there's a testing controversy in local classrooms how parents are taking action. pleas for understanding. families desperate to help their loved ones push for medical marijuana in florida. fast food changes. the healthier options you may notice today at lunch. good morning and welcome to "10 news early morning." i'm allison kropff. lets get a look at #10weather with meteorologist bobby deskins.

legalize medical marijuana-- is heating up in florida. soon be available for you, if you have a terminal illness. state lawmakers approved it in the house thursday -- and now it faces a senate. there's a major local push for the drug -- and it's being led by a group of women. as 10 news reporter garin flowers explains-- they say they've had enough of seeing their sick loved ones-- not get access to it. kim, rene, moriah, suzanne. these are some of the leading faces pushing for legalized medical marijuana in florida. sot i think it would be very worth it to a lot of these people that are sick and suffering. they all have loved ones facing a serious disease which they believe medical marijuana could help. kim edward's mother suffers from leukemia. sot it's gonna help you feel better and

treatment plans that they're doing now. that's why they've joined thousands of others who are part of women grow. the national group hopes to deliver a unified message. sot women grow revolves around this as an industry and empowering women to be leaders in this as an industry. maria malec is a health educator. she joined the marijuana movement believing in a natural path to wellness. sot things like cannabis and essential oils, they ignite a body's own healing ability. neuroscientist greg gerdeman sees the benefits of medical marijuana. sot it's real medicine. the science that supports cannabis as a therapeutic agent is as mainstream as science gets. stand up: there's also passion mirrored on the other side of the debate. many believe medical marijuana isn't proven and can lead to addiction or substance abuse problems. sot i understand both sides. i'm the mom of underaged kids too and they do realize that it is an illegal drug, but what we do is medicine.

in tampa, garin flowers 10 news wtsp medical marijuana will be on the november ballot as a "constitutional amendment." some opposed to it-- fear it'll lead to the legalization of all marijuana. you can share your thoughts on the issue-- at our facebook page at "facebook dot com slash 10 news wtsp". tampa is one step closer to decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana. that means -- if someone is caught with 20-grams or less-- they could face a fine of 75-dollars for their first offense. you wouldn't be arrested until after the fourth offense. all of this-- is meant to keep "young people" out of jail. the council's final vote is set for march 17-th. north korea has launched another propaganda effort. leader kim jong-un has ordered his country's nuclear weapons made ready for use at a moment's notice. that's according to the country's official state news agency. the threats are an apparent response to new sanctions enacted by the united nation's because of the regime's recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch.

georgia, a craigslist deal gone bad, leads to gunfire outside of a mall. police say a man was trying to sell a computer when the potential buyer grabbed it without paying and took off running. the seller chased the man into the parking lot and shot into the air. the shooter told officers he fired a "warning shot" to scare the robber. right now an investigation is underway in hillsborough county after a gruesome incident at an elementary school. take a look. this is the hand of a 7-year-old boy-- who claims his teacher purposely slammed the classroom door on his fingers. it happened one week ago at "cahoon elementary magnet school in tampa." his mom and dad asked for the child not to be named. they say he needed 12 stitches-- and don't know how much lasting damage there will be. the teacher has

district for 11 years without a complaint-- and is on paid administrative leave while that investigation is completed. parents fed up with the state's "standardized testing"-- are taking action by having their children do nothing on test day. 10 news reporter jonathan petramala spoke with the leader of one of the area's growing "opt-out" movements. heide janshon-opt out parent 05-11 linda cobbe- pasco county school spokeswoman :28-:35 jonathan petramala- :35-46 the florida standards assessment are meant to test students...but some parents are using it to test the system. heide janshon is the leader of opt out pasco. after her two kids break the seal and sign the fsa, she picks them up from school for the duration of the test but linda cobbe with the pasco county school district says opting out is actually illegal. exams that janshon and a growing number of parents believe don't

or school quality and interferes with learning area districts say they don't track the number of opt-out students but they don't believe enough student's opting out to hurt any schools overall grade. in pasco county, jonathan petramala, school district says opting out is actually illegal. exams that janshon and a growing number of parents believe don't accurately assess teachers, learning or school quality and interferes with learning area districts say they don't track the students but they student's opting out to hurt any schools overall grade. in pasco county, jonathan petramala, 10 news wtsp. education officials say over a million and a half students will be taking exams between now and mid-may. of the major online versions that plagued the "florida standards year.

let's take a look the nation and the world in 60 seconds. in pasadena, suspected gunman was arrested after wild, high-speed chase. at one point, the suspect's car mercedes -- and the driver took off running. inside a "honey baked ham store". officers building. suspect was ground and handcuffed. a university of southern maine diagnosed with are investigating whether there's a link between the maine case and an outbreak in new hampshire. 6 harvard students also have mumps right now. most people are vaccinated against it, however, you can still contract the virus. and an emirates flight is flying into the record books. it has completed the longest distance commercial passenger flight ever! the airbus a-380 flew from dubai to new zealand. that's a trip of eight thousand, 824 miles. the non-stop flight took a little more than 17 hours. the new route reduces the current travel time by three

a hostile stage at thursday nights republican debate! donald trump faced off against three rivals and his media nemesis - megyn kelly.# the billionaire businessman also got blasted thursday from mitt romney. just four years ago, romney wanted trump's endorsement. now that has all changed, trump having to fend off those attacks on all sides. ted cruz and marco rubio throwing every grenade they had at trump thursday night. and we now have reports of mitt romney taking a serious look at stopping trump at the republican convention and even jumping in himself.

