if you're heading to the courtney campbell from tampa into pinellas county, don't get on the courtney campbell. all the westbound lanes are closed. you can't see it from this angle but hopefully captain al will have a look at it in a few >>> right now two bay area police officers and six young people are in the hospital after a stolen car slammed into the officers' undercover pickup truck. you're looking live at the scene now off central avenue in st. pete. those officers were working undercover as parts of a special task force set up to stop young people from stealing cars when this accident happened. one officer we're hearing is from tampa, the other from st. pete. we're also hearing two of the six young people injured? the crash were transported as trauma alert patients. we're making phone calls now, trying to find out exactly how badly they were injured. all we know now is the driver is 25, the youngest person in that car is 15. we'll continue to monitor the get to janelle with another traffic alert. >>> if you're heading to the don't go. we have a major crash involving a semi tru

there is a very serious accident on the courtney campbell causeway that shutdown all westbound lanes. if you are coming from tampa towards pinellas avoid the bridge. take the howard frankland bridge instead. lets go live sky 10. broken down car in polk county on i-4 westbound on polk parkway. it is blocking the right lane. coming up, i'll get you drive times to help you get out the door in time. >>> good monday morning. i'm allison kropff. >> i'm ian reitz. >>> we are on top of breaking news in st. pete. where a stolen car crash sent eight people to the hospital. that includes two police officers. >> 10 news reporter emerald morrow is live where the crash happened on central avenue and 54th street. ironically police were on a stolen car assignment when this all happened. >> reporter: we spoke with chief holloway. he told us five out of the six suspects in this car, this stolen car in the middle of the road over there have all been arrested before for burglary and stealing cars. the pick-up truck next to it is what the other two officers were riding in when these suspects hit this car.

this is a live look at the tampa side of the court of the -- courtney campbell causeway. these cars are heading we're not sure if they are going to let the cars go through or what the situation is there, but if you have not left yet you may want to consider the other bridges. seven minutes, six minutes on the gandy bridge. so just plan accordingly, make sure you keep it here and of course on twitter @tampabaytraffic. >>> fresh off controversial rallies over the weekend donald trump is now heading to tampa today. >> he's making a final push to win florida a day ahead of our primary. and four others across the country. abc action news will be at the convention center in downtown today as trump plans to hold ale arey start -- hold a rally it's free. we have a link to register for tickets. go to abcactionnews.com. >> we're sending a crew there and planning to stream it live on our mobile app. it will be one to watch especially after all the violent confrontation at trump rallies over the weekend. if you work downtown or plan to be in the area, traffic is expected to be a head

courtney campbell causeway. eastbound, just got some delays but leave the house five minutes early and you should be fine. >> tough morning for sure. >> yeah, at least for traffic. >> and there's wet roads as well. >>> we had overnight rain and more rain to come. you can see what's happening in the gulf of mexico. that's still all has to come-on shore. let me show you now as -- come on shore. let me show you now until 6:30, still mostly dry but there's rain offshore that comes onshore between 7:00, 8:00 this morning. and still pocket oscars of rain at 9:30, 10:00. after lunchtime, i take the rain chances out of the forecast. right now, upper 60s to lower 70s. it's very warm and in weather and traffic on the 8s, i have an eight-day temperature trend for you gayle and gene. >> all right, leigh, thank you. >>> back to the breaking news we first told you about. two police officers are in the hospital after a stolen car their undercover truck. investigators are onscene at central avenue and 54th street in st. pete. n

courtney campbell causeway is a mess. all of the westbound lanes are closed and that's because an accident involving a semi-truck and a pole down in lanes. eastbound only one lane is getting by. so how long is the eastbound commute here? almost an hour. you're at about 50 minutes. let's go ahead and look at video here. look at that mess. you don't want to get caught in that. that's the big coke coke cola semi-truck and -- coca-cola semi-truck involved in the accident. take howard franklin bridge or oldsmar avenue, it's a mess. gayle, gene -- >> man, busy traffic morning. thank you. >>> what you need to know before you walk out the door is next. >> including the presidential candidate stumping in tampa today. >>> first, breaking news. the latest on a crash that put two local police officers in the hospital overnight. it's 6:51. i think we should've taken a left at the river. tarzan know where tarzan go! tarzan does not know where tarzan go. hey, excuse me, do you know where the waterfall is? waterfall? no, me tarzan, king

let's talk about the courtney campbell causeway on the pinellas county side. just got word of a collision, keeping an eye on that one for you. good drive on the howard franklin bridge. construction still has university parkway blocked right at i-75. so take fruitville road to the south or to the north state road 70 to get by there. and now we want to talk about u.s. 41. a heads up this morning about a major road project that gets underway today. lutz. crews will close the highway near crenshaw lake road. some worried that the delays and detours will double the commute time. and residents are afraid the traffic delays will become a safety issue. >> that impact with that traffic on those road, there's kids, vehicles, safety, police, all those, the delay lay in time is going to hurt someone. >> u.s. 41 is expected to be closed for about two weeks. that's a look at weather and traffic on the 8s. back to gene and gayle. >> all right. thank you, leslee. >>> a sports spoiler. someone leaked the ncaa tournament bracket online ahead of the official release. ahead, what

