the rush doing their last-minute grocery shopping tonight as school is canceled in polk county tomorrow and friday, we also want to management -- mention management officials medical help for those in need. for putting live in lakeland, abc action news. >>> breaking news in brevard county, we are getting live pictures of people evacuating there is a steady stream of traffic moving away from the east coast. the hurricane forcing many people to look for a safer place to stay. >>> a race against time to get homes and businesses boarded up ahead of matthew. beach. >> reporter: she is a tough woman, she owns an ice cream shop a couple of blocks away from here. their boarding up doors and windows just in case it happens, i want to show you video for some perspective, my photographer shot this in 2004 that is her awning ripping to devastating this business they rebuilt fast in 10 weeks. this time around there is an evacuation order, it is voluntary now but it comes to mandatory azevedo clock a tomorrow. >>> we are familiar with what will happen. we will hunker down and get ready. >> you don't

so if polk county, h ighlands,hardee the county, you have better rain chances. 20% into the upcoming weekend. temperatures right around 87 to 86 degrees. and then next week, we look at some slightly more seasonable weather with mid-80s on tap. and morninws with rain chances. and another look at the roads with leslee lacey. >>> a look out here. here's what's going on, i-4, seeing a slow down the now. we're up to 10 minutes from 301 to 275, that's coming through ybor city. it is all due to the fatal accident involving a motorcyclist that has westbound i-4 at the transition to 275 completely blocked. so you are not able to go from i-4 westbound on to southbound 275. you are taken northbound. if you have to exit at martin let's go to eric with a live look again there. you can see to the left, completely blocked westbound. but to the right, cars being diverted on to 275. and that's what's causing that back-up now. and that's going to get worse and closed for about an hour and a half more because it's a fatal accident. and with the fatal crash, you have an investigation. and i want to go b

storm watches in effect this will be filled in by the weather service, tropical storm warnings from polk county, highlands county and sumter county meaning winds in the area between 55 and 65 miles per hour on friday morning even late tomorrow night and the possibility of higher winds are to the beach the less the chances you will have an issue. we have reporters all over the field and we go live to vero beach. it is about to get nasty really quick where you are. >> i am standing in an office suite building on the balcony one block from the beach where if you're wondering how serious people are taking this look around these guys are working hard on so cover their windows and doors, we have seen this all over town people boarding up windows and doors it is kind of a ghost town people were doing it all afternoon, as we speak where i am standing there is a voluntary evacuation in effect but that will change at 8:00 and tomorrow when it becomes mandatory. a lot of people are listening to the voluntary order, the gas station coming to town they are before they leave town others topping off gas cans.

polk county, we have lanes blocked county line road at gateway boulevard. it's taken away. busy out there in pockets. that's a look at weather and traffic. back to gene and gayle. >> leslee lacey, thank you. >>> and we are following breaking news. the man accused of hitting a 17- year-old girl on hillsborough avenue and leaving her to die posted bond overnight. investigators believe he was driving this hyundai when huh struck and killed the hillsborough senior. she was on her way home from an after-school job. the hood of the car. it was a tip from the insurance agent that helped troopers arrest the driver. her family is devastated, as you can imagine. they gathered along hillsborough a two-day last night to remember -- hillsborough avenue last night to remember the teen. her mom and brother broke down in tears. they say news of the arrest is little consolation. >> i'm happy that, you know, she's not coming back. >> grief counselors were at hillsborough high school to help students. the school plans to remember her with a moment of silence today. > in your vote, it's a figh

through the keys, down through seven mile bridge and we do have a tropical storm watch out for polk county and for highlands county. as this storm approaches the coast, you've got to remember, tropical storm force winds well over 100 miles away from the center, probably making its way to polk county and highlands county where they could easily see wind gusts over 40 miles an hour. orlando may see wind gusts over what would that mean for the tampa area? 30, 35 mile-per-hour winds. so just below tropical storm strength but windy nonetheless. it's a large storm. that's what we have to watch. 50-mile jog in this path will make a huge difference not only for us but for the east coast as well. so hour by hour this storm needs to be watched. it is not a clear cut exactly where it's going to be at this particular time at this point. 88 degrees it looks like after the storm passes, even if it makes the loop, okay, our weekend should still be dry, still fall-like and nice around here. vanessa? >>vanessa: thank you. 6:51. we want to check back in on the major roadways. picked up quite a bit here sout

ryan hughes is live from the polk county sheriff's office. ryan, good morning. we are hoping to hear something from hogs in court because so far, he hasn't said anything. >> reporter: gene, good morning to you as well. yesterday, he was pressed by reporters about what happened but he did not say a word. >> why would you kidnap a 4-year- old girl? >> do you have anything to say to family? >> do you want to apologize to the family? >> reporter: that was our reporter trying to get answers from hogs but no avail. polk county sheriff judd tells us that he kidnapped becky lewis saturday morning and drove north on interstate 75. they were spotted in georgia and tennessee. a nurse at a memphis hospital noticed hogs and the girl after cellphone and that nurse called 911. hogs was arrested and the girl was returned to her anxious parents safe and sound. right now, hogs faces kidnapping and auto theft charges. and we're told more charges could be tacked on when he goes before a judge here in polk county around 1:00 this afternoon. gene, back to you. >> we will be watching.

