consumer reporter erika gonzalez looking at cost of simplifying a decision we vault to make. what's for dinner? >> reporter: it's not unusual for mark to get home around 8:00 every night. after a long day he's happy to have this package waiting for him. >> i'm ready to kind of relax and eat. >> reporter: this is dinner, delivered to his door, but it's not fast food. it's raw ingredients ready to cook. meal services like this one are a growing trend. >> sometimes i work late, so it's nice to have it. >> reporter: curiosity got the most of us. we wanted to know how it works, what it costs and how it might compare to the grocery store. so we signed up for a national service online called blue apron and compared it to a local company, scratch d.c. blue apron delivered to my producer's home and scratch d.c. delivered to our office because my producer's home is out of its delivery range. scratch d.c. delivers one meal a day for two people, blue apron delivers three meals for two people in one box. so we could compare price, we bought three meals from scratch d.c. inside scratch d.c

. >> erika gonzalez working a story on mosquito prevention. >> that's right. tonight we are going to talk about mosquito repellents. what works best. carol, what are you working on? >> reporter: with the bright lights about to shine the lights on the caps here in long island they're trying to have fun and win. >> come on caps. >>> 70 degrees right now, but to the west temperatures only in the 20s and low 60s. i'll be back in a >>> new video of a frightening fall at a d.c. metro station. a man in a motorized wheelchair lost control fell off the platform at the "u" street station today, people who saw it are jumping into action. they help pull him off the tracks. news4's pat collins is talking to people at the station right now. he'll have a live report later in our newscast. >>> well, mosquitoes are seasonal, but battling the bug can be tricky. erika gonzalez found that the real deal on repellents before you go out and buy them. >> swatting mosquitoes not enough and not all repellents are created equal. so we visited the department of entomology at the universi

erika gonzalez has the report of a magazine comparison. >> reporter: it's said that good things comesmall packages but that's not always the case. what do you get when you buy a beauty box subscription. consumer reports shop smart signed up for eight services. >> this is a great size. >> reporter: packaging ranged from ecofriendly to pretty color boxes. >> we took a short quiz so they could tailor the products for us. we asked them to point to classic rather than a trendy style. >> reporter: the services cost between $10 and $25 a month and contain four to six samples per box. how did the boxes stack up? >> the best ones are a great way to try new products. but in our tryout we found some give you a lot more for your money than others. >> reporter: beauty army for example. that costs $12 a month including shipping but shop smart got mostly tiny samples. the kind you might get free in a department store. >> when you compare that to the full size products we got from some of the other services -- >> it seems less substantial. >> reporter: others gave more beauty bang for the buck. at j

i'm erika gonzalez. where you can get them checked to make sure your children are safe and free of charge. >>> and take a look at these numbers. 78 in d.c. west virginia 79 and richmond and you know it's all about to change. temperatures dropping big time tomorrow and coming with rain. i'll show you when. >>> the hunt is still under way in north carolina at this hour for the gunman accused in the morning deadly on campus shooting that unfolded at waynes county community colleg former student is the person of interest. investigators think he went into a building with a rifle and killed a long-time college employee. students describedkribcribe waiting through a long lock down. >> i heard a large bang. sounded like a gunshot. >> she cut the lights off, barricaded the door with a table and said to remain calm and quiet. we sat there for a good 30 to 40 minutes. >> the college plans to reopen tomorrow with counselors available for students and for staff. >>> new lawsuit tonight against the police officer char

well, news4 consumer reporter erika gonzalez talked to consumer reports about its latest test. shows us how to buy the safest shrimp for your family without going broke. >> reporter: shrimp. americans eat an average of four pounds a year making it more popular than tuna. the majority of it imported is farmed. >> farming can be done responsibly. but when it's not, bacteria and disease can thrive. antibiotics may seem like a fix, but we don't think so. and they're illegal for use in imported shrimp. >> reporter: consumer reports tested to find out how safe is our shrimp. scientists analyzed 432 packages of shrimp. overall 60% of the raw shrimp samples tested positive for bacteria. so safe preparation is very important. and 11 samples or about 5% of imported raw farmed shrimp had antibiotic residues. >> the antibiotic use is particularly troubling because it's illegal. it promotes antibiotic resistance. and it isn't a responsible way of farming. >> reporter: consumer reports recommends responsibly sourced wild shrimp like those recommended by seafood watch or certified by the mari

erika gonzalez has what to do a bit later this-in this hour. >>> we now know what's inside the suspicious package that shut down mark's camden line. the bag left on the bench contained bathroom supplies pap commuter at the dorsey station awe sau the bag around 6:30 called 911, the station was evacuated. several trains were held at other stations until the bomb squad could x-ray the bag. all mark service is back to normal. >>> if you are following nbc washington you know this morning's water main break on route 1 has been repaired but traffic is not moving as usual yet. repair crews are awaiting a load of asphalt before they can reopen the road. that's expected to happen within the next half hour. in the meantime two lanes are blocked in the alexandra section of fairfax county. water service there has been restored. >>> turning to another big story this afternoon storm team 4 is tracking what could be a wet night. >> storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell in the weather center with the first word. chuck? >> nice-looking day outside today, right up until it's time to start coming home from w

