afghan civilians, allegedly by an american serviceman. weeks of violence have this country on edge and the objective in doubt. back in washington, the two leaders were in lockstep on a 2013 transition of power and a 2014 pullout. >> we will not give up on this mission, because afghanistan must never again be a safe haven for al qaeda to launch attacks against us. >> we are going to complete this mission and we are going to do it responsibly. >> reporter: cameron and obama on common ground, fighting to finish an unpopular war. and of course, this official visit is not all business. the prime minister got to go with president obama last night to take in an ncaa game. and while the game was a built confusion to the prime minister, he promises to teach president obama the finer points of cricket when he is next in the uk. doreen? >> brian moore reporting. thank you, brian. now, the latest on the republican presidential race. rick santorum is savoring victories in alabama and mississippi last night. analysts say the whips in two deeply conservative southern states give him added credibility within his party but failed to raise his overall stature in a head-to-head race with president obama. meanwhile, newt gingrich says he is not leaving the race despite last night's losses in the region. that is supposed his home turf. mitt romney finished third in both state bus won the caucuses in hawaii and american samoa. by some counts, romney collected four more delegates than santorum did last night. tonight, michael hash will be spending his first night in years a free man. he has been in prison since a jury convicted him of murder but a judge recently overturned it for what he called misconduct by authorities. chris gorden reports from culpepper, virginia. >> reporter: michael hash arrived in happened cuffs and shackles, seeking his release from prison after serving 12 years for the murder of a 74-year-old woman. he was convicted in 2001 but weeks ago, a federal court judge vacated his murder conviction, citing misconduct by the prosecutor and police. after a brief hearing, hash was ordered released on conditions that he doesn't leave virginia, that he resides with his parents, reports to a caseworker weekly and posted a $10,000 bond. hash is represented by lawyers with the mid-atlantic innocence project. >> very happy that mike is going to be home with his family tonight and looking forward working with the special pros kirtz he decides whether or not he is going to retry the case. >> reporter: hash left the courthouse, saying he was looking forward to being with his family and home cooking. the prosecutor resigned last week, gary close. and there is a petition pending to remove the sheriff but he says he didn't do anything wrong and believed it was a weak case from the beginning. >> nothing was done improper by myself or the other investigator in those interviews and interrogations. i never set up any type of jailhouse snitch to meet. >> reporter: fairfax county commonwealth attorney raymond morrow has been asked to serve as special prosecute and independently review the case against hash. >> already begun reviewing the files, sheriff's files and the evidence collected at the scene and various trial transcripts. >> reporter: if the special prosecutor decides not to rey michael hash for murder, it could be that he has concluded there's simply not enough evidence to convict him or it could mean that he believes michael hash is an innocent man who was wrongly convicted and served 12 years behind bars for a murder he did not commit. in culpepper, virginia, news4. we are following a developing story, verdict in the wrongful death against virginia tech case. the jury found the school was negligent in the response to the 2007 campus shootings that left 133 people dead, specifically, that the school delayed a campus warping after the first shots were fired. the verdict came after 3 1/2 hours of deliberation. the parents of two students killed in the attack filed the suit. each family was awarded 100,000 dollars in damages. virginia tech released a statement saying it is disappointed with today's decision. a wild scene in texas where police have a gunman in cuffs toddy after a deadly shooting outside of a courthouse. police say the man was inside the courthouse in bow month this afternoon. he went out to his pickup truck, got a begun and started shooting. officers fired back and gunman tried driving away. he drive for just a few blocks before running over one of his victims and ditching the car. the gunman then ran to a nearby business where he took customers hostage. he eventually surrender but police say he killed one person throughout this year deal. the d.c. ethics office confirm it had is odd dating series of moneyed o orders lastr reported by vincent orange. it is not part of an ongoing investigation. news4 was first to report yesterday on a flurry of new subpoenas in that federal probe. tom sher wood is here with an update. tom? >> reporter: doreen, the federal probe is much more serious, it's looking for crime russ. at-large council member vincent orange and d.c. office of campaign finance and ethics confirmed the 2011 campaign is the subject of a routine audit by city ethics officials, not paz art of the federal proechblt. >> i feel good i did everything i was supposed to do. >> reporter: orange's 2011 campaign she is bunch of what he now calls suspicious money orders, all purchased at the same time, that maybe connected to businessman jeffrey thompson. >> this some look questionable and some look suspicious. >> reporter: there was a flurry of subpoenas for elected officials who over the year also support from businessman jeffrey thompson. the homes and officials were raided by the fbi march 2nd. kwame brown, whose 2008 at-large race is under federal criminal investigation for unreported contributions and expenses, says neither he nor his campaigns have been speeubpoenaed in the latest action. >> going back to 2003? >> not to my knowledge. i have not heard anything, any subpoena at all. period. >> reporter: brown says the subpoenas and controversy over campaign contributions, including suspicious money orders, may require new tougher campaign finance laws. >> clearly, if there are money orders in terms of issues, in terms of money orders and the amounts of the moneyed or whi o need to look at, i will go back to the office and see what to change if necessary. >> reporter: campaign laws may be need bud right now you people want to know who broke the current ones. we have a cherry blossom alert, coming sooner than you thought. because of the warm temperatures this winter, the national park service says those trees will be blooming on march 18th, i believe that is sunday, a few days earlier than first predicted, the all-important peak bloom between march 20th and 23rd, also earlier than expected >> you don't have those cold nights coming in, kblas nothing put the brakes on these things just keep moving, a 24-hour period, go twice as fast the temperature were to drop a little bit down into the 30s. what they are doing is normal, it is just back in the first of march, made my forecast, i wasn't expecting these unseasonably warm temperatures. so warm out there certainly not braking today. cherry blossoms are full speed ahead. >> no wonder they are anxious to come out. doug it is he tidal basin, looking for an excuse to hang around outside. not a cloud in the sky, you can see the trees behind me here, many of them not quite blooming just yet. there are blooms on toer side of the parking lot, 50%, some of those trees right now, see the bloom earlier, talk with bill line from the national park service in a couple of minutes. out there right now, talk about the temperatures and how we are seeing things out there you know we hit 80 degrees again today after a high of 81 yesterday. right now, 78 degrees, plenty of sunshine, nice and calm winds, temperatures around the region now, sit nothing the low -- rather low 80s, down to the south, 84 today, that was the high temperature in fredericksburg, 82 there, 82 culpepper, martinsburg, a temperature of 80 degrees, so, extremely warm temperatures, temperatures right now about 20 to 25 degrees above average, overnight tonight, we are talking about those warm nights, down to about 57 at 5 a.m., up to 58 by 7:00 tomorrow. once again not need the jackets, people ask me, doug do you think you can put away the coats? i put mine away a month ago. >> you are very warm blooded. always complaining how hot it is in here. >> that's true, too. coming up on news4 at six, caught on tape, a guy uses pepper spray while trying to rob a store but the clerk doesn't go down without a fight. slot machines become a real knit our area rifles, at brand new maryland casino. a new plan that could get gas prices higher. and the cause that brought actor and activist george clooney to town today. what is aneed sports? >> put your rally caps on, washington skate to us its fourth straight victory. at the big dance, the biggest come back in ncaa tournament history. plus, why georgetown is trying to win one well, online dating services can get kind of expensive. so to save money, i've found a new way to get my profile out there. check me out. everybody says i've got a friendly disposition and they love my spinach dip. five foot ten... still doing a little exploring. but... my sign is sagittarius, i'm into spanish cheese, my hairline is receding but i'm getting a weave. getting a weave. there's an easier way to save. who wants some ronald tonight!? who wants some ronald tonight!? geico. fifteen minutes could save you 15% or more. we have got surveillance video you want to take a look at, attacking a deli owner oregon with pepper spray monday night. the robber walked in with a motorcycle helmet. the owner, look at that opener, go get him. >> give him the cash. >> the owner wasn't going down without a fight, he grabbed his baseball bat and reportedly hit the man. the police are searching for the suspect. i don't know if he got away with any cash. >> don't try doing that yourself. tragedy in switzerland after a bus crash that took the lives of 22 young children. 