p. say good-bye to the cold at least for a day. you're look live at the tidal basin where the cherry blossoms are on the verge of budding and showing off their colors. and where you'll find much more pleasant conditions this morning. >> #sandalday. later. tom kierein here with your weather headlines. >> but right now, those blossoms are still bundled up. p live view from the storm team 4 tower camera there is the washington monument under a clear sky. big nearly full moon. chilly morning, and then a breezy and mild afternoon. tomorrow showers and thunder looking likely. some showers in the morning and maybe some thunder showers in the afternoon. right now chill in the air, but most locations above freezing. bowie at 34. but most of the area in the upper 30s to near 40. farther south and west, right now we're hovering near 30 in prince william county and fauquier, but allowloudoun and most

of fairfax near 40. next we'll have a look at your drive time commute forecast for the day ahead. and speaking of the commute, melissa has a new crash. >> brand new crash right near dale city. we're talking about 95 south at 234, we have the left lane blocked. seeing a lot of volume northbound here and not much of a slowdown going south. but the left lane is blocked. as far as metro, blue and yellow line delays to s tos to largo and mt. vernon square because of a switch problem. wide look at things overall everything moving quite nicely. taking a look at 66 a little slow as you're headed inbound through manassas here. and then again 95 dale city a little slow there northbound. prince george's county overall pretty green. a little yellow branch avenue headed in to town. back at 6:11 with travel times. staying on top of breaking news. kenya's disaster operation center just more than doubled

the number of injured. 65 wounded. at least 15 dead but that number could change. it's still a very chaotic screen at garissa community college. police have cornered some of the masked gun men but we hear attacker respect may have taken some hostage. just three days ago, president obama announced plans to visit the east african nation in july. 6:02. more breaking news this time in prince george's county. police still on the scene of what appears to be a shooting this morning. this is right on the tooesd.c. line in seat pleasant. derrick ward is at the scene working to learn more. >> reporter: we understand it was around midnight when police responded to this address here off of eastern avenue. actually 62nd place is the address at seat pleasant.they responded to report of a shooting. this remains a scene, we don't know exactly what type of shooting it was.

we have heard that it may have been fatal, but we're waiting to hear back from seat pleasant police about whether or not that is indeed the case. the street is open, but this is a rather large crime scene. it stretches from 62nd place to the parking lot of this discounts mart which borders martin luther king and eastern avenue. as i said police remain on the scene and we are still trying to get information about exactly what happened here. take a look at the scene earlier this morning, as you can see, massive police presence. often they are waiting for sunlight so they can process the scene a bit more thoroughly. but they remain on the scene of this incident and we will bring you whatever information there is once it becomes available. we're live on the d.c. line. derrick ward news 4. 6:03. today university of maryland students will sound off about a controversial echl mailversecontroversial e-mail september by oig by a former student. an investigation found most of

the keptcontent was protected by the first amendment. the author of the e-mail has released a statement saying in part i know there is no way to erase will this incident or the agony it has caused. but i want you to know that i will strive to never use such language again. governor mcauliffe is reexamining the law enforcement role of the alcohol beverage control department. this comes after the violence arrest of a black university of virginia student. 20-year-old martese johnson was left bloodied after the arrest which led to protests. the "washington post" reports governor mcauliffe met with black community leaders and students in charlottesville yesterday. in addition to a.b.c. reforms, the group discussed the use of excessive force and police responsibility. uva's campus newspaper is apologizing for its april fools' prank that referenced johnson's arrest. the headline read a.b.c. agents tackle native american student

outside bodo's bagels. the apology reads in part we are embarrassed that our empathy was yupd mined by this piece. we had no intentions of vehicle timmizing another underrepresented community in the process. the report also published an april fools' story about a fraternity holding a rosa parks themed party. a developing story this morning. lawmakers in arkansas have only five days for make changes to a controversial religious freedom law. governor asa hutchison told reporters he won't sign the bill in its current form. many say the law could be used to just guy discriminal nas against the gay community. hutchison says even his own son signed a petition asking him to veto the bill. hutchison hutchison's decision comes in the wake of an onslaught in indiana. as early as today, we could see those lawmakers propose a fix to the law that was signed.

