please, first warmly welcome the ceo of the corporation for public broadcasting, pat harrison. >>> i want to thank bob for all he's doing to help america become a grad nation. it's great to be with so many people concerned with america's young people and putting that concern into action through america's promise alliance. as alma powell says in the grad nation report, we can't afford excuses. and america's promise alliance is one of the most effective and largest partnerships increasing champions for the nation's children and champions never make excuses. they do work toward the mission every single day. and our kids really need these champions. we should think of them as our kids. our best and brightest. because that's how they start out. believing that they do have a bright future. believing that they can be among the best. who do eventually graduate. but somewhere along the way, they lose their way. and when that happens, they and we all lose. because, as their success goes forward or it falters, or it fails, so goes our nation. let me tell you what the nation's public media stati

presented by pat harrison, it is one of the most exciting developments we have had. and spur action to address the challenge across the country from little towns like richmond, indiana, the corporation for bubba -- public broadcasting has reached perverse communities in created a dialogue to engage communities. pat and max miller are working together. in addition to brian gallagher's announcement, united way and big brother, big sisters are taking their partnership a step further to accelerate their progress. finally, rounding out the beginning with leadership from one of the more significant companies, at&t, we will hear from beth shiroishi showing the power of the business community to strengthen education. please welcome the ceo of the corporation for public broadcasting, pat harrison. >> i want to thank bob and bridge for all they are doing. it is great to meet so many people who are concerned about america's young people and our working to improve it. as alma powell says in the report, we cannot afford excuses. america is one of the most effective and largest pa

i'm barbara harrison. >> i'm pat lawson muse. the president made his first public comments about the shooting of trayvon martin today and he described it as a tragedy that's touched him personally. that's also the case for people across the country as demonstrations and calls for justice spread. jay gray has the latest. >> reporter: hundreds gathered again today in florida, students from more than a dozen high schools marching and at this miami high school spelling out their frustration forming the initials t.m., a tribute to trayvon martin. protests over the unarmed 17-year-old shot and killed by neighborhood watch volunteer george zimmerman have become a national movement. >> this is a tragedy. >> reporter: a tragedy president obama like so many across the country is taking personally. >> if i had a son he'd look like trayvon. and i think they are right to expect that all of us as americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves and that we're going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened. >> reporter: th

pat lawson muse. >> i'm barbara harrison in for jim handly this evening. today marks a month since the killing of trayvon martin. the 17-year-old was shot by a neighborhood watchman who told police he acted in self-defense. he has not been charged. >> the case has generated rallies across the country with people demanding an arrest. there is one going on right now, a march protest, that is, at the justice department. and there is also a huge rally getting under way in sanford, florida at this hour where the whole case began. that's where martin's family spoke out again today. jay gray has the story. >> reporter: late today new information in the trayvon martin case. revelati revelations that the teenager had been suspended from school after a baggy containing marijuana residue was found in his book bag. >> the only comment that i have right now is that they've killed my son and now they're trying to kill his reputation. >> reporter: supporters call it a diversion from the real issue here and today on the anniversary of the shooting hundreds gathered at thi

presented by pat harrison, it is one of the most exciting developments we have had.en the power of the media to raise awareness and spur action to address the challenge across the country from little towns like richmond, indiana, the corporation for public broadcasting has reached perverse communities in created a dialogue to engage communities. pat and max miller are working together. in addition to brian gallagher's announcement, united way and big brother, big sisters are taking their partnership a step further to accelerate their progress. finally, rounding out the beginning with leadership from one of the more significant companies, at&t, we will hear from beth shiroishi showing the power of the business community to strengthen education. please welcome the ceo of the corporation for public broadcasting, pat harrison. >> i want to thank bob and bridge for all they are doing. it is great to meet so many people who are concerned about america's young people and our working to improve it. as alma powell says in the report, we cannot afford excuses. america is one o

i'm barbara harrison. >> i'm pat lawson muse. here is what is happening in the news at this hour.ut of florida in the trayvon martin case. the police chief of sanford, florida says he is temporarily stepping aside. bill lee says he has become a distraction in the investigation. martin is the unarmed teenager who was killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer. that volunteer, george zimmerman, claims he fired the shot in self-defense. >> another grocery chain is getting rid of pink slime in its meat. today giant foods said it will no longer buy fresh ground beef that contains that filler. yesterday safeway and other chains announced they were dropping the products. pink slime is made from compressed bits of left over meat. >>> fans are gearing up for the premiere of "the hunger games" the movie to be shown in midnight screenings across the country. it's based on a popular book about teenagers forced to fight to the death in a futuristic society. the premiere is expected to break box office records. >>> stocks closed in negative territory today. investors' concerns over china and the