52 people were on the bus when it crashed last night. the group was returning to belgium from a school ski trip in switzerland. the driver crashed into a tunnel wall near a mountain nous area between switzerland and italy. along with the children, six adults also died. of the 24 survivors, three in comas. loved ones have left flowers at a makeshift memorial at the children's school. detectives are now trying to figure out exactly what led to that crash. there was a rare show of irritation today from russia toward syrian president bash shar assad. russia's foreign minister told the russian parliament that assad had been slow to implement some long-needed reforms anticipated warped the syrian conflict could spiral out of control. moscow and damascus have been allies since the days of the soviet union. and more recently, russia has twice protected syria from u.n. sanctions because the violent suppression of the year-long uprising. russia also sells weapons to syria. the foreign minister said today those when pops are not to be used on protesters. there was an unsettling incident today as defense secretary leon panetta arrived at a british base in afghanistan. a man driving a stolen truck was able to get kwlon to the airport runway but military officials say the secretary was not in danger. richard engel reports. >> reporter: secretary of defense leon panetta arrived here in cable on a two-day previously scheduled trip to talk to u.s. troops to explain the mission but also to convey to president karzai a mess able that the u.s. military will carry out justice in the case of the american soldier who allegedly killed 16 afghan civilians over the weekend. >> we have to learn the lesson from each of those incidents so that we do everything possible to make sure that they don't happen again. >> reporter: there has been one incident during the defense secretary's visit. as his plane was coming in to land at a military base in southern afghanistan, an afghan man driving a stolen truck managed to get on the runway. he was driving down the runway at a high rate of speed, then drove into a ditch. at that stage he got out of the vehicle and the afghan man apparently set himself on fire. the u.s. military did not however find any exclusives on his person or in the vehicle. the afghan man survived the incident and is currently being treated at a medical facility on the base and u.s. personnel are trying to figure out what exactly his motivation may have been. richard engel, nbc news, kabul. a development concerning the soldier accused in sunday's shooting rampage in afghanistan. he has been flown out of afghanistan. seen tore pentagon officials told nbc that the staff sergeant was transferred because the u.s. military does not have the proper facilities to the detain an american service member for an extended length of time there it is not clear whether the sergeant will be returned to afghanistan to face legal proceeding. >>. george clooney testified on capitol hill about the cries say crisis in africa. the actor and human activist just got back from a trip to sound and south sudan. he told the senate foreign relations committee he witnessed death and destruction firsthand and urged the u.s. to track warlords who are responsible. south sudan seceded from sudan last year and since then, violence has raged along that border. clooney plans to meet with president obama and secretary of state hillary clinton tomorrow. doug is still out on the tidal basin, enjoy thug beautiful weather and he has got more info on why those cherry blossoms are going to pop out about a week early. doug? >> the only problem i'm having, i did not bring a chair, there is not a bench out here right now and i did not bring -- >> oh, poor baby. >> i'm hard pressed. >> very, very hard to be out here now, plenty of sunshine. simply gorgeous, you know that because of the warm weather, talking about those cherry blossoms coming out earlier. the forecast was for them to come out earlier than average. but this year, they are pushing that forecast farther. take a look, this is bill line with the national park service. bill, we just talked about this, this is something that happens pretty often. you guys do an initial forecast and that changes some what. >> today, our chief horticult e horticultural updated the forecast again principally because of the overnight low temperatures are as warm as they are. he is, mine, certainly somewhere starting to open already, by this coming weekend, going to have a ton of people down here and a lot of blossoms up. >> the real peak is supposed to be between next tuesday and mention thursday. even on the weekends that overlap that this weekend coming up and the next weekend, looking good. >> absolutely. turn to people like you to tell us whether