steve handelsman is on capitol hill. he's got more on how santorum's departure could change the race. >> it'll change it, jim. thanks. good evening. rick santorum bowed to the inevitable. few figured it would be today. a surprise. this makes, therefore, the biggest day so far in the race for the white house. now we know almost for sure it will be mitt romney going up against president obama. now that santorum suddenly is out. why did he quit today? the next primary in two weeks is pennsylvania, rick santorum's home state. but the polls show his lead shrinking. and santorum said his daughter, bella's, illness forced him and his wife to question the strain on their family. >> and we made a decision over the weekend that while this presidential race for us is over, for me, and we will suspend our campaign effective today, we are not done fighting. >> reporter: he campaigned

across iowa out of a truck. all but ignored in debates. teased about his sweater vests. but rick santorum won iowa. and ten more states. most in the south. emerging as the conservative alternative to mitt romney. >> miracle after miracle, this race was as improbable as any race that you will ever see for president. i want to thank god for that. >> reporter: but romney beat santorum in must-win midwest battlegrounds. michigan, ohio, illinois, wisconsin. he had many more delegates and more money. in a statement, romney called santorum able and worthy. they spoke. romney hoping for a santorum endorsement. newt gingrich says he won't quit. >> rick has to do what he thinks is appropriate in his circumstance. >> reporter: president obama in florida today was already focusing his campaign more intensely on mitt romney. demanding the wealthy like romney pay higher taxes. >> you're bringing in a million bucks or more a year, then what

the rule says is you should pay the same percentage of your income in taxes as middle-class families do. >> reporter: 30%, the warren buffett rule. sure to be a major obama campaign issue. now that rick santorum is leaving the gop fight to mitt romney. the latest national poll by "the washington post" and abc news finds president obama with a receiseven seven-point lead over mitt romney. it's 51-44. jim, what the romney people hope for is a santorum endorsement as soon as tomorrow. back to you. >> thanks, steve. we invite you to stay with news 4 for continuing team coverage on santorum suspending his campaign. "meet the press" moderator david gregory joins us in about ten minutes to talk about what this really means for voters. new developments tonight in the trayvon martin shooting investigation. george zimmerman's attorneys say they are withdrawing from the case. and they say against their

advice zimmerman contacted the special prosecutor who will decide if she should be charged in connection with the february shooting of the black teenager in florida. jay gray has the very latest now from sanford, florida. >> reporter: like so much in this case, the news was sudden and jarring. >> as of now, we are withdrawing as counsel for mr. zimmerman. we've lost contact with him. >> reporter: late today george zimmerman's attorneys taking a step back from the controversial case. >> i can't go forward speaking to the public about george zimmerman and this case as his -- as representing him because i've lost contact with him at this point. >> reporter: the legal team has not communicated with zimmerman for days now. lawyers are very concerned about who he has been talking with. >> we heard today that george had contacted the prosecutor's office directly. one of the things every defense attorney tells his client is don't talk to the prosecutors. don't talk to the cops. >> reporter: zimmerman has also shared his thoughts on a new website, writing in part, as a result of the incident and subsequent media coverage, i've been forced to leave my home, my

school, my employer, my family and ultimately my entire life. martin's mother wants everyone to know she's lost so much more. >> this is not just life changing for us. life ended for trayvon martin. so this has affected us very deeply. i have my good days and my bad days. i have my moments where i'm smiling, thinking about trayvon's smile. and i have my moments where i'm still crying. >> reporter: a family grieving in a community clearly on edge. yesterday, protesters closed down the sanford police department for several hours. overnight, shots were fired at an unmanned police car parked outside the gated community where martin was killed. a graphic reminder of the raw emotions here. more than a month after the shooting. emotions that will likely continue to simmer here until there is a decision in this case. jay gray, nbc news, sanford, florida. >> just a short time ago the martin family attorney released a statement.

