are facing charges. >> and a beloved dog bites not once, but twice. the controversy surrounding padi gets heated. i'm jennifer leigh. >> i'm rod carter. thank you very much for joining us tonight. we are beginning with breaking news. a three-year-old child has been shot and an adult is also hurt. paul mueller has the latest. >> reporter: well josh, the investigation intensifies here at the scene of this drive-by shooting in south saint petersburg. a lot of crime scene investigators have been here for the last hour-and-a-half. and take a look on the ground there. we have dozens of evidence markers not only on this street here, but on tenth avenue south on the other street as well. and you can see there's a woman picking up some evidence right there. from the crime scene investigators and putting it in the bag right there. and look at the house.

three-year-old girl, little jayla and a 23-year-old man terrell holliman were shot. again, the evidence markers are all over the place. that is what police are looking at right now. they want to get as much evidence as they can from this scene. they are also interviewing witnesses. obviously trying to figure out a motive. also searching for suspects as well as a charger. that is a car seen in the area at the time of the shooting. the big question here, who would shoot a three-year-old girl? family members. >> i think it is really screwed up that you shoot a baby. it is screwed up that you didn't care about anybody in old people. that's really sad. you are a coward and you need

>> reporter: again, you are looking live at the scene here at tenth avenue south. to wrap this all up, a drive-by shooting. 2:00 this afternoon. two people shot. one of them a three-year-old girl. the three-year-old and the 23- year-old are going to be okay. nonlife threatening injuries. we will have much more from the family tonight at 6:00. paul mueller, newschannel8. >> we will check back with you later paul. thanks. days away from florida's crucial primary. both democratic candidates make stop ins the bay area and republican candidates prepare for tonight's debate in miami. there were signs we might not see the over the top jabs of the showdown in detroit.

gables, the university of miami. ted cruz joined you guys for an announcement a couple of hours ago. he has been making a lot of these announcements. >> reporter: well, he didn't come, but someone came on his behalf. good evening to you. and to jenn. it is interesting the see what goes on. we are in the google room here. you can see all of the things happening here minute by minute. the media starting to gather. cnn perched on the stage. the media with the watching of the debate. this is where we do all of our work, but the point is we are here because of the news that makes news in this political world. ted cruz was kind of topping the list once again. yesterday, he got us all together. a big announcement. it was carly fiorina endorsing him. i have another announcement. so we all got together. this is what came through the room. this is a senator by the name of mike lee who is supporting

the senator from utah. this is a big deal because ted cruz is not the most liked guy in the senate. he is kind of a divisive person. so this is a big deal. the other big hook to the story is just a few days ago and throughout this campaign, mike lee has been campaigning for marco rubio. so it begs the question, why today, mike lee? why are you backing ted cruz today? >> i decided to endorse ted for a number of runs but all of them boil down to one basic thing. we have reached a point when we need to unite behind a single candidate. unity within the republican party is more important right now than ever before. and i believe we have a rare opportunity right now. i believe unity is more possible than ever before in this race. we need to unite behind ted cruz.

that's the keyword right there. marco rubio still has more senators backing him. 14 support rubio. but this move today kind of is the signal that the republicans establishment may be trying to say ted cruz is the one candidate who can beat donald trump. mike lee didn't want to mention donald trump's name today. but there is the feeling today, our political reporter candace mccowan is here. a feeling and a drum beat for marco rubio to step down in this race. there's pressure on him on even the night of this debate. >> reporter: yeah, it is like hit after hit for him. there is pressure on him to really perform and make a difference. if you take a look, marco rubio told his supporters he will win his home state of florida. next week, if his supporters turn out and it could spring board him to the nomination, but the florida senator has won the minnesota caucuses and that's it. and didn't climb out of single digits in mississippi or michigan monday.

lieutenant governor of florida. she gave her imput on what rubio need to do to get back in the race for tonight's debate. >> what senator rubio needs to do is be the rubio that people knew of him prior to that last debate. in the last debate, he lost a lot of momentum and trust and support from a lot of people who had not seen him in that light. he need to come across presidential. he needs to not be so argumentative and combative and continue to present himself as to why he should be the person of choice in this presidential election. >> reporter: i have heard that from many marco rubio supporters. people saying hey, that's not the guy we know. not the guy we are talking about. the sizes of hands an that type of thing. so a lot of people looking to see a change in his performance. and maybe, that might make a difference for him come next tuesday. >> it wasn't just those who support marco rubio who were disappointed.

