the number of people who are considered a deportation priority. new guidelines under president trump call for deporting people who are here illegally if they are convicted, charged or suspected of a crime which could include minor traffic infractions. bao bao is a few hours into 16-hour flight. we'll have more on the departure from the folks who witnessed it. our nice dry weather is creating a headache for firefighters. much of the area is at greater risk for brush fires right now. firefighters are taking extra precautions. cleanup efforts underway on the national mall after someone vandalized three of our nation's most popular attractions. that's where we start the afternoon, with that cleanup. >> chris gordon is live at the lincoln memorial

>> reporter: crews are using a pressure washer and solvent trying to remove the words written in blank ink on the white marble. there are also messages written at the world war ii memorial. one just removed from the washington monument. and graffiti on an lek tri kwel box on the mall. >> it appears one person did all of the graffiti. five locations in one evening is a lot. >> reporter: it is difficult to remove the words from the marble. the clearest message says jackie shot jfk. blood test is a lie. >> if you recall probably the best example of

had here in the summer of 2013 green paint was thrown on the base of the statue. that was about three weeks from start to finish before it was gone. but there are no remnants of that and we look forward by this time next month we expect there will be no evidence of what happened here or the other memorials. >> reporter: now the national park service updated us just minutes ago, saying that there is yet another act of vandalism found at the d.c. war memorial, which is a small, older structure right here on the mall. so six acts of vandalism in all. coming up tonight, ahead on news4 at 5:00, we'll hear what visitors from across the country and around the world are saying about these acts of vandalism at national historic treasures on our mall.

case that dates back to 2013. the woman responsible for throwing green paint on the lincoln memorial was also charged with splattering paint at the washington national cathedral. it took crews nearly a month to clean all of that paint off. the women was found incompetent to stand trial. we are enjoying the warm weather, but it's fuelled a number of brush fires in the area especially in prince george's county. >> this could end up being a problem for days. we want to go to tracee wilkins who's been talking with firefighters about the danger from these brush fires. >> reporter: this is normally the kind of thing we deal with in the spring, not in the winter. just today we were with the firefighters as they put out a brush here here in

it spread for hundreds of yards. it took a number of fire trucks to put this fire out and it also took hours to do it. we spoke with a neighbor who reported this to 911 after her husband saw it. >> the fire spread down two driveways down. and at times it was about -- i think it looks to me like three feet high, the flames. it's all full of these dried leaves. it easily spreads. >> reporter: what do you make of something like this? >> i don't know what to make of it. it was just odd that it started in two places. but i can't see anything. he didn't see anyone. sometimes we think some kids are back there, but we didn't see anyone. >> reporter: yesterday prince george's county had ten brush fires. as i said, today we were on the scene of one that we know about. coming up on news4 at 5:00, why all of this is happening right now.

this is something that normally we see in the spring. calling this weather unusual seems like a bit of an understatement. >> how much of the washington region right now is at risk for wildfires? >> most of the region right now. many areas are now under moderate drought. many areas are at least abnormally dry east of the blue ridge where we were in a moderate drought situation. west of the blue ridge, they've been on the wet side here. but we've been very dry to the east of the blue ridge. that trend looks to continue. take a look at some of the numbers here, way below average since january 1st. 8.34 inches below average for the last six months. looking to remain dry through early march.

are so high. we're going to talk about our rain chances over the next couple of days and our return to the 70s. we're also learning new details about a story that's been developing all day. the department of homeland security set up new guidelines expanding the number of undocumented people that are considered a deportation priority. the guidelines call for removing anyone convicted, charged or even suspected of a crime, including traffic infractions. for anyone caught at the border, it calls for thousands more border agents and judges to deal with the asylum claims. the orders do not target so-called dreamer who eers who the u.s. illegal as children. homeland security released these new guidelines as president trump was touring the national

history and culture. he called the museum fantastic and a huge success. >> he was joined by dr. ben carson who is featured in an exhibit there at the museum. after the tour, the president spoke to nbc about recent threats targeting the jewish community. >> will you denounce anti-semitism once and for all? >> i do all the time. i do all the time. i think it's terrible. i think it's horrible. whether it's anti-semitism or racism or anything you want to think about having to do with the deviivide, anti-semitism is likewise. it's just terrible. >> what the president had to say about the recent racial tensions across the country and new plans to crack down on illegal immigration. they look like the real deal but police say these are actually ro

