so, you know, the main thing is everybody, you know, pray for the people that are going through this and realize how much it destroys. >> near louisville, kentucky, a wheelchair amputee and his son were among several rescue s as the ohio river continues to rise. to date, there have been more than 5,400 severe weather reports rorded this month and at least 44 people killed nationwide in tornadoes. and taking a look outside here. we have great weather here in the nation's capital. puffy white clouds and blue sky and bill kierein is here. >> we hit the 70s now and humidity hanging in the air now. take a look at this tornado that hit arkansas. we saw the destruction that it caused. look at this, this is a massive, what is called a wedge tornado. it was on the ground for 15 miles wiping out everything in its path. this is courtesy of jesse herdin and this was via twitter. an amazing tornado. absolutely destructive and at least maybe a mile to a mile wide the destruction path. well, here now we're into the 70s. 75 at reagan national and all the way to the atlantic beaches, a terrific spring day under way here with no severe weather around our region. 80 around central virginia and 70s out of the mountains and over the last 12 hours we had persistent flow coming out of the south and southeast and bringing in this humidity off the atlantic and gulf of mexico and cloudy afternoon and peeks of sunshine in and out and slight chance of an isolated thunderstorm as highs reach the mid-80s by low afternoon. a bit of a southerly wind. some chances for strong storms coming in tomorrow. we'll look at that in detail, coming up. >> we'll enjoy this weather we have today while we can. thank you, tom. a teenager is in custody accused of stabbing another teen at the national zoo. it happened in the middle of the afternoon during the family celebration. the teen is expected to be okay, but this isn't the first time something like this happened at the zoo. kimberly suiters is live in the news room. >> we have been looking that zoo security issue since 2009 when several police officers came to news 4 with concernses that if a major incident happened at the zoo they would not be able to handle it. the smithsonian institute says the zoo is safe and the police officers do an excellent job. when 30,000 people walked into the zoo, visitors are now calling for better protection. >> reporter: it was supposed to be a day of celebration of the family, the monday after easter, the last day of spring break. >> just very sad. just really, really sad. as i said, it's a nice day and it's a happy occasion and people should really find a different way to settle things. >> reporter: instead, at 3:30 in the afternoon, a teenager was stabbed inside the national zoo. everyone was evacuated and the park shut down. >> that was stupid. he shouldn't have to leave. >> what do you think of young people coming up here and getting into fights like this. ? >> man, they should have come down here to talk to some females. >> reporter: one police officer tells news 4 that the motive was gang violence. that same officer claims the zoo police officer is understaffed and a few zoo visitors had that same thought. >> not enough security. >> doesn't sound like it was enough security. >> yid deant see a whole lot of security, so, maybe they need to step up the security. that might eleaveiate some of the problems. >> that's the reputation, even if it's not fact. last year one zoo of did say there was a threat of gang violence on easter monday, but a well-trained officer dispersed the crowd. on this day 11 years ago, a teenager shot seven people outside the zoo gates. >> the public is not safe going to the zoo now. >> reporter: in a news 4 investigation in april of 2009, five zoo police officers told us the zoo police force was short on man power and training. in a second report in september '09, officer husband to turn intheir guns and badges until their training was complete. >> they should shut it down. we are not ready. they should be monitored and dress code and some surveillance to get people in here to know what we're dealing with and there also should be metal detectors. >> now, we're still waiting for a response from the national zoo to see what additional security measures they are considering now, if any. more than 100 of you have written comments on our webpage about this story. one woman saying her children were absolutely terrified and another saying she won't go to another easter monday and high school student writing, our generation disgusts me. some very sad statements and also a desire to get something changed. barbara, now back to you in the studio. >> thank you so much, kimberly. the nfl lockout has been lifted, but doesn't seem like things are back to business as usual. they say linebacker lorenzo showed up to workout but was told he could not. they lifted the owner-poim ezed workout saying she agriesed to an injunction because it was causing harm to players' careers. the ruling is an early victory for players, but the fight is still not over. it