and gusts to over 40 more than likely on inn polk county and highlands county. which why you have that tropical some fast moving showers moving from northeast to southwest this afternoon. then of course everything hinges on what happens on friday with storm. regardless of whether it makes loop vanessa i think we've got decent weekend coming. much dryer weekend. okay. all right. that's good to hear for sure. all right thanks, dave. 8:44. we want to up sedate east lake road that crash southbound involving overturned vehicle which you see this viewer picture from behind me here. this is when vehicle was on scene they have tow truck out there now we're hearing lanes are clear good news. lingering delays we're seeing southbound in the area east lake approach lands brook. so if you have to head that way tack on free extra minutes to your traveling time leave a little bit earlier for delays that in the process of getting back towards normal for this time of morning. quick update here to the time line, earlier we mentioned we have a kennedy boulevard westbound reduced t

live in polk county, ryan hughes, news channel 8 today. accused of kidnapping a 4-year- old polk county girl is expected in court this afternoon. hogs was transported back to florida from tennessee thursday. he and little becky lewis were found in memphis earlier this week. >>> the driver accused of hitting a 17-year-old on hillsborough avenue and leaving her to die posted bond overnight. he is believed to have been driving the car that hit and killed the hillsborough high school senior wednesday. a tip from an insurance ag >>> legoland will re-open this morning after a bomb threat on thursday. the park was combed for explosives. there were none. now it's determined the whole thing was a hoax. legoland is offering refunds to anyone at the park or hotel thursday. >>> the fight for florida voters is bringing the vice presidential candidates to our state. republican governor mike pence will campaign in miami and pensacola today. tomorrow. >>> and friday forecast, scattered clouds this morning and just a stray shower, especially during the aft

we do have tropical storm watch polk county and highlands county. again, for that possibility of these 39 mile per hour winds or greater. if this further west so do these percentages. right now in the tampa area we're looking 30 mile per hour winds gusts. that's pretty hefty. don't get me wrong. further inland you go higher wind gusts will be to point they go over 40 miles per hour in polk county and in hig county. all going to be on friday. okay. so today very similar to yesterday. few showers around northeast to southwest movement. fast moving showers. tomorrow breezes start to pick up. out of that northeasterly direction. a couple of showers as well. with 87. now thursday night through fridayrnoon, there's y f for sn ands theate. and windy conditions on friday. but you know what, still looks like it's going to be nice weekend around here. saturday, sunday, monday. drying it out highs in mid 80s lows getting back to near 70 degrees. just seems so scary all right. dave we'll keep, we'll keep checking in with you little busy so i will get to to peop

but know some of the end land spots, polk county, hardy county. highlands county could see very strong wind gusts. long term. you can see the movement of that, we have warnings in place. tropical storm warning for polk and highlands county. and hardy county. tropical storm watches in place everywhere else along the coastal areas. so know that we will feel effects from this system. west or a little further to the east. we will continue to monitor that. these forecast tracks will change. >> thank you steve. it is a good time to remind folks you can track hurricane matthew on your smartphone with our storm team 8 weather max app. it is free to download in the app store. >>> time is running out to prepare for the storm. right now, drivers are going to area gas stations to gas up before matthew hits. check out the long lines we found at this gas station in broward county. there are even reports of some stations run ian oliver joins us now live from palm beach shores out on the east coast. and, ian, i know it looks beautiful behind you, but that is not

they have already issued the tropical storm watch for polk county, highlands county, and sumter county. that is within 48 hours. not necessarily today -- i don't want me thinking today will be the bad day. today will be a lot like yesterday . we will be at 77 and 9, 87 at noon with a chance for afternoon storms. let's talk about the effects we will see: when speeds will be breezy. will be breezy. everything gets crazy this afternoon. a notice on the east coast, that is what the heaviest and strongest winds will be . look at vero beach friday morning, 70 miles-per- hour. we are lighter along the coast. in our headlines we are breezy today is stronger winds thursday and friday . we are on the dry side of the storm. flooding is not a huge concern we get to dry out after matthew. here's the rainfall potential between now and friday night. you can just see the trend, the further east you are the heavier and the most rain you will see. about an inch to an inch and a half near the gulf coast of to about 5 inches on the east coast. we will check in with traffic as people get going. today is no

rabies alert and polk county. >> woman: that is kind of scary. i live >> anchor: a big loss for tampa neighborhood. flames shooting through the roof of this grocery store. hat started it? >> man: i am waiting for it to her owner in polk county shot a rabid raccoon as it was attacking. i'm drying. >> anchor: a slithery surprise on the hood of the car. reacted. >> announcer: you are watching facts 13 and 11:00 pm new starts now. >> anchor: we start with this dog who is lucky to be alive. the owner and polk county shot a rabid raccoon while it was attacking. he talked to the man who has a warning. >> reporter: this is the third time in 2016 deputies have found rabies and polk county. the owner of a dog says his dog may be dead if she had not immediately gotten a booster shot. martin ratliff neighborhood has many more animals than it does >> man: the bear was sitting where you're standing. >> reporter: and martin likes it that way. so does his dog dixie. but wednesday dixie barked up the wrong tree. >> man: we heard him bellow a little bit. it sounde

