. last year 41 children died, more than half of the deaths just in hillsborough county alone. unsafe sleeping, drowning and shaken baby syndrome were the main three causes. blogers have teamed up with the children's board of hillsborough county to get the message out. >> on social media, you see a story that has important facts and statistics and can save lives and you hit the share button. >> now, each blogger is releasing their story on the response so far has been overwhelming. if you would like to share this information, all of it is on our facebook page. >>> now to taking action for your money. tonight dia riley shows us the tax credit that goes unclaimed but could help those that need it the most. >> reporter: a financial counselor helped yvonne file her taxes. she was able to get a refund of thousands of dollars last year by taking advantage of the earned income tax credit. she said the refund made a big difference. >> it helped a lot. i work hard but i don't make that much money. so it was -- it was a big deal for me. >> reporter: consumer reports toby stager says many qualif

hillsborough county, jaclyn in place, hillsborough county news. >> still ahead, what you eat during pregnancy could put your >> some things that mothers need to cut back on. >> plus, a toddler hogtied by her own brother. humming up, why the sheriff says he isn't surprised by the crime. >> and they warning by police, whether you are looking for love online or booking her next vacation, how criminals are >> welcome back. a teenager has just been charged with child abuse for this photo. >> that shows a two and -year-old hogtied with duct tape on her mouth. a 16 and -year-old boy in tennessee tied up his sister and posted the picture to facebook sunday night. someone called police when they saw it and investigators went to the family's house. sheriff said that the girl was okay but then said he wasn't shocked by the case. >> people seem like every day they stooped to new levels, and it angers me as a sheriff and as a data, but doesn't surprise me anymore. >> i think he should be held totally responsible. >> the department of children's services and the district looking into the case. >>

new counties have been added to the health emergency. in addition to hillsborough county in the bay area santa rosa county in the western panhandles, lee county in southwest florida, miami-dade and broward in south florida. now cases are reported in nearby osceola county and on the first coast in st. john's county. the cdc says all the cases are travel-related. they were not infected here in the state of florida. number of cases though in hillsborough county right now still stands at three and we have 16 cases again total across the state of florida. >>> in washington today the services will be at the capitol to brief lawmakers on the spreading zika virus threat. the obama administration is asking for $1.8 billion to fight the virus. warning that the risks will only increase as temperatures warm up. for most zika is a mild infection but for pregnant women could lead to a birth defect that causes babies to be born with ab normally small brains. >>> several people quart tynd after the ebola epidemic are suing the connecticut governor and state health officials. the plaintiffs claim th

north of hillsborough avenue. paramedics rushed the pedestrian to a hospital as a trauma alert in serious condition. we're still waiting for investigators now to release information about the car involved. >>> in sarasota, officers are searching for the driver who kept going after hitting and killing a bicyclist last night on u.s. 301. you can see all that is left of the mangled bike there. police say the car, dark- colored toyota should have front-end damage if you know who the driver is involved, contact sarasota police. >>> a palm harbor church destroyed in an electrical fire 16 months ago will begin to rise from the ashes this morning. a groundbreaking ceremony will be held at 11:00 for st. nicholas and rafael and irene orthodox church. the september 2014 fire burned about everything except for the holy relics of the saints for which the church was named after. some parishioners say it was divine intervention. >>> look at titan doppler radar and you can see the tiny bits of green that have been moving across the gulf of mexico and across south florida. the disturbances to the

. she faces 30 years in prison. >>> and the hillsborough county teen busted with a gun on the school bus is out on bond tonight. sims was seen loading the gun on the bus headed to brandon alternative school. the bus was evacuated and the gun was recovered. deputies say the gun was stolen during a burglary at a temple terrace apartment last month. sims is not charged in that crime but deputies are looking >>> a consumer alert for drivers in sarasota. police found a skimming advice at an exxon gas station. this is a picture here of the pump where the skimmer was found. employees noticed the antitampering tape was missing during a routine check this morning. it's not known how long the skimming device was on the pump. if you bought gas there recently, you should pay extra attention to your bank statements. >>> now the most accurate weather team in florida, abc action weather. >> good afternoon, everybody. a frigid start to our day with temperatures in the low 30s across the metro. even up north from upper 20s to low 30s. mid 40s closer to the beach. so it was certainly a frosty start. b

pinellas county, hillsborough, lakeland and just east of lakeland. there is some moderate rain right now that extends down across our southern counties. by wake up time tomorrow pretty confident this will be long gone. the humidity will increase. the temperatures stay high and then even though tomorrow morning will be sunny we have some storms in the forecast and possibly some severe ones later on in the period. we will talk about that coming up in a couple of minutes. >>> well students at polytechnic university wrapping up their first ever student run protest. rally fog -- rallying for that bill. they said if students did carry they could save lives. right now guns are banned. lawmakers tried to lift the ban just last year but the bill stalled in the senate. >> we are trying to inform and advocate the voice of the students who are left defenseless. >> florida poly says they would rather focus on public safety. the school has 36 emergency call buttons around the campus. police there say their response time on average just about 2:00. >>> a hillsborough county family lost everyt

