. >> michael paluska is in tallahassee north of where the storm made landfall. what kind of damage are you seeing out there? from driving through the streets. there are a lot of trees found and structure trees down. down. it was terrifying throughout the night knowing that when the power went out and we were standing in the street even though we were protected by awe wall, we had no idea what was coming our way. the mayor of tallahassee just tweeted that the first responders have been released. they were in hey holding pattern -- they were this a holding pattern because it was too dangerous for them to be out. we've seen law enforcement getting an assessment of what are huge limbs in the middle of the road. 06% of tool la -- 60% of taahassee is under water. we know there was a strong storm surge. we're not sure prolific the damage was in st. mark. in 2005, it damaged a significant portion of that amazing historical town. the eye of the storm as has been mentioning made landfall about 30 miles off st. mark. when the sun comes up, of course it will keep you posted

. >> michael paluska is in tallahassee right now. has the worst passed you or are you in the thick of ound 1:30, it s scary at times with the gusts coming in. we were outside in it the entire time. when you go around areas of tallahassee as we've been driving around this is what all of the roads looked like. this is debris everywhere. look at this huge branch that fell off of this oak tree. let's show you the video of where this oak rim is down here in the middle of the road because when the storm came in, vengeance. the wind was whipping, howling, knocking out power. we saw a lot of explosions in the sky as transformers around us were exploding from limbs falling on them. the city of tallahassee had to stand down. they couldn't get cruise up. for the first time tonight, we were able to hear firefighters responding to calls for whatever they had to head to. they had to hunker down because it was too dangerous to respond. we were able to step out into the wind to show viewers what it not to go out. it really is incredible. even a cate

night in the panhandle as we did for that hour and a half when the winds were rocking you michael paluska, abc action newsp. >> thanks, michael. my brother is a lieutenant with the tallahassee fire department, and he told me they are getting call after call of structure collapse, which means a tree fell onto a house. you heard them mention the power outages up there. power outages. pinellas county taking it on the chin, too. 3700 without power in central pinellas county. quick check on peco energy, and they are reporting even more power outages than we reported a half hour ago. the number of customers without power mostly in hillsborough county up to 17,500. >> in addition to our crews in the field, we're getting aoo outages. we want to show you the videos and photos you are sending us. this was sent to us by claudia morales. i know it may be hard to see. i will try to widen it out for you. keep liking. that is a bicycle. you see the water up to the tires right there. this is at the sponge dock. king. the road is closed right now. this was taken at 1:30 this morning. and one more photo we

as michael paluska shows us, a roller skating rink is the worst place for flood waters to hit. >> reporter: this is what $250,000 worth of waterlogged wood looks like. they've been ripping this stuff out. it's extremely heavy. the owner says the county isn't doing enough to protect his business from rising flood humidity filled skate rink which is why our lens kept fogging up. >> 18,000 square feet of hardwood. you have to cut the walls out, replace the doors. >> reporter: the owner bought the rink 0 years ago, and since then he has been flooded 10 times. recently, though, things have gotten worse. >> since 2012 we've had three total wipe-outs. >> reporter: this is the he did a complete remodel. now he has to do it all over again a year later. >> if we don't open in two months, it will be 80 plus. >> reporter: he knows his employees will take a financial hit so he's paying them for their hard work clearing out the debris. >> not angry, but i'm really disappointed in the county. i mean, when it happens one time, okay. looking. now it happened a third time. >> reporter: so how long to clean

michael paluska is live where the center of the storm is passing to the east. michael, what are conditns like now? [no audio ] >> reporter: you know, we've been ridg t the storm here this tallahassee, and i can tell you as soon as they wall started to come hore three hours ago, the was intense. we're looking at the debris of the winds from 60, 70, 80 miles 30 miles from where we are t standing. here is a giant tree limb compliments of an oak tree. so this oak tree had its limbs come down. the tree itself is just fine, but this is like this throughout the entire area. we're told 60% of the people just in tallahassee don't have po finally tonight, power crews are able to go out and check to figure out where the tree limbs are. th are asking where did th trees come down so they uld go fix it. they couldn't go out during the heart of the secause the winds were so intense. we're gettg a nice break here. this is the first break we've had in the past 15 to 20 minutes or so. we have a lot of video that we shot overnight. we're puttin g thgether and show you the video w

