good morning. and welcome to "news4 midday." i'm barbara harrison. right now hundreds of people are saying a final good-bye to prince george's county police officer brennan rabain killed in a crash overthe weekend. megan mcgrath is live outside the church where the officer's funeral is under way. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, barbara. you can see over my shoulder here the hearse parked outside the church. a large crowd is gathered here at the christian victory ministry and officer brennan rabain his casket was brought in a short time ago. we have video of that to show you. about 40 minutes ago he arrived.

his casket arrived here at the service. ♪ just a sea of law enforcement uniforms here. officers from all around the region have come to pay their respects. take a live look inside the service which is under way right now. the loss of course being felt very keenly by officer rabain's family. he was just 26 years old, starting his career and killed trying to make a traffic stop over the weekend. now, we spoke to sergeant thomas boone, who has known rabain since he was in the police academy. he said learns of officer rabain's death is a sergeant's worst nightmare and he will be missed. >> a very nice guy. a guy who always wanted to be there. he nerve her a bad day. i never remember him being sad about anything. he felt he was living a dream, being a police officer. >> reporter: now officer brennan rabain as off duty in his police cruiser with his girlfriend when he spot add speeding car.

he was attempting to pull that driver over when he lost control. the service is underway. it's expected to be a lengthy one, and prince george's county bureau chief tracee wilkins will be here. she's going to bring all of the day's events later on on news 4. reporting live from the church megan mcgrath news 4. >> thank you. breaking news. we just got an update on the two officers shot outside the ferguson police station. news 4 molette green has more and new video from the live desk. >> that's right. the st. louis county police chief just ended a news conference updating us on the two wounded officers telling us they are in a tremendous amount of pain but are expected to recover. now, we want you to see new cell phone video that shows an up close look right after the shooting. >> awe! >> [ bleep ] -- >> you can see all that chaos just after midnight. just as a demonstration was ending. now, we've learned four shots

were fired into the air, and then they came down striking the officers who were standing guard in a line outside the ferguson police department. officers took cover, pulled their long guns and here is some of what chief jon bell had to say say . . . jon belmar. >> we have an obligation that folks want to express their first amendment rights have the ability to do that but when you look at the tenure of at least some of the people involved in the protest or civil unrest it at times, can be very troubling. >> right now the manhunt continues for the person or persons who did this. one of the officers was shot in the cheek, and then the bullet lodged behind his ear. the other got hit in the shoulder and that bullet went through his back. they are listed in serious condition. back to you. >> thanks molette. new rules for police departments could be coming to maryland. activists are talking to lawmakers about them now. there are three bills on the

table. one is about where officers can use body cameras. another involves how you would issue a complaint against an officer. the third would require an annual report on all deaths of officers and on anyone killed by police. metra's leaders are asking for a big loan to pay off and old loan. according to "the washington post," mess traat tra has to pay back debt this year. they're asking the board of directors for permission to borrow another $22 million to pay off the debits. they're limiting its grants because an audit found the agency as mismanaging money in several cases. today metra's board will discuss the proposed metro station in alexandria. the station an the blue and yellow lines along reagan national airport metro and the

braddock road metro station. news 4 will be at that meeting at 1:00 p.m. and we'll have a breakdown what this could mean on your future ride on metro this afternoon at 4:00. in a few hours, vdot poll roads. see them inside the beldway. if you live outside the beltway it's considering adding an extra lane to that tleed would involve tearing down 35 homes. here's what the department said when we asked about its plans. >> we will be refining our design and continuing to work with the citizens as well as the elected officials to lessen those impacts. >> take a look at a close-up we've got of a map of the homes that would have to be torn down noor. we're told that it would be at least a year though from now before any land would actually be taken for that project. taking a look outside right now, beautiful spring day, but how long is it going to last? storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein joins us with his first