governor mike pence back pedaled on his support for the law this week after a nationwide uproar here. he has asked for a change in the law by tomorrow. catholic bishops in indiana have condemned the law and a christian group says it's moving its 2017 general assembly from indiana. a little later this hour, we'll have a live report from gabe guttierez on how this is spilling over into 2016. you know exactly what this individual is doing. okay some about. >> do you -- >> this individual continues to extort individuals. >> stop it. new problems for virginia lawmaker why he found himself caught in loud confrontation right outside a courthouse. a much more pleasant start to your day now has us using the #sandalday. what you can expect on your way it work. and putting your grocery store to the test. which stores are getting high prize in these new rankings.

virginia department of elections is looking in to serious concerns with voting equipment used in the november 2014 general election. during the elections, there were reports of irregularities and technical problems like issues with the touch screens. they say the wireless capability makes it vulner able to ner ablnerability nernerable to cyber attack. the board hopes to find a solution by june's primaries. new this morning, a look at the best places for you to get your groceries. consumer reports just released its list of best and worst grossers. the store with theest freshest

fruit goes to wegmans. publix trader joe's and costco make the top in overall rankings.air eric came xwn . >> i wish they had a wegmans in d.c.. >> my favorite one is the one that is clothes to mesissest closest to me. >> makes a lot of sense. 6:11 is our time p. a live look at the tidal basin. beautiful picture on this-what kay day is it? thursday. >> and i think this nice weather might coach the buds to come out. >> you could see them popping out later today. right now we have a soul warming sunrise under way. live view pre-dawn glow. sunrise 6:52.

radar scanning the sky, no rain in the have a missvicinity. might have some this time tomorrow. increasing clouds late afternoon, but temperatures up around 70 degrees in the metro area. and coming up at 6:21 a look at the rain timing for friday. melissa has an update on more metro delays. >> these just popped up. we've been talking about blue and yellow lines to largo and mount vernon square, but we now also have orange line delays to vienna. as far as travel times, 270 south germantown to the beltway on time. outer loop top of the beltway also on tonight. 95 to 270. 66 east and 95 north looking at those, 66 no problem. 95 north you're about 15 minutes behind between quantico and the beltway. when you hop in your car, listen to wtop 103.5 fm. he made national news when he found himself fighting to receive a heart transplant.

now this teen is making headlines again. we'll show you why. >> the indiana business that is finding itself caught in the middle of that state's religious freedom fight.

you know exactly what will skrid is vid individual is doing. >> dramatic confrontation between a father and daughter. a virginia lawmaker at the center of it. former delegate joe morrissey has been accused of having annen appropriate relationship with that woman. her father clearly upset about it. morrissey pled guilty last year to a misdemeanor related to his relationship with the woman. she was a teenager at the time. he have sentenced to six months in jail. during the day he remained in the virginia legislature. in court yesterday, a judge dismissed charges against morrissey which accused him of forging documents related to his previous plea. johns hopkins hospital and university fising a billion dollar lawsuit. it's alleged hopkins conducted human experiments in yacht moleguatemala in the '40s. several victims and their families say hopkins doctors and

the u.s. government infected children psychiatric patients and prison inmates with sexually transmitted diseases. the study was to test whether penicillin could treat stds. hopkins says its doctors never directly took part in the experiment experiments. today robert durst is expected back in court. today's preliminary hearing is on gun and drug charges. durst was the subject of hbo's the jinx oig. he was arrested last month in new orleans. durst is accused of killing susan berman 15 years ago in los angeles. 6:17. police say someone killed a nine month old girl in leesburg. dech devyn ellis died last october. medical examiner says it was from blunts force trauma to the head. ellis' father says she went limp while he was feeding her. no one has been charged, but the father is barred from seeing a

