make a difference? i'm doug luzader and we'll have the latest straight ahead. >> people in several states are hoping luck is on their side today. the jackpot is up to a record $540 million. >> the long odds of winning don't seem to be stopping people from coming out in droves for a chance to turn one dollar into millions and millions. we are live with the mega millions mania as fox 5 news at 7:00 starts right now. who wants to be a millionaire? yes indeed. it's straight up 7:00 this friday morning. friday march 30th. a beautiful sunrise. we've been fortunate. most of this week the sun rises have been very, very nice. and i think it's going to be a decent day today. good morning, i'm tony perkins. >> i'm alison seymour. who needs millions of dollars when you have that look. >> but i'll take it anyway.

>> tucker barnes joining us now with a look at the forecast. what's up, tuck? >> good morning allison and everybody. as you head out your door to get your lottery tickets, looking fine. lots of sunshine. temperatures back in the 60s. let's get to numbers and take a look at our current conditions. reagan national, 44 degrees. dulles, 39. frost advisory north and west, temperatures in frederick have dipped to the freezing mark. last look they were 32. 36 hagerstown. cool start. might need a jacket to start your day. at least partial sunshine and more cloudiness this afternoon. temperatures in the 50s. rain showers into southern ohio, leading to our best chance of showers overnight tonight and early saturday. more details on that coming up. for your friday, generally sunny, mild conditions, highs in the 60s by 4:00 p.m. could be a sprinkle later this afternoon. more details on the forecast in

a minute. let's do traffic with julie wright. tucker, big story this morning is the new lane configuration on the inner loop of the beltway approaching braddock road. this is all part of that hot lane zone work they've been doing overnight. the crew and skyfox live over the scene here, inner loop of the beltway at braddock road. they have shifted the left two lanes tightly and without warning here, as you try to work over to the right and continue up towards 236. that is a tight shift. not a lot of maneuvering ability for you. looks like the second lane from the left is often stuck temporarily to allow the far left lane to maneuver in. complicated for you guys there and big delays stacking up from the springfield interchange. this is the story for this morning's commute. it's the big problem we have in virginia working past braddock work. minor fender-bender in the backup, but it's moved over to the shoulder. slowing from springfield headed

to braddock road. 395 by contrast looks better. no problems to report leaving duke street headed to the 14th street bridge. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. our top story this morning, fairfax county gang members busted for running an alleged prostitution ring. prosecutors say five members, including the ring leader of the underground crips gang arrested and charged with sex trafficking. investigators believe the men recruited high school girls as young as 16 years old through social media web sites. they say the girls were forced to go door to door looking for customers to pay for sex. >> sometimes being forced to prostitute themselves as many as 10 times a night. dozens of times over the course of a week for many weeks at a time. >> officials say together, 11 gang members have been arrested

since 2011 for underage sex trafficking. no grand jury in the trayvon martin case. that is the word from the special prosecutor who was appointed by the governor of florida this week. governor rick scott assigned the state attorney to investigate last month's shooting. but she says she might just arrest george zimmerman without presenting evidence to the grand jury. in the meantime, zimmerman's brother went on cnn last night, saying his brother was defending himself until martin tried to take his gun. >> he prevented his firearm from being taken from him and used against him, and that's called saving your life. >> you believe, as a family, this is what george told you the next day, that trayvon was trying to grab his gun to use against him? >> my father also is on record yesterday night saying, and again what trayvon said was either to the effect of, i believe, this is going to be

easy, you die tonight or you have a peace, you die tonight and attempted to disarm him. >> in the meantime, spike lee is settling after retweeting the wrong address of the man who killed martin. he reached a settlement with the elderly couple after they had to leave their florida home. now for a check of today's other top stories, a pakistani man from fairfax who worked as a lobbyist on capitol hill goes in front of a judge this morning. the 62-year-old already pled guilty to secretly receiving millions from pakistan's spy agency to influence congress. he says he was trying to bring peace to the territory of kashmir. the district is handing out licenses to grow medical marijuana today. once harvested, the pot will be

sent to five distribution centers. a store is opening today on rhode island avenue and will only sell supplies for indoor growing of the the first sales could begin in august. to the race for the white house now, with maryland and d.c.'s primaries days away, mitt romney is gaining momentum with a slew of new endorsements. but will all the support finally help him clinch the nomination? doug luzader has the latest from the campaign trail. >> reporter: pundits may argue about how effective endorsements are, but the bottom line is romney is getting big names behind him. as endorsements go, this was a big one. former president george h.w. bush. >> barbara and i are very proud to fully and enthusiastically endorse and support our old friend mitt romney. >> reporter: this may have been his biggest endorsement lately, but not the only one.

earlier this week, rising gop star mark o rubio backed him, and there's word paul ryan could be next. former president bush did more than just offer support. he called on the party to finally settle what has become a brutal and protracted primary. >> i do think it's time for the party to get behind governor romney and it's time to hold them and time to fold them, i think it's time for people to get behind this good man. >> reporter: the fight continues with santorum in california, gingrich in wisconsin, and ron paul preparing for three contests next week. all the while, president obama remains above the fray. republicans hope endorsements like this will bring this long process to a close. >> a message not to the voters, but the other candidates, it's

over. >> reporter: no endorsement yet from former president george w. bush. in washington, doug luzader, fox news. president obama hits the road today for a couple of fundraisers. he is headed up to new england this morning to speak to students and on to portland, maine this afternoon. his stops include campaign events at the university of vermont and southern maine university college. next week vice president biden talks about the rising cost of a college education when he visits norfolk, virginia and will be tweeting. on capitol hill, it's not looking good for the gop's $3.5 trillion budget proposal, even though it passed in the house last night, it's almost certain to die in the democrat controlled senate. it would make cuts to programs such as food stamps and transportation. talk about a big story this morning, how about $540 million big?

that's how much money is up for grabs in tonight's mega millions drawing. >> i like it a lot. it is the largest lottery jackpot in united states history. and americans across the nation are just waiting to become instant manage airs. sherri ly is live in northwest today, and people are lining up already. how is the crowd? >> reporter: well, not too crowded yet. a few people coming in and out here. that of course will probably get a lot longer as the day goes on. i have to say we just saw a guy here a few minutes ago stop by and said look, i watch fox 5 every morning. i saw that you were there just down the street from work, so i knew it was my lucky day and i had to buy a ticket. who knows, maybe we could be the lucky winner? about everybody says they have the winning ticket and with $540 million at stake, everybody is hoping to cash in. the jackpot has never been this big. people in 42 states and the

district are snapping up their tickets, hoping to become millionaires. you can buy one in d.c., maryland or virginia. the payoff, if you choose a lump sum -- you can't win if you don't buy. according to forbes, the odds of winning are 176 million to 1. you'll probably have to share that, though. there's a 9 # 7% chance -- 97% chance of more than one winner. when you pick your numbers, you might want to choose something higher, between 32 and 56, since many people like to choose numbers like 1 through 31 for birthdays and anniversaries. less competition, but not necessarily increase your odds. it's got people dreaming of hitting it big. >> reporter: what you would you do? >> travel the world, go underwater, go to the moon,

i'll go all around, and i wouldn't forget charity. >> reporter: with the jackpot this big, it is possible to buy up every one of the possible winning combinations, that would cost $176 million. it's not the money that's the problem for people, it's actually filling out the cards, because the cards would take five seconds each, multiply that by 176 million, and probably take you about 28 years to do that. so you'll have to find another strategy, perhaps go back to the birthdays and anniversaries, tony and allison. >> i just let the computer pick my numbers. >> i do, too. >> thank you. we should have given her money earlier. >> i was wanting to ask her that. didn't want to be that cliche. hey, pick me up a ticket? still ahead, president obama's health care law is now set for a vote today. >> and if you're planning on using the beltway near tyson's corner tonight, might want to find an alternate route. we'll explain why.