michael paluska is in saint marks, 30 minutes south of tallahassee with just how damaging the storm was. >> reporter: the eye of the storm passed here clone to saint marks. the orsurge about two feet high, running into that bed and breakfast. now with the sun out, residents say they will clean up and rebuild. wet. >> we did save a lot but we lost a lot. >> reporter: this is the face of exhaustion after a night full of fear as the hurricane hit saint marks. >> it was nasty. it could have been worse. >> reporter: locals who have lived here their entire lives. >> it was a long night. >> hurricanes, hit, waters rise but they don't evacuate. >> this is home. >> reporter: getting back to normal is tough. >> this right here sets you back for at least a whole year. >> porter: hermine made landfall with 80 miles per hour winds but the power in saint marks went out well before it hit, leaving people are few options to escape. >> we didn't whether torun or stay or what. but we stuck it out. >> reporter: and as fast as it hit, hermine was gone, taking >> we will make it through this one too. we're

in pasco county, michael paluska, abc action news. >>> the hillsborough river is closed to boaters now because a tampa bypass canal system is being activated to lower water water is now being directed to the lower hillsborough flood detention area instead. >>> citrus county emergency management will hold a disaster relief information event for those affected by hurricane hermine. it will be at the lecanto government complex at 3,600 west sovereign path in lecanto. information for affected residents is available from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. that event is at the same location again from 9:00 to 4:00. >>> new york extending beach closures because of dangerous rip currents caused by hermine. people are given tickets if they are caught going into the water, $80. beaches in the mid-atlantic region were closed over the holiday weekend. >> the last holiday weekend of summer. it is for them. it starts to get cold and -- shortly here we're talking about this thing finally giving >>> there's post-tropical hermine still churning with clouds and windy conditions today but continuing to lose steam. w

michael paluska is the only reporter at his lakeland police left there. michael? >> reporter: jamison, wendy, there's a note on the office door that says they are closed due to a family emergency, but that they will reopen. according to this arrest report it goes into graphic detail about what that family emergency is. lakeland police arrested 71- year-old anthony conti jr. late tuesday evening for two counts of felony sexual misconduct. detectives working late into office gathering evidence. police telling abc action news that conti a licensed mental health counselor claimed he was starting a, "level i treatment to rid a 29-year-old patient of toxins in her body that was causing her depression." that so-called treatment involved touching her on the neck, arms, and other parts according to police. only for that 39-year-old her treatment would consistent of an eastern medicine therapy. contpr thereports to ease depression by stimulating the victim's crotch. uncomfortable police say that both patients contacted them a few weeks ago, an undercover investigation lead

michael paluska tells us that the deputy said that the driver got enraged when he couldn't cut into the drop-offline. >> i could have slid off the hood, fell underneath and he could have ran me over like you wouldn't believe because i feel >> reporter: calusa elementary school volunteer william denamen is 79 years old enjoying doing his job. he spent 33 years in law enforcement in the bay area and ironically he says what happened to him tuesday morning at an elementary school is scarier than his time on the streets. >> i've never had anything like this happen to me. it's a shocker to me. he gunned it again and that is when he hit me. and i braced myself that way so i wouldn't fall. >> you went on the hood? >> yeah. >> reporter: deputies already lawrence franklin and charged him with felony aggravated battery with a vehicle. all of it started over something foolish. >> when he tried to cut the line, i jumped over and then i said you can't jump the line. that's not right for these people who have been here for an hour and a half. he blew the horn three to five times laying on it. and i la

we're live here michael paluska abc action news. >> michael, thank you. an abc action news political analyst joins us live on the side of tonight's debate at hofstra university. dr. mcmanus, thanks for joining us. people are surprised it took nearly 20 minutes then the jabs began. what are your thoughts about what you saw from the first debate? >> reporter: it was clear that both of them to make great impressions in the first 30 minutes and that is one of the rules of debate and that is why you didn't hear them go after each other so much in the beginning. but of course soon after that they were constantly trying to contrast themselves, one at another to promote their own viewpoints and their own policies and it was just almost head spinning trying to keep up with it. they were going so fast and of course time didn't seem to be of the essence. in fact the debate ran a little the voters could decide their vote based on tonight's debate performance. quite simply here who do you think got a leg up here tonight? >> it looks like in the beginning that donald t

