Transcripts For WRC News 4 Today 20120304

nbc's jay gray has more now from one of the hardest hit places over the weekend, henryville, indiana. >> reporter: this morning, cleanup crews will storm the hardest hit areas of tornado alley, sifting through miles of debris, all that's left from so many communities and lives ripped apart by the storms. >> tragic, terrible. i mean, it's just like, one minute you're here and then you're gone. >> reporter: a disaster spread by at least 100 tornadoes that left deep, painful scars across at least a dozen states. >> he was the greatest love of my life. >> reporter: cheryl pickett's husband, ron, wasn't supposed to be home when the storms hit. >> he shouldn't have been here. he came home early from work because he didn't feel good and wanted to take a nap. >> reporter: he died when a twister ripped apart their home, and now cheryl, who had been planning a celebration for their 40th wedding anniversary. >> we were going to have a hell of a party. >> reporter: now, instead, she must prepare for a funeral. across tornado alley, for many, the only thing left to hold on to is each other, and they understand they are the lucky ones. >> we're all okay. that's all that matters. >> reporter: as they work through the haunting images of what's happened here and the painful reality that's left behind. jay gray, nbc news, henryville, indiana. >> through all of the death and destruction, there are also stories of survival. a 2-year-old was found wandering in a field in salem, indiana, two miles from her home. her entire family was killed in the tornadoes and her home was destroyed. she's currently in critical condition and the hospital is taking donations to help her out. when i heard about that story yesterday -- >> so sad. >> these are really unbelievable story lines. >> very, very unusual to have that level of intensity of severe weather so early in the severe weather season, no doubt about it. and just, you know, our heart goes out to them. we were talking about it yesterday, the best places you can donate if you want to give money is the red cross or salvation army. they're very good at making sure they get things out there. also, donating blood is always, always, always a good idea. but in the wake of something, with so many people injured and needing blood, the red cross always happy to take donations for that outside for us around here, we've been a fairly tranquil day coming on our sunday. plenty of clouds around, not anywhere near as much bonus sunshine as what we saw around here yesterday. temperatures now in the 30s north and west to about 43 in washington. in fact, it's exactly 43 in washington. 43 also in waldorf and la plaina. 34 winchester and front royal. 34 martinsburg and charlestown, 33 hagerstown. so, there is some colder air out there. just a hint of a breeze, hence windchills back down into the upper 20s and low 30s. there are a few rain drops reaching the ground across parts of southern calvert county and st. mary's county, maryland, all part of a larger system which is going to stay way down to our south. you folks south of the capital beltway into southern maryland, especially lower southern maryland, a chance of sprinkles and spritzes of rain today. probably not going to see a drop in metro washington fer washington and almost no chance for precipitation in northern maryland out towards the panhandle of west virginia. but that said, an awful lot of clouds around today. staying noticeably cooler. yesterday we made 63. today we'll be lucky to make it back to about 50 degrees. then tomorrow, a chance still of a little alberta clipper bringing some light snow. emphasis -- you know, i'm trying to de-emphasize the snow possibilities. snowflakes. the ground is going to be too warm and temperatures above freezing, so even if it snows, we're not looking for accumulations. don't spend all daydreaming up snowmen names because you're not going to be making any. >> all right. thank you. >> sorry, kids, you're out of luck. >> i know. all right, we go on to "decision 2012." where presidential candidate mitt romney wins the washington state republican caucuses. he easily won with a double-digit victory. recomme romney came in first with 31%, ron paul and rick santorum in second and third with one percent separating them, 25% and 24%. newt gingrich came in a distant fourth with 10%. this is romney's fourth win in a row. >> romney heads into super tuesday with momentum, a fresh sign of strength on tuesday. seven states will hold primaries, including virginia, where gingrich and santorum failed to qualify for the ballot. three states will hold caucuses. 419 delegates are up for grabs. that's more than a third needed to clinch the republican nomination. >> all right, and now, all eyes are on ohio, which has the most delegates at stake among the ten contests. the state's largest newspaper, "the plain dealer of cleveland" endorsed romney. romney and santorum made campaign stops across the state. >> we've got good people running for office, but you know, these other guys have spent their life in government. nothing wrong with that. it's just that right now, with our economy in distress, with jobs so badly needed, with incomes having gone down, we need a president who knows the economy to fix the economy. >> this is a marathon, not a sprint. we're going to keep working. we're doing well, and we feel like this race is narrowing just like it should be. >> santorum is shaking off news that uncomplete paperwork will keep him from winning at least nine of ohio's delegates. >> santorum and romney head into ohio in a dead heat. both are tied with 32% in the latest reuters poll. gingrich comes in third with 17%. ron paul comes in fourth with 6%. after being criticized from both democrats and republicans, and he caught a lot of heat, rush limbaugh has apologized to a georgetown law student. last week, the conservative radio host made degrading comments towards sandra fluke. fluke testified to congressional democrats about the debate over birth control and catholic institutions. limbaugh released a statement on his website that said "my choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, i created a national stir. i sincerely apologize to ms. fluke for the insulting word choices." the radio host tried to even reach ms. fluke by phone and e-mail, but she has not responded. the controversial arizona sheriff who believes president obama is not eligible for office is now selling his report as a book. maricopa county sheriff joe arpaio's report is part of a book by jerome corsi, a political conspiracy writer who also believes president obama's birth certificate is fake. the book, "a question of eligibility" is for sale as an ebook through amazon.com and barnes & noble. a spokesman for president obama responded by tweeting out a link to the popular tv series "the x files." virginia police arrested more than 30 pro-choice activists at the state capitol, part of a group of about 500 protesting a bill that will require women to get an ultrasound before getting an abortion. police say the group had a permit to rally but rallies aren't allowed on the capitol steps. the bill passed virginia's general assembly last week and governor bob mcdonnell is expected to sign it into law pretty soon. all eyes on chuck bell this morning, as a little taste of winter makes a comeback, huh? >> yeah, a very little taste, you know? just a whisper of winter is about all we have to talk about. but nonetheless, we're talking about it, and we'll be talking more about it after this. we spend a lot of time on the feed because a chicken is what it eats. [ jim ] this seal verifies we feed my fresh all-natural chickens an all-vegetarian diet including corn, soybeans, and marigolds. no animal by-products. no meat and bone meal. when you put my chicken on the table, you know where it came from. perdue is the first and the only chicken company to have usda process verified programs for fresh, all natural chicken. our chickens are not fed steroids or hormones. [ jim ] we raise our chickens cage-free. we're trying to make a better chicken. ooh, man. feast your eyes on this. chocolate lovers may want to indulge their taste buds to some delicious chocolate confections. the annual chocolate lovers festival is under way in the city of fairfax, and it's happening at the old town hall. the taste of chocolate runs from noon to 4:00 today. >> now, that is a breakfast of champions. >> no doubt! >> a little chocolate, a little coffee. >> nothing like a mound of chocolate on a stick covered in chocolate and buried in sprinkles. >> well, the thing is, if you do that, then you don't need the double shot of espresso to keep you going, so -- >> no, i still need the double shot of espresso. is there anything better than chocolate and coffee? but those cake pops are scrumptious. those are my new favorite thing. >> i asked my mom what she was giving up for lent. she said anything but chocolate. there's no doubt we're genetically linked. i could not give up my chocolate in the world. what we have today, a little cloud cover coming in, and unfortunately, or fortunately, depending how you think about it, a little bit of cold air coming our way as well. in a winter that hasn't seen a whole lot of cold, especially monday, tuesday, wednesday, going to be awfully chilly out here. and on the leading edge of the cold air coming in, a little chance of some snowflakes around here monday morning. not looking for a big one. kids, keep doing your homework, keep writing that history paper, because schools are not, in all likelihood, going to feel any impact from this little alberta clipper that's racing our way. right now, though, it's just cloudy and chilly outside. 43 at national airport. north-northwesterly breeze, though, at 13 miles per hour. that's that colder air settling down from ohio and pennsylvania, riding that northwesterly wind down into the region. so, going to be on the chilly side today. temperatures climbing back up only into the mid and upper 40s this afternoon. you'll get a little more sunshine up across northern maryland, mountains of west virginia, but a whole lot of clouds from washington southbound into lower southern maryland. so, a pretty mixed up sky cover for today. mostly cloudy, 40s this morning, near 50 for a brief time this afternoon, and then cloudy back down into the low 40s by 6:00 this evening. storm4 radar, nothing going on around town. completely dry across northern maryland today, but way down into southern st. mary's county, southern calvert county, you're on the leading edge. most of this moisture is going off of the capes, but on the northern fringe there, a little chance of light rain for the northern neck, lower southern maryland and lower parts of the eastern shore. next thing we're watching, there's our alberta clipper right there racing down through the dakotas first thing this morning. it has to go all the way down into the southern appalachians and then make the corner. so, there's a lot of uncertainty with the exact track of this next system. so, here's the way i think things are going to play out. light sprinkles and showers southern maryland today, plenty of clouds around. the cold air settles in tonight. and here we are now early on monday morning. there's that area of low pressure zipping just down to our south. little better chances for snow fredericksburg, richmond, tidewater regions, but the temperatures won't be all that cold. here we are up close and personal on the micro cast model. quiet with sprinkles in southern maryland and generally quiet tonight. tomorrow during the mid to late morning hours, that little possibility of snow. and somewhere down the road south of fredericksburg might get up to an inch on the grass. that's as much as i can pull back without saying it just isn't going to happen. mostly cloudy, chilly today, upper 40s to near 50. watch out for the sprinkles in southern maryland. then your seven-day forecast. it's going to be chilly around here for the next couple of days. only upper 40s to near 50 today. again, sprinkles, chances south today, snow flurry chances mainly south on monday. then staying on the cold side through tuesday and wednesday, but mild, mid-60s return just in time for late wednesday into thursday. >> that will be fantastic. just in time maybe to usher in the cherry blossoms coming up here pretty soon? >> yeah, i think about three weeks away. >> yeah, can't wait for that. >> it should coincide with the festival this year. that's what they're predicting. all