on the now tampa bay, things getting ugly on the campaign trail. what happened moments before things got physical. and should you vote now or see how things shape up on super tuesday? and we tracked down some leap year babies today. the most surprising thing about years. we have breaking news, a

site of a police shooting in raleigh, north carolina, shouting obscenities at officers. we are told by a woman that officers shot her son who was wanted on a warrant. she says he was running away and they couldn't catch him so they shot him. again, this is information coming from the scene and as soon as we have more you. florida. >> right now texas is the biggest prize but only one state today. that's where we sent todd walker today. it's getting pretty desperate

what are the candidates saying? >> donald trump looking more and more unstoppable. there's only a couple states he's not expected to take tomorrow. for now that's texas, ted cruz with a big win in the polls. he'll be here in houston holding what he calls a victory rally. >> reporter: a jump through houston today would give you no idea a battle was in bloom. texas is at least one presidential candidate's last stand. >> texas is make or break for the cruz campaign. he has to win here or the campaign has no future. >> reporter: he campaigned in dallas today and is banking on a win in his home state. >> republican leaders are running around like clickens

>> reporter: the republican establishment is trying to confront the reality that donald trump could in fact be the nominee. sources say mitchell mcconnell says the party will drop trump like a hot rock if he wins the nomination. >> the even greater fear is that there would be collateral damage and he could cost the republicans the senate and potentially the majority in the house. >> reporter: houston is aceful today but this is where the battle begins. >> just because the delegate count is going trump's way does not mean he would be the nominee.

question. with a vote that fractured, it could be a no-win situation for the republicans. we have breaking news out of raleigh, north carolina right now, a press conference with police after an officer- involved shooting. we're having some trouble with that audio. police are here on the scene of an officer-involved shooting in raleigh right now. the mother of the alleged victim says her son was chased by police because there was a warrant out for his arrest. we are trying to find out his condition right now. this picture, this is a rally happening outside where the young man was shot. he is apparently in his early 20s.

with audio now. >> the odds against it happening here is over 3,000 sheriff's offices in the united states, thousands of police departments and it's always somewhere else. also we had a resource officer in the cafeteria where the shooting took place minutes before the shooting took place. heard the shots fired and returned to the cafeteria. at that point the shooter, which is james hancock, ran out of the building and up on the hill in front of the school and appears that he got rid of his handgun at that point and kept on running. he was apprehended on top of the hill and arrested at that point. and he is in juvenile at this

that will be up to the court system. we are still working on where the weapon came from. it does appear that he had this for the first part of the morning in the school with him. do not know at this point and we cannot release at this point. the crime scene is a large crime scene and takes time to get the crime scene worked, photographed, detectives and sheriff's office response was great. naturally when this kind of thing happens, it takes all of us inside and outside of the district. i've had calls about schools not even in this county. >> that was the press conference about a shooting at an ohio high school by an alleged 14-year-old. nothing.

weight in the presidential race? no other primary day has as many delegates up for grabs at one time. >> we are talking more than a third for democrats, nearly half for republicans. super tuesday has been around since 1984, when southern states moved up their voting a day so they could have more influence picking the nominee. the goal here is to be sure the candidate the party supports is moving on after super tuesday, but that's no longer the case. the candidates can raise money without backing from the party leaders. super tuesday typically decides who will be nominated. it's been the deciding factor every year for the democrats

year for republicans except 2008 and 2012. florida not included in tomorrow's super tuesday. it could go a long way in ensuring nominations for two candidates. this is early voting underway in some locations in florida. >> reporter: we have seen a lot of people coming in here to vote. this is what the republican ballot looks like, 13 candidates still listed, even though all but five have suspended their campaign. some of the others could get votes as well.

