fallen to its lowest level in four years. steve handelsman on capitol hill now with the latest. >> thanks. good evening. uptick and down tick in the economic numbers fan the partisan political fires in this election year, but today both sides were celebrating a recovery move that they made together. >> i want to thank all of you for coming. >> reporter: president obama and top republicans came to the rose garden. they cooperated on a bill to help new business start-ups and, coincidentally today got the good economic news. the number of americans claiming new unemployment benefits last week. 357,000 was the lowest in four years. >> our economy has begun to turn a corner but we still have a long way to go. we still have a lot of americans out there who are looking for a job. >> reporter: this was atlanta airport. people lining up to get jobs. 700 will in new restaurants and shops here and there is hope

tomorrow's national jobs report will show another strong bounce back. the bill signed today cuts red tape to promote business start-ups. critics worry wall street giants like goldman sachs might abuse the bill to avoid regulation. the goal is getting financing for small businesses to grow. house republican leader eric canter. >> i hope it represents the kind of bipartisan work that we can actually accomplish here in washington over the next few months. we have a very difficult economic situation still. >> reporter: our record warm weather is helping. retail clothing sales are up. outdoor sporting goods sales. and that means jobs. >> when we start to see the retailers do well because of an early spring, many of them will take those sales and continue to create jobs and look for opportunities to grow their business. and they'll need new people to do that. >> all right. >> reporter: more americans hired, music to president obama's ears, as he runs for re-election. tomorrow is the big day.

the march jobs report. will it show another positive move in the hiring direction? i'm steve handelsman, news 4. jim, back to you. >> thanks, steve. now to an update on a story reported first here on news 4. d.c. council member marion barry apologized today for his election night remarks. he had criticized asian owned businesses in ward 8 calling them, quote, dirty shops. news 4's tom sherwood has the latest developments. tom? >> doreen, barry apologized today and he tried to clarify what he meant. marion barry's comment about unwelcomed asian shops that are, quote, dirty, unquote, came tuesday night. >> we have to do something about these asians coming in, opening up businesses, these dirty shops and they ought to go. i'll just tell you that right now, you know, but we need african-american business people to be able to take their places too. >> reporter: in an interview thursday barry insisted he wants all businesses to clean up in the city's poorest ward saying

more business owners need to hire locally and get involved in ward 8 as a community. >> i said asians. i wasn't being derogatory because i was stating the fact of who is there. anybody who comes to ward 8 we're going to try to attract as many businesses as we can, as many restaurants as we can, as many sources as we can. they have to be part of the community. they can't come in here, take out money, take it to virginia somewhere. don't support little league, don't support nothing. and that's what i'm talking about doing is making our community a better place to live. >> reporter: but late thursday, barry issued a clear apology. i am sorry that my choice of words in expressing my discontent with some of the asian business owners in my ward offended the asian american community and i am deeply apologetic for any harm that i have caused. jamie baromio an asian american

advocate for minority business owners nationwide said barry shouldn't single out asians. >> for him to pit one group against another, he shouldn't have done that. to say you want to clean up businesses in ward 8 implies that you're looking at all the businesses and store fronts not just one specific group. >> reporter: ward 6 council member tommy wells joined other city leaders in criticizing barry. >> when i saw the remarks i was stunned and part of the reason i was stunned is that marion barry is a civil rights hero icon. and that's not the kind of thing i would expect him to ever say. >> reporter: barry said as mayor he helped bring asian americans into the city government. many city leaders criticized barry today but they also welcomed his late afternoon apology. >> two apologies. do you get the sense that is enough? >> i think he was told his remarks, whatever he meant originally, was terrible and his staff is saying and he was saying i want to make it clear what i was trying to talk about was the general population but the remarks, you know, people are saying he said what he said. >> it's on tape. all right.

thank you, tom. a developing story in fairfax county now. a police chase ended with a crash at memorial bridge in arlington. several women and a child rushed to a hospital. it may have all started over a shoplifting case at the mall. >> reporter: jim, this was a wild scene. there were helicopters overhead as this suv drove through tourist congested streets before crashing. six people including a little boy who appeared to be about 4 or 5 years old were taken to local hospitals by ambulance. after the suv hit a cast iron lamp post in front of arlington cemetery and rolled. >> the vehicle ended up coming into the district of columbia and drove around in d.c. for a little bit and then it came back out of the district of columbia across memorial bridge. the vehicle went into arlington cemetery with our aviation people above calling out locations and our officers in the area. there was no pursuit at this time. after the car went around in

