plus steve rudin has the >> the national mall was packed with families for the annual cherry blossom kite festival. >> spring is in the air. hundreds packed the national mall today to give their kites a monumental flight. >> to the center of the political universe. take advantage of all of the hot air of the capitol building. >> kite fliers say on a good day you are not supposed to run. the wind was not as strong as some of the enthusiasm. >> we have to work at it a little bit. >> this is a springtime tradition in washington d.c. these kites have been flying on the national mall over 40 years every year at this time, but it is only the second year it has been part of the jury blossom festival. today, the new kite fliers. and the professionals. sport kites faced off and detrick competition. others brought their homemade kites to compete. john is one of the judges. >> i look at a kite and i say i would like to take that home. that is what really gets me. i go for the visuals. >> for others, there is a different appeal. >> i wanted to be way up there in the clouds. >> i have been with m

part of a new plan to improve the look of the national mall. they are considering a proposal widen existing gravel walkways along the mall. tightly compacted soil on the difficult to grow grass. >> it is pretty much right now. >> the rain is coming to an end. we will get some more overnight. if you are late sleeper tomorrow, it will all be gone then as well. you can see the back edge of the rain. tracking it all afternoon. toward the rain heading the bay. it has ended just west of the metro area. continue. will flood watch is in effect for the.of ec shaded in green. for the potential of another f rain and heavier downpours when the cold front comes our way. 55 and 40 degrees, that was the high and low at reagan national. least 125 been at warnings issued today. horace holmes had a report earlier, you have more at 11:00. widespread tornado watches and yellow. is the tornado warnings. we have a cell phone video wjla.com. this is in indiana. this is what you do not want to in deep vicinity. he got very close to that. i think he decided to maybe go

still to come, could be popular food trucks find a new the national mall? we will tell you about that proposal and what tourists have to say about it. >> discomfort at city hall after an fbi raid. that story coming up. >> abc couple -dad, why are you getting that? -that's my cereal. is there a prize in there? , there's a prize, all right. is it a robot? no. is it a jet plane? nope. is it a dinosaur? [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] inside every box of heart healthy cheerios are those great tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. stickers? uh-uh. a superhero? ♪ ♪ kinda. [ male announcer ] and we think that's the best prize of all. ♪ ♪ >> we continue now with a frightening start to the weekend for a couple in northeast washington. >> they say they were ambushed, held down and robbed by four masked men in their home. it's an interview you will only see here. >> this was a harrowing ordeal for the couple we spoke to today. they say they feel violated after they were held against their will at gunpoint by four masked me

. >>> several thousands gathers at the national mall with one thing in common. their lack of religion. >>> and the global ceo is on the hot seat again d. he lie under oath about the $200 million of customers' money that vanished overnight? welcome to fox 5 news at 6. i'm maureen umeh. we begin with a big story that sparked national outrage. the shooting death of trayvon martin in florida. he was killed last month and today, people gathered in d.c. for a rally for trayvon. the d.c. police estimate about 1,000 people showed up this afternoon. it happened in front of the wilson building with many wearing hoods to protest martin's death. fox 5s matt ackland is in the newsroom with the story. matt? >> reporter: there is a large -- this was a large crowd put together by social media. it was raining at times and cold, the weather didn't keep those who were outraged from coming out to rally today. >> we beyond sick and tired. >> reporter: the crowd was so large, that pennsylvania avenue was closed to traffic. and much of freedom plaza was also filled. >> we are -- . >>

the national park service, will not issue a permit for the use of the national mall for the d.c. triathlon in june. it says this year it wants to make sure tourists have access to the new martin luther king

. >> concerns that part of the national mall could be sinking. [ 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? ♪ ♪ >> you are watching abc 7 news at 6:00 with gordon peterson, maureen bunyan, doug hill weather, and tim brant sports. >> re-entering the evacuation zone has been partially lifted. they are opening three towns near the leaking plant. 16,000 the evacuees will be able to return home. 100,000 people are still out of their homes after last year's earthquake and tsunami. the air force is allowing its f- 22 fighter jets to fly again. that is despite not knowing what caused the pilots to blackout. an extensive seven-month long investigation failed to explain what caused the pilots to blackout. the pentagon says they will continue to study the problem. >> president obama is moving forward with a plan to rebuild the nation's highways. the move

