good morning. welcome to "news4 midday." i'm barbara harrison. it is monday, april 30, 2012. d.c. police are on the hunt for a suspect who sexually assaulted a georgetown student. megan mcgrath is live outside of campus with more for us now. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, barbara. this happened friday evening at village a which is a student housing complex located over by the library here on campus. police say at that time a female student was groped against her

will. many students were already aware of what happened as this went to class this morning. a campus alert went out over the weekend informing students of the sexual assault. >> it worries me that it happened. of course it -- it's always a concern. >> reporter: it happened friday evening around 6:00. sources say that the victim who is a student was attending a gathering in village "a" when she was forcibly fondled. the victim was not physically injured. the man was last seen running west between o'donovan hall and southwest quad. a certain much of the area by police turned up nothing. >> you would like think your campus is safe. but unfortunately things happen sometimes. >> you feel very safe on campus. or around campus. but it is still important to remember that you are in a city and that you need to, you know, stay with a group, stay with friends. >> reporter: the suspect is described blacks male between 19 and 25 years old. he is approximately 5'8" tall and has crooked teeth. he was wearing a line eing a

he was wearing a line eing lim the time. the suspect still at large. anyone information is asked to call either d.c. or campus police. reporting live from georgetown, megan mcgrath, news4. >> thank you, megan. police in prince george's county are warning women to walk in groups near the northwest ranch trail in hyattsville. they are investigating a series of sexual assaults in that area. they say at least five people have been attacked this year near the west hyatt metro station. three women have been raped since march. the most recent attack came a little more than a week ago. police released sketches of suspects in the assaults. they say there isn't anything concrete enough, though, to link all of the incidents at this time. today the battle over proposal to bring the first whole foods market to prince george's county goes before the county council. developers want to create a mixed use property on 36 acres of land along route 1. near east-west highway in riverdale. that land is currently zoned for

housing only. critics argue it could put a strain on the already crowded route 1 corridor. county executive baker says us he supports the plan. >> i think that's another -- prince george's county had. people asked me for years to get me a whole foods. and i think we finally have one. i think there's compromises that were made on the size of the development. may hope is the council members will push it through and it will -- we will see whole foods here soon. >> 17 people are signed up to testify. the hearing is expected to last for several days. turning to the weather now. cloudy, cool start to our morning. storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein joins us with the first forecast. hey, tom. >> well, we are going have a dramatic change here by the middle of the week. lit feel like summertime. certainly doesn't feel that way now. there is the view from space over the last few hours. look at the cloudiness. all the way from southern virginia across virginia and

into maryland. although parts of the northern neck have a little bit of sun around virginia tide water, lower part of the eastern shore. little bit of sun. elsewhere a lot of cloudiness around and southeast wind, it is not going to warm up a lot. however, there is quite a warmup under way. well into the 70s. parts of west virginia, kentucky, indiana. warm air coming our way tomoow. under the clouds, 55 at reagan national. all the areas in dark green, mid 50s. lighter green, climbing into the 60s now from richmond to virginia beach. and we ought to get into the 60s by later this afternoon with the southerly and southeasterly flow. we will have a lot of clouds around. no rain. only a slight chance of a sprinkle. greater chance of some rain, though, moving in later tonight. i will talk about that and that big warmup the week ahead with your 7-day outlook. that will be coming up in a couple of minutes. >> thank you, tom. let's head how tall to the roads and check the midday traffic. sheer danella sealock.

>> good morning. right now i'm watching some road work. if you are traveling along i-66, this affects you eastbound. making your way towards the beltway. left lane blocked by the road work there. you are seeing some delays. from fairfax county parkway to the beltway, traveling at 29 miles per hour. slow right now. crossing over the 14 ds street bridge, left lane also blocked by road work. good news is here your volume is very light. cross over the bridge and head into the city. travel speed on 395 northbound not bad. 53 miles per hour. only 12-minute drive goat from the beltway to the 14th street bridge. >> thanks, daniel. the man suspected in a string of hammer attacks in d.c. will stay in jail at least through next week. 19-year-old michael davis is being held without bond. he is harnlged with two assaults in the petworth community. police arrested him after he attack ad woman on thursday night. officers heard her cries for help and they say they spotted davis in an alley. another man who was assaulted picked davis out of a police lineup and he told news4 he was

