as kellie cowan authorities believe their dealing with a crime ring here. >> reporter: this is a familiar scene at car dealerships across central florida right now. surveillance video showing thieves smashing through glass doors, going straight for keys to cars in the lot, and then driving off with them. this one happened last thursday at kelly automotive in auburndale. these burglars took off with five cars. investigators say this wasn't their first time. it's a continuing pattern. >> reporter: just two weeks ago, deputies in inverness captured six young men, three of them juveniles, caught red-handed doing the same thing. they'd also been on surveillance video from dealerships and other businesses across central florida. the burglaries didn't stop once they went to jail. >> from those cases a number of arrests have been made, but there are still a number of other people that are responsible for some of the other thefts that are around the central florida area. >> reporter: investigators believe the thieves in all the videos are part of a much larger crime ring, hitting dealerships from

station's kellie cowan joins us now live from tampa with the latest. is it getting busy yet? >> yeah, starting to pick up a lot. i am seeing a lot of parent and plenty of not-to so-happy plenty of not-to so-happy-looking kids in tow. i know their pain. i know what they are going through. the tax-free shopping weekend and a little bit of a break for parents as they get ready to pick up all the supplies that kids will need to head back to school. unlike previous years, this has been shortened this year. last year about ten days that you got the tax-free break. this year it is just three. and we are midway through it already. we just have today and tomorrow left to pick up school supplies get those items tax-free. also a change this year in the threshold of how much those items can cost in order to qualify for that tax break. so unlike last year where it was 100 for individual clothing items and shoes, this year it is just $60. $60 cap on the tax-free break on clothing and shoes and $15 on school supply items. now unlike last year -- last year you year you could i guess get lapt

bay area people stepped up to kellie cowan reports. >> thousands still pack louisiana shelters as people wait for floodwaters to recede. a crisis was created in animal shelters across the state. abandoned lost and surrendered pets were overcrowding the shelters. >> because of the horrific flooding, local shelters in baton rouge and other local you help us? >> this week 18 puppy ies riefnd at puppies arrived at the tampa bay animal shelter. ready to be adopted. bay area animal lovers were more than ready to open up their loams. anthony and nicole drove an hour and a half from north port to tampa just to meet this little man. >> we want to be able to give the pet a nice home where it can be cared for and especially going through that rough transition. backyard and a good home. it would be happy, right? >> i'm amazed how animals are resilient. they're happy that they're safe and have the attention of the public coming in and don'ting. these are not damaged animals. these have been misplaced, displaced and in need of a new home, that's all. >> all the dogs that have come clearly market, you'

kellie cowan spoken to the man park took a serious turn on saturday. >> i happened to be swimming with my son in my arms and i heard a lady screaming in front of me. when i saw her, she had an arm from what looked to be a child. >> off duty hillsborough detention deputy habib hanzi happened to be at the water park and when he heard the screams for help he quickly sprang to action. >> i immediately a stranger. >> hanzi handed his son to a stranger and quickly sprang to action. >> he had foam coming out of his mouth and at that moment, i had to react quickly. i had to take action. >> the deputy began cpr. >> i was hoping for him to open back to me. once i had a pulse i was so relieved, i had some tears coming out of my eyes after. >> honzi saved the little boy who is expected to make a full recovery. despite the heroic rescue, this deputy says he was in the right place at the right time. >> it was a miracle i guess that i was able to help. i don't want to be claimed as a hero or anything but i'm glad i was able to help. he happened to be right in front of >> in indian rocks beach, kellie

. >> alcides: fox 13's kellie cowan is live at that mosque at busch boulevard in tampa. kelly, what do we know about -- this? >>eporter: what we know two weeks ago a fire broke out h here, a fairly small fire inside the mosque, and initially, it was believed the fire was caused by a electrical issue. the refrigerator inside the mosque plugged into the wrong kind of outlet. tey sent samples of fire to the state fire marshal's lab and the samples just came back this week and showing that an accelerant was used to start this fire and how this this now they are -- luckily there were no injuries involved in this fire and they believe it was structural damage and don't believe it was significant now close down the building although the damage inside was extensive now closeome of it sign directing patrons to go around back. and obviously the big investigation under way because the f and crimestoppers is offering alcide s a $3,000 we ward for any information that may lea to an arrest. for now we are live in tampa, kellie cowan, fox 13 news. >> alcides: kellie, thanks often. a pol