believes the lockout is legal and will work to have it reinstated. this morning, redskins' owner dan snyder has reignited his own legal battle. he wrote an op-ed in "washington post" while he was refiling the lawsuit against the city paper. melissa mollet joins us with more on what that article said. >> dan snyder making headlines this tuesday morning, not for anything nfl lockout related, like you might expected, but for refiling this lawsuit against washington city paper. this all started with an article from november 2010. a city paper story that redskins' owner dan snyder leveling damaging attacks and reckless charges against him. he will drop this lawsuit. a complaint of his portrayal in that argument as soon as he gets an apology from the paper. his lawyer talked about the lawsuit on the fan on tuesday morning. >> people have a right to draw the line. they have a right to say you can't print false and harmful accusations. >> reporter: in an op-ed piece tuesday snider said this suit is especialsels essentially the sa one filed in new york. he writes in part "i am not thin-skinned about personal criticism. i consider myself very fortunate to own the redskins criticism comes with a territory and i respect it." some say it is detracting from the team's real issues right now. ending the nfl lockout and getting the redskins some wins. >> he has taken away a lot of the, i guess, the sport of it. >> reporter: thus far, the city paper has defended the story. >> we want a retraction and we want an apology. now that original suit filed late last year was for $2 million. even if he wins a penny from this particular suit, he will donate that money to the homeless. melissa mollet, news 4. >> thank you, melissa. let's look at our traffic out there right now. tanya hutchins looking at road conditions. >> we have slow downs starting out there in virginia. as you approach the beltway, right-lane construction there. at the american legion bridge. we had a backup here for a while. it was originally due to the left-lane construction before the dulles tollway. that was in the left lane. now in the right lane in the center of your screen, we have a pedestrian stop there blocking the right lane, so the blockp is getting even worse. moving 495 to georgetown road. this backup is improving a little bit. the inner loop before old georgetown due to an earlier accident you may see it slow from connecticut avenue. i'll be back with you in a few minutes, barbara. a police officer is in the hospital after a car hit him while he was on his bicycle. our crew was on the scene this morning at the corner 23rd and g. streets northwest. police say the officer tried to cross the street on his bicycle and didn't look to see the car that was coming. the driver of the car did stay on the scene and the officer is expected to be okay. the body of former maryland governor and long-time baltimore city mayor william donald schaefer is back where he had his greatest triumphs. schaefer's flag-draped casket is currently lying in repose in the city hall. the rotunda there is open for public viewing right now and will be until 9:00 tonight. yesterday hundreds paid their final respects at the state house in annapolis. schaefer passed away last monday at the age of 89. he spent more than 50 years in maryland politics, including 16 years as baltimore's mayor and 8 years as governor. and we'll have complete coverage of the funeral of governor william schaefer. starting at 9:00 tomorrow morning. you can see it on our nbc washington nonstop channel. comcast 208. verizon fios 460 and over the air on channel 4.2. it's ten minutes after 11:00 now, coming up, a look at what has prompted a new state department warning about syria and what americans should know. plus, we will speak with the man montgomery county leaders have chosen to leave the county we're following a developing story in syria this morning. the state department is urging all americans to avoid syria and warning those already there to get out. they ordered nonessential personnel at the u.s. embassy in damascus to leave. the travel warning comes after an escalation of violence in the country. witnesses say two dozen people were killed in the southern town when security forces began firing on protesters. rights group say 400 have been killed since mid-march. former president jimmy carter is in north korea right now for a three-day tour. he is hoping to reduce tension on the korean peninsula. carter along with three former state leaders want to mead with kim jung i-il and his son. they are interested in reducing nuclear programs for food aid in that country. this morning we're learning more about the man chosen to become superintendent of montgomery schools. they chose dr. joshua starr to replace wiest. he served for the last six years and joins us now on the phone. good morning, dr. starr. >> good morning, how are you? >> good to have you with us. >> thanks for having me. >> this is a big jump for you, if you look at the school student population, anyway. the montgomery county school operation is five