>> confirming a major shake-up over the last year. we have been breaking this story for months. jared is live with what he has learned. >> reporter: we just learned that the chief operating officer is stepping down. he resigned earlier today. steven harp was hired in company's coo. airline operations for the company. statement. the ceo said, quote, we thank steve for his contributions. we look forward to continuing his efforts to strengthen our operation. the planes make up 95% of the flights out of st. pete clearwater airport. it has been under scrutiny over the past year. in just the last week of december, there were five emergency landings from flights out of florida. pilots have been accusing the airline of cutting corners on

allegiant says it is a safe airline and the pilots are upset over labor disputes. i'm jarrod holbrook, taking action for you. a new lane shift this week was supposed to reduce congestion but it has done the opposite. >> rodney is finding out what is being done to make your commute easier. rodney. >> reporter: well, jamison and wendy, to call this a nightmare for some drivers is an underestimate. we want to show you what it is like to be in the thick of the traffic. back-up as far as the bridge. in some cases the commute times have gone up 40 minutes to an hohour. it's not just during rush hour. we're actually seeing this all day long. drivers traveling i-275 north have been forced to pack plenty of patience this week. >> oh, yeah. dude.

i've got a sports car. i want to go fast. it is making me go totally slow. it sucks. >> reporter: let's just say traffic has been a bit of a problem. >> it usually takes 25 minutes. this morning it took me 50 minutes. >> reporter: lane shifts are creating a traffic nightmare. >> it's been a problem. i work over the bridge in st. pete. i get off work at 4:30. even before the hump, it stops. >> reporter: massive traffic backups starting on the south side of the howard franklin. it's an all-day problem. check out this video from air action 1. drivers trying to avoid 275 spill out on roads like kennedy boulevard. >> we did not anticipate quite the backups that we have had through this and how traffic would handle the mergers. obviously once we approximatity it into place, you can see there was a bit of an issue. >> reporter: the florida department of transportation says the shifts were needed to finish construction near dell mabry highway.

auction i will relane where traffic was feeding on and that has created a choke point. >> reporter: fdot says the contractor on the project has promised to speed up this phase. however, that will still be four to six weeks out. >> we never really meant to give any intention that this was going to be better at this point. it's just another phase of construction. >> reporter: meaning this will continue to be a bit of a headache for at least a few weeks longer. and as you can see, traffic here along i-275 north is pretty much stop and go. if you need to come this evening, pack your patience. there is something to look forward to at least when it comes to this project. the entire project should be completed by the summer, meaning a much smoother commute. drivers are hoping that is the case.

>> clean-up underway in venice. straight line winds blowing the roof of off of a shopping center. luckily no one was hurt. we seem to be in the clear for now. but more storms are coming our way this weekend. denis phillips has what you can expect. >> i think the timing will be similar. first thing on sunday morning. you mentioned the straight line winds in venice. those are head of a tornado. second times in six days in cape coral they had a tornado touchdown. it left a beautiful afternoon. right. we were mild today. temperatures in the mid to upper 70s. sunshine was abundant. now, with that rain that we had, there is enough moisture that we could see a little bit of fog tomorrow morning. it will be warm with temperatures in the 50s to low 60s. saturday looks great. sunday morning could get rather stormy and maybe talking severe weather and tornadoes again.

now to the uncertain future of the tampa bay rays. the team given permission to look for a new stadium location. clifton french is live tonight with the campaign to get them to move across the bay. cliff. >> reporter: yeah. the mayor said that it would be at least five years before you would see any new facility built. but at this land right now that is currently section 8 housing stands out as the best option. >> we intend to compete and compete hard. >> reporter: with his tampa bay rays mug placed front and center, he talked about his push to move the rays across the bay. >> my sense is, and this is purely my sense, major league baseball and the rays would be desirous of an urban environment. >> reporter: the mayor said the mill site probably isn't a good fit. the one that sticks out he

owned by one person right in between ebor and downtown tampa. the only problem. >> they're going to take my home. >> reporter: it's the home for hundreds living in section 8 housing. >> it's a lot of people out here that are elderly and some single mothers and where would they go. >> reporter: the mayor says folks would be given vouchers to move anywhere in the city. you will run into issue no matter where you choose to put a new facility. >> none of these deals are uncomplicated. >> reporter: the benefits, one owner, a central location and of course parking. >> if you could use the ebor garages and the downtown garages to supplement parking needs and not have to construct parking, the prices come down. the trolley runs right by it.

certainly that site at this point is probably the best location. >> reporter: and historic booker t washington school is right here. the mayor believes any plan -- >> all right. we have technical difficulties with clifton french. that was cliff reporting there. there is a newman in charge of the tampa bay buccaneers tonight. dirk koetter. this afternoon we first told you about this as breaking news at 6:00. sports director tom korun will have more on the new era for minutes. late this afternoon the florida supreme court issuing suspension of the three attorneys. they all be permanently disbarred. the final decision has not been made. but today's decision is a step in that direction.

