you're now going to hear from one of the displaced residents. >> it's really bad. i feel very sad. i don't know where to start. we have to start all over again, i guess. >> reporter: now, the red cross is helping the folks who need to get back on their feet with temporary housing. as you can see, to the left here there's a firefighter. they're basically trying to move out the way and get closer to the scene. a lot of folks out here are now trying to get back on their feet, get their lives back in order. meanwhile, investigators are trying to figure out what sparked the blaze. live here in silver spring, i'm shomari stone, "news 4." a deadly crime wave in the district. >> there have been five murders in four days. the latest one happened this morning in northwest. >> the victim, a hospital technician who was stabbed to death while celebrating a recent promotion. pat collins is live with the details. pat? >> reporter: the lesson here, if you're driving and someone yells

something at you, don't get out of the car. no matter what gestures are made, don't get out of the car. it can have deadly consequences. dwayne edward brisbane. he was a medical man, a skilled cat scan technician with a promising career. that all came to a violent end this morning on florida avenue northwest. now, for the last 12 years dwayne brisbane worked as a ct tech at the washington hospital center. recently he was promoted to a senior position. sources tell the story this way. last night dwayne brisbane, they say, was out celebrating that promotion with some friends at a place called marvin's on 14th street. they say around 2:00, closing time, he leaves to go home. he's driving down florida avenue when he gets into an argument with a man on the street. they say brisbane stops, gets out of his car.

when he does, he gets stabbed. they say he gets back in his car. he tries to drive to a hospital. but that was not to be. brisbane's car crashed into a light pole here on florida avenue. when rescue workers got to the scene at first they thought it was a car accident. when they looked again, they realized it was a case of murder. dwayne brisbane was just 33 years old. >> do you have any idea what started that argument? >> no, we don't. >> reporter: the statement tonight from the med star hospital center, we are deeply saddened upon learning of the death of dwayne brosbon. he was a respected radiology technologist, a valued colleague and treasured friend. now, with that stabbing death, there have now been five murders in the city of washington in the last four days. 28 murders since the first of the year. five less than the same time last year. >> i think these are just totally unrelated instances that

happened to occur at this time. there's no rhyme or reason for this. >> reporter: now back to the murder here on florida avenue. police are now going around collecting security camera video, hoping that video will lead them to a suspect in this case. live in northwest, pat collins, "news 4." a target store in virginia is back open this evening after a deadly shooting just before noon today. a 50-year-old woman shot herself inside -- in an aisle at the target. that happened at the store located in the 10,300 block of new guinea road. that target was evacuated while police investigated. starting tomorrow, 100 u.s. secret service agents will spend their day with professors from johns hopkins university. they're taking part in a two-day workshop on ethics training. jane watrel is live in the news rom with more on the fallout from that prostitution standal in colombia. >> this two-day workshop on

ethics had been previously planned for only 20 agents. in the wake of the scandal within 100 supervisors have been ordered to take the training. it was after the strip clean up known as the play club located in the industrial section of colombia where nearly a dozen members of president obama's advanced secret service and military detail hired prostitutes and allegedly took them to their hotel where they were staying. >> what were you thinking? what made you think at that point that this was okay? >> reporter: the hopkins ethics professor will be posing that very question to about 100 secret service supervisors who have been ordered by the director to go through two days of ethics training. he's been working with the secret service and other law enforcement agencies for years. >> law enforcement is a profession, not just a job. so if, say, a hamburger maker had gone and hired a prostitute, it wouldn't be news. i think by its very nature the secret service draws a lot of expectation about their

accountability and their hey live up to that. >> reporter: in the wake of the scandal increased training is just one of several moves the secret service is making. there are new policies that ban agents from excessive drinking, visiting strip clubs and allowing foreigners into their rooms while on overseas assignments. the professor wouldn't reveal details of his ethics training but says he will focus on allowing the agents to come up with a plan. >> i'd like to see what they say. how do you think you should respond? and i'm sure -- i'm confident, let me put it that way, i'm confident they'll have good answers to that question. in that i think we'll find a teachable moment. >> the agents involved in the ethics training will cut across all divisions of the secret service and not just the presidential protection detail. secret service director mark sullivan personally called johns hopkins in direct response to the scandal in colombia. jim? >> thanks, jane. occupy protesters and labor unions joined forces today in may day rallies across the