times the size of stanford's. how are you going to make the transition? >> i'm thrilled to have the opportunity to come down to montgomery county and it will be a jump for me, but i'm ready and able to do the job. you know, schools are schools and kids are kids and good teaching and learning are good teaching and learning and in montgomery county there are some of the best cools in the countriy and i'm looking forward to coming down and helping the system get better. >> montgomery county schools are considered among the best in the country. how do you plan to keep them on top? >> they are considered some of the best, that's why i'm so thrilled to have the job. i think it is going to be about relying on the staff. all the staff. the teachers, the principals, thepo support staff and the community and with everybody working throughout the system, they will not only be able to maintain the level of excellence but maintain new heights. >> have you addressed the issue of nonperforming schools since you've been at stanford and do you plan to use these methods here. >> everyone is addressing the issue of so-called nonperformance of schools. really a matter of performing on strength and much of the work we have done at stanford has been modeled on and we learned what is going on in montgomery county. a lot of collaboration, team work and good core curriculum and you can make good things happen for kids. >> are you concerned about school budgets being tight? >> school budgets are tight everywhere but with a lot of hard work and sweat equity from our folks, we will continue the excellence that exists in montgomery county. >> any idea about changes you want to make. >> i'm not talking about changes yet. i need to get down there and learn more about it and talk to folks throughout the system and the community and there aren't any big changes being planned thus far. >> dr. joshua starr, thank you for joining us. good luck in finding a place to live when you get down here. >> thank you so much, barbara, appreciate it. >> we look forward it when you get to montgomery county. thanks a lot. >> thank you. great weather for people who moving to town. if they came today, they would really want to stay. >> pourest toerfect tourist sea weather, too. all the monuments are looking delightful under this beautiful sky. we have puffy white clouds floating through the blue sky and there's capitol hill there in the distance. you can see the washington monument and the jefferson memorial and we do have temperature in the mid-70s. national reagan the temperature 75 and humidity at 71% and winds gusting to 25 miles per hour. now, as we look at other temperatures around, it's hit the 70s from the shann doa vally and arlington, fairfax county and hit the upper 70s in the northern maryland and the lower part of the eastern shore there in the upper 70s. latest wind gusts in miles per hour. gusts to around 25, 30 miles per hour coming out of the south, southeast and that's bringing in the clouds, along with the warmer and more humid weather. right now 80 near richmond. mild days out of the mountains. many locations there in the mid-70s and over the last 12 hours, this persistent southerly flow with the humidity is triggering a few showers here in eastern north carolina, some of those may make their way this farg nor far north. i talked about storms last, couple weeks ago, actually. this was right before spring break, the thur good marshall school. i talked to these students here in prince william county. we had a terrific time and they love learning about different types of severe weather and what to do when severe weather threatens. we talked about safety issues and all different types of weather. i want to thank the teacher for inviting me and talking to all these second graders was a lot of fun in manassas, virginia. a big storm system hitting the upper midwest and a lot of rain upper michigan, wisconsin, minnesota. from this system we have a front that is draping down into the mid mississippi valley and along this front as we go forward, there could be some strong storms and this yellow zone here right along the ohio river valley and down into western tennessee and, again, arkansas may be plagued by strong storms with potential tornadoes later this afternoon. now, that front will be gradually moving off to the east and begin to affect our weather here late tomorrow night into thursday morning. thursday morning along this green and yellow zone, some storms forming all the way from the carolinas, the district and maryland. that would be late thursday night into friday morning. we have our temperatures climbing into the low 80s for a broef time and we'll have quite a bit of cloudiness around, as well. wind out of the south gusting to 25 miles per hour. overnight tonight, still mostly cloudy and winds blustery and in the 70s through the evening and by dawn tomorrow, we'll be down into the mid-60s starting off wednesday morning. the rest of wednesday, partly sunny and then storms coming in and then looks like wednesday night and on into thursday