kellie cowan is live with this grand opening. kellie, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, alcides. and i am really excited because i have already been inside there and know how cool the opening celebration will be and all the pool floaties and pretty amazing and will show you that at 8:00. but out here right now i have heather erickson. the athletics and aquatic manager for the city of tampa and we will be talking about just how unique this pool is, built in 1937, and why it was so important for the city to save all of this >> i think if you grew up here in tampa in the ybor area, this is the delight on some of the folks' faces. i am really looking forward to because cascadian park is the park you went to. you grew up there. preserving that from the generations before, and now we are pretty excited that we have the next generations that are going to have an opportunity just like they did. >> reporter: can you talk to me about -- it doesn't look like this has really changed much since 1937. seems like even though i know

but as fox 13's kellie cowan explains... this could be part of a much ?bigger crime ring: this is a familiar scene at car dealerships across central florida right now: surveilance video showing theives smashing trhough glass doors, going straight for keys to cars in the lot.. then driving off with them.this one happened last thursday at kelley automotive in aburdnale.these burglars took off with five cars... and investigators say this wasn't their first time. runs:oc:00:19 "it's not an isolated incident. it's a pattern."just two weeks ago deputies in inverness captured six young men, three of them juveniles, caught red handed doing the same thing ... they had also been on surveilance video from dealerships and other businesses across central florida ... but e they went to jailruns:oc:22"in those cases a number of arrests have been made but there are still a number of people that are responsible for a number of these thefts that are happening around this central florida area" investigators believe the thieves in all the videos are part of a much larger cri

. >> reporter: fox 13's kelly cowan was there as generations young and old came to celebrate. are. >> reporter: it's been seven years since the last time schedule rick mitchell just did. for generations of people who grew up in the ebore area the cascadeian pool was the heart beast of the neighborhood. >> we came every summer, every week. >> reporter: families began here. >> we met 61iers ago. he was coming up those stairs over there. >> reporter: in this blue collar neighborhood, cascadeian was something very special. >> this saved lives because we learned to swim here. where were we going to learn river. >> reporter: but when the pool closed in 2009, after poor repair work caused leaks and cracks in the 1930s era structure, many thought the art deco gem would be lost forever. >> i didn't think they would ever open the doors to the pool ever again. >> came with a controversial at one point councilmember frank ratic voted to to vote it down it. >> was expensive we knew what this cost was. >> reporter: but the cost of not restoring the pool is something city leaders said would

kellie cowan talked to neighbors who witnessed it all 37 they couldn't believe it happened and shocked that he is still out there. >> reporter: all happened in a matter of minutes. that is tall took for him to slip away. deputies arrested co few blocks away from their headquarters but thing quickly went awry. somehow, he was able to escape from the back of a patrol car through the window. witnesses nearby say they couldn't believe what they saw. >> like little -- he had his -- to slide his body out the window. >> reporter: a manatee sheriff spokesman would not confirm if to window controls. unsure how he was able to get the back seat window down. somehow comtrola while han handcuffed got out without deputies noticing. >> reporter: both shoeless and handcuffed he took off running escaping from deputies. cantrola does not have a violent criminal history, and detectives do not believe him to be dangerous but many in the areas >> i am scared not to come outside and play because could be here and i am scared if i see him. >> reporter: in manatee county, kellie cowan, fox 13 news. >> lloyd:

kellie cowan is live at the mosque on busch boulevard in tampa. kellie, what do we know. >> reporter: originally this was thought possible to an electrical issue, a power out let, and investigators are saying that wasn't the case because a sample from the fire sent to the state fire marshal came back testing positive for an accelerant. now this fire has been ruled an arson. this just happened off of -- at a mosque off of east busch boulevard in tampa. the fire two weeks ago as i mentioned initially ruled electrical and thought to be caused by that refrigerator we told but. the fire was small andnd fire fighters arrived. there is no significant structure damage to this building. in fact, it is still open. we have seen some members of this community arriving to go to service this morning. and thankfully, the biggest thing here, alcides, no injuries reported from that fire. but obviously a bigger investigation under way now that that sample sent to the state fire marshal has tested positive for an accelerant, and offer information that leads to an arr

