by the public school system. last year, more than 250 teachers were fired because of tight budget constraints. but now it turns out that budget may have been miscalculated. news4's megan mcgrath has the latest from northwest washington. >> good morning. there are questions about the budget numbers. specifically what the average d.c. teacher makes per year. there's the possibility that the numbers used to calculate the budget were wrong. meaning the school system has a surplus rather than a budget deficit. last week, there were hugs between the teachers union and city leaders when a new contract was agreed upon. this week? there is anger. >> we all are quite angry at this situation. >> last fall, 266 school employees were laid off. sparking protests. the reason given by school chancellor michelle rhee, a large budget shortfall. but new information has surfaced about a possible accounting mistake. and instead of a budget gap, the school system could actually have a budget surplus. school officials say bad information was given by the office of the chief financial officer. the budget numbers were crunched using an average teacher salary of $818,0 81,000. >> i think we have based a rif erroneously on not having the proper information. >> rif teachers and union leaders want those laid off reinstated. >> at least i knew from the beginning this was manufactured. i never feltd this was legitimate. so at this point, my emotions are what are we going do about it. >> i think at this point the district has a responsibility to fulfill both obligations, the contract and put teachers back to work. >> but a knowledgeable source tells news4 chancellor rhee may have the numbers wrong, there may not be a budget surplus. a lot of questions and you can bet there's some investigating still ahead. back to you all in the studio. >> you can read more about this budget mishap on our website, nbcwashington.com. meanwhile, d.c. chl chairman vinson gray could owe the district a lot of green. the city's department of transportation says it's fining him $300-day for a building code violation. officials say he didn't file a public space permit for an aluminum fence he built around his house in 2008. a spokesman for gray says the attorney has been in contact with officials and that the necessary paperwork has now been submitted. take a look outside. beautiful day out there. a little on the chilly side right now. 56 degrees and warming up. chuck bell, what do you have to say? >> it is warming up, absolutely. plenty of fog around early this morning slowly but steadily burning its way off. that april sunshine burning it quickly now. as a result, we'll end up with an abundance of clear skies later on here this afternoon. started off this morning, plenty chilly. hag gers town, maryland, down to within a whisper of freezing cold this morning. frederick, maryland, 37. skies were mostly clear for a while just north of the washington metro area. that's the reason their temperatures really tumbled up there in northern maryland. meanwhile with all the sunshine now breaking through, temperatures have climbed into the low and mid 50s around town. still a couple of spots up here where the fog was a little slower to burn away and challenged with elevation as well as holding temperatures back in the 40s. martinsburg and charleston. 49 in winchester and front royal. 53 in st. mary's county, maryland. there's a check of the satellite picture. you can see this is the first big picture taken at 4:30 this morning. clear skies over southern pennsylvania where there was widespread frost late last night. those clear skies generally tried to work their way down south. that's the reason northern maryland was so chilly this morning. watching the return of sunshine across the area. a pleasant afternoon. highs today should reach into the upper 50s for you folks up toward hag gers town to low and mid 60s into southern maryland and tomorrow looks like another nice day too, barbara, the beginning much a genuine warming trend. temperatures should climb into the low and mid-70s. winds back to the southwest at five to 15 miles per hour. a complete check of the seven-day coming up in a few more minutes. >> thank you, chuck. jerry has an update on our midday traffic now. >> good morning to you. good morning, everyone. let's see how we're doing. it's been a busy midday. a couple of issues. >> inner loop very chlo from springfield to the interchange at i-66. there is roadwork to deal with. not affecting 66 but certainly affecting the beltway. top side not bad. the outer loop from college park to silver spring, right now travel lanes are open. on the red line, an issue between twin brook and shady grove. they're sharing the same track due to a report of smoke outside one of the stations. so we'll keep you updated on that. barbara, back to you. >> thank you. mayor fenty is proposing in his 2011 that the d.c. council increase parking fees and fines on a number of moving violations but will there are some opponents to that proposal. tracee wilkins joins us live with details now. tracy? >> good morning. it's one of the number one complaints you hear from drivers, not enough parking and the parking we have is too expensive. now it looks like that could be getting a little worse. more tickets. more traffic violations and high costs for all of it equals more money for the district. and in the mayor's 2011 budget proposal, he's asking for it. >> the 2011 proposed budget by mayor fenty makes motorists d.c.'s newest atm machine. we're talking probably a couple hundred million dollars in revenues. >> the mayor's proposal would increase parking