morning and there's a slight risk an isolated storm could produce wind damage and then sun back thursday afternoon with highs in the upper 70s and a bit cooler friday and 40s in the morning and afternoon highs upper 60s and 70. cool in the morning, again. afternoon highs near 70 and great weather for outdoor weekend, recreation and fun. sunday partly cloudy into the mid-70s and could get some showers on monday. >> thank you, tom. >> all right. we'll check in with tanya hutchins, again, for the mid-day traffic. >> still dealing with slow downs just before the dulles toll road. the outer loop on the right of your screen. we'll start out at georgetown pike, right at the beginning of the slow down and then move and show you how the backup lasts all the way to the american legion bridge. the outer loop to the right of your screen. this back up will last until river road and the outer loop on the left of your screen there and we also have an incident, 95 between the eisenhower connector north of van dorn street. you have slow traffic there, as well. back to you, barbara. >> thank you, tanya. the latest increase in gas prices and who's protesting today to say, enough is enough. plus, the big job of keeping spectators and guests safe at the royal wedding. but, first, here's a look at what's hot on nbcwashington.com. ♪ across your face >> the search for the next great singer begins tonight on nbc. the show features four musical superstar coaches. christina aguilera, blake shelt shelton, adam lavigne. what makes this different from other singing competitions, the judges will have their backs turned to the contestants and making decisions based only on the person's voice. you can watch the voice at 9:00 tonight right here on nbc 4. well, millions of people are expected to tune in friday as kate middleton and prince william tie the knot. they make sure the secelebratio go as planned. >> reporter: police are checking traffic lights and storm drains. 5,000 officers will patrol on foot, horseback and by boat on friday. today, residents continue streaming 300 miles of bunting for thousands of street parties planned across the country. we caught up with this south carolina family planning their own celebration. >> i told the people at work to look for me in "people" magazine instead of where's waldo. >> reporter: one of the biggest parties just blocks from the church. the city is bringing in huge screens to view the ceremony and live music. they're encouraging commoners to wear their finest. you can bet thousands will show up here and, speaking of bets. this man is taking them right outside the church. >> we're taking bets on prince philip to fall asleep during the service and william wear spectacles and whether kate will jilt william at the alter. >> reporter: shops and pubs are betting on a $1 million spending spree. william ask kate pez dispensers, legos and some items the family might consider just plain odd. now, serious questions about the guest list. demonstrators say they'll protest outside westminster abbey. protesting some of the heads of state that have been invited from autocrattic regimes. >> live reports this week from our very own wendy rieger. it's now 11:27. coming up in the next half hour on news 4 middey, a special election is being held today right here in the district. what voters will be choosing and why the winner could be an important addition to the city's government. plus, city crews are out in force to take care of an unusual problem. stinky trees. and tom kierein is back with when a look when if you wear dentures, taking care of your oral health should be a top priority - and that means getting rid of odor-causing bacteria and plaque. try improved polident. its microclean formulation is antimicrobial and antibacterial to kill ninety-nine-point-nine percent of odor-causing bacteria, plus more of other key microorganisms found on dentures than leading regular toothpastes. used daily, it helps promote good oral health. try improved polident - now with microclean. this has beem medifacts for polident. right now emergency crews are preparing to search for dozens of people still missing after an overnight storm left at least seven people dead in arkansas. a possible tornado nearly wiped out the small town of vilonia. tore the roof from homes and flattened trees and power lines. a teenager is in custody accused of stabbing another teen at the national zoo. it happened in the middle of the afternoon during the annual african-american family celebration. a fight involving as many as two dozen people led to the stabbing. the teen is expected to boo okay. the zoo is holding a news conference on the stabbing in the next few minutes. d.c. is holding a special election. a new at-large member for the city council. cuome brown was elected as chairman. >> c. d.c. had its last special election back in 1997. at that time, less than 7% of the voters in the city took part in the election. this time around, plenty of folk says saying that they hope that happens again and that would be good news for their