the skimming scheme in our area. your car insurance could be climbing and it's not because you were in an accident. what your smart phone has to do with this. one of your friends may have shared this on social media today, the wild cow chase through new york city. i'm wendy rieger at the live desk. we're monitoring reports from houston that there is an active shooter at a hospital there. police tweeted they responded to reports of shots fired. a swat team got there about 40 minutes ago. we still have not heard that they have encountered any gunmen. they are still searching the hospital. no reports of injuries at this time but some patients were evacuated on their gurneys. doctors and nurses and employees seen leaving the building. others being

the

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chopper 4 was over a high school this morning when a group of students walked out the front door to take part in a peaceful immigration rally in manassas just after noon at osborne heights school. the organizer says a lot of the students who took part are the children of immigrants. they're afraid of what might happen to their families

policy. our un-winter like weather is not only a nice break from the snow and ice we're normally getting this time of year, it's saving your car a lot of wear and tear. it's also saving you a lot of money because your vehicle is not being exposed to the salts and chemicals used to de-ice roads, chemicals that also cause rust damage. u.s. drivers pay about $3 billion annually on rust related repairs to brake lines, exhaust systems and other pricey components. even though it isn't snowing right now aaa recommends you clean the under cage harge carrr vehicle from time to time. bao bao is now officially a former washington resident. where she is now and what it was like as crowds watched today to bider farewell. h

>> reporter: bao bao's crate was hoisted up. she was loaded on board with one of her keepers and a veterinarian. and then takeoff. there was supposed to be a relatively smooth flight to china. 8,000 some miles. bao bao is breaking a lot of hearts here in washington. >> certainly is.

a fender bender and yet your insurance rates are skyrocketing. the insurance companies say you can blame distracted drivers. last year car insurance rates ar averaged a little over 900 bucks, which is up 14% from five years ago. the insurance companies say all that extra technology in our cell phones is causing too many distractions. more cars on the road usually equals more accidents. the government doesn't have a whole lot of data when it comes to distracted driving, but state farm recently took a survey. they found a third of people admit they text and drive and about 30% say they actually browse the internet bheend tehi wheel. half of those surveyed say they make phone calls while driving. onlysm

to take pictures or videos while driving. a study released just today shows african-americans are most concerned about this, 71% of african-american who s who took in a micra mayo clinic study sa were concerned about heart health. researchers also found people from the south were more worried about their heart than people who live in the northeast. right now the law says you have to have a veterinarian license to provide life saving medical care to animals. the bill's supporters say there should be exceptions for basic aid like first responders giving oxygen to animals pulled out of house fires.

two good samaritans helped save a group of children in central park. all seven of the children fell through the ice last night while taking pictures on a pond. we're told they will be okay. an unusual emergency in new york city as police chased a run away bull right through the streets of queens. >> apparently he escaped from a slaughter how is thus how is th house this morning. officers had to tie his legs to keep him from running off. we're trying to find out what's going to happen to him now. >> he didn't want to go back where he left. serious storms causing concerns as flood waters rise. the rescues and the precautions being taken as millions of

flooding. how about here at home? could we get some much needed rain of our

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hard to believe we're talking about a drought in february. that's our biggest concern right now. >> the drought and the heat. you have all this heat coming in

snow. >> it's been a while since we had a soaking rain. >> we haven't had any in the month of february. a tenth here and there but that is about it. since last august we're over eight inches below average. we need to see some rain. we did have quite a bit in january. but even january was below average for rainfall. right now it may look like rain but these are mid to high level clouds. they won't give us any rain. they're going to give us some cooler temperatures. temperature at 55 degrees right now. i saw the high a little bit earlier of 57 degrees. tonight we're going to continue to cool down through the upper 40s by 11:00. 55 right now leesburg, 59 culpepper. 60 in charlottesville. west of the blue ridge maybe a little bit better here. closer to the ba

over towards annapolis. no rain and again we really do need to see it. but take a look at the clouds moving in here. really the wider view of the system show that is the rain is just off to the west. there's two storms, one to the north, one to the south. the southern one moves to the south. the northern one moves to the north. it just misses us completely. not much in the way of rain with this system except for the southern system. now the temperatures have also been seesawing. we've seen the colder air to the north. look at new york, only 44. we're at 55. here's 70 back towards lexington, kentucky. tomorrow high temperature of 66 degrees. clouds and sun. we will see some cloud cover just like today. i think a little bit more sunshine, though. it will be significantly warmer, back to 66 tomorrow. somein

of this warm weather. the allergies. they have been up. the pollen forecast for the next couple of days is all tree pollen. it's going to be the highest wednesday, thursday and friday. may come down on saturday. saturday is the first day that we actually have a chance of some significant rainfall. but again it's only a tenth of an inch, maybe a quarter if we're lucky. 66 on your wednesday, 72 thursday, 74 on friday. big system coming in on saturday gives us some showers. it's rather breezy if not windy on sunday. sunday will be a lot colder. we've got another 74 next wednesday. they are the tricky devices that could steal your money without your ever knowing it. how police say you can spot an atm skimmer. it's something they say you need to know. needless to say, no two cell phone plans are alike. susan hogan taking a closer

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prodders, shuckersers, and sniffers, [ inhales ] all giant produce is triple checked. farm, crate, and store.