quote, these attorneys continue to make irresponsible statements to the media. not only have they spoken recklessly about racial issues inflaming passions and reinforcing stereotypes, now they have thrown their own client george zimmerman under the bus by alluding to his possible flight from justice. a mistrial in the case against a woman accused in an acid attack on a mother in prince georges county. prosecutors say tamara jackson arranged for another woman to throw a chemical on katrina watts while she was carrying her daughter in a parking lot back in late march of 2010. the mother and daughter were burned on their faces and elsewhere. jackson's child wtrial was sche for today. the judge reversed his own ruling on the victims being allowed in court during testimony and he called a mistrial. a new trial will begin on may 1st. the woman who actually threw the chemical has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.

today the police charged a man in connection with the death of a 6-year-old child who accidentally shot himself yesterday. shot and killed himself. the child found a loaded gun inside a spiderman backpack in his house in clinton, maryland. that entire community now is working to keep a similar tragedy from happening again. erica gonzalez has our report. >> reporter: this photo of amari perkins was taken less than two weeks ago. a happy child, according to family. today, a stuffed animal sits at the foot of his home on 6013 arbitus lane in clinton, maryland. amari died here monday afternoon after police say he came across a loaded gun in his home and accidentally shot himself. he was there with two other siblings and his grandmothers. >> that the child, a first grader, found the gun inside a children's spiderman backpack which was left on the floor. >> reporter: police say 20-year-old raymond allen brown

who lived in the same home as amari has been arrested for reckless endangerment and firearm access by a minor. one family member who did not wish to be on camera tells me brown is like family and says the tragedy was an accident. she tells me the backpack was brown's and that amari, who has a similar bag, may have confused it for his own and opened it. she says brown, who was not there when the gun went off but arrived shortly after, was shaking when he saw what had happened and offered to help in any way. steven roach is a parent to one child at amari's school and says because of cases like this he's taught his children the dangers of weapons. >> what do you do when you see a gun. >> run and tell an adult. >> reporter: prince georges county public school says it will be sending home a letter to parents letting them know about amari's death. meanwhile they also say counselors and psychologists will continue to be on hand here at amari's school which is james ryder randall elementary school. the next coming days in order to

help teachers and students cope with the loss. in clinton, maryland, erica gonzalez, news 4. >> it is unclear right now whether the man accused of taking that gun into the house actually owns the weapon. police are still investigating that case. we have learned the name of the man killed in a police involved shooting yesterday in prince georges county. an officer shot and killed 26-year-old michael anthony bailey in landover last night. police say the officer spotted bailey and two other men acting what they call suspiciously. bailey allegedly had a gun, a vile of pcp and a mask. they say the officer used a stun gun on bailey and then reportedly fired when bailey reached for his own gun. police say the officer is a three-year veteran of the force. he's now on administrative leave. dozens of states up and down the east coast are under red flag warnings tonight. that means there's a fire danger in our region due to the dry, windy conditions. we're already seeing problems in states to our north. a brush fire in connecticut

suspended amtrak service in parts of the northeast. the flames were burning right next to the rails in milford, connecticut. train service had to be stopped for several hours between new york city and new haven last night. at last check the trains are running again with only a few minor delays. veronica johnson joins us with a look at the broader impact of all these dry conditions. it's a combination of things, isn't it? >> it is a combination of things. really, doreen, it goes all the way back to this past winter. we've had a lack of rainfall for the spring. but, remember, we didn't get much snowfall here. neither did the northeast. areas of new england this past winter. let me take you right now to suffolk county, new york. this is out on long island. brush fires there. in fact, there is 2,000 acres that quickly went up in flames. fast moving wildfire. doesn't take much when you have a lot of wind blowing. they've been closer to that area of low pressure where the wind has been, in fact, more intense. again, suffolk county, new york. that was earlier today. i just was on a fire mapping

location showing that that fire is contained. but there's a couple more burning brush fires in new jersey, in pennsylvania, and one just west of shenandoah. 200 acres burning there. abnormally dry through so many areas of the northeast, even moderately dry in areas of eastern maryland and delaware. so easy to see why we've got a red flag warning. of course, the moisture is low, too. the brush very dry. of course, we're talking about those low rivers now. this is the patapsco river. we'll talk coming up in a couple minutes about our next best chance of getting some rainfall around here. >> thanks, v.j. calling for a cease-fire in syria have come and gone. the agreement that hopefully would have brought peace to the area fell apart. we'll see what's next for that country. more and more criminals are targeting smartphones. but now there could be a way to shut down crooks who try to steal our phones. some people off the coast of california saw something rarely seen on a boat trip. i'm pat collins in baltimore with the mega ball.

