guy. he's got to be devastated this happened and felt really bad. so, this is really tragic for him. >> reporter: other neighbo were relieved to learn the victimess injuries weren't more severe. >> thank god no one was seriously hurt. >> reporter: prince william county says they view it purely as an accident. no charges are personing at this time. >> the woman who was wounded is expected to be okay. stay with us, everyone, "news4 today" continues at 5:00 a.m. weekend washout. rain has arrived and a lot of it. when it will stop falling. plus a frightening crash. senator harry reid as wife and daughter taken to the hospital after being hit by a tractor-trailer. why toyota's troubles could mean change for all cars in the future. good morning. welcome to "news4 today." i'm joe krebs. i'm kimberly suiters in for eun yang. it's friday, march 12, 2010. taking a live look outside. >> let's do that. you can see the clouds covering the very top of the washington monument out there. the lights of the city reflecting off those low clouds. let's go to veronica johnson right now to take a look at our forecast. >> good morning. the rain you said when will it stop. probably not until late sun early monday. now that it's here it will stick around for a while and get pretty ugly too. we're already seeing our first round of some moderate rain com through the area. there's a break there in the action. howard county and down through the district. some more back around i-81. we'll have some moderate rain around, light to moderate until about noon time today. then east to southeasterly flow and some light rain and pick back up on. already a third to just over 3/4 of an inch down in quantico. temperatures in the 50s. fran congentleman, cleveland park 54. laytonsville 53. temperatures won't rise much today to a high today of 56 degrees. it will get breezy and windy tomorrow. some within swept rain and that means we could see not only flooding across the area but possibly some power outages on saturday. one to two inches on saturday and another half to 3/4 coming our way for sunday. so, again, it will get ugly around here. for areas like potomac river at little falls, that is expected to crest at 10.4 feet early sunday morning so minor flooding is expected at little falls. point of rocks could see moderate flooding. the extended forecast at least they show some sunshine. after all this we'll get a chance to dry out. not going to be all that cold either this weekend but plenty wet and awfully sloppy. jerry? let's head out and take a live look at the wet pavement along new york avenue as you make the commute on in. the good news is most of the major roadways are available. travel lanes are open. slick, sloppy rush hour with reduced visibility. a lot of road spray. we'll head on over, headed for downtown, 395 looks good to the 14th street bridge, very light volume of traffic to pennsylvania avenue. everything downtown looks good. a traffic alert for drivers who take the chain bridge. um need to find a detour today. the bridge will be closed beginning at 8:00 tonight and will not re-open until monday morning rush hour. tracee wilkins joins us new live from chain bridge with more on why this is happening and when else you can expect some closures. >> reporter: a lot of people are tired about hearing about the construction on chain bridge. we're expecting these closures for the next two weekends as they try to wrap up the work and get the chain bridge work complete by this summer. closures will begin tonight at 8:00 p.m. and the bridge will re-open monday at 5:00 a.m. the project began in june of last year and officials were hoping to have it done but there were a number of postponements due to holiday, subzero temperatures and all that snow we had. this weekend temperatures are expecting to replace expansion joint and upgrade street lights. no walkers, drivers or cyclists will be allowed on the bridge. this project is expected to be completed by may 31st. back to you. thanks very much. for the first time ever a paramedic with d.c. fire and ems could face cminal charges in relations to patient's ca. the case surrounds the case of a 2-year-old girl who died last month. stephanie's parents called 911 because she had trouble breathing. the paramedic said give the girl a hot shower. hours later she called 911 again. she was taken to the hospital where she died of pneumonia. >> members of our special victims unit will be doing that criminal review to determine if there's any potential criminal conduct, criminal negligence or anything else that may have resulted in the death of the child. >> i don't want the community to feel this isolated incident is what's taken place on every one. that isn't the case. >> the d.c. council will discuss it at a hearing later today. the wife of senate majority leader harry reid remains in serious condition today after a car accident that happened in northern virginia. they were driving north on i-95 near lorton yesterday when a tractor-trailer rear ended their minivan. both were taken to inova fairfax hospital. elaine reyes joins us live from the newsroom with the latest. good morning. this was a chain reaction crash that sent other people to the hospital and tied up traffic. mrs. reed's injuries were pretty serious but not considered life threatening, her daughter was treated and released. senator reid left the capitol as soon as he got word of the accident. they were in stop and go traffic yesterday afternoon when a tractor-trailer carrying rolls of plastic slammed into the back of their honoreda odyssey. administers reid has a broken neck, back and nose. their daughter has less serious injuries. ctors say both were conscus and alert when they arrived. now, police have charged the driver with reckless driving. he was not injured in the crash. >> escaped prisoner is back behind bars. officers found 28-year-old terrence moore last night wheen wheeler and 10th place southeast. he was awaiting trial. authorities say that he somehow got free from handcuffs and jumped out of a transport van. officers found him 12 hours later hiding inside a car. an emergency landing at a southeast d.c. school, the school had to be evacuated when the prince george's county police helicopter had some mechanical problems. the helicopter pilot noticed a warning indicator light and the crew decided to land in the schoolyard. the school was cleared out as a precaution. the chopper landed safely and no one was injured. if the kids had been there, been pretty excitg for them. 5:07. the changes coming for all new cars. >> what is being proposed in lying the recent troubles involving toyota. the radar is all lit up like a christmas tree. rain all across the area. how coffee junkies can get their morng jolt without picking up a cup of place it in your mouth. just when you thought you've seen it all there's a new way to get your chocolate or caffeine fix. it's called lewhiff. a harvard professor found a way to make chocolate and coffee into a tasty whiff. it can trick your senses. >> the olfactory and taste sensations are driven by this. it's designed so it's fun and a way of having the taste of chocolate and essentially no calories. >> no calories. a fad for some but a possible solution to curb the urge for chocolate for others. the cost for lewhf, $3 for a single inhaler which delivers eight when i was. available in select u.s. stores or order online from their website. maybe she will invent snuff. >> go backward in time. >> jets go to veronica johnson and take a look at our forecast. it will be range all weekend. especially saturday. going to be not only wet but going to be windy too coming up on saturday. grab your umbrella, your rain jacket, heading out this morning it's already pretty wet out there. moderate rain falling in some parts of the area. flood watch remains up for the entire area through saturday evening. you can see on the radar right now we have one round that's getting ready to move out. hagerstown, winchester down through front royal moving in to about noon time today. you can see we've already gotten well over 3/4 of an inch of rain. you're high today from 53 to 56. so not rising very much. jerry >> we'll head out and show you what it looks like, making the trip in northern virginia, interstate 66. lanes are all open. little bit of road spray. going to be slick. be very cautious. for a while in the overnight hours the ramp from route 29 to the outer loop, colesville road to the outer loop was closed because of high water. authorities telling us it's re-opened now but that could change if we get another round of heavy rain. be very alert on your commute this morning. give yourself extra time and extra braking distance. back to you. our time is now 5:12. 