channel 9 eyewitness news continues right now at 5:30. >> brand new at 5:00, it's something most of us do every day without thinking but an orange county teacher said her posts on facebook got her yanked from her classroom. >> a teacher criticized standardized testing on her pers al page and orange county schools moved her for it. but an arbitrator said she must be given her job back. julie salmone spoke with that teacher said. she said it's a win for teachers across the district. >> reporter: i spoke with her by phone and she told me that teachers should have a voice and should not be afraid of retaliation. she wants her job back here at avalon elementary school where she's taught for more than 12 years. >> on august 9th of 2014 wendy lowery a speech and language

saying, will we fire up the mama bears, i hope so. we need parents to demand a change and stop the testing craze. >> she often posted quotes and links to articles she found interesting and were of public concern. the posts on her personal page caused the school district to move her in 2014 so a less desirable position as a floater. >> according to a 23-page document released this week an arbitrator pointed to her protected first amendment speech and ruled orange county public schools must offer her her old job back at avalon elementary. the district violated her contract when they moved her. >> according to the arguments the district argued that the move wasn't to discipline her and her pay was not reduced. >> the arbitrator were found the posts were done on her own time in her own computer in her own home. they were not

>> reporter: i reached out to the school district about this. they told me they are aware of the arbitrators ruling and right now they are evaluating it's options. right reporting live in orange county, julie salmone, channel 9, eyewitness news. super tuesday is in the books now and one campaign is already taking a step back. doctor ben carson announced he will not be at tomorrow night's debate because he no longer seeing a path forward. christopher heath joins us you now. which candidate will this help. >> the bulk of his support came from someone looking for an outsider. as far as an outsider goes that could seem to be this guy here, donald trump who is consistently held that demographic of being an outsider. on the values question look to these two, ted cruz and marco rubio to try to pull in all those supporters. >> as late as tuesday night -- >> they have weaved such a

very difficult to untangled it. >> dr. ben carson saw the writing on the wall. today he made the announcement, he's skipping the next gop debate saying he no longer seeing a path forward. now there's one less candidate as a new group of voters hits the polls including early voting here in florida where 655,000 people have already cast ballots. one of those voters marco rubio. >> it's an incredible privilege and honor to be able to vote for myself for president just a few blocks from where i grew up. >> rubio and jeannette cost their ballots in person. >> what an honor to vote in the place i started my career. >> as rubio mounts a come back in florida where polls have him down double digits from donald trump is ghost from 2012 is back. mitt romney will give a speech on thursday at the university of utah. he said he will not enter the race although some have suggested he may be

gop candidates enough delegates to win the nomination. >> a report released yesterday released that some within the gop were trying to convince ben carson who recently moved to florida to run for rubio's senate seat. carson has not said if he will run for if senate. if he does he will be the 10th republican including two sitting congressmen to be in the race. if florida lawmakers get their way your gun license could ensure that your ballot could wants on election day. legislature approved a bill to to show new ways to prove who you are to vote. the next step will be to put that bill on the governor's desk for approval. a cruise ship battered by a major storm arrived back to its home port in new jersey this morning two days early. royal caribbean's anthem of the sea skipped the last two planned stops to avoid another storm.

ship took a beating from 30 feet waves and 120 mile per hour winds. passengers on this week's short trip didn't seem to mind coming back early. >> i didn't get a chance to see the islands i wanted to see but i had a wonderful time. >> royal caribbean said more than 100 of these ships, 6,000 passengers and crew got sick with a norovirus. the company said the captain was following a new storm avoidance policy put into place after the ship was damaged last month. two upcoming shows in ocala will run as scheduled despite protest from some citizens there. last night the city council heard public comments and decided not to take any action. some people complained saying the vagina monologies are too risky. concerns are growing over which government agencies are allowed to track your cell phone. last october 9 investigates first told you that local police are quietly

called a sting ray. now as channel 9's george collie reports it's not just police using those devices. >> sting ray devices act like a cell phone tower. used by investigators it collectingses day -- collects data. it's not only police who are keeping the secret. >> the irs owns them. we don't know what they're use d for and to my knowledge they have not released public policy governoring how they are used. >> the department of justice 's policies regarding their use and what done with the information is limited and not standard. >> that guidance is far from sufficient. it doesn't apply to states and localities. >> you can't give them the memo to tell them how to use it. >> lawmakers are growing transparency or the policy

tracking you on your cell phone. >> do you have the same agency that went after people were exercising their first amendment rights to have this technology. >> the committee is concerned about the over reach of government prying into people's living. >> the doj promises to allow lawmakers to review their policies but only to chairmen of the committee and with many restrictions. george collie, channel 9, eyewitness news. next month the pentagon wants to use hackers to test the security of the government network. the pentagon will take extra measure to keep hackers from accessing the most sensitive networks. today we found out $22 million could soon be coming to florida's foster care system. >> in november we told you how new stricter laws created to protect children resulted in more children being removed from their homes. the money may not be the only solution to the problem. community partnership

