let's check in on a thursday morning here with the commute and with janelle martinez. now early, you should have no trouble getting where you need to be. checking u.s. 19. no crashes or breakdown. you are looking at a smooth ride there. matt's out there looking for trouble. if he finds it, we'll let you know about it. this is what it looks like, i- 75 at the leroy selmon expressway. up to speed right now in all directions. just about a seven-minute drive from there into downtown tampa on buckle up. we're going to take a virtual drive along 275 heading right through hillsborough avenue. a quick pit stop here at mlk. this is what it looks like opinion you can see the lanes open right there. we can get a sneak peek at nebraska, which is also in the green. continuing to downtown. the junction looking good to i- 4. the average speed is 63 miles per hour. that could change the future of ride sharing in tampa and across florida. who is paying big bucks to win this battle? >>> violence erupts in the streets across charlotte, north carolina. we'll show you one man who kept his

traffic reports with janelle martinez kick off at 5:00. >>> jameis winston takes loss to the rays. tom korun has the morning sports update. >> reporter: good morning, everybody. there will come a time when buccaneer jameis winster will meet many -- jameis winston will meet many obstacles. i give him credit for taking the topic to me really was when jameis had a say that parallels the head coach's discussion on a needed culture change. >> that's where you go that it's not how you start but how you finish. definitely, you've got to be able to just bring that drive every, single day, you know? bring that passion every, single day. be excited to come here. be excited to play because not everyone has this opportunity. you can't be you always have to be aiming for that win. >> all right. the lightning is quickly getting back to full strength with the return to full cup players. the bolts did cult 22 players. no surprises there. outside the slow start, they had the exhibition opener a couple of nights ago. the vets weren't exactly coach cooper was the attitude of the team when they went d

janelle martinez is in for us this morning checking the roads in about ten minutes starting at 5:00. >>> tonight, the rays wrap up a three-game series yank yankees at the -- against the yankees at the trop. tom korun has more now on the morning sports report. >>> good morning, everybody. this weekend's premier matchups are coming up. the gators are riding an 11- game win streak against the vols. this could be a must-win for how big is this for the gators? coach mcelwain closed all practices. when it came to injuries, the only absolute was luke out as quarterback. austin applebee will start. okay. two different schools of thought for fsu and usf heading into this showdown this saturday at ray looking at "flushing their loss to louisville." usf is looking at this as a game to gain respect. fsu a six-point favorite. >>> the rays and yankees last night at the trop. what a third inning for the rays. the only problem was, they were already down 7-0 when bobby wilson goes deep for a solo homer to go 7-1. two how thes, corey dickerson went back-to- back to back. miller adding another homer i

janelle martinez will join us live with traffic reports starting at 5:00 a.m. >>> bucs win and a three game series against the blue jays. eric waxler has your morning sports rep. >>> the bucks talk about the plays that helped win yesterday's opener and a great catch from major league baseball from someone who >> we'll get back to you as soon as possible. small technical glitch there on our morning sports. >>> still ahead -- a florida mosque catches fire, easterly close to the 15 -- eerily close to the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. what is the fire marshal saying about the investigation? >> a woman gets hit on by a catfish. >> what? >> it actually flew from the sky. >> what? >> you don't hear that everyday. we'll hear from the woman and why that fish was in the sky in >>> good morning on a monday. it will be dry as we check in on the bus stop forecast from 7:00 to 8:00. i think we'll be fine with upper 70s. warm big changes for this week. you need the rain gear, you need the ponchos, umbrellas, it's going to be pouring at times between 3:00 and thereafter. so picking up t

