that field tests showed to be harmless. no reported injuries. no reported illnesses. inside the school's move to protect the children. >> the letters were quarantined. they were never exposed to students and even the staff members who had come in contact were placed in a separate situation. >> reporter: after the discovery of the first three letters the fire department activated a special operations center with various members from the feds and local law enforcement there to track each situation. >> they were able to quickly stand that center up, bring everybody in and we were able to very effectively manage the rest of the day, somef which we had five or six simultaneously and that being said we were able to get people on the scene within minutes on every one of those cases. >> reporter: so what's behind all these letters? i talked to a form d.c. detective today. he warns that this could be a trial run. i'll have more on that coming up at 6:00. jim, back to you. >> pat collins live with the new developments for us. pat, thank you. the latest now on the death of osama bin laden. president barack obama just wrapped up a trip to fort campbell, kentucky, where he met privately with special operators who carried out the raid on bin laden's compound. he spoke to soldiers who have recently returned from deployments in afghanistan. he said he wanted to personally thank everyone for what he called their extraordinary service. >> thanks to the incredible skill and courage of countless individuals, intelligence, military over many years, the terrorist leader who struck our nation on 9/11 will never threaten america again. >> fort campbell is home to the 101st airborne and also home of the special operations helicopter unit nicknamed the night stalkers. they routinely fly the navy s.e.a.l.s and delta force operators on those sensitive missions. and in another development, al qaeda did confirm today what the president has been saying since sunday. osama bin laden is dead. in a message posted on the internet, al qaeda confirmed the death of its founder and called on all muslims especially those in pakistan to seek revenge. back close to home now, an 18-year-old driver is dead tonight after a car crash in month bombry county. it happened in germantown early this morning. police tell us the teenager was driving westbound on middlebrook road when his car collided with a dump truck traveling north germantown road. the team's two passengers were taken to a local hospital and are in stable condition this evening. the driver of the truck wasn't injured. the cause is still under investigation. communities along the mississippi river from illinois to louisiana are facing the threat of severe flooding tonight. officials are urging some residents in memphis, tennessee to evacuate. nearly 1,000 homes are expected to be flooded as the waters continue to rise. the river is expected to crest at 48 feet next wednesday. it's already at 46 feet. we have had a perfect spring day, but there is a threat of rain for mother's day. >> that's right. chief meteorologist doug kammerer is tracking the conditions and has your 5:00 forecast. >> right now we're looking at those clouds increasing and some shower activity out there as well. mostly to the west and to the south of the washington area and you can see some coming around the frederick county area in toward parts of maryland and down to around culpeper county. and those showers making their way to the north and east and with those showers, thunder and lightning as well. nothing severe, though, so you don't have to worry about that. outside right now the temperatures are around 69 degrees in the city and back toward sterling and 72, toward fredericksburg and notice charlottesville, much cooler than earlier there now in the 50s as a result of that rain-cooled air. 60 degrees by 9:00. and kind of cool with the temperature around 49 by 5:00 and 50 by 7:00 a.m. and we will see sunshine during the day tomorrow. most of saturday is looking pretty good and then yet another storm system will try to move through here and it could impact mother's day. i'll show you how in just a bit. >> thank you, doug. >> it's the end of an era today. te terps fans filled the auditorium. he announced his retirement after 22 years heading the team. we have live team coverage and we begin with lindsay czarniak with the latest. sad day, liz. >> sad day for a lot, and he's very funny and the joke is he's probably somewhere on the golf course, but he was certainly very emotional and tearing up as he walked across the court getting ready to announce his retirement. gary williams says he knows he can go out there and coach still -- >> it was a very difficult decision to make, mainly beside the coaching thing i'm basically unskilled, so when you leave the one thing you kind of knew how to do there's always some apprehension in that decision, but at the same time, coaching gives you confidence that you can be