i'm erika gonzalez.ve spent the day in the kitchen preparing this to examine cost and to examine time. >>> just in time for dinner imagine your meals delivered right to your door. but is the convenience worth the cost? >>> i'm storm team 4 meteorologist amelia segal. here are your weather headlines for tomorrow. significantly warmer. 30 degrees warmer. fog in the morning. and then thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours. now, it will be a line of storms that are moving through the area and that will be brief. only lasting about 30 to maybe 45 minutes. but some of those storms could be on the strong to severe side. so you do tomorrow. tomorrow will be a weather alert day. after that that sets us up for a spectacular weekend and even into next week. the weather overall is still looking nice. here's your forecast. tomorrow areas of fog, showers possible but no storms. midday some limited sunshine. it's warm and there's a chance of a shower. from about 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. the potential of whe

i'm erika gonzalez. time is running out to file your taxes. planning to buy some time, there are things you need to know. >>> plus, it's an in-flight emergency that so many people are talking about today. a plane full of people is forced to make an emergency landing, and the reason is unlike any other scare in the air we've told you about before. >>> first storm team4 and our soggy afternoon that isn't through with us yet. >> look at this mess behind us on radar. talk about a busy afternoon noeks. it is a wet one out there. storm team4 radar has been tracking it all day. doug kammerer joins us in a moment, but first vj, when will things timely dry out? >> we've got 94 four or five hours before we start drying out. that's when the back edge of all of this around frostburg, haig urzburg, petersburg, toward luray starts making its way eastward and out. it slides along this weather front. down to the south though, st. mary's charles county, west humber land where the moderate rain is, it's sliding north-northeastward to clinton deal, silver hill a

but before you sign up consumer reporter erika gonzalez is here with a warning tonight. >> thaerlt jim. who doesn't want to save a little money on utilities, right? third party energy suppliers take the monopoly from public utilities. they sell gas and electricity. but you don't always end up saving money. >> i guess persuaded by their sales pitch. >> the sales pitch? a cheaper rate for electricity than what mark moss trom had been paying pepco his public utility. >> so it was a very attractive offer. >> that offer can sound confusing. pepco still delivers your power but you're paying a third party which supplies it. oftentimes that third party company provides lower rates, and in many states it's legal. >> so you take them up on their offer. >> uh-huh. >> what happen snz. >> the overall cost on our bill went down. >> that lower bill did not last long. when he signed up, he agreed to what's called a variable rate. variable means the rate could change at any time and it did. starting with 0.808 per kilowatt per hour compared to.0878. then the rate began to go up. >> it was anywhere betw

i'm erika gonzalez. i'll tell you which big-ticket items are also big bargains. >>> it's a sign of the times. the strange way one woman is now being allowed to change her relationship status with her husband both on social media and in real life. >>> this is by far one of the most shared stories on our nbc washington facebook page today and it's like to get a new york city woman unfriended by her husband. a judge has given her permission to file for divorce with a private facebook message. the man will be served with a divorce summons once a week for three weeks or until he acknowledges it. the woman says her husband is elusive and is only in touch with her by phone and social media. >>> if you want to get your hands on one of those apple watches, you won't be able to walk into a store to buy one. apple says it will only sell them to customers who make in-store reservations or to those who choose to have the watches shipped. the company says it will help with control inventory. and lit help ensure that c

consumer reporter erika gonzalez checks out a potential game changer, paying for only the tv channels that you want to watch. >>> scars still healing 20 years later, the tragic event in our nation's history that so many people will reflect on this weekend. >>> custom tv is coming to verizon. >> erika gonzalez is here with what means for you. erika? >> starting this sunday customers will have the option to buy a package of channels they will watch. fios custom tv, the service starts with a base package of about 30 channels and two additional themed packages like sports or kids channels for $55. a special package after that costs 10 more dollars. so the good news verizon says there's no contract associated with the service, and if you want to change the specific themed packages you can do so on a monthly basis. while the news verizon bundle does not include internet it does bring huge competition to less expensive streaming services like netflix, like amazon and hulu. back to you. >> thanks, erika. >>> ladies, how do you know whether you're being paid what you're worth at work? msnbc wa

consumer reporter erika gonzalez reveals the best of the best and the worst of the worst. >>> we're dryow, but we're tracking showers and eve an couple of strong thunderstorms back to the west. >>> tonight an arlington father is demanding answers and ayn apology. >> because the car with his kids inside was nearly towed away. our northern virginia bureau chief julie carey joins us live in arlington county with what the kids have to say about all of this. jules? >> reporter: well, the dad tells me he was parked by those light poles. he was in the cvs talking to the pharmacist and getting some medicine. he heard his car alarm go off and came outside to find two very frightened kids inside his car. max brought his car back to the exact spot he parked in last friday around 4:30. his namesake 7-year-old max, wasn't feeling well. >> i have very, very, very, very bad cold. >> reporter: he was in the cvs about 15 minutes. outside in the car, 17-year-old tracy kept her little brother occupied until both felt a jolt. >> the car started to lift up. i was, like scared. i looked ak tat back and saw t