>> plus, details about an overnight train derailment, this happened in howard county. no one was hurt, but crews are still on the scene. we'll bring you the latest next. ♪ >> hey, going old school this morning. we'll get the latest in traffic and weather from julie and tucker in a moment. these are the monkees with "i'm a believer." ♪  

making headlines this morning, hillary clinton arrived in saudi arabia this morning. the u.s. secretary of state is there for talks on the crisis in syria. she's meeting king abdullah today and then she heads to turkey for a meeting with a group called the friends of the syrian people. the united states is trying to

help isolate the syrian rejim. the supreme court justices will meet today to vote on the future of president obama's health care law. they'll weigh whether the law is constitutional. they won't make their decision public until june. people across the world are being encouraged to turn out the lights tomorrow night to raise awareness of environmental establishment issues. the washington national cathedral and aquarium in baltimore both plan to participate. it starts saturday at 8:30 p.m. the world wildlife fund says people in 135 countries participated last year. it is 7:16 now. friday morning. whatever you say can't be all that bad? >> it's not all that bad. >> and it's a bonus, because it's pretty good. >> most of the weekend dry. little bit of shower activity early tomorrow morning, but otherwise nice temperatures.

comfortable. getting warmer towards the end of the weekend. >> very good. >> i really enjoyed weather guys. >> oh, thanks. >> it was funny. >> it was fun. >> myfoxdc.com if you missed it. >> people going to school or spring break? >> spring break. >> not for everybody. >> but montgomery county spring break. >> partly sunny skies. cool temperatures. need a jacket if you are going to school today. low 30s to start your morning. 50s for afternoon highs. currently 44 degrees. buffalo 30. there is cold air here in new england across the mid- atlantic. nice warm air to the west. st. louis 63. 68 in dallas. that will get in here over the weekend and our afternoon highs by sunday through tuesday, back in the 70s. warming trend ahead. sunshine to start your day. clouds will move in later, and the possibility of a light sprinkle this afternoon. but most of the shower activity

with our next system holds off until later tonight, early tomorrow morning. this area of low pressure will drag most of its energy north and west of us. just talking about light showers overnight. maybe 0.10 inches of rain. not a big deal. tomorrow is not a washout. five-day forecast, 63 today, and back in the 70s by monday, tuesday, mid-70s. >> i have to say, i look at rain this time of year, it's a good thing. >> oh, yeah. >> our lawns get watered. >> farmers need it. it's a good thing. >> yesterday sidney said how come that grass is green and ours is brown? i said we're going to take care of it. don't you worry, sister. been in a slump, but we're coming back. let's find out what's going on on the roads this morning. julie wright is here. >> kids say the darndest things. >> you have a balcony, right? you don't have to worry about a lawn. >> that's a good thing. >> i sit out there and flip over every 30 minutes like a

rotisserie chicken. inner loop of the beltway, we had a fender-bender, it's moved over. delays coming off the inner loop to saint b., about 11 minutes. inner loop is slow from braddock road, or up to braddock road, lane shift, and everybody shifted to the right. outer loop below speed. all lanes are open and 395 slow traveling north of the beltway trying to get past duke street. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. thank you. a travel alert to pass along for beltway drivers, lane closures near tyson's corner. three right lanes at southbound i-495 will be closed along with the old exit ramp from i-66 onto the beltway. the new ramp will open saturday at 7:00 in the morning. it's part of a billion dollar project to add 14 miles of

express toll lanes to 495 between springfield and the dulles toll road. there is good news for week metro riders. the agency is taking a spring break from track work during the rest of the cherry blossom festival. no scheduled weekend track work until april 15th. new this morning, howard county firefighters are on the scene of a train derailment. it happened a few hours ago inside the csx train yard in jessup. firefighters got there after 2:00 this morning and found two trains collided. besides the conductors, nobody else was involved and the train cars were empty. the accident did bring down some telephone lines, but no power outages have been reported. it is 7:20 now on a friday morning. up next, a new report about

abuse at an apple plant overseas. >> plus, a startling study about autism and the number of cases in the united states. turns out the disorder is more prevalent than researchers first thought. >> and a world class competition with the best dancers in the nation. it's happening in baltimore and it's happening this weekend. our holly morris is there this morning learning how to do the fox trot. we're going to check back in with her a little later. ♪ ♪

♪ [ multiple sounds making melodic tune ] ♪ [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman, every innovation, every solution, comes together for a single purpose -- to make the world a safer place. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman.

in order to grow best buy is shrinking. the struggleling electronics chain plans to close 50 of its u.s. stores, cut 400 corporate jobs and trim $800 million in costs. the company also plans to open 100 smaller and more profitable best buy mobile stores throughout the country to keep

up with the demand for tablet computers, smartphones and e- readers. several work place violations at one of apple's suppliers in china. the report says some workers are spending more than 60 hours working at plants a week, making the iphones and ipads and many at one factory are forced to work without days off. the report finds other health and safety violations. apple is promising to investigate the claims. a health alert, a new report about autism says it's nearly twice as common as officials thought it years ago. today one in 88 children have some form of autism spectrum disorder. the largest increases were seen among hispanic and african- american children. federal health officials say wider screening and better diagnosis are bring this to

life. >> we have to look at environmental factors. >> we have a lot of research to do, and it's not going to be one factor. it's going to be multiple factors that probably contribute to this condition, because it's a huge spectrum with a lot of different conditions. >> doctors say parents who suspect developmental problems in their children should act quickly, contacting their doctors and school system. we are talking much more about these findings and what they mean for autism research coming up in our 8:00 hour with the organization, autism speaks. a popular natural supermarket chain is halting the sale of unsustainable seafood, starting april 22nd, whole foods will no longer carry wild cod that is red rated.

it is now 7:26. what would you do if you won tonight's mega millions jackpot? our facebook fans weigh in after the break. >> plus, you saw it first here, allegations of fraud involving a tax filing company. now the feds are getting involved. next, an expert from the justice department's tax division will join us live for a closer look at the charges against instant tax service. >> as we head to the break, we have a live look outside. we'll get the latest weather and traffic from tucker and julie. there are some traffic issues. not many weather issues. we'll have all of that and more coming up. these are the beach boys. ♪ [ male announcer ] this was how my day began.

