and it is cold out there. and i don't need to tell you that. temperatures in the 20s and low 30s. chilly one this afternoon with partly sunny skies and highs only in the middle 40s. right now 32 at reagan national. look at the 20s out there this morning. winchester is 29 degrees. frederick is 25. baltimore is 29 degrees. so plenty of cold air. again, we're going to see partly sunny skies and it should be a decent day today as we watch the storm system pass to the south and our south and west. here is your hd radar. some clouds moving through at the moment as we watch this storm system track off to the south. and you can see some snow shower activity not too far away and snow in portions of west virginia. that should track to the south. if you are toward charlottesville and richmond, but the brunt will move off shore quickly and we'll see sunshine. the average high is 60 and today in the mid to upper 40s. 47 in the city, 49 in fredericksberg. 45 the afternoon in hagerstown. and let's do some on-time traffic with julie. >> we mentioned this earlier this morning, up in olney we have the structure fire and a lot of equipment still there on the scene. courtesy of the crew in sky fox, georgia avenue shut down in each direction. so let's pop up that camera. georgia avenue closed off. it looks like on the northbound side, some traffic able to come by out of olney. take it easy. they were at last check dousing the house with fire. we were told one person transported away from the scene with nonlife-threatening injuries. we were told it was a vacant house that caught fire and another house caught fire as a result. so this is an on going investigation that has the roadway tied up between goldmine and brookeville road. back inside, the crash we mentioned earlier, westbound 50 at 97 now cleared to the shoulder. traffic heavy in the area. southbound along 270, below speed toward mva. traffic slows from rockville headed to the lane divide. 395 slow at duke street. boundary channel drive to the 14th street bridge. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. >> and you can check out myfoxdc.com for the latest updates on traffic and weather from all around the region. we have interactive paps, live cameras on the traffic page and plus our radar and forecast on the weather page. and you can find out how to down load our app for your iphone, droid, and blackberry, so you are always connected to fox 5 news. president obama is planning to address the nation tonight. >> he'll explain why u.s. forces are deeply involved in libya. doug luzader has more from capitol hill. >> reporter: the white house is under pressure to explain why we are fighting in libya and how and when this will come to an end. if the president is still looking for advice on exactly what he should say in tonight's address to the nation, he didn't need to look far this weekend. >> i think the president needs to put this in the broader context and explain. >> gadhafi has to go but he's not outlined the steps the united states needs to take. >> reporter: and so far it's been left to hillary clinton and robert gates to explain what the end game is in libya. nato is planning to take over the entire operation but the white house chose to bypass congressional approval for the united states. >> i don't think it's a vital interest nor the united states but we clearly have interest there and it's part of the region which is of vital interest for the united states. >> reporter: on the ground, the tide appears to be turning yet again. rebel forces backed by coalition aircraft now appear to have gadhafi forces on the run. they are making up lost ground and forging a path that rebel leaders hope will take them to the capitol of tripoli and ultimately to gadhafi himself. the president will have to explain what the coalition and u.s. are willing to do to make that happen and how long it will take. and something else the president may have to explain, if he succeeds in helping drive gadhafi from power, who and what comes next. in washington, doug luzader, fox news. >> again, president barack obama is expected to talk about the crisis in libya and the united states role there at 7:30 tonight. we'll have live coverage tonight. reports of unrest in serious this morning. a deadly crackdown by police in a coastal city left another dozen people dead over the weekend. this morning witnesses say people are setting up their own check points. gangs of armed men started roaming the streets yesterday harassing people. emergency laws have been in place there for decades but the president is set to announce that the laws will be lifted in the next day or so. managers at the stricken nuclear plant say radio active eyeo type may be contaminating sea water. they think it leaks into the ocean. workers are racing to pump out radio active water inside the plant and then then they can restart the cooling system. the disaster in japan is already having ai big impact on the global economy. coming up in the next hour, we'll take a closer look at how financial markets are poised to respond to and recover from the crisis. meanwhile airborne radio active materials were first detected on the west coast of the united states and now a more dilute amount has been found in maryland. the state said it will pay special attention to food, water, milk and the air. maryland secretary of health said the trace amounts were routinely picked up by air monitoring sensors but adds it is not enough to pose a health risk. >> much, much less than an x- ray. in california, a few days ago, they reported that the amount was less than one-tenth of what you would get from flying from chicago to los angeles. and what we found in maryland was a lot less than what they saw in california. >> the feds also found some slightly elevated levels of radio active iodine in rain water in both massachusetts and pennsylvania. but again, they say it is not enough to be a risk. new this morning, two deadly shootings within hours of each other in prince george's county. >> the most recent, a man gunned down at a gas station in capital lights at central avenue and richie road. that is where sarah simmons is live with the latest. >> reporter: good morning, tony. police have had a busy night here in prince george's county. there were two shootings but one that happened most recently was at 3:20 this morning at shell gas station and police are still out here and investigators are still combing the area to see if there is evidence left behind. crime scene tape is still up here as well. what we know from police, they tell us they received a call from several witnesses actually that there was a pan here that had been shot. and when police arrived they did discover him suffering from a gunshot wound and he later died from his injuries. right now they are not releasing his identification. we don't know who he is. they're also in the process of still trying to track down a suspect right now. but they also may have some things working in their favor. the surveillance video here at the shell gas station that they plan to take a look at to see if they gives them any idea as to what went down here early this morning. on top of that they're looking into the possibility of a club that may have closed shortly before this. take a listen. >> well there is a club in the area and right now we can't connect the two. but we're looking at the possibility that it could have stemmed from the club. >> reporter: now again there were several witnesses here at the scene when this happened. that's why there were several people that called 911. so they are in the process right now of trying to interview those people to see what information they can get from them and see if they can track down a suspect from there. that's the latest here in capitol heights. back to you. >> sarah, thank you very much. also under investigation in prince george's county, the shooting death of a pizza delivery man. the found was found around the ground around 8:30 on the ground with a gunshot wound. he was a domino's employee and he died on the way to the hospital. no word on eye sus -- on a suspect at this time. a police involved shooting at aspen hill. >> we know the name of the officer involved. officers responded to a jewelry store on saturday. donald hayes shot 32-year-old carlos mcdonald when he walked toward him with a broken bottle in his hand. he is expected to be charged with first and second-degree assault. now to a big story today. d.c. mayor vincent gray will give his first state of district speech tonight. the mayor said he would like to get on with the business of running the is they. his administration has been dealing with questions recently about the hiring practices. at 11:00 this morning a city council committee will ask questions about nepotism and some executives making more money than the law allows. this comes at a time when the mayor's approval rating is only at 30%. >> we're working hardp i have a long track record of working in the city. i worked with a lot of -- people that were in need. i love this city. >> there's no word if he will address the issues during the address. that's set for 6:30 tonight. and if you're going to catch a cab, we have heads up on a new charge starting today. and a sure sign of spring even though it doesn't feel that way yet. coming up on fox 5 morning news, why the cold weather is actually a good thing for the cherry blossoms. >> is that right? looking forward