and another 275 near gandy boulevard. between gandy and roosevelt. and only the left lane is squeezing by. traffic is that's a look at weather and traffic. back to paul and gayle. >> thank you so much. >>> a popular clothing store for teens. well, it's changing. >> still ahead, what it's doing to make shoppers feel better about themselves. >>> first, the best and worst when it comes to owning a home. we run down the new list. you are watching news channel 8 areas for homeowners. a bankrate.com study rated portland, oregon the best. other cities with good mark, phoenix, las vegas. some of the factors, price appreciation, property taxes as well as insurance. by the way, the worst metro areas for homeowner hartford, new york, providence, los angeles and buffalo. they are taking another step toward a more wholesome image. the company wants to focus on a shopper's best self and inner confidence. they are trying to move away from the overtly sexy cool kids complete overhaul reputation. and they have stopped using shirtless models in its marketing. but it's

across the gandy bridge. and seven on the courtney campbell causeway. sunshine skyway bridge also up to speed, only 10 minutes between each of the toll plazas. when it hit, it really was quite dramatic. road signs bent over because of the force of the water. you know, gushing down the street everywhere anything that anyone's left out is moving down the street. we always think we're the keeper of the house... ...so it makes a lot of sense you would have flood insurance. knowing that you have that and if you need it, it's going to be there, and you've done everything you can that this house might be here in a hundred years for another family to enjoy it. >>> breaking overnight, fire breaks out at a palm harbor condo. and you can see the charred balcony as investigators now try to figure out what sparked the flames. >>> keeping the zika virus at bay. tampa's mayor goes on th offensive as the virus spreads in the state. >>> and the road to rio ends in a spectacular show. check it out. the summer 2016 olympics are now officially over. still ahead, the guest

i-275 at gandy around where ivan was talking about. some heavy rain coming down now. we also have two serious crashes over in hillsborough. up. >>> we've been telling but an alarming trend on the howard frankland bridge. dead cats have been found on the side of the road. there have been six of them found since june. yesterday another incident involving a cat. a woman driving across the bridge saw a small black and white ball of fur come from another vehicle ahead of her. she stopped to help it and it ran into the wheel well of her car refusing to come out. florida highway patrol troopers and fdot arrived to help take off the tire and save the kit whether or not seems to be in pretty >> i call it "miracle," it's a miracle it's alive after watching so many cars go by i can't imagine how it survived. >> police are still trying to figure out how the other cats found on the bridge got there. >>> authorities in north carolina are looking for the man that robbed a beauty salon using a sword. the stylist says a man walked in. asked if they sold rings, she said no, he lingered

a collision reported for fhp northbound 275 around gandy boulevard. it's off on the side of the that's always good news. and let's hop down here, a great drive across the sunshine skyway bridge. and overnight construction in sarasota that was tying up the eastbound lanes on university parkway as well as the ramps to i-75 from university. that's all cleared. and everything is back to normal. that's a look at weather and traffic. back to gene and gayle. >> all right. thank you so much. >>> and breaking news overnight, a fire at a condo complex in palm harbor. the flames broke out shortly after midnight at palm harbor condos on coral landings boulevard. fire crews report the condo is unliable. you can see through a -- unlivable. you can see through the burned out window some of the damage there. no other units were damaged. investigators are now trying to figure out what caused the fire. >>> and happening today, local leaders plan to address concerns over the zika virus. several non-travel related cases have been confirmed in the miami area in the past s

we do have an accident 275, northbound between roosevelt and gandy. just coming away from gandy. everything is off to the de of the roadway. at one point, ly the left lane was getting by but traffic is now moving at good speeds. cleared northbound 275 near 22nd avenue south. and let's take a look at both of these. you can see it's wet out there. and that has cleared as well. you can see the raindrops on the camera. so slick. a crash, this is at kathleen road and galloway over in polk county. that has injuries involved and it's blocking part of the intersection. allow for extra time. that's a look at weather and traffic on the 8s. now back to paul and gayle. >> thank you so much, leslee. >>> by a shark. we will show you where it happened and what happened for that matter coming up next. >>> plus, face to face with a bear. you got to check this out. this close encounter right here in florida. what the woman did to get away from the bear. it's very interesting. just ahead. >> certainly. >>> this is the story. an emotional reunion, a gravely ill mother and her daughter who lives in c

in the meantime we're on the gandy bridge looking at gandy at 4th street, that new overpass, not using it yet but it's going to be great relief for commuters. >>> the news there. 77 degrees in tampa. 79 in largo. 80 longboat key. similar start to the day than what we've seen lately. as far as the commuting weather goes fantastic to start the day. even if you're headed out for lunch today, rain unlikely. but it will be getting steamy by then at 88 degrees. 93 is the high with a regular round of afternoon showers and thunderstorms that could make for a wetter afternoon >>> chuters in buenos aries got a surprise on their way to work. a full opera company in the subway station. >> the opera director wanted to hold rehearsals there because he wants opera to be part of everyday life. a lot of commuters who stopped to listen said they never heard opera today. the entire city is holding an initiative to bring arts to more people. >> it's one way to >> cool. >> fantastic idea. >>> stay tuned. "good morning, america" is next. >> keep up to date on the air, on our mobile app, facebook and twitter

