Transcripts For WRC News 4 At 5 20120404

hired to defend wilson against anyone who wants a piece of the lottery fortune. >> i cannot tell you that it exists presently. we are only preparing in the event that there are people who might challenge what we believe to be a legitimate claim. >> wilson will not say when she will produce the ticket and claim her winnings but her attorney says all the attention has taken its toll. he says his client has needed medical treatment for high blood pressure. major cleanups under way tonight in the dallas/ft. worth area. one day after several tornadoes carved that path of destruction 12 twisters touched down tossing tractor-trailers into the air like they were toys and injuring at least 17 people. miles of debris now stretch out across dozens of neighborhoods. while the damage is extensive, miraculously no one was killed. the weather channel's eric fisher is live in forney, texas with more on how people there are starting over. wow. complete devastation where you are. >> reporter: absolutely, jim. in the subdivision they saw the worst of it here in forney, texas. 20 homes uninhabitable. what you see behind me now is one of those homes. we always point out where is the safest place to be? you look at the top level. the only thing remaining is an interior room. that's your third choice. the second safest choice would have bethesda naval hospital first level of the home. half of that is remaining. the interior. certainly the best choice is under ground. that isn't an option here which makes it remarkable everyone did survive. after you see damage like this it blows the mind away. there were people home when these tornadoes came through that everyone walked out. we've seen this a number of times already this year. the trend has been for way more tornadoes than average but fewer deaths per tornado. every time we see one of these episodes. that's the best news we could pass along to you this evening, jim. >> eric, how do you explain the fact that there were no fatalities and only a small number of injuries when you see scenes like you're in right now? >> reporter: i think there are a few things going on. the first and foremost, last year was so exceptional for tornadoes it grabbed everyone's attention. it's on everyone's mind as we go through severe season. here in forney, texas they have a great alert system. they've done this before. they do e-mail alerts, text alerts, reverse 911 and a siren in town. they had at least ten minutes' warning for all of the systems so people did know it was going on and i think the other story here is the fact that a lot of people were at work when these storms came through about 2:30 in the afternoon local time. >> all right. eric fisher live in forney, texas. thanks so much. now back to our area and temperatures hit the 70s today. but cooler air is enroute. doug's got the latest. he's tracking the changes for us. >> it's a little bit of a rollercoaster ride across our area. little ups and downs but nothing too big here. we're not talking about massive upswings or downswings. right now 75 degrees out at the airport. winds out of the northwest about 13 miles an hour. that northwesterly wind helping to warm us up and now that we have sunshine, temperatures are going up. look at these numbers. 82 right now in fredericksburg. 81 in charlottesville. 73 manassas and leesburg. to the north the coolest place on the map frederick, maryland. 70 degrees. that is well above average. right now sitting between 10 and 15 degrees above the average temperature. there is a few -- there are a few storms down to our south and west that may clip our extreme southwest viewing area. we'll talk much more about that and why that frontal boundary will continue to move down to the south and what it brings behind it because we'll wake up to some much cooler numbers tomorrow. temperatures in the mid 40s in the city. but a lot of you will start off in the 30s. i'll let you know when the cool air gets here and just how cool we're going to be the next few days. >> all right. thank you, doug. a firefighter suffers minor injuries battling a fire this morning in southeast just before 10:00 on la bomb street. firefighters believe the fire started on the first floor, quickly spread. nobody inside the house was hurt. and they don't know what caused it. now to the latest in the race for the white house. mitt romney is looking forward today after a decisive sweep of tuesday's primaries in wisconsin, maryland, and here in the district. he now has more than half the delegates needed to secure the nomination and although he has not yet won the title, he's clearly looking past the republican race and focusing on the general election. romney was here in washington today to talk to the newspaper association of america. >> he wants us to re-elect him so we can find out what he'll actually do. with all the challenges the nation faces, this is not the time for president obama's hide-and-seek campaign. >> the next big debate on the primary calendar is april 