tv Action News at 6PM ABC February 9, 2016 6:00pm-6:30pm EST
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the shocking discovery in his past and the questions it is now raising. >> good evening. thanks for joining us. i'm wendy ryan. >> and i'm jamison uhler. this isn't the first time that police looked into accusations against robert celeste. jarrod holbrook joins us live from the school where he spent most of his teaching career. jarrod. >> reporter: that's right, jamison. it is here where he was once the victim's teacher. it has taken pinellas county school districts nearly two disciplinary file. you may be shocked what we found. parents here sure are. inside the former teacher's disciplinary file, the i-team investigation. in fact it's the third. in 2005, robert celeste was
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relationship with a student. police say the results were unfounded. there are also sexual misconduct allegations investigated by police in 2014. the student told police they weren't true. but they did state he had a reputation amongst students and was even nicknamed coast celeste- coach celeste-me. police say they have dna evidence that identifies celeste as the father of the baby. parents were never notified during the investigation or after the arrest. they are not happy about it. >> this is shocking to me. >> should parents have been notified. >> yes. >> why not notify a parent. >> i'm in shock because i have a granddaughter here. >> what is the hush-hush about it? you're here to protect the kids. >> reporter: school officials transferred celeste to a
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around children and banned him from after school activities. however we found documents showed that school officials allowed him to go to a football as a spectator when the investigation was underway. the school district declined our requests for an interview but say they can't tell us why they allowed him to go to a football game because it will violate privacy laws. they say in an e-mail at the time of his arrest he was no longer employed by pinellas county school. the i-team discovered that police got dna test results proving that celeste was the father of a student's baby on october 1st. but it took nearly two months for them to arrest him. >> and they want to make sure that they have all their ducks in a row. it's better to have a couple weeks delay and have all of the evidence that they need to take it to trial. >> wasn't dna evidence enough evidence.
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police believe there are no other victims involved. celeste is out on $25,000 bail. he pleaded not guilty to his charge. he is expected back in court in march. we're live in st. pete tonight. i'm investigator jarrod holbrook, taking action for you. right now we're tracking new developments in a deadly weekend shooting. police naming the man that you see on the moan tore as a person of interest. officers are not saying that he pulled the trigger but they want to talk to him. we found out a second person died as a result of the gunfire at club rain. six other people were hurt. florida now getting more ammunition in the fight against the zika virus. the cdc sending the state 950 antibody test kits. those will tell you if you've ever had the virus. so far 16 cases of zika have been confirmed right here in florida. all are travel related.
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abc action weather. >> how are you doing, everybody? if the wind kept you up last night, tonight won't be as bad. temperatures in the mid to upper 50s right now. it is still windy. these are gusts of 30 to 35 miles per hour. but last night it was gusting 40 to 45 miles per hour. we're headed in the right direction. high temperatures today only in the 60s. tomorrow, we may not even go that warm. under partly cloudy skies waking up to the 40s. then we're talking freeze and frost by thursday. we will let you know exactly where coming up in a couple minutes. >> thank you, denis. a warning about the terrorist threat facing our nation. the director of national intelligence revealing that isis is the preeminent terrorist threat in the world and they will attempt to attack the u.s. this year. isis will continue plotting against u.s. interest over seas and home grown attacks will
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home. >> the u.s. is a much harder target than europe, isil operations remain a critical factor in our threat assessments for 2016. >> clapper also says there are now more violent extremist groups, members and safe havens than any other time in history. and the strength of ice ice worldwide exceeds al-qaeda. a big decision in polk county will come this friday. school board members meeting to discuss the faith of superintendent leroy. the board metaphor the first time since the investigation into leroy's behavior became public. associate superintendent greg rivers accused her of harassment. investigators found the claims unsubstantiated. but the findings found a cozy relationship between the two. rivers says that leroy became hostile at work after he refused her advances. the board described it as childish and an embarrassment to the district.
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we don't know who that somebody is. but both of them are at fault for establishing a relationship that was not professional. >> three board members said today they have lost confidence in their leader. the superintendent avoided our questions but told the board that she is sorry and wants to move forward. a major change in the works tonight could have an impact on your finances. the florida house taking up a bill that would end lifetime alimony. this sets a formula that makes the length of payments more predictable. if passed as is, alimony would last from 25 to 75% of the marriage. a 10-year marriage would equal 2 and a half to 7 and a half years of alimony. >> out of the job market for a couple of decades, you're not earning social security, you're not saving any money for yourself.