candidate. >> reporter: by mid-morning most polls can count how many peephole been in to count on this special election. >> it's hard to get out in any election, especially when it's not a presidential year. i just think that sometimes a lot of apathy. you know, some people have just lost confidence in their government and you have some people who feel, my vote doesn't count and that's not true. every vote counts. >> reporter: that's the message that some voters clearly understand, especially during elections where the turnout is predicted to be low. >> fewer voters casting a ballot, then your vote counts and your vote will be a higher percentage of the votes that are cast. >> reporter: that's what republican suzanne rooney is betting on. >> it was not hard for me. i am a republican and i very seldom get a chance when we think that possibly a republican could be elected and i'm hoping a republican turnout would be enough to defuse the votes from the other candidates. >> reporter: in wards 4 and 8 an election for state board of education reps, but citywide an election for the city council at large seat vacated by cuwakawam brown. >> it seems like we have a lot of good diversity to choose from. actually a really tough election. complicated, of course, by a low turnout and last time we had a special election it was won by less than 10,000 votes. >> reporter: figuring out who to choose was complicated and for others it was simple. >> you choose the one that you're most familiar with. the names that you've heard. and seen in office. >> what helped me a lot, i went to a debate last week and i didn't really have a lot of background on any of the candidates. i didn't even know that one was, one political party versus another. and it helped me to go in without any biases and just listen to how they responded to the questions and how they interacted with one another and that's how i made my decisions. >> reporter: polls close tonight at 8:00 p.m. in northwest, i'm tracee wilkins, news 4. tom is here to talk about the weather that is going on and when do you think we'll see the rain, again? >> a beautiful day for the election and dry so far. only a very small chance we'll have an isolated thunderstorm later this afternoon, but right now happy, fair weather clouds are floating through a blue sky. live picture from our sky watcher camera. american university in the foreground and off in the horizon fairfax county. well into the 70s and mild morning and as we approach noontime near 80 degrees and hover near 80 through the afternoon. over the last 12 hours, dissipating showers in tennessee and kentucky up into ohio and also some developing showers in the carolinas. those are moving north and they may make their way up here. between now and then the pollen count has jumped. up the into the high range. up into the 20,0,000, that's th high range. slight chance of an isolated thundershower today. pollen counts still high until we get heavier rains and more likely chances of rain. that would be wednesday night and off and on rest of wednesday night through mid-day thursday. there's also a chance isolated storms could produce wind damage thursday night and early thursday morning. drying oout, sun back thursday afternoon and sunny friday and saturday near 70 and sunday looking delightful and maybe rain monday. i'll be back with another update in a few minutes. >> get out in the garden. >> we deserve it. >> okay, thank you, tom. it looks like it will be a few more weeks before restaurants along the georgetown waterfront reopen. the businesses suffered extensive damage after recent storms caused heavy flooding. the washington business journal is reporting that the restaurants hope to reopen by mother's day weekend. causing millions of dollars in damage. and this morning, crews are trying to prevent an unpleasant stench from wafting through the district. ddot crews are going around spraying the ginkgo trees they leave a very unsavory smell. crews started spraying the trees in wards 1, 2 and 6 overnight. they'll move to the other wards later this week. i'm going to check on the mid-day traffic, let's see what tanya hutchins has to tell us. >> southbound after 410 you'll run into tree trimming crews and a slow down all the way up to the beltway. look out for that southbound. 9 5 at the springfield interchange and we're doing okay here in both directions as they get ready to turn around the hov lanes. as you can see in the center of your screen, hov running northbound right now. 495 just north of the american legion bridge and slow down here most of the morning and it is improving a little bit. still heavy frask, but it is moving as you make your way from maryland into virginia and up ahead is that left lane construction before the dulles toll road. we're doing okay. no problems to report. barbara, back to you. >> thank you, tanya. virginia governor, the virginia governor is the latest elected official to threaten funtding for an underground metro station at dulles airport. they approved th plans earlier this month and members say it's the best