phone it's nearly impossible to get in touch with many people who live there. there have been numerous reports of aftershocks throughout the entire region. the strongest 5.5. that initial quake so strong people in rome 100 miles away felt it. it's a story we'll be following all morning on abc action news. new information and video from central italy as it comes in. good morning. as we check the forecast on a wednesday looking pretty good, at the bus stop, dry and comfortabl but by the afternoon it will start to get hot with temperatures in the 90s. not as hot as yesterday but still warm and muggy. but typical for this time of year. 80 st. pete and apollo beach. titan doppler radar dry, and by the afternoon the storms will develop inland and march to the beaches as we head through 4:00 to 7:00 with temperatures by then in the lower 90. feels-like 100 to 105. that is better than yesterday are we reached 110 in areas.

the temperatures. 92 tampa and 88 st. pete. let's check again with the morning commute. here's janelle. >> is that your ringtone i'm hearing? >> that is actually the abcactionnews.com -- abc.com web site, checking on the tropics and graphics. >> groovy music. >> something is going on. i have to check it. >> it woke me up. if you're heading out the door no issues on the roads now. looking great out there. this is a live look behind me, courtney campbell causeway just us a come across into tampa, on any of the three bridges to get from pinellas to hillsborough county. quick check of the drive times. all pretty normal. 9 minutes to get across the courtney campbell, just 6 to get across the howard frankland. seven minutes to grass the gandy bridge. checking the toll roads, still in the green on the veterans expressway, 17 minutes from 54 to 275. and looking great on the selmon expressway, taking just six

it's 5:31. breaking overnight -- a fire forced people out of their homes in pinellas county. >> investigators now trying to figure out what started that fire at the station square condominiums on cleveland street. these are pictures from the crew on the scene, you can see where the fire started there in the 12th floor unit. >> a viewer also shared cell phone video with those flames. while they were still burning just before 11:30 last night. >> firefighters got there shortly after call came in. got the fire out in minutes. and rescue crews say hurt. just a matter of hours and republican presidential nominee donald trump will be back in tampa to speak to a crowd of supporters. >> abc action news reporter rodney dunigan is live outside the florida state fairgrounds. what kind of crowd are are they expecting today? >> reporter: possibly thousands. this will be the fourth time that donald trump made a campaign stop in the tampa area and the past events have been well attended so we're expecting the same thing this morning. now the event actually kicks

open at 10:00 a.m. this morning. it will be in the expo hall at the florida state fairgrounds. we don't have the exact nature of what he will speak about yet but immigration has been a key talking point at many prior speeches and maybe again today. in an interview last night request fox news trump says he could be "softening his stance." he stated in the past he wants to deport an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the u.s. and build a border. however his campaign manager disputed changes in trump's immigration stance. now his visit today of course signals the importance of florida as a battleground state in this presidential election. this event today is open to the public. it is coming on a first come first serve basis as far as those tickets. so folks can head over to donaldjtrump.com to get tickets to the event. you're allowed two tickets per

florida state fairgrounds, rodney dunigan, abc action news. on the democratic side hillary clinton won't be campaigning for votes today. she'll be campaigning for money. the third straight day she will be attending fundraising events in california. among the galas, she's expected to attend one in the tampa bay area hosted by apple ceo tim cook. if you want to vote by mail today's the final day to request a ballot be mailed to you. request by phone, e-mail, on- important thing to remember, you cannot bring that ballot with you and drop it off at your polling place on election day. you need to either mail it back or take it back to the elections office. you can also drop it off at an early voting location. it's 5:34. remember this jaw-dropping video we showed you a few months ago? a citrus county man authorities say trying to kidnap a teen by