country. here in d.c. they're calling for a strike against commerce. the group met at meridian park at 3:30. at 6:30 they plan to march on the white house. may day rallies took place in more than 20 cities in the u.s. and across the world. in new york crowds took the streets to protest against corporate america. organizers plan to block bridges and tunnels leading into and out of manhattan. out west in san francisco protesters planned on blocking the golden gate bridge but canceled that at the last minute. ferry workers there did march against the rising health care costs and for higher pay today. ferry service in the bay area, it was shut down for a while. now to the weather. starting to feel a bit more like summer. but don't put away your umbrellas just yet. doug's tracking the latest conditions for us. doug? >> yeah, outside right now partly cloudy to mostly cloudy skies. temperatures of 83 degrees. it has been a little on the humid side. any time you get a dewpoint with temperatures above 80 around 60,

it's a little humid. winds now out of the northeast at about three miles an hour. temperatures all around the region nice and warm today after a high yesterday of only around 59. frederick today at 81. 82 in leesburg. 84 in fredericksburg. the warm spot has been charlottesville all day. a little earlier, 89. there are showers and thunderstorms and big time thunderstorms, too. just down to our south. south of richmond. these will make their way toward the norfolk area and eventually to the northern portions of the outer banks. this is an area of storminess right here that will continue to make its way to the north and east. it will affect us during the day tomorrow. i'll show you how it will affect us and just how long our temperatures will stay on the warm side coming up. >> all right. we are following some breaking developments from the white house. president obama is in afghanistan at this hour. he and afghan president hamid karzai just signed an agreement. the details -- the details the u.s. commitment to afghanistan after this war comes to an end. the visit comes on a day that

resonates with the american and the afghan people. it has been exactly one year since the raid that killed the terror leader who brought war to afghanistan, osama bin laden. president obama plans to address the nation at 7:30 tonight. you can watch it on nbc 4. tonight five men are under arrest for allegedly trying to blow up a bridge south of cleveland, ohio. nbc justice correspondent pete williams joins us now with details of that disturbing plot. this was all results from an fbi sting operation? >> that's right. these guys were under the fbi's careful watch of an informant and fbi undercover operatives for six months. the fbi first got on to the court documents say when they were at a protest meeting and decided that things needed to be more violent. that raised the fbi's curiosity. an undercover source began meeting with them. they considered according to the fbi a number of different targets. a wild range of plots. at one time they thought about trying to knock the signs off high-rise bank buildings in

downtown cleveland. but by march the fbi says they eventually settled on using explosives and chose a bridge. the high-rise, high level bridge, this one, that goes over the cuyahoga valley national park. about 15 or 20 miles south of cleveland. >> who are these guys? they said that they're anarchists. what does that mean? are they connected to any group? >> you know, a couple of points about that, i think. first of all, they are home grown. in a sense sort of old fashioned domestic anarchist terrorists, according to the fbi. not in any way connected to any overseas terror group. and they're all from the area. some of them were associated with the occupy cleveland movement. some of them have been quoted and seen on our affiliate coverage there talking about it. one of them was arrested in march for protesting at an fbi -- or at a sheriff's department auction of some property there. >> now, you say it has nothing to do with an overseas group. but the timing, everyone's talking this week about the anniversary of the death of

osama bin laden. are they looking at any connection in terms of the calendar? >> in fact, they say there is none. they started talking about this last october. they were plotting it. if anything, if there was any timing here, it was to be this sort of nationwide may 1st, may day kind of economic protest. they weren't even, of course, i don't think at all even aware or thinking of the fact that it's also the anniversary of the u.s. killing of bin laden. >> interesting. pete williams, thanks so much. when we come back, scary moments for storm chasers in texas. mother nature flipped the switch on them. your pet could make you vulnerable to a lawsuit. te tails behind the controversial new ruling in maryland. it's a beauty trend that's becoming more popular. the extreme measures some women are taking to look like their favorite celebrity. it could have deadly results. the pressure's on. but the odds are not in her favor. why this could be the last chance to bring a baby panda to