midday forecast for this thursday morning. >> oh that looks so great and it's so uplifting. feeling of spring in the air now, and temperatures are beginn warm a little bit. it's only been gradually creeping into the upper 40s, most of the region. beginning to warm up just off to the west. and -- our -- the coast guard is searching the gulf of mexico today. search and rescue crews are looking for the remains of a black hawk helicopter. the chopper crashed tuesday night during a training exercise. four army aviators along with seven marines were aboard. military officials are still calling it a search and rescue mission, but all 11 service members are presumed dead. wreckage from the black hawk started washing ashore yesterday. fog was heavy during the mission but officials aren't saying is weather was actually the cause of the crash. we're expecting to learn new information, though at a press conference and will bring you an

update coming up at 191:30 this morning. a man found critically injured and later died at the hop. what happened in the minutes leading up to the discovery. and a high school basketball team gives a classmate the surprise of his lifetime. his hoop dreams come

a man was murdered in prince george's county last night and we're working to find out why. officers responded to shots fired on edmundston flowed hyattsville just after 11:00 however the victim found at a gas stationology kenilworth avenue and police say he had not been shot but was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries. he died at the hospital. police aren't releasing suspect information ri take a close look at some video we have to show you now. you can help police in prince william county if you recognize this man. he's the second suspect wanted in connection with a stealing of a woman wallet from the scene of a car crash. a woman was hurt on saturday in a crash on dump fris road in woodbridge. a witness says a man take as black bag containing her wallet from the crushed car while the victim was in the hospital she says someone repeatedly used her credit cards. anyone with any information should.

if you used the new carrollton metro or route 50 your route may affected and last for months. the ramp from garden city drive to both the west and eastboundize of route 50 are closed. the maryland state highway administration says a broken pipe could mean months of work. if you use a new carrollton metro parking lot use detour signs to get on to route 50. it's a new food aller sdwla makes you feel like your choking. what causes this problem and symptoms you need to know about. and another big name in maryland politics is said to be eyeing a senate run in 2016. tom? and for the first time in a long time i don't need a coat. standing out here on the storm team 4 weather deck under a blue skies, feels great, bright sunshine. a look at rain timing when it's going to be arriving and leaving for the weekend. that'sdetted@@0 l

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i'm molette green at live desk. right now details about phony irs agents targeting taxpayers with harassing phone calls in what's being called the largest scam to ever hit the agency pap federal investigator right now you see him testifying. testimony before congress. that investigators just said this morning more than 366,000 people have been taken for their money.

scammers have duped people in every state. scaring victims out of a total ofs s$15.5 million. so far two people in florida arrested in a scheme that involved call centers in india. that's the latest from the live desk. back to you. >> all right. the state department's internal watchdoug now says many department employees have been too laxed when preserves e-mails. a new report says in 2011 department staff wrote more than $1 billion e-mails. only 61,000 marked for public record. the report says some don't know the rules, others feared having e-mails recorded and searched. this could mean a substantial amount of information is lost to history. well, there is a new poll out that says confidence in the government is at record lows. according to the general social survey only 23% of americans have a great deal of confidence in the supreme court. just 11% have a great deal of confidence in the president.

and the poll says right now only 5% of americans have that confidence in congress. well former maryland lieutenant governor anthony brown officially announced today he will run for congress in 2016. brown posted the announcement on his website. he's running for donna edwards' house seat. edwards is running, of course for senate. brown's announcement comes one day after former states attorney glen ivy said he also plans to run. the race for senator barbara mikulskis seat is getting crowded. joining us a political writer for nbc news. good morning. >> good morning. >> begin with that confidence poll we just heard. the results probably aren't surprising to most people. not a whole lot of confidence in what goes on in washington and seemed even in the supreme court? that is surprising. will the congress and the white house take notice of this do you think? >> i'm going to say probably not in a major way because this is of course as you said not the first time a poll has shown negative numbers especially about congress. congress has been shown to be less popular in some polls than

cockroaches, and a new nbc news/"wall street journal" pl we looked at today showed that almost nine in ten americans say politicians in washington are out for themselves not for the common good. this is a number we see over and over. while they may not act on it though hear a lot in campaign rhetoric especially going into 20court, do you think the average american this it's too political? that as political appointments the justices reflect what the politicians think? >> there have certainly been a lot of high-profile cases that have come out. the people have very strong opinions about. about the health care law. a case a couple years ago. a new result probably in june looking at the health care law. there's going to be debates on same-sex marriage lamter thisrlater this summer. they're highly charged subjects. i'm not surprised those that don't agree with their decisions have a lot of opinions about it. >> talking about senator barbara mikulski the seat. aurs announcements and know