kellie cowan is in tampa checking out the back-to-school shopping. how is it look something in. >> reporter: hey, >> anjuli. it is all getting ready to get in full swing today. day two of our three-day t tax-free break. we will be talking school supplies and heading back to school. what you need to know coming what you need to know coming up. umbrella handy if you are headed out today. we have some showers on radar just offshore. the view right now not too bad. the closer to the coast you get today though, how wse, b t today though, how wse, b t more on th we went to hollywoodk ngooth to find out. what makes a lipton meal? weth add this.e. s, more of these.nitely more of. ah, tht t you buddy. huh what's this? what makes a lipton meal? what you bringo of lipton iced t. lipton. be more tea. >>> from tampa bay's number one news station, this is "good day tampa bay." >> walter: good morning thank you for joining us on this saturday morning. i am walter allen in for alcides. >> anjuli: i am anjuli davis. we will check with mike in a moment, but first top

we want to continue our team coverage i kelly cowan. so kelly, first awful where are you? and what's going on? >> yeah linda we're in largo right now. as so you can see it is coming down hard. we had a bit of a reprieve before. but we're seeing some localized flooding in this area. i'm going to step aside so you can look at the roadways and just how troublesome some roadways looking to us here. rooer a vaughn road here in largo near 123rd avenue. cars are still able to get through here. standing water. as i mentioned there was a little bit of reprieve. these cars are able to get through the just water is pretty high and some of the lower cars lower to the ground are having some issues. so everybody should just slow down when you're out on the roadways because thee depths can change very quickly and it just started raining very hard here. troublesome to avoid danger here. and emergency officials want to remind everyone to avoid standing water, turn around if you see getting stuck. and certainly not risking your life. we've also seen a lot of flooding in parking lots. so if

fox's kelly cowan has the story. >> reporter: hundreds of kids and families care free summer afternoonpark took a serious turn on saturday. >> we were just having fun. screaming with my son in my arms and i heard a lady screaming in front of me. when i saw her, she had an arm looked to be a child. >> reporter: off tills detention deputy habib, just happened to be at the splash harbor water park saturday evening when he her the screams for help he quickly sprang into action. >> i immediately gave my son to a stranger. >> a father of three handed his young son to a woman nearby as he rushed to help pull a three-year-old boy from the water. >> realized he had no pulse. he had foam coming out of his mouth. and in that moment i realized i had to react quickly and training kicked in. >> the boy who is the same age as his own son wasn't breathing. so the deputy began cpr. >> i was just hoping for him to open his eyes and be able to talk back to me and once i had a pulse, i was so relieved. i had tears coming out my eyes after -- >> hanz saved the little boy who is expected to make a full reco

in indian rocks beach, kelly cowan, fox 13 news. >> one a. scare situation in rio for american olympic swimmers a jimmy were on the way back to olympic village when lochte se the taxi was pulled over by men posing police ryan described them as having badge and guns but nothing else. it took swimmers's walls lets and money but swimmers were safe first ioc ifrpt ational olympic committee denied that ever took place and as then reversed itself a they blamed swimmers because they were outside of their places of outside the appropriate time. >> and some frighten moments at new york jfk airport reports of shots fired led to evacuation and a grounded flights. turned out to be unfounded. police evacuated terminal as precaution after receiving calls about shots fired near departure areas. >> oil prices could climbing a brexit may not be taking effect as soon as expected. >> fox business network lauren simonetti has these stories and report. >>> oil prices on reports that russia is talking to king pin saudi arabia and other mayor producers to jointly c

fox-13's kellie cowan explains how the system works. pam murphy is calling this little bottle a game changer"with this we're hoping that within a couple of months that he'll be able to come off the 11 different medications that he takes"two years ago her husband, richard, suffered a tramatic brain injury ... since then he's been plagued by seizures before his accident, pam says she was against medical marijuana "i always taught my kids not to use drugs"but when his neurologist suggested medical cannabis, murphy says her mind began to change"this is non-euphoric. he's not going to get stoned from it" the oral spray murphy received today is made from extracts from the non-psychoactive part of the cannabis plant, known as c-b-d, state law limits the amount of t-h-c, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, to less than one percent ... doctors say this gives their patients the bennefits of cannabis, without the high and without the side affects of commonly prescribed drugs"it has such a low side effect profile. not only will i be able to h

