still not allowing people back into their homes at this point. >> reporter: just b ehind me you can see that traffic is still being directed around the neighborhood. i'm told in half an hour residents will be allowed back into this neighborhood. fire crews just want to move some equipment. now from sky witness 9 you can see this 45 acre brush fire and some of the damage that was left behind. this was a fast moving fire. today palm bay fire rescue chief stables told me investigators may not be able to pinpoint an exact cause but when you look at the live pictures you can see that this is pretty much contained at this point. still smoldering and there's plenty of fuel for this fire, which is why there was so much concern. it's already caused significant damage to two homes on quinton avenue. >> it ended up burning into a couple of the homes and then an attic fire started. we were

one of the houses is abandoned so there isn't anybody living in it and the other one is occupied. we were able to get those fires out. >> reporter: the chief said the damage was not as significant as it could have been. there was minor damage to two other homes. fire crews plan to be in this area throughout the night monitoring this brush fire even at the roads reopen. live in palm bay, melanie holt, channel 9, eyewitness news. a former seminole county teacher who traded a 16-year-old candy from child porn was sentenced to 27 years in prison, even longer than prosecutors asked for. last september the 59-year-old pleaded guilty. agents found pictures of that girl and others on his computer. tim barber is live at the federal courthouse. that teacher cried in court today but the judge wasn't buying it. >> reporter: it was bizarre. he would go from a cry ing fit to speaking normally just like i'm speaking to you guys right now. it was so bizarre that i asked people, about a half a dozen

what was your reaction to that. nobody was buying it. >> today only eyewitness news was in court where we learned just how dangerous the fbi believes greg vaughn is. in 20113 the haggerty high school teacher met a 14-year-old on a tutoring sight and groomed her to send him pictures for gifts. >> vaughn told investigators they were just role-playing for therapy. he's accused of doing the same thing to a 16-year-old. >> we covered this 1999 fbi investigation that accuses vaughn of trying to meet with a michigan. agents could not prove he committed a crime so the 59-year-old was still able to work here in seminole county until he was arrested. >> today the victim's parents told the judge their daughter has been cutting herself because she battles depression, flash backs and nightmarish dreams.

this childhood event has changed her and she's been in therapy mr. vaughn's sexual out rage. >> she said that vaughn was abused by a alcoholic father and the judge still sentenced vaughn to 27 years in prison calling him a community. >> reporter: vaughn told the court that he's helped thousands of students during his 20-year career as a teacher. he said he's never hurt any of them. vaughn's attorney said she's planning to appeal the sentence. reporting live in downtown orlando outside the federal courthouse tonight tim barber, channel 9, eyewitness news. breaking tonight in volusia county, edgewater police just told us that they will have extra patrols near elementary schools tomorrow after a child said a stranger approached him this morning. a 9-year-old boy said the man approached him on west hergot avenue around 7:30 and asked if he wanted to come to his house.

off and went back home to report what happened. he was able to give a vague description to police. call crime stoppers with any helpful information. now we're watching the progress of the court case of a fired substitute teacher in seminole county. channel 9 confronted holly joel about allegations she was teaching while drunk. >> what was in that bottle? >> please. >> sanford police say joel had a plastic water battle containing pink liquid that smelled like alcohol in a 2nd grade classroom at bentley elementary yesterday morning. she said said she smelled like alcohol and didn't know what day it was. >> that's amazing. i hope that they do whatever they have to do to, you know, get her in jail. >> she drove to work yesterday. i don't know -- >> that's amazing. >> the district hired her as a

a grand jury is meeting to determine if there will be more criminal charges into the federal investigation with the bogus charity with ties to corrine brown. they collected $1 million from donors. daralene jones is in jacksonville and spoke with one donor after he testified in front of the grand jury. >> this is the first time we're hearing from a donor who gave money to one door for education. he's a big time democratic fundraiser, former state lawmaker and now a high profile attorney here in jacksonville. he told the grand jury he thought he was giving money to a non-profit raising money for disadvantaged students. >> one of more than a dozen people 9 investigates caught walking into the courthouse in jacksonville to testify in front of a federal grand jury. >> can you tell us anything out?

charitable contribution that i made. >> federal prosecutors are digging into one door for education, a virginia-based organization that claimed to be a non-profit raising money for disadvantaged students scholarships. the director carla wiley admitted to conspireing with a public figure. >> corrine brown is a supporter of one door. 9 investigates uncovered invitations for one door sent to city of orlando employees. they were hosted by congresswoman brown and bare her signature. >> does it concern you that you that you were duped into giving money to a bogus organization? >> you always want it to work out well when you make charitable contributions. if it doesn't it is concerning. >> we never saw congresswoman

the attorneys representing one of her former staffers vaughn alexander wouldn't answer our questions. >> i'm not going to answer any questions period. i'm sorry. i don't mean to be rude but i can't. >> daralene jones, channel 9, eyewitness news. >> now daralene has been at the federal courthouse there in jacksonville since 7:00 this morning until the grand jury wrapped up this afternoon. the grand jury proceedings continue tomorrow. we'll have more on eyewitness news. stay tuned for that to see what happens with corrine brown. governor rick scott is reviewing a bill that would give financial help to law enforcement families kill in the line of duty. the bill has support from the widows of fallen deputy scott pine. she said her family struggled to make ends meet after he was shot and killed. in just a few hours hillary clinton and bernie sanders will take the stage in miami before the last debate before the

