right now, what's being described as an historic meeting. i'm barbara harrison with what's bringing 650 metro managers together at this hour. pictures seem unreal, take a look at that. eun yang with the destruction of these homes the tornadoes in florida ripped off their foundations. >> radar showing more on the way, i'm storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein. i've got the new hour by hour timing. news 4 midday starts now. i'm at the live

breaking news. an officer in the freddie gray chase has chosen a bench trial rather than a trial by jury. baltimore police officer edward nero faces assault charges in the death of freddie gray. officer nero was one of the first baltimore police officers to arrest gray last year. investigators say gray died from injuries he sustained after officers put him in the back of a police van. six baltimore police officers face charges in his death. nero's trial is expected to begin thursday and last about five days. new today fairfax county police making changes after an officer shot and killed a man. in the last hour they spoke about increasing transparency and news 4 ice kristin wright was there. she's now live at police headquarters. >> reporter: the fairfax county police department has been working with this group on the use of force and also on how to de-escalate situations, so that is the discussion going on inside

morning. this is a very important discussion. the chief started out by talking about the police response on march 2nd, when a 19-year-old man with weapons opened fire on officers in franconia. just now the chief played the 911 call and explained how his officers were able to take a man into custody and nobody got hurt. it's that philosophy, they call it the sanctity of human life that the police department has been working on with this group. now, the chief says all sworn officers have almost completed the first stage of mandatory retraining. now, a lot of this goes back to john gear. he was shot and killed by a fairfax county police officer while standing unarmed in the doorway of his home in springfield in 2013. that shooting led to protests and so many questions about the use of force, about fairfax county government procedures and about communication with the public. so listen to the chief here just a little while ago

his officers were able to handle that situation in march. >> however, the officers in this situation through all the training, philosophy and principles at sanctity human life were able to use less lethal force in the form of a bean bag round and .40 millimeter round to take him down and wrestle with a canine officer further contain him. >> reporter: so the board of supervisors will officially act on these recommendations next month in june. now, to read this report and to see how it was done, open the nbc washington app and search fairfax county police, back to you. thanks, kristin. today all of metro's 650 managers are being held accountable for safety. general manager is calling them together for a first of its kind meeting. he's also talking about his massive maintenance plan to repair 15 critical areas of metro rail. wiedefeld is trying to

a source tells transportation reporter adam tuss that could include major staff changes. adam is at today's meeting. follow him on twitter where he just posted a picture of a handout at the meeting that reads in part, managers are accountable. and take a look at this incredible video. just monster storms causing devastation throughout the south in oklahoma. nbc's gabe gutierrez shows us what these tornadoes left behind. >> reporter: it is a rare intense glimpse at nature's fury. a deadly monster tornado almost a mile wide captured up close on camera chewing through everything in its path. this morning wynnewood, oklahoma, is assessing the damage, no structure spared, brick homes, mobile homes, wood framed barns ripped apart. >> it just blew off of its foundation there and is pretty much parked in the driveway.

dozen twisters hammered this state all evening. >> hit another barn or another structure. >> reporter: across the country at least 19 reported tornadoes. >> it's ripping the town apart. >> reporter: but today it is the small things in wynnewood that loom large. >> anniversary card. we're okay. >> reporter: lisa buckner survived by racing to her emergency understood ground shelter. >> it was scary. very scary, especially by yourself. >> reporter: her home is shredded, but her will is not. >> never in my life. i don't want to do it ever again. it was horrifying. >> reporter: her home obliterated, ripped from its foundation. today, drier weather is expected and that should help the cleanup efforts, but here they're bracing for another potential round of severe weather tomorrow. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, wynnewood, oklahoma. w

