we're in hillsborough county where the outcome could be decided. and we're in pinellas county and lakeland this morning. we begin with ryan in riverview. good morning. . >> good morning p.m. this is precinct 947 here in riverview considered one of the busiest in this part of hillsborough county. it's been said that hillsborough is one of the most important counties in the country, you may ask why, well, it's picked the president in almost every election since 1960. now, let's go back 2 elections to see how things turned out in 2012 hillsborough county went blue. president obama won by more than 36,000 votes. mccain. that margin of victory was much smaller as you see on the right of your screen. now, because it has been so close this years past, every single vote counts this year. listen. >> the entire election in 2000 was settled by 547 votes here in

that one, the big one, hillsborough county. i'll tell you this, many analysts and national media kept a close eye specifically on hillsborough county, which has predicted the winner of 1906 the last 20 elections. this year, hillsborough county voted for hilary, while florida and the nation, as we know now went blue for obama. this year, voters there chose trump. and pasco, polk, manatee, and sarasota koun tis also all went red. in sarasota county, voter turnout hit 77%, up 75% from 2012. voter turnout in man toe was 73%. also, up from 2012. trump's final rallies in those counties these last couple of weeks certainly paid off. >> 5:46 now. the presidential reyes com down to the wee hours this morning. a lot of people are waking up to the news that donald trump will be our next president. >> abc action news reporter ashley is live roith now inside a diner in tampa. ashley, folks out there, how are they digestin dpshgs this news? >> well, you can see here, not too crowded just yet. it is still early, but there are a few people out

apparently the rules don't apply to hillsborough county. >> i don't think they care at all. >> hillsborough county has gone silent. i requested an interview. county administrator. no county administrator meril. just because they decided not to talk to know does not mean i'm not going to talk about the story. >> how do we know the dog will be taken care of? >> the county sent me records late this afternoon. it states the dogs came in and claimed the dog the same afternoon that emily came into the shelter. the owner was dog to a vet and she apparently complied. i'm going to swing by and check on that dog next week. >> not a bad idea. thank you. if you have a problem you want steve to investigate call our target aid help line at 1-800- 338-0808. >>> here's a view from hula bay. not a bad spot to be on a friday night. 78 degrees. skies. in pasco county county lakeland and polk county 79 degrees. few clouds on the horizon. there are clear patches in there. in new port richey the western portions of pasco county 76 degrees. meteor shower peeking on saturday. you might see ten meteors per hour awa

it's all right here in hillsborough county which is best predictor of how the nation is going to vote. >> so goes florida so goes the nation. how about so goes hillsborough so goes florida so goes the nation. >> thanks james. remember to download our abc action news mobile app with election coverage on the go. instant results and live streaming election coverage on under dog in the race looking at the latest cnn polling likely to go one way or the other. the candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win. trump starts off with 204 electoral votes. states in red and light red. the blue states and light blue are in clinton's camp. all right 268 electoral votes electoral votes to get to 270. the states in white including florida are the battle ground states. florida is a must win to trump. if he wins it to gets to 233 not nearly enough. he would need to take all of the other undecided states including arizona, nevada and new hampshire and north carolina to get close. but if you look closely he's still one vote short, 269. now he could t he could get that vote in nebraska. nebraska is one of

we're in hillsborough county where the outcome county and in lakeland. we begin with ryan. good morning. it looks like folks are startint ready to vote. >> good morning. from precinct 947 here in riverview. i'll step out of the way and show you a live look at the line that's already forming just after 6:30 here. at last count there was roughly a dozen people but it looked like more have arrived here at this precinct it riverview. it's been said that hillsborough county is one of it's picked the president in almost every election since 1960. let's go back 2 elections to see how things turned out in 2012 hillsborough county went blue, president obama won by more than 36,000 votes pouncing on mitt romney, 4 years before that, of course, obama prevailed over senator john mccain. that margin of victory was much smaller as you see on the right side of your screen. because it has been so close, every vote certainly counts thiar . >> the entire election in 2000 was settled by 547 votes here in florida decided who was the president of the united states for the next 8 years. >> and t

big wins for long time incumbents: in hillsborough county's district 14.. an easy win again for congresswoman kathy castor. she defeats newcomer republican christine quinn... 61 percent to 38 percent. this will be castor's sixth term in office. district 12 covers pasco county and small parts of pinellas and hillsborough. republican congressman gus bilirakis easily dea seat... 68 percent to 31 percent.. to keep his seat. bilirakis moves on to his sixth term. for manatee and sarasota counties' district 16... vern buchanan will get his sixth term. he wins big over democratic challenger jan schneider... 59 percent to 40 percent. a big upset in the race for hillsborough county state attorney last night. incumbent "mark ober" ?lost to newcomer andrew warren. it was a tight one... warren got 50 percent, ober got just 49 percent. ober had been and... hillsborough county clerk of court "pat frank" is not retiring yet. the democrat beats attorney and former tv reporter eric seidel... 53 to 46 percent. frank wins her ?fourth term in office at the age of 86. and her 87t

as well as northern hillsborough county. no problems with 75. 275, very quiet from the apex in through downtown, we are expecting to see that typical morning rush hour traffic kickback into high gear. so after about 6:40 or so you're going to see some delays on 275, and 75 here through pasco county looks really great accident and delay free. another update and we'll couple of minutes. >>> a russian family has a unique family pet, it's not a dog, a cat, no, not a bird it's that deer you see standing in the middle of the living room and in the camera's face. the family rescued the creature when it was a baby. now, it's like any other pet running around with the kids. it even likes to >> i don't know. it probably does. seems like a smart --. >> questions you have at 4:50 in the morning. >> a gingerbread house that weighs 400 pounds. >> it pays tribute to the world series champs. >> and how much did you spend this holiday weekend? we're breaking down the numbers to find out. . >>> shoppers this thanksgiving weekend spent less mo