the mega ball met the winners. i'm looking for my new baltimore buddies! story coming up, "news 4." >> only pat can pull off that hat. coming up in sports, the redskins and stanford quarterback andrew luck have a little quality time. the nationals try to focus on the little things as they continue their series against the mets. and the capitals turn up the intensity in practice as they intensity in practice as they get ready for the

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they're called the three amigos. they're mega millionaires now. two baltimore public schoolteachers and a school administrator hit the record mega millions jackpot. they just claimed their prize. pat collins reports. >> reporter: they hid behind that big check. they even wore gloves to disguise their identity. they could be our best new baltimore buddies. if we could just find them. finding these winners could be most difficult. it could require special investigative techniques. let's go. >> they were modest. they were, i think, humbled by this stroke of luck that they have -- they've received. >> reporter: they call

themselves the three amigos. they don't want to be identified. they're splitting all this money. hey, what about us? clue. the three winners are all maryland teachers. one works at an elementary school. the winning ticket sold at this 7-eleven on liberty road. have you seen any schoolteachers hanging around at this 7-eleven. >> no. >> reporter: no? >> no. >> reporter: you know, people often buy their tickets near where they work. 7-eleven here. elementary school there. >> they hope to take a backpacking trip through europe with their brother. another winner wants to pay for his daughter's college educations and buy his sister a new house. >> reporter: we all could go down the ocean. crabs for everybody. they're all teachers. but at the news conference they say they work at different

schools. puzzling. clue. the winner is a woman in her 20s, a man in his 40s, a woman in her 50s. what could possibly bring them all together? mega ball, you were with them, weren't you? are they related? do they live in the same neighborhood? are they on the same bowling team? hostile witness. are they happy? >> yeah! >> reporter: can i just rub this for luck? in baltimore, pat collins, "news 4." >> lottery officials in illinois are still awaiting another mega millions winner to step forward there. the winner in that small town of red bud has yet to claim the prize. winners have one year in order to do that. not since good news from the stock market today. fears about the debt fears in europe prompted a huge selloff. the dow lost 213 points. that's the biggest one-day

decline of the year for the average. 12,715 the closing level. the nasdaq lost as well 55 points to close at 2, 991. a deadline in the syrian seize-fire agreement expired overnight. but fighting continues, and there are no signs of a troop withdrawal. a second deadline in the seize-fire agreement is set for 6:00 a.m. thursday when both sides are supposed to cease all hostilities. former united nations secretary general kofi annen brokered the cease-fire. he insists there's still time for it to work. in the meantime, senators john mccain and joe lieberman visited a border camp in turkey housing thousands of syrian who fled the violence in their homeland. the two repeated their call for the u.s. to take a leadership role in that crisis. we return now to the major development in presidential politics. rick santorum has suspended his campaign for the republican presidential nomination. he did that today.

"meet the press" moderator david gregory joins us now with more thoughts on what happens next. first question, can we assume romney's got this locked up? >> yes. it's all but done. it's actually all but done for now a couple of weeks. newt gingrich is still in there. i actually talked to newt gingrich within the hour. he's still fighting on. he views the next ten days as a way to define the party platform, define the issue. in other words, he still thinks he's relevant. he still thinks he's not going to lose any influence by trying to put romney through his paces. this is effectively done. lindsay graham, terry brand stat in iowa and others coming behind romney. he's got this thing sewn up. >> rick santorum has a lot of support from all those tea party voters. will he make an endorsement now? will he do it later? >> think he will. it may take him a couple of days p the conversation that went on between the two of them today was mitt romney saying i'd like your support. can we get this done? santorum wanted to wrap up the campaign. it'll happen. look for santorum to have a big role here whether it's campaigning with romney at the