being unreal and then realize the destruction left behind and these poor people face the reality of trying to build back up again. terrible. >> luckily for us our big news is just the rain we've been having. >> and you can see here on storm team 4 radar that it continues to move our way. and tom kierein is here now to tell us if it's ever going to end, tom. >> how do i break this to you gently? >> there's no way. >> let's say it's not going to be real sunny the rest of the day, though we might see a little sun by later this afternoon. we have a little more light rain here just south of la ray and north of there coming into the panhandle of west virginia. right now don't really have any rain, just a few sprinkles near olney along the howard county line. otherwise we're just going to stay cloudy for another couple hours. then a little rain does begin to move back in. right now temperatures hovering in the upper 50s to around 60. reagan national now at 58. upper 50s around the bay. and off to our north and west where they are getting a

mid 50s. once the rain goes by might get a little sun breaking out this afternoon. a little more tonight. we'll look at that hour by hour timing coming up. thank you, tom. a car hit a pole this morning causing a trfic mess in fairfax. police tweeted a picture of the scene chlgt the accident shut down westbound little river turnpike between braddock road and pine crest. this morning the families of those killed in the maryland shopping center shootings are sharing memories of their loved ones. malcolm winfeld died after trying to help the woman at the westfield montgomery mall in bethesda. his wife said she always knew he was a hero. >> he was the most selfless person you've ever met. he was awesome in every way. he was my better half. >> and co-workers of claudina described her as a woman from bolivia who achieved american dream. she died in the parking lot of a giant store in

the estranged wife of the shooter was shot outside of high point high school in prince george's county. her co-workers called her a happy chemistry teacher. and suspected gunman may have stopped his crime spree because he lost his glasses. that new piece of information was revealed during his first court appearance yesterday. prosecutors said he lost them in a violent struggle with claudina, the woman killed in the parking lot outside of ji t giant. he is now charged with three counts of first-degree murder, two in montgomery county. he was ordered held without bond. two women are badly hurt in what prince william county police are calling a domestic incide incident. officers were called to chaste tree place where the incident turned physical. investigators have not said if either woman is facing charges. the self-proclaimed nova creeper is facing child pornography charges now. 47-year-old

turned himself in yesterday. they say he was sharing images of child important using the kick app. the giant grocery store and green briar shopping center was one of his favorite stocking grounds apparently. shoppers say the whole situation is disturbing. >> to go in to the store and buy stuff, last thing you want or think is someone's going to take pictures of you and post it to other people. like that's just disturbing. >> loudon county detectives found bishop after busting another man for child important earlier this year. there is a warning for people who park a gmc or chevrolet vehicle in fairfax county. police say since february someone has been snatching tires and rims all across the county. corvettes, suvs and trucks have been targeted. fairfax police are looking for this ford explorer they believe was involved. take a look here's a picture last seen on april 3rd on shadow lane in fairfax. if you have

today, facebook is responding to allegations it routinely suppresses certain news stories. >> plus, live desk looking into information just released by the white house. the trip president obama will ecome the first sittbin

morning noon or night there's always a moment to discover visit annapolis and create your moment new developments. police in germany say a man confessed to stabbing four people at a

morning. however, there's no evidence this was a terrorist attack. instead police say the man was -- has had drug problems and they're concerned about his mental health. one of the people who was stabbed this morning died. the others are recovering. today, thousands of north koreans celebrated the first full ruling party in congress in many years and threw off a mass rally. kim jong-un presided over the parade. the congress also endorsed his nuclear and economic policies. kim jong-un said he was willing to work with countries during speeches this week. today's crowd could be heard chanting, glory to our belove d leader. i'm melissa at the live desk. president obama planning to pay a historic visit to hiroshima later this month. this will be the first visit by a sitting american president to the site where the u.s. dropped

there's been a lot of anticipation about the president's visit. last month u.s. secretary of state john kerry visited the memorial right there at the bombing site. the white house says obama will visit with japan's prime minister while he's there. the president will be in japan to attend a g-7 economic summit. eun. thank you. for the first time this election cycle there will be more democrats battling than republicans for votes. west virginia holding a primary and also gop primary in nebraska. we break down the challenges bernie sanders fights to stay in the race. >> we are going to fight for every vote until june 14th. >> reporter: just a few hours ago in sacramento bernie sanders told a late-night crowd of 15,000 he expects to win today's primary in west virginia, then california, plus five other states. >> donald trump is not going to become president