good afternoon, i'm barbara harrison in for pat lawson muse. >> i'm jim handly. we will get to the blossom story in a minute. >>> first, breaking news to start us off at 4:00 today, a verdict in the wrongful death lawsuit against virginia tech. today, the jurors found the school was negligent in the response to the 2007 campus massacre that left 33 people dead, specifically that the school delayed campus warping after the first shots were fired. this shot cable after 3 1/2 hours of deliberation it is a victory for the parents of two students killed in the attack who filed the lawsuit. each family was awarded $100,000 in damages. virginia tech released this statement just a short time ago. "we are disappointed with today's decision and stand by our long-held position that the administration and law enforcement at virginia tech did their absolute best with the information available on april 16, 2007." >>> turning now to the cherry blossoms, because of the warmer temperatures, this winter, the national park service says the trees are expected to bloom on march 18th

i'm barbara harrison in for pat lawson muse. >> i'm jim handly. firps at 4 that woman was a mother of six. her name is heather mcguire. police tell us her estranged husband killed her in kensington earlier this week hours after he got out of jail. news 4's pat collins spoke with the victim's friend who says she feared for her life. >> reporter: did she think he would kill her? >> yes, she did. she knew it. >> reporter: friends of heather mcguire want to know why the judge let her killer go. last year she got a protective order against her husband, philip. she said he threatened to kill her. last weekend he was twice arrested for violating that protective order. monday a judge let gilberti out of jail. tuesday he killed his wife. >> how does somebody like that get out after two arrests in 72 hours on violating a protective order against somebody he has already beaten, stalked, and harassed over and over and over? that judge is a disgrace. >> reporter: i'm pat collins, news 4. >> pat collins will have a live report on this coming up at 6:00 today. >

i'm barbara harrison in for pat lawson muse. >> i'm jim handly. first at 4:00 george clooney is in washington this week using his celebrity to bring attention to what he describes as a man made crisis in sudan. he testified on capitol hill wednesday and today was arrested after protesting outside the sudanese embassy in northwest washington. tracee wilkins reports. >> reporter: hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside of the sudanese embassy this morning including actor/activist george clooney one of many arrested this morning. george clooney who just returned from a trip to sudan joined congressman tom andrews, jim mcgovern and jim moran of virginia who was arrested. also martin luther king jr. iii was here along with hundreds of other protesters. they're demanding immediate action to stop sudan's use of food as a weapon is what they're saying. hundreds of activists are supporting this demonstration and they were here today. 500,000 people in sudan's nuba mountains and other regions risk starvation and they're accusing sudanese president omar a

i'm barbara harrison in for jim handly. >> i'm pat lawson muse.ening in the news at this hour. investigators and protesters descended on sanford, florida today as outrage over the trayvon martin shooting case continues to grow. civil rights leaders say police should at least arrest george zimmerman. the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed the unarmed 17-year-old last month. zimmerman claimed self-defense. many see the shooting as racially motivated. federal and state authorities are now investigating. we'll have live team coverage at 5:00 including news about the shooter's ties to this area. >>> mitt romney is set to hold a town hall in baltimore county, maryland within the hour. he is fresh off a big primary victory in illinois and the momentum appears to have shifted decisively in his favor. today former florida governor jeb bush endorsed romney and encouraged other republicans to rally around his candidacy. >>> 18 hours and counting now for police who are engaged in a standoff with the man suspected of shooting seven people in sout

i'm barbara harrison in for jim handly. >> i am pat lawson muse.n the news at this hour the terror alert level has just been raised in france. this morning a gunman on a motorcycle shot and killed a rabbi and three children at a jewish school. police say the attack may be linked to two deadly shootings in the same region last week. french soldiers of north caribbean or north african descent were the targets. >>> the cherry blossom festival starts tomorrow the first day of spring. peak bloom begins tomorrow and runs through the 23rd. officials encourage visitors to ride metro or use shuttle bus service. this year is the 100th anniversary of japan giving the u.s. the gift of cherry trees. the centennial celebration runs for five weeks. >>> and a perfect world, all children would happily eat their apples and celery sticks as snacks. >> but as we all know we don't live in that perfect world and sometimes junk foods went out. nbc's erica edwards sought out the best of the worst if you will snacks to delight both their kids and parents. >> reporter: 2 1/

. >> how much time harrison spends in the hole will be determined in a disciplinary board hearing just like the one awaiting michael ray stafford for allegedly stabbing pat ellerman. >> best-case scenario would be that they forget about this. >> stafford is assigned an inmate advocate to help him present his case at the hearing. >> did you get a copy of the investigator's report? >> no. >> here's what i would say. no matter what the outcome is, i would plead not guilty to it just for the simple fact, if you don't -- >> i thought i already pled not guilty. >> but she's going to ask you what your plea is again inside of here. >> yeah, right. okay. >> you don't want to plead guilty to something that has the possibility of an outside charge. >> i'll take care of it from here. >> okay. >> you're done. >> he wants a copy of this and he says he wants to ride out solo from here. >> so you're waiving your right? >> i don't want any help. >> okay. you can go ahead and step outside. have a seat. this is your copy of the evidence card. the weapons they found. one taken off of you. this is the video outside of a-cell house of the incident. you were wrote up on a 102.