you know, whats. >> so demure, gene ramirez. all right. >>> temperatures this morning already feeling warm. 65 degrees at 8:00 a.m. well above average and feeling the extra humidity which will lead to -- i wouldn't call it a cloudy sky, sort of a mix. about a 20% rain chance. 64 in lakeland. let's go and see what will happen through the day. see the mix of sun and cloud, it's more humid out there but holding off rain chances until after lunchtime. about a 20% chance for mainly areas east of i of 75. a strong cold front is going -- a strong cold front is going to us overnight. we could see stronger storms as they push toward the south and east. and i think everything is gone by about 5:00 tomorrow. and that's -- by about 5:00 tomorrow and that's when the cooler air arrives. mostly to the north, north of i- 4, you could see some strong gusty wind, the slim chance of an isolated tornado. again about 24 hours from now. and after that, we are chilly into the weekend. leslee, how about traffic on the 8s? >>> no delays through polk cou

find me on facebook, wfla gene ramirez. on twitter, wfla gene. i posted a terrible story out of the panhandle. a 16-year-old being charged now with the murder of his 10-year-old sister. . >>> it is 5:23. tax season is here. refund in one place. >> they recommend paying off high interest debt like credit cards or putting money into an emergency fund so potential for debt is reduced. financial advisor chris hobart says thinking in the long-term now could save you later. >> either making sure your 401(k) or ira is maxed out but more importantly, starting a roth ira. >> he recommends adjusting your withholdings so you won't be giving the government an interest free loan and as a reminder, the day to submit your tax return is moved back four days. the deadline is now april 18th. >>> this is pretty neat. i've noticed it when i've been browsing my options on netflix. netflix now has a new way of recommending movies and shows to the subscribers. it is based on global viewing habits. before it was just based on your country so if you were in the u.s. you

you can find us wfla gene ramirez. wfla gayle guyardo. >> and you can click a button, it will say subscribe and that way you don't miss a broadcast. >> and you can see it live. and if you missed it, you can get it after the fact. that's me. there's a delay on our -- oh, wow, this is too neat. we have to play with that during the break. >>> it's 5:15. another step toward lifting the cuban embargo and cementing this new relationship between the u.s. and cuba. president barack obama will make a historic visit to cuba next month according to a senior administration official. today the white house will plans. and now this is the first time, listen to this, in more than 80 years that a sitting u.s. get that, more than 80 years. now not everyone thinks the good idea. >> our senator marco rubio is totally against it. the republican presidential candidate explain idea at a town hall in south carolina. >> and i'll tell you the problem with the cuban government, it's not just a communist tick at a or theship, dictatorship. and no

. >> and i'm gene ramirez. >>> this is week two of the trial today where a stalker was allowed to book a room next to the victim at the marriott. >>> we are just 1 day away from the biggest day of the primary race, the countdown is on on supertuesday. voters in several states and one territory will head to the poll for each party. the front runners are hoping to build on their leads, and the other competitors are hoping to prove they are competitive. >>> it's leap day, february 29th. why are we showing you pizza? today we can take advantage of leap day deals. that's right. special leap day promotions. if it's your birthday, you can get free business -- free pizza. >> it's cool in our northern spots, and a wide range. like 52 in auburndale. 62 in st. petersburg, and everyone is warmer than yesterday. look at the 24 hour temperature change. average for leap day. 74 the expected high temperature, only the average the low down to 57. weather and traffic at 4:08. i will walk you hour by hour through the extra day on the calendar year. >> my grandfather was born on leap day. you can pick you

. >> and i'm gene ramirez. >>> tampa international is expanding, and we will get a ribbon cutting ceremony look today. we will see the new areas including bay area coffee and tea this is just the first part of the t.i.a. expansion project. in florida today, attending a grass roots event. she met with a group of children brought into the u.s. illegally before 16. >>> love birds are waking up this morning forever changed. this man popped the question at the rockefeller center in new york city u and over in los angeles, runners had the chance to propose or renew their vows during the marathon. hard to do that while you're running. >>> let's check with weather and traffic. >> reporter: it's early in the morning, folks, and we have two accidents. sad news on the howard franklin bridge, a couple of lanes taken away due to a fatal crash. i will show you what this looks like. traffic using caution as they pass by. moving over to a car fire here, southbound 275 here, no smoke there, but just be aware of that. the southbound lanes on u.s. 19 are actually blocked right at ridge road, and traffic is s