54 degrees. ahead, metro's latest mishap. another derailment. and what the agency is trying to warn people about. what brought a hollywood movie star to washington to honor some real life heroes. next taking action have toyota's troubles. what you could soon see in all new cars. time is now 5:14. updating our top stories. the chain bridge will close at 8:00 tonight and will re-open 5:00 a.m. on monday. it will be closed the next two weekends. this morning senate majority leader harry reid's wife remains hospitalized after an accident near lorton yesterday when a tractor-trailer truck rear ended their minivan. the truck driver was charged with reckless driving. the d.c. council will hold a hearing about several complaints over ems responders. this comes as one paramedic is being investigated and could face criminal charges. a 2-year-old girl in southeast washington died last month after her mother called 911 twice. the first time she told paramedics her daughter was having trouble breathing. they advised to give the girl a hot shower. new york city may finally reach a settlement with thousands of rescue workers who were sickened by dust after the 9/11 attacks. there's word those workers could share $600 million. laers representing new york city and ground zero workers reached an agreement last night. the deal still needs to be approved by a judge and by the workers themselves. the head of the national highway transportation safety association took heat for toyota's problems. he denied claims that the agency is too friendly with automakers and defended the agency's actions. he said the administration had done its job by investigating eight sudden acceleration complaints and pushing toyota to issue recalls. now to the latest on toyota's troubles, the head of the national highway transportation safety association says regulators are considering requiring black boxes like the ones used in airplanes in new cars. that would help diagnose problems like the ones toyota drivers are experiencing. nbc's brooke hart reports. >> the administrator -- >> reporter: the nation's highway chief defended his agency's response to toyota complaints. >> we fine the defects such as in the instance of the float mat entrapment or stick gentlemen medal or brakes we acted and acted quickly. >> reporter: even said new design rules for cars could come, black boxes to record speed and braking effort or brake override systems letting a driver stop even if the throttle stuck. why not more action against toyota sooner? >> this agency opened eight separate investigations over the time period when there were complaints about sudden acceleration. >> reporter: lawmakers ordered why not gernment recall in decades? >> can you explain why your agency, nhtsa has not initiate ad recall since 1979? >> reporter: he said carmakers typically recall vehicles for safety first. >> we if flew evens well over half of the recalls that are happening every year. >> count me as skeptical. >> reporter: there were calls for more resources for nhtsa. deep discounts booed sales in early march by 50% over a year ago. in its budget the white house called for 66 new nhtsa employees, a big increase. the agency is also looking at its ethics rules after it claimed nhtsa workers are former auto industry insiders and vicer is very. in washington, brooke hart. metro has had a very rough ye. a former general manager said it's time for major changes. >> david gunn tell the metro board of directors said there four major challenges. john catoe is the current general manager. richard sarles will serve as interim general manager after john catoe steps down this month. whoever gets the permanent job should have a strong operating and technical background. metro is looking into another train derailment. the red line train left wednesday afternoon at the rhode island brentwood rail yard. an operator ran a red light causing the front wheels to come off tracks. no passengers were inside. two workers on board have undergone drug and alcohol tests which are standard. that's right, it's easy for a thief to rip you off. watch this psa and help protect yourself. there were 122 robberies reported in january alone. metro said they will grab electronic devices from their hands and dash out the door. you should stay alert to avoid being targeted. the words under god can stay in the pledge of allegiance. the word from a new federal court of appeals ruling. the court rejected arguments from a california man who said references to god are unconstitution all and infringe on his religious beliefs. yesterday judges noted schools do not force students to recite the pledge. the appeals court upheld in god we trust can also stay on u.s. currency. > honor mingled with the greatest generation. tom hanks and 240 war veterans gathered at the world war ii memorial. hbo worked with the honor flight network to bring the vets to the site to honor them and mark the network's premier of a 10 part series called the pacific. it focuses on the lives of three american marinesighting the japanese after the attack on pearl harbor. thanks and spielberg are part of the production team. >> if there was ever a contribution to be made to a nation, after contribution to a world gone mad it was your strength and it was your courage that defined that generation, the greatest generation, your generation. here he can sense that the present days may be dark and the coming days hold little promise and relief. our world can be saved. >> the hbo series begins on sunday night. it's 5:21 right now. let's check in with meteorologist veronica johnson because the rain that we've been talking about all wee is finally here. >> it is. i want to tell you the wettest part of our day for just today will be from now up until about noon time. better help you plan, afterwards we'll have light showers coming through until later tonight. so, right now on the required we do have some rain moving through, pressing to the north and east, a brake there and more in within chester to front royal. temperatures now 53 degrees. currently at capitol hill 51. in new carrollton, prince george's county and potomac 53 degrees. a high today around 56 with the clouds and the wind too will start picking . wet weather throughout the area and then some windswept rain, heavy rain one to two inches coming our way tomorrow. let's get a look at traffic. give you a little sampling around the capital beltway. arlington boulevard, no accidents but clearly you want to keep your distance from the people around you this morning. give everybody a little extra braking distance. let's head over to maryland happen high above the capital beltway in college park, looks like we're in that dry zone at least temporarily. so far so good. greenbelt to silver spring in both directions. back to you. our time is 5:22. straight ahead something is cooking in the inauguration's capital. what pop lower tv reality show is coming to d.c. >> conan o'brien is coming to town. cheating crackdown. what lawmakers are doing to catch drivers dodging one local good morning. toll cheaters beware. lawmakers are cracking down on you. the roadway leading to the dulles airport is intended for airport business. more and more drivers are using that highway to avoid the dulles toll road which is nearby. the house and senate in virginia's general assembly approved new legislation that would install cameras on the acss road. much like red light cameras. if the governor signs the bill into law, fines would start at $50. if you're a fan of top chef we have some good news for you. there's word that the show is coming to washington. the show will film one of its upcoming seasons in the nation's capital. the show has helped boost the careers of several local chefs. contestants on the show compete to win $100,000 to start their own restaurant. he's on a tv hiatus but still makg people laugh. conan o'brien is launching a tour and coming to our area. he announced the quote legally prohibited from being funny on television tour. it includes stops in 30 cities including a visit to dar constitution hall. o'brien will bring along former "tonight show" sidekick andy richter. it's 5:27. after the break, wet and nasty out there. >> we're getting the worst of it right now. check of the forecast and any wicked weather in some spots. you're waking up to a wet one. the rain has been falling steadily for hours now. there are already some flooding trouble spots. and we're looking at more rain, wind and some of you may even hear rumbling of thunder this morning. good morning, everyone. welcome to "news4 today." i'm kimberly suiters in for eun yang. good morning. i'm joe krebs on this friday, march 12, 2010. the storm system that's drenching us right now has cause ad lot of damage elsewhere. a line of severe thunderstorms even a possible tornado caused this damage in florida last night. there are no reports of any injuries, though. there's the damage. it was hard to see the first video. look at that shot outside. a live shot of washington, d.c. the cloud cover overhead. top half of the washington monument not visible this morning. >> eerily bufrl. >> how long will the cloud cover last? >> it will stick around all weekend long pap good weekend to look for something to do inside. you mentioned the thunder there. that, i think, we could see sometime later today and tomorrow down across southern maryland and down through the northern neck. the target for severe weather today as we showed you that video in southern florida and georgia for today. we're under a flood watch until saturday evening. so the heaviest round ever rain is really friday night, tonight, right through saturday. we're getting a break right now, howard county through the district towards fredericksburg along i-95 but more rn off to the west that's going to start moving through. that's what will give us our wettest part of the day. 53 degrees your current temperature. in the district, suitland, prince george's county are at 51 degrees. up north montgomery county currently at 53 degrees. we'll see a high today around 56 to 58. still mild, though, considering the average is 54. the within will pick up later today too. out of the east and southeast, the beaches could see some minor tidal flooding too around the potomac and a windy wet one coming our way tomorrow. we'll take a live look at new york avenue. no big deals here at 9th street. however coming down from bladensburg road heading down to the traffic center at west virginia and montana be careful those traffic lights are malfunctioning. new york avenue,est virginia, montana avenue traffic lights. be very cautious through the intersecti intersection. springfield, nothing out of the ordinary. metro and vre rail reporting no delays. brunswick line on marc, 870 is eight minutes behind schedule. the d.c. council will hold a hearing today to talk about problems involving the district's ambulance service. this comes as a paramedic is being investigated and could face criminal charges in the death of a 2-year-old girl. megan mcgrath joining us live now from northwest washington with more. good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning. this stems from a high-profile case that is under investigation. 