a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ oooh, my turn. ♪ she was in paris, but we talked for hours... everyone else buzzed about the band. there's a wireless mind inside all of us. so, where to next? ♪

my dsometimes i'd tag alongian. to a work site, so, where to next?

carrying his lunch or tools. it was good, honest work. i went to college with the help of a union scholarship, then started a maryland business, creating jobs by providing financing to small companies wall street ignored. today, congress is ignoring our need for jobs. my dad the electrician taught me, if something's broken, get in there and try to fix it. i'm john delaney, and i approve this message. we love this part of the show, getting to hear what people are saying. seems like everyone has mega millions fever, with the jackpot at a record setting $540 million. >> it's hard not to get caught up in the hype. plenty of our facebook fans have plans when they win. pacman says he would "go into business with oprah winfrey" four exclamation points and make even more money. >> be careful.

because the tv thing, own isn't working out all that great. lady bug crossing has a long list of ideas. she'll pay off the house, replace my 1986 carpet. >> i hear you, lady bug. >> put a nest egg away. implement a landscaping plan. put a front porch on my house. replace both cars. get a personal trainer. she's thought about this. set up a fund for fhs marching band and not worry about my kids' education expenses. >> i'm right with you. mike stanley says he would give almost all of it away. >> mike stanley, you're on record with that. we're going to remember you said that. >> we want you to share your plans with us. go to our face book page. good luck, everybody. >> very good. >> with that money, everybody could win a little something. >> you have to be careful, because it's easy to blow

through money and get mixed up with things. >> i promise if i win, i'll be great. >> everybody makes that promise. >> do they? i saw one viewer wanted a solid gold cell phone. that's how you get in trouble. >> that person probably deserves it. >> right. >> i don't think the signal would get through. >> doesn't matter, because you'd look so good using it. what do you have for us? >> the forecast looks fine. sunshine, and i keep trying to work the lottery into the forecast. not much i can do there. >> i have a line. here are some winning numbers. >> that was good. >> you can use that. >> i used that earlier. like 4:30 this morning. >> that's the only one i got. >> i used all my material earlier. let's get to it. sunshine, yeah, sunny start to your day, except clouds to the west. moving in later. few showers. could be a sprinkle this afternoon. real shower activity will hold off until after midnight, and

even then, should be light. weekend, so-so. clouds to start the saturday. i think i saturday afternoon, sun. and sunday looks great with temperatures in the 70s. mid-70s by early next week. should be 74, 75 by monday and tuesday next week. we are still cool, though these numbers are winning. 44in washington. 34 in gaithersburg. 41leonardtown. quantico, you're 50 degrees. frost advisory to the north and west. temperatures should warm up here with the morning sunshine. satellite radar generally quiet. few showers just to our west. i think the shower activity will hold off a little bit. could be a sprinkle or two. clouds moving in later. after a little sunshine, partly sunny afternoon and again, our main event for the night is an area of low pressure that will drag most of its energy north and west of us, bringing us showers overnight. most of the day will be dry.

63 today. early sunshine, afternoon clouds. winds lighter than yesterday out of the north at 5 to 10 miles per hour. cloudy tonight with a couple of showers overnight. if you have evening plans, dining outdoors, generally fine here tonight. 50 the overnight low. 60 tomorrow morning with an early shower. back into the 70s monday and tuesday. mid-70. could be a thunderstorm on tuesday. that's weather. let's do traffic. julie? inner loop of the beltway, where we've had major tieups because of that lane shift at braddock road. everyone is over to the right, and it's keeping you on the brakes from the springfield interchange headed to braddock road. lane shift happens unexpectantly and without warning. innerbelt of the beltway from oxen hill, moved over to the shoulder. only five minutes. but the outer loop, clear cleaning up debris approaching

202, causing a backup before route 50. average speed is down to 15 miles per hour. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. thank you very much. a nationwide tax service with a few locations in our area is being sued by the department of justice. the feds say instant tax service has engaged in systemic and invasive tax fraud. thanks for coming in. >> good morning, thank you. >> first thing we want to make clear is that this is a civil action that's been taken against this company, correct? >> that's correct. we filed five different lawsuits in cities across the country. >> at this point, my understanding is none of the local branches of this particular company are involved in that suit? >> no, that's not right. one of the suits is against the corporate franchise based in dayton, ohio, that's instant tax service. and we filed four other

lawsuits in other cities, indianapolis, chicago, kansas city and las vegas against franchise owners. >> okay. let's talk a little bit about the type of misconduct that you all have uncovered. >> yes. well, we allege in the complaints a number of different kinds of misconduct. but there's a common theme throughout. one of the most common ones is tax preparers who use phony businesses to artificially either inflate or decrease people's reported income from what their true income is in order to try to maximize the earned income credit for those people. another example is that we allege that a number of franchises file and prepare returns before their customers have their w-2 forms and that's not proper. they use it based on year end pay stubs. that's not allowed and it leads to inaccurate returns. >> have customers like, for

example, the first case you mention where phony companies are being declared, are customers aware of this or they just don't understand what has been going on with this company? >> you know, it's probably a mixture of both. have to look at that on a case by case basis. certainly a number of them are not. another problem is, some tax preparers don't really show the return to the customers, or the customers don't look at it. they just, sometimes preparers may show just a portion of the return. so there's so many customers here, there's no one answer. >> we've heard they've had strange fees they've been charging. >> yes, we allege in the complaint that the franchises charge high fees and one example we cite a fee as much as $1,000 for 15 minutes of tax preparation work. we also allege in addition, the

average fees charges, as we allege, are about $400 to $500 per customer for simple tax preparation work. there's the kind of fee that the ceo of instant tax service has referred to as junk fees. a number of different fees put on on top of the tax prep fee that can bring the total fee up to a very high number, and they're not always disclosed to the customers. >> what about these loans? there have been suspect loans that the company has been making? >> yes. the complaints that we filed allege that instant tax offers loans to people and that they then many of the people don't qualify for the loans, but are still charged high fees. instant tax also we allege has a relationship with the lender, but tells customers that the lender is a third party.