we're now learning that man, craig bonelle is not mentally competent to stand trial. mom fought back, held on to her daughter trying to stop the attempted kidnapping. he's ordered to check into a mental health treatment facility now. new information on the case of that horrible double fatal stabbing and face biting attack on florida's east coast. the martin county sheriff's office now au have ingested chemicals in the garage where it happened. he's in critical condition in the hospital after allegedly killing a couple in their garage. the fbi also running tests to determine if he may have been under the influence of either bath salts on a drug called flacka. to the latest in the spread of the zika virus. yesterday the florida department of health announced it's investigating five new locally transmitted cases in florida. including the first one in pinellas county. officials have not given an exact location where in pinellas county this

to be in tampa to discuss zika preparedness with hillsborough county leaders. as we told you monday tampa mayor bob buckhorn says the city can't wait any longer to take action to fight the spread of zika. we've learned the deliveryman accused of stealing more than $100,000 worth of amazon packages refused to make the deliveries because he never received money he was owed. 36-year-old julio hernandez was arrested last week on theft and extortion charges. amazon merchandise piled high in the garage in lehigh acres. he's a driver for amazon and claims he didn't make the deliveries because he was never paid $1,800 he was owed. he was released from jail saturday on $40,000 bail. a new push from pasco county this morning to fill several 911 dispatcher openings there. emergency services putting out a video to recruit applicants showing a state of the art dispatch system and talking about the benefits available. they are holding an open house

fill 19 open positions. that will be at the call center on government drive in new port richey from 6:00 to 8:00. sarasota county is set to decide whether to stop a mowing service. saying it's costing taxpayers $500,000 a year. commissioners will vote at today's meeting on the ordinance. that meeting starts 9:00. we're going to new food options next time you fly out of tampa international airport. >> two new restaurants are opening there today. the airport is holding a ribbon- cutting for pf chiang's and hard rock cafe. hard rock is the first to open in an airport in all of north america. the ribbon-cutting is 2:00. it will feature a chinese dragon dance and ceremonial group guitar smash.

minutes. this is the tropical wave we're monitoring. it's clomping the islands with heavy downpours, with very gusty winds. wouldn't be surprised if they are seeing tropical storm-force winds. is it coming to florida? if it does how strong will it be when it gets here? we'll talk about it and break it down coming up, after the break. 5:38. new rules when it comes to towing your car. what the towing companies will no longer be able to do and how co help save lives. >> people came down hard on mcdonald's calling the chain a hypocrite for putting fitness toys in its happy meals. this morning we found out it's not why they are pulling the toys from every restaurant. >> looking live at central italy as we continue to update you on breaking news. a deadly 6.2 magnitude earthquake overnight killing at least 21 people. countless crews searching for other victims now who were in their homes sleeping when they

dozens of people alive from the rubble. one of the hardest hit areas but there are plenty of other parts of central italy that

5:42. here's a look at part of your morning commute at i-275 and roosevelt boulevard. no problems to report. we'll check in with janelle for a complete look at the morning

this morning the north carolina highway patrol is urging the public not to jump to conclusions just yet in the deadly shooting of a hearing impaired driver by a state trooper. officials want the public to wait until independent and internal investigations are complete before making assumptions. relatives of 29-year-old daniel harris of charlotte said yesterday that harris was unarmed and likely did not understand the officer's commands. harris was killed last friday. meanwhile the national association of the deaf says the statistics on violent interactions between deaf people and law enforcement. general robert abrahams admits he destroyed letters from bowe bergdahl. he decided to send it to a general court-martial instead

desertion and ended up captive by the taliban for five years. we have just two more days to check out the beach tampa. the unique exhibit is a giant ball pit that is built in amalie arena. it's built of more than one million recyclable plastic balls. it's open today and tomorrow and that's it. then the beach tampa will be gone. tickets are free but limited. get them at the arena box office starting 9:00 this it's not as hot as the real beach it was still pretty warm inside. the beach is where you want to go. it will be cool in the water as temperatures are still hot. let's talk about the tropical wave. we have a wave, then a depression and then storm, then hurricane. this is still a wave. an open wave so we have a ways to go before we really get into what is going to be happening with this. hurricane hunters are going to fly in, perhaps we'll update this for a tropical depression for today.

