school. well, your kids at least. >> we are live across the bay area with team coverage today on some of the biggest changes administrators are making and hopefully a more successful school year. >> and more. >> but first janelle and ivan are keeping track of the roads and conditions as kids head to the bus stop. >> we're looking great, we have some construction around the veterans expressway. we'll talk about that but elsewhere on looking great. >> we just made it with the heavy rain last couple of days. it's much drier here so welcome back kids. 89 for the high temperature today. we're going to do that with dry conditions early on. not going to have to worry about rain this morning but afternoon of course we are in august so typical summer thunderstorms that will return, upper 80s now with mostly clear to partly cloudy skies. so we're in much better shape.

different story. look at titan doppler radar, what a difference, showers off- shore, they are not going to bother us but inland sections pretty dry. we'll continue to see clouds billowing up so by around 1:00 we'll have the potential for thunderstorms. despite the fact you won't need the rain gear early this morning always pack it because by the afternoon we'll have downpours setting up. that will be the case through the next few days. so roads pretty dry. it's a little ponding out there. areas that really got hit but for the most part i think we're in good shape. >> for the most part we dierdorff is out at the bus depot in pinellas county. this is at largo. you can see the bus drivers getting ready for their first official day and no problems out there on the roads in the largo area. the buses should be pulling out shortly. just keep in mind make sure if you're driving around today give yourself extra time to make way for the buses. a lot of extra cars on the road. and make sure you pay attention to the stop signs when the bus drivers stop.

looking great. i-275 right through downtown tampa, no crashes or breakdowns, just five minutes to get from here to the howard frankland bridge. i-4 also looking great. no issues there heading in or out of tampa. a couple construction projects to tell you about. around the veterans expressway, ehrlich and hillsborough closed underneath the veterans expressway. that should be open by 5:30. back to you. 5:02. it's the first day of school for hundreds of thousands of kids across the bay area and many of them are up now getting ready to head out. >> before you go we of the bay. starting in hillsborough county where school leaders are hoping to turn around a number of failing schools. >> abc action news reporter ryan smith joins us live from booker t washington where he spoke with the principal about changes in place for this new school year. pretty exciting. good morning, ryan. >> reporter: that's right. good morning. certainly a lot to look forward to later today on this first day of school at booker t washington elementary school in

walk through the front doors for the first day. and staff members here say they are prepared for a turnaround year. that comes with some fresh leadership. this marks principal jaime girding's first year at the school. she's been in the district many years now and says the biggest barrier is fighting the misconception of a failing school. booker t washington does carry an f-grade and known by the district as "high needs" but leaders say today is all about a fresh start focused on first impression was their students. >> if they don't feel our excitement, if they don't feel our passion, if we don't create a culture where they are excited to be here then we can't teach them the reading, the writing, the math and science so. they have to feel excited anand warm and welcomed. >> reporter: breakfast does start here at 7:00 this morning. so that's when the front doors

school. coming up in a half-hour, how teachers and staff members at booker t washington are working to improve student interest with a varying degree of activities, that go far beyond the classroom. again that is coming up at 5:30. for now live in tampa, ryan smith, abc action news. across the bay in pinellas county hundreds of students returning to class in a brand new building. largo high school completely revamped. abc action news reporter a lot of things for the kids to be excited about. a brand new building, come on. >> reporter: the building is absolutely beautiful. so this used to be one of the oldest and most outdated schools in pinellas county. no more. this is going to be the very first thing that these kids see

administrators open the campus to students and alumni for the first time this weekend. many of the kids you see here spent all of last year pretty cramped in temporary portables waiting for construction to be finished. gone are all the broken old air conditioners and the old pipes now students say they are excited about the changes. >> we have this new campus. it's like eye-opening basically. >> very excited. this is like a college campus almost. >> i was told -- with folks in the local government this is going to be the most important construction of the next 50 years. >> reporter: the new school costs $63 million and took a total of three years to plan and build. back out here live, kids will be arriving in just a couple of short hours. coming up in the next half- hour, we're going to tell you about a brand new program just launching this year at largo high school that will get kids who graduate a four-year

out of school. reporting live in largo, lauren rozyla, abc action news. abc action news has been helping you get ready for this day for almost two weeks now. if your kids are having a hard time waking up and you need tips or still need to buy school supplies or bus routes, need information about that? we've got coverage on-line now, go to abcactionnews.com/backtoschool. an wrong and a woman is shot with real gunfire. this happened last night almost two hours south of tampa in punta gorda. the police chief says the woman was taking part in the pretend scenario when she was mistakenly hit. she's one of 35 people in the simulation. doctors pronounced her dead at the hospital. so far this morning the police department is not naming the officer who shot her. now the investigation continues. gunfire marring a protest in ferguson, missouri. overnight a few dozen