now polk county deputies want to find the driver. they are asking anyone that knows anything who has seen a suspicious car. they will have extensive fr front-end damage to it to go ahead and give them a call. as they mentioned they are also asking businesses in this area happen to catch something on there last night. live in polk county, kellie cowan, station news. >> alcides: kellie, sorboni and i were talking about how busy that road. be careful and stay safe. our thoughts and prayers for the woman who was killed and the deputy seriously injured. kellie in lake wales, thank you so much for being with us. >>> new this morning, deputies arested a school bus driver they say had sex with a stu student. deondre davis started talking to a 16-year-old on social media last week, and davis drove the girl to an off-campus location on that bus. that is when the 24-year-old had sex with the student. it was reported to the school yesterday. officials say davis admitted to having sex with that student and charged with unlawful sexual activity wi

it will not last too long but it you head into southwestern pull county -- polk county . you can see showers in the southern part of sarasota county and then spotty showers lingering -- out to the east. rain will be isolated at best for the rest of this afternoon and this evening. as we do head into the afternoon and evening hours we can see that right now things look great. 89 degrees with winds coming in out of the north at around 5 miles power . location just yet. like i said the rain will stay fairly isolated for us. and 9. like i said the rain will stay fairly isolated for us. and 9 pm lingering showers on the radar -- at 9 pm lingering showers on the radar . muggy start for us tomorrow morning. we have deeper moisture that has rolled through some extra clouds around once again to start off your day. we will bring in about a 30 percent afternoon shower chance as we head into thursday afternoon and thursday evening. matthew is still well off to the south and east moving into clouds are going to linger through the overnight hours. this morning you d the cloudy muggy sta

but polk county deputies say: he could lose it all... thanks to one really bad decision. (jen "jarvis kendrick" is now accused of hitting 74-year-old "janice joy" woman with his car... and driving-away. the accident happened earlier this month... on "duff road," in north lakeland... and the woman died. sheriff grady judd says: kendrick probably wouldn't have faced any charges... had he stopped and tried to help. but instead, according to sheriff judd, he left the scene... and came-up with a ?scheme to cover-up the crime " on the night of oct 9th he had a wreck on i4 at macintosh road..hit a sign and did damage to his vehicle." sheriff judd says: kendrick did that, to create an alibi, for the damage to his ford pickup... so he could have it repaired without arousing suspicion. didn't work. kendrick he spent the night in the polk county jail... held on 50- thousand-dollars bond... and faces two felony charges. and new this morning... another hit-and-run has a woman fighting for her life. lynn taylor was walking down gulf gate drive near mobile gate drive in sarasota last ni

th's why we thkhe possiby is the in polk county and high lapds county. a lot more to talk about with matthew. if you have to walk out the door, anticipate today like the rain chance around 40%. laura and russell? >>laura: thank you. the hurricane already has a bad reputation. >>russell: it's to blame for at least 11 dead so far. several of those are in haiti. this is what it looks like there. hurricane hit the southern coast of haiti around this time yesterday morning. winds of more than 140 miles an hour. of thebris weresinnd mpering comniontoof the hardest. phone calls nearly impossible. >>laura: so the bahamas are next. they've not been hit by a storm this strong since 1929. people are boarding up windows and doors before they evacuate. shelters will be available for those who cannot escape from the chain of islands. there are still a couple of thousand tourists there. >>russell: gas getting hard to find on the east coast. they had a long line yesterday near west palm beach. some lines backing up into the street, wrapping around the corner. no extreme

auto mall in polk county. you can see the view at plantation crystal river. there are a few showers and thunderstorms, and, they are moving off to the west, you can see the north western portions of manatee county. northern spots, pretty quiet along 75. maybe a fortiors. you can see around the skyway. we saw some in the southern sections of pinellas county drifting to the west. this one has kind of lost a little punch, but the thunderstorms have regenerated around the northern part of and again, you can see around saint petersburg, these are moving in that direction. further south, we saw a few showers inland. quiet in polk county. a few showers in the eastern part of highlands county and west of north port. not very strong at the moment. 75 degrees at 2:00 a.m. 7:00 a.m. rather. 77 degrees, the current temperature at mack dell. 81 degrees in clearwater beach. and, also, in brandon, 82 degrees in lakeland. 77 in brooksville. 76 weeki wachee, satellite picture shows a mix of clouds and sunshine across the state. not as active as it was yesterday. upper level dr

notice it comes in to highland county and polk county. here's the interesting thing: just came in overnight, they are still in agreement with these coast of florida just a little later friday afternoon. once the head toward the carolinas many are taking on a loop. we will have to wait and see exactly what happens with this long-term but it 538 we do have the rainfall and winds potential. >>> matthew was a category 4 hurricane when it made landfall in haiti. >> you can see all of the 11 people dead this morning. we're in the new center. it is pretty difficult to get a very good assessment of the damage and loss of life right now. >> yes, and that is because entire villages are cut off. the full extent of destruction may not be known for a while. bridges and roads washed away so getting word is nearly impossible. there is an ongoing threat of mudslides. we're seeing some images posted to social media including a video from a mayor. the hospital in his town had it's roof loan off. the role southern peninsula was hit hardest. many people live