2-year-old stephanie stevens was having trouble breathing. her paint called 911 but she was not transported to the hospital. now several hours later when the problem continued 911 was called again. she was eventually transported to the hospital but died several hours later of pneumonia. the senior paramedic that responded to the call is at the center of criminal negligence. at issue is whether the paramedic told the mother to put the child in a steam bath to clear her chest and it wasn't necessary to transport her to the emergency room. >> the members of our special victims unit out of the homicide branch will be doing that criminal review in this case to determine if there's any potential criminal conduct, criminal negligence or anything else that may have resulted in the death of the child. >> reporter: and later today the d.c. council will hear testimony from the public regarding ems and ambulance service here in the district of columbia. there have been several high-profile cases where response by ems ambulance technicians have been called into question. journalist david rosenbaum died in 2006 after first responders concluded that he was drunk rather than seriously injured in a mugs. the delay in treatment is blamed for his death. there was a massive overhaul of the system after that incident occurred but many are wondering whether enough has been done in like of these recent cases. again, a public hearing is going to get under w later on this morning. >> megan mcgrath. thanks. a traffic alert. planning on driving the chain bridge this weekend? think again about that. it's going to close beginning at 8:00 tonight and will not re-open until monday morning during the rush hour. this is not the only weekend that bridge will be closed. tracee wilkins joins us now live from chain bridge with more on when else you can expect other closures. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. they are expecting closures for the next two weekends. we've been seeing a lot of work on the chain bridge for a while now. they are hoping to have this project wrapped up by the summer. closures will begin tonight at 8:00 p.m. the bridge will re-open monday at 5:00 a.m. construction began in june of last year and officials were hoping to have it done by now but there was been a number of pose uponme postponements due to the holidays and weather. no drivers, walkers or cyclists will be allowed on the bridge. they are hoping to get a lot of work done this weekend but with all train i hope they will be able too. they are hoping to have the whole project wrapped up by may 31st. i'm tracee wilkins, back to you. this morning senate majority leader harry reid's wife remains hospitalized after a bad crash. they were driving near lorton when a tractor-trailer truck rear ended their minivan. reid's daughr was released but his wife is being treated for a broken back and neck. trip all a say it's time to close a loophole in maryland's law that give drivers nothing more than a traffic ticket when they killed someone. under maryland law vehicular manslaughter is hard to prove. it requires evidence of gross negligence. prosecutors often turn to reckless driving charges as an alternative. >> right now we got, you know, killers in cars who are allowed to get away with committing an act that lead to the death of someone based on their driving. but we can't hold them accountable for it beyond just giving them traffic tickets. >> aaa want lawmakers to create a criminal charge called negligent manslaughter. it would help prosecutors to convict drivers that kill with recognize laes cars. because this is an election year the bill may have a chance to become law. >> the manhunt is over. a prisoner is back in custody after jumping out of a prisoner transport van. officers found terrence moore last night between wheeler road and 10th place. he was awaiting trial on charges with assault with intent to kill when he escaped yesterday morning. officers found him 12 hours later. he was hiding inside a car. an emergency landing at a southeast d.c. school. that school had to be evacuate when the prince george's county police helicopter had some mechanical problems. the helicopter pilot noticed a warning indicator light and the crew decided to land in the schoolyard at the davis elementary school. the school was cleared out just as a precaution. the chopper did land safely and no one was injured. our time right now 5:38. 53 degrees. one minute she was enjoying the sunny weather the next she had to be rushed to the hospital. a woman ends up injured after her next door neighbor makes a dangerous mistake. what happened ahead at 5:00. plus it is good to be single in the city. how a local author is bringing the single women to the silver screen. the roads are slick. flood is a major concern today. a check of weather and traffic coming up next. back to the right? no, back here. how about over here? n-- let's go back to the left. waffling is back at dunkin' dons. for a short time only, enjoy the return of the delicious oven-toasted waffle breakfast sandwich. america runs on dunkin'. good morning. welcome back to news 4. the time is 5:41. get your rain gear ready. we're watching for flooding this weekend. rainfall totals could top out between three and five inches by the end of sunday. right now we're getting a little break in the action. moderate rain came through early. around d.c. it's quiet. moderate rain possible up to noon time and then light showers to continue until heavier rain moves back in later on. falls church at 55 degrees. fairfax. oxon hill at 51. your high 38 with wet weather today. the trip in from the west along interstate 66 no early concerns. little bit of volume here and there right at the exit for the capital beltway moving along very nicely despite the weather and that's a hopeful sign. southeast washington, police arriving on the scene of an accident, branch avenue at pennsylvania avenue in soueast near the gas station if you're headed in that direction. police are dealing with that. looking pretty good through northeast and southeast at this hour. 5:42. ahead the plans for his nobel prize money. >> what president obama will do with more than $1 million he received for the prestigious award. plus a neighborhood scare. a woman rushed to the hospital after an accident right next door. why a local woman said she knew about possible prius problems long ago. federal regulators may consider requiring black boxes like the ones used inside airplanes in all new cars. this comes after recalls from toyota. the national highway transportation safety association made the recommendation while on capitol hill hot seat yesterday. news 4 elaine reyes joins us live from the newsroom with more on this. good morning. good morning. the thinking the black box would help diagnose unexplained problems that drivers are having. they are weighing whether new design requirements could also help investigators learn more. yesterday nhtsa's head guy defended his agency's reaction and response to toyota's troubles. he suggested new design rules for cars, brake override systems and the black boxes. but he also took heat from lawmakers on a house panel yesterday. they asked why the agency hasn't ordered any vehicle recalls in decades. there were also calls for more employees and resources for nhtsa, even a doubled budget. the administrator said his pele acted quickly in dealing with toyota customer complaints. >> this agency opened eight separate investigations over the time period when there were complaints about sudden acceleration. the white house budget calls for 66 new nhtsa employees. mean time because of recent deals and deep discounts toyota sales are actually up by 15% over a year ago despite the recent problems. one local woman says her 2004 prius sped out of control twice before any of toyota safety issues became national news. a year ago she said her accelerator got stuck twice while passing another car on the beltway. she had to pump on the brake a couple of time before the gas pedal started to work correctly again. i floored the accelerator and it didn't top back. so for about ten or 15 seconds the car was speeding up, and i couldn't get to it stop. >> she took the car to a dealership and the mechanics said it was a floor mat issue but she said that's wrong because she was using her own mats and not the manufacturer's flow mats. police in prince william county are looking for two men who broke into a house and realized they were in the wrong place. a woman who lived in the home in lake ridge told police the two men kicked in her