arlington cemetery for a little bit, it came back out and was heading back toward d.c. toward memorial bridge. as the vehicle was coming around memorial circle it went straight. the roadway went to the left. >> reporter: the pursuit began about 3:30 this afternoon in fairfax county. sources tell news 4 some of the suv's occupants were suspected of shoplifting at tysons corner mall. officers from virginia state police, fort mead, and arlington county became involved at various stages of the pursuit. the vehicle was towed. a short time ago. all roads in this area have been reopened. reporting live, back to you. >> thanks jackie. routine yard work turned into a big house fire in mclean today. it could be a warning to all home owners especially this time of year. pat collins has details. >> lit up in less than two minutes. it got about 15 feet high in fire in less than two minutes. it was out of control. >> reporter: the picture in the room survived the fire but many

other things inside the room may not make it. how hot was it? look at the siding. dripping down like wax. the roof rafters charred and brittle like old campfire logs. she just wants to be called arlene. she is the owner of the house and she says she was in her upstairs bedroom when it happened. she says it was her ears that alerted her to the danger. >> i heard it. i didn't smell it. >> what did it sound like? >> just crackling like a really loud fire place. >> reporter: then did you just run through the house and call for your kids to get out? >> my kid -- one of my kids was already on the phone with 911 so i took over and told them to get out of the house and the people from church helped me get the kids out. >> reporter: scary? >> very. >> reporter: it was an outside in kind of fire. it began when the owner's son tried to start the lawn mower. a spark ignited some leaves. the leaves set a shed on fire. that bike was in the shed.

the fire continued down the fence line, up the tree, up the side of the house, melting the siding, and then invaded the house, itself. four people inside. no one hurt. so neighbors here surprised by what they saw. >> i first thought it was the attic and then i thought it was the master bedroom and then we got down here and learned that it was actually a lawn mower and that's pretty scary. >> reporter: firefighters from arlington and fairfax county teamed up to knock it down. they stayed and sprayed water on the house and yard to make sure that fire didn't try and make a comeback. in mclean, pat collins, news 4. in the district tonight four people recovering after being rescued from a burning house. the fire started at about 6:30 this morning in the 1300 block of locust road in northwest. neighbors say dark smoke billowed from the windows as

firefighters rescued victims from both floors of the house. at least two people were taken to a hospital. investigators say the fire started in a bedroom but it could take a few weeks to determine exactly what started it. a teacher in manassas, virginia has been accused of having inappropriate contact with a student. 23-year-old zachary jude ze lives in chantilly and is accused of inappropriate activity with a 15-year-old child. the alleged incident happened at the seton school. ze is a teacher there. a complaint from the parents of the victim sparked a police investigation. ze is out tonight free on bond. the child sex abuse case involving former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky took a flue turn today. at today's pretrial hearing both sides blamed the other for delays in the case. meantime sandusky's attorney is now backing down from a motion he filed in march asking the judge to drop all charges. michelle franzen has more on the trial that is expected to begin in a couple of months.

>> reporter: jerry sandusky walked into court this morning where defense attorneys were expected to present arguments asking a judge to dismiss all child sexual abuse charges against him due to what they called lack of sufficient evidence. instead, defense attorney joe amandola asked the judge to withdraw the motion for now. he said until the evidence is more concrete. outside the courthouse, he says he is still concerned the ongoing investigation that includes grand jury testimony won't give them enough time to prepare a defense at trial. now set to begin in june. >> we're ready with what we have. the problem is what we don't have and what we don't have right now is any additional discovery the commonwealth gives us at our request or on our own volition as well as the grand jury materials which we know we're not going to get until right before trial. >> reporter: the former penn state assistant football coach faces 52 child sexual abuse charges involving ten alleged victims dating back more than a decade. sandusky's defense team says they are still missing key

information about his accusers. >> for instance they have a case where there is no person. they say there was a victim but we can't tell you how old the person was, their name, who they are or whether they consented or what. >> reporter: prosecutors expressed their own frustration saying they have provided as much information as they can due to the ongoing investigation. they accuse the defense of using delay tactics. >> we look forward to the day when the victims under oath testify as to the abuse to which they were subjected. >> reporter: that day in court for both the alleged victims and sandusky now two months away barring any other delays. following the hearing sandusky left the courthouse and remains confined in his home while this court case plays out. michelle franzen, nbc news, belafonte, pennsylvania. tonight there is more fallout in connection with howard university's athletic program. the school released a statement this afternoon saying the women's tennis team match against navy was canceled today. school officials say it is part

