good morning and welcome to news midday, i'm haley barbour, it's thursday, march 29th, do you 126789. right now, president obama is urging congress to stop giving tax credits to oil companies, here's a live look at the white house rose garden. it comes as the senate debates a bill that would end $21 million in tax breaks for oil companies over the next decade. half of that money would go to green energy companies and other half to reduce the deficit. let's listen in. >> we all know that drilling for oil has to be a key part of our overall energy strategy.

we want u.s. oil companies to be doing well. we want them to succeed. that's why under my administration, we've opened up millions of acres of federal lands and waters to oil and gas production. we've quadrupled the numb of operating oil rigs to a record high. we've added enough oil and gas pipeline to circle the earth and then some. just yesterday, we announced the next step for potential new oil and gas exploration in the atlantic. so the fact is, we're producing more oil right now than we have in eight years and we're importing less of it as well. for two years in a row, america has bought less oil from other countries, than we produce here at home. for the first time in over a decade. so american oil is booming. the oil industry is doing just fine. with record profits and rising

production, i'm not worried about the big oil companies. with high oil prices around the world, they've got more than enough incentive to produce even more oil. that's why i think it's time they got buy without more help from taxpayers, who already have a tough enough time paying the bills and filling up their gas tank. >> the president speaking live in the rose garden at the white house. right now, gas prices are more than 30 cents a gallon more than they were last year at this time. the nationwide average price for a gallon of regular is $3.92 according to aaa. you're paying even more in the district, about $4.15 a gallon on average. in maryland, the average price is $3.96. virginia drivers are paying $3.88 and the average price in west virginia, $3.96 a gallon. right now students in prince george's county are mourning the loss of a 17-year-old classmate

who died. tekau rasayonm was a senior at surratsville high school in clinton. she collapsed while jogging on the track during gym class. this w news4's derek ward is live with more. >> reporter: spring break begins tomorrow here at surratsville high school in clinton. it will be a sad spring break after the death of a senior. lots of students are wearing pink today, it was a favorite color of 17-year-old tekau rasayonm. the senior collapsed yesterday, it was about 3:00 p.m. during p.e. class. she was jogging around the school track when she collapsed. now aid was administered by school nurse and an ambulance was called. she was rushed to southern maryland hospital where she was pronounced dead with her parents at her side. grief counselors are at the school today. also, there are memories of the teen, described as healthy, athletic and well liked. the student we spoke to, a lot of students are wearing pink

today, and it's just a sad thing, he parents have been coming by, telling us how bad they feel and how hard the student body is taking this. and we talked to one student who remembers her as someone who could light up a room with her mere presence. >> well, tekau was always a girl, if you were sad, tekau took her personal time to get brightened up. she always wore her hair in a bush or bang, always wore jewelry. and each time i was in class, singing a song, tekau would always jump in. and the mood in the school, everybody is quiet, like nobody wants to talk. everyone is crying. but i guess we know god wanted her more than we did. so -- i guess we got to accept the fact that she's gone, it's just hard, you know. >> now, we're told that at her locker, there is a posterboard up where students can write down their condolences, as is the case at the armory where she was

a member of the air force junior rotc. everyone is taking it hard. news4 did speak to her father who tells us he knew of no illness or no lingering illness that would cause this teen's tragic death. we're told at 1:00, students plan to march around the track in honor of her as well. we're awaiting autopsy results to find out the cause of her death. live in clinton, news4, derek ward. back to you. >> a difficult day for students and all of her classmates and teachers, thank you so much, derek. turning to the weather now, the sunny skies we have this morning. is it going to be warm out there? let's find out from meteorologist tom kierein who joins us with the first forecast for midday. >> good morning, barbara. it's still rather cool and such a really gorgeous day shaping up. but if you're an allergy sufferer, you don't want to go outside. the pollen counts have been jumping. this is the pollen count that's in the high range now and it's for tree pollen, it's mostly oak and it's running about two weeks earlier than it normally does in an average season. and it actually may climb a bit