walking his small dog and greeted a man and then was hit over the head. >> he walked by and he said how are you doing, sir? and with a smile. i said how are you doing? and before i could turn to see where my dog was, like i'm doing now, i was struck with an object. >> the man was not seriously hurt. police believe davis could be linked to three similar attacks in petworth including the murder of a tourist from colorado. davis is the brother of nfl players vernon and vonte davis. he is due in court again next friday, may 11. leaders in prince george's county are taking a new approach towards community outreach. did you have divisions of the county are getting out into into the neighborhoods and the -- one step at a time, they say. police officers were up first. tracee wilkins shows us how they did it. >> reporter: the county executive and also prince george's county police are trying to find a way to become more engaged with the community

they serve. so they figuring that by running the beat, that's one way to make it happen. prince george's county police cadets run regularly as a part of their training. but today's run is taking that training one step further. >> the police and the government just can't come into areas that are challenged only when times are bad. you know, we have got to -- you know, immerse ourselves into these communities and show folks that we -- we care and on a very human level. >> reporter: this run is called running the beat. it is a part of the county's new transforming neighborhoods initiative. it will happen a few times a week within the program's six target communities that include langley park, suitland, hillcrest heights. >> keep it in step! >> reporter: the voice you are hearing the loudest is the man in the white hat. county executive rashard baker. she leading this morning's three-mile run through langley

park. today it is with police cadets. next time it could be another government agency. >> not just public safety but health, education, human services, family services, and employment. we are bringing every part of our government out here to the targeted areas until we change those neighborhoods. >> good job. let's go. >> start here. let's go. good job. >> reporter: some of the cadets will go on to work here in langley parks district one. today they have seen their new stomping grounds up close and person zblal when the police are on the inside of the of the car there is something between us and the community. when you are out on foot, whether you are walking or in today's case running, it just creates a very -- very real presence. >> reporter: this is not a one-time deal. they have six target areas they plan on running through throughout the entire summer, the county executive, police department and other agencies. langley park, tracee wilkins, news4. our time now is 11:08.

coming up, sensitive talks today in hopes of securing the freedom of legal activists who escaped house arrest in china. the latest an accident that left seven people dead and a wreckage inside of a famous zoo. look closely. something is missing from this clock on the georgetown campus. stay with us. we will tell what you it is.

we have a developing story now. pakistan is demanding an apology from the united states after a drone attack that killed six militants. it happened in the north waziristand area. it is the first drone strike since pakistan called for an end to american attacks. they believe the u.s. is overstepping its boundaries. but american military officials say the strikes are an effort to target militants who are living in pakistan. today family and friends of the maryland man jailed in cuba will gather to celebrate his birthday. alan gross was convicted of bringing spy equipment into the country. he denies he ever did that. saying he was simply bringing internet access to the small jewish community in cuba. gross received a 15-year sentence for spying. today president obama is meeting with japanese prime

minister. the two world leaders will meet in the oval office and they will also have lunch together. noza became prime minister last september. he's struggled with trying to help japan recover from last year 'devastating earthquake and tsunami. noda says he hopes to reaffirm japan's strong alliance with the united states. and the u.s. and china are reportedly working on a deal to secure asigh lem for illegal activists who escaped house arrest. chen gung chang fooled his guards and escaped house arrest over the weekend and is believed to be hiding in the u.s. embassy in beijing. the u.s. will not confirm that. chen has won worldwide acclaim for exposing forced sterilizations and late-term abortions under chinese policy. secretary of state clinton is scheduled to visit china this week. a cheap political attack, that's how republicans describe the latest obama campaign ad. one year after the death of osama bin laden. >> he took the harder and more

honorable path and the one that produced, in my opinion, the best result. >> the ad is called one chance and commends the president for approving the mission that led to bin laden's death. mitt romney and other republicans are upset because it also questions whether the presumptive gop candidate would have done the same had he been president. >> took something that was a unifying event for all americans, an event governor romney congratulated him and the military and the intelligence analysts in our government for completing the mission in terms of killing osama bin laden. and he's managed to turn it into a divisive, partisan, political attack. ♪ >> vice president joe biden said last week that bin laden might be alive today if mitt romney were president. wednesday marks the one-year anniversary of the death of bin laden. and president obama's opening up about the night the al qaeda leader was killed.