to hearing that. and as we take you to break, a live look outside, the latest weather and traffic from tucker and julie coming up next. 32 degrees out there. msll blue diamond almonds! more bold flavor! more variety! more of what you want... not what you don't. blue diamond almonds... more than a snack. the cherry blossom festival is off to a chilly start. there was even a dusting of snow early yesterday morning. while many people stayed at home, some came out to see the blossoms. the national park service said two things can hurt the trees. temperatures below 28 degrees and high winds. they say the cold weather is great for the blossoms themselves. >> the bottom line is think of when you go into a grocery store or a floral shop and you buy flowers, tulips, roses, whatever, they are in a refrigerated situation. not a freezer but a refrigerator to keep the flowers cold. that's the same thing going on here. >> the trees are expected to peak wednesday on thursday of this week. for all of the information on this year's cherry blossom festival head to myfoxdc.com. >> you know what else, when people are climbing in the trees. >> do not climb and do not clip or snip. >> and yule get called on it. i have personally seen someone get busted. >> yes. >> and everybody becomes like -- >> i've seen climbing to try to get a photo. >> don't touch them. >> they are fragile. that was a live shot. a lot of clouds moving through the area. but don't despair we'll get sunshine in here later this afternoon. but when you step out the door you can say it feels wintry. >> it feels like it should be spring but it's not. >> let's go to hd radar. shower activity down in atlanta. and they had some thunderstorm activity. and on the northern side of that, snow in southern virginia and down toward richmond might see a few flurry this is morning. storm system will track to our region this morning so a partly sunny day today. not perfectly sunny. temperatures cold. 32 in the silty. 20s to the north and west. 29 in winchester. 24 in hagerstown. 32 in leonardtown. 33 in fredericksburg. and no better across the eastern seaboard. 19 in pittsburgh. detroit 21 degrees. a lot of cold. this pattern all week long is going to feature temperatures well bow low -- below where they should be. and temperatures in the mid-50s this week and generally sunshine. so if you want a good day for it, go tomorrow. >> to see the blossoms. but go. >> you're right. that's the best day to do it. julie wright is here with what is happening on the area roadways. hey, julie. >> you were back. you were here and then left and came back. >> it's an odd morning. every other hour. >> what are you doing? s. ing in doing? snoozing in the green room. >> yes. we do have some problems to report traveling northbound 295 before you chit -- commit to the 11th street bridge. delays before the suitland parkway headed northbound on 295. expect the suitland parkway jammed from king avenue toward south capital street and the douglas bridge as a work around. the george pike, 66 below speed in manassas and through centreville and working from 123 to the beltway. 395 congested now at edsall road passing king street and traffic slows again crossing the 14th street bridge. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. get ready for a fare increase on toll roads in maryland. tolls are expected to rise next year and then again in 2014 and 2016. the first round could be a 27% hike. the maryland transportation authority is looking for ways to pay for maintenance on the roads and considering making more of the tolls electronic to help keep traffic moving and allow the state to raise fares more often. drivers will pay more for a cab ride. a $1 fuel charge for all cab rides goes into effect today. mayor gray signed the executive order authorizing the price hike on friday. the move was initiated to off- set rise in gas prices. the surcharge does not apply to interstate cab rides and goes until july 25th but can be repealed before it expires. fox 5 continues to monitor metro. an update on an ongoing problem. they are now reporting 99 of the 588 escalators are undergoing repairs. that translates to just under 17% but nearly all of the elevators are working. just 6 of the 237 elevators are out of service. to check metro's progress, go to its website. and if you monitor a safety concern or trouble on the tracks or problems with metro bus, e-mail us your story at fox5metro@gmail.com. it is a case that could redefine discrimination law in the united states. after the break, how it was all started by a 60-year-old wal- mart greeter. and ahead this morning, we're remembering the life of geraldine ferrero. the look back at a pioneer. that's next. also ahead, we're exploring the rich history of america's most namous residents. holly is with the white house association as they celebrate their 50th anniversary. more on that in just a few. 7:23. welcome back. a man in northern california was seriously injured after his sunday morning newspaper exploded in his hands. authorities say a device was hidden in the paper in vacaville, a city between san francisco and sacramento. they are not sure if the man was targeted or if the attack was random. he was airlifted to the hospital and will survive. a bomb squad searched the area and no other explosives were found. a family outing in san diego turns tragic when their sailboat capsized. 7 adults and three children were thrown into the water and two men drowned. the water was very cold and the survivors were shivering when pulled from the water. 60 firefighters were called to the scene. five ambulances took the survivors to the hospital. a group of women led by a wal-mart greeter who filed a discrimination lawsuit against the store chain will be heard by the u.s. supreme court today. more than a million female workers claim they were denied promotions or paid less than male co-workers and subjected to female stereo typing. the high court will decide whether this group should be able to sue the retailers if a class-action lawsuit. legal analysts say the case will redefine discrimination law here in the united states. the world continues to mourn the passing of geraldine ferrero. in 1984 she was the first woman vice presidental candidate. she was thrown into the spotlight when walter mondale picked her to be his running meat. plowers are being left at her home in queens new york this morning. in recent weeks there is controversy surrounding the d.c. mayor's office. later in morning the mayor is expected to answer questions focused on recent hires by the gray administration. what could happen later today is next. and a live look outside. latest weather and traffic from tucker and julie. [ male announcer ]f 95% of all americans aren't getting enough whole grain. but actually, it's easier than you think, because general mills big g line of cereals is america's number one source of whole grain at breakfast. there's whole grain in every box... ♪ ...from chex... to cheerios... to lucky charms. so you can get the whole grain you want with the taste you love. get started on the whole grain you're missing with your favorite big g cereals. make sure to look for the white check. if you're someone who does not like snakes, you may be picking up your feet. a deadly zoo at the bronx zoo is missing this morning. the egyptian cobra has been unaccounted for since friday. the reptile house is closedin definitely. it was in an isolation area. the snake is likely hiding and they are hoping it gets hungry or thirsty enough to come out. >> take a good look at that picture. it's like a mug shot. he's wanted. and if someone knocked on your door, it might be the cobra. think land shark. >> think about all of the poor small animals. >> i hope they've alerted them. >> how did he get out. >> they are tricky. >> hence the name snake. >> they get a bad wrap. chilly this week. our temperatures all week long will trend below 60; maybe next week. >> we're much lower than that. >> and we're down right cold this morning with temperatures in the 20s and 30s. let's get to it. and the headline, a chilly week ahead. there you go. a chilly week. >> big bold letters. >> it's official now. temperatures right now are certainly on the chilly side. and cold in many spots. 32 at reagan national. 