hillsborough county police. >>> >>> the victim knew the killer or killers. >>> in their area feeling asking for your help to a hit- and-run driver to justice. skylar sandifar is feeling gathered last night sandifar weeks ago usa today "target article, scott of the nearby red light camera. late-model toyota corolla. you are updated as to my husband will find you. and if you have any part at all you should trigger something the most important information call 07 police. the family is asking for a cash reward for >>> crews are keeping a close eye on bushfire in wishy-washy fires spread 40 acres shutting yesterday. being asked to drive with caution to grow homes were evacuated that firefighters stop the fire from the wildfires are a year-round concern in florida. straight-a america is on scalia , justice indicted yesterday. he was considered an icon on supreme court of the most conservative justice. this morning pfizer flying at half staff outside the supreme court ,79 billion passed away yesterday of natural causes. while he was on a hunting trip in west texas tribune is nominated by ro

with two teens escorted from their high school in handcuffs. hillsborough deputies showed up at armwood high school and took both students into custody yesterday. they say 16-year-old charles jones and 18-year-old shawn turner mcgee were at a holiday inn in st. pete sunday morning when a again went off at a -- a gun went off at a party hitting two teens. jones faces murder charges, turner-mcgee faces laser charges and bonded out of jail >>> ivan, one last day before things change? >> yeah, not a bad start. in fact clouds building later this afternoon, some showers but nothing to concern you. tomorrow a different story. temperatures now upper 60s to around 70s. plenty of sunshine. the rest of the tampa bay area, pretty much in the mid and upper 60s. we'll add 10 degrees to that. get to daytime highs today. titan doppler radar will begin to see spotty showers developing, i think after the 1:00 hour but it's not going to amount to much. everything is moving rapidly towards the north by the way. we're tracking. that is the system, it's a cold front that is going to sweep through the

students apparently are recovering. the hillsborough deputy tells us the two sixth grader girls started to feel sick thursday it turns out that the food they bought had thc in it. that is the active chemical found in marijuana. and detectives tell us that the container it was in the 200 mg of thc. no one is facing charges yet. >>> new developments this morning on the zika virus. there are two new cases in florida bringing the total number 220. one of those cases is in alachua county and the other is east of broward county. two us women have miscarried after being infected with zika. we were being monitored by their doctors. they are among three being diagnosed with the virus after returning from a trip from abroad. they have concerns that the virus is crossing through the placenta. the 25-year-old in miami on thursday. he faces three counts of first-degree murder. he is still locked up in miami awaiting transfer. to others are also in jail accused of helping smith kill those three people on january 6. >>> catherine lee roy is looking for a new job this weekend. she resigned hours before

mosquitoes breed. hillsborough county have added five more mosquito traps to west tampa, bringing the total to 70. another visibility threat, only 20% infected with the zika virus will ever know it. >> 80% of people with the virus will never know they had the infection. >> reporter: and doctors will be asking anyone who comes in with symptoms where they have traveled to. and the health department says they are providing information to ob-gyns in case any pregnant women come in and have questions as well. reporting live in tampa, i'm ashley yore, abc action news. >> breaking in the past hour, brazil has not shared enough samples and data to answer the the outbreak, if the virus is actually responsible for the increased number of babies born with abnormally small heads. the lack of data is frustrating efforts to develop tests and vaccines. right now brazilian laws bars researchers and institutes from sharing genetic material. zika is in 12 states in the u.s. the cdc says it will release new guidelines for dealing with the virus in the coming days. in the meantime experts say if you're p

, pinellas park at 63. in hillsborough county also looking at the low to mid-60s. we are going to be ending the day today in the mid to upper 70s. yeah, talk about warm. and we've got a lot of cloud cover this morning. we'll get a little more sunshine in the mix through the day but there will be a chance for a brief shower, nothing too heavy, nothing too widespread, so janelle, that means good news for the morning as well as the afternoon commute when we reach that high of 76. maybe you can get out and enjoy it a little bit. how are the roads? here's a live look at 275 jefferson street. no crashes or breakdowns. just six minutes from here to a live look now at 275 around 31st street, the ramp there, again no problems here in the pinellas county area. checking some of the drive times, in pinellas county -- >> checking drive times now, veterans expressway, so far so good. still all in the dwreeb. -- green. >>> 5 : 3 -- 5:32. three dangerous carjacking suspects on the run and a tampa police officer is recovering in the hospital after the high- speed chase over the weekend. injured after

targeted, for the fourth time this year. the blame now on hillsborough county for failing to protect the league. >> and uber driver police say was behind the deadly rampage and what he was accused of doing in the hours between the shootings. >> i'm deiah riley on this monday. >> i'm dan shaffer. we start with two breaking stories. first a liquor store clerk wouldn't let two gunmen get away, police say, when the duo entered the cut rate liquor store on north 15th in tampa last night the clerk exchanged the clerk wasn't injured but one of the robbers died outside the store. the other gunman remains at large. >>> in trinity a driver died after getting out of his car after side swiping an suv on east lake road. troopers say the driver hit the suv, pulled into the median, crossed the road and yelled at the people in the suv and even threw beer bottles at them. he was struck. troopers are not planning on filing charges. >>> let's check with ivan for a look at florida's most accurate 7-day forecast on this monday. >> it was gorgeous over the weekend. today we'll be a little different in tha