of the ongoing internal investigation into possible ncaa violations by some student athletes. the school has told a number of those athletes that they cannot compete until this matter is resolved. they say most teams from howard will compete as scheduled. coming up tonight we now know exactly how many tornadoes there were that ripped apart the homes and lives in texas. an 80-year-old woman made a miraculous emergency landing and the new flight recordings reveal what really happened up there in the cockpit. >> don't you have any faith in me? coming up in sports the nats gone down to the wire against the cubs on opening day. doug, how about the weather? >> opening day normally remains nice weather around here. it was pretty good. 60 degrees with plenty of sunshine across the area but 16 sthis italian b.m.t.area but 16 is amazing.

...like i'm in italy... ♪ ♪ ciao! ciao! ciao! dude!? she was talkin' to me. they're never talking to you. -what? -never. [ male announcer ] get to subway pronto for our fresh takes on italian. like the delizioso italian b.m.t., and the molto bono chicken parmesan. subway. eat fresh. is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right.

is it a robot? no. is it a jet plane? nope. is it a dinosaur?] [ male announcer ] inside every box of heart healthy cheerios are those great tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that c help lower cholesterol. stickers? uh-uh. a superhero? ♪ kinda. [ male announcer ] and we think that's the best prize of all. ♪

today pope benedict celebrated a mass to mark the last supper. he washed the feet of 12 priests. the ceremony commemorates jesus' gesture of humility toward his apostles on the night before he died. tomorrow pope benedict will celebrate the crucifixion with the ceremony in st. peter's basilica before presiding over the stations of the cross at rome's coliseum. people in the cities, towns,

villages of spain are also taking part in holy week ceremonies. yesterday hundreds of people walked the streets of sev ille in a procession marking holy wednesday. some of the men dressed in hooded costumes to represent the residents of nazareth. the new testament says nazareth was the childhood home of jesus christ. as good friday approaches the processions become more somber. however, the mood will shift dramatically on easter sunday when people will put out flowers and ring church bells to celebrate their belief in the resurrection of jesus. deppo-provera is an injectable contraceptive women have used for 20 years. there is a new study out that suggests it may double the risk of breast cancer. researchers at the fred hutchinson cancer research center studied more than 2,000 women, roughly half of whom have breast cancer. they found that women who had received depo provera injections

within the previous five years were twice as likely to have been diagnosed with breast cancer than women who had never used it. the risk appeared to fade within several months of stopping the injections. the findings are reported in the journal "cancer research." a massive cleanup is under way in texas where 13 tornadoes touched down on tuesday. today texas governor rick perry toured the twister's path of destruction by air. the tornadoes hit the densely populated dallas/ft. worth area. amazingly, nobody was killed. as jay gray reports. >> reporter: the sounds of recovery echo across north texas now. crews working through the wreckage, a string of 13 tornadoes left behind. in some areas using heavy equipment. in others, the work is by hand. for some, all of this debris being pushed into piles is all that's left of their lives

before the storm. >> we need help. i know we can't go back in our house. we don't have a roof. >> reporter: hoping to provide that help, hundreds of volunteers have poured into the strike zone. sweeping up, scraping up, and carrying away what they can. >> they need it. that's why. >> reporter: and there is still so much to do here. texas governor rick perry got a first-hand look at the damage from the air today. >> it's a stunning amount of devastation. >> reporter: so many here have lost so much. >> irreplaceable treasures and things that the men and women who lived here two days ago see strewn across the road and yards and in some places never be able to find or replace them. >> reporter: it is an emotional struggle for survivors battered by the violent storms but not

broken. >> it's really a close knit area here. forney has done this before and has a history of doing what it needs to do to take care of itself. >> reporter: a bond and history they will call on during what is sure to be a long and difficult recovery. costly as well. state and federal officials will only say likely hundreds of millions of dollars as they continue to assess the damage here. jay gray, nbc news, forney, texas. >> wow. so many people, just where do we even start? >> for sure. our weather on the other hand was perfectly delightful today. >> it really was. you know, i personally enjoyed it a little bit cooler. yesterday 76. today was 60 degrees. a lot of people saying hey bring back the warmer weather we saw during the day yesterday but today was what it normally is in the spring months. temperatures around 60 degrees with plenty of sunshine. today was gorgeous but we do need a couple things. we need some rain and those pollen levels to come down just a little bit. >> we do. >> we really do. out there right now plenty of sunshine. again, it's going to be a nice