back door yesterday afternoon and then forced their way inside. three young children were also home at the time. the men then took the woman into a bedroom, held her on the floor and asked her where the drugs were. according to police, the suspects left after they realized they were in the wrong house. the woman and children were all unharmed. police in prince william county also say they do not expect to file charges against a man who accidentally shot his neighbor. this happened yesterday in a neighborhood just off of route 1 in dumfries, virginia. police say a retired marine was inside practicing loading and unloading his shotgun when a round fired. the bullet blasted through the wall and siding of his house, towards a home next door and it also hit a neighbor who was out standing on her deck. neighbors were alarmed by what happened but some were also sympathetic when they learned who had fired the gun. >> he's our neighborhood watch guy. he's not the kind that would ever -- he's got to be devastated this happened and feels really bad. so, this is tragic for him. >> police do not know whether the woman was hit by debris or buckshot. she was taken to the hospital and is expected to be okay. st. museum milestone by the mall. the holocaust memorial museum has welcomed 30 million visitors. among its guests, 8 million cool children, 18 heads of state and foreign officials from more than 130 countries. last year alone the museum hosted 1.7 million visitors. happening today, thousands of first responders who rushed to the scene of ground zero could learn they will be getting compensated for their health problems. for than 10,000 lawsuits have been filed by ground zero rescue and response workers who say they were sickened by the world trade center dust. now there's word that an insurae company that represents new york city may have to pay those workers more than $600 million. that amount, the amount an individual would receive would be based on the nature of that individual's illness and that individual's chance of recovery. >> i have lung infections. i have had systs. a lot of inflammation in my organs and. joint. i'm very relieve preponderance of the evidence. most of the money would come out of a $1 billion grant from the federal emergency management agency. he won the nobel peace prize and now president obama is giving away the cash. he is donated the $1.4 million to charity. ten charities will split the prize. they include the clinton-bush haiti fund. united negro college fund and hispanic scholarship fund among a few. >> the apple ipad goes on sale on the 3rd of april. beginning today apple is taking pre-orders through its online store. the ipad comes in two models one with wi-fi only the other one with wi-fi plus 3 g. prices range between 499 and $829 depending on the model you get. you can pre-order now and if you do you can pick up your new ipad on april the 3rd. let's check in with meteorologist veronica johnson because it's rainy out there. it is indeed range. going to rain for a while? >> i is. not heavy the entire period. coming up later tonight, friday night an through much of saturday that's when it will be a real soaker around here. let's get you started with temperatures. it is 51 degrees currently in prince george's county at brandywine. 53 right now at foggy bottom. montgomery county you folks are at 53 degrees in bethesda. annandale and fairfax at 55 degrees. we're watching for flooding so flood watch remains up for the entire viewing area through saturday evening. ashton and whetton and waldorf you're currently dry but some more rain off to our west. that's come moving through and we're expecting some wet weather up to about noon time. after that very, very light rain with wind out of the south southeast. increasing out of the south southeast too. you get the idea here that there is that wave, just upper level low pressure system that's running out ahead of our main system. but it certainly delivered in richmond, over 3/4 of an inch of rain around here. we got a quarter to 3/4 of an inch of rain in st. mary's and areas of northern neck and quantico as well. some othe high spots of west virginia under a flood warning around snowshoe area and south of elkins, west virginia. flood watch for our area, again rainfall always could top out between two and three inches. the big concern is in northern west virginia, paw paw with major flooding. low pressure off to our west, that's what will be moving through. here's a look at your future cast. some moderate and heavy rain back in our area later tonight to about 2:00 p.m. sarday. three to five inches on the ground by late sunday. so moderate to heavy rain comes back later today. your high 53 to 58 degrees with the wind picking up. down right windy, gusting tomorrow. we could see some power outages and flooding in parts of the viewing area on saturday. so a real soaker, real mess of a weekend. let's get you updated on what's going on the area roads. 270 loading upith a little bit of volume. lot of road spray but no accidents yet. we're going to do our best to think positive thoughts. hopeful lou it will stay that way. incident free at least for the immediate future here along i-270 heading to points south. let's see how we're doing, dry again for the moment as the other round of rain starts moving into town. southeast free 395 between the anacostia and potomac doing well. for those of you heading out on traveling the beltway, springfield to 66ine minutes, 66 around the american legion bridge nine minutes. a little bit of rain slowing things down. also a little bit slow between the american legion bridge and springfield. on the rails met rail, vre looking good. marc rail brunswick 870 eight minutes behind schedule. thanks. maryland is making its roadways more driver friendly. they will be increasing the number of travel advisories to let you know when you're going to get where you're going. state highway officials said they expanded the use of electronic signs that notify drivers of their travel times. the signs would mark how long it takes to reach important interchanges or land marks. drivers will see the added sipes on the baltimore beltway, the capital beltway and i-95. ben and jerry is showing support for d.c.'s gay marriage law. they hosted a wedding ceremony yesterday. the company co-founder jerry greenfield was there to help celebrate. the company lobbied for its home state of vermont to legalize gay marriage last year. d.c. has one of the lowest ratios of single women to single men in the nation. the ratio is worst for single black women compared to single black men. >> so the city is a great place to meet a single woman specifically a single black woman. how does she fare in the dating scene >> one woman who is making a splash gave her perspective to yawning yawning. >> the black single woman is like the "it" girl right now. >> she's a smart, successful black woman living in d.c. who is going hollywood after selling her rights to her book. >> people assume single black women, single women in general are lonely and sad and bemoaning their fate and they aren't. >> 43% of black women in tuesday have never been married. that's double the number of white woman. >> i'm looking for a good man that's trustworthy. somebody i can rely on. fun, professional, outgoing. >> we don't feel a need to fit into those types of stereotypes or roles. we're not looking for a husband right away. >> in the washington area one of the issues the worth. that goes for any woman or man. >> this is a town where people they come here young and they work hard for a long time. >> andrews who is from los angeles also says d.c. has the feel of a big city in a small town. that the lack of an anonymity can be dangerous when it comes to dating. >> you meet somebody but then over time you fine we're friend. you might know who i used to date. you might be friend with who i used to date. >> finding a date or a mate doesn't have to be elusive. you have to put effort into it. >> it can't be something that just happens to you. you have to make it happen. >> ultimately some women choose to be single. andrews says maybe they like being single, maybe they are not ready to get married, maybe they haven't met the right person. she said they are still passionate with their families, iend, careers and more. >> i don't think i would be any less of a woman or any less successful if i weren't married or weren't to have children. >> eun yang, "news4 today." >> she said she feels that way about single now because she's 29. she says to ask her in five or ten years. she also says she's not talking about all single black women just some of them. her book is expected to come out in june. her comments have sparked is a lot of talk in our newsroom about people with differing opinions on relationships. interesting nonetheless. it's 5:57. coming up at 6:00 a mystery surrounding a montgomery county man. weekend washout. it's range right now and not expected to stop any time soon. meteorologist veronica johnson's forecast just seconds away. criminal investigation. homicide detectives will now look into how a paramedic handled the death of a 2-year-old child. closed for the weekend. later today a bridge will be shut down until monday morning. good morning and welcome back to "news4 today." i'm joe krebs. i'm kimberly suiters in for eun yang this morning. today is friday, march 12, 2010. let's take a live look outside where the cloud cover stems have thickened in the last hour. >> it really has. we need to talk to veronica johnson to see if we need to get noaa on the line. >> just me. al you have is me. let's get you started this morning because we have round of rain that's been moving through already. we're getting a break in the action then some more coming to us. you folks there around bull run and purcellville areas as well as gaithersburg, you're pretty wet right now. you're getting pocket of moderate rain. already amounts across the area have been from a quarter to 3/4 of an inch of rain. not only wet this weekend but it's going to be pretty windy also. 53 the current temperature right now in georgetown, largo, prince george's county you're currently at 50 degrees. it's 53 up in montgomery county, damascus. heavy rain coming our way later night and watching for flooding through tomorrow. at the bus stop, 55 degrees. sun is up, sunshine no sunshine for today but sunrise is at 6:24. we'll see a high 58 degrees. the within will pick up. not only flooding but, again, windy conditions and that may lead to some damage across the area, possible power outages for saturday early sunday. your high today 58. 