the courtney campbell, even worse. this is because we have a crash in the westbound lanes, which is causing some onlooker delays in the eastbound lanes, 37 minutes to cross the causeway now. 23 minutes on the howard frankland. the gandy bridge moving the quickest this morning. at just nine minutes. as i mentioned we have a crash on the westbound side of the courtney campbell causeway. captain al flying over it right now. all westbound lanes still blocked? >> reporter: they are. for the moment. there's a wrecker on scene. they did move the car. hopefully in the next 15 or 20 minutes all lanes westbound will be open. that would be great news because they are turning them around over there by rocky point. eastbound has been open for probably about an hour but because they are trying to get the westbound off of here, eastbound still a mess from clearwater. avoid this for at least another hour. >>> you can see in some of the pictures we're getting wet roads, light showers continue to stream in from the gulf, on top of us th

you can work your way to the courtney campbell. and you could take that. let look at the drive times. you can see options now, nine minutes across the causeway. 07 minutes now to cross the -- 70 minutes to cross the howard frankland and if 16 cars are involved it's going to take some time to get all of that cleared up. 14 minutes on the gandy bridge. we're going to continue to follow this. another update in 15 minutes. >>> a lot of people going to be late to work. no question about it this morning. as we look outside. that is a nice shot. we are basically picking up where we left off from the weekend weather. hope you enjoyed that. a little cool in the mornings, thank you very much the case this morning as well. and temperatures this afternoon climb to the mid and upper 70. we're underway with a spectacular forecast once again. to start your monday. and if 70s aren't enough, we're going to warm up, in fact could be approaching record highs through the middle part of the week. spring is certainly going to be here. you're going to feel it. i'll have the exte

so no need yet to go to the courtney campbell causeway. but look at this accident, all lanes blocked except for the left lane. you got to squeeze by and we have slow and go action across the bridge. that's a look at weweather and traffic on the 8s. back to adrienne and gene. >> looks busy. thank you. place to prevent overprescribing and misuse of painkillers. the guidelines are set to encourage doctors to encouragage parents to try over the counter pain relief instead of the prescriptions. and the cdc recommends the lowest dose possiblele. >>> it's thatat time of year again, march madness traditioions begin in offices across the america. guess what, your boss is likely taking part too.o. so go ahead and do it. a survey found managers are more likely than subordinates to take part. overall, around one in eight americans plan to take part in a pool. just do it for fun. >> and i have not been paying attention at all. i think i might have my husband fill out my bracket. is that cheating? >> yes. we did it last year as a and we're going to do i

at this point, you don't need to take the courtney campbell early. point. but as we move closer to rush hour, of course, it's going to get busier and busier. bridge. he is by the sunshine skyway bridge. look at the fog. you cacan barely see the rest area stop to the right area of the screen. low visibility, use caution.n. the sign says it all. now the sunshine skyway bridge remains open unlike yesterday when it was closed. it is open for traffic but again use caution because it's's very foggy. that's a look at weather and traffic on the e 8s. back to adrienne and gene. >> thank you, leslee. >>> picking up behind toddlers is not easy. >> we will show you the invention that could help clean kids up after a meal. >>> the reason the entire metro that's right after this break. >>> right now, the entire subway system in washington, d.c. is shut down for inspections. it is definitely going to be a messy commute this morning. the metro system closed at midnight and won't reopen until at least 5:00 a.m. tomorrow. that's right, we're talking about a 29-hour shut down

at this point, you don't need to take the courtney campbell causeway. you can still take the howard franklin, easing soon. street. it is fog by again by the sunshinene skyway bridge. use caution as you travel overer to manatee or pinellas. that's a look at weather and traffic on the 8s. back to adrienne and gene. >> thank you. >>> getting discovered is half the battle for musicians really trying to land that record deal. >> yeah. but social media, well, it makes it easier. and now that without your kisses >> still ahead, how one local give his career a big boost. >>> but first, keeping spring break crowds frfrom getting way out of hand. the approach local law enforcement is taking to keep a chaotic scene from happening on our beaches. it's 6:11. >>> welcome back. 6:13. right now, that time of year when collelege students from all over the e country flock to the florida beaches. and police are just trying to keep the peace. this year, they're taking a more proactive approach. news chahannel 8's josh thomas is joining us live from what is obviously now a

courtney campbell, howardrd franklin and gandy in the green indicating no delays. gayle, gene, back to the you. >> thank you. >>> in your vote, reresults are pouring in and already big wins for presidential candidates democrat hillary rodham clinton and republican fronont-runner donald trump. tuesday. trump won in arkansas, virginia, massachuhusetts, wow. from alaska. though the victories put trump nomination. >> despite trump's victory, republican senator ted cruz is not conceding. he claimed victories in delegate-r-rich texas, his home state and oklahoma and right t in alaska. in his speech, he congratulated trump and called on voters and the other republican candidates to come together. >> for ththe candidates who hahave not yet won a state, who have not raracked up significant delegate, i ask you to prayerfully consider our coming together, uniting. [ applause ] >> to our senator marco rubio won in minnesota. race. >> well on the democratic side, hillary rodham clinton came out the big winner of the night. she wrapped up victories in texas, arkansas, massachuse

no delays courtney campbell causeway, up to speed as well. and let's look at sarasota. leigh mentioned fog. and i want to mention overnight construction, this is university parkway underneath i- 75. all lanes are blocked so take state road 70 or fruitville until they wrap up the construction. probably there for another hour. that's a look at weather and traffic on the 8s. back to gene and gayle. >> all right, leslee, thank you. >>> this is really exciting. ahead, what a sale means for cigar city brewing and craft beer lovers. >>> and gas prices on the rise. up next, what is fueling the increase and how much it will you're watching news channel 8 today. facebook and twitter. we have been telling you for days now about all the information you need to vote cetera. i made it easier for you. >>> might not like this. gas prices are starting to oil is on the rise. the national average is still down about 52 cents a gallon from last madge. drivers here are filling up for $1.91 for a gallon on average. and you can find the prices on wfla.com. >>> swipe away tinder users. that's