good morning gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. >>> fire investigators will be mast key county to try -- pasco county to try to determine what caused the fire there. sadly two dogs died in the homes. >> it's leap day. it's a day we need to keep our clocks and calendars in sync with the earth and the seasons, and you can get free goodies, too. 4million people have a birthday today, and we will share the deals for you in a few minutes. >>> the oscar goes to leonardo dicaprio. >> yeah! >> after 5 nomination, dicaprio finally has an award. >>> spotlight won best picture, and #oscars is trending on it's 5:31. amazing weekend. >> i will keep it going since awards. >>> brooksville, 11 degrees warmer than you were at 5:30 on your sunday morning. lakeland, 9 degrees warmer it will be 74 degrees, femaling very warm with partly sunny skies. an 8-day temperature trend will let you know how it feels this nice. the pinellas park area, folks, and affecting your drive f you're used to taking bryan dairy road. it's early, and we are not used to seeing the vehicles on the roadway. right under u.s.

gene ramirez, news channel 8. >> and we have complete coverage of the iowa caucuses. keith cate is in des moines tonight to bring us a live report in a few minutes on news channel 8 at 6:00 o'clock. >>> a man is dead after a deadly deputy involved shooting in collier county. the man had a weapon and came she opened fire shooting the man after warning him to put down the weapon, but he did not. the deputy is on routine administrative leave. >>> disturbing video from lake county, a day care caught hitting, even slamming a child to the ground. according to police, a workers cell phone video shows the woman striking the child, and picking up the child and slamming him face down on a mat. reid is the director of the childrens palace day care center. she was arrested and charged with child abuse. >>> you don't see this every day a miami woman pulled a police officer over for speeding. >> the reason i pulled you over today, and i'm asking you to come cover and have a conversation, i saw you since miller drive first jumping on, and you remember pushing 90 miles per hour. >> r

. >> and i'm gene ramirez. we start with breaking news on fresh off his last season, a college football player is now facing child sex charges. this arrest went down in pinellas county. offensive lineman mack crowder. he started for the volunteers in fall. and he played five years with the team. >>> a push to increase mosquito control in light of the zika virus health emergency. later this morning, the hillsborough county county commission will consider a measure to increase funding for additional mosquito surveillance and spraying. this comes just weeks after governor rick scott declared a health emergency in light of the mosquito-born illness linked to berth defects. >>> and the republican presidential candidates are preparing for town hall-style discussions. time specials with front-runner donald trump and ohio governor john kasich. and ben carson and senators marco rubio and ted cruz will appear on cnn. >>> it's 5:01. some of us might be dealing with fog this morning. >> it's very patchy. usually we see thi

. >> and i am gene ramirez. breaking news, a college football player is now facing child sex charges. all of this went down in pinellas county. the university of tennessee offensive lineman is accused of using a computer to solicit, entice or lure a child. this morning he bonded out of jail at about 1:40. volunteers in the fall. he played five years with the team. >>> a push to increase mosquito control in light of the zika virus health emergency. the hillsborough county commission will consider increasing funding. this comes weeks after governor rick scott declared a health emergency in light of the mosquito-borne illness linked to birth defects. >>> in south carolina, the republican presidential candidates are preparing for a town hall debate. ben carson and senators marco rubio and ted cruz will appear on cnn. >>> let's get a check on the weather. >> good morning. we have we have patchy thick fog. so like downtown tampa, it's perfectly clear. county, very thick fog. keep going east, things are clear again. le

i'm gene ramirez. back to you guys. >> i learned a lot. >> more than i intended to. >> yeah. >>> well, just two days until valentine's day. we want to hear your romantic stories. your romantic people stories. send them to us on social media using the #iheartwfla. you might see them on tv >>> hope you have plans for this valentine's day weekend, we have some great weather. generally sunday, valentine's day itself actually looks pretty good. 59 degrees at frenchies at the moment. bright sunshine. not a cloud in the sky. looks like the camera is out of joint here at freedom plaza. 64-degree is the temperature. a few of the nice rooftop. lake club looks good. we have a southwest wind at 7 miles an hour. so for the weekend overall saturday, 67 degrees. a cold front coming through. with little impact we will readjust our temperatures a little bit. not much. we have plenty of sunshine sunday. valentine's day. we are looking pretty good. as for this evening 57 degrees. bring a jacket if you will be out this ev

and who knew gene ramirez was such a great dancer? >> that's what i'm talking about. >> cutting a rug! >>> i do want to say carey. what you see on the air from person. >> when she came here, she was just out of college. >> and i'm going to embarrass carey for a minute. i hope you're watching. you know it's true love because she drug him and he went willingly to a taylor swift concert. i knew they were a perfect match at that point. >> that was before they were married. nothing but the best. weather and traffic on the 8s is just 3 minutes away. >>> a south florida woman pulls over a police officer. new we will show you the confrontation and why the woman thought the officer was breaking the law. you're watching news channel 8 bend me shape me, any way you want me as long as you love me, it's alright bend me shape me, any way you want me shape the best sleep of your life. sleep number beds with sleepia technology adjust any way you want it the bed that moves you. >>> and good morning. it's 5:58 a.m. we are looking at a warm day today wi

good morning gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. >>> fire investigators will be