on the ballot and all votes will be calculated. >> reporter: even though several candidates have suspended their campaigns, the supervisor of elections can't change the ballot and can't even tell you who's on the ballot? >> nobody's withdrawn, they've only suspended their campaign. go to the website, be sure the candidate you want to choose is still active. >> reporter: they can continue to fund raise and reenter the race if they want. some want less clutter on the ballot. >> i'm not against any of the others but they shouldn't be here because it's only going to water down the potential voters for a particular candidate that is still valid. >> reporter: if you voted with

late to change and will still be counted. >> clearly, bottom line, coming from no party. >> reporter: he switched independent to democrat. >> in part it's because i want to be sure clinton does not get in power. i'm trying to choose any way i can to be sure i neutralize her. >> it's probably the craziest election, i'm 69 years old and never missed a voting opportunity. it's certainly different. >> reporter: if a candidate did officially withdraw from the election, then officials would have to post a notice here to let everybody know that that was the case.

the best way to know if your candidate is still in the running, check the internet, do a little research and find that out before you cast your vote. erik waxler for the now tampa bay. >> we are helping make this political season as easy as possible for you. we have a comprehensive article with early voting counties in florida, times and locations. just head to abcactionnews.com. it will all be there. talk about a gorgeous day, take a look outside. blue skies and sunshine, looking over part of downtown tampa. it is beautiful out there, winds have been rather light today. that's leaving the waters pretty still. really just gorgeous. whatever you had in mind today, i don't think weather is going to get in your way.

mid- to upper 70s, 77 in temple terrace, off to the north in citrus county, temperatures also in the low to mid-70s. things were looking nice wherever you were in the area. and tonight you can eat on the patio and temperatures will be comfortable, everyone at 5:00 still in the low 70s. then we're starting to fall in the upper 60s by about 7:00. just a few clouds out there. i'll show you the next chance of rain and what the beach up. it's being called one of the most convincing computer scams yet, scammers stealing personal info, even your money.

we have been monitoring, we have heard a raleigh police officer shot and killed a man wanted on felony drug charges. the cops had a warrant out for his arrest and when they tried to pick him up, he ran. these are pictures we are getting from twitter from our abc affiliate in raleigh. people are gathering in the streets there, about 100 of them outside, many chanting obscenities at the officers. a woman at the scene who says it was her son that was shot says he is in his early 20s. we are still trying to get more information on this. the police department confirming they have shot and killed that man wanted on drug charges. ever seen something like this pop up on your computer?

there's suspicious activity on the computer. what you're seeing here is another scam, the latest and greatest, and no one is immune. doesn't matter if you have a mac or pc. if they get in, they can go through your whole computer and install a spyware. if you call the number, they charge you $200 to fix it. far eyes is an it security company in town. if you see this message, do not click it and do not download anything. >> on windows it's the windows update portal that shows you all the updates and you can

important. >> and pay close attention when you're downloading, don't just done. be sure you read what you're your computer. if you already clicked on antivirus software immediately. the irs hack last year is impacting at least seven times as many people. the irs now says hackers stole the tax forms and social security numbers of 724,000 people last may. the agency is saying it will notify you by mail if your information was hacked and they will offer free identity protection for a year. hackers used and online feature that allows people to check their tax history. the irs has since gotten rid of

right now at jefferson high in tampa, testing got started again there this morning. some of the families say the biggest problem of all is that the testing is here to stay. >> reporter: that's right. a lot of parents over here at jefferson high school saw their kids come in and start to take the language arts portion of the test today. you can see a passage to be sure they understand the key components of the story. still, not all parents want their students to take the fsa. >> you don't feel that a test should be used as a high stakes test to tell you whether or not a child is going on to the next grade, whether they're put in remediation reading or math. >> reporter: last year there

nearly every local school district had to suspend testing at some point. it was the first time using the new system and some saw delays logging on and others were kicked out halfway through the test. this year supervisors say they have beefed up the servers and many other bugs from last year have been fixed. >> every year going forward, the system becomes more streamlined, less problematic. that doesn't happen by accident. it happens by the state and the district working together. >> reporter: and the florida department of education told us if a lot of students end up opting out of this test, it could impact school funding. there are bonus dollars that help pay for extra teacher

