crumbling construction by kb homes. >> reporter: first, we want to get you up to speed on our investigation. in august 2012 we first brought you the stories of new condos with leaking walls, unstoppable mold and crumbling balconies. in september 10 investigates revealed kb homes might have known about the problems before selling the units. then in october, as kb started to patch up some of the problems, a state senator pleaded for attorney general bondy to get involved. in may of 2013 she did assigning a team of attorneys to examine the construction. tonight bondy is coming down hard on kb homes to pave the way for thousands of homeowners to get part of a $10 million payout. >> what does this mean for homeowners that have been fighting for years to get help? >> the settlement means these

believe me it is hard for many of them to believe. some of them have been living out of hotel rooms for years with a house unlivable full of mold. this settlement kb homes signed with the attorney general will provide relief for thousands. >> the mold goes from the top all the way down. >> reporter: patt's townhome in lakewood ranch has been in dismay for years. >> the whole house is filled with mold from the top of the floor all the way down. >> reporter: his home one of thousands of homes with countless problems built by kb home. >> i have been in a hotel 270 days. i have over $50,000 on my credit cards. >> little technical difficulty there. kb home released a statement about the settlement saying they have cooperated with the attorney general's office to address issues with residential

they are committed to provide quality homes and they stand behind their products. of course, we'll stay on top of the settlement process. jennifer titusville 10 news wtsp. >> noah pransky first exposed the alleged deceptions in 2012 and first broke news of the settlement this afternoon on wtsp.com. he is with us here in the studio tonight. why did the attorney general come down so hard on kb homes? >> it came down to a couple things we have been reporting on for years. first and foremost kb, according to the attorney general they seem to know about construction defects before they sold these homes. they kept the problem secret anyway when they sold them. second thing, the corporation slammed stucco haphazardly on these homes. our series florida's stucco

across the state were faulty. it leads to cracking stucco, which leads to leaks and wood rot which leads to your home falling apart from the inside out. if you own a kb home built since april 2005 you can request a free inspection. we have details on the settlement and more information at wtsp.com. if you own another builder's home you may want to do your homework. stucco can be a big problem. check out florida's billion dollar stucco problem on wtsp.com. when your home turns ten years old, florida law takes away any legal rights you have to sue your builder for construction defects. it is worth taking time now to look into your home if you have stucco. make sure there are no problems down the road. >> it is definitely a good thing to do. reading through bondy's statement she echoed what you found.

followed our investigation in 2012. one thing they found was inspect these homes. some of this blame belongs on the county. comment today. if the problems were in kb homes in manatee county i would be nervous about the others. straps are there. see if the stucco was properly done. there is a lot of things that can go wrong in homes if they were not built correctly. a lot of people want to know if they are protected. all that stuff at wtsp.com. we want to educate everybody. >> that's right. noah pransky great reporting by you and the 10 investigates team. we have made it easy for you to find out your status on

it is a 10 news crime alert. another skimmer found inside of a sarasota gas pump. it is the second skimmer found in sarasota in the past week. officers found this information stealing device on an exxon pump. a clerk noticed the pump security tape missing. nobody knows how long the skimmer was stealing information. commissioner putnam says new legislation gives police a new tool to prosecuting these criminals. >> it would make it easier to build a case against people in possession of fraudulent credit cards that used the skimmer devices. it will stiffen penalties and strengthen the punishment. >> the proposed legislation is experted to be signed in law this spring. if you use plastic to buy gas check your bank statements for suspicious transactions. days after we told you

your home from criminals we want to know if the same tactic would work for businesses. after someone tried to break into this clearwater business officers checked out the property to see if sharp, thorny plants can help. in this case you would want to use them sparingly. it is important to keep the area visible so people passing by can see suspicious activity. >> you don't want to block the view of the building. keep everything two feet or under. lighting is a big deterrent. >> clearwater police say putting thorny plants around your home is a good way to keep criminals away. we posted a list of plants that could help you at wtsp.com. county by county in manatee brand new solar power plants will triple the amount of renewable energy used in

