hello and thank you for joining me i'm j.c. hayward. it is a tradition that dates back to 1878. president obama and the first family kicked off the 134th

annual easter egg roll. delia has more from the southlawn. >> in their sunday best and with a wooden spoon in hand, group after group of kids tried their very best to roll the easter egg on the white house lawn. > >> reporter: what was your technique? >> and good thing, because his family traveled all the way from new mexico. >> these guys were champions getting ready. it won have been easy if it weren't so exciting for them to come see this. >> reporter: who lives inside that house? >> who is the president? i don't beam. >> the kids weren't the only ones excited. did you just roll your egg? >> yes. >> did you have a good time? >> yes. >> reporter: where with are we today? >> at the white house.

>> president obama he is a big. >> reporter: he is a big boy? >> yeah. >> in the theme of this year's easter egg roll, let's go let's play let's move. >> reporter: a series of activities were there to support the first lady's fight against childhood obesity. i tried my hand. >> you go girl. attendance is expected to reach 30,000, and everyone will go home with a wooden commemorative egg featuring the first dog, bo. by the way, today is also the annual african-american family day at the national zoo. last year's event was marred by violence inside the zoo. this tradition extends back to

1891, a series of special events and demonstrations will be held throughout the day and the festivities will continue include at 4:00 p.m. fire damaged a church in northeast washington today. the flames started in brush and then extended to the greater mount calvary holy church and the 600 block of rhode island avenue northeast. there are no injuries reported and it is unclear exactly what started the fire. montgomery county police are investigating a home invasion and a shooting that took place in potomac, maryland. this happened shortly before midnight in the 8500 block of victory lane. the wounded homeowner was transported to the hospital, police say that no arrests have been made so far. >> and. it is too early to label a shooting spree in tulsa, oklahoma as a hate crime. but all the victims were black, and the gunmen were white. the alleged trigger men were in court this morning, manuel

gallegos has more. >> reporter: the two men accused of killing three african-americans and wounding two others in tulsa faced a judge this morning. they are charged with first degree murder. 19-year-old jake england and his 32-year-old roommate alvin watts were arrested early yesterday. police say they are responsible for the shooting spree friday that may be racially motivated. but investigators say it is too early to call the murders a hate crime. >> it is preliminary to determine what the motivation was behind this. if the evidence supports that, and we believe that we can prove those elements of a hate crime, that will certainly be considered at the appropriate time. >> reporter: england's father was shot and killed two years ago. person nell jefferson, who is black, was arrested as a person of interest. the day before the shooting, england used a racial slur on his facebook page to describe his father's killer. it says today is two years that

my dad has been gone shot. it's hard not to go off. i'm gone in the head. >> every piece of evidence will be weighed, will be reviewed, will be compared, and overlaid with the laws of the state of oklahoma. >> reporter: the arrests are a relief for the residents of tulsa who paid tribute at easter services. demonstrators are back in sanford, florida, they are demanding justice in the trayvon martin case. the african-american teen was shot and killed by george zimmerman, who is white, and is claiming self-defense. it has been almost six weeks since the shooting and protesters say an arrest in the case is long overdue. but the special prosecutor said, just minutes ago, that there will be no grand jury in this case. the investigation continues.

jury selection is underway in the trial of the man accused of murdering jennifer hudson's mother, brother and seven-year-old nephew. if found guilty, 30-year-old william bal four, of chicago, could be sentenced to life in prison. illinois recently abolished the death penalty. jury selection is expected to take several days and jennifer hudson is expected to attend the trial every day once testimony begins later this month. law make ners maryland have until midnight to wrap-up work on the latest session from annapolis. unless they agree on a budget they will have to come back for an unwanted session. lawmakers say they are officially $58 million apart on a $35 billion budget. today they will decide when to double the flush tax, the surcharge that you pay on your sewage bills. let me also take up governor o'malley's proposal to hike taxes on people who make over