option for travelers and it protects the view of the dulles terminal. governor bob mcdonnell and leaders in fairfax and loudon county wants an above ground station that is cheaper and built faster. it will cost an addition $330 million. this morning d.c. police leaders are demanding to know who approved a police escort for charlie sheen. the associated press obtained an e-mail from hilton burton, commander of the special operation division. in the e-mail he says he did not approve of the police escort given to charlie sheen on his way to his show. sheen tweeted that he received an escort from the airport and also included a picture of a speedometer reading 80 miles per hour. several policies appear to have been violated here. well, a man ended up shot when undercover agents tried to arrest him for a drug deal. the seen last night shut down part of dumfries road. the man tried to sell them drugs. when agents went to arrest him, the man took off in his car and tried to run over them. the atf officials then opened fire hitting the man. there's no word on his condition today. the agents were not hurt. teens accused of brutally beating a transgender woman at a baltimore mcdonald's could soon face hate charges. more than 2,000 people viewed the attack. 22-year-old chrissy lee said she was punched, slapped and even kicked in the face when she walked into the women's bathroom there. the victim's mother attended a rally in support of transgender people. she says she hope hate crime charnels are filed soon. >> i think that it should be a hate crime because it all started in the bathroom. and the women that were using the bathroom didn't want my child in the bathroom. >> police charged a 14-year-old and an 18-year-old with assault. brown is also accused of assaulting another woman at the same mcdonald's last july. hate crime charges will be filed. our time right now is 11:39. still ahead, a gas price protest. find out who is gathering today to say enough is enough. some popular beauty products and try to answer the question, do they really work? stay with us. if you wear dentures, taking care of your oral health should be a top priority - and that means getting rid of odor-causing bacteria and plaque. try improved polident. its microclean formulation is antimicrobial and antibacterial to kill ninety-nine-point-nine percent of odor-causing bacteria, plus more of other key microorganisms found on dentures than leading regular toothpastes. used daily, it helps promote good oral health. try improved polident - now with microclean. this has beem medifacts for polident. never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. 60 miles in 3 days-- i can do that. 60 miles compared to what a cancer patient goes through is a walk in the park. from the moment i registered, people started immediately supporting me. we had an outpouring of-- of support. i wanted to do something bigger than myself. the 60 miles-- it makes a statement. i know i'm stronger than i was before, both mentally and physically. i walk with my sister. our relationship has gone to a whole new level because of training together. you meet the most wonderful, inspiring people. i knew that there was something really special about this event. when you accomplish those 60 miles, it's truly life-changing. it was three days of hope. of love. of empowerment. it was three days the way the world should be. here i am, second year in a row, and i'm already signed up for next year's. (man) register today for the... because everyone deserves a lifetime. the price of gas has many opting for electric cars these days and this morning we're finding out how safe those cars are. chevrolet bolt and nissan leaf are in the top safety ratings. researchers found when they crashed the cars, there were no leaking batteries or high-voltage sparks that could cause a fire. the cars are classified as small but say mid-size car because of all the batteries. electric cars may see more popularity if gas continues to rise. the 35th straight day of increases the national average rose less than a penny at $2.87 on average. with major oil companies reported their profits, the white house is taking aim and do away with big oil tax breaks. brian moore has more on the latest efforts to cut prices. >> reporter: as gas prices go up, americans are getting that sinking feeling, again. and the money they're leaving here, they're not spending somewhere else. >> i'm not going out as much. i'm not going to my friends as much. >> i'm going out to dinner more during the week and it's basically confined to going out to dinner on the weekends. >> every 10 cents the price of a gallon of gasoline goes up that takes $7 million a month out of the local economy. >> reporter: no one's feeling the pain like chicago, where average prices have spiked to $4.27 a gallon. that's a relative bargain at this station where prices are more than a quarter higher. >> it's crazy. it's ridiculous. i don't know what our country is going to do about that. >> reporter: with gas prices threatening to drown the economic recovery, the