it's like a dream come true. >> it's a happy morning for some same-sex couples in the district. many woke up right and early for a chance to get married. a water main break in northern virginia could be a traffic headache all day long. not one but three breaks are being repaired. and a child directed planes from kennedy airport's air traffic control tower. news 4 midday begins right now. good morning, everyone. and welcome to "news 4 midday." i'm barbara harrison. >> good morning. i'm joe krebs on this wednesday, the 3rd of march, 2010. it is a historic day here in the district. same-sex couples can now officially apply for marriage licenses. and for many, this day has been a long time coming. news 4's megan mcgrath spoke with some of the first people in line today and she joins us now from d.c. superior court in northwest with more. good morning, megan. >> reporter: well, good morning. yes, this has been a day a long time coming for a number of these couples. we've spoken to couples who have been together for 14 years, 17 years, in some cases. and they have been wanting to get married for a number of those years. well, they're finally going to see that happen here. and about 20 or so couples came very early to the courthouse to begin the application process to get a marriage license here in the district of columbia. now, there is a three-day waiting period, three business days, actually. so they'll be able to pick up the license on march the 9th. many say they will then go that very day and tie the knot. >> i'm ecstatic. it's like a dream come true. >> reporter: an emotional and happy day for angela you think and jolie townsend. the women made history this morning as the first same-sex couple to apply for a marriage license in the district of columbia. >> i'm so very excited. i knew when they started talking about, i knew it would happen. >> now we can be in a committed, loving, responsible, respectable relationship. >> reporter: the supreme court yesterday declined a request to intervene, paving the way for gay and lesbian couples to get married in the nation's capital. >> i'm just so excited, i can't stand it. it's been 17 years, i've been waiting for this. >> i am very excited about this day. finally, after 14 years of loving this woman, i am finally able to marry the woman who is, indeed, the love of my life. >> reporter: for those who came to the courthouse today, this moment is about more than just love. it's also about legal protection. >> we've been together for 17 years and we've been denied a lot of benefits and a lot of -- and had to pay a lot of taxes. we have a farm in maryland and when i put joe on the deed to the farm, we had to pay a gift tax. >> reporter: and so the district of columbia now becomes the sixth jurisdiction in the country that allows same-sex marriages. again, the application process was opened up today. a number of couples came in, some very early, to begin that process, but it doesn't happen overnight. there is a waiting period, and tuesday is the first day that they will be able to actually tie the knot. some say they will do it that day, some say they will have a larger gathering with family and friends,tail actually do it ov weekend, but a lot of people very happy to begin the process of getting the process going. >> megan mcgrath, reporting live, thanks very much. looking outside right now, it's been a wet morning and we still have some clouds out there. >> let's see how soggy we're going to stay. let's get our first forecast from meteorologist tom kierein. >> barbara and joe, overnight we did get some snow showers and rain showers, some of the snow around the shenandoah valley and northern maryland, accumulate an inch or two and it did melt rather quickly. stayed above freezing all through the night. as we look now at radar, we are getting some light rain in northern fauquier county, across loudoun county and across the potomac into frederick county and washington county. the panhandle of west virginia and right here at northern shenandoah valley, there may be a little bit of a mix of wet snow there. this is slowly drifting off to the south and east and a few sprinkles as well on the eastern shore. the temperatures around the region are hovering in the upper 30s to near 40. we'll stay right there through the rest of the afternoon. and accompanying these chilly temperatures is a rather blustery wind. in fact, the peak wind gusts have been around 20 to 30 miles per hour. just had a gust at 29 miles an hour and generally has been around 20 to 25-mile-per-hour gusts here this morning around the metro area. out in the mountains, it's below freezing, so watch out for some slick spots there. eastern shore, in the upper 30s at this hour. and we have a lot of cloudiness, all do to a coastal area of low pressure that is just now beginning to pull away from the atlantic seaboard. it's heading off to the north and east. and as it does, it will draw in some colder air. and as it moves on through, we'll maybe see a passing snow shower or perhaps a passing rain shower this afternoon. any snow activity, though, will quickly melt. no accumulation as we hover right near 40 degrees. a look at the end of the week and the weekend, improvining ne. >> let's go to jerry edwards with an update on the midday traffic. >> hi, barbara, joe. good morning, everyone. let's update you on what's going on around town. pretty quiet commute both directions north of town. near university boulevard, all lanes are reported open and available. good news there. elsewhere, if you're heading south again today, i-95 comes to a grinding halt as you head south from newington through lorton toward woodbridge. if you look very carefully, you can see the