33 this morning for you in quantico. fredericksberg is 33. culpeper is 30 degrees. not getting a report in manassas but look the at the 20s off to the north and west. hagerstown is 24 degrees at this hour. 25 in frederick. remember, it's the end of march here. we should be going out like a lamb and we're not. continue to see lyon-like weather for the remainder of the week. cloud cover for the morning hours and storminess off to the south and west. so kind of a partly sunny day. this is going to be the high, thin serious clouds that we get around here sometimes. and so partly sunny and good storm system off to the south. and the movement west to east. so it will pass to the east but it's possible that just a few viewers off to the south and west, down towards charlottesville and richmond, you might see a few flakes of etterment passes through. we should have plenty of sunshine with temperatures notice mid-50s and toward the end of the week we'll get another storm on the southern jet stream but this one is closer to the area so by wednesday we're back into the possibility of dare i say a wintry mix, on wednesday changing to rain. partly sunny skies and another cool afternoon with temperatures about 10-15 degrees below where they should be. and 30 tonight so the heat will have to keep running. nice tomorrow and do the cherry blossoms tomorrow. mid-50s with sunshine. and cloud up on tuesday night. could be a period of snow changing to rain on wednesday. check out that high temperature, only 40 degrees. better on thursday and friday but more rain by friday. that's a look at the weather forecast. let's do on-time traffic with julie wright. >> think it's time for mother nature and i to have us a little chat. >> good luck with that one. let me know how it goes. >> you're taking bets, right? >> yeah. on the roads, we're going to say good morning to the crew in sky fox once again. they went out to the accident that was involved a pedestrian east of sunrise valley near the reston golf course and we have the roadway blocked off. med evac helicopter was called to the scene this morning has since come and gone. what you need to know is that the roadway is closed off because of the ongoing investigation. so again sub stone road south of sunrise valley will remain shut down until further notice for this on going accident investigation. and back unside, elsewhere we are problems on the roads, 295 jacked up from the beltway headed northbound toward the 11th street bridge. slowing down your roll into southeast washington. south capitol street is bumper- to-bumper slow inbound toward the douglas bridge. use that as the work-around. and in bound 50 slowing at 410 out of riverdale into northeast. traffic on the brakes at bladensberg road and third street tunnel. a crash at virginia manor drive and a portion of richie road southbound tied up at 214 for on going investigation. if you are traveling in virginia, accident occurred on the westbound side of the georgetown pike. so again, from inside of the beltway headed west is where the accident is. the westbound lanes closed, police on the scene to direct you through. eastbound on the georgetown pike, your lanes are open. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. d.c. mayor vince gray will give his first state of the district speech tonight but first the gray administration will face questions. at 11:00 this morning a city council committee will ask questions about nepotism, campaign promises and executives making more money than the law allows. robert mccartney is the metro columnist with the washington post and he joins us this morning to sort out what we are about to wit. good morning to you. >> hi, allison. >> at 11:00, mary cheh and others on the government operations committee are looking for tough answers. what are the questions? >> well i think -- i'm hoping we'll get some good answers. i think the question is how did sulaiman brown come to get hired. this is the minor mayoral candidate who has now alleged that he was promised a job and he got a job. and he also said he was slipped money during the campaign in order to make these nasty attacks against adrian fenty, presumably helping vincent gray to get elected. and we'll hear from some officials in the gray administration would hired sulaiman brown and who subsequently fired sulaiman brown. and so hopefully we'll get some insight from people under oath as to exactly why he was hired and how that all went down. and we should also hear from some people about why people were paid more, were hired and paid more than their counter parts in the fenty administration and in some cases, as you mentioned, were paid more than technically the law allows. and we may also hear why four children of senior officials or campaign aides got jobs in the administration. >> it's a who's who list of people going before the committee. and we want to highlight a few. the person who fired sulaiman brown, wayne turnage. >> he's from the director of health care finance and he fired sulaiman brown. from what we've heard he did so without telling vince gray, without telling the mayor and he did so, we think, because he thought it was going to be a problem in his own confirmation hearing. so that will be interesting. but i think more interesting is who hired sulaiman brown and who was urging the office to hire sulaiman brown. because just to make sure everybody understands, sulaiman brown says, and gray denies, that sulaiman brown was promised a job in the administration during the campaign last year in return for making these nasty attacks on fenty. he then subsequently got a job and then was fired quickly. >> we'll hear from who hired sulaiman brown, talib kareem. tough questions for him. >> and how did sulaiman brown come to his attention? did anybody in the campaign or the transition high up recommend that he hire sulaiman brown? these are the kinds of questions we want to hear. this is just the first round of hearings. equally important and possibly more important will be next week possibly wednesday april 6th because that's when the key people who have been identified by sulaiman brown as allegedly making this deal are supposed to come before the mary cheh committee and that is lorraine green, who was chair of the campaign and the transition for gray, howard brooks, campaign consultant -- those are the two people who allegedly made the promise of the job and slipped the money, supposedly, to brown in exchange for these -- for these attacks. they have strongly denied it. gray has strongly denied it. these allegations from sulaiman brown have been out there and a big cloud over the gray administration for weeks now. >> sure. >> and what is great about the hearings is hopefully we'll finally get some people on the record talking so we can judge the public -- the public can judge what really happened and whom to believe. because this stuff has been out there and there hasn't been enough to sort of help us understand what to think about all of this. >> and we'll hear from sule pan brown in the next hearing. >> mary cheh wants to get sulaiman brown but it is not yet established for sure that he'll come next week. and i think if he doesn't come, that's going to, at least for me, that will cast a lot of doubt on his story. because he's talked to us, the washington post, he's talked to you, to other tv stations. he's talked to the house, the congress. he's talked to the fbi. and if he won't now go under oath before the d.c. council and say the same things, or give his story publicly, i think personally that would cast a lot of question about the validity and believability of his account. >> robert mccartney, we'll wait and see. robert is the metro columnist with the washington post. thank you. >> my pleasure. coming up in the next hour, we'll take a closer look at a new initiative aimed at making healthy options from food to exercise available to everyone. plus virginia common wealth university continues it's cinderella run at the ncaa tournament. coming up next, dave ross breaks down the win and the chances of going all the way. we'll be right back. [ music ] >> you don't know what you just missed. i think they missed it. well everyone loves a good center ella story, especially during the ncaa tournament. >> and this year we have two. >> we do? >> yes. that's what it says. butler. >> dave ross joins us now. >> it's a great cinder'lla story for butler. >> i thought they were already a cinder'lla story. >> they are an established power now. >> are they? >> yes. we know they're names. >> and we get the social interaction with like twitter, and we have a buddy over at 106.7, and mike wise from the washington post. i get this treat from holden kushner about 12 hours before we played kansas yesterday, we being vcu. and this is what it says. time to return the slippers, don't cry when you lose. he's a kansas guy, kansas alum. and the insinuation is the cinderella. i said it's hard to find a good pair of shoes and this slipper still fits. and it still does. take that big, bad kansas, your blue blood. you're home watching vcu in the final four. i have to calm down. but let's look at how they got it done yesterday against the kansas jayhawks. it's amazing to me the relative ease with which this was accomplished. vcu led by 18 and pulled away to end by 10 at the end. and you just kind of -- you want to pinch yourself and go is this really happening? it's really happening. and vcu is an 11 seed. unbelievable job getting the guys motivating. >> great coaching. >> and used the underdog tag saying nobody thought you should be in the tournament, let alone nobody is picking you to win the games. so there is two to go and i said it at the 5:00 hour and i'll say it again, if vcu is able to win two more college basketball games i think it will be the greatest story in the history of sports, save for, the united states meeting the soviet union in hockey. and that's how big of an upset and shock to the sports world this would be. we'll see if they can get it done. butler is a pseudo-cinderella and they would have to play uconn or kentucky to get that done. if they get it done, i'll put it you will there with the 1980 u.s. olympic hockey team beating the soviet union. >> and calvin and johnson and i were talking and it is hard to come up with another one that is as big as that. >> well i racked my brain for the last 12 hours. >> what about the muhammad ali fight. >> what buster douglas won in tokyo, but there is still professional fighters and you expect that to happen. >> and what about the basketball team in indiana that won the high school championship. >> the hoosiers. they made a movie about it. but never seen this done. >> so it's got to by' collegiate sports story or nonprofessional. >> maybe he'll blog about it. >> we'll tweet that, kushner. >> we appreciate it. tucker barnes. >> it's cold out there. if you want to play basketball -- >> you have a better chance playing hockey maybe? >> that's nice for a segway. it's hockey weather. let's look at the current conditions. 