if 95% of the kids in the school don't take the test, those dollars could be at risk. >> but what happens to the students if their parents opt them out? >> reporter: if they end upcoming to school, it's unclear if they're sitting there, able to read a book. a lot of the districts weren't able to comment on that. we know in pasco schools that if parents keep them home on the day of testing, that counts as an unexcused absence. some new signs around pinellas area beaches. there will be 78 signs warning people about dangers. it's so interesting about rip currents because i didn't know about them until i moved to florida. it's nearly impossible to escape. >> and when you're standing on

as you're looking at the waves, these arrows show you here where the waves start to break, and you have that flow going out. so it looks a little different. >> so there's no way to tell. >> right. the good thing to know, if you get caught in it, let it carry you out. the instinct is to swim back to shore but that gets you in more trouble. let it take you out then swim parallel to the coast. and we know beach weather is on the way. beautiful day to head to the beach today. we have more gorgeous beach weather ahead. so if you're planning on heading out, the weather is going to be beautiful. more on the forecast in a moment. you can see a few clouds out there today, under the influence of high pressure, which means no storms in sight.

least for one more day. wednesday we have a cold front that rolls through. we still have a little chance for highs in the low to mid-70s both days, and the water temperature is in the low 60s. don't forget the sun sauce if you're heading out there. and coming up, where you can see the beach boys, plus the forecast. coming up next on the now, how this calendar can help you plan the cheapest days to visit

is getting more expensive. disney just announced they are raising the price of the one- day passes. you can find the cheapest days to go by finding the online calendar. the lighter blue areas, those are the best days to buy. that's the best value. the 4th through the 10th, it's middle of the road, $105 plus tax. then when you get to this point, the peak times, that's $124 plus tax. disney says they're hoping this will help spread out when there's a crowd. but june, every day is peak time with the higher price. >> of course, the best time to go. right now, a ceremony at

astronaut scott kelly handed over command and talking about how they physically live in space and how they mentally adjust. this is all so they can try and use that information to go to mars in 20 years. kelly returns to earth tomorrow night. he's spent more consecutive days in space than any other american astronaut. still ahead, a bizarre new reason energy drinks are being banned at a place you would

right now lawmakers in connecticut are proposing a design. >> some activists do not like this idea. too much. >> reporter: disabilities slow down the walk to the car but the mind is always in motion. >> i try. >> reporter: so why is the handicapped logo so stagnant? lawmakers in some states want to change it to this. adding motion seems like a good idea on the surface. but a disability advocate we spoke with said she believes it's a waste of time and money. >> i don't think the sign is something to get emotional about. i don't think it's going to do anything and don't deserves a

certainly don't want to see tax dollars spent on it. >> reporter: poverty, housing important, they say. >> not everyone with a disability does move. some don't move physically but that doesn't mean their life has no meaning. >> reporter: supporters say changing the logo is a small step in the right direction. >> i would be neutral on that as far as changing what the sign says. >> if it passes in connecticut, signs would be phased out slowly. new york is already making the change, taking the word handicap off the logo. this time another cruise ship going back to port early after an outbreak of the

more severe weather. this is the same ship rocked by hurricane force winds off the east coast earlier this month. four passengers were hurt at the time and royal caribbean said it was going to change how it responds to severe weather moving forward. the ship should make it back to port in new jersey by wednesday. i've heard of college campus puss es banning a lot of things but energy drinks? there's been a long standing debate about the safety of the drinks but one vermont college says they want to curb high- risk sexual activity, claiming the energy drinks are linked to unhealthy behavior. the ban will take effect next week. as to what it has to do with sex activity, we are still

spring break season is underway. ashley, that means crowded beaches and baseball. >> baseball is back. this is how people were greeted at tampa international airport courtesy of the phillies and clearwater, since spring training starts there tomorrow. mascot will. out. >> the weather this week is looking fantastic. so hanging around here, if you have friends coming down, it's going to be gorgeous. we have gorgeous weather at the main sail beach inn, and you fabulous. skies are blue, no clouds building, so you don't have to worry about storms today or

temperatures right now in the low to mid-70s. if you're planning on heading out tonight, you want to go see the beach boys, they are at ruth eckert hall. you have to call touching and see if there are still tickets available, and you still have some time. we have temperatures in the mid- 60s and won't fall very quickly. everyone at 10:00, still at 61 degrees. we have another cold front on the way. i'll show you how far temperatures will fall behind the front, and what kind of rain we'll have, coming up in the next forecast. right now an army staff sergeant who worked at the pentagon is sitting in jail after his chilling confessions in court today, saying he not only killed a virginia police officer but also killed his own wife and shot two other officers. they are expected to be okay.

