there are still breaks of sunshine to be found out there, but clouds will definitely be winning out during the course of the evening, but all that shine sent the kiddos out today. this scene, i assure you, was repeated at nearly every playground, baseball park, softball field, anywhere you could get outside and run around a little bit, play your favorite game. great day to be outside today. hopefully you got outside to enjoy our sunshine before the clouds snuck back in. as of the 6:00 hour, we made 63 degrees. the clouds are thickening, a south breeze at 13 miles an hour, but there are raindrops to be found and very warm across western maryland. 72 in cumberland, 58 in st. mary's county. temperatures generally in the low 60s here for the next couple hours. showers becoming a little more likely in and around the metro

area at 9:00 and midnight tonight. up to frederick, maryland, west virginia, hagerstown, those rain showers are making it to the ground and there's more rain upstream from there. those rain showers are about five hours away. that will put them in here at about 11:00 this evening. the heavy rain is to our north for most of the day. umbrellas at the ready for this evening. a fast-moving hit of rain showers and sprinkles around the area. it will be all gone by the time you get to the door of school and work tomorrow morning. plenty of sunshine tomorrow, but a noticeable little breeze. north winds 10 to 20 miles per hour. clear skies and a chilly start coming up on tuesday morning before bright sunshine put this right back up to 70 degrees. passing showers possible, mainly from about 8:00 this evening to about 3:00 in the morning. again, have the umbrella ready to go. overnight lows generally in the 40s. then tomorrow a nice-looking day. although it will be breezy, it

will be sunny with highs tomorrow back up into the 60s. 63 with a breeze tomorrow. near 70 with sunshine tuesday. quick shot of a morning sprinkle on wednesday. cooling it down for just a little bit end of the week. but early next weekend, sunny and warm and in the 70s. >> thank you, chuck. coming up in sports, the final four is now the final two. [ male announcer ] at green giant we know nature

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well, the games dwindle down to a precious few. >> yes, crunch time for the k t capito capitols, three games to go. this is what i like. i like it because they're in the driver's seat. it's a very good seat to be in, my friend. with three games to go, the capitols control their own playoff destiny. however, what they don't control is winning the division for the first time. you can turn into a red wings fan right now. at least for the day. no joke. washington trails florida by just two points in the top spot in the southeast. today the red wings and the panthers are playing in detroit, but first what happened in d.c. nick baxter playing for the first time since january 3rd.

he missed 40 games because of a concussion. jake beagle in front, caps up 2-0. but happiness short-lived. the caps blow a 2-0 lead for the first time this month. pokes the puck under the stick of roman and we're tied at 2. final minute of the period, montreal on the attack. remember the guy who injured nicholas baxter? he gives up his body to make the save. that's impressive. the game stays tied at 2 after regulation, and overtime, we go to a shootout. matt hendricks, sweet moves. perfect 4 for 4 in shootouts this month. then alexander with a chance to win it and he does. the caps win 3-2 and take sole possession of the eighth and final playoff spot in the eastern conference. here's a happy head coach. >> both teams, you know, in the

building here it was rocking pretty good, and we came out really well because of that, you know, with mickey back and everything, jumped out to an early lead. it's one of those things where then we just sat. oh, we did it. we have to learn from this and move on. >> we have to play for ourselves. we're not worried about what the other guys are doing or who we're playing. we have to play for ourselves and we can't focus on if somebody is playing care free or someone is playing for a playoff spot. it's entirely about what we do. >> as we mentioned, panthers visiting coach babcock and the red wings. chris verstig, one timer past jimmy howard, panthers up 1-0. third period now. down 1-0 until this. yuri beats clemenson. right now games still tied at 1

and they are in overtime. that will be interesting to see what happens there. the capitols play on the road at tampa bay on monday, then on thursday it's a showdown in washington against the panthers. turning out a march madness. we're down to two, and those two are the winningest teams in division i basketball. kansas and kentucky will play for all the crawfish. they battle for the title. facing his former school by that man, anthony davis. second half, peyton siva for 3 and the tie. buries it. patina pumped. gi gilchrist up to anthony davis. 14 rebounds, five blocks. the wildcats win 65-61.