we've got tropical storm warning out for polk county down in the highland county. all the red shade. that is hurricane warning and then across the rest of the state got the tropical storm warning and down across the southern beach. golden beach up to flagler, volusia county line. that say hurricane warning north of there it is a hurricane watch. >> now, you look at the winds forecasted. this is the gusts. grain of saw. the numbers won't verify but it gives you an idea of what can happen base thond track. and we with could see wind well over 100 miles per hour in vero beach and this is by friday morning. as we advance through time you're looking at day to nacht winds 80, 90 miles per hour. orlando at this point the modles indicate we could see gust nooz hurricane force. here in tampa you see even in st. peters berkz 44 miles per hour wind gusts so that's why we're looking at big problems across the state. because have you 40 to 50 miles per hour wind gust as cross the state on friday morning heading into the afternoon and that is is earnly going to cause damage croo

it is this orange area of sumter, poke and highland county -- poll -- polk and highland county. inland portion of the state, will feel the effects of the hurricane. the center has just passed to the north of this eastern portion of cuba. obviously they are getting strong winds , strong rain and still in the haiti area. this is our latest advisory. is a category 3 storm at 180 mile-per-hour winds . it is expected to regain category 4 status by tomorrow canaveral area. we will watch that closely thursday night into friday morning. of course now portions of our area is under the threat cone. we may see the storm push further toward the west. then we will pay attention to the places further to the north, but there's a lot i need to talk about. here's the forecast: it is the shallow area that is tropical storm 4 will start to feel it in highlands county, a lot of the area into friday morning could feel tropical storm force winds . that is as of the current forecast. here's the interesting thing: in the last few minutes we got these new computer models and a lot of them are starting t

in polk county, abc action news. >>> tonight a county sheriff is suing his board of commissioners. the board failed to notify him in writing of changes to his budget this year which is required by state law. the board denied the sheriff's request for a nearly $2 million budget increase, but they kept his office at the same funding million county wide shortfall. >>> turning to democracy 2016. joe biden wrapping up an event in sarasota, trying to evener jiez voters and get them -- enengize voters. >> vice president joe biden in on voter registration. you can see in this picture he is still in the gym. there is a big, large crowd of supporters surrounding him as he's taking pictures and many selfies with the supporters up here. nearly 1,000 people packed inside the robert l taylor community center. 700 people inside the gym. i'm told 250 in the standing room. biden spoke for about 35 minutes today saying right off the bat if hill wins florida, she she touched on topics like raising minimum wage, college affordability and the need to bring outsourced jobs back to the u.s. much of the v

the owner and polk county attacking. he talked to the man who has a warning. >> reporter: this is the third time in 2016 deputies have found rabies and polk county. the owner of a dog says his dog may be dead if she had not immediately gotten a booster shot. martin ratliff neighborhood has many more animals than it does people. >> man: the bear was sitting where you're standing. >> reporter: and martin likes it that way. so does his dog dixie. but wednesday dixie barked up the wrong tree. little bit. it sounded like a little kid screaming with a raccoon. >> reporter: he came out found dixie model on mana with the raccoon. he kate grabbed his shotgun and came out. >> man: he grabbed the raccoon it stretched out his body a little way from dixie. that was my shot and i shot him. >> reporter: deputies brought the animals for testing and found it positive connie. >> man: that is scary. i have my grandchildren here and i could be walking around and try to pet it. >> reporter: they had brought dixie for a booster that saved her

coming up, neighbors are rallying around a polk county family. this is just a heartbreaking scene there. it's a tragic scene where five-year-old y256yy yy6y >>> live from the station taking action for you, this is abc action news. >>> two men hospitalized this morning after a shootout earlier this week in st. pete. coming up, the surveillance video the sheriff wants you to see. >>> also at 5:30, is hilary clinton a shoe in for the white house? new data says yes. >>> and also, who donald trump says is responsible for his sagging numbers. good morning chl thank you for starting your day with us. >> we have a big issue on i-4 this morning. definitely going to impact your morning commute. let's get an update on the roads with janelle. >> you want to leave yourself a

polk county is stepping up its game. we'll give you a tour of their haunted jail after the legend has it, the old polk county jail in downtown bartow >>> legend has it that the old polk county jail is haunted. i was closed back in the 90s. the first floor is now used for inmate booking. however, the second floor is vacant except for the remnants of the old jail. so the polk county sheriff's office thought what better place for haunted house. lucas both went on the haunted jail tour. >> hello i'm sheriff grady judd the city of barto has been overrun by zombies. satan's word for $5 this is the best stair you are going to get. this is the old jail a lot of people have heard things, seen things and f years it is haunted. come see them, come feel them. they reach out and try to grab them and scare them. donate about $10,000 just in the four days that we do do it. again, it's just about having fun and just raising >> you want to come back again right after or come back the next year because you don't want to miss. all sitting

places like polk and highland county will see heavy pockets of rain. toward the gulf coast it is not a whole lot. that could change as the forecast track could change. thursday afternoon through friday night that is when it is going to be the closest to us. we will watch that very carefully. in the long-term we actually get drier air to come in >>> we will start off here in the wesley chapel area. we have a couple of issues. we just a little bit of a slowdown. we have an accident here but it looks like it might be to the north because this is southbound i 75. that is where we are seeing the slowdown. it is quite a bit before state route 54. allow for a little bit of extra time. northbound bruce we have one lane taken away but not seeing have one accident and state route 56 that involves injuries. we also have one on 41 at 73rd street. one lane was taken away southbound. it was a hit-and-run. in the orange part that is the toll plaza. don't worry about that. >>> hurricane matthew is messing with the popular concert with the country superstar. still ahea

