A vehicle hit a man near the intersection of Route 7 and Glen Carlyn Road in Baily’s Crossroads at about 3:40 p.m. The man died as a result of his injuries.

The driver involved stayed at the scene of the crash, says Beverly Jackson with Fairfax County police.

Police are investigating what led to the collision.

The investigation caused lane closures while police investigated and cleared the scene.

Below is a map of the location of the incident:

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At the 10th annual , scheduled for May 20 and 21, experts and volunteers will tally the different species in the parks, including several in the D.C. region.

“It’s estimated that 80-90 percent of species living in national parks are so far undetected,” said Mike Litterest, spokesman for the National Park Service. “We’re looking for volunteers [and] citizen scientists who want to come out and join inventory teams with professional scientists to help conduct these inventories.”

BioBlitz started in 2007 with a small survey of animals in Rock Creek Park. This year, it’s being expanded to 100 parks to commemorate the park service’s 100th anniversary on Aug. 25.

“There’s a little something for everyone, and there’s no experience necessary,” Litterest said. “With global warming and other threats, national parks are becoming critical reserves for wildlife across the country.”

Each blitz takes a few hours. There are several events planned at 13 area national parks throughout the weekend.

BioBlitz options in the D.C. area include:

• Early morning birding adventures on Theodore Roosevelt Island
• Pollinator surveys in Piscataway Park
• Meadow exploration and fish counts in Rock Creek Park
• Wetland exploration in Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens
• Spider surveys at Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve
• Butterfly surveys in Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
• Discovery of stream insects at Manassas National Battlefield Park
• Acoustic bat inventory at Constitution Gardens on the National Mall

If you want to volunteer, sign up . Advanced sign-ups are encouraged.

BioBlitz will also feature a two-day Biodiversity Festival at Constitution Gardens on the National Mall.

The festival will feature hands-on science exhibits, food and art, yoga classes and family-friendly entertainment and activities.

The festival will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, with a special evening of science fun planned for Friday night.

The BioBlitz is a joint project between the National Park Service and National Geographic.

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Metro will be staying open an extra hour to accommodate.

Fans will be able to enter the system from three stations:

• Gallery Place (7th & F Street entrance only)

• Metro Center (11th & G Street entrance only)

• Jucidiary Square (F Street entrance only)

Entrances at all other Metro stations will close at their normal times, but customers will be able to exit at all stations.

It’s also recommended that riders be inside one of those stations by 12:45 a.m. to ensure they get the last train.

The Caps and Penguins are no strangers to playing longer than 60 minutes. The two teams had a game that went to four overtimes back in the 1990s — the fifth longest NHL playoff game ever played.

�鶹����’s Meg Hasken contributed to this report.

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Derrick Self was one of them, finding the tickets by following clues sent out on Twitter.

1ST CLUE: Just another day at the office.
(Find to WIN playoff tix! Hunt Rules: )

— Washington Capitals (@washcaps)

“I saw the Caps were having a scavenger hunt and I work right there at the 3rd Street Tunnel and I was thinking that they have to end up somewhere close to Verizon Center,” Self tells �鶹����.

Sure enough, he was right.

“The last clue was the Chinatown arch is what they tweeted the picture of. When they tweeted it everyone was hanging out by the team store, and then everyone just booked it,” Self said.

Self ran into the Verizon Center and into the elevator to find the final set of tickets. He says he plans to bring his sister with him to Game 1 on Thursday to cheer on the team.

Just won 2 tickets to the playoffs!! Thanks

— derrick self (@DSelfish)

“She bought playoff tickets for me back in 2012 so this is my way to pay her back,” he said.

For fans who missed the scavenger hunt, the team has several other events taking place to help fans feel a part of the playoff push.

That wraps up our Hunt. Thanks to everybody that participated. The turnout was awesome.

— Washington Capitals (@washcaps)

On Tuesday the team’s mascot, Slapshot, and the Red Rockers will be visiting 100 bars across the D.C. area delivering Capitals decor, clothing and other promotional items. Many of the bars will also be offering fans drink specials on game days.

Then on Wednesday, Mayor Muriel Bowser and Capitals owner Ted Leonsis will help host a Rock The Red Rally for fans of all ages. It will be held at the Carnegie Library near Mt. Vernon Square from 1 to 3 p.m.

The event will include a visit from Slapshot, some local food trucks and will include giveaways, music and other surprises.

Starting on Thursday, the day of the Capitals first playoff game, all babies born at Medstar Washington Hospital Center or Medstar Georgetown University Hospital will have the chance to be a Caps fan from birth. Each newborn will head home with a Capitals onesie, cap and bib.

More information on all of these pre-playoff events can be found on the .