>> reporter: trump's already tapped former rival chris christie to head his transition team, and courting top republicans in washington in separate meetings on thursday. speaker paul ryan now says he's willing to step down as convention chair. he's the nominee, i'll do whatever he wants, ryan says. but trump's looking past the convention, bringing up bill clinton to cnn. >> he was impeached. he was impeached. and then he lied about it. >> i have nothing to say about him and how he's running his campaign. >> reporter: clinton calls trump's ideas expanding nuclear weapons, pulling out of nato reckless and dangerous. she's courting female voters. >> i've been on the equal pay bandwagon for a long time -- >> reporter: but bracing for a loss in west virginia today. but she does claim to be competitive in kentucky. in fact, the clinton campaign already has new ads lined up for kentucky later this week. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. facebook is denying claims

its site. check it out this is today's cover of the "new york post" highlighting toetd's accusations coming after a former facebook news curator told the tech site some articles are deliberately left off of the trending topics side bar because they come from known conservative news outlets. facebook says it has rigorous guidelines to defend against that. an estimated 1.6 billion people look at facebook on a regular basis. the mother of michael brown says she will never forget the day her son was killed by a ferguson police officer. she recounts what happened in her autobiography which comes out today. just yesterday ferguson swore in its first permanent black police chief. >> if you work hard, if you stay honest and committed, if you maintain respect for the community and do your job well, we will get along just fine. >> dellrish moss worked for the miami police department for three decades. he made it clear that ofrs

harsh punishment. more than 50 people applied for the position. new this morning, drug impaired driving deaths doubled in d.c. during the year marijuana use was legalized in the district. the district highway safety office reports there were 10 fatalities in 2014. that is compared to just five deaths the year before the law went into effect. aaa released a new study that shows the problems of impaired driving. nbc's tom costello explains. >> reporter: driving under the influence isn't just about drinking and driving. >> so you smoked 30 minutes ago, and you're saying that i'm not going to find any weed in this car? >> reporter: it can also mean driving while high. >> why are you driving around smoking? you know that's not a good idea, right? >> reporter: legal marijuana is spreading across the country. 20 states allow medicinal use, four states plus d.c. allow recreational pot. now, new aaa

suggests it's a growing danger on the nation's roads. >> driving is already a tough task. and when you add a drug that impairs our ability to manage that task, it's a recipe for disaster. >> you are impaired. you are impaired. i have seen impairment. i have seen what impairment does. >> reporter: it's been two and a half years since mary gaston waved good-bye to her 23-year-old son blake at a suburban seattle restaurant. seconds later at this intersection he was hit by a car, the 33-year-old driver now in prison admitted he was high on pot. blake died right in front of his mom. >> it was a very traumatic death. it was very -- it was a very horrific death. >> reporter: washington state legalized marijuana in 2012. this morning aaa reports the percentage of drivers who'd smoked pot and were then involved in fatal crashes in washington state more than doubled between 2013 and 2014 from 40 to 85. with his trademark

gaston was a brother, son, musician, student, computer whiz and so much more. >> in 23 years he lived a hell of a life. life was way, way too short. but it was a hell of a life. >> that was tom costello reporting. a little later in the newscast another form of impaired driving that has nothing to do with drugs or alcohol. and after the break, the player that could be the key to tonight's t-win caps game.m

♪ ♪ ♪ don't you just love it ♪ ♪

well, it could be their biggest challenge yet. the capitals are on the road in pittsburgh tonight. if they lose they are eliminated from the playoffs. no. but a win and they are coming back home to d.c. for game seven. defenseman bruce orpik could make a difference too. he's back from a three-game suspension. not only that he played in pittsburgh for 11 seasons. >> it's just another game for me. ovi gets booed in every building he goes in. emotion wise i don't think it will be any different than any other playoff game. >> he was suspended for slamming penguins defense man in game two. mata was hurt, but he will be on the ice tonight as well. it is going to be an intense game. >> and i'm predicting a win. >> i hope you are right.

