good morning, everyone, and welcome to "news4 midday." i'm barbara harrison. it's wednesday, april 4th, 2012. we begin this morning with the major cleanup under way after nearly a dozen tornadoes ripped across north texas. the twisters injured at least 15 people in the dallas-ft. worth area, but no deaths have been reported since the afternoon storms. right now, thousands of people remain without power, though. the strong winds damaged 650 homes, businesses and other buildings. lancaster, texas, was the hardest hit area. later today, police will escort residents back into that area to see what's left of their homes.

this morning on the "today" show, a mother described how she sheltered her daughters in their bathroom. >> it was the most terrifying thing i have ever been through. i would grab on to both kids, i mean, so hard. i had no idea what was going on. when it hit our house, i heard a loud thud, a crash, and all of a sudden, wind was coming through my house. i couldn't see anything because i was in the middle of the house inside the bathroom. but i held on to those girls, put a pan over their heads, blankets, and just prayed. >> the family made it through unharmed. today, american airlines canceled all its flights in and out of dallas-ft. worth, the airport there. the strong winds and hail damaged more than 100 planes at that airport. and turning to our local weather now, we had some gray skies this morning, but we're looking for a warm afternoon. let's talk to meteorologist tom kierein, who can tell us what we can expect. tom, things calming down around the globe today?

>> well, locally, certainly, we don't have any worries about any severe weather, but there is potentially some severe weather, perhaps, along the gulf coast, way far to our south, but not here. we have some sunshine breaking out now after a cloudy start this morning. and this is what's been happening over the last 12 hours. there are a few showers, the areas of green, just light rain coming out of west virginia and the northern shenandoah valley. a little bit of thunder and lightning way down in southeastern west virginia. that's moving into the far southern shenandoah valley. locally, we have some sunshine breaking out and temperatures are beginning to warm up. all those areas in yellow already into the 70s. richmond now 75, reagan national now at 68. we should easily make it into the mid-70s around the metro area. in fact, many areas south of washington are going to be up around 80 degrees. that includes fredericksburg, warrenton, culpeper. locally, around the metro area, it will cloud back up again, and there is a possibility of a passing shower or thunder shower over the next few hours, perhaps

by early to midafternoon. after that, though, we'll cool down after we reach the mid-70s in the metro area, and a cool pattern will commence beginning late tonight and last into the weekend. i'll have details on that as we look at the easter weekend and into next week in just a couple minutes, barbara. >> tom, thank you. a tough commute on i-95 in virginia this morning after a commuter bus was forced off the road. the bus driver tells police he had to swerve to avoid a car that cut him off. the bus hit a guardrail and got stuck in a three-foot-deep ditch. seven fort belvoir employees were on the bus. some suffered minor injuries. the car that caused the bus to swerve was not found. let's see how things are moving on the roads now. here's danella sealock. good morning. >> good morning, barbara. if you're crossing the american legion bridge, the cones are up and taking away the left lane. you can see the sign there, and as you move forward, you'll have to merge to the right to continue your commute. if you're crossing the 14th street bridge, road work still happening, taking away the left

lane as well. you are able to stick to the right in this area, and your travel speed not that bad on 395. 50 miles per hour, you can handle that. only 14 minutes to get from the beltway to the 14th street bridge as you travel north on 395. barbara, back over to you. >> thanks, danella. a new report is putting the spotlight on transportation trouble spots in maryland. the research group t.r.i.p. studied state and federal data, then outlined the top 40 projects that could improve your commute. news4's melissa mollet has more. >> reporter: these are the projects they say will make maryland a good place to live, and do business, but the question is who pays? in potomac wednesday morning, t.r.i.p. outlined the results of their independent study. the list 40 projects long, billions of dollars over the next 20 years. it targets key roads, bridges, highways and transit systems

ranked by their economic benefits, including job-creation, the need for safety improvements and how any improvements would keep maryland competitive in the long run. >> the report really is a blueprint for maryland's future, in terms of the type of transportation system that's going to be needed to support the staimt state's economic development and also basic quality of life here in the region. >> reporter: they say the key to success in the old mine state is its transportation system and the role it could play in the state's ability to recover from the recession. >> immediately, there are tens of thousands of jobs involved in these transportation projects, in terms of getting the designs, getting them planned, getting them built. >> reporter: number one on the list, a nearly $6 billion widening project from the american legion bridge to the woodrow wilson bridge. that would also include the addition of hov lanes and bridge rehabilitation. also on the list, the construction of metro's much talked about purple line from bethesda to new carrollton with 21 stations, t.r.i.p. estimates, by the year 2030.