24th when new york, pennsylvania, rhode island and delaware hold contests. marion barry won the nomination to represent the ward in the city yesterday and virtually secured another term on the council. last night he made a remark which appeared to be critical of some asian stores in the city. tom sherwood joins us with more. >> barry was celebrating his victory when he was talking about changes inward 8. marion barry on tuesday swept to a third consecutive term as the council member from ward 8 saying he's worked hard for economic development in the mostly poor community and will continue to do so. >> work hard, do something with all that junk on the corner down there. >> but the former four-term mayor low tide appeared to criticize in general who operate many small stores in the district and other areas of the country. >> got to do something about these asians coming in opening up businesses with dirty shops. they ought to go. i'll tell you that right now. we need african-american business people to be able to take their places, too. >> reporter: news 4 wednesday sought out barry at his home and campaign office to discuss his election night remarks but neither nbc 4 nor his staff was able to reach him. >> i think the newer generation will be different. >> reporter: susan allen a resident of washington 40 years and president of the u.s. pan-asian american chamber of commerce said she was surprised by barry's remarks. >> your reaction when you read the words? >> i was very surprised that this came out of his mouth. marion barry has been a leader. he has been a mayor. he had worked on putting people together. we should utilize folks like marion barry to put people together so that the asian americans who have made the decision to move into places like ward 8, which need businesses to surface and provide them with the products they want and provide jobs, keep them there and help them work together so the two sides of the community can come together, become a positive change. >> reporter: allen a former barry appointee to a business panel of barry's in the 1980s told news 4 she would reach out to barry to clarify what he meant election night. news 4 was unable to reach barry today for further comment. back to you. >> thanks, tom. here is a look at some of the other hotly contested races in our region. let's start in the district. the race for an at large council seat still too close to call. incumbent vincent orange leads challenger sekou biddle with 500 votes. absentee ballots still need to be counted and the results may not be in until next friday april 13th. in maryland the big one a hotly contested race for the house is now set for this fall. businessman john delaney won the democratic primary for district 6. he'll face long-time incumbent roscoe bartlett. the republican is fighting to keep his seat for an 11th term in the house. redistricting changed district 6. it could favor a large portion of montgomery county, which traditionally votes democratic. and for complete coverage of the winners in last night's local races head to our website nbc washington.com. coming up next on news 4 at 5:00 we're mopping up the mess. what is to blame for this scene outside the white house? >> caught off guard a man hides in a woman's car waiting for his time to strike. tonight a carjacking victim relives the terrifying moments as the suspect learns his fate. bad sushi may be the source of a salmonella outbreak in 19 states including maryland and d.c. >> hi. i'm pat collins in baltimore with my buddy bat man. he just gave me a hug. i'm feeling like robin. the story coming up. news 4. ♪ whoa. this is it. the avengers. is that? ♪ hey, what's this do? 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[ male announcer ] new baron's best from red baron. taste the legend. who wants seconds? see marvel's "the avengers." in theatres may 4th. no that is not a new fountain outside the white house. it's water from a broken pipe. they get them, too. what construction crew doing renovations to the west wing hit a service line accidently and created this surge of water on west wing drive which separates the north lawn of the white house from the old executive office building. it happened around noon today. d.c. water crews came out and shut it down. federal health officials are continuing to eye sushi rolls as the source of a salmonella outbreak. 