decisions had to be made. >> this is going to be an incredibly difficult budget. >> issue getting the most attention, raising the income tax for all residents who make more than $200,000 a year. currently, that rate is set at 8.5%. the mayor would like to raise it to 8.9%. the mayor was asked how he could justify this tax when he once paid his top executives more than the law allowed. >> of course, there's a perception. there's always a perception of government perhaps spending more than it should. >> also in the proposal, the mayor wants to double the price to ride on the circumstanceulator bus from $1 to $2. allow liquor stores to sell until midnight. currently the cutoff is at 10:00 p.m. and also he wants to close mlk library on sundays. >> i'm very unhappy with the mayor's budget. it's one of the worst i've

seen. >> jack evans says there's no way he'll support this. and there is no reason to raise taxes. >> you don't need to do that. that's my point. we're coming out of this recession. we recognized an additional $169 million in revenue. we'll have increases down the road and to not recognize that, i think is full hearted. >> meryl bowser says the mayor's plan will meet some resistance. >> i know it's a hard sale. because i have heard it from constituents who want us to tighten our belt. >> the mayor also wants to raise garage parking taxes by 6%. his plan would slash the summer youth program by $6 million. increases and cuts the mayor says he'd rather avoid. >> it's a tough budget. we tried to balance this budget with revenue increases and cuts. >> all right, so what happens now? well the mayor takes his budget to the people and the city council. the mayor says he will hold a number of community meetings to

chat with residents about what changes they would like to see. the council will also hold public meetings before voting on the budget and just about two months, laura. >> so do we know what the chairman is saying about this budget? is he on the mayor's side or is he going to oppose the plan? >> he understands this is a very tough budget and that hard decisions were made by the mayor's team. but he wants to take a good hard look at the budget over the next few days. he would rather find a way around an income tax increase. thank you very much matt. another shakeup in the vincent gray administration. today he announced he is withdrawing the nomination of rayshell webb. she has drawn criticism including having a driver during the first two months of her job, staying at the w hotel, and her son received a

job. we are also following breaking news right now in the district. acting dc schools chancellor, kia henderson reinstated the principal. derek was placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation. the person assigned to investigate the allegations has admitted that he gave false information to witnesses. the offices of the general council and school security are still looking into this matter. big questions in libya tonight. are they headed for a stalemate or a cease fire? rebel forces are laying out the grounds for a negotiated settlement after being forced to retreat for much of the week. it's also not clear where gadhafi stands. why the change in tone from the opposition? >> the rebels did not have a good week in their fight to

topple moammar gadhafi. while they were able to defend their city from his troops, each time they tried to push west, they were forced to retreat. tonight, there are widespread reports that the head of the opposition's governing council is about to announce a special un arrangement, which would announce a political solution to this crisis. >> for weeks, coalition forces have hammered moammar gadhafi's defenses by air. while on the ground, the rebels have fought to remove him from power. following a week from retreats, they agreed to a cease fire if gadhafi forces withdrew, possibly allowing him to stay in libya. >> can be described as an injured wolf, more dangerous than a healthy wolf. and he just going to try to conflict as much damage as possible. >> offer seemed to catch coalition leaders by surprise after launching air strikes based in part by the rebel's

pleas. the white house response was muted. >> i don't want to speculate about outcomes of potential cease fires. it remains the president's position that gadhafi should not leave. >> gadhafi hasn't been seen in days, although sections in his inner circle signal trouble at the top. his supporters pose daily protests against nato action. >> you keep bombing our libya. >> both sides have some analysts say libya is headed into limbo. >> i think the situation lends itself t stalemate. >> the debate over arming the rebels centers over the question of who the rebels are. >> as a general principle, i think arming people we don't know very well is something we should be extremely weary of. >> with u.s. officials ruling out ground troops in libya, it is becoming clearer, libya's civil war will have to be won

or lost by the libyans themselves. >> you know, there's that old saying, it takes two to tango. first off it's unclear if gadhafi would accept it and prefer to crush the rebels all together. the officials on the international committee of the red cross are in tripoli tonight at the invitation of libyan authorities and they are discussing expanding humanitarian efforts in that country. >> so tom, would a cease fire be a good or bath thing for the united states? >> you know, clearly as you look at the debate that is spilled out in washington this week, there is rough luck reluctance. if somehow best case scenario, a negotiated settlement could arise out of this, which would see gadhafi give up power, but without having arm the rebels, that might be the best case scenario. >> all right tom, thank you.