later today as well as into tomorrow. but some relief may be coming our way. by the time we get into the weekend. over the last 12 hours, we've had sky mostly clear, a few clouds floating through from the north and west. over the last few hours. and for the rest of the afternoon, we'll have our temperatures climbing out of the 50s and near 60 degrees, into the upper 60s to near 70 where it is right now. richmond, 69. that warmer air will be creeping farther north, around fredericksburg, toward culpepper and warrenton, that yarn. maybe even as far north as manassas could get up to 70. we'll have highs in the mid 60s, with a mostly sunny afternoon. winds could gust to 25 miles per hour or higher. a look at tonight, friday and the weekend coming up in just a couple of minutes. >> all right, tom, thank you. just in time for summer, vdot giving us an update on the so-called megaprojects that are

supposed to transform the roads in northern virginia. vdot is holding a news conference right now in alexandria. vdot is talking about several major construction projects like the dulles rail project, the fairfax county parkway extension and all brac projects among others and vdot will tell driver what is to expect next. we'll check in on the midday traffic with danella sealock. >> good morning, barb raxt watching the roads, again if you're taking the 14th street bridge, bridge work continues, taking up two right lanes, you've got to stick to the left to get by. i'm seeing a bit of a delay on 395 northbound. the closer you get to the bridge, you're slow, but once you pass the road work, things look better. crossing over the american legion bridge on the outer loop, i'm seeing you slow down over the outer loop and head towards the dulles toll road. no accidents, just delays. and if you're taking the wilson bridge, it's a breeze. from the wilgsen bridge to van dorn street, you're at 48 miles per hour, not bad, only seven minutes to make the trip.

barbara, back over to you. >> danella, we'll see you again shortly. new video of the shooter in the trayvon martin case could be damaging to his defense. the video obtained by abc news, shows zimmerman just hours after he shot and killed a florida teen. you can see him get out of a police car and officers search his pockets. zimmerman told police he was attacked by martin and acted in self-defense. he says he suffered a broken nose and a wound to the back of his head. but in the video, zimmerman seems to be walking fine and has no visible blood or wounds on his face or head. >> they're absolutely was some misleading the public when they said his nose was broken and there was blood on the back of his head. there's no blood on his clothes. >> it's a very grainy video. however, if you watch you'll see one of the officers as he's walking in, look at something on the back of his head. i'm not sure as far as being able to see the injuries that were recently sustained and

later cleaned up, clearly if the report shows he was cleaned up. >> zimmerman's father has also come to his son's defense. telling fox 35 in orlando, that martin threatened zimmerman, saying, he was going to die now. >> the member will -- >> these words -- he has shown you a member -- the member will suspend. the chair must remind -- what does the law require you. >> the controversial shooting sparked a shouting match on capitol hill over a hootie. illinois representative, bobby rush wore the hoodie while giving a speech on the martin case yesterday morning. rush says he felt it was important to let people know that he identified with them. but the speaker pro tempore said the move violated rules on wearing hats in the house chamber. and new from overnight, police are looking for a suspect who crashed their car into a prince george's county police cruiser after a chase across the maryland/d.c. border.

it started near the intersection of eastern avenue and riggs road in chillham. police say the officer was dhasing a robbery suspect when they slammed into the police cruiser in northeast washington. the officer suffered minor injuries, but is expected to be okay. the tsa agent at dulles airport is out of a job after police say he was running a brothel out of a singer spring hotel room. authorities arrested bryant livingston and charged him with five counts of running a prostitution scheme at the crowne plaza hotel. a hotel manager called police after he became suspicious of livingston, bringing multiple people up to his room. >> police got to that room, what did they discover? >> the door was opened and they observed males and females in various stages of undress. >> livingston was a manager for the tsa at dulles. he had been with the agency

since 2002. the tsa released a statement saying these allegations are unacceptable and they fired livingston immediately. 10:00 after 11:00. coming up, new support for mitt romney's campaign. who is endorsing the candidate today. plus moving day, a statue of duke ellington trucked through our area this morning. a look at its new home, stay with us.

