scott mcfarland, news >> they got the money back. >> can they keep the candy?that's the question. experts say if you want to zoe nate any kind of money, it's best to give directly to the charity. so, we've listed other helpful tips on our nbc washington app. >> planning to get married here in the nation's capital? well, first of all, congratulations. second, get ready to empty your wallet. a new study by wedding planning site the knot finds the average cost for a wedding in the d.c. area is higher than ever. the average wedding here costs $40,000 last year. up from 38,000 the year before, and higher than the nationwide average of 35,000. the study finds couples are actually inviting fewer guests, but spending more money on custom details like photo booths and signature cocktails and honeymoon costs not included in this study, by the way. so, it's 40 grand before the honeymoon is the average. >> crazy. >> if you drawn carriage, saves you a lot of money. >> keep those signature cocktails. >> yeah, don't cut those out. it's a little cold to go out in a horse drawn

. >> reporter: i'm scott mcfarland at the live desk. a doctor who worked at usa gymnastics has been charged with sexual assault. dr. larry nasser is facing nine separate charges in my today, including first degree criminal sexual conduct. prosecutors say the victim was less than 13 years old. nasser had a clinic atmy members of the school's gymnastics team. he's since been fired. he also worked with usa gymnastics which trains u.s. olympians. one of nasser's accusers is an olympian winner. in a separate case, nasser is accused of molesting the daughter of a family friend and for pornography. those charges are pending. more information as it comes in. at the live desk, scott mcfarland. >>> protesters set fire at the building at the entrance of their camp at the north dakota pipeline today. a deadline was set for today for everybody to clear out. some people did leave but some protesters refuse to leave. they say the planned pipeline threatens water resources and the sacred land. president trumpig dakota and keystone pipelines, saying the

but as scott mcfarland and the news 4 i-team shows us, you need to look before you give. >> recently one might have seen these at the checkout counter, boxes filled with candy and the picture of a cute kid or animal up front. the i-team went looking throughout the area and found them in spas, liquor scores and other areas. if you read the money on the box, you'll discover your money isn't going to a charity. but into somebody's pocket. >> the box screams charity but whispers, oh, but it's not. >> and the i-team wanted to see just how often people would put changes in these boxes, so we t people did donate. coming up tonight on news 4 at 11:00, we'll hear what drew people into it and why county officials are now issuing warnings about these boxes. scott mcfarland, news 4 i-team. >>> this morning, we're hearing from a boy who watched his father die during a craigslist sale. this is a story you want to hear before selling something online. florida police say james beck was shot and killed on tuesday as he was selling a dirt bike. tampa police say beck communicated with potential buyers

scott mcfarland, news >>> maybe you've seen "hidden figures," the oscar-nominated movie that details how three african-american women literally helped nasa put a man on the moon. one of those women are still alive. katherine johnson was like a human computer, in many ways more reliable. news 4's barbara harrison spoke wilt the 98-year-old about her amazing journey. >> this one in the middle. it's supposed to be katherine johnson. >> if you say so. >> well, that's what they say. and we've all gone to the movies to see your story. does that surprise you? it does? >> yes. very much. >> you don't know that you're an international sensation? >> for what reason? >> because of what you did. >> did i rob a bank? >> reporter: katherine j certainly not the introvert some might imagine a mathematics genius to be. >> we know that you did some incredible things when you worked at nasa. john glenn could not take a trip without you saying it was okay. >> yeah, he was like me, he didn't trust -- they'd put everything in the computers. >> reporter: john glenn trusted her telemetry calculations over t

scott mcfarland explains what you can do to protect yourself. >>> inside the mind of a mugger. our news partners in new york sent surveys to hundreds of convicted robbers asking them who they target and asking them what you should do if it ends up i that includes david serrano, a serial mugger, annoy serving 25 years to life. close to half of those says they didn't care about the age of their victim, but they were most often attracted to someone with frashy clothes or nice jewelry. >> my favorite target was anyone who was alone. >> victims should never fight back. it's not worth it, he said. according to the survey, 70% said they sometimes carry a weapon. coming up tonight, the spot muggers are most likely to strike, why they do it and what they think about all of those security cameras. for now, scott macfarlane. >>> a six-month study confirms bullying and harassment are problems inside a fire department this morning in fairfax. allegations firefighter nicole mittendorf committed suicide last year. it is unclear if cyber bullying played a role if her death. members of the depa