three life sentences without parole for the virginia man who murdered his wife and two children. he was sentenced for the death of elizabeth dean and her two children. it happened back in 2009. elizabeth's family wanted prosecutors to seek the death penalty. dean got life in prison with no chance of patrol. a virginia man is charged with first-degree murder and arson. russell is connected to the house fire this morning in culpeper. investigators found the body of sydnie gray. tonight we learned both men lived in the house. he is being held without bond. an american airlines flighted forced to make an emergency landing after four passengers fainted. the plane was headed from reagan national to chicago this morning when two flight attendants reported feeling dizzy. others complained about air quality. a spokesman for the airline said the pilot dropped the

oxygen masks and diverted to dayton, ohio. what caused all this is still under investigation tonight. >> snowy tree limbs taking down power lines, knocking out electricity to thousands. who could forget pepco's power problems? the utility has been feel the heat ever since. one of the big bosses at pepco spent the day riding around and personally inspecting sites where power lines had come down. >> tom is a veteran pepco lineman who was called to a smoking electrical wire on norman stone terrace in northwest washington, d.c. >> pull the wire up and leave it together and removing the tree. >> most of the time is the problem trees coming down? >> yes. >> in the last few years, winters and summers, many customers have found pepco's reliability lacking. >> estimate how many times in the last three years you lost

power from pepco. >> probably six. >> what do you think about that? >> i'm not happy about that. >> since trees falling down are the number one reason for blackouts, pepco launched a rerequirement enhancement program that is costing the utility hundreds and millions of dollars. >> in maryland, the commitment was about $256.5 million. a big part of that is tree trimming. we are becoming much more aggressive. in february of last year, we had about 80 tree trimmers, today we have 350 tree trimmers. >> crews are dispatched with laptop computers to help them find outages faster. more customer service reps are being hired and more phone lines have been put in. >> we had 300 lines last year. this year we are up to 600. >> pepco regional president spent much of the day visiting with lineman to personally get a feel for routine troubleshooting. gram believes pepco is better prepared than it's been in the

past for the coming summer thunderstorm season. not all downed lines are electric lines. >> in this residential neighborhood in northwest dc, we came across a utility pole that clearly snapped in half and brought wires close to the ground. these aren't electric wires, they are cable and telephone wires. >> pepco checks on every report of downed wires. there were 4800 downed wire reports during the big snowstorm of late january, 2/3 of them were cable and phone wires, not electric wires. john henrahan, fox 5 news. tomorrow night they will take on last year's cinderella team, the bulldogs. this should be a good game. >> it should be a great game for sure. the coach isn't the highest paid coach in college hoops. he doesn't have the best and

most expensive practice facilities or the budget that schools like duke and kansas has. what he does have is a way with players. he is above all, one of the guys. and look where it has gotten his rams. this was the scene on thursday. they will take on butler, another surprise team tomorrow just after 6:00. dcu may have left by bus instead of carriage. the slipper has fit for that 33- year-old head coach. he went from relative unknown to coaching super star during the madness of march and today, he addressed the media. >> in terms of our energy and enthusiasm as a team, there's no other way to play. there's no other way to coach. we're in the final four. what more can you say? it's a phenomenal opportunity for us and opportunities multiply as they are seized. we want to seize them with all the energy we have. >> smart may have extra added

passion when he takes the court tomorrow. he will do so without his grandfather, who is his second biggest influence. his grandfather died on tuesday. shawn, we wish bcu the very best. >> bcu's trip to the final four increased the school's popularity in ways no one anticipated. the president joined us on the phone from houston today on fox 5 morning news. >> it's been a great ride for us and what an incredible national spotlight on one it really deserves. if you look at the players and their desire to succeed, they really had nothing to lose unless they lost and they knew it and it brought us to the point where we are. this is a great team. the level of interest is probably unprecedented. alumni giving is certainly going up, at least our major donors and there's no question that there is a level of interest on the part of people