56 for tomorrow. 50 degrees expected on sunday with rain probably not ending until early monday. let's get a look at traffic and what's happening on area roads. jerry? >> a live look along interstate 66 picking up volume. lanes are open. wilson bridge, both the inner loop and outer loop no issue there's. be careful the road spray will be an issue this morning. for the first time ever a paramedic with d.c. fire and ems could face criminal charges in relation to a patient's care. a 2-year-old girl died last month after her mother called 911 twice. today that case will be the focus of a hearing before the d.c. council. megan mcgrath joins us live from the wilson building in northwest washington with more on this story. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. it was a disturbing case. a 911 call was placed regarding a 2-ye-old girl. the responding ambulance, ems professional concluded thehild did not need to go to the hospital. hours later toddler was dead. that incident is being looked into by police and it's possible there could be some criminal charges in connection with what but, again, an investigation is going forward. now the d.c. council is taking a closer look at ambulance and ems service and they want to hear from members of the community. they are holding a public hearing later this morning. 2-year-old stephanie stevens was having trouble breathing. her family called 911 but she was not transported to the hospital. police are investigating the incident as a possible case of criminal negligence. at issue, whether the senior paramedic told the child's mother to put her in a steam bath to clear her lungs. stevens later died of pneumonia. >> members of our special victims unit out of homicide branch will be doing that review to determine if there's any potential criminal conduct, criminal negligence or anything else that may have resulted in the death of the child. >> reporter: as that investigation moves forward the d.c. council is looking for community input regarding ambulance service in the district. members of the public will be able to tell their stories during a public hearing later this morning. and that public hearing is getting under way at 10:00 this morning. ain, we're expecting to hear testimony from members of the public, their stories about the experiences they've had with the ambulance response in the district of columbia. back to you. megan mcgrath reporting live. thanks very much. an escaped prisoner is back behind bars this morning. officers found 28-year-old terrence moore last night between wheeler road and 10th place southeast. he had bee awaiting trial on charges of assault with intent to kill when he escaped yesterday morning on the way to greater southeast hospital. authorities say he somehow got free from handcuffs and shackles and jumped out of a transport van. officers did fine him 12 hours later hiding inside a car. an emergency loaneding at a southeast d.c. school. the school had to be evacuated when the prince george's county police helicopter had some mechanical problems. the helicopte pilot noticed a warning light indicator and the crew decided to land in the schoolyard at davis elementary. the school was cleared out out of precaution. the chopper landed safely and no one was hurt. >> this morning senate majority leader harry reid's wife remains hospitalized after a bad crash. they were driving north on i-95 near lorton yesterday when a tractor-trailer truck rear ended their minivan. both were taken to inova fairfax hospital. his daughter was released but his wife is being treated for a broke nose, broken neck and broken back. a traffic alert for drivers who take the chain bridge. you'll need to find a detour. that's because the bridge will be closed starting at 8:00 tonight. it won't re-open until the monday morning rush. news 4 tracee wilkins joins us live now from chain bridge with more on why this is happening and when else you can expect closures. >> reporter: this is going on because of this ongoing construction that they hope to have done by now but still continuing because of all the bad weather we've had during the winter. lots of cancelations with this project. they are talking about closing the bridge for the next two weekends to get this wrapped up by summer. closures will begin tonight at 8:00 p.m. and the bridge will re-open on monday at 5:00 a.m. the project began in june of last year and officials were hoping to have it done by this winter but there have been a number of postponements due to the holidays and the snow we got. this weekend workers are expected to fix expansion joins. no drivers, walkers or cyclists will be allowed on the bridge. you should make other plans for this weekend. there m be some additional closures in weekends to come. i'm tracee wilkins live this morning. investigators are now looking into yet another metro derailment, the second in about a month. a red line train left tracks before 12:30 wednesday afternoon at the rhode island brentwood rail yard. an orator ran a red light causing the front wheels to come off the track. no passengers were inside. the two workers on board have both undergone drug and alcohol tests, which are standard. the lawsuit following the 9/11 attacks expected to be settled later today. find out who will be receiving more than $650 million. the new push to fanl loophole in maryland traffic laws. find out how much rain we'll see this weekend. your weather and traff taking a live look outside, you can see very wet roads this morning. it's been range all night and into the early morning. >> looks like according to what veronica johnson said we'll have rain for four days and nights. not 40 days and nights. for friday, today, saturday, sunday, this rain probably isn't going to end until monday morning. it's not going to be persistent but rain coming our way overnight. we got moderate rain and quite a bit down south where rainfall topped out over 3/4 of an inch. ashton and now still around wheaton you're dry. off to the west, leesburg, bull run and down towards gainesville more moderate rain is moving through. temperatures are in the low to mid-50s across the area like greenbelt at 51. kensington, montgomery county at 53. at the bus tops the kids will need their rain jacket, their umbrella for sure. we'll get up to 58 but, again, a real soaker for the weekend. heavy rain, moderate rain too back later tonight after midnight and that should be around until about saturday afternoon because the wind will be picking up too where tomorrow we could see gusts topping out over 30 miles per hour. so, almost four days and four nights. jerry? >> we'll take a live look 95 northbound loaded up getting word of an accident near 7100 and newington. let's head to maryland. 270 no hangups there. travel lanes are open. thanks. so you have the real world and real housewives and another reality tv show is getting rdy to film in d.c. what the federal government wants installed in every single car and how it will help diagnose problems like the ones we're seeing in toyotas. the here are some of the top stories we're following this morning. the d.c. council will hold a hearing today about several recent complaints over ems response. this comes as one paramedic is being investigated and could face charges. a 2-year-old girl in southeast washington died last month after her mother called 911 twice. the first time she told paramedics her daughter was having trouble breathing they advised her to give the girl a hot shower and did not transport her. this morning senate majority leader hear reid's wife remains in the hospital with serious problems after a car accident in northern virginia. they were driving north on i-95 near lorton yesterday when a tractor-trailer truck rear ended their minivan. the truck driver has been charged with reckless driving. authorities have cut up to a prisoner who escaped in the district. terrence moore was awaiting trial for assault with intent to kill. and the chain bridge will close at 8:00 tonight. will not re-open until 5:00 a.m. on monday. crews will be doing improvements to the bridge. it will be closed for the next two weekends. after years of fighting in court, new york city may reach a settlement with thousand of rescue workers who respond the 9/11 attacks. more than 10,000 lawsuits have been filed by responders who say they were sickened by world trade center dust. now there's word an