on the pinellas side near gandy boulevard, no big problems. traffic and weather details are just moments away. >>> authorities in arizona hope a bigger reward will lead to the arrest of a serial shooter in the phoenix area. several law enforcement agencies are now teaming up to offer a $75,000 reward for information. since the first shooting on march 17th, shooter has struck. prosecutors stress the person who provides that information will not get into trouble. >>> shoppers at the florida mall in orlando got quite a scare after an inspection of a new restaurant sent them scrambling for safety. police say the news popping prompted the crowd out of the mall mistaking the noise for gunfire. joey if a tone's now hot dog kiosk was there. the fire test involved popping fire alarm. four people were injured but not seriously when crowds started racing out of the mall. >>> today in tampa, it is sports friday. cultural venues are teaming up once a month to show you what the city has to offer. from 4:00 to 10:00 tonight, you can enjoy free or discounted

courtney campbell causeway, gandy. road, also very quiet. and we will keep an eye on the mornings all morning long. you're watching news 8 eight. -- news channel 8 today. which is usually me. that's how we save a lot at publix. how 'bout you? publix. where shopping is a pleasure. oh yea, everything is digital now-a-days. this thing never leaves my side. that is why i signed up for publix digital coupons. and i got the paper ones too. x. how 'bout you? publix. where shopping is a pleasure. >>> a flood watch in effect for parts of the bay area, heavy rain could have a big impact on your plans for the next few days. leigh spann has the forecast just ahead. >>> and day three of the olympic games in rio. this morning's medal count the gold medal ceremony that brought athletes to tears. >>> plus, surviving a school bus crash. hundreds of students go back to school this week and many will take the bus. this morning, we will show how to keep your children safe if they have to escape a crash. >>> good morning and welcome to new

on the selmon expressway by the gandy exit. dale mabry highway still showing a good drive for you >>> live pictures from italy where emergency crews are searching for survivors of a 6.2 magnitude earthquake. the latest on the situation there just ahead. to tampa. we will tell you about the rally today at the state fairgrounds and why the presidential candidate wants a prosecutor to target hillary rodham clinton. >>> tracking the tropics. tropical storm gaston continues to gain strength in the atlantic and could become a hurricane later today. the latest on the projected track next. >>> good morning. welcome to news channel 8 today. i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. this morning, new concerns about the zika virus right here announced the first non-travel related case in pinellas county. much more on the efforts to contain the spread of the virus plus governor rick scott was in in our studios this morning so more about what he had to say in an interview. >>> but first, let's check on the tropics now with leigh. >> it's

let's take a live look, this is 275 and gandy boulevard over in pinellas county. looking very good here. no delays. and and that howard frankland bridge, only six minutes to cross no. complaints there. that's a look at weather and traffic on the 8s. back to gene and gayle. >>> right now, rescue crews continue the search for survivors from wednesday's powerful earthquake in italy. 247 people are confirmed dead but there's lots of hope. take a look as rescuers pull this little girl rubble. what a beautiful sight. the 10-year-old girl was trapped in the rubble for almost 17 hours. this is in one of the three cities hit the hardest. and these are live pictures right now from where the search for survivors continues. you see a lot of activity but look at the rubble. emergency crews are standing by and we will keep you updated >> it's hard to even decipher and figure out what was there before when you look at this. it's like the whole town is now just piles and piles of rubble with the one or two buildings popping up. >> so tragic. >> hard to watch. >>> still ahead, a p

nice bay breeze for money island and gandys beach. gusting out 15 miles per hour out of the southwest. atlantic city, 8 miles per hour. pretty much stagnant north and west of the city of philadelphia. satellite and radar, where's the relief. i'm sure many of you are asking yourselves that. it's actually not that far away. here's the front right here, this little line. now, normally that's a couple of hundred miles away, normally it would take a couple of hours to get here, but it's moving at a snail's pace, it's not going to cross the area until thursday. it's going to take sometime. in the meantime it stays hot, oppressively so. we'll see temperatures in the mid 90s feeling like 107 degrees. balls the front is to the west, the thunderstorm activity will stay to the west. lehigh valley has the best chance of seeing showers and thunderstorms later this afternoon just like yesterday. peak index numbers, the model has us at 102, accuweather puts us at 107. tomorrow, 97 degrees for the heat index, tuesday, we're back in the triple digit h

same for theowd frankland and the gandy. this activity working from t to. it goingt 30 miles an hour. deal wit some very heavy rain, at least it's movg through quickly enoug t roadways. as you goorth on 19 and you get up to hoday, new port ey we're just east of 19 where that picture was we just showed you, t rain continues to comedown. someeavy rain east of hudso along and that rain starts to sneak closer and closer to i-75 and then up into hernando county itrus county, the rain continues heaviest rain will be along the coast and to the north, right th rough tomorw evening and atha point we may g tonight and tomorrow. we'll talk about that in a few minutes. >>vanessa: you mentioned the wet roadways s folks, please be sure to leave early. i want to remind you again of the two big lane blockage crashes we're dealing with right now. both west of the veterans expressway. due to the tanker truck accident where the vehicle is trapped underneath the truck. we know there' injuries rerted and police are on scene directing traffic. best bet is just to completel avoid

