it's all about new hampshire. some presidential candidates are hoping their successes at the iowa caucuses will be repeated. one frontrunner is afraid a bold move could have cost him votes already >> toyota recalls hundreds of thousands of vehicles. which models are affected after yet another airbag related issue. how to get the problem fixed at no cost. thank you for joining us on this wednesday morning. >> the morning commute, and weather. are we talking blue skies again? >> we'll have a little extra cloud cover throughout the day but it's still going to be really nice and really warm. in fact a great morning for a jog along bayshore. that guy is doing its right.

you won't need an extra layer, i don't think anyhow this morning. i tonight think the kids will -- don't think the kids will want one with temperatures already in the low 70s, upper 60s. as the coolest temperatures across the area. brandon at 68, bartow 68. same in lake wales. zephyrhills 69, crystal river though, you're at 70 now. as we move through the day we're going to be up to the mid to upper 70s by noon and topping out around 80 again today. we have the increased cloud cover but very little chance of rain. i'll show you where we may see a shower or two later this afternoon, coming up in the 7- day forecast. as far as the roads go this morning, i think the commuting weather is looking fantastic. we have dry roads and good visibility this morning. a change from yesterday. what are you seeing, janelle? you can actually see the road this morning compared to yesterday. i-4 looking great through the

we are continuing to follow this fatal crash in bradenton, u.s. 301 still closed in both directions, 15th street east is going to be your alternate. also we have construction that continues until 6:00 this morning. nebraska avenue closed now in both directions at fowler, your alternate, 275. let's open our cameras and see what that alternate looks like now. looking great. no crashes or breakdowns. you have a clear shot all the way in to downtown tampa. we can even check your drive times on 275. 14 minutes from the apex to i- 4, five minutes if you're starting off at busch to i-4 and if you're starting in the downtown area trying to get to the howard frankland, that drive is only going to take you six minutes if you're heading out the door now. 5:32. new concerns about the zika virus linked to birth defects

county. as the world health emergency. could we see locally summer? are saying. 99.9% of the zeke gentleman zika virus cases in the world mosquitos. fighting them is the key to keeping the virus from spreading rapidly throughout our area. later this morning the hillsborough county commissioners are going to meet to discuss ways to best protect the public. they have not outlined anything specific but we expect them to reiterate the same guidelines as the world health organization. pregnant women should not travel to central or south america, if you're outside or in marshy areas where mosquitos breed and live wear long sleeves and long pants, use bug spray. while the virus hasn't been transmitted locally they are going to likely address mosquito control and talk about stepping up spraying efforts. the big concern now of course

says it still could be another six to nine months before science can prove or disprove a confirmed connection between zika and those cases. the babies born in the affected areas with abnormally small heads. we'll be at the commissioner meeting later this morning. count on us to let you know how they plan to protect the public from zika. lindsay logue, abc action news. covering democracy 2016 -- presidential candidates are taking over new hampshire this morning. with volunteers and staff rushing to rallies and interviews, hoping to make a strong and good impression tuesday. meanwhile, the man missing from the stage is blaming his absence on his placement in the iowa caucuses. donald trump came in second monday night to ted cruz as the polling numbers rolled in. trump said he thinks his decision to skip the final gop debate before the caucuses may be why but this morning he's still making it clear he has no regrets.

would have done the exact same thing. the reason is, you know why? because i raised $6 million for the vets in one hour. so if i took a second place instead of a first place and could give the vets $6 million i'll do that all day long. >> trump avoided the latest debate because of a spat with one of the fox moderators, megyn kelly. the clinton e-mail investigation now involves other top white house officials. the state department says senator john kerry used a private e-mail account to send to clinton's personal server while she was secretary of state. officials say he sent a 2011 message to clinton that refers to developments between india, pakistan and afghanistan at the longer active. president obama's

year in office. that bill would have stripped federal funding from planned parenthood. yesterday's vote fell short of the 2/3 needed to override the veto. the gop says if a republican is elected president this year the new president will repeal the affordable care act when president obama leaves office. lawmakers in tallahassee are all set to take a full vote in the house on allowing lawmakers to carry guns on the chamber floor. part of a controversial proposal that would allow permit holders to carry concealed weapons on public university and college a campuses if the house passes the bill today it would move to the senate floor for approval. the measures is endorsed by the national rifle association. opponents though cite numerous safety concerns. search and rescue teams in hawaii looking to salvage what is left of two military helicopters that crashed last month. traces of dna were belonging to the marines killed. 12 of them took part in a

crashed off the island of oahu. it's not clear now if the choppers collided first. amazing photos from somalia, an explosion tore a hole in a plane in mid-air. an investigation underway to determine if a bomb caused the damage to the plane. conflicting reports from somali officials, initially they said tests came back positive for explosive residue but moments ago the civil aviation authority there announced no evidence so far of a criminal act. authorities found a body near mogadishu they fear was a passenger sucked out of the hole to their death. at least two others injured when the hole ripped open minutes after takeoff. he gained worldwide attention since we first shared the story on abc action news. andrew lumish cleans vet raps' grave sites by hand. we caught up with the man