second anniversary of michael brown's death. a car down a busy struck struck a protester what walked in the middle of the road. a witnesses say several protesters pulled out guns and began to chase and fire at the female driver. officers say the woman is now cooperating and believe didn't see the protester in the street and didn't mean to hit him. it's not known how bad the injuries are, police don't believe anyone in the area was hit in total strangers are keeping the memory of caleb kale -- caylee anthony alive. yesterday would have been her 11th birthday. a couple from sarasota showed up at the spot where her body was found in december 2008. they released balloons and said prayers. the couple says they want to remember her as an innocent

>> every chance we've had to remind people this needs to be something that people need to remember. >> caylee's mother, casey anthony was acquitted on all charges in connection to her daughter's death. no one else has ever been charged in the case. the jail inmate who police say attacked the accused charleston church shooter is back on the streets a day after the attack. jail officials say 26-year-old dwayne stafford attacked dylann roof in a shower last thursday in jail. the next day stafford was released still not clear now who paid his bond. roof has some bruises and he's refused to press charges. roof is accused of killing nine black church members during bible study last year. who is this man? this could bust some rings around south tampa. sheriffs think this man is working with two others and could be linked to more than 20 break-ins in the area since march.

burglar broke in through a window in the back of the house, took jewelry and cash. if you think you know who this guy is call crime stoppers, you could get a $3,000 with reward. his photo is up on our facebook page so you can help share it and spread the word. a rare sight stopped traffic literally on the courtney campbell causeway. a lot of splashing in the water just yards off-shore drew dozens out of their cars to catch a glimpse of what is called a manatee mating ball. people stopped for good reason. it's a rare sight. you can only to five years. for a female manatee, deciding between suiters can be difficult. there are seven males competing for a single female's attention. >> pretty cool experience to be able to see that. i did hear it's a once in a lifetime for most people. they don't get the opportunity to see it. pretty neat. pretty cool for the little man to see it as well. >> the male strategy, push the female into shallow water to mate with her. this time yesterday we were talking about heavy downpours and of course the flood watches

this morning, two or three drops falling on you across indian rocks beach, that could be about it. very isolated stuff. by the afternoon not the case. back into typical summer thunderstorms. we'll talk more about the temperatures in the extended forecast coming up next. as ivan tracks weather we're learning the one thing that many people didn't do during last year's major flooding that is now leaving them vulnerable. how to be before water seeps into your home this time. >> your kids about to be in school for several hours a day and school leaders know they have an added responsibility this year. how they plan to be sure your kids are protected from the zika virus.

a drama teacher. a great woman. loved her. very inspiring. learned a lot from her. >> i wouldn't be sitting here today without my tv production teacher in high school. dennis schaffer.

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washington elementary school in hillsborough county. your kids may be head there had this morning. today is the first day of school for kids in several counties. including hillsborough county. >> you can find calendars, resources, even school supply lists on abcactionnews.com/backtoschool. if you're still buying school supplies maybe buy a few extra for children in need. >> drop off donated school supplies at any hudson's furniture store. you have to friday to donate and hudson's will plach what you drop off. match. we're in the has been a rainy week. a lot of you are checking your insurance policies now and trying to see if you have flood coverage. >> we know what can happen when it adds up in pasco county. the director of emergency services say most of the people that filed claims last year didn't have flood coverage. >> across the country only 14% of people have flood insurance according to the insurance information institute. experts share why it might be so uncommon despite what a life saver it can be. >> the fact is, there's not a

to get flood insurance. they think it's optional. but in florida it's a really good idea to seriously look at getting flood insurance. >> there's an easy way to find out how at risk your home is at floodsmart.gov. the site will also show how much you will pay for flood insurance. ivan, that is of course an important thing to find out. >> hugely important. in fact the worst way to find out, there's a stream nearby you didn't know about, a stream coming into we always talk about that. of course we can't afford it, always a good idea regardless of where you are. here is one of the wetter states this time of year. we're looking at just a couple of sprinkles towards southern pinellas county. that would be about it. compared to yesterday and the day before especially. nothing doing here. the area of low pressure has moved far enough away. we're in much better shape. so for the first day of school i think we're looking mostly dry and then afternoon thunderstorms. with temperatures around 89. of course we've been in the low

