we want to go straight to tom kierein with more on the wet weather that's moving through our region. tom, what's the latest? >> we've had this rain coming in waves throughout the day today. it actually started late last night. it continues here all the way into this friday evening. right now as we look at the radar over the last couple of hours, we've seen the bulk of the heavier, steadier rain passing north and west of washington. right now the closer view of the radar is showing still a few sprinkles right in prince george's county. in the district, it's pretty much stopped temporarily. there is some light rain in montgomery county and fairfax county. right now in anne arundel county, there's rain coming across the bay. there's some steadier rain in loudoun county, fedoruk county, maryland, and virginia. they do have the creeks out of their banks now near martinsburg. three to five inches of rain. all these counties in green, by the time we get into sunday. this is really going to be quite a soaking rain system that is going to continue. these are the rainfall totals we've had over the last 24 hours. we've had almost six-tenths of an inch in washington. quite a bit more farther west and north. i'll have details on the forecast for the weekend. we'll look into next week a well coming up in just a few minutes. back to you. >> thank you, tom. president obama was supposed to leave for indonesia next week but he's now decided to postpone that trip by several days. he hopes to have a health care reform bill to sign before he leaves. steve handelsman is on capitol hill now with the latest. hi, steve. >> hi, doreen. thanks. the spin from democratic leaders up here on the hill tonight is that the president postponing this trip is because a win on health care reform looks closer when, in fact, the opposite might be true. president obama decided to leave for indonesia a week from sunday instead of next wednesday to have more time to lobby wavering democrats on health care reform. >> it would be helpful to have a few extra days here talking to members. >> reporter: house speaker pelosi claims she'll go for final passage next week. >> i'm delighted that the president will be here for the passage of the bill. it's going to be historic. >> reporter: but pelosi and the president still don't have the votes. abortion is a big issue. a dozen conservative democrats say they won't vote yes unless tougher language is added to block federal funds going to end pregnancies. republicans are encouraging that. >> this country has had a long-standing tradition of denying governnt funding for abortion services. >> reporter: and republicans claim their numbers are holding. >> making sure this bill never, ever, ever becomes law. >> reporter: but in a classic congressional maneuver, democratic leaders are attaching a sweetener to their health care bill. fresh funding for college scholarships to try to grab more democrats whenever they vote. >> we stand ready to stay as long as it takes to pass the bill. members are eager to pass a bill. >> reporter: aides say if the vote is delayed, the president will still leave for indonesia a week from sunday. barack obama's back two weeks from today. if he can sign a final health care reform bill then, if he can ever sign a health care reform bill, he and democratic leaders up here will hail it as a great victory. live from the hill, i'm steve handelsman, news4. >> thank you, steve. today police in montgomery county announced a body found in a state park is that of a 19-year-old woman. the body of tanessa taylor was found last weekend. now police say they believe she was murdered. pat collins is at police headquarters with more on the story for us. pat? >> jim, tanessa taylor, her godmother says she was looking for friendship, looking for someone to love her for real, but that search had deadly consequences. tanessa victoria taylor. in the world of prostitution, she was known as tasty cake. she always said she wanted to grow up and be a model, but she had a lot of things working against her. her parents died when she was 12 years old. she had a bipolar disorder. she lived in a number of places here in southeast. she tried to make it through high school but in order to survive she took to the streets, to a life of prostitution. and that, that could have led to her death. >> it might have killed her, you know. it was wrong. i hope they find out who really did it, you know. be brought to justice. that's what should happen. >> reporter: do you think she ended up with the wrong crowd? >> yes. pretty much. pretty much. >> reporter: the body of 19-year-old tanessa taylor, found last weekend in a shallow grave near the howard county line. is this a case of murder? >> we are now investigating this as a homicide. >> reporter: cause of death? >> trauma to her body. we cannot specify the type. >> i just miss her and love her. i wish i was able to talk to her before anything happened to her. i wish i could have said something to her. >> if you know something about this case, montgomery county police want to hear from