. >> and i'm gene ramirez. >> our top story this morning, severe weather. a tornado watch in our area. we will talk more about that with leigh in a second. but you can see a line of storms headed our way. this is a look at the radar here and you can see the storms lined up in the gulf. >> yeah, people in pensacola are cleaning up this morning. this is what it looked like. there was a tornado, that twister is blamed for damaging crews are now going to each apartment looking for anyone who may be trapped. >> and that line of storms that caused damage in pensacola also left this path of destruction in other southern states two. died in louisiana where reports indicate a tornado touched down. a mobile home park there completely destroyed. and you can see the storm ripped apart building, tossed cars around. emergency crews estimate more than a hundred homes and rvs are damaged or demolished. >>> let's get straight to leigh spann. a tornado watch in our area. >> yeah, within the last 45 seconds. they extended the the tornado watch down into our area. and you can

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. right to our breaking story of the day, a house fire in sulfer springs. just look at the flames. >> we now know that four people are out of this home. one is in the hospital this morning after smoke and fire tore right through their house this morning. our lindsey mastis pulled up to the scene in the last 45 minutes or so. lindsey, what's the latest now? >> reporter: yeah, you're right. we have been getting updates all morning long since we have been out here. this house looks at like now. we're going to have meliek zoom in a little bit. you can see one of the tampa fire-rescue trucks is leaving the scene. that's because the investigators are getting ready to go inside. the fire was put out shortly after it was called in. it was called in around 3:50 in the morning. they got the fire out at 4:17. i'm told there were four people living there at the time, all of them adults. a 73-year-old female and the rest were all males in their 30s. one person is in the hospital, a 35-year-old male.

. >> and i am gene ramirez. >>> we begin with breaking information. new information about the shooting rampage at a kansas plant. he is accused of killing three people and wounding 14 others in the community. police shot and killed him. on his facebook page, he claims to be from miami. >>> and also breaking overnight, a house fire in clearwater. flames broke out in the kitchen. on the stove is to blame. we are making calls to find out how serious injuries are. >>> the time right now is 4:01 on this friday morning. we made it. >> we did. and now we have really seen the colder air start to filter in. inverness, down to 37 degrees. when you walkout side this morning, a wide range of temperatures. polk county in the 40s. 45 in lakeland and auburndale but at the coast, upper 50s. so we know it's at least colder than yesterday. 16 degrees colder in brooksville and inverness. and you thought yesterday morning felt cool, right? so 11 degrees cooler than this time yesterday in lakeland. all day the today. it won't be as windy but there will still be a breeze a

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. >>> we begin with breaking news. firefighters are battling a springs. you are looking at a live street. now. >> firefighters tell us that the two people inside were able to get outside okay. and we will follow the breaking news story for you and bring our news channel 8 app. >>> a wet start to this tuesday. wet roads are being blamed for at least one crash overnight in deputies tell us that the driver of the truck lost control near the intersection of livingston avenue and robertson trail. >>> a lieutenant with a clearwater fire department and medic are both suspended for having sex while on duty. the medic is suspended for 15 days and her boss, the lieutenant is off the job for 30 days. >>> the family of a 14-year-old girl shot in the head is counting their blessings this morning. abigail caugh gave doctors a thumbs up sign after they asked her a question. the sign is giving her parents some much needed hope in the aftermath of this horrific tragedy. >>> it's 4:31 on this tuesday morning. let's turn things over to l

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo guy. -- gayle guyardo. there's a lot going on with traffic. this is the two right lanes, closed right now, and you can see traffic is moving slowly. >> another crash here. this is is a bad one, right on ulmerton road where a vehicle hit a pole, and reports of this possibly being a fatal crash. we will zoom in here, and you can see all the rescue personnel. the car is a mangled mess up against the pole. you can't even tell, gayle, by looking at this what kind of a car this is. straight to leslee lacey to find out what you need to know to navigate around those issues. >>> what you're looking here is right here, all the eastbound lanes are taken away due to the nasty crash where the vehicle was just tied and looped around the pole there, and this is where you're routed around it, allow for extra time, especially if you're hopping around 275 to there. two right lanes are blocked and this is a fatal accident here. and you can see as we showed you before, two lanes taken away, and traffic getting by. it's okay to