convention in prime time. he did himself a lot of good her. we were looking at our polls. back in december he was dead last. something like 3%. he went on to win 11 contests. >> just a few weeks ago we were talking about having a fight all the way to the convention floor. >> we talked a couple minutes ago, an hour or so ago. i was like, why? why now? you said you weren't surprised it happened that way. >> a couple things. his daughter, bella, had been sick. a lot of people thought, okay, that might be a chance to have a graceful exit here as he focuses on family a little bit. but that's been a persistent problem they've dealt with. pennsylvania was an issue. look, he lost huge there in 2006 running for re-election. the party was not really behind him. they were worried about the damage it would do. his own people were saying to him, look, senator, you lost badly before. you've done so much good. why hurt yourself by losing your home state which would be a real knock against you? i think santorum is looking at this saying, i had a great run here and i've got plenty of room to run here in the future as well. maybe even in a romney administration if that were to come to pass.

so i think all of those were factored in. it was time. >> finally, does it even matter that we mention ron paul? i mean, he's still in, right? >> he's still in. he still has support. i still think he has some impact both because he's in tune with some of the issues the tea party really cares about and voter really care about. he's for some kind of relationship with mitt romney. let's just calm it what it is. hea he's lost 238-some contests going back to the first time he ran for president. he's not winning anything. this is about winning delegates and sewing this thing up. >> appreciate it. veronica? >> there she is. >> nice day. wonderful day. we've got more of these in store? >> well, let's just say we're looking for some rain. and that's what we really need. so, you though, for the most part dry over the next couple of days. but it's rain that we need. that's what's on the mind of a lot of folks. we've fwot, again, a mostly sunny sky out there right now. mixture of clouds and sunshine. we've got a chance to get some rain tomorrow this time.

your temperature is at 62 degrees right now. high today, 68. the low this morning, 45 degrees. the average high, 65. again, this area, we are below average on rainfall. some 26% to 50% over the last 90 days. temperatures in the 60s, in fact, down to the south we even have techtures in the upper 60. close to 70 around fredericksburg. 64 at reagan national. northwest wind at 17 mile per hour. gusting to 24 miles per hour there. look at west in winchester. 32 mile per hour gust. close to 30 down around charlottesville. earlier today there were some higher gusts coming right off the high spots of the mountains just to the west of our area. so it is breezy now. we're going to step it down, the winds, a little more as we get into the evening hours. that's the reason why that red flag warning for try conditions and wind and the potential for brush fires remains up through the evening.

the other thing, the pollen count. you know, it's been high all spring. in fact, for much of the year with an early start of the warm weather. the average pollen count from 1998 through 2011, 361. our daily average has been closer to 850. way high. i'm happy to say, though, that pollen count, it's still high today but we're starting to see the tree pollen decline. that's what has been the main contender out there, the main thing we've had to deal with as far as pollen. grass pollen will start to come along. that's likely to rise with the higher temperatures coming our way. you say what higher temperatures? we were cool today. just wait till the seven-day forecast coming up. from your evening hours, into the 50s. upper 50s, 7:00. breezy. probably going to need a jacket. late tonight downright chilly even if we lose that wind, which we will as it settles down. 45 to 50 degrees, you're going to need a jacket heading out. this evening at 7:41 sun sets.

59 in frederick. 68 in fredericksburg. 642 in culpeper. big range. cooler than what we've seen, right, for so many weeks, materially part of spring. we are going to be warming up this weekend again. the rain, we need it. earlier today there were a few very light showers around the border of m m.d. and pennsylvania. hagerstown to frederick. to the north, more showers up around pennsylvania. that's a big area of low pressure that is spinning just to the northeast. i think it'll give us our best chance of rain over the last couple of days coming our way tomorrow. the time period, after about 2:00 tomorrow. for 2:00, 3:00, 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, scattered light showers will be coming through the area. that system, it's going to be moving fast. finally out of here. high pressure moves in. we'll get back to more sunshine across the area. our winds will be a little lighter, too, for the end of the workweek. your evening forecast, we're partly cloudy. we're breezy. i think you will need a jacket stepping out, especially if you're going to be out late.