in seminole michael paluska abc action news. >>> a pinellas park mom is furious tonight that a man shot neighborhood kids including her own son with a gun. she wants to know why he's not pinellas park to explain her mission tonight. marisela? >> reporter: that mom tells me she is not staying home tonight because she's afraid and she wants some people like the police officers in this building to do something else about this. >> he had two here, but those you can't really see them. >> reporter: lisa green says that the marks on her son's body are proof that something horrible happened to him on sunday night. >> he was running after everybody and so they ran. >> reporter: mom says her 8- year-old son was two blocks away from the neighborhood shot him seven times. she was home watching her grandson. police say that her son joined other kids and teens volunteering to play a game. >> he said to step forward if it is okay with you and your parents. my son never came to ask me if he could be shot with a bb gun. >> reporter: as soon as her son told her the story, she called police. >> an 8-year-

. >> michael paluska has been watching conditions out there overnight and throughout of the out there right now? >> reporter: it's excellent compared to what it was. where i'm standing right now is waist deep. the flood waters sort of hung out in this guy's front yard. [no audio ] homes under water, first responders rushing to make sure everyone gets out safe. in my ten years in the area of doing emergency management, i know the lieutenant here has and it's never happened here. >> reporter: the emergency manager says first responders went door-to-door asking people to evacuate. only one family stayed behind. 12 others decided not to risk more rain and the water level rising. the main concern was high tide. luckily, the water dropped as fast as it rose and no one was hurt. >> we had one elderly person who just had surgery. we drove up with our high water vehicle and fire rescue and high ground. ems checked that individual out and assessed that he was fine. >> reporter: the house behind me is built on a platform so none of the water got into the home. but two of the homes across the str

. >> that was michael paluska reporting. the vice president of housing for the university says what the student went through is simply unacceptable. since they recommended this apartment to students, they will meet to make sure this does not happen again. >>> a south florida family is in mourning and asking questions after a woman died while undergoing cosmetic surgery. 32-year-old maria died while getting a tummy tuck in miami. her heart stopped during surgery. she was said to be in good health before the procedure. her death has been ruled a homicide. now her family is wondering what could have happened. worked out. i don't understand how her heart could have stopped. >> the facility had an "f" rating from the better business bureau with more than 100 complaints in the past three years. >>> now for a consumer alert. regulators are fining wells fargo $185 million. bank employees opened accounts and moved funds that led customers being charged. 5300 workers have been fired. >> the largest such payment in the history of the c

michael paluska, abc action news. >> what a great story. >>> still much more ahead all new at 11:00. one company now facing class action lawsuit for gathering very private information on product. coming up, the shocking way they did it. >>> plus, take a look as bold thieves bust into a jewelry store. why police believe this million dollar haul wasn't their first or their last. >>> and caught on camera, a bus driver apparently upset by a slow driver. what that bus driver does next old man brutally attacked while watering his front lawn in chicago. he is asking neighbors who may recognize the two men on bikes who robbed, beat, and shot his father to come forward. >> i'm supposed to talk about what a good person my father is in order to garner sympathy. i don't want to. i think the headline, 71-year- old man shot and robbed while watering lawn should be enough. >> the hunt continues for the attackers. the victim is expected soon. >>> a woman behind bars accused of murdering her husband three years ago. investigators say she shot and killed her husband in her carport but are not revealin

michael paluska . >>> the county says it wants to keep you safe with the ridesharing company, but they say the new standards could force them out. live for us tonight. >> reporter: they said that there are a ton of people in they could make a decision about the stricter regulations as early as next week. >> today so is the latest example of them trying to push ridesharing out of hillsboro county. >> reporter: he is upset about a possible change in regulations. calling for stricter background checks, a seven dollar minimum and a seven dollar wait time to use the services for >> they say it is the worst rules for ridesharing in the country. but i think it's the best rules for the transportation industry as a whole. >> reporter: hit will be launching a ride -- you will be launching a right service on the 18th. driver four -- for loitering and prowling. >> reporter: consumers will notice differences with his service. >> i read the rules. the reason i wrote the rules, that they are fair. >> reporter: they argue that the commission is not being fair. >> they are focused on protecting the ind