mitt romney will pick up another key endorsement today, former president george h.w. bush will back the former massachusetts governor. the two are expected to meet today in houston. florida senator marco rubio endorsed romney last night. rubio is a tea party favorite and said it's clear romney will win the gop nomination in a drawn-out primary battle will hurt the nominee's chances of beating barack obama in november. newt gingrich says he has a new strategy. he spoke yesterday at georgetown. it was his first speech since cutting a third of his staff this week. he didn't talk about his campaign problems, he did say why he wanted to run for president in the first place. the fate of the nation's health care law now rests with the nine justices on the supreme

court. three days of oral arguments concluded yesterday afternoon. in their final sessions, the justices seemed unanimous that if the mandatory insurance requirement is thrown out, two closely-related provisions would have to go as well. one bans insurance coverage from refusing to cover people with preexisting conditions. the other limits when companies can charge higher rates. the justices were split on if the law should be thrown out or sent back to congress to decide what other elements to keep. >> my approach would say, if you take the heart out of the statute, the statute is gone. >> what's wrong with leaving it to in the hands of the people who should be fixing this, not us? >> a final decision is expected in june. well despite same-sex marriage being legalized in maryland, a new poll shows the state's residents are split on this issue. public policy polling found that if a referendum is on the november ballot, 40% said they would vote to keep the same-sex marriage legal.

while 43% would vote to make it illegal. the group trying to get the referendum on the ballot are still working to gather enough petition signatures. if they reach more than 55,000 signatures, the referendum will be put on the ballot. storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein is here with some hopefully good news. are we going to see more sunshine? >> are you feeling the pollen? >> absolutely. i can feel it in my voice. >> a lot of people are suffering, some people have got those sinus headaches, stinging eyes and scratchy throats, the pollen counts are running about two weeks earlier than average because of this mild winter that we've had. and right now we've got a lot of pollen in the air. there's the gorgeous live view from our city camera it looks like a painting. there is the washington monument under the gorgeous satin blue sky. just a few puffy white clouds passing through and the jefferson memorial there. 61 at reagan national and a northerly breeze at around 17 to

20 miles per hour. that occasionally gusts up to around 30 miles per hour. so that wind is also swirling the pollen around. and the pollen count, the latest one is up in the high range. and we're going to get an updated pollen count within the hour. i'll get it to you before the end of the broadcast this morning. but it will likely be even higher. it is mostly oak tree pollen right now and many are suffering. right now as we look at temperatures, we're in the 50s. most of northern virginia and maryland, into west virginia. and it's near 6 0, prince george's county, arlington, fairfax, montgomery counties in the mid 50s. southern maryland near the bay, many locations in the low 60s now. low to mid 60s from fredericksburg to culpepper and warrenton. furtherer south, charlottesville, 68, richmond near 70 degrees. some of the milder air will be creeping farther north, fredericksburg up to manassas and charlottesville. a a view from space, wave clouds passing through from the north and west. they look lie waves on the

satellite. they're coming in on a blustery upper-level wind that occasionally gets translated back down to the surface. we feel those gusts here. we'll have them gusting to around 30 miles per hour as we go forward. and we'll have a mostly clear night tonight. by dawn on thursday, we'll start off with a lot of sunshine, i should say on friday, starting off tomorrow morning, during the day on friday, increasing clouds, might get a passing shower friday night. so for the rest of this thursday afternoon, mostly sunny, mild and breezy. we'll be in the 60s. temperatures will then get chillier tonight. the northwesterly winds will settle down, under a clear sky we'll be down to near 50 by midnight. sunset at 7:29. tomorrow morning the 30s, afternoon highs, the 60s on friday. and we'll have a few clouds coming in during the afternoon. friday evening into mid morning on saturday, maybe a few showers coming through that will wash some of the pollen out of the air. saturday afternoon, a little sun back. highs in the upper 60s. sunday, up near 70.