bay area bridge, no problems with the courtney campbell, howard franklin organdie early this morning. and we have road construction. nothing -- howard franklin or gandy this morning. and we have road construction. more on the accident in a couple minutes. gayle, back to you. >> all right. thank you. >>> right now, fire crews are flames broke out at a ditchen design and remodeling company around -- at a kitchen design and remodeling company around 11:00 last night. we are making calls to determine how much damage the fire caused and what started it. >>> new this morning, an accused wrong-way driver is under arrest after he crashed into a hillsborough county deputy cruiser. eagle 8 hd flew over the scene just south of gibsonton drive during the 11:00 newscast. that is where deputies finally stopped 20-year-old derrick hyde. witnesses report seeing a pickup truck going the wrong way. deputies used stop sticks. eventually deputies were able to corner the driver but not before they claim he rammed a cruiser to escape. no one was hurt. three cruisers were damaged but hyde is now facing seve

and the courtney campbell looking good as well, about 70 miles per hour so if you can get to one of the other bridges you might want to do that. it's taking about 15 minutes to cross the howard frankland now. this is what it looks like at the bottom of the sunshine skyway, you can see it's foggy, traffic advisory issued, people -- highway patrol asking drivers to use their low beams you fet to the top there. >>> this morning problems are still mounting for scandal- ridden automaker volkswagen. hundreds of investors are now suing the company for more than $3 billion. investors from the u.s. along with 13 other countries say the scandal has cost them millions. volkswagen has admitted to installing software on many of its diesel vehicles to cheat emissions tests. the company has since apologized and says it's fixing the cause. >>> palm beach county school officials are blaming norovirus for causing hundreds of elementary school students to miss class. at least 100 children a day at citrus grove elementary school in boynton beach have been sick since last week. monday. norovirus can cause d

he's on the courtney campbell causeway, looks great now in both directions. if you are in pinellas heading to hillsborough it's taking eight minutes to cross the courtney campbell. less than 10 across the other we're also checking things out in the lakeland area, work to you folks there. this is i-4 around polk parkway, no problems if you're getting ready to head to i-4, i checked other streets in the lakeland area, again no issues, crashes or breakdowns. checking your drive times starting all the way back at downtown. eight minutes from 75 to 275. and if you're continuing on frankland bridge it's going to take you five minutes to make that drive and five minutes in the opposite direction. back to you. >>> president obama is going to get a little taste of tampa during his taste to cuba next month. >> the white house says he's going to be in the crowd when the tampa bay rays play an exhibition game against the cuban national team. the mlb taking to twitter to make the announcement. the president later tweeting play ball. the rays will be the first baseball tea

that is the rocky point side of the courtney campbell causeway. very top there left-to-right is the veterans expressway coming from hillsborough to the merge with the airport or on to 275. no delays on this side. everything's moving well. >>> it's a frigid start for some of us, 30s and 40s but we'll get back up to the 60s by noon and then we'll climb up to the low 70s with more sunshine on the way for today. >>> again updating our breaking news we've been following all morning at 6:56. this is out of brussels, belgium. coordinated terror attacks injured. at least these are just preliminary numbers. the airport and metro station near the eu headquarters attacked. the country's terror alert at highest level. the belgian prime minister saying moments ago we realize we are facing a tragic moment, we have to be calm and show solidarity. >>> we will have continuing and "good morning, america" will have it as well. >> we're learning now all three explosions are terror-related. we'll send out push alerts with updates throughout our free mobile app. the pr

the bayshore 3 trail is a one mile extension connecting the courtney campbell causeway to the ream wilson trail and del oro park. that connection will give runners and bikers a traffic-free path all the way from downtown clearwater....all the way to tampa. the trail will eventually connect to the pinellas trial... which runs north and south through the entire county. 3 it's the first tuesday of the month... and that means you can get into the glazer children's museum for free. the offer runs from 2 this afternoon until 7 tonight. and this month's free tuesday couldn't fall on better day... the museum is hosting the 'seuss-tastic' week in honor of doctor seuss' birthday tommorrow. today is 'read across america day'. the kids can come read a book and make their own tasty version of green eggs and ham. 3 and, today at busch gardens... it's time to *twist again, like we did last summer. "chubby checker" is performing, at part of the parks "real music series." of course he invented the "twist" back in the 19-50s. he has three shows today starting at 11-30... and they are all including with nor

there is a very serious accident on the courtney campbell causeway that shutdown all westbound lanes. if you are coming from tampa towards pinellas avoid the bridge. take the howard frankland bridge instead. lets go live sky 10. broken down car in polk county on i-4 westbound on polk parkway. it is blocking the right lane. coming up, i'll get you drive times to help you get out the door in time. >>> good monday morning. i'm allison kropff. >> i'm ian reitz. >>> we are on top of breaking news in st. pete. where a stolen car crash sent eight people to the hospital.