. >> michael paloosa is live in -- michael paluska is live with more. good morning, michael. >> reporter: we had a nice break past ten minutes or so started to pick up again. this is one of the homes that flooded. the water started to recede but still has a long way to go. a lot of the homes behind me are still flooded as well. as people get up to check this out, they will have a big mess to clean up. it deposit take long for the homes on 40th street and coconut avenue to begin voluntary evacuations. >> reporter: emergency manager todd says there was nothing people could do to stop it. >> it came pretty quick. >> reporter: this was a similar story along the beach only without the flooded homes. one man, however, grabbed a shovel to make sure it stay that way. you have to do what you can during a tropical storm. bob is an engineering and he came out to help a friend of his dig this moat out. he's been out here for a while. he's 70 water out of the homes out of the retention pond. he's doing a good job and putting a lot of muscle in. his hard work paid of

abc action news reporter michael paluska has the latest. michael? >> reporter: terrifying have fast this water rose. the high tide was completely surrounded by water. this is the people concerned about what will happen overnight. only one family decided to stay behind despite evacuations. 15 families are now with friends or at a shelter down the street. these police went door-to-door telling people to lead. one person had to be rescued by boat because they could knock walk through the water -- walk through the water pick been on the police department for 25 years and this has never happened here. >>> high tide was at 1:30 pm this morning they are making sure the water comes up the way they expect they will be out here to warn one family. the bridge leading to the neighborhood is also compromised as well. they came into get the patrol cars through the area. in sarasota tonight like >>> it is threatening homes and a mobile home development and pinellas county. abc action news reporter ryan smith shows us how rescue crews moved in to make sure families

as michael paluska shows us, joseph's hospital. >> reporter: careless, reckless, endangering lives and property is what an faa report released wednesday accuses air methods corporation is accused of doing between november 4 and november 11 of 2014. the chopper in the report is featured on bay flight's home page. the faa says the chopper was not air worthy. the faa allegations air corroded pito tubes that measure airspeed, a key component a helicopter pilot tells us is critical to the operation. if his commercial chopper had corroded tubes, he tells us he would have been grounded immediately. since 2014, abc action news has found they were fined nearly $3 million for alleged violations. the biggest civil fine was $1.5 83 flights over water without any floatation devices on board. air methods released this statement that read in part "air methods is further investigating the allegations and the faa has our full cooperation in the matter. we take safely seriously and the safe return of our crews and the patients we serve is and always will be our highest priority at air possibled toes. ."

. >> that was michael paluska reporting. hardeman says he won't shop now unless he has a friend with him and definitely won't be out alone after dark. >>> 4:32. the hillsborough county public transportation commission could vote next week to pass stricter regulations on ridesharing companies. that could mean companies like uber and lyft have to comply or not do business in the county. the rules ask for stricter background checks, a $7 minimumfare and 7-minute wait times. uber reps say the proposed rules are unacceptable but competitor drive society that launches its company on the 18th is ok with stronger regulations. like fingerprinting. >> uber has been quick to say this is the worst rules for ridesharing in the country. transportation industry as a whole in the country. >> if these rules were to pass it would be the worst regulatory framework for companies such as uber. >> the public transportation commission could vote on the issue as soon as next week. >>> the last patient in the hospital from the pulse nightclub massac

michael paluska is tracking drove -- he joins us live with the very latest out there.>> reporter: this could have a ripple effect across the bay area. to share saying dozens of cases could have been tribe this expert witness. the sheriff says his investigation is talking to lawyers to see if that expert witness was part of any trials right here. >>> the expert testimony is supposed to keep criminals out of jail. ironically and landed him there this afternoon. the molesters. the sheriff says his testimony and multiple disturbing child molestation cases did not add up. they did -- so they investigated him.>> he is investigating step that is not accurate. >> he charged upwards of $100 an hour and one filing he attorneys for private and others public defenders. >> the taxpayer pays for that expert witness. >> to attorneys we spoke with tells us they were shocked and disturbed by the allegations. had a both find him? word-of-mouth. in one case a cell made of one of the attorneys clients recommended him. there was no other bedding done. >> it does not take a lot of deep digging to figure out

michael paluska is in saint marks, 30 minutes south of tallahassee with just how damaging the storm was. >> reporter: the eye of the storm passed here clone to saint marks. the orsurge about two feet high, running into that bed and breakfast. now with the sun out, residents say they will clean up and rebuild.