the polk county sheriff's office thought what better place for a haunted house. lucas bogg went on the haunted jail tour. [evil laugh] >> hello, i am sheriff grady judd. [screaming] ? ? ?. >> our demon is preaching say the 's word. >> for $5 the best scare you are going to get. the most pun, you are in here 10, 15 minutes, you are coming through and you are going to be scared. start making their noises. [evil laugh] >> this is the old jail. built back in 1972. a lot of people come up here think they have heard things, they have seen things, they have felt things. so we used that for many years. well, it is haunted. come see them. come feel them. we have somebody who wants to reach out and try to grab them and scare them. goes to the united way. we donate about $10,000 just in the few days that we do do it. again, it is about having fun and raising money for a good cause. you are going to come back again or come back next year because you don't want to miss what we have new installed. >> sitting in this door way and enjoy what pops out >> ew. you can tour the haun

tonight, polk county cherry of deputies are on the -- sheriff deputies are on the you hunt for a henry driver who left a -- hit-and-run driver who left a woman dead and injured a deputy. they call this man a coward. we're live from the appleby's restaurant are where the woman just -- the vi finished working. >> you're right, rod. jessica's family members tell us she was a hard-working, single mom work hard to support two kids. she just finished up a shift and hours later hit and killed in polk county. >> she was a sweet girl. she's hard working, working forher kids. >> he is still coming to grips 33-year-old jessica enchautegui- otero. >> this is the second one that i lost in this month. my son pass away the 2nd of this month. now my daughter in the same month. too much for me. >> jessica got into a wreck on state road 60 just east of wales in polk county. her car hit a driver. she was able to flag an officer for help. deputy officer pennell turned on his while calling for aid, another driver veered into the median hitting them leaving them both for dead. jessica later died at the hosp

if you live in poke county, even -- polk county, even eastern hillsborough county p you might want to bring in your lawn furniture, secure stuff down. because it is go rather gusty. but severe damage along the atlantic coast. i hesitate to use the word catastrophic, but that might be a word we'll be looking back at the. because we are so hopeful. and a lot of people have evacuated. but you know there will be a lot that won't. tropical storm warnings in orange. tropical storm watches for the rest of bay area. there it is. getting better organized. you can see the eye becoming more clear. the pressure will be dropping overnight. i think you'll be waking up to 1:25 or maybe 1:30 to make it a category 4 hurricane. and that's what the hurricane center predicting as well. long range, eventually track back to the south. there's been a lot of hype about that. so many days we have to look at that. and i seriously doubt it's going to pose any problem whatsoever after we get there this. this is the story. right here. category 4. moving up the coast. wis even up around jacksonville. down that jac

these are the watches and warnings but we focus in on our counties. polk and highlands county thursday night and into friday, 40 to 60 miles per hour winds. power out tables, if you are watching from lake wales, lakeland, place sick lakes, you there could be power disruptions, especially on friday. let's talk about the rainfall associated with this in a few minutes. >>> good morning. wesley chapel, a crash in your area on bruce b. downs at 56. northbound lane is blocked. we are working to get more details as we speak. we are watching this crash on the courtney campbell causeway. this is a crash blocking a westbound lane. folks heading from tampa into hopefully that will be cleared soon. this is i-75 around state road 60 in the brandon area. you have a smooth ride all the way up to i-4. back to you. >>> continuing our coverage this morning of hurricane matthew, the deadly storm pummeling cuba, heading to the bahamas on the way to florida. with storm warnings and watches across the state, floridians are not taking chances. this is video out of the miami up.

breaking news right now in frost proof in polk county. the teens were brother and sister, both students at frost proof high school. josh is live at frost proof high. grief counselors are on hand and i can't imagine how this is hurting family and friends this morning. >>reporter: yeah. there is a tremendous amount of shock and sadness here at frost crash. there are grief counselors on campus helping students deal with emotions and you've got to believe for many kids, this is the first time they would have dealt with something like this. it's awful to imagine. we have video from the scene. i'll warn you, it's tough to look at. 18-year-old lara was driving himself and melonie to school this morning. as they were turning onto 27 and crossing the southbound labors to go north, they were direction. both teens were killed. it happened almost right in front of their own home. three guys in the chevy are in the hospital. they should survive. as you can imagine, u.s. 27 southbound is close the right now. it will stay that way for at least a few hou

but a very sad scene unfolding there in polk county as we speak. we will have much more on that story coming up on newschannel8 at 8:00 on great 38. and then as well on newschannel8 tonight at 11:00. that will do it for us. we will see you back here tonight at 11:00. the trump breaks her silence. his new accusers come forward now on "extra." ? extra, extra! >>> days of our lives actress speaks out about that leaked trump video. >> do you accept his apology. >> as an avalanche of women make new stunning accusations. >> he was like an octopus. >> trump fires back. >> they're pure fiction and outright lies. >> and the nypd giving us terrifying truth today. >> kim kardashian back on social twitter. >> kevin hart's coast-to-coast take over. >> i'm doing new york, philadelphia, i'm doing d.c. a look at his laugh-out-loud stand up film and. >> the new "star wars" trailer everyone's talking about. >> plus how to get away with murder zbler we do murder. >> we don't know how to get in the ambu you're on fire. >> now from the entertainment capitol of l.a. >>