gandy or avoid water take tampa roaded to hillsborough avenue. more updates on this one to come. >>> thank you, vanessa. a busy morning for you. not busy yet. locally weather wise. a beautiful start to the day. heating up though. sunshine to be had with clouds filling in from the east into the afternoon. we're up to 79 in tampa. 80 in clearwater. upper 70s inland. and then we look towards the east coast for our rain today. so again our winds are the same out northeast. but lower moisture means slightly better rain chance tampa south, a 40 percent rain chance into tropics we go here's our disturbance that is mess so disorganized near mountains near wind sheer about to move over warmer waters over the weekend. but because it's not doing so great right now. for obvious reasons, only a 20 percent chance that over the next two days, this will develop. still can't get our guard down because over the next five, this may made into the gulf. because of that, our rain chances going up in our coastal trends and talk possible impacts for us not until early i

this is gandy bridge. all of this heavy rain is moving into south tampa. second round of heavy rain for south tampa. i say that because we know it doesn't take much in the way of rain to start to cause some issues on the roads here. so i need you to slow it down as airports got some pretty hefty rains moving across there and also are the courtney campbell as well. just one line because we do have some moderate showers as well in northwestern hillsborough county. and then you going up veterans into the suncoast. where it has been raining steadily for the past hour, hour and a half. folks the roads are wet. it's monday. early in morning i just got to understand we got to slow it down. we've three to five inches of rain one heavier band earlier light rain from crystal river down through 19. i also got some pop up showers along 75 from venice northwarded to just east of sarasota. and then back to the west, where you see this line of showers. it's starting ever to ever so slowly begin to approach anna maria area. so like yesterday, sarasota and bradenton, you w

and eight minutes across the gandy bridge. also checking your drive over in pinellas county, 275 looking great. both in the green. 70 is the average speed from the sunshine sky way to the howard frankland and about the same in the opposite direction. >>> donald trump is the talk of the town in several cities right now and also on social media. it is not because of anything he said or something that he did. >> it's because of life sized not so flattering nude statues of trump popping up in five u.s. cities complete with small hands. take a look. crews in new york removed the indecent statues leaving behind >> they say "we stand firmly against any unpermitted erections in city parks." >> that was a quote exactly. >> similar statues are up in los angeles, san francisco, cleveland, and also seattle. >> did you see that insult to injury there with somebody swatting it? >>> coming up at 6:30, students at usf get an unwanted element. the warning to campus police to kick off the new school >>> first, olympian ryan lochte is no strange

the tampa jeep krewe invited all first responders to gandy beach, for what they called "jeeps to back the blue." they lined a blue stripe across the grill of every jeep facing the road. any police officers, firefighters or e-m-s responder, along with their families, could stop by for a free meal and music. organizers say it's a way to show their gratitude for all who serve the community: the event also included a beach cleanup. the tampa jeep krewe teamed up with keep pinellas beautiful, walking the entire beach and picking up trash. ringing again this morning for two other bay area counties. it's the first day of class in pasco and polk counties. and that means even ?more drivers need to pay attention this morning... to all those buses, bikes... and kids on the crosswalks. fox 13's ken suarez joins us now from polk county, with more on the big day. ken? and a reminder for all those parents in polk and pasco: don't forget to take those first day photos. and don't forget to post them online, with the hashtag: "good day t-b." that way we can share them, throughout the morning here on go

also checking 275 around gandy, look how wide open the lanes are. up to speed from the sunshine skyway all the way to the howard frankland bridge. checking the drive times on some of the major roads in our area, we're starting to slow down just a little on u.s. 19, this is southbound from tampa road to eastbay. 13 minutes. 17 minutes, still in the green on the veterans expressway from and just a minute slow on dale mabry, four minutes from fletcher to waters. back to you. >>> still to come -- a husband sacrifice. brave final actions of a florida man when a beach trip turns tragic. first one of the victims in a ferris wheel accident is talking about the incident. three young girls fell from their goandla last week and plummeted 30 feet to the ground. steve osunsami exclusive interview. >> reporter: in this morning's "gma first look," the 10-year- old says she's lucky to be alive after falling nearly 40 feet from the cabin of this ferris wheel at the green county fair in tennessee. >> i was really scared. but mostly for my sister. >> reporter: she tel

but we'll wrap up looking at the green, courtney campbell and howard frankland and gandy. pinnelas, you're accident free. >>> we spend a lot of time in traffic and that can be frustrating. see how all of that idol time translates into time and money. >>> the home depot brand that you need a retear kit for to keep -- repair kit that you need to keep you and ones safe foster farms presents they can happen anywhere. and they only get bigger as time goes on. serve foster farms corn dogs, a delicious plump frank wrapped in a honey crunchy coating. a corn dog with 7 grams of protein makes a big appetite go away. foster farms corn dogs. z22qzz zy6z >>> in your consumer watch, 280 swivel chairs in the u.s. and canada are under recall. hampton bay swivel dining and lounge chairs were sold at home depot in store and on line. there are 400 reports of chair breaking during normal use. contact them for a kit. >>> in the bay area we spend a lot of time in traffic. what does that translate into in realtime and money. and a recent study from auto insurance center, the average commuter wai