you. the number, 240-773-5070. that's 240-773-5070. jim, back to you. >> pat collins live in rockville. thank you, pat. a serious accident involving a d.c. fire truck sent three people to the hospital today. happened just after 7:30 this morning at the intersection of 14th and constitution avenue northwest. the emgency response vehicle was heading to a fire at the george washington university library when it collided with two other vehicles. three people were badly injured. this crash snarled traffic in the area for hours. we have an update tonight regarding the health of the wife of nevada senator harry reid. she and her daughter were involved in a crash yesterday. this afternoon, her doctor provided an update on her condition. darcy spencer has more on this story. >> reporter: landra reid's doctors say she underwent surgery today to stabilize her neck. her neck and back injuries are considered to be serious, but she did not suffer any paralysis. harry reid's life, landra, remains at the hospital. she was seriously injured when the van she was riding in thursday afternoon was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer on i-95 in fairfax county. today, signs of improvement. >> a broken neck as well as a broken back. she has actually done very well. she's in good sputeririts. she's been able to get up out of bed. her pain is well-controlled. she's able to swallow some. >> reporter: john summers is the senator's spokesman. he said reid has stayed by his wife's side as much as he can. >> he was here until midnight last night, until it was suggested that he go home so that he and mrs. reid could get rest. then he returned early this morning. >> reporter: mrs. reid's doctor says she should be getting out of bed and on to normal activities in the next day or two. her injuries could have been much worse. >> if it had been a complete injury including the spinal cord, then it's a very serious injury that would involve the use of her arms, legs and difficulty with breathing. >> the senator's wife is expected to start physical therapy tomorrow. she could be released from the hospital in the next few days. darcy spencer, news4. >> reid's daughter was released from the hospital last night. the driver of that truck, an ohio man, has been charged with reckless driving. the operator involved in a metro train derailment exactly one month ago has been let go. the incident happened on february 12th near the farragut north station. about 350 people wererapped underground for an hour. the operator was placed on paid leave right after the incident. she was dismissed yesterday after an investigation. metro says she failed to follow proper standard operationing procedure. she had worked with metro for 34 years and had been a metro train operator for more than ten. a virginia man now faces charges for an accidental shooting that injured his next door neighbor. today, police charged 48-year-old anthony randall with reckless handling of a firearm. police tell us randall was practicing his shotgun loading technique yesterday here at his dumfries home when he accidentally fired off a round. the gun pellet pierced through two walls and a window. his neighbor was standing on her deck outside at the time and was struck. she was kept in the hospital overnight, but is expected to recover. coming up on "news4 at 6," we'll tell you about an escaped bull that went on a rampage through a virginia town. plans for a worker strike that could impact thousands of flights all over the world. encouraging news about the economy this evening. we'll share it in a moment. and we'll tell you about a new addition to the baltimore zoo. lindsay, what's ahead in sports? >> the redskins make an addition to shore up their backfield. and the cavaliers put a scare into the blue devils. and the hokies try to weather that storm in greensboro. some encouraging news about retail sales today, but other economic data suggests that most americans are still struggling and not quite ready to start spending like they did before the recession started. jane wells reports. >> reporter: this is a huge mall in southern california. we got some mixed signals today about how consumers are feeling. consumer confidence fell to its lowest level in months. on the other hand, all that snow we had in february did not stop people from shopping. retail sales grew .3%. if you take out automobiles, they grew almost a full percentage point. retailers are changing their strategies to lure you into stores here in the mall. it's not just about low prices anymore. it's about the exclusives they can sell you. whether it's getting liz claiborne at jcpenney, even exclusives still have to be priced low to draw people in because people are no longer spending stupidly. jane wells, cnbc, los angeles. >> the mixed news on consumer spending led to a mixed day for stocks. the dow finish wou sished with t gain. the nasdaq dropped by less than a point. and the s&p was also flat today to close at 1 1,150. they've been fighting for it for years. now rescue and recovery workers who say they got sick at