>> today on the now tampa bay, radioactive water leaking in a sink hole that looks like a crater on the moon. today we follow where the water is flowing to see who is at risk and for what and why it took almost a month for the public to be told. happy about red light cameras staying up in tampa for another two years. they won't like the numbers we pulled on crash statistics either. president barack obama was born in the united states. period. and he finally said it. you will have to hear what trump put in right before putting the birth place battle

>> and i'm paul lagrone in for ashley glass glass to the. action air 1 getting a new view of a sink hole at the mosaic plant in polk county. that water is radioactive, toxic and flowing deep underground. today we're focused on finding how far that water is flowing and whether or not it's safe for the people who live nearby to drink. the now's ryan raiche i any reason why they kept this sink hole a secret for three weeks? >> reporter: they're saying they did the right thing by notifying the regulatory agency and didn't tell the public because there wasn't a risk to the public. that's their words. this is the knawels plant in polk county across the hillsborough county light where they're kind of in crisis mode, dealing with a massive sink hole right beyond that

completely drained about a 250 million gallon pond of toxic radioactive water used in the fertilizing manufacturing process. now, here is the video you have to see taken earlier by action air 1. we have been talking about it all day long. it's unreal. the sink hole stretches 45 feet wide at the surface. and they think it stretches all the way down to the aquifer, some 300 feet below the surface. eventually once the pond is drained, that water but neighbors we talked to are very nervous. you can understand why. about how the toxic water could affect their drinking wells. here is what i asked a mosaic engineer. >> if you have kids who lived three miles away, would you let them drink the water? >> yes, i would. the water is safe to drink. and it will remain safe to drink. >> reporter: now, mosaic is telling us that the contaminated water has not

and they have activated a recovery well that is designed to sort of catch this contaminated water. but as you may expect, people in the area are still very nervous. you know, there's actually a neighborhood on the south side of the plant. there's another neighborhood out here on the north side where we spent a lot of time this afternoon. and guys, you have to understand where they're coming from. they have kids, they have families. there's even a pregnant woman not too far from here. they're nervous. they're playing it safe. they don't want to believe what mosaic is saying. they're not going to believe them, according to the folks we talked to, until they come out and test their well square tell them it's safe. until then, they're going to be drinking bottled water and not get anywhere near their wells. live in polk county, ryan raiche. back to you guys. >> thank you, ryan. any time now we are waiting to learn the fate of a man who ran over a young woman on a skateboard in the beach area, killing her and he didn't stop.

put sterling hubbard in prison for 14 years. a new law says the minimum sentence is four years. his attorneys are trying to argue for even less time than that, as family and the family of emma are still testifying. so look for updates on abc action news at 5:00 and 6:00. we have good news for you today about that van that was stolen from eric chapman who suffers from als. >> the van was found. eric and his wife have gotten it as the now's nicole grigg found out, it isn't in any condition to get him to important doctor appointments. >> reporter: if only every thief had to meet every person they're really robbing. >> that must be part of the car. >> reporter: someone would have to face margie's husband, eric chapman. >> yeah. >> reporter: we talked to him just yesterday. someone stole his handicap van

>> reporter: eric has als. he is completely paralyzed and his van is the only way to get to and from doctor's appointments. >> they already trapped him in their body. they shouldn't be trapped in their home. >> reporter: margie was thankful when someone found their van until -- >> until we realized it's not drivable. >> reporter: margie says it won't go anywhere. the axle is likely broken. >> it's a violation. i don't even want to clean it now. >> reporter: tampa police say it was found in this off of 14th avenue, just four miles from eric. today i talked to the woman who called 911, not knowing it was stolen. >> the neighbor across the street was the one that originally brought the van over here. >> reporter: she says that neighbor asked her to watch it. and then one of her grandson's old friends had a key to it and tried to take it but the van wouldn't start. >> your grandson was not a part of stealing this van?