insurance company that represents new york city may have to pay those workers more than $600 million. the amount an individual would receive would be based on the nature of their illness and their chance of recovery. the deal still needs to be approved by a judge and the workers sthechls. now to the latest on toyota's troubles. the head national highway transportation safety association said regulators are considering black boxes like the ones use in planes. brooke hart now joins us live from capitol hill. good morning. >> reporter: this could affect the design of all new cars. safety regulators are requiring whether new requirements could prevent crashes or help to explain what caused them. >> reporter: the nation's highway chief defended his agency's response to toyota complaints. >> we find the defects such as in the itance of the float mat entrapment or stick gentlemen medal or brakes we acted and acted quickly. >> reporter: he said new design rules for cars couldome, black boxes to record speed and braking effort or brake override systems letting a driver stop even if the throttle is stuck. why not more action against toyota sooner? >> this agency opened eight separate investigations over the time period when there were complaints about sudden acceleration. a lap dog doesn't open up eight investigations. >> reporter: lawmakers asked why no government recalls in decades. >> can you explain why your agency, nhtsa has not initiated a recall since 1979? >> reporter: he said carmakers typically recall vehicles for fety first. >> we influence well over half of the recalls that are happening every year. >> count me as skeptical. >> reporter: there were calls for more resources for nhtsa. even a doubling of its budget. deep discounts boosted sales in early march by 50% over a year ago. in its budget the white house called for 66 new nhtsa employees, a big increase. the agency is also looking at its ethics rules after it claimed nhtsa workers are former auto industry insiders and vice versa. live on capitol hill, i'm brooke hart. back to you. aaa says it's time to close a loophole i maryland's law that gives drivers nothing more than a traffic ticket when they've actually killed someone on the roads. under maryland law vehicular manslaughter is hard to prove. it requires evidence of gross negligence. prosecutors often turn to reckless driving charges as an alternative. >> right now we got, you know, killers in cars who are allowed to get away with committing an act that leads to the death of someone based on their driving. but we can't hold them accountable for it beyond just giving them traffic tickets. aaa want lawmakers to create a criminal charge called criminal manslaughter. some lawmakers hope that because this is an election year the bill will have a chance of becoming law. lawmakers are trying to crackdown on drivers trying to cheat the tolls by using the dulles access road instead of the dulles toll road the expressway that leads to the dulles airport is intended only for airport business. more and more drivers, however, are reportedly using the highway to avoid the dulles toll road which is nearby. plus the house and senate in virginia's general assembly has now approved new legislation that would install cameras on the access road. they would be much like red light cameras. if the governor does sign the bill into law the fines would begin at $50 per offense. golf fans hold on the your hats. it could be tiger time again soon. one report has it tiger woods will return to competitive golf in just two weeks. according to the "new york post", arnold palmer has told friends that tiger will be playing in his tournament that starts march 25th. no one from the tournament has confirmed it yet. but the associated press is quoting two of woods' friends saying the golfer will not return until the masters in april. he can appear on tv but still trying to make people laugh. could none o'brien and his red hair is launching a tour. he announced the legally prohibited from being funny on television tour. nipt clouds stops in 30 cities including a june visit to dar constitution hall in june. the hit tv cooking competition "top chef" may be coming to the nation's capital. the bravo network will film one of their upcoming seashows this season. contestants on the show compete to win $100,000 to start their own restaurant. its 6:21 right now. we want to check in with veronica johnson. it's range quite a bit out there. >> hey there, joe and kimberly. we're getting one round of moderate rain and this isn't even the main storm coming in. this is an upper level low pressure system that's moving north and east but, yes, we have gotten that moderate rain. off to the west there's some more coming through loudoun county, western fauquier county, in the dark green. up around east of winchester right now. for those locations that got a chance to get a break around columbia more rain moving in. today's high 58 degrees. a break afternoon time and more to come. let's head out and see how the commute is going in virginia. very slow in several long stretches in addition to the delays due in part of the weather, report of an accident near 7100 newington. police should be arriving on the scene. this is approaching the lorton interchange. long line of brake lights developing very rapidly. maryland, coming in from maryland to northeast, look out for the traffic light issues. new york avenue, traffic circle, west virginia and montana avenues and wrapping up the accident pennsylvania avenue at branch avenue in southeast. thank you. metro's new message to riders. what the transit agency is trying to warn people about, the mystery surrounding a montgomery county man. he packed his car to head out of town then vanished without a trace. his car still in the driveway. >> how a man accidentally shot his neighbor in prince william county. it's that easy for a thief to rip you off on metro. metro is hoping you'll watch the public service announcement. there were 122 robberies reported in january alone. metro says crooks will grab riders electronic devices right out of their hands and then dash out the door. police say you should stay alert. foul play is suspected in the disappearance of a montgomery county man who was seen nearly three years ago. 40-year-old john morris jr. disappeared in july of 2007. last seen outside o his home in the poolesville area. his car was packed like he was leaving town but weeks later that car was found in his driveway with everything still inside. police have tried to track down his cell phone and credit cards but nothing has turned up. his family and police are now asking anyone who might have any information about him to come forward. senate majority leader harry reid's wife and daughter involved in a serious accident in northern virginia. this morning we have new information about their injuries. it is a wet and nasty start to your friday. find out how long this weekend is going to stick around. super soaker, off to a wet start already. find out whether this rainy weather will stick around all weekend. good morning and welcome back to "news4 today." i'm joe krebs. i'm kimberly suiters in for eun yang this morning. taking a live look outside. i hate to say it was a lot prettier this morning when the sun of just coming up, there was cloud cover. now it's just gray soup. yes, indeed, gray pea soup. let's go to veronica johnson who is in for tom kierein. that's a live look at the chain bridge. you can see all the water on the roadways. high water in some areas. especially tonight and through at least the first half of saturday. there will be some high water on area roads and we're expect everything from urban flooding to tidal flooding and coastal flooding as we head to the east. let's get you going here with a look at the radar, though. we had one round come through, one line of moderate rain. another line back around hagerstown and winchester and front royal that will be coming through over the next couple of hours. moderate rain up to about noon time. meanwhile some temperatures across the area, at the bus stop -- for some reason my system isn't advancing. temperatures out here in laurel at 50 degrees. 53 degrees currently in the district. 51 in montgomery county and 55 degrees currently in fairfax. we'll see a high temperature today going up to 58 degrees. let's get a look now at area roads. jerry? >>. we'll check out interstate 66 where it's unfentful and considering everything it's moving along pretty well this morning as you approach vienna heading towards the capital beltway. it will slow the last half mile up to 495. the trip along south 270 plenty heavy and slow traffic but notice there are plenty of vehicles -- plenty of space between the vehicles and that's a hopeful sign we're doing pretty well all the way on down. the wife of senate majority leader harry reid continues to recover in a northern virginia hospital after a highway accident. mrs. reid and her daughter were driving northbound on i-95 near lorton when a tractor-trailer rear ended their minivan. news 4 elaine reyes joins us live now from the news room with more details. good morning. that's right. this was a chain reaction crash that sent other people to the hospital and tied up traffic. mrs. reid's injuries were pretty serious but not considered life threatening. her daughter, though, was treated and released. the senator harry reid left the capitol hill as soon as he got word of the accident yesterday. they were in stop and go traffic yesterday afternoon when a tractor-trailer carrying rolls of plastic slammed into the back of their honda odyssey. their van then hit two other cars in front of them. mrs. reid has a broken neck, back and nose. their daughter had less serious injuries. doctors say bh were conscious and alert when they arrived. the chain reaction crash sent a few other people to the hospital. again, police charged the driver of that tractor-trailer with reckless driving. he was not injured in the accident. thank you. members of the public will go before the d.c. council today to talk about their experiences with ambulance service in the district. this comes after a 2-year-old child died after her mother called 911 twice. now a paramedic could face criminal charges in that want case. megan mcgrath joins us live from northwest washington this morning with more on the story. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, joe. it certainly was a sad case. paramedics responding to a 911 call concluded that a 2-year-old child did not need to go to the hospital. that toddler later died of pneumonia. and the police are now looking into that case and it's possible that criminal charges could be filed. also now the d.c. council is looking closer at ambulance service here in the district and they want to hear from members of the public. 2-year-old stephanie stevens was having trouble breathing. her parents called 911 but she was not transported to the hospital. police are investigating the incident as a possible case of criminal negligence. at issue whether the senior paramedic told the child's mother to put her in a steam bath to clear her lungs. stevens later died of pneumonia. >> the members of our special victims unit out of the homicide branch will be doing that criminal review in this case to determine if there's any potential criminal conduct, criminal negligence or anything else that may have resulted in the death of the child. >> reporter: as that investigation moves forward the d.c. council is looking for community input regarding ambulance svice in the district. members of the pubc will be able to tell their stories during a public hearing later this morning. and that public hearing gets under way at 10:00 this morning here at the d.c. council. and we're expecting, again, to hear from members of the public. they will relay their stories about the expenses they've had with ambulance response here in the district. joe, back to you. megan mcgrath, reporting live. police in prince william are looking for two men who broke into a house and realized they were in the wrong place. a woman told police that two men kicked in her back door yesterday afternoon and forced their way inside. three young children were also home at the time. the men then took the woman into a bedroom, held her on the floor and asked her where the drugs were. according to police the suspects left after they realized they were in the wrong house. the woman and children were all unharmed at least physically. police in prince william county also say that they do not expect to file charges against a man who accidentally shot his neighbor. this happened yesterday in a neighborhood just off of route 1 in dumfries, virginia. police say a retired marine was practicing loading and unloading a shotgun when a round was fired. it blasted through a wall and something hit a neighbor who was standing on her deck. neighbors are alarmed but also sympathetic when they learned who fired the gun. >> he's not the guy -- he's got to be devastated. this is really tragic for him. >> police say they don't know whether the woman was hit by debris or buckshot. she was taken to the hospital and expected to be okay. this morning the manhunt is over. a prisoner is back in custody after escaping handcuffs and shackles and jumping out of a transport van. officer found 28-year-old terrence moore last night between wheeler road and 10th place southeast. he was awaiting trial on charges of assault with intent to kill when he escaped yesterday morning on the way to greater southeast hospital. officer found him 12 hours later hiding inside a car. an emergency landing at a southeast d.c. school. the school had to be evacuate when the prince george's county police helicopter had some mechanical problems. the helicopter pilot noticed a warning indicator light and the crew decided to land in the schoolyard at davis elementary. the school was cleared out as a precaution. the chopper did land safely and no one was hurt. "the today show" is next at the top of the hour. let's go live to meredith vieira in new york to see what they are working on for "the today show." good morning. >> good morning to you, joe. coming up than friday morning on "the today show", house speaker nancy pelosi facing new pressure over when her office first learned of complaints against former congressman eric massa. we'll get the latest short fallout on capitol hill. then new details on what may have caused the untimely death of former child starorey haim. what his mother tells us she learned. also ahead an exclusive interview with ryan and tatum o'neal. and oscar style for a lot less where you can pick up affordable fashions inspired by this year's academy awards. that's when we get started on a friday morning right here today. back to you. . coming up next, why many of you will see lower utility bills. one local woman knew about possible prius problems ooh long time ago. >> find out how much rain we'll it's definitely expensive having a growing family and it's something that you think about. we try to be conscious of that and plan out our meals so that we can feed everyone on a budget. at giant, we know saving money is important. every time you shop with your card, you can enjoy thousands of readeal savings and weekly specials, like perdue boneless chicken breasts, buy 1, get 1 free. and fresh asparagus, $1.99 a pound. this week only. it makes me feel good because we're saving money, and that works for me. only with your giant card. welcome back to news 4. good morning. the time is 6:42. a really soaker out there this morning. grab the umbrella. you'll need it. i-270 and 70 up around frederick some wet weather moving back your way after round one that just moved to the east. damascus, brunswick down through leesburg and warrenton area, that's where some of the moderate rain is. it's heading off to the east. les go ahead then and take a look at the school bus forecast, because kids at the bus stop this morning will see temperatures between 50 and 55 degrees. meanwhile, today's high 58 degrees with moderate to heavy rain coming back our way later tonight up until about 2:00 p.m. tomorrow. we could see anywhere between one and two inches of rain by the end of tomorrow and boy, jerry, it will be pretty gusty too throughout the day. >> hang on for that. right now the rain is not a factor buttill certainly seeing wet roads along 395 northbound. 95 at lorton there was an accident reported, a broken down vehicle. so everybody is jammed up there. not that bad yet inside the beltway headed for the 14th street bridge. prince george's county inner loop at route 4 or just after the interchange an accident we're told at least two travel lanes southbound on the capital beltway. back to you. thanks very much. a former metro general manager was asked to take a close look at the system has suggested some changes. find out what they ar why some members of congress are calling for an investigation into the eric massa mess even though he already stepped down. and we know your commute probably isn't a whole lot of fun but it could be profitable. find out how you can get paid just for driving to work. welcome back. traffic alert this morning. planning on driving the chain bridge this weekend? better think again. it will close down beginning at 8:00 tonight and the bridge will not re-open until monday morning at 5:00 a.m. this is not the only weekend the bridge will be closed. tracee wilkins joins us live from chain bridge with more on when else you can expect closures. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. we're looking at the next two weekends for now but that could be extended as you said these closures will start tonight. they are trying to wrap up this project by this summer. good news for folks who drive this bridge. closures will begin at 8:00 p.m. and the bridge will re-open at 5:00 a.m. the project began in june of last year. officials were heaping to have it done by now but there was bean number of set backs, the holiday, subzero temperatures and then, of course, all that snow we had made it impossible to take care of this work. this weekend workers are approached to pour new slabs and other projects. no drivers, walkers or cyclists will be allowed on the bridge. they are hoping to have this bridge wapd rapped up by may 31. if you share is a ride to work your commute could pay off. organizers are expanding a program that pays two people -- pays people $2 a day to carpool. this is part of the commuter connections program. it started as a pilot program last fall rewarding drivers who took three specific routes. now the reward program applies to everyone who works in the d.c. area and forms a new carpool. participants can get paid up to $130 over a three month period. you have until march 31st to sign up and you can do so by visiting nbcwashington.com to find the link. a former general manager said he can sum up metro's problems with one hand. david gunn said the agency has four chief challenges. resolving safety issues. fixing