50 to 55 degrees. look for a morning forecast 37 to 42. high temperature tomorrow, folks, just in the 50s. mid and upper 50s. again, might need that umbrella for tomorrow with a little bit of rain around the area. saturday, your high 71. coming up, the rest of your weekend forecast. we'll have that in just a few. >> thanks, veronica. coming up, doom's day budget may be looming in maryland. including major cuts to children's education programs. guy in an ice cream truck in maryland allegedly selling a lot more than pop sickles. >> a

new details tonight in the accidental shooting of a 6-year-old child in clinton, maryland. police say amari perkins found a loaded gun in a spiderman backpack in his house yesterday and then shot himself. authorities arrested 20-year-old raymond brown, a man who was staying with the family. he's been charged with reckless endangerment and firearm access by a minor. george zimmerman's attorneys say they have withdrawn from the shooting case because they haven't heard from their client since sunday. zimmerman is the florida neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed the unarmed black teenager in february. the attorneys also say that

zimmerman contacted the special prosecutor who is deciding if he should face charges against their advice. there is a major development in the race for the white house. today rick santorum suspended his campaign. that move effectively ends his quest for the 2012 republican presidential nomination. newt gingrich and ron paul both seized the chance to promote themselves as conservative alternatives to romney. d.c. police chief's efforts to cut down on cell phone thefts could soon be having a nationwide impact. >> a joint effort by law enforcement, the wireless industry and congress is aimed at making stealing those electronic devices less profitable. brian mooar reports. >> reporter: battling a national surge in smartphone thefts, the wireless industry and law enforcement are getting ready to shut down criminals by shutting down stolen devices. >> if a phone is foalstolen, a button can be pressed. it can be rendered useless

anywhere in the world. >> reporter: within six months stolen phones and tablets can be entered into a national data base. a blacklist. and remotely crippled. these gadgets are not only expensive, they are lock boxes for our most personal information. and account for as much as 40% of thefts in america's big cities. >> it's like draining the swamp to fight malaria. what we're doing is drying up the market. >> reporter: european carriers are already using a similar system. successfully. the nation's five biggest carriers are onboard with more to come. >> out of the gate, that is sort of north of 90% of all consumers in the united states will be supported by this. >> reporter: but this effort also includes an education program. >> why don't i have a password? i didn't really know i needed one. >> reporter: consumers can do a lot to protect themselves. >> it's always locked. >> reporter: and make life a little harder for thieves. >> i use the old lady trick and stick it in my bosom. nobody's going in the safe deposit box. i ow it's okay there. >> reporter: a new plan to hang up on smartphone thefts. this ambitious program was

thrown together in a little more than a week, but could take 18 months to get up to full speed. brian mooar, nbc news, washington. cell phones are stolen in about 38% of all robberies that take place in the district. so far at&t, verizon, t-mobile and sprint are the major carriers who have agreed to take part in the cell phone national data base plan. a former t.c. private schoolteacher has been added to the fbi's ten most wanted fugitives list. eric toth taught third grade in northwest t.c. he was accused of producing child pornography. when that happened back in 2008. he disappeared. he hasn't been seen since. >> it is our belief and our concern and why we're discussing this case today that someone like toth, if he hasn't found new victims and isn't closing in on new victims already, his psyche, his psychology, will cause him to do that in the future. >> since 2008, police believe

toth has spent time in illinois, indiana, wisconsin, minnesota and possibly arizona. the fbi is offering a $100,000 reward for any information that leads to his arrest. a man has been arrested accused of selling drugs from an ice cream truck. authorities say they found bags o marijuana and a stash of cash in a truck operated by 20-year-old alexander hoskins who lives in waldorf. darcy spenter repo spencer repo. somebody tipped off the cops. >> reporter: it was here at bayswater court and sheffield circle in waldorf. a 20-year-old man was operating an ice cream truck. but police say he had a little side business going, too. selling pot. he really was selling ice cream also? >> ice cream or marijuana. you can take your pick with this guy. >> reporter: police say they

received a tip through crime solvers on march 30th that alexander hoskins was dealing drugs. they stopped the truck and a drug detection dog alerted on the vehicle. police say they found cash and baggies of marijuana in the suspect's underwear. >> you would think he would hide it somewhere inside the truck. but rather he put it in a plastic bag and then hid it in his briefs. >> reporter: police say hoskins was selling to teens and young adults through word of mouth. he's been charged with possession of intent to distribute marijuana. >> for us, we're removing a drug dealer off the streets. >> i've never heard of it in charles county. this is new to me. now they're going to make me be more aware and looking out for things like that. >> it's interesting to know now that somebody is that clever and that, you know, just -- i don't know. they're just trying to destroy our youth. you know, it's a shame. >> reporter: the suspect is currently out on bond. police are saying he's also out