a mild start to the next week, mid 70s. earlier this week i travelled to annandale in fairfax county and visited this school, the st. amburroa ambrose school in annandale. a lot of the students had to leave, they were band members and had to go to band practice. had a great time. kathy parks, i want to thank her for the invitation to visit the st. ambrose school in annandale in fairfax county. and that's the way it looks, barbara. just trying to stay inside if you're suffering from the allergies, it's, those pollen counts are going to be high next couple of days. >> thank you. let's head out to the roads to see how things are looking with danella sealock. good morning again. >> good morning, barbara. if you're taking i-66, road work continues today. and it blocks the left lane. this is as you head east. a live look at nutley, you can see the left lane is blocked. and you are seeing just a bit of a delay. you're at about 43 miles per hour, from fairfax county parkway to the capital beltway,

the trip taking about 14 minutes. now barbara, taking a look at the dulles toll road, a live look at sunset hills, if you're traveling from the wolftrap area to the beltway in both directions, no issues to report. travel speed from wolftrap to the beltway, about 57 miles per hour, only taking six minutes to take the trip. and i-270 is amazing. no incidents north or south. barbara, back to you. 11:20 is the time. still ahead, the biggest jackpot in u.s. history gets even bigger. what you can buy with those millions. plus, hats for spring. don't say that special look just for easter. we're going to show you some great hats for men and for women. but first, a look at what's hot on nbcwashington.com.

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

you're saying breast cancer is not going to win. (woman) and it has to end, but it starts with us. it is the most rewarding experience i have ever had in my entire life. we can do this. you can do this. we can all do this together. (man) register today for the... because everyone deserves a lifetime. hats are big news on the catwalk for spring/summer 2012 for men and women. andrea bray of andrea's fine hats of silver spring is here with some of the latest styles and good morning and welcome. >> good morning, barbara, so nice to be here with you. >> you are very well known throughout this area. i guess some of our people here, jim vance says he buys his hats from you. >> he is wonderful. he has a hat for every occasion. >> a lot of people love hats. >> and year-round. but this is the season, are

people wearing more hats this year than last? >> they really are. people are really enjoying the hat. they're also understanding how a hat can work for them. professionally as well as for their health. you know, people should wear a hat for sunscreen. >> well, yeah tlarks is true. >> absolutely. >> a lot of them don't work quite that way and some of us feel conspicuous if they're wearing a hat inside, any place other than church. >> that's not true. we carry a collection called the pc collection, which is professional casual. for, because more and more women and men are traveling in and out of offices, and they want to look nice when they go out into inclement weather and then have to go in and meet with a client or a customer. >> i want to show as many hats as we can. so let's get started with the show. tell us what we can expect. >> well brights are definitely in for ladies. brights are in. hats can be big, they can be wide, they can be fancy. they can be classy or just

simply elegant. >> this is tremendous. >> sun protection and everything. >> that's quite a bonnet. this is paula settles. paula is wearing an oversized, down-turned brim with a lot of flourish and a bow and feathers and just about everything wonderful on it. >> that looks like an easter bonnet. let's see the next one. >> you can wear that anywhere. >> this is lovely, too. >> and this is moira. moira daughtry. and she's been a friend of mine and a good customer of andrea's fine hats. this is an extremely wide-brimmed hat that i would love to wear to the kentucky derby. i would just love to wear that. >> let's see our next one. >> we will move these pretty fast so we can get a lot of hats in. >> this is ron watergate winfield and he is the hat man. right now he's wearing a wonderful sporty-looking hat that is from the stetsen collection. it's just magnificent. and if you'll see, he has enough brim there to protect you from

the sun. >> it's great for golfing, for walkingoring for just about anything. our next lovely model is valerie floyd smith. this is wonderful in its color tones, it's fuschia and orange. who would ever thought that. but it's stunning together, as you can see. >> your color blocking is really in. >> we've got another gentleman coming up next. >> thank you very much, valerie. >> this is brian victoriano. the younger set are beginning to appreciate hats. this is a cap, a straw cap. not a cloth cap that looks very nice with his plaid shirt. thank you very much, brian, you look hot. >> now we can move along because we've met everybody. >> this is paula again. this is a fascinator. remember the word "fascinator." this was first introduced during the wedding of kate middleton in england. >> is this the next one, a fascinator as well? >> this is another fascinator. what i like about paula's it has so much glitz and glam, look at

