right now, new reports say suitcases and plane pieces have been spotted from the egyptair investigators believe crashed into the sea. i'm barbara harrison. >> and i'm erika gonzalez. and new number of sizika infect pregnant women. the president is being briefed and we could hear from him in the next hour. i'm storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell. enjoy your sunshine while we have. i'll give you a breakdown of when it's most likely to rain the hardest coming up. news 4 midday starts now. wreckage found, but there's a lot mor

how and why egyptair flight 804 crashed. crews are scouring the mediterranean sea right now. we have the latest from melissa at the live desk. >> reporter: barbara, those crews are hunting for that black box from egyptair flight ms-804. the u.s. navy right now is assisting in the search. there have been several repor of the large oil slick we've been hearing about and wreckage found. among the wreckage they say two seats, suitcase and possible remains. items were found in the search area off the coast of alexandria slightly to the south of where the aircraft had vanished from radar. we don't know what brought that plane down of course, terrorism is still a possibility. we learned this morning the passenger manifest contained no known names on current terror watch lists. the airbus a-320 was carrying 66 people from paris to cairo when it disappeared. >> and that crash is having an impact on the united states, specifically on people who plan to travel in the coming

airports are increasing their security. nbc's tracie potts tells us what security leaders are doing to keep us safe. >> reporter: the tsa already under fire for long lines is stepping up security at l.a.x. airport as investigators try to determine why egyptair 804 crashed. >> we don't want an event that took place in egypt happening here in the united states. we want to be able to get on an airplane with confidence. >> reporter: u.s. officials are looking through surveillance images from satellites thousands of miles above earth to determine if there was an explosion. in a statement last night the white house said we don't know yet for sure what caused the crash. >> the investigation is underway. and investigators will consider all of the potential factors. >> reporter: like someone working on the ramp putting a bomb on the plane, authorities are interviewing the ground crew. >> one of the things we need to think about here is isis doing this because we're beating them on the battlefield? >> reporter: the u.s. is helping

french investigators check out all the passengers, intelligence sources tell nbc no one was on our terror watch list. >> we don't know exactly what this is yet, but we have spent 15 years since september 11th building extraordinary capabilities to understand threats and information -- >> reporter: the pentagon's helping too working to deploy a p-3 orion aircraft to help in the search. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. we're staying up to the minute on the plane crash. you can watch right here for updates and of course download the nbc washington app for breaking news alerts about what happened and what is being found. and right now police in fairfax county are working to solve a man's murder. they say he was shot and killed in an apartment complex on route 1. that's where news 4's molette green is right now. can you tell us what happened there? >> reporter: barbara, good morning. yeah, the crime tape is now down, stashed inside that recycling bin there.

left this apartment complex just moments ago from this parking lot where police found a man dead hours ago. still no id yet on the victim. police tell me they're still trying to identify next of kin. it's unclear as well if he lived in this apartment community. the homicide scene covered a lot of ground here in alexandria. gunfire in the middle of the night. >> i didn't hear anything. >> reporter: city side huntington metro apartments is the scene of a deadly shooting. fairfax county police used their helicopter to map out the scene. detectives collect evidence in multiple areas, around this sport bike and parked cars, just yards up the parking lot they bagged evidence. before sunrise this was the main focus of their investigation in a back parking lot, a man found unresponsive just after 2:00 a.m. pronounced

>> i didn't expect it here so it's a little concerning. >> that's really tragic in this area. i mean, it's not the first time i've heard gunshots, unfortunately. so i just really hope that, you know, his family's okay. >> reporter: the victim died near an area close to the trail where this woman says could be a trouble spot. >> i personally haven't had any trouble, but it's possible that the suspect or whomever could have ran up the hill into the woods, which i have personally griped and complained about because that area is pitch black. so in the dark anybody can come in and out, no one would see them. >> reporter: no motive or suspect information at this time. you can see this is a very large apartment community, fairfax county police asking anyone with information to give them a call. that is the latest live from alexandria, molette green, news 4, back to you. right now the white house is getting an update on the fight against zika. a $622 million bill to battle zi

senate. months ago president obama asked for nearly $2 billion to fight the virus. the cdc released new numbers this morning. the agency are infected with zi the 50 states. the virus can cause a birth defect called microcephaly. good morning once again i'm storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell. cloudy sky over washington, we haven't seen much of that over the last 20 to 30 days we've seen rain most of the time. nice and sunny out there right now. enjoy it. mid 70s this afternoon, not much of a breeze to bother you either. 70 already in good faithe erega. bike to workday, perfect day for it, maybe a noontime ride, temperatures will be near 70, 75 by 4:00. and late evening just before the sun goes down which is at 8:18