this is the courtney campbell causeway on the tampa side. you can see traffic is picking up. still a good drive time of 17 minutes to cross. howard frankland bridge definitely our busiest bridge this morning. live from sky 10 this is a live look north of fourth street. it is taking eight minutes to cross now. with major delays at the end of the bridge into tampa. bobby? >>> pollen forecast remains on the high side. a lot of folks will be outdoors over the upcoming weekend. you'll really start to feel it. it is all over the place. oak, pine and cedar are affecting you and the grasses are doing their thing, as well, too. but a beautiful weekend to be outside. upper 70s on saturday. upper 70s to near 80 degrees on sunday. even warmer next week. i'll talk about that in my full let's talk about what's coming up in sports. here's dave wirth. >> i'm go one-on-one with one of the newest members of the hall of fame. rays in port charlotte hosting orioles. u.s. women's national soccer team plays england 7:30 tonight at ramond james stadium. that's a look ahead at sports. i'm dave wirth

traffic flowing nicely over into clearwater on the courtney campbell. no crashes or breakdowns. less than 10 minutes to get across all three brings now. checking your average speeds on the veterans expressway, and 275 southbound, both a little slow still in the 40s, as the average speed. 65 the average speed on i-75 into i-4. and your drive times right through the downtown tampa area, back to normal, just six minutes to get from i- 4 to the howard frankland. >>> 9:07. south korea is punishing north korea in the wake of its latest nuclear threats. south korea says it's sanctioning dozens of people and groups in response to the north's warning it would unleash a pre-emptive strike of justice against the u.s. and south korea. >>> up to 150 suspected islamic fighters have been killed in a single u.s. airstrike in somalia. u.s. forces launched the strike over the weekend, u.s. intelligence says the pentagon indicated that the group was in the final stages of preparations for a large scale attack on u.s. and african union forces. the deadliest attack against al- shah bob in more than

this is the courtney campbell causeway, traffic still light, nine minutes to cross the courtney campbell. less than 10 across the other two bridges. we have some construction slowing things down in pinellas county, state road 580, westbound lanes are closed now, in front of countryside high school from mcmullen booth to landmark. a little bit slow as you head in here, you may want to consider taking kurlew instead. and following a crash on i-75 southbound around bruce b downs, seeing a little delay in the southbound lanes, fhp reporting roadblock there. what can you see out there? >> reporter: there's quite a bit of -- something going on. southbound 57 past bruce b downs, both entrance ramps that come off bruce b downs both from east and west you can see there's a couple of troopers on the shoulder. a little further up, actually in one of the lanes is another trooper. looks like debris. so there could be debris there that you see. there's a road ranger there. they do have one lane closed so we're going to keep an eye on this because the backup now about a quarter mile and growing. we'll

nine on the courtney campbell causeway. and great drive on the gandy >>> high alert in brussels after several explosions, two at the airport and at least one at a metro station. there are more than two dozen dead and many more injured. good morning. i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. >> and now nbc confirms the attack is being attributed to isis. here in the u.s., new york city is taking precautions to protect mass transit. >> yeah, news channel 8's lindsey mastis has been following this for us all morning and she joins us now live. lindsey, what are you seeing? >> reporter: well there, are a lot of pictures and videos on social media showing the aftermath. confirming that the explosions at the airport was from a suicide bomber. i want you to take a look though at the metro station. this is one of the metro cars where you can see a blast hit this. and it's just debris everywhere. there are reports of up to 10 people dead here but those are unconfirmed at this time. and i am trying to find out those numbers for you.

we're seeing some improvement westbound on the courtney campbell taking 27 minutes now. howard frankland or gandy bridge still better options. or you could always take tampa road through oldsmar. we have a crash in pasco southbound 75, look at the backup, you may want kerley road instead and we have this crash further south, i-75 southbound just before you get to big bend with backups all the way to 301. >>> breaking overnight -- tampa police are trying to get answers about a shooting sending one man to the hospital overnight. officers found a man shot in the leg on west francis avenue. they say he apparently was also shot somewhere else. he was taken to the hospital but police say he's not quop cooperating. so far no sections in custody. >>> we have an update on an overnight passenger train derailment we first brought as breaking news at 4:30. 29 people are now in the hospital in kansas. miraculously though no one died when the amtrak train ran off the tracks and flipping on its side. a.m. track says the train was traveling from los angeles to chicago when the derailmen

pso courtney campbell causeway pright now gandy bridge much pbetter shape for you. pnow that's a back up. pthat's tough one. pat least you've got great pweather. pit is gorgeous outside. pwe're going back to upper 70s pnear 80s today and tomorrow. pin the 80s for highs wednesday, pthursday, and friday. pwhat a spectacular week. pall right. pcourtney. pthank you. pi'm lonely. pshe's in her yoga outfit today pis march 17th. pand fox 13 news at noon. pas always you can get latest on pour website, www.fox13news.com. por follow us on twitter and pinstagram or just like us on pfacebook. plaura moody get well soon. ptake care everybody. psee you tomorrow. p"realtime closed captioning >> it's "live! with kelly & michael." today, academy award-winner octavia spencer. and film and television actor max greenfield. plus, a performance from singer/songwriter nathan sykes. also, put on your dancing shoes. we're kicking off "live"'s happy dance travel trivia. all next on "live." [captioning made possible by disney-abc domestic television] >> and now, here are your emmy-award winni