ground zero could be compensated for their injuries. a federal judge has decided to hold a hearing next week on a proposed settlement in the case. it would resolve some 10,000 lawsuits filed by police, firefighters, construction crews who worked at the world trade center site. the suits claim dust and toxins from the rubble caused illnesses ranging from asthma to leukemia. new york city city has agreed to pay $657 million to settle the case. individual pay-outs could range from several thousand dollars to more than a million. two suicide bombings killed 43 people today in a coordinated attack in pakistan. it happened in the city of luhur. an attacker blew himself up near two military trucks. seconds later, the second bomber blew himself up nearby. authorities say at least ten of the victims were soldiers. there was no immediate claim of responsibility but the bombings raised fears of a few wave of militant attacks. hours later a series of smaller blasts sparked panic in a different neighborhood, but no serious injuries were reported. the explosions may have come from firecrackers. it's still too soon to say who will form the next government in iraq, but we are getting an early picture of the front-runners. ballot-counting from last sunday's elections is still under way. so far, it appears that the prime minister, nuri al maliki, is in a strong position for reelection. however, he is facing some serious competition. it's expected to take weeks or maybe even months of negotiation before a new iraqi government is formed. secretary of state hillary rodham clinton delivered a sharp rebuke to israel during a 43-minute phone call to the prime minister today. israeli officials announced they'd move forward with new housing settlements in a contested part of eastern jerusalem. state department officials say clinton called israel's actions a deeply negative signal for the middle east peace process and for ties with the u.s. palestinians had already said they would not take part in peace talks unless israel halted new construction. this week's announcement escalated palestinian anger. today israel barred palestinians from crossing to the west bank into israel and jerusalem. riot squads were deployed during friday prayers at the temple mount. palestinian men under the age of 50 were not allowed to enter the area. there were some scuffles between security forces and people who were angry about the age restrintion. british airways announced today that its cabin crew will go on strike. the strike is expected to start march 20th and last about a week. th th the crew is upset over reduced staff and pay cuts. a million travelers could be impacted. the strike could affect americans traveling abroad. a british airways strike over the christmas holiday was stopped by the courts after being challenged by the company. coming up, montgomery county police break up a big house party during school hours. more than a dozen students were cited. a dolphin gave birth this week at the baltimore aquarium. we'll tell you about that. and tom will have a check on our wet wee [ male announcer ] don't like to settle? now that any pizza at pizza hut is just $10, you don't have to. any pizza, any size, any crust, and any toppings is just $10. all your favorite pizzas any way you want them, just $10. a large meat lover's pizza? $10. a large pan supreme? $10. any toppings you want? just 10 bucks, too. any pizza, any size, any crust, and any toppings. so don't miss out. get any pizza hut pizza today for just $10. only at your pizza hut. the national aquarium in baltimore got a new addition this week. a dolphin named jade gave birth on wednesday. her new calf weighs about 30 pounds and is between two and three feet long. the staff hasn't named the dolphin yet because they haven't determined the sex. officials say about one-third of dolphins don't survive their first year in the wild or in captivity. this baby brings the number of dolphins at the aquarium to 11. >> getting the first swimming lesson there. that's great. so that wet -- that wet scene there from the baltimore aquarium, sort of looks like- how we'll feel this weekend, tom? >> you may wish you were a dolphin by sunday. as we continue to have rain falling, we could have flooding here by tomorrow. there is the washington skyline now as the sky is growing darker. we just had sunset about ten minutes ago under this drippy sky. there is the traffic flowing over the potomac river out of washington. and over the swollen waters of the potomac. it's continuing to rise. right now as we take a look, high temperature, 54. low, 51. we only had a three-degree range today. the local rives and stre rivers will be flooding tomorrow. a northeasterly breeze is gusting to around 20 to 25 miles an hour. and right now, the temperature at reagan national airport is at 52 degrees. and we are going to see quite a bit of rain over the next few days. three to five inches, in fact. now let's take a look at the radar over the last hour. we have had waves of rain coming in from the southeast, heading toward the north and