>> romney versus trump. party infighting gets ugly. sitter wisely. i'm rod carter. >> i'm jennifer leigh. thanks for joining us this evening. you could hold the key to an unsolved murder. new billboards are going up offering a cash reward for information that brings killers to justice. peter bernard is live in largo. you spoke to some of the victims' families. there has to be tough on them. >> reporter: it is, jenn, but they want the killer's caught. this is one of the places where one of the billboards will go up over the next few months. >> my daughter deserves justice. >> reporter: someone shot 15- year-old malacia gamble. her body found in a lot. the passage of time has not lessened the pain.

able to get in front of this camera and let the world snow what my daughter meant to me. she was a good person. >> reporter: soon her picture will be featured on a billboard like this one near where paula and james whitfield were killed. but a critical tip could put the killers in jail. >> we are very hopeful that in all three cases these billboards will invite someone to step forward and be the voice for these victims. >> reporter: other victims include gary noordhoek, lynette bernhardt. and melanie warren. killed in a drive by in 1992.

it really just destroyed our family and my children. and me. >> reporter: law enforcement is hoping these billboards generate leads. >> by calling crime stoppers, you remain anonymous. >> reporter: absolutely. some of these crimes go back many years. as a matter of fact, the pinellas county sheriff says some of them go back to the 1950s . there are unsolved homicides going back that far, but they never stopped. >> have billboards like these led to an arrest peter? >> reporter: not in recent memory, but there is a famous case everyone remembers. oba chandler. they put up billboards with samples of his handwriting. someone reck niced the handwriting and cracked the case. >> peter bernard, live in largo, thank you. now to some breaking news. shocking accusations of teachers behaving badly. three highlands county teachers

misconduct with students. detectives tell us the three female teachers each exchanged lewd pictures with teens. newschannel8's john rogers is now. he is getting some answers from the school district superintendent. we will check with him at 6:00. ahead of tonight's republican debate, the gop came out swinging against donald trump. mitt romney called him a con man and a fake. mark meridith is in our washington bureau. lots of people have been perplexed by trump's draw and they are doing their best to stop the trump train from rolling. the question is, will it work? >> reporter: rod, that is the million dollar question. perhaps the billion dollars question since we are talking mitt romney and donald trump. mitt romney is still a household name and he really gave an ohm passioned speech this morning. he made it clear he is not the

things between him and donald trump got pretty heated. he has run for president twice, but this time, mitt romney is using the spotlight to stop someone else. >> donald trump is a phony. a fraud. >> reporter: during a stunning and sweeping speech in utah, the 2012 republican nominee stressed he is not running this year, but stressed to the nation a donald trump presidency could spell disaster. >> let me put it plainly. if we republicans choose donald trump for our nominee, the prospect for a safe prosperous future are diminished. >> reporter: for romney, him labeling trump as a fraud, a phony, and dangerous is a shift from four years ago when the party proudly accepted trump's endorsement. now four years later, it is donald trump ready to ruin romney's reputation. >> he let us down. it is one thing when you lose and work.

mitt is a failed candidate. he failed. he failed horribly. >> reporter: it is too early to tell if romney's scathing speech will do anything to change the race. that will be up to the voters when they head to the polls saturday. donald trump was giving that speech in maine. he is on his way to michigan where there will be a fox news debate tonight. and you will notice someone is missing. we are talking dr. ben carson. he is skipping tonight's debate. and word is that he may drop out of the race altogether as early as tomorrow or this weekend. rod? >> that would be very interesting news. a lot of tough talk and pleas by the republicans but in reality, there is not a lot that can be done to slow him down. what impact will this have on the democratic party and hillary clinton? is this going to help her in any way? >> reporter: well, you bring up a good point. the democrats still have a few

when you listen to clinton, it was that she was focused more toward november. looking past the nomination fight not only for her party, but the republicans as well. president obama was asked about it on fair force run. the press secretary was asked about this romney thing earlier today on air force one saying the president was not going to engage or even watch the speech. if you have to look at where things stand for the democrats, they are looking past this and realize they have a long fight ahead all the way up until november. >> just when you thought it couldn't get more interesting, it did. mark meridith. appreciate it. all right, we are getting march 15. early voting is underway in hillsborough and polk county. the rest of the bay area will start early voting saturday. we posted everything you need to know about this on our website wfla.com. sports caster erin andrew's civil lawsuit will be in the hands of a jury tomorrow. she is suing her stalker michael barrett and the