fees and fines on 71 moving violations, expand the use of speed cameras and red light cameras and raise the annual residential parking permit fee for city residents. >> but you cannot balance the budget on taxes and fees of our residents. you can't tax people out of their vehicles. >> today aaa held a press conference announcing its opposition to the proposal saying it would kill tourism and commerce and unfairly punish drivers. >> this isn't just hitting maryland and virginia residents who drive in. this is hitting d.c. residents. this goes too far. >> drivers we spoke with agreed. >> i think there's other ways to fill the budget. we always feel like they pick on the -- they jump the gun on the meters and things like that. >> parking is the most problematic. often lease no parking. a two-hour zone is a problem. you really shouldn't run a light so that's not as big a deal. the parking fines, i would be most worried about that. >> now, at this point, the proposal is just that, a proposal. the budget has not been approved. the council would have to do that for any of these increases to take effect. i'm tracee wilkins. barb, back to you. >> thank you. president obama's nuclear security summit is over making it much easier to get around downtown washington. most streets around the convention center were closed for two days, but they reopened last night. the mount vern is defense center metro station opened back up this morning. parking restrictions in the are still in effect till noon today. police in the district are still investigating a deadly accident that occurred during that summit. 68-year-old constance holden was riding her bike home from work monday night when she collided with a military truck near 12th street and new york avenue. that truck was leading a motorcade for one of the heads of state. holden was a long-time journalist who worked for the american association of the advancement of science for 40 years. to charges b have been filed. according to president obama, that summit was a success in making america and the world a safer place. all leaders who attended endorsed the president's goal of securing nuclear materials within four years. they agreed to work more closely with the u.p. u.n. on that goal. president obama says the consensus was ha nuke terrorism is one of the most serious throats global security. >> even as we fulfill our national responsibilities this threat cannot be addressed by countries working in isolation. we've committed ourselves to a sustained effective prax international cooperation on national security and we call on other nations to join us. >> several nations agreed to give up their enriched uranium to keep it from falling in the hands of terrorists. a follow-up summit will be held two years from now in south korea. and we're following some breaking news this midday. the crew of the space shuttle discovery is scrambling to fix a problem on the space station. the cooling system the crew just installed isn't working properly. its nitrogen valve is not opening. if they can't fix it, the station could overheat and force most of the electronics to shut down. the station is cooled properly at the moment but the valve still needs to be fixed or the entire unit will have to be replaced during a space walk. crews continue to look for survivors after a 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck early this morning in china's qinghai province near tibet. media is reporting is 400 people killed and that number is expected to rise as bodies are recovered from the debris. rescue workers say about 8,000 are injured. one news agency reports more than 85% of the buildings have collapsed in one town near the epicenter. time right now, ten minutes after wi11:okay. what will two sides are saying about an overall of financial regulations. the hope to prevent another meltdown. new details about a scandal that shook capitol hill. a congressman accused of sexually harassing male staffers. and the first lady's visit to the capital of [ male announcer ] are you watching cable? here's what you should be watching: your cable bill, because you could be paying way too much. stop spending more for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone, for just $69.99 a month for six months -- three top-rated services for one rock-bottom price. but don't wait, this is your last chance. fios gives you what cable doesn't: the best channel lineup and the most hd, facebook and twitter on your tv, plus america's top-rated internet. fios is the future, but after april 17th this price will be history. get fios tv, internet and phone for just $69.99 a month for six months with a two-year agreement. call now. if you stick with cable, you'll be stuck with the bill. last chance to get three fios services for an amazing $69.99 a month for six months. call 1-888-884-fios. that's 1-888-884-fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. this is beyond cable. this is fios. >> right now, president obama is meeting with congressional leaders to discuss finance reform. the senate is currently preparing to take up a sweeping overhaul of financial regulations within the next two weeks. republicans have already promised to vote no. president obama invited democratic and gop leaders from the house and senate for today's discussions. and we're learning more about the behavior of former new york congressman eric massa. massa resigned last month after reports surfaced he was the subject of a sexual harassment investigation. "the washington post" is now reporting that the complaints about massa began just three months after he was elected to congress. the post says