no problems with the courtney campbell, howard bridge or gandy. you're looking at 10 minutes between drive times. another update in a few. gene and gayle back to you. >> thank you meredith. >>> zika spreads in florida . there's finally some good news about possible vaccines. now one ask headed to clinical trials. news channel 8 lindsey mastis is live from the hillsborough county health department this morning. latest vaccine if all goes according to plan they are going to start start testing it on humans by october. there's another vaccine further along. we will not see a vaccine in the immediate future and that's why health departments across the state are monitoring zika will closely. >> just to be very clear zika is unprecedented. we never before had decide that could cause a birth defect. that's why we take it so seriously. the key is to protect pregnant women. >> reporter: in miami planes are dumping insecticide and they will continue to do that for several weeks. health officials believe the area where zika is spreading is smaller than origi

gandy, west of the gandy bridge, pinellas side, very quiet. five minutes should be the drive over the water. so we'll check in on the howard frankland bridge. looks like that is running equally up to speed at six minute drive heading into tampa, five minutes the ride northbound on 75, selmon expressway to i-4. hitting the lanes of i-4, give yourself 10 minutes from 75 to 275. >>laura: thank you. developing this morning, one milwaukee. this marks the second night of unrest over the police shooting of a black man. 23-year-old smith was killed during a traffic stop. several homes were burned down saturday night. wisconsin governor walker put the national guard on standby. officials are hoping to release the body cam video to help ease tensions. they say smith had a gun in his hand when he was shot. >>russell: three couples die at a plane crash in alab florida when it crashed short of a runway. no one survived. 11 children are now orphaned from the crash. the youngest to start kindergarten this week. >>laura: all good things must come to an end. o

. -- or gandy. the lower l westbound is fine. downtown tampa will be a night mary this weekend. -- nightmare the weekend. the comicon and the beach. a lot of folks are planning to go to that. if you have plans in downtown near the water front area just keep in mind that parking may be a you're groin to encounter -- and you're going to encounter a lot of people. >> heading downtown to go to the beaches, interesting. >>> ahead, just how many parents admit to dipping into their child's college savings. >> a ford recall that might save lives. why hundreds of >>> across america double tragedy. 15-month-old twin girls are dead after they were left inside a hot suv. this happened in northwest georgia. neighbors found the little girls in the backseat of a parked suv. investigators explain how they tried to help. >> there were some individuals holding the infants in a pool and actually had some ice pack ts also -- packs also. what they said attempting to school the kids off. db cool -- cool the kids off. questioning their dad. the mother

down through town 'n' country, over the courtney campbell, over the howard frankland, over the gandy, all the bridges are dealing with some very heavy rain which, by the way, continues. they've had probably a few inches of rain in pinellas park. indian shores, up through clearwater, when we talk about in the forecast of periods of rain as this tropical system works toward the state, this is you know, you don't -- we're hundreds of miles removed from where the center of this is developing, yet you can attribute some of this rain to this, some of the collision that we have going on this morning, some of the convergence here and allowing for all this very heavy rainfall. notice southeastern hillsborough down along highway 39 going down to manatee county and those areas. back it out once more. these are spots that will get no doubt that many roads in pinellas county have ponding on them, meaning that you can hydroplane so you have to understand that it's not even light out yet. we have all this rain coming down in this particular area. all driving in from south to north. satellite present

courtney campbell causeway and gandy up to speed as well. back to gene and gayle. >> thank you, leslee. >>> your vehicle may be at a risk of stalling unexpectly while driving. >> a recall alert you don't want to miss. you're watching news channel 8 >>> ford is recalling several vehicles that could stall unexpectedly. it involves flex wagons and the ford taurus for model years the problem is with the fuel pump control module. it if fail, it could stall while you're driving. >>> prices of newly built homes have dropped and sales reached a high because buyers are opting for smaller homes. people who need mortgages are coming back to the home buying market which means more demand for smaller homes. the average size of a home built this summer was 70 feet smaller than several months in the tech race, the swiss put their name on the postal map. >> yes, and it's all thanks to this robot. swiss post will test out a small fleet of the postal robots next month. they'll be traveling along sidewalks to deliver dummy packages. >> that's insulting to the

your bay area bridges look great about 6 minutes for the gandy, courtney campbell and howard frankland bridge. >> thank you. >>> a man is in jail accused of shooting a motorcyclist during a case of road rage. it happened at 109th avenue and north nebraska. a driver and an argument after he walked back to his motorcycle he was shot in the back. >>> this morning a polk county man is in jail accused of killing a sumter county firefighter. the shooting happened at caleb mckinney's home in lakeland and mckinney's ex-girlfriend showed up with her new boyfriend to drop off medicine for her baby. his family is now mourning his death. >> he was a proud strong man and this man raised him to be the firefighter that he is and he was. >> deputies say this all happened in front of a 5-year-old also in the car. cofer was lieutenant with the sumter county firefighter department. mckinney is facings multiple charges including first degree murder. >>> this morning the bay area is remembering long time radio personalally dave mckay. -- personality david mckay. mckay entertained listeners on 99.5. when mc