$100,000 a year. but the governor's plan to hike the gasoline tax is all but dead. the navy says it will be providing compensation, right away. for those affected by friday's military jet crash that occurred in virginia beach, virginia. an f-18 aircraft crashed into an apartment complex. dozens of apartments were damaged or destroyed. the navy says inadditional payments will begin at $2300 for individuals with more money going to residents with families. activists say that syrian government forces fired across the border today at a refugee camp in turkey. the border clash came less than 24 hours before a un broke erredded deadline for the syrian army to stop the violence. >> reporter: these men ran through bullets fired along syria's border. a gun fight rapidly broke out

between syrian forces and rebels. it all happened within turkish territory. activists say the violence is spilling over. a a un nbrokerred ceasefire is supposed to take place tuesday. but severe fighting in at least three cities is not letting up. they say three people died monday. antigovernment protests continued, and has left many towns and cities in ruins. he said he would order them out if he gets written confirmation the rebels will disarm. the commander of the rebel army

assured the un community he will honor the demand. cbs news. coming up on news now at noon, show time at the howard theater. the curtain is going up again on the historic landmark. plus i'll introduce you to an organization that is helping washington students live up to their potential with their reading skills. we'll be back.

according to a national survey 86% of eighth graders in washington, d.c. read far below their grade level. it's been proven without good reading skills students face limited opportunities. well the hit that issy lab is building strong readers and strong teachers and i feature them today on hero central. >> reporter: what do you want to be when you grow up? >> i want to be a teacher. >> reporter: the hit that issy lab is a nonprofit organization that pairs tutors one-on-one with students who need assistance. they deliver high quality instruction twice a week for two hours after school. with the literacy lab the tutors are responsible for maybe one student at a time and every teach every wants to be able to devote all their attention to every student. from a teaching perspective this is really ideal.

>> ashley johnson is the founder and executive director of literacy lab. >> i have learned it is possible for students to make significant growth quickly. with consistent instruction from a professional adult who is coming you know, twice a week for two hours each time, the kids can make huge gains and you can see the student really actually enjoy reading, rather than trying to avoid it i don't i'm going to share this with you. i think it is so important. it is 10 great reasons to read. read to understand the past, explore your world, plan for your future, view new places, create new things, make a good decision, have fun, exercise your mind, keep in touch, read because you can. when a student gets into the hit that issy lab program, no only do they change their reading scores, they actually change their life. shannon fine blat the principal of smooth theres elementary school knows the importance of having the hit that issy lab on

site. in three years the program has made a significant difference. >> we can't do everything in the six and a half hours we have the students. we have a lot of curriculum that we have to accomplish in that time. any partnership we can have from the outside that is willing to help our students in the afternoon when they are here from 3:30 to 6:00 p.m. is an enhance m to our patrol r program -- enhancement to our program. all around. >> reporter: literacy lab operates in 452-6789 cschools and keep students engaged by using a variety of techniques, including songs poem articles and comments. literacy lab works closely with teach expefers parents and together they build a strong foundation. >> tell me about your teacher. do you like him? >> yes, he is the best teacher. >> i love this program. and it has been very successful.

many students improve two levels within six months. if you would like more information, about literacy lab, just go to my website j.c. hayward.com and click on the hero central tab. we have a commuter alert that is apparently good news for metro riders. the transit agency changed its budget forecast for next year. metro says it now needs $16 million less than expected. that means fare hikes coming this summer will not be as large. metro still, however, has not decided how much extra we will be paying. the board will take that issue up later this month. the national mall is getting a makeover and you have a say in exactly what happens. because starting today, the trust for the national mall will post redesign plans for several locations on the mall. the list includes the washington monument grounds and the constitution gardens. the trust wants your input on

each design, so visit national mall design.org, to check them out. and you can also leave your comment. there will be a ribbon cutting today at the renovated howard theater. before it went dark, the howard theater was at the center of what used to be known as dc's black broadway. a grand opening is scheduled for thursday with a wide sampling of art tests from wanda sykes to chuck berry to the harlem gospel choir. coming up next, howard has the forecast. >> j.c., winds are gusting over 5 miles per hour. the high fire danger continues. allergies not that different from friday, the tree pollen is high, grass moderate and mold spores are low. i'll come in with the 7-day forecast. going to need the jacket for a

few days. 9news now returns in just a moment.