successful in some other ways and i'm out there into an area. it really feels different, but it's kind of an area i'm looking forward to to where there's no set thing out there yet. >> he says he's leaving the maryland teerjs the terrapins in capable hands and they named the comcast center after him. the students and the fans there are sad because they did so very love gary williams, but his l legacy goes beyond the basketball court. our team coverage continues with melissa malay live from college park. melissa? >> good evening. finals are just days away for students in maryland, but so much excitement today. of course, a couple of tears and lots of folks, hundred of them, in fact, showed up to pay honor, to pay tribute to gary williams and it was sad, though, very much punctuated by sadness. >> i would like to thank the student. unbelievable. >> on a day filled with tears and memories from a coach, an arena filled with players, students and alumni. >> i had to keep myself from crying. >> all of them fans honoring gary williams, a man so loved -- >> gary williams is incredible. it is so sad to see him go. >> reporter: they chant his name at a school they dubbed garyland. it's a fan base for one man that seems big enough for a team, cheering, clapping. students taking pictures and alumni reminiscing. >> gary just always made you feel happy to be a terp fan. >> reporter: all eyes glued to a screen tribute, williams choking about his tears behind a table behind the trophies. in the late '80s, williams resurrected a reeling program eventually giving fans the first of several trips to the ncaa tournament and oh, yeah, that thrilling win in 2002. >> i think he stuck out a really tough time that a lot of people might not have. >> reporter: there's one thing fans say they'll really miss. >> i'll definitely miss the fist pump. >> it brings everyone together, it's just, i don't know, iconic i guess is right. >> reporter: they're the coach's face outside the comcast center and now inside, a tribute, too, a plan for the court to be named after the coach himself. >> when gary got choked up, i think we all feel that. >> reporter: bars in college park having drink specials for fans in honor of gary williams. lots of people very, very sad and even the coach as you saw there himself tearing up. coming up at the 6:00 hour we'll talk with some businesses, with some folks who think this might actually affect their bottom line as well as donations. live in college park, melissa malay, news 4. >> a lot of people can't remember. a lot of people down there have the terps without them. >> he's been there for 22 years. >> incredible. coming up on news 4 at 5:00, some call it a rite of passage. >> the allegations that landed a straight-a student in legal trouble. >> now the battle over a $1,000 water bill takes a new turn. consider yourself warned. what one group is saying about the potential for another hack attack on sony. also, their could there be relief from soaring gas prices? how soon experts say those prices might be coming down. news 4 at 5:00 is just getting started. so you closed your savings account and buried all your money. yeah, my savings weren't growing, too many traps and fees, it's better off in a hole in the ground. where's the hole ? i got a map. where's the map ? it's tattooed on my back. nobody knows about it-- just me and the guy who did the tattoo. touch the ball, son. put your savings where they'll grow. get an orange savings account. no fees. no minimums. no tattoos. i should go get the shovel. as you saw a bit earlier, president obama wrapped up a stroz fort campbell, kentucky, to thank the troops for their service in the nation's war for the hunt for osama bin laden. >> the week kapts a week of unity even on capitol hill where there was a bipartisan outpouring of support for the president. luke russert joins us. >> it feels good to be here. >> more than just in the box on the television. >> with this beautiful hd set. >> isn't it lovely? >> we have moisturizer and water if you need some. >> that's all we've got for you. how -- were you surprised by this bipartisan support and a brief moment friendship that occurred? >> it was really amazing. the politics in the united states has been quite polarized especially since president obama was elected. there has not been a lot of bipartisanship and there's been a lot of heated rhetoric, but this week after the killing of osama bin laden it was amazing to see on capitol hill, rep reps all of them being supportive of the mission and george w. bush had a lot to do with the capture and mission of osama bin laden by putting the policies in place, but to see that type of unity, i haven't seen that around capitol hill and we're in washington since 9/11. it was an ashmazing thing to se. all of the attacks of the past week were kept on the issues which will be on the budget and that's where we're headed to next week. >> how nasty will that be? >> it will be