right, thank you, chuck. >> thanks, chuck. >> you're welcome. stay with us. next up is "reporter's notebook," a look at stories affecting our community. >> and then we will be back in 15 minutes with your morning's top stories, and of course, your sunday forecast with chuck again. but for now, here's jim handly. good morning, and welcome to "reporter's notebook." i'm jim handly. speeding in prince george's county, the governor signs same-sex marriage into law in maryland, and an ad in northern virginia under fire by some for being offensive. let's start with this ad, and it's at a metro station in clarendon, gentlemen. congressman moran has called it offensive. he wants that ad to come down. it says, doesn't mince words. it says "president obama, go to hell." it's over health care. and this group, apparently, is promoting some movie called something about "sick and sicker." >> yeah. >> what are your thoughts on this? should metro take this sign down? >> well, it's interesting, jim moran is probably one of the strongest advocates of free speech. he's very liberal in many areas, especially in that, and yet, this just got to him. he really is angry. he hasn't threatened to bring this to congress, to get congress involved yet. however, he is incensed. and yet, metro says that they can't get involved in the language that's in it. it's protected speech under the constitution, they contend, and therefore, they simply have to go with it, and this has been their policy. other people say this goes beyond the bounds of propriety and there ought to be some way to deal with this. >> number one, metro didn't have to sell them the space. that's the way i look at it. in radio and television and in our industry, many times people come to us to put something on the air, and it's up to the discretion of the station management as to whether you're going to go with it or not. >> exactly. >> in this particular case, this is directly offensive and insulting to the president of the united states. >> and to the office >> and to the office of the president, to say "go to hell," number one. then second, as i read here, this comes from a canadian group. they're not even americans! >> well, joe, your thoughts? y >> you took all the good points. there's nothing left. >> well. >> i mean, there really isn't. if they don't have a policy, they certainly ought to get one. look, i'll add one other thing. it is also up at a time when the tourist season is beginning. i mean, we're going to have millions of people coming in in the next couple of weeks, the schools. you have children who are going to be seeing this. i can't think of any time in modern history that i've been alive or conscious of politics that i've ever seen an ad or anyone associated with a media outlet that has said, advertised telling the president by name to go to hell. i mean, i don't think channel 4 would accept an ad like this. >> no channel. no channel. [ everyone talking at once ] >> no way. no way. >> this comes at a time when we have a member of congress rise up, figuratively, at least, and tell the president, you lie, at a presidential speech to the congress on capitol hill. >> oh, it's been -- >> the dialogue is very, very high, very hot, very partisan. i mean, you can agree or disagree with what the congressman said, but it was something different. >> the climate -- >> we are -- [ everyone talking at once ] >> the year's very young in this election year. >> i was going to say, we would be here for the next five hours talking about the insults against the african-american president in the white house. >> i just did a show on a sheriff, i believe in arizona -- >> arizona. >> -- where he was sending out a poster with bullet-rid yden imas of barack obama, and they had to demote this sheriff. and so, this is a very toxic type of thing to say. but who wants to come and visit washington, d.c., and see an ad like that? >> we're talking, this is one sign, but the mileage they have gotten out of this, because everybody's talking about it. >> oh, yeah. that's basic marketing, you know. you put the name out there, good or bad. >> i'm sure that's why they did it. >> but i go back to my original premise. it's up to the seller, the space seller, the air seller, as to whether they have the scruples enough to respect the dignity of the office of the president. >> and someone on that board ought to speak up and demand that it be taken down. >> surprised they haven't yet, or perhaps they will? >> perhaps they will. >> they should. >> they should. >> big happening on the hill, dave. tell us what happened last week. >> early this week late at night on the house floor, well, relatively late at night. they don't spend that much time there. a bill was passed to speed up the special election for harry thomas, who vacated his seat after he pled guilty to a kickback scheme. we've done that story many times here. he left. they need somebody to represent his ward. they don't have anybody. under current law, they'd have to wait until the summer. delegate norton pushed hard for a bill to speed it up. not only the election for harry thomas, but any special election in the district that they happen much more quickly. and there's a big debate in congress about special elections, how soon they should be, who gets to have them and why and how they're done and how they serve the body politic. so, this fits in right with all that and it looks like the bill will go through the senate, and so it looks like there will be an election sooner rather than later. as delegate norton, her hope is that these people have a voice in government and they will get that voice sooner. >> while we're on the district panel, the judiciary committee, i guess, pushed through fewer rules or fewer restrictions for buying a handgun in d.c. this was phil mendelson, and he pushed through this. what is required now? and he's talking about making fewer restrictions, really, for buying a handgun. >> well, number one, before you get to the restrictions, the district has been on the cove, and they're merely protecting themselves from lawsuits and things of that sort if this bill doesn't go through. it doesn't -- it raises some things, for instance, vision. there are certain vision tests and a training test to own a handgun in the district. it's piece by piece being chipped away at the gun control that we've had in the district of columbia, and i think the council, phil mendelson in this particular case, who's head of the judiciary committee, i think that he's just playing the game. >> hands tied here, joe? >> no, i don't think hands are tied, because the district government can impose reasonable restrictions. and so, as long as that language remains there, i trust that the city council would recognize and not do what, let's say, the state of virginia, the commonwealth of virginia just did. >> right. >> where they have now eliminated the one gun a month restriction. >> right, exactly. >> but the problem, of course, is you will always have gun advocates that will whittle down any restrictions, and so it's just going to be an ongoing battle. >> yeah, the city has had a lot of problems and now they're trying to clarify things and protect themselves, as jerry said. the question is, are they going too far? are they putting citizens at risk or are they doing -- are they doing what they need to do politically and prudently to avoid more suits? >> all right. we're going to take a quick break and move into maryland when we come back and talk about topics there. so, stick around on "reporter's notebook." the droid razr by motorola, now with amazing tools like the hd station. share your pictures, stream hd videos and movies. all on your tv. or connect your 4g lte droid razr to the lapdock and unleash its massive computing power. even seamlessly video chat. all powered by the 4g lte droid razr. droid razr by motorola, just $199.99. and back for a limited time, get twice the data for the same low price. verizon. and welcome back to "reporter's notebook." governor martin o'malley signed into law same-sex marriage in maryland this week. he's been pushing this harder than last year when it did not succeed. your thoughts on that. there's talk of a referendum. they've already begun collecting signatures now, is that right? >> yeah, in fact, that may be one of the reasons the bill passed because everybody knew they would get a second bite of the apple in the referendum. if they can't kill it now, they've got another shot. depending on the political climate of their area of the state. but the fact remains this is a very divisive and controversial issue and there will be strong opposition from churches and from african-american pastors, some of them, at least. and so, it's going to be interesting to see if this thing does survive the referendum. >> there won't be any difficulty in getting it on the ballot. >> no. >> i think we can safely say that now. once it gets on the ballot, that's when the fireworks start all over again. and who knows at this point in time what will happen. >> have they done any polling on this of late? >> polling? not -- i don't know -- >> well, yeah, it's gaining. i'm not sure if there's a plurality or a majority of marylanders -- forgive me, viewers -- because it's not, there hasn't been that much. but there's more receptivity to, especially among younger people, to same-sex marriages. older voters and especially deeply religious voters and folks in the african-american community, many of them have difficulties with it. >> well, i think this is going to be a fight up hill for the referendum, because i think the church groups are going to organize behind this. now they really have a target to go after. and that's what they're going to go after. but i have to agree with dave, though. when you think about people today, younger people today, there's more of an acceptance of this type of thing. >> i don't have the poll numbers in front of me, and they probably change from week to week, but i suspect the fact that you had the governor sign it and you had the legislature approve it, i suspect -- >> the politics -- >> right, the politics of it will be in favor of it. >> interesting. let's move on, if we can, to fairfax county and a big budget proposal there, $6.7 billion for the next fiscal year. break it down for us. what does it mean in terms of, we know that some pay raises are still in place for government workers, right? >> about 2%. 2%, $34, i guess, increase in property taxes. and even though they don't call them taxes, they're fees -- >> right. >> you're going to have increase, rolling increases on fees on sewer and water. >> sewer, water. >> which really are taxes. the thing i really appreciate about the fairfax budget, though, is the fact there is an increase in spending for education. and obviously, fairfax is getting a lot of people moving into that community from all over the country. >> for the schools. >> and that is exactly the point, for the schools. the schools are extremely important. >> important in fairfax. the one thing i wanted to say was the fact that there are fewer cuts in this budget, and that sounds like things may be getting better economically. >> good point. >> i think the only issue is, are they spending enough money, are they spending it in the right places? there will be debate on not only how much you spend, but where you're spending it. we'll have that, too, but the broad framework seems to be appreciated by many people. >> all right, moving on to prince george's county and something that's been the talk this week. a council member, karen towles, going, we hear, allegedly, speeds of 100 miles an hour or more, and she gets pulled over, is not given a ticket for speeding. was this a case of special treatment? >> yeah. >> in a word? >> to me. because number one, i can't fathom this lady going 100 miles per hour, but people -- >> in a government vehicle. >> in a government vehicle, but people do these things, you know? but she should be taxed for it. i mean, she was breaking the law. 100 miles an hour in a 55-mile speed limit zone to me is -- i mean, if it happened to any one of us, i'm sure we would be facing some type of discipline, and i'm going to -- joe drives like that, but -- >> thanks. thanks. yeah, sure. no, i got a ticket a few years ago in prince george's county on the beltway going 60-some miles, like 65. >> wow. >> i had to go -- i got a speeding ticket, went before the judge, had to go to court, pay a fine and then go to school, traffic school, in order to get it wiped off, the points. i