>> hillsborough county reflects the state's racial and ethnic hillsborough county which is why it's called the best predictor of how florida votes and in florida the best predictor of how the nation votes. as hillsborough go so goes florida and as florida goes, to goes the nation. it's driving the candidates to come here all the time. >> he were doing work with overseas folks and florida is not just a hot topic in our country. they know about it, too. >> there are so ma hillsborough county and usf campus. all of the ones i spoke with, why florida. why are they here? international florida is seen as the bellwether for the country. >> we have build up quite a reputation, haven't we? >> we have. new poll has clinton five point lead. is the fbi review of the e- mails, is that a black cloud over her campaign the next two days or has that dwindled away. >> it's a force in driving some people to vote for him at the last minute. he is sort of surging. she is trying to hold even. she is ahead a bit. it's down to the wire. she is counting on celebrities. he is counting on himself to draw crowds and

can that be enough at this point for republicans to carry hillsborough county? >> i don't know yet because it does boil down to whether they can garner some independent votes. there are quite a few. >> certainly 2000 everybody thinks back to the 2000 heard about. as florida time to get something here? >> we had great supervised elections in three chance is now to get it right. we had the march primary in the august primary and today very few problems. the things we are talking about with people and equipment will have problems but no violence or disruptions or major benchmark on florida, thank goodness. >> political analyst dr. night long. thank you so much. >>> we are following breaking news in st. petersburg. just before the clock a car struck and killed a crossing guard. in the last few minutes we learned his name. david rountree. the driver now charged with dui manslaughter. cameron pohlman live at the scene with more on how this happened. cameron cox >> reporter: traffic is locked this time of day brought to a halt after a school crossing ground was hit. st

to the ride-sharing controversy in hillsborough county. transportation comm temporary operating agreement. that could make uber and lyft legal. the companies have tentatively agreed on tougher background checks..but not fingerprinting. last month, the tampa bay lightning announced the team was partnering with uber.. but the county still considers the company to be operating ?illegally. and hillsborough county is now facing ?another lawsuit... from a transportation company. "west coast transportation services" is a limo company that wants to enter the same temporary operating agreement at uber and lyft. the should have the same rules for all "transportation network companies." the county orginally claimed it only reached a deal with "uber" and "lyft" to settle a lawsuit. so "west coast" filed it's ?own lawsuit last friday... hoping for it's own deal. the county has not yet commented on the new lawsuit. a sure sign the holidays are here. cinderella's castle covered in holiday lights! disney kicked off its "mickey christmas party" last night.

public can't monitor the system even though that's what donald trump has suggested voting in hillsborough county to date. all 16 early voting sites closed yesterday at 7 p.m. 242,000 people voted early in the county, more than 176,000 mailed in their ballots. now, back here live this morning the supervisor tells us he's not concerned about the system being tampered with by some outside force because the system is not connected to the internet. electric eve, weather appeared traffic on the #s. >>> good morning. we still are officially about 40 minutes from sunrise, but we're already starting to see daylight coming up. this is a beautiful look. 63 degrees this morning as you r monday started and from there we quickly warm up 72 by 9 a.m. 11 a.m., 78, 1 p.m. 82, and the afternoon high of 84 happens around 3 p.m. down again, only for that sun to rise tomorrow for election day. 64 degrees at the polls before work. if you're going at lunchtime 78, plenty of sunshine and a gorgeous evening when the polls close 74 degrees. high temperatures over the next few days trend down slightly. 81 wednesday and 80

i 75 and hillsborough county commute. a lot of weight -- people are working today but overall they have a pretty good drive. let's take a live look. this is a wonderful shot. this is a wonderful drive in all the bay area bridges are up to speed >>> is donald trump backing down from several of his campaign promises? there are a lot of questions after he dropped some bombshells during an hour-long interview with the new york times. meredis good morning, the big news, donald trump does not want to investigate hillary clinton. >> that is right. overnight the new york times published a complete transcript of donald trump's meeting with it's management and reporters. in that he says he is not favoring that hillary clinton should be prosecuted. he said that clinton has suffered enough and he does not want an investigation into her american politics that after you win an election you start putting things behind you.>> also, trump attacked a major climate deal, the paris accords . he said he canceled the deal so american companies