young male employees complained to supervisors that massa's behavior was predatory and went on for a year before anything was done. jane boehner renewed calls for an investigation to determine when democratic leaders learned of those complaints. president obama will be meeting with key senate leaders next week to discuss the upcoming opening of the supreme court. last week, yuts john paul stevens announced he's retiring this summer. white house spokesman robert gibbs now says the president will hold a meeting with other senate leaders next wednesday. the president is not expected to make a decision about a replacement nominee for earlier more weeks. michelle obama has arrived in mexico city, her first international trip without the president and her children. mrs. obama is using her two-day visit to mexico to meet with young people. she also floons meet privately with mexico's first lady margarita zavala. mrs. obama made a surprise trip to haiti yesterday. she took a helicopter and walking tour of the widespread damage from the massive earthquake. going to take a look at our weather again now. we want to find out what's going on in the next seven days. >> hey there barbara. we don't have any more cold snaps coming our way. in fact, more generally warmer than average weather is headed our way over the next seven to ten days by the looks of things. here's a check from our city camera view. sunshine burning through that tick cloud layer of fog and stuff early this morning. now the temperatures are starting to respond just a bit. 53 still now at national airport. the dewpoint has continued to drop as drier air comes in on a northeastly breeze. since march 1st, that's almost 45 days ago, we've had only 12 days cooler than average. so almost three out of every four days since march 1st have been warmer than average. an unbelievable stretch of mild weather to finish up the snowiest winter on record here in washington. temperatures as we get into the 11:00 hour, northern parts of the shenandoah valley northern and western maryland, the fog hung in quite tough and temperatures dropped into the 30s this morning, only now in the mid to high 40s. 52 now in andrews air force base. 54 in springfield. 52 in dale city. 54 in cull pep earn 52 in manassas. how much rain did we get yesterday? on an average between 1.2 inch of rain. no one in our immediate area reported any more than a quarter inch of rain. it was just enough to watch the pollen out of the air. the tree pollen remains high today but a lot lower than 24 hours ago. no more rain for today. dry for the remainder of the day and for much of the remainder of the work and school week. the current temperatures now, 50s here in the mid-atlantic. 60s in the ohio valley and already now in the mid-70s from st. louis down towards memphis. that is some very warm air that is coming back in our direction. it starts to move back in late today. especially overnight tonight and through the course of the day tomorrow. satellite picture again shows that patch of cloud cover from washington southbound to the virginia north carolina border. that area of high pressure up to our north will continue to push down the cool dry air mass that will scour clouds away and allow for a little bit of rebound in temperatures by later this afternoon. check out our future cast model here for the next 4 hours. the area of high pressure pushes the dry air into the southeast. as that area of high pressure heads into the carolinas, going to allow very warm air in memphis and st. louis to come surging back in our direction. you should expect a big warmup for tomorrow and a very mild day coming up on friday. but by the time we get towards late friday afternoon and friday night, the next weather change will be coming our way. that cold front moving into northwestern ohio at 8:00 friday morning arriving here late friday afternoon and friday evening bringing with it a chance of showers and maybe a rumble or two of thunder late friday night into the overnight hours into early saturday morning. high temperatures today, generally in the low to mid 60s around our area. let's see all those 70s and 80s back out to our west. one more day away from coming back towards us. for today, mostly sunny by late this afternoon. high 50s and low 60s. the seven-day forecast, we should be way back into the 70s tomorrow and into the upper 70s to perhaps near 80 for you folks near culpeper, near 80 degrees on friday. there is that risk of a thunderstorm late friday night into early saturday before things start to clear out early saturday afternoon. most of friday and most of saturday are going to be dry. our rain chances are focused on between sun downtown friday night and sunrise on saturday morning. then after that, very pleasant. mid april weather coming our way. temperatures generally in the 60s through the weekend and into early next week. a little something for everyone, barbara. the pollen today is about an order of magnitude less than it was yesterday. >> all right. that sounds good. that means my car's not going to be covered with that yellow stuff, huh. >> that's correct. >> out to jerry looking at the cars on the roads out there. any problems? >> it's been a little busy, but for the most part, we're having a little bit of construction. new york avenue inbound as you paid the trip in toward florida avenue, left side of the roadway tied up northbound. the right side a little slow for maybe a block or two. certainly manageable. one more stop along 95, the right side of your screen southbound slow from newington toward woodbridge. not as bad. all the travel lanes approaching