you're looking at live pictures overhead. the passengers have been sitting in the terminal for the past two hours. we are on our way to the airport as we speak. and we will bring you an update as soon as we have more information. let's go back to the top story now. police say assistant fire chief in clearwater, ronald jim shine shop lifted a 5-hour energy drink worth $3. it may not be the first time. >> abc action news reporter eric waxler is live with what the fire chief is saying about it tonight. eric. >> reporter: that assistant chief's salary is $85,000 a year. we're told that he is on a planned vacation right now. but when he returns to this fire house, he could be out of a job all because of this tiny little bottle. ron jim shine was just honored with a public safety award from the rotary club. now he is facing charges for shoplifting from this 7-eleven down the street from the fire

>> it's embarrassing forker department. >> reporter: the big ticket item, a bottle of 5-hour energy. the grand total, $3.29. >> it shows that he walked out of the store with the item. >> reporter: police say the manager spotted the theft monday morning and confronted jimshine outside of the store. some stores offer free mountain drinks to officers but that's where it stops. he says that he didn't mean to steal it. >> he indicated the same thing that he said in the notice to appear, that it was an accident. >> reporter: chief white says he is unaware of similar charges against jimshine but that's not what we found. a man by the same name was cited in 2007 and again in 2010 for concealing or altering the price of merchandise less than $200. officials say all personnel do go through background checks and the chief said he wouldn't record. we're still waiting to find out through.

been an excellent employee for his position. and i have known him personally since 2005 or 2006 when he was first hire here. we had no indication that anything like this could happen. >> reporter: the chief says that once the police report is filed, he will determine whether or not he will fire jimshine. he says this is a fireable offense, stealing something even this small. this is not the first time that the clearwater fire department has faced scrutiny. back in 2014, then lieutenant howard resigned after admitting that he had sex with at least two women while he was on the job. one of the encounters was recorded which was e-mailed to city officials. he was accused of having sex with as many as eight women at the fire station where he worked. jamison. >> now at 5:00, an update to a story we brought you earlier this week.

sexual assault. he is now being charged as an adult. why the charges are being upgraded. >> reporter: a judge signed this order hours ago, understanding these charges to attempted sexual assault and kidnapping. now if convicted he could spend 60 years behind bars and have to register as a sex offender. we're told that he will be transported to the pinellas county jail tomorrow night -- tonight and tomorrow morning he will go in front of a judge. he attempted to sexually assault the bo boy in the woods. the boy faked an asthma attack and made it to a local business to call his mother. this is not the first time that he has been accused of sex- related crimes. in 2013, he allegedly assaulted an 8-year-old boy at a special needs school.

he was able to return to pinellas county schools because he was sent to diversion programs on those earlier charges. and technically he was never convicted. tonight, the school district says they cannot comment on the latest incident. at the pinellas county jail, abc action news. >> in polk county now, all thanks to a major donation today from the family of fallen officer crispin. he was just 25 years old when he was killed in the line of duty in 2011. his family says they could never repay the community for the outpouring of support that they have received since his death. last year his sister brenda joined the force to honor her brother's memory. >> it's definitely an honor to remember my brother. i feel this is a way that i can

>> today the family donated $10,000 towards the city's fallen hero memorial. construction will begin in a couple months. it is expected to cost $300,000 in total. now the most accurate weather team in florida, abc action weather. >> how are you doing, everybody. sunshine returns today. but those warm temperatures that we've seen the last several days, they're gone for a while. out goes the rain. that's a good thing. temperatures in the upper 50s across the northern counties. breezy most of the day as well. low 60s cross the rest -- across the rest of the viewing area. clouds while they were an issue first thing this morning along the coast, they have left the area, leading to clear skies right on through the overnight hours. with temperatures cooling off into the 40s. but there's 30s in the forecast over the next few days and we will tell you where coming up in a couple minutes. >> see you shortly, denis. new developments.

falsely reported her son missing yesterday is apologizing tonight. they bonded out of jail earlier this morning. the couple's car was stolen in clearwater yesterday. the two called 911 and said their son was in the back of the car when he was actually at a day care. our cameras were there when the two walked out of jail and apologized. >> i apologize to everybody. i apologize to everybody. i was this close to getting my children taken away from me. no car can amount to my kids ever. >> officials say the man stole the come's car and crashed it. he is facing numerous charges along with the couple. right now, donald trump firing back at mitt romney on twitter in a series of posts this morning. trump called romney, quote, you see here, one of the dumbest and worst candidates in the history of the republican politics is now pushing me on