. >>> also, a warning tonight from consumer reporter erika gonzalez. we'll tell you why one way to settle a debt with the irs could be too good to be true. >>> april 15th has come and gone, but that doesn't mean that everyone has paid their tax debt to the irs. consumer reporter erika gonzalez has a warning about hiring companies that advertise tax debt relief services. >> i called these people up, and they said they could help me. >> darrel ray eckert of charles county, maryland, has serious tax debt to the point the irs eventually threatened to take his house. eckert owes more than $9,000 to the state and more than $27,000 to the federal government a total of more than $36,000 in back-taxes. >> when i started getting more depressed about my taxes i owed, i looked in the telephone book. >> reporter: eckerd saw an ad for help wall and associates incorporated advertising it solves tax problems. that's when eckard picked up the phone. >> they said they could help me with my taxes and everything. they would send somebody out to talk to me. >> reporter: wh

i'm erika gonzalez and i'll show you a couple of ways to keep kids safe in your home. >>> a young woman who defied the odds loses her courageous battle with cancer. tonight the touching tributes >>> storm team 4 working hard to update your forecast. a chance for heavy rain and strong winds in a few spots out there tonight. veronica johnson will have the typing and look at your weekend in just a few minutes. >>> they had doubt from the beginning. that's what investigators are saying about michael slager's version of his deadly encounter with walter scott. the state agency investigating the shooting inconsistencies in the story. in addition to the wounds in scott's back the cell phone video just confirmed the suspicions. tonight slager's mother is offering an apology. >> i just want them to know thames this happened. i know their family is grieving. our family is grieving. and i would hate for this to happen to anybody. >> walter scott's first union value scheduled for tomorrow. >>> a kansas man is in jail tonight accused of planning aed is attack against a military base. prosecutors say

consumer reporter erika gonzalez tells us why jumping at the word sale might not get you a deal after all. >> reporter: sarah sheldon loves a good bargain. >> stores that if i see a sale i almost always go to. >> reporter: and she wants the sale to be big, huge. >> anything under 40% is not really worth my time. >> reporter: but what if you can get the same 40% off deal two, three, four even nine months later, it really a deal? nonprofit checkbook.org decided to find out. it tracked the prices of dozens of products at eight national chains once a week for 40 weeks. the nonprofit found sears, macy's and kohl's had at least half the items checkbook priced on sale most of the time. look at this mixer and this recliner both on sale 44 weeks out of 44 weeks. >> the worst example of this was sears. sears for almost all the items we checked, the items were more often than not always on sale. >> reporter: and some of the discounts appeared steep. >> we'd have an item that their regular price was listed at $1200 and would be on sale for $800 week after week after week. 40% markdown every week.

erika gonzalez did some digging for us on this. erika? >> we wanted to know, what makes a sale really a sale? here's why jumping at that sale may not actually be getting you a deal. sarah sheldon loves a good bargain. >> there l certain stores that if i see a sale i almost always go to. >> reporter: she wants the sale to be big huge. >> anything under 40% is not really worth my time. >> but what if you could get the same 40% off deal two, three, four, even nine months later? is it really a sale? nonprofit checkbook.org decide to find out. it tracked the prices of dozens of products at eight national chains once a week for 44 weeks. the nonprofit found sears, macy's and kohl's had at least half the items checkbook priced on sale most of the time. look at this mixer and this recliner, both on sale 44 weeks out of 44 weeks. >> the worst example of this was sears. sears, for almost all the items we checked, the items were more often than not always on sale. >> and some of the discounts appeared steep. >> we'd have an item that their regular p

consumer reporter erika gonzalez is here to explain what this means chblt erika this isn't the first've reported a listeria recall this year. >> no it's not. first we had the caramel apples then spinach, then hummus, now ice cream. blue bell creameries is recalling all of its products because they could be contaminated with listeria. the recall impacts 23 states including virginia. you should note pregnant women the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk for listeria infection. caroline smith duwal with the center for science and the public interest says, the fact that this is happening again and again is a sign of something greater. >> if there are listeria problems in a food plant, it's usually a sign that thereir sanitation isn't up to par. >> blue bell says it's committed to doing 100% the right thing and says it's brought in the world's best microbiologist to get to the bottom of this. the best way to prevent listeria in your home, be really, really careful about food safety. rinse all the raw produce that you may have under tap water before you eat i

consumer reporter erika gonzalez is here in the studio to tell us what kinds of toxins we're talking about. erika? >> we're talking about a kind found in some types of vinyl flooring. the chemicals are considered extremely dangerous to kids, yet some types are found in flooring at levels that exceed safety standards for kids' toys and clothing. home depot says it's putting a stop to any sale of flooring that contains that will atfal ats by the end of the year. ace hardware confirms all flooring sold by its corporation is free of that will lats but because it's a retail co-op stores may purchase from other distributors. lowe's tells us it is now working with suppliers to make sure the vinyl it sells is toxin-free. >>> well, check your freezer yet again. more ice cream is being recalled this evening. jenny's splendity ice cream is recalling all of its products because of concern about listeria contamination. that ice cream pints are sold locally in stores like whole foods super target. jeni's ice cream says they'll guarantee the safety of its consumers. >>> right now there is a new roun