back to the gandy, and right on down towards siesta key, the storms continue to move offshore. and, partly cloudy skies things could be improving big time and we are tracking the tropics for the rest of the weekend. >>> right now, a slinky yacht club versus a local neighborhood breaking brand-new developments. and why not fight may not be over. >> one all over, neighbors were nervous about proposed changes, just a few blocks down, and it's all thanks to communication. >> say exactly what you're going to do. and be clear of what you're going to say. >> that's what they say they have been asking the yacht club to do. several weeks ago, the club had filed a rezoning and alcohol permit, people living could add a parking garage in teardown trees. but now the yacht club has filed clarifications about their plans. >> some clarifying language that talks about absolutely no residential development, and the parking garage, we are reserving the stable ope, and protecting our trees. >> they have gotgether to foster better communication. >>nd i feel better they did two or three weeks ago, a

this is 275 near gandy boulevard. and we're seei the roadways than we do during the summer. but no delays. good morning. clearwater, palm harbor oar looking good so far in the green four on your major roadways. in tampa, one accident. it is minor and i think man at sly. and the hillsborough county sheriff's office is on the scene there. this is southbound 75 on the the scene and they're telling me that all lanes are clear. >>> straight ahead, an arrest at disney world for a man impersonating an officer. >> how it was nothing but pure luck that they were able to catch this guy. >>> what did he say now? we'll tell you what is drawing firry criticism of the republican presidential candidate. >>> it was a great day. gogo our swimmers and gymnists. >>> when a night in rio. possibly not as much as these five young ladies here. the final five they call themselves because in the 2020 games, the teams will be limited to four members. after rio, long time coordinator martha growly is retiring. >>> the united states will be th four back to back olympic all around champions if they win.

this is right at gandy boulevard. you can see more cars starting to hitted roads this morning. still no crashes or breakdowns. you are looking great all the way to the howard frankland. a quick check of your drive you 21 minutes to get into downtown tampa. dan? >>> the father of a teenager accused in a triple stabbing says his son's organs are failing. >> austin is accused of killing a couple and trying to bite off one victim's face. he may have ingested chemicals the night he attacked michelle and john stevens in their garage. investigators say he killed them and stabbed one of their neighbors who tried to intervene. deputies pulled him off hospital. the palm beach post is reporting doctors believe he drank a toxic, poisonous substance at some point. the father said the liver is malfunctioning and has fluid in his lungs and esophagus is bleeding. >>> last year, seth ladder was banned from all soccer activities for giving his one- time successor $2 million. justices will decide whether the ban for ethics violations is appropriate. last year, the justice department indicted 30 f

and looking at the other bay area bridge, four minutes on the gandy. six to cross the howard frankland bridge. and seven minutes to cross the courtney campbell causeway. that's a look at weather and traffic on the 8s. back to gene and gayle. >> thank you very much, leslee. >>> moms and the door on time each morning. >> leigh spann shares ways to improve our morning routines. >>> plus, going underwater with our gadgets and a tattoo to control our smart phones. up next, the technology we may soon see. >>> big developments in smart phone technology. future generations of the iphone might be great to take to the beach. our transition to becoming cyborgs is becoming reality. >> reporter: underwater selfies with the iphone could be a thing in the very near future. so take a look at this. apple has been granted a patent for a technique that let's its mobile devices take pictures properly underwater. that suggests apple is working on letting the des water safely in the first place. and other rumors suggest iphone is get rid of the headphone jack and the tradit

the courtney campbell at 9 and 8 minutes across the gandy bridge. >>> florida school districts are starting off the school year with a lawsuit. >> a group of parents are demanding they were held back because they opted out of taking the fsa test. we are live in veterans elementary in pasco, one of the districts involved in the lawsuit. >> reporter: james, in fact, pasco county is one of seven counties statewide being sued as a result of this. school doesn't start until monday but of course a lot of the parents are simply concerned that their students are being treated unfairly. 14 parents are hoping to get an emergency hearing from a judge to get their kids to move on to the fourth grade. some of the kids who opted out of the florida standard assessment test are honor role students. the families argue the rules are confusing and school districts are not interpreting them all the same. just this year, we spoke with a local hillsborough county parent who explains kids would simply opt out of the test. >> we don't feel that a test should be used to be tied to whether or not a child is going to

crews are working on a water main closing macdill and gandy boulevard at 9:00 tonight. it will reopen tomorrow. it is to improve a water main in the area. >>> possible heavy rains causing some big zika concern. around the clock and spraying to fight the zika virus. but the rain could cause a set back. because any standing water left behind can make for a breeding ground for mosquitoes. forecasters and our abc action weather team are eping a close eye on the tropical system that could threater south florida. right now the number of nontravel related cases of zika in florida is 43. >> ashley, there are rising concerns tonight about the aerial spraying that uld cause brain damage in unborn babies just leek zika virus. the pesticide is already banned in other countries but the cdc argues it is safe. they believe it is the best option to kill the zika carrying mosquitoes and the >> it has opinion used ex -- has been used extensively in the united states. >>> they say this is causing serious side effects in users. the antibiotic has new labels that will warn patients that the

clear leer this is the area over the howard franklin, over the gandy where you have heavy wind and torrential downpours, making driving difficult at best. even during a rush hour period. watch out if you're expecting anyone home. there will be a delay over the or so. this also moving west toward the lakeland area. so there it is. just a typical summer day for august into september. we will be watching this for another hour or two. then everything quiets down. we will see more of it tomorrow and thursday and friday. back into that classic summertime pattern. one of the reasons we're seeing the storms pop is the heat has been ridiculous. low 90s right now. check out the high temp tied a record in tampa at 95. broke a record in sarasota. and 97 also record breaking in winter haven. right now a thunderstorm at the airport in tampa. 82. clearwater, 90. storms are on the way anywhere from clearwater south and pinellas and st. pete also picking up a thunderstorm where that severe thunderstorm warning is in effect. there's your yellow box in effect until 6:45 tonight. even the possibility of a funnel