back down into the 6 0z. we all know it's not going to last. i'll break down the way the rain is going to impact your saturday coming up next. thank you, chuck. the debate over gun control could spark new disagreements on the campaign trail today. donald trump will be at the -- will be the speaker today, the headline speaker in fact at today's national rifle association convention in louisville, kentucky. security is tight inside with both secret service and local police working the convention. there's also a designated protest zone outside in anticipation of demonstrators. a different approach from democratic front-runner hillary clinton. she's headed to florida tomorrow to meet with the mother of trayvon martin and other parents who have lost children to gun violence. clinton is in texas for a fundraiser today. to read more about each candidate's positions on gun control, open up the nbc washington app and check out our political coverage page. a challenge to virginia's voter id law has failed. in richmond yesterday a federal d

at the polls. virginia's democratic party sued state election officials arguing the law was unconstitutional because it suppressed some voters' rights. right now the fbi is asking for help in finding two missing fairfax teens. 13-year-old and 14-year-olds have been missing since may 10th. they both may be in need of medical attention. if you have seen them, you are asked to call police. a day care owner being held on $2 million bond is in court this morning. this after a 6-month-old baby died after being in his care. last month police were called to a hospital after the infant was brought in unresponsive to the hospital. investigators say the baby was at little dreamer's day care before being rushed to the hospital. divban is charged with second-degree murder and two counts of first-degree child se

and killing of a blacksburg teen could go to the grand jury. a judge will consider that this morning after the two former virginia tech students who have been charged will appear in court. david eisenhower is charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder in the stabbing death of 13-year-old nicole la velle. natalie keepers is charged with being an accessory and helping hide the body. police say the two lured the teen out of her home and into meeting them last january. the blame game, why lawmakers are now being blamed for long security lines at airports across the country. and caught on camera, a police chase with a violent ending. and a frantic woman asking for her baby as police pull her from age wreck

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

after you see this video, this is really hard to believe, but a woman and her 4-month-old baby are recovering after this frightening crash. ohio state troopers were chasing the car when it hit a pole and flipped. it burst into flames. troopers walked this woman away. the baby meanwhile was dangling upside down hanging from a seat belt. >> so i -- you know, i'm still thinking is this car going to catch back on fire, is it going to explode? >> police say the

driving under the influence after they rescued the baby they charged her with that plus reckless driving and child endangerment. right now a high stakes meeting that could affect anyone with plans to fly this summer. top tsa officials are talking with chicago lawmakers about the massive delays at airport security lines across the country. those lines have been especially bad in chicago. officials at o'hare have been telling people to get there three hours early. as lawmakers demand answers from the tsa, airlines are blaming congress for the delays. airlines say the lines are long because the tsa is understaffed. an airline trade group believes funding cuts congress made back in 2013, congress recently advanced the tsa some money to hire nearly 800 more screeners and cover overtime pay for the summer. airlines say it won't be enough. the feds are investigating a small plane crash that happened so dangerously close to route 50 in mitchellville. look where that is.

pilot was flying with a trainer in the passenger seat yesterday afternoon. the pilot went beyond the runway and hit the fence off the road. the good news here is that nobody was hurt. more than $34,000 meant for students in need may actually have gone to a pair of crooks. a grand jury indicted earnest taylor jr. and his aunt tracy nixon yesterday. prosecutors say they stole the identities of four people and registered them as students at northern virginia community college. and then prosecutors say the payer cashed in on excess student loan money in a fraud scheme. >> i actually used fafsa to pay for these courses so to hear somebody else is ripping money off when they shouldn't, doesn't sit well with me. >> they used their own addresses in louisiana for the student identities that they had created. and that's where the college was sending the loan money that was left over after required school expenses. a scathing new report on