west. and the live view of the radar showing the bulk of that is passing to the west and north of washington, getting some light to moderate rain. now the panhandle of west virginia, loudoun county and frederick county, maryland. near washington and montgomery and fairfax, prince george's county and in washington, just a few sprinkles. but there is a moderate shower in anne arundel county. that's just to the south of annapolis. that's just now moving into prince george's county. that will be heading over toward silver spring and wheaten over the next hour or so. if you plan on heading out shortly, could be certainly some complications with travel around with the wet roads, streets and dewalks. now, here's the rainfall over the last 24 hours. we've had about .6 of an inch in washington as well as fairfax and montgomery counties, but about .7 in prince george's county. higher amounts around the chesapeake bay. weather watchers there have reported over an inch of rain. weather wampers around the blue ridge have reported up to almost two inches of rain so far since this all began last night. the temperatures right now around the region are hovering in the low 50s. 52 in washington. just near 50 in prince george's county. montgomery, arlington and fairfax counties as well. these are the latest wind gusts. just had a gust to 30 miles an hour. the winds have been gusting around 20 to 25. d around the neighborhood network in rockville, they have now at 48. they've had about .4 of an inch. andrews air force base, they've had about 3/4 of an inch of rain there. their wi gusts today at 24 miles an hour. fairfax has had over .8 of an inch of rain here today. look at all these counties in green including all of virginia, all of maryland, the eastern shore, points north and east, all under a flood watch and flood warnings still out of the mountains. snow melt continues there. this in addition to the rainfall is going to cause the rivers and streams to really rise quickly over the next day or so. and as a result, we really could have some significant flooding near the creeks and streams and the potomac itself by saturday afternoon and evening. maybe a bit above the flood stage. all of this coming from a complicated weather system. we've got one spin in the atmosphere over the midwest. another in cape hatteras. we'll be working to keep waves of rain coming in where you see areas of yellow and green. that will be coming in after midnight tonight into the early morning hours of saturday and saturday afternoon. by saturday afternoon, it will weaken a bit and the main low-pressure system will be this one along the coast. that will pull out by sunday morning. as it does, we may just have some lingering sprinkles and drizzle during the day on sunday into sunday evening. so for this evening, expect some sprinkles and drizzle and some fog around through perhaps late evening. we'll hover still in the low 50s. after midnight, strong winds gusting over 40 miles an hour. the saturated soil may cause some trees to topple. that may continue through noontime on saturday. this is tomorrow's forecast. the wind should diminish tomorrow afternoon. maybe some sprinkles by saturday evening and into sunday as well. finally trying out on monday. we may see the sun monday afternoon. then sunny on tuesday, wednesday, thursday and friday. each day highs near 60. and that is the way it looks right now. doreen and jim? >> all right. thank you, tom. coming up on our broadcast, a bull escapes from a livestock business and goes on a rampage in one virginia city. more than 100 students busted at a big house party during school hours. virginia's attorney general talked on camera for the first time about his controversial opinion regarding discrimination against gays at state colleges. and we'll tell you bout a vietnam veteran who received a bronze star 40 years after his service. we're back now with our top story for this half hour. montgomery county police had to break up a big party attended by students from several different high schools. >> it happened yesterday during school hours. students from four different high schools were at this party. aaron gilchrist has the story. >> reporter: neighbors say it was a weekly thing at this house, kids getting together for a big party. the difference this time, they got caught. when we came calling at the party house on kingswell drive this afternoon, no kids, no party, just silence. a ver different scene from thursday morning. this home video shot from a living room window a few doors down. dozens of students in the yard. police cruisers lining the narrow street. it all started, though, here at kennedy high school. a teacher saw a large group of students leaving the school around 9:00 in the morning. the principal started asking around. >> quickly became apparent that there was some type of off-campus event going on. that a lot of kids were invited to it. >> reporter: what kind of party was pretty obvious. beer cans and bottles in the streets and in bins. yesterday, david and his mother watched the whole thing go down. >> i saw like 15 cop cars and the school bus. and i guess the cops just -- >> reporter: police say students tried to scatter. 