rodney dunigan is looking into the issue this morning. good morning, rodney. >> reporter: good morning, deiah. as you know, voter fraud has been at the top of mine for many voters especially considering republican presidential nominee donald trump has made that one of his talking points on the campaign trail. right here i could possibly land you five years in prison. however, election officials believe that some voters will simply take that risk. >> i have had discussions with some snow birds who say very proudly that they voted up north and then came down here and voted here. to what degree it's happening, says it's a real problem. seasonal residents living part time in florida voting here and in their home state. now, some thing it's a growing problem and could possibly affect the general election. officials say the state of florida has been unable to fully participate in a cross- check program due to differences in the state's public records law. if all the states get a database and we can put them but we have no way to check it. >> the

rodney dunigan live at lakewood regional hospital. we're wondering how the deputy is doing. >> reporter: unfortunately he is in bad shape. he is expected to have surgery later this week, meanwhile loved ones of the young woman killed are trying to deal with this unbelievable loss. >> since i have known her my whole life it's hard to believe it happened. >> reporter: the 11-year-old son of jessica enchautegui still trying to cope with her death. polk county deputies say early saturday morning deputy adam pennell stopped to help the woman who crashed into a tree on state road 60. kept going. loved ones of the mother hope an arrest will be made soon. >>> i hope they find him. he needs to pay for that. >> reporter: her family in the process of planning a funeral, investigation -- investigators have few leads, they are looking for a car with front end damage. they are hopeful someone will come forward with information they need to possibly make an arrest. for more -- for now rodney dunigan 2 pro-marijuana groups fighting back against what

rodney dunigan is live at the pinellas county sheriff's office this morning. the sheriff is fighting back against the claims? >> reporter: well, that's right, dan. he is set to address the concerns over the program a bit later this morning. the sheriff maintains that most of the information is already driver's license and the pictures that you post on facebook that pretty much everyone can see. according to the new report on the center for privacy and technology. the pinellas could you be sheriff's office has broad guidelines outlining the use of software that raises privacy concerns and could possibly lead to misuse. the pinellas county system is used for 8,000 monthly searches without audits. they touted the effectiveness criminals off the street. >> surveillance image can be a bank robber photo, retail image, any type of face image. if you are looking for the needle in a haystack, face recognition can help you find it. >> and the sheriff's office launched the facial recognition system in 2001 with federal grant money. it's one of the longest running program

abc action news reporter rodney dunigan is near the source. >> reporter: it could take a few days to get things back to normal. the good news, crews have got the leak under control and raw sewage is not spilling out into the neighborhood. neighbors were told to limit and other optional water use. thousands of gallons of untreated sewage guard from a 30-inch opening on tuesday. crews got the flow under control but not before it poured all the stinky stuff throughout the backyards. now crews initially worried that the sewage would find its way into nearby retention ponds threatening birds and other wildlife. that did not happen. now there are a number of signs throughout the neighborhood warning folks to avoid the up. as you can see here, a number of pump trucks are set up in the neighborhood. it should take at least a few days before all of this mess will be cleaned up so people in the community will have to deal with it all. reporting from palm harbor, rodney dunigan, abc action news. >>> a car crash leads to multiple attempted carjackings, home invasion and a suspect's death. witnes

rodney dunigan is live this morning. what does this mean for classrooms throughout the district. >> well, deiah, at this point the hillsborough county school district is trying to save about $100 million this year. they hired an outside consulting firm that requested that they make this hiring freeze that could save the district around $10 million. the superintendent just released a message last week stating that every move they are making is putting kids first. inside every classroom we have to even cure that we have our very best teachers in front of our students. that field. >> reporter: superintendent jeff aikens released that message on youtube in hopes of reassuring parents that it will not be of a effected by the cuts. administrators say some positions will be filled by those employed by the district. they are trying to save $130 million in the general fund. the district has cut dozens of secretarial jobs and plans to cut back on busing for students. now, today's teacher association meeting will focus on what all

abc action news rodney dunigan is live at tpd headquarters this morning. arrest? >> reporter: deiah, police tell us they have a number of potential leads. they do not believe the murder was random. in fact, meaning, it possibly could have been personal and that the killer may have known the victim. late last night tampa police identified the victim as latoya smith. she was found yesterday afternoon lying in the middle of the street in the 2100 block of west flora street. community are shaken. >> it is very concerning to be in this neighborhood. i lived here my life, 22 years. so, i mean, i have never seen that happen this serious. >> now, investigators will be back in the neighborhood gathering information. they are hopeful that someone that knew the victim, lay to i can't -- latoya smith can shed light on the investigation and rodney dunigan, abc action news. >>> a reminder don't drink and drive. st. pete police will be emphasizing that this weekend. they are conducting dui patrols. extra patrols will hit the roads overnight tonight. >>> grocery store options in