The Capitals face off against the Philadelphia Flyers in Round 1 of the playoffs. Game 1 takes place Thursday night at Verizon center at 7 p.m.

The Capitals finished the regular season with the best record in the NHL with a record of 56-18-8.

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Experts estimate that there are at least 17.5 trillion miles worldwide that have been earned, but not yet used. That’s enough miles to fly around the globe 116 million times.

Most airlines used to reward frequent flyer miles based on the miles traveled on a particular flight. But now, major U.S. carriers like Delta and United have started to reward miles based on the price paid for the ticket. American Airlines will be the latest major US carrier to make this change to its rewards program later this month.

Nearly 60 percent of Americans with frequent flyer miles admit they do not know how airline reward programs work.

CBS News Travel Editor Peter Greenberg says it’s important to plan ahead.

“Start about 330 days out, and pick a destination you never thought you’d want to go,” Greenberg says. “If you want to go to London, or Paris, lots of other people do too.”

Greenberg also advises against purchasing other things with airline miles, like magazine subscriptions.

“If you’re being solicited for a magazine subscription for 1200 miles, that’s the equivalent of spending $240 for that subscription,” Greenberg explains.

Finally, Greenberg suggests that you avoid the urge to hoard the miles.

“I don’t trust the airlines as airlines, why would I trust them as banks? They’re only going to devalue the miles even further.”

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WASHINGTON — The returns to Washington, D.C. this month to celebrate its 26th year.

Each year, the festival celebrates the diversity of Jewish history, culture and experience through film and other events.

Films can be screened at a variety of locations throughout the D.C. metro area, including the Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater at the DC-JCC, and the area’s two Landmark theater locations on E Street in Northwest and in downtown Bethesda.

This year’s festival will feature more than 150 screenings of nearly 70 films, many of which are regional, U.S. or world premieres.

Many of the screenings are also followed by discussions with guest filmmakers and subject-matter experts.

This year’s festival runs through March 6.

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WASHINGTON– A Mastiff found extremely malnourished in Prince George’s County earlier this month is on the road to recovery.

Violet – as she’s been named by those caring for her – was found weighing just 56.4 pounds.  Healthy Mastiffs typically weigh around 150 pounds.

“Her case is definitely one of the more severe of the starvation cases I’ve seen,” says Melanie Samet, President and Founder of the .  Violet was found after someone called a tip into police in Clinton, Maryland., on Feb. 8.

“Their rescue department contacted us because they knew that they could not provide the care that she needed right away,” Samet explains.  “She basically needed immediate 24-7 medical care.”

Violet is now with a foster family and is making progress.  “She’s eating 5 small meals a day, and she is slowly putting on some weight,” Samet says.

But all those meals and constant care can get expensive.

“We set up a because she’s eating so frequently that its costing the rescue $200-$250 a week.”  Samet explains.

Violet now also  has a for anyone who would like to follow her on her road to recovery.  Daily updates on Violet’s progress are being posted on that page.

“She’s improving every day.”  Samet says. “Physically, I’m hoping that she is out of the woods, but I’m sure that mentally she will have some scars.”

The Humane Society is offering a $5,000 reward to anyone who can help arrest, and convict, whoever did this to Violet.

Anyone with information that could help solve the case should call the Prince George’s County’s Animal Management Division at 301-780-7241.

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That’s the main message from  from Boston University, which found that people who stay active during their 40s and 50s maintain brain size as they age.

In this study, more than 1,500 people whose average age was 40 and who had no dementia or heart disease took a treadmill test. Twenty years later, they took the same test and an MRI brain scan.

The study found that those who did not perform well on the treadmill test in their 40s had smaller brains 20 years later.

Researchers also found that those with high blood pressure and high heart rate during exercise also had smaller brain sizes later in life.

“Over the course of a lifetime, improved blood flow may have an impact on brain aging and prevent cognitive decline in older age,” Dr. Nicole Spartano CNN. “The broad message is that health and lifestyle choices that you make throughout your life may have consequences many years later.”

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WASHINGTON — Walk into most bakeries and you’ll find delicacies such as cupcakes, fudge, cookies and truffles year-round. But there’s one dessert that’s only available a few weeks out of the year: the king cake.

King cakes date back to biblical times. Traditionally, the cake contained coins or beans to celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany — when the Three Wise Men visited Jesus 12 days after his birth.

Over the years, the cake evolved, and in the late 1800s it found its way to New Orleans and became the traditional Mardi Gras treat.

The ingredients in king cake vary from country to country, but the symbol remains the same: it represents the Carnival season.

The New Orleans version of the king cake is similar to a glazed coffee cake and is more like a bread than a cake. It’s usually laced with cinnamon, and sometimes filled with custard or cream cheese.

The cake is circular in shape, frosted and covered with purple, green and gold sugar — the traditional colors of Mardi Gras.

