live, from the station taking action for you, this is abc action news. >> there is a head could want. those are little children. these are babies, and now even elementary school age. >> a day care accused of leaving a four -year-old inside a hot van. parents forced to find out on social media. got details on a new state investigation. >> students at the university of south fa fla on high alert this morning after a young student coming up in a live life-support, the stern warning going out to students this morning. more harm than good. some hillsboro county teachers worry a new suspension program is doing just that. i'll explain why it's causing the controversy. good wednesday morning. thanks fr waking up with abc. >> want to get a look at your forecast on this wednesday. ivan telling us now what to expect. >> it is cold out there. low 40s up into brooksville, that is chilly stuff.

here. 45 at crystal roifr. you work wour way down especial lu along the coast and milder. 53 respectable clearwater, but there's st. pete at 62. we're in the upper 50s at tampa and then mid 50s elsewhere. all of us will warm up this afternoon, but look at this running 9 to 12 degrees below where we were yesterday. watch the traffic cams, as well, tu be usual spots, right, as you work your way from polk county heading into reporting three quarters of a mile and also into eastern pasco as well as sever hills at three quarters. we'll watch that. nothing it'll be an issue. there's the front that brought us all the clouds the last couple of days. it's gone at this point here, left us with lots of sunshine and dry conditions. take a look at the temperatures. despite this chilly start, we'll get back in the mid and upper 70s this afternoon. we'll talk more about the extended forecast and another cool front on the way in a few minutes. good morning, everybody.

work southbound 375 when you try to get off at the exit. the exit isn't closed you might just see some construction crews out there trying to fix that water mane break. checking out our cameras, noticing a lot of flashing lights on the bridge. this is the st. pete side. the camera just we haven't out of us. some police activity. so if you are heading over into tampa on the gandy bridge. make sure you slow down, move over, if you see those emergency vehicles your drive, not too bad, eight nonts get across the water this morning. 5:02. breaking news out of clearwater we're following this wednesday. firefighters now investigating if a space heater might have caused an early-morning fire at a duplex. you can see the inside suffered extensive damage. thankfully, nobody was hurt. frms breaking overnight, students at usf on edge this morning after a vicious robbery that happened on campus. a young woman is roughed up by

jaully. >> rodney dunnigan leave on kal pus this morning. all that's happened near a science building on campus, right? >> that's right. and then, you know, all of this didn't happen too late. around 9:15, this young student was walking on campus alone when two guys walked up and robbed her. now, students across campus combot wind of exactly what was going on when the university sent out an alert late last night chl the this morning, two white males in their 20s, both with shoulder length blonde hair, the second with short blonde hair. thankfully that young victim in this case is not hurt. the university is sending out a strong warning to students this morning to be aware of their surroundings, of course, if you are walking or jogging around campus, do not go alone. stay in well-lit areas. of course, if you are walking alone, take those earphones out of your ear and know exactly what's going on around you.

these emergency beacons and you need help, definitely call. we've been speaking with a number of students around campus gheting their views on exactly what happened. they are testify -- definitely shocked. you'd be spriedz at the number of students coming out alone this morning, however, they are taking safety precautions. we'll have that side to have the story this morning at 6 a.m. for now reporting live, rodney dunnigan, abc action news. frms a winter haeven man who broke into the 18-year-old girl was inside will make his first appearance in court today. erik ellison broke in through a window late monday night. the teen told police at first she heard someone knocking on the front door. she looked out the window and saw a car she didn't recognize parked outside so she went back to the bedroom. that's when she heard glass breaking and saw the man breaking into her house. ellison now facing several charges. this morning, plant city police are hoping you can help

they're accused of pickpocketing at least three shoppers at a publix. investigators say the group of thieves is targeting women. they use a simple strategy. one distracted the customer with small talk while the other moves in and steals a wallet from the purse left in the cart. we talked to one woman who fell victim to the scam. she says these thieves are very good at what they do. >> kind of said somebody behind me, but when i, you know, went to turn, he would ask me another question. basically ask me a question or make a comment where i would turn back around to him. >> crimestoppers offering a reward to anyone who can help identify them. a sarasota day care is under investigation this morning, employees there accused of leaving a child inside a hot van for two hours. a report by the florida department of health says two staff members, including the director of kinder house preschool, left a four-year-old

pafrnts we spoke with say no one at the school told them about what happened. >> i'm aggravated i'm finding out on facebook, of all things, you know, that there was this incident that happened. >> that four-year-old wasn't hurt, but temperatures that day did reach the upper 80s. kinder house preschool now has to pay a fine, and all staff are required to go through two additional hours of training. the director of the daycare is not commenting on the incident. 5:06. vice president-elect mike pence says the trump finished up a combraet day of work yesterday, but the ouster of former house intelligence committee chairman mike rogers and reports of in fighting are calling that into election. insiders say the president-elect's son-in-law is calling many of the shots and getting rid of anyone with ties to new jersey govrper chris christie. when christie was a u.s. attorney, he prosecuted his father for tax evasion, witness tampering, and illegal

