with temperatures approaching 91 with mostly dry conditions through the day. abc action news starts now. >> i hope they will be caught. >> military veteran attacked. police searching for two robbers that beat that man with his own walker in broad daylight. >> former president bill clinton in central florida. today he's campaigning for hillary, where appearing and what he's expected to say. >> and the i-phone unveiled. when will the official announcement get underway? thank you for joining us for abc action news on this early wednesday. i'm dan shaffer. >> i'm deiah riley. police looking for the attacker of a 66-year-old army veteran. >> st. pete police released video of the suspect's blue dodge durango. >> he grabbed me around the neck and started choking me. punched me in the side and the

stuff. >> reporter: jeffrey hardeman has a bruised forearm, ribs and knot on his head. >> he threw me to the ground, took my walker and hit me with it. and when he got my stuff -- he ran with the walker and took off. >> reporter: the army vet says it was attacked after getting off the bus to shop at walmart. the suspect asked him for the time and beat him even using his own >> there were people there and they didn't even care -- people saw what happened. >> reporter: the robber then ran to this blue dodge durango with a possible partial plate of gka -- hardeman says he never thought on a friday afternoon with people coming and going from walmart he would be a target. a few weeks ago he was in a wheelchair because of an injury and was using his walker for physical therapy to get around. >> i was doing better before

>> that's what they look for. defenseless people. >> reporter: hardeman is grateful he was not hurt worse but hopes someone will recognize this car and turn the cowas in. >> i'm praying they will be caught. >> that was michael paluska reporting. hardeman says he won't shop now unless he has a friend with him and definitely won't be out alone after dark. 4:32. the hillsborough county public transportation commission could vote next week to pass stricter regulations on ridesharing companies. that could mean companies like uber and lyft have to comply or not do business in the county. the rules ask for stricter background checks, a $7 minimumfare and 7-minute wait times. uber reps say the proposed rules are unacceptable but competitor drive society that launches its company on the 18th is ok with stronger regulations. like fingerprinting. >> uber has been quick to say this is the worst rules for ridesharing in the country.

transportation industry as a whole in the country. >> if these rules were to pass it would be the worst regulatory framework for companies such as uber. >> the public transportation commission could vote on the issue as soon as next week. the last patient in the hospital from the pulse nightclub massacre is finally going home. it's been nearly three months. 44 victims were taken to the hospital in the morning of june 12th. nine people died shortly after arrival. 49 people in night. 53 others injured including several from tampa. the u.s. senate has now blocked zika funding for a third time. democrats defeated the billion dollar package yesterday because republicans tacked on restrictions to planned parenthood. now democrats demanding that republicans drop their fight to keep planned parenthood from getting money so that they can combat the mosquito-borne disease. lawmakers are now hoping to add the zika funding to a must pass general spending bill by the

i've been bitten a lot the last couple of weeks. hopefully they are clean mosquitos here. mid and upper 70s now. we have a couple of low 70s at crystal river and brooksville. if anyone drops below 70, you guys to the north, otherwise nice and toasty further south. temperature climb nicely by the afternoon. we're still hanging in the warm days. several weeks of that left certainly with temperatures arou again. we'll talk more about that and when we return to the more typical afternoon thunderstorm pattern in a few minutes. time now 4:34. quick look at traffic here. live look at i-4 near 301, no problems to report there in hillsborough county. we'll get an judgment on the roads again in 15 minutes. to the latest on democracy 2016 -- bill clinton will campaign with -- for wife hillary in orlando. he's said to appear at the dr.

11:00 this morning. the campaign says bill clinton will discuss hillary clinton's plan to build an economy that works for everyone. then set to head to a fundraiser in miami later tonight. hillary clinton is in new york city, tonight set to appear at the same forum with republican rival donald trump. it's the commander in chief forum. clinton and trump will take turns on stage answering questions about national security, military affairs and veterans issues. that forum will start at 8:00 tonight. today we expect to learn more about a potential neig county nursing home. a news conference set for 10:30 this morning about the willbert mouton case. he died under the care of gracewood rehab care in pinellas park. prosecutors say he spent hours in 90-degree heat last may. we're learning the fate of nearly 200 animals severely abused at a polk county animal sanctuary. the sheriff's office took

month when officers seized them from darl-ins darl-ins rescue in polk city. they were found starving and living in horrible conditions. the owners were arrested and face charges for animal abuse. volusia county, volunteers removed 400 animals from a sanctuary before they were euthanized. the bank foreclosed the property and ordered the animals and owners out. if any the property they would have been euthanized and the owners charged. families in the louisiana flooding are finding new homes in florida. thousands of pet owners were forced to abandon animals during the storm because most shelters wouldn't take them in. now some of the dogs are part of a program in jacksonville to help prisoners. >> what we've heard from the inmates that participate, they learn patience, they learn teamwork, they learn responsibility. we've seen firsthand folks that