the motive of a key prosecution witness in the john edwards trial is being called into question today. cheri young is testifying for a third day. today edwards' attorneys questioned her about whether she has a financial incentive to lie about the former presidential

candidate. she admitted the couple made money from selling the story, but said that's not why they came forward. edwards is accused of using campaign money to cover up an affair with his pregnant misstress. the suspected east coast rapist will undergo a second round of mental health evaluations. aaron thomas is linked to 17 attacks in virginia, maryland and connecticut in the past 20 years. he has claimed that he has a split personality. thomas's defense attorney says he was a patient at georgetown university's psychiatric hospital. but a doctor who examined him said he was faking his mental illness. thomas's jury trial is set to begin in july. now to a dangerous and sometimes deadly beauty trend. doreen gensler with a warning for women. >> jennifer lopez. kim kardashian. nicki minaj. all women known for their generous back sides. now some women are going to extreme measures trying to look like their favorite celebrities.

including an illegal procedure that's leaving some women sick, disfigured, even dead. >> because i could have lost my life. i put my life in jeopardy. >> it really failed me. i wish i would have gone to a doctor. >> reporter: ashley and nicole asked that we not show their faces or give their full names. that's because these two baltimore women say they underwent an illegal medical procedure to get their back sides enlarged. >> it's like a secret society. so i basically had to no someone who knew someone. >> reporter: both women say on multiple occasions they went to hotel rooms and apartments in d.c., maryland, virginia and philadelphia where they had someone inject them with liquid silicone. it's called getting pumped. doctors say it's becoming increasingly popular. >> regular college students. housewives. working women. they'll come and they'll walk in, say i want the kim kardashian look. then more recently, i want the nicki minaj look.

>> reporter: according to to a plastic surgeon, the injections are illegal because they aren't safe. he's now seeing more and more women developing complications. >> we have reactions to the skin where the skin turns dark and very hard. has a very leathery appearance to it. we've had just an inflammatory reaction where the body makes this scar tissue. over time it descends with gravity and they have these -- they feel like little bowling balls, essentially, at the bottom of their buttocks pulling down. >> reporter: ashley says areas of her skin became hard and lumpy. for nicole some of her lymph nodes starting swelling. people who give the injections dilute the injection with other substances including motor oil. last year a woman died in philadelphia when the silicone traveled to her heart. maryland u.s. attorney rod rosensteen says he became aware of this problem last year when federal agents arrested kimberly

smedly at this d.c. hotel. he says she was injecting clients with industrial grade silicone. the same substance used for furniture polish and mechanical equipment. one of her clients ended up in the hospital after the silicone entered her lungs. >> obviously nobody should have a medical procedure done in a hotel room. >> reporter: earlier this month smedley pleaded guilty to a use of a misbranded or adulterated drug. she faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. for ashley and nicole, they're now under a doctor's care. >> because people are dying. you really going to die to have a big butt? >> the bottom line, what you need to know about this, injecting free flowing silicone is not approved by the fda. it is not safe. there are legal and safe procedures for enlarging the backside. in which doctors take tissue from one part of the body and transfer it to the backside.

the doctor says some patients don't think those procedures do enough. another option is implants for the backside. that's where the substance is contained in an implant similar to breast implants. so there are safe, legal options. don't go for injectable silicone. >> wow. disturbing story. thanks, doreen. >> sure. in northern texas some storm chasers with the weather channel drove their tracking truck straight into a massive hailstorm. and turned their cameras on. the video was taken yesterday as the group was monitoring dark clouds, thinking a tornado was on its way. instead a violent storm propelled huge hailstones at their truck, shattering glass, damaging the exterior. aside from some tense moments, the team -- wow. look at that windshield. >> yeah. >> the team made it out okay. boy, their truck, i'm sure that thing is in the shop today. yikes. you wouldn't want to be outside in that. >> no. >> no. it takes larger than tennis ball size hail to break a windshield. you're talking about potentially

