right now the woman arrested for hitting and killing a tow truck driver is admitting it but said she did it because she was scared. it's a story that has so many of you upset. her history of duis had us saying, how could see legal lu drive? >> any breath test would have

whether or not she had been drinking, but even though this did not get to her in time for a breath test there were other testifies they could have used. >> reporter: allison huffman was arrested 12 hours after she hit a car. by the time of her arrest, it was too late to test her. for a decade this woman has run a alcohol testing center that uses more than a breath test. >> the alcohol testing is more intense than people know. if you want to go back in time for alcohol, it's the etg or

>> reporter: there is more tests than that but the problem is that they may not show blood alcohol content at the moment that the driver was behind the wheel. because of that, allison huffman will probably not be charged with drunk driving. state records show that allison huffman completed a substance abuse treatment course, which is why the state allowed her to be behind the wheel despite 3 dui arrests. right now severe weather is leaving a mess in northern and southern florida. we have two confirmed tornades, this is a storage facility, the whole roof is gone.

this is the beach. you see all of those beach chairs everywhere, look at the devastation. in northern florida there was a confirmed to naid too. this leveled this community right here. it's the samistic that went through mississippi and louisiana yesterday. we have a lot of thunderstorms here. we have the same system here. >> we were spared the worst of that system. we are seeing what is behind the system now which is beautiful weather. we have some winter weather bearing down in the north but as far as we are concerned things are looking much much better. lets look outside of our door. beautiful conditions out there

if you are heading out for tonight, not a cloud in sight across much of tampa bay. but if you are planning to travel into the north east you may find lingering delays but that will let up overnight. lets talk about tonight. the weather is beautiful now. if you are planning on doing any barbecuing, the beautiful weather will stay with you. we get into the low 60s by 7:00. we have cooler air moving in, i will have more own that coming up. but what i want you to focus on, the only concern overnight is a chance of fog. i will show you what those chances are coming up. >>

a bus is not easy. soon you could be pawing just one price using your phone. how would this work? >> reporter: let me show you, you are going to use an app similar to this one for the new york water way. the program launches early this summer. it starts out with day passes but that day pass will get you into all eight counties and that's going to be with 1 fare. >> i spoke with a woman who easier. >> i have to pay multiple fares. having one price would be very helpful.

system will be implemented within two careers. the representative said that should not raise the price of your bus fare. we have more on this coming up at five 30:00. thank you, huft this the making -- history in the making, commercial flies will be going between the united states and cuba. the flights that are going now require special clearances. but today's deal opens it up to all major airlines. this could start as early as the fall but you still would not be able to just go to cuba as a tourist.

the bottom line is is a lot easier to get in than it has been in the past. let me tell you about some new research coming in. for the first time more than half of americans see cuba in a favorable lievment in 1996, only 10% had a good opinion of cuba. new poll numbers show this positive opinion going way up. the relationship between the cuban and american government is playing a role in our the obama administration approved the first united states factory in cuba in 50

this has been in the works since 2014 when president obama and castro announced that they were going to restore diplomatic relations. our partners show us what happens when a man finds a check for $50,000 at a fedex office. >> reporter: a california man went to a fedex office and found a $50,000 check. he said he found the check under the copy man's lid. the owner is a man named frank pryor.

police station but it was closed. he called 911 but the dispatcher said come back in the morning. he will go back then. remember watch newsy on your

right now we want to bring you a live look at pope francis' visit to mexico. he spent the morning in mexico city urging priests and nuns to fight injustice. his next stop is at a stadium. thousands of people are already gathered to see him. right now pope francis is touring mexico, thousands of poem are waiting for his arrival.

city urging preefs and nuns to feut back and not surrender themselves to lt country dominated by drugs and drug view lens. >> right now the war of words is happening in the south carolina primary. but we are going to turn attention back to the democrats in nevada. what was supposed to be an easy victory for hillary clinton may not be the case prsm the candidates have been in nef day for days and the bashing -- nevada for days and the bar bs that they are trading are getting tougher and tougher.