trump. rogers, who resigned yesterday, is choes to christie. laura ingram said she would seriously consider becoming president-elect donald trump's press secretary. trump insiders say she's under consideration for the job. in the past,ing ram has echoed trump's call to deport illegal immigrants and repeated spears theorys about clinton e-mail cover-ups. she also continuously blasted media coverage for its bias and connection to what she believes are the establishment politicians on both aisle. one iowa republican is creating -- representative bobbie's suck it up butter cup bill would create new criminal penalties. gridlock on interstate 788 -- 80 in iowa city. >> you do not have a right to throw a temper tantrum on interstate 80 and put my constituents' lives in danger.

state colleges. he wants to cut the budget of any schools that fund grief counselings related to the election above and beyond what's normally available chl he also would penalize schools if they fund political sit ins. iowa state and university of iowa students both held protests, but say no school money was spent on the protest. now, an update on the suspect who police say shot at an unmarked tampa police car and tried to run away. demetrius mitchell is jailed without bond this morning. officers mitchell even realized there were officers in that car tet, but they tell us he fire department at least two shots and tried to ditch the gun after the shooting. police say the officers are on patrol because of other shootings in the neighborhood. two students are being suspended, but it may not be due to improving behavior. it's because of a new program that limits suspensions, but it may be doing more harm than good. the program offers alternative punishment for students who would otherwise be suspended,

overall, suspensions dropped by nearly 8% from last school year to this school year. >> think some places, people are doing fine, and i think other places, people feel that discipline is out of control at the school because students don't feel that there's any consequences. >> administrators now have to get approval before a student is suspended for more than five days. there's still a racial gap in the kids who do end up getting suspended. 2,000 more african-american students got suspended last year than white students. all right. we are talking layers today. that is the key to -- keeping yourself warm and the kids, as well, as we are looking at temperatures with dramatic differences. this morning, 40s and 50s for the bus stop. by 3:00, we'll have temps approaching 80 degrees. we'll talk more about these temperatures and when we can expect the next cold front in just a couple of minutes.

change how we elect a president. how one senator is trying to get rid of the electoral college. frms pipeline protests get heated. why several people ended up in

protesters marched a

country. protest everies drove an suv on the train tracks to block police and then slashed its tires. protesters also accused of slashing tiers on police cars. several people were arrested. this morning, the man hunt is over for the gunman who killed a southwest airlines employee at an oklahoma city airport. investigators found the gunman's bodty in a pickup truck. it was found in the airport garage. detectives say he dmited suicide. investigators believe the gunman ambushed 52-year-old michael winchester as he was arriving or leaving work at the still no word on why, but they do say it was a premeditated attack. winchester is the father of kansas city chiefs player james winchester. a u.s. senate r senator from california. senator barbara boxer saying last week's election is the second time in her lifetime that the winner did not win the popular vote. 2012, donald trump tweeted, quote, the electoral college is a disaster for democracy.

electoral college is genius, and that it bridges -- brings all the states into -- including, rather, the smaller ones into play. warmer in boston, massachusetts this morning than it is in parts of our area. good morning on a wednesday here. frigid start, we'll kaulg it that certainly with 43 twh brooksfield, crystal river, 45. widespread temperatures in the low to mid 50s. the only saefing grace is the water temperatures still in the 70s. that means air temperature there at 62. likewise in parts of breathington at 61. so depending on where you're watching this from, it's either very chilly or very comfortable, and, also, issued. look at zephyr hills now. quarter-mile visibility. that's when you really start having issues seeing the car in front of you. 2-and-a-half miles there at the executive airport. this is one of these situations you're driving along and clear and then you hit that fog rapidly. so just keep that in mind if you are going to be heading

clouds yesterday is gone. in fact, if we look up about 5,000 feet, this is where we find dry air in the orange. that will provide us with sunny skies today, a lot of blue out there and very little if any cloud cover whatsoever. temperatures this afternoon despite that cold start we're having this morning, look at this, upper 70s with full sunshine. we'll do it again tomorrow as far as another cool morning with temps in the 40s, 50s, and 60s right along the coast. once again tomorrow afternoon, in fact, a little easterly components of the wind coming in out of the north's. we'll get temps to the upper 70s to lower 80s. could keep going that way, but we're not. 77 today. look what happens on friday, 80. saturday looks fantastic with temperatures right around 80, but then another cold front comes in quietly without any rain fall, but saturday night, that will set the stage for a vr cool sunday. it is going to be in the 60s with sunshine there. my goodness. we are in the season now.