, and now we're just >> reporter: here's a break down of early voting and mail in voting in hillsborough county to date, all 16 early votes sites closed yesterday at 7 p.m. 242,000 people voted early in the county, more than 176,000 mailed in their ballots. now, the supervisor tells us the county has added 100,000 voters to its rolls since the 2012 election. their turnout be higher this year, 4 years later. back to you. >> all right and we are a very important state. thanks. >>> new this morning an electrical issue may be to blame for a house fire. crews battled the fire in the 1,400 block of car nation drive around midnight. this started in the year of the home and spread to the attic quickly. no one was hurt. >>> fire crews in hillsborough county battled an overnight crews evacuate several apartments in that area, no word yet on what started this blaze, the good news here no one was hurt. >>> well, an election message of kindness and compassion no matter who you're voting for. >> that story is still ahead. plus the company giving people a paid holiday on election day. it's happening. >> yep.

northbound along 75 out of southern hillsborough county, good morning to you. the sunshine skyway bridge fantastic out of manatee into pinellas county. gayle, gene, back to you. >> thank you so much, mer. >>> lake land's christmas parade is two days away. people are reserving their seats. we spotted lawn chairs on the side of the road. it is a tradition for families to put out chairs in ad advance despite warnings from city officials trying to all that chair clutter. >> don't cover sidewalks and whatever you do, as well, don't chain them to light poles and city fixtures because we will cut the lock and remove the chairs. >> you have been warned. the christmas parade is thursday at 7:00 p.m. they are asking people don't put your chairs out until tomorrow night. >> glad to see that they are excited for the holidays. >>> still ahead, holiday gifts. deliveries. >> move over pizza delivery guy, reindeers wanted your job. dominoes training reindeer for i really did save hundreds of dollars on my car insurance with geico. i should take a closer look at geico... geico

just in hillsborough county alone there are more than 300 precincts. jana jones joins from one of the precincts. >>reporter: jen this precinct will open in less than 12 hours and for those who haven't voted yet they will be able to vote in what many are the biggest election in american history. >> you may not compare voting to football, but the hillsborough county supervisor of elections calls tomorrow a championship game. >> this is kind of equivalent to a super bowl quite frankly. >>reporter: for months and months craig latimer says he's prepared much like the two candidates. >> we've trained 3100 poll workers so that when they come to vote they are going to be able to help them in a system. we've deployed equipment to over 280 polling sites of early voting. >>reporter: early voters made history. in hillsborough county more than 200,000 people voted early. close to 200,000 voted by mail. those numbers not surprising to latimer. >> we've added a hundred thousand more voters to our rolls since 2012. yes we've already had more people voted early we've h

there are hundreds of voting machines here in hillsborough county that have cases triple checked to make sure they're in proper working order and that's what officials did all weekend long. now, the county uses electronic machines that tally the votes once the paper ballots are inserted. workers are able to go back and count by hand if there were any problems. the supervisor of elections tells news channel 8 allowed inside the sites. he's optimistic election day will go off without a hitch. . >> we have our game plan. we've been planning for months and months. we've tested the equipment and now we're deemploying our plan quite frankly. >> here's a break down of early voting to date all 16 early votes sites closed yesterday at early in the county and we're told more than 176,000 mailed in their ballots. he tells us the county has added 100,000 voters since the election of 2012 and turnout that year was 73%. they expect to exceed that this year. . >> well, we are a key state so it's great to see that so much preparation has gone into this. >>> new this morning an electrical issue may for a

now as of tonight, walker is on paid administrative leave with the hillsborough county fire department. chris? >> and we'll see what happens after he finishes his vacation crystal clark live in our control room. thanks, crystal. >> a search for a body closes a popular park in pasco county. deputies say they got a tip that a body might be buried on green key in new port richey, but as evan lambert reports, that search could take days. >> investigators spent hours today digging before the sun went down. they're teaming up with a usf anthropologist to try to verify the tip that a body is here. deputies say that that tip came in t had some knowledge that a body was buried on green key. investigators closed down the park and brought out cadaver dogs. they say those dogs alerted on a specific area of the beach. that's where deputies worked with forensic experts to gip the search begin the search for a body. they say it could take several days to see if a tip they got can be verified. >> as of now, we haven't found anything. but we are -- it's a methodical and tomorrow. >> investigators say t

the only hillary clinton is hillsborough county. clinton got 51% of the vote compared to trumps 44%. in pinellas, closer. trap at 48.6% to clinton 74%. in polk county, trump got 55% to clinton's 41%. we are hearing for many of you on social media about trumps talk to you about this. what are people saying.>> reporter: allison, i think here at hole-in-one doughnuts, some are happy and some are upset and some don't care. some weeks elbow to -- so we spoke to said they would put differences aside and support the new president. >> we just have to come toge a everybody. democrats, republicans, third parties, whatever. >> of course people have been sounding off on social media as well. there is mixed reaction. david rice, heaven help us and debbie says, is not the only one saying we should come together. lots of comments on social media saying no matter who you voted for it is time to just stop arguing and come together today you may hear people say that they will move to canada. online searches skyrocketed leading up to the election. we c