another democrat wanting to seek that seat right? >> it's possible that elijah cummings is looking at this seat. a senior democrat from maryland. he has a very high post actually now. he's the number one democrat on the house oversight committee. that's that committee tat hillary clinton and benghazi. cummings has been a major defender of hillary clinton. somebody who could really animate especially the african-american community. he's known as a civil rights leader. she a pugnacious defender of the people of maryland. i think he could really complicate this race if he gets in and makes it a three-way race between edwards and the others who have their own strengths. >> looks like three strong candidates really have a hard time figuring -- >> a fun primary to watch. >> we'll continue to watch all that's hatching in politics. thanks for being with us. for more from carrie and the rest of the nbc news political team check out "first read" on nbcnews.com. no idea it would happen.

the team manager of a virginia basketball team told to suit up. the manager told this young boy to suit up and as news 4 shomari stone reports it was a dream come true. >> kakavon, will you be ready to start today? >> a dream come true for the 14-year-old as the coach not only surprises him with a uniform but also says he's starting. >> we're going to get that rock to you. >> uh-huh. >> you going to let it fly and make shshots and play some defense. >> yep. >> reporter: it's a the last home game for the varsity team at park side middle school in manassas. >> i'm so happy. it's a dream. i mean -- i'm really happy. >> reporter: and eighth grader with special needs tried out in the beginning of the season. didn't make the squad but he did make a great impression earning a spot at team manager. >> i'm happy to see him have a moment like this. >> reporter: to show his skills. >> i can score a three pointer

and i'm really good at that. >> reporter: tonight's the night. >> number 44 making his first career start -- kavon davis! [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: the nerves have built up and now it's tip-off. look at what happens next. >> what's wa it like when you scored the first shot of the game and that ball went in? >> well i was so shocked. i was surprised. >> reporter: so was his mom and coach burgess. >> so happy. >> doesn't get better than that. >> big moment in your life? >> yep. >> reporter: a moment he will never forget. this is kavon's night and he earned it. in prince william county shomari stone, news 4. this time of year millions of people have one big question on their mind. how to fill out their ncaa tournament brackets? but all of those march madness office pools can be a

productivity killer in the office. experts say the event could cost up to $1.9 billion in lost wages, paid to distracted employees. however, cracking down on office pools can hurt morale. a health alert this morning about a new type of food aller sdwla makes it hard to swallow. >> i referred to it in my house as my irrational fear of choking, because i thought it was just i had psyched myself out.

i'm molette green at the live desk. look at your tv screen. we are watching a very serious tour bus accident. this is live in southern indiana. there's a chopper over the scene bringing us this video. this is park county. that's southern indiana. right now we can tell you that the passengers are being pulled out of the tour bus. the bus is way off the road there. this is i-65 which is shut down, and that bus is on its side. there are emergency vehicles on the scene there. we can tell you at least 20 people injured right now. that's all we know nap highway shut down. that portion. we're working to find out how all of this happened and the extent of injuries there. but a very serious accident we are following. barbara, back to you. >> thanks molette.

in news for your health this morning, millions of americans suffer from food allergies. nbc's monica robins has more on new allergy making it hard to swallow food. >> reporter: it's a project for andy lutes to go to the market. he has several food allergies forcing him to read labels carefully before he buys anything but a few years ago no matter how cautious he was, andy started having reactions to food for no apparent reason. >> i referred to it in my house as my irrational irrational fear of choking, because i thought it was just i had psyched myself out. >> reporter: turns out it wasn't irrational at all. andy has eoe. it's a mouth full to say and for a growing number of americans, it makes it hard to swallow. >> in worst case scenario they might get a food and the food gets stuck in the esophagus and it needs to be removed. >> reporter: doctors aren't sure what triggers eoe but know

immunocells causes the esophagus to swell. in some cases nearly swollen shut. diagnosing can be difficult, because in most cases the swelling is very gradual. what's worse, oeoe can affect peoples who don't know they have allergies. >> eating foods causing this to go to the esophagus and over time develop enough inflammation they start having symptoms. >> including trouble swallowing abdominal pains after eating that doesn't respond to medication. if a biopsy confirms eoe, an allergist may change your diet or give you a topical steroid to reduce swelling and your risk of choking. >> that was monica robins reporting. new research finds heavy marijuana use during teenage years may affect memory at adulthood. researchers say it affects the part of the brain associated with long-term memory.