it would serve 60,000 passengers a day. and there's more. widening part of 295 from four lanes to six, interchange construction on 97 at route 28 in montgomery county, improvements to route 5 and 4 in prince george's county, and a $700 million to widen a section of i-81 from the west virginia state line to the pennsylvania line. one sticking point, who pays and how. some ideas, a gas tax, tolls, or public-private partnerships. the price tag a turn-off for some drivers. >> i think there's better things the money can be spent with. >> reporter: like what? >> school. >> reporter: while others say they'd be willing to pay. >> when you have access to those roads and highways that get you from point "a" to point "b," it's really good that you can do that, and if it's a good service, i'm willing to pay for it. >> it's critical to our infrastructure, and without essential infrastructure, we can't be a manufacturer, we can't be a producer. >> reporter: if you'd like to take a look at all 40 of the

potential projects, logon to nbcwashington.com. in potomac, maryland, melissa mollet, news4. new at midday, the president of a northern virginia college responds after the college abruptly shut its doors. students and faculty say they had no warning when a.c.t. stopped operating in arlington, manassas and fairfax county. news4's julie carey is live in manassas with these developments. julie? >> reporter: barbara, more on the president's response to faculty and students in 42 letter in just a minute. but first of all, take a look at the school here at a.c.t. college's manassas location. dozens of students angry, confused and surprised. they came here for class this morning after a one-day spring break only to find the school had been shut down. now, the u.s. department of education has been placing for-profit schools like this one under more scrutiny, and a recent audit here seems to be at least indirectly responsible for the closure of a.c.t. college.

crushing news for arundelone as he arrived for class at a.c.t. college. he enrolled three weeks ago in hopes of becoming a dental assistant, but this letter informed him that the health sciences college had abruptly closed. >> i have no idea what's going on. i just showed up today and see you guys here and am being told that school is closed. so, now i'm going to try to find out, like, what i have to do with the loans, the grants i just got, you know, where am i going to go to school now? because i mean, this was my future. >> reporter: a for-profit institution, a.c.t. college has been around for about three decades with three locations, in manassas, fairfax county and roslyn. it teaches students to become dental and medical assistants and radiologists. now students and faculty are in sudden limbo. teachers haven't been paid in weeks. the letter from the president jeff moore blames the u.s. department of education for

withholding funds after an audit reveals problems at the school. the student council president doesn't buy the explanation. >> the current explanation we have is just a letter that's been drafted by the president of the college, a man who obviously doesn't care enough to be here to give us the news himself. i am very skeptical about the information he's provided. >> reporter: now, you can see the students with signs asking questions here. in this letter from the college president, jeff moore, not many answers, but he does say, "we sincerely regret having to close our doors to our employees and students, but we have been left no other choice given the circumstances." news4 has placed calls and inquiry to mr. moore, but very can't heard back yet. these students waiting here at the a.c.t. college location, hoping to find more later today about, first of all, what will happen with all their course credits and their financial loan packages, some which total up to $15,000. reporting live from manassas, i'm julie carey. back to you.

>> we will continue to follow what happens out there, julie. thank you so much. and new today, president obama is celebrating the easter season. he's hosting an easter prayer breakfast at the white house this morning. christian leaders from across the country are attending. it's a time of prayer and reflection, but also a little humor. >> we all have experiences that shake our faith. there are times where we have questions for god's plan. jesus told us as much in the book of john when he said, "in this world, you will have trouble." i heard an amen. let me repeat. "in this world, you will have trouble, but take heart, i have overcome the world." >> the first family will also host the white house easter egg roll and thousands of excited kids will be out there on the white house lawn next monday. a famed sculptor known her

her illustrations of strong black and mexican women has died. elizabeth was born in d.c., went to does nunbar high school and to mexico in 1946. catlett often illustrated racial and social issues affecting women in the u.s. and mexico. catlett was 96 years old. her family said they will hold a private memorial ceremony for her in mexico. 11 minutes after 11:00 is our time right now. and coming up, two americans killed today in a bombing in afghanistan. plus, what does last night's big win mean for mitt romney and his fellow candidates? and measuring obesity. doctors now say it's not all about your body mass index. stay with us. i was paying too much with cable.