for now, reporting live in hillsborough county this morning, rodney dunigan. they are looking for a man reported missing who has dementia, timothy bergeron walked away from his home and he has several medical issues. >>> we know the name of the man in custody in connection with the fifth police officer shooting this week. a wayne state university officer was shot last night after stopping bicycle. investigators said the man on a bike pulled out a gun and shot the officer one in the head. we are told that officer colin rose is in grave condition, in his 20s, engaged to be married, and officers are still looking for the weapon. >>> authorities said deputy eric oliver had been chasing someone who ran while being questioned by u.s. border patrol when the deputy was hit >> it was very tragic, very sad, but we told him he died doing what he loved to do and he was a good police officer. >> the 32-year-old deputy was a navy veteran. he leaves behind a 6-year-old daughter. >>> group of young people facing charges for the theft of 46 cars. in most cases the owners left

hillsborough county, amazing how many. i have lived here over 20 years, after looking at this list, i couldn't believe we had as many as we do. >> you have to go, you have to hike, that is all you do, right? >> exactly. you can download the form and register there so when you go, you register when you complete your eight out of the 19 then you go to the designated location and get your patch and medallion. we have accessible trails. there are different levels of trails you can do. >> are there tougher and easier ones? >> for me i can't quite do the ones deep. we have both. we have all sorts of levels and tells you if they are easy, hard, way out in the wilderness. or if they are right in your neighborhood local parks. we also have regional parks which are morris bridge, lettuce lake. those different ones. >> i did see morris bridge. we are doing buddy baseball. we had it there. which park had the sinkhole? i had never been to that park. it is absolutely beautiful. no one second change and we go wow, what a pretty park. >>

and talk about what's next...in a no-bash zone... - we have deborah tamargo with us from the hillsborough county republican party...and victor dimaio of the hillsborough democratic party... - this has been a very hard-fought battle on both sides...contentious at times.... - the question i want to pose is what is the first thing we all need to do to move forward together locally, and as a nation? - deborah, we'll start with you. - victor... - deborah, what is the one thing you are hoping for most from a trump presidency? - victor, for democrats, this is a tough loss...what should be the party's next steps forward? - morning...we'll be back with these two at 6...but first up at 5:30, we'll be talking with voters hanging out here at the diner, getting their take on this historic election. this morning we're hearing mixed reactions over trump winning the presidency. 10 news reporter shannon valladolid is live in plant city. shannon what are you hearing? we haven't seen to many people out here this morning but those that we ran into say they haven't slept just waiting for the results to come in. so,

pasco county, hillsborough county, eastern hillsborough county and then up to orlando. visibilities down a little bit. don't walk out and go, oh, okay. i wasn't expecting that. it's 71 in st. petersburg. clearwater at 70. everybody else in the 60s. new tampa, plant city, apollo beach all in the mid 60s. west chase in the mid 60s. north with clear skies, we get back in the 50s. inverness, crystal river, brooksville but those are the only few spots. bradenton, you're at 65. lakewood ranch at 63. 63 as well over in polk county, lakeland. it's just a beautiful little start to the day and it's going to be lovely. it's going to be warm. once again, the northeast wind continues. but this weather pattern going on around the country, for instance, you're talking about game six of the world series tonight in cleveland, november 1 their high temperatures today in the upper 70s so yeah. that's abnormally warm. it's not just those folks. it's really the eastern 2/3 of the country. eventually we're going to change that as a cold front comes into the area. that cold front will provide

it's time to take a look at the races in hillsborough county. two races in hillsborough county. district 1 which contains most of tampa, that's sandy merman, she defeats the political newcomer. district 6 is an at large district. camp coming in with 55% of the vote defeating tim shock to commissioner. and for clerk of court, pat frank wins her fourth term and beats eric seidel. property appraiser, the democrat wins the second term, defeating todd jones. >> and for hillsborough county state attorney, mark ober has been in office for 15 years. he loses the job tonight to former prosecutor andrew warren. look at how close this race is. the two. they're saying andrew warren run the race. edgecomb leaves her seat. shamburger has beaten joe jordan robinson. in district 7, very close race in this one as well. carol cordell has left after 20 years. two more first time candidates, former teacher lynn gray barely edges out finance manager kathy james in this race. city council district 7. one candidate needs more than 50% to outright win. there will be a runoff in december. so far to my c

it's a great looking trip out of pasco into hillsborough county. now, back to the desk. >>> well, the man who hit an elderly womb with his truck outside of a pasco county target store has turned himself in. deputies tell us he turned himself in after investigators according to investigators concha walked out of the target with hundreds of dollars in stolen goods. he then got in his truck and drove off hitting an 82-year old woman. she suffered a broken hip but is expected to recover. >>> tampa police are searching for the driver who struck and killed a bicyclist sunday morning. it happened around 3 a.m. police telling us the bicyclist was in the crosswalk by a dark colored sedan that continued on without even stopping. anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to call tampa police. >>> family gatherings and holiday parties sometimes it's hard not to gain weight during the holiday season. >> but up next i'll introduce you to a unique work out that could help you burn those extra calories. . >> plus the bucs beat the see hawks, but is it enough to get a