interacting with one dog. >> once the dogs are finished with the training in the trails program they go up for adoption in jacksonville. construction at tampa international airport is now disrupting traffic during the overnight hours. crews are installing beams for a new passenger train and that means roads leading to the blue departure and arrival curbs will be closed. every night from 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. tia officials say this will continue all the way into january, travelers flying delta, american, united or jetblue will shortterm parking garage. i.t.t. technical institute is shutting down all its schools nationwide. they blame the federal government but the government says not our fault. a tampa attorney weighs in. >> a gluten-free diet is supposed to combat sealac disease -- celiac disease. more coming up at 5:00. >> the rays gave up runs to the

4:41. caught on camera -- a police chase in southern california ends with a car bursting into flames. police started chasing the man who was driving this car erratically in los angeles. the driver blew through stop signs, ignored orders to pull over. ended up crashing into a light

starting that fire. police eventually arrested the driver. now to another police chase. this one deadly in arizona. here you see a black suv speeding away from police. authorities say three people in the car were bank robbery suspects. when police officers first tried stopping the car they say the people inside fired shots. police killed one of them and arrested the other two. a popular chinese restaurant is making abc news anchor wendy ryan's latest "dirty dining" report. >> honey chicken was awesome. >> reporter: ben rose eats a lot of chinese food. you like it? >> five times a week easy. >> reporter: you eat chinese food five times a week? >> yeah, almost pure salt in my veins. >> reporter: despite that he's never eaten at ho-ho chinese

rodent and roach problem. the popular chinese place on west brandon boulevard had to close for over 21 hours august 11th after inspectors found evidence of rodents, seeing over 40 droppings under the prep table and in the soda station area along with live roaches near the dishes. can i speak to a manager? >> i'm the manager. >> reporter: i'm wendy ryan with abc action news. >> reporter: the manager on duty during that emergency closure -- did had any rodent problem or roach problem? >> yeah. recently i have, i don't know -- -- >> reporter: our team found out it was not the first time inspectors shut down the restaurant. a year and-a-half ago it was shut down again for rodent activity after finding almost 200 rodent droppings in various

storage area. so everything is fine now? >> yes. >> reporter: other serious violations documented recently? vermin present near the back door. cooked pork and shelled eggs sitting at room temperature. a stop sale on chopped pork and bean sprouts because of more dangerous temperatures and employees not washing their hands. still zeng feels confident about his kitchen conditions. you think it's safe to eat here? >> yeah, of course. >> reporter: that promise might be too late for ben. >> no, of course not. no. >> reporter: if you want to see other bay area restaurants that made the "dirty dining" list go to our web site at abcactionnews.com/dining. researchers now saying being obese is even worse for your health than previously thought. they cite more than 10 years' worth of data, international agency for research on cancer finds people who carry more weight are at a higher risk for

breast and thyroid cancers. two simple things to do -- eating healthier and exercising. a new zip line attraction is a go in largo. city commissioners have approved a tree adventure and zipline park at the recreation complex. it was not without controversy, nearly 4,000 residents attended the meeting and wanted to voice opposition to the project. most are worried about increased noise, visitors, garbage left behind and parking overflowing into neighborhood streets. bu against the project commissioners decided to move it forward. >> they just decided it was going to be voted in. we really didn't have a real say so about it. i think it's all about money. >> the attraction is expected to bring in 45,000 new visitors a year. officials say the park could be up and running by the end of this year. if you're a member of the military looking for a job there's help for you. there's a career fair at the

from 11:00 to 2:00 today. more than 40 companies are expected to be there looking to hire, the event organizers say this career fair is also open to the public. the annual firestone grand prix in st. pete is still six months away but starting 10:00 this morning tickets go on sale for renewal customers. the grand prix kicks off on friday march 10th in downtown st. pete. today is the official kickoff event for monster jam 2017. >> >> it will be held in palmetto at 7:00 tonight. it will be streamed live on facebook. monster jam officials expect to announce new trucks, cities and tour dates. a media event for apple in california today. they arevicted specked to unveil a new i-phone. it's expected to have a larger storage capacity, waterproof capability and no longer have a headphone jack. it's set to start in san

ivan with the most accurate forecast. >> it will look like last year -- though next year is apparently going to be the nice one. mid to upper 70s. clear to partly cloudy. look at the moon, a waxing crescent. on the way to a full moon. 30% but that is the virtual one. there's the real one from jackie, taken in tampa last night. goodness, that is looking fantasc temperatures in the low to mid- 70s. a pleasant morning, it will be clear. dry for the bus stop if you have outdoor plans today. if you're taking lunch outside i think you'll be in pretty good shape. there will be a couple of showers to the south but coverage only 10%. still limiting our rain chances as the dry air on top of us here. by the way the tropics after that activity in the atlantic basin quiet so excellent news for us. you see showers with more