. reporting live in hillsborough county, clifton french, abc action news. >> thank you, clifton. >>> tampa police released this compilation video from officers' body cameras. you can hear officers being cursed at and people trying to run away. one even breaks through a glass door while trying to get away. the video also said 2014 tampa officers were assaulted in the line of duty and 341 were hurt on the job. >>> now the most accurate weather team in florida, abc action weather. >> good evening, everybody. what a difference a day makes, right. yesterday, three, four inches of rain across the area. today, dry, sunny and noticeably chillier. temperatures in the upper 50s from downtown. 60s in lakeland. mid 50s up in the north. brooksville 57. overnight the skies will remain in fact by wake-up time a lot of folks in the 40s across the northern counties. low 50s elsewhere. this is just the beginning. skies remain clear tonight and it's chilly tomorrow morning. saturday morning, there might be some scraping to do on your windshields across part of the area. we will take a look at that

homelessness in hillsborough county. the count is done differently outside of the city limits. communities of brandon and such, this is the sort of suburban scene we expect. today we are here to get insight into the areas of indid i scent inhabitant -- indijent inhabitants. >> they're homeless but not homeless. >> reporter: for the past four years, jim mcneil has been trying to figure out o who needs homeless services and resourcesis. >> here in brandon, we don't have any kind of shelters. unless it's under extreme conditions. >> reporter: so instead of going looking for those with a known address, those with the heart to serve served them. >> we want our neighbors to come and enjoy a meal. >> reporter: more than just food, they provided clothing, and vision testing today in an event they call eco cares. >> we served 40 homeless individuals. that's hard for some people to believe. they don't think brandon has a homeless population, but we do. >> reporter: dozens were added to the homeless total. a number that might not have shown up on the ledger in years past. it's important

. however, northern hillsborough, most of pasco, especially east of us-19, hernando and citrus counties, small areas will drop down to about 32 degrees. finally we have a change arriving for valentine's day weekend and we will talk about that in a couple of minutes. >> a teacher in citrus county is on unpaid leave while the district investigates claims that she hosted a party for students that included drugs, alcohol and sex tips. josephine has been with the district for ten years and has since being hired. all of the schools are detailed behind me. her latest transfer landed her at citrus high school where she is accused of hosting a party for the student at her home. eric waxler is live for us tonight with the latest on that. eric. >> reporter: jamison, here at the citrus county school district offices, they interviewed 15 of the 40 or so student that's were at this teacher's home for an ugly sweater party on december 12th. you can see right here the written statements from those students. some of them say that she knew exactly what was going on. back in december, joes fee hosted a ho

>>> we begin with breaking news in hillsborough county. a gunman opening fire during a home envacation -- invasion in tampaarily this morning. the manhunt is underway. >> i'm dan shaffer. i'm deiah riley. >> we're learning new committee tails about the shooting and the moments leading up to it. rodney dunigan is live with the nidevelopments. good morning, what can you tell us? >> reporter: good morning, i can tell you that victim was taken to st. joseph hospital. at this point i can tell you he's alive. as you can imagine they were shakeen to see this crime scene. i could say. >> reporter: kenny wilson shocked to say the least to see this outside of hits front door first thing monday morning. >> it's very concerning. >> reporter: hillsborough county deputies responding before 5:00 a.m. at this home in the 500 block of ja planner drive. investigators say a group of men broke into this home, four men inside at the time. deputies say one of the victims was shot. >> lived here over a year, nothing like this has happened. >> reporter: those living in the community say it's typica

in hillsborough county this weekend. that's in an effort to find areas where the zika virus may be present. workers are testing traps in monday. that st. johns and osceola counties join a list of areas reporting travel related cases of zika and the threat is too real for one hell barrel county mother. a different mosquito borne disease nearly took her son's life. >> it attacked his brain. i believe it attacks the spinal fluid and it starts wreaking havoc. >> the headaches hurt. it feels like someone bashed my head with a hammer. >> james was 11 years old when a mosquito caring eastern equine encephalitis bit him.'s mother tells us he suffered a 103 degrees fever for several days and had a seizure and slipped into a coma. it took three months before he could go back to school. now 14, james and his mother urge everyone to wear mosquito spray outside with the threat of zika growing. >>> zika virus symptoms are mild compared to encephalitis but it is a high risk to pregnant women. the virus can be spread from mother to baby and cause serious birth defects. >>> one person is dead and p

weekend that happened during a birthday party at a bay area hotel. hillsborough deputies showed up at armwood high school and took both students into custody. they say 16-year-old charles jones and 18-year-old shawn turner mcgee were at a holiday inn express at st. pete sunday morning when a gun went off at a party there hitting two other teens. one of them is in critical condition. jones is facing attempted murder charges, as for turner- mcgee, he faces lesser charges and bonded out of jail overnight. >>> this morning new how serious that sexting scandal is at a bay area middle school. in highlands county at least 20 girls september pornographic images to their classmates. the lake placid principal called a special meeting last night to talk to parents about the dangers of sexting. the investigation reveals girls ages 12 to 14 sent nude pictures, in one case a pornographic video to boys. those text messages then shared on social media. the principal says parents have to start taking a more active role in their kids' lives. >> if we don't start educating parents and educating kids we'

overnight accident that closed mlk boulevard near the hillsborough river. motorcyclist and two cars. the motorcyclist died from the injuries the rider sustained. >>> shay ryan, a lot of fog on the way to work. >> it's been getting more dense as we've been moving through the morning if you're heading out the door try to give yourself extra time if you can. again the visibility is near zero in many spots. we're looking at less than a quarter-mile, almost entirely widespread across the area. again the best visibilities visibility has been falling through the morning so expect it could get more dense there the next half-hour to hour even. fog changes quickly. we do have pretty light winds that will help to support that dense fog at least through the next couple of hours. once we get through the afternoon, we have 80 as a high. slight chance of a shower or two. and i'll show you when we have >>> this is gandy bridge, west of the gandy bridge, a lot of fog. gandy boulevard. take care on the way to work. janelle will give you more on the problems with the fog at 5:00. >>> iowa still too close t