that chemistry class fire that hurt five students last fall in fairfax county. a safety investigation found the so-called rainbow flame demonstration was done without a ventilation hood. safety goggles or guidelines from the school system on how to do it. the woodson high school teacher responsible is on paid administrative leave right now. the school system banned that demonstration and re-wrote its safety protocols. and a warning for craigslist buyers after a violent robbery in the district. d.c. police are looking for the suspect seen in this video. they say last friday the suspect pretended he wanted to sell a phone in southeast d.c. instead he pulled a knife, took the buyer's money and fled. d.c.'s police chief says caution is always advised. >> you have to realize you're dealing with complete strangers. and you're putting yourself at risk. do it during the daylight hours in a public place where there's others around. >> last month the district set up safe exchange zones for online buyers and sellers to

police statio police stations. the 2001 disappearance of former washington intern chandra levy -- say at his second trial they will offer evidence pointing to former california congressman gary condit. condit was romantically linked to levy and was once the primary suspect but was eventually ruled out by police. in a motion argued yesterday defense attorneys say condit had a, quote, powerful motive to kill levy and cover up her death. a montgomery county community is coming together to save an iconic record store, joe's record paradise has been a staple in the community for over 40 years, but financial problems forced the store to close two months ago. last night the community came to the rescue. local deejays, record collectors and other community members came out to raise money toel

hole after its recent relocation. >> it was debt i figured i could pay back, i just needed to open. so it was a misstep in timing, i didn't know the process took so long. >> the community has helped raise over $10,000 for the store over the last two months. a founding member of the beastie boys has died, john berry died at hospice yesterday morning according to his stepmother suffering from frontal lobe dementia and had been in declining health for years. he was 52. a major announcement by the first lady this morning, the changes being made to food labels. >> and there's concern this morning about tomorrow's forecast and the mess the track coul d

♪ ♪ maxx life in store and online. find brands you love at prices that work as hard as you do.

at the live desk, right now a new nutrition fact label for foods. now, we told you this was in the works, now it's official. this is the final word the food and drug administration are making a few key changes. they are updating the design to highlight calories and servings. you'll see an area where added sugars will be listed. something else you might notice dual column labels to show calories per serving and per package. the labels first introduced 20 years ago, those food manufacturers will have to use the new labe

barbara. thanks, melissa. they hit their goal. we told you about the project, all your tolls yesterday went toward that total. the greenway will donate what it raised to loudon county scholarships as well as six local charities. more than 38 million people will hit the road this memorial day weekend, that's according to aaa. that's the second highest memorial day travel volume on record and the most since 2005. aaa says the high volume of travelers is due to the lowest gas prices in a decade. about 700,000 more people will travel this year compared to last year. and with memorial day right around the corner there are several high-tech gadgets on the market you may want to know about to help you get the most out of your holiday weekend. mark barger has more. >> reporter: before kicking off your memorial day barbecue, a grill cleaning robot can help with prep work. >> with a

it's like a little roomba for your grill. >> reporter: when the meet cooking on that grill hits the right temperature, a bluetooth thermometer can give you a heads up. >> you'll be able to go about 30 feet away and get that notification when it's time to come and get your food. >> reporter: if you forgot to make dessert, the zoku quick pop maker can save the day. pour in your favorite ingredients for homemade frozen treats in seven to nine minutes. use the holiday's rays to take the party into the evening with solar powered lights. >> luminate is an inflatable light. >> reporter: it floats, can change colors, is portable and waterproof. if your memorial day plans include a trip to the beach or pool, the coolest cooler might just live up to its name. >> it has a built-in blender so you can make cocktails and smoothies. 55 quarts of storage, save ice for five days, a built-in

>> reporter: if you're on, in or at the water, be sure to protect your electronics. >> you can take this snorkeling for a day at the beach and ensure your phone stays dry. >> reporter: because a soggy smartphone is not the memorial day memory you'll want to make. mark barger, nbc news. >> had me at cocktails in the cooler. >> oh, yeah. looked good, didn't it? we're just a day away from the second race of the triple crown which is set to get under way in baltimore pimlico. rain might make for muddy tracks at the preakness, but rain or shine all eyes will be on the undefeated nyquist to win tomorrow's race. you can watch coverage of the 144 preakness right here on nbc starting at 5:00 tomorrow afternoon. a lot of people do like to take their picnics out to the race, not going to get any tomorrow. >> not going