kentucky will make its first appearance in the title game since 1998. that's when the caps won their seventh championship. today he was named coach of the year. aaron craft drives. no good, but deshawn thomas on the put-back. ohio state up 9 at the break. back comes kansas. travis comes in, gets the steal. jayhawks within 1. just over a minute to play, kansas with a 1-point lead. elijah johnson coast to coast. jat hawks rally and hang on to beat the buckeyes 64-62. kansas looking to win its second national championship in five years. remember how the wizard started the season? it was foolish. eight straight losses. now the wizards are working on finishing up strong as they enter the final month of the regular season. it starts tonight against

toronto. meanwhile this afternoon, the best team in the east against the best team in the west. chicago visiting oklahoma city. kevin durant. james harden heads to westbrook. he scores 27 points in the first half. thunder, they would go on to win big, 92-78 to clinch a playoff berth. big win for the thunder. that's the news. we'll see you at 11:00. have a good evening.

good evening. with just over a week before a florida grand jury begins its look at the shooting death of trayvon martin, those demanning an arrest with keeping up the pressure. a day after the march in sanford, demonstrators right now, are in the streets of miami, trayvon martin's hometown. it's been 35 days since the unarmed black teenager was killed at the hands of an hispanic neighborhood watch volunteer and since then, everything about the case from whether race was a factor to who started the confrontation has

been a dispute and tonight, a new analysis of the 911 tapes is addinging fuel to the debate. kerry sanders is in miami with the latest. >> reporter: in the 35 days since he died at dozens of rallies around the nation, there's been one constant refrain. >> go, justice! >> reporter: and again today, thousands came to downtown miami. nationally recognized civil rights leaders continuing their call for relentless peaceful pressure, to charge the white man who killed a black teenager. zpl don't talk to us about violence! handcuff the violent one! >> nobody has the right to kill anybody. >> reporter: 28-year-old george zimmerman says he shot and killed trayvon in self-defense after the two scuffled and in 911 calls, there's some uncertainty. what soupds like muffled screams can be heard moments before a gun shot.

>> he's yelling help? >> yes. >> what is your -- >> gun shots. >> reporter: was that george zimmerman or trayvon martin? two forensic experts who analyzed the calls claim various voice recognition technologies allow them to say with certainty those screams were not from zimmerman. one expert, to tells nbc news i similar to what the cia used. u89% accurate. zimmerman's lawyer spoke today with ron allen. >> what's your reaction to that? >> i have no comment. >> reporter: attorney craig saunter went on to say he's concerned. the protests will unduly influence the prosecutor's

decision on whether there should be charges. kendall coffee has been in hot spots like this before. >> no one should prosecute an innocent man because of public opinion, but if there's a close case, it's hard to say that strong public opinion is going to be completely ignored. >> reporter: at this rally here in miami, as they have done in others, they passed the hat to raise money. money they say will be used to continue to fund the family's legal team to keep up the fight. >> thanks. to presidential politics and fighting words from rick santorum today. two days before a show down with mitt romney in wisconsin. facing intense pressure to quit from some inside his own party, tonight, santorum is hit iting back. ron mott is on the campaign trial in wisconsin. >> we are looking forward to a great day on tuesday to shock the world. >> i'm glad he stayed in.

>> reporter: like a battered, yet determined prize fighter, rick santorum is waving off calls to throw in the towel. instead, he came out swinging hard today over suggestions he'd bow out before mitt romney gets the required majority of 1144 delegates. >> if he's at that number, we'll step aside, but right now, you know, he's not there. he's not even close to it. >> reporter: but former pennsylvania senate has yet to win where he's rooting. in the industrial heart land. >> we need someone who can be a contrast with barack obama, not the same old tired establishment person that's going to be shoved down our throat. >> reporter: despite his feistyness, romney seems less interested in grappling are wisconsin rivals. a nod perhaps to his nominee status. >> this president's policies have failed to turn this economy around. his economic strategy has been a bust and that's one reason why

i'm convinced that the american people are going to turn him out of office in 2012. >> reporter: this morning, another big endorsement for romney. ron johnson. >> the next president of the united states, mitt romney! >> reporter: part of a growing force of support. >> i think he's going to be an excellent candidate and i think that the chances are overwhe overwhelming that he will be our nominee. >> reporter: and as such, the awaiting opposition climbed in and joined the fight. vice president biden jabbing romney as out of touch. >> this is about the middle class and what effects middle class people? policy. their confidence going into tuesday, mitt romney's staff and supporters played a bit of a practical joke on him today on this april fool's day. they introduced him with great roaring applause by into a room that was completely empty.