evening but it's going to be on the chilly side. so you want to make sure you grab your jacket before you head out tonight. high temperature today 61 degrees. the average high is 63. so a little bit below average with the high temperature but the low was above average. the low this morning 47 degrees. yesterday a freeze warning in effect tonight for areas to the west. i'll show you that in just a second. right now 60 degrees. dew point of 30 degrees with winds oust the east at about 5 miles per hour. it is going to be a fairly pleasant night but once again temperatures are already cooling. 55 right now in leesburg. 55 in winchester. 59s in manassas and culpepper. right now the warmest area 61 in la plata and down towards fredericksburg so once again a very chilly evening. here's the freeze warning back to the west including frederick, hagerstown, martinsburg, winchester and over towards la ray. watch out in this area. you will see temperatures right around the freezing mark. again, i'm not expecting too many problems here but some of the more sensitive vegetation could see some problems. you want to make sure you take precautions to make sure that

doesn't happen. as far as the washington metro area goes temperatures should stay well above freezing but still we'll get into the mid 30s. something else we need? we need to see some rain. we have been very dry. as a matter of fact, this time of the year we should be upwards of nearly 9.5 inches of rain the average for the year so far but right now we've only seen 5.69 inches in 2012 so once again nearly 4 inches below average and we need to see some rain and i don't see any really good chances of rain for maybe the next week to two weeks. we are in a very dry pattern. and the pattern next week many of you hoping for warmer weather, many of you probably will not like it. storm 4 radar. nothing to show you around our area. watch what happens when we widen out. a lot of rain. this is still the storm that came through texas the other day. this storm bringing a ton of rain in through parts of tennessee in through the carolinas and down toward georgia just south of augusta just missing augusta by the way. this storm we're going to watch very closely for us. why? well, it's not going to come

over the next couple days. it is going to make its way out into the atlantic, move back up into canada, and then come down our way next week. and probably bring us one of the coolest patterns we've seen in quite sometime. you know winter we did not see much in the way of cool patterns at all. here is one cool pattern. the pattern we have this evening. a cool night tonight. cool day tomorrow with highs only in the upper 50s to 60. that is with plenty of sunshine. then on saturday we see the mild weather come back. temperatures right around or a little bit above average and then on easter sunday not bad at all. as a matter of fact, i think it's going to be beautiful. a little warmer with some cloud cover as a frontal boundary moves in. that cloud cover will not hurt the temperatures though. still in the mid to upper 60s. partly cloudy. a bit chilly this evening. temperatures 48 to about 53 degrees. tomorrow morning, chilly. get out the coats. 32 to maybe 39 degrees and you'll need the coats just about all day long or at least the jackets. temperatures 56 to 61 degrees. any breezes tomorrow make it

feel that much cooler. here is the weekend. 65 on saturday. 68 on sunday. temperatures on monday still looking good. then we get down into the 50s with a chance of showers and mostly cloudy skies. a winter type pattern trying to work in here for late next week. for the middle of next week. >> that's okay. if we could have nice weather this weekend. >> that's true. >> we could take it a little cooler next week. thank you, doug. coming up tonight the money mystery linked to a medical training school that shut down without any warning. maryland lottery officials have something to say about all the rumors flying around about who the real megamillions winner is in the state. and fighter jets in washington

a police chase today ended with an suv crashing at arlington national cemetery. police say it started after an alleged shopping incident at tysons corner mall. several women and a small child were taken by ambulance to nearby hospitals. memorial bridge was shut down for a couple hours after that crash. the bridge has now reopened. facing more criticism d.c. council member marion barry apologized today for calling asian owned shops in ward 8 dirty. barry made the comments on tuesday night.