looking for schools and certainly no question about the interest generally. >> all right, all you fans can catch the entire interview on myfoxdc.com. a chain saw at a town hall meeting. it was a symbolic message that inspired him. up next, how lawmakers are targeting the transit agency. gary. >> thanks a lot, shaun. cool today, especially with the winds. listen, things are going to warm up. they also had to make a change to the week. we'll take a first look at your forecast coming up. stay with us. fox 5 news at 5:00 will continue. 

the push for highway safety is apparently saving lives. highway deaths have fallen to the lowest number since 1949. the transportation department reports that 32, 788 people died on u.s. highways in 2010, which is actually down 3% from the previous year. in fact, since 2005, highway deaths are down by 25%. the transportation secretary credits seat belt use and campaigns against drunk and distracted driving. fox 5 is monitoring metro tonight. a tough morning for some commuters both escalators at the metro station were out of service. the elevators were working, but many commuters didn't want to wait and made that long walk down the stairs instead.

$150million in federal funding for metro is caught up in a heated debate in congress. house republicans led by the freshman class of tea party conservatives are determined to slash the budget. an update on how things are going. bob. >> not too well, shaun. at stake, $1 billion worth of safety upgrades the ntsb recommended after that deadly red line crash two years ago. cars that are less likely to crumble. the new blood in congress is having none of it. >> the unprecedented spring cleaning on capitol hill is engineered by some of the newest members of congress. the freshman class of house republicans. >> we all know we have to cut. everybody has to put their cards on the table. everything has to be cut. >> including $150 million for metro. >> i certainly don't want the metro system to shut down. i want to make sure that we have the proper funding sources

for the authorities. i also -- it's my responsibility to make sure that the taxpayer money going into that system is being used wisely. >> jeff landri landry says he made it clear. >> i came in and saw this chain saw on the table that people were signing. >> it was a message. >> my constituents gave me this chain saw and said take this back to washington. that's what you need to use to cut the budget. >> that's what freshman republicans were proposing to do on the house floor today. >> we have to quit spending 42 cents out of every dollar with borrowed money and we have to quit spending money we don't have. that's going to make tough choices all the way around. >> if the metro system is one of the casualties, that's it. >> we have to make tough choices right now. we just can't afford to do everything that we have been able to do in the past. >> some of these guys have no idea what they are voting for and that's what you're hearing.

the metro funding was a bipartisan agreement. >> coming days after that deadly crash on the red line two years ago. the $150 million was meant for safety improvements and infrastructure only, not general operations. >> this would really severely damage the operations in the washington metro system. >> especially since maryland, dc, and virginia have threatened to put the brakes on their matching $150 million. >> a total of $300 million is at stake here and that's just for next year. congress had promised to fund $1.5 billion in safety and infrastructure improvements over the next ten years. a commitment very much in doubt tonight, laura. >> thank you. speaking of metro, this is going to be a very busy weekend for metro with visitors headed to the cherry blossom festival. stations are opening early for the run and walk. that race starts at 7:40 a.m. metro opens at 5:00 a.m.

the smithsonian metro station on the blue and orange lines is the closest stop to the start line. a little chilly down there for that. i have done that race before when it was cold, although i'm a baby when it comes to cold. gary mcgrady, is spring ever going to come? >> kind of for the weekend. >> okay. >> kind of, okay? >> what about tonight? >> no. not at all. it's still breezy out there. it's chilly, too. let's go and show you what's happening out there. there's some spotty showers here or there. big area of low pressure is passed by to the east of us. that's kind of brought in some of the cooler air down from the north and west. at least the wind kicked up this afternoon. that's made it feel a little cooler out there. and look up farther to the north and west. we continue to see snow, real, real close to the area. they are going to pick up snow.