did you go to the national mall with it? because today was the day for kite-flying at the national mall. the smithsonian national kite-flying festival down there today. hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of beautiful kites all aloft. and many, many very excited spectators and participators down at ground level. look at her. she's excited about her kite. running around, having a good time today. weather actually cooperated pretty well. wouldn't have hurt to have a little more sunshine, but hey, at least it wasn't raining. sometimes the kites don't fly as much as you would like them to. outside right now, still a mostly cloudy sky. 56 our current temperature. an east breeze at 20 miles per hour. the easterly breeze perfect for quite-flying weather this afternoon. temperatures, though, trending downward. there has been a weak cool front slide down through the area during the course of the day. the cooler air coming about washington northbound. still a little bit milder ahead of the front. 64 in fredericksburg. 70 down the road

well this weekend the reason rally took over the national mall here in washington d.c. billed as the largest gathering the cycle of movement in world history national are part national mall part service estimated over thirty thousand people were in attendance and despite the rain the participants waited for hours to see speakers like richard dawkins and savage so we have to ask of the largest gathering in history of atheists humanists secularists freethinkers skeptics whatever it is that you like to call them what does it really mean i was being more open minded society or judging by the rhetoric that comes from g.o.p. candidates legislation is being brought up in states across the country as the tension between the religious and the not only growing joining me to discuss this is lawrence krauss foundation professor of the school of earth and space exploration and director of the origins project at arizona state university is also author of a universe from nothing why there is something rather than nothing lawrence want to thank you for joining us tonight and you know yo

we're not drilling on the national mall. [ laughter ] we're not drilling at your house. [ laughter ]ight. i guess we could try to have like, you know, 200 oil rigs in the middle of the chesapeake bay. [ laughter ] well, that's the question. we are drilling at a record pace but we're doing so in a way that protects the health and safety and the natural resources of the american people. [ applause ] all right. so that's point number one. if you start hearing this drill baby drill. drill, drill, drill. if you start hearing that again, just remember you got the facts. we're doing that. tell me something new. that's problem number one. here's the second problem. with what some of these politicians are talking about. there's a problem with a strategy that only relies on drilling and that is america uses more than 20% of the world's oil. if we drilled every square inch of this country, so we went to your house and we went to the national mall, and we put up those rigs every where, we would still have only 2% of the world he's known oil reserves. let's say we missed something. maybe it's 3%.

. >>> plus rallies for those who don't believe in something on the national mall we will be right back q at lysol, we discovered a problem. the more products we touch around the sink, the more dirt can spread around the kitchen, and the more germs we can spread on our hands. that's why we created the lysol no-touch kitchen system. one no-touch solution for sparkling dishes, plus clean surfaces, tray von home made simple. lysol. mission for health. >>> making headlines this morning north korea moved a long range rocket to its northwestern launch site the rocket containing a sate lite will be launched into space, april 15th the north maintains it is part of a peaceful space program the u.s. warned the move could jeopardize a recent deal that would ship u.s. food aid in addition to a moratorium on such nuclear tests. >>> president obama arrived in seoul early this morning the gathering brings together other nuclear armed nations plus those with civilian nuclear plants and several seeking to build them. it will start tomorrow night with a working dinner. >>> new develop

. >>> well, grab a helmet and get ready to pedal on the national mall. five capital bikes have been approved for the mall. the first stations will be located near popular attractions includings smithsonian, lincoln memorial, jefferson memorial and washington monument. >>> grass is out and gravel could soon be in, at least on parts of the mall. the national capital planning commission wants to cover two square gas panels near the smithsonian metro station with gravel and widen the existing gravel in the area. the washington examiner reports the plans are also in the works to cover a grassy area in front of the national gallery sculpture garden. the planning commission says the soil on the mall is highly compacted making it very difficult to grow grass in those areas. >>> some local park service workers are be credited with helping to save the life of a fellow worker. prince george's county fire investigators say they got a call about an unconscious person at watkins regional park in kettering on thursday. turns out a park service worker had gone into card

. >>> the national mall saw lots of rallies and protests. several thousands came to profess their disbelief, not in government but god and several secular and groups sponsored a rally for non-believers and those who don't practice a religion. john henrehan reports. >> reporter: organizers call it the reason rally and hope it would be the largest in the history of the world. several thousand people, some carrying antireligious signs brave intermittent rain to ral oat national mall. perhaps the wittiest seen of the day. think about it. organizers say they hope to advance secularism in america. some'sists said they came because sometimes they feel like second-class citizens in their country. >> there was a recent poll where people said atheists were the least luckily -- likely individuals to be elected to office, the least trusted and there is some work needing to be done with that. >> and first they kept trying to save me and save me and save me. when i said stop trying to save me, this is not what the conversation is about. i should be able t