he apologized via twitter this afternoon and also issued a statement saying he was deeply apologetic for any harm he caused. d.c. delegate eleanor holmes norton was on hand today when president obama signed a jobs act in the white house rose garden. jobs in this case stands for jump-start our business start-ups. the bipartisan bill makes it easier for small business owners to get funding from a variety of sources and it makes it easier for young, high growth firms to go public. staff and students are scrambling after the abrupt closing of a.c.t. college in northern virginia. >> it provided training in the health field for 30 years but as julie carey reports some missing student loan money may be one reason behind the closing. >> hello. >> reporter: jeff parrot's phone is ringing constantly as a.c.t. college student council president he is fielding inquiries from fellow students whose lives and career paths were jolted yesterday when the health care school abruptly

closed. >> we had an instructor they hired for the day classes that turned in notice to her job, started on monday, got a pink slip on tuesday, calls her former employer and they've already replaced her. she is out of work. >> reporter: yesterday angry students found locked doors when they went looking for answers at the school's three locations in manassas, fairfax county, and roslyn. now in this letter to the u.s. department of education, new details emerge about why the health sciences school closed. on march 9th a.c.t. college president jeff moore was informed that the school would no longer be allowed to participate in the federal student loan program. a june 30th audit showed $262,000 that should have been in student loan credit balances had not been paid. the letter also accused the school of falsifying student documents. moore posted this letter on the school's doors yesterday, blaming the department of education for his troubles. >> there is a lot of money that is missing unaccounted for. where did it go? i got a quality education

because of the quality of the instructors that i had, not because of anything the school did. >> reporter: parrot and other students have turned their anger on a.c.t. president jeff moore scouring the internet to learn more about the man at the top they never even met. they found these pictures on a web page dedicated to an irish pub in moore's basement. the page shows him entertaining friends. moore lives in a gated community in gainsville. a security guard there said he did not want to speak to reporters. donald smith was one of a.c.t.'s program directors until he lost his job yesterday. he has been out looking for a school that might accept the student's credits earned at a.c.t. and says he found one in westwood college. >> they said a.c.t. students can actually do a direct transfer of not just financial aid but also of their credits and they won't lose any credit hours by jumping into their program. >> reporter: a few other now former a.c.t. college staffers have still been coming by the office to provide students with their unofficial transcripts. none of them has heard from jeff moore since before the closing.

in manassas, julie carey, news 4. a guilty verdict for a 17-year-old accused of shooting a child in the face last summer in lanham, maryland. it took a prince george's county jury a little more than two hours to reach the verdict earlier this week. devon mattis was convicted of assault and using a hand gun to commit a violent crime. shikina johnson was outside her apartment with her little boy when police say mattis fired shots in her direction and one of the bullets hit her little boy. a violent person is now off the streets, prosecutors say. >> we are pleased we have removed a violent individual who chose to position himself and shoot into a crowd of innocent people on a night and shot diondre and put in danger his mother and the other children who were playing nearby. >> reporter: diondre is still recovering from injuries and faces several more surgeries. mattis will be sentenced in june. people are facing child pornography charges in virginia after an undercover operation

there. the 20 arrests were made in fairfax, prince william, loudoun, and bedford counties as well as in virginia beach and in richmond. it was part of a week-long operation in 2011. charges include online solicitation of minors and distribution of child pornography. >> we can honestly say that during this operation there wasn't a single solid time we had investigators that went online that they were not contacted and solicited. >> the operation involved the coordination of 45 local, state, and federal agencies. fairfax county supervisor pat harrity underwent open heart surgery this morning at fairfax inova hospital. his office released a statement today saying the 52-year-old's surgery went well and that he'll likely be in the intensive care unit for a day or two. they say it will probably take 4 to 6 weeks for him to fully recover. the supervisor represents springfield. he started having abnormal heart rhythms last november. former vice president dick

cheney is making big strides in his recovery from heart transplant surgery. mr. cheney was released from inova fairfax on tuesday. the former vice president had a history of heart problems. he's had several heart attacks. he waited nearly two years on the transplant waiting list. today his daughter liz cheney commented on her father's recovery. >> he is doing wonderfully. he's home. he's -- was out of the hospital after ten days which is just tremendous. and when i talked to him yesterday he walked outside to the end of the driveway to pick up the newspapers and walked back and it was a big milestone. he is doing very well. >> reporter: the 71-year-old cheney received his new heart from an anonymous donor. just over 2300 heart transplants were performed in the united states last year. more than one person who said they bought the winning megamillions jackpot in maryland last week but today state lottery officials say nobody has yet come forward to claim the prize. despite looking at store surveillance video, they have no

