoping the pope's visit will help free him. erika gonzalez is here with more about that. >> reporter: thanks so much, wendy. cuba released 2900 prisoners for

humanitarian reasons. back in december ahead of the pope's visit this week. still, alan gross's family and friends are hopeful he, too, will be set free. >> we believe that it should be 2901. alan should be released on humanitarian grounds. >> reporter: since last november member of the jewish community relations council adena rems stands outside the cuban intersection every monday calling for the release of alan gross a social worker and contractor for the u.s. agency for international development. >> free alan gross now! >> reporter: gross was sentenced to 15 years in prison for attempting to bring satellite phones and computer equipment to members of cuba's jewish community. the jewish community relations council and other supporters are urging pope benedict xvi to ask cuban president reuel castro to release gross. the pontiff arrived in santiago earlier today and will be there the next three days to celebrate the country's patron saint.

the council has sent the pope a petition with over 4500 signatures pleading for the 62-year-old's freedom. >> stranger things have happened. we're anticipating a good thing happening. >> reporter: reverend dr. anderson wholeness tells me she maintains the hope that castro will have a change of heart. cuban vice foreign minister rigal told msnbc's andrea mitchell today gross's release is not out of the question. >> we have conveyed to the united states government our willingness to have a dialogue to look for a solution on this case on humanitarian bases and we are waiting for a response. >> reporter: and tonight at 6:00 gross's family talks to us about his mother's dying wish. wendy, pat? >> all right. erika gonzalez, thank you. still ahead, slow down or pay up. one city looks to make millions more in revenue by revamping its speed cameras. >> the megamillions jackpot is

growing but you've got to act fast if you want to play. don't be alarmed if you see pink deer in our area. the reason behind the bold design coming up next.

expectations are running high that the virginia senate will finally vote today and pass its version of the state budget. the senate rejected the two previous plans.

lawmakers are holding a special session to continue working on the budget. the $85 billion spending plan would fund the state government for two years. the house already approved its version of that bill. good news for shoppers in prince george's county. that plan to impose a five-cent tax on disposable plastic or paper bags died in the general assembly over the weekend. the county executive and the county council supported the idea but critics questioned whether it did enough to help the environment. d.c. and montgomery county already have a five-cent bag tax in place. you may want to try your luck in tomorrow night's megamillions drawing. the jackpot is now at a whopping $363 million thanks to strong ticket sales in virginia and across the country. it's the largest since january and the third largest ever. last july a man in mclean won the $107 million jackpot. your chances of winning tuesday's drawing are 1 in $176 million. you can also buy those tickets in maryland and d.c. good luck. >> yes. coming up next, it's brand new

and it costs more than $2 billion. but crews already have to make repairs on a local toll road. i'm liz crenshaw. the shed pal promises pain free grooming with a massaging brush. does it really do that? find out, coming up. something tells me it's not going to work but we have to find out, liz. 58 degrees right now with plenty of sunshine. a great afternoon but a shock to the system overnight. freeze warnings in effect. [ female announcer ] with xfinity,

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you'll soon see construction cones along maryland's new intercounty connector. in fact for the next six to eight weeks crews will be fixing the $2.6 billion highway that runs from i-370 in shady grove to i-95 in prince george's county. in the fall inspectors found

premature cracks on four bridges. the affected overpasses are at georgia avenue, emory lane, muncaster mill road and needwood road. the state says there is no immediate safety concern but the repairs are being done as a precaution. there is another reason to be on the lookout for the red light cameras in the district. if the mayor gets his way you may get a ticket josephine teve light is green and you speed through the interspecification. >> speed cameras and red light cameras are sprinkled all over the city. now mayor gray is proposing a steep increase to bring in more revenue. with more speed cameras and even double duty for the red light cameras at intersections. the intersection cameras would be retrofitted to also ticket drivers who speed through when the light is green. you like it? >> yes i do. >> why? >> because i work at gw hospital and the more people who run the light or go too fast, i have to take care of them. >> reporter: the city may also

use laser beams and tunnels to catch common speeding there. d.c. police say it is safety enforcement not revenue raising like many motors suspect. >> really to have drivers be cognizant that the cameras are out there and the ultimate goal is to get folks to slow down. >> reporter: but red light and speed cameras do bring in a lot of money. about $58 million minus expenses this year and about $88 million next year if the new proposals go through. d.c. council judiciary chairman phil mind ellison will hold hearings on the new speed camera policies before they go into effect next fall. >> we should not be balancing budgets based on ticket writing. ticket writing should be based on public safety. there is a problem in the city with red light running. there is a problem in the city with people who speed up to beat the light. >> reporter: d.c. police say none of this will matter if you obey speed limits. >> if you're not speeding at the end of the day you're not going to get a ticket. in the district tom sherwood news 4. you do have a fighting chance. the police department lists the