performing 18% lower on memory tests than those who never use the drug. you could see pack its of powder's alcohol on store shelvesing. approved yesterday. the one place you won't see the new booze option is in virginia. lawmakers banned it last month. more trouble for the secret service. what we're learning this morning about new allegations of misconduct. one of hollywood's biggest names is stepping up to the plate. why will ferrell is hitting the baseball diamond with teams at spring training today. and the sun is shining right now. it's warming up out there you may have noticed, but storm team 4 is tracking rain in the forecast. tom kierein is bac

the secret service is responding to stunning allegations two senior agents crash add car on white house grounds after drinking. nbc's tracie potts has a look at the fallout from the late nest a long lichtest of scandals. >> repor we confirmed george ogilvie and mark connolly second in charge of the president's security detail. "the washington post" first reported last week they used flashing lights and a government car to get on to white house grounds where officers were checking a suspicious package. then hit a barrier after drinking at a retirement party.

the paper says officers wanted to conduct a sobriety test and arrest them, but a supervisor ordered they be sent home. >> it's egregious the supervisor would let them go. we will never determine if they were sober or not because the supervisor let them go. >> reporter: in a joint statement the top republican and democrat on the house committee that oversees the secret service calls it embarrassing and potentially dangerous and question whether the secret service has done enough to fix its problems. the secret service isn't saying much about this. in a statement they said they're aware and called for the investigation and won't make anymore statements before it's over. tracie potts, nbc news washington. new this morning, we're working on learning more about a fatal shooting in northwest washington. police were called to jefferson street just before 2:00 a.m. this morning where they found a man dead inside a car. there were several police units at the scene. we will update you on the nbc washington app just as soon as

we get more info two d.c. firefighters have been arrested and both are charged with assaulting police officers. according to the charging documents, veteran firefighters chuck ryan started yelling at the staff at the -- a restaurant over in krofton sunday after trying to leave without waying his bill. police arrived, ryan got physical and kicked an officer. in a separate incident another firefighters richard kirkpatrick, was pulled over by police tuesday saying he ran a stop sign and almost hit two pedestrians. this happened yesterday. he's accused of head butting an officer while he was handcuffed. a 4-month-old boy is in critical condition in spotsylvania county. his parent leonard parker and janine heerick charged with several counts of child neglect and cruelty. they were arrested monday. the infant was taken to the hospital last week with what authorities describe as suspicious life-threatening

injuries. and this morning, we're hearing from the father of a toddler rescued from an attempted abduction. thanks to his younger siblings in fact. take a look at this surveillance of the crime last weekend. yesterday police in washington state arrest add 15-year-old boy saying he grabbed the toddler from a stroller then ran off. the boy's siblings chagsed that teen who eventually dropped the boy and took off. >> it is a relief if it is him that he's off the street, and that other families and we're safe. we won't have to worry about this ever again. >> the father of the three children and all three of them are safe and with their parents. in case you were wondering, they were under the care of a baby-sitter at the time of this attempted abduction. actor, writer comedian will ferrell is adding another title to his resume today. baseball player's in a few hours the funny man is taking part in five different spring training games in arizona.