we are going to get any rain or to what extent we are going to get any wind. three or four days, four or five days after the blasts are out and they are at their 70% range, wind and/or pelting rains are their enemies. if you have days like today, they will last longer and everybody to come down and enjoy the cherry blossoms and the festival. >> this different last year because this is the 100th anniversary. >> absolutely. >> park service is gearing up for ranger activities, kids, adults, run, bicycle, the national cherry blossom festival, our partner, very involved with a whole slew of activities. kite festival on the grounds, japanese lantern lighting on easter sunday, april 8th. also that you have the street festival where depending on weather again, 200, 300,000 people between pennsylvania avenue and constitution avenue. anything japanese cultural you could think of. learn,roll sush chi and cut sushi, sumo wrestling, anything you can think of. >> be enjoying that the weather the next week and a half looks like this, believe it or not, a slight chance of rain. she you the weather out here now and show you how nice it is going to continue to be, we make our way the next couple of days. high temperature today reached a high of 81 at the airport for the second day in a row. notice the cherry blossoms, yes, they are peaking, that is when 70% of the blossoms are open and be blooming for that period of up to 14 days shall as bill said, depending on the weather right now. the record high 86 in 1990, notice tomorrow's record, 81 setback in 1990, now forecasting a record high as we are now forecasting 83, a record for tomorrow. 78, winds, on the calm side right now, simply gorgeous across the region, temperatures the rest of the area, into the upper 70s, low 80s, 82 fredericksburg, 82, culpepper, 82, martinsburg, west virginia, along bay, 75, annapolis, 68, cool spot on pax river. beautiful evening, we have the southwesterly wind going to kick in tomorrow that should help to get us a little bit warmer tomorrow and could spark showers or storms thought along the blue ridge and into the mountains of west virginia. friday acre better chance of thunderstorm activity. i don't expect anything severe, the winds should not be much of a fact to the blossoms that are in peak, we should not have problems there. let's go right to the 7-day forecast and show you how things will be the next couple of days. as we mentioned, not just going to see the warm air last it is going to also through the 7-day forecast period. 75 on saturday, 70 on zarngs great weekend to get down here, even into early next week, predicting temperatures back into the upper 70s to near 80 degrees by next wednesday and if it all comes together, you will see the trees above me full peaking. guys? >> seems like you ought to stake out your spot down there and hold onto it for next week. get a lawn chair. >> doreen, i tried that bill told me i was not allowed to aid tent that i brought. i can't -- >> no camping out? i'm sure you could find a police to sit down. they have benches about every 20 feet or so. okay, doug. >> keep looking. >> go -- go look around. still ahead on news4 at 6:00, a man kills his estranged wife just hours after he got out of jail. so, why did a judge let him out? a major milestone for the developer of the maryland live casino. i'm melissa mollet. that story coming up. [ male announcer ] if you believe the mayan calendar, on december 21st, polar shifts will reverse the earth's gravitational pull and hurtle us all into space, which would render retirement planning unnecessary. but say the sun rises on december 22nd and you still need to retire, td ameritrade's investment consultants can help you build a plan that fits your life. we'll even throw in up to $600 when you open a new account or roll over an old 401(k). so who's in control now, mayans? a man convicted of murdering culpepper, virginia, is free tonight. michael hash spent more than 12 years in prison after a jury convicted him for a 1996 murder other of a 74-year-old woman but recent lakers jim overturned that conviction what ied on what he called misconduct by police and the prosecutor. >> after a brief hearing today, hash was ordered released. new developments in the d.c. ethics scandal, council chairman kwame brown says he is looking into the flurry of subpoena he is to grand jury members disclosed yesterday and the d.c. ethics office confirm it had is doing a separate routine audit of campaign spending by at-large member vincent orange. >> because of the mild weather, the national park service is revising the cherry blossom forecast, the trees on the tidal basin in the mall bloom this sunday earlier than predicted, peak bloom between march 20th and 23rd. the blooms will be there went festival opens but gone when it ends. heather lynn mcgwire told the court she feared for her life a few days later, she was dead. >> police say she was shot by her estranged husband in kensington yesterday, just