100 students from kennedy, einste einstein, wheaten and northwest high school were caught. >> 17 juvenile alcohol citations were issued. there were two people also charged with possession of drugs. >> going to school and then leaving without authorization, that a violation of ourules and it shouldn't have happened and they'll face the consequences for that. >> this is not the first time that they've done this. they do this like every thursday, every week. >> reporter: both montgomery county schools and police acknowledged students do leave school without permission. but they hope this bust serves as a warning. >> we will take action as we see appropriate based on the conduct of our students and what actions they took during the school day. >> the police department says each of the students will have to show up in court. in montgomery county, i'm aaron gilchrist, news4. >> police say after the students were cited, parents were called to pick them up. the principals are scheduling a meeting now with parents to come up with disciplinary plans. virginia's attorney general caused quite a stir over some comments he made about the commonwealth's antidiscrimination policies. today he responded for the first time about that controversy. he sent a letter to sta colleges earlier this month advising schools to rescind or change any antidiscrimination policies at the colleges that included protection for gay people. the letter said such policies require general assemb approval. it triggered a firestorm of demonstrations on campuses across the commonwealth. >> people who don't like what the law is. that's absolutely their right. but my first obligation is to get the law right and no one has questioned -- no one has credibly questioned that we got the law right. >> the issue took another turn when governor bob mcdonnell stepped in, issuing an order telling all state agencies not to discriminate against anyone. today the union that represents emergency responders in the district talked about a criminal investigation into some d.c. paramedics. the investigation involves the case of a 2-year-old, stephanie stevens. her parents say they had to call 911 twice before she was taken to the hospital. today at a d.c. council hearing into the incident, the firefighters union said a criminal investigation is going too far. derrick ward has our report. >> as the fire and ems chief for the district of columbia, i must accept the responsibility for the actions of our employees. >> reporter: that said, the criminal investigation into the actions of emergency responders who did not transport 2-year-old stephanie stevens to the hospital after her parents said she had breathing trouble continues. that child died after another call to an ambulance did get her a transport. labor leaders for department employees say that they want to see a full investigation into any wrongdoing and see it corrected but they don't want to see a rush to judgment and they worry about the fall-out. >> maybe the rules should be don't provide any care. just put them in the piece and take them to the hospital. >> let's make the necessary corrections to minimize the possibility of this happening again. >> reporter: today's hearing brought out another woman with a similar ce. her young son complained of trouble breathing and chest pains. an ambulance came and her son was treated inside the ambulance but paramedics advised her that the boy didn't need to go to the hospital. later she took him in a cab and when she got to the hospital, doctors told her that she should have gotten there sooner and that she'd cut it much too close. >> one incident, you know, it's very to say that's just the exception. however, if these things are recurring, i felt it was incumbent upon me to say something today. >> reporter: one man showed up to praise his ems experience. when his heartburn turned out later to be a heart attack. >> and they immediately put me inside the ambulance. >> reporter: officials said that they did not want to cast a shadow over most of the department with this current investigation. the scope of which is still being defined. >> i would like to know if the supervisors -- >> the supervisors' role starting with me down to the operational level supervisors will be reviewed. >> as for this particular case, it is unprecedented to have a matter like this go beyond the fire department, much less to the police department. but he said after reviewing the particulars of this case with the u.s. attorney's office and others, he felt it was warranted. derrick ward, news4. >> now, d.c. officials tell us the city probe in the last month's incident is ongoing as is the criminal probe. meanwhile, fire chief dennis ruben says the department has begun revising its non-transport policies. police and federal authorities are cracking down on pcp use in the city. several raids over the last few days have targeted those distributing the drug. police say they seized 120 