really impacting with the islands into puerto rico. the issue with puerto rico, 3 to 5 inches of rainfall, that could cause flooding there the next 12 to 24 hours. thereafter, it's all going to depend on what this thing decides to do north of the islands. we have a good handle on the track, as far as where it is headed in this general direction and there we are in the state of florida. so we could have impacts as early as this weekend. so the track is not all that into question, intensity. very weak now, it should intensify the next few days but what does it do when it hits the bahamas? typically these storms are favored to increase significantly as they hit the bahamas because we have favorable conditions for that. sometimes they do curve out and hit the carolinas or even curve out to sea. in this situation we have an area of high pressure to the north. that is going to suppress any gain in latitude so this is not going to move that further north. another feature we're watching,

bahamas we have 90-degree water temperatures. as you know tropical systems feed on that warm ocean water. that is how they get their energy so. as this continues to move through the bahamas heading into the weekend it should intensify, how much so we really can't tell you. i mean the intense fee forecasts are terrible after three days. but there is the potential based on history this could intensify significantly as it heads into florida. so the favorable conditions are temperatures, they are going to be very warm but also the wind shear we talk bcht upper level winds that can disrupt storms. no wind shear now, in fact very low. so two indications this has the potential to intensify as it continues to head to the north and west. as far as us i don't think it's going to be half of the storm as we have the entire peninsula to protect us here. but florida has to watch this,

jacksonville. eventually for us, gusts of heavy rainfall as we head into sunday and into monday. 95. what happens in the gulf? we can't talk about that yet. it's still yet to develop. but futurecast will show us we're continuing to see showers and storms today. i think the coverage will still be about 40%. plan your day accordingly. a lot of sunshine through most of the day and by the afternoon we'll continue to see the showers and storms popping up, perhaps a little earlier today so if you're picking up the kids say around 4:00, maybe you have after-school activities you may get in on the 2:00, 3:00 looks pretty good as i see it now. 92 tampa. 88 st. pete. not as hot as we were yesterday with the record highs. i think we'll hold into the lower 90s. saturday looks ok and then of course sunday and monday we're watching the tropics for potential impacts across tampa in the form of rainfall likely and gusty winds. here's janelle with a check of the commute. >> i was driving around 5:00 on bay shore last night. >> so hot. the storms, sure.

crazy. then -- disappears. we are checking out your drive along i-75, this is just north of i-4, these cars here, tail- lights are heading south towards i-4. this is a smooth ride on i-75 all the way back from the apex with 275. through brandon. right now we're going to check 275, so this is the same drive but on 275 here lookingate, all in green as you pass through hillsborough. a quick pitstop at mlk, a live look, up to speed in both directions. malfunction junction but seems to be functioning just fine now. we're all in the green here, that drive is taking just about 14 minutes. heads up, we have construction that i told but yesterday that is continuing for the next couple of weeks. 78th avenue north between 49th street and u.s. 19 there in pinellas park. they are doing resurfacing. you may want to avoided that area altogether or you can stay on park or use 82nd avenue instead. time 5:48.

rules in -- towing rules in pinellas county. >> the goal is to save lives. it's approved and here's what's different -- towing companies can't to tow a car parked at a business, to prevent drinking and driving. >> the commissioners hope it will stop people from drinking and driving. there are -- >> there's a misperception you're safe to park th can't get towed, it's a additional letter of authorization needs to be obtained before the car can just be towed. >> other changes to the ordinance, if you're towed you have the option of paying with a debit or credit card. the county commissioners plan to discuss towing fees at another meeting. a warning from winter haven police before your phone rings. officials say a man with an indian accident is calling people telling them they are under investigation. no threats have been made but police want to you know the