state road 60 here, courtney campbell causeway across the bay no problems to report there. we'll check the roads again in about 15 minutes. >>> new this morning, pinellas county detectives are investigating an overnight shooting at the vagabond mobile home park on 46th avenue north in st. pete. they say one person was shot 1:00 last night when the gun accidentally discharged. the victim expected to be ok. why the gun went off is still under investigation. >>> in the past two hours, in yesterday's terror attack in brussels police just identifying the suicide bombers who attacked the city's airport as brothers khalid and rahim rowkoury. known for past crimes but nothing related to terrorism. the two men are dressed in black in this security photo. police continue to search for the man in the right in the bathe jacket and hat and he's -- beige jacket and hat and the 24-year-old is believed to have left the airport after his bomb failed to detonate. 23 people died in the attacks on brussels airport and subway. >> i felt an explosion, the train stopped in its tracks, the lights

pbecause courtney campbell pcauseway is also very slow pheading into hillsborough pcounty. pand an accident reported near procky point with an average pspeed about 27 miles per hour pacross the span. pso the gandy bridge is in much pbetter shape. pthat's better alternate for you pif you're heading oh thaut way. psouthbound u.s. 19, move a plittle a little bit better an paccident, that reportedly moved poff to side there but heavy ptraffic remains back to tampa proad and can use bell kerr road phere to get around delays a bit. palso watch out for slow down 5 paeft north fire rescue working pto clean up this accident. procking out and getting fit all pat once. pthe unique way men and women are pdoing both in tampa bay. pwe will have that for you at p9 o'clock. pczeching in with charley who's pgoing, she looks like young panjuli. plook at her. (music playing) i feel pretty (west side story) not every cake can be handcrafted in store by skilled decorators layered with fresh berries and frosted to perfection it'll be remembered for all the right reasons. publix. is a pleasure. p

nine minutes across the courtney campbell, and 8 minutes across the gandy bridge. dan? >>> in democracy 2016, the republican presidential candidates worked extra hard lately to target donald trump and convince voters he is anything but a desirable candidate. >> we saw one thing we've yet to see this election, rivals showing support for trump under one condition. when push comes to shove, candidates said they'd support him over the democratic candidate if he scores the party nominations. >> yes, because i gave my word that i would. >> i will support whoever is the republican nominee for >> i'll support the republican nominee. >> mr. trump -- >> there was some hesitation, but you heard it from all three candidates that as far as the battle between trump and fox moderator megan kelly, the night overall was a smooth one. trump did get flustered later when she read tough passages from a legal case surrounding trump university. trump shot back, give me a break. >>> today, lawyers in the hulk hogan case once again work toward narrowing down the group of people who could decide

the bay area bridges, courtney campbell, howard franklin, all looking good with under 10- minute travel time, and taking a look back at the airport area, and this time headed up just a little bit north of here, 21 minutes for 54, and by the way there's a starbucks there, all the way in through 275, and no delays. so you have time for the extra cup of coffee. back to you. >> meredith, thank you. up. just ahead, what the white house is doing to make having a baby just a little more affordable. >> we all heard about low and slow l.a. traffic, and that was not the case earlier this week. see the surveillance video of the high speed crash that sent a car airborne and why neighbors claim they would have never seen it coming. >>> the trump campaign is facing serious accusations, and >>> an investigation is underway to find out if officers in that sucker punch video at a donald trump rally did enough to stop things from the attacker is finally facing charges, and this cell phone video still shocks us after seeing it for days now, and it shows the trump supporter sucker punching the protester. i

good, only 4 minutes across the gandy, 6 on the howard frankland bridge, 7 minutes across the courtney campbell causeway. bearss avenue to i-4 on 275 no delays, just 10 minutes there. that's a look at weather and traffic. back to candace and gayle. >> leslee, thank you. >>> a tragic death on the job. a fire department is gref ing -- is grieving the loss of one of their men. >> it's a problem that happens every time it rain, debris and trash flowing into storm rains how one neighborhood figured out a way to solve this. >> news channel 8 is covering the president's historic visit to cuba. what's up on the this is news channel 8 >>> we have special coverage of president obama's visit to cuba. for the first time since 1928 a president is in the communist nation. the first family stepping onto cuban soil. effort to restore relations with cuba many business deals between the two countries are in place or in the works including direct flights and soon cruise ships docking in havana. >> today president obama will meet with president castro. right now keith cate is in cuba with coverage of this historic

right now the courtney campbell causeway is backed up. we looked at the congestion. here is ground video for you. one lane is open and this is due to a crash with a semi- truck and a downed pole in that area. you want to try to avoid that also, ahead's up to you about another major project. this is along u.s. 41 in lutz. the highway is closed near crenshaw lake road to repair a railroad crossing there. residents worry it will cause safety issues and extend commuting times. it will be closed for two weeks. >> there are some wet roads as well. a lot of places seeing blue sky but if you're the one getting the rain, rainy days and monday. we have rain offshore that has to come on shore. that is what is happening around saint pete beach over the skyway bridge into the sun city center area. just light rain in polk and hillsboro. most of the rain happening this morning and we dry out with a high of 80. >>> taking a look at the headlines. nissan is recalling nearly 47,000 electric cars due to possible brake troubles. the recall involves the 2013 to 2015 nissan leaf electric