20 and 30 across the area. 30 in baltimore. 35 at patuxent naval air station. and look at 20s. 24 right now in hagerstown. let's do the future-cast together and this will show you the cloud cover. notice the storminess off to the south and the brunt will stay to the south and cloud cover moving through during the course of the day. high, thin clouds, through a partly sunny day today. and nice one tomorrow. tony and have been mentioning, cherry blossoms best day is tomorrow with temperatures in the 50s. tomorrow at 4:00. and then we cloud back up again. and look at early wednesday morning, that is the possibility of snow or rain moving back into the area by wednesday with temperatures only in the 30s. so that will not be great cherry blossom weather. here is your five-day forecast. 47 today and partial sunshine and cold tonight. 54 tomorrow. and here comes the rain or wintry mix on wednesday. and even thursday and friday are okay but not great with highs about 50. >> thank you, sir. let's head over to julie wright for an updated look at the roads. >> you guys, good morning to you all. we're just now hearing of an accident southbound bw parkway near 197, tieing up the ride out of laurel. left side blocked off. big trouble as long 295, wreck still in place at the 11th street bridge causing a back-up off of 295, and bumper-to- bumper slow to the accident scene and forcing people on south capitol street to use that as the alternative route. pennsylvania avenue, you are slow rolling down the hill from branch avenue to the sousa bridge no. problem at the -- to problems at the sousa bridge. the georgetown pike, accident has the left side of the roadway blocked now at the scene. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. they are the go-to resource for history of america's most famous residents. >> holly is with the white house historical association today. >> reporter: good morning. and they are celebrating it's 50th anniversary. and they have a lot of different events planned to help commemorate that golden event. coming up first, you can imagine how the white house has changed over the years? well an artist was commissioned to do an exhibit where he captured just that, a look at white house past when we come back live on fox 5 morning news. stay with us. the white house historical association is celebrating 50 years of doing what they call interpreting the white house for the american people. >> holly morris is there this morning to find out more about this special anniversary. holly, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the white house historical association was created by jacqueline kennedy because she said her mission was to make the white house a living museum. so over the past 50 years they've had project after project to do just that. to not only preserve the history, but to interpret it as well. and as they are celebrating for a year they are 50th anniversary, they have some special things in the works. one of which is an amazing exhibit that is at the white house visitors center and it has everything to do with how the white house has changed over the years. peter wadel is an amazing artist attitudor place in georgetown. good morning. >> good morning. >> reporter: you were commissioned to delve into the white house past. explain what that means. >> i think that when you first visit it, you think it was the same. the furniture came and went and the decorative schemes came and went and most of them have been forgotten and not very well documented in the first place. >> reporter: and so you created 14 different painting that's are different time periods but are literally paintings or pictures that didn't exist. so how do you go about recreating that when you don't have something to look at? >> with great difficulty. the historic record is quite fine. they kept a lot of -- their kept their accounts and bills, people went there and wrote about it. they didn't so much go there and paint about it, unfortunately. there were magazine sill administrations but they were generic and photography didn't get going into the white house until 1870. so written accounts for the most part list the things they purchased. >> reporter: well i want to get through the paintings. so let's start out with the first one. people might be surprised to know there was an elaborate tiffany screen in the white house. >> across the hall. chester was a glamorous new yorker and he employed tiffany to recomfort the rooms. he put a screen across the entrance. >> reporter: what happened to it? >> who knows. supposedly it was -- it was removed by roosevelt after it was unfashionable and it was lost in the fire. >> one of the great treasures. you can imagine the value today. and a bird that whistles. this is jefferson's cabinet. i love this one and the colors in this one. >> well thank you so much. jefferson's cabinet of study was where the dining room is now and a woman cashed margaret baird smith visited and wrote a detailed account including that jefferson's little pet mockingbird which would sing for him and when he went upstairs would hop stair by stair after him. >> reporter: take a look at lafayette square circa 1902, which i like this one because this is where we happen to be this morning ourselves. >> right. the first painting in the exhibition is about construction of the white house in 1902. theodore roosevelt reconstructed the white house and a lot of the things that we see today, the separate west wing and so on, came from that restoration. washington has changed dramatically. >> reporter: the lower right hand corner is the decatur house where we are this morning. and another fun story -- the paintings bring out so much wonderful stories -- and this one is about john quincy adams. >> hes with a great swimmer and he planted to boat across the potomac and swim back. unfortunately, with his servant, he was boating across and the boat sank. they didn't have a baylor and he had to get his clothes off, he lost his clothes, its servant was already naked. he made it to the shore and his son joined him on the shore. but it really showed what an idealic place washington was in the 1820s, that it was beautiful. >> and quickly, i want to get this in, because we've heard of the lincoln bedroom. this is the lincoln bedroom before it was the actual bedroom, right? >> yes. this is president lincoln's office, the day he was visited by mary livermore and this is created from -- this still photograph from a couple of drawings but again a lot of written accounts and a lot of people visited lincoln. >> reporter: peter, thank you so much for sharing your talent with us and with everyone that will come and see it. we appreciate it. >> thank you, holly. >> reporter: and in fact we showed you five of the 14 paintings and there is a great way for kids also to take part. they have a wonderful kids booklet and then there is another booklet for adults to go along with it and if go to myfoxdc.com -- if you go to myfoxdc.com, we have an amazing website that will take you through how peter was able to recreate the paintings. the exhibit is at the white house visitor center at 1450, pennsylvania avenue and the paintings will be on display through november 28th so you have a little bit of time to go down there and see them but make sure you do because it's worth sneaking your head in there to see the things that were created. and in the next hour we'll talk more about the white house historical association as they turn 50. >> looks good on them. thank you. >> we're going to be right back. c a violent night in prince george county. one man killed at a gas station and only two miles away a domino's pizza delivery man was found shot to death. we are live with new details. and then air strikes in libya continue as president barack obama readies his speech to the nation. and in japan fears escalate after another big earthquake hit this is morning. more on that and look at recovery efforts there and how the disaster is impacting u.s. markets and investigators. good morning, i'm maureen umeh, in for steve. >> and i'm allison seymour. and our cherry blossoms were a gift from japan. and tomorrow peak bloom is expected to start. peak bloom is only expected to last through friday. >> oh, very short. >> yoshino cherry trees. and tucker, is this a good day to head out there? it will be cool this morning. highs only in the 40s and we should be dry and partial sunshine later today. so today i'll give it a b. >> you said tomorrow. >> tomorrow is the day of the week with sunshine in the 50s. cold, if you are headed down there now. bring a jacket. on the chilly side. 33 in downtown washington. 