police right now and will share a description of the two men release it. the other home invasion happened about 9:30 at the avenue. three men forced their way in. they took a wallet, laptop and cell phone. the victim drove to a nearby incident. a little cooler out this morning. we are drier and temperatures in the 40s. a little farther north we're looking at the temperatures this morning with a good 10 to 15 degrees colder than yesterday. st. pete goes off a couple more degrees, and then we'll be going on our way up as the hour by hour forecast will show you by 9:00 62 and beginning at the afternoon.

just a few clouds out there. don't have to worry about today, but getting into tomorrow, we're tracking the next system that will be moving through here. the showers and thunderstorms the southeast. i'll let you know when that arrives tomorrow and how it may impact your morning commute tomorrow. right now, nothing's really on the roads. >> we have problems in downtown tampa. here's a live look at 275 right in downtown, so traffic's flowing nicely here on 275 just six minutes from here to the howard franklin. we have a crash reported at kennedy and florida avenue. it will affect northbound florida avenue, some road blocks there. you might want to try taking ashley instead. this would be northbound heading back towards 275. this looks like it could be there for some time. i'll keep an eye on it. elsewhere, across the bay area,

here's your drive time on 275 southbound. 14 minutes from the apex down to i-4. this morning, the city of tampa is moving forward with its plan to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. today, the city's holding its first public meeting to make it a civil violation for possessing up to 20 grams of pot. that would mean fines instead of jail time or a criminal record. the fines start at $70 and go up for repeat offenses. if passed, the city would join miami-dade and palm beach their future. a big cliff-hanger as ben carson seems to be slowing down out? >> he is not participating in tonight's debate in michigan. he sees no path forward to the nomination, but there has been no official announcement this he that he is out of the race.

republican primary or caucus. there is one face we'll see tonight, and of course that is donald trump. is he joining his rival as on stage despite the fact that fox has hosted the debate. he has steered clear of fox because megan kelly was one of the moderators. he says he's looking forward to taking part in the debate. mitt romney will hold a news conference and address the current state of the 2016 race. there's no word on what he's going to say at his utah event, but we know he is not expected to make an endorsement or put himself in the running. romney, of course, has been critical of donald trump. hillary clinton made her contest a concert. clinton held a fund-raiser at radio city music hall.

sanders says his campaign has been consistently dismissed by pundits who have been wrong since day one. clinton took home 490 delegates on super tuesday. sanders took him over 200 delegatesp. on wednesday, lakeland investigators don't think a deadly mobile home fire was set on purpose, but they are trying to find out what sparked that fire that killed shane and his girlfriend susan early yesterday morning. we're told a driver saw the flames from the road and called for help. by the time crews arrived, the fire consumed the entire home. we've learned drug lord el cat po guzman is ready to plead -- el capo guzman is ready to plead guilty to anything in the united states to get a shortened prison sentence.

conditions in the mexican prison he's already in. he's wanted with seven different attorneys officers. right now, this alabama police officer is charged with murder for the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man one week ago. iron smith shot 58-year-old greg gunn multiple times. authorities arrested officer smith yesterday. he posted $150,000 bail and authorities released him. the family says he was walking home after playing cards with friends when he was killed. authorities initially said gunn had a stick or a cane and the two men struggled. the texas department of public safety has formally fired the trooper who arrested a black woman who died in jail. the trooper can appeal that ruling. the announcement comes three months after he was charged with perjury. if convicted, he faces up to a

he is accused of lying about the confrontational arrest of sandra bland last july. she committed suicide in her cell three days later. it is the beginning of a schoolkids right now. grief counselors will be in an elementary school today to help the classmate of a 6-year-old killed herself. alialletha found a gun at her baby-sitter's and shot herself. one of burk's classmates said the teacher told the class about the tragic accident yesterday. >> i was crying. she was my friend. i was always playing with her in the park. >> police will now hold a gun safety class for parents and children after the tragic accident. the class will be held at the police department next wednesday.

royal caribbean cruise ship is back on dry land after their trip is cut short. the anthem of the seas docking in new jersey yesterday two days early. cruise line officials say they predicted storm. the same ship you might remember was caught in a violent storm last month. 116 passengers suffered symptoms of norovirus. norovirus. the uncovered document shows the state of michigan blocked the city of flint from switching to a safer water source to reconnect to detroit's system. the state-appointed emergency manager said no. flint switched water sources in 2014 in an attempt to save money but it was not properly treated and exposed an unknown number of people.