. >>> kellie cowan is here to explain. this is not like in colorado. >> if you take a look at the map this is by the group normal. this is how the laws look across each state is different but the biggest difference between the red and green is what part of the plant is allowed to be used. >> you have greend states that's thc, that's the part that produce as high. the red states which are tight only the in euphoric part can be used. pam murphy said this is a game changer, we hope within a couple of months, okay. that he will come off the bills that he takes. >> two years ago her husband suffered a traumatic brain injury. he has been flanked by seizures. before the accident. pam said she was against medical marijuana. drugs. >> but when his doctor suggested it, her mind started to change. this is non-euphoric. he will not get stoned from it, the spray is made from extracts from the non-active part known as cbd. law limits the amount of the active ingredient to less than 1%. doctors say that this gets their patients the benef

fox 13's kellie cowan spoke to neighbors who witnessed it all ... they say they couldn't believe what we've been checking with manatee county deputies all day - so far.. they have not caught canchola. hillsborough county deputies are investigating a shooting that happened early this morning.. deputies say.. the victim knocked on someone's door on english ?report he had been shot and ask for help. the victim's injuries were ?not life threatening. it's not believed the shooting was random.. but authorities are still trying to determine the circumstances of the shooting.. so far.. nonames have been released.. a march with a message -- today -- dozens of families -- whose loved ones were the victims of gun violence took to the streets in hopes of ending the violence. carrying signs and wearing shirts -- families and friends -- walked along 22-nd street to bring awareness to all of the vi the walk ended at a local library -- where participants were encouraged to vote... and be the voice for their lost loved one. organizers say it's up to local groups and

>> kellie cowan, fox 13 news. >> there are a few dogs that did not get adopted. there are only animals that nee if you want to adopt you have a place in your heart the humane society is open from 10 to 5. >>> a fire at a mosque thought to be an accident is arson. officials say the samples taken came back positive. the fire started because of a cord that was attached to a fridge. those with the mosque believe someone poured the gas into the for information that will lead to an arrest. >>> a woman is facing charges after police say she crashed her car into a prisoner transport van. officers were loading people they arrested downtown into the transport van this morning. they say that the 30-year-old emily spece hit it. they stopped her as she taken into custody. it rolled over an officer's foot. they found drug in -- drugs in her car. is charged with property damage and dui. >>> we're learning more about the firey crash involving a police cruiser. police say that the officer stopped to help a driver who broke down on the howard frankland bridge at 2:30. cruiser. >>

we have crews all over the area and kellie cowan, lloyd sowers they're in pinellas t is wet everywhere. let's start with kelly in largo and all day long they have been the wind is picking upment we're at indian rocks beach. we have surf coming in and the water levels are rising all around here we see cones and other barriers set up on several streets near the beaches because of flooded out roads and other traffic hazards. the barrier islands are not the only ones with some road hazards now. , before she earned her name she was causing problems. drivers on the 275 off ramp to 54th street south were caught off guard in the early morning hours. this had to be towed after it stalled out and water started pouring in. >> this is the first time. i have been here all my life i have never been stuck in water. >> near the largo golf course water built up in the roadway. >> driving through was crazy this morning. we had a car accident on the corner it woke me up the cars were crashing, i thought -- lightning, flooding, it has been crazy though. >> those who stayed off the roads could not avoid th

kellie cowan is showing us how. >> reporter: that's right, cynthia. you need a fork. restaurants have lion fish and this summer whole foods in florida started selling it as well. the idea is to get it out of the waters by putting them on our plates. >> it has the face not a mother could love, you see big mouths anything they can fit in their mouth they will eat. >> the punch. this is devastating our waters. , they are aggressive. you have snapper and grouper there, they're moving. they take the bait, the lion fish have spread like build fire around the coasts. dinner table, could you fry it, poach it, bake it, eat it raw as a tar-tar. you can hardly keep it on the menu. we have a demand where can you eat a problem, that's our problem, okay. >> it's this pat tab. >> they are starting to get a nice white color, whole foods florida location started stocking the counters with lion fish. >> can you prepare it many ways. >> through demos they hope to educate them on how to prepare it at home and why it is so ocean and be a part of the solution. >> it is a homerun when you c