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because everyone deserves a lifetime. a senior u.s. defense official confirms two american soldiers were among ten people killed in a suicide bombing in northern afghanistan today. it happened in mymana early this morning. the two soldiers were among three nato forces who died. afghan officials say four afghan police thought officers were also killed. there's been a spike in violence since nato and u.s. forces started training the afghan military. mitt romney's sights are set on the white house this morning

following a clean sweep in all three of tuesday's primaries. his biggest margin of victory came right here in the district, where he received 70% of the vote. rick santorum was not even on the ballot here. romney had a 20-point win over santorum in maryland, where he received nearly 50% of the vote there. add a five-point victory in wisconsin, and romney has turned his attention now from his challengers to the president. >> flying around in "air force one" surrounded by an adoring staff of true believers, telling you that you're great and you're doing a great job. it's enough to make you think you might become a little out of touch. >> romney now has more than half the delegates needed to secure the republican nomination. well, despite the math working against him, rick santorum says he plans to stay in the race. he told a crowd in pennsylvania last night that it is only halftime in the nomination process. newt gingrich also says he's staying in, despite finishing a distant third in maryland and d.c. and fourth in wisconsin.

most d.c. council incumbencies won their races. marion barry yvette alexander and mural bower beat their opponents. barry got 73% of the vote in ward 8. jack evans ran unopposed in ward 2. the democratic at large council race is too close to call right now. incumbent vincent orange leads challenger sekou biddle by just 543 votes. about 3,800 absentee ballots still have to be counted. those results may not be in until next friday, april 13th. in maryland, a hotly contested house race is now set for this fall. businessman john delaney won the democratic primary for district 6. he'll face longtime congressman roscoe bartlett. the republican is fighting to keep his seat for an 11th term in the house. redistricting changed district 6, which could favor a large portion of montgomery county which traditionally votes democratic.

and you can see a detailed list from every primary race in "decision 2012" on nbcwashington.com. tom is here now to tell us about our weather for today and look ahead to the rest of this week. a lot of folks have the week off, i guess, before spring break. >> yeah, a lot of school systems as well as next week, too, and we've got spring break weather for you. it certainly is mild. there's a live view from our skywatcher camera, which is about 300 feet above the terrain here in northwest washington, looking into downtown washington. there's the national cathedral on the left. look how green the trees are. it's really gleaned up a lot. of course, as a result, we've had the pollen jump. but i'm happy to report, the pollen count has dropped. so, if you're an allergy sufferer, no doubt, hopefully, you're feeling better, because the pollen count's only about a quarter of what it was last week. right now, 68 at reagan national, a little sunshine breaking out and temperatures are around the region going to continue to climb as we get into the afternoon. we've got a light northerly breeze now, though. we're on the cooler side of a front that's draped just to our

south. and over the last 12 hours, we've had some showers moving in out of ohio, across west virginia. they're just now beginning to move into the northern shenandoah valley and the central shenandoah valley. these areas in green, this is where they're getting a little light rain, sprinkle activity just south of winchester, between there and front royal, now just moving into warren and clark county out of frederick county, virginia, heading to the east. a few showers much further to the south will pass south and east of the metro area. locally right around washington, a few clouds around. it's mostly cloudy here, a few breaks in the clouds. a lot of sun, though, on the eastern shore, where temperatures right now are climbing into the 70s. cambridge now up to 70 degrees. fredericksburg is up to 74 now. farther to the west in charlottesville, 74 as well, but farther north, it's cooler. in fact, only in the low 60s along the pennsylvania border, where highs later this afternoon may only make it into the upper 60s. but locally, right around washington, we should make it into the mid-70s by next two or three hours or so. then we'll have the cooler air

moving in tonight, but it may be near 80 in fredericksburg, warrenton, manassas, culpeper. that will happen over the next couple hours as well. looking forward over the next 48 hours, the areas in green is the potential rain and maybe thunder and lightning coming through over the next several hours. by late afternoon, all that should be gone. we'll clear out tonight. during the day on thursday, plenty of sunshine. then as we get into friday as well, another sunny day but much cooler weather moving in as we get into late tonight, and it will be in place tomorrow and into the weekend. so, for the afternoon, we'll have quite a bit of cloudiness, maybe a passing shower, maybe a little thunder. temperatures reaching low to mid-70s, northwest breeze around 5 to 15. then tonight, sunset 7:35. we'll be clearing out. it will be turning cooler and we'll drop from the 60s around sunset to the 50s by midnight, and then it will continue to drop all the way down to near 40 by dawn on thursday. so, quite a chill coming in. then thursday afternoon, sunny. tomorrow's highs low 60s. that's about the average high for this time of year for april,