mean, not only does she get off with a warning, she doesn't get any points. reality is, if it was you, you or you and anyone else out there listening, she'd be charged with reckless driving, she would have been handcuffed and taken to jail and booked for reckless driving. >> now, she has apologized, said she was on her way to a meeting. she's also going to take a course in conjunction with another lesser offense, i think. i don't know what, erratic driving. >> may still raise objections, because again, it's like jerry and joe have said, would you or i have been allowed to take a course? could we say, i'm going to take a special speeding course, i'm going to pay the fine. would we have been able to get away -- critics will say get away with that? and the question is, what do the voters in her district think? and they may show their opinion in a few years when she runs again. and what about the police? [ everyone talking at once ] >> there you go. >> what is the standard on the police department relative to what you do when this happens? is it written down that you have to let these people go or should you take appropriate -- you know, that's got to be looked into. >> the appropriate thing here, dave, is she broke the law. she was going 100 miles in a 55-mile zone. so therefore, she broke the law. the pice should act accordingly. >> we don't know the officer's name. and this is the unfair part of this story, if i'm not mistaken. she's getting a lot of the negative publicity, and rightfully so, but the other part of the story should be who's the officer that did this? >> right. >> he or she should be as much accountable as the elected official is. >> we've got to leave it there, gentlemen. thank you very much. great to see you again this morning, and with ye thank you for joining us on "reporter's notebook." now back to "news4 today." i'll see you later on "viewpoint." hi, welcome to "news4," everyone, i'm angie goff. >> good sunday morning, everyone. i'm erika gonzalez. thank you so much for joining us. it's pretty cold out there. >> yeah. to say the least. we have a winterlike sunday, right? >> yeah. you know, it proves how mild the winter has been, our third warmest winter on record in washington. when you guys say it's cold when it's not even below freezing. >> because we've gotten used to the 70-degree temperatures. we're spoiled now. >> we have really been spoiled this winter, no doubt about it. saved a zillion bucks on our heating bills, no doubt about that. there's a little cold air coming our way, so winter not completely out of the question just yet. we're off to a decent start here this morning and we'll have breaks of sunshine from washington northbound today, but from d.c. south into lower southern maryland, plenty of clouds around the area. as a result of the cloud cover, st. mary's county is at 47, waldorf and la plata 43. southern prince george's county 43. western fairfax, northern loudoun county, up to northern maryland, temperatures are closer to the freezing mark this morning with a little bit of a breeze out there. windchills are generally in the upper 20s and low 30s. there's a little bit of a bundle-up factor first thing this morning. you can see here on storm4 radar, a possibility of a couple light sprinkles today southern maryland. that's where the clouds will be thickes thickests. that's why there's a whole lot of opportunities to talk about the forecast today because it's going to be very different depending on where you live or where you travel today. the further north you go into northern maryland, might even get a decent amount of sunshine. southern maryland, almost all clouds all day long. temperatures today, unlike yesterday when we made upper 50s and low 60s, today we'll stay in the mid-to-upper 40s. and then overnight tonight, more clouds into tomorrow, light snow on your monday, mainly south of washington. not looking for any real accumulations. might get up to an inch somewhere close to fredericksburg or southern maryland, but again, it's just the mention of snow, not really the forecast of amounts of snow. >> yeah. well, you appreciate every little bit you can get, i'm sure. >> talk about snow until the cherry blossoms are here. >> all right, thanks, chuck. this morning, one man is in custody accused of leaving a crash that killed an 18-year-old mother in prince george's county. tie yeesha williams was ejected from an suv when the driver hit a tree on suitland road two weeks ago. her family now has a little bit of closure since the man police say is responsible is in custody. news4's darcy spencer reports. >> reporter: authorities say the driver of an suv that crashed on suitland road two weeks ago, taking the life of a young mom, left the scene. news4 has learned that driver is now in police custody in d.c., being held on a gun charge. tammy holland is the mother of 18-year-old tiesha williams, who died in that crash. >> i'm just glad that he's locked up. you know, pd doesn't have him yet, but he is in custody. >> reporter: police identified the driver as 21-year-old deron britt. police say they have a warrant on file charging him with manslaughter. >> to leave people on the scene in a wreck like that and don't know what the outcome is, and it's just unfortunate that my granddaughter was the one that died. ♪ there will be mountains that i will to climb ♪ >> reporter: relatives and friends gathered at the site of the crash to pay tribute to the teen. she was a passenger in a chevy tahoe that apparently tried to pass a vehicle on the right but then hydroplaned on standing water and hit a tree and a utility pole. residents have complained about drainage problems here before. >> everybody's pulling together and trying to encourage the community to try and fix the damaged roads here so that we don't have to lose a life. >> reporter: her mom was greeted by county police captain robert clark, who held her son in his arms after he was shot and fatally wounded in 2006. he was also just 18 years old. >> it means a lot to me. it tells me that my daughter was loved and people cared about her. >> reporter: tiesha's mom says more than 600 people turned out for her daughter's funeral on friday. it's a testament to the impact she had on this community. now, the man who police say was responsible for this crash is still being held in d.c., but we're told he will be brought here to prince george's county to face charges in connection with this fatal crash. in suitland, darcy spencer, "news4 today." [ honking ] hundreds gathered at a church in chardon, ohio, to say good-bye to one of the students killed at a high school shooting. 16-year-old daniel parmertor was late to rest yesterday. friends and family remembered him as a computer whiz who just loved to laugh. students lined the street around the church holding signs that said "we are one heartbeat." the families of all three victims have agreed to donate their organs. the two other boys killed in the attack will be laid to rest this week. a driver crashed into a fast-food restaurant in montgomery county. check out the damage here. the car crashed into a pizza hut along georgia avenue in silver spring yesterday afternoon. the crash shattered some windows and doors and sent glass flying everywhere. no one was hurt. the windows were boarded up and the restaurant was able to remain open for business. well, the time right now is 6:36. stolen valor. how one local couple is trying to honor real american heroes while busting frauds who are posing as them. and you may use facebook to catch up with old friends and classmates, but one husband and wife from our area is using the social networking site to grow their family. we'll explain how when we return. people! look at you! texting...blogging... all this technology, but you're still banking like pilgrims! get high yield free checking at capital one bank. why earn bupkis, when your checking could earn five times the national average!! and free atms anywhere. five times the national average!!! that's new school banking. sign up for high yield free checking at a capital one bank. what's in your wallet? somebody help me down. well, we're just two days away from what could be a decisive day in the race for the republican presidential nomination. >> that's right. this tuesday is super tuesday, when voters in ten states head to the polls. and joining us now to break down some of the key races is the moderator of "meet the press," david gregory. good morning. >> good morning. >> good to see you. >> thank you. >> well, david, we know mitt romney looking a little strong here. we have three wins just in this last week alone, but ohio, all eyes are on ohio this super tuesday. is this going to be the big test for him? >> i think so, because it's not only the delegate math, but it's the opportunity for him to say that he can win florida and ohio, big battlegrounds for the fall. ohio's a state like michigan, where santorum could mount a very effective campaign. that's why the polls are so tight. so, i think that's why that's being very closely looked at. >> when we talk about the seven states on super tuesday that gingrich and santorum will not be eligible to receive those votes. >> well, the principal one, of course, is virginia, because they're not on the ballot there, and i think that reveals something. you know, "the new york times" writes this morning that the next several months will be about maps and math. and this is where mitt romney's in a position where he may not have to close this down early, but he's going to make the same kind of argument that barack obama made back in 2008, which is that he's the only one who can run truly a national campaign, he's the only one who can really be the nominee. and of course, he wants to get to that place as quickly as he can so he can turn his sights to president obama. >> how super, really, is super tuesday going to be? are we going to be able to walk away from this thing and clearly know who's going to be the gop, or get the gop nomination at this point? >> we'll be closer. i think if romney can win ohio and take massachusetts, vermont and virginia, as he's expected to do, potentially make some inroads in the south, like in oklahoma or tennessee, then i think he puts himself in a very, very strong position. and likewise, he can start to ease people out of the race. if gingrich, who's well ahead in georgia, in his home state, can't, you know, pull it out there, then you have to really question his viability. and santorum as well. you know, he had some momentum. he's got to be able to build on that in super tuesday. so, it's the big prize. so, i think it might have a clarifying effect on the race. >> so, what is the biggest talking point then for today's show? >> well, i mean, i think you've got all of this as our super tuesday preview, but then the fight over correspondent contraception. you have rush limbaugh. >> is there a difference between romney and santorum? because santorum came right out firing straight at rush, saying these were really -- >> right. romney does not want to talk about this issue. romney wants to talk about the economy, and i think you can tell from romney that he thinks this hurts the party, to be talking about contraception, which is certainly a settled issue with the country, and will only energize female voters who think, what are republicans doing? >> right. >> then i think it's having that effect. debbie wasserman schultz will be on the program, the dnc chair, certainly out there making the argument that republicans have overreached on this. >> and "press pass," interesting people there, looking into the future. >> we want to look at kind of the inside game here. two guys who can do that, a republican consultant and pollster and mark penn, the chief strategist for hillary clinton back in 2008. they look at the numbers from the republican point of view but also from the president's point of view and sort of chart out where we're headed the next few months. >> all right. >> it's interesting. david gregory, "meet the press," we'll see you in a little while. thanks so much for joining us. and talking to chuck about the weather. not too excited about the winter-like weather we're getting this weekend because it's not enough for you. >> it's nowhere near enough, but it's too late. those of us waiting for winter weather, if it's already march and we're still waiting for it, that's pretty much a done deal, but there is winter weather coming our way. we'll talk about that in a few minutes. we spend a lot of time on the feed because a chicken