. >> abc action news reporter rodney dunigan is live at the supermarket. >> you spoke to the owner this morning? the damage most of the morning. we are getting a better look with daylight. you can see the entire store gutted, destroyed from the inside. investigators will try to determine exactly where in the store this fire started. now, as you mentioned, i did speak to the owner. he was too upset to speak on camera. he told me he was thankful his employees made it out. a quick moving fire tore through the big and deal super time. one of them explaining to investigators what they saw. >> they were finishing up for the night. he said he saw some smoke so he grabbed a fire extinguisher to fight the fire. >> nothing could be done. when tampa firefighters arrived they say smoke and flames were pouring from the building. due to safety concerns, firefighters were forced to stay outside and attack the flames of this three-alarm fire with two aerial units. the building totally gutted. >> i didn'kn >> store customers shocked to find all of this this morning. their thoughts with the store owners

abc action news reporter rodney dunigan is live at her rei tan united met though -- heritage united methodist church. >> this church parking lot is used as a drop off and pick up points for parents using the hit. >> it's shocking. it's sad, though. you can't take your kids to school any more. >> if they are that bold to do that, what else would they do. >>> the m.o. was the same in every crime. they left their purse in the vehicle. the suspect smashed the windows, grabbed what they wanted and took off. >> gone a second and it doesn't take very long. >> reporter: a church employee police report break-ins at several other locations around the countryside community. the they have appears to go after vehicles with purses inside. in one they left behind cell phones and a laptop computer. parents that attend a -- that have children that attend a school have been target. signs are posted warning people not to leave valuables behind in cars locked. >> i only walk right there, but they could get it in that time. that is scary. >> my purse comes with me every time and keep the doors locked. i don't loc

abc action news reporter rodney dunigan is live at the pinellas what is the sheriff saying about this. >> reporter: for his part, he maintains that most of the information used for the system is already available to the public. police department mugshots, driver's license photos and pictures on facebook, all of it can be used in gathering facial recognition information. effectiveness in fighting crime and getting criminals off the street. >> it can be retail image, any type of face image. >> systems analyst explaining to us in a past interview how the system maps more than 100 facial features to make an id match. >> if you are looking for the needle in a haystack, face recognition can help you find it. >> reporter: according to the report released by the center on privacy and technology, the pinellas county outlining the use of the software that raises privacy concerns. the pinellas system is used for 8,000 monthly searches without audits. the system is used by law enforcement agencies across the state including in st. pete and tampa. >> to have a mechanism to search that image agains

for now reporting live in pasco county, rodney dunigan, abc action news. >>> 9:08. new infoat old, rebecca lewis from her lakeland home. that suspect who legally changed his name to west wild hoggs has agreed to come back to florida to face charges. he made his first court appearance in tennessee yesterday. memphis police monday afternoon rescued rebecca and arrested hoggs. >>> travel to cuba for $150 round trip? starting in december. abc action news anchor lindsay logue is at tampa international historic flights. >> reporter: december 12th, according to southwest airlines that is the first flight out of tia to havana. it's expected to be an incredibly popular flight. consider this, tampa has the third largest cuban american population in the u.s. the airport and airline both agree that the professor: -- tampa is the perfect market for this flight. kit cost average. but we found the more flexible you are the lower thefare you can get. we found the want to get away flights as cheap as $150, that's round trip. remember, travel to cuba for tourism purposes only from th

for now reporting live in bartow, rodney dunigan, abc action news. >>> 9:33. the florida department of health reporting two new travel- related cases. one in sarasota county. and one involving a pregnant woman. meanwhile health officials now want all pregnant women who have been in miami-dade county recently to get tested for zika. this includes women who live in or have visited the area since august 1st. miami-dade county is the only area in the continental u.s. where mosquitos have been spreading the virus since the summer. the zika is mainly spread by >>> a miami city commissioner has an unusual proposal to combat the spread of the of the zika virus. to set up bat houses to curb the population. they eat the mosquitos. >>> deputies in manatee county want to found a person that fired a bullet that hit a woman's car. the woman says she was on u.s. 301, at 6:00 last night when she heard a lot noise. but didn't go into the vehicle. deputies couldn't find the bullet though. >>> police in kissimmee are searching for a man that tried to grab an 11-year-old boy walk