white house says it's time to yank subsidies for big oil companies. >> especially when we can't afford it. we need to use that money else where. >> reporter: the justice department is on the lookout for price gouging. >> we will protect americans from the financial fraud that devastates consumers. >> reporter: that's a little tougher here at the pumps, where prices and anxiety are on the rise. the latest lundberg survey suggests prices may be peaking, but that's mostly because the demand for high gas price has fallen. brian moore, nbc news, washington. the justice department will feel some heat from angry drivers in just about an hour from now. the pray at the pump movement is holding a protest outside the dejustice department on northwest from 12:30 until 2:30 today. they're calling on the government to prosecute speculators who they say prey on consumers and whom may blame for driving up the prices. consumer confidence prices index rises higher than expected. we go to bertha coombs. >> it's surprising in light of those numbers in terms of what we're seeing at the gas pump. the dow right now up 103 points, getting a little bounce with hoyle pulling back this morning and the conference board reporting that consumer confidence rose a bit in april despite those higher gasoline prices up from march. if you're a coca-cola fan, meantime, prepare to pay a little more for that coke. because of higher plastics costs and its bottling operations, it is going to try to raise prices here in north america. the beverage giants' first quarter profit was nearly $2 billion and that was a little bit short of expectations. as the earthquake in japan cut into its business operations there. rising costs also a problem for netflix. the movie rental company now has nearly 24 million subscribers making it just bigger than cable giant comcast. it reported strong earnings, but says it is spending more to beat off the competition and investigating more on original contents. it recently bought a movie called the house of cards. and don't look now, but the summer movie season starts next week when disney's "thor" is set to open on may 6th. some analysts are wondering whether that's too many and whether we're going to see a little super hero fatigue this summer. on wall street, they're counting down to the big event, barbara. not the royal wedding. all eyes on the federal reserve which begins a two-day on interest rate and then tomorrow for the first time following the fed decision ben bernanke will meet the press and hold a press conference. they've been doing that for years in europe and now he's taking a page. we're all actually more excited about what ben is going to say this week than what kate is going to wear. one friend said, i had to give up my girly girl card. >> i'm sure you will be reporting to us exactly what he said. it's on friday? >> no, tomorrow afternoon. tomorrow afternoon is the big ben bernanke extravaganza. >> thank you. great to see you, bertha. good to see you. thank you so much for that report. >> thanks. this morning, we're looking at popular beauty products and asking the question, do they really work? dermatologist dr. cheryl burgess joins us this morning with some answers to those questions and there are some things out there that you see them talked about on the ads and on magazines and everything and we wonder if they really do. let's start out with the, shall we start with tanning. let's talk about the self-tanners because a lot of people are getting those right now. starting to wear no stockings and heading for the beach and some people don't want to go if they aren't already a little bit tan. do they really work? >> yes, they do. and, you know, dermatologists, we do not advocate sun tanning. so, this is the next best bet is that it's a chemical that is in these creams that are actually, the chemical is called dihydroxy acetone and layering it on the skin binds to the top layer of the skin, the keratin or the deadly layer of the skin and actually gives a bronzy look to the skin. >> they are not dangerous to use. >> they are not dangerous. it's attaching to the top layer, the dead layer of the skin. it's advised that you exfoliate the skin before you apply them or when you apply them they'll look patchy. >> so exphofoliating using a sa product. >> salicylic acid product or just taking a loofah or something and really exfoliating the skin before it's actually applied. >> is it okay to use those products on the face, as well as the body? >> yes, you can use them all over the body and i advise people to wear gloves or they'll have orange or bronze-colored palms and that's the dead give away. >> in the past, i haven't observed lately but a lot of friend complained about them giving more of a yellow tone to the skin. are there some that are better than others? >> or an orangey tone, in fact. bronze is kind of a shades of brown and orange and some of them have larger orange overtones but a few out there. jergens are one and some by loreal. if you continue to do it this superficial tan will only last about a