construction cones taking away the right lane southbound between lorton and woodbridge. extra travel time certainly would be a good idea if you're headed in that direction. barbara and joe, back to you. >> thanks, jerry. a heads up if you have to drive in crystal city today. traffic there is a nightmare after a water main break closed part of jefferson davis highway. the break near 23rd southwest just one of three breaks in the area. tracee wilkins has the latest now from crystal city. >> reporter: there were three major water main breaks in crystal city. it all started last night. this was the last one. they're just beginning repairs now, but the bad news for drivers, this could affect the evening rush, just like it did the morning. just before 7:00 p.m. last night, water main break after water main break in crystal city. >> i drove through it last night. it was all bubbling up from the street. i didn't realize it was so big. >> reporter: officials say the breaks were all caused by a mix of old pipes and a malfunctioning water regulator. the first was on jefferson davis highway at 23rd street. then another at jefferson davis and the 2600 block between airport viaduct and 27th street south. a third break in the 2900 block of southeast was still bubbling water this morning as arlington county water crews waited on the gas company to come in so they could repair the leak. while the leaks on jefferson davis highway were repaired just before among rush, road repairs meant the roads had to remain closed for most of the day. caused a serious headache for commuters. >> making me lake for a meeting, but, hey, it's a wednesday. >> coming home last evening, i had to go all the way around. it took me about an hour to get through this area. >> reporter: what is it doing to your commute this morning? >> i'm probably about 15, 20 minutes behind. >> reporter: officials say mostly businesses were impacted by the water main breaks here in the area, but if any residents did experience service loss or a loss of water pressure, they're suggesting that when you get it back, you run your cold water for a while before trying to drink out of the tap. that will give it some time to clean out the pipes. in crystal city, tracee wilkins, news 4. >> arlington county officials do not believe the water main praeks are weather related. marion barry has bn stripped of a votership. barry is accused of directing a contract to a former girlfriend. he could also face criminal charge cans because the counsel referred the allegations to the u.s. attorney's office. barry says he's being unfairly punished. >> it's not justice. that's not due process. that's totalitarianism. you respect that in russia. or iran or some place. but not in america. >> this is the first time the d.c. council has ever censured a sitting council member. some good news for commuters in prince williams connecticut. prct says its drivers will not strike today. they threatened to strike if a new contract hasn't been reached by midnight. no deal was reached, but drivers agreed to a 30-day contract extension. prct says service will operate on a normal schedule today. and the man who ran new jersey's transit agency is coming to washington. 62-year-old richard sarrells is expected to be named the interim manager tomorrow. he was in charge from 2007 until january of this year. his appointment at metro will last between six months and a year. sarrells will have his hands full as metro continues to struggle with safety and financial concerns. an air traffic controller has been relieved of duty at jfk airport after he allowed his child to direct air traffic from the control tower. nbc's tom costello reports. >> reporter: at new york city's jfk airport, air traffic controllers handle more than 1,000 flights every day. two weeks ago on february 17th, a new voice in the control tower. a child was directing the planes. >> 171, cleared for takeoff. >> cleared f takeoff, jet blue 171. >> this is what you get, guys, when the kids are out of school. >> i wish i could bring my kid to work. >> reporter: the faa tells nbc news one of the air traffic controllers brought a child to work that day. the child can be heard directing two flights on tapes from liveatc.net, a website that monitors and controls air traffic control transmissions. >> jetlue 171, contact departure. >> departure 171, awesome job. >> reporter: if the pilots were upset, they didn't let on. listen as the child handles a second flight. >> 03, cleared for take. >> 403, cleared for takeoff. thank you very much. have a great day. >> reporter: at one point, the child had a little fun with one of the pilots from aeromexico. >> air mex 403, contact departure, adios. >> adios. >> contact departure. adios, amigos. >> adios, amigos, contact departure, jet blue 195. >> the child directed a total of five transmissions from the contact tower. the controller and the supervisor are no longer directing traffic pending the outcome of an investigation. that was tom costello reporting. our time right now, 11:11, we are following breaking news on the future of congressman charles rangle. he's facing an investigation by an ethics committee. also coming up, dramatic video released showing what happened when the chilean earthquake hit this weekend. plus, senator jim bunning gives in. now the senate can get back to work. we'll explain. and how these small leg movements can actually save your life. stay with us. >> we're following some breaking news out of capitol hill right now, where new york congressman charlie rangel has stepped down, temporarily, as chairman of the house ways and means committee. the 79-year-old rangel is the focus of an ethics investigation into his income, assets, and contributions