amiss until the shootings saturday night>>> a hillsborough county county trying to rebuild after a fire defendant stayed their home. -- devastated their home. they pray their two cats are going to survive. charred remains of the home here, it burned nearly to the ground a week ago. firefighters saved as many animals as possible but sadly four cats did die. >> i think the hardest part is just knowing -- i'm sorry -- babies, which is my cats, what they had to go through. that they suffered. i wasn't here to protect them and help them. >> those two surviving cats are boeing treated now at an animal hospital. we're hearing it may take months for them to recover from what we're hearing are severe burns. firefighters believe the fire started in an electrical box. >>> a st. lucie county high school band director is expected in court today on charges he had sex with a 15- year-old female student. 26-year-old gary burnett was a first year band director at st. lucie west centennial high school. a student told a resource officer about the inappropriate relationship. police say burnett confess

southern polk county. could brush the edge of hillsborough or hardy county. moving more easterly with this storm system. that's why you see it moving into the port charlotte area, north port affected. the yellow or orange box you're seeing here, this is a severe thunderstorm warning. we have one on top of the other. i would say this is where we are more likely to see some damage. this one is nothing to joke about either. to weaken and then it just started to fire up. i thought we'd see that expire early but we didn't. it really started to intensify. weather is unpredictable. the tornado watch boxes that were in effect through 10:00 this morning, those had expired and now things started to fire up again. the clear. that's why we continue to monitor the weather -- things are constantly changing. it is nature after all. bottom line is if you're in any stay away from windows. if you do get anything blowing around outside or happen to have weak trees in your yard, make sure you're away from the windows so you don't get injured. if you can safely snap a picture if if the storms are past you

. it can also help with the investigation. reporting live in hillsborough county, clifton french. >>> right now a man in jail accused of trying to set a deputies home on fire. it happened early this morning. daniel thomas was on a mission he left his home after getting into a fight with his sister. he saw a patrol car in the driveway, walked to the front door and knocked. the deputy answered with his gun, and his personal dog, he called for backup and the man was arrested after that. >> i know hei know he has a lot of mental disabilities. i don't understand why he did what he did but i hope he gets help. >> he is now facing two felony charges. >>> catching up on headlines. remember the mother from bradington sitting in jail accused of torturing her daughter to death? today, the state saying they are not going to seek the death penalty in that case. >>> you make have seen the article about the new roller coaster at busch gardens. apparently there is a rumor it is not true. it is pretty cool because of the line you will go through has a 45 minute a 45 minute experience that you can

already out of the way. there on the howard frankland to get from pinellas to hillsborough. action air 1 is flying over an earlier crash that happened on hillsborough avenue in the eastbound lanes. at lagoon. this is just west of memorial. that crash has cleared but we're still seeing some residual delays eastbound hillsborough, leave yourself a lot of extra time. >>> take a look at what is going on outside. we do have some cloud cover, some sunshine breaking through and that's about how the day is going to be with some thicker clouds tonight and temperatures really warm this morning, upper 60s to low 70s already. winds coming in from the south to southeast today at 5 to 15 miles per hour. that is pumping in the warmth and the humidity. 80 degrees as the high. >>> we welcome you back to "gma." a series of tornadoes tearing across the south overnight. winds up to 70 miles an hour ripping apart homes, schools, now millions of americans are bracing for bad weather as the storm moves east. >> so much destruction there. >>> also right now all eyes in new hampshire. just six days away from t

hillsborough county. deputies want to know who shot a man and 56 treat insulin avenue. neighbors called 911 after hearing gunshots and deputies responded to the area and found a man who appeared to have shot in the face. we know the bullet grazed the man but deputies say he was not cooperating with the investigation. >>> a memorial and vigil will be held to remember a sarasota bicyclist killed in a hit-and- run. it has been two weeks since -- left four dead. the search for the driver responsible for hitting him continues. the car involved is a metallic corolla. they believe might be the one seen here take in this video by a red light camera. the memorial is 11 am at midway church of christ. there will be a candlelight vigil at the crash site at 7 pm.>>> students apparently poisoned at middle school are now recovering hillsborough deputies say the two sixth-grade girls started to feel sick thursday after buying food from another student. the food they bought had thc in it. that's the active chemical found in marijuana. detectives say the container it was in had been fruit and fruit loops

had a mixed bag when it comes to temperatures. right now temperatures across hillsborough county, we're warmer than yesterday, up to 64 are usually cooler are not today. they're right about where we are. so the question is, are we going to continue? we have a cold front rolling through. you can see the extra clouds here tonight, even up until 10:00 tonight with a chance of showers. then with the stronger winds coming in tomorrow, we could get a brief sprinkle or some drizzle, a lot of cloud cover for sure, especially in the first part of the day. by 4:30, we'll see more sunshine and the drier air starting to filter in. for the next four days, tomorrow you'll notice the gusty winds and maybe a shower early in the day, a high only of 58. by the time we get to friday, we are in the mid- to upper 60s, still below average. of course we'll have the updates on the seven-day forecast and let you know what >>> right now back to the dow numbers we talked about at the top of the show. down. numbers had dropped more than 400 today, so that's not bad. >>> right now one fraternity is suspended