springfield appear to be open. a little good with a little not so good. barbara, back to you. 11:20 our time right now. still ahead, sarah palin is in boston this morning for a tea party event. we'll tell what you some college students found of hers. >> plus, flowers you to the real people who inspired the movie "foot loose." and we're going to help you plan the perfect party, planning menus and even themes. first, here's a look with what's hot on nbcwashington.com. [ male announcer ] are you watching cable? here's what you should be watching: your cable bill, because you could be paying way too much. stop spending more for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone, for just $69.99 a month for six months -- three top-rated services for one rock-bottom price. but don't wait, this is your last chance. fios gives you what cable doesn't: the best channel lineup and the most hd, facebook and twitter on your tv, plus america's top-rated internet. fios is the future, but after april 17th this price will be history. get fios tv, internet and phone for just $69.99 a month for six months with a two-year agreement. call now. if you stick with cable, you'll be stuck with the bill. last chance to get three fios services for an amazing $69.99 a month for six months. call 1-888-884-fios. that's 1-888-884-fios. call the veriz center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. this is beyond cable. this is fios. first class air fare for two, three rooms at a luxury loelths and a lectern stuffed with water and a bendable straw. those are terms from sarah palin contract. some students found that contract in a trash bin after they heard they might be shredding documents related to an upcoming speech. it does include how much she was paid. she commands speaking fees as high as $100,000. the state attorney general plans to investigate why the documents might have been shredded. police are still looking for the burg larry suspect in oklahoma who may need a chiropractor this morning. he tried to rob a pharmacy by dropping in through the ceiling. he grabbed a ladder and tried to climb back to the roof. he fell during his attempted escape and fell again and again and again. in fact, he fell seven times in all trying to get out of there. the man still managed to get away though before police arrived. it's 11:25 now. coming up in the next half hour of news4 midday, toyota decides to suspend sales of a lexus that "consumer reports" warned shoppers not to buy. what else the carmaker plans to do. president obama is revibing future plans forñi nasa. and the man who found an 11-year-old missing for days is now speaking about the rescue. chuck bell is also back with more on the improving weather in the washington area. stay with us. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] are you watching cable? here's what you should be watching: your cable bill, because you could be paying way too much. stop spending more for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone, for just $69.99 a month for six months -- three top-rated services for one rock-bottom price. but don't wait, this is your last chance. fios gives you what cable doesn't: the best channel lineup and the most hd, facebook and twitter on your tv, plus america's top-rated internet. fios is the future, but after april 17th this price will be history. get fios tv, internet and phone for just $69.99 a month for six months with a two-year agreement. call now. if you stick with cable, you'll be stuck with the bill. last chance to get three fios services for an amazing $69.99 a month for six months. call 1-888-884-fios. that's 1-888-884-fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. this is beyond cable. this is fios. right now on news4 midday request, relief flights carrying medical workers and supplies are arrive the at an airport in china where hundreds of people have died in a series of very strong earthquakes. crews have been working to repair the damaged road to the airport till equipment and rescue teams can reach the hardest hit area. at least 400 are dead. right now the d.c. council is meeting. a massive error by the city's public school system. it now appears incorrect budget calculations led to the layoffs of more than 250 d.c. public school teachers last year. counsel member harry thomas, jr. says the system may actually have a $34 million surplus. mayor fenty is proposing in his 2011 budget that the d.c. council increase parking fees and fines on 71 moving violations. he want to balance the budget with the increased fines. aaa says the role will kill tourism and commerce and also targets drivers. there's another make for toyota this morning. first the automaker had to recall certain models for floor mat issues. then faulty gad pedals. now skuler reports" as issued a do not buy for the gs 460 and says the suv has a high roll over risk. in response, toyota suspended sales of the new lexus suv. leanne gregg has details. >> lexus is suspending sales of its new luxury suv, the 2010 gx 460 till it can resolve alleged roll over problems brought to light by "consumer reports." >> we're telling people not to buy it until that is fixed. >> the problem, the electronic stability control system reportedly doesn't intervene quickly enough when the vehicle slides out of control during sweeping turns. those standards from the emergency handling test prompted a rare don't buy recommendation. >> to have a label of don't buy put on your vehicle is extremely serious at any time but this time in particular is really terrible for the brand. >> reporter: the warning follows toyota's recall of a dozen vehicle