consumer reporter erika gonzalez is here with an important reminder for us tonight. erika? >> portable generators provide power during outages but they can also give off carbon monoxide which is odorless, colorless, and kit kill you. to stay safe never use a portable generator indoors or near a window outdoors. also don't ever use it in a garage. the exhaust can produce carbon monoxide and that can seep into your home. when you're thinking about hooking this up to a major appliance, when you're hooking up the major appliance to the generator, i should say, you've got to use a heavy-duty outdoor extension cord to feed it. otherwise you can start a fire from overloading that extension cord. we have many more safety tips. you can head to nbcwashington.com to take a look at those including more ways to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning in your home. back to you. >> thanks erika. >>> some parents in prince william county say they were promised a new school. new tonight, why it may not happen and how parents are voicing their displeasure about that. >>> i'm tracking rain moving i

tonight, consumer reporter erika gonzalez has a warning how hiring a tax relief debt company can endp costing you more. did any of the $8,000 go towards your tax burden? >> no, ma'am. >> what you need to know before you pay someone to help reduce your tax debt. that's tonight on news4 at 6:00. >>> well pretty soon a simple shot could help you get rid of that double chin. the fda approved a new drug yesterday that can break down the fat in your chin. the shots are given over about a six month period. we should mention for you the shot is only for the chin area. not other problem areas you might have. this drug is going to start rolling out the plastic surgeons in june after they're done with a training program to get them ready to give these shots. you can get up to 50 injections in a single treatment. >> i don't like needles. that's a lot. >> yeah. >> that's -- isn't that a tender spot on your face? >> maybe not if it's really fat. i don't know. >> right. doctors are warning only with a physician, a licensed approved physician. >>> waiting for a winner. the number of uncounted ballot

at the live desk i'm erika gonzalez. >>> i'm meteorologist chuck bell. nice-looking day outside. here's the view from the tower camera. looking northbound into montgomery county, not a cloud in the sky. a lovely day to be outside. a bit breezy at times. that will keep all the pollen stirred up. dry and mostly clear overnight tonight and a pretty good-looking day coming up for tomorrow. clouds move back in into early thursday morning. here's the four-day. near 70 today. tomorrow rain likely thursday into friday. >>> you may want to pick up your tennis racket. the prize money for winning wimbledon is on the rise again. it's now officially the highest paying professional tennis tournament. singles champs will see an 8% rise from last year, pocketing almost $3 million. men's and women's doubles winners will earn over $500,000. >>> >>> we're getting a better idea of the damage done by the riots in baltimore. the mayor's office released these numbers this morning. they say there were 144 vehicle fires, 15 structure fires and nearly 200 arrests during the unrest last night and yesterday

. >> consumer reporter erika gonzalez is here with a warning you need to know for the next time someone knocks on your door and offers to fix the driveway. >> that's right. we've been hearing amelia talk about this all afternoon. weather is to beautiful it's only getting nicer. you might be thinking about home improvement projects. don't say yes to the first contractor that ridges your doorbell doorbell. frederick county put out a warning be cautious of contractors wanting to repair your driveway, your chimney, the roof, especially after that harsh winter we just had. all homeowners should take the proper precautions. you want to make sure that the business or person is reputable and licensed, and make sure that all of their credentials are up-to-date. next, washington consumers checkbook says shop around. there are big differences in quality of contractors. checkbook looked particularly at roofing companies and warns there can be even more striking differences when it comes to price. >> we've had prices ranging from about $5000 to about $20,000, even though they were quoting on exactly

later today, consumer reporter erika gonzalez will show you the form that might show up in your mail box and what the government says to look for to confirm it's really them. >>> 5:55. a high school senior is turning the tables and sending out a rejection letter of her own to duke university. the 17-year-old penned a rejection letter to duke after she wasn't accepted. so this story went viral. she says despite duke's outstanding success in rejecting previous applicationlick applicants, you did not meet my expectations. she can repeal the rejection if she wishes. >> she probably won't. >>> the next story proves everyone makes mistakes and sometimes that can work in your favor. >> windchill what watch what happens when a price is right contestant is given three chances. >> 19,849. go ahead. no. oh! >> i won it! >> congratulations. we just gave you a car. >> after one guess, the model accidently revealed the real price. maybe she felt bad for the contestant. >> no. you saw the look on the model. that says it all. she's even hiding behind the props there. she did take it in stride, thoug

. >> consumer reporter erika gonzalez is here with news from the federal trade commission. >> jim pat start with something that you could be getting in the mail. a letter allegedly from the ftc you won millions in a sweepstakes. but guess what, no, you haven't. this letter says that you can claim your prize fast by hiring the alleged california law firm that sent you the notice. the scam can trip people up because it even includes a letter claiming to be from the ftc commissioner. but remember, this is fake. some things to keep in mind. the ftc doesn't do sweepstakes. they investigate sweepstakes scams. and no government agency will ever ask you for money in order to claim a prize. >>> now let's go to an ftc crackdown on a company that reports customers locations. nomi technologies agreed to let consumers opt out of its tracking. but then allegedly they never gave them that chance. now the company is settling with the ftc. the government says data from about 9 million mobile devices was collected in just nine months. this is the first ftc complaint against a retail tracking company. >