he'll be playing every on field position for ten different teams. the stunt will be filmed for an upcoming hbo special, and it's all in the name of charity. the equipment used by ferrell were be auctioned off. you can still follow ferrell's exploits through social media with the hash tag ferrelltakesthefield. and storm team meteorologist tom kierein joins us. feels like baseball time here. doesn't it? >> so great. spring training underway and we're training for spring here too, and finally it's paying off. it is feeling and acting like spring. there is the beautiful blue sky over the region. it's been with us all morning. absolutely gorgeous. live view from the storm team 4 tower camera. temperatures by 1:00 lower 50s. mid to up are 50s by midto late afternoon and this morning dropping back down into the 40s pie 9:00 mid-evening, down to

the mid-40s. temperatures right now are still generally in the 40s to near 50 in the meet med troh area. in the 40s around the chesapeake bay. shenandoah valley beautiful spring da there as well. upper 40s, near 50. jumping out of the 30s and into the 40s out of the mountains of western maryland and west virginia. signs of spring popping up all around. this photo taken by our own tisha thompson. you can see these daffodil sprouts coming up through the little remnants of snow that still hang in from last week's snow and look at these bulbs that are bursting forth in amosville, virginia. posted by rick on twitter. post your signs of spring on twitter and facebook and i will share. new timing on rain arriving during the day on friday. it looks like maybe a little later than it was hooking this morning. the leading edge of rain may not be in the metro area until 7:00 8:00 p.m.

looks wet. all this in green is rain. continues to rain all through the night on friday night, and saturday morning. by 7:00 a.m. still some rain falling, and then the rest of saturday still rather wet. mid-morning into the afternoon. we'll still have some rain and by 11:00 a.m. it will begin to move off to the east are and then by 3:00 p.m. maybe just a few lingering sprinkles or a shower west of the metro area and most of it will be done by sunset on saturday. now, earlier this week i travel to prince william county and visited the rockledge elementary school in woodbridge virginia. had a great time. i talked to 300 students there at the rockledge elementary school. there's teacher ted eldridge who invited me there, had a terrific time. terrific school in the lakeridge neighborhood of woodbridge in prince william county at brockledge elementary school. terrific time. a lot of fun. overnight tonight, chilly. down into the mid-30s by dawn friday and increasing clouds tomorrow. ahead of that rain in the low 50s by early to mid-afternoon.

then the rain arrives saturday rather friday night and then continues into saturday. now, saturday morning is the big rock 'n' roll marathon that's going on in the morning on saturday. and that will be rainy. it looks like temperatures will be in the 40s to near 50 during the marathon on saturday morning. not the best weather for running a marathon. then in the afternoon, that rain tapers off and temperatures climb into the upper 50s, near 60. then welcome sunshine back on sunday. great day for outdoor activities. watching the sprouts come up even higher will be in the upper 50s on sunday. then monday back to work and school with sunshine in the mid-50s during the afternoon. maybe a brief passing shower low 60s on tuesday. then wednesday, might get just a few clouds around with temperatures in the mid-50s. barbara? >> thanks to put. the man accused in a string of random shootings is now linked to nine different cases. investigators accuse hong young of shoot at a number of

locations including the national security agency. we've learn add popular casino was among his targets, too. investigators found several bullet holes at the maryland live casino last week. court documents reveal he said he heard voices telling him to shoot. no one was hurt in those shootings. if you were hoping to take a bus to the new mgm national harbor casino when it opens you're out of luck. according to "the washington post," mgm sent prince george's officials a letter saying no public transportation to get on to the area and neither will em pleas. the company's decision not to include bus stops is a break from previous commitments. if you like all of your money -- feel all of your money is spent paying rent you're not alone. results of an affordable housing study and what d.c.'s mayor plans to do about it. and amazon catering to small businesses. the new store offering items for sale and you won't find it anywhere else but on the web.

i'm molette green at the live desk with an update on bricking news we're following out of missouri. two st. louis area police officers shot this morning are now out of the hospital. they were treated and released. we just got that confirmation from the st. louis county police confirming that the officers are now at home. the search meanwhile, continues for a suspect in this morning's

shooting. the latest from the live desk. back to you. >> thanks. new this morning a new report says it's nearly impossible to find affordable housing in the district. according to a d.c. think tank group the number of apartments renting for less than $800 fell about 42% from 2002 to 2013. the study says there are almost no apartments left for rent under $800 a month. d.c. mayor muriel bowser pledged to spent $100 million a year on creating affordable housing. most of us don't love to do dishes but one woman made a living doing that. nelda adel demptying plates at consumer reports for 18 years. she tests dishwashers. spaghettio chili, raspberry jam, puts all the machines with a gauntlet of trials with that stuff on plates. the hard effort foods to remove contrary to popular belief you should not have the to clean your plate before you load it in the dishwasher.