of the forecast things have not changed for the immediate bay area, winds in the highlands and polk county 55 to 65, if you live in highlands or polk or sumter you will have strong winds friday morning they be some downed trees. the rest of us on the fringe only because if the storm goes more to the west all of a sudden we might be having more that is why it is a watch and not a warning, here's a look at hurricane matthew, winds of 120 miles per hour, the storm looks ragged right now, when it went over cuba it did a number on the inner core. there is a decent probability over the next 24 hours ideal conditions for redevelopmento it could g stronger but we're hoping it won't. that is a possility, that is usually the part of tracking a rr in terms of t track both models have been in this camp bringing good close to the east coast of florida. that is where the hurricane centaser h its track wch means anywhere from melbourne, cocoa beach, vero beach especially to the north from daytona, saint augustine really watching this closely because right now this is no longer and hurricane is going to h

. >> in polk county people are stocking up ahead of the storm. lines everywhere. bread and bottled water seemed to be the fastest. our team coverage continues with paul muler. >> people not wanting to be kept offline. especially as gas stations. the lines have dwindled but tomorrow. >> what is the rush? >> the rush is to get gas. we have to get gas to get around. >> trying to fill up. drivers waiting in lines and finding these signs and gas stations out of gas and so bad in some places that people following the fuel truck driver around. >> as soon as i came here and when i got hooked up they were packed. >> more lines, this time inside this walmart. >> we had to take turns. >> getting water. >> yes. >> people devouring the bread and the shelves bare. >> people buying up the store and trying to get as much as they can before the storm hits. >> and others thinking what they can do. >> candles. >> and not everyone is shopping at a frantic pace. >> we are not too worried. >> why not? >> because we have what we need we think. >> the polk county emergency management age

polk county just as warm. there is a big change coming. that rain chance i talked about on friday, that's coming with some cooler air, and it is going to feel fantastic this weekend. so make the plans now. look at this. a 20 to 30% chance of showers on friday and 70s for highs and 50s for lows this upcoming weekend. lot of sunshine. >>> all right. new video tonight of a situation just so scary it's really hard to even believe what you are seeing. watch that is, indeed, a little boy riding on a toy scooter in the middle of a busy road. all off this is in eastern china. you can see there are cars that swerve around him. finally, finally, after what seeps like too long, this could end horribly, but instead you see a police officer runs into traffic to stop him. finally the child is safe in the officer's arms, but once they are on the sidewalk it takes a little while. you can see that boy is reunited with his mom. that's infuriating. that's what everyone is wondering. >>> your evening commute traffic is at a crawl near malfunction junction. th

in hillsborough county alone, election officials reported 18,000 people cast early ballots on the hillsborough, polk, hernando, manatee, and citrus counties are offering early voting. in pasco, highland county, and early voting will begin on saturday. for information on where you can vote early and avoid the election day rush, we have everything you need to know on wfla.com along with a complete 2016 election guide. >> just one day after friends and family gathered to honor life of a tow truck driver hit they now searching for the person responsible for vandalizing a memorial set up to honor the life of troy maguire. mary mcguires live from where troy worked. mary e explain what was done to the memorial. >> reporter: gayle it's hard to imagine can anyone could steal from a family who much. they said the items have been stolen from the memorial. here's the memorial we have, and the items that are missing, a bright yellow shirt with a baseball hat and cross were placed near the spot where maguire was hit and killed. dozens of tow trucks rode past the site to remember their friend and colleague. >> it'

so taking a look at highlands and polk county. we've had the showers that have been working in from the east coast of florida throughout the night. so don't be surprised even if you're not seeing rain this morning, you may have had a little bit of rain overnight. so you'll see your car is a little bit wet this in park, not seeing much but there's a shower just to your east that is headed your way. also a few more showers there for highland park and lake wales. then a couple of showers starting to roll through hillsborough county, just light stuff near plant city heading towards seffner, brandon, riverview. actually just moved across i-75 heading out into bay. a few drops to deal with. overall a fairly quiet start. numbers likely stay above average and again slightly higher rain chances for the weekend as compared to the last week. still nicole in the north atlantic but overall quieting down for us. 73 at 8:00. we'll see temperatures not feeling like fall today. the warm-up, 82 degrees with scattered clouds and stray shower. rain c

accident in polk county? >> and we are taking you to las vegas to see how the presidential nominees are preparing to face off. good evening, i'm josh benson. >> i'm stacie schaible. thank you for joining us. >> when you have been cheated, when you need help, she's on your side, better call behnken. >> radioactive material in drinking wells and these wells are less than one mile away from the gigantic ic even bathe in her water and she is not getting any straight answers from mosaic or state health officials. that is when she knew she better call behnken. investigative reporter shannon behnken joins us with more. >> reporter: this is scary guys. mosaic has tested 763 wells so far and ten of them show water that is not safe to drink, but they say their sink hole has nothing to do with it. >> all faucets and taps. worried about the water her children have been drinking. now, with pretty scary test results in her hands, she is worried to even touch the water. >> i'm not a chemistry student. but i think that is pr