90 people in 19 states and d.c. have become sick. spicy tuna rolls may be to blame. clusters of restaurants in maryland, texas, wisconsin, rhode island, and connecticut are being checked now for tainted rolls. at least seven people were hospitalized. no deaths have been reported. americans may soon have a little more help in their battle to lose weight. two new obesity drugs could be just weeks away from hitting the u.s. market. kuhn e qunexa has been shown to help people lose up to 10% of their body weight. doctors would prescribe the drugs alongside a regimen of diet and exercise. these aren't magic pills. the fda is evaluating the possible side effects of these drugs. well, between the bathing suit competition and the evening dress, most contestants in the beauty pageants tend to stay pretty fit but from one local pageant queen staying slim and healthy has been an uphill battle so we met up with america's miss d.c. and asked her, what's your workout? >> i was a chubby kid. i wasn't happy. i was depressed. i actually stopped eating beef and pork around age 10. i just completely cut it out along with fried foods. i was able to drop 30 pounds within about two or three years and keep it off as i was obviously growing because i was real young. it made me feel as if i could do anything. you know, if i can lose 30 pounds and i can keep it off and, you know, i can go from a kid size 16 to an adult size 2 or 4 and, you know, still be healthy that made me feel good and as if i was accomplished. pack my lunch throughout the day instead of eat out. just little things. drink a lot of water, you know, politely refuse if there's pizza. lots of fiber. i eat cereal with whole grain in it and almonds and definite lay lot of fiber is essential because i feel it's really good for your digestive system. a lot of legumes. -- almonds, peanuts, things like that. everything in moderation. you know, there are times where i eat cake or i'll feel like eating candy or having a croissant and that's fine. as long as you don't eat those things every day and you try to maintain a general healthy diet. always start out with running ten to 15 minutes on the treadmill and i run pretty fast just to get my heart pumping. i'll do a lot of abs situps like i'll do probably like a hundred situps. and then i'll do some leg lifts to also work the abs and then i'll get up and probably do, you know, some pushups. i try to stay between a certain weight range like i'll let myself gain a few pounds if it's the holidays, you know, and then, you know, really work myself to actually lose that weight over the next couple months. i think health is so important because without your health, you know, you're not really living the best life that you can live. it does take a commitment to be a healthy person and change your life. but it's something that is going to benefit you in the end. sarah is a junior at gw university and will be competing in the american miss national pageant this summer in annapolis. >> she is disciplined. doug and i are eating everything that she's not. >> yes. whatever she tosses aside. no i won't have any of that pizza. >> we're the vacuum cleaners. >> you deep fry everything first. >> exactly. >> well yeah. pizza. deep fry it. right. >> no problem. >> we got some swim suit weather today. >> yeah. you know, coming up in march a lot of people getting to the gym early because they're thinking i got to get ready for the swim suit. today is another one of those days. 75 degrees out there. some of you in the 80s right now. it is spectacular all across the region. i mean, just look at that shot right there at the national cathedral looking really good out on this wednesday afternoon. temperature right now, 75 degrees with winds out of the northwest at 13 miles per hour. everybody on the warm side. i mentioned the 80s. look down to the south. 82 in fredericksburg. 81 in charlottesville. pax river at 74 degrees and annapolis right now at 73 degrees. so everybody at least 70 degrees or higher. don't expect it to last. look at the temperatures down to the south. 86 in richmond and 66 in virginia beach because of some showers and rain there. but this is the cooler air to the north. 62 right now in pittsburgh and they're going to be a lot cooler tomorrow in pittsburgh. so will we. but not quite as cool as we could get this time of the year. satellite and radar showing we didn't see much in the way of rainfall anywhere around the area and again we really do need to see that rain three and a half inches below average as far as the rain is concerned this year. we would love to see some rain come through especially during the middle of the week and if we don't -- we don't want it to come during the weekend. we have a little bit of a chance right in here. we'll show you what's going on in storm 4 radar. this little band of showers will try to make its way through our southwestern viewing area so i'm talking about places like culpepper down around charlottesville. you folks have the best chance of seeing some rain. fredericksburg i think just down to your south there is one lone area of showers just south of la ray right now coming through parts of the blue ridge. that's about our best chance for the rest of the evening. this because of a cold front that is right now draped across the area. warm air ahead of it and actually behind it too. the coldest air locked up still around the great lakes but it is going to make its way through overnight tonight and into the day tomorrow. a much cooler day by about 10 to 15 degrees. so today we're about 10 to 15 degrees above average. tomorrow will be a little bit below average with some sunshine out there though should still be a nice day. on friday continued cool. a very chilly night tomorrow night. but then on friday with plenty of sunshine once again we rebound to the upper 50s to lower 60s and that is still quite nice out there. 