against tom brady returns to court today. the league suspended brady for four games over deflate gate but a judge tossed that out last september. a federal court of appeals will now decide whether that judge applied the law correctly as it relates to the league's collective bargaining agreement. if the court agrees with the original ruling, brady won't be suspended this fall. tonight, the us women's soccer team kicks off the inaugural "she believes" cup. the four-team tournament is the biggest in the world before the summer's olympics. they want to encourage girls to accomplish all of their goals and dreams. france and germany play at 5:00, and the u.s. women follow with a match against england. getting the security this youth team has been begging for.

the concession stand and sole a $5,000 ice machine. abc action news got involved and shared the story. since then, the county has put up new security lights and a parent donated a set of security cameras that are now mounted on the field. they are hoping with the new security, the focus can shift back to the kids while they are on the field in the fist place. >> every incident like this takes us off mission. >> organizers will host a corn hole tournament to raise money. eight american grills happens on april 3rd. temperatures in the mid- 50s today. we may need rain gear early tomorrow morning. i'll time out the next cold front moving through in a few minutes. still to come, you know you will see strawberries, stars on stage, games and animals, but one attraction you

are going to love. >> i think it startled the crap out of him. i think that was the last thing he expected. >> even with a gunpointed at this store clerk's face, she wasn't backing down. wait until you see the weapon

good thursday morning. thanks for waking up with us. it is 5:43. mostly cloudy skies right now

here's a look at downtown. i-275 moving in the foreground. traffic and weather details are coming up in a moment. you don't have to live in plant city to know about the strawberry center. >> the live shows and then cake. >> sarah rosario joins us live with more on what we can expect. good morning, sarah. >> reporter: good morning, deiah and dan. what isn't out there. we're here in front of the rides which is what a lot of people come out here for, also. as you mention, they come out for the big entertainment. a lot of country music artists and lots more. i want to introduce you right now to a man who's helped pup this all together. lots of work has gone in to this.

he is the president of the strawberry festival. how are you doing? >> i'm doing well. for the 11-day event we're getting ready to have, we've got over 2500 volunteers working hard for months to put all of this together. it's all about the strawberry, but it's about so much more. it's about the food and big named entertainment. we've got new foods this year. i think we have the red neck ham. we've got the -- we've got the red neck hamburger. we have the strawberry fritter which is new. and the amish frite. >> and the sweetheart. >> my wife tried it and said it's absolutely wonderful. >> reporter: let's talk about the strawberry. i will have you hold this for me, dan. this is what people are out here for. they want to see all of these

what else when we're talking about the strawberries, is there anything people need to know about them? >> we have 1200 acres here in hillsboro county. they are a big boon to our economy. this time of year they become very plentiful and sweet. so this is the best time to have the festival and come out and eat strawberries. >> reporter: thank you, dan. we'll be back in the next half hour with more from the strawberry festival. >> nothing little about the strawberriesp. >> they are huge and sweet, too. a little cool weather, ivan, helps sweeten them up. >> absolutely. i love the strawberries. they are one of my favorite fruits. let's talk about the forecast as we take you into this afternoon. we don't want rain, right? we'll have partly cloudy skies at plant city. the gates open for everybody 10:00 to 10:00.

temperature is in the mid-0s and low humidity. there has been a change heading into tomorrow. we have distances in the seven- day forecast that we'll focus on. we have a nice start to the day, much cooler than yesterday. we had one front come in and another is coming in tomorrow. so we'll see the hour by hour for us and show you what's going to be happening today today. temperatures holding in the 50s right about there you can lose the jacket. 62 and upper 60s to low 70s. friday, we do have the front and the timing will be in the morning. by the time you and you are talking tomorrow morning, we'll have rain showers. nothing to impact us significantly. it will clear out. in fact, full sunshine by midday. it is a quick-moving system. that will set us up for a fantastic week.