minimum wage to a living wainl. it's not one issue. >> reporter: both candidates are campaigning like the caucus is tomorrow. the campaigns have both hit snarls in reaching potential voters, especially latinos in nevada. >> this is quite the endorsement we have been seeing for hillary clinton. hookers for hillary clinton. bunnies from the nevada bunny ranch are out and about showing their support for hillary clinton ahead of saturday's nevada caucus, they said her hard work on income inequality and her stance on domestic violence are a few reasons why

but it's going to take more than the bunnies to one. this is video of hillary clinton in harlem with reverend al, sharp ton. the work you do in is furtherance of economic justice and political participation. >> she has a double digit lead on bernie sanders in south carolina. in the meantime bernie sanders is in south carolina picking up endorsements from eric garner's daughter. this woman. south carolina is where the republicans vote first on saturday. the democrats vote there the

donald trump is holding a lead in south carolina as of now. right now jeb bush is saying his mom is coming back on the campaign trail tor him this week. his older brother hit the trail yesterday. >> >> overheard today, in the hillsboro county election office, this is the first time i have voted. we are getting new numbers in. january 1 to february 14th, 3,000 people switched their party in hillsborough county. democrats and republicans gain voters.

anomaly and they gives you an idea how close the presidential race can be. do not forget to get rowr registration voting forms by today if you want to vote in the florida primary. >> . >>. what a difference a day makes. it's been beautiful throughout the day. lets look outside, you can see the main sail beach, beautiful, lots of sunshine, the camera zooms in tight. look at the temperatures right now in hillsborough county, not bad.

73 at temple ter73 -- terrace. right now we are in the mid 60s in inverness. tonight we are going to continue to see the clear skies. as you know with clear skies we lose the blanket and the temperatures start to cool down. one other thing, we have a deck of clouds here by the coast line. see that gray that starts to build by 6:00. the clouds by the coast are no longer on the update. the most recent update shows that the chance for the fog to develop may be declining. we will look tomorrow morning and overnight tonight to sow if that comes together flt so maybe we will see fog developing overnight tonight or

at this point, clear skies and cooler temperatures. another bright and sunny day tomorrow. near zero chance of rain through to friday. the cooler air is starting to move in at eight to 12 miles per hour. but as that cooler air comes in i will show you how far the temperatures will fall coming up in my next forecast. your makeup and lunch and bank account are stealing money from you. the best way to save money coming up. >> the lightning are back in town for a game so you can expect the traffic to be thick. >> now lets take a quick live look at the pope in mexico.

>> hee at the now we love to save you money. today i came across this amazing article talking about

has nothing to do with a 401 k. first is packing your lunch. this is our producer, how many times do you eat out a week. >> three times. >> how much do you spend. $7 a day. so in a month she's spending $84 a month on lunch. so another tip is adding an automatic draft to your checking account. another idea is getting an app that gives you coupons, and ladies lets look at our makeup.

use on the air. i get it for $6 at the grocery store. the same color in the mall is $30. i posted this information on my facebook page, there is a link on our website, www.abcactionnews.com. we have three things to avoid to help financial matters. first watch out for retirement scams, they claim you will make as much money as you did when you were working. the other two on our website,

when you hear stories about people getting kicked off of planes, just for breast feeding, we bet you get upset. we have a different story from a woman on delta airlines flt they actually helped her. we want to know if you have had a similar experience. i posted the conversation on my facebook page. just search the now tampa bay to comment. >> >> here in tampa people are getting mad at beyonce. we have will tell you why

right now we want to take a live look at president obama who is what's happening up a to day summit in california. he's with leaders of the socials of south east asian nations they are talking about regional issues and hoping to improve relations. right now beyonce is receiving back lash. people are protesting her super bowl performance which some claim paid tribute to the black panthers. it was a peaceful protest and

her critics saying that art is self-expression. >> meanwhile a beyonce ticket in tampa does not come cheap. they climb into the thousands for vip tickets. this next one had us all saying, you have to be kidding me. right now 200,000 more cars added to the takata air bag recall. specifically saabs, year 2003 to 2011 and saab 9.5s. also they have saturns. all of the air bags are posted

making ends meet can be tough enough and now we are learning that some places are not taking food stamps any more. more. >> >> reporter: if it wasn't for his food stamp card dave said he would not be eating regularly. homeless for a year he shops at small stores and he does not get a healthy diet. >> under the current rules stores that accept the food card must stock three varieties of food in the four major groups. the new rules bump that up to

store owners would have to agree to have the items continuously available. it's the mom and pop businesses that could feel it the most. >> we have 1100 swear feet the retail space. >> reporter: stocking more fruit and milk is a commitment. brut they applied for approval to take the ebt card. >> by providing more services we attract more customers and we can be a one stop shop. >> committed to the community they wanted to help. they were surprised to learn how many people rely on aid from the government. >> i expected less people to need it.