just hours into her first day at the department. the officers were responding to a domestic call when they were shot. 32-year-old ronald hamilton is being held without bond. more changes to how much you have to shell out to buy a stamp. and this man is not wearing any pants. >> what's going on over there? >> putting to rest the rumors that golf isn't exciting.

right now we are waiting for erin andrews to take the stand in her $75 million case. she is suing the hotel and michael barrett, already sentenced to two and a half years in prison after admitting to stalking andrews in three different cities, altering peepholes in hotel rooms and recording videos. marriott says the stalker, not the hotel, should be held responsible. this is the first time i've been able to report this. the price of a stamp is not going up, but it's going down in april.

years, going from 49 cents to 47 cents. congress made an agreement to raise it 3 cents to help with revenue and that ends this year. the prices will be coming down soon. it will soon be gone but forever preserved in the movies movies. it's the starting line of thunder road in the movie grease. most recently we saw it in fear the walking dead. the bridge over the l.a. river is coming down. it was built in 1932. city engineers say it was on the verge of crumbling so they are tearing it down.

its place but it won't be quite the same. it's not the protestors but the media and secret service getting into it at a rally for trump. what was happening right before that started. >> when i said it was my birthday, she said it was her birthday. >> what are the chances of a

right now we have live pictures of erin andrews on the stand right now in her $75 million civil case. she looks composed here. she's suing the man, the hotel and management after he posted a nude video of her online. >> got to go to florida football. then my senior year, i became

anchored the newscast at 6:00 and gave a 2 minute sportscast. i'm very proud of it because it was all student run. >> so did you realize that because you were tall and attractive, that there was a risk of people thinking any success you had was just because of tall and attractive? >> i don't think in college i really thought about that was about to enter a male-dominated industry. i was so excited about florida and sports, i didn't think about what was coming up next. >> we'll get to that. did you start early on in your

to work on this? >> i did. >> this is erin andrews on the stand there talking in her $75 million civil case, fielding questions, talking about some background, her days at the university of florida as a sports caster there. we'll keep watching the live feed and bring you any important updates as they happen. the press conference we saw at the top of the show just wrapping up in ohio. four students shot inside their cafeteria and officials just announced 14-year-old james hancock was the shooter. the victims were also 14 and 15 years old. it happened in madison, ohio, about two and a half hours northeast of columbus. two students were shot and two others hit by shrapnel but

the teen allegedly dropped the gun and was running off when he was caught by the cop. investigators say they may know why the 14-year-old did it but they're not releasing that information to the public. that video, we pulled up twitter after a photographer was reportedly slammed to the ground and choked by a secret service agent at a donald trump rally in virginia today. the washington examiner reports trump was being heckled by students and security began to escort them out. a time magazine photographer followed along the shoot it and things got heated. time responded saying they have contacted the secret service and the photographer expressed

trump is blaming a bad ear piece, saying he couldn't hear the question during an interview on sunday. this started after the kkk leader talked about supporting trump in a facebook post. trump has rejected any support from him. and hillary clinton getting a big endorsement, the congressional hispanic caucus pac announcing they will support her, saying her record on education, the economy and immigration makes her a better choice than bernie sanders. hillary clinton is in virginia tonight. and the u.s. state department is expected to release thousands of additional e- mails.

been under scrutiny since last year. clinton called on the state department to publicly release them and insisted none of the information she sent or at the time. since the candidates have their sights set on super tuesday, how many voters are watching just as closely? >> reporter: a jog through houston today would give you no idea a battle was in bloom. texas is at least one presidential candidate's last stand. >> texas is make or break for the cruz campaign. >> reporter: the senator is banking on a win in his home state to keep him in the race for the republican presidential nomination. >> republican leaders are running around like chickens with their heads cut off. >> reporter: the republican

confront the reality that donald trump could in fact be the nominee. sources say mitchell mcconnell vows the gop will drop trump like a hot rock if he wins the nomination, hinting that republicans are willing to throw the general election to keep the majority in congress. >> he could cost the republicans the senate and potentially their majority in the house and have effects across the country. >> reporter: houston is peaceful today but this is where the battle begins. right now we have a live shot of a beautiful outside right now. >> yes, we have very little variation over the next few days.