we're at the national mall earlier today where tourists are taking in the beautiful sights. onal park service says peak blooms next week, march 20th through 23rd, between tuesday and friday. >> i think they're beautiful. they're just amazing. i've seen them before and every time i'm just hypnotized by them. they're gorgeous. >>

we'll tell but the big event this weekend on the national mall. mall. . >> casino gambling is one stone closey -- closer to becoming a reality. the a legislation would create a sixth gambling site in maryland. here's more from john. >> there are two big changes in this mix here. first of all, table games could come to the slots parlors that maryland has approved and that would turn them into full-blown casinos. if voters say it yes, big-time gambling would come to prince georges county. maryland has approved five video shots -- slots parlors, two open and three more in the pipeline. the one in anne arundel will open in a few months. surrounding states, however, have opened their parlors to full table games. under the new bill, maryland parlors could include roulette, black jack, craps, and other attractions and some other games. the attraction is jobs. many people are hired to operate the table games rather than the video slot machines and that would add a sixth casino inprince georges county. the whole package would have to be approved by voters

the group will peacefully celebrate its values on the national mall. a beautiful day to kickoff the cherry blossom festival. some changes in the weather on the way. >> we are gearing up for more changes in our forecast as we move into the upcoming weekend. there is a line of showers and thunderstorms off to the west of us. the bigger story today the warm temperatures. 8310 at dulles. mid part of the country, this will move toward the east. clouds rain, and the potential for some thunderstorms. >> if you are down at the tidal basin this weekend, take some pictures. send us your best shots. we are having a cherry blossom photograph contest. go to wjla.com. a fight is brewing in prince william county where some residents have not been allowed back into their homes in months. much of this mobile home park was destroyed after a troubled l stormee gossip -- tropical storm lee last september. >> we can fix it up. i do not know. >> we cannot allow that because that -- why would you wish to put someone at risk? >> the county claims the trailers are in a flood z

if you can see fog over the national mall area. sunrise a 6:40 a.m. beautiful. now you will start to see fair weather clouds developing and sliding across the district. that is beautiful. a great time lapse. we will continue to see fair weather clouds pass through during the day. high temperatures will be reached within the next hour or two. what you see is what you get for the warm temperatures. 58 -68- an hour in the district, 65 the dulles record, 72 in quantico. in order to break the record, which was set in the 1970's, we would have to reach 80 degrees in d.c. that is out of the question today. 54 degrees in cumberland. a big spread in temperatures. 69 degrees. in lexington degrees gusting up to 30 miles an hour in martinsburg. that is impressive. 36 in cumberland. the westerly winds will be gusty all the way until about sunset. satellite and radar showing bright sunshine over head, just a few scattered clouds. you will not see that right there, but thicker clouds are well-off to the west developing storm system that will affect us friday into saturday. tha

we're not drilling in the national mall. we're not drilling at your house. [ laughter ] >> i guess we can try to have like 200 oil rigs in the middle of chesapeake bay. well, that's the question. we are drilling at a record pace, but we're doing so in a way that protects the health and safety and the natural resources of the american people. [ applause ] >> so that's point number one. if you start hearing this drill, baby, drill, if you start hearing that again, just remember, you have the facts. we're doing that. tell me something new. that's problem number one. here's the second problem with what some of these politicians are talking about. there's a problem with a strategy that only relies on drilling, and that is america uses more than 20% of the world's oil. if we drilled every square inch of this country, so we went to your house, and we went to the national mall, and we put up the rigs everywhere, we'd still have only 2% of the world's known oil reserves. let's say we missed something. maybe it's 3% instead of 2%. we'

the memorial is being planned just off the national mall, near the national air and space museum. susan eisenhower is the gra granddaughter of our late president. here's what she said on capitol hill. >> we as a family are committed to seeing that the building of a memorial to have dwight eisenhower be done in and open, democratic and transparent way. this is what ike would have wanted. he have been gratified by the public debate that's finally begun and we're grateful to all of those who have worked on the commission and worked on the memorial, especially mr. dprank gary, who's graciously interacted with members of the eisenhower family. the public debate has demonstrated that the american people overwhelmingly endorsed the memorial, but they are saying it's time to go back to the drawing board and we agree. aside side from all the things that have been said in the press and the internet, we have been inundated as family members with letters about the unset imagine of creating a fitting memorial. given this, mr. chairman, the eisenhower family sees no alternative but to suggest t