chuck? >> not going to be the prettiest day to be outside at pimlico tomorrow. temperatures in the 50s. lots of rain chances around as well. on the upside the heaviest of the rain is likely to become before post time. should be just back to occasional showers by the time they run the race, but it's a lot of dirt out there to be contended with. so the horses are going to be running in the mud it looks like outside today. wow. if only they could have run it today, sunshine and a beautiful day across northern virginia. there's the view over reston town center today. there's our first cloud of the afternoon. one of the few things that has not been improving much with our dry weather, trees in the high count for pollen, weeds are low, that's good. grass is moderate. the real issue has been all the moisture. mold spore counts have been kind of elevated. and guess what, the rain is c e coming right back tomorrow. near 100% chance you'll be rained on tomorrow and solid 50%, 60% chance for rain and that chance is probably going up as we get closer to it. showers just tapering back to si

middle of next week. outside now it's a beauty. mid to upper 60s in the shenandoah. low 60s in the metro. no rain on radar just yet. this area of low pressure down here across parts of the gulf coast and this one right here across tennessee, they are working in conjunction to come our direction. the main low is going to form off the carolina coastline and be sitting off basically the delaware coast by about this time tomorrow. so planning out your day today, nothing to worry about. sunny and mild and really nice. temperatures in the low to mid 70s from here on out. going out for your friday night as well. temperatures low 70s early at dinner time and low 60s by movie time and the time you come home. so future weather carries the sunshine out and the clouds in during the overnight hours. here's 1:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. still just cloudy and dry. so late-night plans on your friday night no problem. early plans on your saturday morning, that's another story. here's that first wave of what's probably going to be the heaviest rain of the day between 7:00 a.m. and noon tomorrow. and you'll notice he

heavier rainfall amounts the farther south you live or travel for tomorrow. and by post time 6:00 tomorrow hit and miss showers, quite likely through most of the day. so then planning out your day tomorrow temperatures staying in the 50s with all the rain drops around. and the biking forecast not a bad day today. tomorrow lots of rain, sunday showers likely as well. give you the whole seven-day forecast in a few minutes. thank you, chuck. so what's worth the trip? the latest in melissa's worth the trip series is coming up tonight on news 4 at 6:00, she checks out d.c., the less traveled spots you may never have seen. you'll get a glimpse and then into a space so calm it almost feels like you're in the country, not the nation's capital. what's worth the trip? that's coming up tonight on news 4 at 6:00. and we are staying on top of new developments in the egyptair crash including a look at the flights the plane took in the days and hours before disappearing from radar. and a lookt

shouted shame, repeatedly and loudly at the end of a vote i the housen y

a major effort in the mediterranean sea right now to find that missing egyptair flight. not just the pieces and the passengers but the black boxes too. we still don't know what caused the crash.

this morning europe said a satellite spotted an oil slick in the water, that's where search crews are right now. the plane was on its way to cairo yesterday when it went down with 66 people onboard. and with so many unanswered questions this morning about the disappearance of the plane, each clue becomes increasingly more important to investigators. >> that's right. nbc's tom costello has been following the story and has a look at what we know about the plane so far. >> reporter: this morning investigators are zeroing in on egyptair 804's final 24 hours. it made five trips in the day before it vanished over the mediterranean, landing at airports in asmara, cairo, tunis and paris. investigators combing through to see who had access including caterers, baggage handlers, all under a magnifying class of interviews and background checks. >> so far at least we have no claim of responsibility or evidence that this was an intentional act, but the fbi as you would expect is working with our partners around the world

understanding of what happened. >> reporter: today, a major question, did a so-called back door exist for someone to plant a bomb on the plane? intelligence officials tell nbc news that early data suggests some sort of explosion onboard. >> they're also going to look for the deformation patterns in the metal to say was any of it splayed out and is there residue on that metal. >> reporter: but so far it's only a leading theory and far from fact. though it's happened before. in february, a suicide bomber blew a hole in an a-320 of somalia. security video shows airport workers handing him a laptop inside the airport. and last october isis released this picture of a purported soda can bomb it says brought down the russian metrojet plane over egypt's sanai peninsula. >> it is rare at least in the case of isis for them to take more than 12 hours to issue an initial claim of responsibility for a

terrorism. it's a rarity. >> reporter: another key piece of evidence investigators will want to get their hands on, the plane's back boxes. inside recorded conversations between crew and any alarms or sounds of explosions. clues like plane performance data that could piece together this mystery. this morning los angeles international airport has stepped up security, as airports across the world confront yet another blow to aviation safety. >> that was nbc's tom costello reporting. security experts at charles de gaulle in paris insist their airport is safe. and with the plane making multiple trips on wednesday, investigators are going to need to backtrack to determine who had access to that plane. a judge's verdict to be expected monday in the case of a baltimore police officer on trial for the death of freddie gray. in closing arguments prosecutors argued officer edward nero should be found guilty of assault for his actions in detaining gray.