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married when you're 20 and divorced when you're 36 and 37 you day. >> supporters believe it's more fair but opponents say spouses who sacrifice their career to stay at home could be in bad shape. we're waiting to find out if a new abortion law will be upheld in florida. the state court of appeals afternoon. a lower court banned the law from being enforced over the summer just one day before it was set to go into effect. turning now to democracy 2016. florida's primary date is growing closer. absentee voting in florida is not just for everyone. in fact more people vote by mail in pinellas county than any other county in florida. adam weiner explains that time is running out to get in on this easy way to vote. >> it comes directly to your home.
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the weather or the kids going to school or something coming up at work. the ballot is mailed to your home and you get to vote at your convenience on your time. >> reporter: over 200,000 primary election ballots were mailed out tuesday. it is the what i that most of the county has voted over the last couple of election cycles. >> we have a motorhome. we travel all over the united states. we're never really sure when we're going to be in town. having the mail-in ballot gives us the opportunity to travel and make sure that we're able to vote. >> reporter: anyone can vote absentee in florida. >> there is a primary election coming up. we're not really sure where we're going to be, whether we will be in town or not. and so the mail-in ballot makes it nice for us. >> reporter: the deputy supervise for elections thinks that many people are unaware of the absentee rules in florida
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advantage of them if new knew about them. we need to educate our voters on options. letting voters know they could cast it by mail with no excuse in florida. everybody has until february 16th to register to vote. until primary election date, march 14th, to get that absentee ballot in. in pinellas county, adam weiner, abc action news. new information on an i it was team investigation. a dispute over a lake carol mcmansion is now heading to court. the couple are suing their neighbors, county commissioners. they say it ruins their view. the county allowed the wall to be built because the home was considered a renovation and not new construction. but the complaint claims 90% of the home is new and it is more than three times the size of the house it replaced. some bay area business owners think they have come up
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concert and sporting events faster and cheaper. yacht star ship cruises is the latest company to launch a water taxi service. starting in two weeks they will pick up and drop people off along the river walk. this is a business booming on the hillsborough river. >> reporter: less time than it would take for you to take a cab we can get you from davis island to the history center. >> most days people probably won't take a water taxi. but the view does keep them coming back. still to come, he tossed an alligator through a drive- through window. and he just appeared in court. the three things that he is now being told not to do and the explanation that his parents are offering up tonight. plus -- >> that's all right now that we can think about. the only thing that matters is them. >> two young boys who will never see their parents again. the separate taking their lives
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>> there is an outpouring of support for two boys without their parent. >> sarah rosario tells us how the community is stepping in to help. >> reporter: 8-year-old zachary myers junior is surrounded by the love of his family as he plays slap jack. it's all he and his 1-year-old brother have now after their parents died unexpectedly. their mom passed from a heart condition four months ago and their father killed after crashing his motorcycle in pasco county. >> that crash happened here near the intersection of little road and 19. the highway patrol telling us that he was coming around this curve and was thrown from his bike after hitting this guardrail. he died the next day, leaving both of his boys without parents.
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memories of jennifer and zach together. high school sweethearts. >> whenever zach talked about her, his eyes lit up. >> reporter: now family and friends want to make sure that zach junior and zain have what they need. a series of fundraisers are paying for things that their parents can't. milestones like college, their first car, or even weddings. >> that's all right now that we can think about at this moment. and the only thing that matters is them. >> reporter: a lot for an 8- year-old to deal with. something that he can't put into words. >> drive boats. drive motorcycles. play with my friends. >> reporter: and his love for his little brother. >> on a scale of one to ten, it would probably be a thousand. memories of his parents stay with him and he says there's too many to talk about.
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i have an infinity of them. >> reporter: he also has a family ready to stand by him every step of the way. sarah rosario, abc action news. >> if you take a look at this go fund me page, they have raised $6,200 over the past four days for the boys. if you would like to donate or learn more on how to help, we have everything on abcactionnews.com. wendy. >> new twist tonight in a bizarre case in south florida. a man being order today stay out of wendy's restaurants after he tossed an alligator through a drive-through window. joshua james appearing in court for the first time today. besides the men from wendy's, the judge says he cannot come in contact or possess any animals or weapons. his parents told our station in west palm that james knew someone at the restaurant and this was a quote, prank gone wrong. james will have to undergo a mental health evaluation as part of his bond.