abc action news reporter michael paluska is live in st. pete where they see a 13-year- old boy was choked. michael? >> reporter: wendy, good evening. i want to show you this sidewa big. st. pete police say that apparently there were bicycles blocking this area of the sidewalk, but that the jogger was coming through the area instead of going around, apparently that he would get enraged at these sidewalks in their path and that is when police say he attacked that teen. >> reporter: this is 62-year- old james mcdonald's mugshot. police arrested him thursday evening. st. pete police said he became enraged that bicycles were block his jogging path. he screamed at a team according to police to move the bikes. that 13-year-old down and then kept jogging. >> without my attorney now i'm not going to talk to you. >> anything that you could tell us about that allegedly? >> no, there's not. >> reporter: late friday night we tried to get his side of the story about what happened on the sidewalk. >> and were there words exchanged? >> come on. >> reporte

michael paluska, abc action here is the latest on matthew. it is stronger, winds now at 80 miles per hour, moving west at 14. the hurricane center just released their updated track. it is pretty much just an extension of the previous one between jamaica and haiti sometime on monday, maybe a little bit slower, and then going into the bahamas by tuesday into tuesday night. this could be an extremely powerful storm once it goes into the bahamas but the threat it isn't zero, it is definitely minimal, and decreasing as we get a better fix on where this is going. locally things are kind of quiet out there now but i still think we see scattered showers overnight. by first thing tomorrow morning a few more showers stack up along the coast. that is with a cool front. so overnight partly cloudy. i will let you know just where the drier air ends and how your weekend is shaping up. >>> new tonight ryan lochte returning to florida, lochte's name not athletes invited to meet president obama at the white house. lochte telling reporters he just wants to put

michael paluska live with more on why the coach didn't think she was doing anything wrong. of time on this field behind me. according to what happened in this arrest report she didn't know she was doing anything wrong because she thought she was helping the team. tonight she is in jail. she is the p.a. teacher, softball, and volleyball coach in lakeland. polk county deputies say she took three separate checks totaling $700. the report says she admitted to use white-out on the "pay to the wrote in her name. she used mobile deposit to cash the checks into her bank account. she said she bought team equipment. according to the report there hasn't been a single deposit in the softball account since november of 20 15. polk county schools released a statement that read in part, "the allegations against this employee are troubling. the school district is grateful for the generosity of the is unacceptable. no information tonight in this warrant as to whether or not she actually bought equipment for the team that plays on this field, but we are hoping to learn more information. she h

abc action news reporter michael paluska is there to explain tonight. michael? >> reporter: the line to get into see milo yiannopoulos is growing here. continue to trickle in, a lot of people are been critical of him is because his critics say he is an antifeminist, racist and islamophobic. he is the senior editor at breitbart news, traveling to colleges across the country to challenge what he is calling extreme political correctness so he's making statements to counteract that correctness. he has infuriated many -- many members of the transgender community for saying that being transgender is quote his words, a horrible sickness. at the oval theater and usf police department is here as well. they have increased security because one of these speaking engagements in miami was canceled because the school did not want to hold milo yiannopoulos there. and then another one had to be canceled because protests broke out in the middle of the speech and because of security issues. so far we haven't seen too many protesters but a lot of people in line, waiting for this ev

michael paluska is live where the center of the storm is passing to the east. michael, what are conditns like now? [no audio ] >> reporter: you know, we've been ridg t the storm here this tallahassee, and i can tell you as soon as they wall started to come hore