tonight on "new4 at 5:00," consumer reporter erika gonzalez giving parents two options for an inexpensiveiving peace of mind and also could save your child's life. >>> puts a kibosh on severe weather here but still a chance to the south. getting showers now coming into west virginia advancing off to the east. but into areas just south of us where the temperatures may reach the low to mid-70s here on the metro area upper 60s near 70. maybe an isolated thundershower coming through bought greater chance of some storms severe in kurn maryland northern neck towards fredericksburg and charlottes ville late afternoon. overnight tonight, clearing out. tomorrow beautiful day with sunshine in upper 60s. gorgeous day sunday. a little wind on saturday. lighter wind sunday. great into next week. maybe a little shower around on tuesday. have a great weekend. >> nice. ready for the weekend? >> i so am ready. you have no idea. >> i guess you are. >>> that is "news4 midday." >> news at 4:00 5:00 and 6:00 this afternoon news throughout the weekend and don't forget to join us monday morning at 11:00 a.m. wi

erika gonzalez did some digging for a story he's working on tonight at 11:00. >> what if you could gonto a store and get the same item on sale next week next month, nine months from now? and is a long-time sale even legal? tonight at 11:00, we sit down with a nonprofit that tracks stores and their sales. everything from mixers to recliners to perfume, prices tracked for 44 weeks. checkbook's biggest take away? >> the fundamental principle here is don't assume that a sale price is a good price at any store. >> we're going to show you what it found and let you decide whether or not it changes the way you shop. that's tonight at 11:00. >>> after years of tension, cuba could mean big money for d.c. the news 4 team learning why everything from rum to baseball is at stake here in the nation's capitol. >>> the national mall getting ready for big crowds as one new event gets ready to set up shop another one getting ready to make big changes. >>> once again a live picture from baltimore, a large crowd of protestors outside city hall. why do we do it? why do we spend every waking moment, thinki

. >> consumer reporter erika gonzalez joins us with more details and she tells us how to protect ourselves. >> that's right. how safe is the shrimp that you eat? "consumer reports" tells us ways to buy the safest shrimp for your family without going broke. shrimp. americans eat an average of almost four pounds a year making shrimp more popular than tuna. today about 94% of the u.s. shrimp supply is imported, and the majority of it is farmed. >> farming can be done responsibly, but when it's not bacteria and disease can thrive. antibiotics may seem like a fix, but we don't think so. and they're illegal for use in imported shrimp. >> "consumer reports" tested to find out how safe is our shrimp. scientists analyzed 342 packages of frozen shrimp both farmed and wild, raw and cooked. overall 60% of the raw shrimp samples tested positive for bacteria. so safe preparation is very important. and 11 samples or about 5% of imported raw farmed shrimp had antibiotic residues. >> the antibiotic use is particularly troubles because it's illegal. it promotes antibiotic resistance and it just isn't a spof

today erika gonzalez take looks at a company that sends fresh ingredients right to your door. everything is pre-chopped, pre-packaged all you have to do is assemble. >> they don't cook it for you? >> no, that's called delivery, takeout. >> oh, yeah. >> there is a balance there. >> i like fresh stuff somebody else cooks it. >>> ift seems a lot of your pets are enjoying takeout, too. a new survey says one out of six u.s. families orders food for the dog at places like mcdonald's and burger king. survey received answers -- >> big macs happy meals? >> they like the fries. they received answers from about 1500 people and about a third said they take their pet with them to the drive through. >> pets get better treatment than humans in some houses. >>> hundreds of you are signing a petition to add a mother's room at nats park. so far the petition has nearly 600 supporters. the ballpark offers nursing mothers the reagan conference room and if that's not available, they did use a family restroom. the reds just opened a special nursing mother's suite inside great american ballpark. take

consumer reporter erika gonzalez is here now with a warning. if you do decide to open the windows. >> that's right, pat. because if you have children that open window could very well be an overlooked hazard. coming up tonight on news4 at 5:00 preventing window falls. thousands of thirn fall through the screen of open windows each year but parents and caregivers can prevent those falls for as little as a $15 fix. you can watch one of those lifesaving steps right now on our consumer watch facebook page and i'll have some more coming up tonight on news4 at 5:00. pat, back to you. >> thanks, erika. i'll take it. >>> smuggling cigarettes in stores a lot of people probably viz all the time. why our area plays a role in the black market. the news4 i-team goes on the tobacco trail. >>> on storm team 4 radar, i'm tracking a line of rain that goes from loudoun county all the way down to around the roanoke area ahead of a cold front. when this clears our area and what it means for weekend temperatures . ♪ ♪ wow something sounds sweet in here!!!! ♪ ♪ need a little honey in the bowl. yeah!!! ba

news4 consumer reporter erika gonzalez talked to the pros at consumer reports to show you the most suitable seats for children of all ages and sizes. of course if they're installed properly. on news4 tonight at 5:00 she'll show you where you can have it installed correctly free of charge to give you peace of mind. >>> news for your health a new study shows that thousands of children are missing their shots. they found 28% of the children were either missing vaccines or missing records to show that they indeed had them. the study was published in the journal of pediatrics. >>> on a news -- a news crew captures the moment a manhole explodes, sending it 100 feet into the air. take look. >> watch yourself. watch yourself. >> heads up heads up! >> well you hear that explosion and take a look. that manhole flew way up above the buildings. this happened in buffalo, new york. an underground electrical fire started around noon yesterday. witnesses say smoke was pouring out of the manholes. eventually, causing three explosions. no one was hurt by the explosions because police had already evacuated th