early april. then as we get into friday, more of the same, as well as on saturday and sunday. sunny afternoons, mild, chilly mornings. as we get into the first part of next week, though, cool start to the week. so, we're going to be entering the cool pattern beginning tomorrow, lasting all the way into the weekend, first part of next week. >> so, are folks going to have to cover up their easter finery on sunday or will it be warm enough to take the coats off? >> no, looks nice. mid-60s during the afternoon but chilly in the morning. >> so straw hats will be okay? >> i won't wear one, but you can. >> i don't know. thanks, tom. it is 11:20 now. still ahead, is ryan seacrest looking to take matt lauer's job? matt asks him directly. plus, american history on stage. we'll sit down with two of the show's stars. first, a look at what's hot on nbcwashington.com. [ male announcer ] does your cable company keep charging you more...

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♪ i say vote, yes, vote, yes, vote for independence ♪ this is a new revival of "1776." the musical is now playing at ford's theatre. two of the stars of the show, brooks ashmanskez and kate fisher join us with more on what audiences can expect. good to see you, out of costume.

>> yes. >> i had a wonderful opportunity to see you on stage, and it is a terrific show. >> hue. >> and you learn so much. is it based on real history? >> yes, it is. and a great deal of the show is actual words they spoke based on letters or reports. but it's done in a way that is so ultra theatrical and funny and musical. >> yeah, it is funny. >> it's pretty astonishing what they accomplished there. >> you two play john and abigail adams. are you together and writing letters? >> it's based on correspondence, the letters they wrote back and forth throughout their marriage. so, i'm sort of a figment of his imagination through the letter-writing. >> that's what i thought. >> and so, we counsel each other through the letters, really. >> yes. >> well, one of the interesting things is you do get the feeling that women were pretty important during that period, whether they had been -- >> very. >> -- shown that way through our historical evidence or not. >> yes, and i think this piece even takes the point of view

that abigail adams is instrumental in the writing of the declaration of independence. you know, it's -- >> changes the course of the history throughout. >> yes, she counsels him, just as kate said. >> what's it like playing a historical figure, where you've got real words to work with, at the ford's theatre, which is a historical place? what's it like? >> yes. >> it's a blessing. we're really honored. there's a great amount of responsibility to respect what these people said as well as, like i said, it's an incredible honor to be in this historical theater where incredible history has taken place. but this one in particular, because -- >> well, you know, there's a place in the show where we talk about slavery and how it was -- that section of the declaration was taken out as a compromise to getting independence, sadly. and i have a line to the man playing benjamin franklin, chris block, where i say, "mark me, franklin. if we give in on this issue, posterity will never forgive

us," and right over his head is lincoln's box, and you think -- it takes the air out of you, you know. >> i think that was a really moving part of the whole play, because you don't realize that that was part of the argument during the declaration of independence. >> yes. >> i think a lot of us learned something that we didn't know at that point. is that a reason for coming to see it, do you think, or the entertainment value? >> hopefully, both. >> both, i think both. >> hopefully, both. there's something inherently moving about especially the tail end of the show when they actually get -- these men get down to signing this document that we're all based on, basically, you know, that this entire country is based on. it's very strangely moving and theatric theatrical, and it's a thrill. >> how did you study for this? and do you try to look the part? i mean, we've got pictures of abigail and john adams, paintings. did you try to take on that look? >> well, fortunately, we have wonderful costumers and wig people who do that for us.

but in terms of historically, i know both of us read biographies. >> yes. >> and you read david mcculloch's -- >> yes. >> "1776," and i read one of the abigail adams biographies as well. so, we were sort of boning up on our history in that regard. >> and the script is so well written that it takes you where you need to go. you just have to trust the writing of the script. >> well, the music is wonderful, the two of you are wonderful. it's a terrific show. and we should let people know that they can see it at ford's theatre through may 19th. thank you both so much. >> my pleasure. >> thank you for having us. >> we've been hoping to get you here and finally did. thanks a lot for taking the time. >> thank you. my pleasure. >> good to see you. >> hopefully a lot of folks will get a chance to see it. it is now 11:27. coming up in the next half hour of "news4 midday," a student accused of threatening a rampage on a college campus. poli plus, why doctors believe more women should be measured obese and how that obesity should be

measured. tom kierein will have a check of the weather

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right now on "news4 midday," storm surveyors are trying to determine exactly how many tornadoes ripped across north texas. it could be as many as a dozen. people are sifting through the debris to see what's left of their homes in the dallas-ft. worth area. the storm injured at least 15 people. no deaths have been reported. airlines canceled hundreds of flights in and out of dfw and dallas love field. mitt romney is celebrating a clean sweep in tuesday's primaries. that may have helped him lock up the gop nomination. his biggest victory was here in d.c., where he got 70% of the vote. but a five-point win in wisconsin was the big prize in a battleground state where rick santorum had at one point held the lead. for the next half hour, president obama will sign the stop trading on congressional knowledge act.