60 degrees and sun. that's a great afternoon. it will be a little breezy though so that is something to watch out for. this evening partly cloudy. a great evening. nice and warm. temperatures between say 60 and 65 degrees. this is around the 8:00, 9:00 hour tonight so looking very good there. tomorrow morning, mostly clear. a cool start. bring your jacket. the temperature is 38 to about 46 degrees and we're not going to go up a whole lot. temperatures tomorrow, between 56 and 62. and with the wind out of the north about 10 to 20 miles an hour it is going to make it feel a lot cooler too so tomorrow will be a fairly cool day. same deal goes on friday. then this weekend, looking nice. 65 on saturday. 70 on sunday. easter sunday looking very good. and then next week, next week we have a pattern that if we had it in january or february we'd be talking about very cold air and snow. here it is april though so we're just talking about very cool air and a chance for some shower activity. but again, we are talking about maybe some of the coolest air that we've seen and maybe one of the coolest periods that we've seen kind of setting up to get a trough along the east coast. we'll see how long that sticks around. >> we are kind of flipped. >> yes. >> so march very warm. april could be on the cooler side. >> all right. thank you, doug. next and new at 5:00 a college shuts its doors. students and faculty say they had no warning so what happens now? a local church evicts an elderly woman from her home but wait until you see what the community did after our story aired. they're already heroes for their service to our country. tonight in sports we'll introduce you to some wounded warriors who are heroes on t baseball season is getting under way for the nationals. things get started tomorrow. they take on the cubs in chicago. >> it is here folks. another season opener took place after the nats' final exhibition game last night at nats park. that's when the wounded warrior softball team took to the diamond against a group of local celebrities. >> we have more on their accomplishments on and off the field. >> reporter: these guys have persevered to the point where they've gone through extensive rehabilitation and are back to their new normal lifestyle. >> reporter: supported by the washington nationals the guys have been a part of this since the start of spring training in florida. but tuesday was a home game of sorts. as the team took to the field at nationals park for the wounded warrior amputee celebrity softball game. >> the nationals really stepped up to the plate and they approached us and wanted to get onboard with us. they saw we didn't have an mlb affiliate and they wanted to be that team. it's been a blast. these guys are just pro ball players and just mixing it up with us so that's pretty cool for any athlete. >> reporter: the team features 25 service members with a shared bond -- a love for sports and the loss of a limb. >> i was a 50 cal machine gunner in a humvee and we were hit with rpgs and a fire fight ensued and i ended up getting my leg blown off. >> reporter: the competition? local celebrities including politicians, athletes, and entrepreneurs. before the first toss was even pitched, it was clear who the real heroes were. >> these are the superstars of the nation. i'm not talking about singers and dancers and athletes and all of this. i'm talking about these human beings. >> they are the heroes. they are the celebrities. we're here to support them. >> reporter: to a man they'll tell you what started off as a therapeutic exercise. their own personal growth has turned to something larger than even they could have imagined. >> i think all the wounded guys really are helping me out tremendously and that is kind of what we're doing now. you know, we get wounded guys out to the games and if we're inspiring them, you know, to move on with their lives it's just a full circle. >> reporter: but then again that's the military way. buying into something bigger than yourself. >> it's a positive experience and i can say that i can tell others the only limitations you have are the ones you make. i don't make any nor should you. >> reporter: using america's pastime as their canvas, they revealed themselves as teachers more than athletes. show casing lessons about our strength as individuals. and a resilience as a nation. >> it's so special to me to be able to be part of this and anything that -- anything that's going to bring awareness to these special men and what they're doing with themselves when something so different could be taking place in their lives. i'm all for that. >> reporter: news 4 sports. >> nice. >> what a moment. >> nice. and a nice way to kick off the season. still ahead a victim comes face to face with the man who hid inside her car to ambush her and a split second decision