. >> reporter: i'm erika gonzalez.g up on news 4 at 5:00 with so many different car seats on the market, how do you know which is best for your child? today we're looking at three different car seats for every different child for every different size and for every different parents' price point. join us tonight on news 4 at 5:00 and we'll show you where you can get them installed properly for free coming up tonight on news 4 at 5:00. >>> john legend is using his star power to get a message out. after the break, if you run over somebody it's usually because you were driving too fast or you didn't look before you turned or you didn't stop for someone in the crosswalk. always be alert. pedestrians don't come with airbags. >> reporter: i'm molette green live along the tidal basin in the midst of it all with bus loads of tourists coming in to see washington's springtime tradition at its best. it is a beautiful sight to see here from the amateur photographer to the professional photographer everybody is down here for this pi

consumer reporter erika gonzalez is here to compare them. >> which is worth the price. we checked to see what you get for your money. it's said that good things come in small packages but that's not always the case. what do you get when you buy a beauty box subscription? >> let's see what we have here. >> reporter: they signed up for eight services. >> great size. >> reporter: packaging ranged from ecofriendly to pretty boxes. >> we took a short quiz to tailor the products. classic rather than a trendy style. >> reporter: it's between $10 and $25 a month and contained about 4 to 6 samples from tools, how did they stack up? >> the best ones are a great way to try new products but in our tryout we found that some give you a lot more for your buck than others. >> reporter: beauty army is $12 a month and shop smart got mostly tiny samples and might get free in a department store. >> compared to the full size products of some of the other services and -- >> seems less substantial. >> reporter: others at $10, birchbox with generous sample sizes perfect for taking on a trip an

consumer reporter erika gonzalez joins us from the newsroom with a just-released report on the best and the worst of the grocery stores in our area. >> that's right, pat. this report is based on ratings from nearly 63,000 consumer report subscribers. the winner hands down wegmans. it ranked number one for freshest produce, meat quality, cleanliness, rounding out the top four in our area. trader joe's, costco and the fresh market. now, coming up on news4 at 5:00 tonight, we are going to reveal which grocer came in last as well as the rankings of popular chains like safeway, giant, and harris teeter. all that coming up on news4 at 5:00. see you then. >>> jarring new revelations in the crash of that germanwings claim. first at 4, what investigators have learned about the co-pilot who deliberately brought the plane down and what search crews have finally found in the wreckage. >>> wet weather headed our way. when showers will move in pz. >>> rain in the forecast for tomorrow. new information coming in on timing. i'll have that in minutes. >>> plus shocking allegations against one of our are

consumer reporter erika gonzalez is here now with a timely warning for us. >> our local better businessffice just told us that it's seeing an uptick in lawn care service complaints particularly in the last week. before you hire a lawn care company, request a yard inspection and an estimate. you want to get it in writing before agreeing to any work. you are trying to avoid surprise charges. next and this is an important one for any company that you hire make sure it's licensed and its workers are insured. go through the contract with a fine-toothed comb. you are looking for automatic renewals that could trap you if you sign off on them. another thing to check for, any warranties or guarantees, those will help you understand wa recourse you have if the job didn't come out the way you want it. back to you. >>> a major warehouse store is pulling all blue bell ice cream products off its shelves. sam's club says it's pulling the products as a precaution. it's the latest fallout from the discovery of listeria in some of the company's ice creams. blue bell has closed a plant in oklahoma to inve

consumer reporter erika gonzalez with things to keep in mind. >> what happens when you sign up for somethingy but you don't get anything. let's take a look. >> i like trashy magazines. >> gloria simmons is not shy in telling me which magazines spark her interest. she signed up for a subscription for sister to sister magazine and she says it stopped arriving. she paid $12 and has gotten nothing. the better business bureau recommends reaching out to englishers. gloria does that but got no response. >> none of the phone numbers worked. >> according to the district of maryland's u.s. bankruptcy court, the company that publishes the magazine filed chapter 11. >> they're going through a hard financial time. in this case the company hasn't offered up a solution. >> the weather is nice door to door sales can be popular, including magazine sales. the bbb says before you sign up for a subscription read the terms and conditions and ask to see the seller's license. whatever you spend -- >> 50 cents, whatever it is please honor or at least communicate. >> you want to make sure you get what you pay for. w

erika gonzalez will have all those results later today at 5:00. >>> a developing story right now.rs in arkansas have only five days to make changes to a controversial religious freedom law. governor hutchison says he won't sign the bill in its current form. he says even his own son signed a a petition asking him to veto the bill. his decision comes in the wake of an onslaught against lawmakers in indiana over a similar law. as early as today, those lawmakers could propose a fix. governor mike pence back pedaled on his support for the law this week after a nation wide furor. he's asked for a change to the law by tomorrow. catholic bishops in indiana have condemned the law. >>> lots of places including d.c. have banned official travel to indiana because of that law. we've learned maryland will not join them. according to the "washington post," governor larry hogan denied a request to issue the same restrictions p. post says montgomery county delegate who is openly gay asked the governor to institute that ban. >>> today mayor bowser is expected to layout how the district will pay for