there's no hillsborough county deputies out here quite yet. we should shortly see them out here on the waters and the reason being it's just too dark out here for them to search. they're waiting on william morris are anxiously waiting on some answers. yesterday morris took his 3- year-old son jet skiing on the alafia river, but they didn't make it home. that is when morris' wife face timed his phone, but her son answered. luckily someone spotted the child by himself on a small island just west of i-75 and stayed with him until deputies arrived. now on that island's bank they also found morris' jet ski, his life jacket and his wallet, but find something else today. live in hillsborough county, isabel rosales abc action news. >>> a few areas of patchy fog out there, otherwise nice and cool and comfortable. just be careful, 75 and i-4, executive airport reporting down to a mile visibility. also down to a mile in receive zephyrhills as well. our usual pockets of denser fog are continuing und upper 50s all the way back to the mid-80s once again thi

hayes is from hillsborough county and he's being held in the pasco county jail on a $4,000 bond. >>> do you recognize this woman, or this man? hillsborough county deputies tell us the couple stole more than 275 bottles of nail polish from the walmart store on gun highway. they smuggled it the 2 got away in a maroon sedaned that been waiting for them outside. anyone with information is asked to call the hillsborough county sheriffs office. >>> on the campaign trail, 4 days to election day, the fight for florida's 29 votes intensifies. overnight republican donald trump added a campaign rally right here in the tampa area. he'll be at the florida state fair grounds tomorrow morning scheduled to on the democratic side tim kaine will rally today, then he'll travel to sarasota for rallies tomorrow and don't forget jon bon jovi is having a get out to vote concert tonight. >>> more than 330,000 people have already voted in hillsborough county. almost 270,000 votes have been cast in pi otherwise county. early votes ends sunday. if you don't vote by then you'll have to cast your ballot on elect

abc action news james is in hillsborough county which could be important in this election. good morning. >> good morning. this is a county that candidates and 19 of the last 20 elections the winner--[audio problems] >> we've also got a few reminders. we want to apologize for james live shot there but as you head to the polls the top three things you need to know. first know your polling place. second bring a valid id. poll workers will be checking and lastly know the vote by mail deadline. vote by mail ballots have to be at the supervisor election office no later than 7:00 tonight. >>> floridans are voting in record numbers. more now than in 2000. back in 2000 less than 6 million people voted in the it became an issue. and minorities voting in record numbers there's been a surge of latino voters in early voting. as of friday 200,000 more voted early than four years ago. ballots from asian americans doubled here in florida, arizona, virginia and north carolina. asian americans make up 1 to 2% of any state's total voters. >> both candidates worked into voters last minute. lad

in the last 19 out of 20 presidential elections voters here in hillsborough county successfully picked the president of the united states and of course this morning the big question is will that happen again when voters show up all look at the past 2 presidential elections to see what happened in hillsborough. in 2012 hillsborough went blue, president obama beat mitt romney. 4 years before that obama prevailed over john mccain by around 10,000 votes. voters have expressed to us they hope the system is fair and balanced. the supervisor of us there's an electronic tally and paper votes. voters are confident though. >> if everybody want everything to be done correctly let it be done with the faith of the people. >> and again, of course the precincts here in hillsborough county open at 7 a.m. they close at 7 tonight. anyone in line at 7 p.m. will still be able to vote. in nbc's final battleground map looking at the electoral college vote. the winner needs to reach 270, clinton is predicted to secure at least 274 based on this particular map right here. . >> trump needs to win the toss up s

has continued to monitor the election process around the country and here, this year, we know hillsborough county is just one county. they'll be keeping an eye on it as voters head we can tell you the polls will be opening in an hour here in hillsborough county. it is one of 67 jurisdictions in 28 states where the justice department personnel are being deployed. now, the goal is to make sure that federal voting rights laws are enforced and that all citizens have access to the ballot on election day. that is the focus for the justice department's involvement. we are told that workers will be looking to gather information on different voting qualifications or procedures on the basis of race, color, membership and a language minority group and whether the jurisdiction is complying with the minority language provisions of the voting rights act and whether jurisdictions are permitting voters with the assistance needed if they are blind or are having trouble reading. if we can show you the graphic on the information you need to know. if you're going to be heading to the polls here in hillsborough count

the 33-year-old is a hillsborough county firefighter... police say he's also a member of the outlaw motorcycle gang. they were there for the annual poker run. as the video continues... he and other members of the outlaws at one point... a chair is used as a weapon. at least 4 employees and customers were hurt. key west police have issued an order for walker's arrest. this isn't his first run in with the law... back in may walker was arrested for battery on a law enforcement officer. it stemmed from this fight that broke out at del mar gastro lounge in saint pete. an officer tased walker in that case. the charges were later dropped... and walker ended up suing the police department. that civil case is still ongoing. hillsborough county fire accusations very seriously and are opening an investigation into these charges. we will take all appropriate disciplinary actions and he will be on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation." masked robbers -- armed with guns! the scary scene played out for a group of u-s-f stude