tonight ot "new4 at 5:00," into the lab and you won't believe all that goes into testing your next dishwasher. amazon may be the biggest online retailer in the u.s. but now it's coming to bat for the little guy. the store will sell exclusive electronics, toys and other items created by inventors and small businesses. some of the products were backed by kickstasht pkickstarter campaigns. others featured on "shark tank." two-day shipping for amazon prime customers. d.c. has the best restaurants in the country, that's what we all think, and now we're narrowing down the best dishes in our region. you want to see this before making your weekend dinner reservations. plus she's a fledgling musician and hopes to become a fashion designer some day. more than anything she wants a family of her own. we'll introduce you to lacy coming up next. stay with us

new on "news4 midday." honda just announced it's ready to roll out a new ad campaign to spread the word about the recall involving defective air bags. we want you to see what the ads look like. they start running on monday and urge honda and acura own toers check to see if they are driving around with takata air bags. if so get them replaced right away. these recalled air bags pose a risk of exploding during a crash and have already been linked to multiple deaths. that's the latest from the live desk.

barbara, back to you. >> all right, molette. in just about lunchtime, that's where we are right now you're probably thinking about food. so what are the best dishes in d.c. right now? "the washington post" asked its readers and here to tell us about some of the favorites. you sent out a notice to readers vote on their favorite food. is that right? >> right. asked them to e-mail tweet, write us on facebook and got hundreds of nominations. >> not by category of food? anybody could list anything as their favorite? >> exactly. >> number one a sandwich? >> we don't rank them in order, yeah. we have an amazing sandwich on our list this year. we have critics sit in a room and pick themselves for what were the top we saw. the brisket sandwich is one even criticing could get behind. a sandwich our first real barbecue joint an a small level on fla avenue. they smoke this for 12 to 18 hours. it's a delicious sandwich.

fry onion, not just regular onions fry them and put them on top. >> have you tasted it? >> i'm a vegetarians. critics did. very nice and an asian popular dish right now i understand? >> a lot of southeast asian on the list this year. seeing that in d.c. in general, a lot of thai and lao restaurants open. this is from bitcow and bangkok golden called nemcow. it's a really cool crispy rice salad. they take rice mash it up with lemon grass and coconut and mint and all the herbs you could possibly think of from southeast asia. they fry it crush it up and then you eat it in like a lettuce wrap. so delicious. and great for the vegetarian. >> another one with falafel in it? a salad, to? >> that's what we call a classic dish. am sister it damn falafel. it's an adam morgan and sdpanding through a franchising process. this is one of the dishes we just come back to every year. it's kind of d.c.'s great

comfort food. we've got that and also amsterdam if a s shop. we'll have that whole list of 40 on our website. our wednesday's child today loves music and she would some day be happy singing or playing on the stage somewhere. but as a foster child most of her life she's had little opportunity for the lessons she needs to get started as a musician. i took lacy for a guitar lesson the other day. >> reporter: we met up with lacy a 16-year-old that wants to learn to play the guitar better. >> what kind of music do you like? >> rock hip-hop, pop. >> reporter: gary prince chair of the jazz department offered to guess lacy a lesson. >> you brought your guitar. should we take it out? >> yeah. >> great. >> reporter: gary tuned um and plugged both guitars in the

amplifier and asked lacy for a little sample of something she liked to play. ♪ lacy at 16 is a conscientious student who struggled to learn all she can, since getting a slow start as a young child before coming into foster care at 4 years old. >> she needs kind of an extra boost to get her up to speed. >> reporter: lacy has shown an interest in a lot of different activities. >> i did karate for a while. i did ballet cheerleading. soccer. >> reporter: have you thought about what you'd like to be when you're owlall grown up. >> a fashion designer and in a band playing guitar. >> reporter: and hopes to improve her singing skills. ♪ because i knew you were trouble when you w so shame on me now ♪ >> reporter: a family could make a real difference for lacy encouraging her to be all she dreams of becoming. meanwhile, some encouragement about her guitar future was enough to make lacy smile.