record saying he regrets some of the things he did. he said yeah, we need to go after trump. he embarrassed his children, he said. his wife was not in support of it. he would do it differently. we will see how he performs tonight, but the pressure again is on marco rubio, not so much on ... there is pressure, but john kasich in ohio is doing extremely well. urban myer came out to endorse john kasich. we will see what happens. we know what it is like when a head coach endorses you, but ted cruz picking up an endorsement from down here in miami. we have the debate coming up. we are three-and-a-half hours away. candace mccowan andly be here at 6:00 an again at 7:00. and all of the highlights at 11:00. >> all right, thank you both very much. want to show you video. it is of a man punching a protester at a donald trump rally. that video has gone viral. take a look at this. you can see the deputies escorting someone from an event.

steps up and punches one of the protesters. 78-year-old john mcgraw is now charged with assault and battery. on the democratic side, hillary clinton and senator bernie sanders have campaign stops? tampa. rod carter was at the event and will tell you about it in a minute. but first, let's go to melanie michael who is at the state fairgrounds waiting on bernie sanders. hey mel. >> reporter: hey jenn, good evening to you. my goodness, what a very busy day today. here at the florida state fairgrounds. we are coming to you live from the expo hall and it is packed. sanders supporters have been waiting in line all day. i want to show you. this venue can hold up to 11,000 people. and a lot of folks are filling the seats right now. a lot of young people out here holding signs, chanting, saying they want to feel the bern. so tonight is set to be an exciting night as he makes his campaign stop and swings through the state of florida

tuesday. and again, right now, it is just filling up and secret service has been busy going through security. very busy job today for them considering all the folks that are out here. but again, 11,000 people is what the hall can hold here. and it is filling up quickly. supporters were told to rsvp ahead of time, but word of mouth shows us here that it is a very, very popular campaign and they are all waiting to see bernie sanders who is set to arrive possibly around 7:00. and we are set to sit down with him tonight and ask him the questions that matter most to tampa bay. we will join you live throughout the newscast as we continue our live team coverage. beak to you. >> melanie michael live in a very loud florida state fairgrounds. thanks for that live report. >> yes. as we mentioned both democratic candidates are in the bay area today. >> for hillary clinton, it was her first time in the bay area since her failed presidential

i was there in ybor city. hillary clinton. neighbors maria and escralita came together. best choice. >> she is the most experienced. she is right for the country. i'm here to give her my support. >> reporter: and the moment they all waited for. >> give it up for the next president of the united states, secretary hillary clinton! >> reporter: introduced by tampa mayor bob buckhorn. she made her way to the stage speaking to a tampa crowd. since 2008. she touched on a variety of topics including the importance of the tampa port. >> i know how important the port is to this city and the entire area. it supports 80,000 jobs. good jobs where people can really make a commitment to do better. >> reporter: she took a moment to take a shot or two at republican florida governor

>> i was told your governor september out a directive for everyone working in the state to not use the words climate change. is that right? i mean, you just got the shake your head at that. >> reporter: clinton spoke to the crowd 25 minutes today. march 15, you can cast your ballot in early voting. we have posted everything you need to know on wfla.com. and our political team coverage in miami. keith cate and candace mccowan will be back at 6:00, 7:00, and 11:00 for continuing coverage of the debate. two polk county school bus drivers are in big trouble tonight. >> they left a sleeping student on the bus not once, but twice. what happened when he woke up trapped and miles from home? >> also ahead, dog bite controversy. and now another dog. 8 on your side has questions

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>> a polk county school bus driver and an attendant are facing two counts of child neglect. they are accused of leaving a sleeping specialty student on the bus twice. they forgot to check the bus twice before leaving. the teen hitchhiked and hiked 30 miles home to davenport. testimony in the hulk hogan trial. terry bollea is suing gawker for $100 million.

involved in the marketing the paris hilton and kim kardashian sex tapes. here is what he said. >> would this add value to a site like porn hub? >> yes. >> gawker attorneys hammered the professor for being out of touch with modern practices. terry bollea claims the publishing of the tape has ruined his life. a bradenton dog named padi made headlines after attacking a child last summer but he bit a dog inside his owner's vet clinic. which begs the question is his owner being careless? john, shouldn't the owner have learned by now why wasn't padi kept away from the public? >> reporter: the owner feels it