volusia, flagler and putnam counties has seen an 80% of increase of children removed from their homes. leaders say they need more families to open their homes. >> it definitely is challenging but the rewards greatly out weigh the challenges. >> now if you want more information on how to welcome a foster parent go to wftv.com/weblinks. the two survivors from last month's apparently random shootings in michigan are doing better today. 25-year-old tianna and 14-year-old abigal are still in the hospital. she said he sensed trouble when children said they should run to a home. jason dalton is facing murder charges. whole foods has recalled maytag raw milk blue cheese

found in two lots of the products. whole foods said the may tag dairy farms has suspended production distribution. no illnesses have been reported yet in connection with that recall. smokers in need of a quick nicotine fix will no longer be allowed to use e-cigarettes. they were planned on commercial flights. traditional cigarettes were banned from airlines 30 years ago. it was unclear whether that ban would apply to e-cigarettes. aresol contained chemicals that could be harmful to people. the police department recognized officers and citizens today who went out of their way to help other people. it honored community service. one of the officers said he was removed to help a homeless man after the man put a dog's well being ahead of his own. >> i arranged to meet him the

i gave him a sleeping bag of my own, a tent of my own and some dog food. >> they recognized good se fair -- samaritans including a quick acting crossing guard. nearly a year after the city of orlando green lighted plans to buy body cameras for police officers we found many still don't have them. >> new at 6:00, what the chief is doing to hold up the program and the repairs orange county workers to doing to make sure kids can't get access to a dangerous canal. >> eyewitness news is taking you inside central florida's only medical marijuana nursery. how it could open the door to more potent medical marijuana sales. >> the weather is fantastic be you our fire danger is growing.

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we're following some breaking news right now in volusia county and here it is. sky witness 9 live over a brush fire in ostein right near the seminole county line. there are reports of structures in that area. you can see lots of smoke and plenty of flames too. firefighters from both volusia and seminole counties are working to contain the flames. we'll bring you another update as soon as we can get one. tonight a central florida mom and dad are still waiting for medical marijuana they say will help their 2-year-old son. >> channel 9 first told you in november that a winter garden nursery had been given a license to cultivate and dispense charlotte's web. ty russell got exclusive access to that nursery to find out what's holding up the help for that family and what's being done to protect neighbors. >> we're just in the process of waiting.

husband roberto. the nursery was awarded the sole license in central florida to cultivate and distance charlotte's web. it's low in thc. >> it's a blessing and we know that god is the one that did this. >> since the announcement only channel 9 has been allowed inside the nursery. this is where we met with the family and the president of the nursery, bruce knox. we talk today knox -- talked to knox after he met with the family looking to get help with their son. he has one more inspection. >> we hope to be cultivating or dispensing late summer. >> knox said he has relatives who have epilepsy and it was them who changed his mind set. >> people want to know why are crow doing this? -- you doing this >> it started out as a business opportunity. >> this is a business surrounded by families and

what knox is doing as long as it's safe. >> security is number one with my family. >> the security measures are already in place? >> yes. >> knox said there are cameras, fencing and an alarm. we learned this location could be the home of other types of medical american if voters approve amendment 2 this november. knox said that's not his priority right now. >> we're focused in on high cbd medical cannabis at this point and helping families. >> families like the krislow's. >> i know it's going to better him. i'm excited to see. >> ty russell, channel 9, eyewitness news. >> 9 investigates learned that knox nursery will serve as the only central florida location where patients can purchase and pick up charlotte's web. >> we want to know what you think about this story and about medical marijuana in florida. let us know at the wftv facebook

the florida house of representatives discussed changes to the 2014 law that was supposed to make charlotte's web to some patients like the krislow's son. it would allow dying patient to have access to medical marijuana. we learned the first nighttime show at disney's animal kingdom will debut in less than 2 months. the rivers of light show will be set on the discovery river in the asia section and feature an ancient lantern festival. it premiers on friday, april 22nd. astronaut scott kelly is back on earth. >> he landed this morning in kazakhstan. you can see kelly emerging from the capsule giving two thumbs up and a peace sign. he said leaving the space station was bittersweet. >> been there a long time so i

it's a magnificent place and i'm going to miss it. mixeded emotions. >> he circled the world 5,500 times. that's 143 million miles. it's the longest duration space flight by an american. >> he was up there doing experiments and giving us a great view on social media all the time. >> he helped us out with our tropical stuff. he would send good pictures. tonight we have the fires burning that's up in the ostein area and a sign of how dry things are getting right now. we all remember the widespread fire issues and right now they're working on that fire in the ostein area. live from sky witness 9 let's see what we can. downtown orlando has a cold front moving through. west breeze will get cooler tonight as the air drys out some. over all that west wind is feeding that fire. 78 degrees in titusville right now.