consumer reporter erika gonzalez has a warning how hiring a tax debt relief company can end up costingdid any of the $8,000 go towards your tax burden? >> no, ma'am. >> what you need to know before you pay someone to help reduce tax debt tonight. >>> the apple watch isn't for everyone. the smart watch doesn't work properly if you have a tattoo on your wrist. the watch reads your heart rate by flashing green and infrared light at your skin. tattoo ink can prevent light from penetrating the skin. tattoos seem to also negatively affect apple pay notifications, placing calls and certain apps. interesting little glitch there. i didn't think about that. >> there you go. in case you're contemplating a tattoo on your wrist. >> no tattoos. i'll never have one. i mean nothing against them they're really cool but not for me. that's not the only problem that apple is experiencing with the new watch. >> kate rodgers from cnbc is joining us now. good morning. >> well apple fell half a percent in after hours trading following a report from "the wall street journal" that the tech giant had found a def

consumer reporter erika gonzalez is here with one mailing you don't want to throw away. >> that's right. you don't. look at this stack of papers i have. it's not just a piece of junk mail and it's definitely not a scam. there is a government survey going around you are required by law to take. have you ever seen the american community survey? >> never. >> reporter: at a time where it seems like we're warning you about a new scam every week we want to show you what isn't a scam. this is a legit survey that asks questions about your ethnicity, how much you spend on housing, and whether or not you're a citizen of the united states. it's called the american community survey. and it's part of the census. >> it gives us current, up-to-date accurate information about communities of all sizes everywhere as opposed to only having that information every ten years. >> reporter: it goes out to 1 in 40 households and it's mailed out every month. >> that allows us to have the very detailed information we need to plan where schools need to go where fire departments need to go how to help us alleviate

. >> consumer reporter erika gonzalez joins us with what you can do about it. >> reporter: we have heard a lot of concern from a number of people who have lumber liquidators floors in their homes. there's a new investigation about imported products. lumber liquidators is accused of selling floors from china contaminated with excessive amounts of formaldehyde. the economy says it's facing more than 100 class action lawsuits. they say they follow all regulations and will defend itself. if you own lumber liquidators flooring the company is offering free air quality testing. you can contact them directly for a free kit. >>> coming up on news 4, a warning about door to door solicitations as the weather continues to get nicer. if you've got a story idea for the consumer watch, we would love to hear from you. send us an e-mail or phone us your ideas. 885-4884. >>> we are just two weeks away from washington's know your value event, a day-long conference hosted by me ka brzezinski meant to help women in their professional lives. it will include a competition among three women who are finalists in

joining me in the studio, consumer reporter erika gonzalez to tell us how insurance plays a role in all unrest. everybody wants to know. will they have to pay for all of it, part of it? >> will they have to pay out of pocket? will insurance step in? we see the efforts made by community members to clean up the damage in baltimore, and insurance companies will also likely play a big role in restoring parts of the city. most insurance policies do cover civil disorder. that of courseaccording to the insurance information institute. let's start with cars, jim. we heard the number, 150, right, vehicles set on fire in baltimore yesterday? an optional portion of auto policies called comprehensive coverage will cover damage caused by vandalism or rioting. most drivers, about three-quarters of them, have comprehensive coverage. let's talk about the homes. we've seen a couple of places set on fire, couple of individuals close to that. standard insurance policies also cover riot or civil commotion. and if a business is looted or destroyed, this is of course the video we've been seeing over and over

tonight at 5:00 consumer reporter erika gonzalez introduces us to a man who tried to shop around by tryingo save some money. he wound up paying more. how you can avoid that trap. that's tonight on news4 at 5:00. >>> the apple watch hit store shelves today. the watches are only on shelves at five stores globally. these images show some lucky shoppers at one of the stores in japan. some of the people who oldered online weeks ago will see their watches in the mail today. don't call me if it doesn't come. i'm just saying what -- >> nothing to do with it. >> do you ever wish starbucks would deliver? >> a lot of folks do. it could happen pretty soon. cnbc's landon dowdy has the grande plan. >> no pun intended. one of my favorite stories of the day. starbucks plans to expand the mobile order following a successful test run. it accounts for nearly 20% of all payments and they're testing delivery in seattle at the empire state building letting customers getting food and drinks sent straight to the office. doesn't that sound amazing? >>> also the door to door burrito is now a reality. chipotle has b