saved her life. >> we've been hearing about him for days now. well, now we finally get to see our local bat man action. and a transgender beauty queen fights to do something no one else has d the baltimore woman who claims to have a winning megamillions ticket says she wants her privacy but called a news conference today then refused to talk and show the ticket. another giant step in mitt romney's presidential quest. his clean sweep of the district, maryland, and wisconsin primaries gives him more than half the delegates needed to secure the republican nomination. victims of yesterday's devastating tornadoes near dallas/ft. worth are just beginning to sift through the wreckage. damage is reported across the area. while there were some injuries, no deaths. let's fast forward to our weather. those are three very large tornadoes coming through the dallas area two ef-3s one of which classified as an ef-3 tornado. two ef-2s one classified as ef-3 with winds of 150 miles an hour. this is the last 24 hours on the radar across the country and you can see that storm around texas just completely dissipating now. the biggest storms are in the gulf of mexico. the rest of the area not bad at all. the bigger thunderstorms now actually just down to our south and west down around the norfolk area a little bit earlier and right now around raleigh but there is no rain around our region and we are just seeing a fantastic afternoon. look at this. plenty of sunshine right now after mostly cloudy skies. most of the day. that sun helping us to warm up to 75 degrees. winds right now out of the northwest at 13 miles an hour. but those winds will shift to the north overnight tonight and that's going to bring in some cooler air. i'll show you how long it stays that way coming up. >> thank you, doug. a man who was in this country illegally received a life sentence today for a violent carjacking in prince george's county. >> the victim got away and today shared her story. chris gordon has our report. >> reporter: 23-year-old kellinger rocha the carjacking victim says her life is filled with fear every time she closes her eyes she sees him. after pumping gas into her car the night of february 13th, 2011, she went inside. 33-year-old miguel morales slipped into the back seat. rocha drove home not knowing that intruder was behind her until he grabbed her by the throat. >> i offered him more than a hundred, $200 i had in cash and he didn't want that. and he just told me to keep driving and for the fear of my life i did what he asked. >> reporter: she drove up route 1 in college park. at the intersection in front of the fraternity quad she made a quick decision, jumped out of the car, ran, and called 911. >> i jumped in my car to go home and as soon as i tried to make a turn into my parking lot this guy jumped out of the back of my car and he told me to keep driving and that he was going to kill me if i didn't keep driving. >> reporter: morales drove off. a university of maryland police officer saw the car run a red light and gave chase for about two miles into this residential neighborhood where the car hit a curb, flipped over, and crashed. trapping the suspect inside. a jury found morales guilty. at sentencing the judge said this court believes the defendant represents a very serious threat to the safety of our community. with that, she sentenced him to life on the charge of false imprisonment plus 30 years for the carjacking. >> he will no longer be on the streets of prince george's county. >> reporter: mr. morales had been convicted of a crime and deported back to el salvador in 2009. he made his way illegally back to this country and now he faces not only the sentence of life in prison but an open warrant for first degree rape in montgomery county. and if he should ever get out of prison, immigration and customs officials have filed a detainer against him to possibly deport him again. >> i'm just happy that he is no longer near me. he's no longer near anybody to do this ever again. >> reporter: in prince george's county, this is chris gordon, news 4. more charges have been filed against a university of maryland student who threatened to go on a rampage, a shooting rampage on campus. 19-year-old alexander song posted warnings online last month. song was arrested and taken to a hospital for a mental evaluation. he was released yesterday and arrested again. the charges against him include misuse of e-mail, making a false statement, and disturbing the peace. hundreds of students and staff at a.c.t. college in northern virginia are in sudden limbo. the school closed its doors abruptly this week after 30 years of training students in the health care field. jane watrel joins us live from the campus in manassas with details. >> reporter: jim, it's been a very tough day for students and faculty at a.c.t. college. as you can see behind me there is a group of a couple dozen. all day long students have been coming here con soelg one another. they've been angry, in shock, and they're out tens of thousands of dollars