. >>> i'm gene ramirez. it's a busy day on the roads. several accidents we are tracking this morning. over to leslee to see what we are track right now. >> a fatal crash on the howard franklin bridge, folks, and this has the two right lanes taken away here. it's northbound traffic, and it's a little bit slow as you pass, but no severe congestion. it's lighter with traffic, but again the two right lanes are taken away this is on the map. moving over to pasco county, our second fatal accident. road, and it involves a motorcyclist and a semitruck. all the season lanes here are blocked no delays yet because traffic is light. it's early in the morning, and you're routed right around it. follow the detours, and let's move down to the ulmerton area. eastbound ulmerton road, all eastbound lanes are blocked. a vehicle collided with a pole, and they have to remove the person out of there. a possible fatal crash here west of 275. we have had quite the issues this morning, out on the roadways, leigh, it's been a tough monday morning after valentine'

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. we start with breaking news on

. >> and i am gene ramirez. >>> this clearwater mom and dad just bonded out of jail. her accused of making up a story about their little boy being in the backseat of their stolen car. and get this, they aren't sorry for lying. >> do you regret any of this? >> no. >> your 3 and -- >> i regret you being in my face. >> turns out, the little boy was never in danger. he was safe at day care. >>> super tuesday is less than a week away and tonight gop going head to head in houston. senator ted cruz is hoping to bring front-runner donald trump's winning streak to a halt. the texas senator just scored a key endorsement from his own state's governor. >>> and a study shows that most the wheel. about 87% of drivers are doing dangerous things on the road, being drunk, speeding, texting, they all made the list. the report reveals nearly 33,000 americans died in crashes in 2014. >>> it's 4:01 on this thursday morning. let's get a check on the weather with leigh. >> thankfully we have this storm system that's passed us by. and the system has pushed up into the northeast causing sever

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. we have a lot going on this morning including strong storms moving through overnight. the tornado watch was just canceled in some spots. >> yeah, leigh spann has been following this all through the night and into the morning. what's it looking like now? >> again, this is a very quick- mover. steve jerve and i were on facebook live all morning long starting about 1:30 until the newscast started. intense portion was moving through hillsborough and pinellas county. and now it's pushing farther and quickly to the south. so from tampa north, things are dry now. and once you get into polk county and south and east where the rain continues. and the tornado watch has been canceled. it was in effect for pinellas, pasco, hillsborough and manatee. that's been taken away. and we still have the watch until 8:00 a.m. for polk, sarasota, hardy, desoto and highlands. i suspect it will get canceled before 8:00 a.m. look at this, western manatee, western sarasota dry. this is pushing to the east. and o

. >> and i'm gene ramirez. >>> cementing the new relationship between the u.s. and cuba. today we will learn the details of president barack obama's travel plans to the island. we know the visit will take place in march. it will make president barack obama the first sitting u.s. we are covering this story all day today. >>> your privacy verses your security. apple is going head to head with the fbi and the tech giant is promising to fight an order if the federal government that could take them as far as the supreme court. this is all linked to the mass shooting in san bernardino. the feds want apple to unlock terrorist syed rizwan farook's iphone. >>> and a traffic alert for you this morning. it could put your weekend plans in jeopardy. clearwater beach will close through the weekend. the closures begin tomorrow morning and last through late >>> it's 4:01. let's plan ahead for the day when it comes to weather with meteorologist leigh spann. >> we're in a great stretch of weather and a lot of people will probably be heading to the beach, very comfortable. polk county looks

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. we have a lot going on this morning including strong storms moving through overnight. the tornado watch was just canceled in some spots. >> yeah, leigh spann has been following this all through the night and into the morning. what's it looking like now? >> again, this is a very quick- mover. steve jerve and i were on facebook live all morning long starting about 1:30 until the newscast started.