spring is coming. look at the temps heading into early next week. by the way, i do not see any significant drop in temperature so. have we turned the corner? perhaps we have. it won't be long before we start to do anything about the heat, but for now, fantastic stuff out there. a few showers tomorrow morning, but right now dry on the roads. >> we have construction from earlier in pinellas county. here's a live look at 275 right through downtown tampa. traffic's flowing nicely here up to speed in both directions just six minutes from here down to the howard frankland bridge. if you are heading to downtown tampa, pay attention. northbound florida avenue is closed. you have an overturned vehicle involved in this crash. it happened right up kennedy. kennedy seems to be slowing

right now, northbound florida avenue is blocked. no word on how long the road is going to be blocked but i will keep you posted and let you know as soon as it opens and at twitter on tampa bay traffic. we have a whole new set of drama developing. aaronerin andrews is suing the marriott and the man who secretly recorded her. a tweet from a restaurant employee claims a marriott executive was dining with friends and watching the nude video of andrews. he said if he was going to pay millions he would watch the video and show it to everyone. then he talked about andrews' body and says andrews doesn't deserve the money. he does admit that it happened and claims that his friends were watching the video and he

new video to show you this morning. a convince store clerk show nose hesitation taking down an armed robber. the suspect entered the store for a soft drink but then he whipped out a gun. she showed him who's boss. the woman instantly grabs the gun and starts hitting him in the head. she was watching him on security cameras and could tell by his body language that something wasn't right. when he pulled out the gun and demanded cash, sheaf knew she would fight him off. >> i said no, i can't. go home! if you want to shoot me, shoot me. >> fortunately the suspect is in custody. he is a 17-year-old charged with attempted armed robbery and possession of a firearm. coming up, while the zika virus may be new to us in the

the virus nearly a decade ago and is sharing zschau dangerous the effects can be. >> we've all eaten something that doesn't agree with us. this python swallowed a lunch he would regret. we'll show you what it was that

welcome back. clear skies today unlike yesterday with low humidity and colder temperatures. you may need a jacket. checking in, in the 40s right now, but we warm up into the mid-70s by your lunchtime. the front comes in tomorrow with a few showers. a british actress is now blaming the zika virus for a miscarriage and paralysis. she says she contracted zika in the dominican republic nine years ago. she lost her baby and was diagnosed with another syndrome. she is urging women not to travel to zika-infected areas. we can all relate. sometimes we get so hungry we feel like we can eat just about anything. for one giant snake in australia, satisfying its hunger pains landed it on the

the python had to have surgery after it ate a stuffed teddy bear. animal control noticed a big bull shall in the belly. the x-ray revealed the stuffed bear inside. so the vet decided to operate on the snake, something he'd never done before. the snake now has 15 stitches and monitored for two weeks before it is released. updating breaking news now at 4:30. astronaut scott kelly back in the u.s. following his 340 day stay in space. he was greeted with big hugs from his family. they hadn't seen him for more than a year. he was also greeted by jill biden, the vice president's wife. >> he got a congratulatory call from p.m. nasa studies how long-term flight in space affects the human body. still ahead, not exactly something you want to see swimming in your backyard.

to get this big alligator under control. >> up next, the republican debate is now just hours away. >> we'll show you why the person donald trump might be sparring with the most isn't even a presidential campaign. >> this home is one of two crime scenes after two separate home invasions overnight. crews talking to investigators and well find out if they've

we're keeping our eye on two home invasions and the search is on for two separate suspects. >> two men forced their way into this west yukon street house and tied up at least one person inside. we're told the person got away with small electronics and

last night, another group broke into the meridian park apartments. one suspect had a gun, stole a wallet, laptop computer and app, and a cell phone. the victim got help by driving to a wal-mart nearby. all of the suspects are still on the run. it is a busy start to thursday. we're keeping tabs on both morning. it is also a big day in plant city today. we're going to take you live right now to plant city. this is a look at the fairgrounds. today is opening day at the wildly popular florida strawberry festival. hours. first, janelle has good news for downtown drivers. >> reporter: yeah, we had a crash with northbound avenues completely blocked. i just got off the phone with the police department and they tell us the crash is all cleared. you are good to go right at florida avenue and kennedy.

i-4 looking good. u.s. 92 looking good, up to speed in both directions. let's check your drive times starting all the way back to county line road. it's taking 22 minutes to get to i-4. down here at the bottom, 7 minutes at 75 down to 275. when i got up, i didn't grab my jacket because yesterday i didn't need it, so today -- >> there is a breeze as well and that allows the temperatures to fall back. clear water is 60. look at tampa and 57. why a couple of degrees drop before we reach our morning low. it's very chilly. lunchtime, in fact, we're already in the mid-70s. we'll be in the mid-07s for the evening commute. no issues with fog and the rain. looking up river, we you are going to be seeing this river here impacting mississippi to alabama.