is what it eats. [ jim ] this seal verifies we feed my fresh all-natural chickens an all-vegetarian diet including corn, soybeans, and marigolds. no animal by-products. no meat and bone meal. when you put my chicken on the table, you know where it came from. perdue is the first and the only chicken company to have usda process verified programs for fresh, all natural chicken. our chickens are not fed steroids or hormones. [ jim ] we raise our chickens cage-free. we're trying to make a better chicken. the nfl is investigating former redskins defensive coordinator gregg williams for allegations that he paid players to hurt opponents. "the washington post" reports williams, who was with the redskins from 2004 to 2007, would pay players in cash to knock out opponents during games. williams is now defensive coordinator for the st. louis rams. he apologized on friday for having a similar program while he was assistant coach with the new orleans saints. some former redskins came to the defense of williams, saying that he simply encouraged hard work and clean football. now an update to a story we brought to you yesterday. officials with cvs says only a few children took breast cancer pills mistakenly prescribed to them. the pharmacy mistakenly gave them the medication instead of fluoride pills. the investigation is ongoing into how the mix-up happened. luckily, nobody was injured because of the mistake. >> three, two, one, go! >> mush! the 40th anniversary of the iditarod trail sled dog race is under way in anchorage, alaska. last year's winner will lead the 66 dog teams this morning as part of the 1,000-mile course to gnome. the winner takes home $50,000, a new truck, and of course, all the bragging rights. the race lasts ten days. wow, talk about a marathon. ten days. >> i can't even imagine what it would be like to have a dog with a job, you know? my crazy, old 15-year-old dachshund, nicholas, has not worked an honest day in his life. >> poor thing! >> poor little guy. >> but he brought you a lot of happiness. >> oh, yes. i guess his job in the world is to provide laughter for me and it's been working pretty well, 15 1/2 years, anyway. so something's going right in his world, anyway. >> and the weather is bringing happiness to a lot of people, 70-degree days. >> he's a coldweather hound, no doubt. he's covered in long, black hair, so as a result, he likes the cold weather, and this has not been the winter for him or for me or anybody who likes a little chill in his life. yeah, warm weather coming back but between now and the return of some milder days, it's actually going to feel awfully chilly here for today and for the next couple days as well, with even the mention, anyway, of some snowflakes on your monday. let's look outside the window this morning on your sunday. it is a cloudy start here in washington. a lot of clouds from washington southbound. you folks north of town, northern montgomery county up to the pennsylvania border, into the mountains of west virginia, you may actually get a little taste of sunshine today, but boy, from washington points south, fredericksburg, lower southern maryland, it's going to be a cloudy one. 43 in washington, winds out of the northwest at 13 miles per hour. that general northwesterly wind is going to continue to push cooler and drier air down into the region. notice the big spread of temperatures. near the freezing mark northern maryland, near 50 down across st. mary's county, where temperatures will hover around the 50-degree mark for much of the day today. here's your "sunday planner," a whole lot more clouds than sunshine. yesterday, got about three or four extra hours of sunshine. i hope you had a chance to enjoy it, because you won't be getting that same treatment today. here on storm4 radar, one or two sprinkles down in southern maryland, lower parts of the eastern shore, all part of a big plume of moisture which is mostly going to stay out of southern maryland, but it's going to be close enough where a couple of drops can't be completely ruled out. there's our monday morning clipper, still moving through the dakotas right now. there's a long way between here and the time it leaves the virginia coastline. don't expect a lot of snow with this next system. today, cloudy, showers, more clouds than anything, but a couple of sprinkles. the colder air settles in tonight and lasts for much of the next several days. and there's our little clipper. it's probably going to stay just little bit too far down to the south for the washington metro area, but richmond, down into the northern neck, lower southern maryland might have a chance of getting at least enough snow to make the ground white. grassy surfaces only. road beds are still too warm. today there go the sprinkle chances through southern maryland today. then early morning on your monday, clouds coming back in. towards mid to late morning, a little opportunity for some very light snow just down to our south. i don't think anyone's going to get even an inch out of this one, for better or for worse. outside we go then today. mostly cloudy, chilly, sprinkles south of town. today's highs 45 to 50. tomorrow, again, plenty of clouds around, maybe a sprinkle, rain drops, snowflake kind of situation, from basically route 50 southbound into southern maryland. and the all-important seven-day forecast actually going to be chilly around here. our average high temperature now is back up into the low 50s. we'll have highs in the 40s on today, tomorrow and tuesday as well before the milder air, mid-60s milder, comes back for the thursday-friday time frame. and don't worry about all the rain drops that it looks like there friday-saturday. that's a very small chance for rain spread over a couple of days. >> okay. >> it doesn't look like a washout event just yet, but there's a chance of a shower. >> all right. thank you, chuck. >> okay. red cross shelters are now open in parts of virginia and west virginia to help those affected by this weekend's deadly tornadoes. shelters are also open in nine other states offering food, water and other supplies in the hardest hit areas. mental health workers specially trained in this sort of trauma are helping victims cope. red cross officials say anyone with a cell phone can help those who are in need. >> you have your cell phone and you want to text 90999, text the words "red cross," $10 will be taken off of your bill and that money will go to help the victims of this disaster or other disasters that might happen around the country and around the world. >> red cross officials say it could take weeks to determine the full scope of damage caused by the twisters. well, there were some heart-warming stories and moments among the carnage in indiana. in marysville, a family was reunited with their cat after losing their home and most of their farm. and in henryville, a dog was found in the rubble of a home, seemingly okay. the rescue happened on live tv during a report from the weather channel's jim cantore. the dog was taken to an emergency room but is in good condition. wonderful stories. heart-warming stories there. and for a lot of these people, those pets are their families. >> yeah. >> those are their kids. and if they can salvage anything, you know, to know that their dog or their cat has made it out alive means worlds to them, so, it's good to hear. meanwhile, the supreme court is now considering the constitutionality of a law that punishes people for lying about receiving medals of honor from the military. and incredibly, the military does not have an official registry for medal recipients. >> that is true. a couple in alexandria is hoping to change all that after a silver star awarded to the husband's best friend was stolen. >> reporter: in 1973, specialist jamie pachenko was killed in vietnam. it's what happened afterwards that put his best friend on a lifelong mission. >> in 2005, a man in california took my closest friend's silver star citation, put his own name on it. >> doug sterner and his wife have exposed countless people posing as medal recipients, and they are also the only ones tracking the real heroes. sterner spends up to 14 hours a day building an online database of veterans, a list of all their awards. this week, he testified before congress, criticizing the department of defense for not having one. >> i have had cases of highly decorated heroes nearly turned away from arlington national cemetery because their branch of service didn't have a record of their award. >> reporter: the sterners recently found themselves in the middle of a national debate surrounding the controversial congressional act. a college paper hand-wrote in 2006 is considered a blueprint for the law that bans lying about military honors. recently, a california lawmaker was prosecuted for pretending to have been awarded the medal of honor. >> this isn't grandpa telling a war story. this is a con man telling a lie to defraud other people. >> reporter: sterner says he's uncovered 2,000 similar cases, but his focus now isn't on finding frauds, it's finding help to complete his work. >> i wish we didn't have these, because every time i have to deal with the stolen valor case, that takes away hours that i could be typing up the historical record of a real heroic man or woman. >> sterner's database is called "the hall of valor," and we have a link to that site on our website, nbcwashington.com. a maryland couple hopes that social media will once again help them find a child to add to their family. you may remember that we introduced you to seth, melissa and noah two years ago. the kensington couple had challenges conceiving, so they decided to adopt, but they didn't go through an agency. they wanted a private adoption and found noah's biological mother through a facebook ad on seth's page. now the couple is looking for a little sister or brother for noah. >> no difference whether you have a biological child or you have an adopted child. you love this child so much. >> when melissa and seth found noah, seth had only about 40 friends on facebook, but that's all he needed. the couple says they are willing to wait for another perfect baby to come along. that's absolutely amazing. the things that you can do with social networking. >> i know. bringing people together, expanding families. it's wonderful. >> well, and people that want to have kids and kids that need moms and dads, always a good match. >> yes. meanwhile, we've got more "news4 today" coming up after the break, so stay with us for that. >> yeah. news4's "viewpoint" is still ahead. [ female announcer ] with xfinity, you can always expect more. like more on demand shows and movies than ever. and more ways to discover them too. plus more speed from america's fastest internet provider. so you can run more devices at the same time. ♪ feel a firework [ female announcer ] and best of all, it keeps getting better. no wonder more people choose xfinity over any other provider. ♪ love can be so mystical ♪ good morning, everyone. 7:00. welcome to "news4 today." i'm erika gonzalez. >> and i'm angie goff. it is sunday, march 4th. at least 39 people are dead and hundreds more injured from this weekend's tornadoes. the twisters ripped through the south and midwest, doing major damage in indiana and kentucky. the red cross has already set up shelters in 11 different states to provide food, water and resources to those affected. a driver who left the scene of a deadly crash in prince george's county is now in custody. police arrested 21-year-old deron britt in the district. he's being held on a gun charge. police say he is the driver of a suv that crashed into a tree on suitland road, killing 18-year-old tyesha williams. >> rush limbaugh apologized for degrading comments he made about a georgetown law student. the conservative radio show host insulted sandra fluke, who testified about the birth control debate. limbaugh said he was trying to be funny and apologized for his poor choice of words. and talking about the weather, it appears maybe a little cold front's moving in. >> yeah, something. we've got a little northwest breeze out there on your sunday morning, and that is allowing colder air to sort of settle in. big spread of temperatures this morning. near 50 in southern maryland, near freezing in northern maryland. so, a big spread of temperatures today, and that's going to be the kind of day we have today. it really is going to depend where you live or where you're traveling as to what your sunday will look like. washington right now under a cloudy sky, temperature 42 now at national airport. 