janelle martinez joins again with live updates starting at 5:00. >>> the tampa bay rays begin at the trop and tom korun has the morning sports update. >> reporter: and good morning, everybody. the bolts opening up camp at amalie arena. coach john cooper still in toronto at the world cup. they will be arriving back in town next week. we'll see andre shuster in camp for the first time monday and tuesday of next week. the question is, though, does the world cup work against those players that were in toronto or does it not? the one that didn't go to toronto will disadvantage. >> it's going to help us having so many guys play over there in these competitive games right away. i mean, they got thrown into fast-paced hockey right off the start. so i think those guys will have an advantage coming into camp. we have to make sure the guys in this room are ready to go and make sure we're at the same pace and level that they are. >> reporter: meanwhile, at the trop last night, rays are coming out a winner. corey dickerson, the solo homer on to beat the yankees. the final on this one, 2-0. that's

janelle martinez is joining us coming up at 5:00. >>> tonight, the rays start a three-game series at the trop against the blue ja and the bucs are trying to trim the roster. here's sports. >> reporter: good morning, everybody. who will make the 53-man roster and who will not? the general manager and the coach spent a part of yesterday making their decision. there are only a handful of spots ilop the pre-season game. one of the positions was a cornerback. if the performance of a couple of nights ago had any impact on the decision, i thinteran jonathan banks should make the cut. banks thinks his entire body of work should put him over the top. >> every game i made plays, so i hope i get more games on my standards where i am on the done. i'm looking forward to it. >> reporter: you'd think the trop would be a little fuller than usual tonight. pitcher alex cobb is back in the rotation. it's been a long haul from when he had tommy john surgery. tonight couldn't come fast enough. >> it's a very humbling experience to go down away from the game that you love so much for that long. to be clos

>> because it's all about janelle martinez. >> i think that's what it is. i can't wait until this pattern ends. >>> we're checking pick nellis county right at state route 580. looks like matt is stopped at a light. turns green. through downtown. looking great out there. five minutes to get to downtown. let's talk about construction that's starting tonight. a portion is going to be closed from north to rays track road to mobley. this road work starts at 9:00 tonight and won't wrap up until 5:00 a.m. monday morning. so make sure you leave yourself enough time if you are traveling over the weekend to make back to you. >>> 5:48 now. the fbi is now looking at a child abuse allegation against actor brad pitt. this concerns an incident involving pitt and his children on board a private flight last week. they have not opened a formal investigation. there have been several media reports that pitt was abusive toward one of his six kids on the flight with wife angelina jolie. she filed for divorce on monday. pitt's people so far have declined to comment. against domes

janelle martinez is checking the roads and the rest of the cameras and has live reports starting at 5:00. >>> the bucs coach talks about against the yankees at the trop. john sabol with your morning sports. >> reporter: good morning. thank you for stopping by. buccaneers lost more than just a game against the cardinals. four players left sunday's 33 point loss with injuries, none returned. doug martin headlines the walking wounded, with a hamstring injury. coaches don't like to see that. depending on the severity they can take forever to heal. when you think about martin's >>> meanwhile, luke was seen in the locker room without crutches yesterday but had a cast on the lower left leg. dirk won't know if anyone plays against the rams until the mri results come back later today. if he's out the bucs' running game will obviously suffer. >> you take a top level player out you usually don't have exactly the same caliber player charles sims. but yeah it definitely hurts you. it's the nfl. >> the gators now with luke del rio out with the knee injury will start austin applebee and talk about g

but with all of the other weekend plans you may have, we have abc action news traffic reporter janelle martinez who is breaking down the other events for you. >> hi, everyone. if you live in clearwater or you're headed to clearwater along with the super boat race. this is going to cause a closure to drew street. the extension closed from osceola to cleveland. that closure will last through sunday at 6:00 p.m. you can take myrtle as your alternate there. in south tampa, construction on macdill causing some headaches in the south tampa area. macdill closed in both directions throughout the weekend and all next week. this is just north of bay to bay. so your alternate, use from or going on. you could use heinz or dale mabry. and we have construction happening in polk county. i-4 closed in the overnight hours right at state road 3559. this is starting sunday and will last through thursday, again, just during the overnight hours. for more on these and other projects follow me on twitter@tampa bay traffic. >> janelle, thank you. purse snatcher. police just capturing the thief. the new case that he is