new babiedy edhe had with their mother last week. a group of women suing a businessman for willinged aly putting cameras inside a bathroom. the baltimore sun reporting the late e.st lawsuit is worth $20 million. he's charged with putting a hidden camera inside the rams head tavern women's restroom in 014. he was arrested in february. another woman filed a $3 million lawsuit in march. u.s. postal service says it's making changes to make a don'tity safe. betty lou vest was hit while crossing the street to get her mail. she died. now everyone on frederick service will have to move their mail boxes to the side of the street mch they live. mail carriers will also change their routes in response. still no word on who hung this noose it the duke university early yesterday morning outside of a building that houses the center for

sexual and gender diversity. and the center for multicultural affairs. school official called it a hateful and stupid act. the atlanta teen who received national attention two years ago after doctors turned down his request for a heart transplant died after trying to rob an old ladies. anthony stokes did get that heart transplant in 2013. doctors say they originally denied the request because of his brushes with the law. police say stokes died on tuesday after he crashed a stolen car in roswell, georgia. he was involved in a high speed chase after reportedly trying to break into an 81-year-old woman's home. stokes hit a 33-year-old pedestrian during that chase, as well. she is currently in the hospital in taeblstable condition. a simple message that could safe your life. doreen gensler has details on what you should do if you're experiencing heart problems. >> if you're dealing with a medical emergency and need to get to the hospital do you drive yourself are or call 911?

well new research is finding it that most people take themselves to the hospital and that's causing major delays in their care. delays that can lead to death. according to a new study, nearle quarters of patients with heart symptoms are driving themselves to the hospital instead of calling 911. doctors say not only can it impact how fast they get care but it could also be >> number one concern you have they might have sudden death and driving an automobile and having sudden death is not a good combination obviously. coming up tonight at 6:00, find out why patients are skipping the pair headramedics and arriving ing risking their lives. >> police police! >> you are looking at police body camera video from an officer's response to a tornado in moore, oklahoma. with the report of a touchdown oig last week officers head directly to the damaged hear to help. he they encountered homes with

roofs torn off and belongings thrown around. they went door to door to make sure no one was stuck inside. >> the tremendous effort that they make to try to find survivors. amazing work that they do. >> 6:21 is our time and we are looking at a sunny day to start and some warm air, too. >> can't wait. tom kierein here with your weather and traffic on the 1s at 6:21. tom, tell us the good news. >> yeah it will be nice this afternoon. right now though, a chill in the air. we have light winds, but those winds will be increasing as we get into the afternoon. that increases our wildfire risk. i took this photo of a wildfire northern montgomery county on tuesday, it blackened about 50 acres with that blistery wind and low humidity today, we have another wildfire risk today. right now temperatures are hovering in the upper 30s to near 40 in montgomery, prince george's county and fairfax counties. in washington it's right they're 40. near 40 by the chesapeake bay. a few spots below freezing. that includes parts of prince

william county fauquier county and toward culpeper. a live view from the tower camera. sunrise at 6:52. we'll have about a 30 degree jump from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. up to near 70 degrees by then. noontime lunch hour, it should be climbing into the 60s. those winds will be gusting to around 25 miles an hour during the afternoon. here is rain timing for tomorrow. in the morning, this is as of around 6:00 to 7:00 a.m. this area in glean a little bit of light rain coming across the metro area. and then that heads off to the north and east. it may settle down a bit. 3:00 p.m. could get thundershowers near the pennsylvania border. maybe a few of those just south of washington by 5:00 p.m.. later in the evening, another round of thundershowers coming through late friday night would you ending by dawn on saturday. tomorrow the low 70s. blustery winds will continue on saturday. but cooler with sunshine. sunday the low 60s. looking good for the nats home