go caps for sure. >> which team though? we know somebody's going to win. all right. all right. hopefully maybe you're the charm, barbara. we'll see what happens. we like to work some of your charm on the sky too. >> yes, please. can you make that happen? >> can you conjure up some sun for us, barbara? >> i keep smiling. >> that's right. there you go. that's the best attitude. we do have some light showers about to move in. another probably couple of hours. between now and then we'll stay dry. don't have any rain here right now, but we have the leading edge of that just a few sprinkles, very light rain just coming into the shenandoah valley, it's advancing east. your weather headlines, today is the 14th consecutive day of measurable rain at reagan national airport. the last time we had 14 in a row was way back in 1968, before we put the first man on the moon. so it's been quite a long time since we've had a stretch of weather like this. the all-time record number of consecutive days of measurable

those days, that happened way back in 1935. so this is a rare event. right now hovering around 50 degrees in the region, low to mid 50s where the sprinkles are showing up, near 60 for the bay. for the afternoon have an umbrella handy and need a jacket and slacks because it's still going to be rather cool into the afternoon. the hour by hour timing on the next area of rain coming in just by 3:00 p.m. some of those sprinkles may move on their way through, but after that by 5:00, 6:00 might get a little sunshine breaking out, temporarily. but then here comes another wave of some showers coming in by 10:00 p.m. northern virginia and maryland, by 11:00 right into the metro area tonight. then crossing the bay after that and by dawn tomorrow maybe a few sprinkles around starting off wednesday morning. i took this picture of a field of buttercups almost looking like a sunny day under that gray sky yesterday afternoon. post your pics on facebook, twitter and instagram. then tomorrow maybe a morning sprinkle, cloudy the rest of the

more showers on friday. perhaps a little thunder. but finally, feast your eyes on the seven-day outlook. the weekend is looks nice with highs near 70 and sunshine. looks good. thank you, tom. nationals are locking town another starting pitcher. today stephen strasburg's new contract will be official. he'll be paid $175 million over the next few years and make more money if he decides to renegotiate that contract. strasburg was the number one overall draft pick back in 2009. a press conference is scheduled for 2:15 today at nationals park. >> very exciting. what a deal. new from the live desk, the man police are looking for in connection to the sexual assault of a 16-year-old in the bridge cheney area of montgomery county. and you have seen the dramatic flame video out of alberta canada. now look at the new ground shots, homes totally destroyed. we'll get an update on when

i'm melissa at the live desk. in just another hour or so police in montgomery county are going to be handing out fliers trying to track down this man, take a look, they say he's responsible for sexually assaulting or trying to sexual assault a 16-year-old girl. this happened in the brigg briggs chaney area last thursday afternoon. the girl went into her building on castle boulevard when the man asked her to hold the main door

he then followed her upstairs in the building where he exposed himself and tried to pull her pants down. the victim's brother scared that suspect away. his car is described as a blue compact four-door vehicle. thanks, melissa. right now metro is calling all of its 650 managers together for a safety meeting. >> that's never been done in the history of the agency. general manager plans to bring up his massive maintenance plan. a source tells transportation reporter adam tuss that major staff changes could be coming. two people are dead from severe storms in oklahoma. some people are cleaning up the damage now. others are protecting themselves for even more tornadoes possible in multiple southern states today. 15% of fort mcmurray, canada, destroyed. >> as of this morning no longer threatened by the massive wildfires going on out there. an

can go home in just a few weeks. the fires are still burning though. in fact, they're getting bigger and not clear when they could finally be contained. right now if you see a lot of emergency activity near the chain bridge, it is only a drill. d.c. fire and park police are practicing rescues in the potomac for the next hour. they say the river has dangerous currents and there is no part that is safe to swim. the senate judiciary committee is looking at qualifications for supreme court nominee judge merrick garland. the document helps senators put together questions for a confirmation hearing. senate republicans have refused to put garland's nomination up for a vote arguing the nomination should be held after the new president takes office. all this week news 4 today is offering secrets to better zs. and now a wakeup call from the news 4 i-team. their review of state traffic reports shows