janelle martinez has live traffic reports starting at 5:00 a.m. >>> the rays tonight will try to even their three-game series against the blue jays and university of south florida will host florida state right here on your abc action news station later this month. tom >> reporter: good morning. the rays are trying to play a role into who wins the al east. hit toronto in their series at home. last night open up a three game run north of the border, blue jays get the jump this time. all it took, one swing of the bat which is not unusual for this blue jays team. ezekial will go to left field eighth. for a solo home run, that's all toronto needed. blue jays win 3-2, boston beat the orioles so the jays remain two back in the red sox for the division lead. one ahead of baltimore in the wildcard race. >>> willie tagart's usf bulls will be back on abc when hosting second ranked florida state on the 4th of this month. 24th of >>> clinton flowers was named american conference player of the week. passing for a career high 350 yards in four touchdowns in the route over northern illinois. that's y

janelle martinez, ivan cabrera and weather. >>> not much going on. it's a good thing. checking with live drive -- as far as weather is concerned, a couple of showers. zooming in closer, in fact we're back here and checking in on the titan doppler radar and you can see we have those morning coastal showers we've been talking motion and you can see it's not making that much progress but eventually looking at showers across palm harbor say around 7:00, 8:00. it's not going to amount to much. i don't think it will be as widespread. in fact as we've had it the last several days. we have dry air that will limit rain coverage so i think interior counties will see the most coverage. there it will be only 20% so mostly dry today, upper 70s to lower 80s. that dry air by the way is up above, several thousand feet. here below we're still looking at humidity.

let's turn things over to janelle martinez with an alert south tampa drivers need to pay close attention to. >> we are starting off in south for the next two weeks. listen up. mcdill avenue will be closed in both directions just north at granada, closed in both directions so you have to find your way around this for the next two weeks. you can take bayshore depending on where you're coming from or where you're going, they will also get you across south tampa as well. we also have construction going on in pinellas. so expect backups southbound park right at 54th avenue north, doing some work there so expect some delays during morning and evening rush hour this week. and a repeat of last week, this is gun highway at the veterans closed overnight from 9:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m. you want to use ehrlich or leinbach to work your way around that. for more on these and other projects, follow me on twitter at tampa bay traffic. >>> the man suspected of hacking pippa middleton's apple icloud account is out of jail. police arrested him over the weekend when he tried to sell me of those pictures were

despite the incredible heat here i am sweating, janelle martinez has the space heater on. i saw -- it's on, i saw the red light. it's on, unbelievable. you get cold. >> the air is blowing on me. >> we're i have the fan going. she has her heater. we'll see who wins. you are at the moment. >> it's cozy back there. >>> we're checking the live drive camera driving along the gandy bridge. look at the cones. we have some construction but your drive time across the gandy bridge not too bad. 8 minutes to get across. less than 10 minutes across all three bridges this morning. let's check our other cameras across the bay area. this is i-275 at fowler, spots during the morning commute but right now we're looking great. still pretty early out there. so the cars here heading towards downtown have a smooth ride ahead of them. no crashes or breakdowns. checking the drive time on the veterans expressway, still in the green so if you're heading to the airport you should have an easy time getting there, 17 minutes from 54 to 275. >> we have construction starting in downtown tampa today. i'l

here is janelle martinez. >>> matt is checking the drive for us on the veterans expressway. he tells us that the ride is smooth other than the construction. we have one lane blocked out there by funs highway. we're also checking your drive all across the bay area with all of our traffic cameras. i-275 and 22nd avenue north over in pinellas county. up to speed right now from bridge to bridge. we'll take a virtual drive along i-4 from 75 to 275. this is what it looks like through ybor city where you come through the junction here. all of the traffic indicators are in the green. no slowdowns here. that entire drive will take you just seven minutes. >>> controversy, complaints people had about one inspired by a new disney movie and now the big change. >> plus, you'll want to tell your boss about this story. researchers found new benefits for giving out pizza at work. >>> first, a story you'll see on "good morning america." new details about a police video showing a maryland officer pepper spraying a teenage girl who refused to cooperate after her bicycle hit a car. geo benitez h