of business. he won't be selling ice cream again any time soon. in maryland, darcy spenter, "news 4." >> darcy spoke with the suspect's grandmother who declined to go on camera but said hoskins is a good person, she said, who would never do what he's accused of doing. there was a big ticket item on the agenda that didn't get finished before the maryland general assembly adjourned last night. the state senate and house of delegates failed to pass a budget. chris gordon has more on why this could mean big cuts for local counties. >> reporter: the maryland general assembly failed to pass a revenue bill before its midnight deadline. leaving behind a so-called doom's day budget mandating deep cuts in services and state aid to counties. traditionally at the end of each 90-day legislative session, there's a celebration. they drop balloons and confetti from the ceiling. but last night there was no celebration because legislators realized they dropped the ball. maryland governor martin o'malley calls it the low point

of his experience in annapolis. >> we are cutting by a quarter of a billion dollars what we invest in our children's future and our children's education. we are cutting by 10% what we invest in higher education. we also failed our law enforcement officers on the front lines of reducing violent crime and saving lives. >> reporter: state senator brian frost says the doom's day budget hurts all counties, including montgomery county, which he represents. >> all programs are going to be cut. they're going to be cut deeply. and the county is already struggling to patch together its budget. and it's going to lose state aid. >> reporter: another item that failed to pass before the legislature's adjournment includes the proposed prince georges county casino with table games and slots at national harbor. that dealt a surprising setback to prince georges county. >> the gaming issue is about revenue. it's about $69 million that will come to prince georges county that will keep us from having to make some of the really awful

decisions that we're going to have to make. >> reporter: senate president mike miller is confident that a special session, calling lawmakers back to annapolis before the june 30th end of this fiscal year, can solve the problems. >> we've done a one and two day session and everything will be fine. >> reporter: but governor o'malley left today without publicly committing to calling a special session. in annapolis, chris gordon, "news 4." >> in order for the prince georges county casino to be approved it would have to be taken up at a special session and placed on the november ballot in a statewide referendum. fairfax county today renewed its financial commitment to push the silver line construction forward to phase two. it'll cost them $2.7 billion. fairfax county would pay up to $498 million. phase two extends the silver line to dulles international airport and into louden county. in spite of the support of the fairfax board there's concern if louden county doesn't get on board, the whole plan could

still fall apart. >> fairfax county approved names for the silver line stops. mclean, tie sons corner, greensboro park, spring hill as well as wiehle-reston east, reston town center, herndon and innovati innovation. the county and metro used an online survey to generate the latest list of names. coming up tonight, we'll report on the bride that went to great lengths to get a deal on her dream wedding. she's in trouble with police. it looked like a scene out of a movie this morning. how a car got stuck in the capitol reflecting pool. coming up in sports, capitals ready to get feisty in the playoffs against the bruins. and the redskins have some one on one time with the other

olympic medalist mark lindsay has died. he was a champion diver from fredericksburg, virginia. no male diver on the u.s. team has won a gold medal since his performance in the 1992 olympics in barcelona. lindsay also won a bronze med at at the '96 games in atlanta. that's where he was a first timer to score more than 100 points on a single dive. lindsay also was a standout wrestler before he started diving. graduated from stafford high

school. his mother told the freelance star that her son had suffered from blood pressure problems recently. it's not clear exactly what caused his death. mark lindsay was only 43 years old. a woman from new york is facing four years in prison for faking a terminal cancer diagnosis. doctors say she did it to collect thousands of dollars for a dream wedding and honeymoon. her name is jessica vega. she's 25 years old. she was indicted on six felony charges today by a grand jury. four months after her wedding, ve fwrks a's husband came clean to a new york newspaper. the couple divorced. but they've since gotten back together. vega has pleaded not guilty. a police chase in d.c. ended with the suspects in the reflecting pool right near the capitol. it all started about 3:30 this morning. police tried to pull over two men in a routine traffic stop. the drive took off. later police found the vehicle in the pool near d street and louisiana avenue northwest. they also found drugs and a gun

in that car. gary saunders of northeast d.c. and julius tait of oxen hill are facing several serious charges. little early season drama on the diamond. not the type the nationals were liking against the mets. the manager of the marlins ends up on the hot seat for something he said off the field. plus, playoff hockey. the capitals not sounding like the underdog as they get ready for their series against the [ female announcer ] with xfinity,