interesting. this is a big issue about the nation's debt ceiling which a lot of people outside of washington don't know right now, but may 16th, to pay everything that you need to pay runs out and republicans say if you're going to increase that deadline, you're going to increase that amount of money that we'll borrow we'll need to make spending cuts and they're electing to do that and that debate will ramp up this week and it will be extended to budget tricks, if you will and keep an eye on that. the bipartisan week. >> everyone is talking and tweeting about the photos or lack of photos whether we're not going to see them. what's your take on that and what are you hearing on your twitter verse there. >> it's an interesting issue because people in capitol hill were divided about this. there have been democrats who want them released and democrats who want it to be kept secret and republicans the same way. what i've heard from members of the house intelligence committee is they don't want osama bin laden to be projected as a martyr so you can have rallies in the streets with the iconic image of a dead bin laden that can have a new inspiration of jihadists. that's why it was kept secret. it's an amazing event in the united states' history and there should be freedom of information and we should have access to it, but most people on twitter are happy it's not going to be released and there's a lot of curiosity and everyone that saw it says it's extremely gruesome. >> president obama looking happy there with a rousing welcome in kentucky. do you think he'll ride this wave? how long will it continue? >> it will be interesting to see. his poll numbers went up 11 points this past week and it will not stay there. in terms of election 2012 this issue of foreign policy is very difficult to attack the president on right now because he accomplished the most amazing foreign policy tactic of the last 10, 20, 50 years, however you want to look at it, and if you want to say president obama's weak on terror that's kind of a hard argument now that osama bin laden -- >> a defining moment. >> as james carville said in 1992 it's the economy, stupid. there is growth in the private sector and the nation's unemployment rate is still 9% and when that occurs -- >> it wents up a bit this week. >> right. correct. when you have that type of unemployment there are a lot of folks out there that still need jobs and that is voter anger and that can always reflect poorly on the incumbent in the polls. >> busy week. >> great to see you here. >> come back again. >> absolutely. you guys already gauged craig and lindsay. >> we haven't announced our engagement. >> it's under wraps. >> marriage comes out of the anchor relationships. >> on twitter you might find out. >> we feel like we've been married for ten years. thanks, luke. >> great to see you. >> all right. well, i was going surprise you with a proposal. luke just blew it wide open. >> just buy me dinner later and we'll call it evening. new developments in the sony hack attack. two weeks after security breaches were discovered in sony playstation and sony online enter thainment, cnet is reporting there's evidence to suggest hey, may be plotting to strike again, snatching people's credit card and other personal information. sewny is now offering free identity theft protection to the 100 million consumers who may have had their information compromised. doug joins us now, the very mared doug kammerer. >> you got your ring back on. my wife was, like, when are you putting the ring back on? >> as soon as the cast comes off, honey. there you go. this is my forecasting hand, by the way. >> this is what's happening out with the jet stream. the forecasting will get a lot easier over the next couple of days. >> and maybe sunnier, too. >> it is mrorth's day weekend. everybodiments to know are we going to see shower activity over the week snernd it could happen. let's take a look out there right now. clouds moving into the area along with the frontal boundary that's just off to the west. that front will provide us with the chance for showers and more clueds as we make our way through the evening, but for most of us, you may want to take the umbrella with you as you step out this evening. 