...so you don't have to guess. my giant. taking your money in a very convincing way. what police want you to know about this atm that could help you detect a skimming device. the moment of impact caught on camera. now tough new questions about what happened to a plane that crashed thousands of miles away with americans on board. metro stuck between a rock

why its leader is painting a bleak picture of the future of the troubled transit agency. just a day after being kicked out of the cpac conference milo yiannopoulos says he's resigning from breitbart news. they rescinded their invitation to yiannopoulos yesterday after a video surfaced over the weekend that seemed to show the conservative editor condoning pedophilia. he thanked breitbart for standing by him and said the decision was his alone. the person driving this jeep is facing dui chancrges after a deadly crash. the jeep hit the medium near dulles. both passengers were ejected. one of them

police in laurel are warning you about a scam that will have you doing a double take. take a very close look at this atm. this is where you dip your card into the machine. it looks rather unusual. turns out this is a skimming device that can collect your credit card numbers for scammers. it was found at a 7-eleven on route 197 yesterday. police are now reminding you to be vigilant to catch these skimmers. vigilant and look out for them. check for anything unusual such as a card slot that's a slightly different color. does the slot appear to be loose fi fitting or uneven. if you think there's something wrong, call police immediately. heavy rain in central california forced a creek over its banks this morning flooding the golf course where a homeless group had made its camp. the fire department helped five people stranded and clinging to trees.

storms responsible for that flooding are now moving east, giving california a much-needed chance to dry out. it's a chance for a reset for the president. he visited the national museum of african-american history and denounced anti-semitism today. today the white house also announced sweeping new changes to its immigration policy. we also want to get to kristin welker to talk about that immigration policy. we're going to start with what we talked about earlier, president trump visiting the national museum of african-american history and culture and specifically what he said to nbc's craig melvin. kristin, did calling anti-semitism horrible and painful do enough to silence his critics? >> reporter: well, not necessarily. there was some pushback, particularly from the ann frank center, which called it akin to putting a band-aid on cancer. however, a lot of people were waiting for the president to

something about what has been an uptick of threats against jewish community centers. he was pressed on it today by our own craig melvin. he denounced it really in his most forceful terms yet. and then he denounced anti-semitism again in prepared remarks. this comes after hillary clinton earlier today tweeted that the president really needed to speak out about this and after his daughter last night ivanka trump tweeted that she denounced this as well. for some people this was too little too late because the president was asked about this very issue last week during that press conference and he really became quite defensive and instead of denouncing anti-semitism, he instead essentially argued that he's the least anti-semitic person. today was an important first step in a reset in a broader effort to reach out to

religious groups but also groups including african-americans. today i think he tried to do that by not only visiting the museum, but making prepared remarks talking about the sacrifices, the important contributions of african-americans throughout history. >> let's move to the sweeping immigration memo from homeland security. how much will this change the current enforcement put in place under the obama administration? >> reporter: we'll have to wait and see. it does expand the universe of people that will be looked at quite closely and scrutinized. it also really gets tougher on some of these immigration and deportation tactics. here a couple of headlines. one, there are going to be 10,000 more ice agents. they are now going to be deputized in terms of local law enforcement now being able to deport people. parent whos

to be smuggled across the border could be pruosecuted. those who cross the border could be detained immediately. at the same time and this is an important caveat, the trump administration has decided to leave the daca executive order in place. effectively those young people who are here who are getting an education will not be subject to immediate deportation. this was one of the most light posts today on the nbc washington facebook. today show anchor hod da cot bee is a

>> she adopted a baby girl and named her haley joy. >> that little girl haley joy -- i'm crying. is my daughter. >> yay! >> wow. >> congratulation. >> oh my gosh. >> wow. >> how old is haley? >> haley is a valentine's baby. she's a little nugget. >> she's tiny. >> she is the love of my life. >> what a special moment. the baby's name continues an alliteration in hoda's family. hoda says her daughter's middle name joy reflects the emotion that she clearly brings her mommy. >> i've got to think

lee knew ahead of time. the other hosts sounded genuinely surprised. what a beautiful moment. how about going gluten free? some people swear by it. others say it's just a fad. but the style of diet is not for everyone. what you need to know before your next run to the grocery store. if you're looking to make the most of this beautiful weather we're having, you can find our picks for the top ten road trips in both maryland and virginia. open the nbc washington app and search 're maryland road