39 degrees in manassas, 41 degrees in fairfax, 36, though, out at dulles international airport, and 32 freezing-cold degrees in hagerstown, maryland. meanwhile, in southern maryland, temperature's now 46 at patuxent river naval air station. so, the further in ordnorth you clearer skies. certainly feels cold enough outside this morning. there you can see on storm4 radar, a lot of that is not quite reaching the ground, but i can't rule out a few light spritzes and sprinkles for you folks in southern calvert county and the southern half of st. mary's county, continuing for much of the mid to late morning hours today, at least. that's where the thickest of the cloud cover is going to be. most of that moisture will stay south of southern maryland, but nonetheless, be ready for some cloudy skies and some chilly temperatures today. it will not be as bright, sunny and mild as yesterday, when we made 63. not going to happen today. gorgeous. we'll be lucky to get back up near 50 today. and there's still a mention, anyway, of a chance of a few flakes south of here tomorrow, but don't start planning on, you know, missing school or anything like that. >> yesterday was spectacular. saw so many sun roofs open and tops down. beautiful. >> all right, thanks, chuck. meanwhile, next is nbc 4's "viewpoint." >> and we are going to be back in a few minutes with another update. good morning, everyone. and welcome to "viewpoint." i'm jim handly. this morning we're talking about the mission, vision and work of the greater washington urban league. and with us this morning, we have in the studio hakima davidson, president of the thursday network in the league. karen pryce of southwest airlines community affairs and grassroots manager and league board member, too, is with us. and we are blessed to have with us back miss maldine cooper, president and ceo of the greater washington urban league. great to see all of you. >> thank you. >> welcome back. >> thank you. >> great to see you as well. 22 years you've been at the helm. >> yes. >> tell us a little bit about how the mission and the role and work of the league has changed over the years. >> well, we are 1 of 98 urban leagues across the country, and most of us started out with two programs, housing and education. and now we've expanded, given the needs of our communities and where we get resources to make those things happen. so, where we started out with the, again, housing and jobs, we are now operating over 25 programs. >> wow. >> some very small and some very large, because so many people are in need. we provide utility assistance to those who really need it. we provide food, commodities for those who need it. we're just there to provide the assistance and the support for members of our community. >> in so many different ways. >> so many different ways. >> one of the big problems i want to talk about is this thursday network, and this really targets young professionals. we're talking about ages 22, 21 and up? >> 21 to 40 with an interest in community service and who believe in the mission of the greater washington urban league and the national urban league. so, we have several programs ourselves and we are definitely an auxiliary of ms. cooper and we focus on community service, providing volunteers for activities. we also have our own scholarship program which has given out almost $150,000 to service-minded youth over the last 20 years. we do a big service blitz every may, which is a lot of work to put together, so that's coming up very soon. and we also provide professional development opportunities and leadership development opportunities for these young professionals. >> i want to talk more in the program about education, what a big part that is, not just for the students, but parents as well, too. but karen, i want to bring you in here and talk about the business relationship and the importance of having this network of businesses that work with the urban league. how did southwest get involved? >> you know, it's been more than ten years ago, and i remember it started with a football game, and that was an opportunity to raise funds. so, we're always trying to raise funds at the urban league, so it can go back to support the programs. and so, over those ten years, southwest airlines has been involved with the gala as well as many of the programs, and specifically focusing on education as one of our pillars. but we just urge the corporate community that this is a wonderful organization. they're committed, they're dedicated, and you can receive the return on your investment when you support the urban league. >> and to see that return is the reward right there. >> yes. >> for everyone. you mentioned the gala, and we're going to be talking about this. it's the 40th annual memorial young gala, coming up on the 14th, and there are tickets still available. we'll put up the web address later on throughout the half hour, but tell us what this annual dinner means to the organization. >> well, first of all, it is a fund-raiser. it is our biggest fund-raiser. and you can't keep these organizations running without those necessary funds. so, that's what it is, but what it also does, and this is the biggest part for us as well, it highlights what we're doing. we have people there who are benefiting from the things that we're doing. the millions of dollars we've given out over the 20 years in scholarships. those youngsters, they may not know a lot about the urban league coming in, but when they get that check -- and the scholarships are done by corporations -- but when they get that check, they know that there was somebody there that they didn't really know, but who cared about them. and so, that's the big part of the dinner as well. but also, telling people in the room who may not know about the urban league what we're about. we have the vignettes there. and thanks to southwest, we're also going to have the statue of whitney young. that's still happening, right? >> that's happening, yes. >> and we will have the red carpet, so people can take pictures. and it's part of the blacks sinuettes collection. it's so real, it's scary. but it's going to be there. we'll have entertainment, all these things to not only highlight the urban league, but also to entertain the audience. if you've got to come out on a wednesday night for another lemon chicken dinner, you might as well enjoy it. >> it's full-blown entertainment. >> yes, it is. >> it's always fun when i've been involved in past years. tell us about the silent auction, too. >> we kick off the evening with the silent auction that begins at 5:30, and it is also our vip reception, and everyone's a vip. >> basically. >> so, come and enjoy. but we just usually have fabulous items. they're affordable. we start them at a third of their price so you can feel like you are just getting the best bang for your buck. but that is crucial for the fund-raising. so, we encourage people to come. we're doing something that is exciting called bid pals. i believe you get to bid electronically, so you can bid not only at the reception, but then you can go to your seat and you can continue to bid throughout the night. >> that makes it easier. no excuses. >> yes. so, it's cutting edge and it's fun, but the main thing is that it helps to raise those needed funds for the urban league. >> and it also gets the word out there. as you mentioned, about all the great work that you do. >> exactly. >> yes. >> but one of the major corporate sponsors is underwriting bid pals, because it is a bit expensive. and we did it last year. and people were so excited. i'm not a techie. >> it was fun. >> play along with it. it really is. we've got to take a break. as we go to break, we'll put up the web address and phone number. if you'd like to learn more about donating to the greater washington urban league or getting tickets to this gala coming up on march 14th, it is quite a night, folks. please go to their website or call this number on your screen. we'll be right back on "viewpoint," so stay with us. a good night's sleep. woman: which means a little heat to keep us warm. and a good dose of support for my back. some over-the-top comfort couldn't hurt. and our perfect dream factory's been built. you're feeling sleepy already? nighty-night. 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[ dog barking ] so thank you, for making chevy america's top-selling car brand in 2011. from our factory, to your home, chevy runs deep. from our factory, to your home, chase freedom is offering 5% cash back at gas stations this quarter. wow, thanks! beep. beep. activate your 5% cash back at chase.com/freedom. welcome back to "viewpoint" again. we're here with our friends from the greater washington urban league, talking about their mission and a big event coming up on the 14th of march. tickets still available, we should say. this 40th annual gala. we were talking about young people and the program that you head up, but young people come back to this dinner, and it's nice to see them coming back and thanking the people who have really been mentors to them. and do you find that they're giving back, too? >> absolutely. absolutely. we actually call our main service blitz young blacks give back month. and we do have some former scholarship recipients who have been involved with thursday network and who really come out and volunteer, and i think that our community service committee's probably our strongest committee. it's definitely the biggest piece to our auxiliary of the greater washington urban league. so, the need to give back is definitely something that young professionals have within them. and i think that's evidence by the fact that we've made it to be 20 years old and are still going strong, have about 150 members volunteering, fund-raising, doing a lot of different programs, and we even have a mentoring program, 20-week curriculum at wilson high school called the empowerment academy, where we teach the students about self-esteem, prepare them for college, a lot of different things to help get them ready for life in the workforce. so, our members are very passionate about that program and all the other service work we do as well. >> karen, you're also passionate about volunteers. >> i am. >> and the importance of volunteering and giving back through the league. >> i am. and if you're under the age of 20 or over the age of 40, which i've aged out by now, but we encourage parents to make sure that they bring their little ones with them, that it starts at a very young age of teaching students how important it is to give back. and so, corporations who are sponsors, parents who are in the neighborhood, bring your children. let them see firsthand the work that the urban league does. i often bring my son and daughter. they help any way that they can, whether it's stuffing envelopes or helping to wrap the items that we use for the silent auction. and it's so impactful for them. so, i encourage parents and corporations, really do use the urban league as that avenue to teach your students about giving back, because it's -- >> start them in that mindset early. >> yes. it's an experience they will never forget. >> and experience, real-world experience -- >> exactly. >> -- is so much of what the urban league does, whether mentoring or finding a business that a young person can go to and apply for jobs. finding them jobs is a big part of what you do. >> yes, and we also tell them, starting out early, you could go and stuff the envelopes at some politicians' offices, you could come and baby sit while others are doing things like voting. if the child is with the parent, you sit there with the child until they come back out. you could even create your own volunteer effort. and you used to do so many other things, depending on the leadership. you may have a new program that comes in. i think that's wonderful. and he mentioned, he's such a shy person. >> hardly! >> he was raised in the movement. he never likes me to say this. i don't ask for permission, but his grandfather was fred, who recently passed. so, this is -- he's teaching me. i mean, he was there in the south. my parents and i moved up north. but there are organizations that want and need your assistance. teach your child. if you don't teach your child, bring them and we'll teach them. we also say to the young people, you're resume-building. so, there's something in it for you. you can put down, you know, that i stuffed envelopes for this person or i helped at this organization. that is very important. people look for those