working as a park ranger on the national mall means preparing for all sorts of challenges., protest marches, even the threat of a terrorist attack, but when a magnitude 5.8 quake rattles the washington monument, that's not surprising the ranger on duty at the top is a little shaken. a rare earthquake jolts a national monument, and a park ranger faces the test of her life. >> i felt very, very, very terrified, very scared. thinking that i may not get out of the building. >> then while inspecting the damage, an engineer is taken for a hair-raising right. nicolette williams has worked as a park ranger at the national mall in washington, d.c., for two years. she enjoys interacting with tourists from all over the globe. >> every single day, we work at our different memorials and provide historical tours for visitors. >> on august 23rd, 2011, she's assigned to the washington monument. >> it's 500 feet up and we have windows on all four sides. you can see very far into maryland, virginia, about 30, 35 miles at least. >> security camera footage from just before 2:00 p.m. shows nico

. >>> in time for spring, capital bike share installed the first two stations on the national mall. rent a bike at 14th and jefferson near the washington monument or on ohio drive near the new mlk memorial. >>> your smartphones keep you connected, right? is it making you lose your mind? feel like you are having trouble paying attention? why you are not alone and what you can do to fix it. >>> first, apparently fruit flies can get their feelings hurt like the rest of us. a new study shows that male fruit flies rejected by a female turn to food spiked with alcohol. the males that got to mate with females had no use for the booze. >>> the study could help scientists understand the link between depression and substance abuse. e abuse.  >>> take a moment to think how many tasks you are pulling off. are you just watching the news or texting and surfing the web? david martin tells us the internet is affecting our attention span. if you can't put your smartphone down, scan the code for more information. >> how long could you sit and look at this lake, reflect on it? according to resear

national park service denied a permit for the event because a number of the events around the national mall and the memorial, there's just too many going on around that time. so the 2,000 people who signed up can transfer their registration fees to other area races or they can request a refund. >>> all things are a go for this saturday's suntrust rock and roll marathon and half marathon and the events kick off today with the health and fitness expo at the d.c. armory. that's where we find our anita brikman. hi there. >> reporter: hey, lesli, good to see you again. this evening it's a gorgeous evening out there, a gorgeous thursday night. the expo is packed. there's all kinds of things people can try out looking at the alignment of their feet, since it's a rock and roll marathon they can pose as rock stars and there's plenty of fitness gear to buy. since i'm a runner, i thought why stick to basic black? it's time to mix things up. so i found some compression socks. i think i'm going to buy in the hot pink. these help if you have shin splints or anything else. if you can see me running the cr

five new sharing stations have been approved around the national mall. each station will have space for 23 bikes, land locations are the smithsonian metro station, the lincoln memorial, the washington monument, and one between the roosevelt memorial and martin luther king memorial. coming up, he can only use one of his arms. never stopped this high schooler from dominating the courts. >>> it may not be the most pleasant sound, but it helped save somebody's life here. i'm beth parker. that story coming up. >>> but first, the celebration at schools across the nation today for what swrowld been dr. suess's 108th birthday. made and wore their cat in the hat, while volunteers read books to them.  . >>> if you ever needed some motivation to take that cpr course, this next story should do it. researchers at a maryland park saved a coworker. fox 5's beth parker shows us the quick thinking and just the right equipment made all the difference. >> he had just slid back his chair after lunch and headed to the water cooler when suddenly he fell again

traffic and, paing around the national mall expected to be very congested. it will last five weeks instead of the usually two weeks. veronica, joe, you never tire of seeing those gorgeous blossoms of blooms. >> i don't think you can take a bad picture of the cherry blossoms. all good. >> worth going down to see it up close. >> do the cherry blossom fingers hold onto the trees overnight with the rain? did the rain knock them off? >> no, it wasn't a heavy rain. i don't think we'll have a heavy rain. out of a couple of days, by the weekend, we could have a heavier rain. weekend not looking too great. today first. again, looking at showers moving across the area right now with an overcast sky. temperatures throughout the area, not too bad. we have light wind and that's allowing fog to form. reports of fog up around hartford county, i-95 around maryland, just before you get to pennsylvania and some more patchy foggy spots down around the river and easton. that will be burning off the next couple of hours. 63, the temperature. wind out of east. light. light wind o

. >> and the potential impact of last summer's earthquake on the national mall. we're coming right back. my dad was a union electrician. sometimes i'd tag along to a work site, 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. >>> if you have a visa or mastercard in your wallet you better listen up. >> there is a warning tonight about a potential security breach. liz crenshaw is here to tell us about it. >> wendy and jim both visa and mastercard are investigating the complete details are not being provided but here is what we know so far. the potential breach involves the hacking of the third party system that processes visa and mastercard transactions. "the wall street journal" is reporting that the third party is