east of i 75, polk county, highlands county, a lot more rain for you on friday. we're still on the dry side so places like tampa not getting as much rain. this moves on the carolina coast before making the strange loop ck toward the bahamas. notice the rainfall potential over the next several days through friday evening. an inch 2 ineson the stcoast foot on the east coast. otty storms. 30 percent rain chance is on sdbrg that up a little bit especially for areas like polk and highlands county. we will dry out as we head into sunday and monday. with that loop happening in some of those computer models we may talk about this into next week. not all computer models are saying that for some of the notit back further to we look the south.>> it will be interesting in the beginning of next week. >> yes, stay tuned with this on. >> you have said that for days and it has changed quite a bit in the last 48 hours they really have to keep an eye on this pack --. >>> now a medical report this the bedtime >> some foods are better than ever -- others . serial, coffee and pizza c

stray sprinkle that is where you have the better chance for rain over the next four hours around polk county into sumter county possibly eastern highlands. for now, not work its way into tampa, clearwater or sent -- saint pete. mixed skies winds at 5 to 10 miles per hour temperature in tampa holding at 86, clearwater 84, saint pete 82. all of the sometime keeping temperatures above average. as we look at futurecast you can see the gray tones that is cloud cover and it is the green tones we are watching for that could indicate a chance for a will pick up enough moisture for a stray shower but not likely much of that sticking around the region. we are looking at a few of those overnight possibly across tampa into pinellas county, most of this would not amount to anything more than a single. tomorrow morning you can see we are nice and dry starting by 11:30. the easterly flow starts to kick in and have a chance for a shower. the morning looking dry, here on this model by 5:30 we are seeing more coverage of the hit or miss isolated showers or sprinkles than what we have seen the last few days, t

one place they are keeping a close eye on the storms is in polk county. they are on the edge of the cone of uncertainty. newschannel8's candace mccowan stopped by the emergency operation center where they are concerned a small shift in the storm could make difference. >> reporter: for polk county management director pete, it is easier to prepare if he knows whether or not his county will be hit by a storm. right now, he is in limbo waiting and watching. >> with this kind of a storm, we are really on the edge. it could go either way. we need to make sure we don't go overboard and get people overprepared. >> reporter: but for the people in polk county in 2004, there is no such thing as overprepared. forget hurricane charlie. the storm took a detour from its predicted path. >> you couldn't get into my house because of all the trees that had fallen down our drive. >> reporter: for that ran, even without anticipated hurricane force winds from matthew, they say they are ready. >> make sure everything is tied down, and, get us some gas. >> reporter: candace mcco

steady showers across portions of southern polk county this morning from frostproof to mulberry. bartow has a light shower. and these have extended into rural portions of hillsborough county as well. even though we have showers a little warmer out the door. 73 in new tampa. 75 in st. petersburg. 70 in inverness. i don't have any mid60s. 71 englewood. 72 in sebring and 72 in haines city. we are back kind inform that darker green shade meaning our dew points have climbed since earlier in the week and that flirting with the sticky range. not justed to or tomorrow for rest of the week before potentially stronger cold front moves through next weekend. that is something that we will monitor and hopefully get together if you like cooler weather. a stalled front to the north means the colder air does not make it and drier air. the east wind a little more staffibility to deal with. i will keep the rain chance at 30% area wide and is showers possible at any time and this daytime heating and filtered sun. by lunchtime spotty east even west and a few around. if you have outdoor plans for ax e

is that a rural area of polk county? >>caller: it is a pretty rural area just outside the city limits of lake wales. we do not have any businesses nearby, but, of course, we are pulling video from any businesses in the five to t ten-mile radius, especially after 12:45 a.m., looking for any sort of vehicle that has front-end damage. there wasn't any debris left behind, so we don't know what behind. he didn't see anything. he was knocked unconscious immediately. so we are really looking for the public to help us with the case. >> do we know if the patrol car had a dash cam at all? >>caller: no, sir, we don't have dash cameras in our cars. >> alcides: all right. carrie, thank you so much for being with us. our thoughts and prayers are with you and entire department and the woman who was killed in this. thank you. >>ll bus driver took advantage of a student. >> alcides: happened in pinellas county thursday morning at the same time school was actually starting. deputies say social media may have made the situation even worse.

eastern sections of polk county. highlands county. this would be at the high end. unless the storm should shift a terms of wind gust. these are just forecast wind gusts through thursday at 9:00 a.m. you can see out at titusville at 20 miles an hour. as you go through the day thursday, they tend to increase. thursday, later thursday, into the first half of friday especially, that is the way the timing looks at the moment. but, that can change. 30% rain chance wednesday. same for thursday. the good news out of all of this if there is anything ultimately, we are getting drier weather. cold front is going to come through on sunday. and then, our rain in fact, we see some lower humidity. monday, tuesday, wednesday, maybe, the start of the dry season. which a lot of folks will welcome. >>> if you've been cheated, when you need help, she's on your side. better call behnken. >> and tonight, better call behnken takes a look at one of the questions we get asked most often. it is this irs scam. and this scam continues because people just continue to fall for it. don't let it

polk county sheriff grady judd calls it a tragedy and says the person will be caught. there's a $3,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. he posted a message on facebook a couple hours about the depth too and his photo. wife and whole life ahead of him. while keeping the citizens of the polk county safe, he stopped to assist a young lady in need. she, too, had her whole life ahead of her. for the personal responsible, we would find you. it will be in your best interest to turn yourself in sooner rather than later. either way, you will be brought to justice. kellie cowan has more on the krafk >> kellie: ses ka thought she was safe when she saw the flash it is lights. she ran off state road 60 near lake wales and wrecked her car in this ditch. >> it smashed the windshield and landed on the passenger side. she crawled out through the smashed windshield and came out into the median to flag somebody down for help. >> reporter: polk county sheriff's deputy adam pinell called for help. the last transmission was at 12:38. >> ems got there seven minutes later but didn