he talked to nbc's brian williams about that famous photo of him along with his aides in the white house situation room. watching the mission go down. >> there you are. >> here i am, sitting right here. >> that's a -- that's an intense look on your face and everyone is intently watching that screen. >> this is -- if i'm not mistaken, pete, this picture was taken right as the helicopter was having some problems. but you may not remember i -- that's what it feels like because i remember hillary putting her hand over her mouth at that point. there's silence at this point inside the room. >> never before have network cameras been allowed inside the situation room. you can watch the whole rock center special on wednesday night at 9:00 right here on nbc 4. and it is chilly out there today. but tom says we have a warmup coming this week.

>> right now it feels almost wintry cold. in fact, it is around 50 degrees or so under the clouds. later and within 48 hours lit feel like summer. there is the gray over green scene over the potomac river. and that's a live view from our hd city camera. got a plane approaching the national airport there coming up the potomac river. right now reagan national, it is cloudy and just 55 degrees. the average high this time of year is 71. we have a long way to go to get there. i don't think we are going to make it. right now we have a light breeze around. i took this feet over the weekend. many yards around the area have beautiful azaleas in full bloom. if you have a great nature or weather photo, send it to weather@nbcwashington.com and we will share it. now take a look around the hometown weather network. fairfax now is at just 51 degrees, brandywine, prince george's county, 52. manassas, just at 53 degrees. gaithersburg, 51. rockville, near the falls

elementary school, it is probably only in the low 50s there right now. under the cloudy sky in montgomery county. and right now in southern maryland, a little bit of sun breaking out. right around pax river, 58 degrees there, st. mary's county, sun breaking out there as well as around the northern neck. elsewhere, lot of clouds around. under the cloud deck and low and mid 50s. west virginia, just about all of virginia, and all of maryland. now as we look at the view from space, you can see all of the cloud cover that's been hanging in throughout the morning. there's breaks in the clouds south and east of us. west of us, though, breaks in the clouds out in the mountains. as the day progresses, lot of cloudiness and all these areas in green, these are zones of potential passing showers. may get a few around midnight tonight. in between midnight and dawn. maybe a rumble of thunder may awaken you. middle of the night. maybe a passing shower or thundershower tomorrow afternoon. after that we will clear out and get the sun back on wednesday and with a southerly flow, we will warm up dramatically on wednesday. maybe some showers and thundershowers out of the mountains during the day

wednesday. but right around the washington metro area, we will just have a few clouds in and out. for the rest of this monday, yeah, lot of clouds through the rest of the afternoon. we will be reaching, though the 60s and maybe even near 70 where the sun has been breaking out south and east of washington. we will have a southeasterly wind. tonight sunset at 8:00. we will have cloudy evening, maybe a shower around midnight. maybe a little rumble of thunder after that. we will be down to near 60 by dawn tomorrow. and then during the day on tuesday, lot of clouds around. highs reaching near 80 during the afternoon. and then here comes summer on wednesday. thursday and friday, each day ought to make it into the upper 80s to around 90 degrees. boy, what a change from where we are now. and then as we get into the end of the week on friday, still looking like a warm day. highs upper 80s to around 90 degrees again. over the weekend, more clouds around and maybe a bit cooler afternoon highs on saturday around mid 80s or so. and there's a small chance of a

passing shower over the weekend. quite a bit of cloudiness. by sunday afternoon high nears 80. commencing tomorrow, and all of the way into the weekend, it is going to feel like summertime. >> i'm ready. how about you? >> i think a lot of people are. >> all right. tom, thanks a lot. let's head out to the roads again. what's it look like? any problems we should know about n. >> not if you are taking the beltway. checking it for you now. let's start out in virginia. if you are crossing van dorn, both the inner loop and outer loop, you are clear. heading into prince george's county, i will give you the traffic speed to the wilson bridge. 60 miles per hour. crossing the bridge at prince george's county, you are clear. here is a live look the the beltway, montgomery county. again, very light volume in this area. on the inner loop and outer loop, as you make your way past 97. georgia avenue. your travel speed here is 57 miles per hour. just a ten-minute drive. not bad at all. bash remarks between want to congratulate you on a special honor. this week in the court appointed special advocates for children's organization. recognizing you for your more than 20 years of reporting on