clue who the winner is. richard jordan has our report. >> reporter: the maryland lottery commission still waiting for the winner of last week's historic megamillions drawing to come forward. a ticket matching all the numbers sold at a milford mills 7-eleven. marlene wilson claims she has it. she says she bought the ticket worth $105 million after taxes. but lottery officials can't take that to the bank. >> one thing there hasn't been in this is a shortage of rumors about who may or may not have won the ticket. >> reporter: wilson was reportedly part of a work place pool you about mcdonald's employee says the pool lost and her personal ticket won. the ticket has not surfaced. the lottery commission hasn't seen it. the baltimore attorney, the fast food worker hired, hasn't seen it. >> where is the ticket? >> reporter: and wilson won't show it publicly. >> no one has approached the maryland lottery to claim the ticket. we have not heard from anyone claiming that they have the ticket. and we have not heard from a

representative claiming that they are representing the winner of the ticket. >> reporter: but there is still time. the 7-eleven has surveillance cameras inside the store. the lottery commission has that video but the director says the footage doesn't accurately show who struck it rich. >> the issue with the surveillance tape is that we do not believe that the time stamp on the surveillance tape matches up to the time stamp on the lottery computer system. as far as saying, you know, this person or that person purchased a ticket we can't say because we're probably looking maybe at most of the -- at a five-minute window a couple minutes either way. >> reporter: the winner has until september 28th to claim their winnings at the maryland lottery commission and the 7-eleven here, the owner will receive $100,000 for selling that winning ticket. in milford mills, richard jordan, news 4. you may have seen or heard what sounded like fighter jets roaring through our air space today. the aircraft are actually part of a nasa training exercise. later this month the space

agency will bring shuttle discovery from florida to dulles airport. today two t-38 training jets flew about 1500 feet over the region to scout out possible routes for the carrier jet. nasa officials say it will be quite the show for people in our area when it happens. >> the orbiter sits on top of a specially designed 747 so basically you've got an aircraft about the size of a 737 sitting on the back of a 747. >> once it's here discovery will be dedicated to the smithsonian national air and space museum. we're getting fascinating pictures now of a dust storm on mars. this one is really enormous and extends 12 miles above the surface. the image was recorded by a camera that's currently orbiting the red planet. experts say even though it looks like a tornado it's not. it is similar to what they call the so-called dust devils found here on earth.

those winds probably will not be strong enough to knock you over. a smaller dust storm was also spotted recently up on mars. this weekend archeologists in prince george's county will show off new artifacts they found in connection with the war of 1812. it's part of what they call the nottingham project. historians say nottingham, maryland played a pivotal role in the war and the british marched on washington. on saturday some of the artifacts found from a suspected british encampment will be on display as part of the county's kmem rafgs tcommemoration of th anniversary of the civil war. flight recordings have been released of an 84-year-old woman's amazing emergency landing in wisconsin on wednesday. helen collins was forced to land the small plane after her husband the pilot had a heart attack and died while in the air. despite losing her husband, collins was calm and collected. she got the plane on the ground safely with the help of another pilot who flew along side and

gave her directions. >> i'm doing fine but i'm getting too close to the airport to land right now. i have to make another turn. you better get me in it pretty soon. i don't know how long i'll have gas. >> do not dive for runway. you're doing fine. there you go. okay. you're down. >> great job, helen. great job. >> the last time helen collins had ever touched the controls of a plane was when she took some flying lessons 30 years ago. she suffered an injury to her spine and a cracked rib but she is expected to make a full recovery. what a brave lady. >> good for her. >> wow. coming up tonight higher gas prices having an impact on more than just drivers and now could have an impact on who is moving in next door. a pilot was forced to make an emergency landing. the reason for the landing sounded like a line in a movie. sounded like a line in a movie. >> the call he made was

never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. if my mom can fight and beat breast cancer, i can walk 60 miles.

(woman) the fund-raising was the easiest part. people were very giving. complete strangers wanting to help. i knew someday i was gonna do this walk. if i can do this, you definitely can do this. we can do this. we can all do this together. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime.

this story gives you the creeps. a snake on a plane was all too real for a pilot in australia. he spotted the snake about ten minutes after he took off in his small plane and wasted no time calling the control tower with a may day and a request that the flight be met by a snake handler. by the time the pilot lowered the landing gear the snake was crawling on his leg. >> the snake was crawling down

my leg which is frightening. >> the call he made was, you are not going to believe me and it's not a joke but i have a snake on a plane. >> the snake turned out to be mildly venomous. wildlife officials say it may have followed a frog on to the plane. there was no sign of the frog though. my gosh. >> mildly venomous? >> i don't want to think about this story any more. >> my goodness. >> too creepy. >> can you imagine? coming up some unusual tornado debris turned up on a farm in kentucky. >> ahead in sports a blake griffin dunk leaves his opponent what about over here? sure. no problem. ♪

is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right. is it a robot? no. is it a jet plane? nope. is it a dinosaur?] [ male announcer ] inside every box of heart healthy cheerios are those great tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that c help lower cholesterol. stickers? uh-uh. a superhero? ♪ kinda. [ male announcer ] and we think that's the best prize of all. ♪ you're ththank you, sweetie.

