rick leventhal in new york's central park.appy spring. >> melissa, i don't want to brag, i had both uab and georgia state in my bracket. melissa: sure you did. >> that is a true story. melissa: really? >> i missed a couple others but i did yes. it has been snowing here in central park for couple hours now. it is starting to stick to the ground, but not to the streets which is good news. but the roads couldn't get a lot worse. there are winter weather advisories in effect because of last day of winter first day of spring snowstorm dumping three to five inches they say in the new york area. but down further south in pennsylvania, down into maryland. baltimore d.c. area got snow this morning which stuck down there. but now transitioning to rain which will happen here with a mix of rain and sleet. this heavy wet snow. parts of new jersey getting up to an inch an hour they're telling us advisories out, warning of limited visibility, hazardous travel conditions and slippery roads in new york and massachusetts. boston could see more

rick leventhal is live there. rick, what can you tell us?after a building explosion and fire here in east new york city. james kohl lives in the building next door. he was home when this happened. you tell me you felt the whole building shake. >> i just got back from the gym and was about to get in the shower and i felt the whole building shake from the explosion. >> you grab your jacket, run out the door and then what? >> i came outside. there were three to five people in the street. some of them pretty badly hurt, some with lacerations across their faces and stuff. >> and the building didn't collapse right away? >> no, there was about a 5 or 10-minute pause in between the initial explosion before it started smoking and caught on fire. >> a major fire, which has engulfed the building next door now. you live right here. you're leaving town in a couple weeks, but this has to be a pretty upsetting event for you to experience. >> yeah it's surreal. you hear about this stuff happening but it happened right next door. >> thank you, james. best of

fox's rick leventhal on how some say this whole thing doesn't add up. >> reporter: environmentalists say there are millions of gallons of petroleum waste in the ground and marshes surrounding this former exxon refinery in bayonne, new jersey and another site in nearby linden. a total of 1500 acres of wetlands soiled by exxon according to the state which sued the oil giant for $8.9 billion more than 10 years ago to cover damages and cleanup costs. but last month, republican governor chris christie's administration unexpectedly settled the case for $225 million which some democrats called appalling and disturbing. >> just on its face when you see 3 cents on dollar based on the state damages claim you take a step back and show concern. >> reporter: roll call please. >> on thursday, the democratic controlled state legislature held a hearing on the proposed cement vowing to fight the dole. suggesting the governor gave what is now exxon mobil a break because the energy firm donating half a million dollars to the republican governor's association four times more than exxon gave democrats. a

. >> eleven leventhal is the only one. they want a glance before the dance. a catholic school is requiring all dresses be approved by faculty for prom night. any formal wear which is too revealing or plunging backs or fronts will be turned away at the door. students call it unfair and inconvenient. the principal says they have the responsibility to holdup the catholic value and moral integrity. i don't have a problem with this except for the timing. a bunch of students say they bought their dresses by the time the school issued a policy. that seems unfair. >> that is a real problem. why does it have to be complicated? you force them to wear the uniform every day. one fight let their inner ke$ha fly out and let them wear the backless spandex dresses. they will pay for it later on in the pictures? >> you thought the school is not going far enough. >> i think it is illegal to make jokes about 17-year-old girls. >> are you older than me? i was about to make one. >> plaib i am too dignified. i don't disagree with this. the timing is off. really it is a catholic sc

rick leventhal takes us inside one of the top flooded aircraft training facilities in the world. >> reporterace yourself? when to hold your breath how long to wait before opening an emergency exit when to release your seat belt and swim to safety? that's what is being taught at survival systems usa one of about 100 facilities worldwide with aircraft facilities and dunk tanks. but this is the only one where they'll also set the craft on fire. >> this is a skill set that you acquire, can only be acquired by hands on experience. it's been my experience after ten years of doing this, that there is very little in the way of other lifetime experiences that prepare you for what we're asking you to do. >> reporter: there have been dozens of water crashes where some survived and some didn't, including this incident in 1999 when a helicopter got caught in the netting of a carrier and flipped into the ocean, killing 11 of 18 marines on board. having to move from one side of the craft to the other to find the way out. the toughest part is when you're flipping, and knowing that you have to wait for it to

rick leventhal is standing by live with what's going on there. rick? >> reporter: chris the new york city fire department has pushed us back a couple blocks because of concerns another building might collapse. you can see some of the firefighters on the ground here cooling off. and more firefighters still putting water on the buildings that were engulfed in flames. it may have been triggered by a gas leak or a construction crew that hit a gas line. we spoke to a man who lives next door to the explosion who said he felt his whole building shake just after 3:00 this afternoon. minutes later, a huge fire engulfed the building. roughly 250 firefighters responded as the blaze roared seven alarms. at least a dozen people hurt in the blast, four critically. some people hit by debris and glass flying across the street. a couple people suffered burns to their airways. the neighbors say that they ran outside and saw several people down, some bleeding from wounds. one of them his eye badly cut. the good news, chris, they don't believe that anyone else is missing

rick leventhal in the thick of it and rick reithmuth how long we have the to deal with it. we begin with live van thrall in manhattan. >> i'm not a weatherman but i'm sure this is not what spring is supposed to look like or feel like. it's making beautiful pictures in central park the snow is cover the trees and the bushes but it's also starting to affect the roads. i'll show you here, it's not bad, not really collecting on the streets streets of new york city but the storm is affecting several states, making a mess of the rush hour community. dumping an inch an hour in new jersey where a thousand trucks are plowing and salting roads in philadelphia, they're seeing a mix of snow and sleet and freezing wayne, and there was snow the baltimore area transitioning to rain. but tonight things could get icy. three to five inches of snowfall expected in some areas of the northeast, and withs weathers a vies in connecticut, delware-maryland, new jersey and new york and limited visibility and hazardous slippery road conditions. no as advise riz for massachusetts but boston could see

. >> reporter: leventhal got his start with senator mikulski. >> she's a role model for me. to say that i love her -- the word isn't strong enough. i learn sod much working for her. >> reporter: u.s. senator benjamin carden says maryland will lose one of the most seasoned and effective lawmakers in the country when senator mikulski leaves naufs two years. >> there's rarely a day that goes by that the two of us don't talk strategy or policy. so it's truly been an open relationship a very productive relationship. >> reporter: she has a lot of political priorities work to get done in her final two years in office including getting the fbi to decide to relocate its headquarters in prince george's county. i'll have that part of the story coming up on news 4 at 6:00. in fells point, chris gordon news4. >>> three security scares in the past 24 hours at the white house. this morning a construction worker tried to slip into a secure door as another person walked out. he was instantly met by two uniformed secret service members and taken into custody. another man was taken into custod

rick leventhal in the thick of it and rick reithmuth how long we have the to deal with it.