locations of all of its speed cameras on its website. you'll find a link at nbc washington.com. just search traffic cameras. let's get a final look at our weather, doug. >> hello, ladies. yes, a very cold night out there tonight. plenty of sunshine right now 58 degrees. not bad at all. if you're thinking about eating dinner outside tonight may not be the night to do it because we are going to cool down quickly. 54 degrees in gaithersburg. 59 in manassas. 63 down there toward warranton. over toward hunting town. temperature there 58 degrees. winds? we've seen those winds gusting too. tonight the winds will die down and allow us to cool down. the average low temperature is 41. the record low is 23. so nowhere near that tonight. but overnight i do expect a low in the district of 36 degrees. in the suburbs, dropping another 10 degrees talking about 26. maybe 27 degrees in places like martinsburg, leesburg, 26 down toward culpepper. maybe around 26 to 28 degrees in

frederick and then down toward the eastern shore and portions of southern maryland temperatures remain above the freezing mark but you want to make sure you take precautions with any of those plants that are outside as we've been talking about throughout the broadcast. tomorrow afternoon, though, temperatures rebound. a little bit. still, over 25 degrees below where we were on friday. temperatures moved into the 80s tomorrow. 56 in washington. 55 leesburg. 58 in martinsburg. plenty of sunshine. not a bad afternoon but it will take a little while to rebound from the very cold start. 56 for the high tomorrow. then look at this. right back to 70 on wednesday, thursday, and friday. temperatures around 64 degrees. both days with sunshine on friday. friday looking very, very nice right now as we make our way through the rest of the weekend and temperatures into the 60s. maybe even the upper 60s with a slight chance of shower activity during the day on saturday. once again, this forecast remains fairly dry and it does even though we're going through a cold snap tonight it does remain above average for this

time of year. so there you go. >> all right. thanks, doug. wildlife experts in fairfax county are trying a new technique to help get rid of ticks and reduce the number of cases of lyme disease. the county has set up 20 deer feeding stations across the county. those stations use food to attract the deer but they contain these rollers treated with a pesticide that kills ticks. wildlife officials will be able to tell which deer visited the station because that's pink dye on those rollers that will leave a stain on the deer for a few days. >> we want to kill ticks. we want to possibly reduce the immediate threat to humans, getting these ticks on them. that'll take a little more research to prove. but at the very least, we'll be showing what we can do at these stations to kill the ticks on the deer that go into your yard and drop off the ticks. that pink stain by the way is nontoxic. this study is going to last for three years. it's been in development since

2009. grooming a pet can be quite a chore and a challenge. but there is a product on the market promising pain free grooming with a massaging brush and no mess. it's called the shed pal. does it really do that? liz crenshaw is here with the answer. liz? >> hi there, pat. the shed pal promises to groom your dog or your cat without pulling its hair or hurting your pet. and it says it vacuums the hair up in just seconds. but does it really do that? >> introducing the all new shed pal. the pet preferred vacuum powered grooming system that fits right in your hand while the soothing purr of the quiet motor pulls in the shedding hair without the pain of wire bristles scratching the skin. watch the canister fill with shedding hair instead of the fur flying everywhere. >> the shed pal's promise appealed to debby weaver in clarksville, maryland. >> well, i was interested when i saw the commercial because the dog at the beginning, the german shepherd, is really struggling

when his owners brush him. struggling to get away. that was all too familiar. >> reporter: debby weaver and her husband have two big dogs. >> here we go. >> reporter: weaver says grooming can be a challenge especially with their 90-pound shepherd mix jackson who can't stand to be brushed. >> he does not care for brushes and if you bring out a standard wire brush he'll run. >> reporter: so we sent the shed pal and its informercial to the weavers' home. the vacuum grooming system came with two deluxe shed pals and these squeaky toys called crazy critters. it cost us about $48 including processing fees. >> the secret is the massaging nubs on the yu-shaped brush tha gently gather the hair while the rotating motor sucks it into the canister. >> but -- >> does it really do that? >> it seems pretty straight forward to use. >> reporter: weaver had been using the shed pal for a few days practicing on jackson. >> you know, had instructions