back. >> he was happy that he got it home. >> reporter: and eric in too much pain today to even talk but his gentle heart would want this to be a reallies on for whoever stole it. for the now, i'm nicole grigg. >> thank you, nichol. the heroin problem in manatee county is so bad that the morgue is overcrowded. the medical examiner is having to pay -- pay to store bodies with a body transport company. there were 240 autopsies in july and august, double what they have this time of year. if this trend continues, they will have to rent refrigerator storage trucks to hold all of the bodies. yesterday we told you about poor charlie. remember this golden retriever who ate a bag of heroin when a drug dealer tossed his dash over the fence in denver. luckily charlie got to the doctor in time and he is okay.

dealing with the opiate epidemic. a big reason that the justice department is getting involved. paul, you have more on that. >> that's right, laura. they want states to help each other in this drug fight. a memo will go out to all u.s. attorney general offices that will urge prosecutors across the country to share information with other states about prescription drug abuse by doctors. 78 americans die every day from an opiate overdose the cdc. deaths from prescription opiates, like oxycodone have quadrupled in the last 17 years. president obama has asked for a billion dollars to fight the epidemic. and so far congress has not come up with the money. >> he passed a bill to extend drug treatment back in july but haven't provided the $181 million to pay for it yet. let's take a look outside.

like it's moving all right on 275 at fowler avenue. but, paul, it looks cloudy. >> a little hazy out there. >> it is friday. we want to hang out. >> let's get the latest from shay. what are we in for this weekend? >> things are looking decent. we will have showers and storms as we're seeing develop right now. at the main sail beach inn, only blue skies and sunshine. things are looking great there. take a look at pinellas county now. we have heavy downpours coming down. and also into hillsborough county, a bubble up. as i zoom in here around the safety harbor area, some heavy rain out there and some thunderstorms as well. this is just moving to the southeast. so if you're in coachman you will be seeing that heavy rain over the next 15 minutes or so. pinellas park, you're seeing heavy downpours as well. as we zoom back out, you can see that it is pretty hit or miss across the area. so not terribly widespread.

get more active. it will stay this way through 8:00 tonight. even still, around 10:00, a few showers and an isolated thunderstorm out there. then we will start to see it taper off as it gets closer to midnight. not a waout.ni if you are going to be heading out to di or just running around town for whatever, well, you will at least have a decent chance of running into rain through sunset, if not shortly thereafter. now, our rain chances for the weekend, it's a little miss. i'll help you out if you have a round of golf tomorrow. >> thank you, shay. we have an update on the zika virus. since leaders in washington cannot agree on money to fight the zika virus, governor scott is now using more money from our state budget to do it. today releasing $10 million. that's in addition to what the governor already authorized in june. $26million. right now one of the biggest issues the state is facing is a back log of samples that need to be tested for zika.

pregnant women could and they don't know it. thank you, paul. the timetable that you may be able to stop paying for gas. you heard me right. we have wreaking news. action air 1 live over south tampa where a hole has opened up in the middle of macdill avenue and barcelona street. this is a busy area, especially on a friday evening. that hole has been blocked off by crews. they are trying to work on it. they say the road caved in on a sewer line. it's not a sink hole. it will take some time to fix this so you want to be aware of that. you're watching the now tampa bay. publix digital coupons. and i got the paper ones too. so retro... that's how i save at publix. how 'bout you?

i don't clip, i don't plan, but i still save a lot. i just shop for publix brand products, cuz they're great. and that's it. no really, that's . that's how i save at publix. how 'bout you? publix. where shopping is a pleasure. >> well, right now we're learning 73% of parents right here in florida are putting their children at risk. and here is why: the parents are letting kids to ride in the front seat of the car teashop. when i say too soon, aaa, the highway safety traffic

academy of pediatrics are agreeing that children 12 years and younger are too young to be in the front seat. they need to be in the back seat until their 13 years old. the main concern is getting hurt by the air bags for the smaller children in the event of an accident. here is something to really think about. 60% of crashes are at the front of the car. paul. >> here is a question for you. how great would it be to never put gas in your car again? well, it could happen in the next 20 years. that's right. a new report out that gas cars cannot sold after the year 2035. that is if we want to meet the goal that world leaders set recently in order to keep our earth's temperature in check. and that means those cars would have to be off the road by around 2050. the report from climate action tracker says right now cars create about 14% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.