that he's received. he says h he doesn't want that probe to affect his fellow democrats, who are running for re-election. rangel has served in congress for 20 terms. and now to health care reform. today president obama is expected to unveil his final health care plan at the white house. democratic leaders are hopin the plan breathes new life into the efforts to pass an overhaul. the new plan comes one day after the president said he was open to including four republican ideas into the proposal. democrats hope to push the overhaul through congress by the end of the month. >> now they're making the political calculation that action, however controversial it may be is better than inaction. we'll soon find out whether that's the right calculus. >> and despite the president's still bipartisan tone, today he launches a partisan strategy. his first priority is to convince house democrat, voters in november are more likely to reward, not punish them for reform. a dramatic standoff over a $10 billion senate spending bill is now over. the bill that would extend temporary unemployment benefits to thousands of people and free up funds for highway projects had been in limbo for days. the lone filibustering nator, jim bunning from kentucky, gave up his blocking efforts late on tuesday night. >> the senator from kentucky has decided after one week to accept exactly what was offered to him last week. >> under pressure from both parties, bunning ended the stalemate. he had wanted the senate to find a way to pay for the bill before passing it. it finally passed by a vote of 78-19. well, you've seen the devastation caused by the earthquake in chile, now we're seeing dramatic new images of the magnitude 8.8 quake as it struck. this is video taken on a dance floor in a dance club in the capital city of santiago. you can see people running for their lives as the ceiling starts to crumble. some made it off the dance floor just in time. the death toll from saturday's quake conties to climb. at least 796 peopler killed and as many as 500 others are still missing. 49 of them in the chilean resort town of detachio, which was pummeled by a tsunami after the earthquake. even many of those who survived the quake and the tsunami lost their home and all of their possessions. nationwide, over 500,000 homes were destroyed or damaged. 2 million chileans have been affected by this disaster. one consulting firm says it could cost chile's economy at least $15 billion. our time is 11:17. let's get another look at our forecast. we had rain and some snow around the region, but nothing too major, right, tom? >> no. up around the blue ridge, they had a couple of inches and that has quickly melted this morning. right now as we look at our sky, this is how it's been behaving this morning, over the last, oh, couple of hours, we can squeeze it down to win minute. look at those clouds racing through. tupper level winds have been racing through there at around 40 to 50 miles an hour. and occasionally some of those gusts get translated down to the surface. that's american university there in the foreground. and the flow in the atmosphere continues. out in the west-northwest at this hour, you can see those low, gray clouds that continue to hang in. right now, the view from our city camera showing the grayky over the monuments and the potomac river, just downriver is reagan national airport, where the temperature right now is at 40 degrees and where the washington march average rainfall is about 3 1/2 inches. and we haven't had much precipitation. we only had about 1/10 of an inch since yesterday afternoon and evening. some of it in the form of snow showers, some of it in the form of rain showers. right now where you see the blue on radar is where we're getting some light rain in loudoun county, northern fauquier county into frederick county and washington county. panhandle of west virginia, may mix a little wet snow in some of the high spots of the blue ridge. this is slowly drifting off to the south and east. so we may get a flu sprinkles in washington over the next couple of hours. there are a few sprinkles as well on the eastern shore. and the temperatures have been holding steady all night, stayed at above freezing. so what snow did fall melted on roads, streets, and sidewalks. and only accumulated light amounts, northern montgomery county, parts of loudoun and frederick county had an inch at the most on a few isolated surfaces, but it did melt on all the roadways. and it's now still holding steady near 40 degrees. these are the latest wind gusts. we've seen the gusts from around 20 to 25 miles an hour, some isolated gusts higher than that. that's going to be the story for the rest of the afternoon, that blustery northwest wind. right now eastern shore in the upper 30s. in the mountains of western maryland and west virginia, it's right around 30 degrees. there may be a few slick spots there. now, over the last six hours, the area of circulation, the low pressure center that was just to the east of kill devil hills and the outer banks is now pulling off to the east and as it pulls away, it's going to be drawing in somewhat colder air from the north and west. as this cold air does come in, it will destabilize the atmosphere a bit more this afternoon and may give us a few passing rain showers or snow showers. here's the wider view. this is the system as it spreads some light snow up into pennsylvania and upstate new york and across parts of new england, but that's going to continue to pull away. as we look for it over the next 36 hours, this storm system as it does pull away will open the door for some drier air to move in from the midwest as a weak area of high pressure comes down from the