lunch in the park tomorrow. lakeland 73, sarasota 72, venice at 68, and inverness at 73. we have blue skies and sunshine all across the area, allowing temperatures to get close or above average for this time of year. clearwater at 74, st. pete just a little lower at 71. looking at the futurecast, nothing going on. it's the white tones that indicate cloud cover. not seeing much of that over the next 24 hours. we have a little green headed toward the coast. but on our side of the state, mild and dry. that is what will continue. the next front rolls through on wednesday but with it, not a lot of rain. we'll be lucky if we see a shower or two out of it. and temperatures will be a little lower. not a big chill behind this

tipping down then coming back up. but we have a second front that rolls through on friday, keeping temperatures close to average over the next couple days with only about a 10% chance of getting those showers. it will be a beautiful week with a little extra cloud cover that day. and we'll have the weekend forecast updates on action news at 5:00, next. now the american student being detained in korea, accused of trying to steal a propaganda banner from his hotel.

into taking it by the united states. >> i've made the worst mistake of my life. please, please. >> north korea says he requested to make the confession and was not coerced. it's not clear what will happen to him next. a former corrections today. 57-year-old jean palmer will spend six months in prison, the third person convicted of helping two inmates escape. many of you follow the

they had a baby girl and passed away last year from encephaly, where babies are born with parts of their brain missing. we got this photo today. they are having another baby and we could not be happier for them. the exact cause of encephaly is unknown. rodriguez was released from the bucs last year. he and his wife are in new jersey, opening a new restaurant. sending them lots of love today. what are you doing with your extra day today? leap day only comes around every four years.

it puts the calendars in alignment with the revolving of the sun. we'd lose 24 days after 100 years, meaning the months would shift and june would fall in the middle of winter. >> and big moments in history have happened on this day. the first warrants for the salem witch trials were issued this day 1692. >> and your chances of being born on leap day are about one in 1461. celebrities celebrating today include ja rule.

tournament won't come around again till 2018. >> and the women's national soccer team in town getting ready for matches on thursday against england at raymond james stadium. it was a circus in there. there are still tickets available to the game at ray j. >> you never know who you'll see at the gym in the mornings. another rare sighting in tampa the unique challenges it brings for people born on february 29th. >> no one gives you a handbook and says, on those other three years, celebrate on this day. >> reporter: when your birthday

horn's, you get used to celebrating only once in a while. >> the fourth year is special. the other years are kind of, here's your cake. >> reporter: there are only an estimated 226,000 americans born on february 29th. the chances are one in 1461. >> you're always curious, who is a fellow leap year baby. you run into them by chance, like the e-mail about this luncheon was just by chance, and the sender happened to be a leap year baby. >> reporter: tracy happens to be throwing a leap day inspired luncheon at her workplace. >> we have an extra day to be grateful for our clients. some of my friends say, i

it doesn't repopulate in the facebook type devices. >> future leap year babies unite. no, just have fun with it. don't let people stiff you out of your birthday presents. >> that's it for the now. we're back tomorrow at 4:00. abc action news starts now. now at 5:00, a statewide test plagued with errors. >> just a year later, the department of education says they are doing everything they can to make that year's florida standards assessment a success. >> reporter: some students at jefferson high school started taking the language arts

we printed out a version of a practice test. you can see it's an excerpt from king arthur. they have to prove they understand the concepts from the story. not all parents want their kids to take the test. >> last years with fsa testing, there was a lot of confusion, a test. >> reporter: he says this year test. >> it lacked credibility. >> reporter: but the department of education is trying to win back that trust. they say they have beefed up security and there's less of a chance students will be kicked out. they will get a delete warning and can see previous saved