. >> rodney dunigan is live at tpd headquarters this morning. >> rodney, are police looking to making an arrest, any closer to making an arrest. >> reporter: deiah, police say they have a few promising leads in the case. they tell us that this crime does not appear to be -- random. >> it's weird. you would never expect body at 3:30 in the afternoon laying in the street. >> people like dylan gonzalez are shaken. >> it is very concerning just to be in this neighborhood. i lived here my entire life, 22 years. so, i have never seen that happen, this serious. >> reporter: thursday afternoon, the body of 30-year- old latoya smith found dumped in the middle of the street. tampa police telling us smith had severe head injuries. this mugshot from a prior arrest. investigators will be back in that neighborhood today gathering information. gonzalez says people that live here will continue to keep a look out and watch out for each other. >> the good thing, like with my house and people across the street, there is always somebody at our house, always at the end of the -- at the end of the day. we

rodney dunigan is looking into the issue this morning he joins us live at an early polling sight in tampa. good morning, rodney. >> reporter: good morning, deiah. you know, with so many part time residents living in the state of florida, there is concern this morning that some of those folks may vote here as become a big problem over the next few weeks. >> the issue of voter freud is top of mind for many floridians. >> we want to make sure that our vote gets counted. >> especially considering it's a talking point on the campaign from donald trump in recent weeks. >> yank of an election that i remembered that i have been more concerned. >> worry stemming from the possibility of seasonal florida residents voting twice, once here and back in their home state. clara ann grah league county league of women voters says it's a real problem. >> i have had discussions with some snow birds who say very proudly that they voted up north and then they came down and voted down here. now, to what degree this is happening, i have no idea. >> reporter: election officials say the state of florida has been u

office, rodney dunigan, abc action news. >>> breaking overnight. lieutenant is announce -- lufthansa is announcing smoke was detected in the cockpit. we are waiting to hear what caused the smoke. it was on its way to orlando from frankfort. the passengers spent the night in felony charges after deputies say he left his two small children in a hot car. kevin slain was arrested after deputies say he left his young children in the car for 27 minutes. walmart surveillance cameras showed what happened. a good samaritan snapped a picture of the girls then called 911 for help. he says the 5 and 6 year olds were crawling through the open sun roof to escape the heat. fine. they are in the car. i don't think there was proper parenting going on with that. >> slane faces two counts of felony child neglect. >>> tonight the third presidential debate. it starts at 9:00. >> tune in tomorrow morning. we will fact check hillary clinton and donald trump's comments. one of the guests expected in the audience is pat smith, the mother of one of those killed in she gave

rodney dunigan is at ministries to see what we can do. >> always a major event bringing in plenty of families in need of help, metropolitan ministries will serve more than 18,000 families over thanksgiving and christmas. >> the reality is heartbreaking in our community, one in four children live in households that can't afford to put in -- food on the table. we are new in town we don't know nobody. >> able to reach out to metropolitan ministries for help taking advantage of a host of services. >> i can go to the clothes closet i can go to the food pantry and get meals. >> during holiday assistance registration starting today families with children as well as the elderly can sign up for the holiday tent program to ensure they a warm healthy meal on the holidays. >> this is for us to be able to offer what we take for granted. >> associate director of outreach says parents like this have a chance to make sure they have a gift under the that treats of their child. >> the staff side, the community side and what the clients serve is a whole different level. for the children, thankful for t

abc action news reporter rodney dunigan is live at tpd headquarters. police don't think the crime was random. >> reporter: that means it could have been personal. investigators will not only be back in the neighborhood speaking to people that live there but speaking to people who knew the young woman trying to piece together who could have done something like this. late last nigh smith. they say she had serious head injuries. she was found yesterday afternoon lying in the middle of the street in the 2100 block of west flora street. people in the community are worried saying they already watch out for everyone. >> the good thing is, like with my house and the people across the street there is always somebody at our house at the our house, the neighborhood. >> reporter: police are hopeful that someone that new latoya smith could possibly shed light on the case. investigators will be out in the community today questioning people trying to gather more information as needed to possibly make an arrest. for now live outside of tampa police headquarters, rodne