upper midwest, things should dry out, but it will still be colder than average all the way into friday. but at least we'll get some welcome sunshine back, probably, perhaps a little bit by tomorrow afternoon. so remaining cloudy for the rest of the afternoon, rather breezy, maybe a passing rain or snow shower, but no accumulation from any snow shower coming through as temperatures will be well above freezing, hovering right around 40 for the rest of the afternoon. northwest winds gusting 10 to 25. overnight tonight, should be cloudy and into the predawn hours, it should be down to near the freezing mark tomorrow morning. so we might have aew slick spots from what does not evaporate by tomorrow night. tomorrow afternoon, should be mostly cloudy, highs low 40s. then welcome sunshine for friday and saturday. mid-40s for highs on friday. saturday, sunny near 50 and partly cloudy sunday, high near 50. looks like a quiet weather pattern and we'll get into the frs first part of next week with highs near 50. >> looks awfully nice. >> let's check on the traffic now. jerry? >> good morning once again. we'll head on over and update you on a couple of things. first, interstate 66, left side of your screen, there was an accident tying up a couple of lanes east on 66 after route 123. folks at vdot moving the camera about. as a result, we're looking at delays heading east out of fair oaks. just west of route 27, had an earlier accident involving a tractor-trailer with a fuel spill. all lanes of westbound i-70 had been closed just after the interchange at route 27. there is now one lane getting by, but traffic obviously going to be quite slow through the area. detours set up so you can exit on to route 27, follow the signs, authorities will help you. eastbound from frederick headed toward baltimore, your lanes are open. barbara and joe, back to you. >> thank you, jerry. 11:21 is our time right now. still ahead on "news 4 midday," are organic foods more nutritious. and packing heat with your hot java. why gun owners are heading to northern virginia starbucks stores. but, first, here's a look at what's hot on nbcwashington.com. if i had to sit on a bench during the middle of a game due to diabetes it would frustrate me. in a basketball game a couple minutes could mean a big momentum shift. my bayer meter is very important. (announcer) only bayer's contour meter has programmable personal high low settings. it allows me to be able to look at my highs and lows to make sure that my diabetes is being controlled as tightly as possible. with my bayer meter i don't miss valuable game time. i'm alana burns and staying in the game is my simple win. (announcer) the contour meter, only from bayer. do you mind being controversial? do you think of yourself as controversial? >> me? controversial? well, i certainly don't ask for it. i think, like so many other americans with some strong convictions, some strong ideas, some solutions i want to see implemented to meet the challenges in our country. i want to talk about them. i'm not one to want to sit down and shut up. >> sarah palin is an outspoken and she still is. the former vice presidential candidate and alaska governor was a guest on "the tonight show" with jay leno last night. in addition to chatting with jay, palin even told a few jokes in stand-up comedy routine. well, the shirt that o.j. simpson wore the day he was acquitted of killing his wife and ron goldman will not be on display. ron goldman's father sued o.j. for possession of the suit and won this week. the goldman family now plans to ask another museum to display it. our time is 11:25. coming up on "news 4 midday," it's a wet morning, but no major problems with snow or icy conditions and tom kierein has good news for the weekend. a registered sex offender is due in court today to be arraigned in the case of a 17-year-old who disappeared after going for a jog and whose body has aarentl just been found. why a community is outraged that this man was not jailed or being watched closely. and it's not happened in almost four decades, but one local lawmaker wants to boost the booze tax. who could be paying more. and coming up, saving money can be easy. the four things you can do today to boost your bank account. stay with us. here's what's happening right now on "news 4 midday," same-sex couples can now apply for a marriage license in the district. people started lining up at the courthouse early this morning. d.c. is now the sixth place in the nation where gay marriages can take place. because of a waiting period, though, the couples applying today won't be able to wed until march 9th. be sure to plan extra time if you have to drive through the crystal city area today. three different water main breaks shut down part of the southbound jefferson davis highway, causing a major traffic nightmare during the morning rush hour. the break itself has now been fixed, but crews are still working to repair the roadway. air mex 403, contact departure, adios. >> contact departure, adios. >> the faa has relieved an air traffic controller from duty after he allowed a child to direct traffic from the busy control tower at jfk airport. they say it is not acceptable and the union representing air traffic controllers agrees. let's get another check on our forecast. here's meteorologist tom kierein in storm center 4. >> hey, tom. good morning again. >> still cloudy and still blustery and chilly. temperatures hovering right around 40. and on the radar where you see the moving blue, that is an area of some light rain that is now just moving into northern montgomery county out of frederick county. also light rain in loudoun county. that's moving into prince william and fauquier as well as the