the bill makes it clear that members of congress are subject to the same insider trading laws as everyone else. the president, vice president and thousands of executives and judiciary branch workers are subject to the same rules. people in d.c. will mark the 44th anniversary of the assassination of dr. martin luther king jr. with a special vigil at his memorial. dr. king was shot april 4th, 1968, on a balcony of the lorraine motel in memphis. the civil rights leader was 39 years old. the candlelight vigil and wreath-laying ceremony on the national mall is open to the public. the event will begin at 6:30 tonight. you may want to hold off on ordering a spicy tuna roll any time soon. the sushi may be the source of a salmonella outbreak. the food and drug administration says 90 people in 19 states and d.c. have gotten sick. federal health officials are investigating if spicy tuna rolls may have been contaminated. health officials are examining clusters of restaurants in maryland, texas, wisconsin,

rhode island and connecticut. and new information about our country's growing weight problem. the obesity epidemic could be worse than we all thought, and it may have to do with the way we measure the disease. nbc's nancy snyderman has more on this study. >> reporter: it's no surprise that americans are getting fatter, but a new study finds the obesity epidemic could be a lot worse than anyone thought, and the new face of obesity could actually look more like this. this is barbara hemmerly-galist. she's now at a healthy weight, but a year ago, doctors determined she was obese, even though her body mass index, or bmi, indicated she was normal. >> when i saw the results, it was utterly shocking. >> reporter: bmi estimates a person's body fat based on height and weight alone. dr. eric braverman, who led the study, says the widely used method is overly simplistic and significantly underestimates the prevalence of obesity. >> bmi doesn't tell you how much

fat you have. that is the predictor of heart disease, cancer, stroke, gall bladder, fertility problems, depression, anxiety, sleep disorder, et cetera. >> reporter: the study looked at 1,393 adults and found that 48% of women were misclassified as non obese based on bmi. for women, bmi doesn't take into account the loss of muscle mass that comes with age. dr. braverman says a commonly used test to check for bone density, called a dexascan, is more accurate because it measures bone, muscle and fat. it also costs several hundred dollars. another approach is a simple blood test pfor lectin. >> that's a dollar bone test and doing bone density scans with body fat scans at the same time is going to pay off enormously. >> barbara now says she's a new person and has the proof inside and out.

>> caffeine and exercise may be a prescription for skin cancer prevention. researchers from rutgers studied mice that were exposed to sun lamps with uvb rays. they were given a dose of caffeine and they were exercising on running wheels. the animals experienced 60% fewer tumors. researchers say low to moderate amounts of caffeine along with exercise appears to be good for your health. experts still say, however, the best way to prevent skin cancer is to wear sunscreen and protective clothing. let's check in again with tom kierein now to see if we're going to get enough sunshine to wear our sunglasses out there today. tom? >> right now, we do. in fact, you need the sunscreen if you're going to be spending much time here over the next hour or so. the sun is out right now. from the sunwatcher camera, looking at tysons corner in the horizon. you can see a little haze and the camera bouncing around. it's up above 300 feet and that's gustier up there. now looking at what's been happening over the last couple hours, the cloud cover has broken up little bit, but we're

getting a few sprinkles in the specs of green, just coming into fairfax county, near herndon and across the loudoun county line into much of loudoun county, shenandoah valley and into the mountains of western maryland, west virginia getting a few light showers now. and temperatures ahead of that are mild. reagan national now is at 70 degrees. look at fredericksburg, up to 76 now. it may get up to around 80 degrees there this afternoon. and locally, we'll probably peak in the mid-70s around the metro area. and then, any rain or thunder activity should be ending by late afternoon. clearing out tonight and turning cooler. a cool, dry pattern thursday, friday, saturday and easter sunday and into the first part of next week. that is the way it looks. barbara? >> all right, tom, thanks. and now to the roads we go now. here's danella. >> good morning. well, right now i'm watching road work on the inner loop of the beltway as you approach braddock road. this road work's taking up the left lane, so you'll see the arrows up, urging you to get over. travel speed on the inner loop is pretty slow, 27 miles per hour, and your delays really