models in recent months over sudden acceleration issues the carmaker plans to do further testing and says customer safety is a priority. the national highway transportation safety administration will also conduct tests on the vehicle to make sure it complies with safety standards. leanne gregg, nbc news. >> lexus said any customer who purchased a 2010 gx 460 is concerned about driving it, will be provided with a loaner car until a remedy is available. president obama is scrapping his plans to cancel a nasa concept for a new crew capsule. the president is expected to make the announcement tomorrow in cape ca nav value, florida. it will go to the international space station and not to the moon coming after neil armstrong and jim love all wrote a letter to the president kalging his plans to ground the u.s. manned space program. florida senator bill nelson says space exploration isn't all that's at stake. he says so are thousands of jobs. >> was this a failure to communicate or a failure of policy and vision? >> it was a combination. it is my hope that the president understands that the only person that can really lead the nation's human space barack obama program is the president. >> that will new massive rocket won't be ready anytime soon. the white house says the president want to choose a design by 2015 and then start constructing it. well, today we're going to learn more how maryland's crab population is doing. governor martin o'malley will visit a restaurant on the eastern shore where he's expects to make announcement about the state's prized crab. they issued a report card last week that showed the bay's health has improved lightly. time to take another look at today's weather. good day to go crabbing, chuck? >> i guess. is it crab season yet? you can do shell fishing in months that have the letter "r" in it or something like that? don't go crabbing unless you've checked with the maryland crab folks first because i don't want to get anybody in trouble for illegal poaching of crabs. it's too cold to swim in the chesapeake bay. temperatures struggling to get into the 50s in many spots. mar away from the bay in beautiful winchester, virginia, current temperature now only up to 50 degrees after a cold and foggy start this morninin germantown, maryland, quite a bit warmer. up to 57 now. woodstock, virginia, 49 degrees. chantilly, virginia, 52. brandywine, maryland warmed up to 53 now. oakland is still holding back at 45, dropped all the way down to 33 early this morning. westminster, maryland, now at 50 degrees. satellite picture continues to show clouds being slowly but steadily scoured out of here. you can see the clearing line is just about ready to cross over the blue ridge and start scouring the clouds out of the shenandoah valley. gradually these clouds will be eaten up by that strong april sunshine. we'll be left with a pretty nice afternoon. becoming mostly sunny by later on today. it won't take long. once we get the clouds burned away, temperatures hop up another an five to seven degrees. highs in the upper 50s to low and mid 60s. tomorrow when the really nice weather returns. far more typical of mid-may than april. temperatures tomorrow will make it up to between 72 and 76 degrees. if you're wondering about friday, never too early to start thinking about friday. a little chance for showers. probably not till after the sun goes down friday evening. most of your friday afternoon will be spent in the outdoors with the sunshine. >> and looks like saturday looks pretty good. >> absolutely. >> we'll be talking to you again shortly. let's check on traffic one more time. jerry. >> take a live look and see how things are moving or not. in the case of northern virginia, two issues going on in play here, 95 northbound bean lorden and newington, the roadwork takes away the right lane. had a little fender bender. they're adding to the delay. so if you're headed for the bound, things going to be a little tough till police get those lanes reopened. one more stop, take a look along 270 where the left lane is closed on the northbound side from gaithersburg up to montgomeryville, everybody is zipping on by. >> back to you. >> have a great day. a family looking for closure after a murder over a hamburger instead walked out of the courtroom stunned today. the jury found the defendant not guilty on all counts. in 2008, 18-year-old tan ga nick ca stanton was shot along with her mother tina who survived. at the family's apartment. police and prosecutors claim it was because they refused to cook a hamburger for a stranger. terrence jones was accused of coming back and firing at the door. a major factorn the verdict was the testimony of a 9-year-old alleged eyewitness. he said he did not actually see the shooting. >> when i was in there listening, i was just like, i'm not hearing what i'm hearing. i'm not hearing what i'm hearing. >> the u.s. attorney's office had no comment on the verdict. there are now two investigations into a videotaped confrontation between students at the university of maryland and police in prince george's county. news4 has learn that had a grand jury met yesterday to look into potential criminal charges. this video shows officers beating a student on the university of maryland campus following a basketball game last month. that student happens to be the grandson of a retired montgomery county circuit court judge. prince george's police have begun their own investigation. the police chief says one of the officers involved has been suspended. two others could be punished, as well. and we have a warning if you live or work in alexandria near old town. a woman