>> they're saying we're going to suspend you now pending the outcome of the disbarment proceedings before us. and it's basically a signal you are going to be disbarred. >> the three were found guilty of setting up a dui trap for a rival attorney near the end of the trial that happened during the 2013 shock jock trial between bubba the love sponge and todd submit. the murder of a softball coach may have been solved. jenkins was arrested. he killed terry in august because of a long-standing grudge. deputies say more than five years ago they worked together at a packaging company and terry turned in jenkins for stealing from the union. he was the treasurer at the time. the big break came yesterday when a confidential source pointed to jenkins as the murderer. >> me personally, i would like the same thing done to him that he did to my husband. but i want -- i don't want him

i don't want him to do this to anybody else. >> during a search warrant, the sheriff says they found the same type of ammunition used to kill terry. jenkins is now being held without bond. the murder of a police officer sparking a war that raged on the streets of tampa for 40 years, 40 years ago. adam shows us how that one event helped change the city forever. adam. >> reporter: wendy, mob hits were a regular occurrence in tampa for decades as wise guys fought over gambling and drug rackets. everything changed when a hit man killed a former police detective working with the fbi. >> people getting blown up by bombs, getting their legs blown off. >> reporter: tampa used to be called little chicago for a reason. >> i knew some of the things that were going on had to end.

came when former police detective richard cloud was exececuted at his home by a mob hit n. what happened next took down a criminal empire. >> hear from those that stood up against the mob and lived to tell about it and how that chapter of history cleaned up law enforcement, the courts and city hall coming up tonight at 11:00. i'm adam walsh taking action for you. >> thank you, adam. still to come, potential justice at last. police just making an arrest in a deadly winter haven hit and run accident. the clues that are bringing the family justice a year later. a clerk takes on an armed robber. the excuse once the tables were turned. so whether it's from the main sail or monster jam or anywhere in between, a lot going on this weekend. we will have that forecast and let you know when the storms

>> a more joe break one family has been waiting for aa year to hear. a man arrested for a man that killed a man last february. >> marisela burgos was there as the man left her to die walked into jail. she joins us live with the latest. >> reporter: i asked him a series of questions. and john may did not answer any one of them. in fact he hasn't even talked to detectives yet. i can tell you that this case took a long time because detectives were waiting for forensics to come back, specifically paint chips found on the victim's clothing. they wanted to make sure those positively matched the suspect's car. john may junior of winter haven is charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving death. sheher family says the worst part is knowing that the suspect parked his car nearby,

walked to the scene, walked back to his car, checking the front of it, ask then leaving. >> i can't get into his head. i have no idea what he was thinking. it would have been very simple for him to stay there, to render aid. whether it would have helped or not, the fact that the family would have known that someone cared enough about their family member to at least be with her during her last time, i think it would have gone a long way. >> reporter: authorities also tell us that the suspect is accused of talking to his own family about 17 minutes after the hit and run and saying that he may have hit somebody and killed them. we have more information on that tonight at 11:00. we also spoke to the victim's son. hear from him, judge university how his family has dealt with this this entire time. reporting live, marisela burgos, abc action news. >> tonight we're hearing from a texas convenient store clerk who got into the fight of his life and came out on top. he was confronted in the middle

of the night. the whole thing caught on camera. take a look. the thief ordered him to fell a bag full of money, cigarettes and his own wallet and cell phone. the thief even hits him in the head to hurry him up. but that's when the clerk saw his opening. >> i was trying to give it to him. he tried to hit me. i grabbed his hand and pulled the gun into his chest. >> yeah. the two then wet led over the -- wrestled over the weapon. he asked for asthma saying that he had asthma. he walked the crook out of the store at gun point where he ran off. we're getting a new look tonight at the fight against isis. the u.s. led coalition is hitting isis where it hurts, in the pocket book. in this declassified video, you can see the bombing of an isis cash depot in iraq on monday. according to the coalition, the highlighted fluttering that you

see is a whole lot of cash. central command says they have hit several other cash storage sites in recent months. you can always start saving money on your hospital bills. the florida hospital association just launched a new website that let's you compare facilities by the quality and price of services. for example a birth at tampa hospital will cost about $30,000. but at bay front hill spring hill, the price tag, $43,000. we have a link to the mission care website posted on abcactionnews.com so you can make sure that you are not getting overcharged. and for months our i-team has been working to expose price gouging at bay area hospitals. as a result rick scott says he will work with lawmakers during this current session to try and get some safeguards in place. now the most accurate weather team in florida, abc action weather. >> we're heading into the weekend.