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video showing a missouri state trooper pulling a woman from a burning car. it shows the officer racing to the scene. he quickly gets out of his patrol car and rushes to the victim's vehicle. you can see him pull the woman to safety with the help of a good samaritan. a driver running a red light caused the crash. the suspect tried to get away but officers tracked him down and arrested him. now the most accurate weather team in florida, abc action weather. >> well, it was windy and cold out there. raw like we like to say, right. >> and what is a good thing to do on a windy day? fly a quite. check out this video. >> jamison, is that you. >> no. i'm not good at that. good for the surfing but bad for the rip tides. >> yeah. amazing fun. yeah, if you are visiting for us or looking for a little bit
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remember we have strong rip currents out there. and it will continue to do so as the winds continue out of the west for another 24 hours or so. still the skies are partly cloudy. the rains we had last night are gone. the winds came in overnight and boy could you hear them. the trees were blowing around. winds gusting close to 40, 45 miles per hour. right now we're in the upper 50s and we still have winds blowing at 30s. tropical storm force winds are only at 40 miles per hour. tropical storm. it would be 50 degrees warmer than it is right now. 59 in tampa and clearwater. west winds gusty. st. pete at 60 degrees. skies are partly cloudy. earlier today, we only hit 62. that's a full 10 degrees below normal. the record is 85.
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now we won't see 70 for another week. that crazy roller coaster temperature rise continues. right now as i said we're in the 50s. tomorrow morning we will be waking up to anywhere from the low to mid 40s across most of the area. low 50s along the beach. then we warm back up into the middle 50s. another cold day. the winds will slowly subside tomorrow. that sets us up for the possibility of a freeze on thursday morning. i think we will see temperatures around freezing in shy russ county. there will be frost thursday morning in citrus, hernando, eastern pasco, especially if the winds come. and i think they will. there's a slow warm-up thursday into friday. not 70 but we will be close to 70 by friday. before another front comes in. so the clouds continue to blow in from the gulf. i think we will see varying amounts of clouds and sunshine tomorrow morning. tonight skies remain cloudy. it will be chilly but the winds subside. more importantly the direction
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when they come off of the gulf they bring in clouds. when they come in from the north and northeast, with he clear out. by late tomorrow afternoon, that's what happens. we clear out. we stay clear thursday, thursday afternoon, and right into friday. next weather system rolls in early next week. so, again, while temperatures will be extraordinarily low for this time of the year, at least we get to see a lot of sunshine stick around right through valentine's day. there is the most accurate 7- day. breezy tomorrow but not windy. 57 the afternoon high. 62 on thursday. 69 on friday. just flirting with 70. then speak of flirting, valentine's day, mid 60s behind another front. then rain chances return monday and tuesday of next week. folks, we are not expecting the lightning to win every night. but the effort last night makes tonight's game against montreal more important.
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gaining ground in the playoff standings it's more about holding ground. the bolts will be without jason garrison. he is out with a lower body injury. we're not sure about tyler johnson's situation. was hurt late in the ottawa game when he got spun around and slid into the boards. this is garrison here. this is the one that concerns me. the bolts, let's face, it they need two points tonight period. >> now we've got, you know, montreal who is, you know, won a couple here and feeling good about themselves. and we're not. and that's all this league is. you're not always encouraged playing back to backs but i'm glad we get to jump right back at it. >> all right. panthers quarterback cam newton cleared out his locker today and cleared the air. newton offered no apologies for his post super bowl shul being and early exit from the podium.
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on get away day, he sure had plenty to say today. >> i am who i am. i know what i'm capable of. and i know where i'm going. and i don't have to conform to anybody else's, you know, wants for me to do. i'm not that guy. if i offended somebody, that's cool. but i know who i am and i'm not about to conform or bend for anybody's expectations. who are you to say that your way is right? that's what i don't understand. we have all of these people condemning and saying he should have done this, that and the third. what makes your way right? i mean, i've been on record to say i'm a sore loser. who likes to lose? you sh me a good loser and i'm going to show you a loser. >> well, obviously newton has read vince lombardi's books of famous quotes. that loser line has been around a long time and not used in a long time because there has
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