michael paluska got his hands on faa documents explaining how lives were endangered dozens of times and what the company told us when we asked them about reckless, endangering lives and property is what air methods corporation is accused of doing that during 51 separate flights between november 4 and november 11 of 2014. the chopper in the report is featured on bay flight's home page. the faa says that chopper was not air worthy. the faa allegations that air severely corroded. it is critical to the operation. if its commercial chopper corroded pi it. o tubes, he'd have been grounded immediately. since 2014, air message was fined $3 million for alleged violations. the biggest civil fine was more than $1.5 million in pensacola, florida, for reportedly making 83 flights over floatation devices on board. this read in part "air methods is investigating. we take safety seriously and the safe return of our crews. the patients we serve is and always will be our highest priority at air methods. ." >> we talked to bay care, who tells us they will be looking into the matter this morning. >>> if yo

. >> reporter: michael paluska, abc action news. >> i like that. returning the favor. shorter says he was saved to quickly and because of that, he didn't suffer health problems. >>> black bears enjoy calling the sunshine state home. florida's back bear population is growing. experts say the bear population has rebounded thanks to extra protection measures now in place. it's gone from just a few hundred bears 1970s to allowing the first bear hunt in 20 years. last october when 304 bears were killed. >>> still ahead, a blind man fights back against a pair of gang members. hear how he turned the tables and the surprising thing he wants to tell them face-to- face. >> it's not a maserati and shouldn't be handled like one. >> you have to see this to . >> tampa bay's "dancing with the stars" gala is october 1st. until then, vote online for your favorite just $1 per vote. k through 12. call for details in hillsborough county public schools is recruiting to train the special ed teacher. >>> 9:43. why don't you take a look at this disturbing video shot by a driver in new jersey.

. >> michael paluska has been there all night. he was there when hermine made landfall. now that the sun is out, what kind out there? >> reporter: just driving in to st. marks where you can't get through the area unless you went around. right here it's close to where the eye came ashore. this is the road to st. marks. it is about to reopen. about an hour ago, it was completely covered with water. it is an area of the st. marks river that is still under last night at 1:30 when we were out here riding out the storm in tallahassee. the video of us in the middle of the storm with the huge rain bands, the gusts of wind. it was an incredibly powerful wind and we knew how bad it would be for the guys who were able to weather the storm. one man says he's lived here 52 yearsp in is his home and he is not going to leave. he has 2 feet of water inside of this woman has two feet of water that came up to the third step. she had guests last night as well. this morning she woke up with three rattle snakes in the living room and kitchen area. that wasn't fun for the guests when they fou

lucy a lot of son further west the cloud deckd is alreadye thickening up will see a whole lot of paluska i waterspout.ueive this is at. picture taken from a photographer who was in the helicopter offshore also forstel in floridas this is would'veo waterspout looks like it's moreu of a horizontal picture but thih is a waterspout with the impact small it normally they hit landn and falld apart this is when ovv the gulf of mexico.f you can find it on instagram a i will be post that later ona today 50 degrees in clevelande lookv at the rain the first of many bands of frank aof lot of times these cut all flows like this and you have getting pants that gete entrenched in the overall circulation with breaks in between that's it's going to happen over the next several daysw's be back up into the mid-seventies by monday probably the few remaining showers there will be far less than what it will be the next we are in cleveland all long breath you road in this is thiss thing of yet another smash and he dead early yesterday morning at a hospitalalh his suffered a massive stroke you to take a turn fo

ceric i know will bemm checking back in with stacy for the rest of the morning of paluska and find her. >> analysts in ohio will be a little bit safer. it's us safe o b things to our k goddard. dick goddard is to keep people safe the force caspers light source doesn't work ended therep and today he kids to see a big refusing to give up until it becomes law.g to this is part of his life's work. i may veterans today on dick goddard space.t i kind of smiled that myself. that's one of them.h things have seen in life. footsteps there dick goddard in fact thing and we hope that you will be two. i went lasher and it was remarkable to see firstt it is so very true. jessica dill reporting for some thick cleveland apl. in other news, this is for remain close following up the skin fires for teachers sayay there's too much that needs to be cleaned out. they were called to the building around 11:00 p.m. on saturday it causes the fire is under two construction firm. the service in.i mentionedn nationally has gatheredy enough petitions for another track after the first they put an end new plants for