was attacked after getting off the metro. it happened in the 1600 block of duke street. police say she was walking home from the duke street station after midnight yesterday when a man with a box cutter forced her into an alley and sexually assaulted her. they say they haven't had any reports of similar attacks though. alexandria police are checking with other police departments to see if they've had reports of similar attacks. it's a happy ending for an 11-year-old florida girl missing for four days. nadia bloom disappeared last week in alligator infested swamp near her house. investigators think she wanted to make a nature video. yesterday, after an intense search, a volunteer from her church found her. he spoke this morning on "the today show." >> her demeanor and her attitude was fine. she was not panicked. >> she was not panicked? >> not at all. she apparently has a great faith and her faith, the prayers of a lot of people and the lord's guidance led me directly to her. >> nadia suffers from a mild form of autism. when she was found, she was dehydrated and covered with mosquito bites but she is expected to be fine. a capital heights family has its cute little dog back this morning four months after it varnished. deally is the name disappeared from the white family's backyard in november. they will thought someone had stolen the little yorkie and given up hope of ever finding him had again. then they got a call last friday they thought they'd never get from a local shelter. he had been found wandering the streets of washington. how did they track him down? denali had a microchip implanted in him with all of the vital information and it helped officials reunite denali with his family. 11:3 the time right now. sarah palin is headlining a tea party rally in boston this morning. we'll tell you what the activists have planned for washington on tax day. and help in planning your party? we've got some advice on everything from menus to themes, everything you need to allergies? chlor-trimeton. hey, one dose of this, six hour relief. chlor-trimeton relieves itchy, watery eyes and sneezing for 12 full hours with less drowsiness than benadryl. it does all that? chlor-trimeton. less drowsy relief that lasts 12 hours. when it comes to constipation relief... miralax is the one. it's the one. the one recommended by more doctors. only miralax is clinically proven to relieve constipation with no harsh side effects. miralax is the only one. restore your body's natural rhythm with miralax. well, throwing a party can be intimidating but author and pare planner lulu powers says there are simple steps you can take to ensure a successful party and joins us all the way from los angeles, california. thanks for coming in to tell us here in washington. lots of folks give parties here. >> you've got tips that might make it a lot easier for people. your book is called "lulu powers, flood and flowers." >> food to flowers. >> so everything included. >> everything. >> let's start. you talk about time ang planning. that's the most important thing. is that the first thing you should do? >> the most important thing is to be prepared. if you have to write lists, use stickies, write lists and think what you need if decor or people over for a quick bite, my whole thing is being prepared. keeping your pantry prepared with items you can pull out and put into a bowl. >> you say that you give some day of tips, too. so let's start from the beginning. there's a big difference between having ten for dinner and having two. >> right. >> you still think the planning is important. >> just being prepared i think is important because then you can enjoy your own party. >> well, that's important. a lot of people don't. i'm one of those people. you write about making those lists being organized. what all should you list, first of all, the menu obviously. >> the menu, do you have it all done and prepared. is it will, is someone helping you? have a list for them. do you have toilet paper in your bathroom, candles lit to make your house smell good. do you have ice, do you have wine. just the drinks, everything you would need for dinner you've got interesting things that a lot of people don't think of till the last minute. that's place cards. that's something i never use. >> you can use them for anything. you can write a little welcome sign. over here we have a little silver basket of chiclets that we put a place card holder in. it makes it fun. when someone seize candy, it's fun. >> i like the artichoke. >> it's great you can come to my party and you can use it after. it's edible. >> that's fact. you have some sample menus too in your book. what are some of the favorite things to cook. >> just to help people. is it being prepared -- if you're just having someone over for cocktails, i have little mini burgers. if you do things beforehand and put them in your freezer to just have it ready for your last minute guests, it makes your life easy. have i stuff in my freezer and can pull it out. just having a couple bottles of wine on hand. not everyone has great wine glasses. i say even use little juice glasses. have i grapes here because i love to put grapes in the freezer and to keep your wine cold, throw them in your white wine or champaign and it looks pretty. people think you went the extra yard. >> you talk about doing theme parties too, even for small parties. one of them you say is a big city cocktail party, even if you don't live in the big city. >> anybody can toll a party. i had a client in l.a. who said i want to have a big city cocktail party like new york and i'm like, big city to him is serving martinis as