shows of leadership, fellowship and whatever. and then the other piece we were talking about during the break, the baltimore urban league's number two person has left there now, and he is the ceo of the new orleans urban league where the conference will be this year. you know nolan. >> yes, he's a great guy. he started as a young professional and now has progressed and advanced into full leadership and running the entire urban league for new orleans. >> a very large one. >> going the distance. >> going the full distance. >> fantastic. >> we're looking forward to that july 25th through the 28th. >> what a wonderful ambassador he is for your program. you talk about parents, too. you have a parents center and a wonderful website for parents, too. >> right. >> and getting parents more involved in their students' education is a big part of what you do as well. >> under prior leadership in the educational system, you couldn't go into the schools. you were not allowed to come in to see your child without a prior appointment, no matter what the issue was. and so, under the present leadership, under the past leadership of the school system, all that has changed. but what we used to say to parents, call us. if they won't let you in, you can't go in, we will go in with you. they're not going to turn the urban league away. in addition, many of the schools, we set up these parent centers. just a little, small area where the parent can go, if they tell them they've got to wait an hour, they can go in there and sit. there are all kinds of materials there that the parents can read, learn more about the educational system that your child is supposedly receiving. and when you have, again, a need to understand that better, again, call us. so, we have about eight parent centers in these different schools. we were operating them at the time. but everything we do is love, but it's also resources. and it's a challenge. it is a challenge. >> we've got to take a break, but before we do, we're going to put up on the screen ways you can learn more about the gala and contributing to the greater washington urban league. we should say that nbc 4 and comcast are proud partners with you once again. we'll be right back on "viewpoint." good morning, everyone. i'm angie goff. here are some of the stories we are following this sunday morning. at least 39 people are dead and hundreds more injured from this weekend's tornadoes. the twisters ripped through the south and midwest, doing major damage in indiana and kentucky. the red cross has already set up shelters in 11 different states to provide food, water and other resources to those affected. a driver who left the scene of a deadly crash in prince george's county is now in custody. police arrested 21-year-old darren britt in the district. he is being held on a gun charge. police say he is the driver of an suv that crashed into a tree on suitland road, killing 18-year-old tyesha williams. and rush limbaugh has apologized for degrading comments he made about a georgetown law student. we will be back with another update coming up in about ten minutes. and welcome back to "viewpoint." again, we are here with our friends from the greater washington urban league. they are a non-profit, non-partisan social services and civil rights organization. so many hats all of you wear and the organization does. talk a little bit about maybe how challenging it is in this political climate to remain non-partisan. we've got such polarizing times right now. is that tough? >> well, it's tough, but on our board of directors, we have democrats and republicans and some we don't know what they are. you don't have to give us your political leanings. and when we talk to our children, we tell them, it doesn't matter whether you're republican or democrat or even if you know what it is. you can go out and learn. you know, you're bringing coffee to the people who work in the programs, but you listen and learn about politics. you learn before you make decisions, too. you know, you don't know what you're talking about. somebody told you that this is the best person, but if you go in there and listen and learn, you may find out that this is a great opportunity for you. >> that's wonderful. you know, you have certainly walked the walk over the years, as many have in the league. your impressions of what we're seeing today with the occupy d.c. movement. because economics is such a big part of what the urban league does. >> right. occupy d.c. and all the other occupies across the country, those are people who are speaking up and speaking out. we've had the nontraditional i have nothing to say attitude for so long that i think society's getting out of control. we have let things happen without speaking up. when we think of the civil rights movement, we think about people voting, taking their lives in their hands to go and register, and here we are sitting and just letting things go by us, even in terms of your report this recently of the metro and what's written, promoing a movie. those kinds of things, people should write letters, they should do things. they should not allow things like that to continue. >> get involved. >> get involved. and occupy d.c., whether you like their strategy or not, they got involved. >> and you are part of the younger, next-generation here. >> yes. >> i want to talk to you about bringing the young, and as you phrased it earlier, the not-so-young together through strong alumni ties. >> yes, we do have an alumni association, the greater washington urban league group compromised of former thursday night members or someone who's had some sort of affiliation with the league in the past. and there's a big event coming up july 17th, an alumni cruise. i think it's on the "odyssey." >> yes. >> and it's going to be a great event and we're going to be involved, and so we'll be all there mixing and mingling together. >> that will be nice. when is that, next month? >> july 17th, so a little time to go. >> july, okay. >> the alumni group is sterling tucker. >> okay. >> the first elected mayor of the district of columbia. >> right. >> so, we are so proud. he's come back, he's steering it. and so, for those of you who don't know him, come to the meetings and at least meet him. he's history in the working. >> in the flesh. >> that's great. something to look forward to in july, then. karen, if you would, let's talk a little bit about some of the other programs. we raised the commodities program. what is that all about? >> yes. the commodities program is an opportunity for residents who are 60 years and older or women who are lactating to come to the urban league once a month and to receive a bag of groceries. so, often, when i'm there at the urban league, you can see the lower level where people are receiving their groceries. and to be able to give nutritional meals, that's impactful. and a lot of food is distributed through the urban league. >> and that takes money. everything you do takes money. talk a little bit about, you've got some big-name sponsors, part of this gala. >> we have some wonderful sponsors. >> that you depend on every year. >> yes. >> you have to. >> and many of them are returning sponsors, like walmart and geico, southwest airlines, nbc 4, who's been with us for many years, ryan gold, which is fairly new, the organization, and pepco. so, we are so fortunate to have enterprise rent-a-car, serving as our platinum sponsor, as well as general dynamics. >> that's great. i want to tell everybody that they can still get tickets. >> absolutely. >> individual or table. >> yes. >> absolutely. >> the big night is coming up on march 14th, and it's not just a wonderful dinner, but it's great entertainment and it's a great two way to meet other people who are in it together and doing great in our community. >> our emcees are two wonderful people, jim handly and danella. >> we're so proud of you. >> you've been there several times for us. >> you fill up that room, but there are tickets still available. we want to flash up on our screen the website and phone number, too. if you'd like to learn more about the gala, perhaps that cruise coming up in june, or just to donate your money or time, please call this number or go to the website for the greater washington urban league. we'll be right back. [ female announcer ] with xfinity, you can always expect more. like more on demand shows and movies than ever. and more ways to discover them too. plus more speed from america's fastest internet provider. so you can run more devices at the same time. ♪ feel a firework [ female announcer ] and best of all, it keeps getting better. no wonder more people choose xfinity over any other provider. ♪ love can be so mystical ♪ a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ oooh, my turn. ♪ she was in paris, but we talked for hours... everyone else buzzed about the band. there's a wireless mind inside all of us. so, where to next? ♪ and we're back. this morning we're talking about the mission, the vision as well of the greater washington urban league, and one of the things you do year round is counseling young people, young and old alike, for housing and helping them with financial literacy as well. >> yes, yes. we have a housing division that pretty much anything involved in the housing process or purchasing a home, especially for first-time home buyers. we have a program or a subprogram for that. we have the hpap program, which makes sure that low-income families are able to have access and opportunity to purchase a home. there is a program sponsored by etrade, where you can receive some down payment assistance as well as rental assistance for certain members of the community as well, and we definitely do foreclosure counseling and financial literacy awareness programs so that people are educated about what it is to be able to get a home and to maintain that home and make sure that they're ready for that piece of the american dream. >> in these tough times, it's more important than ever, and you've seen it over the years. tight times we're talking about for every non-profit. how stutough is it and challeng? >> for the housing program, particularly challenging. we have $44,000 to provide for an individual who is a first-time home buyer, but then we want to make sure that they can stay in that house. we do not want to put people in a situation where they're primed for failure. >> sure. >> so, we're there to help them throughout the process. and again, if they're first-time home buyers, they may never have lived in a house before, parents and everybody else lived in an apartment. so, we really want them to be successes in this. >> karen, we talked about the importance of business relationships, but also relationships with churches and religious affiliations throughout. this is interfaith connections. >> yes. >> that's a program that's been around for about how long? >> about two years now. >> okay. >> and this is an opportunity, just another avenue. there's thursday network and all these various programs, but this is an opportunity for the spiritual community, the interfaith community, to connect with the urban league. it is run through a board structure, and we have many churches throughout the washington, d.c., area, through prince george's county, which the greater washington urban league does serve, who are part of this program. and it just branches out into our communities. >> what makes the church connection so outstanding is we don't ask them for money. we have all these programs, most of whom are funded by our partn partnerships with the d.c. government, prince george's and the federal government. so, we want them to get the word out that these programs exist. and they love that. it makes them look good, didn't cost them a dime. we even feed them when they come. so, it's a great, great, new opportunity. >> i want to mention some of the people who are being awarded that night. >> yes. >> it's a big night for a lot of people. >> well, one that is near and dear to newschannel 4 is aisha kareem. you never see her in front of the camera, but she's always back there doing something. and any non-profit in this community knows that aisha is there when you need her. >> and i'll tell you what, you walk the streets anywhere in our region, everybody knows her. >> yes. >> i'm on tv every day, but they know her. who are you? you're with aisha. >> it's amazing. i was in a meeting where jackie had asked everybody around the table to tell her about their relationship with newschannel 4. with nbc 4, rather, excuse me. and everybody's