>> so the corporate office you filed against them, several of the franchisees. might other locations be added to this at some point? >> we filed against these four franchisees, which cover five or six cities across the country. i can't really comment on what else we might do. but this is what we've done for the time being. >> very quickly, we want to go through consumer tips you brought along. we have a couple of graphics we're going to show. there are things people should look out for and think about. >> yes. we got most of these, if not all of them, from the irs.gov web site. one of them is check the tax preparer's history. you can look on the internet, you can check with the better business bureau. see if they've been charged with fraud. see if they're reputable. another one is find out in advance what the fees are and make sure you know what all the

fees are. if you see fees that are later charged, you should don't just accept those. here's an important one. you should avoid tax preparers who claim they can get you the biggest refund. that's really a sign of a suspicious tax preparer that's worth avoiding. another one, make sure you have a preparer who really wants to see what receipts and records you have, rather than just sit there and make up information. you need -- it's your responsibility when you sign that return that it's honest and accurate and you can save yourself a lot of trouble if you do your due diligence. >> we're going to have to wrap it here. that is probably the key thing, whoever you have preparing, you're the one responsible when you sign it. >> absolutely true. >> we appreciate you coming in and shed light on this. it's a story we've been following closely. thanks for coming in. allison, back to you.

thank you. 7:40now. 44degrees. a delay in the jerry sandusky child sex abuse trial. >> do you need a vacation? you'll want to check out today's half off deal. it's a 6-night stay for just $489. to find out more, about to myfoxdc.com and look for the myfox half off logo on the right side of the page. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] this was how my day began.

got my bearings. ♪ a little bird told me about a band. ♪ an old man shared some fish stories. ♪ ooh, my turn. ♪ she was in paris, but i still got to see her.

we talked for hours. ♪ everyone else buzzed about the band. music, stories, adventures, memories. ♪ ...all at my fingertips. ♪ there's a wireless mind inside all of us. ♪ so, where to next? ♪

the child sex abuse trial of former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky has been postponed. a judge pushed it back by three weeks till early june. last week his lawyers asked the judge to dismiss charges saying the victims lacked details and are in it for the money. yesterday prosecutors filed a document saying why it shouldn't be dismissed.

crews in colorado continue to make progress on a wildfire that's been burning for days now. as of this morning, officials say it's 45% contained. that's a big improvement. elderly couple died in the fire and a woman remains missing. we're hearing some residents may not have received a warning call to evacuate. sheriff's office says due to a software glitch, about 12% of residents were not notified. >> that's a shame. >> yes. tucker is joining us now. no easy segue out of that bad news. i'll ask how the weather around here will be. >> generally good. our forecast as we get into the weekend, not going to be perfect. nice spring time forecast with warmer temperatures towards the end of the weekend. >> and it's friday. >> and it's friday. it's been beautiful. >> it has been. >> let's be honest. we've had a beautiful stretch for months now. >> yeah. we cannot complain. >> 44 now in washington. chilly start. 32frederick.

cool temperatures to start your day. tony be look at quantico at 50. >> that's not right. >> we're going to get that checked out. there is a cold chunk of air across the eastern, northeast and mid-atlantic, and that will retreat later today. tonight as a warm front approaches from the south and west. here's our futurecast, sunshine this morning, and cloud cover this afternoon. sprinkle this afternoon, but i think most of the action will hold off until overnight, and it should be very light. then we'll get it out of here gradually saturday. saturday won't start off promising. kind of cloudy. late in the day should get sunshine. sunday, highs about 70 degrees. hang in there, monday, tuesday, mid-70s. >> i can hang in there for that. thank you, tuck. let's go to julie now and find out -- actually we want to know what's going on with the traffic. >> i want to know what you're

doing this weekend. tony doesn't care necessarily. >> i'll tell you what i'm doing after the show, it's called packing. 11:00tonight, i'm on that plane, girl. >> if you win the 530 million, you can't go to the 7-eleven, they can't give you that money now. >> man, they didn't tell me all that. [ laughter ] >> julie is going to shutter island. [ laughter ] >> yeah, really. inner loop of the beltway, had problems at st. barnabas road. activity out of your way. five-minute delay headed to saint b. outer loop of the beltway, approaching 202, truck lost a load of gravel tying up the two right lanes and slow traveling north from 202. average speed at 50 is now down to 15 miles per hour. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic.

♪ i've been so many places in my life and time ♪ >> i love that smoky tone. but it is the end of the road for heejun. he was voted off "american idol" last night. eight are left. next week they'll pick songs from the 80s, the decade in which most of them were born. oh. coming up in our 9:00 hour, he'll join us live. it's bittersweet. he really sang that song well. >> he'd been spotty in the weeks leading up to that. >> last night he was very serious. >> it's not a comedy competition. remember that. our holly morris is learning new moves this morning. >> she is live in baltimore, where this weekend the best dancers in the world will face off, and some of them are children. >> reporter: they are. you're right, tony, the dancers range in age from 7 to their

70s. it's not often you see a dance floor this busy and it's not even 8:00 in the morning. but that's because the u.s.a. national dancesport champions are live this weekend. the competition is moments away from starting. coming up, we're going to talk about the competition, what the judges are looking for, how it works and we might even get a lesson. we'll tell you how you can come out and watch, it's all live next on fox 5 morning news. stay with us. ♪ thanks, holly. before we take you to break, let's say good morning to our facebook fan of the day. it's tina williams. these are her kids in the photo. her youngest son, jacob's birthday is april 1st. he has autism, and we begin autism awareness month in april. so a very special happy birthday to you, jacob. we hope it's the best one ever. tina and family, thank you for watching. for a chance to be monday's fan

of the day, head to our facebook page and post a comment under tina's photo. we'll be right back. 7:49now. look, every day we're using more and more energy.

the world needs more energy. where's it going to come from? ♪ that's why right here, in australia, chevron is building one of the biggest natural gas projects in the world. enough power for a city the size of singapore for 50 years. what's it going to do to the planet? natural gas is the cleanest conventional fuel there is. we've got to be smart about this. it's a smart way to go. ♪

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welcome back. 7:53. america's top dancers are in baltimore this weekend for a competition. >> our holly morris is there to find out more. good morning. did i hear you were going to learn the foxtrot or something? >> reporter: you know, since i work at fox, maybe i'd learn a little foxtrot. might kick it up to the tango, we'll see. all those dances will be on display this weekend. by the time it's over, national champions will be crowned and they'll be representing the u.s. in the world championships. so this is a big deal. ken richards is the vice president of dancesport. he joins me for these final moments, because the competition begins at 8:00.

>> starting right away. very exciting. >> reporter: this is the largest amateur competition in the nation. 1200 dancers, amazing. >> that's correct. it's the largest we have hosted also. >> reporter: i was talking with someone, because they said it's the largest number you had, and you upped what it took to qualify. >> yes. the qualifying requirements this year were top 75% in all the divisions, whereas in previous years anyone can enter as long as they were eligible in the other division. >> reporter: what are we going to see this weekend? >> all types of dancing and all age ranges from 7 to 70. you'll see the foxtrot, the tango, you're going to see of course the jive and the quick step and all the various dances you see on dancing with the stars, what we call ball room dancing. >> reporter: it's a wonderful spectator sport. >> wonderful spectator sport. we have tickets available. >> reporter: no you don't. >> yes. >> reporter: of course you do.