moira, this is too much. flirty feathers, they flirt, they're fresh, they're just charming. and you can wear this just about anywhere. >> thank you, moira. >> let's see quickly -- >> here we go with ron watergate. this is one of my favorite hats, that's edged in the same fabric as the band of the it's a hot number and ron is quite the man around town he knows everything about hats. thank you so much, ron. >> we certainly have enjoyed -- another fascinator. isn't that beautiful. >> you've got quite a few hats with you, we like the fascinator, too, just beautiful. >> we have so little time to see so many hats, but they are fantastic. >> thank you. >> i have a hat that i would like for you to try on. >> first of all, this orange one over here would look very nifty with your outfit. >> i'll put it on as we finish up. >> you go ahead, girl. >> it looks like i'm ready for the kentucky derby. >> it's wonderful and we've just loved having you with us, andrea

bray, your hats are very special. this is certainly the time of year to show them off. >> thank you for coming in. >> andrea bray of silver spring, andrea's fine hats. it's 11:27. coming up in the next half hour of "news4 midday." we're learning more about what a jetblue pilot said before he had to be restrained. and the remark that panicked his co-pilot. plus moving this statue today was quite a sight for some early-morning commuters. a look at its new home. and tom kierein is back with a look at our next chance of seeing some rain. stay with us. i was paying too much with cable.

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the other half would help reduce the deficit. 17-year-old tekau rasayonm collapsed at surratsville high school in clinton and later died. she collapsed while jogging object the track during gym class, her father said shes did d not have a history of heart problems. he said his daughter played basketball, volleyball and was in the rotc. no word on the cause of death at this time. d.c. native, duke ellington is now back home in the district. a statue of the jazz legend made a trip this morning if manassas, virginia to its new permanent place, historic howard theater at florida and t street northwest. news4's tracee wilkins has more on this tribute to one of jazz music's best. >> reporter: time for an encore in honor of jazz great and music legend, duke ellington and the statue has finally arrived here to the shaw neighborhood. it's still sitting there on the back of the truck, preparing to be placed on top of its pedestal

there at duke ellington plaza. this will be a 20-foot tall statue and will be put together for the very first time here today on site. jazz musician, band leader, composer and d.c. native, duke ellington or as stevie wonder called him, sir duke, will sit upon a monumental treble clef inspired by his own musical scores, while playing a piano while notes swirl upward. zachary oxman was awarded the commission by the arts and humanities during a competition. we spoke with him at manassas, he was down there where they had finished up the sculpture before they placed it on the back of this truck to have it travel up here to d.c. this is what he said about seeing his creation come together for the very first time. >> i'm excite and i haven't even begun to work on it yet, to see it sitting here and to be able

to step back, i've actually never seen the whole piece assembled because it's so tall, it doesn't fit. so for myself i'll see it finished for the first time. >> the statue is called "encore" because this is an encore of sorts for the howard theater. the theater had been closed for decades. and on a personal note, my dad actually used to be an usher here when he attended howard university more than 50 years ago. and he always talks about the amazing performances he had a chance to see here. duke ellington was one of the performers who would come here to the howard theater. so everyone is looking forward to the grand opening that will happen on the 12th after a ribbon cutting that happens on april 9th. in northwest, i'm tracee wilkins, news4. a 25-year veteran jetblue pilot faces criminal charges for a bizarre outburst that forced an emergency landing. >> i'm so distraught! you got israel, you got iraq. we got israel, we got iraq!

