>> and i'm laura harris. denis phillips is here tracking weather. calls today. >> tornado warnings all over the place. immediate area. but there were tornadoes off to the north. in fact, serious tornadoes up in the panhandle. then we had our watches locally. interestingly enough, the watches expired at 10:00. then all of a sudden come noon, 12:30, warnings come up in sarasota, desoto and charlotte county. injuries. now the rains are just about not entirely. there are still a few showers across highlands county and desoto and that's about it. what you will notice tomorrow morning will be the temperatures. from 80 degrees yesterday. right now we're in the mid-60s up north and the mid-70s down south. everybody will be waking up to temperatures in the 40s and 50s as skies begin to clear.

showers over the next hour or two down south. otherwise partly cloudy skies. one of the nights over the next few nights, we will talk about the chance of a freeze. that's an interesting situation developing. we will take a closer look coming up in a couple minutes. >> well, to me i don't feel i'm flipping out. those are my children. that's a life. >> tonight frustration, especially with parents, boiling over after a spring hill school is forced to evacuate. it all started with the student's dream about his fifth grade class dying. >> now as sarah rosario found out, parents are outraged and want answers from the school board. >> reporter: parents are upset with how the threats were handled here at explorer k through 8. this robo call. >> we're calling to inform you that a potential threat to student's safety was reported to the team today. >> reporter: doesn't give enough details, leaving many with questions and concerns

>> she was like i can reassure you that it's safe. i said, ma'am, any parent with a brain in their head that listened to that message last night is not going to send their kids here without talking to somebody and finding out more information. >> reporter: parents with children at explorer k through 8 want answers after a call about a potential threat at school monday. >> when you ask questions, we can't talk about that right now. that's my child in there. >> reporter: it turns out that a 5th grade student told other students about his dream about students dying. to maying matters worse, the cleaning crew spotted an unknown person on monday night. deputies searched but couldn't find them. and parents were not told any of this. >> they're not saying that the kids had dreams on the phone calls we're getting. they're not saying someone broken in and they're doing a clean sweep. >> was there a threat, you know, with a bomb or something like that. time.

class tuesday took part in a safety drill with deputies also back out at the school again. the school let parents know that everything is okay. >> the campus is secure and there's no threat to the staff and students of explorer. >> reporter: the sheriff's office says it's protocol to investigate any suspicious incident regardless of how minor it may seem. parents just hope if there is a next time, they will get more details. >> to me, i don't feel like i'm flipping out. those are my children. that's a life. >> reporter: spring hill, sarah rosario, abc action news. >> new details tonight about a highlands county teacher accused of having sex with a 14- year-old student. she is 38-year-old stacie lynn hooks. she is now on suspension after a meeting this morning. she is suspended without pay through march 8th. the teacher is in jail on $625,000 bond. also tonight, concerned parents in san francisco

proposal to give condoms to middle schoolers. here is how it works, if you free condom. it would allow students to get a free condom after a nurse. >> we don't see the kind of sexualized images that our children are exposed to. these children are starting younger and younger every day. i believe giving them condoms is a preventive mazeture. >> recent surveys shows that 5% of middle schoolers are sexually active. turning now to manatee county where students are getting the skills that they need even if they are not college bound. sarah rosario shows us that many are getting job offers before they have even graduated. >> this is actually stable. >> reporter: for some taking apart an engine would feel like a job. not for 18-year-old viah.

i don't see it as work. >> reporter: he is spending the rest of his high school classroom hours learning the automotive trade at the technical trial. programs like marketing, machining, as well as automotive services are designed to give teen who's are not thriving in traditional high schools to get certified in a trade all while earning their diploma or ged. >> they are able to get the hands-on experience and get to work a lot sooner. they may not want to go directly to college right after high school. >> reporter: while students spend most of their day getting the vocational training, they then come here to learn their academics to work towards the diploma. graduating is important to the students, especially when job searching. >> the first thing they asked me was did i have a high school diploma. and that's pretty much anywhere they're going to ask you that.

school's career link has helped 20 students get a job. >> those are the type of things that you deal with at a shop. that's what is going to help me when i grow up and i graduate. >> reporter: now curtis is working in the automotive field the program. sarah rosario, abc action news. >> these programs are not just for students. it allows adults to get certified in everything from more. we have more information on abcactionnews.com. just click on this story. laura. >> controversy continues in highlands county tonight. avon park city leaders are trying to decide what to do with their firefighters. there's a possibility that city firefighters could american with highlands county. officials say there will not be any layoffs. according to highlandstoday.com, it all started last year when 11 firefighters were given layoff notices because the city let

the layoffs were later rescinded. a man is indicted by a grand jury today facing first degree murder charges. 19-year-old thad tate shot and deal. highlandstoday.com, tate planned to rob the home where he shot owen armstrong. next at 5:30, johnson & johnson is forced to pay out millions after a woman's death. her family claim that's baby powder may have made her sick. coming up, three things that you can do to decrease your risk of ovarian cancer. plus this. >> i was walking and out of nowhere i just got hit. a teen is hit by a train on his way to school. next at 5:30, the one thing that his family says saved his life. i was arrested again. face-to-face with some of those on the sex offender registry. we go along with deputies on