his team laughing back at him. >> thanks. quick program note. tuesday morning, former alaska governor, sarah palin, will be live co-hosting the "today" show. tonight, coast guard crews are on a mission to rescue more than a dozen people stranded at sea in the pacific. crew members aboard a yacht on a race around the world lost the ability to steer when a wave slammed the boat. gabe gutierrez has the details. >> reporter: 400 miles off the coast of california, the coast guard dropped medical supplies late last night trying to rescue more than a dozen people stranded at sea while competing in the clipper around the world yacht race. portions of the trip chronicled on their website. one crew member is from

australia, three from britain, including this man who would describe the race's challenges on its website before it set sail. >> we're all sleep deprived, taken showers. >> reporter: it was one of ten boats in the 11-month race that began in britain and took sailors to south america, africa, australia, singapore and china. then on their way to san francisco, severe weather struck. >> this was a wind driven wave off the top of the swell and as it went over the back of the boat, it hit with 25 to 30 feet up. >> reporter: meteorologists say there were hurricane force wind gusts. >> this was just another one in a long line of systems that has been battering the west coast. >> reporter: the coast guard sprang into action. saturday, a helicopter reached the yacht, but ran into rough weather and had to turn back. >> they were able to drop some

medical supplies to the vessel, but were not able to complete the job. >> reporter: tonight, there are questions about whether the mostly amateur crew should have taken another course. >> this boat was sailing straight downwind and they got out of control. >> reporter: now, the coast guard is waiting for the weather to improve before sending in another helicopter. the latest race to save a crew stranded at sea. when we come back, health news about breast cancer and the risks of hormone replacement. why doctors are sounding the alarm once again. sease. she needs help from me. and her medication. the exelon patch -- it releases medication continuously for twenty-four hours. she uses one exelon patch daily for the treatment of mild to moderate alzheimer's symptoms. [ female announcer ] it cannot change the course of the disease. hospitalization and rarely death have been reported in patients who wore more than one patch at a time. the most common side effects of exelon patch are nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

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some important news on women's health about a new study on the long-term use of hormones to use menopause. >> good evening. most women have gotten the message that long-term hormone replacement medication increases breast cancer risk, but some doctors raised the possibility thattest general alone may not raise the risk. the latest study of up to 60,000 shows that all long-term hormone use after ten years or more increases the risk. women should talk to their doctors, but most experts now agree that women should only take hormones to treat hot flashes and for the shortest amount of time possible. >> thanks. overseas, the tiny southeast

asian nation of myanmar is celebrating an historic election. she scored a remarkable vktry, elected to her country's parliament after years of house arrest. her story is being compared to those of nelson mandela, even gandhi and tonight, she's being hailed around the world as a hero. and hoping for new hits by dipping into the hollywood time machine. people here sure are friendly but some have had a hard time understanding my accent. so to make sure people get every word of the geico savings message i've been practicing how to talk like a true chicagoan. switching to geico could save you hundreds of dollars on car insurance... da bears. haha... you people sure do talk funny. geico®. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

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if our final story were a movie, the plot line miking might go like this. a story industry tries to revive its fortunes by borrowing heavily from hits and stars of the past. this is in fact what's going on in hollywood right now and tonight, craig melvin reports on a big trend on the big screen. >> 21 jump street. >> reporter: in hollywood these days, old -- is new again.

>> i did not know at all that they had made a 21 jump street before this one came out. >> reporter: the popular '80s tv show became a spoof starring jonah hill. it's made more than $70 million. the latest in a string of hollywood throwbacks. >> you take my hand -- >> that would leave you with one. >> reporter: but a new version arthur and a return of arnold. making good on his promise in the terminator. stars we haven't seen are back. at 64, arnold schwarzenegger is working on three action films and a remake of "twins." billy crystal, fresh off hosting the oscars, is set to play a grandpa later this year. and chevy chase may be getting ready for another disaster of a vacation. >> is there some kind of weird retro thing going on this

weekend? >> reporter: yes, but not just in hot tub time machine. >> some of the stuff they're getting, that wasn't that good the first time sh you know? >> reporter: but movie makers hope reaching back to the '80s will lift sagging ticket sales. the industry reports that fewer tickets will be sold this year than just three years ago. with fewer people going to the movies, hollywood is struggle, so tinsel town has decided to turn to the familiar. >> anytime a studio can build a movie around an older franchise that already has a built-in audience, that's very appealing to them because it's a safer bet. >> reporter: hollywood hoping to secure its future by going back to the future. craig melvin, nbc news, hollywood. that's "nbc nightly news" for this sunday. i'll see you shortly for "dateline." for all of us here at nbc news, goodig