. >> jenny's fianci says neighbors have lobbied polk county to install a speed bump. traffic officials tell me they are investigating if changes need to be made. >> they need to put speed bumps in here. to sell these people down to pay attention to the children playing in the road. >> reporter: even though speeding was ruled out some are calling for a children at play sign to be posted it polk county has a policy against the warning signs, traffic official telling me they believe the warning signs provide parents with a false sense of safety. live from polk county, ryan smith abc action news. >>> another accident in the bay area. tonight we take a closer look at the busy intersection where she died, brendaliss gonzalez live along hillsboro avenue. they are not enough lights out there. >> reporter: or even crosswalks, and manager at the store where ashley worked says she normally goes to this crosswalk to take the bus on the bus stop just ahead of me, instead she chose a different route. to another bus stop more than 1000 feet away where there is no crosswalk, but a lo

now to a tragic story in polk county.. where deputies continue to investigate the death of a five year old boy.. after he was hit by a truck.. while riding his bike.. fox 13's shayla reaves is live near lakeland this morning.. shayla, this happened i can't begin to understand what this family must be feeling ...especially, the eight year old girl who lost her little brother. you're looking at the scene off saddlewood boulevard, around 5 o'clock thursday evening. according to the polk county sheriff's office... a pick up truck struck 5- year-old austin crawfordas he and his sister road bikes in front of his next door neighbor's home. deputies say the boy turned and traveled into the road..the passing driver hit him.a neighbor shared memories of the child. we learned neighbors and family tried to save austin by performing cpr. medics transported him to the hospital where he died from injuries. we're told the driver is cooperating with investigators.i can only if speed factored into the crash.at last check the driver hadn't b

. >>> m four-year-old girl is back in polk county. this is the first look at him since being extradited to florida. he took rebecca lewis from her home saturday, they were found in memphis on monday, lewis was not harmed she is back with her family.>>> and update on the mosaic sinkhole independent tests on private wells showed elevated levels of radioactivity. pointed to a natural source of contamination and not the mosaic sinkhole, all of the other chemicals found in the water meet safety standards. >> naturally occurring levels of radioactivity in the water in central florida can be found in many wells, far away from mosaic and, those are e florida. and the depth to which the well was drilled. >> the water is being sent for a second phase of testing to help determine where the contamination is coming from. we expect the results sometime next week. >>> a truck slams into a wall -- home killing a woman. janice folds was resting in a guest bedroom when the truck crashed through the wall. he is in jail facing dui manslaughter charges. i

i-4 looking great out of plant city and polk county. sarasota county east of venice, u.s. 41, and that's a look at weather and traffic on the 8s, back to gene and gayle. >> thank you, is a chance of a lifetime. >> imagine getting the boss' help to skip school. the note that the boss wrote. it's 6:20. marco rubio has the worst attendance record of any florida senator in 50 years. but it's even worse when he shows up. he's voted for a plan that would cut social security... and has said social security is "bankrupting our country" and has "weakened us as a people." he wants to eliminate the department of education... and has voted for billions in education cuts. it's bad when he misses work. it's worse when he shows up. senate majority pac is responsible for the content of this advertising. this is mike's office. if he doesn't show up, he doesn't get paid. too often marco rubio didn't show up and failed us when he did. i am patrick murphy. to get things done, you've got to show up. you've got to work together. whether it's protecting social

polk county, looks great. on i-4 and a great drive on 275 around bearss, southbound all >>> our stop stories this morning, hurricane hermine jamaica and haiti. right now it's a powerful category four storms with 130 miles per hour winds. leigh spann tracking the story in a moment. >>> police at a sarasota county school thi what the principal is telling parents and what the school is doing about the two students. >>> and time is running out for the residents at this st. pete motel. they have until 8:00 this morning to find a new place to live. why some say the eviction will leave them homeless. > good morning and welcome to news channel 8 today. i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. f0 >> yeah, good morning.

ecuador says it does not want to interfere in another country's affairs. >>> the polk county prisoner accused of steeping and kidnapping kidnapping a corrections officers and then leaving offices on a chase knows county has his first court appearance today -- in pinellas county has his first court appearance today. >> reporter: somehow this inmate was able to get his hands on a knife and that is how he overpowered the unarmed corrections officer. 42-year- old david ross began his escape attempt in the early afternoon yesterday at mosaic park and bartow. other inmates and somehow he used a knife to take a corrections officer hostage, handcuff him unlock his fellow inmates in a building and then he went off to take off -- on to take off in a city workshop . he made it all the way to st. petersburg before being taken down. >> they caught the guy. he was on the ground and 3 cops had their guns on him telling him not to move. you would pick up his head kick his feet and they told him not to move. >> reporter: fortunately corrections officer is fine and during the arrest no deputies were in