again, higher elevations out to the west. probably one, two, three inches at the higher elevations. maybe in a couple weeks or so, we'll stop talking about the possibility of a little bit of snow out to the west. until then, it looks like there's going to be that chance. listen, that's the wrong one. hold on. bear with me here. let me see if i can chase don't right thing i want you to see for this evening. hold on, stay with me. i have a couple more seconds. there it is. this is the forecast. spotty showers, 47 degrees. spotty showers at 9:00, 44 and mostly cloudy at 11:00. tinkered with the weekend forecast a little bit here, but i promise you spring is on the five-day forecast, okay? so stay with us for the full forecast and we'll get to that. >> we can roll with the punches just like you did with that computer. >> sometimes you have to do that. >> we'll see you soon, thanks. no joke in new england. the weather really is this bad

on april 1. the mountains in massachusetts up through maine could get more than a foot of snow by tomorrow. see it could be worse. schools are closed and electricity is already out for thousands of customers there. this could end up being a record breaking storm. the most snow in portland, maine, is about 11 inches. we are staying on top of a developing story right now. the u.s. military is beginning a massive operation off the coast of japan. this as reports suggest the nuclear crisis may be worse than originally thought. we'll explain why coming up next. 

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the u.s. military is helping japan by searching st coast to recover victims of the earthquake and tsunami. workers are trying to control it there. >> local defense forces and the u.s. military starting a massive search along the

coastline of japan hoping to recover the bodies of people who were swept away by the tsunami that struck following the massive quake. officials say more than 16,000 are still missing. >> for the sake of the waiting families and for everyone, we want to pull out even just one person. >> a similar effort continues in landis. they continue to clear debris, recovery crews discovering about 200 bodies here. the nuclear crisis still takes center stage. japan's nuclear safety agency ordering tokyo power company to review the radiation levels in the air, ground, and sea water. levels are high after the utility reported ground water having radioactive contamination 10,000 times above the government health standard. japan's prime minister promising to win the battle

against the overheating facility, they will be responsible over the payout that will be made to people and businesses affected by the radiation. >> but in cases where the legal liability of tokyo electric power company is exceeded, the final payment of compensation will be shouldered by the government. >> one financial expert estimates that compensation payout could top anywhere between $12 billion and $120 billion. depending on how long it takes to resolve the crisis. in japan, dominik, fox news. just how healthy is that meal at your favorite restaurant? like it or not, you may know soon. we are breaking down the federal plan on this coming up. plus, a surprising gain in the job prarkt momentum. what does this mean for the state of our economy? we're going to take a look. 

this is fox 5 news at 5:00.

new job numbers are out today and the news is better than expected. economists believe the jobless rate would inch higher. instead, unemployment dropped to new lows. jennifer davis is on capitol hill with a closer look at the news tonight. >> our economy is showing signs of real strength. >> president obama says one of those positive tiff signs in the latest jobs report is the fact that unemployment dropped in march to 8.8%. it's lowest level in two years. another, the private sector added 230,000 jobs. >> that makes 2.8 million jobs created in the last 18 months. >> the president acknowledges there is more to do. republicans agree and point to what they see as troubling signs in the latest report. >> at the current rate of 200,000 net new jobs created per month, it will take us until 2019 before we're able to return to unemployment rates

similar to pregreat recession days. >> 6.1 million people are considered long-term unemployed and the government, especially at the local level, continues to shed jobs. republicans say these are signs more needs to be done to help job creators. >> we need to stop unnecessary regulations and the threat of tax hikes and pass the trade bills that are out there. >> democrats argue progress is underway and they say their party's policies is getting the economy back on track. >> in the first year of the obama administration, more jobs were created in the private sector than in the eight years of the bush administration. >> president obama weighed in on the new job numbers while on the road touting his energy plans. with gas price on the rise, they are concerned that higher fuel costs could affect hiring. in washington, jennifer davis, fox news. the drop in the unemployment rate helped fuel a rally on wall street today and early trading, dow jones soared