start at braddock and continue to the dulles toll road and then the road opens up and you look pretty good. now, taking you into montgomery county, no issues here. here's a live look at colesville road. inner loop clear, outer loop as well. no problems. you're at about 58 miles per hour. ten minutes from i-75 to i-270. barbara, back to you. more charges have been filed against a university of maryland student who claimed he was going to go on a shooting rampage. 19-year-old alexander song posted warnings online last month. song was arrested and then taken to a hospital for a mental evaluation. he was released yesterday and arrested again. the charges against him include misuse of e-mail, making a false statement and disturbing the peace. the man accused of killing seven people at a small christian university in oakland will make his first appearance in court this afternoon. police say 43-year-old one goh opened fire at oikos university. six students and a secretary died. three others were hurt. police say goh was expelled from

the school earlier this year. authorities say revenge may have been the motive for the shooting. they say goh claimed classmates bullied him and he was teased, he says, about his poor english skills. maryland lawmakers are now questioning a bill that could bring a new casino to prince george's county. some house members say the current gaming expansion bill may not generate enough money for state education programs. the bill would grant a sixth casino to be built in maryland, possibly at the national harbor or roosevelt raceway. it would also legalize table games. a subcommittee vote is expected later this week. the house has until midnight next monday to pass the gambling legislation. according to "the washington post," most of the prince george's county council now backed the legislation for referendum. that would let voters decide in november if they want a full-fledged casino in the county. today, an appeals court will hear arguments over a controversial law that denies federal benefits to married gay

couples. the 1996 defense of marriage act defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. that prevents the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages. in 2010, part of that law was declared unconstitutional by a federal judge in massachusetts. they said that gay marriage was legal. the judge said the law interferes with the state's right to define marriage. it is now 11:39.

today, a 79-year-old woman is in a new temporary home after she was evicted from her apartment. sarah owens was evicted from her apartments near the washington convention center. she was the first metro female bus driver and worked for 25 years doing that. she also survived cancer twice. she says she used all of her savings for alternative

medicine. since news4 reported her eviction, the community came to her help, gathering and storing her things and housing her as well. >> i'm ready to cry, really. i'm filled up with joy because i have no immediate family. >> someone has offered to pay the $3,000 she owes in back rent. she hopes to find a permanent place soon. one gps company is blaming its signal problems on leap year. tomtom says a leap year bug caused their navigation devices not to receive a signal. the company says customers began reporting problems on march 31st. there is a downloadable fix available on the mytomtom application. once downloaded, the gps could take a few minutes to start working. big losses this morning on wall street. we're going to check in with cnbc's kayla tausche. she joins us live with more on that and the rest of the day's business headlines. hi, kayla. >> hi, barbara, good morning.

markets today are sliding lower on lingering concerns over comments from the federal reserve released yesterday. the fed indicating another round of stimulus is not in the cards. that's leading the dow off almost 150 points. the s&p down 15. and the nasdaq having its worst day of the year, down a little bit over 50 points. economic pressure in europe also weighing on the market, an indicator of eurozone corporate health fell in march. that and spain and portugal both trying to sell more debt to investors. only portugal emerged successful, but even so, an eu commissioner today said portugal may need more financial assistance. a lot coming out of europe. also today, president obama is expected to sign a bill banning lawmakers from trading on confidential information. the so-called stock act has already been passed by both the house and the senate, and it prohibits employees and families from all three branches of government from trading on securities on the basis of nonpublic information they obtained through their jobs.

and the private sector added 209,000 jobs last month, less than the month of february but upbeat because it's more than economists expected, and that's a positive sign for hiring. that is, unless you work at yahoo! the struggling internet giant cutting 2,000 jobs starting today, just the latest in that company's turn-around. barbara, back to you. >> all right, thank you, kayla. well, as part of the national cherry blossom festival, puppeteer bazell twist is performing at the studio theater. bazell joins us this morning with a preview of the show that's coming up. we're so happy to have you with us. >> thank you. i'm thrilled to be here. >> what is dogogeishi? >> it's a japanese puppetry tradition. it basically means a scene change, so it's a very elaborate, extended seed scene change that involves all these painted screens. a lot of people might not even think it's a puppet show, but it was created by puppeteers in japan, and i went to japan and studied it and i created this