“Purple representing justice, green representing faith and the gold representing power,” explains David Guas, a New Orleans native and chef and owner of .

“It’s a very specific cake that signifies a very specific time of year.”

Carnival season starts Jan. 6 and ends on Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent begins on the Christian calendar. (This year Fat Tuesday falls on Feb. 9.)

“Throughout that season, bakeries in New Orleans will make king cakes, and folks will buy them and bring them to the office or over to a friend’s house,” Guas says.

Perhaps the most alluring part of a king cake is the tiny plastic baby hidden inside. Originally, this was said to represent baby Jesus, but over time that has changed.

“Everyone always wants to get the baby. But really, what it’s come to mean over the years is that if you get the baby, you buy the next king cake,” Guas says.

Want to give king cake a try? Guas and his team at both Bayou Bakery locations (Capitol Hill and Arlington) whip up king cakes every year during Carnival season. , and picked up by Mardi Gras Day.

You can also find king cakes at these area locations:

Or you can order one directly from New Orleans:

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Of course, it could be tough for local students to get back into a rhythm after such a long break. Thankfully, there are some things students and parents can do this weekend to ease the transition.

“Carve out some time over the next few days and really turn those electronics off,” says Ann Dolin, president of Educational Connections Tutoring. “So many kids have been glued to TVs and cell phones for well over a week, and staring at these screens can release Serotonin in our brains and we can get addicted to that.”

To help, Dolin suggests doing an interactive activity to help students get used to reading words from a piece of paper. She suggests reading a magazine, recipe cards, doing a puzzle or playing a board game.

Many kids missed an entire week of school, right before end-of-semester exams. Dolin says this can affect how kids perform on these tests and standardized exams at the end of the year.

Citing a University of Maryland study, Dolin said third-graders with five snow days performed 3 percent lower on statewide reading and math tests at years’ end.

To minimize the impact of snow days, you should “have your kids go online to see what coming up, whether it’s a test or just homework,” Dolin advises. “Then ask your kids two questions: ‘What do I need to do?’ and ‘When do I need to do it?'”

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“No one owns a parking space,” says D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier. “As tempting as it might be, once you pull out, that spot can be taken by someone else.”

Lanier says squatters’ rights do not apply to any parking space along a D.C. street. “We ask people to try and be as considerate of their neighbors as possible,” Lanier says. “There’s always a few disputes among people who are trying to save their spaces.”

It’s also illegal to park along Snow Emergency routes while a Snow Emergency is in effect. As of Saturday afternoon, D.C.’s Department of Public Works had issued more than 2,800 tickets to drivers who chose not to obey this law. More than 400 vehicles also had to be towed.

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The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office says its Emergency Communications Center received a 911 call from a resident in the southern end of the county at 1:44 p.m. Saturday. The man explained that his wife was in labor and their midwife was unable to get to them because of the hazardous winter storm.

The dispatcher stayed on the phone with the father, and walked him through the delivery.

A healthy baby boy was born just a few moments later.

Stafford County officials say mom, the new baby, and the dad are all doing well.

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Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan warns that it could be the middle of next week before neighborhood streets could be dug out from underneath all that snow. Virginia and D.C. officials are offering similar warnings.

The state highway administration has more than 3,000 pieces of equipment working to keep interstates and major roads passable for emergency crews. He thanked residents for staying home and off the roads, which is making it easier for road crews to plow, Hogan told �鶹����.

He said their efforts will “continue for days.”

“We’re only about halfway through this storm. We’re expecting another foot of snow, high winds of up to 65 mph, in some cases white out conditions,” he warned Saturday afternoon.

Hogan warned that widespread power outages are still possible later in the day.

In the meantime, the storm caused a roof to collapse on a Montgomery County apartment building. About 800 people need to be relocated, Hogan said.

And the powerful storm has brought coastal flooding to Ocean City, he said.

So far the state police have responded to about 600 different calls, mostly wreck. But no serious injuries have been reported.

One person has died so far in the D.C. region due to the weather. A died of a heart attack while shoveling snow at his home Saturday morning, the Prince George’s County Fire Department said.

And 32 National Guard units have been deployed across the state, Hogan said.

The more than 330 guard members are helping police and EMS crews navigate the deep snow.

Maryland along with Virginia and D.C. have all declared states of emergency, which means the National Guard can be called in, federal resources can be tapped and generally allows state officials to take extraordinary measures to respond to emergencies and keep residents safe.

Virginia

“We are working primary roads right now and then beginning next week, we will get into the secondary roads,” Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said in a midday conference call. “By Monday afternoon, we are hoping to do a primary pass on the secondary roads, but they still will be snow covered.”

But the governor has been grateful that the commonwealth’s residents have stayed off the roads throughout this storm.