car makers are already working on this. >> toyota is trying to putty missions by 90% by 2050. we also told you earlier about how companies are working on electric cars. dymler is one of them, the parent company of mercedes benz. now, paul, you have breaking presidential news for us. >> that's right. we're talking politics. things are getting interesting, aren't they? seven weeks to go to election. the other two candidates, libertarian gary johnson and jill stein did not qualify for the upcoming debate. that is coming from the presidential debate commission this afternoon as we speak. now, to qualify, they had to get at least 15% in the polls but they could still have an opportunity to get in on the other debates because the commission is still reviewing the rules for those. so only look for hillary clinton and donald trump on

monday september 26th. that's the first scheduled debate. meanwhile, donald trump is on his way to florida as we speak, hitting up a rally in miami in less than two hours. remember how trump rubbed a lot of people the wrong way when he criticized the parents of a muslim american soldier who died in iraq? they gave a speech at the democratic national convtion. well, today trump made a point to recognize other gold star families today at his new trump international hol washington, d.c., with several medal generals in the crow trump thanked the wife of an arm especialist killed in iraq for his sacrifice. but then trump stunned the crowd with another comment. he now claims that the hillary clinton campaign started the obama birther controversy. mike sax with the wild week that was in the race for the white house. >> reporter: deplorables, doctors, family leave, business and birtherrism, oh my.

off the campaign while trump hit her for calling half of his supporters a basket of deplorables. >> well my opponent calls you deplorable and redeemable. i call you hardworking american patriot snooze clinton apologized for the gross generalization but her campaign didn't background. >> if you're attacking immigrants, that's deplorable. if you're attacking people because they're muslims, that is deplorable. >> reporter: trump rolled out the family leave plan. >> our plan will bring relief to working and middle class families. i think it will make a lot of people very, very happy. a lot of moms happy. >> reporter: clinton wasted in time to attack the plan. >> we don't need someone who rushes out a half baked plan just weeks before an election after decades of ignoring or

candidates had released updated health records. >> my pneumonia finally got republicans interested in women's health. >> reporter: across town, trump mixes business with politics at his new hotel where he abandoned birtherrism, five years after his first tweet questioning president obama's natural born citizenship. >> president barack obama was born in the united states. period. >> reporter: over to you obama. >> i was pretty confident where i was s born. i think most people were as well. >> reporter: for the now, i'm mike sax. >> thank you, mike. breaking news to tell you about out of new jersey right now. you're looking at video from just moments ago of a beached hump back whale. this is so sad. 25 feet long right now. apparently injured at this time. we're trying to find out exactly what happened. as soon as we get more information, though, we will bring it to you.

right now. it looks beautiful over at the main sail beach inn? >> it really does. we're starting off with a gorgeous day out there at the main sail beach inn. through the weekend, we will have good hours at the beach. i have that forecast for you coming up. it will be touch and go with our rainhaes. as you can see right now, pinellas county is seeing the majority of the storms. there's a few billowing around the west chase area, in north western hillsborough county and also around in also in sarasota. some as well and moving inland around sebring, a few thunderstorms are rolling into highlands county. in the next couple of hours, we will see the showers and storms continue to bubble up in all areas. beaches, you have a possibility of rain and inland as well. that's through 8:00. even into midnight, we're still going to see some lingering showers. and then after midnight, we will start to dry out. tomorrow morning, 8:00, you can

so if you're planning on heading eaches or you want to go for a bike rider have in mind, the earlier the better. because watch what happens as we head towards noon. we start to see the green developing. and then after that, it quickly becomes pretty widespread. we're still only looking at about 40% coverage tomorrow through the afternoon. so it will -- it won't be a washout through the afternoon. but you will definitely have higher chances of seeing those showers and storms any so, yeah, get that round of golf in early. that's the best time temperature-wise to do that anyhow. right? so the weather is working with us for sure tomorrow. winds will be variable from 5 to 10 miles per hour and a high of 90. it's still hot and steamy. no changes there. julia and karl, two storms i'm watching. we thought we were done with julia. i'll show you why we might see moisture out of it even yet coming up in the next forecast.