>> we all have a mission, a purpose in our lives, the biggest gift anyone of us can have is to find it. i think i found it. >> andrew says the last three years he's cleaned 400 headstones of veterans and their family members. he's had requests from as far as australia, people wanting to know how he does it so they can do it in their cities. there was much more to my recent day spent with the good "cemetarian" than just catching up. our team had a big surprise for andrew. i know you're just absorbing this news. >> i can't speak. >> congratulations, congratulations. [ applause ] -- can i give you a hug? so happy for you. >> what made the good "cemetarian" speechless? i can't wait to share the full story with you, only on abc action news starting new tonight at 5:00 plus a number

don't miss it, starting at 5:00. we have some encouraging news, encouraging update, about a new port richey veteran dealing with a tragic loss. last month a car hit and killed ian kennedy's specially trained german shepherd, a key part of his therapy helping the army veteran deal with ptsd after two tours in afghanistan. we checked back in with kennedy and found out about a gofundme page set up to help pay for new specially trained dog. after our story aired viewers pitched in to -- the final donations needed to reach his goal. kennedy says the community's help has been overwhelming. >> this is the food and water bowl and everything. then -- when i went to bed the first night i went to say zina, bedtime and realized she's not here. >> he said because of the community's outpouring of support it makes him see the world is not bad at all. occur his time on the

ambush attack you just saw on video in 2009. he suffers from night terrors and ptsd but thanks to donations he should be getting a new therapy dog very soon. florida snake hunters looking for invasive burmese pythons, having better success this year compared to the hunt three years ago. so far 82 pythons have been removed during this 2016 competition, that is 14 more than during the entire 2013 python challenge. there is still plenty of time to find even more snakes though, that challenge continues through february 14th. today we are off to a gorgeous start, visibility is good, temperature are warm, we are dry, we're near 70 already this morning across all of tampa bay. from north to south. yes, that includes you in citrus county around crystal river already hit 70. if you're planning on a round of golf today, it's not

as far as rain and visibility, but the winds today will be a bit breezy, even some gusts around 20 miles per hour. so you'll have to consider that. otherwise it's looking fantastic for whatever you have in mind. just remember it stays cool and probably don't need that extra layer as we hit that high of 80. temperatures making a big turn around though. more on that and time out the next chance of rain coming up in florida's most accurate 7- day forecast. also still to come -- a little girl stands terrified at the top of this condo building as it burns down. look at this, how she managed the brave leap of faith that she had to take to stay alive. >> a plane ditching off hawaii, as this small plane goes splashing into the water. makes that emergency landing. why the pilot ended up here on

5:45. terrifying jump for her life. a 9-year-old girl leaps from a burning building into the arms of a police officer. >> she jumped from the third story balcony when the condo complex in new jersey caught fire. you can't see the girl, just the intense flames there. that little girl was home alone at the time that fire started. we're hearing it started in the kitchen of an apartment across the hall and then it quickly

when sofia dorshenko tried to blocked by smoke or flames so there was no other choice but to leap from the balcony. >> i didn't know what to do and they just listened -- i just jumped. because -- it was no chance. >> she was the most confident brave little kid i ever met. she put complete faith in us. her. nearly everything in the fire that destroyed five other condos and damaged several more. still they say they are grateful for each other and those first responders who risked their own lives to save others. also caught on camera -- a tourist visiting hawaii makes a perfect emergency landing on the water. the pilot reported he couldn't get his landing gear to go down on his twin engine cessna, spent two hours burning off fuel before officials gave him

he opted for the water which is actually where sea planes land. cessna, not a sea plan did end up sinking afterwards but is being salvaged. if you're headed out the door this morning, probably don't need an extra layer. the temperatures have already hit the 70s across much of the area, including citrus county. crystal river now at 70. inverness 70. zephyrhills at 69. tampa 72 degrees. above the average high for today. we're going to be topping out at 80 degrees. but this is the last day of the heat, you see the temperatures start coming down and staying in the 60s from friday on into early next week. so now let's talk about rain chances. tomorrow, likes like the too manying of the cold front -- the timing of the cold front works like this, good chance of rain through the afternoon and evening but in the first part of the day i think it will be hit or miss. the cooler air will come in

ends overnight on thursday. so friday looks fabulous from start-to-finish saturday and sunday, we have chances for rain now both days. the timing, the intensity and the temperatures are all a bunch of question marks. the models have been terribly inconsistent with this storm system that is going to move across the state. it's an area of low pressure, with a cold front attached to it, but it moves very quickly and has sped up quite a bit over the last 24 hours. so again expect some changes with this weekend forecast as we get a little bit closer, but the bottom line is we'll have rain that moves across and there is a chance at this point we could see strong-to-severe storms with it. so let's keep a very close eye on it. this is florida's most accurate 7-day forecast, find me on facebook and twitter. janelle, what is going on with the roads now? visibility starting to look better?