nero was also blamed for risking gray's life by putting him on the floor of the police van instead of on a bench seat in a seat belt. nero's defense lawyer says nero acted reasonably and argues the seat belting of gray was a responsibility of the van driver. today, a jury may hear opening statements in the murder trial of an ashburn ceo. accused of killing his wife and making it look like a suicide. his wife michelle was found dead in her home in 2014. the estranged couple had been going through a divorce at the time of her death. jury selection began on tuesday. this was the scene on the house floor thursday after a measure to help protect lgbt people from discrimination stalled by just one vote. you heard the democrats chanting shame because the amendment initially had enough votes to pass, but republican leaders kept the vote open longer than

that time seven republicans changed their votes. the amendment was defeated 213-212. an update to a story that made a lot of people angry last fall. the nfl says its military tributes are the real deal. they're not paid for anymore. it's returning more than $720,000 said basically bought military performances and tributes at games. the pentagon spent almost $7 million on tributes like that across all the major sports and college sports programs. well, you can share your thoughts about another story on our facebook page, it's about the redskins name, "the washington post" published a new poll saying nine in ten native americans are not offended by the name. not only that, eight in ten told the post that they wouldn't be offended if someone called them that name. the paper said it surveyed about 500 people across every state

the team and its supporters say this is a better reflection of how people really feel. critics say the poll wasn't broad enough and that the name is a racial slur no matter what the poll's results. six-pack ring, the beer company making them environmentally friendly and appetizing. and here's a look at another story getting a lot of attention on nbc washington app. >> we are officially counting down to summer, and coming july the world's longest water slide is coming to tyson's corner for one day only july 16th. make sure you come out. it's going to be so much fun, food, drinks and of course sliding as well. for more details on how to purchase tickets, because there are some

nowwhich means it's the perfect time to create the perfect home. now through may 30th, take an extra hundred dollars off every thousand dollars you spend. plus, enjoy 36-month, no-interest financing.

sfx:nocking. we're early! the memorial day sale. from classic to contemporary. havertys. i'm melissa at the live desk. we have some video to show you. d.c. police looking for a person they call a person of interest in a burglary. take a look here.

3:00 a.m. this is the 300 block of pennsylvania avenue southeast. again, take a close look right there. you can see it's a little bit difficult to see but they have two pieces of video here with that person then walking away. police say they are offering a reward in the case. if you recognize the person, call investigators. the plastic rings around six packs of beer and major soda can be a hazard to wildlife. now there's a new invention that could save you the time of cutting them up. salt water brewery came up with biodegradable rings safe for fish and wildlife to eat and the rings don't harm the environment. the material made from natural by-products of different beers. the rings are patent pending and the makers hope that the idea will spread to craft breweries. i just hope they don't stick like the metal ones do. you know? try to pull them off and they just stick where they were? >> yeah. >> can't get what you want to drink. >> absolutely. sounds like a good idea in theory. we'll i

ocean than plastic. unfortunately that's where everything always ends up. >> yeah. >> won't be long before we're complaining about the heat and humidity around here. just to give you a little perspective though the all-time record high temperature on the face of the earth was set yesterday in india, northwest india. are you ready for this one? 123.8 degrees. that's not even factoring in the humidity, which in india can be substantial. the new all-time record broke the old record which was more than 100 years old, it was also from that same section of northwest india. it will not be -- i can give you, here's a chuck bell guarantee, we will not hit 123 degrees here this summer no matter how miserable it may feel. and we'll certainly be nowhere near even warm over the weekend. your weekend outlook is plagued with rain chances. a chance for some heavy rain tomorrow, particularly in the morning. temperatures tomorrow staying only in the 50s, so if you're headed up to the preakness, be ready for a muddy day. and then on sunday rain returns mostly in the afternoon, but you

time on sunday. at least sunday will be a little milder with temperatures in the mid to upper 60s. rain on your parade indeed. over the last 30 days we've had 22 days with rain out of the last 30, and even though our average high now is 77, we've only been above 80 degrees one time in that stretch. 86 back on april 26th. no 80s yet here in the month of may. no rain just yet, but there's all this moisture gathering up down to our south. it's coming our way. most of the rain arrives here tomorrow right around the time the sun is getting ready to come up just before 6:00. friday today no worries at all. rain moves in after midnight towards sunrise tomorrow. heaviest rain during the first part of the day, tapering back to frequent light rain showers during the evening hours. and then again on sunday another pocket of rain here on sunday morning. a little break in the action and then more rain comes in sunday late afternoon and sunday evening. not really a lot of good news for your weekend. here's the whole seven-day forecast then.