>> clinton is leading in the state by a double digit margin and looking to further distance herself from sanders especially after what happened last night in michigan. christopher heath is live at miami-dade college's kendall campus where the candidates will square off tonight. they had a debate just a few days ago but the people said topics will be driven by what is most important to floridans. >> reporter: greg,er five states will vote next tuesday in the democratic primary. none bigger as far as delegate count than florida. to win in florida means being able to cross not only economic lines but also racial lines. in so many ways what happens here in florida will determine how much longer that race goes on. >> on sunday in michigan the topics were trade and expect hillary clinton and bernie sanders to take on immigration and wages in a topic that's unique to florida. florida it's cuba. >> facebook is one of the

social network has been tracking conversations. immigration and healthcare are the most talked act topics in the state across all party lines and there will which candidate is getting the most traction on social media. >> a lot of conversation about hillary clinton across the >> hillary whose campaign has been on the ground in florida for months seems to have the advantage but bernie sanders with florida the last major southern state sanders is pushing for a share of the state's 246 delegates before the race shifts back north and out west. >> reporter: i mentioned of course a share of delegates unlike the republicans in florida which is winner take all. the democrats you can divide it up. i just spoke to a major democrat and he's backing hillary clinton. he told me that he sees the party coming together no matter who the nominee is. he's hoping it's hillary clinton but he said no matter who it is on the democratic side he sees the party coming together. of course he had a couple of things to say about the republican

we'll have entire coverage of this debate coming up tonight at 10:00 and 11:00. christopher heath channel 9, eyewitness news. tonight orange county deputies said they're seeing an increase in the number of predators targeting children through social media and texting apps. investigators say a victim was contacted by a man on the app kik which allows you to message people you don't actually know. court documents show the girl admitted to her mother that she met up with the 27-year-old several times. a registered sex offender who was caught performing lewd acts outside a woman's window three time social security facing more charges. last week the victim stayed on the line with 911 dispatchers until deputies were able to capture william garwood. garwood is now facing voyeurism charges because he took photos during the alleged act.

sex offender after a lewd act in 2010. like it or not drivers should soon be tolled twice on local roads. it's because local leaders said they were misled. >> it's a waste of transparency to the citizens of central florida. that's why people are upset with the government. >> why metro plan said it was forced to green light a project it doesn't want. >> why the mayor of debary is pushing forward with plans to travel from u.s. to the u.s. on a handmade raft despite warnings from the coast guard. >> tomorrow the hottest day so far. 88 degrees in ocala. when rain will will your honor return. >> we're staying on top of breaking news in brevard county. in palm bay a brush fire has now become 90% contained. folks should be able to return to their homes in the next 20 minutes or so.

this is a letter from someone who's here. she has to take a brand name drug. been taking it since the early 1980's. at that time it cost approximately $180 for 10 shots. the latest refill was $14.700 for the same 10 vials and the company is called valeant pharmaceuticals. i'm going after them. this is predatory pricing and we're going to make sure it is stopped. i'm hillary clinton and i

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express toll lanes will soon be coming to central florida roadways. >> metro plan board thought they would be weighing in on the state's plan to put tolls within a toll lane on the 417. shannon butler found out the board never really had a say. >> the board here at metro plan is made up of elected officials from all over central florida. the room. >> they were expected to vote today on express lanes along the section of 417. for some reason the entire group missed a very important detail, their vote doesn't matter. >> the numbers came in and we're told something different when they walked in the room. that's not conducive to making

no business. >> yeah. >> they told them that legally it's the turnpike's road and metro plan has no authority at all. most of the 20-member voting board agreed that adding express lanes allow you to get around the congestion was not a good idea. they told channel 9 that their understanding from the department of transportation is they would listen to concerns brought on behalf of the taxpayers. now it seems the decision left solely with the >> it's a waste of your time. >> it's not just a waste of our time, it's a waste of transparency to the citizens. that's why people are upset with government. >> d.o.t didn't discuss how this happened. as it stands today the express toll lanes are in the works for the 417. >> lesson learned?