69 degrees and winds out of the south at 10 miles per hour. temperatures are on the mild side. 72 in frederick and 69 in the d.c. area and 69 in andrews air force base and back toward hearn donne at 69 as well. we do have shower activity out there right now on live digital doppler radar and all to the west of i-95 up toward frederick, back down into portions of virginia and down to charlottesville and to the south of culpeper. nothing around the district and nothing around the beltway, but that will change over the next few hours and let's take you around to the north around frederick, maryland, where we're seeing showers and some thunder and a couple of bolteds of light thing, nothing severe, down toward kull pepper and down toward orange and all of this is moving to the northeast at 20 to 25 miles per hour and fredericksburg, you'll see that in the next hour or so and it will keep moving up ward our region throughout the rest of the evening. satellite and radar together showing this little system and it's a very weak system, but you can see it making its way through. the storms just to our south and northern north carolina, for us, maybe showers and rum bells of thunder. mild conditions. i think we'll see a nice-looking saturday before our next system moves in. that will provide us with showers late saturday into very early on sunday, and that is mother's day, but by late afternoon that storm will move on through here and we're looking at a better mother's day afternoon. mostly clear. another cool start tomorrow morning. 42 to 49 degrees. tomorrow morning, sun and clouds. nice and mild, 71 to 74. yes, an isolated shower will be possible, but most of us will remain on the dry side. 30% chance of showers early on sunday. mn monday and tuesday looking better as well. temperatures in the 07s or better everia single day. >> that hand is helping out. the forecast is much better. >> you have no idea, to be able to -- >> thank god you're not out of practice. >> thank you, doug. coming up next, new clues following the raid on osama bin laden's compound. what investigators are now saying about the terror leader's next target. >> access denied, why adding too many friends can get you kicked off facebook. i'm liz crenshaw. what's the deal with all these new bag taxes? what are the rules? what are the rules? that's twhat do we have here? oh, it's scotts naturescapes advanced mulch. advanced huh? ehh...mulch is mulch. oh, not so, pops. ordinary mulch can fade after a few months. that's mulch! naturescapes holds its color for a full year. a whole year? guaranteed. plus, it's water smart. water-what? water smart. it channels water directly to the roots... reducing runoff, so you can water 30% less. saves water...holds color... you're sure this is mulch? ♪ [ male announcer ] scotts naturescapes advanced mulch. >> montgomery county passed a new bag fee and many are wondering where the extra money will go. liz crenshaw is here to answer your questions. it is time for -- >> "ask liz." >> it's all about bags. >> is it? >> all of the questions are about bags. >> not saddle bags, though. >> just bags. >> our first question dollars murray in rockville. he wants to know which bags are going to be taxed and which ones exempt. >> the montgomery county of involvement says there will be a 5-cent tax per bag on paper and plastic bags provided by all retail establishments in montgomery county beginning january 1, 2012. in self-check out lanes consumers will use the honor system in reporting and pay for example how many bags they use. how about that? the tax will not apply to plastic bags used in the produce section of grocery stores. it is also not going to apply to pharmacy bags for carrying prescription drugs. not the produce bags. take as many of those as you want. >> what about the jurisdictions? many want to know the status of the bag tax. >> the district department of the environment helped us with this answer. a bag tax started in january 2010. it requires any business in d.c. selling food or alcohol to charge 5-cent tax on a paper or plastic carry-out bag and retailers have reported a 50% reduction in bag distribution since the tax started. in virginia, a 20-cent statewide tax was proposed earlier this year, however it was rejected by the virj house of -- >> it is modifying behavior and people are take the reusable bags. >> that was the whole points of this is to save on our waste. last question is about the proceeds of the tax, where does this money go from the bad tax in d.c. and how is montgomery county going to use this money? >> we did to speak to the department of montgomery environment for this one. it has brought in $1 point 5 million in 2010. most of the proceeds from that bag feeia river cleanup protection fund. proceeds from this fund help clean and protect the anacostia and other local waterways.the d eventses have reported significantly fewer bags in our local waterways. that's interesting. in month bomby the proceeds will be used for the water quality protection mouth fund and that's a mouthful and proceeds will help improve local water quality and cleanup litter from county streams. there you go. >> if you have a question you'd like us to consider, send it to ask [email protected] and search liz crenshaw and on facebook by searching liz crenshaw's consumer watch. all about bags. >> at whole foods what they do when you get money back they'll give you wooden nickels and then they have other charity things by the exit to give money to other charities which is nice. >> it reduces the number of bags that people are using and they're finding fewer in the river. >> i think that was the point. jim? >> all you could ever