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good afternoon. we've got the sun getting lower in the western sky. we had a lot of clouds in and out throughout the afternoon. sunset today is at 5:53. right now i don't have any rain anywhere in the vicinity. storm team 4 radar is all dry, just some high clouds. temperatures right now in the mid 50s. chillier around the bay, only around 50 degrees. higher elevation in the mountains in the mid 60s. if you're going to be out tomorrow getting in a run, a bike ride, 9:00 a.m. near 50. cool at noontime near 60. we've got some even milder air on the way here toward the end of the week.

chilly at the end of february. >> all a matter of perspective. you can't go to the grocery store without seeing a label or an entire aisle dedicated ed d gluten free. some people go gluten free to lose weight, others for health reasons. >> the number of people eating gluten free is skyrocketing now. question is, does it help in the long run? and if so, who does it really help? >> whether this change in your diet is really needed for most folks. >> in terms of allergy, it's only about half a percent of the population will have a wheat allergy. but because of seal yak disease and gluten free indidiets being big fad, it's kind of a big topic. >> many people who don't have seal yak, also go on gluten free diets. >> i think there's some legitimacy to some of

probably less is better. >> gluten allergies are most commonly found in young kids. >> it's more common in children. it's not a common allergy in general and not common in adults. >> look in many grocery stores and you'll see the aisles are full of gluten free foods. a study conducted by the cdc found about one in three quarter million people have seal yak disease and about 2.5 million more follow a gluten free diet even though they don't have seal yak disease. >> for more, you can go to the nbc washington app and search food fears. metro is slashing jobs and

situation and what it means for riders who rely on the system. we've all got one, but are you paying too much for your cell phone plan? we are the tv doctors of america. and we're partnering with cigna to help save lives. by getting you to a real doctor for an annual check-up. so go, know, and take control of your health. doctor poses. learn your key health numbers, and take control today.

an update to that breaking news we brought you about 30 minutes ago. the houston police chief now

active shooter at a hospital that's been on lockdown for about an hour now in houston. so far at this point, no reports of anyone getting injured. >> some of the patients there were evacuated with doctors and nurses treating those patients outside. out of options, that's how metro's general manager explains the agency's financial situation. >> reporter: the financial picture for metro frankly isn't good. it could potentially be getting worse as the transit system continues to shed riders through things like safe track and people finding a way to get around, other ways like walking, biking, uber, just the transportation landscape changing. metro is trying to save every penny it can, including cuts employees to try to save money for the transit syste

now the general manager being quite frank, he is asking the region to step up and do something to help fix metro. he didn't say anything specifically, but with the financial situation, it is very clear that something needs to be done from the local jurisdictions. >> i've used up just about every tool i have. i can continue to press. i will. but the big numbers just aren't there. so that's where we find ourselves. >> reporter: metro's board is going to be talking about all of this at a board meeting on thursday. we'll bring you details as they become available. the fight over paid family leave far from over. now there is some debate over making a big change. >> we are working for you this afternoon. jim handly and win derieger are in the newsroom with more. >> this could be a game changer for families arnoound our regio.

could impact when families can take advantage of it. also knew , a crisis hotlin make a world of difference for a person in emotional distress, but things are changing. take a look at this spectacular exhibit. this is about to make its debut in d.c. we're getting a sneak peek and we're going to learn about the emotional story behind this art. we know you don't want to pay more for your cell phone service than you have to. >> susan hogan is here to help us navigate all these options. >> this is so crazy because you just think there's the big four. but there are sony

there available to us. if you haven't thought about your plan in a while, now may be the time to do so. some of the smaller carriers may have better deals for your lifestyle than the big fore. all cell phone plans are not created the same, whether you're a college student, a world traveler or part of a busy family, there's a plan for you. you might save a bundle by switching, but you have to think about who is using the phone and how they're using it. >> college students want a plan that keeps rates low and used the wifi networks available on most college campuses. >> consumer reports says ting wireless might be a good option. for $6 a month you get unlimited calls and texts on way fee. when you're not on way fifi cel prices are reasonable.