tennis ball, maybe upwards of baseball size hail in that instance. that's what the weather channel is doing out there. they've done this for -- i think this is the third year. they go out in the month of may and do storm chasing e events. that's exactly what they're doing right now. kind of interesting to see that. you don't want to get caught in one of those. out there right now for us, we're not seeing any severe weather. we really have not seen much in the way of thunderstorms over the past couple of weeks. but i do think that's going to be changing as we move our way the next couple of days. a much more summerlike atmosphere. we're talking about humid conditions. a better chance of showers and thunderstorms each day. these will be of the scattered variety. temperatures out there right now very warm. 83 degrees, the warmest we've been in almost two weeks. we've seen a number of days in the last two weeks in the 50s and 60s. so it's about time we get to the 80s. the dewpoint still very warm. 60 degree dewpoint. any time you get into the 60s you're talking about a fairly humid atmosphere. that's what we have out there today. 83 in martensburg. 81 in culpeper.

what are we seeing as far as rain is concerned? storm 4 radar not showing anything right now around the immediate area. all you have to do is travel down i-95 about 100 miles. get down around richard mond. just to the south of richmond some big-time thunderstorms here. these mean business. a lot of lightning with these storms. a lot of wind. these are pass just to the south of virginia beach, just to the south of norfolk. you widen out here and this is actually what's coming our way. see the spin in the atmosphere right around chicago? out ahead of it we're looking at these storms here in through cincinnati. we've got a warm front and a cold front. same situation we saw yesterday. and i think we're going to see the same situation both tomorrow and into the day on thursday. and then maybe again on friday. this is what i'm talking about. here's the frontal boundary draped across our area. moves down to the south. then back to the north. then it moves back to the south. that's what we're going to be seeing. we'll see showers riding along that front. so tomorrow we'll see a chance for some showers. maybe some thunderstorms. some of those could even be on

the strong side. same deal goes for thursday. the front, though, should be a little bit farther to the north and east. maybe a lighter chance of showers. still nice and warm out there with those summerlike temperatures. this evening, partly cloudy, warm and humid. sunset tonight 8:02 as temperatures are into the 70s. tomorrow morning this is what you can expect as you walk out the door. mostly cloudy skies. very warm start. humid with the chance for some showers. watch out there. you may want to take the umbrella even if it's not raining right when you step out. we may see more showers. ef got a chance of showers really throughout the next four days. not just the chance of showers but how about 87 on friday. that looks good. once again, we're talking about rather humid conditions, too. summer making an early appearance once again. >> all right. >> sounds good. coming up next, a man survives a frightening fall at a concert. wait until you find out what he did right after that. and after he got out of the hospital. a special tribute at tonight's nats game for the local hero who stepped in to

safe these children from the dangerous dog attack. jury deliberations under way right now as a falls church community activist faces charges he molested girls at his daughter's sleepover. coming up, someone crashes a 747 on purpose. ♪

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the nationals tonight. this attack happened almost two weeks ago. andre hau thorn stepped in to help two children who jumped on to the roof of the car to escape these escaped dogs. the dogs were found in prince georges county last week and both put down. hawthorn was badly bitten on his hand. he's an usher at nat's park. he's going to be honored before tonight's game against the arizona diamondbacks sfwl tonight also marks bryce harper's home debut. dan hellie is here. the night we've been waiting for. >> reporter: it came sooner than most people expect pd general manager mike rizzo joining me now. what's not going on? what a night this is going to be. you guys had your first little hiccup. you got off to a record setting start. now you have this four-game losing streak. you've been unable to score runs. six in the last four games. how big of a concern is that for you right now? >> you know, we've -- whenever you lose your third and fourth hitter in a lineup, it's, you know, you have to find different

ways to score runs. we have to be more efficient offensively. we know that. but, you know, with the starting pitching we have, the bull pen and the defense we run out there day in and day out, they give us a chance to win games. even with the four-game losing streak we had a chance and opportunities to win all four of those games. we feel we're going to get some guys heated up here. we're going to get a couple of our veteran guys back in the lineup. once we start doing that we'll start hitting on all four cylinders and we should be ready to roll. >> kind of buried the lead. obviously the big story is bryce harper making his home debut. you decided to call him up from aaa syracuse. made his debut in l.a. played really well for his first couple games. a couple hits. hitting .333. shows the arm. shows the defense. can this kid stay up here and not go back down? >> certainly he's got the talent level to be a good big league player in the very near future. you know, we had a developmental timetable for him. he's exceeded every timetable he's ever been thrown at him.