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and welcome back. another breezy day with the tulips blowing in the wind. if you look really hard you can see those petals blowing around. where's your picture? i've been waiting on it. send it in to weather@nbcwashington.kom. i'm calling this one dan's tie. you'll see why in just a moment. dan's tie, right there. 64 degrees. a few clouds around the area. that wind will start to settle even more. just like yesterday and the day before that. lighter wind for the overnight. as you can see in our future weather, a few clouds pushing through overnight. 6:00 a.m. tomorrow, partly cloudy, dry. by the afternoon and this time tomorrow, a little wet. those are the green blobs you see here.

chance of rain mainly to the east from d.c. over toward waldorf. areas east of i-95 could get just a few showers. not very much at all. we've got a better chance to get some rain early part of next week. of course, that's when the shuttle is in town. the space shuttle, right? yeah. you've heard about that. "discovery." we're going to have that forecast coming up in a few. for tomorrow, showers. you'll probably want to take along your umbrella. the real, real small one. the one that fits into your purse or pocket. 56 the high in frederick. 57 in manassas. here's a look at your four-day forecast. 57 the high. temperatures won't be going down, they'll be going up toward the end of the week. and especially this weekend. so we've got dry conditions for thursday, friday. we, of course, need more rain around here. the area, some 26% to 50% below average rainfall for the last 90 days. temperatures overnight, too, not too bad. we'll be rising from 71 on

saturday, going way up on sunday. we'll have that forecast coming up in a few. let's look at dan's tie right now. >> this is purple as opposed to the lavender that flower was. am i color blind? >> i wouldn't know. >> fuchsia. >> whatever, it's a nice tie, man. caps going up against some guys on thursday. this is not the same team that won the stanley cup, is it? >> they're a little different. actually the capitals had a lot of success against them during the regular season which could bode well for them. before we talk about that, we have to give you the daily capitals goalie update. both are making progress. vokoun on the ice for the first time since the 29th of last month. neither will be ready to start the capitals first round playoff serious against boston on thursday in boston. capitals clearly underdogs. but they match up very well against the defending stanley cup champs.

caps 3-1 against boston in the regular season. so according to the numbers from the stat geeks, that means the capitals have a 77% chance to beat the bruins. already seeing the intensity and focus increase during practice. >> came off the ice today feeling good. i thought our practice yesterday was very hard working. today the same thing. guys are shooting the puck hard. guys are skating hard. it's just -- it's nice to watch when it's like that. >> i think the practices have been going kind of light for like a month. it's been nice to have some hard practices and actually kind of play and get hard on each other. we haven't had a chance to do that for a long time. >> you try to get them ready. you practice like how you play. it's definitely the guys are into it. you see we're up tempo. we're exciting to go play the boston bruins. >> all right. coach hunter and the guys getting at it on thursday up in boston. redskins welcome back

defensive back leigh torrence. he spent the last three years with the new orleans saints and gregg williams. also williams, a free agent safety who plays college ball at maryland. meanwhile redskins entertaining both top quarterbacks in the nfl this week. robert griffin iii in town the last couple of days. mike shanahan and dan snyder dined with rg-3 at the palm. just in case they don't draft andrew luck with the number one overall pick, the skins will get to know him better over the next couple of days. luck scheduled to be in town tonight and tomorrow. there is little to no chance the colts don't draft andrew luck. some have called him the best qb prospect to come out of college in the last 30 years. so i think the redskins are going to end up with r.g. 3. a lot of people very concerned. they like robert griffin iii.