scott mcfarland takes a closer look at how a national group wants to change that. >> morning, guys. how you doing? >> reporter: school resource officer steven radke starts his days at school with a lot of hell lows. >> what's going on? >> we wear many hats in this job. >> reporter: says his goal is to never end the day with an arrest. >> the majority of time there's an issue going on, you walk in, de-escalate the situation, it goes through pretty >> reporter: radke says for him arrests aren't common while he's on duty at frederick county public scols. >> i've never had to put handcuffs on a student in a school setting or anything like that. it typically doesn't reach to that point. there's so much intervention before that were to even take place. >> reporter: but it does reach that point in other schools. thousands of times a year. the news 4 i-team pored through the recent numbers available from the u.s. department of education and discovered 65,000 arrests in schools nationwide during the 2013-2014 academic year. and a lot of those arrests are happening in maryland. even though th

>> scott mcfarland and the news 4 eye team on what you need to know to stay alive directly from thosehind bars. >> reporter: in a busy it's easy to blend in. >> i always talk to everyone. >> reporter: heidi case wants to be safe. >> i'm paying attention, i'm not afraid. >> reporter: but there was one morning this disability advocate says she didn't have her guard up as she headed to a meeting in d.c. >> we were waiting for the elevator and he suddenly just reached out and snatched. >> reporter: shocked when the man beside her at a metro elevator turned into a mugger. >> and i started screaming "no, no." and i was trying to hi >> in seconds he was gone with her fanny pack, wallet and driver's license. >> i was very surprised. >> my favorite target was anyone alone. anyone who was alone. it didn't matter whether it was a man or woman. >> reporter: david solano is a serial mugger doing a 25 to life prison sentence. he's one of the inmates who responded to an eye team survey sent to convicted robbers by our news partners in new york. >> i've done over 100. >> reporter: according to the su

scott mcfarland, news 4 i-team. >>> just about 5:00 a.m., good morning, everyone. >> we're helping youd out the door this morning. it's groundhog day. so any repeat performances, we'll see. >> today is the day, right? >>> first, though, it is the second day of february. we want to turn to chuck and sheena parveen for a look at what happens on the second day >> can you remind me. if he sees his shadow versus if he doesn't see his shadow what happens. >> sure. she just moved here from pennsylvania so she knows everything there is to know about punxsutawney phil. >> if he sees his shadow web goes back if the hole and says we have six more weeks of winter. >> so if he doesn't see his shadow, he stays out and that means an early spring is on the way the. >> and in the small print at the bottom, it says you take it with a small grain of salt. >> that's right. this morning, cloudy skies. no shadows around the washington area this morning and i don't think there will be any up in pennsylvania, either. and the wokend looks very cold, so don't plan on that early spring just yet. look at all thos

. >>> scott mcfarland, thank you, scott. fresh off his prime time debut, president trump's nominee for the u.s. supreme court is beginning to make the rounds on capitol hill. neil gorsuch had his first meeting today with mitch mcconnell. in the meantime, john roberts weighed in saying, the nearly year long vacancy has caused them to spend more time discussing cases. roberts made those comments at the university of kentucky, but did not make any mention of nominee gorsuch. >>> maryland's attorney general wants to know how president trump's immigration order is being carried out in that state. he sent a letter asking homeland security today. the city of tacoma park has been a sanctuary city for decades. they'll hold a teach in and forum. kristen wright has the details. >> about a third of our population in tacoma park was born outsite of the united states. we are a city of immigrants. >> reporter: tacoma park is a sanctuary city, one of the first. this promise to protect undocumented residents goes back to the 1980s, when the

. >> this is interesting, as scott mcfarland shows us, you need to look before you give. >> recently you might have seen these at the checkout counters, the picture of a cute kid or animal up front. the i team went looking and found them throughout the area, popping up in yogurt shops and county owned liquor store. if you read the fine print, your but into somebody's pocket. >> pulling you in with that photograph but what's crazy about it, the box screams charity and then whispers but it's not. >> reporter: the i team wanted to see how often people will drop change into one of these boxes so we set up our own surrounded by cameras catching every angle and people did donate. coming up tonight on news 4 at 11:00, what drew people into it and why county officials are now issuing warnings about these boxes. scott mcfarlane, news 4 i team. >> african-american history and culture is celebrating its first black history month. to commemorate, they are putting on special programs and events. first event was held last night, they showed a screening of oscar nominated documentary, based on writ