to a 2011 high. by the closing bell, dow rosed 57 points closing at 12,376. all right, so what does this mean for you? scott, the seen orvice president for government affairs at the financial round table is here to join us. a lot of people thought this was an april fools joke, but the unemployment numbers are looking good. what is fueling these lower numbers? >> i think the economy is starting to recover and employers are starting to hire again. there has been a decrease in the uncertainty and employers are willing to hire those people, get them off the unemployment roll. there is more that needs to be done. 8.8 is the lowest unemployment we have seen. >> let me ask you, the second straight month that the u.s. added 200,000 plus jobs, can we sustain that and if we don't, what will that mean for the economy? >> hopefully it can be sustained. we are seeing a lot of strengths in the markets. the point about fuel cost is

valid. so that creates uncertainty. the future isn't exactly clear, but most of the signs are pointing positive and hope we can keep this decrease in unemployment going for the rest of the year. >> despite all the gains, millions of jobs have been lost. what should all those people take away from today's news? >> key parts. jobs are being added and keep working at it. the unemployment is to find those who want work, who have work. so if you are continuing to work and look for work, work is out there. >> thank you for that perspective. thanks, scott. changes may be coming to menus nationwide. what you could soon see when you take your family out to a restaurant. plus a virginia cup cake shop is delivering more than tasty treats. it may be helping pregnant women go into labor. we have that intriguing story, next. 

counting calories when you dine out could get easier. the fda is proposing new labeling requirements for menus. some restaurants to post the calorie count of each food item on the menu. the change would include restaurants with 20 or more locations. the requirements are part of the healthcare overhaul and could be in effect as early as next year. how about this one? giving into your sweet tooth may have benefits. a new study by the usda finds people who eat candy tend to have smaller waist, weigh less, and have lower bmi. candy consumers probably exercise more to make up for

all those additional calories they take in, but it does not mean load up on sweets. moderation is still the key. how about a cup cake? expectant moms claim a virginia cup cake store does more than satisfy their sweet tooth. one particular treat helps them go into labor. the store is capalinos crazy cakes. when lauri was overdue with her son, she stopped by, ordered a lemon drop cup cake and she went into labor within a half hour. 18 other women reported similar results with that lemon drop cup cake. >> i was five days overdue and we came back downtown and i got one and it worked. >> when i make the lemon butter cream, i just mix it with -- i mix it with a little bit more love and i zest it with a little bit more, come on. >> with a little more zest. the owner says she always makes sure there's a fresh batch

every day just in case a pregnant woman comes in looking for one. i tell you what, i'm not pregnant, but i would love to taste one. who knows, doctors will be calling up using those to induce labor. >> what better way to do it. >> tastes good. all right, here's an interesting story. one of the cast members from the jersey shore has people talking. this time it's about how much the university is paying her just to speak. >> we're talking big bucks, too. there's another twist to this one. also ahead, a milestone for a group dedicated to taking care of men and women in uniform. the heartworming story, next. my second diagnosis--

i was told to go home, retire, and enjoy the time i had left. to say it was a shock is just a complete understatement. i mean, i don't think there are words. she had put up a really good fight, but it was her time. you... don't have a choice of getting breast cancer. i had no choice. i wanted to do something bigger than myself. that 3-day gave me that opportunity. and i can actually do something to help. i think it's a very bold thing to do. 60 miles in 3 days-- i can do that. i'm sure if it was 100 miles, we'd still walk it. it was a big statement for me of... (voice breaks) i'm alive. we can do this. we can do this. 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. this is more than just three days.

this is a lifetime. (man) register today for the... because everyone deserves a lifetime. a massachusetts man is being hailed a hero for using his prosthetic leg for takings down a would be robber. it all unfolded at a convenience store on wednesday. he saw the suspect pointing a gun at the store owner and

planning to tackle him. instead he stuck out his artificial leg and tripped the thief before he got too far. >> i didn't think. all i did was react. >> he tripped and fell, i tripped and fell, which was kind of not fun on my part because i had row rotator cuff surgery. >> homecomings can be bittersweet, especially for injured military veterans whose homes are not meant to meet their post trauma needs. a group is working to change that. they are building their 100th home for an injured vet in virginia. dave shows us how they're making a difference. >> reporter: kenny was in the marine corps and severely wounded. the home is going to be suited to his needs. it has an open floor plan. there will be no stairs, no