the lives of children in foster care as well as your efforts and motivating women to seek early prenatal care. congratulations, barbara. >> thank you very much. >> so excite. >> nice surprise to have you congratulate me. it was a very nice evening. all the people that work with the court pined special advocates for children were so wonderful to honor me in this way with an award that they will give in the future with my name on it which is really kind of nice. thanks so much, danella. >> thank you, you deserve it. 11:20. still ahead the truth about men a lot of women would love to know the truth about men. celebrity fit club's dr. ian smith will share some of his secrets with us. >> the memory thing, that's not fun. >> huge mood swings. >> hot flashes. >> and straight talk about menopause in a new documentary. first, here is a look at what's hot on nbcwashington.com.

never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. 60 miles in 3 days is-- is huge. if my mom can fight and beat breast cancer, i can walk 60 miles. you just put one foot in front of the other, and you know that you're walking for such a great cause that you just keep going. (man) that you have all these people coming together for one common goal. (woman) the goal is to bring an end to breast cancer. (woman) the fund-raising was the easiest part.

people were very giving. complete strangers wanting to help. if i can do this, you definitely can do this. (woman) i'll never stop walking, not till we find a cure. (woman) and it has to end, but it starts with us. i knew someday i was gonna do this walk. it is the most rewarding experience i have ever had in my entire life. we can do this. you can do this. we can all do this together. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime. he's known for helping celebrities lose weight on "celebrity fit club." his bestselling diet books. now dr. ian smith is helping us decode men. dr. smith is also the author of a new book "the truth about men

secret side of the opposite sex." good morning. welcome. >> good morning. >> good to have you with us. >> good to be here. >> you are going to tell us what we don't know. >> all in this book. >> well, do you think men and women -- really have a hard time understanding each other? >> i think that a large part of it is communication. reason why i wrote the book is because helping so many women lose weight over the years, they have always asked me about men questions. find myself dispensing relationship advice. one woman said these are all the questions and answers we have been looking for. put tonight a book. these are things your man wants you to know but for whatever reason simply won't tell you. men communicate together very well. but they don't do the same white comes to telling their women thinking they want or don't want in a relationship. >> what's one of the biggest myths about men that you uncover for us. >> men don't want to settle down. men do want to settle down. the book, there is a lot of research about what men want in relationships. number one thing men say they want is starting a family. but men are afraid of making the

wrong commitment. i talk in the book about how you make that subject palatable to your man without him feeling like you are backing him into a corner. >> maybe it is really -- interesting point because lot of women feel like yeah, this guy likes me. i know he does. he just doesn't -- thinking there may be somebody better than the one they are with? >> no. men are afraid of making the wrong commitment. men feared the wrong commitment. they are very slow to the draw even if they love a person or are interested in the person, they want to take their time and make sure -- am i doing the absolute right thing? >> are men afraid of successful women. >> this has got to be dispelled. it is not that men are afraid of successful women. men are proud of successful women but don't want to be in competition with the nokes promotion. a man has a very large and fragile ego, as you know. you have to make your man still feel need even if successful. a man feels like if you had everything what do you need for? i talk about how to make a man still feel like he is needed in a relationship. >> some men, though, seek out a successful woman? they want to be taken care of? >> most men -- not -- most men

want women who have great morals, great values, and who are going to make great partners. men aren't just looking for just the most beautiful woman in the room. they want someone that's funny, smart and have a great conversation. >> how important are looks to most men n. >> in the beginning of a  relationship, they are extremely important. which is why i tell the single friends look the best you can. when you take about marriage, a lot of married women bought this book because they say to me i have been in the relationship for 10, 12 years, we lost our sizzle. how do i get that reinvigorated? this book deals with those kind of issues also. >> tell me, how do you get that sizzle? for those folks listening. >> you have to reinvent. physical intimacy is very important. never become too comfortable. even though you become friends in a relationship, remember, you have to date your spouse. you have to still make it, you know, attractive that you are having a good time out by your self- >> that sounds like advice to women. what about men, do you tell them they have to kind of -- you know, start to get kind of ponchy after a while. >> i say in the book just like men have standards they want in their women, women need to demand that of their men also. if a man saying you need to be