northern shenandoah valley. some of the high spots are maybe just a little bit of wet snow there. these are the rainfall totals over the past 24 hours. we haven't had much, generally less than a tenth of an inch. it has been rather damp in southern maryland. they've had about a half an inch. and the latest wind gusts have been around 20 to 25 miles an hour, a little bit higher around the bay. eastern shore temperatures in the upper 30s, out of the mountains now 30 degrees. and all this precipitation and wind coming from an area of low pressure that's now pulling away from the atlantic seaboard. and still, though, enough instability to cause a passing shower or maybe even a little snow flurry activity this afternoon with the blustery wind. highs hovering near 40. then tomorrow, some sun back, perhaps a little bit in the afternoon and lots of sun for friday and saturday. friday's highs, mid-40s. saturday, up near 50. partly cloudy sunday again near 50. highs near 50 on monday as well as on tuesday. that's the way it looks right now. barbara and joe? >> thanks. >> let's get a final check on the midday traffic now. >> let's go to jerry edwards in the news 4 trafficner. >> hey, barbara and joe. we'll update you the latest on interstate 66 eastbound, the right side of the roadway still blocked with an accident. you can see the flashing lights there. the accident near route 123. we're looking at a pretty good-sized midday backup. the eastbound, with a little bit of a rubber necking delay. let's head over to virginia, see if there's any improvements. still a tough trip on 95 southbound. hov lanes are now configured for the southbound flow. so that should help the backup here very, very shortly. barbara and joe, back to you. >> thank you, jerry. >> thanks, jerry. two big road projects are going to make things difficult for drivers trying to get around the beltway at night this week. both projects are in the tyson's corner area. the southbod beltway will be shut down near route 7 so crews can install steel beams for a new bridge. that work takes place from 11:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m. each night. vdot will close route 123 northbound at the dulles connector road at 7:00 p.m. friday until 10:00 a.m. on saturday. and that's to install a water line that's part of the dulles metro rail project. both projects are weather permitting, of course. march is deep vein thrombosis awareness month, a disease better known as dvt. >> and dvt claimed the life of david bloom while he was reporting in iraq, and now his wife, melanie, is doing everything she can to spread the word about the disease. we're enjoyed now by melanie bloom and mary ann wilson with more on the coalition to prevent dvt. good morning. >> good morning. >> thanks for being with us. maybe yocan tell us who this disease affects most. who is most affected by this? >> you know, the thing with dvt is it can strike anyone at any time. david was only 39 years old when he died from complications of dvt. so it's important that everybody be aware. however, having said that, age does increase your risks. so age over 40, being overweight, someone who has a recent hospital stay, women are at greater risk when they're on the birth control pill or hormone replacement therapy. so it's important to know what the risk factors are and whether you fall into any of those risk categories. >> and didn't sound like what you just listed there, david really fell into any or certainly many of those risk categories. so are there other things that put you at risk? >> yes, great question. because david's biggest risk factor was actually restricted mobility. and that was, he was sleeping night after night in that tank while covering the war in iraq with his knees pulled up to his chin. and anything that restricts or blocks the flow of the blood in the lower limbs can put you at risk of developina clot in the legs. and it when that clot breaks free and hits the lungs that it can be fatal. 300,000 people die each year in our nation from this condition, which is more than aids and breast cancer combined. so it's important, for example, on long airline plights or sittin at your computer desk for long periods of time to make sure you're moving your legs and keeping that blood flowing. >> mary ann, i know that you have a program that helps to teach people to do these things to help prevent, do you want to tell us about that? >> yes. you know, movement is important for everyone, however, dvt has some special -- a special place in my heart, especially since meeting melanie. and also, it's my passion. movement is so important to keep the blood flowing. you want to increase the circulation at all times, especially when you're in a position where you cannot move. so it's preventable. and that's the important thing >> so you can make small movements, for instance, when you're sitting some place at an anchor desk for two or three hours at a time, it's good to keep your legs and feet moving? >> definitely. >> under the desk where no one can see, you can be pumping your foot up and down, almost like you're depressing a gas pedal. and do little ankle circles and you can left your knee and straighten out that leg so you get some room, right behind that knee joint. >> what about people on long car drives? i guess it's best to just pull over and get out and walk, i suppose? >> that's best, but sometimes you can't, you can do these movements with the other foot that's not on the gas pedal and try moving that way. and you can get more of the exercises on our website, prevent preventdvt.org and also be able to take the risk assessment and learn so much more about dvt. >> both of you, thanks very much. mary ann bloom and marion