officials broke ground at the manatee solar energy center in parish. in all three plants will use one million solar panels combined. when you stack those end to end the panels could stretch from florida to chicago. >> it is a huge amount of power. it generates electricity without using any water. on a day like today it is working beautifully. >> three sites will bring 250 construction jobs to the area. the other two plants are in desoto and charlotte county. students might be moving around in polk county as the school district opens a new academy. a civic's academy will open in august. zoning changes will affect 1400 students from six schools. school board will make final decisions in the coming weeks. around the state the house and senate passed dualing budgets and you can expect big negotiations next week. meanwhile the house passed a tax cut package that could give you more tax holidays.

school holiday as well as the tax breaks on computers, smart phones, rifles, tents and fishing supplies. governor rick scott is pushing the legislator to cut taxes by $1 billion this year. coming up, a burglar takes off with something that's irreplaceable. >> reporter: thieves broke this window to get in this new port obvious stuff. gaming consoles and tablets. it is what was on this ledge this family.

(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,

needs a real plan to keep it strong. (elephant noise)

it is bad enough when thieves break into your home and steal your valuables and electronics. >> 10 news reporter jennie dean spoke with a daughter pleaing for the return of her father's ashes. >> i'm daddy's girl. >> reporter: jennifer gets emotional when she talks about her dad.

>> he was my best friend. my husband, my mom and my dad. he was always there for me. >> reporter: she kept his ashes in an antique puzzle box on a ledge in the kitchen that's because they used to enjoy cooking together. >> they busted out the bottom panel. >> reporter: someone broke into her home tuesday afternoon and stole mostly electronics. >> my husband's class ring a gold pocket watch. the kid's tablets. >> reporter: if a few hours later her husband, anthony, noticed something else. >> he said the puzzle box is gone. >> reporter: now she is asking for help to get her dad's ashes back. she says if anyone see as box like this one don't throw it away or ignore it. it might be her most treasured position. >> i don't care about the other stuff. it can all be replaced. but it can't get my dad's ashes back. >> reporter: pasco deputies believe the thieves came

access from the back window. you can see where they dusted for fingerprints to try to figure out who did this. jennie dean 10 news wtsp. >> to take another look at the picture of a similar box go to wtsp.com. if you have any information on this robbery and can help this woman contact the pasco sheriff's office. i didn't get up until about 11:00. you told me cold weather so i'm not going to bother. >> i saw people writing on their windshield. >> a lot of frost in a lot of places. pay off was the light winds made for a wonderful afternoon today. i have more for part of your forecast. let's walk you through it. taking you outside now. gorgeous sunset.

intercoastal southwest from the round about where 60 comes into north of the hyatt. beautiful area here. clear skies. absolutely beautiful start to the evening. with the light winds, we were able to start around 32 in crystal river. 42 tampa. in the 60s as expected. i'm tracking another cold front. before you get nervous, take a look along the front. no clouds. no storms. eventually there will be but that will track over here in the mid-atlantic and track out away from us thanks to this high pressure. that blue h, you want to see that if you want dry and fair weather. eventually part of this front will kick that high out away from us. this front will come through but it will be quiet for us and just keep the temperatures in check. i'll explain this.

still for few more minutes. we are heading in the 50s with humidity 64%. light winds southwest 6 miles per hour. forecast this evening beautiful. nice to see the water settle down. it has take an whole week to get there. we'll have 50s all evening long with clear skies and calm winds. barely registering 3 miles per hour for most of the evening. a little chill will be out there first thing in the morning. compared to where we were this morning, 32 crystal river, 45 is a walk in the park. 45 thonotosassa. 49 new port richey. wesley chapel 41 at day break for your friday morning. around i-75 and east river view, new tampa out to plantty mid 40s. we'll start with a chill. around downtown tampa south tampa and macdill west to the gulf beaches low 50s will be more common. or right around the 50-degree mark.