lot better but there's a fatal crash in bradenton. there. tons of flashing lights. killed. this happened at u.s. 301 and 63rd avenue east. u.s. 301 blocked now, both northbound and southbound while crews continue to investigate out there. i can tell you this is just if you're in the bradenton area and heading out the door now map. here's where the crash is, your alternates, take whitfield to 15th street east or even 33rd street, both of those as we zoom in, you can see they are in the green, so not seeing any backups there, it's still early as the morning commute pushes on, we might start to see more congestion on the alternates. i'll keep an eye on it and let you know how they are doing along with when 301 reopens. elsewhere we're in pretty good shape.

this is what it looks like on the tampa side of the howard frankland bridge. no crashes or breakdowns. traffic up to speed. how long is it going to take to you get across? 9 minutes across the causeway, 6 across the howard frankland. just 8 minutes to cross the gandy bridge. :5:50. consumer alert for toyota. faulty computer programming in your vehicle could cause roof- mounted airbags to inflate without a crash. it effects several models. >> they were made between 2003 to 2006. dealers will replace parts at no cost to owners. find the full list on our abc action news mobile app.

vulnerable to thieves. keyless entry. police near buffalo, new york say several reports of locked cars were all broken into with no sign of forced entry. crooks are taking special computer boards and connecting them to cell phones, that device then steals the codes from your wireless key fob. carmakers say they are aware of the problem and also working on a fix but in the meantime police say park in well lit areas, take your valuabilities with you to avoid anyone breaking into your car. some of the nation's airlines are making changes to try to make flights more accommodating for passengers. starting valentine's day. united will allow families with small kids to board airplanes first. united dropped that policy in 2012. on monday free snacks returned to the economy cabin on united flights. and american airlines is bringing back free snacks for passengers in coach along with more free in-flight entertainment options. coming up, the super bowl not just known for the game but it's epic halftime

ready to dazzle america this year as a star-studded

you see the camera shaking a little? granted the rivergate tower tampa camera is zoomed in quite a bit over harbor and davis islands and downtown tampa but we do have some breezy conditions out there this

gusts later today in the 20 mile-per-hour range. so other than the breeze, with that warm air coming in i think this is our last great beach day for a little while. 80 degrees as the high. grab it while you can. at clearwater beach a mix of sun and clouds, rain unhikely today and water temperature now up to 63 degrees. it will change by early tomorrow morning. more on that coming up in florida's most accurate 7-day forecast. 5:55. super bowl 50 is shaping up to a star studded event of we found out this morning that lady gaga is going to help kick off the big games. >> she will sing the national anthem before the big game. joined by actress marlie matlin and she may get another big announcement. >> she says she's going to be performing in david bowie's special tribute during the grammys february 15th. and set to sing at the oscars at the end of the month.

coming up -- we'll take you live to the scene of a deadly crash that could impact your morning commute at u.s. 301 and 63rd avenue. >> i'm staying on top of it not only where the crash happened but also the workarounds, the

ality 6:00 -- destructive tornadoes take aim at the deep south. we're tracking where the storms dealt the worst blow and the security concern they nearly caused. >> and in tampa bay three people shot, a suspect on the run. the motive we've uncovered that led to the night of violence. >> we're off to a very busy start on this wednesday morning, we're also tracking a traffic alert for drivers in

a deadly crash blocking a part of u.s. 301. >> blocked in both directions, this is just south of state road 70 right at 63rd avenue east. we can tell you at least one person was killed in that crash. still waiting to hear if there was anyone else involved and the condition of them. you can see these live pictures here, looks like that is the car there, that was the first close-up look i got of it. it looked pretty damaged there, corey dierdorff is on the scene, working to get the latest information and we will bring that to you as soon as he gets it. here's where the crash is, u.s. 301 blocked in both directions, your alternate, 15th street east or even 33rd street east. 15th street east looks wide open now so you may want to take that. 33rd getting a little congested there. elsewhere across the bay area, in pretty good shape. here's i-4 heading into the downtown tampa area. checking your drive times now on i-4, starting all the way

15 minutes from county line