about acclimating the dog which were really helpful. yes. that's a good boy. see, this is amazing that he would let you do this. >> reporter: is this better than he is with a normal brush? >> yes. it is. >> reporter: it's better. >> and he really is tolerating it much better than i was expecting. >> reporter: but weaver wasn't happy with the amount of hair the shed pal was collecting. >> you're not full yet right? >> no, not getting a whole lot of hair. i get the impression it would take a really long time to get him done. >> reporter: weaver says using a standard wire brush takes about two hours to fwrogroom jackson using the shed pal takes even longer. >> it was easy for me to use, easier than a wire brush. i don't think it got as much hair off of him as the wire brush did. >> reporter: the marketers of shed pal say the shed pal is

best for use in between grooming and is not a substitute for grooming large dogs. it recommends those with larger dogs remember to empty the shed pal more frequently. the shed pal doesn't really do that? >> from the informercial, i would say it does that probably it does that better with a smaller dog with less hair. >> reporter: for $48 would you buy it? >> doubtful. doubtful. >> reporter: okay. debby weaver told us she donated the shed pals and those little squishy animal toys to her local animal shelter. she gave it a try. >> jackson wasn't having it. thanks, liz. >> with the little motor not good for a cat i wouldn't imagine. but anyway, coming up tonight on news 4 at 6:00 neighbors in the district look -- took on a couple alleged car thieves who they caught in the act. we'll tell you how that confrontation played out.

president obama's conversation with the leader of russia may not have been for the news microphones. but now everyone is talking about what was said. movie director james cameron going where a very few people have ever gone before. we'll see you at 6:00. i'll join jim vance. and next at 5:00, high gas prices forcing many drivers to change their habits. how the move could end up saving you money on insurance. >> and for all your news follow news 4 online. search nbc washington on search nbc washington on facebook and twitter.

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a new government report shows just how much gas we're wasting. the treasury department says u.s. drivers waste nearly 2 billion gallons of gas a year sitting in traffic. that's costing drivers more than a hundred billion dollars. the government report also says drivers spend more than $400 a year in car maintenance due to poor road conditions. president obama is using the report as support for his plan to upgrade transportation infrastructure across the nation. if the rising price of gas has you driving less and using public transportation more often you might be able to save money another way on your vehicle's

insurance. bob hansen explains how. >> reporter: every mile you drive is costing you more these days. prices are at record highs for this time of year and some people are looking for ways to cut back. >> i do not go anyplace else additional at all. >> i'm going to drive regardless. i'll put the same amount in every time. 20 bucks. gives me less than a half tank now. >> reporter: and fewer miles on the car could mean saving on your auto insurance. >> fewer miles you drive, the less you pay. >> reporter: state farm insurance agent walt wagner says more of his customers are changing their car insurance plan and linking it directly to the number of miles they drive. the plan is based on driving 19,000 miles a year. your insurance rate then goes down for every 500 miles you drive under that. >> it varies depending on exactly which mileage but i've seen savings averaging 15%, 20% sometimes with my clients. >> reporter: some of those clients are cutting back on the driving because of high prices

at the pump. maybe they're car pooling or taking the bus but what if they're driving more than the 19,000 miles? >> the reality is people that drive their cars a lot of miles don't go on this program. >> reporter: how do you keep track of the miles you're driving? well, with state farm if you have the onstar system, it'll keep track of your actual miles. or you simply keep track of it yourself. >> we use the honor system. we ask you how many miles are on the car. once you're on the program, one time per year. >> reporter: a growing number of insurance companies are now offering the pay by the mile insurance rate. a silver lining to the dark clouds of higher prices. >> and that's it for news 4 at 5:00. news 4 at 6:00 starts right now. the family of trayvon martin says their son is now being demonized one month since that unarmed black teenager was shot and killed. a woman is facing charges in

connection with a hate crime at an ihop restaurant. a reality check now. most of the d.c. area under a freeze warning tonight. and good evening and welcome. i'm wendy rieger sitting in for doreen gentzler. >> i'm jim vance. we begin with a shedown on the health care reform law. today the supreme court began hearing oral arguments on that case. one of the main issues is whether the federal government can require americans to buy health insurance. steve handelsman joins us now at the supreme court with the latest on the first of three days of arguments. steve? jim, thanks. good evening. from the hh court such an epic case. people came here to the supreme court and camped out starting friday night to try to get a shot at about 120 public seats to watch the oral arguments. and the debate here today was not restricted to the supreme courtroom. outside the high court both sides rally. backers of obama health care.