, bringing us to 21. we have three cases right now in hillsborough county. the latest case, a medical student at fiu in miami says he got the virus in haiti last fall. >> so we were mainly indoors. after that, i was walking outside to visit the villagers and stuff. so that was my main exposure to being outside. then i went back home and got sick. >> right now brazil is stepping up efforts to fight the zika virus at ground zero. military and health workers are now giving out information on how to deal with the mosquitoes carrying the virus. the zika virus outbreak will not compromise the olympics this august. >>> coming up, the death of justice antonin scalia pulls a lot of supreme court cases into question. what happens if there's a tie, coming up. >> before we go, while a man may need permission from his wife if he needs a prescription for viagra. >> reporter: a new bill calls for men to visit a doctor twice and bring a signed note from their wives before receiving medication for erectile dysfunction and swear to use it only for sexual relations with their wives. the bill's sponsor s

individual >>> take a look at where three crashes took place in hillsborough county and one in pasco county today. action air 1 was over the scene at usf, where deputies say a van struck and killed a homeless man this morning along bruce b. downs boulevard. deputies say the man stepped in front of that van. in river view, a motorcyclist died along u.s. 301 around 6:30 a.m. and investigators have not released his name. in pasco county, another motorcyclist killed after colliding with a tractor trailer around 12:30 a.m. troopers say 24-year-old daniel alero may have been speeding when he slammed into the rig. >>> good afternoon, everyone. have some rain just beginning have some rain just beginning to pop up across the southern counties. what we're tracking is this, some nasty weather with thunderstorms, tornado warnings across a good portion of the northern gulf coast from near the panhandle of florida, right on through mobile, alabama and into biloxi, mississippi. there is a marginal chance of pretty strong storms moving through our area late tonight and first thing in the morning. th

. the rain continues across hillsborough county into pinellas county. if you leased -- if you look -- if you live east of interstate 75, what rain? hang in there, it is coming. we have a little spin going as his moved on shore. we weren't concerned about severe weather but there is still some action in the atmosphere to provide some pretty decent rainfall. this is east towards odessa over towards much of hernando county as well. there is plenty more continuing. so, bottom line, this evening we will have a lot of rain up there. it will continue until 8:00. in the northern counties. wait until tomorrow morning. we are talking wind chills, i will have the details coming up in a couple of minutes. >>> taking a live look at the roads -- taking a live look at the roads right now. fortunately there to -- unfortunately there is some traffic out there. because of the rain. here is janelle martinez. >> reporter: in brandon we have one more day of this real- world project that railroad project that is causing a lot through tomorrow. the ultimate continues to be 301 and interstate 75. also, sa

struck a pedestrian in the southbound lane. hillsborough county deputy department on scene but it's backing up all the way to corner. >>> the crash on the howard frankland is now clear. so the howard howrtd is good to go. just typical delays there. another fatal crash in riverview, motorcyclist killed here. this is affecting northbound traffic, all the northbound lanes on 301 are closed now at panther trace boulevard. your alternate, simple, use i- i-75 flowing pretty good now in both directions. and a crash on i-4, not fatal but causing significant backups. westbound lanes at the vinonasassa road. 82 minutes to get from lakeland to downtown. ivan, i hope you have better news as far as the weather goes. >>> we have problems on the roads but certainly not weather related, no fog, no heavy rain. tomorrow at this time we could have some pretty good downpours here but right now pretty quiet. we're 50s and 60s. by lunchtime some cloud cover builds in. in fact later this afternoon 20% coverage of showers, then heavier downpours, we're tracking that through the overnight hours and into ear

hillsborough county dozens of guns taken off the streets after a crackdown, deputies found 20 guns, heroine, crack cocaine, ecstasy and more pills. the sheriff says they have seen an increase in violent crime involving guns. 13 suspects are still on the run. >>> good afternoon. today it was beautiful, mid-70s across the area. it topped out at 76 in tampa, 73 in clearwater. clouds on the east coast and some of these clouds roll across the state. i would say sunshine should be 80% of the sky right through the weekend. if you are headed to daytona it looks good for the 500. >>> taking a live look at the roads, traffic is moving smoothly. right now joan martinez tells us what we can expect this weekend. >> reporter: we have a lot going on this weekend so the tip of the weekend, pack some patience. road walk -- in clearwater they are doing some road work. these are the major roads in and out of clearwater beach. again, expect some delays in there. this will affect people trying to get to the festival. they will have the tour signs posted along with police directing traffic. this weekend is the b

the primary is march 15th and early voting is underway in hillsborough and polk counties. we have all the locations of early voting here at abcactionnews.com. scroll through to see the hours and places you need to go. >>> four students in ohio are recovering after a 14-year-old student opened fire in the cafeteria. bullets and two others hit by shrapnel, all four expected to recover. authorities say they have an idea of the motive and have him in custody. >>> the army staff sergeant accused of killing a police officer in virginia is held tonight without bond. police say ronald hamilton shot and killed his wife and an ficeresponding to his home on saturday, her first day of police patrol. two other officers that day were injured. >>> phillies fans arriving with a big welcome party today at tampa international airport. it's the 70th year for the phillies spring training in with the phillies is important to the area. >> throughout the year we get people coming to clearwater and pinellas county. spring training is very important to the entire tampa bay area. >>> making a run to the border