. >> and i'm gene ramirez. we have a lot in the next hour but fist a check on the weather. leigh is standing by. >> good morning. we are glad the cold front has passed through the area. we did have strong storms yesterday and now it has pushed up to the new england area, bringing a threat for strong storms there and then the it. clouds now. the bigger story, the colder, 55 right now in lakeland and tampa. 58 in sarasota. but here's the bigger story, the strong wind, 12 miles per hour in polk county like lakeland and winter haven. 18 in sarasota. and gusting up to nearly 30. that's going to keep us cold all day. a high of only 65, well below average of 74. and at 5:08, i take you hour-by- hour through today and tell you how long it stays this chilly. and leslee is going to help you get out the door, just hold on to the wheel with both happeneds. >>> especially across the skyway bridge. there's a high wind advisory there. in the sun coast area, for those in palmetto, 10th street over to state road 70, that's a nine minute commute on 301. and also u.s. 401, manatee avenue to s

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. >>> in our top stories this morning, allison huffman, the killing a tow truck driver on the fork bridge is still behind bars this morning. -- on the howard franklin bridge is still behind bars this morning. 8 on your side dug up her records and found four past dui arrests. >>> and police are looking for burglars caught on camera going through a tampa home. the homeowners were at work at the time. and they were alerted by video on their cellphone. that's the video you're looking at right now. the alarm system is right here disguised as a decoration on a table. that's a surveillance video. investigators tracked down one suspect. and now they're looking for two others. >>> and a live look at tampa's skyline. as you heard, head out the door and give yourself extra time. it looks beautiful in downtown tampa but that's not the case for commuters across the bay area. there is fog in some areas which could mean a longer drive time this morning. i was talking to gene earlier, i had a soupy ride in. you had nothing. >> yeah, coming from st. pete, noth

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. let's get right to breaking news. >> yeah, terrifying moments in the middle of the night. take a look here. a truck crashes into the carport and lands on top of two other cars and just look at the damage left behind at this home. this is over in gibsonton. and now investigators are working to figure out what happened. news channel 8s lindsey mastis is live if the scene this morning. in the riverfront community. we're told one person is in custody, lindsey. >> reporter: yes, gayle, that is right.

. >> i'm gene ramirez. we begin with breaking news on this monday morning. while you were sleeping, a deadly shoot out at a tampa liquor store. the search is on for one of two would be robbers. two armed men went to rob the cutlrey liquor store. you're looking at a live picture are gathering evidence overnight into the early morning. police report one of the robbers was shot and killed but the other got away. that is who they're now looking for. the store clerk was not hurt. >> in our other top stories, we checked and so far no new leads in a st. pete hotel shooting that put two teens in the hospital. it happened at a room at the holiday inn express on 54th avenue north. a fight broke out when uninvited guests showed up for a birthday party. two were hit. >>> republican donald trump and democrat hillary clinton are sentimenting their status as -- cementing their status as frontrunners. trump claimed victory in south carolina's republican primary. we'll have more on that story and others in a minute. let's check on the weather with leigh. >> it is mild out ah

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. in our top stories this morning, a violent weekend in the bay area. two people are dead and five injured in three separate shootings. the first one, a deadly shooting at smoke and bowl restaurant and hookah bar in hillsborough county. one person died. three others were hurt two passengers were shot during a hotel party in st. petersburg sunday and breaking this morning, one person is dead liquor store. >>> this morning, the fbi is putting pressure back on apple. this is the latest move in a battle over your privacy versus security. the fbi director insists apple could help get access to a terrorist phone without jeopardizing privacy for all apple customers. >> a photo finish. a lot of people are still talking about this this morning denny hamlin is waking up as the closest winner of the daytona 500 finish in history. it is the first win in toyota and first 23 in 23 years for joe gibbs. the margin of victory was 0.010 second s. i hope he didn't drive in the streets of tampa it is 5:31.

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. >>> right now, part of our area is under a tornado watch. and that is our top story this morning. take a look at this destruction left by the similar system that spawned at least 11 tornadoes in louisiana, alabama and mississippi. at least three people are dead and another 30 injured. >> wow. >> eight of them are reported in critical condition at this hour. the same system caused some damage in pensacola where the national weather service is confirming at least one tornado hit. >> yeah, and just take a look you can see huge water spout, multiple water spouts there as they move across lake pontchartrain. >> that same line of storms is now moving across florida. you can see it right there on the map. here's a look at the storm team max radar. we should start seeing rain in about two hours. and meteorologist leigh spann is joining us now with a look at what is headed our way. >> well, i want to let everyone know that the strongest storm, the most potential for damaging winds and tornadoes is going to be well to our north. so for us, that's good

welcome to news channel 8 i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. >>> we start with breaking news. a deadly workplace shooting in rural kansas kills three innocent victims and leads to the death of a shooter. >> gunfire erupted inside a plant. employees ran, scared for their lives. >> didn't matter who it was, no specific target. just shooting anyone that got in his way. >> right now, 14 people are injured. in four minute, we will have a full report explaining the >>> this morning, the gop debate is trending on twitter in tampa. candidates came to verbal blows during the final debate before super tuesday. and they have a lot on the line. senators marco rubio and ted cruz must both win their home states if they have any shot of beating trump for their party's nomination. >>> and this story is going viral this morning. seaworld is confessing to spying on animal rights activists. this comes after peta accused a seaworld worker of infiltrating the group to get intel. ceo's claim the move was meant to keep animals and customers safe. >>> let's get a check on the weather with leigh. >>