they want robert griffin to be here with the redskins. they don't want to get stuck with andrew luck. wea we've said 100 times, both guys are great. i think it's a win/win. more tough injury news for the nationals. michael morse on track to return for the nat's home opener now out indefinitely. morse, who was the nat's best hitter last year aggravated an injury to his lat muscle. he wasn't able to throw the ball from left field to shortstop during a minor league game last night. also last night, edwin jackson making his first pitching appearance for the nats. jackson making his debut in the big apple against the mets. he was doing all right until the fourth when he serves it up to a rookie. jackson went five innings. gives up four hits and three runs. bottom nine. tie game. henry rodriguez pitches for the nationals. fielding what should be a routine ball. but look at him. danny espinosa covering first

gets kicked in the head. he's not going to be playing tonight. makes a heavy play. stays with it. almost guns down mike baxter at third. he saves the game. for at least a batter. until daniel murphy wins it for the mets. jason werth couldn't hold on to it. no play at the plate there because werth couldn't hold on to it. the mets come back to beat the nationals 4-3. nats 2-2. davey johnson happy with his pitching but knows his team needs to pay more attention to the details. >> i thought they went through the ball good first time out. new ball club. i didn't want him pushing too far. in the setup for the bull pen, i had a fresh guy. we didn't do the little things. we had runners in scoring position. didn't get the hit. we've got to be better at that. >> ross detwiler pitching for the nationals tonight. miami marlins manager ozzie guillen suspended for five games by the marlins for remarks praising former cuban dictator

fidel castro. fw fweeen did the interview with "time" magazine was quoted as saying he loved and respected castro. people in miami's little havana neighborhood where the marlins built their new stadium called for guillen to be fired. today he apologized. >> when you a sport man, you should be involved with politic. politic has nothing to do with sport. i was very stupid, very naive about the comment. that's the reason i'm here. because i want to try to make this team better and people know exactly what i feel. very embarrassed. very sad. because in this room, when i sit in this room in the past, it was all good. it was opening day. everybody was happy. every question that was asking was very positive. now i'm sitting here two days later.

very embarrassed. >> how quickly things can change. on a lighter note, good times for a good cause today at the social safeway in georgetown. it's not every day you get your own name tag. bagging groceries. not as easy as it looks. you got to put the bred on top, vance. did you know that? >> i did. eggs up there, too. >> lucky enough to be joined by former redskins shawn springs. and come comcast sports anchor. we were there to help raise money for easter seals partnered with safeway. shawn's been looking to do something since retiring a couple years ago. i'm going to tell you this much. bags groceries probably not going to be it. >> he wasn't very good, huh? >> neither one of us were very fwood. julie was probably the best. >> he looks like he could still play. doesn't he look good? >> shawn said he wants to lose a little weight. i said what do you weigh? 225 and rock solid right now. still working out a bunch. >> thanks, man. coming up, a boat trip to remember off the coast of

california. >> for all your news we invite you to follow news 4 online. search

100 years ago today people stood on a war f in england and waved bon voyage to the largest and most luxurious ocean liner in existence. the "titanic." ♪ >> the centennial of the "titanic" disaster was marked today at a memorial service on that same wharf. more than 1,500 crew members and passengers were killed when it sunk in the north atlantic five days into its first voyage. family members ended today's service by tossing wreaths into the sea. >> they had clouds overhead there. >> don't they always over there? >> it's england. >> pretty much. >> how we looking? >> we're looking ahead to raydy days. one will be tomorrow with a little rain. another one tuesday. of course, that's such a big day around here. this is going to be a big deal for a lot of people because a rare sighting, yeah. the shuttle "discovery" will be flying over d.c. piggy backed on

a 747. next tuesday, viewing opportunity 10:00 to 11:00 a.m., national mall, dulles and national air and space. udvarhazy center. clouds around the area now. as far as the evening goes, a little chilly. high tomorrow, 57. take your umbrella. >> that shuttle is going to be cool. next tuesday 10:00 in the morning. few things are more pure or magnificent than seeing an animal in the wild. imagine how a group of marine scientists felt when they caught up with a pod of killer whales this weekend off the coast of california. it was all caught on video. the biologists say the whales are transeents, which means they move from one reason to another. duh. they feed and play along the way. they say one male came right next to the boat and kind of

turned sideways and looked up, curious about the folks onboard.