starting earlier. you probably know that. and local drivers are running into increased risk of drowsy driving. scott mcfarlane pulled an all-nighter to show you the impact of early wakeup calls and sleep impact can have on local roads. >> reporter: it's a frustrating, mind numbing, fatiguing part of our day. especially for jared, the day we rode along his commute began with a 5:00 a.m. wakeup call and a cup of coffee. he sets aside two hours each morning in case traffic is particularly bad along i-95. >> i catch sleep where i can. i don't think i get more than four or five hours a night. >> reporter: and he has more early morning company on the road that he used to. the news 4 i-team obtained internal traffic data by virginia and maryland state transportation departments found commuters in both states are getting an earlier start. at 5:00 a.m. on i-95 north at the

border we found a 10% spike in volume since 2010. in fredericksburg up 6%. in maryland too i-95 in howard county near 103 and increase in the beltway at 5:00 a.m., sleep experts say early wakeups are driving our areas increased risk of drowsy driving. >> people aren't getting enough sleep during their normal workweek. >> reporter: charlie is a research scientist at the virginia tech transportation institute, specializing on the impact of sleep on driving. her team studied more than 100 d.c. area drivers over the course of a year. and they found about 20% suffered accidents caused at least in part by drowsiness. >> we have lots of data and lots of examples showing where people are starting to fall asleep and starting to veer off the lane. >> reporter: but just how dramatic does sleepiness impact? under the guidance of our team of scientists in blacksburg, we found out. gelting no more than two hours sleep over two days and absolutely

to ensure we followed the rules. going out for walks, watching late-night tv while standing up. good morning. before changing clothes and heading across town for a two-hour midday drive on the university's closed test track. >> it's like a real two-lane highway. we're not going to have music. we're not going to be chatting. >> reporter: i wasn't aware i was immediately showing signs of fatigue, fidgety, yawning and heavy blinking. and an inability to stay below the speed limit. then one hour in they tested me with a late-changing red light. i failed. minutes later my reflexes weren't quick enough to stop when they simulated a child running into the street. >> it can happen so quickly. >> reporter: i failed again. >> your responses just are not there. >> reporter: alarmed and suddenly alert i did stop at next quick changing red light but later stopped again cruising into another hazard. >> i think people are unaware of when they're really fatigued. >> reporter: mine isha

fatigue, severe danger for drivers. >> they don't know what's hitting them. >> no. they're very poor at being able to identify that. >> reporter: back on i-95 jared is finishing his long drive to fairfax after sunrise. but even with a coffee and camera crew in the car -- >> i just took the wrong exit. >> reporter: he took a wrong turn on the way to the office admitting fatigue is so severe some mornings he's pulled off for cat naps, a sleepy sign of the times in a city where rush hour increasingly begins before dawn. scott mcfarlane, news 4 i-team. >> incredible. experts say in addition to pulling over and grabbing a nap there are other things you can do if you're feeling drowsy. visit our nbc washington app and click on investigations to get more advice. there you can also send the i-team a tip if you have one that you think we ought to check out. >> what an eye opening report. >> amazing. it could be the key to looking younger. >> speaking of eye opening, after the break the before and after pictures that could make

all right. now more rain is moving into our area. already drenched by record rain out there. >> tom kierein is here now bringing us up to date. 14 days now, we lost track. >> today is number 14. it's really rare. last time it happened was 1968. so this is very unusual. so as we go forward though we're looking at a drying pattern here just in time for the weekend. between now and then though we have a little bit of light rain -- well, into every life a little rain must fall. >> true. how we deal with it, right, tom? >> yes. it makes you stronger. you can deal with adversity better. >> i like the silver lining attitude, tom. >> well, we're trying. very trying. as we look now at the radar we have a few sprinkles just coming into the shenandoah valley from the west. now, they may make their way in here another couple of hours, but for the most part much of the afternoon's going to bry