wilson, thanks so much. this is a very serious problem. guns and alcohol never a good mix, but a new bill has passed the virginia legislature that allows people to carry concealed weapons into places where alcohol is served. for years, the measure has been adviso vetoed by democratic governors, but republican governor bob mcdonnell is expected to sign the bill. supporters says the measure allows people to defend themselves. opponents say it's never a good idea to bring guns into places where people are drinking. meanwhile, the brady campaign to prevent gun violence will take aim at an unusual target today, and that's starbucks. the coffee chain abides by the laws of every state its stores are in, even if that means allowing customers to bring in, to carry in agun. news 4's jackie bensen has more. >> reporter: jim snyder is armed and about to get caffeinated. actually, he's more of a hot chocolate man. he enters a starbucks in the kingstown shopping center, purchasing his beverage, and sits down to drink it in full view of a half dozen other patrons. >> since they're taking a stand that they're just going to follow state and local laws, you know, maybe i'll just become a good customer of theirs. >> reporter: starbucks, despite its west coast and some say liberal image, requires each store to obey all laws in the jurisdiction where it's located. that includes gun laws and in virginia, it means openly carried side arms. individual businesses at their discretion can prohibit guns in virginia. >> i sent a letter off about a month ago to the ceo of starbucks. >> reporter: paul helmsley says on wednesday his organization will present a petition with 29,000 signatures to starbucks executives, asking them to make all of their stores gun free. >> just as if you can say, if you're not wearing shoes, you can't come in, you can say, if you're bringing a gun, you can't come in. a couple of the places that this is happening at, they've responded and say, we won't allow them at pete's coffee. we won't allow them at california's pizza kitchen. >> repter: as for those that sat near jim snyder at shopping center, no one appeared to notice an armed man drinking hot chocolate. >> no, i did not have a problem. i'm in the military also, so it doesn't phase me. i mean, if he has a weapon then probably has a right to have it. >> reporter: in a statement, starbucks says it follows all state and local laws and has its own safety measures in stores. jackie bensen, news 4, today. three men are in custody in montgomery county, accused of using the internet to help operate a prostitution ring. police arrested rodney hubert of new york last month. investigators say all three were caught in a county-wide human trafficking countdown. they suspect at least some of the victims in the prostitution rings were minors. police say the internet has made it easier for human traffickers to do business, but it also made it easier to bust these criminals. >> with the blatant advertisement of prostitution, you're just fish in a barrel now to us. >> human trafficking carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison. that sentence is 25 years if a minor is involved. there was an emotional vigil last night for chelsea king, just hours after a body believed to be the missing teenager was found. the man arrested in the case will be in court this morning. janet shamlian reports. >> reporter: what was supposed to be a vigil of prayers to bring chelsea home alive was, instead, a grief-stricken gathering, mourning her death. >> one of the nicknames that i have always called my daughter is my angel. and she's my angel forever. >> reporter: just hours earlier in the park where the 17-year-old high school senior loved to run, hopes were destroyed, fears were con fermed. >> it's with great sadness this afternoon that we discovered shortly after 1:00 human remains near the water's edge in a shallow grave. >> reporter: chelsea loveded the lush and lonely trail of the rancho bernardo community park, but it's there, police say, she crossed paths with 30-year-old john gardner, a registered sex offender. he'll be arraigned later today. authorities say there's physical evidence linking him to chelsea, reportedly her underwear containing his dna. as court documents indicate, gardner has a long history of assault. in 2000, he pleaded guilty to assaulting a 13-year-old neighbor after he invited her over to watch "patch adams." in an effort to spare the victim a lengthy trial, the prosecution went against advice from the court psychiatrist for the maximum sentence, who said gardner is "an extremely poor candidate for any sexual offender treatment" and "would be a continued danger to underaged girls in the community." he served five years of a six-year sentence and completed three years parole in 2008. in december of last year, a young woman was attacked in the same park where chelsea's body was found. she escaped and has now told authorities she recognized gardner as her attaer. her younger sister wrote a moving op-ed for her school paper, warning of the park's danger. and now questions whether gardner is responsible for last year's disappearance of 14-year-old amber dubois. he was living two miles away when she vanished on her way to school. >> keep her spirit alive for us. >> reporter: one family's loss, but an entire community's heartbreak as a promising life is cut tragically short. >> that was janet shamlian reporting. prosecutors have not said what charges will be filed, but we expect to hear more about the case that they will lay out later today. your favorite adult beverage may soon cost more in maryland. montgomery county executive ike legt is supporting an increase in the state's alcohol tax. today, leggette will join a broad coalition of maryland citizens to push for an increase. maryland has not raised the tax on beer and wine since 1972 and the tax on liquor and spirits hasn't gone up since 1955. 