. >> it's really an mating our national mall at nighttime. >> reporter: as you can imagine, the exhibitwhich the museum calls the first of its kind in washington, is gadget lot of looks and a lot of comments. >> very roman toys, and it draws you in. it's a wonderful use of the building in a different way of presenting art. >> reporter: the exhibit runs until may 13th, and i'm told there will not be a song 2, so get down here while you can. >> liquid architecture. i like. that. >>> okay, parents, you may want to cover your kids' ears, if they're still awake. new research says school homework offers no real benefit until kids hit their junior year of high school. the study is from sidney university in australia. the data shows achievement rates are lower where kids spend more time in homework. that's because kids are unhappy about how much homework they're assigned. >> we knew. that you know you have arrived when new york's carnegie deli names a new sandwich out of you. so mr. tim tebow, congratulations, you have arrived. and here is your sandwich. it's called the jet-bow. enough pastrami

>>pam: an atheist rally today at the national mall in washington.r goal is social and legislative a quality. the >>brian: is trading around the bay area. here is a look at storm tracker 4. the yellow shows heavy rain. moderate rains that will grant over the day as we get into tonight and tomorrow morning. as look at what is going on outside right now, rain conditions the temperatures currently in the forties around the bay area. mid-40s. club to the rain will move to the east as we head into tomorrow morning. this system is just sitting in this bidding. there is a band of a steady rain over the bay area. into the overnight hours it will push to the east and perhaps a few scattered showers. lingering showers as we head into tomorrow afternoon and evening. temperatures for tomorrow morning, forties' for the most part. the clouds will keep things mild in school with highs in the mid fifties. here is a look at the 7 day around the bay. monday is going to be the only day that is kind of nice. partly sunny skies with increasing clouds as we head into the

is planning a parade along pennsylvania avenue, a street festival and march along the national mall. >>> we've all had those moments when you really wish you could take back something you've just said. vice president joe biden may have had that after speaking in iowa last night. >> let me say it again. thank you, terry, and thank you, dr. pepper and thank you, chancellor -- dr. paper and thank you, chancellor. >> he was referring to the president of scott community college, not the soft drink, slip of the tongue, thirsty, who knows? happens to all of us. >>> tonight at 11:00 less snow will equal less snow for students this year. emergency weather days, they didn't need them. coming up at 7:00 we'll see if any local students will enjoy an early summer recess. >> we're ready for that. >>> the blame game, who most americans think responsible for rising prices at pump. >> the winds are dying down, a very nice evening. we'll show you the almanac data, a little deceiving because the 70 occurred just after midnight. the daytime high was in the blow 60s, low so far 56 -- low 60s, low so far

the national mall may have suffered more damage than first thought from the august earthquake why theear the washington monument is in question. >> plus,. >> they strangle me, take things from me. >> it is a growing problem across the nation right now, bullying, a new documentary brings awareness to that issue also controversy over the r rating of the documentary next we talk with the young woman trying to make sure every high schooler has a chance to see this, and what inspired her to do so. >> as we head to the break take a look at the screen it is a beautiful image or lookout your window too, it is sunrise this morning, beautiful start to the day we will get the latest weather and traffic from tucker and julie coming up next. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] offering four distinct driving modes and lexus' dynamic handling, the next generation of lexus will not be contained. the all-new 2013 lexus gs. there's no going back. ♪ >>> you knew this was coming the warm weather you have been enjoying means you get to enjoy the cherry blossoms earlier than first thought the peak dates are march 20th

hopefully i kill enough people to make it to national news and stay away from the mall tomorrow at 1:30." >> anytime you hear something like that it's obviously very concerning. there are groups on campus that try to help people out who may need mental evaluation or have stress-related issues. >> reporter: many students expressed concern they were not told about the threat through the campus alert system. >> we should have heard about it the second it came out. and everyone prepared themselves. i would have liked to -- this is coming as a shock right now. >> reporter: i did ask a university police spokesman why a campuswide alert was not sent out given the seriousness of this situation. they said they did not want to do something that might jeopardize what was a very sensitive investigation. now, again, here's a picture of the suspect. he has been taken into custody. right now he is getting a psychiatric evaluation. he has been suspended by the school administration. and banned from coming onto campus. reporting live from college park, darcy spencer, news 4. >>> potential disaster ave