and we have a great drive on the courtney campbell causeway and the gandy bridge is up to speed as well. and now i want to talk about road closures. this morning, a major road project that gets underway today. it's happening along u.s. 41. and crews will close the highway near crenshaw lake road. some people are worried that it will double the commute time. and residents are afraid that the traffic delays will become a safety issue. >> that impact with that the traffic on those road, there's kids, vehicles, safety, police, all those, the delay in time is going to hurt someone. >> u.s. 4041 is expected to be closed for about two weeks. you will want to keep that in mind. that's a look at weather and traffic on the 8s. back the to gene and gayle. >> thank you. >>> a sports spoiler. someone leaked the ncaa tournament bracket online ahead of the official release. >> what the ncaa is now doing to get to the bottom of this disaster. >>> and a bay area coffee shop that offers more than the morning pick-me-up. how the store is also making a fashion statement. >>> but first, deadly flooding in t

but courtney campbell causeway, fantastic. 10 minutes and that's from pinellas over to connecting with memorial highway. six minutes to span the howard franklin bridge across the water. here are our little trouble spots here. they're off-ramps, southbound on 275, the 54th avenue south ramp is blocked right now for overnight construction. should wrap in about 45 minutes. and one in hillsborough county at kennedy. more on that coming up in the next report. but now back to gayle and candace. >> thank you. >>> new this morning, astronaut scott kelly is back home in houston. take a look. his plane landed around 2:00 this morning and he was greeted with hugs from family and friends. it comes nearly a year after living in space. scientists will monitor kelly. already they know that kelly is 2 inches taller than he was when he went to the international space station. experts explain that astronauts get taller in space as the spine elongates. they expect him to return back to his normal time after a short time on earth. >>> this morning, a couple is keeping a closer eye on their swimming pool a

it's still even with that crash the quickest of the three bridges the courtney campbell and gandy at 9 and 8 minutes. we have some fog in the area, we're going to show you where that is on the map. you can see the area shaded in yellow so if you're driving along i-75, u.s. 41 and spring hill, wesley chapel, you might want to use the low beams. also south from palmetto to port charlotte seeing some fog there covering i-75, we are checking the sunshine skyway, it is still open at this time. corey dierdorff is out driving around on 275 heading southbound towards the howard frankland and he says fog is starting to thicken up out there, just in the short time he's been driving around this morning. so again you might want to use some caution and low beams. >>> how long do you think the >> depends on where you are. inland sections probably a few hours. the coastal areas are going to take a while. so say if you're in lakeland, watching from zephyrhills, shortly after sunrise we'll begin to lift the fog. then we'll warm up. right along the coast like yesterday i think still an issue. marine d

because we don't want to be dealing with bay area bridges look fantastic, gandy, howard franklin, courtney campbell, less than a 10 minute trip across all of those. no problems there. and even with ongoing construction on the veterans expressway, you are in the green. so it's smooth sailing from the sun coast parkway which is of course is the veterans expressway in pasco, all the way through the airport. so if you're catching an early morning flight, no problems. and southbound 275, the exit to the airport, it is open. so no detours there. another update in a couple minutes. gayle, gene, back to you. >> thank you. >>> it all started out small and now thousands are participating. >> yeah, running for one big cause, to benefit countless little patients. and then updates about that huge blast in seattle. >>> but first, an 8 on your side alert. this time around, we're talking about super spice. don't miss this. you're watching news channel 8 >>> in an 8 on your side alert this morning, a warning about what is being called super spice. people in the bay area have drug. >> this year alone, from saturday

let's check drive times. 8 minutes across the courtney campbell causeway now. 6 minutes across the howard frankland. 8 minutes on the gandy bridge so all in the green there. veterans expressway, if you're heading there this morning, all in the green, a lot of construction that was going on overnight is in the clearing about that. 17 minutes from 54 to 275. down there at the bottom just six minutes to get from waters to 275. >>> a 12-year-old in central florida is facing battery charges for pinching another pilled school student. brianna evans says she thought it was a joke when she pinched a young boy on the behind. took her to juvenile detention charging her with battery. evans says her father -- she and her father have signed her up for a pretrial diversion program and that will keep the misdemeanor charges off her record. >>> imagine you're at a gas station, filling up and going to get coffee, when suddenly this happens. >> this video now going viral. it shows a woman pulling out a gun that she was hiding in her underwear and opened fire. happened in detroit. three suspects under arres

and seven between tampa and clearwater on the courtney campbell causeway. travel times here on i-4 through ybor city, still holding on to a nice drive, i- 75 to 275, just seven minutes. and 275 from bearss avenue down to i-4 in the heart of tampa, only taking roughly 10 minutes. beautiful picture here of i-4 at kathleen road in lakeland new york city delays there either -- lakeland, no delays there either. >> thank you. >>> batman or superman? we all have our favorite and that will take over the big screen soon. >>> but first, it is national puppy day. look at that face. what every dog owner should know to help keep their puppies living a healthier, longer life. >>> today is national puppy day. it's a day dedicated to celebrating the most delightful stages of a dog's life which begs the question, how long do our companions stay pup puppies? it's an important consideration. the transition happens between 10 and 24 months and it's gauged based on the puppy's size and breed, not behavior and teeth. >> just like people, some never grow up. >>> movie and comic book fans are calling it epic. the

courtney campbell causeway over to memorial highway, 10 minutes. and seven minutes across the gandy bridge over to about manhattan. let's take a live look here. there's barely any cars out there. and 275, we have a little more action here, but speeds are great and no delays right around hillsborough avenue. when i come back, i will take a look at polk county. back to gene and gayle. >> okay, thank you. >>> still ahead this morning, the diet that promises to help us live longer. >>> plus, what some florida state workers claim is making them sick at work. details of the lawsuit they just filed next. >>> but first -- >> reporter: a man was arrested not once but twice for impersonating a cop along this road. how one driver knew something >>> we're back now. and a st. petersburg man is busted by police officers for pretending to be one of them. well, this isn't is first time that man impersonated an officer. he was arrested twice that same weekend. >> a quick-thinking driver called police when she was being followed by the man in pinellas county. news c