>> now to that major verdict in

awarded to a family of a woman who claims that it contribute today her development of ovarian cancer. >> doug: it's a stunning judgment. the jury blaming giant johnson & johnson for a 62-year-old missouri mom's ovarian cancer. >> johnson & johnson spent a lot of timekeeping this information from the public. this verdict allows other women to make informed choices about the products that they buy. >> reporter: in court documents, jackie fox said for over 35 years she used the company's shower to shower powder for her personal hygiene. the lawsuit linking it to her cancer. fox didn't live to claim her legal victory. she died last october after a two and a half year battle with the disease. her son stepped in as plaintiff. >> continuing with the trial was indeed, you know, painful. but at the end of the day, it was what she wanted.

abc news, johnson & johnson said the verdict goes against decades of sound science proving the safety as an ingredient in products. the company plans to appeal the verdict, while facing 1200 similar lawsuits around the country. deborah roberts, abc news, new york. >> now, the theory is that the pathway goes up into the uterus, into the fa lopian tubes and into the ovaries. we don't know if it's the talc or another chemical doing this. here is one of the things that you can do to reduce your risk. use birth control. those that used oral contraceptives for five years or more had a lower chance compared to those that never used oral contraceptives.

it may reduce the chance of developing ovarian cancer. here is another one for you. if your family history suggests that you or a close relative might have a syndrome linked with a high risk of ovarian cancer, you might want to consider genetic testing. you can find this on abcactionnews.com under story links. thank you, laura. counting down to the biggest night in hollywood. four days away from the academy awards. with the voting over, the job of determining who wins oscar gold on sunday is underway. for 82 years pricewaterhousecoopers has counted the ballots. they will again this year. all of the paper and online ballots are counted in an undisclosed location. security is tight and there's an alarm system, locks and no internet access. the small team counts all 24 categories by hand. >> to then consolidate

recounting that, we will stuff the envelope, seal it with the red. >> the winning envelopes and eye duplicate set are locked into a vault until sunday. right after the oscars, anchor serena will report live from tampa's biggest watch party. for a fourth year in a row, you get to pick her dress. the dress will then go to a girl in need afterwards. you can find the dress on our facebook page. serena introduces us to this year's deserving young lady. >> this year we are excited to announce it will go to a girl in need that goes to a charter school thanks to the vision of two community leaders. belcher comerrishes each day in the classroom -- cherishes each day in the classroom. education for granted. here.

is funded primarily through donations and comparable to a private school education, something that her mom could not afford. >> given she is a single parent, she works night shift and does hair and anything she can to provide for us. >> reporter: the school built in 2007. >> now that we've been established, we have a great track record of academic achievement. >> reporter: we also wanted to recognize the school's accomplishments. >> i was thrilled. yeah, i was very surprised that we were selected to be a recipient. >> reporter: the principal bennett tells me that the school earned five consecutive a grades. and even more prestigious, a blue ribbon from the department of education presented in d.c. >> it is an investment in the children. >> reporter: it is resinating with cheryl. >> you see where you come from and you see where you can go and you can't help but want to give back to someone else. >> reporter: that is why we are

a girl in need. >> prom is so big. everybody wants to go to prom. >> reporter: what dress will a deserving girl get to wear on the big night? it's all up to you. to vote, head to my facebook page. abc action news. >> i like that first one right there. you can watch the oscars live on abc action news station beginning at 7:00 on sunday, immediately followed by abc action news. serena will share the memorable moments live from the tampa theater. now the most accurate weather team in florida, abc action weather. >> we were talking about the oscars subpoena some of the movies we have seen, some we haven't. >> better not. i haven't seen any of them. okay. everybody knows now. >> there's a lot to catch up on. >> there are. we were talking about predictions which last year we made predictions. i think we will do it again this year.