they come. it's just kind of fun, big city. >> the retro game night party. what is that? >> that's like twister and i did all these, you know, meet loaf and mashed potatoes and where you put games out like old school games from monopoly to twister, even a back gammen set. >> and a sugar high shin dig, what's that? >> all desserts. >> what a great idea. >> like right here, i have my million dollar bars on the cover of my book. and they're delicious. that's like a sugar high. >> one last question for those invited to the party. talk about hosess gifts. should always bring a gift going to someone's house. >> always bring something, even if it's a jar of your favorite jam that you find. it's nice to the hostess. you're acknowledging you're coming as a guest. >> one thing i've been seeing a lot lately, e vites. they bother me because i don't always read everything that comes over my computer. >> there's a great new company called cocoa dot. it's not all the advertising. beautiful envelope comes up. we sent out invites to my book parties and they designed the invite on the side. look it up. >> that's acceptable now? >> it's acceptable. >> you don't have to send a mailed invitation to somebody? >> no, but it is nice. it's nice to get a thank you know the after you go to a party. >> we're so glad you came. i love what you brought with us. you've got a lot of edible things over there and most of us are hungry in the studio. we will dive in. and come back to washington. >> thank you for having me, barbara. >> lulu powers from food to flowers. >> that's it. >> the name of her book. there is a new facebook feature designed to help younger users and their parents stay safe on the site. facebook safety center is the site's first major effort to help deal with online threats. it has tools for parents, kids, teachers and law enforcement including more in-depth content how to handle online bullies and predators. users can find the link in facebook's help section. and right now, federal reserve chairman ben berman can i is wrapping up his appearance on capitol hill expressioning confidence to congress that the unfolding economic recovery will have staying power. in prepared remarks to congress joint economic comerkts he called on lawmakers and the white house to come up with a plan to bhital down the budget defic deficits. he says a credible plan could provide the economy with benefits in the near term including lower longer term interest rates and increased consumer and business confidence. the dow closed tuesday above 11,000 again after some small gains yesterday and stocks are beginning this day higher. gains come after reports show consumers are ramping up spending and inflation remains tame. retail sales 6% in march better than forecast by economists. millions of americans are busy filing taxes ahead of tomorrow's filing deadline, but as many people write their checks to uncle sam, many others preparing to protest angry over how the are being spent. that an may build even more today way release of the annual pig document that documents government waste. tracie potts has more from capitol hill. >> reporter: almost half the nation won't owe taxes tomorrow but for those who do, the annual pig book shows where some of your money's going. like researchñi on cows and potatoes. but there's good news. those pet projects are down 10% this year. >> finally somebody around washington is getting the message. >> still anger over washington spending is brewing all over the country. >> the only thing it will do is kill the american dream. >> the tea party express brings its protests against big government and bailouts to boston this morning before landing here in washington on tax day. today, president obama meets top politicians to talk about cracking down on banks which labor leaders blame the for millions of lost jobs. >> we're not your atm. we're not going to continue to bail you out. use our tax dollars to do it and have you go right back to the same old risky conduct and the same old bonuses and pay system that you had before. >> later this morning, the head of the federal reserve will tell congress the recession's ending but it will be awhile before we see jobs bounce back. and speaking of jobs and your 1040 that's due tomorrow, the irs says this year they'll make a special effort to work with people who have lost their income but still owe money. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. >> our time now, 11:49. coming up, the real people who inspired the movie "footloose." chuck bell will be back with ch[ male announcer ] this year, get the most out of your lawn with the fertilizer that gives you the most for your money. scotts turf builder. it has what other fertilizers don't. scotts patented all in one granule. every key nutrient combined into a single particle so every part of your lawn gets more even feeding. bargain brands have separate nutrients on separate particles, so feeding can be hit or miss. and a lot of what they give you isn't even food, it's filler. some have up to 40% sand, sawdust, even gravel. but scotts turf builder is 100% food. the perfect balance of nutrition lawns need to be beautiful, durable... barefootable. it all adds up to the scotts advantage. it's a difference you can see. a difference you can feel. it's a difference you can enjoy. and now it's up to $5 off your next purchase. go to scotts.com to get your coupon. for a lawn that can't be beat, get a fertilizer that can't be copied. get the scotts advantage. to kill dandelions, get turf builder with plus 2 weed control. texting can be hazardous to your health. a 16-year-old chicago had to find