“We have a big display and I just was looking at it before I came in here. Our roads are empty and I want to thank everybody,” McAuliffe says.

As of 11:30 a.m., there had been 1,104 crashes across the state since Friday and 1,222 disabled vehicles. Five Virginia State Police troopers were also injured during the storm.

Governor McAuliffe also wants residents to know that when the weather improves, it does not mean the roads have been cleared.

“Tomorrow, there is a chance in most of the Commonwealth of Virginia there will be no flurries at all and the sun could possibly come out,” warned McAuliffe. “We are begging folks, please do not go out on the roads tomorrow. I know if you see the sun, you are going to want to get out. Please don’t.”

And it’s not a cheap venture.

“Two to $3 million an hour, and we are going to spend whatever it takes to make sure our roads are safe for our communities,” McAuliffe explained. “To me, cost doesn’t matter. We are going to spend whatever it takes to make sure our roads are in safe conditions.”

Almost 500 National Guard troops have been activated to help with removing downed tree or other debris, provide transportation and distribute water and food.

District of Columbia

Meanwhile, District officials are urging residents to stay off the roads so emergency crews can respond to people in need.

As of 10:30 a.m., more than a foot of snow was on the ground in the District and more is expected throughout the day Saturday and into early Sunday morning.

“We need to public to listen,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said. “Stay home and stay off the streets. That includes people who are attempting to drive and people who are walking. Our plows and emergency vehicles cannot do their jobs with people on the streets.”

In Northwest D.C., pedestrians were walking in the middle of the street even though nearby sidewalks had been cleared putting themselves at risk of being hit by sliding or fishtailing vehicles.

Bowser says there were about 300 calls to 911 Friday night. Emergency crews were able to respond to all of those calls despite the treacherous conditions.

As of midmorning on Saturday, there were no significant power outages in the District. Bowser says she’s hopeful things will stay that way.

D.C. is using ATVs and Humvees to help reach residents who might need emergency assistance. But even those specially-equipped vehicles can become trapped in the snow. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said that if needed, her officers will walk to reach a caller.

“We are still in that time period where very bad things can happen,” says Chris Geldart, the District’s director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. “Once we get past this phase and once the show stops and the winds calm, then we will get into the response phase. That’s when we will be looking at how we clean the city up, how we do our damage assessment, and how we do what we need to do to get to our recovery phase and get the snow out of the District.”

Geldart stressed that this will be a several-day event and that residents need to be patient waiting for plows and crews to clear off the streets.

The District’s National Guard has sent about 172 troops to help D.C. police navigate through the snow drifts.

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Route 7 now has three lanes in each direction, up from the previous two.

The Virginia Department of Transportation opened the additional lanes between Rolling Holly Drive and Reston Avenue last week, right around Christmas, along with a new path for walkers and bikers, as well as other traffic enhancements.

The project includes lengthened turn lanes, a new signal at Redberry Court and improvements to the intersections at Georgetown Pike and Seneca Road.

“Route 7 is a very congested roadway, so having this mixed-used path will help improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians,” says Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jennifer McCord.

The project cost roughly $34 million. Crews will be in the area putting the final touches on the project over the next few weeks.

McCord says all of the work is expected to be done by the end of January.

Drivers can expect some intermittent daytime lane closures as crews work on those finishing touches.

Below is a map of the area near the improvements:

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Ski resorts near the nation’s capital are struggling to get their main attractions open for the season because of the unseasonably warm weather.

The only ski resort in Wisp, Maryland says it has been virtually impossible to make snow because temperatures have rarely dropped below freezing.

General Manager Jerry Geisler said in a statement Tuesday that Wisp Resort in McHenry will open on Saturday, but will only have one of its 35 trails open. The resort will also operate a children’s learning area, plus carpets that enable skiing and snowboarding on a synthetic surface. Geisler says in the meantime, guests are encouraged to enjoy other activities like ice skating, Segway tours, tree-canopy tours and a mountain coaster ride.

Other area resorts, including Liberty Mountain, are also facing the same problem. Liberty says it does not have any ski trails or its tubing area open just yet.

“We have not been able to make snow because we have not had below-freezing temperatures,” says Ann Weimer with Liberty Mountain. In the meantime, Weimer says they’re excited about their new lodge and restaurant, and hope folks will still make the trip up to visit them.

“This lodge is giving us a whole new take on business,” Weimer says. “We want folks to come and spend the night. We have an indoor pool, a new restaurant, and lots of amenities.”

Weimer says Liberty’s New Year’s Eve event will still take place — snow or no snow.

Ski Roundtop and Ski Whitetail also have been unable to open trails so far this season. Both say on their websites that they are anxiously waiting for Mother Nature to cooperate, and plan to open as soon as possible.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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