hours after he got out of jail for violating a protective order. as pat collins reports, many people are wondering why he was on the streets in the first place. >> reporter: they had him, had phillip gilberty in custody for violating protective order, they had him in jail but monday, a jim let him out. tuesday, he kills his estranged wife rks shoots her inside her van and then dumps her body out on connecticut avenue in kensington. tuesday night, with police close on his trail, gilberty kills himself at a home in rockville. the murder victim, heather mcgwire, 37 years old. she and gilberty had children in common. last year, she got a stay-away order on gilberty. she said he threatened her. "i catch you with another man and i will kill you both." last weekend, she said, he threatened her not once, but twice at her home on granden avenue in rockville and then again at a friend's house. my children believe he is going to kill me if i do anything to upset him. gilberty arrested by police, but then let go by a judge. how did this happen? renee sandler is a prominent montgomery county attorney. >> we must have stricter bond requirements where there's a history of domestic violence and take the discretion away from the judges in terms of what they are able to do. >> reporter: when police were hunting down gilberty yesterday, cops didn't need a picture. most of them already knew who he was. sheriff darren popkins has a long history with police. >> he had a lengthy criminal history in montgomery county and sheriff's office has been dealing with him and a number of criminal cases over the years. >> reporter: now, i called the judge today to ask him about this case but so far, no response. in rockville, pat collins, news4. >> montgomery county has about 1500 active protective orders 46780 violated every month and violate ers do face jail time. a d.c. judge decide the man accused of killing his 91-year-old wife should spend at least another month in a mental health hospital. police say albrecht mouth strangle and beat vie yes, ma'am la draft last august in the home they shared in georgetown. she was a well known journalist and d.c. social i.d. a doctor told the judge that mouth does not have the mental capacity right now to stand trial but his condition should improve in time and with treatment. another hearing has been scheduled for next month. a suspect in a carjacking and abduction case remains on the loose tonight. somebody stole an suv yesterday with a 5-month-old baby boy strapped into his car seat. it happened in southeast d.c. police say the suspect drove it a short distance across the boshder into prince georges county. western officers started to close in he bailed out, leaving the vehicle and the baby behind. the baby was not hurt and is back home and safe with his family now. the first 100 slots were unloaded at the maryland live casino today. that's just a fraction of what's going to be coming to the casino at aroundel mills mall. while some hope this $500 million venture will generate more johns and money to the area, others aren't so convinced. news4's melissa mollet has more from hanover. >> reporter: crews are actually up loading these machines on a loading dock right behind me here. they come up this corridor and each one is then taken right onto the casino floor. they are installed and tested. that process takes about ten minutes. 100 brand-new slot machines arrived at maryland casino today. slots and electronic table games like blackjack and roulette are here. when all is said and done, there will be 4,750 gaming units the maryland live to put that in perspective i management says there isn't a facility, even in las vegas, with more than 3500. >> the clientele right now is going elsewhere, going to west virginia, they are going to delaware, they are going to new jersey, they are flying las vegas. >> reporter: construction of the 2 million square foot space started last spring. six restaurants are also under way and a plaza will connect all this to aroundel mills mall. construction crews cutting and laying tile, patching dry wall. the casino has had its share of support. >> i think it is great. i know a lot of people go to atlantic city and other states to do their gambling. >> you find anything wrong with it. >> reporter: but the $500 million venture didn't come years of legal wrangle and controversy. one concern now, traffic. another worry, parking. >> i can't change it. it is going to come. as far as it goes it is just another change being in this area. >> reporter: among the additions made by the developer, an extra 5,000 parking spaces. and they say improvements to 20 nearby intersections, new lanes and traffic signals. >> we are here for a year from now, two years from now, i think all those concerns will not materialize and we will become the great corporate and community partners that we intend to be. >> reporter: right now, they are hiring for 1500 openings. if all goes as planned with the construction here, the