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we are still having great weather, howard. >> yeah a little windy though. kind of dry, too. we are four inches in the hole since january 1. i got a call from a guy saying how could we be dry, the river is high. we have had a lot of coastal advisories because of the winds, but the actual rainfall amounts have been so low, it is getting dry out there. the farmers will tell you it is dry. rain chances a tiny bit today and maybe a little better by

wednesday. we are expecting sun to mix in with clouds throughout the afternoon as temperatures will be climbing into the upper 60s. if fact they are already in the mid-60s here. we may even flirt with 70 before the day is out, depending on how much sunshine we can squeeze in. then this evening, other than a stray shower, partly to mostly cloudy by 9:00 we are back in the 50s. here's a look at live doppler 9000 on the big picture here, you have a series of showers in southern ohio coming into west virginia west virginia. but the air is so dry a lot of this is not reaching the ground. part of the dry innocence is contributing to the high fire danger through new york state and parts of southern new hampshire. we have red flag warnings that include the entire washington baltimore metro, out into the mountains. really everybody. the fire danger is high. don't burn today. easily you can have a problem if

these things get out of control. we don't need any more. winds, along with the dry air a problem. gusts to 40 right now. the latest report at reagan national 36, in leesburg, 36 also in petersburg, looks like the next few hours will have the windiest conditions and things will start to get maybe not as windy late this afternoon and this evening. temperatures they are running in the upper 50s to even upper 60s. fredericksburg, 67. our weather watch 64 and 65 for readville. and here in washington it is not just the temperatures but the dryness. the relative humidity which adds to that fire danger. relative humidity 22% 29% in hagerstown. in oakland it is colder, warmer air can hold more water. looking outside on our michael and son weather camera, the

flags are flying high with the gusts to 40 at national sustained winds with a temperature of 65 degrees. dew point only 31. that is a lot we are not going to see much improvement. tomorrow we may have another fire weather watch. the disturbance is producing a few showers. earlier the air is dry. we are not too hopeful. we are watching a little piece of energy here. by wednesday has a chance to bring showers. keep the windbreaker handy until then, 68 today maybe 70 in a few spots. a stray shower a cooler day tomorrow showers mainly up in pennsylvania. 58 after starting in the 40s. 30s and 40s tuesday night into wednesday morning. a cool day wednesday, mostly cloudy. 57. thursday we've got the washington nationals's home

opener. look at the weekend saturday 73 and sunday 80. that is your weather but don't go away, 9news now at noon returns in just a moment.

hello, i'm andrea roane. as you may know, j.c. hayward was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, it is personal and private but j.c. is sharing her journey with her family of viewers. today we are back together again on this buddy check 9 day. we are buddies and you want to be buddies to other women out there who may be going down the same road with you. you told us about the diagnosis on friday. today was your meeting with your breast surgeon. tell us about that. >> reporter: as you know, andrea, breast cancer has four stages, and mine is either stage i or i i, also she told me it was estrogen positive. i can take certain drugs to fight the cancer, easier than

if it wasn't. it would be more difficult. she also told me she did not think that this is dr. magnum from the sullivan breast center, she also told me she did not believe that i would have to have chemotherapy. so that is good. but probably radiation four to six weeks, only one minute a day. so i won't miss a newscast so that is good news. >> your viewers are thrilled about that part of it. >> reporter: and they she talked -- she talked about treatment. she suggested lumpectomy, where they take out the diseased tissue. i have opted, however, not to do that. i'm going to be very bold and very radical and i have decided to have a bilateral mastectomy, where you take both breasts off, have immediate reconstructive surgery, and hopefully i'll have my surgery in the next day or two. >> explain to viewers and buddies why you wanted to be so

aggressive about this. she said it would be a little tricky since they found that second lesion, but depending upon when it was malignant or not, and you said no. >> the key is they found a second lesion. i don't want to live my life in fear, where every six months i have to have a mammogram and i'm wondering whether the cancer has come back. i want to put this behind me, i have things to do, places to go, people to see. and i don't want this to be the most important part of my life. right now it is important, but i can do something that can make me sleep much better and be at ease and get on with my life. >> this afternoon, what happened? >> this afternoon i go to see the cosmetic surgeon. we'll discuss how we are going to do it whether the in my opinionles will be able to be saved. i'm ready to move on. i hope that you will continue to join me in this journey by going to j.c. hayward.com. thank you thank you thank you

for all your calls and e-mails and expressions of love and your prayers. i appreciate it and i can't think andrea enough. >> we are buddies and it is buddy check 9 day. call your buddy, say a prayer for our buddy here. >> yes go to j.c. hayward.com come back and visit us at 5:00. bye bye.