oh... ♪ good evening everybody. i'm meteorologist doug kammerer. a pretty nice night right now. plenty of blue skies. a few clouds out there but you also see the sun. the temperatures are going to be cooling down fairly quickly. 60 degrees out there right now. winds out of the east about 5 miles per hour. current temperatures around the region 55 in gaithersburg in through montgomery county. 58 in rockville. out toward leesburg 55 degrees. reston, herndon, chantilly all right now at 357 down toward camp springs at 55. so it is cooling down and will continue to cool throughout the rest of the evening. it is going to be a fairly

chilly evening. right now no rain to talk about around our area. storm 4 radar fairly dry. a few light showers around richmond but that is about it. temperature wise tonight it is going to be cold. 39 in washington. 35 in gaithersburg. 34 in leesburg. about 36 in culpepper. so a very chilly evening. a very chilly morning tomorrow. you'll probably need the coats. down into the freezing area around winchester, martinsburg, hagerstown temperatures right around the freezing mark. that 32-degree mark. that is why we have a freeze warning in effect from areas along i-81 back to the west also including parts of frederick county and all of northern maryland from aberdeen all the way across right back over toward garret county. now what are we going to be seeing during the day tomorrow? we are going to warm up a little bit but we will still be below average even with all the sunshine, high tomorrow only 59 in d.c. area. 60 in culpepper. the warm spot tomorrow will be 64 in fredericksburg. yesterday it was 82 in fredericksburg. a little different. >> all right. thank you, doug. play ball!

an awful lot of people happy today. we finally start the baseball season. it's under way. game one for the nats might provide the formula for success this season. maybe strong pitching, timely hitting. they got a little of both this afternoon up in wrigley field. they played the cubs up there. bill murray was there. you know he is a huge cubs fan. this, folks, is not the way to slide. okay? trust me on that. not text book. then threw out the first pitch. not bad. we think he made it across the plate. steven strasburg making his first opening start. two strike pitch to marlin byrd. goes down swinging. he used to play with us by the way. strasburg had five strikeouts today. fourth inning, strasburg and byrd again. two men on two out this time. byrd won. roped it into left field. ian comes in to score. cubs go up, 1-0. strasburg seven innings just one run left. eighth inning now. nats get something going with two outs. bases full.

jayson werth draws the walk. tying run comes across to score. we're talking 1-1 through the eighth. now we're in the top of the ninth. chad tracy facing carlos mervo. bomb deep right field. the wind at wrigley field playing tricks out there. uh-oh. dude got turned around. ball bounces off the wall. tracy into second with a double. next up ian desmond. lined the pitch to right field. brett carroll in a pinch run for tracy comes home to score. nats take a 2-1 lead. in the bottom of the ninth, cubs runner on third. grounds at third. zimmerman, there he goes. out, boy. go home. we're outta here. nats won, two out now. marlon byrd at bat. pitching for a strike, ah, game over. let's go home. have a day to enjoy it. the next game coming up on saturday afternoon. we're talking moik now. playoff hopes for the capitals rest on the outcome of these

final two games. starting tonight at home against the penguins at the least the caps need a win in regulation to stay in control of their own destiny. players know they cannot afford this time to come out flat. >> it's nice to know exactly what it is. we always say you hold your own fate in your hands and now we actually know exactly what we need to do when it's not just like, you know, you try to win 5 of the next 8 games. it's win two and you're good. that's pretty much it and simple. all we think about. >> in years past we've been in a different situation. it's good for us. i think it's a good challenge and, you know, we either step up and get the job done or else we're home for three or four months. >> when it's all said and done you either pat yourself on the back saying great job we got in and did it and took care of our own business or you have no one else to blame but yourself. >> absolutely.