the beautiful cherry blossoms are blooming on the national mall. tourists have come in from all over the country and the world. this year marks the 100th anniversary of the jerry blossom festival. the blooming period will run from tomorrow through friday. >>> a deadly shooting overseas that killed an american teacher. who may have targeted the teacher and wheres teacher was working when the gunfire eruptedfrom party to time locked up in jail, the st. patrick's day celebration that took on a whole another atmosphere in canada. >>> now "good morning maryland" at 4:30. >>> around the world an american teacher is dead in yemen. police say two gunmen on a motorcycle shot and killed the teacher working at a language institute. no arrests have been made. militants affiliated with al- qaeda took advantage of the chaos in the past year to take vole of the town in the south of the country. >> some canadians face charges after rioting in over the weekend. it happened early sunday morning as people celebrated st. patrick's day. officers arrested a dozen people

it will be part of an exhibit at the new african- american museum of history being built on the national mallstay with us. time is 4:55. ♪ beth! hi! looking good. you've lost some weight. thanks. you noticed. these clothes are too big, so i'm donating them. how'd you do it? eating right -- whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multi-grain cheerios -- 5 whole grains, 110 calories. creamy, dreamy peanut butter taste in a tempting new cereal. mmm! [ female announcer ] new multi-grain cheerios peanut butter. . >>> the theme of women's history month this year is women's empowerment. some of those stories will be held in the new african- american museum of history and culture on the mall. >> it will tell of the struggles to start businesses, becoming movie stars an even sports legends. karen gray houston has more. >> reporter: the clothing and costumes are aging and fragile, taken out of storage for public viewing. like this dress worn by lena horne in stormy weather. >> this is one of the 1940s movies where lena horne is the s

we're at the national mall earlier today where tourists are taking in the beautiful sights. tional park service says peak blooms next week, march 20th through 23rd, between tuesday and friday. >> i think they're beautiful. they're just amazing. i've seen them before and every time i'm just hypnotized by them. they're gorgeous. >> who could hate cherry blossoms, they're so beautiful. they make me happy just looking at them. >> the cherry blossoms are what makes spring one of the most picturesque times of the year in washington. i will be checking those out in the next couple of days. how does the seven-day forecast look for checking out the cherry blossoms? i'll let you know how long the streak of the 70 degree weather lasts before we see showers and storms. bruce, back to you. >> anny thanks a lot. a thousands of people might be sore after the rock 'n' roll marathon in the nation's capital today. we talked to the runners and some of those cheering them on. >> reporter: they were off at 8:02 on a cool st. paddy day's morning. 21,000 runners for the rock 'n' roll half and full

. >>> 30 years ago tomorrow ground was broken along the national mall for the vietnam memorial.w one of the most popular tourist attractions, but about 3 million people visiting there each year. armando trull caught one some veterans today. >> reporter: the vietnam war deeply divided america. so perhaps it was fitting that the stark design of the vietnam veterans memorial was almost as divisive in 1982 when it was unveiled. just as america has come to terms with the war, 30 years later the vietnam wall has become an almost hall he willed place where thousands of offerings are left in remembrance of the fallen. >> my uncle died in the vietnam war. >> reporter: the black granite stretches from the sky to the ground. they give their overing, renewing bonds that time and space cannot sever. >> gilberto menendez. >> reporter: who was he? >> he was a friend of mine. >> reporter: robert. >> who was that? >> my great uncle. >> reporter: it's also a place of healing. vietnam vet joe leone. >> i always felt that there were others that did so much more and i consider it a privilege and an

. >>> bike share is officially coming to the national mall. the capital planning commission approved plans to install five bike share stations down on the mall. they hope it will attract visitors to this highly successful program. the stations would be located at the smithsonian metro station entrance, at the lincoln memorial, the jefferson memorial, between 14th and 15th streets, and near the warm, and on ohio -- washington monument, and on ohio drive. all stations will have as many as 25 bikes, and the stations will be solar powered. not quite sure what that means. maybe the locks on -- >> sounds very high tech. >> it does. you're a bike rider, you let us know -- >> i will. i'll try it out. >> yeah. seen a lot of people riding bikes out with this kind of weather that we've been having. >> yesterday, 70 on the st of march. are you -- 1st of march. are you kidding? beautiful day outside. i took advantage in my seven or eig eight-mile run. if you didn't take advantage of it, shame on you. 70 on march 1, and you sat inside. that was a mistake be