and courtney campbell causeway as well. >>> after hosting the special olympics for hillsborouough county, usf is handing over the honors to another venue. >> and the new venue couldn't be happier about it. where the special olympics will be hosted. >>> and then more changege coming to cuba. the changes being made to cuban change. we're talking about currency here. you're watching news channel 8 >>> we're back. there'e's a big chchange coming in dealing with dollars in cuba. exchange of u.s. currency is now going away. the cuban foreign minister made the announcement. right now, cubans may a 10% penalty on u.s. dollars exchanged at banknks and currency exchange offices in cuba.a. >>> and there is obama mania in cuba right now. shirt, flags, button, all over havana featuring president barack obama. if you can read spanish, you will see that many are joking, light hearted. this is all ahead of the first family's arrival in havana sunday. president barack obama will be the first sitting u.s. president to visit cuba since 1928, that was calvin coolidge baback then. pretty interesting. and of

no crashes or breakdowns here but we're hearing reports of a semi crash on the courtney campbell causeway in the westbound lanes, we're working to get more details now. so make sure you keep it here. also follow me on twitter @tampabaytraffic. >>> on i-4 in the lakeland avenue heading out the door now, it's going to take 23 minutes to get to downtown tampa. 15 minutes from county line road to 75. just 8 minutes from 75 to 275. back to you. >>> pasco county mall is making sure that children with special needs can still join in on the easter fun. >> this is a big deal not just for the kids but their families. gulfview square in port richey hosted the sensitive bunny over the weekend. it's an easter bunny meant for kids with autism and other sensory disorders. families were invited to enjoy a private photo session free of crowds and distractions which can be a problem for kids with sensory disorders. >> they say that the parents are grateful to be able to take part in the tradition. >> they are so happy whether i see them come in and say thank you so much for doing this event, we usually wou

toward tampa and your bridges, connecting pinellas and hillsborough, no problems here on the courtney campbell, howard franklin or gandy. and good morning pinellas county, u.s. 19, the arch nemesis, well, i'm happy to report, it looks fine, we are accident-free throughout the bay area. gayle, candace, back the to you. >> thank you. >>> an 8 on your side alert this morning about a troubling incident in polk county. parents, you're going to want to talk to your kids about this one. law enforcement is looking for a middle-aged man driving a car that approached a young girl as she walked home from school. news channel 8's lindsey mastis is following this story for us center. lindsey, what exactly happened? >> reporter: well, gayle, this is very scary, especially for parents and kids. the polk county sheriff tells us an 11-year-old girl got off the bus and started walking home when a car pulled up and her to get in the car with him. he told her, your mom is in the hospital and she sent us to get you. luckily, the girl ran away. this happened around 4:00 in the afternoon. the girl got off the bus at

here's a quick check of the bridges. courtney campbell causeway, the tampa side of the bridge. i'm waiting for a car -- there's one. see? traffic so light, just a couple of cars. it's taking less than 10 minutes to get across all three bridges now. let's check the drive times on some of the major roads. 11 minutes on u.s. 19 southbound from tampa road to east bay. 17 minutes on the veterans expressway, still in the green from 54 to 275. and just four minutes on dale mabry from fletcher to waters. >>> hulk hogan is finally getting his day in court. opening statements set to begin this morning in the civil trial between hulk hogan and gawker. >> he's suing the site for millions after the sex tape released of him. abc action news reporter rodney dunigan joins us from the courthouse in st. pete. good morning, rodney. >> reporter: good morning. the jury in this case will be deciding if hulk hogan's right the release of the sex tape. his attorneys contend seven million people viewed the grainy sex tape since its release in 2012. they contend he made his sex life public with several m

and then continuing on 60 to the courtney campbell. look out for the ongoing construction no. big surprises with that. sunshine -- construction. no big surprises with that. sunshine skyway, 10 minutes between toll plazas. again, very, very quiet. and then sarasota county and manatee county, fruitville road, lookout for construction in the northbound direction. for the next 30 minutes or so for ongoing road work there. and now back to gayle and gene. >> thank you. >>> well star wars fans shooting for the next fill system already in place as we speak. >> really? when we get back, find out which overseas town is shutting down entire streets for the shoot and seeing an economic boost worth millions. it's 4:51. you're watching news channel 8 today. today it's florida flatbread and bell peppers. let's start by spreading olive oil and garlic on our flatbread. then we add cheese; but what really makes this dish special are the florida bell peppers, and juicy tomatoes. when the cheese is melted and bubbly it's done. just cut and serve. and that's how easily florida flatbread with tomat

and 10 on the city council can recollect and that takes you from pinellas over to -- on the courtney campbell causeway and that takes you from pinellas. again, the sunshine skyway bridge is closed down. so a big delay taking 75. you might want to leave the house earlier. i don't know, maybe you're feeling a little sick today. back to gene and adrienne. >> leslee, just a bad influence. thank you. >>> a lakeland woman is alligator. that's right. marathon claims the 15-year-old reptile can use the remote and likes to cuddle. she -- she claims the 15-year- old reptile can use the remote and likes to cuddle. >> he says, how w tall is he? you know, anand i said, i don't know, he's getting pretty big. so we measured him. and that's where it started. >> look, he is face was right by hers. he needs 2.5-acres to keep a gator his size. a gator insist that his life style isn't healthy and worries he could bite someone. clearly she is not concerned. she claims he has never snapped and she hopes to keep him. and i saw video too from the story and he is kissing him and opening his mouth and putting her hand