week. so, you have to keep applying the preparation. >> one more question, do they protect you from the sun? >> they do not protect you from the sun and that's a very important point that you bring up because a lot of people feel that they have an spf when they're using these preparations and that's just the opposite. it's not true. >> let's talk about limp plumpers. >> lip plumpers. >> lips are in. >> lips are in. >> you see them on all the movie stars now. they either have them injected, not all of them. many of them are. so the ones that are topical, do they work? >> the topical ones do work and this is how they work. they use ingredients that stimulate more of an irritation reaction. this is one that i bought in -- >> you got one to show us. >> this is one that i actually have in my office and it comes with a two component wand. one is actually for the lip pumping and one is more like a moisturizer to renew the lips. when the lips become more wrinkl wrinkled, you see that with aging or you see it in just individuals who have smaller lips, the preparations that contain like cinnamon, menthal, they almost stimulate an irritation reaction which causes them to swell. >> they burn a little bit, too. >> it burns. >> quickly, you brought one more thing we want to ask you about. what about these eyelash growth enhancers. >> there is only one that is fda approved and that is lateese. it is prescription or get it through a physician office and it has about 60 brushes and these brushes actually, you put the preparation on the brush and you drag it along the top of the eye like a an eyeliner and usually within about 30 days, you do see increased growth, thickness and darkness of the eye lashes. >> any down side? >> no down side. >> i have seen some people who use it, and it really does enhance the eyelashes. really do get thick. you have to keep using it. >> you have to keep using all of these. >> thanks a lot. good to see you. >> good to see you, too. coming up, preparing for a rainy wedding day? plus, meteorologist tom rain may just put a damper on the royal wedding. forecasters say a good chance of showers during friday's ceremony in london. as nbc natalie morales says that could block our chances of seeing a first glimpse at kate middleton's wedding gown. >> reporter: after sunny skies, the weather could soon take a turn for the worse. cludy skies in the forecast with showers predicted for the day of the royal wedding. after they're married. william and kate are supposed to take an open carriage, but there's a back-up plan, of course. if it rains, they'll take a glass coach. >> rides lady diana. >> reporter: the same one used by princess diana when she was married. all over london, security sweeps have already begun. on the day of the wedding, 5,000 police officers will take to the streets on foot and on horseback. they'll also patrol along the 10s and watch from above in helicopters with live pictures fed back to central command. >> we'll be making sure all the security is in place, providing imagery, but basically for the reassurance of those in charge of the event on the ground. >> reporter: new details are emerging about the ceremony. we've learned prince william and kate middleton will enjoy one private moment with their families during this very public event. after their vows, they will pass through the chapel out of the public's view. they will sign the marriage register in complete privacy. but billions are expected to watch the royal wedding on television and the wedding is getting the x-factor, the hit british tv show is lending out a top stage manager to oversee the coverage. >> well, i'm here early. >> reporter: one fan of william and kate just couldn't wait for the big day. he is already camping out at westminster abbey. >> diana would be very proud of her son, prince william and catherine's marriage and prince harry as best man. she will be with them in spirit in westminster abbey on that special day and always. we're going to take a look now at some of the stories we're following for news 4 this afternoon. pat lawson joins us. >> he is getting a front sidewalk seat. >> i think he's the first one there. >> yeah, he is, apparently. hey, barbara, coming up on news 4 at 4:00, live to london and take a look at kate and william's unconventional love story. also ahead today at 4:00, why thieves broke into a store and tell you what they didn't take. can classical music cure autism. one mother is a believer and what doctors are saying about that. that's coming up at 5:00. we want to hear from you. what do you think about security at the national zoo in light of yesterday's stabbing? weigh in on that and we'll share the results starting at 4:00. barbara? >> thank you, pat, we'll be watching. a final check of the weather. tom? >> isolated thunderstorm this afternoon and up around 80 and greater chance of storms wednesday night through thursday. and midday we'll see you tomorrowing morning. thanks for joining us and be sure to join us tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. for news 4 midday.