27 in gaithersburg. look at the 20s off to the north and west, 27 in martinberg. and salisbury is 32 degrees. and here is your satellite radar. i mentioned the cloud cover, see the gray, that's cloud cover moving if and off to the south and west we have a good storm system cranking up, bringing some -- i know it's hard to believe, it's the end of march, but snow flying in southwest virginia. that won't get in here unless your headed south, toward charlottesville and richmond and moving west to east quickly and should be off the coast by late this afternoon and then we're in for a quiet stretch around here for the day tomorrow. but for the remainder of today, highs in the mid-50s and again we'll see partial sunshine. should be dry this afternoon if you're heading down to the tidal basin. >> thank you, tucker. julie wright has a look at the roads this hour. >> just now receiving word of a crash 301 northbound at central. fire and rescue units are responding to that. the big story is the commute on 295. it's a mess trying to work past the 11th street bridge. getting there, delays from the beltway because the accident is blocking the right lane just before you commit to the bridge to head across the anacostia. bailout traffic on south capital street and pennsylvania avenue where the lanes are open but slow going through southeast. other side of town, the accident still in play westbound 193 at the beltway. that's the georgetown pike. left side of the roadway blocked off at the espn. back into downtown, d.c. operations moving the camera around, looking for the stalled car reported inbound new york avenue at florida along the right side. that is keeping you on the brakes as you travel inbound before 16th street. so they are checking on that for you. and know focused back over on florida avenue. on the outer loop, it's still busy, 95 around to georgia avenue. this is 66 inbound into the sunshine from nutley street to the beltway. don't be fooled, we still have delays out in manassas and leaving 50 to 123. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. two deadly shootings within hours and miles of one another in prince george's county. most recent i action man gunned down at a gas station in capitol heights at central avenue and richie road. sarah simmons is live there with more on our top story. >> reporter: good morning, allison. this happened at a shell gas station here at central avenue and richie road and police are still on the scene. even 4.5 hours later, the crime tape is still up and crime officers still here doing their investigation right now. and what police are telling us, the information they have is that they were called here by several witnesses at 3:20 this morning and when they arrived they found a man suffering from a gunshot wound. it's unclear whether or not he was shot multiple times. that's still part of the investigation. but he was taken to the hospital and later died of his injuries. he was discovered here in the parking lot of the gas station. apparently not anywhere near a gas pump. but they're still in the process of taking a look at who this person was, who the victim was, who the suspect is. they don't have anybody in custody at this time. they are still trying to find someone. but here is a key to this. they are in the process of taking a look at some surveillance video from the gas station. >> well investigators at this point are looking at surveillance footage from the shell gas station to see if they can find out anything, whether or not it actually happened in the parking lot or right out on the street. >> reporter: and police say they are looking into the possibility as to whether or not a lot of the people that were here at this gas station, if they had any kind of connection to a club that had just closed at about that time earlier just down the road. it's really unclear. they don't think there is a connection right now but they are looking into the possibility that perhaps some of those folks filtered out of there and then down to here. so that would explain why there were several people here that called 911 and the witnesses that we know of right now, police have down at police headquarters and are in the process of interviewing them to see if they can get any information and track down a suspect. that's the latest in capitol hights. back to you. >> sarah, thank you. and also under investigation in prince george's county, the shooting death of a pizza delivery man. authorities say the man was found on the ground around 8:30 last night with a gunshot wound and we are told he was a domino's worker and died on the way to the hospital. no word on a suspect at this time. now to the crisis in libya. american and european bombs battered gadhafi's home town overnight. the president will address the nation tonight during a speech at 70:00. marianne rafferty has more. >> reporter: as western war planes bombed sites around gadhafi, nato has now taken full command of the military mission in libya. in tripoli many stores are closed and streets seem deserted. gasoline is in short supply. >> it's impossible to get anything. >> reporter: the secretary of defense said sunday that the unrest in libya didn't pose an immediate threat to the united states. >> as we've seen in the past, regime change is a very complicated business, it sometimes takes a long time and sometimes it can happen very fast. but it was never part of the military missionism a libian government spokesperson called nato's action illegal. >> clearly the west, nato ha taken sides on this conflict. it's illegal, hasn't been allowed or permitted by the security council resolution and it's immoral. >> reporter: but as president obama readiess had speech to the nation the secretary of state supports his actions and said he had full authorization. >> there is no perfect option when one is looking at a situation like this. i think that the president ordered the best available option. the united states worked with the international community to make sure that there was portion to do what we have helped to accomplish. >> reporter: secretary gates and clinton acknowledge that the operation could last for months or even go into next year. in new york, marianne rafferty, fox news. now to the disaster in japan and more fears after a magnitude 6.5 earthquake shook off the country's already devastated eastern coast. it prompted a brief tsunami alert however there are no reports of damage nor injuries. more than two weeks after that 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that is thought to have killed 18,000 people. concerns about radiation contamination are growing. new readings show contamination in the ocean has spread a mile farther north of the nuclear site than before. and in maryland trace amounts of radio active material were picked up by air monitoring sensors, however officials say it's not enough to pose a health risk. joining us now from sendai, japan, is chris webster. he is the world visions emergency communications manager. chris, thanks for joining us. >> thank you. >> could you please tell me the work of your organization, world vision, there in japan? >> yeah. at the moment we're still focused on the emergency response phase, delivering life essentials, blankets, clothing, things to keep people warm, food, that kind of thing because that's still a big priority here for some of the -- the children and the 50,000 survivors in evacuation centers at the moment. it's freezing cold here in japan and people are struggling through some very difficult conditions. >> and tell us about, we know the phone lines, 90% have been restored, that's what we're hearing, but what are people living without and tell us the conditions there in sendai. >> well people are doing very well in spite of so many challenges. they're left their homes, living under the fear of the radiation threat. they've had tsunamis, the earthquake and we had another earthquake, a massive quake this morning that woke us up and a stark reminder for people. and it brings back fears and anxiety. there was a tsunami warning attached with the quake. so it's tough psychologically and they've been through so much already and to get those kind of reminders. but for the most part people who have lost their homes are doing incredibly well. the response to the emergencies is outstanding. the evacuation centers are run extremely well. they are very well organized. people are involved in that themselves, cooking their own meals. dynamic resilient people pushing back against everything that's been thrown at them in the last few weeks. >> the numbers are staggering, chris. 