11:42 is our time right now. still ahead on "news 4 midday," investors are hoping for a fourth straight day of gains today. we'll have the latest numbers. and are organic fruits and vegetables worth the extra price at the grocery store? stay with us. copd makes it hard for me tbreathe. but with advair, i'm breathing better. so i can join the fun at my family barbeque. (announcer) for people with copd, including chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or both, great news. advair helps significantly improve lung function. while nothing can reverse copd, advair is different from most other medications because it contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator, working together to help you breathe better. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. i'm glad you came, grandma. oh, me too. if copd is still making it hard to breathe, ask your doctor if including advair will help improve your lung function for better breathing. (announcer) get your first full prescription free and save on refills. nissan is now recalling more than 500,000 cars for brake, pin, and fuel gauge problems. the recall includes the 2008 through ten nissan titan, armada, quest, and infinity qx56. various models are being recalled for the fuel gauge problem. nissan says no accidents or injuries have been reported in connection with either problem and is offering free inspections and repairs. well, wall street will try for a fourth straight session of gains today. >> we're going to check in with cnbc's courtney reagan. >> yesterday we saw gains, although they were really small. but it still counts as a positive day. and so far, we are that way as well today, although up a little more. up 47 points on the dow. asian markets rose overnight as well. europe trading mostly lower today. and we got the adp employment report this morning. that's the one that tracks private sector jobs. it shows the u.s. economy lost 20,000 such jobs last month. that's lower than expected. however, january's originally reported 22,000 job losses were revised to show a drop of 60,000. so sort of mixed news there. and mortgage applications rose 14.6% last week as mortgage rates slipped back below 5%. that could be good news to help lift the housing market going forward. and costco is reporting quarterly earnings this morning of 40 cents -- or 70 cents ashare. but february aim stoer sales came in above consensus with growth of 9%. and the senate has passed stopgap legislation, extending unemployment benefits for more than 1 million americans and keeping federal highway dollars flowing. republican senator jim bunning had been holding up the bill for a couple of days, but finally conceded under criticism from democrats. bunning wanted to force democrats to pay for the $10 billion measure so that it wouldn't add to the deficit. and the approving economy hasn't slowed the pace of personal bankruptcies. new data is showing they surged 14% last month and experts are saying the debt stress overhang from years of heavyonsumer spending is having a pretty big impact now because of the state of the economy. and that's driving more people to file forhapter 7 bankruptcy, which allows the courts to dismiss most unsecured consumer debt, which does include credit card bills. but it's not something you ever wa to do if you can at all avoid it. as you can imagine, very hard to build yourself back up after that. >> indeed. well,hank you, courtney. have a great day. we'll see you tomorrow. >> see you both tomorrow. when it comes to organic food, many people are paying a premium for something they hope gives them important health benefits. nutritionists and other experts, however, are still debating those health benefits. and that has some waondering, i buying organic really worth it? lisa myers reports. >> reporter: they come rain or shine. packing the tent at the sarasota farmers market to buy organic food. >> they have the best cucumbers here. they're really good. >> reporter: carrots, avocados, eggplant, radishes. >> i would like some strawber strawberries, too, please. >> reporter: promoted as better for you, organic farming is one of the fastest growing segments of u.s. agriculture, with sales last year estimated at $25 billion, up from $1 billion two decades ago. many believe organics are more nutritious, but there is actually little scientific evidence of that. we asked dietitian shia rarback to compare conventional and organic lettuce. >> okay, initially, these two samples ofettuce are going to be the same. the big difference is the price. the conventional lettuce is 18 cents an ounce and the organic is 50 cents an ounce. >> it costs more to produce organic food. it's a much more intense method of farming. >> reporter: what really distinguishes organic products is how they are grown or raised. when you see the u.s. department of agriculture's organic seal, it means no synthetic chemicals, no hormones, no antibiotics, and no genetic engineering were used to produce that plant or animal. >> reporter: that alone appeals to a lot of parents. >> i just try to give my kids the best food possible. and for me, that's no added pestici pesticides. >> reporter: organic farmers argue that it's better for the environment. >> our goal in organic agriculture is to create an ecosystem that is working with nature to grow plants without using toxins. >> reporter: but critics say that it simply isn't feasible to feed the world without using toxins, that organic farming takes more land and ultimately produces