rodney dunigan is live on hillsborough avenue. we know the employees were okay. what about any customers? >> reporter: lindsay, thankfully no customers were inside. this happened shortly after closing time. you can see behind me it's an active scene. firefighters have been out here with ladder trucks knocking down the hot spots. the inside of the supermarket due to safety concerns, firefighters were forced to stay outside and attack the flames of this three-alarm fire with two aerial units. four employees were inside closing up the store when they smelled smoke. >> they were finishing up for the night. he said he saw some smoke. so, he grabbed a fire extinguisher to fight the fire, opened up a door. smoke came out. it was one of the employees that called 911 to get here. his quick actions brought us here to start trying to save as much as we could of the building and make sure that there weren't injuries. >> reporter: again, thankfully, no one was hurt. no customers inside at the time when this sparked. four employees made it out. the fire marshal will be out thi

. >>> rodney dunigan is gathering details about talks happening later today. rodney, is this something parents should be concerned about? >> reporter: well, dan, a number of parents may be concerned hearing about this this morning. the district superintendent released a message on youtube reassuring parents and the public despite possible cuts education will not be affected. >> you have to make sure that the very best people are in front of our students every day. then we have to take a look at all the other em please -- employees. >> the school district hired an outside consultant that recommended that hiring freeze which could save the district $10 million. the superintendent maintains any move being made or to put students first. the teaching force has about filled by those in the district. administrators say they are trying to save $130 million this year in the general fund. at this point, the district has cut dozens of secretarial jobs and cut busing routes and the teacher's union fears that teacher cuts could be next. we will be following this meeting an

. >> rodney dunigan is outside tampa general hospital where doctors are treating the children one man helped pull to safety. >> reporter: that good samaritan also tells us as soon as he saw what happened he jumped right into action described for us the moments following this horrible wreck. >> you hear four people dead. that is very tragic situation right now. knowing you was talking to one of the females in there. in the accident. so now i'm hoping the little kid, the little boy was ok. he was not beaten at all really but had a slight pulse. >> reporter: gregory hawkins says he was driving down mlk and saw two cars speed past him we're expecting word from the highway patrol later this morning on the conditions of those surviving victims. hawkins says he helped to pull children out of one of the cars involved in the crash. >> i pulled her out. then i sat her on the sidewalk, i went back and there was a young kid, i pulled him out. set him on the sidewalk. i went back, a heavyset female, tried to get her out. i said -- got a gentleman to help me with her. we pulled her out. the wasn't

for now reporting live in bartow, rodney dunigan, abc action news. >>> 6:06. deputies in manatee county want to know who fired a gun sending a bullet into a woman's car. that 60-year-old woman says she was driving around u.s. 301 6:00 last night when she heard a lo door, didn't go through the vehicle, the woman wasn't hurt. deputies were not able to find the bullet. >>> if you're upset about sewage discharges in st. pete you have a chance to let city officials now how you feel. the city council is planning to set up two public hearings about the wastewater discharges. we're expecting to find out the dates set for the hearings a little later today. they will also discuss reopening a wastewater treatment facility that had been shut down. it could cost $11 million to environmental protection would have to sign off on the plan. at this point that is a big if. >>> 6:06. iraqi special forces joined the fight against isis in mosul. we have video into the newsroom a few hours ago in fact showing the huge operation to retake iraq's second largest city. we're also getti

rodney dunigan is live at an early voting place in tampa. the reason, the so-called snow birds. >> reporter: the major concern and vote there as well. we polk to a number of people who believe this is a growing problem. >> i think if all the states get a central voter database and we put them together, we may be able to catch people that might be voting twice but we have no way to check it. >> reporter: election officials say the state of florida has been unable to fully participate in a cross-check program due to state's public records laws. clara ann graham believes it could possibly affect the general election. >> i have had discussions with some snow birds who say very proudly that they voted up north and then they came down and voted down here. to what degree this is happening? i have no idea. >> reporter: the department of form. if you believe someone is committing voter fraud, we posted it on our web site, www.abcactionnews.com and something for you to think about this morning, in the state of florida, it's against the law, actually a