50s to mid-50s north and west. reagan national now at 58. manassas now up to 61. and little sun trying to break out. the overcast is thinning out a bit around the bay where it's up around 60 degrees. if you're planning a run, might get a few sprinkles of light rain between 1:00, 2:00 to 3:00 p.m., but after that you might be able to get a run in until around 7:00 or 8:00 and stay dry and temperatures mid 60s by then. and then the nationals play ball tonight at nats park. they take on the tigers again, first pitch 7:05. there may be a little bit of sunshine as we start the game. a lot of clouds otherwise and temperatures low 60s. then it drops back down to near 60 by the seventh inning just after that that maybe more showers come back in. so they might not be able to complete the game, but if they get in five or six innings or so it would be a complete game. but it might end with some rain. then tomorrow morning in the upper 50s, and during the day on wednesday mostly cloudy tomorrow in tup

light rain in the afternoon. that would make a day 15. and then finally it looks like we'll break it. we'll break the pattern on thursday. just some clouds around. highs near 70. and then some more showers on friday, maybe a little bit of thunder as we get into the weekend finally welcome sunshine back for your outdoor activities on the weekend, you have outdoor plans on saturday and sunday, looking great near 70 on saturday. mid 60s, a bid cooler on sunday and then monday partly sunny and up near 70. so at least we're going to salvage a good weekend. >> thank you, tom. consumer watch to tell you about this morning, more frozen foods are being added to that huge fda recall. it's expanded its list to frozen fruits and vegetables because of listeria concerns. products sold at safeway, trader joe's and harris teeter are all affect affected. it could be the next big thing in skin care. a group of scientists has created a special cream that smooths out wrinkles but could also provide other

benefits. nbc's hoda kotb takes a closer look. >> reporter: turning back the hands of time to reverse the effects of aging, now a possibility thanks to a scientific breakthrough dubbed to some as a facelift in a bottle. >> what we've found is if you put this cream under the eye, it helps make skin look younger. >> reporter: daniel anderson, an m.i.t. associate professor, just one of the scientists behind second skin, a new innovation offering hope to those searching for the ever illusive fountain of youth. >> second skin lasts for about a day. >> reporter: the technology involves a two-step process that begins by applying a clear liquid poll mer to the skin. you then add a second cream contained a catalyst that causes a chemical reaction to create the invisible coating or second skin. >> it actually contracts a little bit too. so it provides some structural support and also gives back a little bit of the elasticity we all lose over time. >> reporter: he says the creams can reduce the look of w

and undereye bags in less than a minute. a dramatic before and after published along with their research potentially changing the face of the highly lucrative anti-aging industry. a recent survey projecting the worldwide market to be worth more than $190 billion by 2019. anderson and his team who have a vested interest in the product hope to bring it to consumers within the next couple of years. this is going to be a game changer for a lot of people. experts say second skin may offer a viable alternative to those wanting to avoid the expense and invasiveness of injectables and plastic surgery. as always beauty doesn't come without a price. >> down sides are it's temporary, not going to be a $5 product and the bottom line is that, you know, you should test anything before you put it around your eyes in another, you know, area that's not so sensitive. >> reporter: second skin took nine years to develop and could also have medical applications. >> we're hoping it can be used cosmetically, but we're also hoping it can be used to treat a range of diseases like

psoriasis, other potential skin disorders. >> reporter: another use potentially proving it's no longer a waste of time to save face. >> wow. >> i know, that's a lot of money. but i think it's good to remember it's temporary. but those results are pretty telling. i don't know. >> maybe we could split a bottle. you don't need it. well, it is something hospitals often teach young parents how to swaddle their newborns. >> it's racial profiling. >> honey, i know what it is. >> i can't imagine you'd like it if it was you. >> it's not her, that's the point -- >> and after the break meet one of the actors from this thought provoking play on stage riht g

morning noon or night there's always a moment to discover visit annapolis and create your moment