show based on it. >> now, you first studied puppetry, i think in paris, is that right? you're from san francisco. >> i'm from san francisco, but i did my formal training in france, yes. >> i see. and are puppets a big deal, maybe bigger than they are here? >> i think puppets kind of, even in france, are still kind of marginalized art form. it's just that in france, there's so much support for the ar arts. everything receives that support. and so, even puppetry does. and so, there is a lot more kind of sophistication around puppetry in france. >> well, you've brought a couple of your puppets with you. do you want to introduce them to us? >> sure. first one is from dogo geichi. so, even though that's essentially the scene change with a lot of painted screens, there is also in my show this beautiful nine-tailed fox. and the nine-tailed fox is a mythological character frequently seen in japanese puppet shows. i actually saw a puppet like this in my research in japan, and i loved it so much, i made one of my own.

so -- >> does he speak? >> he doesn't really speak. my puppets aren't the kind that speak. there's music in the show and the puppet does -- this puppet does a great dance with a shamizan player, which is a japanese traditional instrument. it's kind of like a banjo. so, there is a musician from japan, yumiko tanaka, and we perform together. i perform with the fox and she performs with the shamizan. >> you say you made this. is there somewhere you go to get them made? >> generally, i make my puppets, but this other is an exception. it's not one i made. generally, i always make my puppets or i have people help me. but this is a copy of a beautiful puppet i saw in japan. >> let's meet this one. who is this here? >> this puppet -- i'm actually doing several shows in the d.c. area. so i'm doing another show called "arias with a twist." and this puppet is from that show, and this puppet was

actually built in the '30s, and it belongs to my grandfather. and this is a puppet of the trumpeteer harry james, who was bet betty grace bowles' husband at one time. so, these are antique puppets that belonged to my grandfather and they perform in another show, because i'm doing several shows. it's sort of like a festival of mine that i'm doing in d.c. >> we're looking at video from "arias with a twist" here. >> yes, that's "arias with a twist." >> tell us about that show. >> it's built, it's a collaboration between me and a friend from new york -- >> and that's his puppet? >> that's one of his colleagues. there's four puppets like that. joey arias is a wonderful singer from new york. there's joey. >> is that a puppet? >> that's joey. joey is like a puppet. and this is us working, you know, developing this show. here we are rehearsing. and here i am working -- this is another one of my grandfather's puppets. so, this is all part of the

bazell twist festival, twist festival d.v. twistfestivaldc is where all the information for the shows, both playing at the same time. >> you mentioned your grandfather. are you from a long line of puppeteers, then? >> i'm a third-generation puppeteer. so, my mother was a puppeteer and my grandfather was mostly a musician. he was a big band leader, but he used puppets as part of his act. >> so, are most of your shows a combination of real humans and puppets all acting together? >> no, actually, most of them are pure puppet shows. "arias with a twist" is the one show where i allow one extraordinary individual into my puppet world, which is joey arias. >> you're going to be performing at the studio theater from april 11th to april 22nd. >> yeah, and that's a show that i love, the dogo gaichi show. i'm very happy about it. >> well, we're happy to have you in washington and bring your puppets back again and again.

you know there are some very famous puppets that started here. >> what's that? >> do you know the puppets that are on sesame street puppets? they started right here in this studio. >> oh, you're kidding, really? >> this is where they got started. >> oh, wow. >> so, you're in puppet land here. >> oh, wow. i'm in the right place. >> good to have you, bazell twist. thank you for coming. >> thank you. and we want to again remind people that april -- what was it again? >> the 11th through the 22nd. >> 11th through the 22nd at the studio theater. it is 11:50 now. coming up, ryan seacrest has another new job. we'll tell you about that. plus, meteorologist tom kierein will be back with when we could see some rain today. stay with us. hi, i'm eun yang. >> and i'm aaron gilchrist. tomorrow morning on "news4 today," the high gas prices have everybody looking for ways to save at the pump. what about switching from premium gas to regular? >> you'll save money, but will it hurt your car? we'll tell you what car should not settle for the less expensive gas grade. plus, we'll get you ready for the nationals opening day in

chicago. >> don't forget, we'll have weather and traffic together on the 1s and all the overnight news from your neighborhood. >> wake up with us tomorrow [ male announcer ] does your cable company keep charging you more... and more... and more? stop paying so much for second best. upgrade to verizon fios tv, internet and phone for our best price online: just $94.99 a month, guaranteed for two years with no annual contract. or choose a two-year contract and pick your bonus: hbo & cinemax included for 12 months or $250 back. unlike cable, fios is a 100% fiber-optic network that delivers america's fastest, most consistent, most reliable internet, plus the best tv picture quality. why pay so much for cable?