opener on monday into the 60s. and then maybe some rain moves in on tuesday and wednesday. county by county highs today, next weather address trafficnd traffic on the 1s. still have metro delays blue and yellow line delays to largo and mt. vernon square and then again orange line day delays to vienna. still hanging around. we tweeted about them, as well. inner loop approaching 66 headlights are inner loop, this is chopper 6 up over that area. not seeing any crash. just wanted to show you volume. 66 headed into town not having any problems right now. just a little bit slow as you're going through vienna and then as you're approaching oak top.ton. out of town no issues. 95 south at 234, the accident on the shoulder. still slow through dale city. and wide look at thing, slow in all our normal spots. i'm back at 6:31, weather and traffic always on the 1s.

controversy over so-called religious freedom laws is now putting potential presidential candidates on the spot. it's an issue many may not have wanted to weigh this on. gabe guttierez joins us now live with what these candidates are saying. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. certainly controversy that is sweeping the nation and is already could be having an impact on the 2016 presidential race. hillary clinton weighing in ahead of the arkansas governor refusing to sign that bill tweeting out encouraging him to veto. so far senator ted cruz the only official candidate to announce he put out a statement saying that the backlash against this is part of a concerted attack on the first amendment. other potential candidates for example jeb bush he's standing by indiana governor mike pence, but he and other potential candidates like marco rubio are weighing in carefully trying to strike a general message of

inclusion. this issueing to the social conservatives as well as business leaders who here in indiana certainly wants the controversy to go away. this is all kind ever the bigger picture, 2016 presidential race as lawmakers here in indianapolis are rushing to clarify the language of that controversial state law. the same thing is happening right now in arkansas. we expect to hear more from those gop house leaders, as well when they hold a news conference later on this morning with business leaders to discuss a possible deal. >> gabe guttierez, live for us. thank you. a pizza shop is closed after its owner said that it would not indicator for same sex owners made that comment in a at interview. after that, we saw how the shop

was blasted online including denies of comments posted yelp reviews that were just one star reviews on that web sites. supporters then sartstarted a go fund me page to raise money for the store while it's closed. they have raised more than $49,000 so far as of right now. >> a new poll says a majority of americans believe businesses should be allowed to refuse service for religious reasons. the poll was put out by the a.p. and gfk. 57% of those polled said wedding related businesses should be brmted for deny gay and lesbian couples service. 39% said they think that is not okay. new developments in the death of a d.c. attorney. what we're learning about the person arrested in his murder. making it harder for light up. the potential new restrictions for smokers in the district. and shaping up to be a day you'll want to spend out at the

tidal basin maybe. high temperatures you can expect in the hours ahead. here at metro, our first priority is your safety, so let's discuss what you should do if there's an emergency involving fire or smoke. if you're in a station, move away from the platform and begin walking to the nearest exit. if you're on a train, notify the operator using the intercom located at either end of the railcar. follow the operator's instructions and remain calm. unless you are in immediate danger you are safest staying inside the train. if necessary, when the train is stopped, you can use the end doors to move to another car in the train. if you must evacuate, emergency exits are located in the center of each railcar. lift the release cover - a wire will

break away, pull down the red handle and slide the left door panel open. watch your step on the emergency walkway, and never touch the lower part of the railcar, which could be electrified. and for your safety, never cross over to the other track. on behalf of everyone at metro thank you for paying attention to our safety presentation. welcome aboard. ♪ ♪ wow something sounds sweet in

here!!!! ♪ ♪ need a little honey in the bowl. yeah!!! badabopbopbopa!!! no? must be the honey!!!