in tampa, kellie cowan. fox 13 news. >> the pool will offer affordable swimming lessons for children six months and upper. >> a huge debate is brewing over internet control. ahead what it could mean for anyone who goes online. ? hey, is this our turn? honey...our turn? yeah, we go left right here. (woman vo) great adventures are still out there. we'll find them in our subaru outback. (avo) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. get zero percent on select subaru models during the subaru a lot to love event, now through august thirty-first. in florida, people are working hard, just to get by. but in washington - "republican senator marco rubio has the worst voting record in the u.s. senate." marco rubio stopped showing up for work. let us down. i'm patrick murphy and enough's enough. i'm proud to work with president obama. to protect social security and a woman's right to choose. and grow this economy so it works for all of us. i'm patrick murphy and i approve this message because i'll never stop working fo

. >> kellie cowan, thank you. >>> the teens are now under arrest for breaking into a home. after one of their relatives recognized them and turned them in. cameras reported them in a home they say the teens 14 and 17, are charged with residential burglary. and a family member recognized them they know who the third suspect. >>> and workers in a low lying helicopter looking at high voltage lines. it could take four weeks to suspect all 31900 miles of lines. this is in tampa alone. and helicopters between 30 300 feet above the lines. they are working infrared technology and cameras. they are taking place along the right of ways. >>> screening blood for zika is a concern a blood bank has something to help though. this is the intercept blood system that's what it is called. when the platelets are placed inside it wipes out whatever the platelets. that will go to cancer or burn patients and flushes out zika. >> we're very excited. it was a process we had in place. we were thinking emerging pathogens. this is a proven technology. >> it takes five minutes to flush out whatever is

and kellie cowan is in the soho area which has exploded on to the scene and how this. >> i mean. and the regulations are aot l more s parts of the city. the message from the council was turn it down or turn it off completely as an owner watches the reading he is worried. at 2:00 in the afternoon with his patio empty his bar would be in violation of a new noise >> when you hear the music in your living room that's a noise violation. >> the council members got an earful from neighbors complaining about noisy bars. they heard from the people wanting to fight to party. >> that's why i came to florida. it is an outstate you want to enjoy the patio the people moving in accept that. >> it limits the bars in downtown, ybor city and channelside to 85 decibels or lower. but in parts the noise t after 10 nights drops to just 55decibels. >> and it is too low and may have to be changed. >> i just think that we owe it to ourselves to take a look at the level. >> he agrees. >> it is harsh the penalties can be steep, the fines range om50 to $450 per violation. but two in a six month period means

and kellie cowan is in the soho area which has exploded on to the scene and how this. >> i mean. and the regulations are aot l more s parts of the city. the message from the council was turn it down or turn it off completely as an owner watches the reading he is worried. at 2:00 in the afternoon with his patio empty his bar would be in violation of a new noise

fox 13's kellie cowan joins us now to explain how this works. kelly? >> reporter: it's pretty simple. just fill out your information and answer a few questions on the app and submit it from the plane. customs agents in the airport will get the information electrically. the app's already available in 15 other cities and now we can use it right here at tampa international airport. ask anyone who traveled abroad-- >> sometimes it is a long lines. >> lines can >> reporter: stories about custom experiences all sound about the same >> you are tired and you just got home from a long flight. the last thing you want to do is wait in line. >> reporter: but at tia relief is on the way. a new mobile app is taking part of the customs process digital. allowing passengers to skip the lines. >> the average primary inspection time for travelers using the mpc is 21.6 seconds. >> reporter: instead of filling out a paper form passengers can customs questions through the app. once on the ground they can send the information to customs officials before even stepping foot in