recorded naked videos of her. today, the woman who checked barrett into the hotel took the stand. >> reporter: it has been years since jacqueline worked at the marriott. she doesn't remember checking michael barrett in, but she knows she didn't give him any information about erin andrews. >> if he had mentioned the name erin andrews would that have been a red flag? >> yes. >> reporter: she admitted she didn't know who erin andrews before she arrived. one of her coworkers was excited the espn sports reporter would be staying at the hotel. >> when did you become aware of her? >> a couple of days before her stay. dave had mentioned that she was so gorgeous and beautiful and she was coming in. >> reporter: andrews was in football game. barrett had been following her

videos of her. he planned to sell the videos because he needed money. he got four-and-a-half minutes at the nashville marriott. andrews is suing the owners and the managers of the hotel for $75 million as a result. there were privacy policies at the hotel which would have kept jacqueline from telling barrett anything about andrews. during cross-examination. she said she didn't remember a lot of her time at the hotel, but she is sure she didn't give andrews' information to barrett. >> i can't tell you what i wore yesterday let alone the exact recollections of the date. i would not have given that information out though. >> reporter: attorneys for the marriott also played the video

espn coworker jesse palmer. palmer testified andrews was professional even after the incident. erin was popular because she was well-respected and beautiful but she could be an emotional person as well. erin andrews closing statements are expected tomorrow. she is the daughter of our investigator steve andrews. a woman left a dog with asitter only to learn the dog had died. >> the things you need to ask before trusting your stranger with a dog. >> the strawberry underway in plant city. you hungry looking for that? i know you are. we will take it in and introduce you to the bernard. that is a pig. we will tell you about all that coming up. >> airlines are vying for daily commercial flights to cuba which could have a huge impact

>> now, to some breaking news. there's another resignation tonight at the top of polk county school's system. associate superintendent of operations greg rivers has submitted his resignation. he made allegations against katherine leroy saying she sexually harassed him. the superintendent was cleared of wrong doing but resigned anyway. now rivers is resigning himself. protecting your pet. we told you about a woman whose dog died while at a dogsitter. so how do you make sure that your dog will be okay? recreptly we told you about the

her dog with asitter only to be called later and told her beloved kayla had been killed by another dog. >> dead? i said what do you mean dead? she said she got killed by another dog. i said how could that even be? >> reporter: julie who is the ceo and president of fuzzy friends pet care says when looking for a petsitter or a diligence. >> make sure someone is bonded and insured and have a tax receipt to do business in the county. >> reporter: she told me unlike her company which has been around 19 years, there are a lot of people out there just getting into the business. >> lots of popup mom and pop shops come up all the time and they don't last. >> reporter: so you have to ask questions. lots and lots of questions. >> why they are doing this. make sure you get references. ask them what type of work they have done with animals. >> reporter: and then, dig some more.

>> but if it doesn't feel right between you and the petsitter. it does not feel a good choice and you need to find another person. >> reporter: not to mention the safety of the owner. ask about criminal records. can thesitter provide proof of a criminal history? >> they don't have to know first aid, but it's a plus. you want to know they can check to make sure any symptoms happening they can take them to the vet in your absence. >> if it seems like i said ask questions a thousand times, it is important. you have to do that. also, you can go to petsit.com for tips. i put a link to their website on wfla.com. ask questions. >> good advice. all right, so, one of those delicious events of the year is underway right now in plant city. >> it is time for the strawberry festival. we sent julie phillips out there and she joins us there

julie, there is all that food out there and you are in a pig sty? >> you don't see that very often. >> yes. >> reporter: yes, this is a first for me guys. i'm in the pig sty at the agricultural center. we know there is a lot of yummy food here, but there's a lot of livestock here as well. we have bernard competing in the pig show tonight. we just woke him up from a nap. and we have laura here with us. she has been with the festival a few years. today is the opening day and it runs for a good bit. >> we run until march 13. bernard is eating my shoes. [ laughter ] but our youth are the pride of the community. it is so fun to watch them exhibit their projects. one is tonight at 7:00. bernard will be competing for grand champion tonight. >> reporter: awesome, bernard, we think you are going to do great.