doesn't go to the polls until two weeks from tomorrow early voting begins today in hillsborough, polk and desoto counties. edie, pull up this -- easy, pull up this article on the abc action news app to find your nearest voting site. >>> today we're expecting a florida woman accused of killing a pizza driver after his first night of work to aappear in court. authorities say cynthia st. sire wasn't even supposed to be on the road. she slammed into the pizza delivery driver's car while trying to escape from a deputy trying to pull her over. he had just finished his first night of cliferg pizza for domino's when he died. >>> a woman and her 14-year-old cousin are waking up behind bars after a baby's kidnapping sparks an urgent statewide search. family members say stephanie augustine and her 14-year-old cousin abducted a relative's 2- month-old during a home unvacation in fort lauderdale, that triggered an amber alert. invasion. the baby later found alone but >>> 6 : o5. we have new photos from the polk county sheriff's office. their facebook page. deputies say you could stand to earn a ca

new developments in the escape of two teenage inmates in hillsborough county. investigators say one of them has been captured. st. pete police found 18-year- old anthony bays at a vacant home last thursday. officers say he gave them a fake name but they figured out who he really was. fellow escapee, anthony cook. >>> police are poring over surveillance, hoping to find the person who swiped this glass statue there, priced at over $20,000. and that wasn't the only thing taken. >> reporter: this is a well known piece of art. it's here, featured in the catalog. it was attached to a base that was also ripped off the wall when it was taken. because it's so well known, that means selling it to anyone who knknows what it is could be a big challenge it's an obviously gap, the shelf literally ripped from the wall, art work worth $25,000 gone. andy is the executive director detectives invaded his gallery. police interviewed his employees and dug through surveillance video. cameras pointed at the exits, but none in front of that piece of art. every piece is adhered to some sort of base to keep

be widespread but pass co, and northern hillsborough could see some frost. we are back in the mid 60s saturday and sunday. we could be up to 80 degrees by the middle of next week. seas, two to 4 feet, not i deal boating conditions but the weather will be nice. high tide 4:45 and low tide at 10:11. a front is coming in wednesday into thursday but right now i do not think it's much. maybe a bit cooler and a few >>> caught this a lie, next at 530 students who claimed to be >>> here's today's list from the list. this new robot makes its way through tough terrain. >> then a 10 year old girl that talks like a robot. >> number two, buffy was like a from battle star galactica. >>> new tonight three new york college students are facing charges off a video that initially claimed that they were attacked. now investigators are saying that a review of multiple videos of the incident showed the women as victimsment students are frus frustrated after holding a rally for the victims. >> he took these girls word for it, that it happened. >> one suspect's attorney said the video does not show the whole

. you can start making picks right now, early voting underway in hillsborough, polk and desoto counties. more than 2200 votes have been for a list of dates and times, head to our home page. >>> a warning tonight, fish and wildlife officials asking you to leave cell phones in your pockets. you have heard how lights at night can throw off young turtles trying to find the ocean. experts are saying flashes from phone cameras can do the same thing, and can scare adult turtles back in the water before they lay any eggs. >>> new numbers show the 2016 python challenge was a success. 106 snakes were removed from the everglades this year. more than a thousand people registered to take part in the month-long competition. >>> four of the best women's soccer teams in the world are here in the bay area and you still have a chance to see them play. this thursday at raymond james stadium, the 2016 she believes cup. it is the first matches in the three-city tournament. tickets are still available through ticketmaster. >>> still to come, the unique fashion statement that got more than a passing

on hillsborough county deputies. >> reporter: lumber liquidators faces millions in fines, and we one group says helped federal investigators. >> reporter: next at 6:00, how a relationship between the superintendent and her associate got too close, and what investigators are recommending after a author reand embarrassing review. >>> coming up, where you can save $1,500 on a car in florida. >>> now at 6:00, an explosive discovery, over a half dozen pipe bombs and large amounts of ammo found inside a tampa home. tonight, what the suspect may have had planned. >> and a superintendent under fire, the accusations against the woman in charge of polk county schools and what it could mean for her future. >> reporter: and a pair of inmates still on the run after slipping out of a juvenile detention center in tampa. good evening and thank you for joining us. i'm wendy ryan. >> i'm jamison yuler. the teenagers had more than an hour and a half head start despite deputies being tonight, why it took so long

dollars below the state average. in hillsborough county, it would run $298 more than in state average. in hernando county, that would cost $1,094 more than the florida average. according to the data, it pays to expand your search: take this 2011 tahoe listed for $26,995 in brandon, but a grand less 100 miles away. >> if you want to drive a little bit you could save $1,000, $1,500. >> reporter: we found another tahoe, same year, same mileage, $2,000 more in wayne compared >> with want people to use the data going forward. information at abcactionnews.com. just click on taking action. >>> looks like it's safe once again to order from chipotle. the cdc says today it appears over. the cause is still unknown but dozens reported getting sick after eating at chipotle no deaths were reported. chipotle is planning deep discounts for the upcoming super bowl weekend, and next monday it will briefly close all its restaurants for meetings with employees. >>> nice day today but we're going to have fog waking up tomorrow. >> especially along the coast. that's something we'll be dealing with but not