padi has been a very popular dog seen be many animals and people here at the clinic. the owner didn't feel there was a need to do that. but as a result of this incident, there are some changes. after attacking a four-year-old boy last summer, padi was set to be euthanized but a massive wave of supporters saved him leading to a change in florida law. now he is accused of another serious bite. hoe attacked a service dog in training. tammy says she brought in obi- wan for shots when padi walked bloody puncture wounds. >> he knows this dog has a history. to let the dog roam free in the clinic is extremely wreckless. >> reporter: a manatee county deputy filed this report saying it was an accident and the doctor was not at fault. padi is beloved in this community and is accustomed to

there was no need to keep him home. but this latest incident has given him pause. >> we keep him locked up for the most part. >> reporter: he has installed this gate to keep padi secure in the office at all times and he is hopeing to put the issue behind him. >> we have had to keep a closer, you know, eye on him. because, he is in a bit of the spotlight. >> reporter: but the trainer and the company who owns obi- wan are furious. they don't agree with the findings and they are considering their legal options. >> for me, it is not anything with padi or the law that i'm concerned with. it is the doctor. i think he need to be held responsible for what he did. >> reporter: that puppy still has some bite marks on his nose. the pup was in a lot of pain. but i'm told he is healing quite nicely rod. >> well john, could this impact the pup's ability to be a service dog? >> reporter: that remain to be

they are worried that the animal could be skiddish with larger animals that could service dog. they are monitoring it. it. there's a year left in training so they are optimistic that the dog will be okay. >> john rogers reporting live, thank you. gorgeous weather continues today. winds coming in fairly light. it was breezier earlier today. i know our eyes are already there. looking at extra clouds around on saturday. we will keep rain chances out of the forecast for the start of this weekend. staying warm in the low 80s all the way through the weekend. for this evening, temperatures

and, even as we head into the overnight hours we will see partly cloudy skies and mild conditions. waking up tomorrow morning we will be in the mid 60s which is well above average. here is the setup. high pressure in control. that is why you are looking at cloud-free conditions across parts of florida. out west, it is keeping all the nasty weather training over the same area. places like mississippi, louisiana, texas dealing with more rain. they have been dealing with flooding conditions over the last 48 hours or so. it will be a while before that gets to us. currently, temperatures still in the 80s for a lot of us. 86 in brandon. 82 bartow. 85 in weeki wachee. notice some pretty warm temperatures for march across much of the u.s. 77 in atlanta. 76dc. 60 degrees in new york city this afternoon. so, high pressure remains in control for this evening. just a couple of clouds around as we head into tomorrow morning.

by the afternoon hours, we top out in the mid 80s . great beach weather for all of you on spring break. partly cloudy skies continuing. no rain friday. saturday looks nearly dry as well. very warm start with temperature ins the mid 60s by the afternoon hours. we are back into the low 80s . we bring in a slim 10% chance of a passing shower because of extra moisture, but the rain is still well off to the west. as we head into sunday, that is when this system approaches. sunday afternoon, we bring our shower chances. dry up until then. slim rain chances saturday. most of the rain will be on sunday with some lingering light showers possible. still monday morning, and the pollen count. a lot of you concerned with that but i don't think we will see enough rain to kick it autoout of here so the pollen

the high range all the way through this weekend. notice behind this system, temperatures are still above average in the low 80s . so at this point, no cool-down in sight. just the chance to see some rain on sunday which we could use. not sure. we will quite see enough of it. >> that's all right. i'm all cranked up on allergy ms now. you should stay tuned. >> thanks so much. appreciate it. a beer company is retiring what might be the most interesting ad campaign in the world.

>> check your cabinets. wonderful pistachios are under a recall. they sell under the wonderful paramount farms and trader joe's brands. may be contaminated with salmonella. another airline adding a seat to their rows in economy class. do s eqis beer is adding its most interesting man in the world commercials. the final ad will feature him take ago one-way trip to mars. sales have nearly tripled since the famed ads hit the airways in 2007. >> it is pretty interesting. >> good way to go out. josh benson is here with

>> we put out one of our reporters in a grand prix car for a hair-raising ride. you'll want to check this out

(phone ringing) you can't deal with something, by ignoring it. but that's how some presidential candidates seem to be dealing americans work hard, and pay into it. so our next president needs a real plan to keep it strong. (elephant noise) hey candidates,

>> good evening, i'm jennifer leigh. >> i'm josh benson. thanks for being with us tonight. >> a major marijuana trafficking bust in hillsborough county to tell you about tonight. detectives concluded a yearlong investigation called operation hydro hustlers. chip osowski says there were nearly a dozen grow houses in hillsborough and surrounding county being shut down. >> reporter: good evening to you jenn, this investigation began in march of 2015. even seasoned investigators