if your family is planning a visit, we can tell you we're starting to see signs of pink at the tidal basbasin. take a live look. the national park service says you can see a little cherry blossom buds on 70% about of the trees there. we'll see more very soon. peak bloom is expected betwe11 and 14. >> even though they're not yet in bloom, there are a lot of events you can go to for the cherry blossom festival. today there is a special art demonstration at reagan national airport, that is happening this afternoon. one guy following all the color for us tom kierein. >> yeah, those blossoms have their jackets on. we're hovering around 40 at the tidal basin. but later today, delightful. may be coaxing some blossoms to come out. temperatures will be near 70. northern suburbs in the upper 60s. across northern virginia a

delightful day, should be around 70 degrees. bit of a blustery wind developing later this afternoon p. could have gusts to around 25 miles per hour coming up from the south, so that will bring in cooler waters off the bay. so counties near the chesapeake bay, a little cooler with highs in the 60s there. and counties along the pennsylvania border should be in the upper 60s, blustery winds will. partly cloudy. shenandoah valley into the mountains should be hovering around 70 to upper 60s. a delightful spring day coming up. another crash? brand new crash outer loop at central avenue. 214. you can see we're seeing real slowdowns. we nshinitially heard this was off to the shoulder now hearing lane left lane is blocked. 66 at the 50 all these folks inbound, you can see chopper 4 over the scene. showing you volume. blue and yellow line delays to largo and mt. vernon square.

orange line delays popped back up. so it looks like we still do have orange line delays. wide look a things, overall looking pretty typical. again, you can see slowdowns outer loop through prince george's county as we expect. 95 in hear lapdmaryland, no problem. i'll be back with travel times. today the former principal of a middle school in laurel are will be this court. lawyers are making their closing arguments in dwight jefferson's child abuse case. he's accuse of assaulting a student at dwight eisenhower middle school while talking with the student about being late for class. surveillance cameras helped police find a woman connected to the murder of a local attorney. officers arrested jamyra gallmon yesterday. they say cameras captured her on the nift the murder. investigators are arrested her last night. david messerschmitt was found stabbed to death in his room.

sources tell news 4 gallmon was there for a sexual encounter with the lawyer. detectives used online communications between the two to track her down. today students at american university are asking them to make sexual assault part of the curriculum. it begins at 1:00 p.m.. developing story now at least 54 people are dead after a fishing boat sang owing off thek off the coast of russia. 132 crew members were on the boat at the time. at least 15 are still unaccounted for. the initial reports say the ship may have collided with drifting ice. prosecutors will wrap their case against aaron hernandez today. the former new england patriots player is accused of killing owe dip lloyd this 2013. lloyd was dating the sister of hernandez's fiance sister. the murder trial is in its second month. her thannandez has pleaded not guilty. the death of the than shot

by police in the days on following hurricane katrina is now being called a homicide. glover's death was originally undeermun undetermined undetermined. coroner now says it appears glover was killed by another person. unclear whether there will be any legal repercussions. the officer who shot him has been being a quitted by a federal jury. the officer said he believed glover was armed. another officer who burned glover's body is serving a 17 year sentence. u.s. senator defiant and now facing a lengthy legal battle. new jersey democrat bob menendez was indicted on corruption charges yesterday. the justice department says he used his officer to help a doctor milk medicare for millions of dollars and to get visas for several of the doctor's girl friends. in return d.o.j. says menendez accepted contributions and lavish trips. menendez says he isn't giving up his senate seat. >> i'm angered because prosecutors don't know the

difference between friendship and corruption and have chosen to twist my duties as a senator and my friend ship into something that is improper. they are dead wrong and i'm confident that they will be proven so. >> menendez faces 14 criminal counts. he will step down as ranking member on the foreign relations committee. a virginia judge took matters in to his own hands when he caught an intruder inside his home p. this happened early yesterday morning in fredericksburg. the police there say that judge james haley jr. saw the stranger in his hallway. when police arrived, the judge was holding the man at gunpoint. police charged matthew rogers with public intoxication among other charges. today family and friends will remember a spotsylvania county teen who died in a plane crash. ryan mccall was at the controls of that plane when it crashed this past weekend. he was 16. mccall's family is holding a funeral service at 6:00 tonight. he will be buried tomorrow morning. today maryland's governor is speaking out against bullying. governor larry hogan will head