. >> and i'm gene ramirez. >>> right now, take a look at this. a mangled mess at a gibsonton home. you've got to see this. a pickup truck crashed into and through the carport there and then landed on top of two cars. this is a live picture from the alacia riverfront community. we will walk you through what happened here with a live report in two minutes. >>> in the other top stories this morning, the race for the white house comes to tampa trump will hold a rally at the usf sun dome. preparations are underway on campus. the rally is expected to be packed. and it is could cause traffic headaches this evening. >>> and a democratic show down in milwaukee. this morning, the head to head debate between presidential candidates hillary rodham clinton and bernie sanders is dominating twitter here in tampa. >> the american people are tired of establishment politics. >> i am not asking people to support me because i'm a woman. i'm asking people to support me because i think i'm the most qualified. >> the debate was the first time the rivals met since senator sanders won the new hampshire pri

. >> and i'm gene ramirez. >>> we begin with breaking news on this friday morning. some new information about that shooting rampage at a kansas manufacturerring plant. cedric ford is accused of killing three people and wounding 14 others at excel industries. police shot and killed ford. on his facebook page, ford claims to be from miami. >>> also breaking overnight, a house fire in clearwater. flames broke out in the kitchen of the home on pennsylvania avenue. investigators believe food left on the stove is to blame. two people at the home suffered smoke inhalation. morning to find out how serious their injuries are. >>> it's 5:00. let's turn things over to leigh spann for the weekend forecast. >> and you know, it's certainly cooler than this time yesterday. it's not quite as windy. but still, i would need a jacket all day, especially in places like brooksville at 40. inverness, 37. polk county, dropping into the mid-40s. and the closer to the coast this morning, it's a little bit warmer. we are around 60 in bradenton but everybody cooler than this time yesterday. p

i am gayle guyardo. >> and i am gene ramirez. >>> right now, look at this. a mangled mess at a gibsonton home. you have to see the images. a pickup truck crashed into and through carport of that homelanding on top of two cars. this is all happening at the lecia river front community. we have a crew on the scene and we will walk you through the scene in a live report in two minutes.

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. our top stories this thursday morning, cementing the new relationship between the united states and cuba. today we will learn the details of president barack obama's travel plans to the island. and we know this visit is taking place in march and it will make president barack obama the first sitting u.s. president to visit cuba since 1928. that was calvin coolidge back then. and they are covering this big

. >> i am gene ramirez. >>> a highlands county teacher is in jail. she is facing child assault charges. she is listed as a science teacher in sebring. we have a crew track down more information for us on the teacher and the accusations. >>> and also breaking while you were sleeping, a fire broke out flames erupted in the laundry room. crews evacuated the hotel. no one was hurt. investigators are now trying to figure out what sparked the the fire. >>> and this friday morning, an emotional plea from the parents of a man murdered at a tampa nightclub. >> for this the to happen, tragic event, how he died, you know, our baby shouldn't have been taken away from me so brutally. >> she is the mom of the 21- year-old marvin lancaster. she wants someone to step up and help police find who opened fire at club rayne killing two. >>> it's 4:01 on this friday morning. how are we looking for the weekend? >> absolutely fantastic. this big area of high pressure. high pressure typically leads to very tranquil weather. southeast for the past couple days and it's not go

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. right to our breaking story of the day, a house fire in sulfer springs. just look at the flames. >> we now know that four people are out of this home. one is in the hospital this morning after smoke and fire tore right through their house this morning. our lindsey mastis pulled up to the scene in the last 45 minutes or so. lindsey, what's the latest now? >> reporter: yeah, you're right. we have been getting updates all morning long since we have been out here.