first thing the casino will open in the summer, the second phase in the fall n hanover, maryland, melissa mollet, news4. >> phase one will include 3,000 machines and several restaurants, the rest of the machines will be added during phase two for more information on the job fair that the droefrls holding this weekend go to nbcwashington.com and search job fair. maryland governor martin o'malley warned lawmakers today to pass his gas tax proposal or face higher costs in the future. the governor testified in the state house and senate this afternoon. wasn'ts a 6% tax on gasoline phased in over the next three years. it would be the first increase in 20 year he is. o'malley says it could generate more than $600 million each year. he says without it the state won't have the funds for critical transportation projects. just a few minutes ago, former illinois governor rod blagojevich gave his final public words before heading off to federal prison. >> when i became governor, i fought a lot and maybe i fought too much and maybe one of the lessons to this whole story is that you got to be maybe a little bit more humble. i believe i always, always thought about what was right for the people. i told the jim back in december, everything i talked about doing when it came to campaign fund-raising and plight cam horse trading, i believe was on the right side of the law. >> that was the first time blagojevich has spoken publicly since his sentencing in december. tomorrow, he begins his 14-year sentence for corruption. nbc's chris clackum reports on how the impeached governor has been spending his final days of freedom. >> reporter: at the federal prison near denver, colorado, the former illinois governor will become prisoner number 40892-424 for the next 14 years. that was blagojevich's sentence on federal corruption charges that he tried sell the u.s. senate seat vacated by president obama. during two trials, blagojevich refused to apologize and maintained his innocence but the fbi had silently recorded him, trying to trade the senate seat for a higher paying federal job, which former obama chief of staff and now chicago mayor rahm emanuel said would never happen. >> my thoughts are right now with patti and the kids. >> reporter: other than those brief meetings with the neighbors, blagojevich has mostly, of late, secluded with the family. >> incredibly close family and continuing to be close and spend all their time together. and they are really just loving each other and spending time together. >> reporter: a physical reminder of family is the only personal item he will get to wear in prison, his wedding band. chris clackum, nbc news. >> blagojevich is expected to report to a colorado prison at 2:00 tomorrow afternoon. at his december sentencing, he said he plans to appeal his convictions. just ahead on news4 at 6:00, it was a wedding proposal that went so terribly wrong. and now, a man is fighting for his life. the big mystery surrounding concrete statues of cows in annapolis. hey, doug, got to love t. >> you do have to love it, but you also have to realize when you leave the house that you are wearing two different sandals, i pulled them out for the first time this year and they are different. it's okay. the weather working out fine, too, but there are a couple of chances for some thunderstorms. talk about it in just a second. i can't believe i did that and coming up in sports, why the hoyas have extra motivation in the midwest. plus, did you see what the capitals a man who was about to propose to his girlfriend is now fighting for his life. >> that was the call he made before he crashed. he was picking up an engagement ring. police went back to the crash site and found the ring in its box in the water. goodsell was able to finally propose at the hospital with the help of his father. >> it's been really hard last four days better today. it's a lot easier to talk about it now. before, i just wanted to cry. >> goodsell remains in the fight of his life. investigators still looking into how the brakes system failed. maryland is one step closer to making illegal to smoke with a child in the car. it would allow officers to pull over those caught smoking while a child is in a car seat or booster seat. the smoking ban would only apply to cars with kids under the age of 8 in them. it comes with a $50 fine. supporters stay would protect kids with the dangers of second happened smoke. opponents argue that the government shouldn't intervene in family life. here is hakem. what you got coming up? >> all waiting for where peyton manning is going to go. waiting on pins and needles for this. first, the red skins hoping to add some super bowl talent to their roast, the capitals making months of their opportunities on the road and the madness already the road and the madness already under way. il, any luck finding? not yet. i want to buy used but how do you know what you're really getting. check out carmax. all their used cars are guaranteed. that's