300,000 people remain homeless. and there are still thousands that are missing. tell us the best way to help organizations like yourself at this point? what do the people need? >> we've been speaking to children today. world vision is always concerned about children in these circumstances. because they are the most vulnerable. but we gave them messages of hope and from our offices and from supporters around the world and explained to them how people from america had been sending out messages of hope to them. and they were absolutely thrilled to hear that. and so that sense of solidarity is perhaps as important as the financial contributions, that they are not alone in this. and that we're struggling through with them in supporting them the whole way. so that message really resonated with the japanese children that we met today and they sent a message back to say thank you very much, it means an awful lot to us that you care and that you're interested. so that in itself is a incredible contribution. >> and our hearts go out to the children and the people. and your organization of world vision. thank you. >> thank you. and 8:11 and 32 degrees on this monday morning. a look at how the disaster in japan is impacting u.s. markets and in vestors. and then rising gas prices have the cost of cab rides going up in d.c. today. how much when we come back. stay with us. welcome back. 8:15 now. let's look at stories making headlines this morning. d.c. mayor vincent gray will be under fire this morning as city council committee is expected to ask questions about nepotism, campaign promises and some executives making more money than the law allows. his administration has been dealing with a lot of questions recently about its hiring practices. and then later tonight the mayor will address city if the first state of the district speech. mayor said he would like to get on with the business of running the city. no word, though, if he will talk about the recent issues plaguing his administration during the speech set for 6:45 tonight. a $1 fuel charge for all cab rides in d.c. goes into effect today. mayor gray signed the executive order authorizing the price hike on friday. the move was initiated to off- set rising gas prices. surcharge does not apply to interstate cap rides and goes until july 25th. well certainly a cold start to this monday morning. we were hoping for a warm-up, but tucker barnes, that is not going to happen. >> you stand corrected, because we do have a warm-up factor. >> we do? >> yes. >> bring the heat, tucker. >> let's get it on. time for the my first 5 photo of the day. and this is 5-year-old sasha. >> 5? >> yeah, she's 5. >> and what is she doing? >> she and her sister compete in triathlons. >> baby triathlons? >> i'm very impressed. this is when sasha got first place. >> that is amazing. >> that is amazing. >> so we can expect to see her in like the olympics and beyond? >> well at age 5, she's already placing first. >> and she looks determined like get out of my way. >> that's unbelievable. >> go sasha. >> nice warm-up factor. to send us your child's picture go to myfoxdc.com. and if you're running this morning, running pants or sweats, not the running shorts. to the south we have a good storm. if you're heading down to the carolinas or richmond, might see know or rain. but for us, it will just be partly sunny today. kind of a -- clouds moving through the morning hours and more sunshine this afternoon. so partly sunny for us and cool with highs only expected to be in the 40s. right now we're 33 degrees at reagan national. a lot of 20s off to the north and west. look at frederick, 28 degrees. 29 out at dulles. 30 in winchester. 36 degrees in ocean city. the forecast for today -- it's not a bad one, but these temperatures nowhere close to where we should be this time of year. 47 the daytime high. tomorrow is great, mid-50s with sunshine. wednesday does not look great. clouds and rain or snow. high temperatures in the upper 0s to about 40. and thursday and friday near 50. so temperatures all week long not where we want them but at least we'll have some sunshine today and tomorrow. let's look at the weather forecast and do some on-time traffic and julie wright. >> that little sasha, she's my inspiration because i don't look like that when i'm running. >> yes you do. you have it down now. >> i'm like please, dear god, give me oxygen and water. she's just a ball of energy. i love it. the lanes are open at the wilson bridge. no reports there. and 295 still a struggle, bumper-to-bumper traffic from the beltway to the 11th street bridge with an earlier accident cleared. 210 at old fort road checking for a crash. rockville, 270, still below speed headed for the lane divide. we are cleared out of georgetown headed south. if you are traveling in from the west, still delays out on 66 coming in from 7100 to 123 and vienna. nutley street to the beltway. 395 congested beltway up to king street. boundary channel drive over the 14th street bridge. and stalled car at florida avenue gone and on and off the brakes toward the tunnel. southbound bw parkway, wreck at 197 long gun but slow at 132 down in laurel. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. the crisis on japan is likely to have a long-term impact. and joining us with a look at how financial markets are poised to respond and recover from the crisis is randy beaman, senior vice president of robert w. baird and company a wealth management firm and with the wise investor group and radio program. thank you for being with us. and no doubt investors are spooked. the fear of nuclear meltdown and radiation threats. what is that doing to the market overall? >> surprisingly the shock market has shrugged off a lot of the negative news. not only the japan crisis, there was an initial weaknesses but its back up to where it was prior to it. even consumer confidence being negative last week, the market seems to be able to shrug off, at least in the short-term. >> so no lackluster performance? >> there are some segments seeing weaknesses but it's holding well in the short-term. the longer term effects will be more noticeable. >> are there any sectors that are benefiting or could benefit from this crisis? >> there are some that could benefit longer term. japan is the third largest economy in the world. and they also produce a lot of parts that go into other components, semiconductors. you could see companies like intell benefit longer term because prices might rise. and you're starting to see the beginning of shortages in some components. >> now given that this crisis is affecting industries like you said with the semiconductor, automobile, mobile phone manufacturing, if i'm an investor, is this time to pull up stakes or stay put. >> it's time to stay put. it's already causing a impact in japan, and it could cause a recession by the end of the year and you mentioned autos, you're seeing some effects there. gm closed the plant for a week and ford is closing a plant in belgium for a week because they can't get parts. we're likely to see more of that over the next coming weeks. but by the end of the year we'll be back to where we were. >> and if this is a prolonged crisis in japan, what do you suggest investors long-term? they panic when things like this happen? >> there are some opportunities for longer-term investors. if you look at companies like honda or toyota, they are good quality. they have taken a short-term hit. it might be an opportunity to buy some long-term companies like that. >> and how is it affecting the american economy. a lot of people feel that it's a country away and nothing is affected here. and how is it affecting the u.s. economy? >> you'll see in some component industry, like the autos, a lot of parts made in japan go into automobiles. and you could see some american car companies benefit from replacement. if you go in to buy a prius and you can't get it, you don't want to wait and you'll go to a ford or gm and buy a car. >> and you've written about this, and talk about that while we still have time left. and you can hold it up for folks to see. >> we wrote a book, james snyder and i, value returns. it's a look at markets currently in the economy, how to invest today for a safe and secure retirement going forward. >> value returns, randy beaman with robert w. baird and company and also the wise investor group and radio program. we thank you for your insight today. >> thank you very much. >> always a pleasure. allison. it is 8:23 and 32 chilly degrees. up next more stories making headlines. and more on vcu's cinderella story. and then later we're going to the white house visitors center for a look at how the white house historical association is celebrating its 50th anniversary. stay with us. back to fox 5 news this monday morning. it is 32 degrees. a truck bombing in afghanistan killed at least 20 people overnight. it also injured another 50. all were workers at a construction company in the eastern part of afghanistan. the taliban said it carries out the bombing. a man in northern california was injured after his sunday morning newspaper exploded in his hands. thors say a device was hidden in the paper. they're not sure if the man was targeted or if the attack was random. over to san diego where two men died after a sailboat pack with ten family and friends tipped over and sank. everyone was thrown into the icy waters and tried to swim to shore. they were brought to a dock where 60 firefighters and para med ecks were waiting to treating them for para thermia. a school had high scores from 2006 to 2010. michelle rhee awarded the teacher and principal with bonuses but an investigation by usa today found a high number of wrong answers were changed in classrooms. the paper report there's was a consistent pattern of changing patterns in those years, 2006- 2010. and now the ncaa tournament has a new cinderella and it is virginia common wealth university. >> and vcu advances to the final four. and this was the scene yesterday after the victory of the university of kansas jayhawks. students and fans taking to the streets in celebration. bob mcdonnell called the team to congratulate them on the victory and said he knows the team has two more big wins left it them. come on, pull them out. two more. >> was that a rams sweatshirt? >> i was trying to see. >> it's virginia. >> we like to root for the winners. and speaking of not winning -- the weather. >> not you. you are always a winner in our book. >> thank you, maureen. >> winning! and the temperatures are not winning. temperatures in the 20s and 30s. here in the city we're up to 33 degrees but a lot of 20s could continue to the north and west. gaithersburg is 28 at this hour. and look at the cold. it's cold everywhere, but 20s, very unusual this time of year. 29 at dulles. 