of all the rain. we're getting rid of that and getting back to more typical august pattern. 78 in tampa now. 76 st. pete. lakeland 73. and lots of lower 70s in fact. so here's the low continuing to move away. very slowly, parked itself over the northern gulf over the weekend. but now it moves away the steady heavy rainfall is done and we'll transition into a typical afternoon thunderstorms which means sunshine and through the early part of the day and then the clouds bubble up and as futurecast shows, around 3:00. keep in mind morning drive, but by the afternoon picking up the kids and stepping outside we'll see showers and storms and they will continue to push to the east. it will meet the east coast sea breeze and then the heaviest thunderstorm activity will be across the spine of the peninsula so keep it in mind. look at the temperatures compared to yesterday, upper 80s to around 91 which is more typical for this time of year. in fact the average high is 90. boating looking good.

school. some counties are not yet. 50% to 60% coverage as far as the average thunderstorms. the weekend looks pretty good, 92 both weekend days and just scattered thunderstorms, which you can plan your day around. >> we got lucky the first day of school didn't fall yesterday or the day before. right now no big problems on the roadways but just remember you might want to leave a little early, school buses, a lot of attraction drivers on the roads -- extra drivers give yourself extra time if the morning commute takes you by a school because a lot of parents are going to be lining up to drop off the kids. this is 275 in pinellas county at gandy, up to speed here, no major issues throughout pinellas county. all the major roadways are open and running smoothly this morning. the howard frankland bridge also looking great. look how wide open the lanes are. i just checked and six minutes to get across the howard frankland, from pinellas county into hillsborough county. just watch for some lingering

veterans expressway, we have hillsborough and ehrlich closed right underneath the veterans so detour signs are posted. 5:19. with hundreds of thousands of kids heading back to school today teachers and school nurses are doing everything they can to protect our kids from the zika virus. right now hillsborough county schools are doing their best to get rid of standing water. a new directive from the florida governor rick scott has school nurses being trained by the health department to recognize zika symptoms like fever or rash. many school districts including hillsborough county are already preparing to send materials home explaining the dangers of zika to families. today senator bill nelson will be in west palm beach to meet with local leaders to talk about the zika virus. while there are four new cases in florida. what hasn't changed is where health officials think the infections are actually coming from. >> the florida department of health says that all 21 people who contracked the virus locally so far were in a one

district of miami. hillary clinton was in miami yesterday. the democratic presidential nominee called on congress to return to washington immediately to pass legislation to provide emergency funding. the running mate, virginia senator tim kaine already said he had returned to washington for a vote on a zika bill. as far as the republican nominee donald trump, in the past he said enit comes to emergency done -- when it comes to emergency funding the decision should be left to governor rick scott. two babies die in the nicu. now investigators are explaining what they uncovered at that hospital that could to blame. a 911 dispatcher goes above and beyond. the help she gave an elderly woman when emergency responders didn't. >> first reviews are in for samsung's soon-to-be released smartphone. here's abc's kendis gibson and diane macedo. in "tech bytes" -- high praise for samsung's latest smartphone. >> a new report says the galaxy note 7 has "the most innovative and high performance smartphone

it goes on sale august 19th. facebook is blocking ad blockers. starting today software used to bypass annoying ads on facebook will no longer work. >> facebook says it's attempting to offer better ads and rolling out new preferences to give you more control over the types of ads that pop up on your page. twitter is taking a page from snapchat and instagram. the site is expanding its moments feature. >> all users will be soon able to create and share their own collections of tweets. this comes as instagram rolls out snapchat like stories feature.

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y22rvy yy6y 5:25 now -- on this wednesday morning. a maryland hospital is clearing out babies from its neonatal intensive care unit known as the nicu because of a potentially deadly >> the hospital won't say whether any infants died from exposure to the bacteria but sources tell the abc station in washington, dc that the bacteria was found in a water pipe after the death of two babies in intensive care. the cdc says the bacteria can lead to severe illness if you have a compromised immune system. the hospital in maryland shut down the unit after three neonatal patients tested positive. spokes people for the hospital say they transferred nine babies out to other hospitals

specific unit is affected. we've reported several cases of people misusing 911 for calls that are not emergencies but a connecticut dispatcher didn't dismiss the non-emergency call she got from an elderly woman who needed help. >> dispatcher katherine grady said she was happy to help the woman herself. she also contacted the woman's in-home assistance program to make sure they send someone to keep track of her daily needs. [screaming]

>> help him! >> that's the violence that broke up a peaceful protest in the anniversary of michael brown's test. what happened right before this causing people to pull out their guns and as you heard fire. >> here's a live look at a high school -- with the upgrades. what school administrators say they are most proud of.

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