barriers whatsoever. it's about freedom and independence for kenny and you know, we are helping to reintegrate him into the community. >> seven years ago, we started on a quest to build our first home. to build an organization that could reach all across america and bring communities together. and here we are to start our 100th home. [ applause ] >> a little surreal right now. >> since i joined this organization, i realize that saying thank you isn't good enough. doing what you are doing today is a start. >> everything, every little piece of the home has been taken and made accessible. >> what you need to do is live your lives as americans worthy of the sacrifices of young marines like kenny lions. that's the challenge for all of

us. his daily life will be easy. wonderful. this is the beginning of the rest of my life. >> how wonderful. dave shot that. amazing. it's great to see them working together to help the men and women who put their lives on the line for our country. >> so deserving. all right, can we do better with this? >> yeah, we can do better. at least we -- well not today. but tomorrow i think we start to turn that corner. >> turn the corner to -- where are we going? are we going back to winter? >> we keep doing u-turns until june. then we wind up in something called summer. june 21 is when we do get summer. look, see that. is that a little bit of sun? >> we saw sun today. a little bit here and a little there.

also showers, too. unfortunately, it wasn't enough sunshine to really warm the it happens up. look at it happens right now. 48 degrees here in town. we warmed up until about 50 for a high temperature so far. gaithersburg, 43. dulles 48. hagerstown 46 and cumberland is sitting at 43. something else we have to factor in. the wind wrap up layers this evening if you're going to be out. don't necessarily think you need to have your umbrella handy, but look at gaithersburg. middle 30áz right now. manassas, it feels like 32 and you start getting further to the south. the temperatures were warmer. all across the northeast, it's cool. buffalo 39. chicago is 41. there's a trough of low pressure, but look at all the heat down to the south into the southwest. del rio, texas, 93. there's a lot of heat into

mexico and some of that is coming up. the reason i mention that is because this time of year, it doesn't take much to go from cool temperatures to warm temperatures. especially when we find a lot of heat down here and there's a big ridge of high pressure. that's why it's hot out there in the desert southwest, even southern la. southern california is very warm right now. temperatures in the 90s. we had this trough of low pressure here. but eventually, this high pressure moves over and it's going to be sunday into monday and coming up on the five-day forecast, i think you'll find some temperatures that maybe you'll agree with. 52 tomorrow. not necessarily a whole lot better tomorrow. a little bit more sunshine than what we had today. that will help warm temperatures up. it won't be as windy, but it's going to be breezy. and we're going to have some saturday showers. the change in the forecast for the weekend is more clouds sunday afternoon, still up close to 60 and by sunday afternoon, sunday evening, we're going to have some rain

y, but a few ay? showers. it may hold off until late in the day on sunday, but then again it might get here at 3:00, 4:00. keep that in the back of your mind. check out monday. 74 degrees. it looks dry now for monday. we have been able to warm that temperature up. big coastal area of low pressure working up the coast here. look at all the snow into maine and new england. it's piling up there. it's piling in the upper elevations of new york and pennsylvania, too. up into pokonos. that's where the snow is. in this next area of low pressure that is coming across wisconsin and illinois right now, that will come through for tomorrow. so that will be our next chance for rain and that will be showers tomorrow. once that passes by, then we're talking slightly dryer conditions and we're really going to warm things up, finally. so mostly clouds overnight tonight will be dry overnight tonight. low to mid 30s out in the suburbs.

the storm on the cool side, upper 30s here in town. partly sunny tomorrow morning. a few showers at noon. not everybody gets wet. we will have showers around and a few showers at 5:00. but a little bit more sunshine tomorrow than what we had today. at least that's the way i see it and temperatures will make it up into the lower 50s. here's the future cast. there's a little shower at 8:00. more showers late in the day and as we go into sunday, most of sunday is good and then the clouds come across and see these showers here. that's what we have to keep a close eye on on sunday, okay? i don't think it's going to be a big deal. hopefully that will go away and gwen can take that out of the forecast for tomorrow. but right now i want you to be prepared for it. there's our spring on monday. 74 degrees. and then some spring thunderstorms tuesday. >> what happens on wednesday. >> we get cooler. it's where you make the little springtime u-turn. >> we've been in the 40s for quite a while.