otherwise to the north we're pretty dry. and depicted nicely on our satellite and radar perspective. that was actually a few thousand feet up so you get an idea of what is going on in the atmosphere. so we can forecast for you. as we look at the easterly flow still again, going a little closer and you can see -- hillsborough to the south so manatee, sarasota, hardee, desotoo counties and into highlands county as well, sebring will get clipped with a couple of shower only 10% for later this afternoon. as far as highs, mid to upper 80s across the interior. low 90s. a little more heat index today so the feels-like is a little higher than 91. the boating conditions look good. 1 to 2-foot seas with 10 knot winds north, starting from the north and east, 7:15 is high tide. 12:50 for the low tide coming up in afternoon. hour by hour forecast in the mid-70. in the 80s beginning 10:00.

ever increasing rain chances thursday through friday into the upcoming weekend with coverage by then -- normal for this time of year -- 40%. that is again for afternoon storms. that pattern by the way continues into early next week. looking at part of the morning commute. this is i-75 at fowler avenue. a pretty good amount of traffic but we don't see problems on the roads in that particular stretch. janelle is in and will have a look at the morning commute in 10 minutes. series against the baltimore orioles and florida state improves its ranking in. tom korun has your morning ports report. >> reporter: good morning. when the rays fired shelton yesterday those thought it's about time. for me it was situational hitting that was and continues to be a problem for the rays. some of the players on this team are just hope let'sly

because they can't hit. four players in the line-up last night batting 233 or less. it showed. the rays scored two runs last night. that is two less than what manny machado drove in for the orioles. it came in on this grand slam in the top of the fourth. the orioles pounded the rays last night. the final in this one 11-2. it didn't take long for the bucs to address one area of weakness, depth-wise. team signing free receiver cecil formerly with the texans and jaguars. evan spencer release. but this helps an area that had little behind evans, jackson and humphries. msu wins against ole miss. oklahoma's lost to houston, that helped too but while most of the nation's top teams played cupcakes in week one fsu

state history. as for the gatest, can't blame them. they feel disappointed, gators, not only did florida drop out of the top 25, they lost their spot to miami. the hurricanes haven't been ranked since november of 2013. houston cougars made a big jump. they go from 15 to 6 and georgia jumped from 18 to 9. that's your morning sports update. enjoy your day. home alone eou burglar. how a 12-year-old florida boy reacted when confronting that burglar in his home. >> ants bite an 84-year-old woman more than 1,000 times at

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let's check e this wednesday. dry conditions, 6:00, 7 a. in the mid-70s through 7:00, 8:00 and clouds this afternoon. mostly dry, just a slight chance of a shower in southern counties. otherwise 89 to low 90s. kids with special needs can now have dolls that look more like them. bob norris makes leg braces for dolls, it started when he asked to make one for a friend's daughter. it was such a hit more requests started to come in.

on now to keep his prices low. it's already passed $5,000. a russian soyuz capsule landed back on earth with an american astronaut on board. jeff williams is now nasa's most experienced space flier. he logged 534 days in orbit on four flights. about a year and-a-half in space total. two robbers beat a military veteran with his own walker in broad daylight. we have an update on his injuries a police rather are looking for. that is coming up in a live report from the scene of the attack. >> today pasco county officials will assess the amount of debris caused by hurricane hermine. how the county will decide if it needs to hire a company to

at 5:00 -- the hunt is on for the man who attacked a disabled veteran and beat him with his own walker. ahead we hear from the victim. >> bringing a child along to steal something. how a thief used a stroller to rip off a tampa store. >> uber eats is expected to launch today in tampa but the

joining us on this wednesday. i'm deiah riley. >> i'm dan shaffer. let's start with a check of traffic and weather together. we begin with ivan in the weather center with florida's most accurate forecast. >> pretty nice day. good morning. yesterday i think will be a repeat and stay mostly dry. temperatures now in the mid and upper 70s. we're doing that with mostly clear to partly cloudy skies. looks pretty good in lakeland if you're watching from polk county, good morning, 73. 72 and look at brooksville 71, into the upper 60s up there. yesterday we had mid-60s. plenty of sun, afternoon showers today, 10% coverage and this is primarily for southern counties as we have a little more moisture to work with. but most of us staying with quiet conditions today as are the tropics. mid and upper 70s through 9:00 a.m. then we'll get back to the low and mid-80s. highs around 91. we should be around that temperature this time of year so nothing unusual except for the rain chances, pretty low. over the weekend we'll talk