if you pick door number 2, you win because behind it, janelle martinez, that's what we're seeing this morning. >> i think it's just so quiet, and we entertainment. >> certainly do. >> it's been quiet on our roads. we are clearing up nicely on the morning commute. this is what it looks like sliding across the sunshine sky way. a beautiful drive. nine minutes to get from toll booth to toll booth. this is from the west shore. to 275. 45 is the average speed here. >>> we have an update on a murder of a 95-year-old man. they plan to file charges against the woman related to the death, but right now they are calling her a person of interest in the the victim dominic demundo. >>> officials say this man, 41- year-old jorge hit an inmate who was tied down because he was causing a disturbance. the inmate was not injured. >>> today, the nation's top military officials are expected to face sharp questions about administration is not taking more aggressive steps to end the war. ash carter and general joseph dunford are scheduled to testify before the gop-led senate armed services committee. the he

let's check in on morning commute and head to the traffic center with janelle martinez. >>> starting on the interstates, dry on i-4, i-75, i-275 all looking great. this is 275 through downtown tampa. five minutes to get to the howard frankland bridge. your drive times on the veterans expressway still in the green. >> we have one crash we've been following in pinellas, park boulevard at 43rd street north. captain al is on his way to the scene. what is going on? >> reporter: good morning. we are just arriving at park boulevard at 43rd street there by the cheddar's. you can see where they've just moved a vehicle out of the roadway a moment ago. just as we were getting here. so westbound on the right side, see the cars just getting through. eastbound coming at you, they are coming through that light so what was blocked a few minutes ago is now reopened. might be the right-hand side. they removed the -- we'll see how that works. don't go away. now back to you. >>> 6:32. to the breaking news we mentioned a few minutes ago. u.s. military investigating an airstrike that officials say killed

there she is, janelle martinez with the traffic. >>> just a few minutes ago we talked about i-4 and how clear the drive was. not anymore. we have a crash, the westbound exit to hillsborough avenue so this is the ramp here to hillsborough and you can see a lot of flashing lights, we have a crash taking up one of the lanes on the exit ramp. you can see another camera, a little further back and the exit ramp here, you can see the flashing lights and all the cars stacked up here so we have just one lane getting by there. now you have a couple of options. you can get off at 301 and take sligh if you're heading westbound or you can pass hillsborough and get off a little closer in towards downtown tampa. either way give yourself extra time. right now i-4 still moving pretty good, that crash at hillsborough hasn't really clogged things up on i-4 yet. here are the drive times on 275, not bad, 14 minutes on 275, this is southbound from the apex to i-4. >>> 6:20 teacher theft. the items investigators say he helped himself to that belonged to a student. >> attacked by ants. the family of an elderly

notice with that along the coast by the evening, janelle martinez, i think we're in pretty good shape. it will be a wet commute for inland counties, then the opposite, drier along the coast which right now is a little wet. >>> the roads are dry now. that is good. unless you're on i-4, a major traffic jam on i-4 westbound heading into tampa. a crash is blocking lanes but look at the backup we're seeing here on i-4 around branch forbes road. also seeing a little delay eastbound as well with these cars stopping or at least pausing to look. check out drive times on i-4, 36 minutes from county line road to downtown. >> you can see the backup all the way to alexander. tampa. back to you. >>> today we get a look at the future of downtown tampa. the plans for the channelside district around amalie arena finally being unveiled. >> reporter adam winer joins us with a preview. >> a meeting is going over the nearly $2 billion worth of renovation plans they have for this area. when they are done this neighborhood is going to be almost unrecognizable. we got a preview of what is in store. they are