>> this is just some of what passengers say they witnessed during the flight. investigators say captain clayton osbon started acting erratically shortly after takeoff en route to las vegas, his co-pilot got really concerned when clayton allegedly dimmed the cockpit monitors and said, we're not going to vegas, things just don't matter and that they should take a quote, leap of faith. when osbon left the cockpit, the co-pilot locked him out. passengers helped restrain osbon until the plane got on the ground. osbon is charged with interfering with a flight crew. he remains at a medical facility in texas. firefighters are trying to contain a massive wildfire in colorado while searching for a woman who vanished in the blaze. her home was one of 27 houses destroyed in the fire west of denver. the fire is sus suspected of killing at least two other people. it's threatening hundreds of homes, one family left their home just as the fire approached

their neighborhood. >> i didn't know if i was going to live. i was thinking about all the possibilities. like chaos wouldn't solve anything. so i just tried to stay calm. >> it's okay! >> the colorado forest service apologized for the wildfire. the fire may have started from a controlled burn that rekindled with the wind. the governor of colorado suspected the state's use of controlled burns or suspended them until they have a full review of this fire. check with tom kierein now to see what's going on with our weather. tom? >> we've got the sunshine and a few clouds coming through. here's a live view from our hd skywatcher camera bouncing around in a blustery wind. winds gusting around 25-30 miles per hour and the air is getting increasingly filled with tree pollen as well in the high range, mostly oak tree pollen and if you're suffering, that's probably why. and to our north, we're in the 50s. just in northern montgomery county, into howard, up toward the pennsylvania border, near 50

degrees. farther west in loudoun county and shenandoah valley in the northern part of the valley, panhandle of west virginia, in the 60s. and much of southern maryland. farther south, culpepper to fredericksburg, charlottesville, warrenton, mid 60s there. and they may get to around 70. around the metro area, we'll peak in the mid 60s and have the winds diminish tonight under a clear sky. chilly tomorrow morning, in the 30s. may have a freeze in western maryland. during the day friday we'll warm the 60s with increasing clouds. friday evening into saturday morning, we may get a passing shower to wash the pollen out of the air. sun back on sunday and milder weather into the first part of next week. that's the way it looks, barbara. >> thank you. let's see if there are any problems on the roads if you're heading out now. >> well barbara, i'm watching i-66, here's a live look at fairfax county parkway. as you continue to head eastbound getting closer to

nutley is where the road work is going to slow you down as it takes away your left lane here. you are able to get by, just sticking to the right. but you're searing a bit of a delay as you pass fairfax county parkway. you'll slow down, about 38 miles per hour as you make your way to the beltway. speaking of the beltway, a live look of the beltway at river road, no issues to report on the beltway in montgomery county or prince george's county. i'm checking cameras in virginia, right now you're running accident-free, barbara, back to you. >> some d.c. council members are thinking twice about taking a scheduled pay raise this year. the 3% raise would come on top of council members $125,000 a year salaries. regular city government employees haven't received a raise in years and the district is dealing with a budget deficit right now. >> i think that if when our employees aren't getting a raise, getting a cost of living increase, then we shouldn't, either. >> the law provides for automatic inflation adjustment. we've put it off several years, my sense is this isn't the right timing for it.

>> i am going to accept it it seems like it's been turned into a symbolic game. some council members make more than twice their salary outside their council. i don't take outside employment. >> there's good news for district workers. the city's revenues are up and the mayor and council are canceling four unpaid furlough days the workers had been facing. fairfax county students might get to enjoy a little more of their summer tonight the school board will consider whether to move the last day of school up from june 19 to june 15. the unusually mild winter meant the school system didn't have to use all of its weather-related makeup days. the additional days will be used as teacher workdays. the board will vote on the potential date change on april 12th. the smithsonian is making lots of room for its latest resident. this is titanoboa, a 40-foot snake that weighed 2500 pounds this is a life-sized replica of

that snake which is believed to have roamed the earth 60 million years ago. its fossil was found several years ago in a coal mine in colombia. it will be on display as part of a new exhibit in the smithsonian's museum of natural history until next january. today, lindsay lohan will once again be in court. the actress will give a judge her final update on her probation, which included community service at a morgue, and regular psychotherapy sessions. it seems from a 2007 drunken driving case. the spokesman for the actress says lohan is quote ending one chapter and starting the next. she's very eager to dive into her next few projects. the spokesman said. charlie sheen is making a comeback. the actor whose meltdown a year ago cost him his job on "two and a half men" is working on a new sitcom and is the star of some high-profile commercials right now. sheen told "the today show's" matt lauer this morning that it's painful for him to see how he acted last year.