>> the one shoe in this year, leonardo dicaprio. we will have that fun later on. if you are a weather geek, you had fun today. the rains really came down. a lot of folks picked up an inch to two inches of rain. even throw was buzz with tornado watches and warnings, there was nothing in our immediate viewing area. pensacola is another story. up north, this is also an issue. from the carolinas right on through virginia. this is pretty amazing because two weeks ago, they had two feet of snow. now we're talking about 60 degree weather and tornadoes across the nation's capital. straight on down right through the carolinas. closer to home, our rains just about over, with the exception of light rain across highlands county and desoto county. time today. then around lunchtime, all of a sudden it came up from the

that goes to show that florida is one of those places that it can change just like that. with temperatures right now anywhere from the low 60s up south. and that is our big change in the weather right on through the weekend. we are going to see what was about 10 degrees above normal to about ten degrees below normal starting tomorrow and right on into the weekend. 69 at the airport in tampa. the big change is the wind. those winds were coming in out of the south. southerly winds will bring us warmer air. when they turn around out of the north, this time of year, it will bring you cooler air. that is what is in store for the next couple of days. we were right for this time of year. the afternoon high was. 68 was the morning low. that's a full 12 degrees above normal. st. pete right now cloudy and 69. gusty winds. and sarasota also cloudy skies and 70 degrees.

to 26 miles per hour. all right. satellite picture. certainly was active first thing this morning. we had the heavy rains and the tornado watch which was canceled at around 10:00 in the morning. then the area got a little more vigorous down south. pretty much around englewood areas, towards port charlotte, north port in that immediate area. that's where the tornado warnings were reported. radar signatures and a storm spotter that actually did see a tornado around duet. luckily no reports of any damage. just out in open fields. there's a lot of that in desoto and sarasota county. checking out over the next few out of the northwest. tomorrow morning, that will bring in cooler air and a little bit of cloud cover along the coast. maybe even a sprinkle or two just because of that lake effect, if you will, clouds. it's really gulf effect clouds. but by thursday night, it's long gone. then we're setting up for another nice weekend.

instead of highs in the upper not 0s to low 80 -- 70s to low 60s. what is crazy about that is remember this was the same area that hit 81 just yesterday. and we're going to be talking windchills by tomorrow morning. friday morning, even colder. than this. hernando on saturday. i don't think we see a freeze. it will be close. but i think they probably stay just a little bit above the freezing mark. there is the national picture. i talked about the rough weather. there's the storm that spawned the tornadoes in the panhandle. it will be ushering the colder temperatures tonight and tomorrow. we're home free for the next week. starting off cold. low 60s. but then by sunday, we're near 70. next week, go figure, back up near 80 degrees by the middle of the week. thank you, denis. next at 5:30, two trains, two

different stories of survival. a semi goes along for a train ride ride and a boy walking to school never makes it to class. >> it was just dragging me. straight ahead, the one thing that he did after the

>> caught on camera, a truck drives right into the path of a train. take a look here. this police dash cam shows the january accident in northern minnesota after a routine police inspection, the truck driver heads back on to the road heading right into the train's path. the train dragged the truck a quarter mile. the truck driver only suffered a minor cut to his eye.

a virginia teen hit by a train as he walked to school. >> he is a 10th grader living to tell the story. even calling his dad from the scene. he decided he would take a shortcut to school. he was walking near the railroad tracks with headphones on when a train hit the 17-year- old. >> i was underneath it and it was just dragging me. i just got out and called my dad. >> i did not believe him. because i know when train hit people, they're supposed to -- you're gone. >> what a story. he walked away with cuts on both hands across his face and other minor injuries. he is home now and doing well. proof that miracles happen. here is wendy ryan is a 6:00. >> a frantic search that turned

that turned out to be a big lie. this rapidly changing story next. plus these top stories. you're seeing some regions more populated areas having more cases of the flu. those cases right here in the bay area. coming up at 6:00, the reason that the flu is hitting hard now and the one thing that you can do to protect yourself. he lost his legs. >> doing what i love and what i have to do to support my family. this clearwater barber has also lost something else critical to cutting hair but he

>> abc action news starts right now with breaking news. >> lies, panic and an intense search playing out on the streets of clearwater today. a little boy reported missing with a stolen car found safe and police say his mother made the whole story up. i'm jamison uhler. >> and i'm wendy ryan. thanks for joining us. that little boy walked safely in police headquarters moments ago. >> we want to get out to marisela burgos who is sorting out the details for us. >> reporter: i have an update from the police department within the next hour. that young boy and i believe his sister are going to be picked up by a relative. so we do know that they are

we do have some video of that boy earlier this afternoon. he was at day care this entire time. so here is what happened. detectives say they got a call from his mother and also the mother's boyfriend, claiming that their car had been stolen and that that child was in the back seat. but the police chief told us that was all made up, that was a lie. that child was never in that back seat. in fact, that child was always safe at the day care. now, they did track down that ford fusion luckily because device. 19. the car was going the wrong way. it ended up crashing. but what we know so far is that the chief of police says that this stems from a drug deal. he says when they got that call at 1:30, claiming that there was a child that was missing, they put all their resources out there.