to prince george's county today to speak with students. he'll tell them about the importance of standing up to bullying. hogan adds his voice to the growing concerns about bullying and social media as another way someone can be bullied. preparing for the pope's visit to d.c.. the security measures you will see going up in northwest washington. plus some smokers could soon find themselves being turned away. proposed restrictions that could be put in place. a live look at the tidal base p for you where conditions today will be perfect for a walk. tom has your what to wear forecast. if

. it a look at this video as a jockey does a somersault after falling off his horse. this happened in the uk. jockey's name is lewis ferguson.

medical crews were ready to take ferguson away on a stretcher but as you can see, he got to his feet walked away unharmed. many racing ennews yipgss have described it as one of the worst falls they have ever seen. >> good thing he didn't hurt systems. legal smoking age may be on the rise. mcduffy introduced a bill that radio raise the minimum age from 18 to 21. mcduffy says research shows that introducing people to tobacco later in life can save lives. new york city passed a similar bill last year. he also introduced a bill that would ban the sale of powered alcohol, as well. coming up on 6:41. beautiful image behind us as the sun starts to come up. want to get to your weather and traffic on the 1s. >> sun comes up in a clear sky, there issis a chill in the air. you'll be comfortable with sandals and shorts later this afternoon. you'll need sunglasses. we'll have bright sun throughout

most of the day. bus stop this morning we'll be in the upper 30s near 0. and then between 8:00 and 9:00 hovering near 40. look at rain timing at 6:51. breaking news outer loop approaching central avenue we have a 4 mile backup. there was an earlier crash. it's cleared out of the way, but delays remain. if you can avoid that section, you'll want forto do it. delays to vienna. we pushed out the information. 270 south germantown to the beltway, a little slow. outer loop ten minutes behind. 66 inbound looks good. authority northbound 95 in virginia you're ten minutes behind. no laughing matter. the april fools' joke that is forcing a student newspaper at uva to apologize. >> we're watching breaking news

out of kenya right now where a gunfight is playing out on a college campus after an apparent terrorist attack. we're watching the developments unfold from the live desk.

right now we're watching a pair of breaking news stories for you. first a violent scene playing out at a university in kenya after a group of gun men stormed

the campus. we're also following a breaking situation in seat pleasant. in the last 20 minutes, we've learned this police scene is in fact a homicide investigation after an overnight shooting. this is a live look. derrick ward will update us in just a minute. but first, your weather and traffic on the 1s. >> good morning. starting off this morning with a chill in the air and clear sky. your hour by hour forecast over the next 12 hours, by 8:00 temperatures will begin to climb into the low 40s. bright and sunny day today by noon jumping if into the low 60s. by late afternoon, should be hitting near 70. that along with a blustery wind gusts to around 25 miles an hour. >> have a new problem chopper 4 over this 395 north at duke street we have two different crashes in the right lane. you'll have to stay left on get by. so chopper over this. you can see the volume here. going to cause a big problem this morning. our other issue, outer loop

approaching central avenue 4 mile backup. 14 before the hour. breaking news in prince george's county. police still on the scene of what appears to be a shooting. this is right on the d.c. line in seat pleasant maryland. derrick ward on the scene working to learn more. >> reporter: well, indeed this is a homicide investigation we've learned that now from our sources. i'll step out of the way and let you take a look he sceneat the scene. it appears to be focused on the parking lot of the discounts mart. police responded around 62nd place and eastern avenue. when they to the here they found a male deceased, pronounced dead on the scene.to the here, they found a male deceased, pronounced dead on the scene. detectives just arriving on the scene and you can take a look at the scene earlier, a massive police response here. and again, a lot of attention seeming to focus on the parking lot here off of 62nd place of the discount mart.