. hillsborough county now joining a new effort to see if hops can be grown in florida. how cool is that! >> carson chambers shows us the impact it could have on your drink of choice as well as your wallet. >> making it more stable for storage. >> reporter: the brewmaster says this makes craft beer tasty. >> the plant that we used to add different aromatics and bitterness to beer. floral, earthy to fruity, -- >> is going to develop different properties. just based upon the environment it is grown and your -- it is grown in. >> reporter: about 2,000,000 pounds around the country in the world. >> does come from oregon, germany. a lot of shipping cost. >> reporter: now hillsborough county and the university of florida are working together using almost a $160,000 grant from the department of agriculture. growing hops. experimenting to see which varieties thrive. >> 20 years ago, there was very little acreage in the state. and today, one of the few in the country. >> reporter: florida weather can be a challenge. not to mention humidity but the experiment could open doors for microbreweries li

hillsborough. 14 minutes, still slow on the courtney campbell causeway but just nine minutes to get across the howard frankland and looking great across the gandy bridge at seven minutes. your drive through downtown looking great as well, six minutes from the howard frankland up to i-4, those northbound lanes, the new ones there, really improving your morning commute and your evening commute as well. >>> 9:07:this cape coral man charged with trying to extort nude photos from young girls will head to a polk county courtroom. 25-year-old lucas bales with a booked yesterday morning -- was booked yesterday morning on 21 charges. deputies say he threatened a young girl through the kik app said he would set her house on fire and tell others to rape pictures and videos. there is believed to be other victims as well. >>> a truck that crashed through the tampa international mall while you were sleeping. tampa police are looking for the driver of this toyota tacoma. apparently ditched the truck after slamming into the tree with so much force it split the tree in two. >>> polk county, a seven-

low 60s. hillsborough county you can see temperatures are in the low 60s. when it comes to rainfall over the next 24 hours, it doesn't look like we will see much if anything. maybe just a quick drizzle or sprinkle moving across the area. what you will notice most will be the temperatures and those wind speeds that stay with us. so nothing more than a sprinkle for rainfall. but those temperatures, you want to know when this chill is going to break, right? another one, two, maybe three or four days. i'll let you know. you know what doesn't like the chilly temperatures? manatees. and we've got more on that and how to catch a glimpse of them in a safe passive environment coming up in a little bit. >> all right, shay. i've got candy and -- you're going to love what i'm about to tell you. you're about to see a big change in some of america's favorite candies that might make you crave it even more. i'll explain when we come back >> right now the zika virus continues to spread here in florida. now the department of health is giving updates every day at 2:00. okay. so we have 16 cases in flo

in polk county. we also have this situation in hillsborough. gravel spilled on the roadway on busch boulevard. two westbound lanes blocked now, this is just east of 56th street. traffic indicators still in the green, no delay here but you may want to leave yourself a few extra minutes if your morning drive takes you through that area. your drive on the veterans looking pretty good now. all in the green. >>> 6:01. let's begin with democracy 2016. after months of campaigning and debating voters will finally begin to narrow down the field of candidates for president. >> iowa is the first major test for the candidates. voters will head to the polls there tonight. candidates on both sides of the aisle are bringing out the big guns. hillary clinton and donald him on the campaign trail. in a final push for votes. as for texas senator ted cruz conservative pundit glenn beck joined him on stage in iowa touting his his ability to unite americans. >> we're not here for ted cruz. we're here for the constitution of the united states of america. first thing i intend to do is rescind every single

. we're just finishing up a press conference with hillsborough sheriff counted department. this is a smoking bowl restaurant and hookah bar. this is an active scene. as you can see on the ground, those are the bullet casings they believe were fired last night. at least 10 shots rang out into a crowd. about 50 people were outside of this hookah bar around 4 am. this time. police said there was some type of altercation. someone went to their car and started shooting into the crowd. four people were hit. one person, a male subject, did die. there were three other victims. one male in his 20s, another male who was 22 and a female who was 33. they are not saying much about the suspect. they do have a male suspect that they are looking for right now. again, a very active investigation. they are looking through surveillance video. right now, they have not released the name of the person who was shot and killed. we do not also have conditions on the other victims. we will keep you updated and bring you the latest when it's available. jake peterson, abc action news. >>> of course we will stay

it's taking to cross coming up in a few >>> hillsborough county -- lanes closed on the howard frankland bridge, heading northbound to tampa. 2:30 this morning troopers say a volkswagen hit a tow truck loading up a disabled vehicle. corey dierdorff is live now not far from where this happened. corey? >> reporter: bad news getting worse. we learned of another accident on the howard frankland bridge, this one is the inside lane so only the middle lane getting by now. fatal accident on the outside lane. this taking place behind me over the hump. all i'm seeing now is brake lights approaching the hump. so may be better to take the gandy bridge or courtney campbell causeway. let look at the video closer to the accident. as we stayed back to try to stay safe. it's a very dangerous spot this happened in. fhp telling us 2:30 this morning a tow truck driver was in the process of loading a car in the back of his tow truck when struck by a black volkswagen that killed him. the driver took off and fhp is looking for them. there's quite an extensive scene is a fhp still gathers evidence sur

hillsborough communities. starting in plant city, a homicide investigation. authorities hope you can help solve it. last night plant city police say they found jose manuel cazeras lying in a yard on west baker street. officers said they got a 911 call about a fight there at 8:30. they found jose, taken to e hospital why upper body trauma, died a sht time ter. rodney is trying to ge update for us on the suspect still on the run. he'll bring an update on that investigation coming up at 6:30. >>> meanwhile, tampa police investigating a deadly mlk boulevard closed for hours. sefar we know it involved a -- so far we know it involved a czar -- car and motorcyclist. the motorcyclist has died. >>> the victim told 911 operators he just got home from a store, closing to 11:00 sunday night, unloading groceries when he was attacked. he suffered several injuries. during the robbery the victim fired several rounds with his own gun. >> i feared for my family so i grabbed the gunman who had his gun at me and the second he was distracted i pushed him away as far as i -- i ran away from the house and the s