for an education that's now gone. >> this is a sign saying where is the diploma? i had two weeks left. >> reporter: dozens of frustrated a.c.t. college students have nowhere to go. the for-profit medical and health care training school abruptly closed its doors on tuesday. >> this is just ridiculous. we've spent so much money and time. what happens to the money wie'v already paid out? >> reporter: for 30 years the college has been in northern virginia with campuses in manassas, arlington, and alexandria. many students arrived for class to find the doors locked and letter from the school ceo and president jeff moore blaming the u.s. department of education for its woes. the letter left more questions than answers. >> where is he? why isn't he here? why isn't he here answering questions? what is he going to do to resolve this? is he going to give us our diplomas, open up somewhere else so we can finish? >> none of the credits count. nothing. wasted time for what? >> reporter: while students say they were blindsided by the shutdown, a faculty member told news 4 he hadn't been paid in two months. many students here are single parents, saddled with thousands of dollars in loans, working for a better life. >> i want to continue my education. i need to finish. i have a plan to follow and just because they mess up, you know, i need to continue. >> reporter: we did get a letter from the department of education answering some of the allegations that a.c.t. college leveraged against them. in a statement, in the letter they say they denied a.c.t.'s recertification to participate in a federal student loan program and they accuse the school of falsifying student records and not following requirements to pay its credit balances. obviously there is a lot more to this story. students are waiting to hear more from the school and to figure out if they can transfer somewhere else. reporting live in manassas, i'm jane watrel, news 4. >> thank you, jane. a new report is tackling transportation trouble spots in maryland. the research group trip studied state and federal data and then outlined the top 40 projects that could improve your commute. number one, a nearly $6 billion project to widen the capitol beltway from the american legion bridge to the woodrow wilson bridge. hov lanes would be added and bridges repaired. the group says it's all work that could help the state recover from the recession. >> there are tens of thousands of jobs involved in these transportation projects in terms of getting them designed, planned, built. >> reporter: despite the potential economic boost, one big question remains. who would foot the bill? some ideas, a gas tax, tolls, or public/private partnerships. a warning before you hail a cab in the district. some drivers will soon be charging higher fares but you may not know it until you're already heading for your destination. 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[ crunching, sipping ] be happy. be healthy. can i try yours? investigators say a careless smoker accidently started this fire that destroyed an apartment building in roanoke. the blaze began around 6:00 last night. firefighters say it started on a second floor balcony but quickly spread all the way to the roof in just minutes. all 12 units of the building were destroyed. 18 people who lived there all got out okay but tonight they need a new place to live. >> for years he just went by bat man. a guy driving around in his black lamborghini going to local hospitals to cheer up sick children. then the cops pulled him over because a bat tag isn't exactly legal in maryland and bat man's identity was revealed. today pat collins got to see first hand why lenny robinson is a real super hero. >> the bat man is coming. >> he's coming. >> bat man is coming. >> oh, better to be three hours early than a minute too late. ♪ bat man >> reporter: in his tricked out lamborghini, in his formal bat man best, the caped crusader at sinai children's hospital in baltimore. holy smokes, bat man. what brings you here? >> the children. >> reporter: the children. holy bat hug! no crime fighting today. the mission? bring smiles to sick kids and their parents. what did he tell you? >> to do a favor and get better. >> he was already here for treatment this morning. received his chemotherapy and blood work and for him to be able to know bat man was waiting for him when he was dying was just huge. >> you got a front tag there? >> a few weeks ago bat man was all over the news because the cops stopped him for not having the proper maryland tag on his car. he had a bat tag. not a real tag. he got a pass. what cop would want to collar bat man? holy bat o graph! oh, my goodness. you'll never be able to wash that. >> never again in life. >> reporter: bat man's alter ego lenny robinson a baltimore businessman who actually was born in the sinai hospital. now he makes super hero house calls to sick kids around the region. it's sponsored by henry's hope, a foundation that does special things for kids with life threatening