we want to get rid of her. what you shouldn't do with a porta potty that made an interesting day of preschool for kids. this is something cool coming to tampa in the next couple weeks. life-size dinosaurs. they are the most realistic all designed by aplentologists. you're watching the now tampa

for hand-dipped fall come i milk shakes.shake better yet, come into steak 'n shake for hand-dipped fall milk shakes at half- price... ...during half-price happier hour,

>> babysitting isn't what it used to be. we're talking health care benefits for those babysitters. if you sign up on care.com, you will get $500 to pay for health care, transportation or even

transaction fee it charges and giving it to their workers. pretty cool. paul, this concept, though, is getting pretty huge, solving a lot of problems for americans. >> good benefits, a good reason to take a job. time magazine says 90 million americans are working in the gig industry and they rarely get benefits like what care.com is offering. we're starting to see more companies offer worker benefits. uber actually just started offering retirement accots for for babysitters it turnsut. you can work with seniors, with pets, even something they call home care, which is basically running errands and housekeeping. well, it's a second chance for people looking to turn their lives around. more than 60 colleges and universities with 170 campuses are taking what is called the fair chance for higher education pledge. it means they will no longer immediately rule out applicants

the department of education is pushing for this initiative. it estimates one in five americans now have a criminal record. well, red light cameras staying in tampa for another two years. we found some surprising crash statistics that have some saying are they really making

>> welcome back to the now tampa bay. get used to red light cameras in tampa. city council approved the extension to keep them around for the next two years. is it really making you safer on the road? we looked into that and the first thing you should do if you get a red light camera ticket. >> reporter: to pay or not to pay the red ligh that's the question. >> just pay it to avoid any future complications with their driver's license. >> reporter: jones says not paying that first notice that you get from a red light company will mean a bigger fine straight from the cops 30 days later. still some people think they don't have to pay the tickets because they're not issued by the cops directly. not to mention the higher court of florida is trying to decide if it's constitutional. >> the final fate is resting with the second district court of appeals in lakeland. that has been ongoing.

>> reporter: either way, the eyes in the sky will be there until october 2018 in tampa. they say they're saving lives in tampa which is number two in the country for pedestrian and bicycle deaths. taking a look at the numbers, red light intersection crashes haven't gone down since 2011 when the city started using them. the councilman who was against the cameras say the 54 cameras at the 21 intersections in tampa are there to make the safer. to be clear, the contract extension with the third party operating the cameras will bring the city $75,000 in fines. take it from a lawyer. >> because the red light camera tickets are so deligate, i recommend to pay it. >> i'll leave you with this piece of information. a study in july found that traffic deaths go up by nearly a third when cities turn off

[applause] >> well, the applause you're hearing there is for an injured new york detective getting a standing ovation while leaving the hospital today. a suspect attacked detective brian o'donnell with a meat clever, leaving a scar from his for head to chin. they went up to him yesterday he was trying to pull a boot off his car when he pulled out the knife and tased him. but that didn't work. that's when o'donnell tried to bring him down but got stabbed. officers shot at the suspect 18 times, hitting him twice. making news today, the boyfriend of bobby christine brown is being held legally responsible for her death. that is the ruling by a judge after nick gordon did not show up for court for the second time today. this is file video here of brown with gordon. brown died in july of last

unresponsive in a bathtub. no one was every charged criminally for the death but the family is suing gordon in civil court says that he drugged her and placed her in the tub. a jury must determine how much he will pay. the suit is asking for $50 million. well, just yesterday we showed you these kids right here. they're from a texas football team. just kids kneeling during the national anthem. th nfl player colin kaepernick who has been doing the same thing during the anthem, protesting what he calls injustice for african-americans often facing in our society. now it has become an issue in florida. let me explain. school officials say students weren't protesting but they were being disruptive during a volleyball game when they didn't want to participate in the national anthem. so the next day the school principal made an announcement about it.