glowing things. i've known her for years, but i didn't know of all of the things that she's done. this year, she's one of our honorees. we have another person ms. ross from geico, who's done so much with this community. and steven joel tractenberg, who, he's a former member of the board of the urban league, but his father and grandfather were also a part of the urban league movement. >> three generations. >> and he has done so much. you can see all of the things coming out of gw. and the final one is robert brown. people don't know that name, bob brown, but former president nixon sent bob and several others on a private plane to go get whitney's body out of africa and bring it back, and he's done so much -- >> whitney young, 40 years. >> yes. >> a long tribute to him. >> bob also was the innovator, creator of the temple program. there are a lot of things that he's done focusing in on entrepreneurs. >> what a tribute to a lot of fine people. we're looking forward to that on the 14th to be with you, all of us here at nbc 4. thanks so much for coming in. we appreciate it. it's been a fun morning. and we thank you for watching us on "viewpoint." again, that dinner is on the 14th of march. >> wednesday. >> yeah, it's a wednesday night. find out more through their website and phone number, too. or if you'd just like to donate, please do. now back to "news4 today." enjoy the rest of your weekend, everybody. and welcome back to "news4 today" on this sunday morning. i'm erika gonzalez. >> and i'm angie goff. the date is march 4th. we want to get straight to our top story this morning. crews will begin picking up the pieces today after at least 99 tornadoes ripped through the midwest and south over the weekend. >> at least 39 people have been killed by the twisters, hundreds more were injured and thousands of buildings were either destroyed or just damaged. forecasters say today is expected to be calm after ten more tornadoes were reported in florida and georgia. nbc's jay gray has more now from one of the hardest places hit this weekend, henryville, indiana. >> reporter: this morning, cleanup crews will storm the hardest hit areas of tornado alley, sifting through miles of debris, all that's left from so many communities and lives ripped apart by the storms. >> tragic, terrible. i mean, it's just like one minute you're here and then you're gone. >> reporter: a disaster spread by at least 100 tornadoes that left deep, painful scars across at least a dozen states. >> he was the greatest love of my life. >> reporter: cheryl pickett's husband, ron, wasn't supposed to be home when the storms hit. >> he shouldn't have been here. he came home early from work because he didn't feel good and wanted to take a nap. >> reporter: he died when a twister ripped apart their home and now cheryl, who had been planning a celebration for their 40th wedding anniversary -- >> we were going to have a hell of a party. >> reporter: -- now, instead, she must prepare for a funeral. across tornado alley, for many, the only thing left to hold on to is each other, and they understand they are the lucky ones. >> we're all okay. that's all that matters. >> reporter: as they work through the haunting images of what's happened here and the painful reality that's left behind. jay gray, nbc news, henryville, indiana. >> through all of the death and destruction caused by the tornadoes, there are also stories of survival. a 2-year-old was found wandering in a field in salem, indiana. her entire family was killed in the tornadoes and her home was destroyed. she's currently in critical conditi condition, and the hospital is taking donations to help her out. >> amazing, amazing video and the images are just, i mean -- >> well, what's going to end up, it will be very interesting from a science standpoint to look back at the outbreak. it's essentially 100 tornadoes, and only 1% to 2% of all tornadoes reach the f-4 or f-5 stage, the most violent stage of tornadoes. >> yes. >> it's only 1% or 2% of all tornadoes that can become that strong, yet those type of storms, the f-4s and 5s represent about 70% of the fatalities. so, it's not just about having a tornado, it's the intensity of the storm. because when you get 180 or 200-mile-an-hour winds, there's really not any safe place except below ground. >> well, we're hearing stories where, in fact, people were in underground sellacellars and th were pulled out of them. >> that's a testimony to how violent the winds were in those storms. that's the f-4 and f-5 category of tornado. my guess is that the 39 people who lost their lives, 25 or 30 of them are probably going to be in one or two of the storms out of the 100. >> really? >> because those are the ones that will do the most damage, and unfortunately, cause the most loss of life. very, very sad for them. at least they're getting a little break from mother nature right now. no violent weather in the midwest. we escaped here in the mid-atlantic for the most part and now we're left with a cloudy and cold sunday morning. temperatures a big spread this morning. near the freezing mark near the maryland/pennsylvania border and near 50 now across parts of southern maryland. so, a big spread of temperatures. a little bit of a breeze out there, northwest winds today 10 to 20 miles per hour. so, windchills are a bit of a factor, especially across northern maryland and the mountains of west virginia. storm4 radar shows the possibility of a few sprinkles today southern calvert county, down into st. mary's county, maryland. most of that moisture's going to stay off the coast, but nonetheless, a couple sprinkles and a whole lot of clouds are likely, especially from washington southbound today. north and west of washington, you might actually see a peek or two of the sunshine. highs today upper 40s to near 50 for a lucky few. then tomorrow, cloudy and cold, breezy at times and a chance, anyway, of a few passing snowflakes tomorrow, primarily down to the south of washington. i don't think anybody in our viewing area's going to get even as much of a half an inch of snow, but there's at least a chance for a couple flakes monday morning, and that alone is worth mentioning. >> all right. thank you, chuck. >> you're welcome. >> thanks, chuck. all right, we move on to "decision 2012," where presidential candidate mitt romney has won the washington state republican caucuses. romney easily won with a double-digit victory. romney came in first with 38% of the vote. ron paul and rick santorum came in second and third with just 1% separating them at 25% and 24%. newt gingrich a distant fourth with 10%. this is romney's fourth win in a row. >> romney heads into super tuesday with momentum, a fresh sign of strength. on tuesday, seven states will hold primaries, including virginia, where gingrich and santorum failed to qualify for the ballot. three states will hold caucuses and 419 delegates are up for grabs. that's more than a third needed to clinch the republican nomination. now all eyes are on ohio, which has the most delegates at stake amongst the ten contests. the state's largest newspaper, "the plain dealer of cleveland," endorsed romney. romney and santorum made campaign stops across the state. >> we've got good people running for office, but you know, these other guys have spent their life in government. nothing wrong with that. it's just that right now, with our economy in distress, with jobs so badly needed, with incomes having gone down, we need a president who knows the economy to fix the economy. >> this is a marathon, not a sprint. we're going to keep working. we're doing well and we feel like this race is narrowing just like it should be. >> santorum is shaking off news that incomplete paperwork will keep him from winning at least nine of ohio's delegates. santorum and romney head into ohio in a dead heat. both are tied with 32% in the latest reuters poll. gingrich comes in third with 17%. ron paul comes in fourth with 6%. after being criticized from both democrats and republicans, rush limbaugh has apologized to a georgetown law student. last week, the conservative radio host made degrading comments towards sandra fluke. fluke testified to congressional democrats about the debate over birth control and catholic institutions. limbaugh released a statement on his website that said, "my choice of words was not the best. and in the attempt to be humorous, i created a national stir. i sincerely apologize to ms. fluke for the insulting word choic choices." fluke has not responded. in arizona, the controversial sheriff who believes president obama isn't eligible for office is now selling his report as a book. maricopa county sheriff joe arpaio's report is part of a book by jerome corsi, a political conspiracy writer who also believes president obama's birth certificate is fake. the book, "a question of eligibility" is for sale as an ebook through amazon and barnes & noble. a spokesman for president obama responded by tweeting out a link to the popular series "the x files." meanwhile, virginia police arrested more than 30 pro-choice activists at the state capitol. they were part of a group of about 500 protesting a bill that will require women to get an ultrasound before getting an abortion. police say the group had a permit to rally but rallies aren't allowed on the steps of the capitol. the bill passed virginia's general assembly last weekend. governor bob mcdonnell is expected to sign it into law pretty soon. and the time right now is 7:40. thanks so much for joining us. well, it was one of the most anticipated "snl" episodes of the year. we're going to show you how lindsay lohan performed on live television last night. i'm liz crenshaw. have a drafty house? find out how homeowners are getting free help in making their homes energy-efficient. my story is coming up. ♪ strea-ea-ea-ea-eam ♪ stream, stream, stream... ♪ strea-ea-ea-ea-eam ♪ stream, stream, stream... ♪ when i want you... ♪ ...in my arms... ♪ when i want you... ♪ ...and all your charms... ♪ whenever i want you, all i have to do is... ♪ ♪ strea-ea-ea-ea-eam [ female announcer ] stream full seasons of shows and top movies instantly. introducing streampix. only from xfinity. this morning, one man is in custody, accused of leaving a crash that killed an 18-year-old mother in prince george's county. tyesha williams was ejected from an suv when the driver hit a tree on suitland road two weeks ago. the family now has a little closure since police say the man responsible is in custody. news4's darcy spencer reports. >> reporter: authorities say the driver of an suv that crashed on suitland road two weeks ago, taking the life of a young mom, left the scene. news4 has learned that driver is now in police custody in d.c., being held on a gun charge. tammy holland is the mother of 18-year-old tyesha williams, who died in that crash. >> i'm just glad that he's locked up. you know, pd doesn't have him yet, but he is in custody. >> reporter: police identified the driver as 21-year-old deron britt. prince george's county police say they have a warrant on file charging him with manslaughter. >> and then to leave people on the scene in a wreck like that and don't know what the outcome is, and it's just unfortunate that my granddaughter was the one that died. ♪ there will be mountains that i will to climb ♪ >> reporter: relatives and friends gathered at the site of the crash to pay tribute to the teen. she was a passenger in a chevy tahoe that apparently tried to pass a vehicle on the right but then hydroplaned on standing water and hit a tree and a utility pole. residents have complained about drainage problems here before. >> everybody's pulling together and trying to encourage the community to try and fix the damaged roads here so that we don't have to lose a life. >> reporter: tyesha's mom was greeted by county police captain robert clark, who held her son in his arms after he was shot and fatally wounded in 2006. he was also just 18 years old. >> it means a lot to me. it tells me that my daughter was loved and people cared about her. >> reporter: tyesha's mom says more than 600 people turned out for her daughter's funeral on friday. it's a testament to the impact she had on this community. now, the man who police say was responsible for this crash is still being held in d.c., but we're told he will be brought here to prince george's county to face charges in connection with this fatal crash. in suitland, darcy spencer, "news4 today." one of the ohio students killed in a high school shooting was laid to rest yesterday. hundreds lined the streets outside a church in chardon to say good-bye to 16-year-old daniel parmertor. friends and family remember him as a computer whiz who loved to laugh. the students held signs that said "we are one heartbeat." the families of the three victims have all agreed to donate their organs and the other two boys killed in the attack will be laid to rest this week. a driver crashed into a fast-food restaurant in montgomery county. check out the damage. the car crashed into a pizza hut along georgia avenue in silver spring yesterday afternoon. the crash shattered some of the windows and doors, sent glass flying everywhere. no one was hurt. the windows were boarded up and the restaurant was able to remain open for business. former redskins defensive coordinator gregg williams is under investigation from the nfl for running a bounty program while with washington. "the washington post" reports williams, who was with the redskins from 2004 to 2007, would pay players in cash to knock out opponents during games. williams is now defensive coordinator for the st. louis rams. he apologized on friday for having a similar program while he was assistant coach with the new orleans saints. some former redskins came to the defense of williams, saying that it simply encouraged hard work and clean football. meanwhile, george mason is involved in a thriller on a busy saturday of college hoops. >> yeah, they squeaked by with that one. very, very proud of the patriots. here's hakeem dermish with your "sports minute." >> good morning, everyone. your "sports minute" begins with college basketball. george mason playing georgia state in the quarterfinals of the caa tournament. 