this one just in from fhp, here in pinellas northbound 275 at gandy, roars we might have some lanes blocked although not really seeing anything. i looked and you can see we're still in the green heading northbound on 275. a little slow here on 4th street and park, i also noticed a little bit of slowdowns as well. could be due to some lingering construction from overnight. opening up our cameras, this i-275 around 54th avenue. got blurry on this camera. was looking clear a second ago but looks like they are making some focus changes there. traffic looking great on 275. all the interstates in the green, i-4, i-75 and 275 in pinellas. >>> 5:01. a dangerous carjacking suspect is on the loose in lakeland. >> the polk county sliver's office sending out a major warning now. sheriffs office. abc action news reporter rodney dunigan is live from the scene is the victim ok? >> reporter: thankfully she is. this could have been worse. investigators say this happened shortly after closing time on sunday. the woman was simply sitting in her car when the guy walked up to the driver's side with a chain wrap

looking pretty good here at i- 275 and gandy but we are seeing more wet roads. i'll show you exactly where they are coming up. z22sjz zy6z a z22qzz zy6z >>> look at all that. , that is the rain hugging the coastline as you wake one abc action news. >> ivan is watching a few areas in particular very closely now. pasco, citrus and hernando counties. he's in the weather center now tracking the rain throughout the day so we're prepared. >> looks like the metro area in the clear for now but it's not going to last. >> we're all rainfall the next couple of days. the problem is it's where the rain is heaviest is where the flooding will be. and we have flood watches in effect. you can see this wall of water about to move onshore. it will be a wet go through the morning commute. no lightning here but the issue will be blinding rain and reduced visibility. already impacting 19 from crystal river, vine island, spring hill getting in on it richey. pinellas is drying out but further south manatee getting in on rainfall along 75 and points east are beginning to dry to the west

this is 275 in pinellas county at gandy, up to speed here, no major issues throughout pinellas county. all the major roadways are open and running smoothly this morning. the howard frankland bridge also looking great. look how wide open the lanes are. i just checked and six minutes to get across the howard frankland, from pinellas county into hillsborough county. just watch for some lingering veterans expressway, we have hillsborough and ehrlich closed right underneath the veterans so detour signs are posted. >>> 5:19. with hundreds of thousands of kids heading back to school today teachers and school nurses are doing everything they can to protect our kids from the zika virus. right now hillsborough county schools are doing their best to get rid of standing water. a new directive from the florida governor rick scott has school nurses being trained by the health department to recognize zika symptoms like fever or rash. many school districts including hillsborough county are already preparing to send materials home explaining the dangers of zika to families. >>> today senator bill nels

this is i-275 around gandy boulevard. we're up to speed in both directions. coming up, we're going to check the drive across the brings. z236az zy6z >>> he's back in the bay area. donald trump campaigning in tampa today and thousands expected to attend his rally. many will be protesting. the one thing he won't be in italy -- powerful earthquake leveling entire towns, many people are trapped and we've learned at least 21 are dead. >> the 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck while they were sleeping and the aftershocks are still happening now. abc action news anchor lindsay logue has been following this all morning. >> there are reports that people are still trapped in the rubble. >> reporter: yeah. an incredibly sad and devastating thing for that region of central italy. several people died when their houses collapsed on top of say there's no sign of life. the mayor there says most of the town is wiped out, buildings collapsed to the ground overnight. reduced to just piles of concrete rubble you can see here. it's very hard for rescue vehicles to get in, they are b

let's check the cameras outside, not too bad i-75 and gandy up to speed right now through st. pete on 275. also check the major roads over checking the cameras, this he is i-4 through ybor city as you head into tampa. traffic moving pretty good now, in fact we can check drive times and tell you exactly how long it's going to take you to get from the lakeland area to tampa. 23 minutes now. 8 minutes down there at the bottom from 75 to 275. >>> 5:17. a party favor no parent wants at a teen's birthday party. >> authorities are trying to party in n san francisco over the weekend. it's believed to be in party favor bags. several guests started to have trouble breathing after eating gummy candies. most went to hospitals, most under 18, the youngest just 6 years old. the good news, they are out of the hospital this morning. >> marijuana edibles like this banned from colorado di as police continue the investigation they are not naming the catering business or whether they may have supplied the candy but say they are cooperating. >>> gawker may be trying to pay hulk hogan less than the