it's right at the enterintersection of eastern avenue and martin luther king on the d.c. line p. of course on the maryland side now. seat pleasant police are handling the investigation. we hope to bring you more information as it becomes veil available. we don't have an identity of course on the suspect -- victim or information on any possible suspects. hopefully that information will be fort comehcoming later today. derrick ward news 4. an offensive e-mail is setting the stage if an open forum today at 3:00 p.m.. a former kappa sigma fraternity member was kicked off campus for an e-mail containing references of rape and several racial slurs. but an investigation found most of the content was protected by the first amendment. that's according to an e-mail from president lowe obtained by campus newspaper. the author of the e-mail released a statement saying in part quote, i want you to know that i will strive to never use

such language again. virginia governor terry mcauliffe is reexamining the law enforcement role of the alcoholic beverage control department. this comes after the violence arrest of a black university of virginia student. 20-year-old martese johnson was left bloodied after that arrest which led to protests. "washington post" reports governor mcauliffe met with black community leaders and students yesterday. in addition to a.b.c. reforms, the group discussed the use of excessive force and police responsibility. uva's campus newspaper apologizing for its april fools' prank. headline headline a.b.c. agents tackle native american student. they say we are embarrassed our empathy was undermined by this piece. we had no intention of victimizing another underrepresented group. i'm poe let green following

breaking news out of kenya. just got word one suspected terrorist is now in police custody. the interior ministry tweeted the arrest came as the man tried to get away from the siege as this college campus this is near the somali border. one student describes seeing at least five gunmen and says christians were shot theon the shot. 15 have died as masked men stormed this compound and took an unknown number of hostages. and al qaeda linked group has claimed responsibility. developing this morning, investigators have questioned the parents of the co-pilot who crashed a plane in the french alps. and we're learning andreas lubitz may have lied to his doctors. according to the german daily "bild" newspaper, lubitz told his doctors he was on medical leave for an eye condition but he was in fact still flying commercial planes. investigators started the process of identifying the

victims in the germanwings crash. all 150 people on board were killed last month. the u.s. transportation second will talk about being safe behind the wheel during an event in d.c. today. secretary anthony fox will be at rfk stadium to talk about distracted driving. april is distracted driving awareness month. the vatican embassy and secret service want p to create a papal security perimeter for the pope's visit to the district later this year. the embassy plans on add a 6-foot fence around its embassy row campus on massachusetts avenue in northwest washington. the fence will be attractive and compatible with the building. pope plan sisfrancised is scheduled to visit philadelphia new york and washington during his five day visit. and as many of you observe holy puigweek it seems you like the new leader. 55% of americans think highly of pope francis.

among catholics, more than 70% view him in a positive light. popen francis ranks highly overhead pope benedict. the same poll back in 2013 showed only 30% americans had positive thoughts toward him and the latest leader ranks up with therewith pope john paul. 6:51. and we can take a look at this picture all day long. beautiful colors on display there. tom, no clouds in the sky really to speak of this morning. a spring day you would hope for. >> these are the days we were pining for just two days ago. it's here but we're not pining for the pollen. it is back. pollen starting on get swirling around here with a little bit of a wind thorn. live view from the capital camol camera looking at union station. but it will get windy this afternoon. therefore a wildfire risk has increased today with blustery

winds and low humidity. i took this photo of a wildfire northern montgomery county on tuesday. it had blackened about 50 acres with those winds gusts around 25 to 30 plrn. temperatures chilly upper 30s to near 40 now. most of the metro area. a few isolated spots with a little below freezing. there is the sunrise, 6:52 right on time coming up live view from tower camera in a clear sky today. temperatures will jump. look at the steep climb with our temperature xwraf here.graph here. 60s by noon and near 70 by late afternoon. blustery winds and increasing clouds. clouds closing in overnight tonight. here is the timing on rain arriving. this will be 3:00, 5:00 in the morning, light showers coming through the area in green. enough to make the commute wet tomorrow morning. and then it may settle down a bit around noontime and then another round of showers and maybe rumbles of thunder coming in, this is as of 3:00 p.m.. these may be north of us this, area in the yellow and orange tracking just north of the metro