it is supposed to be built on the national mall design bid a famous architect but the eisenhower sayshe main theme depicting him as a barefoot boy from kansas is offensive for his legacy as a two-term president and commander during world war ii. rld war ii. >>> coming up next, a first for the duchess of cambridge. kate middleton steps up her royal duties. >> she day great job with her speech. cyst it was a -- >> annual take a look at the lady terps. is it a robot? no. nope -- and we'll take a look at the lady terps. is it a dinosaur? [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] inside every box of heart healthy cheerios are those great tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. stickers? uh-uh. a superhero? ♪ kinda. [ male announcer ] and we think that's the best prize of all. ♪ what do you think of this one? really? what's this? this is a rose i made from a turnip. let's try together. perfect. two worlds that fit in one kitchen. come in today and save up to 20% on a kitchen from ikea. what a bargain! [ female announcer ] sometimes a good deal isn't such a

the atheist rally was held at the national mall and want to make clear that life without religion is on the rise in the u.s. >> people think that they have the right to legislate religion, when this is the united states of america and the 1st amendment is to establish no religion. >> organizers say today's event attracted an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 people making it the largest ever gather of nonbelievers in one place. >>> the highly anticipated film "the hunger games." served up a big opening-day. >> i volunteers attribute! >> the lionsgate film brought in more than $68 yesterday, that is a record for a non- sequel and puts the fim on track for the best debut week ever been in march. >>> well, a ghost ship appears off the coast of canada. take a look. we'll explain how this vessel ended up in this spot. >>> and they are back, the gray wolf is making a return, but why this legendary species is not being met with open arms. >>> i'm still tracking widespread rain on live stormtracker 2. coming up, the one part of your sunday that could be dry and the timing of our next storm that coul

check out the cherry blossoms are also taking out the monuments around the tidal basin and the national mall. as far as some of the traffic the national park service is trying to fix the traffic situation and adjusting it to alleviate some of the backups. they are asking people to take metro in the meantime or maybe a taxicab down here. that way they can avoid a lot of the limited parking around the tidal basin,. reporting live in southwest washington, jummy olabanji. >> before taking out the blossoms, go to our web site at wjla.com. there's a link to our home page to the festival with everything you need to know about the event, information on traffic, maps. all in one place. >> a beautiful shot. it's 5:22, 55 degrees. >> did you get your fill of college basketball this weekend? we will try to digest that, coming up. >> reality television star bethany frankel. what is next for her multimillion-dollar empire. turn left. the passat is one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. not that we'd ever brag about it. turn right. come on, nine. turn left. hit the brakes. huh? ho

the memorial should sit near the national mall, close to the national air and space museum.isenhowers invited to testify at today's hearing. >>> the first day of spring. the cherry blossom festival begins it's 100th festival. >> a million people are expected to check out the blooming blossoms. meagan mcgrath has more. >> reporter: good morning. absolutely beautiful down here at the tidal basin. today is the first day of the peak bloom period. you can see how lovely the trees are here this morning. this is when 70% of the blossoms are out. we have had a little bit of rain this morning. in fact, i just put my umbrella away fortunately, light rain. nothing that will damage the blossoms. they are very delicate. wind, heavy rain can cause blooms or blossoms to fall off the trees. not seeing that this morning and we expect the weather to improve this afternoon. a great day to come down and see the beautiful trees that line the tidal basin. this, of course, the 100th anniversary of the gift of the trees from tokyo to the people of washington, d.c., so a very, very special year for

. >>> the district's popular bike-sharing program is officially coming to the national mall. lan commission approved plans to install five bike-share stations on the mall. they hope it will attract visitors to this highly successful program. the stations will be located at the smithsonian metro station entrance, the lincoln memorial, the jefferson memorial, between 14th and 15th streets, near the washington monument, and on ohio drive between the fdr and martin luther king memorials. all stations will have up to 25 bikes and will be solar powered. >>> district officials are trying to bring the redskins' training facility back to d.c., and now they have a proposed location. mayor vincent gray wants to offer a piece of a 67-acre parcel of land a block from rfk stadium to the team. the training facility would border independence avenue on a site in hill east that used to house a d.c. general hospital. city officials believe that the training facility could be the first step to building a new stadium for the team in the district after their fedex field lease is up in 2027. several