about 20 to 22 miles an hour. you can see that well on early doppler 9 radar. you can see the smoke that's trailing downwind over the oak hill area. if you've had fires in your area it's been one shop stop for smoke. this is what it looks like as we zoom in closer here just to the north of ostein, may town road. you can see the region here and the winds blowing all the fire downstream. so the next few days temperatures warm not as hot as they're going to be in the summer obviously. we don't get as much evaporation. the fire threat can really get high in the summer. right now the breeze and low humidity keeping a higher fire threat around. it's been a month since we had a half inch of rain. we only picked up 1.69 the last 30 days. that means the high fire threat will continue. no rain along with the front. we told you told of it would dry up. temperatures in the upper 50s,

the flip side of the no rain is great weather for out door plans. tomorrow clouds hovering along the coast. here comes a better chance for a fast moving shower early on in the morning. i know the pollen count is through the roof. i've had people comment we need a good steady rain to help wash out some of the pollen. we'll get some of that done on friday morning but nothing really heavy as the showers move out quickly before we get to friday afternoon. setting up for a great weekend. of course sunday the debut of orlando city, the coverage live on tv 27. the new home of orlando city soccer club. a 2:00 p.m. kick off. temperatures you can't booet it beat it at 76 degrees. welcome to florida. 54 tonight, partly cloudy. breezy tomorrow with temperatures into the lower 80s. that's despite a cold front. here's your five day forecast with the weekend always in view, 82 for tomorrow. there's that chance for rain early in the day on friday.

gone by the time you get up. saturday looks fantastic. sunday we're back around 80 degrees. as you can see monday we're still in the 80s. 9 investigates just got new documents that may be linked to the federal investigation into congresswoman core rooen -- corine brown. >> the citizens want the body cameras out there. >> we're all on fixed incomes here. some people barely get by. >> why one city is looking to raise water rates by nearly 25%. >> be an eyewitness with exclusive video reports. download the wftv news app today. the wftv news app is

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tonight an 8-year-old is fighting for his life. >> he tried to cross a canal but fell 10 feet into the water below. several students were on their way home from river side elementary school when that boy fell in the water along state road 434 near maitland boulevard. roy ramos is there live right now. roy, today workers fixed a hole that made it possible for that child to cross the canal. >> reporter: you can see where crews added this new fencing over the old damaged one. they said they're building up the ground so that kids can't pull up on that fence and make their way inside of this area. they say the water is 8 feet deep. >> i just could not imagine being the little boy or his mom.

>> parents from river side elementary are praying that 8-year-old shamar franklin pulls through a coma he's in right now. he and his brother and friends were taking a shortcut home when franklin attempted to cross a canal and slipped and fell in the water. >> little boys will be little boys and climb and go where they shouldn't be because that's what they want to do. >> county workers arrived this morning to make repairs to the fence. this hole is where they believe that 8-year-old boy crawled through. the children may have pulled the fence up. they already added new fencing here. county workers are adding additional fencing so kids can't get in. >> we came out and identified a couple area where is the kids tore our fence. >> workers said they were unaware of this 3 feet hole and other damaged areas that surround the canal. >> we went ahead and fixed the areas we found. >> do you think that will stop these children?

>> reporter: and i did get a chance to speak to the victim's father. he told me that his son is in critical condition and has been placed in a medically induced coma. we will continue to check on his condition and let you know of any updates that come our way. here in orange county, roy ramos, channel 9, eyewitness news. we know the names of two people who were kill in a crash that shut down part of colonial drive on christmas during rush hour traffic. you can see from sky witness 9 how violent this crash was. investigators say the white pick up truck took out the back half of that minivan. the driver of the pick up truck had minor injuries. no word on any charges. the tavares city council is talking about spending more than $230,000 to expand their library. the money would go towards design, engineering and permit costs. it covers 9,000 square feet. the last expansion

brand new for eyewitness news at 6:00. >> 9 investigates just got some new documents that show why the feds may be looking into congresswoman corine. >> the new steps that police are taking after a sanford girl found a gun and accidentally shot herself. >> why one (phone ringing) you can't deal with something, by ignoring it. but that's how some presidential candidates seem to be dealing with social security. americans work hard, and pay into it. so our next president needs a real plan to keep it strong. (elephant noise) (donkey noise) hey candidates,

9 investigates just obtained new documents that may show why congresswoman corine brown is under investigation by the feds. new at 6:00, the potential ethics violation we uncovered.

documents showing congresswoman corine brown's name and the u.s. house seal were used by a group claims to raise money for scholarships. >> daralene jones has been following the story for weeks now after learning brown received a subpoena from federal prosecutors. daralene, we still don't know what's in her subpoena. >> reporter: that's right, we don't. sources say others have been subpoenaed for documents related to this organization. you're about to see how one door for education tried to get money from public officials, organizations and agencies in jacksonville and orlando. tonight the u.s. house committee on ethics will not confirm or deny an investigation. >> invitation to a golf tournament, inauguration festivities and receptions going back 4 years. all of these events hosted by congresswoman corine brown. her staff was involved in planning or at least aware. >> one invite to orlando mayor buddy dire on official congressional letterhead. other with a u.s. house of