ounces of pcp during the raids. they also got about 700 grams of crk cocaine. police say they made 12 arrests and recovered at least two guns. they also located $43,000 in cash. pcp is the root cause for much of the violence in our city. kathy lanier says the investigation has been going on for several months and involved help from the fbi. most of the raids were executed in southeast d.c. police had to shoot and kill a bull after it went on a rampage through harrisonburg, virginia. the blank angus escaped from a livestock business for about an hour. the bull rampaged through the town. the bull made its way through on apartment complex a city park and a residential neighborhood. police say it was foaming at the mouth and appeared to be in a duranged state. an officer shot and killed the bull after cornering is in a backyard. coming up on our broadcast, a vietnam veteran was present would the bronze star today, 40 years after delivering medical supplies behind enemy lines. it's been two yearsince a massive fire in the district. we'll hear how residents are doing now. we'll tell you about a 9-year-old boy who saw his dog being flown away in the clutches of a bird. good evening. i'm tom kierein in storm center4, watching waves of rain coming through the region across northern virginia, the district and much of maryland into west virginia. moving southeast to northwest. as we take a look at the radar, the closer view of the radar is showing some light to moderate rain right now in washington. northwest washington into southern prince george's county or montgomery and northern prince georges where you see the green. it's coming down at a heavy clip right now. it's passing off to the north and west as well. now, the temperatures are hovering around 50 degrees and will do that through the evening. right now, 52 degrees in washington. all around the region, we will have some light rain from time to time through perhaps around midnight or so. after midnight, the rain may pick up a bit and the winds as well becoming gusty, perhaps to 40 miles an hour by dawn tomorrow. heavy at times through the morning into perhaps early afternoon wh some strong, gusty winds. unfortunately with the saturated soil, we could have trees toppling over. maybe some sprinkles and drizzle on sunday, but drying out as we get to work and school next week. >> thank you, tom. two years after a massive apartment fire in northwest washington, residents are trying to reclaim their homes from the ashes. finally, they have a reason to celebrate. the five-alarm blaze raced through mt. pleasant apartments back in march of 2008. the building is still not ready to be lived in, but now the district government is helping the people who used to live there. >> we are excited right now with the landlord, you know, the agreement to buy the building. >> it's a great day for anyone who cares about affordable housing in the district of columbia. >> mthe city has a commitment t workforce housing and is anxious to help. still, more needs to be done to make sure affordable housing is available in the district. a vietnam veteran from stafford county, virginia, finally received a bronze star today for his service during the war. 69-year-old phillip o'donnell was a helicopter pilot. he flew medical supplies behind enemy lines. he won the bronze star back in the '70s but didn't receive the honor until today. jim webb got involved to make it possible. o'donnell says he never thought that this day would come. >> did you ever think you'd see this day? >> no. never did. never gave it a thought. no. i'm glad i did. >> phillip o'donnell also served ten years in the marine corps. >> wow. >> congratulations to him. >> indeed. lindsay is here with what's coming up in sports. >> college hoops, so many surprises. get this, the hokies and the cavaliers, both teams stuffed in the acc tournament. also, larry johnson will join clinton portis in the redskins' backfield this season. and the coolidge colts will have history roaming their sidelines this fall. boss: hey, those gecko ringtones you put on our website are wonderful. people love 'em! gecko: yeah, thank you sir. turned out nice. boss: got another one for you. anncr: at geico.com, it's easy to get a free rate quote, manage your policy, make payments or even file a claim! boss: now that's a ringtone. gecko: uh yeah...it's interesting.... certainly not the worst ringtone i've ever heard... ♪ ringtone lyrics: a-ringedy- ding-ding-dingy-dong, ringedy-dong-ding-ding... ♪ gecko (to himself): yeah, th might the worst. anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. lindsay joins us with the pink memo today. we're all thinking cherry blossoms. >> pretty impressive. >> rainy weekend and lots of -- >> we're just trying to -- >> a lot of basketball action, huh? >> exactly. basketball, the redskins, too. the redskins have signed larry johnson. reports are johnson gets a three-year deal worth $12 million. johnson was at the wizards game last night. he said that the idea of working with clinton portis is exciting. johnson was also born in