>>> we're flowing at great speed, 275 in pinellas county right around gandy boulevard. no delays there. quick look, st. pete 175 to hoc, nine minutes. that's a look at weather and traffic on the 8s. and now back to gene and gayle. >> thank you. >>> time now for the morning's medical report. heart disease continues to be america. but there are some exceptions. in 2014, cancer was the top killer in 22 states, up from two states in the year 2000. new data shows cancer now causes more deaths among asian and hispanic americans than heart disease. heart disease is still the leading cause of death for african-americans and caucasians. >>> smart phone, tablets and television, young toddlers love the screen time but how much is too much. pediatricians recommend children under the have no screen time. and after that, no more than two hours in any 24 hour period. one thing is for sure, less is always best. >> always astonishing to see the kids with ipads at restaurants. even the little ones. >> it's hard to break it. >>> hot wheel, the super fast car, wonder what it would be like

show you the bay area bridge, top to bottom, courtney campbell causeway, howard frankland bridge, gandy, in the green. still looking at an accident in 27th avenue. i don't have florida highway patrol onscene just yet. as soon as they get there, i will let you know how it's looking. downtown tampa, very quiet. gene and gayle, back to you. >> thank you. >>> right now, pasco county deputies are searching for two people who car jacked a woman at a busy 7-eleven in holiday. this happened as people were headed to work early in the morning. news channel 8's ryan hughes is live along u.s. highway 19. and ryan, surveillance video shows the pair just before th >> reporter: gene, good morning. detectives hope someone recognizes that couple from the video and it leads to an arrest. this is the parking lot where the woman was car jacked just two days ago. let's go to the video if we could. you can see the couple walking around before the crime. it doesn't show the actual crime in progress.. deputies say he took off with her minivan. he had a woman with him. the area in the back of a pickup truck. la

so does the courtney campbell causeway and the gandy bridge. when it hit, it really was quite dramatic. road signs bent over because of the force of the water. you know, gushing down the street everywhere oving down the street. we always think we're the keeper of the house... ...so it makes a lot of sense you would have flood insurance. knowing that you have that and if you need it, it's going to be there, and you've done everything you can that this house might be here in a hundred years for another family to enjoy it. >>> it's back to school for students and polk county. what officials are doing this morning to make sure the students get there safely. >>> also, dangerous flooding. look at this. residents in waking up to the possibility of more rain. that is the last thing they need. the latest on the rescue efforts and how the federal government is stepping in to help. >>> and a live look at rio this morning. the u.s. continues to lead in the medal count. and a new record is broken. a look at what is ahead for today minutes away. >>> good mor

across. 9 minutes across the courtney campbell, 6 minutes on the howard frankland and 6 minutes on the gandy bridge.

looking live at i-275 and gandy, traffic very light. the average speed 70, between howard frankland. checking out i-4, around park road, smooth ride all the way from lakeland into downtown tampa. let's check the average speeds on the interstates. and you can see, looks like, we're all in the green, i-4 from i-75 to 275. 60 the average speed. 70 the average speed on the apex to i-4 and 275 in pinellas county, 65 the average speed there. back to you. >>> 5:02. four people accused of killing a man site are heading to court today. auburndale police say all four are charged in the murder of this man, 27-year-old adam hillary. they say he met 18-year-old hailey bustos on a dating web site plenty of fish and the night after the first date authorities say she showed up at the victim's apartment with three men to rob him. one of them shot hillary in the head. investigators are now linking bustos to other robberies. >>> in a few hours governor leaders to combat -- come one ways to combat the zika virus. right now there are -- more than 500 confir

your drive on the interstates starting in pinellas county, this is 275 at gandy, up to speed in both directions. pushing 70 from bridge-to- bridge. checking i-4, at 75 looking great here as well, just 22 minutes from the lakeland area to downtown tampa. if you're in wesley chapel trying to decide between 75 and 275, really doesn't matter at this time. we're both in the green, 275 from the apex to i-4, 64 the average speed, 67 to make about that same >>> 5:03. a major construction project gets underway today near amalie arena. it could impact your commute for the next year. >> abc action news reporter rodney dunigan is live near channelside. explain the road closures and the reroutes of this pretty lengthy project. >> reporter: it is going to be lengthy. possibly two years to complete this project. so a lot of folks who travel this area daily will definitely you'll see more construction barrels as well as roy signs around the area. roadway. the overall goal to make it more livable for residents and attractive to visitors as well as businesses. this $35 million project, when complete,

no delays on the gandy. 54 through new port richey, still a good drive as well as u.s. 19 through palm harbor. >>> tracking the tropics, tropical depression number nine is threatening to make a turn toward the bay area. we have team coverage of what you need to know to prepare for the storm. >>> and the bucs are changing the stormy weather. the big change is team is making with the next pre-season game against the redskins coming up. >>> i'm gene ramirez. >> and i am gayle guyardo. it is busy if the tropics. let's tun things over to leigh spann. >> good morning guys. and as of 5:00, about an hour ago, it's still tropical depression nine. and still expected to become a tropical storm sometime today. and winds right now, less than tropical storm forced at 35 miles per hour.

seven minutes to grass the gandy bridge. checking the toll roads, still in the green on the veterans expressway, 17 minutes from 54 to 275. and looking great on the selmon expressway, taking just six >>> it's 5:31. breaking overnight -- a fire forced people out of their homes in pinellas county. >> investigators now trying to figure out what started that fire at the station square condominiums on cleveland street. these are pictures from the crew on the scene, you can see where the fire started there in the 12th floor unit. >> a viewer also shared cell phone video with those flames. while they were still burning just before 11:30 last night. >> firefighters got there shortly after call came in. got the fire out in minutes. and rescue crews say hurt. >>> just a matter of hours and republican presidential nominee donald trump will be back in tampa to speak to a crowd of supporters. >> abc action news reporter rodney dunigan is live outside the florida state fairgrounds. what kind of crowd are are they expecting today? >> repor