courtney campbell causeway, 11, that makes you to memorial highway, 11 minutes. gandy bridgege, we have a seven minute commute. university parkway underneath i- 75, both directions blocked due to overnight construction. and also the exit ramps blocked from north and southboundnd on i- 75. over in hillsborough county, heads up, northbound on the veterans expressway, you're not going anywhere between ehrlich and hutchison. we have overnight construction tying up the northbound lanes and the alternate is dale mabry highway or gunn highway which is also sheldon. that's a look at weather and traffic on -- look at weather and traffic. >>> right t now, several law enforcement agencies are questioning five people accused of purse snatchings. josh, did these people actually get away with the robberies? sounds scary. >> reporter: well, they did. they were able to snatch the purses and quite frankly, investigators are now trying to figure this all out and all night they have been questioning the suspects here department. and now the suspects were accused in a spring of purs

right now it's taking eight minutes to cross the courtney campbell, 6 on the howard frankland and just eight minutes to cross the gandy bridge. >>> time now 5:32. right now belgium paralyzed with fear, clock ticking past the 24-hour mark since the deadly terror attacks yesterday as the search continues for suspects. >> as we speak, ongoing raids continue across that country. right now there is an international manhunt for a man who authorities have now identified as a suspect in the airport attack, investigators say he and two others brought bombs into the brussels airport yesterday during rush hour and detonated them. >> an hour after the airport explosion seven miles away another suicide bomb goes off at a subway station near the offices at the european union. at least 34 people killed in total, 200 injured in the attacks. surveillance video from the airport, two men you see on the left there have been identified, officials say those two wearing black and black gloves are brothers, khalid and brahim, presumed to have died in the attacks. officials believe their gloves were used to hi

this is the courtney campbell, only eight minutes to get across from pinellas to hillsborough. we're checking on the crash on i-75 down in sarasota. more coming up in a few >>> we begin at 5:30 with breaking news. a chaotic scene in brussels. everyone there being told to stay where they are after two deadly explosions at the brussels international airport. these are scenes from inside the airport departure terminal. at least one other explosion reported also at a metro station. at least 13 reported dead, dozens more injured. after those first two blasts. again in the departure area of the bruferls international airport. multiple reports say at least one of those explosions was a suicide bomber. we just learned the blast at the metro happened on rail tracks in a subway station near the european union headquarters. >>> we are also following where three people shot overnight are now recovering. deputies telling us that shooting happened after several people met to sell items through a web site similar to craigslist and then things went bad. detectives say the shootings near the pl

six minutes across the howard frankland bridge. 10 minutes courtney campbell. that is a look at weather and back to candace and gayle. >> thank you. >>> we like to think that we learn from our mistake s. practice makes perfect, right? well, we'll explain what happened to the capsized sail boat that turned over during an intense training session for the american sailing team. it is 5:50 on this friday morning and you're watching news channel 8 today. i do everything on the internet. but it's kind of slow. my friends said i should get fios because it's the fastest... i just downloaded 600 photos in 60 seconds. that's seriously better. (man) we're out of 2%. i wonder what else could be better around here? (man) i heard that. now get our best offer ever. super fast 100 meg internet, plus tv & phone for just $69.99 a month online with no annual contract. 100 meg speeds at a price this good? fios can do that. cable switch to better. switch to fios we don't decorate in one color. we don't stick to one fabric. or one shape. so why use traditional aerosols that are one-

courtney campbell cause way up to speed in both directions. and your drive time across the bridges right now into hillsborough county, 6:00 across the howard franklin. >>> when you are minutes away from having a baby, the last thing you are worried about is looking like a vie star. >> i didn't. >> i didn't, either. someone forgot to them that to a new york woman. she posted photos of herself doing makeup. shes what in labor for ten hours and needed a distraction once her epidural started to wear off. i just started to sing. she says it took her three hours to do this full look. she looks gorgeous and says it her daughter was born. >> i was crying. >> i was, too. make it stop. wow. >>> you have to come to your tv for this incredible moment. this is going viral. a woman with hearing loss starts to hear again after receiving. the first thing she heard was [crying ] persons that you hear. [ laughter ] >> because i love you so much. you are my best friend. the i wanted the first thing to be me asking to you marry me. >> yes! >> this video has been

courtney campbell very quiet. the sky weybridge has great conditions. your drivetime is 17 minutes from pinellas.drive. out there so have the sunglasses ready to go. yesterday we had clouds. we will make the upper 70s for today. a week to -- front comes through tomorrow morning. on thursday. no big changes. this warming trend here that you see in dallas with 60 in little rock will market off in the mid-atlantic but for into the next week. i will have details coming up. >>> time now is 613 a and. >> top stories coming up. >> please come out and vote. delegates at state -- estate as delegates come out. a race to see who comes out in front on the biggest day yet in >>> sportscaster erin andrews breaks down in court. testimony continues today following her emotional day on the stand. she describes the moments she learns she has been secretly videotaped while in her hotel room. >>> here is a look at other headlines around the nation and world in 60 seconds. family and friends will gather to say goodbye to that virginia police officer killed on her first day