until the 13th? >> correct. >> reporter: what about ticket prices? >> everyday, the gate price is $10 an adult, $8 a child. everyday, we have a special or a discount. so check the website for discounts. >> reporter: okay great. and i have heard you guys, is it good luck probably to kiss a pig? i need some love. bernard needs some love. he is in the show tonight. good luck bernard. rod, jenn, back to you guys. >> we were sitting here don't do it. >> she kissed the pig. well good luck. good luck to bernard. thank you julie. we will check back with you over the next hour. here is something else going on this weekend. the newschannel8 outdoors expo and boat show starts tomorrow. this is video of the setup going on at the florida state fairground. so many boats to choose from. the newschannel8 outdoors expo and boat show runs through sunday. we have more information on

i was holding my breath there for a second to see if she would kiss it. >> and those are show pigs. they are very clean. cleaner than the kitchen countertop. >> what are you saying about my kitchen countertop? this took a weird turn. i was surprised to see her not outside. it was a beautiful day. >> i have been out there many years and always enjoy myself. i grew up on a farm. that is familiar territory. all right, let's take a look outside here and see what is going on. you can see the clouds are continuing. a nice day. comfortable, the clouds are there. they have been streaming in from the west. not producing precipitation. and this is not the cold front that we are expecting. that is coming tomorrow morning with a slight chance of rain. but, the steady stream of clouds have been moving in from the west. you can see 66 degrees at frenchy's now at clear water beach. gotten some sort of sunsets here the past couple of days looking to the west.

hopefully, we will get more clear skies tomorrow once the front passes through the area. looking forward to the weekend. got a good one saturday and sunday. 75 and 76 degrees. a sweet spot this time of year for gorgeous weather. looks like we will have that. partly cloudy skies. if you are headed out to the strawberry festival, you don't have to kiss a pig if you go out there. 68 at 10:00 p.m., 74 at 3:00 p.m. 67 at 6:00 p.m. cooling after sunset. as for the evening, 66 degrees a southwesterly breeze. pleasant to be outside, but note the southwesterly breeze is because a cold front is headed in. that tends to change the wind the gulf. and that brings back a little more moisture in the air. it feels a little warmer. 63 degrees at 7:00 a.m. partly cloudy skies currently. 75 in brandon. 68 weeki wachee. 70 saint petersburg.

you can see very chilly air. alabama. very chilly air just to the north of us. we will not get that cool but it will bring slightly cooler air in for us. that is the cold front, the warm front right there. near the boundary. that is where the shower activity is occurring today. lots of clouds in central and south florida. a bit more sunshine. citrus county saw a bit more sunshine than everybody else in tampa bay. partly cloudy skies. pleasant temperatures for us. low pressure continues to race off to the east. cold front near the boundary friday morning. the front will arrive with morning showers. in the afternoon, blue skies, sunshine returns. then high pressure will shift to the east. may want a light jacket to start the day with some cooler temperatures in our forecast. but it really ends up nice in the afternoon for saturday and sunday as we talked about. temperatures mid 70s . rain chances not existent during the next seven days.

trend as a ridge of high pressure locks onto us. we may see temperatures in the mid 80s in some of the inland areas so it will be a very warm period given the time of year and all. but, we have had some cool periods. in fact, pretty much all of january and february, we were cooler than normal. >> it is nice though. can't argue with that. >> it feels pretty good. >> thank you. well if you have a flight coming up, there is a new law you need to know about. >> also ahead, this coffee mug is under recall because it could start a fire in your kitchen.

>> now to an 8 on your side consumer alert. if you got this coffee mug for valentine's day, don't put nit the microwave. the metallic lettering can spark if you keep it in the microwave. you can take it back to target for a full refund. a new law will ban airline passengers from smoking e- cigarettes on planes. transportation officials say the rule will protect passengers from unwanted exposure to fumes and clear up any confusion if the ban on tobacco products included e- cigarettes. passengers are allowed to carry the e-cigarettes with them but they cannot use them or pack them in their checked luggage. amazon and brita have created a pitcher that refills. it uses built in wi-fi to connect to the amazon dash

the new filters for you the new pitcher is available now on amazon.com. starbucks customers do not like the recent changes to the loyalty program. the company's buzz score measures how people are feeling about a brand dropped from 60 to 29 according to ugov's brand index. this is based on the number of dollars spent per visit. josh thomas is joining us now with a look at what we are working on. >> as the supreme court debates a landmark abortion case, they clinics. holiday. why back to school shoppers in florida won't save as much as

>> right now at newschannel8 at 5:30. >> sweeping changes could be coming for abortion clinics in florida putting a near total ban on abortions across the state. tonight, reaction is pouring in. good evening everybody. i'm josh thomas. >> i'm jennifer leigh. thanks for joining us. the abortion changes are similar to new rules in texas which are being challenged in the u.s. supreme court. among the changes, the state would defund planned parenthood. capital bureau reporter matt galka joins us live from tallahassee. opponents are worried women's health would suffer because of this. >> reporter: yeah jenn, absolutely right. the defunneledding of planned parenthood or other abortion clinics, that has people worried and it has some thinking the clinics will have