he also says he wishes someone had helped him realize how self-destructive his behavior really was. >> did you get through, did you pull yourself through the weeds? or did you have someone close to you, a family member, a friend who grabbed you by the collar and said you got to get out of this place? >> it was, yeah, it was a team effort that was ultimately led by myself, because it has to be, to make a decision fix you know, change any situation. but yeah, there was a lot of close friends, there was a lot of support. not a lot of people close by saying, hey, dude, you might just want to take a step back and let's just watch this. sheen calls his new performances a relaunch of his career. 11:41 now, and still ahead, a weekend planner for the spring. plus megamadness. the already-record-breaking jackpot gets even bigger. staggering amount now up f

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the d.c. lottery is printing a commemorative megamillions ticket to mark the biggest jackpot in u.s. history. the jackpot is at a record $500 million right now. that works out to be an immediate cash pay-out of $359 million. kevin tibbles has more. >> the megamillions jackpot just keeps growing. setting up friday's drawing to be the biggest ever. a staggering $500 million. players can be forgiven for dreaming. >> a lifetime supply of oreos. >> i'll buy you a new porsche. >> at chicago's northwestern memorial hospital, dr. david zeke prepares me for the big win. >> when you find out you win -- quite frequently the blood pressure drops -- >> and i faint. >> and you faint, right. >> that's how the last nbc employee felt when she won $266 million. >> i felt like my legs were

going to fall out from underneath me. >> jackie now runs her own charitable foundation. and when richard morrison won $165 million, he, too, donated millions to charity. in fact that's what all the people i spoke to today said they would do, too. >> donate some to charity. i don't need all that money. >> reporter: but with odds of 176 million to one, the good doctor also has this diagnosis for all of us future losers out there. how do you describe the ailment i will have if i find out i have to go back to work on monday. >> that's much more serious. >> reporter: still, your chances of hitting two holes in one in the same round of golf, are 19 times better than your chances of picking the winning lotto numbers friday night. kevin tibbles, nbc. >> $500 million can buy awe lot of things, but here's a small sample. you could buy a fleet of the world's most expensive cars, the

bugatti veiron super sport. which goes for $190,000. you may be able to sweet-talk ted leonsis into selling the wizards. or if you're feeling generous, you could pay the tuition for all 10,000 george washington undergraduates, which would cost you about $441 million. news out this morning, good news, the u.s. economy grew in the final three months of 2011. let's check in with cnbc's hampton pearson. he joins us with that and more. >> i would like to be part of that commemorative tomorrow. getting back to what's happening with the markets so far today, we've got the major averages in negative territory. labor strikes in spain reminding investors that the european debt crisis is still unresolved. so right now the dow is down about 56 points, the nasdaq down

20. the s&p down ten. we've got lots of good news about the american economy. first, weekly jobless claims fell to a four-year low. first time claims for unemployment benefits dropped by 5,000 to 359,000 on a seasonally-adjusted basis. household income grew much faster than expected in the fourth quarter, increasing to $13.1 trillion. $3 billion higher than the previous month. most likely says the commerce department, due to an improving labor market and we even got good news on housing, sales of investment and vacation homes last year jumped to their highest level since 2005. according to the national association of realtors. transactions on new and existing homes topped $1.2 million. investors with cash taking advantage of falling prices and higher rental income, generating bigger returns. there's a reality check, best

buy says it's closing 50 of its big box stores nationwide and cutting 400 jobs. electronics giant reporting a net loss of $1.7 billion during its fourth quarter. but despite the good news about the u.s. economy, it's the pictures coming out of madrid with the streets there flooded with protesters keeping the major averages in negative territory so far today. >> thank you, hampton. >> my pleasure. nnchts in this week's wednesday's child we meet brothers. we met one brother last week. we spent the day of three of us with the wizard's mascot g-man at the verizon center. on the wizards practice court the g man put the brothers through a quick warmup then 8-year-old du jour and 7-year-old stefan said they were ready to play basketball.

neither of the boys who are normally ready for a challenge, were quite ready for that. >> i think you're going to have to put on that suit. >> may remember du jour last year as a wednesday's child, we went to the white house for an easter egg roll, it was after that that social workers determined that du jour had a brother also in foster care. >> what did you think when you first saw him? >> i thought that he was my brother. >> because he looks like you, doesn't he? >> yes. >> did you notice that you had the same eyes? >> yes. >> let me see those eyes. i think those are the same eyes that stefan has. >> i saw like my little -- 8-year-old self and i'm like, okay, this can work. >> yeah. >> both boys are working hard in school. >> now it's back up to 4.0. so i'm pretty excited about it. >> b's and a's.