in the best physical shape, a woman should say you need to be in that shape also. >> goes both ways. >> both ways, always. >> dr. ian smith, thank you. the book is called "the truth about men." have you other answers in there we need on have. >> absolutely. >> great to have you with us. it is 11:26. coming up in the next half hour of "news4 midday," why ryan o'neal, who is battling cancer, canceled the "today" show interview at the last minimum. plus, a horrific crash kills three generations from the same family. how their suv ended up wrecked inside of a famous zoo. tom kierein is back with an update on our weather. will the gray

wfrmgts women in prince george's county are being told to walk in groups along the north branch trail in hyattsville. at least five women have been sexually assaulted there this year.

most recent attack happened a little more -- happened a little more than a week ago. police say that they can't confirm if the assaults are related. today the battle over proposal to bring the first whole foods market to prince george's county goes before the county council. developers want to create a mixed use property on 36 acres of land along route 1 near east-west highway in riverdale. that land is currently zoned as housing only. police in new york are trying to figure out what caused a van to plunge off of a highway and into a remote part of the bronx zoo. the crash killed a family of seven including grandparents and three young children. rescuers say the van plowed through a guardrail from the highway overpass and causing it to go airborne. rescuers believe speed was a factor. >> the driver may have strucking a jersey barrier and reacting to striking that barrier, the driver makes a severe turn. >> it hit something that caused it to become airborne.

it fell 100 feet from the overpass and came down and landed upside down when it hit the ground. >> city officials say they plan to ask agencies to review safety issues on the parkway. it is the second accident there in less than a year. right now we are watching developments in three major trials taking place right now. we start with the latest on jury deliberations in a mass shooting case in the district. five men are facing charges in the south capitol street shooting that left five dead and nine injured. the attacks happened in march of 2010. prosecutors say the rampage started because of a stolen fake diamond bracelet. the jury heard testimony from more than 100 witnesses and saw more than a thousand pieces of evidence in this case. this is the fourth day deliberations. and the john edwards trial has entered its second week of testimony. sherry young will return to the stand this morning in north carolina. and she's expected to testify that edwards knew about money in her personal bank account to hide his affair.

last week her husband, andrew young, testified edwards instructed him to sol us it that money from wealthy donors. and edwards is accused of illegally using campaign funds during his 2008 presidential campaign. after a five-day break, the roger clemens perjury trial resumes today. the legendary pitcher is accused of lying to congress during a hearing about performance enhancing drugs. this is the second time federal prosecutors are going after clemens. the judge declared a mistrial last year because the government introduced inadmissible evidence. if found guilty clemens facing 21 months behind bars. prince george's county police are searching for the gunman involved in a double shooting. this happened in an apartment complex along 55th avenue in bladensburg last night. both victims were taken to the hospital. at last check one of the men listed in serious condition. their names have not been released. and we are learning more about the prince george's county man accused of killing a woman

pregnant with his baby. nathan rogers had been sentenced to home defense for an assault conviction last year. the 22-year-old is charged with first-degree murder in the death of jasmine moss. rogers stabbed her to death on friday. he had an injury problem all season. now terps basketball star howard may have some legal problems to boot. police arrested howard over the weekend outside of college park restaurant. a fight had broken out there and officers say howard was shouting at someone involved in it. they say he was not actually part of the fight. howard was cited for disorderly conduct and released. terps coach mark turgeon says the team is not commenting on this situation. don't be alarmed if you see small planes flying pretty low to the ground over the next few weeks. norad is con tukting test flights in our area to make sure it is prepared to respond to suspicious aircraft. some planes will be flying just 500 feet above the ground.