there's one day better than the other. >> absolutely. sunday, if you're lucky enough, you might sleep through the rain. this morning this was hard to sleep through with the thunder and the lightning and the wind. there's a look at the main sail as the time lapses. look at that. now it's absolutely beautiful across the area. the sun has set and clear skies have come in. they will be around for a while despite what we had this morning. a tornado touched down. the second time in six days in cape coral. we have the straight line winds around venice. and the rain started in our area with severe thunderstorm warnings. now everything has quieted down. it's going to be a pleasant evening with temperatures in the 60s. they will be ending up in the upper 50s to low 60s. tampa right now 69 and partly cloudy. clearwater and st. pete both clear and 68 degrees. there's that satellite picture. the timing right on cue.

across the southern part of our viewing area. now, sunday, maybe not so much the storms and possibly even one or two isolated spin of tornadoes could be closer to home. we will talk about that in a second. but one thing that you need to remember tomorrow morning is because we had a decent amount of rain today, there could be fog. in fact there will be fog tomorrow morning. not a widespread event but patchy dense fog burns off by 9:30, 10:00, leading to a partly sunny day. but it will be warm again. right back into the mid 70s. it will be dry. now, that's 8:00 tomorrow night. look how quickly thinks change. by 6:00 sunday morning, another strong area of thunderstorms. and because this low center while it all boils down to where the low sets up, i think it might be situated in such a location that we've got a little bit better chance of an isolated tornado. maybe not so much to the south,

but a little closer to our viewing area. we will be covering it all weekend long. bill will be here in the morning. i'll be updating on facebook through the weekend. we will see how it plays out. sunday morning, it will be ugly. regardless if we have a severe thunderstorm or not, it will rain heavily. there will be thunderstorms and it will be windy. then by 10:00, it's gone. by the afternoon, we're sunny. so literally you may be able to sleep right through it. and then the rest of the day looks good. heavy rain certainly a possibility across the area. especially across the metro. but as we said, clearing and turning cooler by the early part of next week. here is a look at the 7-day. beautiful on saturday after the fog in the morning. we go 75. sunday, first thing in the morning, it will be a washout. the first four hours it will be. by the afternoon, it turns out to be nice. then next week, look how cool. highs in the 50s and 60s.

40s. it's time for dirk koetter to go to work as the bucs new head coach. he met with the media today. he showed emotion and humility. he will try to be the same guy that we know him as. a guy that tells it like it is. it's a trait that put him at the top of the list of the gm. here is john sabol with more. >> reporter: it took the buccaneers a little more than a week to name their new head coach after firing lovie smith. they didn't have to go far to find him. >> one of the happiest days of my life and also one of the most humbling. long time. long time in the making. >> reporter: koetter began his coaching acareer at the high school level and moved on to the college ranks and became head coach at boise state and arizona state.

he spent the last nine years as an offensive coordinator in the nfl. but never a head coach in the nfl. >> i look forward to the challenge. one of the best things that you can do is surround yourself with a great staff and trust your gut. >> reporter: in one season koetter was responsible for turning the bucs offense to one of the worst to the best in team history. don't expect him to stop calling the plays. >> my favorite part of football is the strategy and the game management part, the play calling part. i would be foolish to give that up. >> reporter: we know what he can do with the offense. what about the defense. the first time head coach didn't waste any time announcing his defensive coordinator. >> i'm happy to announce that we have come to terms with mike smith. with his experience as a defensive coordinator, as a teacher and a head coach, i couldn't be happier. >> meanwhile the lightning are in action tonight.

they play host to pittsburgh. penguins and lightning are fighting for a place in the mr. ioffs. they would love to keep that three-game win streak going against a team they have had a hard time beating. >> every year is different. i can't predict how these are going to go. i don't look back and say we can't beat these guys. for me new year and new season, new players. but it is the pittsburgh penguins.