>> what's your favorite subject? >> math. >> the boys got some neat gifts to take home. sadly for now, they won't be going home together. but maybe some day soon. >> if you have room in your home and your heart for stefan and du jour, call our adoption hotline. or you are log on to our website, nbcwashington.com. our time now is 11:51, coming up, the stage production of alice in wonderland. plus meteorologist tom kierein will be back with a look ahead to the weekend. hi, i'm aaron gilchrest, tomorrow morning on "news4 today." it will be a special morning, it's joe krebs' final day anchoring "news4 today." join us as we say good-bye to our friend, colleague and one of washington's most beloved news anchors. we'll look back on his life and career and have a few surprises. plus, weather and traffic together on the 1's and all the

overnight news from your neighborhood, wake up with us tomorrow morning, we're on from 4:28 until 7:00 a.m.

there are a lot of big events coming up in our area over the next few months. joining us to talk about some of the highlights, lavonnia from

the "washington post." >> hi. >> let's begin with something coming up soon. it's the washington ballet taking on "alice in wonderland." >> the washington ballet's production is probably one of the hottest tickets for april. they land at the kennedy center, april 11-15. two of the nights are already sold out. this is such an amazing ballet. the costumes are designed by a designer who makes costumes for cirque du soleil. so as you can see, they're gorgeous. this is going to be a lot of fun. >> i should mention that the choreographer and head of the ballet, septine weber and the stars of the show will be here monday on "news4 midday." they're going to give us a sneak peek. let's move on to may when a new exhibit of the national gallery of art will debut. what is that? >> art fans are going to lose their minds over juan mirro's

works. a traveling exhibition so most washingtonians will have never seen these pieces, it opens may 6 and runs through the 12th. people have to go see it. >> june brings wine and beer festivals rfr i year. >> great way to open the summer, isn't two major festivals coming to virginia. the nova brew fest and we're going to see the vintage virginia wine festival, celebrating the virginia wines and new wine remembers. june 2-3. >> the beers are all made in the virginia area. >> the wines are, and the beers come if all over the area. >> people seem to be ready to sample beer and wine. >> yeah. >> a great way do do it. >> thank you so much for coming as always, good to see you. for more ideas for your weekend, you can log on to around the

town section of nbcwashington.com. or the going out guide on washingtonpost.com. we'll look at some stories we're following on news4 this afternoon. a new report out today that shows how many kids are autistic. plus, party plans tonight for lindsay lohan after her trip to court. georgia affredis joins ought 4:00 with the hollywood headlines. and at 5:00, splitting the check or donating to charity. experts reveal the best way to handle awkward money questions. time for a final check on the forecast. >> we have the pollen count continuing to climb and we've got the sunshine. it looks like an enticing day to be out. but if you suffer from pollen allergies, live view showing a puffy white clouds, and blue sky, around 60 in the metro area. we'll likely hit 70s around fredericksburg and warrenton.

farther north, we'll hit the mid 60s for a high this afternoon and the winds gusting around 30 miles per hour, diminishing tonight. as we get toward the weekend, could get showers friday night into saturday, a nice part of the weekend and early next week, too. that's "news4 midday." we thank you for joining us and invite you to tune in at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00. until then, have a terrific day and we will see you in the morning. never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. 60 miles in 3 days is-- is huge. if my mom can fight and beat breast cancer, i can walk 60 miles. you just put one foot in front of the other, and you know that you're walking for such a great cause that you just keep going. (man) that you have all these people coming together for one common goal.

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