most of the flights will take place between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. but there will be some overnight flights late next week. take a look. the clock hand, both of them, missing on the georgetown healey tower. we saw that this morning. the university says that they are looking for the person who took the clock hands. it is not the first time this has happened according to the university's paper. the clock hands were last stolen back in 2005. we are going to check our forecast with tom. you can see from the live picture we have a lot of clouds out there. tom, get those out of the way so we can see sunshine. >> not today. looks like they are going to be remaining here for the rest of the afternoon. this is a live picture and another view of our sky from the hd sky watcher camera overlooking northwest washington. it is a gray over green monday. and the cloud cover going to hang in. look at what lloyd ferguson found in his backyard at the bird feeder. lloyd sent this photo in of a

black bear attempting to get into the bird feeder in his backyard in middleburg, virginia. if you have an interesting weather or nature photo, send it to weather@nbcwashington.com. we can share it. look at the temperatures now. still a chill in the air. we are in the low and mid 50s throughout most of the metro area. and most of maryland and most of virginia. and there is a little sun, though, breaking out, fredericksburg to pacs rivx riv. elsewhere, we will climb into the 60s throughout the rest of the day. lot of clouds around. cloudy tonight. might get an isolated shower or thundershower around midnight tonight. or perhaps off and on through the day on tuesday. warmer tomorrow. ought to make it into the 70s. briefly near 08 degrees. tomorrow afternoon, a big warmup after that. and wednesday and thursday and friday and lit feel like summertime into the 80s during the afternoon. not too humid. over the weekend, bit cooler, more clouds around. chance of a shower. just a small chance. that's the way it looks now. barbara? >> all right. thank you-to-

let's check again on the midday traffic. danella, how is it looking? >> right now still watching road work on i-66. taking away the left lane as you make your way eastbound heading towards the beltway. and over to the 14th street bridge, road work there also taking away the left lane. your volume is very light as you head into the city and now as i'm looking also have a vehicle pulled over to the right shoulder lane. just use caution as you cross overing the 14th street bridge today. and making your way across american legion bridge, no issues there on the inner loop or outer loop clear in both directions. barbara, back over to you. >> all right. thank you. if you were hoping to see ryan o'neal on the "today" show you will have to wait until tomorrow. the actor had to postponie this morning's appearance because he was not feeling well. he was supposed to talk about his controversial new memoir, "both of us." o'neill has been diagnosed with prostate cancer but it is not clear if that's what led to today's cancellation. the red cross is known for lending support and all kinds of

disasters and times of need. but you may not know the organization also serves members of the u.s. armed forces. and their families. to talk about that, we are joined by cheryl kravitz and tammy moore of the red cross. thank you for coming. >> thank you for having us. >> you do such great work around the world. and we report on it every time there some disaster in where. but this morning, you are telling us about some of the things that you do for soldiers families. tammy, start by telling us what is the work you are doing. >> the mission of the american red cross and serving our members of the armed force goes back to the days of clara barton when she provided come port and care to union soldiers on the battlefield. today we are still doing that but in a way that is modern. meets the needs of the service members and their families in 2012. >> cheryl, may 12, red red cross going to hold a gala honoring men and women in the military. tell us about that. >> we are calling it salute to service. that means automatic kinds of things. we are honoring service men and

service women and families and the american red cross provides in our community, acrosses the country and around the world. >> what are some of the things you do in our community? >> well, we help people prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies of automatic kinds. so that would be anything from a house fire and we are responding to one, two house fires a day, teaching people cpr and first aid. as tammy said working with the men and women of the military. >> tammy, the event you are about to have is a fund-raiser. >> it is. >> tell us about that. how will the money be used? >> money will be used to provide -- to continue to provide service to our sick, our wounded and our ill, service members in the area and one of the most rewarding and unique arktivities of our volunteers at andrews air force base is that they receive and greet injured service members coming in from the war zone, from iraq and afghanistan. and are volunteers of the first

americans that the service men and women see when they come in at the facility, provided comfort kits, reassurance and snacks and clothing items. >> wonderful. maybe, cheryl, you can tell us how one can become a volunteer, do you need more volunteers? >> they can go to our website, www.redcrossnca.org. see the kinds of volunteers we need. and that's the way that they can also find out more information about salute to service. >> can anyone attend the gala? >> absolutely. and we are so excited because we just learned a couple of days ago that jenny smith's award winning actor is attending the gala. he's going to be presenting some of the awards we are giving to wounded warriors. >> where will the gala beheld? >> how can people get tickets? we know the one way to get them is go to red ross.