stealing cars in south hillsborough county. from deputies. >> detectives believe these car burglars were car hopping basically flipping handles and what i just did and getting in the cars and taking off with them. deputies have arrested 14 people. these are pictures of some of the adults arrested but most of the suspects are young. on average their ages are between 15 and 20. over the past 60 days investigators say the suspects stole 46 unlocked cars and in most case keys inside. typically this happened at night. deputies say the thefts all happened in southern hillsborough county. the thieves stole the cars from neighborhoods and also businesses around bloomingdale avenue. >> in total the suspects face more than 15 felony charges. there were three minors facing misdemeanor charges and i can also tell you that in this case, 41 cars that were stolen were actually recovered. news. >>> thank you, marisela burgos. >>> florida are looking for answers after a deputy is killed in jacksonville. officials say that deputy eric oliver was

police say that's 33-year-old clinton walker, a hillsborough county firefighter, throwing blows in a key west bar back on september 17th. >> r. >> it haul happened so all happ. >> she was working at the rumor lodge the night of the fight. she's seen on surveillance video chairs at employees. >> people were getting hit. i'm surprised i didn't get hit. >> the video led key west police to issue battery charges against walker, but his attorney says he is not on the run. >> there's certain media reporting that he's a fugitive. it's just not accurate. >> he won't be in handcuffs any time soon. >> he's currently not in the state of florida because he's on vacation. >> walker made arrangements with the hillsborough county sheriff's office to turn himself in in a month returns, that he will be processed >> key west police say walker was at the bar that night for the annual poker run with members of the outlaw motorcycle gang, but walker's attorney denies his involvement with the group. >> he's not involved with a gang. he was at one time a member of the outlaws motorcycle club. he's not been

. >>> a suspicious house fire in hillsborough county, why investigators are looking at the house next door and how it could relate to protests against president elect donald trump. . >> sitting out the national anthem, bucs wide receiver mike evans creating a lot of controversy this morning for his decision to sit during the national anthem during sunday's game. how fans are reacting this morning just ahead. >> also this morning cell phone addiction, many people can't just seem to put down their phones. some say they can't live without. 8 is on your side this morning with expert advice to break free. >>> well, good morning, and let's get a check on the weather. >>> good morning. we're going to wake up, it's going to feel warmer and be cloudier than yesterday morning. 68 in bradenton, 68 in sarasota, look what a difference tampa is 4 degrees warmer -- excuse me 7 degrees warmer. st. pete is 4 degrees warmer and it all has to do with the fact that clouds rolled in overnight. when that happens it sort of traps the getting maybe some sprinkles throughout pasco county out ahead of this col

in hillsborough county. the county's public transportation commission... is facing ?another lawsuit this morning. a tampa based company called "drive society" is behind the complaint. says the agreement the p-t-c approved last week with "uber" and "lyft" puts other competitors at a disadvantage. competitors like "drive society"... which is also an app-based service. the current agreement allows "uber" and "lyft" to operate legally, ?without having to fingerprint their drivers. several taxi-cab and limousine firms have also joined the new lawsuit. no response yet from the p-t-c. ? and could hillsborough county get rid of the p-t-c... entirely? that's what the former ?chairman is hoping. p-t-c governing board last week. now he's calling on state senator jeff brandes to help abolish the p-t-c. crist says it's too bureaucratic and too slow to adjust to new technology. he'd like to see those responsibilities turned over to the county. florida's supreme court is about be changing.. and it looks like it will shift to the right! governor scott is about to appoint a new justic

the republican party of hillsborough county is hosting ?its victory party at "du amici" pizzeria in ybor city. ?that party starts at eight p-m. and the battle between trump and clinton isn't the only race we need to pay attention to here in florida. there are actually several hotly contested races... with national implications. florida's u-s senate... currenly held by marco rubio. at first, rubio wasn't even going to run for re- election... but he changed his mind after losing the republican primary to donald trump. rubio is facing democrat patrick murphy... who has been getting a ?lot of support from the white house. rubio's been leading in pretty much all the polls though. rubio will be holding his watch party tonight in miami. murphy will be watching a little further north, in palm beach gardens. florida's 13th congressional district. representative david jolly is the incumbent republican. he's taking on charlie christ... the former florida governor... who's running as a democrat. it's been a bit of a confusing race. first.. it's for a ?

in hillsborough county 49% of voted. in pasco county 57% of voters have cast a ballot up from 19% in 2012 and in polk county 22.7% of registered voters put in an early ballot, a slight increase from 2012. news channel 8, of course, is on your side this election day. we're planning extensive coverage tomorrow starting when the polls close. you can check www.wfla.com or our app for updates as they come in. you can follow us on media using the #wflapolitics. >>> right now in polk county investigators are looking for a fourth person involved in a home invasion where an elderly couple was tied up and robbed at gunpoint. just after midnight claudia chritton heard her doorbell ring. after opening the door four people forced their way inside their lakeland home. charles chritton heard his wife >> claudia started struggling with one of the guys and they threw her on the floor and tied her hands. >> that suspect made off with cash and other items. three of the suspects crashed in a ditch in this stolen car from kissimmee. police b