you will stay quiet. >> the school district says he may have taken that a little too far, trying to force students to stand. the school is now changing its tune, telling students they don't have to stand but they have to be respectful. let's talk tropics now. we have another me in the tropics we're keeping an eye on, karl. shay, is karl going to be a troublemaker. >> time will tell with karl. the same with julia is going to circle around here just off shore from the carolinas over the next couple of days. and this means all the way into monday, where it starts to dissipate. but keep in mind, this is still a tropical storm right now, after having become a depression. it is now strengthened again, packing 40 miles per hour winds. so by monday, it's expected to be back at a depression, with 30 miles per hour winds. after this, it looks like some

of florida as a frontal system is approaching, which really will enhance our rain coverage as that front approaches. so this is for mid week next week, early to mid week next week. not positive this will all come together. i'm keeping my eye on it. also keeping my eye on carl, well out in the atlantic. take a look at the spaghetti models. if you remember i was showing you yesterday how they were veering more westerly, moving closer to and now the models are bringing it farther to the north, which would be good news for us, as we aof the east coast of the u.s. bottom line is that there is a lot of variability and time. with that, this is a storm worth keeping our eye on it. for now, things are lookinasll as our concerns, minimal. want to know what is happening at the beach this weekend. i have that forecast for you

when the now tampa bay returns, the creative way that one city is getting rid of rodents without any toxic

>> the school's mascot is an indian. well, the superintendent says it's designed to send a positive message. >> out of respect not just for the community but the entire

so no negativity intended at all. just respecting the rich culture. >> a member of a local tribe says it misrepresents native- americans women and that the totem pole is to honor tribal leaders. the poster has not been distributed yet. the school district is reviewing it to see if it needs to be changed. last week nicole grigg was in st. petersburg showing us an area where people are complaining about a rat problem. >> big ones too. pe rats, put another traps. but the city of chicago is doing something interesting. >> they're dropping dried ice into rat bureaus to suffocate them. this is video of -- please do not try that at home. you know better. this idea actually came to him while he was trying to get these rats out of the city. well, also in new york, they have tried that.

>> apparently it's working. you may have noticed a lot more drones by the way in the sky recently. the f.a.a. just started giving out pilot licenses for drone operators less than a month ago. yesterday the director of the drone office says already more than 5,000 people have passed the exam to get a drone. he says they're on track to easily exceed their estimate of having 15,000 licensed drone pilots by the end of this year. he says 550,000 drones have in the last nine months and they're getting 2,000 new registrations every single day. giant pandas are no longer on the endangered species list. but it takes a lot of work to keep them there. how they are prepared for the wild. plus, the recent move making it easier for people to find out about clinical trials. the trials sometimes the difference between life and death. you're watching the now tampa

>> the giant panda is now offer the endangered species list which is why we have these adorable videos to show you. five weeks old and can't roll over. that's me after leg day at the gym. >> the effort to make sure that they keep populating is just starting. we found out what is next for the panda and the ongoing efforts to keep so many other animals >> reporter: it may be the world's most famous bear, the giant panda. now that it's no longer endangered, another round of work begins to make sure it stay that's way. >> we need to continue to do what we have been doing, establishing protections, finding out where they're going, where they are. >> reporter: the wildlife fund has been working with the chinese government since 1981

the reserves now protect two- thirds of wild bamboos in the forest where they get their food. there are 1900 pandas in the wild and are still considered vulnerable so the work will continue. how do you prepare the condor to be release today the wild. >> reporter: it's something that brian at the denver zoo has done with near extinction. >> we make sure that they don't look to human for resource snooze releasing a captive animal into the wild is difficult and rare because you need to make sure they're equipped to do things like find food and fight off predators. the effort to do so is worth while. and the condors are proof. >> we know they are doing well. there are a number that have gone on and reproduced.

the giant panda's immediate future below zero future but it's a goal. the conservation of nature says that climate change could destroy 5 approximate approximate percent of the habitat of the panda so the population may go back down, reversing the gapes made in the last decade. tonight is the harvest full moon. it gets that name because it happens at the end harvest season so farmers could work later into the night with the help of the moon's light. according to this map tweeted out by noaa, florida and tampa bay are shaded gray. that means it will be harder for us to see the harvest moon through the cloudy skies. i'll trust what shay is telling me. i won't go out if i can't see it. what do you have to say. >> the best time to see it is midnight and daybreak tomorrow morning. >> yeah. i won't be out there.