is there a chance he could stay here? of course there's a chance. we're going to do what's best for him in his long-term development. if he keeps playing like he's playing right now, it's going to be impossible to send him back. there's going to be highs and lows with any 19-year-old player. we just need him to be consistent, get his work in and tw develop. develop at the major league level or aaa level. he's going to develop because he's going to be around here for long time to come. >> people were surprised, i think, you called him up as soon as you did. it was basically out of necessity because you had to have a bat in the lineup. i want to make sure i get this in. in the paper today you see bryce harper's on the mall playing pickup softball. not really pickup softball. they recognized him. brought him over. he takes a couple hits. >> that's just him. he's soaking in the washingtonian spirit. he's walking around the mall. he said he wanted to get out and relax a little bit.

this guy can't turn down a bat and a ball. they invited him over. he took a few hacks. i think he swung and missed at one and hit one probably about 550. >> swung and missed at one in a game of softball. kr speaking of the diamond, it's the diamondbacks and the nationals. bryce harper's home debut. we'll have more coming up at 6:00. >> see you then. thanks, dan. >> the team on the other side of the monument caught it. whose ball is that? meteori meteorite. coming up next, consider yourself warned. owning a pit bull or even renting to someone with a pit bull. it could make you vulnerable to a lawsuit. plus, a new status option on your facebook page. it could save lives. i'm darcy spencer at the national zoo where the panda pregnancy watch is on. pi should be arrested for crimes against potted plant-kind.

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last time. [ engine turns over ] oooohhhh...sweet. [ male announcer ] the chevy cruze with the mychevrolet app. the remote control car is finally here. well now she's just, playing with us. oh. [ horn honks ] pit bulls are no longer innocent until proven dangerous under maryland law. >> there's a new rules that makes it easier for anyone attacked by a pit bull or pit bull mix to take legal action against the dog's owner. chris gordon explains. >> oh, boy. >> reporter: the maryland spca arranges adoptions for dogs that need a home. it has three pit bulls currently. brutus is a 5-month-old male scheduled to be adopted this week. ayoki is a female who's

available. and valentina will be put up for adoption soon. the maryland spca is concerned it may be harder now to find adoptive homes. and families may abandon pit bulls after the recent ruling of the state court of appeals that pit bulls are inherently dangerous. >> we believe that an animal's behavior should be the determining factor in whether or not that animal is considered dangerous. we don't believe that a particular breed should be pinpointed for that. >> reporter: the maryland court of appeals' decision dealt with the case of a young boy who sustained life threatening injuries when he was attacked by a pit bull. the maryland court of appeals' ruling says that when a pit bull attacks a human being, it is no longer necessary to prove that that pit bull was dangerous. the owner, or the landlord who rents to the owner of that dog, could be held strictly liable. some of the dog owners here at the park told me police were called in when a pit bull

recently attacked other dogs exercising here. the owner left before the police arrived. laura miller is a dog walker. >> i've never encountered a dangerous pit bull. i don't think that the breed themselves are dangerous. >> reporter: pit bulls are banned in prince georges county. >> back in 1997 they passed a law in prince georges county saying you could not own or harbor a pit bull or pit bull mix in prince georges county. if you happen to have one and you're caught with one, you could be arrested. it does carry six-month imprisonment or $1,000 fine for having one. >> reporter: now the law throughout maryland makes pit bull owners absolutely accountable for the behavior of their dogs. chris gordon, news 4. we have more on our breaking news about president obama making a surprise trip to afghanistan one year since the raid that killed osama bin laden. here is sound from the president addressing our troops about that milestone. >> not only were we able to blunt the taliban momentum, not

only were we able to drive al qaeda out of afghanistan, but slowly and systematically we have been able to decimate the ranks of al qaeda. and a year ago we were able to finally bring osama bin laden to justice. >> president obama will be addressing the nation at 7:30 tonight. you can watch it on "nbc 4." still no arrests after three horses were stabbed last week in reston. they were part of the spirit open equestrian program. the therapeutic riding center helps autistic children and disabled adults. all three horses are continuing to recover tonight. parents whose children used the program have promised at least $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in the case. the fbi says it's received hundreds of tips since a former d.c. elementary teacher was added to a list of the most wanted fugitives.