area. maybe a few scattered showers and thundershowers. late friday night, another round of showers come on through maybe rumbles of thunder. then they should be gone by dawn on saturday. highs tomorrow low 70s with those showers around. and breezy tomorrow too. still rather breezy on saturday. chillier with highs around 60. and then sunday, partly cloudy beautiful day, low 60s. play ball moonnday opening day, great weather for baseball. melissa has breaking news. 395 north as you're approaching duke, we are completely jammed. chopper 4 over the scene. two crashes off to the right. thanks for zooming out. you can see that big delay. outer loop approaching central avenue, we push this out, as well, on the nbc washington app, we have a 4 mile backup through that section of prince george's county. if you can avoid it you'll want to. just heard in my ear that the

orange line delays have resolved themselves. don't have any problems there. wide look at things, overall looking pretty typical with the exception of prince george's county. 66 through manassas inbound a little slow. 95 northbound the entire way slow from dale city up. about 45 miles an hour. 95 in maryland, bw parkway looking pretty good. 270 south at montrose rolling along nicely. 6:54. new this morning, we're taking a look at the best places to do your food shopping. consumer reports just released its list. store with the freshest fooded goes to wegmans. trader joe's wranked high on courtesy public publix trader joe's and costco all made the top ten in overall rankings. so what about the worst? cleanest and cheapest? erika gonzalez will have all those results later today at 5:00. a developing story right now. lawmakers in arkansas have only five days to make changes to a controversial religious freedom

law. governor hutchison says he won't sign the bill in its current form. he says even his own son signed a a petition asking him to veto the bill. his decision comes in the wake of an onslaught against lawmakers in indiana over a similar law. as early as today, those lawmakers could propose a fix. governor mike pence back pedaled on his support for the law this week after a nation wide furor. he's asked for a change to the law by tomorrow. catholic bishops in indiana have condemned the law. lots of places including d.c. have banned official travel to indiana because of that law. we've learned maryland will not join them. according to the "washington post," governor larry hogan denied a request to issue the same restrictions p. post says montgomery county delegate who is openly gay asked the governor to institute that ban. today mayor bowser is expected to layout how the district will pay for her new

initiatives. she'll share her proposed 2016 budget with the d.c. council in just a few hours. this comes on the heels of big promises this her state of the district address, she vowed to get the d.c. street cars running and to give body cameras to d.c. police. she also pledged to improve public safety housing, education and economic opportunity. here are four things to know before you head out. at the least 15 people are dead and more than 60 hurt after a gunman stormed a college campus in kenya. look for a live report coming up on the "today" show. we're working to find out more about the woman now under arrest accused of murdering a local attorney at a d.c. hotel. police say 21-year-old jamyra balance monday gallmon was meeting david messerschmitt for sex. and today there is an open forum in reaction to a former student's e-mail containing references to rape and racial

slurs about women. we're staying on top of a possible shooting in prince george's county. heavy police activity going on in seat pleasant right on the district line. we have learned that this is a homicide investigation they're in the middle of. that is the broadcast this morning. we appreciate you waking up with us. >> the "today" show is next. we'll be back in 25 minutchrissy teigen.

breaking news masked gunmen storm a college campus in kenya. at least 15 people are dead 60 more wounded. others being held hostage right now and the terror group al shabaab is claiming the responsibility. new threats. the mid-west and southwest brace for a third straight day of violent storms. al is tracking it all. back in court, accused murder robert further goes to court. this morning, an exclusive look at the final hours before his arrest including a look inside the hotel room where he was trying to flee the country. easier said than done why doctors are telling pope frances to lay off the process, today,