on the detroit debate stage... romney's comments and while he wasn't on the detroit debate stage... romney's comments sparked the first fireworks. beginning of the rubio. he and ted cruz trump take down release off-the- record new york times interview tapes that may contradict his promise to build a wall along mexico. so with an aggressive performance from rubio but no clear establishment candidate...10news political expert dr. lars hafner says it may come down to the republican convention no matter what the

and that's why... that was mark rivera reporting. we'll find out if cruz, rubio, or kasich can pull it out at the vital michigan primary tuesday. but all three did say they will support trump if he is the republican nominee. right now we're less than two weeks away from your primary vote on march 15th. lawyers have to narrow the jury pool for the hulk hogan versus gawker trial to 9 by monday. hogan is suing tabloid website gawker for one hundred million dollars over a leaked sex tape. thursday, attorneys for both sides had the opportunity to question the remaining 91 jurors. the main questions: are they familiar with hulk? or a fan of his past? they also wanted to know where potential jurors got their news and how close they followed it. the goal is to try and determine who may or may not be familiar with the case. the trial is set to begin monday. check this out: subway is now giving you "antibiotic-free chicken" as an option

subway is the latest fast-food chain to start the switch to antibiotic- free meats. health experts say that switch could prevent a potential catastrophe. you've heard meat with antibiotics isn't good for you, but there's a lot more to the story. the danger isn't the antibiotics themselves, but rather the superbugs that evolve to resist the antibiotics used by large farms. those "drug- resistant germs"-- then enter the food supply. the c-d-c says "23- thousand people" die from superbugs every year. so the questions is: what'll happen to your wallet when meat suppliers go antibiotic-free? in september-- a report graded "25 fast food chains"-- on the use of antibiotics in their meat. only panera, chipotle, chick-fil-a, mcdonald's, and dunkin donuts got passing grades. coming up at 5 on 10 news this morning, new plans

starting to take shape. when we could see them serving. a minnesota couple is in trouble with the law this morning after 95 dogs were found inside their home. people visiting the beach in galveston, texas have to be some slithery creatures. that and more coming up in just about 20 minutes. still ahead here on 10 news early morning, do you have a fear of getting zika? forget the insect repellent. let your laundry keep the pest away and fight zika at the same time. and are you violating your child's privacy but posting their picture on social media? 10 news at the tampa bay lightning have teamed up to give away a v-i-p prize pack... to the april 2-nd "lightning versus new jersey devils" game. one winner will also receive gear signed by the team. just watch 10 news this morning all next week... for the word of the day. then enter to win through our facebook page.

toss to 10 weather xxx bobby weather it could be a major breakthrough in the fight to stop the zika virus. researchers in chile say-- they've developed an insect repellent --that can be added to laundry detergent. and they say it keeps mosquitoes away for up to 24 hours.

interrupts the mosquitoes "reproductive cycle"-- helping to reduce transmission of zika. they've still got to do more tests, but if it's approved, it would be ready for the market immediately. the zika virus has now been confirmed in 24 states, including florida. from hero to suspect, an american airlines flight attendant is out of a job and facing federal charges this morning. the fbi says johnathan tafoya- montano claimed to find and put out a fire in the bathroom on an american airlines flight heading for detroit last month. but -- he now admits to setting it. the 23-year-old is charged with "destruction of an aircraft" and giving "false statements." it's something all parents struggle with these days. should we post pictures of our kids' cute little faces online? are you violating your child's privacy? french authorities say "yes." so they are now urging parents to stop - warning that under the country's law - when children grow up -- they could sue parents for privacy or even jeopardizing their security.

or 50 thousand dollar fine. do you think it's a violation of your child's privacy to post photos online? are the penalties too extreme? join the conversation on our facebook page. what to watch for this weekend -- the florida strawberry festival is in full swing. the annual tradition is back in plant city. the fair draws crowds from around the world - including canada. tickets are 10- dollars for adults... and 5-dollars for children. kids under 6 can get in free. the strawberry festival runs through march 13th. but getting there may be a challenge. there's construction barrels and barrier thonotosassa exit. so, download our we'll help you navigate the best route. our road warrior hilary zalla show you the alternate ways to get to the in tech news, if you have a question for apple - you can now head to twitter for an answer. apple just launched a twitter account dedicated to service issues. it's also offering up tutorials through the account. the handle is "at

coming up on 10 news early morning, europe and get paid for it? the incredible what you would have to do once you got there. what's coming up on tonight. the amazing race, five-o at 9:00. bloods. then tune in to 10 news at 11. stay up for the late colbert and his guests ta leoni and amanda peet. if you love did you know there's a cough liquid that lasts for twelve hours? try delsym twelve hour cough liquid. its advanced formula releases powerful medicine that acts fast enough pressure in here for ya? i'm gonna take mucinex sinus-max. too late, we're about to take off. these dissolve fast. they're new liquid gels. and you're coming with me... you realize i have gold status? mucinex sinus-max liquid gels. dissolves fast medicine.

if you love instagram, you could make thousands of dollars just by taking pictures. netflix is searching for four photographers to take instagram pics of iconic movies and t-v locations across europe. the job description says you'll travel for two weeks, and earn 4-thousand dollars. coming up on 10 news this morning, more development in downtown st. pete. the enormous complex breaking ground today and what it means for

and this is definitely something you don't want to see on the beach: rattlesnakes! where they are being spotted. plus the new tool you can use to make sure you really are getting the fish you ordered and not a cheaper fish. whether you have 10 minutes or 30, we have everything you need to start your day. we'll see you back here in three

good morning and

this morning. i'm allison kropff. and i'm ian reitz. the presidential campaign continues to heat up, and this morning, all the chatter is around the republican debate. 10news reporter emerald morrow is in-studio. emerald, the debate was pretty brutal. but by the end, all the candidates said they'd support trump if he became the nominee. yeah, there were lots of attacks thrown around the stage during the debate, so it might not have seemed like the candidates would have ever gotten to that point. but as the debate closed, trump had everyone on his side. it's almost as though