he taught third grade. he was fired in 2008 over allegations that he used a school camera to take pornographic pictures of children. the fbi is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for any information that leads to a break in this case. in prince georges county a retrial began today for a woman accused in an acid attack on a mother injured while holding her toddler. prosecutors say tamara jackson arranged for another woman to carry out the attack in an oxen hill parking lot in 2010. they say jackson was upset because the victim was dating her ex-boyfriend. jackson faces assault charges. the other suspect already pleaded guilty last year. she's currently serving an eight-year prison sentence. day one of deliberations in the sex abuse trial of a falls church community activist has ended without a verdict. michael gardner is accused of molesting young girls at his daughter's sleepover parties. the latest from arlington.

>> reporter: it is michael gardner's word against that of three fifth grade girls. that in part is what jurors now have to weigh. the falls church political activist and husband of a councilwoman there is accused of sexually molesting three of his daughter's friends during sleepovers at the gardners' home. in her closing argument the prosecutor said of the graphic testimony from the now 10 and 11-year-olds they came here with absolutely no motive to lie to you. they told you what happened when michael gardner touched them. but defense attorney fired back reminding jurors gardner took the stand to deny every allegation. he pointed to 67 inconsistencies in the girls' version of events saying of police and prosecutors, they took and accepted what these kids said as gospel. not whether they were wrong or made it up. but the prosecution has more than the girls' testimony to make its case. dna that is 20 quadrillion times more likely to be michael

gardners' than any other white male was found on one accuser's underwear. the defense contends the dna was transferred there when the child spent the night in gardners' home. when you're in someone's house, you're swimming in their dna pool. the prosecutor shot back saying the notion everyone's dna is somehow floatling around is nonsense. it's nonsense because it's not supported by evidence. the jury deliberated for about 2 1/2 hours this afternoon but did not reach a verdict. they headed home just a few minutes ago and will return again tomorrow morning. reporting live from arlington, julie carey, "news 4". still ahead, one of the stories trending online. a dentist gets the ultimate revenge on an ex-boyfriend. the cost keeps climbing. tonight the major problem that's pushed a construction project three times over its original budget. ♪

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revenge with a side of novocain. and it's a girl named max well for one pop star. let's take a look at what's trending today. first a dentist in poland faces three years in prison and a medical malpractice investigation for removing all of her ex-boyfriend's teeth. according to the new york daily news, the woman initially agreed to treat a tooth ache that was bothering him. but she told a british newspaper she couldn't control her emotions so she put him under

and extracted each tooth one by one. the boyfriend says he'll get dental implants. but that apparently didn't keep his current girlfriend from dumping him. news that's a bit happier for jessica simpson today. the baby watch is over. the singer and fiance eric johnson welcomed their 9 pound, 13 ounce daughter. maxwell drew. maxwell is eric's middle name and drew is the maiden name of simpson's mother. to this cringe worthy video of a fan at a music festival in sydney, australia. he climbed a huge scaffold only to fall 60 feet below. he gave a thumb's up afterwards. concertgoers forced him out and sent him to a hospital. talk about a die hard fan. he discharged himself and immediately tried to get back into that festival. at least we know he's okay. and that's your look today at what's trending. wendy? zbr wow. coming up next, the national zoo is buzzing as scientists use

artificial insemination to try and produce another baby panda. i'm liz crenshaw. high fuel prices have you frustrated? you're not alone. find out how one airline plans to save hundreds of millions of dollars on fuel costs, coming up. and out there right now, not a bad afternoon. temperatures into the low 80s. a little bit on the humid side. that's going to be the trend over the next couple of days. but this could be the trend, too. take a look at the thunderstorms that are out toward the west. we'll watch out for those. out there right now, though, looking all right. we'll talk more about it coming up.