but with almost 6 years in office bondi has almost only charged one hillsborough county man. human trafficking cases have to be happening at least two >>> tonight there are serious concerns about the state budget for next year. the potential to billion-dollar budget -- two billion-dollar budget shortfall. there is one factor that could turn this whole thing around. >> inside walden link new-home construction is rare let a loan before the housing bust she was building 15 homes at a time and then most of the projects are remodels. >> qualified people who can make their monthly payments. they still do not qualify to get construction loans. >> reporter: right now a state budget forecaster is worried a small home construction market could punch a to billion-dollar hold in the budget next year. tonight lawmakers tell abc action news budget cuts are a real possibility which means fighting for things like improving the sewer system just got harder. and the one thing that could help is a thing that could make it worse. the housing market. >> the interstate is facing a pile of problems

a 2.5 year legal fight over ridesharing in hillsborough county is now over. >> kera mashek explain the deal and what it means for you. sack you can open up your smart phone and get a cheap, fast ride wherever you want to go. that is why so many people love uber and lyft in tampa bay. thousands also making extra cash or a full-time living driving for the companies. >> i hear from a student who needs a ride to the store or the airport. i am here for you. >> reporter: the commissioners insist while people love ridesharing, they want to make sure it is safe. after two years of back and forth and bickering able -- in vote >> you have to give a little to get a lot. >> reporter: officially it is legal in hillsborough county outline requirements for insurance and background checks without fingerprinting. >> the bottom line is it is time to get past the circus in do the job the public demands us to do. >> reporter: companies said he can keep catching rides but demanding legislators step in to give every company in florida this same set of rules to play by. this new agreement is just temporary a

today is important. >> reporter: so far in hillsborough county more registered republicans have voted versus democrats. some 36,000 voters are unaffiliated here. in tampa, brendaliss gonzalez, first i want to bring in dr. susan macmanus. republican operatives in the last 30 minutes are saying that republicans in key counties in florida are outperforming the 2012 turnout. what is your read on that? >> it could be one of the reasons that donald trump says that is to counter a good story all over the country which is going toward hillary clinton. and if there is rn for republicans he is trying to say wait and see. >> we will get back in a little bit and talk with dr. macmanus about some other things just coming in. first polls just closed minutes ago impressive indiana and kentucky and so the results start to come in and we will now tonight at some point who will be the next president of the united states. for the white house donald trump already crying foul about early voting in nevada. you are looking at lines in clark county, nevada. the abc action news reporter campaign has claimed p

hillsborough county alone. it is very drive. major drought and they will stay that way. no big relief. showers are coming through now but this is a view of south carolina into parts of north carolina and tennessee. let me zoom into the fire as we are seeing. that right there is what is causing the late fires. the party rock fire. metereologist bobby deskins on facebook you will see pictures of that and i included a link. it is terrible and a lot of folks vacation up here this time of year and if you are headed that way for thanksgiving keep in mind there is going to be smoke. it is better today but still a lot of smoke. i had a question about flying into asheville. it should be okay. the party rock fire is southeast of asheville. dry air has moved in or drier air has moved in because it's been comfortable. there is rain left over but that will stay to the south. i don't expect rain. i expect this guys to clear out like they had been doing and there is florida southern college. what a great sunset. clear skies and light went. dry cool air in place. we will drop down tonig

police say he's a hillsborough county firefighter... and also a member of the outlaw motorcycle gang. they were there for the annual poker run. the fight started.. after an argument erupted with another customer.. at least 4 employees and customers were hurt. key west police have issued an order for walker's arrest. surveillance video of another bar fight closer to home, has been released.. it shows the moment a driver smashes through the front window on 7th ave in ybor city.. this morning -- tampa police are still looking for that driver.. investigatrs say he may have been trying to leave the fight.. before losing control of the car.. despite the dramatic impact, only one of the victims was hurt. anyone who recognizes the driver is urged to contact tampa police.. the school re-zoning plan in pasco county.. which would place kids in different on thursday.. a committee of parents and principals agreed to remove almost 500 students from mitchell high school, and seven springs middle. under the new plan.. both schools would still be slight

so far 242,000 people have participated in early voting in hillsborough county, 176,000 mailed in their ballots. he has faith that each and every ballot is counted fairly. >> if they want everything to be with the faith of the people. >> and all systems in hillsborough have been tested. we're told they're performing well. polls open tomorrow morning at 7 and will remain open until 7 p.m., anyone in line when the polls close will be allowed to vote. . >> and don't forget news channel # is your headquarters for your political coverage on election day. we'll begin at be 4:30 and and continue untilhe closed. you can also check wfla.com or our app for the very latest information all along the way. >>> manatee county sheriffs office is investigating the deadly shooting of an 18-year old bradenton girl. someone shot her owner the 3,300 block of 4th street east. she was taken to the hospital where she later died. investigators tell us they do not believe that this was a random accident, anyone >>> and this morning a bay area mother is hospitalized after a horrible crash on i-75 in hillsborough