time to get it done now. we're going to the hardwood now. wizards in detroit taking on the pistons tonight. it'll be their second game in as many nights. that is not easy. if last night was any indication it could be a really long night. wizards down by just one point at the half. how many times did that happen? but then they simply run out of gas. this time against the pacers again the third time in three weeks these teams have met. we'll begin in the second quarter. wizards down three. jordan crawford taking an off balance shot. gets the bucket. big night for crawford. he's been playing well lately. the wizards, 28 points. third quarter wizards down one now after an indiana miss. outlet pass to john wahl. there is the alley. there's the oop. wizards take the lead. then later on, pacers up one. benny granger. here it is. three-pointer. it's good. granger scored 20 for the pacers. ran out of gas in the third quarter. they lost the game, 109-96. okay. remember del dawkins, remember

him? he ain't got nothing on this dude here. this guy is the truth. that's blake griffin putting up a dunk against the lakers. my goodness. now that's what you call -- in your face. pau gasol said it was like being in a hit-and-run. it happened so quick he didn't realize -- >> that is a big dude. >> get out of my way! there we go. his teammates will beat him to death. gasol saying i never saw it coming. what was the license number on that dude? that was not cool. first round, what do they call it? the masters? i forget what they call it down there. the first masters in augusta. today belonging to henrik stenson. you know him? >> no. >> on his 36th birthday, until a final hole of the day you know what? he blew up.

>> oh. >> quadruple bogey. >> ouch. >> and eight on a par 4. that hurts, man. >> on your birthday. >> 18th hole to finish the day one under par, four shots behind the leader. here is a look at the current club house scoreboard from the first round. lee westwood is your leader 5 under par. he is followed by louis oosthuzen at four under. five golfers at three under. three at two under. 13 of those guys are at one under par. tiger woods shot an even par 72 for his opening round. he's tied for 30th place. we used to say, okay. he is exactly where he wants to be and has them where he wants them. i don't know if we can say that anymore. one other note tonight. new orleans saints head coach sean payton met with nfl commissioner roger goodall today to appeal his suspension of the team's bounty scandal league. anyway, bounty scandal. the investigators say the saints offered improper cash bonuses

for big hits that either knocked opponents out of the game or left them needing help to get off the field. payton was suspended for all of next season for his role in the scheme. he wants to have that reduced. the nfl network says the commissioner could make a decision by tomorrow. >> i heard today that there is video of one of the coaches talking about this. if so, i don't see how it can be. >> that one is a done deal. coming up, the spike in gas prices may impact a lot more than just your travel plans. for all your news be sure to follow news 4 online. just sea

the suburbs are shrinking and gas prices are the reason why according to new census reports. analysts say more americans are moving closer in to metropolitan areas to avoid paying for the longer commute. they say the growth rate of people moving into the outlying suburbs is now at an historic low. as a result many suburbs may see big cutbacks on the construction of new schools and a rise in home foreclosures. >> get a final check, doug.

>> i was shocked when i went up to about 4:30 in our area. just amazing to see that. >> could get worse that. >>'s what they say. maybe up to $5 by the summer. no. out there right now a pretty nice evening but it is going to be cooling off rather quickly as we make our way through the rest of the evening. by tomorrow morning many of you will find temperatures near the freezing mark. temperatures between 39 or 32 and say 39 degrees so, yes, get out the coats and make sure the kids have them. many kids on spring break right now. mostly sunny. continued cool tomorrow. rather breezy. 56 to about 61 degrees. temperatures or rather winds north at about 10 to 20 miles an hour. next couple days looking good. saturday and sunday very nice days. saturday we'll have plenty of sunshine. sunday a few more clouds but, still, temperatures 68 degrees on sunday, easter sunday looking very nice. 64 on monday and then we could see one of the coolest stretches we've seen in quite sometime. when you compare it to average. highs only in the mid 50s tuesday, wednesday, and thursday. could be a few showers there and

maybe even a few snow flurries in the higher elevations. >> what? you already have the shorts and everything out? >> you have your shorts? >> not yet but you know what i'm talking about. all right. thanks, doug. we'll tell you about a farmer down in kentucky who seems like a really nice guy. his name is john trapp. back on march 2nd a tornado hit his property. he was checking the fence line recently in his hay field and found a wedding dress out there still on the hanger. trapp is trying to find the owner of the dress. >> oh, my. >> he says whoever it is probably lost her home in the tornado. although the dress needs some cleaning after being blown around in his field, getting it back might bring that owner some joy. >> there is a reason that dress survived. >> that's what i think. >> don't you think so? >> it is meant to be in a wedding. >> exactly right. good for him for being aware of that and holding on to it. >> we need to follow that story. that's cool. that's our broadcast for now. "nightly news" is coming up

next. >> we hope to see you for news 4 at 1 suffolk. have a good evening.