make these types of phone calls. if you get one like it call winter haven police. another warning over fake money. a man says he was scammed out of $400 after trying to sell his i-phone 6. he met someone on the app called offer up near busch boulevard and florida avenue. the $100 bills even passed the pen test used to check for counter fit money. police are investigating. we now know why mcdonald's decided to pull the controversial fitness bands from happy meals. it was people were critical of them. they say they cause skin irritation or burns. the fast food chain last week said it would stop distributing the plans. they look like watches and meant to track kids' daily steps and physical activity. the company that makes pretzel crisps is recalling

have undeclared milk ingredients in them. everything is posted on our mobile app. coming up -- standing at the bus stop alone for a few

we're following breaking

at least 21 people are dead after devastating 6.2 magnitude earthquake. buildings and homes you see there are just collapsed. they collapsed while people were sleeping. we've been watching rescue crews and civilians digging through the debris by hand looking for anybody who may be trapped underneath. the death toll will likely climb as the search efforts continue. stay with us, we'll keep you up to date on the efforts going on. forecast update for us here. clear skies for morning drive. should be fine mid-afternoon and then we'll get back into cloud cover and eventually thunderstorms as well between 1:00 and 4:00. we'll see that development to the east and then everything pushing to the beaches as we head through later this evening. pretty much what we had yesterday. as far as temperature not as hot today. we'll have highs around 92 but the feels-like temperature with the humidity still around 100. a group of students waited for the bus in south florida and waited, and waited. >> that bus never came.

picked up. now a mother who had to leave work to pick up her son is furious. broward county schools admits there was a mix-up. they say the bus due to stop at that stop broke down. josh guyo says he finally called his mom around 10:00 a.m. >> what do you mean? he said it never came. i said where are the other kids? he said the parents picked them up. >> the mom wants assurance this won't broward county schools says they are working to make sure it doesn't. in florida even a trip to the office can turn into a gator encounter. >> as the pictures prove. a gator here wandering through a parking lot on fletcher avenue. just probably going to the hillsborough river nearby. no one bothered it luckily and it went on about its way. 5:55. fire breaks out overnight at a condo in clearwater. the rescue firefighters made there. >> also breaking news in central italy.

dead from a 6.2 magnitude earthquake. this is brand new video now of

at 6:00 -- new plunges into a pond. why investigators are now considering this part of a crime. >> first breaking news in italy. a powerful 6.2 quake striking overnight. we just learned 37 people are now dead. more than 150 are missing. the earthquake struck 3:30 this morning italy time. it's noon there now. people from as far as rome felt it. >> right now there's a desperate search for survivors

of concrete. lindsay logue has been following the latest developments from italy all morning. they are doing this whole search and rescue now but it's not been easy. >> no, unfortunately not. as you said this quake struck at 3:30 in the morning so while people there were sleeping and this area is mountainous with rugged terrain and narrow roads and manmade bridges. they've got troops and bulldozers on the ground trying to get to some of the towns but there are piles and piles of roads in and out of the towns are impassable. one of the hardest hit area, amatrice where it's feared now that people are trapped under their homes, many of them dead. the mayor there says most of the town is wiped out. buildings reduced to rubble, historic sites are in ruin. even the hospital there was so badly damaged that it was actually safer for the patients to be moved into the streets than to stay inside. i want to give you a better idea of this region. we built a map to show you

miles northeast of rome. that entire region there felt and took the brunt of the devastation from the quake. it's not heavily populated, not a huge tourists destination but still the death toll now at 37 and it is expected to climb as the day goes on. we also have not heard from the state department yet on whether any americans were there in the region. there have been dozens of aftershocks, strongest me these are dangerous because they are usually unpredictable, not always small and can cause even more damage causing the buildings and structures already on the verge of collapsing to crumble completely. good morning. 6:00 a.m. at the weather center checking with temperatures in the upper 70s to low 80s. clear skies, warm and muggy but no issues at the bus stop or headed to work. it's going to be a dry evening commute as we -- morning commute. it's going to be a wet evening