washington, d.c., was raised in waldorf, maryland. johnson experienced the most productive seasons of his eight-year career with the kansas city chiefs. that was where he played from 2003 to 2009. he's a two-time pro-bowler, ranks second in history with 6,015 rushing yards, 55 rushing touchdowns. johnson is the third nfl running back to produce 1,750 rushing yards in back-to-back seasons. he said the first baby out fit he ever had was a redskins outfit. the maryland terps will face georgia tech this evening. in other tournament action today, the miami hurricanes had dropped 11 of their last 14 games before showing up for the tournament today. they joined the wake forest team of 2006 as the only 12 seed to reach the semifina. they upset virginia tech 70-65. get wouldn't you be excited? pat riley taking in some action. look at mcgowan. that rebound, then the follow jam by jones. greenberg, very unhappy. although virginia tech led 37-35 at the half. in the second half, virginia tech's jeff allen went to work inside. corrals the ball. says wait a minute. nice spin move there. the scoop as he's falling down. allen led the hokies with 18 points but would foul out of the game. this game would go back and forth until scott said, i'm taking it on my shoulders. he drives for the tying lay-up. scott with 11 of 17 points in his final sixinutes of the game. the hurricanes will face top-seeded duke tomorrow in the semifinals. what do the ncaa tournament and flip-flops have in common? no heels. north caroli was eliminated last night. looked like duke would be in trouble early. the jam. the game was tied 27-27 at the half. and then duke's strength, just too much. inside to singler for the lay-in and 18 points as the blue devils began to pull things away. 2:30 left. that's when john scheyer takes control. uva coach tony bennett disgusted. duke rolls on. duke, the only team ahead of maryland in the acc tournament seeding. the question is where will these two teams be ranked in the big dance? for maryland it's tough task not to let those kind of wonderings distract this team from performing their best tonight. after all, the terms know georgia tech will take the court tonight looking for redemption. winning an acc championship would be special for the terps. but they haven't done that since 2004. more importantly is the fact that how maryland fairs in the tournament will have a major impact on what seed they get when the ncaa tournament brackets are unveiled on sunday. gravis vazquez the terps can only look at what's in front of them starting tonight against georgia tech. >>y freshman year we won seven games straight and then we lost our first acc tournament game. so we -- we're humble. we know that what's coming ahead of us is unbelievably tough. so we've got to earn every win and we've got to continue to work hard. >> not going to worry about it now. we're the second seed in the acc tournament. that's all i'm worried about now, to play well from there. so many things happen with that. depending on this week, how it goes, whose wins, who loses. you can't get caught up in that. we'll take whatever we get and go play. >> acc coach of the year gary williams looking for a win tonight over georgia tech. in women's college hoops, the american eagles play their toughest game of the season tomorrow. if they win, they'll make history. american and lehigh are the top two teams in the patriot league. they split their season series with each team winning on its home court. tomorrow they battle again. this time, an automatic bid to the ncaa tournament is at stake. au has never made it to the tournament before. they'll have to beat lehigh on their home court. au's michelle kirk who was the player of the year said the team is feeling no pressure. >> i don't think we feel a lot of pressure. we're just approaching it like it's another game. going in just like we have for the entire season. we're prepping the same way. so i think we're all just really knight excited. >> you know, what did or didn't happen, the games previous to us playing on saturday really has no bearing on the outcome. the court is 94 by 40 wherever we play, and the goals are ten feet high. you know, we'll go play anywhere. and it's a great opportunity for us. >> looking for success from his american eagles team. coolidge high school's new varsity boys football coach natalie randolph says that her new job is a dream come true, but it's time to get down to business. randolph has met with the football team and their parents. her intention is to create a template for how to run a successful football operation at the high school level. we're at coolidge high school. there was a very warm welcome. lots of cheering for natalie randolph. randolph is a science teamer at the school. she's planning already. she played five years as a wide receiver for the d.c. divas. she commanded plenty of attention and that's the same thing that she will do for the dedicated team of athletes that she's looking forward to coaching at coolidge. >> the same kind of teacher i am. no-nonsense. they have to do