. >>> rodney dunigan is live. the hillsborough classroom teacher association to address concerns today. >> reporter: that's right, deiah. they have a meeting set for this evening. many parents watching this morning may be concerned after hearing about the district superintendent says despite any potential cuts, education will not be affected. the hillsborough county school district is looking for ways to save more than $100 million this year. a recently hired outside consultant recommending a hiring freeze which could save superintendent jeff akins maintains any move being made is to put students first. >> inside every classroom we have to ensure that we have our best teachers in front of our students. as we right size the organization, we have to honor that deal. >> economy continues released the message on youtube in hopes of reassuring the public that education won't be affected by looming cuts. many administrators say some those already employed by the district. >> we have to make sure that the very best peopl

for now reporting from palm harbor, rodney dunigan, abc action news. >>> civic groups say sexist comments donald trump made against women plan to protest outside of his office. >> he once called alicia gained weight. last night after campaigning in arizona, trump brought up his tax contra controversy. >> she could have changed the laws when she was in the united states senate but she didn't. she named a few buildings. that's all she did. the reason that she did not do that is her donors and tax laws as i did. >> today trump will continue campaigning out west. he is attending rallies out west and in reno, nevada. >> hillary clinton campaigned in rural pennsylvania. a 15-year-old girl asked clinton about what she makes of trump's comments about women's bodies. >> my opponent insulted miss uni verse. i acclaimed than that. but it wasn't good enough. so, we can't take any of these seriously any more. we need to laugh at it. we need to refute it. we need to ignore it. >> clinton reminded the teen to remember that women are, quote, more than the way you look. today clinton is fund rag is in was

abc action news reporter rodney dunigan live in bartow where this all happened. happened. >> reporter: the police chief in bartow tells us that surveillance cameras here in the park may have captured the moments that all of this happened. that could be key in this investigation. meanwhile, people who live in this community say they simply can't understand why prisoners would be allowed to actually work here. >> all this time these prisoners working here and you see what happened now. i mean it might happen again. >> reporter: bartow police chief joe hall says it was around noon yesterday when prisoner david ross was on a work detail at the park. investigators say he pulled a shank on corrections officer jeffrey wexroad and locked four other prisoners in a room at the park and stole a city truck and drove to pinellas county with the officer as a hostage. it was those other four >> those four guys, in fact the police department wouldn't not have known something was wrong until 5:00 this afternoon. if those inmates had not have taken the action they did. >> reporter

rodney dunigan is live at the big and deals super center on hillsborough avenue. is everyone okay? >> thankfully they are, dan. this happened around closing time. so, thankfully no customers were inside. there were four employees inside at the time. one of the employees smelled smoke before they saw the fire. an extinguisher. it was too late. active scene. firefighters are still on the scene. one of the aerial units is trying to knock out a hot spot. all of this happened very quickly last night. when tampa firefighters arrived flames were coming from the building. they were forced to stay outside and attack the flames with two aerial units. as you can see out here this morning, definitely a very active scene as firefighters still try to knock down the hot spots this morning. >> about an hour into the fire, they called for additional units. fortunately the employees here, there were four of them working at the time, they got out of the building safely. they were all accounted for and we have no reported injuries. >> this fire caused a number of traffic issues in the area for the int

international, rodney dunigan. >>> the teenager accused of brutally killing a martin county couple and trying to bite off pieces of one of the victim's face is in jail six weeks after the murders happened. austin harrouff is accused of murdering michelle mishcon and john stephens in their garage in a random attack and accused of stabbing a neighbor, jeff fisher. instead of being arrested and taken to jail, to a -- harrouff was taken to the hospital. he waited to arrest harrouff some taxpayers didn't have to pay his hospital bills. >> hissing direct to jail, did not pass go, we were okay. >> he has not spoken to detectives. he is heavily medicated. banned from sea world's aquatica after authorities say he mow legals -- molested two girls. rick mccormick was arrested in the lazy river. he had been to the park several times this year without problems. >>> $35,000 of missing money is putting a st. pete little league season in jeopardy. they are owed the money from a software company that processes little league registration fees online. the company victim of fraud and the bank froze their