well, the panda watch is on yet again at the national zoo as they made another attempt this week to breed the giant pandas. darcy spencer is live at the zoo to tell us why there's so much riding on this this time. darcy? >> reporter: wendy, this couple hasn't produced a cub in nearly seven years. according to an agreement between the national zoo and china, this could be their last chance. talk about pressure. here at the zoo, they're staying

positive and hopeful that a cub is is on the way. today she's eating frozen treats and enjoying her adoring fans who've come out to see her at the giant panda habitat at the national zoo. who knows, she could be expecting. she was artificially inseminated sunday and monday. >> the female has a really short opportunity to conceive. and it's between 24 and 72 hours. >> scientists used samples from her partner that were collected in 2005. that was the last time the couple were able to conceive. their cub has since been relocated to china. >> it would certainly be exciting. 2005 is a long time ago. it would be nice to have a baby panda. >> reporter: it will be some time before we know whether the insemination process worked. in the meantime, zoo staff are going to watch her very closely and keep hoping for that little butterstick.

the zoo turned to social media to publicize the insemination procedure, sending out tweets on twitter and pictures. giving the world a unique look into a process most of us have never seen before. >> that's a wonderful event. that is wonderful. we need more pandas up here at the zoo. >> reporter: this could be the last chance for the cuddly couple to conceive at the zoo. this is the final year of a fertility study. if the effort doesn't produce a cub, one or both of the pandas could be exchanged. >> at the end of that study, this two-year study, we will make a decision if we need to have another female or another couple or if we keep these animals with us in washington, d.c. >> reporter: that's what we're certainly hoping for. we're going to be held in suspense for some time. because this gestation period could last anywhere between 90 and 160 days. the researchers and biologists here say we may not know if she's pregnant until the very end of that pregnancy. they're certainly hoping and watching closely. reporting live from the national

zoo, darcy spencer, "news 4." good weather to romp around outdoors if you're a panda or human or whatever, doug. >> looking pretty good out there. wouldn't they know if she's pregnant if she had, like, friends and family over? a little party? >> that's a give away. >> they got to know some way. 83 degrees. if she's the only one not drinking at the party. 83 out there right now. winds out of the northeast at 3 miles per hour. going to be a pretty nice evening. it is on the warm side. yes, it's a little humid. a lot of people on my facebook and twitter pages saying, hey, this would be perfect if it wasn't for the humidity. we do have some humidity out there. look at the temperature. 84 dulles. huntingtown coming in at 84. a nice afternoon as far as the temperatures go. temperatures more like what they should be in the middle of june rather than the beginning of may. look at the storms back to the west. big time storms just to our south. not a worry at all. it's the ones back to the west. there's even a tornado warning now into illinois. some big storms moving in through indiana and ohio down

through kentucky. this whole system is going to lift our way as a frontal boundary. that gront will give us the chance for showers early tomorrow morning. a good chance for some thunderstorms tomorrow afternoon. maybe even some strong storms. not a washout tomorrow. take the umbrella and keep it here to "nbc 4" for the latest if any storms do develop. 55 the overnight low in leesburg. 56 in menasses. if we see enough sun shine we could easily get above 80 once again. right now i do think we'll see clouds. keep that umbrella handy just in case as we make our way through the next couple of days. take a look at the numbers. 78 on thursday. 40% chance of thundershowers.

friday we'll say about a 30% chance. more sunshine. up to near 87 on friday. some areas could get close to 90. it will be on the humid side. saturday, same deal. it will be a little cooler. highest temperatures around 82 degrees. another chance of showers and thunderstorms. about a 30% chance there. all in all the next few days not looking too bad. let's extend this into the weekend. we want to see the rest of that weekend. sunday looking pretty good right now with a high temperature of 76 te grees. we'll call it partly cloudy skies. chance of showers and thunderstorms, gee whiz, they return on monday and tuesday. we need to see the rain, guys. but not the -- you know, as much as maybe is on that map right there. >> all right. thanks, doug. there is a warning tonight about a telephone scam that is targeting folks in virginia. plus, one airline is looking to cut fuel costs by buying an oil refinery. forget about updating your relationship status. facebook's latest status update is aimed at saving lives. here's liz to tell us about this. >> wendy and jim, we're going to begin with that warning about a