>> we're doing this through sunday evening. >> reporter: it's a great weekend. lots of opportunities for people to come out. dan callaway is a professional instructor. he competed for years and now is a judge. for you to be at this level, what are the things your eyes are looking for? >> it's great to see dancing at its best. these are the people who are representing the world. i'm looking for fluidity and great representation of the music and energy and lots of fun. >> reporter: i want to have lots of fun and i have energy. this is not my first lesson. with your going to teach me the foxtrot. >> you're going to walk backwards, one, two, and a shasay to the side. pivot. this is called promenade position. >> reporter: really you need a good leader. it makes you look better all the time. that's the basic foxtrot.

let's look at it at a higher level. >> here are paul and louise. they are a wonderful couple, representing us in the world champions in the senior division. beautiful flow across the floor. >> reporter: is it the little things that make a difference that determine whether you're the champion or come just under? >> at the highest level, absolutely. look at her beautiful smile. they have range and poise. they react to each other. it's like a conversation, and it's personal. each couple does it differently and that's what makes it an art. >> reporter: you're right, the personality changes with the dance. from the foxtrot in 30 seconds let's do the tango. >> all right. we're going to do one, two, three, and we drag that foot in. here's a little lunge. and then our tango close. that is a tango. >> reporter: i love it. let's see the tango at a higher

level. >> here they are. again, our world representatives. attitude is everything that they do, the way they stand, the way they use their head actions. the music is more rhythmic. it's that great contrast between flow and rhythm that makes the tango special and with the attitude of course. >> reporter: any dance that starts with attitude, that's the one i want to become proficient in. thank you. myfoxdc.com is our web site. we have a link to the national dance sports going on this weekend. tickets still available. we'll have more as the competition gets underway coming up in our next hour. more fox 5 news after the break. stay with us 3q save them.

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straight ahead at 8:00, an update on the death of florida teenager trayvon martin. the man who prepared his body for burial is speaking out, weighing in on the controversy over whether this was a physical scuffle. plus, startling new study

find more cases of autism in the u.s. than previously thought. a representative from autism speaks joins us. the mega million jackpots more than half a billion dollars. what are your odds? >> one in half a billion. >> what would be news is if we said, about one out of 20. >> yea! >> that's not the case. good morning, i'm tony perkins. >> i'm alison seymour. regardless of those odds, we're still going to play. >> of course. you got to try. >> it's like a movement in pop culture. got to be a part of that. >> yeah. >> definitely. >> i've never even got a number. >> i've never won anything. >> we're due. >> i've won at the most like $15. >> you're lucky. >> yeah, tony. >> all right. >> talk about the basketball brackets. >> we don't like that, tony. >> we wins everything over there. >> not everything. >> mostly everything.

here's a live shot. nice looking start. just kidding you. lots of sunshine across the area. going to be a nice afternoon. but a cool start. temperatures generally in the 30s and 40s. here in washington we are now 44 degrees. temperature has fallen further. 36 dulles. 36 hagerstown. ocean city, beach forecast we'll be talking shortly, 44 degrees. maybe not the place to be this morning. this week temperatures won't be in the 80s and 90s. >> not this weekend. >> at the beach. >> not at our beaches. florida a different story. shower activity to the west and cloud cover, too. after lots of sunshine this morning, partly sunny this afternoon. most of that rain will stay to our west. could there be a sprinkle mid- to late afternoon? yes, but a better chance overnight. details on that in just a minute. mild conditions, sunshine, mid- 60s for afternoon highs. >> all right. >> and it's friday. >> here's one person that likes

that, julie wright, who has an update on the rush hour traffic. thank you very much, mr. perkins. looking good on the roads now. inner loop of the beltway we had tieups. pace improving now. here's the story, outer loop of the beltway from 202 headed towards 50, i should say, headed to 202, truck lost gravel. as a result, big delays working north of 202 to the scene. average speed down to 15 miles per hour. also a crash at the intersection of 50, and that's been moved to the shoulder. it's contributing to the delay. outer loop of the beltway headed in the direction of greenbelt, bumper-to-bumper traffic. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. julie, thank you. fairfax county gang members busted for running an alleged

prostitution ring. prosecutors say five members, including the ring leader of the underground crips gang are being charged with sex trafficking. investigators believe they recruited girls as young as 16 years old via social media web sites. governor of florida is speaking out about the trayvon martin case. rick scott says when the investigation is over, he will reexamine some of the state laws, including the so-called stand your ground law. the governor says he will determine if anything needs to be changed. also hearing from the mortician who examined martin's body, and he claims there were no signs of a fight. >> in preparing his body, his hands and dressing him, i did not see any evidence that he had been in such a fight. would have been some kind of bruises or something on his

hands, if he pumped the guy, as he said he did. >> the mortician was hired by the martin family and has worked with them in the past. some are questioning whether or not that's why he's speaking out now. house republicans passed a budget plan sponsored by congressman paul ryan. the $3.5 trillion plan passed on a near party line vote. it's almost certain to die in the democrat controlled senate. the bill would make cuts to programs such as food stamps and transportation and reduce spending by $5.3 trillion more over the next decade than president obama's plan would. u.s. supreme court will take a vote on the president's health care reform law today. it will be done during a closed door meeting. the decision won't be made public until june, and that's because the justices still have to write majority opinions and defense. there have been occasions are justices have changed their minds after opinions have been

circulated early. d.c. residents are getting closer to being able to buy medical marijuana. the city is handing out its first licenses to grow medical marijuana today. the health department picked six companies in northeast. once harvested, the marijuana will be sold at five distribution centers. the first sales of medical marijuana could begin in august. to the latest in the race for the white house, mitt romney racking up establishment endorsements. the former massachusetts governor got the formal endorsement from bush senior in houston. later today paul ryan will endorse romney. romney is giving a speech there in wisconsin this afternoon ahead of the primaries in

wisconsin tuesday, maryland and the district. mr.romney got the support of florida senator marco rubio this week. president obama hits the road today for a couple of fundraisers. he is heading up to new england this morning to speak to students in burlington, vermont, and then to portland, maine this afternoon. he will be at the university of vermont and southern maine community college. next tuesday, vice president joe biden visits norfolk virginia and he'll be tweeting about college affordability. our big story this morning is about winning the big bucks. if you're lucky, that is. tonight's jackpot is the largest in u.s. lottery history. >> $540 million, that is how much money is up for grabs in tonight's mega millions drawing. our sherri ly is live in northwest at one of the many places selling tickets today. good morning. >> reporter: good morning,

allison, good morning, tony. we've seen a lot of people coming in and out of here this morning, buying their lottery tickets, hoping to be that winner. in fact, i took a look at twitter, and the mega million lottery is trending on twitter right now under the hashtag, if i won the lotto i would. it's got everything from buy my mom a house, to some things i probably wouldn't say on tv. this is the biggest mega million jackpot at $540 million. even people who don't normally play the lottery are getting mega millions fever. people in 42 states and the district all vying for the jackpot, including maryland and virginia. it jumped after no one won tuesday's prize. lump sum estimated to be $293 million. plenty to make dreams come true. that happened to randy smith, the 64-year-old from martinsberg, west virginia won the $79 million jackpot in 2010. he built an addition to his