where henderson found the one for him. way to go, henderson. finding the perfect car is easy at carmax because each car is carefully selected, inspected, thoroughly reconditioned and backed with a five-day money back guarantee so come find the one for you today, at carmax. way to go, neil. are you guys okay? yeah. ♪ [ man ] i had a great time. thank you, it was really fun. ♪ [ crash ] i'm going to write down my number, but don't use it. [ laughing ] ♪ [ engine turns over ] [ male announcer ] the all-new subaru impreza®. experience love that lasts. ♪ hello, everybody, i'm meteorologist kammerer. here along the tidal basin, the sun going down on yet another sunny afternoon, talking about the cherry blossoms, how they are going to blossom earlier this year. the peak is march 20th, next week, watching out for that, could be a very good viewing all next week and even this weekend and next weekend. so if you are thinking about coming down here saturday of this week and sunday next week, looks like a pretty good time for that as far as the weather is concerned now, we had a high temperature once again today, 81 across the area, for a second day in a row, still not near the record high of 86, but i do think we will get to a record during the day tomorrow. temperatures out there right now, 78 degrees, plenty of sunshine, winds are calm and it is just spectacular all across the region. take a look at the lows tonight. 47 in manassas, 57 inside the d.c. area toward la plata and waldorf, temperature there 53. tomorrow afternoon, wither going to warm up a little bit, more than where we were today. temperatures today, 25 degrees above average, tomorrow, i think we get even warmer, a high of 83 in washington. 85 potentially in culpepper and fredericksburg. could be thunderstorm activity to the west of blue ridge, petersburg, winchester, cumberland. the rest of us will see a good chance of rain coming up on friday, talk more about that chance of rain and the thunderstorms that could accompany that rain plus what do we expect for the rest of the weekend? if you are coming down here, show you what you can expect in a couple of minutes. >> looks like they should open the pools tomorrow. >> yeah. >> how come you didn't find some excuse to be outside with the sports report? >> i did today. you know, a few years ago, georgetown was having their sendoff to the ncaa tournament, it was freezing outside. today, we are sweating. the interview with john thompson iii, you guys can stand in the sun. >> wanted to be in the shade. >> it was too hot out. fun to be out there with the how ya', all business today. hoyas, they are trying to win for jack, the bulldog. news broke out that jakt bulldog tore his acl today, jack is meeting with a canine orthopedic surgeon. despite being sidelines, jack will cheer on the hoyas from home, remember, you can take the dog out of the fight, but you can't take the fight out of the dog. today on campus a sendoff for coach john thompson, iii, georgetown the number three seed in the midwest region, hoyas played the 14th seed belmont on friday in columbus, ohio, tipoff, 3:10. the last two year, the hoyas have been knocked out of the big dance in their first game, they are confident that won't happen this year. >> you stay focused one game at a time. >> don't want an early exit this year. we have been a part of it the last three years, early exits, tournaments, we don't want that to happen again. >> henry, how about a win for jack the bulldog? >> no problem. everything is for jack. the whips are for jack, everything is for jack. he is one of our main supporters. >> we are trying to, going to it. this is what we have been working hard to do, we will try to bring one for him. >> how about getting a win for jack, the bulldog? >> i just heard about jack, literally, i was walking over there, so okay. >> clearly not monitoring jack's condition. >> what we do. what we do we mop tort situation situation. loved the response. president obama's bracket, georgetown losing to nc state round of 32, his champ, north carolina. western kentucky is moving on as is by one. after pulling off the bigger come back in history. iona facing dave rose and byu iona, hottest team in the nation, came out hot, very hot. bounce pass to mike glover, gales up by 25, behind the back, bounce pass, beautiful. led by 15 at halftime you 55-40, iona up. second half back on the cougars, inside of brandon davies, turn around jumper, good, a ten-point game. 2:30 to play, noah hartsock for three, buries it, byu takes its first lead of the game, 30 seconds to go now. iona down by three, brandon davis says i don't think so, huge block, ahead to zilstra, puts it up and in. plus the foul, byu wins 78-72, completing the biggest come back of ncaa tournament history, down by 25. the cougars' reward, a game against number three seed marquette on thursday. how about some madness on the ice? last night against the new york islander, the capitals rally from a three-goal deficit to