clear. so you can see right now that we've got quite a bit of cloud cover as we're looking over south tampa right now. that's because we have the hit and mitt showers bubbling up across the area. the heaviest rain is around palm harbor and the safety harbor area and moving around clearwater and also into parts of southern pinellas county. also in hernando county if you're around brookridge or timber pines, you're the heavier downpours there. it's just the hit or miss variety. nothing out of the ordinary. right now it's bubbling up. most of the showers and storms, even though we have had a west to east flow today, are moving so if you're looking at the radar tonight and wondering where the showers and storms are moving, again, they are moving towards the southwest. we will have in storms. these will linger until midnight until they taper off.

and evening showers and storms. the heaviest are going to be south and east of tampa unty, if you're in manatee and sarasota counties, you have a greater chance for rain tomorrow afternoon than the rest of the area. what does this mean for the beach over the weekend? morning rain is unlikely tomorrow at our area beaches. we will have the afternoon showers and storm that's will affect all areas. again, the heaviest to the south and east. and then on sunday, though, we have a west to east so that means a decent chance for a few showers up around the pinellas county beaches, anywhere around clearwater, on down to st. pete beach. then there's a low chance of afternoon showers and storms. take your pick depending what time of day you want to go out to the beaches. there will be dry hours. 86 is the water temperature out in the gulf right now. as we look at the conditions over the next couple of days, we have higher chances for showers and storms early next week. at least for the weekend,

so bad. now, denis has got the night off. i have the 7-day forecast for you coming up at abc action news at 5:00. paul. >> thank you, shay. breaking news between the ongoing battle between uber and hillsborough county. we are learning that uber has proposed a temporary agreement to operate legally in hillsborough county while they figure out a permanent agreement. as you may know, one of the big battles is fingerprinting. so uber voluntarily get fingerprints but not require them. no word if hillsborough county has accepted this proposed compromise. laura. >> well, no matter where you stand on climate change, nasa says the amount of ice in the architect ocean just reached a record low this month. nasa just releasing these pictures taken above the earth by a satellite. they show the amount of ice last fall and then through the

there. on september 10th, it hit the second lowest level in the 37 years that nasa has been tracking this. earlier this week, a new study from the university of washington suggested that polar bears are becoming increasingly at risk because of the changes in the arctic cap. wells fargo could be in more trouble today. the house financial services committee is starting to investigate the company's sales practices. it also plans to call wells fargo's chief executive to a hearing later this month so that he can lawmakers. the bank is paying millions of dollars in fines after the staff is accused of opening up 2 million fake accounts without customers' knowledge or permission. workers say they were dealing with pressure to meet unrealistic sales goals. the head of wells fargo is expected to get grilled by a senate committee next week and the bank is being investigated as well. pilot error, that's what

angels jet to crash in a field in tennessee back in june. marine captain jeff kuss was killed in the accident. investigators say he lost control of the jet because he was flying too fast and too low. it was part of an air show. the navy says that pilot fatigue and cloudy weather were contributing weather. the type of cancer killing children is changing. there's a silver lining in new information out today. the number of young children and teenagers dying from cancer is going down according to the latest numbers. 20% now compared to 1999. 2 children out of 100,000. that is close to 3 out of 100,015 years ago. it's brain cancer that is now killing more children than any other type of cancer. it used to be leukemia but better treatment for that type

survive it now. >> it's not just children's cancer, cancer overall is the most significant health care challenge right now. that's what people say in a recent survey from the mayo center. you will soon have a better idea of what clinical trials are going on and where they're happening and whether or not they're going to work. the national institute of health have brand-new rules out requiring researchers and drug companies to register more information about their studies, along results, good or bad, for the public to see. the idea is to give you the information that you need if you want to take part in ongoing clinical trials and make better decisions with your doctor about possible treatments and the risks. the nih could fine the labs that do not comply with the rules and withhold money. and there's a whole another

of allegiance right now. she is native america and says the american flag isn't there's. so they refused to say the pledge of allegiance. and the teacher lowered their grade because of it. this is what the teacher had to say. >> if you want to have an argument and feel strongly about that, i need to see it written out, your argument in a written form. here is the real thing, those people, they're not alive anymore. >> she says the military and that they risked their lives for us. but then i always give her the, well, my people risked their lives for our freedom, for our land, for our rights. >> that teacher telling the student to an essay why she didn't want to say the pledge. the teacher has been punished. the superintendent says that the students have first amendment rights. by the way, here in florida