home and bought a few classic cars and set out to give back to the community. he's bought ambulances and other vehicles for the fire department, a mobile command center for police and armored truck for law enforcement to share. on winning, smith calls it a gift. >> it changed my life in the way i wish it could change everyone else's. when you get up in the morning you don't have to worry about paying your bills like i always did. i guess the best feeling i had was when i could pay off my house. >> reporter: if you're looking for popular numbers that seem to come up often, the most drawn numbers according to mega millions are 10, 48, 19, 24, 28, 29, 36, 45, 2, and then the most drawn gold ball is the number 9. the chances of winning, this is the bad news, i saved it for last, 176 million to 1. you actually have

a 50 times higher chance of being struck by lightning than winning this jackpot. the more tickets you buy, the more you increase your odds. >> i try to block out the odds part, so i didn't hear the last part. thank you. >> what would be crazy if you won and then were struck by lightning. >> right. >> would be incredible. and sad. 8:10 now. i like what the lottery winner had to say. we always hear these doom and gloom stories. it can free you up. >> we're going to talk about possible pitfalls later. there are more lane closures planned for part of the beltway tonight. we have everything you need to know coming up after the break. >> plus, an alarming new study suggests cases of autism are on

the rise. we're going to talk about the findings and what they mean for research about the disorder with a representative from the organization autism speaks. fox5 morning news will be right back. it is 8:11.    q

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it is 8:14. just turned to 8:14. here's tucker with the weather. >> and the cuteness factor. >> we need a good one going to the weekend. >> i'm going to delivery, i promise. >> oh, my goodness! >> cutie pie! >> cutest baby ever. 4-month-old evan, everybody. >> hey, sweetie! >> he is adorable. >> yep. and his grandparents sent in the photo. they tell us he is, and we can tell, a happy baby. things he likes to do in his

spare time, he likes to smile, likes to do a little cooing, blow bubbles. >> always a good one. >> and he likes to look at bright colors. >> i have a little more intelligence on this. i spoke with his grandmother, because she was anxious to see the pictures and was wondering where it is. she says they call him their little gerber baby. >> perfect. >> because of those eyes. >> look at the face, it's perfect. that could be the new gerber baby. >> that's a sweet baby. >> tucker you delivered. >> go to myfoxdc.com, click on mornings. thank you for sending in the picture. 45 now in washington. still on the cool side. 47 in cincinnati. off to the west, 68 dallas. 51 in denver. temperatures are spring-like to our south and west and will be spring-like around here the next several days. satellite radar, a few clouds

and showers to the west. showers will probably hang out to the west. clouds will get in here during the afternoon hours. after morning sunshine, partly to mostly cloudy by late today. couple of showers around here later tonight. got an area of low pressure that will track off to our north and west and bring us a few showers tonight, into early saturday morning. when you wake up tomorrow, the weekend won't start promising, but i promise it will end promising. just afternoon sunshine saturday and sunday looks great with highs about 70. check out monday and tuesday. highs in the mid-70s. yeah. turning the corner, first days of april. let's do traffic with my favorite april fool, julie wright. the question is, if i don't show up on monday, is it because of april fool or because i won? >> oh. if we both don't show up, it's because you won, because you're going to take me somewhere, right? >> that's a whole different rumor that will be starting.

[ laughter ] all right, you guys, if you're traveling the beltway, outer loop, northbound 495 headed to 450, we had problems because a truck lost a load of gravel tying up the two right lanes. delays for that stacking up working to the scene, average speed down to 15 miles per hour. inner loop here, south of 202, accident activity with fire and rescue and still on the scene tying up the left side. expect delays out of greenbelt. delays on the inner loop headed to braddock because of the lane change. vdot is planning lane closures near tyson's corner tonight. starting at 9 # 30:00 this evening, crews will close three right lanes of southbound 495, along with the old exit ramp from i-66 onto the beltway. the new ramp will open tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. this is part of a billion dollar project to add 14 miles

of express toll lanes between springfield and the dulles toll road. allison? thank you, tony. a health alert about the number of children with autism in the united states. new data estimates one in 88 kids are thought to have autism. the previous estimate was one in 110. this morning we have the vice president of scientific review and operations for autism speaks joins us to talk about these new results. doctor, good morning. thank you for being with us today. >> good morning. >> let's talk about what this does mean. the numbers, i want to make sure i get this right, nearly twice as common as we thought five years ago. seems like a dramatic jump in numbers. >> that's correct. the cdc, centers for disease control has been look at the numbers since the year 2000. they look at children at 8 years old. so these are -- and these

children were assessed in 2008. so using the same methodologies as they had in the past they have found this increased prevalence to one in 88 at this point in time. in addition to that, it's one in 54 boys, and about -- that's about five times more than in girls. >> why do you think the numbers are so much higher? is it better testing, earlier diagnosis? why do you think the numbers have changed like this? >> it's a bit of all of that. but those factors are only contributing to about 50% of the -- at most, 50% of the change. so we do, of course, have greater awareness among care providers, parents. we know now that we have measures that can get earlier diagnoses, but that does not account for the entire change. >> we often speak of the full

name, the autism disorder, the spectrum, how big is the spectrum and does that add into it now, or are there behaviors that weren't included and the spectrum now includes that. can you speak to that? >> i believe the testing that's been done in this study included the spectrum all along. okay. >> but in fact, we feel very strongly that there is an alarming increase, aside from all of the recent, that we may see an increase, it's no more than half of the change, and there is an alarming increase, and we have to increase, or increase our focus on the research questions and autism speaks has spent $173 million, it's a 7-year-old organization, on research. we have to continue looking for the genetic factors,

environmental factors, and very importantly, how they interact, what the triggers are for genes which could include chemicals, prenatal environment and other factors. in addition to that, what do we do about it? we have to continue our research on possible medicines and other treatments. better diagnostic instruments and the continued effort to have awareness, so that pediatricians, care providers, parents, et cetera, you know, will understand when to bring a child in, when to raise concerns and feel free to do that. >> also larger increases in the populations, the hispanic and african-american population as well. that added to the number, the jump. >> yes. in fact, that's very important, because the numbers that we saw

previously in the population of color were probably lower than they should have been, and in the sense that perhaps the awareness wasn't as high. >> we appreciate all the good work autism speaks is doing to learn more about autism and these numbers, breaking it down, we appreciate your time. >> thank you very much. >> tony, over to you. thank you very much. it's 8:22 now. a messy situation on the rails in maryland this morning, when two freight trains collide. we have details coming up next after break. >> then, the u.s.a. dance 2012 national dancesport championship is underway in baltimore. holly morris is there live. we're going to check in with her coming up. we'll be right back. ♪ [ male announcer ] does your cable company keep charging you more...