>> i'm just messing with you, gary. >> i know, every single day you do that. >> that's okay, a lot of people do. >> thanks, gary. american idol says good-bye to two singers last night. tia. they were in the bottom two. they both got the boot because the judges voted to save last week. performed i'm still standing, tia sang daniels, both elton john songs. the contestants will be singing their hearts out next wednesday at 8:00 right here on fox 5. >> who's a more valuable speaker? a reality star or nobel prize novelist? the association says snooki. the new jersey university paid the jersey shore star $32,000 to talk about her hair, the gym, tanning, laundry, lifestyle. that was in comparison to they are paying tony $30,000 to

deliver the commencement address in may. snooki's advice to students, study hard, but party harder. no word yet on how that will compare to morrison's words of wisdom. if i were a parent, i would not be happy. >> that is terrible. >> really? all right, coming up on the news edge at 6:00, new concerns that the dc police force is shrinking faster than the city can catch up. we'll take a closer look at the issue and what's being done about it. and we have a don't ask, don't tell update tonight. pentagon officials hit the hill today to brief congress on the training of troops. and can you feel the excitement? bcu24 hours away from its big game in houston. we have the final four fever coming up. 

even with his busy work schedule, he isn't immuned to

prewedding jitters. prince william's commanding officer is teasing him a bit these days. the officer reminding him that every other search and rescue officer will be witnessing these vows. >> every single officer in the world will be watching this when it goes on the air. >> the whole thing. how is that? no, i was telling him the rehearsal the other day and my niece was nervous. it is very exciting and i'm looking forward to it. there's still a lot of planning to be done. >> prince william marrying kate middleton on april 29. this should be the most watched, talked about wedding since william's parents married. it's a very different world now. this will be a wedding with a lot of tradition. william and kate hope to have a few modern touches. brenda fills us in on the details. >> it's being called the

wedding of the decade. prince william and kate middleton's royal nuptials have many brides expressing their desires to feel like a princess on their wedding day. >> it's going to influence, you know, fashion. it's going to influence weddings. it's going to influence a lot of things for years and years to come. the world will be watching kate and william on this historic day. >> many wedding planners say clients are wanting their own version of the royal wedding. friends have shifted from modern to traditional. unlike princess diana, there will be no horse drawn carriage for the bride to be, at least on her way to the westminster. >> i think kate middleton is our modern day princess bride. she totally is. she's arriving in a car. she's a common girl and she's getting married to a prince and leaving in a horse and carriage. how fun is that? >> about 1900 guests will witness the nuptials. but not all of them will be attending the reception. so they are not going to be to

westminster. later in the evening, the guest list will drop down to 900 and later on for the evening reception, it will drop down to 300. >> official royal harpist player will be an hand to entertain reception guests at buckingham palace. now about the cake. they have chosen two cakes. one very traditional fruitcake for the wedding cake. and a very traditional chocolate biscuit recipe for the grooms cake. >> and a gift fund for those who want to give a wedding gift to donate to charity instead. >> it can go to royalweddingcharityfund.org and find out what charities they feel strongly about, where you can make donations. the term we throw around is tastefully luck. they are cognizant of the current economy, but it's a royal wedding. the british people are looking

forward. the whole world is looking forward to itment they need to have a little bit of pomp and circumstance, but i think it's going be more toned down than diana and charles wedding. >> in new york, brenda. >> thank you for joining us at 5:00. the news edge at 6:00 starts right now. this is fox 5 news edge at 6:00. >> right now, new concerns that the dc police force is shrinking faster than the city can catch up. a hiring freeze put a stop to recruiting. and with attrition in double digits each month, officials are worried staffing could fall below a critical number. fox 5's paul wagner joins us with the story. paul. >> at a recent city council hearing, kathy lanier said if strength of the force falls below 3800 officers, quote,