. >> alcides: kellie cowan has the latest next. >> anjuli: new details in the bizarre double-murder that gripped a nation. told police shortly after his arrest. >> lindsay: it's 7:27. if you didn't make it on the beach yesterday and want to get out there today, i'll take you there right now. we can't rule out a stray showes this afternoon. radar is quiet. no mistake. there it is. 81 in tampa. that rain chance is east of i-75 where the storm chances are steeped slowly in cold water for small batches with an ultra-smooth, full-bodied flavor. discover the craft of cold brew today and keep on. ? we buy any car dot com, ? ? any any any any ? trading-in or selling your car, truck or suv? webuyanycar.com takes the hassle out of selling in just 3 easy steps. one, get your free online valuation. and three, walk out with your check in as little as 30 minutes! so don't wait. get your free online valuation now. at webuyanycar.com ? find out how much your car's worth ? ? at webuyanycar.com ? dunkin' donuts' unbelievable selection day, so you can enjoy them any type of way, any time of day. good morni

fox 13's kellie cowan is live outside the mosque on busch >> reporter: good morning, guys. initially when that fire started around two weeks ago, a small fire and investigators believed it was because of a refrigerator plugged into the wrong kind of outlet. they sent samples of the fire to the crime lab and those samples just came back this week indicating that this fire indeed had been intentionally set and caused by some sort of accelerant. we are trying to find out details from the state fire marshal's office as well as tampa fire, but that's what we are saying right now thi this fire was apparently set by someone. we are not sure who at this time. andoffering a cash reward. $3,000 for anyone with information leading to an arrest in this case. so for now, this investigation is open, guys and it is being investigated as an arson. for now live in tampa, kellie >> alcides: klie, than to you very much. >>> following the discovery of five new zika cases, pregnant women are being aed to stay out of a popular area in miami beach as new warnings are put out across south florida.

fox 13's kellie cowan is live this morning out there in carrollwood. it seems like this story keeps unhappy about it. >> reporter: yeah, those are strong words from that man in brandon that wrote it on their facebook page. you heard it from people on twitter today and i heard it this morning. alcides has experienced it, and so have i. let's look at a map real quake. downdetector.com is a third-party site that tracks outages around the area for different companies. you can see this big yellow dot you're entire viewing area. those are massive outages reports from frond tear in our area mostly internet, about 84% of the outages reported are int internet. 10% or a little under 10% is tv and a couple of people reporting complete blackouts as well. it's not just the tampa bay area, although as you saw in that graphic that we just showed you, it's a massive outage over the tampa bay area. we've reached out communications to see if they could give us any insight on this outage, any answers for us this morning, but we have yet to hear back from them. so far the

. >> kellie cowan, fox 13. >> the diversion program will not be available to frequent offenders. and the sheriff says confident that most offenders won't repeat and the program should prove far more cost-effective than going through the court system. >> let's hope so. seems to be a trend across the country too. so we know what a drain it hear so far. >>> paul, i saw something today that took me back. we had a little bit of sun yesterday but today was almost too nice. >> good for most of the day. now we're watching sky tower. storms developing east. let's take a look to the east. distance. heavy thunderstorms near lakeland. they'll be moving into pasco county soon. we got a ways to go. fairly active evening. you can see the storms firing up inland then moving towards the west coast. also on the corner of your tv stet look at this mess in the central gulf over here. this is what hit us over the and i tell you it's going to sit in the same spot over louisiana literally drench them. more rain for them. then they could possibly see during a tropical storm. so that will be making headl

kellie cowan is live outside the staples in dale mabry with deals we can get. not the same amount money arizona last year. >> that's right. the summer is shorter for kids. the tax breaks are shorter for the parents. i feel like we are getting a raw deal this time of year. you can't even enjoy this weekend if you were a kid because you are thinking of that first day of school coming up, and your summer passing you by. but there are three days of tax breaks coming up. they started yesterday. to just two more days left today. day two, and sunday as well. these -- this tax-free weekend back-to-school shopping. a couple of deals to get out there, but there are some important things to note, just like the time period has been shortened this year. well, so has the amount that you can actually spend on those tax-free items. to last year, it was tax-free on $100 items of clothing and shoes. this year a $60 threshold. tax-free and $15 per item for school supplies. unlike last year, this does not comply to computer and ele electronic accessories. things like that. last ye