if you have room in your home and your heart for lacy or another child who's waiting, please call our special adoption hot line. 1-88-to adopt me or search wednesday's child on nbcwashington.com. a big tax refund check heading your way? where you should put that money to get the most out of it. > enjoy this springlike day. tom is tracking rain in the forecast. the timing of that rain coming

following a couple developing stories for you today. family friends and fellow officers gathered to mourn the loss of a prince george's county police officer today. officer brennan rabain's funeral began this morning. he died in a car crash five days ago. and working to get the latest details on reports two senior secret service agents crash add car on the without grounds while drinking last week. leaders of the congressional committee that oversees the service called the incident embarrassing and potentially dangerous. the secret service says if misconduct is identified they will take action. toll lanes are coming to i-66. built inside the beltway. virginia transportation leaders are making it official. announcement about the lanes in about an hour from now. check out your nbc washington app to see what they say. so far this tax season the irs has paid out march than $125 billion in tax refunds. some people decide to save that

money while others splurge. nbc's bob hansen has three valuable tips on what to do with your refund. >> reporter: we all pay taxes in one way or another. in fact four out of five of us get a refund check from the irs every year. >> i made a list. try to space out the money and see where i can allocate it. >> usually put it away and try to do something fun with it. >> reporter: the average refund is abouts s$3,000. enough to make an impact. what should you do with the money? a certified financial planner says the first thing, pay down your debt. especially credit cards and personal loans. >> so if you have debt you want to look to the highest interest rate balance you have and throw money towards that because if you're making the minimum payments you're getting nowhere. >> reporter: saying 50% of your refund should go towards debt. 30% should go into your savings. first an emergency fund. experts say you should have about three moss ofnths of savings.

mary beth says snig a good start. >> how much would you feel good about having a balance. >> reporter: some of that money should go into a retirement account, either start one or add to one you already have. >> looking to stash a little bit of money aside into one of those accounts for your future. again, not super fun, but really beneficial for your future self. >> reporter: now there's nothing wrong with having some fun with that money. but don't lock yourself into a long-term financial commitment. >> don't use that money to get yourself into further debt. want to use it to dig yourself out of the hole you might already be in hand get on solid ground. >> pay off bills and what can we buy for our house or kids? >> reporter: can you splurge with the final 20% of the refund. whether it's a household project, a new computer on a fun va. >> that was bob hansen repo that new talking barbie doesn't hit shelves until fall but it's always starting a big conversation about childrenen privacy the doll has speech new

put into it that let's you hear and respond to kids' questions. the campaign for a commercial-free child hltd says the toy should be banned. they're concerned it could be used to listen in on kids playing with it. toymaker mattel denies the claim saying they're technology includes safeguards to make sure any data stored is secure. time for a final check of our forecast. here's tom. >> beautiful day underway approaching the noon hour. temperatures around 50 degrees in the immediate metro area and we'll continue to climb getting into the afternoon hours. temperatures should be making it into the mid-to upper ooh 50s. reagan national 54 degrees. with that bright sunshine holding steady during the afternoon in the 50s. overnight tonight, mostly clear. mid-30s by dawn. friday increaseing clouds form. rain likely friday night into the first half or so of saturday. drying out saturday afternoon. sun back sunday. have a good afternoon. see you tomorrow morning.

>> all right tom, thank you. and that's "news4 midday" for this thursday. thank you for being with us and invite you to tune in for news at 4:00 5:00 and 6:00 and tonight at 11:00 and we'll be back tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. for "news4 midday." until then he a terrific day.

[knock at door] >> will: it's open.

>> lucas: hey. where's my girl? >> will: ari's napping. >> lucas: oh. what's all this? >> will: notes and artifacts from paul's interview. i'm looking for something i can use to get him out of salem. i don't care what it takes, dad. i am not going to let him ruin my marriage. >> tori: thank you for meeting me. i would have had you come up to my room, but it was being cleaned. >> paul: oh, well, i'd suggest us grabbing a cup of coffee, but that would involve the risk of us being seen in public. >> tori: paul... i told you last night that i've always been proud of you and always will be.