27 in martinsberg. to the south and to the east we go, leonardtown is 32 and annapolis is 34. so be ready for a cool one. we are going to warm up, but only into the mid-40s for afternoon high temperatures. and we'll have clouds moving through during the course of the day too. you can see the gray. that's your cloud cover and look at what is lurking off to the south and west. yet another storm in the southern jet stream and that is snow flying not too far away from us. but the good news is notice it's pushing west to east. the storm system will get off the coast and we should be looking at gradually clearing skies later today. so partly sunny and then we'll be clear tonight and that will set us up for a nice one tomorrow. to do cherry blossoms, tomorrow is the best day of the week as temperatures will be in the mid- 50s. your forecast for today, 47 and partial sunshine. another cool afternoon with winds out of the north and west at 5-10 miles per hour. then we'll be clear and cold overnight. the heater will still be running with overnight lows below freezing. 30 in the city, 20s when you wake up outside of the beltway with winds out of the north at 5 miles per hour. and there is your five-day forecast. tomorrow looks great. mid-50s. wednesday does not look great. wintry mix changing to rain with temperatures in the 30s to about 40. that's not a pretty day. thursday and friday not much better. clouds around thursday and maybe more rain by friday. that's a look at the weather forecast. allison, tossing it over to you. >> thank you so much. well a new initiative is being launched today to break down barriers and cut red tape. as far as getting us all healthier and to keep people from choosing nutritious foods that keep them from getting enough exercise. now some formitiable experts on food topics are spear heading the campaign including former usda congressman dan glickman. and former u.s. da director and former director of unicef with us today. and they are also with the bipartisan policy center and that is important because there might be red tape to cut through to get this initiative going. can you tell us about it and the way that you plant to go about making sure that it's developed? >> well it's just being announced today but what we're trying to do is really highlight the issue of overweight and obesity in this country. the impact it's having on the population at large, the impact on health care costs, the impact on children. there are now 32% of children in this country who are overweight obese. 17% of the children in this country are obese. but think of the -- and adults, of those over 20 in this country, 68% of our population are over weight. 34% of whom are obese. and so this really is impacting the chronic diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease. and this is having a huge impact on health care costs. >> how tough of a road are you facing and why is it tough to get the programs initiated? >> well first place, the initiative, we have two former usda secretaries, bush administration and clinton administration. two others from the clinton administration and the bush administration. the four of us are working together to find the best practice that's deal with nutrition education and how to access better foods and stimulate physical activity both for children and adults. there are a lot of great things happening out there in the country that we want to pull together and show the rest of the world that there are ways to improve our physical health but there are also a lot of impediments at schools, at our educational institutions so we want to move the debate forward and make recommendations that can stimulate positive progress. >> we just did a report last week in virginia, physical education will now not be a mandatory thing. let me ask you, if this goes through, as you would hope that it would, how would our life as we know it change? what are some of the big key points that you hope to see put into place? >> well, again, nutrition education is extremely important. how to get people to eat healthier and make better food choices and thereby have a healthier lifestyle. but physical activity is such a critical component of this. and the virginia voters highlight it right now but states all over the country to longer require physical education. i think certainly when we went to school, we had to take physical education. and children, that isn't required. and now every child should have the opportunity, every adult should be exercising, but that is becoming more and more difficult and so this is a key component we need to highlight. >> and we've highlighted the fact that it is a bipartisan effort. first lady has her get fit program and will this further, no matter who is in the white house, do you hope this will continue? >> look, this is not a partisan issue, how to become healthier. and there are great deals out there in the country. and the bipartisan agency tries to facilitate discussion to move the ball forward without getting into battles. and so that's our goal this year. so whether it's looking at school issues or nutrition education issues or looking at the positive things that the corporations and private sector and nonprofit world are doing, the whole idea is that there is a lot of confusion and lack of clarity out there in the country about what we can do. and hopefully we can provide some clarity and end some of the confusion. so parents particularly will know what is best for their kids and adults will know what is best for them. >> do you find there is a bit of a backlash that the government will not tell me how i should eat. does that kind of come into play here as far as people habits or are we -- have we just lost touch with the family farm and the good food that we got and now we're eating more of the processed foods? what do you find in your study as the main problem and what companies might you be looking to to help maybe develop some of these initiatives? >> well, i think it's not a single issue. i think there are multiple issues. you've got a fast-paced world today where people are multi tasking, they're looking for the quickest meal solutions they can get and so sometimes that means less healthy foods and so that's difficult. and we have government programs, are we serving healthy enough food in school lunches and breakfast? are children getting access to nutritious fruits and vegetables. there are new programs that have piloted fruits and vegetables and those have been effective. we need to make a difference in the country. >> and just two possible examples one is the whole issue of what can be done to encourage states and school districts to require physical education as part of the curriculum. and another example is medical education. what are medical schools and people training health care professionals and doctors doing to recognize the importance of nutrition and help prevention as part of the training. so that they are the ones that are often the interface with kids and parents. so some medical schools do a great job and some don't do anything and we'll look at that as well. >> and two former usda secretaries on the job, i have no doubt we'll be eating better very soon. thank you for stopping by the studios today. maureen over to you. it is now 8:36 and 32 degrees on this monday morning. up next we'll reveal the job of the day. it's perfect for people who want to help others. and then a look at a growing trend in today's business world. young entrepreneurs and how they are making their dreams come true. and as we go to break, breaking news from sky fox. take a look at your screen now. this is a scene live from barnesville, maryland. a barn completely burned to the ground. this happened within the last hour. no one was hurt. this is in a very rural area. there were no hydrants around to water tankers have to be brought in but those were too late. we'll be back in just a moment. e of getting breast cancer. i had no choice. that 3-day gave me that opportunity. and i can actually do something to help. 60 miles in 3 days-- i can do that. we can rid the world of this terrible disease... so that no mother... granddaughter... sister... daughter... mother... go through what my wife had to go through. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime. our job of the day is with dorways for women and families in arlington. it's a group that works to end homelessness and family and intimate partner violence by offering a safe shelter and housing. it's looking for an executive director. for more on this job and many others go to myfoxdc.com and click on the job shop tab at the top of our home page. well it is a sign of the economic times. >> many recent college gradates are becoming entrepreneurs in the wake of the recession and high unemployment. the costman foundation found entrepreneurship is at a 15 year high for college graduates and while the unemployment rate for grads doubled in recent years. and many young people are starting a new business instead of diving into the corporate world. >> a lot of those lucrative mba job offers were no longer available. >> if we can start the way the economy is now, then once things pick up we'll be in the right position to succeed. >> a new study shows 40% of 8- 24-year-olds hope to start a business or already have. it's now 841 and 32 degrees on this monday morning. >> coming up next, live at the white house hist oral association as they celebrate their 50th anniversary. holly, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. 