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. >>> our top stories this morning, sports reporter erin andrews heads to court today in her hotel peephole lawsuit. and we could hear from her. andrews is the daughter of our chief investigative reporter steve andrews. when he took the stand, we could feel how helpless he felt as a father. >> first time in my life as i didn't know if she was safe or not. i feared for her life. >> andrews is seeking $75 million from her stalker and the hotel the chain where he took images of her changing and posted them online. >>> a local school bus driver is angry this morning. she believes her kids are in danger from drivers who just don't follow the rules. the pasco bus driver claims someone ignored this stop signal and flashing lights and almost clipped one of the kids as he got off the bus. we will explain how she is trying to stop from this happening again. >>> a sigh of relief today from residents cleaning up after tornadoes ripped through southwest florida. the storms are over and things could have been much worse. strong winds tore off roofs from homes an

. >> and i'm gene ramirez. our top story this morning, severe weather. that includes a tornado watch here in our area. right now, a line of storms is moving through the panhandle, it's headed our way. and you can see that here in the radar. you can see the storms lined up there in the gulf. >>> people in pensacola are cleaning up after the storm moved through the county. this is what it looked like. heavy rain and high winds. there was even a tornado. that twister is blamed for damaging an apartment complex. residents are out of their are now going to each apartment looking for anyone who may be trapped. >> and the line of storms that caused damage in pensacola also left a path of dethe instruction in other southern states. look -- of destruction in other southern states. two died in louisiana where a tornado touched down. a mobile home park there is completely destroyed. you can see the storm tossed around cars and rip add part buildings. emergency crews estimate more than a hundred homes and rvs are damaged or demolished. let's get straight to meteorol

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. we have a lot going on this morning including strong storms moving through overnight. the tornado watch for most of about a half hour ago. >> yeah, meteorologist leigh spann was here early at midnight covering this through the morning. >> that's right, steve jerve and i were on facebook live from about 2:00 a.m. to 3:30 as the storms rumbled through the heart of the tampa bay area. look how quickly it's pushing to the east now along the east coast of florida getting worst of it. dry from lakeland north all the way up to crystal river at this point. and even dry now in manatee county. so i talked about the tornado watch being canceled early for everyone except in highlands county where you still have the tornado watch which just means that conditions are still there that might be a tornado. but not happening in polk county because the rain is coming to an end. north port, you're finally ending your rain in sarasota county, pushing quickly over into highlands county. until the rain exit

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. >>> in our top stories this morning, we begin with breaking news. a deadly workplace shooting in rural kansas kills three innocent victims and leads to the death of the shooter. >> the gunfire erupted inside a lawnmower manufacturerring plant. employees ran, scared for their lives. >> it didn't matter who it was, he had no specific target. he just shooting anyone that got in his way. >> right now, 14 people are injured. in about four minute, we will have a full report explaining the shooter's connection to >>> and the gop debate is trending on twitter in tampa. candidates came to verbal blows during the final debate before super tuesday. and they have a lot on the line. senators marco rubio and ted cruz must both win their home states if they have any shot of beating trump for their party's nomination. >>> and this story is going viral this morning. seaworld now confessing to spying on animal rights activists. this all comes after peta accused a seaworld worker of infiltrating the group to get intel. seaworld's ceo's claims the move was meant

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. let's get right to breaking news. >> yeah, terrifying moments in the middle of the night. take a look here. a truck crashes into the carport and lands on top of two other cars and just look at the damage left behind at this home. this is over in gibsonton. and now investigators are working to figure out what happened. news channel 8s lindsey mastis is live if the scene this morning. in the riverfront community. we're told one person is in custody, lindsey. >> reporter: yes, gayle, that is right. it's been a scary start to this friday morning and behind me, you can see where they just pulled out this vehicle from the carport. notice that it is completely crushed. you can't even see the top of it very well. that's because a pickup truck landed on top of it this morning. that pickup truck is right over here. take a look at that. you can see some damage to that truck as well. and now the car behind it was also involved and there's a fourth vehicle way over here. and you can see a little b

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. >>> our top stories this morning, begging for help. a st. pete family believes their 12-year-old is the target of nasty rumors and even a death threat at her school. when they couldn't get the school to respond, they came to 8 on your side. >> it's horrible. my daughter wakes up and she's afraid to go to school. >> the family has tried contacting the school but nothing's been done until 8 on your side got involved. and now we're told one of the out to the family today. >>> a teenager is fighting for his life after a helicopter crash landing in pearl harbor. look at that. that's intense video. right after this, witnesses jumped into the water to rescue the five people onboard. the navy says the chopper was operated and owned by a company that gives tours of hawaii. and now if faa is investigating. >>> a huge step for the catholic church, pope francis is relaxing the church's rules against artificial birth control to stop the spread of the zika virus. after returning to rome, the pope said, quote, avoiding pregnancy is not an absolutely