. >>> i'm consumer reporter erika gonzalez.2007 car, truck, or suv or older, get the undercarriage wash the next time you visit the car wash. that's the message that the national highway traffic safety administration is putting out to people who live in areas where salt has been used to treat roads in very harsh winters, and that does include our region. this after nhtsa spent years investigating older model gm for brake line corrosion find nothing cause for a recall. what it did find was a safety issue for owners of all older model vehicles who have driven in snowy, salty areas. those vehicles are subject to corrosion over long periods of time. so spend a few more dollars, get the undercarriage washed and have a mechanic check your brake system. back to you. >> thanks erika. >>> check the fridge pap popular brand of hummus was recalled today. sabra has voluntarily recalled 30,000 case of its classic hummus because it might be contaminated with listeria. the food and drug administration says a routine test last month tested pos

well tonight at 11:00 consumer reporter erika gonzalez shows us which stores have items on sale more often than not and whether or not that's legal. tune in at 11:00 to see what the stores have to say about it. >>> today chipotle will only serve you food that's not been genetically modified. all of the chain restaurants are using non-dmo -- gmo pork and marinades. they're the first national food chain to totally remove gmos from some of the food. >>> new this morning, there's a report out that found that people who live in michigan may pay the most for car insurance. insurance quotes.com say it's more than double the national average there and it's because michigan is the only state where car insurance includes unlimited lifetime personal injury protection. virginia took the spot for least expensive car insurance. they pay 24% less than the national average. maryland took the 33rd spot on the least expensive list and d.c. was not included in the survey. >>> ford drivers take note they're recalling half a million cars because of complaints that the doors may have been flying open whil

consumer reporter erika gonzalez is here to explain. >> so it's being calmed a debt strike. current and former students from corinthian colleges across the country refusing to pay student loans because they say their degrees are worthless. the consumer financial protection bureau and at least two state attorneys general have filed lawsuits against corinthian colleges which operates a number of colleges. the suit claim corinthian allegedly inflated graduation and job placement rates and dealt in a legal predator lending scheme. pamela hunt is a member of the debt collective, a group of students refusing to pay back their federal student loans. hunt says she took out $56,000 in loans for a master's degree with corinthian. she says no one will hire her. >> you know, you can't get an apartment. you can't get a mortgage. there's people that can't get a loan for a car. because when they look at what you owe compared to what you make. >> corinthian told news4 its degrees have always been accredited. the cfpb and department of education however have taken action. the government is p

consumer reporter erika gonzalez joins us with some insider information for us. >> yeah a challenge to least. you can be on the phone for hours. who doesn't want a free flight sfl "consumer reports" did some exhaustive research and tells us how to get airlines to give you the free travel you've earned. robert carp has been planning his family vacations ever since he was 13 and figured out how to get the best bang for his parents' mileage. >> my family, we recently went to hawaii last december and our business class airfare and nine nights in hotels were all covered on miles and points. >> the airline you choose has a lot to do with whether you'll score free travel. "consumer reports" analyzed the latest data and found southwest the most generous carrier, giving away 11.5% of its seats. jetblue is the stingiest, giving away only 4.5%. united, american and delta fall in between. "consumer reports" has a few other tips for redeeming your miles. >> book several months in advance when there are more award seats available. still, last-minute searches can also work because people change plans

consumer reporter erika gonzalez is here to explain. >> jim, ecash cards are a form of payment that you use while inside nats park at places like concession stands and the team store. but we got a call from a viewer who says his ecash card was overcharged and caused his account to go in the red. after we got the tip, we contacted a spokesperson for the nats who confirmed double charges happened to a limited number of season plan holders with ecash accounts during the first home stand. apparently it was a software glitch, as jim mentioned that set all this in motion. we're told the problem has been resolved and impacted accounts have been credited. if you're still having issues with your account you can send a complaint to the nats. go to the consumer watch facebook page. we posted a link where you can send information about your case specifically. >>> tonight a shooter is in custody in connection with a shooting at a community college that was fatal. why police are investigating the murder as a possible hate crime. >>> we are proud to be the first state in the nation to enact this impor

consumer reporter erika gonzalez joins us of what this is all about. >> reporter: our service memberslitary allotments may be getting back some of the hard-earned money. consumer financial protection bureau ordered fort knox national company and sub sid their military assistance company to pay more than $3 million. they say one of the nation's largest third-party processors of military allotments failed to disclose information about costs and recuring fees. we are talking about $100 or more. the allotment system to help members send money to family me believes. the department of defense recently reformed the allotment system to greater protect the service members. we posted a link to that on our consumer watch facebook page. back the you. >> all right. >>> and an experimental blood test for cancer is showing promise. in news for your health tonight, researchers testing a liquid biopsy looking for fragments of cancer in the blood and able to predict 0 currents of lymphoma before showing up on ct scans. the test also identifyies patients unlikely to respond to chemotherapy. more study i

phils win four to one tonight gonzalez makes his first major league tart for the phils against cardinals righthander michael walka. three and zero thus far this season. erika, back to you. >> ukee being thank youment coming up in the next hour of "eyewitness news", weetting new video from overnight as police in baltimore they try to prevent more riots today. you'll see the mom being praised by police for her actions during this chaos. >> also, robbers targeting some local neighborhoods, hear from one of the victims so you don't get scammed. and justin and katie return, they've got your traffic and weather together on the 3's. we're looking at the seven day, weaver one real beautiful day and some rain to talk about too. katie has all of the detail coming up after the break. >>> people are waking up to fires and riots to protest the death after man in police custody. armed national guards have been put in position in baltimore to help ease tensions. >> authorities say protesters many of them teenagers pelted officers with rocks, and sticks demonstrators also looted stores, damaged cars and set fires. close to 30 arrests were made, and more than dozen officer