he is also saying that he showed the picture of him with -- i think i lost the picture. it shows him with all of his tax returns sky high showing that that's what it's like to use his tax returns. the rant coming after romney called on all of the presidential candidates to release all of their tax information and he believes there's a bombshell in trump's tax history and suggested that trump is not as wealthy as he claims. trump has said his tax returns are massive and very complicated and would take some time to release. trump also tweeted this today, quote, i'm going to do what to do, win. republican rivals ted cruz and marco rubio have said their tax returns are not that interesting and they will be future. >> speaking of donald trump, his campaign has a new florida headquarters in tampa. the florida campaign will move

we got in touch with one of his advisors and it wasn't long before they called tampa home. they're excited that such a big name is coming to his small business. >> it's great for west tampa and tampa in general that they see it as a place to mix and mingle and have the campaign located here. >> two people will staff the 8 by 8 location. eventually 20 people will operate the phone bank there. days before super tuesday, the republican candidates face off in a debate in houston. we will be holding them accountable for what they say. tune in at 11:00 for our truth rating. wendy. >> volunteers in tampa spent the morning at homeless camps and transitional housing to get an accurate count. they want to develop a system that puts an end to homelessness in hillsborough county. the count is done differently outside of the city limits.

communities of brandon and such, this is the sort of suburban scene we expect. today we are here to get insight into the areas of indid i scent inhabitant -- indijent inhabitants. >> they're homeless but not homeless. >> reporter: for the past four years, jim mcneil has been trying to figure out o who needs homeless services and resourcesis. >> here in brandon, we don't have any kind of shelters. unless it's under extreme conditions. >> reporter: so instead of going looking for those with a known address, those with the heart to serve served them. >> we want our neighbors to come and enjoy a meal. >> reporter: more than just food, they provided clothing,

and vision testing today in an event they call eco cares. >> we served 40 homeless individuals. that's hard for some people to believe. they don't think brandon has a homeless population, but we do. >> reporter: dozens were added to the homeless total. a number that might not have shown up on the ledger in years past. it's important that the individuals are recognized because as people and neighbors, they do count. in seffner, bill logan, abc action news. >> we have seen a dramatic reduction in the homeless population in hillsborough county. back in 2005, it was more than 11,000. now just over 2,000. the data collected helps generate housing and support services for the homeless. jamison. >> back out to the breaking news at the clearwater airport.

action 1. a flight was aborted during takeoff because of some type of loud noise or explosion there. >> a passenger on the flight says he heard the loud bang and minute. the passengers have been past two hours. we will continue to follow this breaking story and bring you more information as soon as we get it. they're fighters and they fight from the second they're born. a birth defect that can be deadly but doesn't have to be. coming up what one doctor in newborns. plus this -- dead. coming up, the reason a family in arizona says it is important to rescue this dog from halfway around the world. download the new abc action news app for your phone or tablet. just search for it in your

>> hope for parents with babies born with a birth defect. the hospital in st. pete has a record of saving more lives >> ashley yore shares the

babies who are now true survivors. >> reporter: a doctor's visit that is all smiles in place of tears. >> i was asked to terminate my pregnancy. we were told that he wouldn't make it. >> reporter: but here he is. now 10 month old samuel was diagnosed as 13 weeks with a hole in his diaphragm. five days after he was born, samuel went into major surgery. >> took out his organs to put them back where they were supposed to go because his intestines and his stomach and spleen all shifted up into his cavity. >> reporter: and they only trusted this man to do it, dr. david kacs to specializes in the condition at the children's hospital. >> the obstetricians and perinatologists don't understand how good survival can be. we want to let people know. but a lot of moms when they're diagnosed with this condition are offered termination very early.

babies a year diagnosed in the united states, dr. kays says less than half survive. but in his hands, about 90% survive. >> we believe they all can survive. we don't give up on anybody and we give everybody their chance. >> reporter: he didn't give up on 9 month old jackson who had 95% of his diaphragm missing and 7 surgeries. >> you're there fighting with them. you know they're fighting too. >> reporter: both families say they're thankful for dr. kays. >> he gave us hope that our son would be okay. >> reporter: and their healthy baby boys. >> he is a miracle 1%. >> i wouldn't change him for anything. >> reporter: i'm ashley yore, abc action news. >> how is this for sheer determination. tonight this video of a golden retriever mix with four amputated paws is inspiring a family to rescue him from halfway around the world. >> he gets up on the stumps of her amputation and she walks

room with somewhat ease. >> so sad. the 2-year-old dog was tossed in the trash in south korea. he was raised for his meat. but when his paws became infected, the butcher decided the meat wouldn't be good so he threw the dog away. a family in arizona is adopting the dog. it's important to raise animals overseas. well, we certainly had a yesterday. >> yeah. >> a lot of wind though. >> chilly too. temperatures in the low 60s. a few folks weren't quite ready for those 90s. so they're enjoying the cooler air. you will see more of it over the next couple days. it will be breezy and cool. but it is going to be sunny like it is right now from apollo beach. it's sunny covering the entire area and it's going to stay that way for the foreseeable future right through the weekend. but the temperatures, we're going to start seeing 30s again