50 years they've been around. a special anniversary. and to mark it they have a lot of different events planned where they want you to be a part. we're live this morning at the decatur house and we'll tell you how you can get involved next on fox 5 morning news. stay with us. paul ? oh, hey, charlene. what are you doing ? this is to help me with my online investing. i'm so overwhelmed by jargon and trading tools and data that i need to get as much blood to my brain as possible, just to make sense of it all. touch the ball. whoa ! get sharebuilder from ing direct. hey, my headache's gone. the white house historical association is celebrating their 50th anniversary. >> and holly morris is learning about the history of the organization. holly? >> reporter: they've been around for 50 years now and they are still growing and evolving and doing wonderful things and that's one of the reasons why we've come here to the decatur house this morning. but it's my pleasure to introduce you to neal horseman, the president of the white house historical association. good morning and happy anniversary. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: 50 looks good on you all. >> 50 looks very good on us. >> reporter: let's talk about how all of this got started and how it's evolved over the years. >> we were originally part of the division that -- the vision that jacqueline kennedy had for the white house as she came in as a first lady. >> reporter: and how old was she? >> 29 years old. >> reporter: she was 29 and had the vision to come up with something like that. >> she did. she thought the white house should be america's house museum and everything in the rooms reflect the rich history, through the decorative and fine arts of where this country had come in its -- since infancy. and part of that was she was so interested in people coming through the white house and tour and had nothing to take with them so they thought there should be a private organization that would develop a historic guide book so people could have something to take home to learn about the history and that's how the white house historical association became a reality. >> reporter: and since that time every first lady has been active with this organization. >> every first lady has been active with the organization. she and mrs. -- mrs. kennedy hopes there would be a time when the association would have enough resources through the sale of books and educational materials to be able to acquire objects for the white house collection. and we have been able to acquire now nearly 300 objects, paintings, fine art, furniture for the white house to keep mrs. kennedy's dream alive. >> reporter: and i want people to understand what you all do. because it started out with the project of the guide book but it has developed into a lot more than that. >> it is developed into a very large education program and publishing books, doing documentary films, nationally award winning website. we have programs where we have teachers go into schools to teach about white house history. here at decatur house we're starting a new program and bringing children here to learn about white house history firsthand. >> reporter: and tell us the experience the kids get when they come here to the decatur house. >> this is the project for the next 50 years in that the decatur house has been here since 1819 as part of the white house neighborhood. it's property of the national historic trust preservation and we went into a 30-year co- steward agreement with the trust where we will complete the conservation of the property and create a national center for white house history. part of that is bringing school children into the house to learn. the program now is called pass to freedom learn about lincoln signing the emancipation proclamation and after they have a lesson, they dawn their outfits and costumes, we film it and they recreate the signing. proclamation. >> how fun is that. and you are using the building now but continuing to work on it to make it even more. how long will it take before this becomes the official center for white house history? >> probably over the next three years. the only part of it will be a center for research and a digital library of white house history where we will gather materials if some 170 presidential sites across the country and put them in a digital form so it is a place where scholars and people can come and research history here for themselves. >> reporter: and are there any other spill highlights in terms -- in terms highlights? >> we'll bring out the 50th edition of the white house guide book, again mrs. kennedy's book in the 50th anniversary edition. and the first ever exhibit at the renwood gallery called something of splendor which is an actual exhibit of white house decorative arts through the year and part of the white house collection. >> reporter: and of course an ornament will come out. >> we'll have a 50th anniversary ornament. this year celebrating a popular president, the administration of theodore roosevelt. >> reporter: neal, thank you so much. it's been fun being here this morning. myfoxdc.com is our website. we have a link to their award- winning website that you should check out. and you heard neal talk about the guide book. that's the first project that started it all. they are about ready to release the 23rd edition, a special 50th anniversary edition. it doesn't come out until april but we'll get a sneak peek and talk about it earl today. 8:50 now. and the souvenir white house easter regular roll will be unveiled this morning. >> we have it first here. the sneak peek coming up after 9:00. and we'll take you out to the first stop for x factor auditions. simon cowell's new project and a look from the talent pool he got to pick from when we come back. 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[ female announcer ] do you have enough crescents? than listening there'to our favorite songs. there's nothing we love more than listening to our favorite songs. but our favorite thing is eating totino's pizza rolls. but our favorite thing is eating totino's pizza rolls. ♪ we're the kids in america ♪ oh, oh, oh our facebook fan of the day is ava soul. she's been watching the show since she was just 6 years old. >> wow! >> she's now 23 and a journalism major and said it is her life's goal to be a part of the fox 5 news team. it will be a couple of years and we'll be like, hey, ava, what is coming up? >> to be tomorrow's fan of the day -- look at her. >> she has the make up going on, covered lips. >> search fox 5 morning news and post a comment under the very glamourous ava. >> she has is going on. the scarf action. auditions are underway for simon cowell's x factor. >> if the weekend turnout is any indication the show is on track to be a huge hit. more than 15,000 people showed up for auditions in los angeles. the x factor is open to individuals and groups as young as 13 with no upper age limit as we see there with that seasoned gentleman. it will have four judges, including simon and a $5 million recording contract as the grand prize. executive producers say we could see more of simon's sensitive side too. >> i think maybe we'll see a bit of a compassionate side because he's going to get behind the act in a way he never has before. >> the closest audition to our area is newark, new jersey, april 13th and 14th. we'll have the list on myfoxdc.com, just click on the entertainment tag. and you interviewed him, what, last week? >> we have a relationship. >> you do? >> yes. we've spoken several times, i saw his heartbeat through his t- shirt. fox is getting ready for another debut. >> we're talking about breaking in and it's star brett harrison will join us in the next hour. and a padded bikini top for 7-year-olds, is that who abercrombie and fitch is attracting. we'll look at controversy in just a moment. mr. perdue! mr. perdue! what does it mean that perdue is the first chicken company to have a usda process verified program? it means the usda verifies that my fresh, fit & easy chicken is raised cage-free and fed an all-veggie diet with no animal by-products. is it true your chickens are never given any hormones or steroids? yes, it's true. [ camera shutters clicking ] so, what's next? is there a movie deal? thank you... [ chickens clucking ] now ladies, don't get any ideas. [ male announcer ] perdue. the first chicken company to have usda process verified programs. right now at 9:00, what exactly is our country's role in the crisis in libya? president barack obama is preparing to address the nation tonight. in japan, new concerns this morning over spreading radiation. we're going to take you there for the latest. and we've got an update on radiation level testing here in our area. and a violent night in prince george's county. a deadly scene at a gas station and just a couple of miles away a domino's pizza delivery man found shot to death. we're live with latest details. good morning, i'm tony perkins. >> and i'm allison seymour. and we're also following some big talkers out there today, including this guy -- a deadly cobra on the loose. we have the latest from zoo officials. and how long