own home. now a hillsborough county veteran is being forced to >> reporter: this veteran said he will never be a victim in his own home again. one of the first things that he did was get a security system but tonight he said his goal is justice. >> i have done two combat tours in iraq. you do not expect to get shot in our own house. >> reporter: he spent eight days in the hospital. he has three broken ribs and a bullet lodged in his chest. >> it went through my rib and hit my lung. >> reporter: these masked men barged into his home. >> i woke up, there was two guys at the foot of my bed with rivals demanding that i give them everything that i had of value. >> reporter: they asked for his not know where it was they shot him. >> they grabbed my x box and my tab let. >> reporter: grant chased him. then he realized how bad he was hurt. >> i could sow air bubbles coming from my wounds. >> reporter: he sat down on his stairs and started to cough up blood. grateful to be alive but facing $175,000 in medical bills, he hopes that someone comes forward to stop e suspects before they do this to

holding at three here in hillsborough county. so now there are 20 cases of zika in florida. >>> and right now taking a live look at i-275 at ashley drive, a much different scene than we saw this morning after a deadly wrong way crash. that's the video at the top of your screen there. for the first time, we are hearing the 911 call and the man on the phone with dispatch who really jumped right in to help. >> anyone trapped in the vehicle? >> yes. both of them. i have a pulse on one of them. >> let me use your baton. i need to break this so i can get the doors unlocked on the other side. >> that crash happened at 5:30 this morning. it took about five hours, however, for investigators to clear the scene. it wasn't until this afternoon that we learned who was behind the wheel. deputies say the man who was driving the wrong way was 47- year-old larry thompson. we're waiting to hear if alcohol or drugs were involved here. hit, he's 65-year-old eugene fisher. >>> we're here with meteorologist shay ryan. definitely got warmer today. something tells me people will want to snuggle on valentin

to protect you and your family from the zika virus. hillsborough county workers will test moaive traps they set up over the weekend. mosquito traps. 24 of the traps meant to find areas where zika virus may be a problem. there are at least three known cases of the mosquito-borne illness in hillsborough county. >>> everyone's buzzing about the broncos. denver taking the title for super bowl 50 against the panthers. >> and they are not just talking about the game. also buzzing about the commercials, pre-game festivities, halftime show. even what happened after the game. >> social media exploding when this happened. and the broncos his go-to was the guy from papa john's, the founder there. see that? not only a hug but the pizza chain founder and ceo seems to give him a kiss on the cheek. they come close. peyton manning is a celebrity spokesperson for the pizza chain. i want it dream it i work hard i own it >> people are still talking about the halftime show. coldplay rocked the stage. the crowd went wild when bruno mars and beyonce joined them. she also announced her formation world

past sunset. as we look at hillsborough county, looking great across south tampa. it's beautiful out there. lots of sunshine. so much more than what we have seen in the last few days with less wind. now that we have lost the clouds, the temperatures are really going to fall after sunset. we're down to 54 right now in tampa. and as we continue here through the evening, if you're planning on, you know, maybe going for a to go for a walk on the beach, all of that sunshine, it would be calling me too. i get it. if you want to head out along the beaches, temperatures in the 50s until midnight. possibly a little after that. it will still be breezy out there. gusty winds in the 20 miles per hour range. if you're taking that jog around bayshore, the winds will relax. but the temperatures will be falling into the 40s as early as 9:00 tonight. if you are planning on heading out to mass tonight, i've got your ash wednesday forecast for you coming up in just a few minutes. >> shay, thank you so much. >>> we're going to go to breaking news right now. this is in tuttle, oklahoma, i do believe.

flying over a crash on hillsborough avenue. what does it look like? >> reporter: still creating a problem westbound hillsborough avenue coming past the hard rock at orient road to harney. just as you approach 56th street there are four vehicles involved. it's being investigated. a vehicle is off to the different on the right. the one lane is getting stopped back it up. should be cleared soon though. >>> it's windy and cold. temperatures in the 50s and factor in the wind anywhere from 25 to 30 mile-per-hour gusts, by the way that is the case throughout today. even into higher gusts. this is how it feels now, 43 inverness. 44 zephyrhills. 51 tampa. extended forecast, breezy, less windy tomorrow, temperatures holding in the 50s, well below normal for this time of year. low 60s by thursday. then we'll begin to warm up a little, friday and saturday temperatures approaching 70 degrees. that will feel nice. before the next cooldown on >>> good morning, america. i voted for donald trump. >> good morning, america. and i voted for john kasich. >> good morning, america. i voted for bernie sa

florida. this one in seminole county. we are holding at three in hillsborough. now we're talking about 29 cases in the state altogether. these are from people going someplace else, getting bitten by a mosquito. now the cdc is looking into 14 new cases, several involving pregnant women right now. we have talked about it on the now plenty of times, especially how men need to be careful as sexual contact. it's not clear how long the person's system. and there's a big milestone right now to pass along for you today when it comes to dealing with the zika virus here in the two texas hospitals developing the country's first rapid test for the virus, detecting it in hours instead of weeks like we have been dealing with as of late. that means that treatment can start even earlier. right now the test is just available in texas but researchers are looking into expanding it to more hospitals. >>> we're talking golf carts now. more like golf crashes. wait until you hear as one florida man describes what happened to him and his injuries related to one of those. >> i had a concussion of some so