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thousands of people across the world will now be able to get up close and personal with prince william and kate middleton. madame tussauds is unveiling wax replicas of the royal couple at

its museums in new york, london and amsterdam. each figure costs about $237,000 to make. each museum will have a different version of the couple in different clothing, and it's all leading up to the royal couple's first anniversary, which is april the 29th. well, rumors have been swirling for months that nbc might be courting "american idol" host ryan seacrest to replace "today" show host matt lauer. well, this morning, lauer came right out and asked seacrest about it. >> what kind of conversations have you had with nbc about joining the "today" show? >> oh, they didn't tell you? >> that's why you're here. >> yeah. well, you know, i've worked with the "e!" network for years. >> right. >> and nbc universal and "e!" are the same family. and so, the plan is for me to join the nbc family and continue to have a role at the "e!" network. the first assignment will be to join the prime time team for the olympics on nbc. >> you didn't answer the question. so, the question was, what

conversations have you had with nbc officials about joining this program? >> just conversation -- >> and i want names and dates. >> conversations with four people to your right here on the floor, but they were mostly about filling in to do weather. >> so, al should be doing this interview. >> oh, wow. well, ryan seacrest will be joining nbc's team for the summer olympics in london, that we know. people have been saying it for years now, but now there's proof, coyotes are living in northern virginia. a camera captured this video of a coyote last week in potomac overlook regional park. the animals are not native to virginia or the region, but experts say that they are here to stay. coyotes tend to be scared of people, but pets are a different story. coyotes feed on animals the size of rabbits and raccoons. we're going to look now at some stories we'll be following you for news4 this afternoon. tonight at 4:00, the baltimore woman who claims she won a

lottery just called a last-minute news conference. we'll tell you what she says about the winning mega millions ticket. then tonight, batman unmasked. a recent traffic stop helped showcase this regional hero's work with sick children in our area. now the forecast with tom kierein. the sun is breaking out after a cloudy start this morning. here's a live view from the skywatcher camera. a blustery wind at 300 feet, but at the surface, winds only 10, 15 miles an hour. and quite a bit of cloudiness, but the sun is shining through a milky sky right now. and off to our west, we have a few showers that have been passing through the shenandoah valley, just a few sprinkles where you see those little specs of green. there may be a few sprinkles now coming into loudoun county, southern montgomery, prince william, faulkier, culpeper, points west, and those may make their way farther east here and hold together over another couple hours. right now, it's near 70 in washington and look at fredericksburg, up to 78. in fact, it may get into the low

80s there this afternoon. charlottesville up to 77, while it's in just the low to mid-60s up near the pennsylvania border. and later today, 70s throughout most of the region and maybe an isolated shower or thunder shower over the next few hours, just a small chance. otherwise, we'll have a lot of clouds around that will break up tonight and we'll get some chillier weather moving in. tomorrow morning near 40. thursday afternoon up in the low 60s with sunshine. and a cool, dry pattern through the easter weekend and first part of next week with morning lows chilly, afternoon highs cool, generally in the 60s. and that's the way it looks. >> all right, tom, thank you. well, this will bull you over. a rare chinese porcelain bull has set a sotheby's auction record, going for more than $26 million. the flower-shaped bowl is 900 years old and is only one of five pieces from the kiln it was produced in. the piece was bought by an anonymous phone bidder. sotheby's says the last time a similar piece was auctioned off

was 30 years ago, so collectors have been waiting a long time for this piece to become available. hong kong has become one of the biggest hotbeds for auctions besides new york and london because of the booming chinese economy. and maybe it's that mega millions lady in baltimore. maybe she's going to tell us in her press conference coming up that she's the one who bought it! that's "news4 midday." thank you for being with us. we invite you to tune in for the news at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00. and we'll be back tomorrow for "news4 midday." hope you'll join us for that. until then, have a terrific day i was paying too much with cable. paying so much, you want better quality. it just got more frustrating and frustrating. for the amount of money that i'm paying, my cable company should take care of me. [ male announcer ] stop paying for second best. get verizon fios tv, internet and phone with our best price online: just $94.99 a month, guaranteed for two years. first time we saw tv on fios was amazing.

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