finances. controlling metro access costs. and recruiting a permanent general manager. john catoe is stepping down at the end of the month. rirld sarles will serve as an interim general manager. gunn says whoever gets the permanent job should have a strong operating and technical background. republicans want to know if democrats tried to cover up the latest sex scandal on capitol hill. the democrats are saying not so fast. the scandal centers on congressman eric massa the democrat resigned monday accused of groping staff members. the gop wants to know when speaker nancy pelosi learned about the harassment allegations. republicans tried to force an investigation of house leaders but the democrats defeated that effort. the head of the national highway transportation safety association took heat for toyota's problems on capitol hill yesterday. administrator david strictland denied claims his agency is too friendly with automakers and defended his agency's actions with respect to toyota's safety concerns. he said the agency did their job by pushing toyota to issue recalls. one local woman said her 2004 prius sped out of control before toyota safety issues became national news. she said her accelerator got stuck twice while passing another car on the beltway. she had to pump on the brake a couple of times before the gas pedal started to work again. >> i floored the accelerator and it didn't pop back. so for about 10 or 15 seconds the car was speeding up, and i couldn't get it to stop. >> paterson took the car to a dealership and the mechanics said it was a floor mat issue. she disagrees because she was using her own and not the manufacturer's mats. hers were too small to touch the gas pedal. a new report details what caused a lehman brothers meltdown back in september of 2008. cnbc courtney regan has more on what the report has to say. good morning. >> after a year long investigation the cause of death has been determined, startling new report details how lehman brothers hid their woes as the company fell apart in 2008 pap court appointed investigator said they used accounting gimmicks and was insolvent before filing the largest bankruptcy in history. the former ceo signed off on the move but told attorneys he wasn't aware of the specifics. the report questions management's decision but says they are largely not liable for lehman's collapse. creditors could present claims for negligence. they could go after big banks who made excessive calls for collateral draining lehman's cash reserves. quite an interesting background story that's coming out today. >> fill a book. thanks, courtney. >> thank you. the apple ipad goes on sale april 3rd. if you can't wait until then. beginning today apple is taking pre-orders through its online store. the ipad comes in two models one with wi-fi only and one with wi-fi plus 3 g. prices range between 499 and $829 depending on the model. if you pre-order now apple says you n pick up your new ipad on april 3rd. good news for dominion virginia power customers this morning. you can expect to save is a little money on your next bill. state regulators approved a settlement that will lower electric bills for all dominion customers. the total savings will be about $726 million. on average a customer who uses about 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity will see their bill drop by $10. in addition customers will receive $154 million in refund. time for traffic and weather on the 1s. >> let's go to meteorologist veronica johnson in for tom kierein this morning. some wet weather out there this morning. stay wet the next couple of days. we got a two part storm and at that rough couple of days coming our way. let's get you started with temperatures this morning. set up mild right now. temperatures at 53 degrees. currently you folks in the district, in anacostia, prince george's county at 50 degrees. colesville in montgomery 51 and 55 degrees right now in fairfax and alexandria. there's a look at the rain and where that break is right around the beltway on up to the north i-95 baltimore not much happening right now but you'll be getting some more before noon time today. most of the moderate rain is hanging back to the west a little bit around i-270 and i-70 there around frederick and damascus. brunswick and purcellville down towards western loudoun county it is pretty wet right now. this is just first little low pressure system, a weak wave running well out ahead of our main storm that's coming our way later tonight. there are some flood warnings, elkins, west virginia and around snowshoe, some of the high spots there that had a lot of snow melt on the ground. snow potential because of the snow melt, saturated ground and three to five inches ever rain we could see by the end of the weekend. big concern too the potomac river at pawpaw, major flooding by sunday morning, 34.1 feet. that's where it's expected to crest. well below freezing flood sta and moderate flooding at point of rocks at 21.2. a big soaker coming our way through the weekend as this low pressure system heads slowly to the east and another low coming up the coast that will give us, i think, some coastal flooding and beach erosion. three to five inches right around our area, southern philadelphia and northern new jersey. not just here the heavy rain and high winds. today's high 58 degrees. the within will pick up later tonight. breezy. down right windy with windswept heavy rain coming our way for saturday. let's get another look and see what's happening on area roads. it is heavy, steady, even a little wind whipped in part of the area. 270. the good use is from frederick to resolve volume only. lots of it. speeds are down considerably. no accident currently ahead of you. reports of a broken down vehicle in the roadway inbound on the 14th street bridge starting to stack up very rapidly. there may be something to that report. out on the rails at this hour, we have an issue on metro rail because of a train malfunction outside of the bethesda station. trains are sharing the same track between friendship heights and medical center. earlier issues along marc rail have been resolved so no delays on marc rail. the wife of senate majority leader harry reid remains in a northern virginia hospital this morning in serious condition. she and her daughter were injured in a multiple car accident near lorton yesterday. a tractor-trailer truck rear ended their minivan on i-95 northbound. elaine reyes joins us live from the newsroom with more on this. good morning. this was a chain reaction crash that sent several people to the hospital and tied up traffic. reid's daughter was treated and released and although mrs. reid's injuries are serious, doctors say they are not considered life threatening. senator harry reid left the capitol as soon as he got word of the accident. they were in stop and go traffic when a tractor-trailer carried rolls of plastic slammed into the back of their honda odyssey. their minivan hit two other cars in front much it. mrs. reid has a broken neck, broken back and nose. doctors say both women were conscious and alert when they arrived. the tractor-trailer driver was not injured in that accident, and he is being charge though, with reckless driving. joe, back to you. elaine reyes reporting live. thanks very much. the d.c. council will hold a hearing today about several recent complaint over ambulance response. this comes as one paramedic is being investigated and could face criminal charges in the death of a 2-year-old child. megan mcgrath joins us live now from the wilson building in northwest washington with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. february 109, stephanie stevens had trouble breathing so her family called 911. the paramedics responding concluded the toddler did not need to go to the hospital. several hours later another ambulance was called. she was eventually transported to the hospital but died several hours later of pneumonia. now the actions of the senior par medic who responded to that first call are at the center of a criminal investigation, a possible negligence case. at issue whether the paramedic told the mother to put the child in a steam bath to clear her lungs rather than needing transport to the hospital. obviously, a very disturbing case that's being investigated by police. also the d.c. council is looking closer into ambulance response in the district. they want to hear from members of the public and are holding a public hearing late they are morning. back to you. megan mcgrath reporting live for us. let's get another quick check on our forecast. temperatures out there right now, between 50 and 55 degrees. anywhere from mitchellville to herndon. a high of around 58 degrees. we'll have moderate rain up to noon time, periods of rain heavy tonight through tomorrow. back to you. that is "news4 today." thank you for starting your friday with us. >> have a great day and a great weekend. wake up with us at 4:55 on monday pornography and 6:00 a.m. on saturday and sunday morning. >> bye. can you go back to the right? no, ba here. how about over here? hmm... let's go back to the left. uh... waffling is back at dunkin' donuts with the return of the waffle breakfast sandwich. two oven-toasted waffles with a hint of maple, complete with fluffy egg, a slice of melted cheese, and now with delicious sausage. so hurry in today because it's only around for a short time. america runs on dunkin'. try our oven-toasted waffle breakfast sandwich today, only at dunkin' donuts.