win their fourth game in a row. alex ovechkin and the caps, five-game road trip, first period, matt moulson, top of your screen, shoots, deflects it, off the glass, check it out here, off the chest and into the net. unbelievable. eye leaders would go up 3-0. end of the second period, caps 3-1. alex ovechkin on the rebound, beats n s nabokov. the third time's the charm for ovechkin. his 29th goal of the season, game tied at 4. we go to overtime. then a shootout. in the shootout, matt hendricks, a chance to be the hero, check out the sweet moves. scores the game winner, the caps come back to beat the islanders, 5-4. here is a happy head coach. >> those games where, you know they are getting the bounces early and you we have to keep press and the the guys did a heck of a job, you know, they didn't give up, busted their tails in the third, late in the second and the third and they got the win. >> well said. today, nicklas backstrom skate for the second day in a row, good news. the capitals forward has been out since january 7th because of a concussion. backstrom said "i felt good, there was no problems at all." for now there is no timetable on his return. the capitals continue their five-game road trip on friday in winnipeg. the red skips are one of several teams pursuing ravens offensive lineman ben grubbs according to mike jones of the "washington post." grubs is a former first round pick and started 70 of 74 games in his career. also, the redskins will reportedly host giants quarterback aaron ross on friday and redskins fans are familiar with the product out of texas. aaron ross pleaed his entire five-year career with the giants, started 15 games while reporting 60 tackles and four interceptions. prior to his trip to d.c., aaron ross will meet with the bengals tomorrow. elsewhere, a megadeal for megatron. lions signed calvin johnson to an eight-year contract worth $132 million, the biggest contract in nfl history. last san, calvin johnson led all wideouts and receiving with more than 116 yards and 16 touchdowns. also today, the eagle reese signed receiver desean jackson to a five-year deal and the cowboys signed quarterback kyle orton. kyle orton will back up tony romo. there was some interest from the redskins to sign kyle orton. now's dallas cowboy. >> starting to get confusing. >> a lot of teams -- guys changing teams and it is a crazy time. march madness in football and in basketball. >> the weather. >> exactl there are some troubling gets student exchange program that places thousands of people from abroad in american homes. an nbc news investigation uncovered dozens of cases of student abuse. kate snow has details on rock center with brian williams tonight at 10:00. software developers are working overtime trying to make the next great app for the new ipad three. people who ordered the ipad won't be getting it for another two or three weeks, it goes on sale in stores on friday. softwaremakers are using every last snd second to create new apps or upgrading existing ones to take advantage of a better display, hd video camera and faster processor. the new ipad starts at $499. apple has paid app developers more than $4 billion in royal first since the app store launched in '08. one last trip out to the tidal basin. here's doug. >> dore reerngs i think even you asked mow last night this means that which are in for something later and a lot of people are asking about, hey, does this mean a hot summer, we have been so warm the month of march, actually nine of 14 days so far above 60 degrees that is well above of a range the way it looks right i think we are going to see warm temperatures above of a rant middle portions of april and i expect fairly close to average temperatures for the summer. that is some very good news. so, don't expect an extremely hot sum they are year just because we are on the hot side of things right now. temperatures today, look at the highs, 86 in st. louis, 81 in memphis, 81 down toward atlanta. our temperatures tomorrow, i think we will go back to the 80s once again across the region, high temperature, 83 the forecast. we are looking at a record high tomorrow if we do hit 81 degrees, 81 the record, forecasting 83. this weekend, beautiful. after a few thunderstorms on friday, temperatures, 75 on saturday, 70 on sunday, a great day to get down here and check -- take a look at some of the cherry blossoms. i do expect some of them to be coming out this weekend. >> save us a place to park, would you, doug? people are having a lot of fun with a mystery in annapolis, involves statues at the department of agriculture. for a decade, somebody has been decorating the step cows at the entrance and exit. most recently, decked out for st. patrick's day. people enjoy them, some people go out of their way to see what they are wearing and workers in the department of agriculture say this goes on all year long. as you can see from these photos, the cows have even impersonated cicadas in the past. no, they don't know who