tomorrow 50s with the rain drops. 60s with rain likely off and on through much of sunday as well. monday is when we really start to turn the corner on things. little rain chances, warm front comes through monday afternoon. i say that because look how much warmer. upper 70s on tuesday and back to the 80s on wednesday and thursday. hopefully we'll be dry into the memorial day weekend. memorial day weekend we're talking about summer camp, are you sending your kids off to camp this summer? news 4's susan hogan has some summer camp safety rules you can't afford to miss. >> you drop your kids off at summer camp, you expect them to be safe. we reached out to the american camp association which gives accreditation to camps based on best practices. we found state requirements vary. let's start with maryland and virginia, both day camps in resident or overnight camps are required to be licensed. maryland requires both kids of camps to conduct criminal background check

but in virginia only day camps are required to perform background checks. now, in the district it's a much different story. day camps and resident camps are not required to be licensed. some camps, however, may need a general business license. and d.c. children's camps do not have to perform criminal background checks on employees. so always remember to ask questions such as what is the camp's director's background? what training do counselors receive? what is a koun lor to camper ratio? aca standards require an annual criminal background check for seasonal staff based on camp property and a criminal background check at least every five years. now we have a link to all states and their camp regulations. it's right now on our nbc washington app. just search camps. i'm susan hogan, news 4. good advice. major festival highlighting irish culture and art. after the

share in the music and more. plus, it is a building that we have watched rise from nothing. the new smithsonian museum of african-american history and culture. and we're going to have the story behind the dign. es

morning noon or night there's always a moment to discover visit annapolis and create your moment these are just some of the images coming up. there they are. kicking off next week coincides with a

john f. kennedy for whom the center is named. and joining us to tell us all about the festival is alicia adams, vice presidentor dance and international programming, and barry douglas, right? yes, of course, very nice to have both of you here. >> nice to be here. >> we know that the kennedy center often -- it actually kicked off this week, didn't it? >> it did. >> things have already started but getting in full swing this weekend. but you do a lot of festivals featuring a lot of countries. how do you pick out the country you're going to feature? >> absolutely. from a variety of ways. i mean, we've done probably 19 festivals over the last 30 years. and i probably have done 12 of those festivals. so it's been africa, latin america, 22 countries of the arab world, india, japan, china. and basically we look to do those places that we think would be interesting to

in america and at the kennedy center. and to use that as a way to expose people to new cultures. i mean, we think that the arts are the best tool to bring people together and we find this is just a great connection between the artist from particular country and the american people. >> well, the irish festival has a couple of historical connections, one the 100th birthday of president kennedy. >> right. >> but also the 100th anniversary of the easter rising in ireland. do you want to tell us a little about that? >> that's right. it's a celebration of ireland go to after 100 years and also looking forward to what's the next 100 years going to be like for ireland. there was a moment in history where the irish said we'd like to govern ourselves and it was put down quite brutally. then after that the whole movement started and we gained independence. >> well, the kennedy center kicked off the festival that is opening night the other night and you played beautifully. but you were recognized in this

right? you won a big contest here. >> i got the bronze medal and then went to moscow and got the gold medal. i was very happy because van had won it way back in 1958. and so it was a great honor for me to win that prize. van and i became very great friends. >> tell us about some of the things -- you're going to be playing in the festival, right? >> yes. >> what are some of the other things people will be able to see? >> they'll be able to see camille o sullivan who is going to be here this sunday. she is an extraordinary singer. not so well known in this part of the world, but just fantastic. and people should come to see her. we also have the celebration of the hundredth anniversary year of president kennedy, which we will kick off may 29th, which will be his 99th -- which would have been his 99th birthday. >> and how do people get tickets quickly? >> for the celebration outside w

celebration and tickets are free. so just show up. and it will be outside on the plaza. another thing that's coming up, and i brought this for you is our redhead day. >> we heard about that. >> scheduled to be outside, but now -- >> tomorrow. >> but we've brought irish weather with us. and it's supposed to have a big downpour on saturday. so we've moved it inside and we'll have the same activities and the same fun. >> the irish will be okay in this kind of weather. i know we're all hoping to get to hear you play again. you are fabulous. everybody standing in the aisles after you played. thank you so much, alicia, barry, for coming in to tell us about this wonderful next year at the kennedy center. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. erika. if you've been near the monuments, odds are that you've noticed a new museum rising along constitution avenue, the smithsonian museum of african-american history and culture is arguably the most unique building on the national mall. and as aaron