>> that would be the best way, i think. than that will give all kinds of information about how they can purchase tickets. >> is it a formal affair? >> it is a gala. >> black tie affair. and we will see the military. we are honoring mull wren and his wife deborah and for the american red cross. >> and how much are tickets? >> individual tickets are $400. then it goes up from there. accenture is our presenting sponsor and they have given quite a bit of money for this as well as other donors across the country. >> it sounds like it is going to be an exciting evening. good luck with the fund-raising. i know the red cross can always use money. >> absolute. >> i thank you so much for coming. >> thank you. it is 11:41. still ahead on "news4 midday," new york city is seeing new heights this morning. plus straight talk about

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today the new world trade center is expected to become new york's tallest building. construction crews will add on to freedom tower passing the empire state building at 1,250 feet. the original twin towers, of course, where the tallest buildings in the city until they were destroyed in the september 11 attacks. the freedom towers is expected to be finished late 2013 or early 2014. where it will stand at a patriotic 1,776 feet high. stock prices are starting to creep down. bertha coombs joins us live with more on that and the rest of the day's business headlines. >> hi, barbara. this morning we have the markets a little bit lower. spain is now officially joining britain in recession.

tech if i cannily defined as two straight quarters or six months of negative economic growth. for us, it is a very bug week of economic data. so far personal income and spending looks good for march. but it is the big april jobs report this friday that everybody is going to be waiting for. economists are expecting 125,000 jobs having been created. meantime shares of barnes & nobles are bucking the trend. book seller leveraging nook e-reader in a deal worth $300 billion with microsoft. they are going to form a joint venture to compete with apple and amazon on digital books. according to aaa and oil price information service, 38 states and the district of columbia are now saying gasoline prices lower than last year. nine cents lower in the metro d.c. area. and a new deal by sunoco is giving hopes in the east coast to see relief. they had been looking to close the philadelphia refinery this summer. now it looks more likely it could strike a deal on sell it which could keep it running.

ecoast or west coast? well, according to bundle.com, this is a company that's based in new york, they develop rankings from credit card sales and say irvine, california, in orange county, or the oc as the hipsters like to call it, is the most fashionable city in the country. new york city ranks number two. and washington, d.c., makes it into the top ten at number nine. judging from the star power at the correspondents dinner this weekend, i think those rankings had to be rejusted. did you go? >> no, i-didn't. i think a lot of folks that are there are not from washington. i don't know if they were looking at the fashionistas at that event. it is nice we made it into the top ten. that does not happen very off when it comes to fashion. thanks so much. have a great day have a nice day. as aspen woman has taken her battle with menopause to the big screen. the documentary is called "hot flash havoc." featured in the film is dr. james simon and joins us this

morning with more on the treatment of menopause. good morning. >> good morning, barbara. >> good to have you with us. >> nice to be here. >> let's take a quick look at the movie. we understand it is actually funny. lot of people don't think of menopause as being very funny. let's take a look. >> hot flashes, memory loss, depression, sexual dysfunction, loss of libido, what a train wreck. >> whoa. that's a rain wreck. and -- young women know it is a train wreck waiting to happen. but tell us, what made you decide to or why was it decided to make a movie like this about menopause? >> there's a lot much misunderstand being menopause, lot of fear and that young woman you spoke about, she probably does not really know what the story is because menopausal women don't like to talk about it. none of us really like to talk about getting older. it has been shrouded in mystery and really important to get the word out about menopause, the

truth about it, and about therapies for it. >> you say that -- people don't want to talk about getting older. in actuality menopause actually starts a lot earlier than women probably think. at what age do you say that it -- you start getting symptoms? >> symptoms may precede the date of menopause. menopause is actually at a particular point in time. average age about 51 in the u.s. and women start getting their symptoms anywhere up to six years before they are going to go through that last period of menopause. >> let's talk about those symptoms. we heard about night sweats and hot flashes. what are some of the other ones? generalized fatigue, loss of well-being, probably because of sleep, depression, vaginal dryness, and pain with sex. loss of libido and interest in sex. and the list goes and on. >> it doesn't sound very fair to women. does it? >> well, it is not very fair.