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some telephone lines but no power outages reported. daddy -- >> you're going to be fine. >> daddy, where is mom? what are you stopping for? >> boy, this is terror. this video looks like they're leaving their home at night. no. what you're seeing is the thick black smoke. the video was captured around 5:00 in the afternoon. the family says they never received the call ordering a mandatory evacuation. we've heard this morning that many people did not due to a software glitch. another colorado homeowner watched helplessly as flames destroyed his home. he stayed to record this video, even with the fire that close.

he was able to escape without injuries. colorado wildfires have now burned 4100 acres and destroyed dozens of homes. that has got to be heart breaking. >> somebody's whole life, all their memories. they got out with their lives, but it's hard to watch that. it's 8:27 now. got a check on weather and traffic in our area coming up after the break. >> more on today's big talker, that massive mega millions jackpot. winning all that cash would be a blessing for most people, right? but sometimes things can take a negative turn. we're going to talk with one lawyer why it's not always a fairy tale ending. fox5 morning news will be right back. 3q get irresistibly clean and fresh carpets in your home

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you can send me robin if you wish. >> love this video. montgomery county county police have released the video of that unusual traffic stop.

that is batman. also known as lenny robinson, being pulled over in his lamborghini for not having proper plates. he visits local hospitals dressed as batman to cheer up sick children. his real plates were in the car. he had just put bat plates on his car for show. officers let him go, but not before posing for a few pictures. they do, they asked him why do you dress like this, and he tells them. it's funny. >> looked like a pretty good costume. >> great costume. >> can't have the bat mobile -- >> made his car to look like the bat mobile. if he can afford a lamborghini, he can afford a bat mobile. >> he can? >> yeah, i've researched it. we've been talking a lot about the mega millions jackpot. $540millionand counting. >> our facebook fans are writing in, telling us what they will do with all that cash.

he would dress up as batman and buy a lamborghini -- wait, we just did that one. >> funny, joseph. she would maybe take this, i like this, the whole fox 5 on a vacation, but make warm for julie wright. shannon, we may hold you to that. we would have a ball. >> you would like us, we're super nice. we are super nice. >> we decided that, yeah. >> we are. >> many previously winners say the money has changed their lives for the better, but there are some cases where it can do more harm than good. we'll talk about that in just a moment. first, we're talking weather. am i not joking? he really would buy a bat mobile. >> you would definitely buy one. >> i would pay off my debts and house and set up my son's education. but my splurge would be a bat mobile. there's a company in ohio i

think that builds bat mobiles, custom made, like based on the 1966 tv show, which is the one i love most. i would buy one. >> you would? >> i absolutely would. >> any time i see somebody with a car like that, i'm always like, cry for help. >> i wouldn't drive it ever day. >> attention seeker. >> i've always wanted to do that. i'm serious. >> i love it. >> pretty random. >> it's not random. >> i like it. >> if there's a company building them, there are other people like me buying them. >> that's true. >> i got a feeling they sell a couple a year. >> they build six a year. >> got another sucker, i mean, buyer on the line. >> come on, it's a beautiful car. >> off to a cool start. might want a jacket here, just like yesterday. kind of a cool start. later this afternoon we're going to warm up. 36 frederick. 36 hagerstown. temperatures got below freezing to the north and west.

but warming up. sunshine to start your day. clouds will move in later. could there be a shower this afternoon? i guess so. maybe a shower or sprinkle. the best chance is overnight tonight as we'll get more in the way of cloudiness. chance for showers later tonight and start your weekend. saturday morning a few showers around. could there be showers? futurecast suggesting a few south of the city at 3:00 p.m. we have a lot of clouds around later today. in and out of the clouds, with a couple of showers around at 4:00 a.m. hopefully will get it out of here tomorrow afternoon and the weekend will get better and better. 63 day. clouds moving in, particularly this afternoon. few showers overnight and early tomorrow. by sunday, nice, 70 degrees. monday and tuesday nice, mid- 70s. could be a storm late in the day tuesday. that's a look at your forecast.

allison and batman, back to you. thank you, old chum. you may have day dreamed about winning the lottery, but it's a nightmare for some. our guest is attorney eric shane, practices law in miami. one of his firm's specialities is lottery related lawsuits. he joins us now via skype. thanks for talking to us this morning. we all have this fantasy, you win a lot of money, it's great, pay off bills. but it does present problems for some people. why is that, generally speaking? >> i mean, there's a number of different things that can go wrong. i unfortunately have had the opportunity to work on a few cases where lottery pools at work were involved. several people pooled money together. you know, you get the excitement of actually hitting a jackpot, and then unfortunately, someone thinks

they should be in the pool, they're excluded and litigation ensues. >> for example, a lot of offices do this, we've done it at our office. what grounds does anyone have, if someone says do you want to put in five bucks? if you choose not to do it, or if you were left off the list for some reason, do you have any grounds to sue? >> it definitely gets muddier than that. in my particular file, or matter, my client had actually been participating for nine years and one of her supervisors actually told her he was going to cover for her, since she missed work on that particular day. long story short, he failed to cover for her that day after nine years, jackpot hit $16 million. >> wow. i would sue under those circumstances as well. all right. let's talk about this, is it a good idea, i assume it is, if you win a big lottery, is one of the first things you should do is hire an attorney or

financial consultant? >> i think absolutely. i think the first step actually is do your best to remain anonymous for the time being. i know that's a personal choice. but i think you probably want to keep your lips sealed, even though you want to scream off the rooftop there. after that i would definitely talk to either a trusted estate attorney or assets protection attorney to see how you may want to claim the winnings in your state. some states allow you to claim anonymously. some don't. sometimes there's somewhere in between you can claim through a blind trust. the trustee could be known, but the beneficiaries of that trust might be kept secret. >> unfortunately we're short on time. maybe one more quick tip for people in case they win, on something they might want to consider. >> absolutely. surround yourself with financial geniuses and take time to learn about different financial options. don't just go on a spending

spree, please. >> there you go. thank you very much, eric shane, attorney specializes in lottery disputes. hopefully one of us can take up your advice on some of this. thank you very much, sir. we'll be back in a couple of moments. it's 8:38. 

breaking news just in now. a bomb threat called in to aannandale high school. we'll continue to bring you more as we get more details into the fox 5 newsroom. we have a reminder about our job shop. today's job of the day comes from george washington university. they are looking for a director of h.r. client services in administration. for more on this job or to see the rest of our listings, head to myfoxdc.com and click on the link for the job shop. a change in tech trends impacting best buy. it's closing 50 stores and cutting 400 workers. the retailer will open 100

smaller stores to focus on mobile technology. their stock price fell 9% after the announcement. it is 8:41 now. it's a friday morning. some of d.c.'s hottest chefs coming together to help fight childhood hunger. we have a special guest to talk more about the share our strengths taste of the nation straight ahead, after the break. holly? >> reporter: we are live in baltimore this morning, where 1200 of the top dancers in the nation are in town to compete for national titles. it's part of the u.s.a. dancesport championships going on this weekend. coming up, we're going to show you firsthand why this is a great sport for young people, and why it's a great spectator sport as well. it's all live on fox 5 morning news. stay with us. ♪  