right now titan doppler radar is quiet with temperatures in the upper 50s to the lower 60s under clear skies. from tampa to clearwater, to st. pete, sunny skies right now. temperatures in the lower 60s. 61 in clearwater. 61 in st. pete. 62 in tampa. as we move on through the area, there's a look at high temperatures. well, again, early on we hit 52 degrees first thing this morning. so in about half an hour, we will get the high temperature. that will probably be about 10 degrees below normal. there's a look at the satellite picture. there you go. this morning, we did have clouds and even sprinkles along the coastal area. as the winds begin to slack in a little bit and veer in direction, we will see less moisture. that means more of a northerly flow over the next day. colder air. it doesn't have a chance to be mod rated by the relatively

right through thursday and for that matter into friday, you won't see much of anything in cloud cover. so thursday, as i said, beautiful. friday morning looking very good, with the exception of maybe a couple of clouds. by the afternoon, we get more of the northerly drain. that means wake-up time on saturday, skies will be clear. a few 30s in the northern counties. i don't think we see a freeze. but i think there's a possibility that we could see some frost in hernando, maybe eastern pasco, and citrus county on saturday morning. that's it. other than that, we have got a stellar weekend weather-wise with temperatures cool but a lot of sunshine. the forecast highs for friday, about 15 to 18 degrees below normal. low 60sin tampa. mid to upper 50s across our northern counties. this may very well be one of our last real blasts of cold air. probably one more looking at the long-range forecast.

don't see any until next wednesday or maybe into next thursday. there are the forecast lows on saturday morning. as i said, upper 30s. even as far south as eastern pasco county and polk. some of the areas embedded mid 30s with the possibility of some frost. other than that, we look great. for the boaters, still kind of breezy tomorrow. northwest winds at 15. a moderate chop on the bay. water temperature now up to 63. it's climbing although it will drop a couple degrees over the next few days. there's your tide and your sunrise and sunset. look at the most accurate 7-day forecast. it's a beautiful one. cool for the next several days. by sunday, we're back up to 70. back into the upper 70s and 80 by wednesday and then rain rushes. action news at 5:00 continues

>> a flight was aborted during takeoff because of some kind of boom or explosion on board. this is live pictures from action air 1 over the scene. we have a passenger on the flight on the phone with us who is also a military pilot. sir, can you tell us what you heard and what exactly happened? >> yes. you know, we know that the airline has had issues in the media. we were lured by the discount price. we thought we would roll the dice and surely nothing would happen on our flight. we decided to take the four kids and go to kansas city. and during the takeoff roll, i was looking out the window with my 4-year-old. his first flight that he remembers. he doesn't remember the other ones that he has flown on before.

the airplane and we were sitting behind the left wing and heard a large boom. i checked the plane and it was obviously an engine malfunction and it called some yaw, a little bit of a turn. and the pilots aborted the takeoff and brought it to a stop on the runway. we ended up staying on board and taxiing back to the gate. >> excuse me. i'm sorry. i whats going to how close were you to taking off, lifting off in the air when you heard that? how abrupt was the stop on the plane once the boom happened? >> it was -- it was a gentle deceleration. we were probably i would say

1 speed. i'm an editor for an aviation journal so i know a lot about these things. the procedure they followed was correct. malfunction happens. it was startling. >> i understand that you talked to the pilot of the flight. can you tell us what he said? >> he concurred that it was stall. >> yes. >> all right. thank you so much for your time. we very much appreciate it. he is a military pilot who was on the flight when it somehow malfunctioned. an engine malfunction. he heard that loud boom. the flight was aborted. they are on the ground safely but they have been in the terminal for two hours now. >> action news at 5:00 will

>> live from the station taking action for you, this is abc action news. >> new tonight, the highlands county school district under fire and under investigation for failing to report possible child abuse. i'm jamison uhler. >> and i'm laura harris. this investigation following stacie harris' arrest last week. she is accused of having sex with a 14-year-old student. as ryan raiche shows us, the school knew there was a problem. >> reporter: i just spoke out of the school board building where i was looking through the personnel file for stacie harris, accused of having sex with a 14-year-old student. for months the school board knew something was up. >> it never should have happened from the get-go. >> reporter: tonight parents fuming about what school officials knew and when they knew it. >> she never should have been near any kids. >> reporter: paperwork in the personnel file for stacie shows her arrest last week for sex with a 14-year-old student was