their parents submit written permission to the school district. we're going to go back to the breaking news of the beached hump back whale in new jersey. we're learning that it has in fact died. you see it there. this is video from a short time ago. it is 25 feet long. we're learning adult hump back whales are usually double that. we are waiting to find out how long it's again, unfortunately that whale has died. people in south florida apparently want the iphone so bad today that they're willing to wait in a zika hot zone for it. when they were asked if they were concerned about the zika virus, mixed results. >> we were at the beach yesterday. and, you know, the zika plane was passing by. and -- >> so that's on your mind now? >> not really. >> i have my sweater in here.

of any zika virus. i'm always protected. >> i have familydown in miami. i can tell you it's just another day in miami down there. they have to live with this every day. this store had a huge line overnight. you see them waiting in the lawn chairs. apple says the lines are exhausting but worth the wait. >> people are still standing in line for iphones. >> that's still a thing. >> i didn't know that. the south florida police department has new tactics when it comes kids. >> the now introduces us to rocky. >> use cute. >> give me five. >> reporter: he is cuddly. >> do you want to lay down? are you lazy today. >> reporter: and he is ready for tlc. but rocky isn't here to play fetch. >> he knows he has his vest on so he won't play. >> reporter: the two and a half- year-old chocolate lab is helping police obtain case

of the smallest victims. >> instead of the fear of talking to an adult, they see the dog which gives them comfort and reduces their anxiety and they feel more comfortable talking to us as investigators. >> reporter: it's part of a program that started in central florida, training rescue dogs for the force. not every dog makes the cut. rocky was first a therapy dog and then went to the doggy police academy in brevard county. his handler an integral part of the force. >> i previously did investigations without rocky and it was difficult to sit with a 5-year-old, a 6-year- old, 7-year-old because they're looking at us as we are adults. they don't know us. they don't know who we are. and for them to tell their horrific story to usas got to be very stressful. >> reporter: it's an approach that works. in his first case, rocky was brought in to comfort a 15-year- old victim who refused to talk

>> without him there, we would have never -- we never would have received from her. we wouldn't have known who she was, where she was from and what happened to her. >> reporter: rocky sits with the victims during the interviews with detectives and as they meet with attorneys. >> you need the dog to be there for you when you're not having a good day, when you need somebody sitting there and comfort you and let you feel loved. that's what rocky does. and rocky brings that to these victims that need that during this crisis in their lives. >> got to love rocky. we have breaking developments on the sink hole out at mulberry at the mosaic plant. i'm paul lagrone and that's it for the now tampa bay. >> abc action news at 5:00 starts right now. >> i'm concerned. are my kids going to get sick?

>> families fearful over radioactive water. the actions they're taking because of this huge hole full contaminated water. and why families didn't even know about it for weeks after it opened up. good evening. thanks for joining us. i'm wendy ryan. >> and i'm jamison uhler. we're getting a look at this sink hole at the mosaic plant. >> radioactive water gushing into the aquifer below ground. you can see that pouring into the huge hole. the hole is at least 45 feet across and could be as deep as 300 feet down. >> we don't know the depth for sure until crews can build a rig to measure it sometime next week. one geronimo says i can's payroll says that the water is radioactive and he would still let his kids drink it. >> but as our ryan raiche found out, that's not the case for a lot of frustrated residents who live nearby. ryan, tell us about it. >> reporter: yeah.

be safe than sorry. let me give you a lay of the land on the mosaic property. if you look past the smokestack, beyond the smokestack, a mile or two miles from where we're standing right now is where the sink hole opened up. far away but for many too close to home. for this mother, those days of grabbing a glass of water from the kitchen sink are on hold. >> the first thing that comes to your nd when you hear radioactive >> reporter: even if the water is safe, she struggles to believe them, knowing that her well, some 300 feet deep, is just a few miles from the massive crater where 250 million gallons of toxic water is spewing into the ground. >> i'm concerned. are my kids going to get sick? >> reporter: today mosaic tried to temper nerves. >> if you had kids that lived three miles away, would you let them drink the water. >> yes, i d. the water is safe to drink and