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dwarves. kevin mccarthy liked the film. he gave wrath of the titans one of out of five. and the raid redemption, kevin gives that 4.5 out of 5. he wants us to mention it's only playingality landmark e street cinema. not as shurlington as was mentioned earlier. if you are looking for a good excuse to get out of the house, you can sample dozens of restaurants at one location. it's coming up monday. joining us this morning with all the details is chef nicholas, and on the chef council member with taste of

the nation d.c. good to meet you. you have a little harry connick thing. anyone ever said that? >> no. i'm usually stuck in the kitchen. >> we're glad you're ought talking about this great event. >> taste of the nation is a collection of the restaurants. it's a good chance for us, because we get to work with our peers that we don't get to see that much, because we are stuck in our restaurant cooking. >> and you're competing, right? >> the competition we are creating is another way for us to raise more fun for the childhood hunger campaign. dollar donation voting system, and whoever raises the most money that night for best dish or drink will win, i guess, the crown of the taste of the nation for washington, d.c. >> so hence the title taste of the nation, because we don't have food samples here. but when you go, go on an empty stomach, right? >> oh, yes. there's about 85 restaurants,

plus you have the mixologists and bartenders pouring drinks. there's a lot of things going on. one of the biggest events for the year. >> for sure. we have the liquor up here, and that brings a good point, is that you can't come in if you're under 21. >> right. >> no babies in a stroller and you are getting carded before you walk in the door. this goes to a great cause. can you tell us the main thrust here is no child should go hungry. >> one in every three children in america are hungry, and there's a big majority of the american population under the poverty line. the program for assistance for food programs and the food banks is really what this is aiding to provide support for. it's difficult, because you can't end poverty, but you can feed children. it's what we're trying to pull together as us being chefs into the community. it's creating an event we can

put our foot forward and move in unison across the country. not just taste the nation d.c., it's all the 19 chapters across the country that put it together. >> put a real dent in this thing. is there a significance to the bright orange bag? >> the symbolism for ending childhood hunger. >> a little bit of psychology there. i see the apple core, but i see two kids' profiles, right? >> yep. >> clever. i like that very much. tell me any other activities, what else -- >> also silent auction items, there's a lot of speciality things, whether it's tickets to the redskins or sporting events, or dinners across the different restaurants, and so you have a chance to vote on that as well. we just have a good time. you have a chance to meet the chefs, too, because we're all collectively out doing this this evening. >> we normally don't get to see

you guys. viewers can get more involved by coming out and tasting good food and wine and liquor and beer, and helping a kid. >> yes. >> this is all props. you don't want to tell us anything about this, but smells so good. i was thinking, do i have a problem, because this smells god at 8:00 in the -- good at 8:00 in the morning? but it really does. >> cheers. >> the event again -- my producer tells me it's noon somewhere -- this event of course, i think we've shown the information, but it is on monday at the national building museum. what does it take to be a v.i.p.? >> two ticket prices, again to raise more money. everything goes full charitable donations. >> that's great. v.i.p. at 6:00, general admission at 7:00 p.m. quickly, what kind of food? >> italian food. 12th and h, northwest.

come and find us. >> this is chef nicholas, and also a chief council member with taste of the nation d.c. it's a huge event. happens monday. back to you, tony. >> allison, don't drink, you have one more hour of show left. the u.s.a. dance 2012 national dancesport championships are going on at the renaissance harbor place in baltimore this weekend. holly morris is there to meet some of the competitors. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. we're not only meeting them, but watching them in action. the competition has already begun and all the dancers you see have competed and placed in a national qualifying event throughout the year, and now they're here competing for the national titles. you can see different dancers coming on and off, the music will be starting and stopping and you can see the judges on the floor, and they're watching and deciding who will advance. this is the 32nd year for the nationals. they have more competitors than ever.

1200 athletes. and i say athletes, because u.s.a. dance is indeed recognized by the olympic committee. i have some very special guests outside the dance floor with me. ina is a three-time national champion. she also was a professional dancer, one season on "dancing with the stars." she is now coaching young dancers. good morning to you. >> good morning. thank you for having us. thank you for coming to us. this is ryan and bridgette. they're performing for the first time at nationals. they're very excited because they've worked so hard to get here. and they're performing in the preteen 2 latin division. >> reporter: for someone who has dedicated their life to this, to see it rise so big because of shows like dancing with the stars, it has to make you happy. >> makes me so happy. when they go back home and school, all their classmates are supporting, wishing them well, it really brings the

awareness level very high. >> reporter: i'm sure you started as a young dancer. that really, i'm sure, like in any sport, gives you a leg up, the younger you start? >> absolutely. the younger you start, the better. but it's never too old to begin. because it's so important for kids to start young, it sets you into the rest of your life. >> reporter: you kind of catch the bug and keep going. ryan and bridgette, you look great. how are you feeling about your chances? >> i'm really excited. there's so many people, but i think we'll do good. we won regionals, so it might not be that hard. >> it's really hard, because many people from different places are coming, and they're probably strict and good at dancing. so we have most likely chance of winning, or losing. i don't know. >> reporter: but you're going to enjoy the experience. can you sew me something quickly -- show me something quickly?

>> reporter: look at those moves at such a young age. if you're not impressed by them, maybe you'll be impressed by my next couple. i have another young couple in the wings. max and nicole, come over here. their coach is val from "dancing with the stars." how are you feeling about your chances? >> i'm feeling pretty good. the first time we're seriously competing in a new category, prechamp, and we're hoping for the best. last time we got third and we have high ambitions. >> reporter: very good. what do you like about doing this? >> i love that it's competitive, and i get to be the center of, like attention sometimes. >> reporter: oh, really, you like being the star? >> yeah, i like being the star a lot. >> reporter: i have to ask, what kind of hair products did

you use here? >> oh, this is got 2 be glued. >> reporter: smart kid. can you show me something? i know the music went off, but you're good. show me something. as they show you this, let me tell you myfoxdc.com is our web site. whoa, look at that! the championships are going on all weekend long. tickets are valuable. it's a wonderful thing to come out and watch and be a part of. you guys rock. we're going to have more, including carrie ann inaba from "dancing with the stars." she's here and she'll join us live in our next hour. back to you. >> holly, thank you very much. >> we will be right back on this friday morning. gospel great marvin sap is in the house. we are talking with the singer/song writer about his record-breaking solo career. >> also actor lawrence hilton jacobs is here to talk about the new movie "nocturnal

agony." do you remember him from "welcome back kotter"? 

right now, florida's governor weighs in on the death of trayvon martin. hear what he has to say. >> actor lawrence hilton jacobs is here to talk about his new movie. >> award winning marvin sapp in studio to perform. he'll talk about his latest project and upcoming shows in our area. there's a special tie in to his latest project and our area. we'll talk about that, too. >> lottery fever is running high. the mega millions jackpot is at record highs. sherri ly is live with a look at the hot numbers and how much you could take home if you're the lucky winner. >> even after the taxes, still sounds pretty good to e.