illnesses. holy bat wish. >> do bat man a favor. get better. and to the media out there and the world you must ask yourself, self, did i make a difference today? that answer had better be yes. >> reporter: there were other super heroes here today. wonder woman, spider man, more comic book magic coming up at 6:00. in baltimore, pat collins. news 4. >> wow. well, there are also some other super heroes out there. we have an update on a story we first reported yesterday about the eviction of a 79-year-old woman named sarah owens. when news 4 met her outside of her apartment near the washington convention center all of her stuff was out on the street. she's metro's first female bus driver. worked for 25 years. but she fell behind on her rent after two battles with cancer. after our report last night, people rushed in to help her. they rented trucks, packed up all of her belongings, offered to store it for free, and an anonymous benefactor offered to pay all of her back rent. >> a lot of good folks stepping up there. taking a taxi cab in the district will soon have you reaching deeper into your pocket. d.c.'s taxi cab commissioner rob lenten says tonight cabs will start charging $2.16 per mile. that's up from a buck 50. the new fares will go into effect april 21st but it could be may until all meters are recalibrated meaning some cabs may charge different prices for a couple weeks. with the hikes some additional costs like the fuel surcharge would go away. the mercury is on the move. it's going to get cooler. doug is here with more on the front coming in. >> today temperatures went way up. tomorrow it'll be going right back down. i want to talk about that in a second but first show you some of the video once again out of texas where they did see now three confirmed tornadoes in texas. this one right here was the one that was ef-3 damage with 150-mile-per-hour winds. that came through the southeastern portions of texas or of the dallas region. also one just off to the west around arlington rated an ef-2 tornado with winds of 130 miles per hour. you can see the complete devastation there or just about the complete devastation of those homes. one thing that remains there and this was very important for them, notice the walls of the houses are still there. that's why this was an ef-3 not an ef 4 or e f-5. you can see a couple cars all across the region. that was one of the biggest pictures. those tractor trailers just lift up, lifted up like they were tooth picks in that tornado. now on to our weather and once again we're looking at fantastic stuff around our area. 75 degrees the current temperature with winds out of the northwest at about 13 miles an hour. starting to see that wind pick up a little bit. that's as the frontal boundary moves down to the south and you can see our camera kind of blowing around out there in those stronger wind gusts. 76 degrees currently in rockville. 73 in camp springs. 75 in hunting town. up toward columbia, maryland the temperature there 74 degrees. so nice there, too. and down to the south looking at warranton near 80 degrees so the warmth coming in for one day making a one-day appearance and then right back down to the south. we also have a couple showers and even a thunderstorm down to the south now. here's washington. here's fredericksburg. take a look. the blue ridge right along the blue ridge seeing some of those showers and storms right along i-81. we'll show you where this one is just to the west of charlottesville making its way just south of charlottesville. it does have a little bit in the way of some lightning and thunder associated with it but the rest of us are going to stay on the dry side tonight. it's going to be a very nice evening. we do need to see the rain. we're about 3.5 inches below average for the year. it doesn't look like we'll be seeing rain any time soon. what we will be seeing, though, much cooler numbers. when you wake up tomorrow morning, 46 in washington. down to about 40 in gaithersburg. 38 in frederick and over toward martinsburg, west virginia. so we are going to see some cool temperatures tomorrow morning. and tomorrow afternoon, even with some sunshine, we're not going to warm up all that much. high temperature around 57 in gaithersburg. 59 in manassas. 60 in washington. so we go from 75 to 60 degrees and even though it's a little bit below average tomorrow, 60, sunshine, that's not too bad at all. we're forecasting a pretty nice day out there on our thursday. we're going to continue to see some nice days, too, as we move all around. friday, 61 degrees. then on saturday and sunday, nice weather. 