out the hard way. annie lev vitz used to send about 4,000 text messages a month and now diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. her pain so severe, cortisone shots and braces have not alleviated all pain. her doctor says this medical problem is unusual for her age. >> my hands just started to go numb a lot. i would be grabbing things and they would fall out of my hands. on a scale from one to ten, some days it's a six and other days it's like a nine. >> annie is considering outpatient surgery to release some of that will pressure and pain. after reducing her texts to around 2,000 a month she got her phone back and trying to lower that number. the timeless struggle between innocent pleasure and rigid morality or at least it says that on the dvd box for the movie "footloose." remember that one? kevin bacon and a group of kids fight city hall and win the right to hold a dance. it so happens that movie is loosely based on events that took place in a small oklahoma town 30 years ago this month. galen culver has the story of the original high school students and their big reunion. >> no one ever thought it would get past city limits or city hall. >> i like to thank you all for coming today. >> in fact, city clerk lisa hardly ever gets questions about a high school class from 30 years ago when this year's government classes come over for a tour. >> xwhe you start thinking about it, it seems like yesterday. >> she reveals a folder filled with articles and pictures from 1908 when she was a sophomore. >> i just started out by kids talking. >> a new kid, that's him, named leonard coffee. >> i asked, why can't we have a prom. >> you really can't dance here, man. >> i can't believe that. >> convinced his then girlfriend mary ann temple, that's her. >> they were the ones that we threw it for. >> and several others to fight an old ordinance that outlawed dancing within the city limits. >> i wanted to be able to dance. >> true. >> but that was not an opportunity and fortunately i got to. >> i think mr. mccormick has a right to be heard. >> the story made national news. the school board meeting brought out a huge crowd and mary ann's father the minister ended up casting the deciding vote to allow elmore city's first-ever prom. >> we done it all for the children. >> a screen writer picked up the story and wrote "footloose" in truth, the reverend raymond temple never did take much convincing. he always thought the dance was a pretty good idea shoo we wanted something that was well supervised. >> that first dance took place on april 19th, 1980. more press came than dancers. ktry channel 4 came to shoot them doing a victory dance. >> my dance moves are on the cutter edge of mediocre at best. but it was a lot of fun. >> step inside the gym now and here's this year's junior class getting ready for this year's prom. many unaware of the shift that took place here 30 years. >> are you excited about having the rom. >> very excited. >> girlfriend, are you proud we did what we did? >> yes, i am. >> do you know who we are? >> no. >> but thankful anyway for the chance to dance. >> that was galen culver reporting. take a look at some of the stories we're following for this afternoon. pat lawson muse joins us with things to come. pat? >> good morning. we are working on several new stories coming up this afternoon. first at 4:00, how young is too young to get botox? some doctors say using facial ininvestigatables to prevent aging at a young age can be harmful to your health. we'll have that story. then tonight on news4 at 5:00, we'll get you ready for the tax return filing crunch. we'll tell you the top three things you need to know that could save you some time and a little money. those stories and all the day's latest news, plus the latest on the glorious weather coming up tonight starting at 4:00. see you then, barbara. >> thank you, pat. we're going to get a final check on our midday forecast now. here's chuck. >> sunshine, continuing to burn through those clouds and fog banks that we had early this morning. there's a live picture from our city camera view. you can see the lincoln memorial at the top center of your screen. indeed, sunshine is breaking through all over the area. going to become mostly sunny by later on today. as a result of the increasing amounts of sunshine, temperatures will be on the rise into the high 50s and low 60s before our day is done today. tomorrow, mostly sunny once again. high temperatures are going to be noticeably warmer tomorrow. most locations should make it into the low and mid seventies for thursday. friday upper 70s, perhaps even near 80. south of fredericksburg out towards culpeper, a chance for a that your late friday night. should be out of here for activities on your saturday. saturday afternoon and sunday are looking good. >> thank you. well, did you dread studying shakespeare in school? perhaps you would have like aid whole lot more. would have like it had a lot more to study the barred on your blackberry. introducing such tweet sorrow, a 21st century take on romeo juliet playing out on twitter. the royal shakespeare company and a company that produces entertainment for cell phones are teaming up to perform the production. all of the lines and characters are playing out through tweets on such tweet sorrow.com. and that's the fuss for midday. we thank you for joining us and invite you to ton in tort daily connection. we have news at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 and at 11:00. we start at 11:00 in the morning on news4 midday. we'll see you then. have a great day. 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