figure out how this happened and they will be meeting with the state to figure out that situation too. shannon butler, channel 9, eyewitness news. >> the board voted project through because there was nothing else it could do. it wanted to preserve the relationship and reputation of the product. marion county leader want to make sure you know everything about the county sales tax initiative before next week's vote. they'll hold two meetings on the issue at 10:00 a.m., 6:00 p.m. tomorrow officials say if if voters approve it the money would go towards law enforcement and emergency services. the meetings will be at the mcpherson government complex in ocala. closing arguments could bin tomorrow in a case connected to a dog fighting operation. investigators seized 30 dogs in a home about 2 years ago. police arrested 26 people. today two were on trail accused of animal fighting.

call in a special investigator to boost their case. >> you can't say with certainty that there's been more dog fights a not at -- at this location. >> that wasn't the first one. >> the dogs spent more than 3 months receiving care at orange county shelters, two were put down, the others were adopted. billy burr turned himself into the brevard county jail yesterday. the sheriff's office has been looking for him since last week after he was not adhering to residency requirements. tonight the mayor of debary is figuring out how to execute his plan to sail from cuba to florida on a raft like this one. today the coast guard urged him no to embark on a journey saying it would force the agency to launch a search and rescue. they said he might not survive a trip.

considering having another boat follow him. johnson said he wanted to do it for the adventure and said he's not crazy. >> are you crazy? that's a question that people have. perspective. >> the mayor built the raft it's seen in his backyard. right now he's planning this trip from cuba to florida for april. orlando city leaders are studies downtown's nighttime economy and talking with staff in larger cities to see how thaw handle their night life. a task force visited charleston, south carolina earlier this month. orlando put a hold on after lasts through october. the city wants to get a better understanding of how they operate with existing laws. that brush fire in brevard sky witness 9 is live over palm bay.

filippo drive have been damaged. firefighters say the fire covers more than 40 acres and is 90% contained. you heard melanie holt about the fact that the homeowners might be able to come back within the hour. >> tom, they don't know how this fire started. it wasn't from a lightning strike. >> no lightning. that's why we try to mitt igate this by controlled burns. this is in the middle of a neighborhood or close by. goodness gracious. a lot of issues for homeowner s. 74 in downtown today. a southeast breeze. brisk in deltona, the up every 70s for the leesberg and villages area. right now winds out of the southeast that. -- southeast that will continue tonight. we have a very nice night for you downtown in orlando by lake eola heights. 67 degrees by midnight. mid 60s in the morning.

depending on where you are for the early morning in orlando. bryan shields will be on the air at 5:00 a.m. look at ocala hour by hour tomorrow, 84 at 2:00, 87 at 4:00 p.m. i'm officially going for 88 for the high in marion county for clermont and the villages. we say well away from the sea breeze along the east coast and continue to warm up as it travels across central florida. 87 orlando, our hottest of the year so far. a very nice spring break, 81 in daytona. it's a mess to the west. we could get up to 12 inches of rain in the western gulf coast here. new orleans in fact has a bull's eye over it with 12.2 according to the storm prediction center. we continue to monitor this whole area back here to the west. we will stay on the drier side of this, this wet weather to the west. we

sunday but see our next best chance for showers in the afternoon. saturday 80 degrees at kick off for the soccer game. there's your five day forecast with the weekend always in view. great weather through saturday really. saturday looks pretty nice. better chance for rain on sunday afternoon and evening. greg will be updating that. we need something to wash the pollen out of the air. >> it's not good for people who have allergies and the like. a local mayor owes the city she serves thousands or dollars for not mowing her lawn. >> the fines have added up to a quarter of her salary. tonight

tomorrow the ucf will place play. >> both games have been close games so i think coming in here today both of us know the value of this game to move forward. i think our guys will be ready to play. else in orlando kids at the front line out reach youth center have a new place to play soccer. the orlando city foundation kicked through the ribbon of the new mini pitch today. the foundation is extending its soccer for success program with players mentoring kids helping to promote healthy lifestyles. >> we really need more programs like this for our youth. we have a family where all the stuff was implemented already but a lot of kids don't have that family guidance. the orlando city foundation has installed the plan. we will

in soccer team usa plays germany at 4:45. -- at 7:45. abc world news to want if you're doing everything right but find it harder and harder to get by, you're not alone. while our people work longer hours for lower wages, almost all new income goes to the top 1%. my plan -- make wall street banks and the ultrarich pay their fair share of taxes, provide living wages for working people, ensure equal pay for women. i'm bernie sanders. i approve this message because together, we can make a political revolution and create an economy and democracy that works for all

breaking news tonight in the race for the white house. the new poll numbers just in from ohio and florida. what donald trump just said. if he wins ohio and florida next, his prediction -- going for a knockout. and the sanders surprise. what happened to hillary clinton in michigan? and get ready. how does clinton take on sanders tonight? zwri also breaking, the severe storms hitting right now. churn rescued. homes under water. from the gulf, all the way up to the northeast, where it's coming next. and the scene tonight, a major gas explosion rocking an american city. buildings levels. streeted covers in debris and glass.