65 on your saturday. sunday a temperature of 70 degrees. looking very, very nice. just in time for the easter weekend. i was going to go back and sit down in my chair but apparently it's been taken. >> way to go, doreen. >> sorry. >> it's not -- you're welcome in my chair any time. >> okay. >> oops. >> just keeping it warm for you. >> she looks better in it, doug. >> that is true. redskins fans can soon look forward to seeing some improvements at fedex field next season. the team announced plans today to finish installing a standing deck on the upper level of the stadium. a video wall will also be added to the lower level concourse. more executive seats will be added and the team looks forward to expanding their commitment to clean energy for the stadium. solar panels were installed last summer to help power up the stadium. doreen has been here a while. >> i have the five-day forecast. >> there you go. it's better than doug's. >> vance is doing sports. i might as well do the weather. >> all up for grabs. >> i want to tell you what's coming up at 6:00 in a few minutes. we continue to follow breaking news impacting howard university. tonight there are reports that at least some of the sports programs at the school have been temporarily suspended. we'll have the details in a report from campus coming up. also, a new warning going out to doctors and patients. some experts claim americans are spending too much money on unnecessary medical treatments that might be harmful. we'll pinpoint some of those procedures coming up. and we have some great family reunion stories in the aftermath of the awful tornadoes in texas. you will not want to miss this story coming up at 6:00. i'll see you then. the four-legged kind. >> yes. >> thanks, doreen. we'll see you in a few. next at 5:00 donald trump backs down as a transgender beauty queen fights to compete in his pageant. for all your news follow news 4 online. search nbc washington on facebook and twitter. -dad, why are you getting that? -that's my cereal. is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right. is it a robot? no. is it a jet plane? nope. is it a dinosaur?] [ male announcer ] inside every box of heart healthy cheerios are those great tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that c help lower cholesterol. stickers? uh-uh. a superhero? ♪ kinda. [ male announcer ] and we think that's the best prize of all. ♪ country singer alan jackson's plan to host a concert in mineral, virginia is creating controversy. the event was promoted as free as a way for victims of last summer's earthquake to let loose and celebrate. so many people were shocked when tickets went on sale today for up to $100 apiece. according to a report in the central virginian the concert is only free for mineral residents about 425 people. alan jackson is not getting paid for the concert. money raised will go to help rebuild the high school. it is not often that donald trump backs down but after some back lash he has decided to lift the ban on a transgender woman from participating in his miss universe pageant. the dustup over whether the woman can compete is generating lots of publicity which seems to be no problem for trump. angie goff has the story. >> reporter: the contestant has already competed in several pageants. telacova was originally banned from the miss universe pageant because of a rule requiring contestants to be, quote, a naturally born female. she says she started her sex reassignment treatments when she was 14 and had surgery when she was 19. on monday donald trump who runs the pageant backed down and said she could compete as long as she, quote, meets the legal gender recognition requirements of canada and the standards of other international competitions. yesterday she and her attorney gloria allred welcomed the change but said the rules need to be eliminated. >> jenna is a woman as evidenced by her canadian birth certificate, passport, and driver's license each of which identify her as a woman. she should never have been judged by what she was or was not like at her birth. she only should have been judged on the basis of who she is now. >> i am a woman. i was devastated and i felt that excluding me for the reasons that they gave was unjust. >> this is not the first time trump has made exceptions to the rules. in 2006 he gave a second chance to miss usa tara conner after she became embroiled in a cocaine and under age drinking scandal. the miss universe pageant is a joint venture between trump and nbc universal. the canadian miss universe entry will be chosen at a pageant in may. angie goff, news 4. >> there you go. you thought it would be just another beauty pageant, so -- >> that's it for now. news 4 at 6:00 starts right now with breaking news and the shakeup over howard university's athletics program. a string of tornadoes stripped down homes and tossed around tractor trailers in texas. now we're hearing miraculous stories of survival. >> the momentum building for mitt romney. he is racking up the delegates and setting his sights on a battle against president obama. and water, water everywhere at the white house. we'll tell you how it happened. >> we begin tonight with breaking news about the sports program at howard university. good evening. i'm jim vance. >> i'm doreen gentzler. there are reports that howard university has temporarily suspended at least some of its athletic programs because of

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