>> a lot of us take things for granted. you need gas, you get out of the car and pump the gas, but it's not that easy for people with disabilities. there is a new florida law coming that will allow people to call for help if they need it pumping gas. now a florida congress man wants to take this nationwide. >> i was limited to one gas station, it was the one that had a garage attached to. now my work takes me around the whole tampa bay area. is safer.

county and then the whole state got onboard. this is only for gas stations with two or more people on duty. it's called the gas pump access act. you have to look at this brand new video. someone driving right into the storm in south florida. this was a tornado, one of two in florida that touched down today alone. you can see the storm clearly there. you see the wind whipping the heavy rain. we had some terrible weather in the bay area but nothing like this. >> no. dennis is working on getting that uploaded to his facebook page. there is some very interesting audio with it as well. if you see a tornado coming, you do not know how you are going to react.

weather to the south east of us, we are recovering from that. we have enjoyed a beautiful day behind that front. skies are relatively clear across the area. clearwater at 69, the winds coming out of the west at 15 miles per hour. overall a beautiful night. if you want to head out, looking for something to do tonight. the book of mormon is at ekard hall tonight. there some tickets available. they also have a lottery for 25- dollar seats before the show. wherever you are heading tonight. things look great. no rain this sight but the temperatures are going to be cooling down. we are at 60 degrees by 9:00.

there is going to be a warm front that kicks into gear. so are you happy about it. >> i will take it. >> i will show you when it's coming, coming up. >> where florida falls performing background checks on

it's an unfortunate reality in tampa bay, it feels like everyday there is a cause of a teacher doing something unappropriate. this teacher is now famous for her smiles in court and having sex with her students. somehow she slipped through the cracks and got another job in orange county. >> let me show you another map, it shows how well states perform background checks for teachers. it said florida does well at reporting teacher misconduct

online but it does not do well to other states. that is a problem for other teacher. >> experts said that the states should handle the checks themselves because it's more accurate. >> ak. rid yoa flier just revealed this mini teslas model. it's designed for children ages three to eight.

it goes 6 miles an hour. you can get it in customized colors. but it will set you back $500. check this out, i can 55,100-dollar bills and buy one of those. coming up, the 100-dollar bill could be a collectors item because it's helping the thieves steal more from you. >> coming up how to win tickets

there are a lot of questions and concerns surrounding the zika virus and it's making athletes wonder if going for the gold is worth it. olympic hopefuls are responding to the concern. >> reporter: when windows of

four years, jessica knows that setting the bar comes behalf the roar of the crowd. for her coach, the summer games in rio means a trip back home to brazil. but the biggest balancing act for this years athletes may have nothing to do with sport as the zika virus continues to move through north america. it's prompting athletes to think twice about going to the olympics. >> we have to help them decide if it's safe to go.

brazil will be in april for a qualifying event. >> this is not a world or state championship this is the olympic games. >> it worries you and you keep that in the back of your mind but at the same time, i have been training my whole life for this. >> reporter: for now it's all about landing that dismount long before the games land in rio. >> right now the us olympic committee is working with the national olympic committee and the world health organization to make the olympics safe. >> >> the good news, this could be the secret to stopping the virus.