7 seconds left, game tied at 59. bryon allen drives and puts it in, big-time bucket and the patriots hang on to beat the panthers 61-59. george mason will play vcu in the semifinals later today at 4:30. number 12 georgetown playing its regular season finale on the road against 7th-ranked marquette. senior jay crowder pumped in a team-high 26 points and 14 rebounds. marquette beats georgetown 83-69. the hoyas still earn a first-round bye in the big east tournament and play their first game on wednesday. patriot league semifinals, american on the road at lee heim. mccollum went for a game-high 27 points. lehigh eliminates american 85-66. the eagles finish the season with a 20-11 record. women's acc tournament. maryland taking on wake forest in the semifinals. alyssa thomas, the acc player of the year, scored a game-high 18 points, 12 rebounds. fifth-ranked maryland defeats wake forest 73-58, advancing to today's championship against georgia tech. nba, wizards hosting the cavaliers. john wall and jordan crawford combined for 55 points and the wizards win 101-98, snapping a six-game losing streak. that's your "sports minute." i'm hakeem dermish. have a great day. >> thanks so much, hakeem. well, is there going to be good weather to maybe go out and play ball today, or -- >> well, you could play ball outside. >> a pickup game? >> it's true. you'll need your hoodie today, though. you'll need to warm up because it will be on the chilly side, but outdoor plans not completely undoable for today. we'll talk about your forecast we'll talk about your forecast we want to protect the house. we'll talk about your forecast right. but... home security systems can be really expensive. so to save money, we actually just adopted a rescue panther. i think i'm goin-... shhh! we find that we don't need to sleep that much. there's an easier way to save. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. "the voice," it is back. you can watch the next episode of season two tomorrow night right here on nbc 4 at 8:00 p.m., and you can watch it on your computer, with your computer in hand, i should say, because of course, myself and big tigger, we are going to be on our laptops web chatting during the show. and you are sure to catch "news4 at 4:00" tomorrow, when we're joined by the shields brothers, the virginia brothers who were big hits last week and got picked up by c. loe's team. >> rocking it out. >> i know. i loved his purple leather jacket. nothing says rock star than a purple leather jacket. a lot of personality and a lot of talent. so we're looking forward to that. >> i don't have a purple leather jacket and i'm not a rock star, so there's more correlation to that. >> you have a little purple tie. a touch of purple. >> purple and gray, yeah. >> looking good, chuck. >> a little something in there for you. let's take the close-up and see how much purple there is in that tie. yes, indeed. look there. >> there we go. >> just enough to make it look like i'm credible and believable. >> but there's some gray and some clouds, right? >> there's a lot of gray here. >> oh, come on! >> and there are clouds -- >> how did i know that was coming? >> and clouds between the ears. >> that's silver. you're showing the metallics. >> absolutely right. let's take a look outside we go then. cloudy skies on your sunday morning. not much of a precipitation threat across the area for today. a few sprinkles in southern maryland, that's about it. so, if you wanted to get outside and throw the frisbee or play catch with the football, you could do it and would not need the umbrella, but you may need an extra layer of warmth on your way downtoout the door. 42 in washington, winds north at 14 miles per hour. that north-to-northwesterly breeze will keep it feeling chilly today and temperatures are noticeably colder now across northern maryland, really from upper montgomery county, through frederick county, washington county, maryland, and out towards the blue ridge and shenandoah valley. temperatures closer to freezing there. so, our "sunday planner," in and around town, down towards southern maryland, upper 40s to near 50. not a lot of sunshine. you folks northern maryland towards west virginia panhandle might actually see a little bit of sun during the course of the day today. you'll be the lucky few. storm4 radar shows just a couple sprinkle chances down across southern maryland. the bulk of the steadier, heavier rain will miss maryland completely, but on the periphery of the storm system, can't rule out a few quick passing drops. our alberta clipper is still way out past the dakotas. it has a long way to go and doesn't have a lot of moisture to deal with, but it is a chance tomorrow morning for a little snowflake action south of town. here's the satellite picture and there's that little thin spot on the overcast out there. northwestern maryland, into the panhandle of west virginia, you get a little break of sunshine today. not much along and to the south of the i-95 corridor. cold weather sticking around the next couple days. that monday clipper i think is going to go just down south of us. might get, might get up to a half an inch of snow somewhere south of the fredericksburg area, but i don't see anything more than just a snowflake here in washington. so, today, cloudy, chilly, sprinkles in southern maryland, that's it. highs upper 40s to near 50. tomorrow, a chance of a little light snow or a snow flurry south of town, but otherwise, just cloudy, cold and breezy. maybe a sprinkle or two later in the day as well. not much of a precipitation threat. only 30% today and tomorrow. the cold air, though, does stick around through monday and tuesday, but the return of a south breeze first thing wednesday morning will put temperatures back near 60 and into the mid-60s for thursday and for friday and maybe a little unsettled weather late next week, but it doesn't look like a big deal. you can always stay ahead of the weather by following me on twitter @chuckbell4, which i know you're both doing. >> a viewer, chris butler, says ask the man to put sun in the forecast, and i noticed that around tuesday. >> tuesday, wednesday and thursday. >> chris, got to wait a couple days, all righty? thanks, chuck. red cross shelters are open in parts of virginia and west virginia to help those affected by this weekend's deadly tornadoes. shelters are open in nine other states offering food, water and other supplies in the hardest hit areas. mental health workers specially trained in this sort of trauma are helping victims cope as well. red cross officials say anyone with a cell phone can help those who are in need. >> if you have your cell phone and you want to text 90999, text the words "red cross," $10 will be taken off of your bill and that money will go to help the victims of this disaster or other disasters that might happen around the country and around the world. >> red cross officials say it could take weeks to determine the full scope of the damage caused by the twisters. through the heartbreak, there have been some heart-warming moments in indiana with families and their four-legged friends. in marysville, a family was reunited with their cat after losing their home and most of their farm. and in henryville, a dog was found in the rubble of a home, seemingly okay. the rescue happened on live tv during a report by the weather channel's jim cantore. the dog was taken to an emergency room but is in good condition. >> incredible story there. reducing your energy bills never seemed so easy. there's a program that makes homes more energy-efficient, and get this, it's not going to cost you a penny! prince george's county department of housing along with the community development partnered with the state of maryland to offer a free weatherization assistance program. news4's liz crenshaw explains how it works. >> i would love to save money. >> reporter: ada austin of prince george's county has lived in her home for 20 years. the cost of cooling and heating it has become a financial strain. >> that's the biggest one, electric. >> reporter: because austin heats her house with an electric heat pump, her drafty home is costing her money and making her cold. that's why she's taking advantage of what's called the weatherization assistance program, and it costs her nothing. >> it was real easy, because all i did was call. >> this is called a blower door, and we use this blower door to determine how much air is flowing in and out of her home. >> reporter: carlton, the lead auditor for the prince george's department of housing, comes to houses like austin's, determines what's wrong and what needs to be fixed. then the county hires a contractor like warren brothers construction that worked on austin's home. >> they will caulk and conceal around windows and doors, put additional insulation in the attics, make sure pipes are covered. >> reporter: the county can spend up to $6,500 making these fixes. >> this is to seal up duct work in the utility room. >> reporter: eric brown is the director of prince george's department of housing and community development. >> we pay the contractor. there is no cost to the family. it's all free to the family and it's all legitimate. >> reporter: the money comes through the state of maryland from a grant from the u.s. department of energy. families whose homes are weatherized see their yearly energy bills cut by an average of $437. >> the idea here is to try to see what we can do to make homes more energy-efficient, to save money for families, particularly the elderly and disabled. >> reporter: who qualifies? elderly and disabled homeowners who meet certain income requirements. so far, prince george's county has helped more than 300 families, and it has about $500,000 left to give away. >> it's a great deal to go through, so they'd better jump on it. >> reporter: liz crenshaw, "news4 today." >> every state and d.c. offers some form of weatherization assistance and has money to spend, so you can learn more about the weatherization assistance program in your area through our website, nbcwashington.com. just search the words "energy help." lindsay lohan hosted "saturday night live" last night, and the big question was, was she going to make fun of her past legal troubles? >> all right, and one skit answered that question with a resounding yes. >> that's why i've invited two representatives from the scared straight program to come talk to you punks! mcintosh, want to get in here? >> my name is mcintosh. >> and i'm lindsay lohan. >> lohan poked fun at her numerous run-ins with the law, posing as an inmate in one sketch that you see there. she also used her legal troubles as part of the opening monologue. >> that was pretty funny. and if you remember, last time she was on, she couldn't hold it she was on, she couldn't hold it together, hi.

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