cover your whole family, consumer reports says you'll want one that's highly customizable. for that consumer reports says check out consumer cellular. it's one of their top rated services which offers plans and smart phones ranging from cheap to premium. the downside, fewer phone models to choose from. if you travel out of the country, using your smart phone can be expensive. >> for world travelers we recommend google project fi. >> when wifi isn't an option, rates are still affordable. one draw back, it offers only three models, google's new pixel smart phone. if you

kids these are great plans. they don't need all those most expensive phones. these are great plans to look at if you have a large family for sure. we have all of this information on our website right now. >> just got to get out of our contract. >> that's a whole other story. and the weather, what kind of story are you telling? >> as far as winter is concerned, it's a tragedy. >> depends on your perspective thanchts . >> that is true. winter lovers are still in the corner in the fetal position. it looks like it's pretty much over. a lot of it has to do with the fact we're gaining a lot of daylight as each day goes by. our daylight today, 11 hours and two minutes. by the equinox we'll have over 12 hours of daylight. we're going to gain an hour of daylight here just in the

the sunset on the equinox will be at 7:20. send us your pictures like brenda did today from hughesville, maryland. a gorgeous sunrise there. send your pics, twitter, instagram and facebook. right now temps in the 50s. by 8:00 tonight, we'll still generally be hovering in the low 50s. by 11:00, we'll be down to the upper 40s. getting mild by 11:00 tomorrow morning, getting up near 60 degrees. then feeling more like may than february as we get into thursday and friday. we're going to fast forward three months. it will be in the low 70son

mid 70s on friday. down to the weekend, a chance of some rain. looks like saturday afternoon. temperatures still pretty mild. showers coming through. they'll be gone by saturday night late. sunday temperatures may struggle to make it back up to around 50 degrees. just a little bit warmer than the average high this time of year. then as we say good-bye to february, monday and tuesday, highs in the 50s, maybe rain on tuesday. te hello march on wednesday. back into the mid 70s and then a chill after that. people say it sounded like a bomb went off. the moment of impact caught on camera. what caused the flame to fall right from the sky.

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four americans died when a plane crashed into a mall in australia. the crash was caught on camera. >> investigators are trying to figure out why the plane fell out of the sky. >> reporter: >> receiving multiple calls. appears this may be a plane crash. >> reporter: witnesses said it sounded like a bomb went off. that's what it looked like from the highway. the crash caught on this dash cam and on this one. the video showing the twin prop plane flying low

>> saw the last second of the plane banking and then just hit. i don't think there was any time to do anything. >> reporter: both the mall and the plane were engulfed in flames. the fire so intense rescuers couldn't get close. >> it's pretty much just a smoking wreck when we got there. there was pretty much nothing left on impact. >> reporter: the aircraft was unrecognizable. debris scattered on the highway. on board, an australian pilot and four american tourists reportedly on their dream golf vacation. there were no survivors. >> it was pretty horrible standing. couldn't do anything. >> reporter: investigators say the plane was a private charter flight, a twin engine beechcraft in trouble. >> we understand there was potentially a catastrophic engine fire. >> reporter: it took hours to put out the flames. now australia's crash investigation team is trying to figure out what went wrong. the k

right now, the pilot was able to get a may day call out before the plane went down. he reported engine failure. there were workers inside that mall when the crash happened. remarkably, nobody on the ground was injured. the news continues right now with jim and wendy. news4 rat 5:00 starts now. >> reporter: the first of six targets of vandalism. >> reporter: bao bao on her way to china, leaving washington behind. we're here at dulles as the panda express takes off. also top new guidelines fro today from the white house on immigration. >> the president's thoughts on anti-semitism. craig melvin will join us live

in the studio to break it all down for us. first up, a cleanup begins on our national mall after some popular memorials were vandalized. we're talking about five cases of graffiti on four monuments. that includes the washington memorial, the world war ii monument, lincoln and d.c. war memorial. let's head out to chris gordon live on the mall this afternoon. >> reporter: police think it was the work of a single vandal with either a black sharpie or magic marker, writing a cryptic message hard to understand. saying jackie killed jfk. 9/11 pilots flew into wtc. despite the fact that there were crowds of people here on the mall saturday night when it apparently happened, no one has been able to help u.s. park police identify a suspect. it could take days even weeks to remove all the words from

where the giant statue of abraham lincoln looks out over the mall. marble is more porous than the granite beside the stairs where the second message of written. visitors think it's an outrage. >> i think it's unfortunate that people feel that's maybe the only way they can express their opinion. you know, there are other ways to do that and vandalizing a piece of history that many people are here to see is unfortunate. >> it's sad. i was here about four years ago and i just don't feel like the times were the same then. it's disrespectful. >> reporter: visitors from england say they've seen graffiti before, but never on their national landmarks. >> it's absolutely disgusting. why would anybody want to do that in a beautiful place like this? >> reporter: at the washington monument, similar graffiti had just been removed b