phone scam targeting virginia residents. the caller claims to be raising money on behalf of the maclaine volunteer fire the president. the calms are simply a scam. the fire department says it does not solicit donations over the phone or e-mail. even though firefighters are trying to raise money for a new fire engine, donation requests only come in the mail. and, they say, they send them out typically in the fall. the mclean volunteer fire department says it learned of the scam after a rez tent called the fire department to complain the telemarketer asking for money was rude. if you're frustrated over the high cost of fuel prices, so are the airlines. that's why today delta air lines has decided to do something about it. the airline announced it plans to buy an oil refinery as a way to cut down on fuel costs. the airline agreed to buy the refinery from conoco phillips located in trainer, pennsylvania, near philadelphia

along the delaware river. tell ta says it hopes to save $300 million every year by producing its own fuel. the fuel is the airline's biggest operation cost. airline says in addition to fuel, it will refine gasoline. delta says the deal is expected to close sometime in june. finally tonight, the next time you logon to facebook to update your status, you may want to consider becoming an organ donor. today the social networking site added organ donor status to its timeline in an effort to bring awareness about organ donations. the status falls under health and wellness. then you click organ donor to update your status. your up at a time, by the way, does not legally make you an official organ donor. if you're not already one, you want -- facebook provides you a link to where you can become one. to legally become one you need to click that link. they're trying to encourage organ donation. obviously it does save lives. >> a good way to do it. >> get it on that social status

and we'll see. >> we're talking about. thank you, liz. up next, tragedy in new york after a veteran police officer and members of his family are killed in a horrible house fire. coming up tonight on "news 4" at 6:00, we'll look into the death of a world champion swimmer who was an olympic hopeful for the summer games. also ahead at 6:00, find out what's the next step for the president during his surprise visit to afghanistan. somebody walked into a starbucks in maryland. but they wanted a whole lot more than a cup of coffee. than a cup of coffee. those stories and more 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.

the cost of the silver spring transit hub, it is now three times over its original estimate. according to "the washington post," the price tag for that center now stands at $112 million. the project has been delayed several times for funding and changing construction plans. in january county officials accused the construction crews of botching a concrete pour. when it does open, that hub will connect buses, metro and mark

trains. maryland's attorney general is appealing a court ruling tonight that strikes down part of the state's dna collection law. that law allows police to take dna samples from people charged but not convicted of crimes. last week the maryland court of appeals put a stop to that practice. attorney general doug gans ler has filed a motion to stay the court's decision. his spokesman says he will file an appeal to the u.s. supreme court if the court of appeals does not reconsider. well, it's the start of a long investigation in suburban new york tonight after a fire that swept through a house, killing a police captain, his wife and their two teenage daughters. >> this happened early in the morning in caramel, new york. that's about 60 miles north of the city. >> it's going to be a tough couple days. >> caramel residents are in disbelief this morning after a devastating early morning house fire trapped four family mens, killing them. >> like a bad dream.

like it's not even real. it's hard to describe. painful. >> the house is pretty much gone. there's nothing left. just part of the garage. >> reporter: firefighters arrived on scene two minutes after a home on windham lane went up in flames around 2:00 this morning. officials tell us they prepared for a rescue but soon realized it wasn't possible. >> it was fully engulfed. the house was just ablaze. >> reporter: within minutes, the house caved in. tom sullivan, a police captain, his wife, donna, and two daughters 17-year-old megan and 12-year-old marade couldn't escape the flames. the oldest child, 20-year-old tommy, made it out through the garage. he suffered smoke inhalation. >> megan and marade were beautiful young women. donna was a wonderful, loving mother. i don't think that any of us have really fully understood what's happened in the last few hours. >> reporter: sullivan served with the large mont pd for 20

years. before that he was with the nypd. friends and co-workers say he was a devolted husband, father and coached local sports teams. members of the community are calling this a tremendous loss. >> a man of great integrity and compassion. and, you know, he gave everything to his family and to his friends and to the community. >> dominique strauss-kahn has lost a round in a new york courtroom today. the housekeeper who accused him of sexual assault can move ahead with her civil lawsuit. strauss-kahn tried to use a claim of diplomatic immunity to get the lawsuit thrown out but the judge rejected that argument. the housekeeper says strauss-kahn tried to rape her when she came to clean his hotel suite last year. the allegations led to criminal charges that ended strauss-kahn's political career. now at 6:00, breaking news. president obama traveling overseas to mark the one-year anniversary of osama bin laden's death. >> president obama is in afghanistan now on