less. for individual families, the decision about buying organic may come down to whether being chemical and pesticide free is worth the higher price. lisa myers, nbc news, washington. >> if you do want to buy organic and try to stick to your budget, experts say there are ways to get the biggest bang for your organic buck. watch for sales and then buy only those foods most affected by pesticides. for instance, peaches and apples and celery, spinach, and tomatoes. coming up, ways to put a little extra cash in your pockets. >> and meteorologist tom kierein will be back with anothe in this economy, it seems like everyone is looking for ways to save some money. kimberly suiters gives us four ways to keep cash in our pockets in big ways and small ways. >> reporter: the first money waste wesh at the place where you might drop more than 100 bucks a week. the grocery store. >> always generic. >> consumer reports says you can save 30% every single trip by semplely buying generic products over name brand. >> and frankly when it comes to grocery stores, i can't tell the difference. >> reporter: skip buying bottled water while you're there and save $600 a year. money waster number two, low insurance deductibles. the lower your deductible, the more you pay up front. save hundreds by raising your deductible from $500 to $1,000. >> you can save anywhere from $150 up to $500 or more by making that transfer. so in a few years, you'll recover that $500 that you've increased. >> reporter: money waster number three, keeping a high balance on your credit card, but a low one in your bank account. say you have $5,000 in the bank, earninging 0.2% and you're carrying a $5,000 credit card balance paying 20% interest. the cost of carrying the debt is 100 times what you're earning in interest. for every dollar you earn by keeping money in savings, you're paying $100 in finance charges to the credit card company. >> if you left that money in there, the $5,000, at the end of five years, you would have $50 in interest. and you would have paid out $2,800 in interest. so how dumb is that? >> reporter: another smart money saving trip, when you want a book, bypass the bookstore. >> library, definitely. >> it's a free activity. >> reporter: the average adult fiction book costs $16. if you buy one book a month, that's $192 a year. >> it's saving me about $150 to $200 a month. >> reporter: kimberly suiters, news 4. >> and kimberly says also think about how much money you can save if you skip a store-bought latte just once a week. let's take a look at some of the stories we're working on for news 4 this afternoon. >> pat lawson muse join us in the newsroom. >> it is the newsroom. >> down in the newsroom with a preview of things to come. hey, pat. >> good morning, barbara and joe. we're working on several new stories for this afternoon on news 4 at 4:00. first at 4:00, do you have an old gadget sitting around the house, like an ipod or perhaps a digital camera? i've got a whole drawer full. but not only can you recycle those, we're going to tell you how you can use those gadgets to make some extra cash. then tonight on news 4 at 5:00, how to get a definitive answer about memory loss. we'll tell you about a new type of brain scan that could detect some signs of dementia. it's important news for you. those stories and all the day's news, coming up starting on news 4 at 4:00. >> all right, pat. thank you. >> thanks very much. let's get a final check of our forecast now. here's tom kierein in storm center 4. >> hey, barbara and joe. we did have some overnight rain and snow showers, then it dissipated a bit this morning, but now it's redeveloping. where you see the blue on the radar, that's light rain moving into the north, into montgomery county, out of frederick and washington county. also raining in fairfax county, loudoun, fauquier, panhandle of west virginia. temperatures all above freezing. these are the rainfall totals we've had in the last 24 hours. not a lot of rain and not a lot of snow either. and we've had temperatures in the upper 30s to near 40 overnight and we're still right there, right near 40 degrees and we'll stay there through the rest of the afternoon. latest wind gusts have been around 25 miles an hour around washington, a little bit higher near the bay. temperatures eastern shore now, the upper 30s out of the mountains, near 30. all this weather coming from an area of low pressure that is now exiting the atlantic seaboard, bringing a little bit colder air. so it may give us a passing snow shower or rain shower this afternoon with a blustery northwest wind. and sun returns tomorrow, perhaps during the afternoon, but certainly in place on friday and saturday. anwarmer too. highs near 50. that's the way it looks. see you tomorrow morning. >> all right, tom. we'll see you. thanks very much. this is certainly the best time of year if you are a college basketball fan and you can't beat nights like tonight, if you're a college hoops fan, here in the washington area. george washington hosts st. joseph's in foggy bottom at 7:00. a half hour later, american takes on navy up in tinley town. but the marquee matchup is in maryland. the terps take on the demonic blue devils in college park at 9:00. that game could decide the regular season acc championship. if you're really ambitious, you could go to g.w., watch the first few minutes before you head up to a.u., and then leave for college park at halftime and try toake it to the comcast center in time for the maryland marylan maryland/duke game. that is assuming you can get tickets to that sold-out game and find parking at all the other places. >> i'll wait to hear the score tomorrow. that's "news 4 midday." be sure to into the "daily