. >> his burke county could play a role in how -- hillsborough county could play a role in how >> we have where officials are keeping an eye on voting tonight. adam, what is happening? >> reporter: that is right. big numbers are expected here in hillsboro county because it was a record early turnout. 500,000 people cast ballots before the polls even opened today. right now what is going on is people are bringing in those mail-in ballot and these people standing in line for people who cannot vote for whatever reason at their own precincts. 50 fill out vote here. very few problems reported in the 340 precincts today. there were some equipment issues early on but those were quickly resolved and did not affect the vote count. he spoke to the supervisor of elections about concerns regarding any possible voter fraud or intimidation. >> we had 60 early vote sites saw no intimidation or suppression or fraud. i did not see anything. >> reporter: they do tracking numbers here in hillsboro county. so far 150,000 voters have voted in person here in hillsboro county. 24,000 people cast their ballo

it's now a lot harder for animal abusers to adopt or buy a cut in hillsborough county. the ordinance prevents people convicted of animal abuse from owning pet or living in the same home where without a court order. it also requires anyone who wants to adopt a pet to sign an affidavit attesting they are not listed on the abuse registry. retailers and shelters will be required to check that registry whenever someone wants to adopt. >>> it might be the strangest story you'll hear today. a man faces battery charges for throwing his glass eye at two people. the bizarre incident happening doctors were treating edward dorsey, he took out his eye and threw it at an er doctor and an er nurse. >>> the family of a fort myers toddler are suing cvs after the wrong dosage sent that child to the hospital. after she took the medicine she got sick and had to go to the hospital. the lawsuit says she'll have health problems the rest of her life. >>> police say the owner of a clear water company forced himself on a woman during a job interview. police say led the woman into a back room, th

hillsborough county hillsborough county office is investigating. somebody put on my facebook page i said have you ever seen anything like this. this many people involved, somebody will do some talking. so maybe that will help them find who did this. wow i've never seen anything like this a big story all day long. officials around work looking into car and knife attack at ohio state university was an 11 people hurt when police say plowed his car into a group of people yesterday morning. 18-year-old then began stabbing people he was shot and killed i campus police officer. he was nearby. because there was a reported gas leak. officials say artan was a somali born student. he ones criticized. police searched his home last night an exact motive still is not clear. >> north dakota's g ordered expulsion of thousands of activist saying an approaching blizzad posed a safety hazard standing rock chairman doesn't believer it's for their own good saying just last week police turned water hoses on them sub freezing temperatures activist are rallying against mu

i-4 also looks fantastic out of lakeland to hillsborough county. heading to 75, you are not fhp, they are still working an accident here, 28th street north and 41st avenue. if you do need a detour, you won't have to go out of your way more than a block sore. i would not reroute because of this crash. we will let you know when all lanes are open. wrapping up with a look at the sunshine skyway bridge, 10 minutes or less between toll plazas in either direction. back to you. >> thank you. >>> it's in our mail, junk mail. >> too much. for most of us it's a waste of time and paper. 8 is on your side with ways to kisses deluxe chocolates. with a whole roasted hazelnut, delicate crisps and layers of rich, creamy chocolate, they're twice the size of the kisses chocolates you love. we offered women a mystery beauty treatment. only dove has 1/4 moisturizing cream. smooth dewy skin. dove, your daily beauty treatment for radiant skin. mmm... i can't believe it's so delicious. i can't believe it has 40% fewer calories than butter. i can't believe it's made with

. >>> and the crash is bringing back traumatic memories for hillsborough county parents after their children's bus crashed last year. the bus landed in an odessa lake with more than 30 students on boar i know you spoke with some of those parents tonight, candace. >> reporter: this really hit close to home for many of those parents who found their child's school bus in this pond last september. for one family, the mother even broke down in tears when she saw the picture from chattanooga. >> it's absolutely horrible. >> reporter: the site of this bus on its side with children inside. it brings back an all too real memory for krishna. somehow we made it through. ifill lucky. >> reporter: his then seven- year-old daughter was in this bus when it crashed on nine eagles drive september of last year. she and the 30 other people on the bus walked away without serious injury. the driver was cited. investigators say he was speeding and then applied the break and the gas at the same time. now. she was able to process it and move on. she doesn't really know about the bus accident. we try to keep that stuf

. >> and hillsborough county was the last in the bay area to make it illegal. is it now legal in all of the state of florida? no, you can't get an uber driver in key west. has a matter of fact, they arrest drivers down there. they really have thought that. like to see a statewide law. >> thank you. >>> florida voters overwhelmingly showing support for medical marijuana. amendment 2 past with 72% of the vote. this expanse medical access to marijuana the on the limited therapeutic uses allowed under florida law. someone we didn't hear from last night was attorney john morgan. he has led the charge for medical marijuana and today he spoke about the win for the first time. >> reporter: local attorney john morgan spoke here in his mock courtroom about what he considers a major victory. the question now, is what's next? >> [ applause ] >> 70% is unheard of. >> reporter: florida voters making it clear. >> there is a world out there in florida. we have to make 400,000 to 500,000 really really sick day one. >> reporter: john morgan spent $8 million of his own money to l

route 301 and hillsborough county. the person was wanted in a deadly shooting in st. petersburg earlier this afternoon. eagle 8 hd in st. petersburg just a little over an hour ago and the victim described as an elderly man was shot in a home and died of his injuries. >>> tonight, a new number one in tampa bay but this top spot kind of hits rock bottom. the stats are out on which they area bar ranks the highest in duis. melanie michael is live on the busiest party night of the year. what's the new number one?