reporting live at tampa international airport, rodney dunigan, abc action news. >> thanks, rodney. >>> governor scott already declared a state of emergency in florida. we are expecting an update from the florida live at 9:30. -- from the governor live at 9:30. don't forget to mobile app. we will send out push alerts as wemonistorm. >>> we want to head over and check in with jay nell. >> if you know someone heading up to tampa from north port in sarasota county, chances are they will be late. major delays northbound i-75. crash after sumter boulevard. delays of over an hour. we have a semi-truck that jackknifed. they are trying to get the moved. until they do, we won't see relief. head to u.s. 41. that is moving a lot better right now. reports of a crash southbound on i-75 around mlk not seeing delays there. back to you guys. >> thanks, janelle. >>> an update on the fsu student accused of killing a martin county couple and biting the dead man's face. austin harrouff is out of the hospital and in jail. he was in the the attack last august. deputies say he stabbed to death john stephens

rodney dunigan live, were deputy adam pennell is is said to have surgery later this week. >>> we were told it will come later, unfortunately loved ones of the mother planning a funeral this morning. she always made us happy. she gave us close, a roof over our head. >> loved ones of jessica enchautegui are hopeful an arrest will be made soon. the search is on for the hit- and-run driver who hit the mother and injured deputy adam pennell on state road 60 near like wells. just as loved ones are trying to deal with an unbelievable loss. >>> she was the wife of the party. she brought everyone together. >> investigators have little to go on, at this point they're looking for vehicle with front end damage, they are hoping with someone with information arrest. for nor -- for now reporting live in lakeland. >>> democracy 2016, hillary clinton's campaign jolted with the fbi's reviews of additional emails this morning. that may be important to the clinton email investigation. the emails went to the anthony weiner sexting scandal, donald trump has a lot to say about this. >> scandal since waterga

for now reporting from pinellas county, rodney dunigan, abc action news. >>> to democracy 2016. politifact checking the statements of tim kaine and mike pence. early on they clashed over foreign policy. >> pence claims isis overran parts of iraq because hillary clinton failed to keep u.s. troops there. >> iraq has been overrun by isis because hillsborough county failed to renegotiate. [ overlapping speakers hillsborough county failed to renegotiate a status -- >> that is incorrect. >> politifact said the negotiations failed between the u.s. and iraq to leave u.s. troops in the key decisions were between the white house and iraqi leaders and that the iraqis refused to sign an agreement that gave american troops immunity to politifact rates the statement mostly false. on immigration, tim kaine went after donald trump on his building a wall and deporting millions of people. >> when donald trump spoke in phoenix, he looked the audience in the eye and said we are building a wall and deporting they will all be gone, they will all be gone. this is one of those where you can go to the t

. >> rodney dunigan looks into a new system. >> the report indicates the sheriff's office has guidelines at this technology, the report states this could not only lead to privacy concerns but also misuse. police department mugshots, driver's license photos can be used in gathering facial recognition. the pinellas county sheriff's office touting its effectiveness in crime-fighting but according to the report just released, the pinellas county sheriff's office lack of the system. information used is already readily available to the public.>> show me one incident where there has even been an innuendo of impropriety of use something done wrong. there's nothing to do wrong. because all it is doing is using what is available. >> system simply gives an indicator estes who someone may be. a launched the system in 2001, it is one of the longest- running programs in the country. the system is used by agencies across the state, the sheriff went on to say he believes the authors of the study had a skewed view going in trying to stir controversy by pushing for more police oversight. >>> let's dig int

let's get out to rodney dunigan live at tampa international airport with a look at how the storm is impacting people in the bay area. >> reporter: let me tell you, a number of passengers have been affected by the storm and i spoke to a number of passengers just in from puerto rico. they were stuck there because of severe weather and power outages that delayed their flight. >> we were stranded in the airport. they tell us it was an electric storm. our flight got canceled. we didn't know if it was going to hit the island because we were in the capital. >> this morning southwest airlines is warning customers service could be affected over the coming week. forecasters with the national hurricane center say the computer models shift the track westward after three days putting much of florida in the cone of uncertainty. i spoke to one man heading to cuba unsure if conditions would allow him to make it. >> no, i'm not afraid. we believe in technology and the people would be able to or nonacceptable risk. >> reporter: of course, as for those flights, airport officials say check the status before arri