people being more and more afraid of folks who look like me we end up being resented too. >> those agents are trying hard not to discriminate. and here's this guy who walks right up to them and calls them out. >> pure unmitigated -- >> that's a scene from the pulitzer prize winning play "disgraced,". it's a drama that deals with islamophobia. joining us now is the lead character amir, a pakistani american lawyer in the play. good morning, welcome. tell us a little about the

what is it about and tell us about your character? >> well, the character i play is a pakistani american lawyer who's on a partnership track at a high powered new york law firm that's run mainly by jewish partners. and the whole set piece of the play is a dinner party that sort of starts to disintegrate as it goes along and becomes this conversation about race and politics and faith and perception. >> what's it like playing this role for you? have you learned a lot about prejudice? >> well, yeah, you learn a lot about perception, you know, the idea of what people see you as versus how you see yourself and how that can cause problems in your daily life. >> the play deals with faith and politics in the modern world meant to help audiences recognize your prejudices, do you think it does that? >> i hope so. really we just want people to question. the great thing about the play is it doesn't give you a lot of answers, it doesn't force feed

it just asks questions. and it hopes the audience is open enough to, you know, want to answer those questions. >> now, your character as you just said works in a predomin t predominantly jewish law firm. is that where you feel the most discomforting prejudice as a pakistani in the play? >> i think he feels a lot of pressure from a lot of different areas. again, the first scene of the play he has an incident in a restaurant where a waiter says something to him that is prejudice, and he has to deal with that. and his wife, who is a contemporary artist, decides to make a painting based on that. and that causes trouble for him. so there's a lot of different areas. >> is your character hurt? or is he angry? >> i think he's both. i think a lot of people who face the kind of silent prejudice that happens every day in their lives, you know, whether it's when people ask you where are you from, no, i mean where are you from. there's a sense of being made to

causes both anger and hurt, i think. >> so this play raises some other political issues as well as the gun issue. let's have a listen to this part of the play. >> the next terrorist attack is probably coming from some guy who more or less looks like me. >> i totally disagree. the next attack is some white guy who's got a gun he shouldn't have. >> that brings up another issue. a lot of issues brought up in this play that deal with prejudice. >> yeah. it's a boiler -- i mean, the play is a pressure cooker of a play. it's 90 minutes, no intermission and by the end of it it's a full play full of ideas and topics, i think that's why it's so popular. it's the most produced play in america. it's a pulitzer prize winner for drama. i think people love it because of all the different ideas it brings out about america today. >> you grew up in this area in virginia. >> yes, i did. >> did you feel any of these kind of prejudices yourself? >> yeah, i think that's why

role you asked me 90% of the role i identify with it and 10% of the role i find completely abhorrent at times. so i think that's sort of the exciting thing about playing the role and the exciting thing about the play is that you identify with so much of it. >> well, we're glad you're back in this area playing a show that can all see. >> oh, thanks. >> thank you for coming to talk to us. through may 29th. >> that's right. >> so still tickets available? >> yeah, there's a couple. there's a few, it's selling really well from what i understand. >> thanks so much for coming. >> thank you. >> back to you. really interesting show there. in news for your health, new study shows swadling infants may increase risk of sudden infant death syndrome during sleep. researchers say parents should make sure their babies only sleep on their backs, and if they are going to swad l them do so when they are too young to move out of that position overnight. overth

surprise medical bills. nbc's olivia sterns explains why some people learned their insurance does not cover everything. >> and then i got the balance bill. >> reporter: when claudia got a bill for $100,000, she panicked. >> i was up all night. i just felt so horrible. i just kept blaming myself that i had missed something. >> reporter: a bill for a spine surgery that claudia, a concert pianist, was certain her insurance would cover. how did you know you were covered? >> i called the doctor's office and i said this is my insurance. my neurologist has recommend you. and am i covered? they said, yes, bring your card so we can make a copy. >> reporter: one by one she checked with the hospital, the patient coordinator even taking a picture of the surgeons website. >> i did beyond my homework. i did my due diligence. >> reporter: but it turns out the surgeon had stopped taking her insurance. and while the hospital was in network, the