but recall that most women were never living beyond their 50th year or menopause. historically. so menopause and its treatment relatively speaking in the history of mankind is a new phenomenon. >> so should you or shouldn't you take those dashes throw general therapies? we heard both sides of the argument? it keeps going back and forth. >> well, i think -- i think that the answer is an individual issue. not all women should be on hormones. but many more women can take hormones safely and effectively than are using them now. largely because of a large federally funded study, women's health initiative, i think misrepresented the actual risks of hormone therapy. even the investigators in that study have now come around. >> so if women are start thing get these -- experience night sweats and that sort of thing at 45, six years before actual

menopause, should the estrogen therapy if they are going to take it, start that early? >> well, it may be appropriate for particular woman to start estrogen therapy even that long before her last period. sometimes even combination birth control pills can use dab shall used in that setting to ameliorate the symptoms as well as control men truation. >> are there any breakthroughs, anything that pushes it off to later time since we are living so much longer? >> no. it is pre-programmed. women around the world go through menopause when their ovaries run out of eggs and that's pre-programmed from the time that they are born really. right around age 50. >> i see. when we hear of all these women having babies after 50 generally they are having donor eggs. >> they are having donor eggs and dough mated hormones from a chemical plant, in fact. >> wow. we will have to talk about that the next time come. dr. james simon, thank you very much. it is great to have an expert on menopause right in our area.

even though it was an aspen woman that dreamed up the film. great she found you and nice to have you here. >> good to be here. >> it is 11:51. coming up, president obama's fun side. side. plus, meteoro

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the caps face a critical game two against the new york rangers tonight. new york won the first game 3-1 to take a 1-0 series lead the the caps mustered 18 shots on goal and goalie braden holpe was shaky, allowing three goals on 14 shots. you can catch all of the game two action tonight on the nbc sports network after tonight game three is at the verizon center right here in washington on wednesday. washington is rolling up the red carpet and getting back to business after the weekend's correspondents dinner. the highlight of the night is from the president. mr. obama did not dispint. he took a chance to poke fun at scandal, other politicians and himself. >> four years ago, i looked like this. today i look like this.

and four year from now i will look like this. four years ago i was locked in a brutal primary battle with hillary clinton. four years later, she won't stop drunk texting me. i had a lot more material prepared but i have to get the secret service home in time for their new curfew. >> this year's event was hosted by talk show host and comedian jimmy kimmel. the dinner drew the media and political bigwigs you expect along with celebrities like charlize theron, eva longoria and kim kardashian. logon to our website for more pictures at nbcwashington.com. let's take a look at some of the stories we are going to be following for news4 this afternoon. pat lawson muse joins us in the newsroom with a preview of things to come. pat. >> coming up this afternoon on "news4 at 4:00," it is down to the wire to see who will win

"the voice." we are going live to los angeles at 4:00. a call nobody wants to get. a loved one saying they are in trouble and in need of fast cash turns out it is a scam. targeting seniors these days. liz crenshaw has the warning tonight on "news4 at 5:00." stick around for "news4 at 6:00." if you think you are the victim of airport profiling, there is an app for that. we will show you the new tool battles tsa profiling. our news starts at 4:00. >> we will be watching. we are going to check on the forecast one more time. >> we have had the clouds lingering all morning. temperatures did not warm up much. and as we take a look at the temperatures right now, we are just into the mid 50s to upper 50s. near 60 in southern maryland. there they may get into the mid and upper 60s. around the metro area, peak in the low 60s this afternoon. then tomorrow, a lot of clouds around. might get a shower or thundershower late tonight around midnight and then off and on during the day tuesday. just a small chance of that.

warmer, though, tomorrow. around 80 degrees. and then wednesday, thursday, friday, it will feel like summertime into the 80s each afternoon. and over the weekend, too, still warm. but more clouds around and a slight chance of a passing shower. that's the way it looks. have a great day and see you tomorrow morning. >> tom, thank you. that's "news4 midday" for today. thank you for being with us and invite to you tune in for more news at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, tonight at 11:00. back tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. with "news4 midday." plan to be there with us for that. have a terrific day and see you in the morning.