by the way, as we bottom out monday morning with temperatures even in town in the 40s and 50s and highs in the upper 60s. good morning, everybody. we do have police activity. you can see some flashing lights here. if you are heading over to tampa, you moith run into these flashing lights. no lanes blocked. i think just one lane is blocked so not really slowing you down. still just a nine-minute drive across the water this morning. and a live look right here, this is i-275. no problems here, no crashes or breakdowns. both 275 and i-4 looking great this morning. in fact, i-4, despite some of that fog that's out there, 22 minutes from lakeland into downtown, 70 minutes from 75 down to 275. >> those are stunned bystanders watching a horrible scene trying to figure out how to save people

sadly, two people in one car died. the california highway patrol officers arrived and quickly took over the rescue. the flames are jumping tine tense to reach that there, but one officer uses his squad car to push it away from the other vehicle. firefighters finished the rescue as those bystanders watch. >> get him out, please. please get him out. >> as unfortunate it was that we lost the two lives in the other vehicle, the fact that we were able to save the man from the other vehicle is definitely goes back to what we're here today. >> they're doing their job. they got here as soon as they could. >> investigators say the cars burst into flames after a head-on collision. 5:18. still ahead, stop before you shop and check your kids' christmas wish list. a new list is out this morning of the most dangerous toys this season. we'll show you the top three to watch out for. here is something safe for the whole family. works of art all made out of sand. we'll tell you when you can

beginning today. frms first, a new prototype airplane that in time will whisk you across the atlantic faster than before. >> abc dianne na and candice have the details. >> this could be the future of supersonic air travel. it was just unveiled by boom technologists seating 44 passengers. that means new york to london in just over 3 hours, l.a. to sydney in about 7:00. google prints into digital photos. it uses your phone's camera and flash to scan the photos, then crafts the color and corrects the color. download photoscan for free. fans of the e moshgsoji can rejoice. >> outraged with this, apple's redesign that made the peach look less like a booty. well, the newest software returned the emoji to all its former natural curves. >> its natural beauty booty.

523 tame time. hey, a consumer alert you need to hear this morning. check your freezers. a food meant to be a healthy alternative but could make you sick. weight watchers is recalling its smart ones chocolate chip cookie dou combshgsh sundays.

watch out for. a warning for parents before you finish that holiday shopping list. a new list is out this morning of the most unsafe toys on store shelves right now. the peppa pig set. child safety advocates say is packaging does not warn about the choking hazards for young cuds. no. 2, the elephant pillow. it's said to be unsafe for infants, and babies. finally, the sly ball slinger. has a history of causing eye injuries. >> puts her eye out, love that. >> i know. >> slime boll slinger. >> i know. this is just a name, though. >> yeah. >> maybe it's not the best toy. all right. well, tip of the world's best sand sculptors are coming to the bay area. >> this is a really cool thing to see. i should say standing ovation. see what they did there? >> really? >> it's an international event. sculptors come from awe far away as lithuania, and sing mor. >> to try and win thousands of

this event runs through sunday at gulf front parks. really amazing to see. it's almost like someone pushed him over there and said, go do what you got to do. >> yeah. this is incredible. a nine-year-old saves the day, aching his falling baby brother, but wait until you hear who his family thinks helped this little hero. in pasco county residents are on edge following a string of car police say the thieves are

y2623y yy6y live, from the station taking action for you. >> pickpockets at stores. the simple steps you can take to protect your wallet. thieves traling to pasco county to carry out a string of car break ins. this neighborhoods police say should be on high alert. and new details this morning on the dangers of yo-yo dieting. well eel tell you why it can lead to serious heart health risks. >> i don't know. >> good morning. thank you for joining us. >> we'll start with a check on

it's kind of redundant. that's okay. tell take that. it is invigorating outside. you walk out and feel alive, don't you, with temperatures in the 50s, 40s up to the north. brooksville, good morning. 43 nor you, and crystal river is at 45 right now. this is chilly stuff here, even st. pete down to 62, clearwater in the low 50s and at the airport in tampa, upper 50s. still problems with fog out there. that is thick right across eastern parts of pasco county it is patchy, though. in the a widespread. keep that in mind, the usual spots here will begin to see visibility problems chl 58 by sunrise at 6:53, but it is going to be a dramatic change by later on this afternoon. we're gonna go with late everies today. gonna need to bundle up in the morning, but 77. shorts weather coming back out this afternoon. now, that won't be the case heading into the weekend. we'll talk more about that in the extended forecast in a few