>> reporter: long before it opened it's a standout building on the national mall, massive monument black people have had and continue to have in america. these are panels -- >> cast aluminum panels. >> reporter: we spent some time with renowned architecture of cultural center whose firm is leading the designing and building of the museum. >> so it's derived from west african architectural form. >> reporter: a traditional wooden building column like this and features a crown or corona exactly like the new museum. >> that form was very compelling to us as a design team. and we thought this might be interesting to take that notion and develop it as a protector of the content inside. >> reporter: from a distance the material looks like bronze skin, history has seen as high quality and sturdy, this is aluminum coated to look like bronze. e

materials and the latticed appearance of the back brokie work of yesteryear. >> it's significant where african-americans freed enslaved africans. >> reporter: a lot will let light seep into four of the five aboveground floors, but the building also has strategically placed windows, what the designers call lens. >> there are a few points that are important for visitors to pause, look out and see the washington monument, look toward the capitol and look back toward mlk memorial, et cetera. >> reporter: on the south side, the main entrance, visitors will also find calm water on a 240-foot grand porch. again, a reference to southern black history, a place of welcome, a gathering spot. he says his team was also careful to acknowledge the museum's neighbors. if you look carefully, you can see the corner of the museum lines up with the top of the

washington monument. >> 17.5 degrees, the exact same angle as the corona. >> reporter: one of the key features of this new museum it's called the oculus. what you see here the light will shine down onto one of the lower levels and on a sunny day what you'll see there is nothing short of spectacular. below ground an illuminated waterfall will be surrounded by benches and what the designers call the contemplative court, an area for visitors to rest and absorb what they've seen. with all the meaning and history built into the museum, he's very much aware of what's become a point of some controversy too, the building is dramatically and deliberately different from its surroundings and most other museums in town. >> we believe that it's important for the building museum to make a statement about what the institution is. not just to be a pretty wrapper around exhibits and artifacts. >> reporter: in washington, news 4.

and it will be the most sustainable national museum ever built with solar panels to heat water and a roof garden to help with storm water management. during the break, open the nbc washington app to see our exclusive behind the scene stories about the museum. and after the break, getting up close and personal with nature. >> the campaign national park service is rolling out to get you exploring ouregion's n rat

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right now people in our area are taking part in the biodiversity festival. it's all part of the 2016 bioblitz, a hands-on event features science exhibits, art and other family friendly activities. news 4's meagan mcgrath has a look. >> reporter: aquatic gardens, a park teeming with wildlife. >> lots of different small fish. >> reporter: and it's the job of the national park service to keep an eye on things, to document what's in the parks and make sure everything is thriving. >> you know, we're over here in kennelworth in d.c., and in this magical garden. >> reporter: it's not an easy task. it requires a lot of manpower, so the national park service is enlisting the help of volunteers, folks willing to get in boats, grab nets and other tools and count the critters. >> we're on a quest to discover everything, so we're looking for spiders and dragon flies, we're going to be doing some acoustic sound monitoring to

bats in constitution gardens on the national mall. >> reporter: it's called bioblitz, volunteers will fan out in national parks around the country, 13 in our area. don't worry if you don't know anything about wildlife. >> you can take a picture of what you see, so even if you don't know what it is, a scientist can help identify it. >> it's kind of nice we can get out today. >> today at least. >> the first time in how many weeks? >> a lot. enjoy it while it lasts because tomorrow will be changing, right, chuck? >> absolutely right. this will make the fifth weekend in a row with rain on at least one of the days. last week we did get a dry day on sunday but it was ferociously windy and chilly as you recall. this weekend won't be dry either day saturday or sunday. the bulk of the rain is on saturday, but sunday's rainfall amounts could still be in the quarter to half an inch range. and then we dry out and warm up finally next week. the 80s are in sight. all right. that's it for news 4 midday. thanks so much for joining us. we're back on the air first at

>> you can get news and weather updates any time wi the nbc th

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