under 10 minutes for the courtney campbell causeway, howard frankland bridge and the gandy bridges. and then wrapping up, back in tampa again, 275, i-4, 475, all couple minutes. >> thank you. >>> right now, the bay area that was bracing for rain and flooding, that could mess up the commute this morning. one location that could be hardest hit could be pasco county. that's where many people remember terrible flooding last summer. ryan hughes is live from new port richey. and ryan, sandbag filling stations are now set up. >> reporter: exactly. good morning once again. there are four here in pasco. you can see the mound of sand behind me left, a number of sandbags have been filled for people so they can stop by and pick them up. an easy process. and now this is video from sandbag filling locations that opened over the weekend. all over the bay area there. are three other locations in pasco where residents can fill sandbags between 8:00 this morning and 6:00 at night. even though we have seen some people come by this morning. they include jw mitchell park, veterans memorial park and a ba

also the gandy bridge and the sunshine skyway bridge up to speed. all right, state road 54, new port richey area, looks like 19 to the sun coast parkway, 12 minutes on the drive. and also on 19 through palm harbor, we collision. everything is on the shoulder now. state road 54 to tampa road, roughly 14 minutes on your drive. that's a look at weather and traffic on the 8s. now back to gene and gayle. >> thank you, leslee. >>> a big parade for little stars. the welcome ceremony for the winners of this year's little league world series just ahead. >>> and also, mcdonald's restaurant transformed for a come on duck! (puppy barks) you can do it duck. hurry up duck! you can do it duck. iams. helps keep your dog healthy at every stage. >>> after 32 years of hard work, a don's employee with down syndrome is enjoying her retirement. she cleaned tables and refilled ketchup but her favorite task was controlling the fry station. her coworkers and members of the community gave her quite the send-off. they filled the restaurant with mickey and mini mouse decoratio

gandy looks good. no so good on the howard frankland bridge because we have an overturned vehicle and clean-up going on in place. the two left lanes are taken away. and let's go to street. he has a live look at the bottom. and there's now a tow truck that has arrived onscene. what that tow truck has to do is get the car on the flat bed and get it out of there and then clean up the bridge. in the meantime, two left lanes taken away due to this single vehicle crash here. that's a look at weather and traffic on the 8s. now back to gene and gayle. >> all right. thank you so much. >>> an oklahoma man killed right on his front step. classify the killing as a hate crime. >>> plus, juggling school work. coming up, lindsey mastis shows us which & kids are using to stay organized. >>> -- which apps kids are using to stay organized. >>> you're watching news channel 8 today. z22s3z zy6z z22t7z zy6z >>> we're back. a former california highway patrol officer is facing peeping tom charges. the 30-year-old turned hims

the courtney campbell, just 7 minutes across the howard frankland bridge and 8 minutes to cross the gandy bridge. >>> 5:32. families in a pasco county neighborhood are hoping for the best, preparing for the worst >> abc action newstion reporter rodney dunigan is live in new port richey. a huge problem is a retention pond in the area. >> you are right. in fact, the flooding has continued overnight. check this out. when we were here last night the flooding stopped at those barricades. if you can see it's come up about a half block down from that. so a lot of that water from the retention pond spilling over into the streets, inching closer and closer to the homes, with more rain expected today a lot of folks worried about that. the city has actually come out and they've brought water trucks out to pump some of the water out so they are hoping that helps and will have crews out here a bit early this morning to try to work on this. folks concerned. one is a homeowner, ron ciavo. thank you for being with us. i know you just moved here from portland. >> yes, sir. >> reporter: to the beautiful we

only 7 on the howard frankland and seven minutes to gandy bridge. that's from pinellas into hillsborough county. we're looking great on the interstate. the morning commute is starting to die down a bit. up to speed in both directions. the average speeds on the interstate, we're slowly getting back to normal. still slow on i-4 heeding into ybor city. look at that 67 the average northbound on 275. go. >> we're seeing traffic die down, and fortunately, it looks like things are dying down in the tropics as well. beautiful start for us this morning as you can see plenty of blue skies out there from our river gate tower vantage point looking south and east. as we look farther to the south toward cuba, we see that area of low pressure that has been very ill-defined, right now with 30 mile-per-hour winds. the latest spaghetti plots take this farther into the we'll still watch it because it can bring us rain and, well, extra wetness through the beginning of next week. we'll keep you posted on the progress of that storm system. 79 right now in tampa. we'll go

. >> back to the blue event, it's called back the blue, at gandhii gandy beach. mike. >> showers and storms that rolled on through, how about the work week ahead though? there is a grocery store, it is right down the street like 2 miles, and i will drive past it... ...every time i go grocery shopping, because right past it there is a publix. i wouldn't shop anywhere else. they always go out of their way for me so i don't mind going a little out of my way for them. the people are always friendly, always helpful, they don't just point to aisle 7, and say good luck... they literally, they will walk you there. they're just nice. they treat you like a friend there. you don't get that everywhere. z236az zy6z today was a day to dedicated to saying "thank you" to all the local men and >> today was a day dedicated to vague thank you to all the local men and women who wear a badge. the tampa jeep crew invited everybody to police firefighters and emts could stop by for free food and music. it's a greatly way to vai thank you for all they do in the community. >> there's been