not. >> i have to divorce my husband, protect my son's college education. and i was in despair. >> reporter: claudia's not alone. according to a recent survey 37% of people who recently went to a hospital received a surprise bill. >> it's an enormous problem. >> reporter: eventually she sought help from benjamin who supervised insurance companies for new york state. what should consumers know if they get a bill like this? >> they should fight it and be loud and they should contact their attorney general's office in their state. they should contact their insurance regulator in their state. >> reporter: to avoid a surprise medical bill in the first place, get a list of all the staff treating you, and get written confirmation they'll take your insurance. after three years of fighting, the doctors negotiated a fee her insurance agreed to pay. and now claudia is back to doing what she loves. olivia sterns, nbc news, new york. parents say their son's light up shoes started a fire in the backseat of their suv. take a look at this. here's what's lef

pilot-themed light up sneakers. they think warren left the shoes in the backseat and the lithium battery inside them started the fire. warren's parents say they're thankful no one was hurt. >> if this had happened while my son was wearing them or in the house, you know, who knows. >> the fire marshal in katy, texas, has not determined what started the fire this past weekend, but it looks like the shoes were probably the culprit. a moment from "the voice" that a lot of people are talking about today. >> they sure are. and it had nothing

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look at this. it was a catch of the night, but it didn't win the ball game. college players in arkansas had to wrangle a small possum. yeah, that's a possum scurrying across the field. one player tried to use his glove until the critter showed its teeth. oh. eventually crews came out with a bucket and they were able to herd it into that bag. you see that? oh. the possum was taken outside and was released. >> the players don't even want to touch it. i would be running the opposite direction. >> i think i'd -- i would be scared of it anyway. i don't know if you saw this last night but "the voice" coaches and current couple gwen stefani and blake shelton debuted their duet on the show last night. >> the song is called "go ahead and break my heart" and it's from shelton's upcoming

break my heart ♪ ♪ why are you waiting >> romantic performance and garnered the standing ovation from the fellow coaches. the two did not take their eyes off each other the entire time. look at them so intense. >> they did not. >> the couple began dating last fall after meeting on the singing competition. you can catch "the voice" tonight at 8:00 right here at nbc 4. you almost had to look away it was so intense. like what am i watching here. >> except i can't remember social media keeps popping up things about him calling his ex-wife on the phone telling her how good she looks. can't believe any of that stuff. they were definitely looking at each other. tom, did you see it? >> just now i did. hey, we've got a little bit of rain, how do i break this to you gently? just a little bit of rain coming in from the west right now. and when it does move in we'll just get a few sprinkles. right now winchester is beginning to see a few sprinkles,pa

virginia, then farther south these are moving from west to east right near fredericksburg right now in stafford and spotsylvania getting a few sprinkles. we may be splitting the difference and not much happened riegtd in washington but northern suburbs, southern suburbs getting a few sprinkles another couple of hours or so. then the sun may break out similar to what happened yesterday, for a brief time the sun may break out and then the nats game ought to get off all right at 7:05 with a first pitch with just some clouds around. but then toward the end of the game some showers coming in late this evening. then tomorrow a lot of clouds around, we'll be in the upper 60s. and maybe an afternoon light shower tomorrow. so afternoon highs today mid-60s below the average high of 74. and below that again on wednesday and thursday. but thursday ought to be a dry day. so we ought to break our consecutive days of measurable rain at national airport. more showers friday. weekend looks great, sunshine back. >> can't wait for that sun. and that does it for news 4 midday. thanks so much for joining us. we are back on the air this afternoon first at0

news and weather updates any time with the nbc wasngton hi

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>> today on the myer mayor show, you won't believe what chloe has to say about plastic surgery, and a a surprising change to the dating app. we hooked upand her and did we make a match? >> tim gunn, incredible military makeovers you have to see to believe. it all starts right now. [cheers] . [cheers] . [cheers] . ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