palmetto and look for temperatures in the low 40s around bartow. about 43 in lakeland. 44 sebring. just like this morning, as soon as we get past the first hour or two of the chill, phenomenal friday is coming your way. high temperatures around 71 in tampa. winds 11 miles per hour at their peek. just picture perfect. everything you have gone through this week for with the winds and cold was for this in time for your friday. high temperature 74 brooksville. 75 sebring and haines city. 72 downtown tampa. light chop on the water if you are taking the boat out enjoy it before the weekend warriors get out there. southwest winds 10 knots or less. low tide 10:30. it will be a wonderful night to head to the florida state fair. 10 news has been your official

if you want to go early before the 5:00 crowds clog up the roads 71 for the afternoon. 67 around dinner time. nighttime rides will feel good with a temperature of 61 degrees and no rain in the forecast. allergy report is the only fly in the ointment i have for the next three days. that continues to be a lot of tree pollen in the air and gets higher for the weekend. load up on the allergy medicine. the weak front shaves the high temperature by a couple degrees. it will provide a cold morning valentine's day afternoon looking fantastic. whether you are going to brunch whether temperatures will be in the upper 40s, lunchtime 67 degrees. late night dinner time low 60s. the need for rain gear isn't until after 8:00 p.m. monday night when we'll see showers and thunderstorms enter the forecast monday and tuesday.

macdill air force base is celebrating black history month by honoring one of the last surviving tuskegee airmen. retired lieutenant george hardy began his military career as a member of the all black 99th fighter squadron. he flew 29 combat missions over germany in world war ii. at the time he says he had no idea his bravery would lead the way to racial integration in the armed forces. >> we didn't know what we were doing at the time. we were just pilots. when we look back, yes, it was all worth it. we paid a price but it was a price we were glad to pay because so much has happened. the air force was the first to integrate. >> a true american hero.

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sports fans just when the lightning thought they were healthy another front line player goes out. jason garrison out three to five weeks with a lower body

it happened on this play in the first period. garrison stayed in for a few more shifts then left for good. matt carl will move up in the defensive rotation. lightning called up coo coo from syracuse. it is now the time steve wraps up the trade talks regarding jonathan. they need another defenseman. daytona 500 gets cranking this weekend. sprint unlimited is saturday. drivers have a day or so to travel around the state and promote the race. today two-time daytona 500 champ and speedway president met with students at usf. specifically students in the sports management program and engineering students. joey has a degree from usf. >> i thought usf would be a great place. i wanted to talk to the marketing students and sports marketing.

>> it is neat the equipment they have here and how they use it. >> this was wild, whacky stuff on "the tonight show" with jim van fleet. russian egg roulette with peyton manning and magic johnson. is it a hard boiled egg or not? that was not. giants of their sport reduced to cracking eggs on their heads. eventually the winner was magic johnson. a unique chance to give a dog a forever home. sarasota animal adoption is slashing breeds for some dogs. you can take home a dog for $40. that includes spaying, neutering, vaccinations and micro chipping. tonight a bit of fun, sea lion inspiration for the stars

the cast of the lion king got a close encounter with real lions. the group toured tampa's big cat rescue today. they say it gave them a unique perspective of the incredible animals they portray on stage. >> there is always something to learn and see the mannerisms and how poised the cats are. we seen a lion that was 500 pounds just sitting around. >> they sit around but when they get hungry they jump. disney's lion king runs through

>> pelley: a key endorsement for clinton and a warning about nominating trump. >> we're going to be destroyed in the general election. >> pelley: also tonight, will u.s. olympic athletes be endangered by the zika virus? a rare one-on-one interview with the head of the c.i.a. isis has access to chemical artillery shells? a college president's scheme to rid his school of struggling students. and a story brings sheer joy to a child. not the words, it's the voice.