. >> and i'm gene ramirez. our top stories this monday morning, a 6-year-old attacked while using the bathroom at a mall. right now police need your help to catch this man. take a good look. this assault happened at macy's at the west side countryside mall in clear water. investigators believe the man may have been at the mall with two women. >> day as after a deadly shooting at a tampa nightclub and the shooter is still not behind bars. video taken minutes before eight people were shot at club rayne. marvin lancaster the third died. >>> no doubt denver fans are waking up this morning with big smiles on their faces. the denver broncos beat the carolina panthers to win super bowl 50. beautiful! it is no surprise everything from the game to the halftime show to the crazy commercials are trending all over facebook and twitter. we're taking a deep dive into all of that. but let's check on the weather with meteorologist leigh spann. >> it may surprise you when you walk outside how chilly it is we have places close t

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. our top story this morning, severe weather including a tornado watch right here in our area. right now, a line of storms is moving through the panhandle and it's headed our way. so take a close look here at the radar. you can see the storms lined up in the gulf. >> people in pensacola are cleaning up this morning after the storms moved through escambia county. this is what it looked like, heavy rain and high winds and there was a tornado. that twist blamed for damaging an apartment complex.

. >> and i'm gene ramirez. happy friday. >>> but first, breaking news. a highland teacher is in jail facing child sex charges. this is the woman right here, 38 reid stacey hooks. she is head -- 38-year-old stacey hooks. she is headed to court this morning. we have a crew in sebring right now tracking down more information. sleeping, a fire broke out in tampa. flames erupted in the laundry rook at the hotel. crews evacuated the hotel. no one was hurt. investigators are trying to figure out what sparked the fire. >>> our other top story, an emotional plea from the parents of a man murdered at a tampa nightclub. >> and for this to happen, the tragic event, how he died, you know, our baby shouldn't have been taken away from me so brutally. >> that's nina lancaster, she is the mother of 21-year-old marvin lancaster. she wants someone to step up and help police find out who opened fire at club rayne killing two. so far, no arrests in the case. >>> we are headed into the weekend with beautiful weather. >> we certainly are thanks to high pressure leaving us high

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. >>> breaking overnight. a highland teacher in jail now facing child sex charges. this is the woman right here, she is 38-year-old stacey hooks. she will face a judge in just a little more than two hours. she is listed as a science teacher over at hill gustat middle school in sebring.

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. we have a lot going on this morning including strong storms moving through overnight. the tornado watch for most of

i'm gene ramirez. it is 8:58. bay area residents are reaching out to help those in flint, michigan, deal with the water manual. the phi beta sigma fraternity is holding a water drive. they hope to send bottled water and other supplies to the troubled community. the supplies will be collected saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. outside the university's school of business. nice to see these guys doing something good. >>> we're tracking rain that is just to our north. but boy, is it a slow mover. it is still basically in the same place it was two hours ago. i'll zoom in and show you. hernando counties. temperatures are warm, low 70s. we won't warm up too much more. only hit 76 today. the rain chance goes up into the evening and ends at midnight. cooler air for friday. late saturday. that is the rain chance there keeping us cool. >> friday will feel pretty nice. >> it will. >> see you in about 30 minutes. >>> this morning on today's take george clooney and rihanna on never i have ever. >>> we have everything you need

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. breaking news. there's big headaches for drivers this morning after a fiery crash. the vehicle is just totally smashed, and police say the driver was speeding and hit a underpass. >> a live look of the crash scene this is going to be like this probably for quite some this for a bit of time this is bryan dairy road shut down under the overpass of u.s. 19, and the frontage roads to get on the highway are also closed. leslee, you have been following this since 4:30. it's quite the mess. >> reason it's still closed issues folks, now they have to check the structural integrity of the overpass to make through social security safe because the vehicle hit it. a few different things, and that's why bryan dairy remains shut down. i want to let you know, the frontage road southbound is closed but the northbound frontage roads, you can exit and go east in the area, and it's not completely closed there, but affected for sure, and bryan dairy is also 118th avenue, and this is the portion you cannot pass by. take

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. the northbound lanes of 275 are back open after a closure overnight. and drivers have one new lane to use. i know leslee lacey is really excited about this. this is a spot that's been giving drivers a headache for weeks now. leslee, tell us what's going on. >> well, it's part of a widening project right now on 275, folks between the howard franklin bridge and downtown. one of the lanes that they had, that was getting traffic by, they have restored that to its original lane and so that's good news and on top of that, we now have a fourth lane. that's right, four lanes here and that's between west shore over to himes. so hope friday that's going to ease congestion out there. and now earlier the dale mabry off-ramp was still blocked. and we have ryan hughes out there driving around. and maybe you can tell us whether or not the dale mabry not. how's it going? morning to you. trying to merge in here right now. and take a look in front of me and you can see there's still some cones here at