what they have to do or else, you know, they're not going to play or whatever. when i'm in the classroom, i tell them, i love you to death. i love you dearly, but it you don't do your work, i'll make your "f" look nice and pretty. but they know they've got to do what -- their due diligence. >> i've had a couple pretty-looking fs. that didn't go over too well. >> no. >> natalie randolph is awesome. she went to sidwell friends. she also went to uva where she's had a track star. i think one of the coolest things she's doing is bringing over a lot of her former teammates as coaches for the team. it's a full-fledged women's team that they're coaching. they're also bringing in a strength and conditionin coach who has played with the men's arena ball team. that person, lisa horton, she's going to hold them to the fire. those boys aren't going to know what hit them. >> it's nice to see the warm welcome that she got. >> they're all very, very excited that she's there. that put her at ease. >> thank you, lindsay. coming up, a family watches their little dog being flown away in the clutches of a bird. i love economics study group. because every week, we start things off wi ten dollar 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[ male announcer ] right now, any pizza at pizza hut is just $10. any pizza, any size, any crust, and any toppings -- for only $10. only at your pizza hut. here's another heads-up. daylight saving time is almost here. unlike fall, we turn the clocks forward. for many that translates to an hour lost of sleep and some more stress. michelle franzen has our story. >> reporter: it is a welcome sign. the long, cold winter months that gripped the nation may soon be gone. yet daylight saving time is here >> seems like it's soon. you know, wasn't it just snowing in new york city like two weeks ago? so the fact that daylight savings is rolli around on sunday is kind of crazy. >> reporter: the crazy time when we lose an hour in the morning to extend daylight at the end of the day. >> if it means daylight savings, springing forward into a nice, sunny climate, that's great. >> reporter: springing forward these clocks can alter something more important. our internal sleep clock. >> which really is a problem with our rhythm. it's almost as though we're jet-lagging ourselves. >> reporter: losing our shifting sleep can affect everything from mood to safety. >> by losing tt hour, they become more sleep-deprived than they already are. there have been studies showing increased car crashes on the monday following that sunday. >> reporter: central park musician isaiah richardson can relate and wishes time could stand still. >> you know, i only feel good in the wintertime. you take it all away, it doesn't make me feel good. >> reporter: an hour lost or gained is just a state of mind and the real mood change comes from the weather. the time hasn't even changed yet, but the warmer weather here in central park is changing the rhythm from winter to spring. >> seeing the sun out this week has made a huge difference for me. >> reporter: and with patches of snow still melting alongside budding trees, it may not be quite the dog days of summer just yet, but for many, the start of a new season is just an hour change away. michelle franzen, news4. >> going to be rainy this weekend. perfect sleeping weather. >> sleep in. >> what do you say, tom? >> the combination of the rain andhe snow melt out of the mountains could cause the potomac river to flood and flood considerably. in fact, maybe the worst flooding since 1996. right now, as we look at the radar, we've had one wave of rain come through washington out of prince george's county. now over the last hour we're seeing that just now moving into montgomery county. and we elsewhere have some passing showers, moderate to heavy rains now off to our west and north. we'll have that through this evening. could be heavy at times by dawn morrow. that may cause trees to topple and power outages. some of the moderate to heavy in should taper off tomorrow afternoon, but by then, we could have flooding around the region. should taper off on sunday as well. and we'll have the latest at 11:00. >> thank you, tom. imagine seeing a big bird swoop down into your backyard, pick up your little dog and carry it off. sounds awful, doesn't it? before we go any further, we will tell you that the dog is okay. it's a chihuahua named poppy. look at him. he weighs about three pounds. he's a beloved member of the todd family in columbia, south carolina. on monday, they heard the sound of wings flapping and then a terrible yelping. then they saw a big bird, it may have been a hawk, flying away with little poppy in its talons. the todds searched their neighborhood for hours and they couldn't find him. >> everything that kept going through my mind was my little dog being torn apart. it was hard to imagine that he was going through that. >> when i went to go to sleep, i lost a little hope. >> tim todd says even though he lost hope, he didn't lose all of it. the next morning, the dog made his way back home.