scott mcfarland takes a look at how a national group wants to change that. >> good morning, guys. you doin'? >> reporter: school resource officer steven radke starts his days at school with a lot of hellos. >> we mayor many hats in this job. the majority of this time when there's an issue going on, you walk in and de-escalate the situation and it goes through pretty easily. >> reporter: radke says for him arrests aren't common while he's on duty in frederick county public schools. >> i've never had to put handcuffs on a student in a school setting or anything like that. it typically doesn't reach to that point. there's so much intervention before that were to even take place. >> reporter: but it does reach that point in other schools. thousands of times a year. the news4 i-team pored through the most recent numbers available from the u.s. department of education and discovered 65,000 arrests in schools nationwide during the 2013-2014 academic year. a lot of those arrests are happening in maryland. 19th in school enrollment size, maryland was 10th in the nation for the number of st

scott mcfarland describes what you can do. >> reporter: our news partners in new york sent surveys to convicted robbers asked who they targeted and what you should do if it ends up being you. that includes david certificase serving 25 years to life prison sentence. close to half of those who responded said they didn't care about the age of victim and most often first flashy with nice clothes or jewelry. >> my favorite targetwise anyone alone. it didn't matter a manor woman. >> victims should never fight back. it's not worth it he said. 70% said they sometimes carry a weapon. coming up tonight, the spot muggers are most likely to strike and why they do it and what they think about all of those security cameras. for now, scott mcfarlane, news 4 i teen. >>> high school can be tough, but one virginia student is working to make a difference every day. >>> it's friday-eve, time to look ahead to the weekend. we heard sheena say something about a major warm-up she'll be back with a kindness, the students at centreville never have to worry about opening the doors because one student holds the

scott mcfarland has details. >> good afternoon, more on that in a moment, but first president trump did not shy away from the controversy that surrounds his former national security adviser michael and the leaks that led to mr. flynn's resignation. >> i think it's very, very unfair what's happened to general flynn, the way he was treated, and the documents and papers that were illegally -- i stress that -- illegally leaked. very, very unfair. >> in his third consecutive news conference, president trump refused to take a question from a major traditional news outlet. instead, from conservative leaning outlets. as far as the president's feelings toward israel, he did ask prime minister netanyahu to hold back on more settlements in the west bank and he seemed to be open to changing his so-called two-state solution in the region. >> i'm very happy with the one that both parties like. i can live with either one. i thought for a while, the two-state looked like it may be the easier of the two, but honestly, if b.b. and if the -- one they like the best. >> and the president also touched on the

. >> congressional sources tell the news4 i-team scott mcfarland security upgrades are also being made at the capitol. that includes added officers and k-9s near the entrance. >>> countdown to liftoff. the ambitious goal that may be a whole lot closer. >>> if you don't see angie or i here tomorrow, you're going to know why. the massive jackpot up for grabs today and the incredible odds one lucky winner will have to overce. we're bomac prodders, shuckersers, and sniffers, [ inhales ] all giant produce is triple checked. farm, crate, and store. we're focusing on fresh... ...so you don't have to guess. my giant. >>> there's a criminal investigation under way after a large protest inla you're looking at that here. about a hundred demonstrators marched through city hall through downtown last night. they were protesting against several issues including president donald trump. things got unruly when protesters tried to enter private buildings near temple university. they say a dozen officers were actually coated with spray paint a

we'll talk >>> scott mcfarland at the live desk. a car has hit three potomac high h in oxon hill. very close to the school itself north of the beltway, south of southern avenue. the students were taken to the hospital, they're expected to be okay, they're described as nonlife threatening injuries, the driver remained on the scene of the accident. jackie benson is on the way, and we'll keep you updated as we learn more. >> i hope the kids are okay. >>> february's coming in like a lamb. >> i sure hope so. what do you say? >> it looks like it's going to -- at least for the next week or so, and then we'll see some big changes as we head into next week. out there right now, kind of nice as far as the afternoon is concerned, the evening, it's been a little bit on the cool side, we saw a lot of cloud cover today. some breaks in those clouds, take a look outside right now, we'll show you what we're talking about. you notice some areas of sun that are making their way out, mostly cloudy, temperature right now. down about 42 degrees by 11. a nice mild night for early february, 52 currently