. >>> the district's popular bike-sharing program is officially coming to the national mall. ational capital planning commission approved plans to install five bike-share stations on the mall. they hope it will help attract visitors to highly successful -- to the highly successful program. the stations will be located at the smithsonian metro station entrance, the lincoln memorial, the jefferson memorial, between 14th and 15th streets near the washington monument, as well, and on ohio drive between the fdr and martin luther king jr. memorials. also stations will have up to 25 bikes. >>> well, the bikes could be in place in time for this year's cherry blossom festival which begins on march 20. the peak bloom is expected a little earlier this year. the national parks service predicts that the peak on -- the bottoms will peak between march 24 and march 31. this year marks the 100th anniversary of the gift of the cherry trees from japan. >>> another tradition this time of year is, of course, the white house easter egg roll. and bo obama is ready. he stars in the web video. the whi

it will be built next to the national mall. a>> i can see where the family stands on this.hey want something that led to his stature. >> a little statue of a little boy. >> which is sweet to inspire young children but have another one along side it that shows him as a man and what he grew to become. >> let us know how you feel about this. find us at fox friends first on twitter. >> they are the best kept secret of any presidential campaign until they are not of course. we are talking about the secret service code name for rick santorum and mitt romney. they have been revealed. can you test who is calling themselves javelin. >> oprah winfrey network. not owning any ratings. the former queen of talk taking drastic action with cuts. the brand new details coming up. everybody hurts. r. e. m. ♪ @? >> deadly vie lengths in iraq overnight. deadly bombings leave 38 people dead. over 160 people have been hurt. they targeted police officers and shiite pilgrims. it comes days after air rrab les leave baghdad. a man with a gun held a girl hostage in an apartment in georgia. an 11-hour

look at the national mall. you can make up the capitol building on the left-hand side. washington monument poking right up through that fog layer. temperature rise -- temperature wise, we are in the 50's. 54 in the plate. -- la plata. mid- -60's. winds are 20 miles per hour at times later on today. highs in the mid 60's and the 70's in the south. clear tonight, near 40 degrees. tomorrow, 20 -- plenty of sunshine. an evening's rigell cannot be ruled out friday night into saturday. -- an evening of rain cannot be ruled out friday night into saturday. >> people across the midwest and the south cleaning up the damage left behind by the deadly storms. the national network -- the national weather service says that 16 tornados touchdown. one went up to 170 miles per hour. at least 12 people died. the destruction stretched across parts of nebraska, kansas, illinois, and tennessee. the tornadoes shredded homes flat and strip malls and not buildings off their foundations. half of the homes in kansas were destroyed. >> i heard the wind pick up and then all at once, like he just fe

well over the weekend there was a large gathering of people here in washington out near the national mall by some estimates between ten and twenty thousand people members of the country's most secular organizations they were here for the reason rally and the goal was to give these people the opportunity to get together with like minded people to dispel negative opinions i held about people who don't believe in god president is by the way things come up even more often and election years but the rally was hailed as a success and included speakers and even a performance by members of the group religion r t sent a crew to the rally to speak to some of those in attendance and to find out a little more about who are good people who are good with religion real. dirty in the sky looking over us to make sure that when we have other reasons to be good. we are a force to be reckoned with a great big ground zero of this cultural revolution where we're all coming out in massive numbers there's this climate of fear and shame most atheists don't even have atheist on their records they're told that they

the national park service, will not issue a permit for the use of the national mall for the d.c.n in june. it says this year it wants to make sure tourists have access to the new martin luther king jr. memorial. >> 5:39 on this friday morning. >> coming up, we are learning more about the u.s. soldier accused of killing 16 afghan civilians. what his lawyer says about his case. not everybody is happy with the sale of the new ipad. while protests are man ] hmm. a lot can happen in two hundred thousand miles... are you guys okay? yeah. ♪ ♪ [ man ] i had a great time. thank you, it was really fun. ♪ ♪ [ crash ] i'm going to write down my number, but don't use it. [ laughing ] ♪ ♪ [ engine turns over ] [ male announcer ] the all-new subaru impreza®. experience love that lasts. ♪ ♪ >> coming up in a few minutes at 6:00 the price for the casino at the national harbor. we will preview of today's hearing in annapolis. >> and a leading economic indicator hit its highest level since 2008. what is next for the s&p? >> we will talk about the link between work and your appetite. and the latest

traffic around the national mall is expected to be really congested. the centennial celebration will last five weeks instead of the usually two weeks. >>> let's get a look at the all-important cherry blossom forecast with veronica johnson from the super screen. >> they are expected to peak from today right through the 23rd of this month, what that means, we expect to see 70% of cherry trees in bloom. normally, last about 14 days, where you have that type of fullness of color color around the tidal basin. because of mild temperatures we've had around here, might not be lasting as long. especially overnight temps. take a look at photos sent in from jack. absolutely gorgeous as far as beauty goes. at sun set. megan, of course, dealing with a sunrise and a cloudy sunrise at that. my computer catches up here, let's go ahead and take a look at some other pictures that folks have sent in. that's exactly what we want to see. your pictures of what you are snapping out at the tidal basin. use the big dslr camera or your phone. we have pictures from robin we can