is recommended that countries use genetically modified mosquitoes to wipe out the infected mosquitoes. people are worried that it's possible to know the effects of wiping out a whole population of insects. the chair of justice scalia is draped in black. his body will be in the supreme court building on friday. his funeral has been set for washington, dc on saturday. a philanthropist who helped pray to restore the washington

for the repairs on the lincoln monument. the memorial is the most visited tourist attraction on the national mall with 7 million visitors ayear. >> we had a nasty bout of weather overnight. but now it's beautiful in saint peat -- st. petersburg. >> what ever you had in mind to to today, i do not think that the weather got in anyone's way. this is from kevin. he talks beautiful pictures in st. petersburg. look at this sunrise. it's so beautiful, the calm

evening i was pointing out that batch of storms. i said i would tell you more about this. this is an area of low pressure and another front. this is going to follow the path of that last low but the front does not swing through our area. so this is not our storm. we do not have to worry about any messy weather from that. but if you are traveling to the north east you may have delays. but in our area, it's nearly perfect for days. beautiful weather, in fact on average this time of year we should be starting the day at 55 and ending the day at 73. the record for today is 83. we are not at record levels but close to average and even above average by the end of the week and heading into the weekend.

the morning temperatures are going to be in the low 50s and 40s for citrus and sumter counties. the humidity levels are reasonable. if i wondering, when are we going to see rain, dennis is timing out our next rain maker and he will have more on that coming up on action news at five. children exposed to led contamination in the water in

get good nutrition to make up for the tockins. >> stpt the american band eagles of death metal is performing in paris. the band was playing when gun men stormed a concert hall when terrorists killed many people. they said it will be a mix of emotions. >> this is not just a regular show for us. of course it's more than just a show but at the same time, it's just a show. show. >> he has also weighed in on gun control. he said until nobody has guns, everyone should have one. france has strict gun control laws. >> who is not loving these low gas prices.

like it, the oil companies. four oil producing countries are saying he they want to keep production at january levels, that could make oil prices creep up. lt prices hit 12 years lows, and it's a big concern because a third of the worlds oil companies are at risk of going bankrupt. >> we checked with aaa about what a freeze in production would mean for your prices. it would mean a gradual increase starting next week.

the united states stop printing $100 bills. he thinks so. >> reporter: for charley, $100 bills are like monopoly money. >> 78% of our bills circulating make up our money but now there is an attempt to take them out of circulation. >> they have a bar on the inside and a water mark on the oidz. they have two toned paper. all of that is for counterfeiting. >> the 100 would not be the crime. the $500 bill was cut out too. >> they said because of drug

>> we are not losing it, it's evolution. things change. >> for the now, i am ann, macnamara. eliminating the bills would be difficult. >> >> as the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat. now it might kill your i phone. there is a message that said, set the date to january 1. when you do it, is it tops your phone from working. >> sounds like a y 2 k type of thing. apple is working on a fix that

by the way, apple did fot exist before 1976.

financial advisor dennis brewster says with young workers with the kids to go to retirement, you might consider

that tracks the s&p 500, the biggest companies in the us. >> dennis track the performance of the us snp since late 1920's. and that was well over $600,000. pretty good for just $25 per week. >> before you load up on stocks as the sky is doing, ask what is my timeframe? if you are retiring soon you don't want to get stung by the ups and downs of the market. dennis says, target date retirement funds have become popular cut they automatically move your money into something less risky. the closer you get to retirement. >> but bottom line, according

at peace with your investment next. denver has a friend grappling with that right now. >> she's always looking at it, it's down, it's down, what do i do. just write it out. >> i'm laura harris, that is it for the now, tampa bay. >> you can see action news starting at five right now. >> new accusations tonight against a zephyrhills police officer and former high school football coach fired for not disciplining his players. tonight, questions are being raised by the department about his handling of evidence. >> and right now, the woman accused of hitting and killing a toe truck driver on howard frankland bridge bridge over the weekend

-- toe tow truck driver. tonight we are getting this first look at allison hoffman and her latest mug shot. >> we are just learning now that this video here, we shot just last night was of hoffman's confession to the highway patrol trooper. >> carrot joins us live with hoffman's court appearance this afternoon. we also spoke to the sister of the victim. >> it is certainly devastating for this family. the case struck in nerve with many of you because we are talking about a repeat dui offender who now sits in jail, accused of killing someone and then leaving the scene. that victim's family actually is offering compassion to the woman behind the wheel and him message for everyone out there on the road. >> she watched as the woman accused of killing her brother,