st. pete. police are investigating the death of a 91-year old man.. who died one week after being injured on a p-s-t-a bus. fox 13's shayla reaves joins us now from st. pete police department. 3 3 3 3 3 new this morning: a popular show at the animal kingdom came to a scary end... after a *float caught on fire. 3 and the scary scene was was at the "festival of the lion king show." the actors were in the middle of a performance when smoke started billowing from the side of the set. it was coming from a giant elephant float. an announcer told the crowd the show was canceled... and everyone rushed out the doors. there were no injuries . early reports are that it was an electrical fire in the float mechanics. it's still not clear *when the show will resume. the "lion king" show has been running at animal kingdom for 18 years. 3 a lot more *magic is coming to orlando. but this time, it's not from disney. a huge new resort complex is about to break ground this summer... called "magic place." it will eventually feature five towers, along with shops, restauran

st. pete police will be at the star on fourth street north and 91st avenue raising money pore the special olympics. $1 gets you one glazed doughnut. $20 gets you a dozen. last year, st. pete police raised more than any other police agency in the state. >>> coming up, head together grocery store? if so, keep an extra eye on your belongings. we're telling you where a crime spree is targeting you. >> and investigators surrounding a tampa home after a man shot at police tonight. that man is now dead. we'll have a live report. the sunshine sky way is closed due to fog. coming up, i'll show you how >>> breaking news right now as you wake up at 5:30. after they say he shot at them. we're on the scene learning what happened leading up to the gunfire. >> this morning, police are still looking for one suspect in a crime spree across tampa bay targeting older women in parking lots. coming up, i'll tell you just two things you can do so you are not a target. >>> good morning and thank you for starting your day with us on abc action newsp. >> happy st. patrick's day. throw on something green as you ta

st. pete police department has seven super recognizers. all four in the top 2% of the nation. >>> police are looking for some of the suspects in a bold robbery of a gun store in houston. surveillance video captured the break in. check this out. the group uses a black pickup truck to rip out the front country guns and ammo. ten of them scatter inside grabbing as many guns and rifles as they could carry. they took 50 weapons in a matter of two minutes. law enforcement officials say stolen weapons like these are often sold on the black market. >> you have another criminal element that needs firearms to with a drug trade or robberies. >> investigators say gun store smash-and-grabs are becoming more and more common. so far they have made three arrests in the case. >>> on sunday thousands of runners will raise money for take stock in children manatee. take stock provides mentors and college scholarships to needy students. 10 community kathryn bursch shows you how the combination of money and encouragment can change lives. >> i love the way some

st. pete police do not who he is ... and it's not clear if anyone was arrested. officers are still investigating. 3 today in st. petersburg: the trial between a former wrestler... and a website... begins. jury selection gets underway in just a few hours. 3 hulk hogan brought the lawsuit against "gawker media"... after they leaked clips of a sex tape, featuring him. hogan says they didn't have permission and the tape was made *without his permission. the case has been going through the courts for about three *years now... with several appeals from gawker. but the trial is finally taking place. hogan is suing the website for 100 *million dollars. he claims the story hurt his career... causing him to lose his job with "world wrestling entertainment." jury selection is expected to last a week. 3 today in pinellas county: get ready to see a lot of signs like *this going up. a new county ordinance goes into effect today... to fight back against human trafficking. adult entertainment businesses, massage parlors, and nail salons are all required to put up signs like this

st. pete police would like to talk to him.. they say he's about five-foot-eleven.. and 180-pounds.. if you recognize him... call police. 3 3 there is grief mixed with outrage at the fort meade cemetery... as families and friends try to find the mementos they left on loved ones' graves. 3 over the past few days... the city implemented a new rule that says loose objects are no longer allowed at cemetery. fort meade's mayor says the city sent out notices about the new rule -- but many say they got no warning before city crews collected everything. 3 the mayor says commissioners approved the new rule... after city crews had a tough time maintaining the grounds. he says anyone affected by the cleanup should consider speaking up at the next city commission meeting. 3 sarasota city commissioners have approved a new parking garage for saint armands circle. the new 4-story garage will have 521-spaces. it's a 15-million-dollar project... that will be built on the city-owned lot at north adams and madison drives. that's on the northeast side of the district. commissioners hope it will alleviate

st. pete... police say he's been setting fires since january. 3 since then... police say he's set about a dozen fires. most have been in the crescent lake neighborhood... this is surveillance video from one of those earlier cases. a man carrying a long skateboard is caught running away after setting a car's gas tank on fire. more recently, police say he set fires to dumpsters sitting close to homes. those fires spread to cars and fences... causing damage and fear for neighbors who worry someone could get hurt. 3 take another good look at the surveillance video. police say the skateboard the suspect is carrying may be homemade with square edges. anyone with information should call police. 3 3 a terrifying home invasion...caught on video by surveillance cameras. and we're now hearing from one of the victims. 3 they live on west yukon street in tampa... the incident happened earlier this for leads. 3 surveillance cameras caught 2 men bursting into his home... one armed with a gun. "lucas ribeiro" says the men yelled "police"... but he knew they weren't officers. th

st. pete police >>> a handful of police employees are getting special training this week from a london detective a recognizer, someone who can recognize and remember faces. he is training a few st. pete been tested for that ability. and with the cameras popping up these days, officers have a lot of images to look at. it is the human ability that can really outperform the computers. >> we find that humans software. we had one from facial wreck yonon and -- recognition and my unit made 1800. >> within a few weeks the st. pete department will be the first to apply the unique human skill to fighting crime which is cool. see the computers are not better at everything. >> cool to have a car that said >> yes. >>> the florida strawberry festival is underway. thousands of short cakes will be eaten over the next 11 days. >> the question i mentioned, cake or biscuit? >> cake, cake. >> we sent mike bennett to settle the big debate once and for all. >> reporter: there are many, you have nature versus nurture. batman versus superman. biggest of all has to come down to this. >> cake or biscuit? >> i like the c

st. pete police think they have the car involved in yesterday's afternoon shooting. it is a white dodge challenger. police are looking for who is responsible. >> shooting happened on 10 avenue south in st. pete near tropicanna field. a 23-year-old man was hurt but he and the child are expected to be okay. >>> just in, an $82 billion budget passed by the florida legislator. that's 5% larger than last year's budget. it includes a bump in money for schools. it rejects many of governor scott's top priorities including a bid to lure new companies to the state. some of his tax cuts were approved. next week we hear from the gawker side. today they called witnesses to the stand to talk about the site's worth after the tape was posted on gawker.com. hogan says he feels good going into next week. >> how do you feel mentally after this week? >> well i feel like i wrestled 18 andre the giants. it is mentally toughist workout i ever had. >> hogan is suing gawker for $100 million over the leaked sex tape. the trial resumed monday morning. you can watch the proceedings on our app. s

st. pete. police say a 3-year-old and a 23-year-old have been shot in a drive-by shooting at a house in south st. pete. that girl was on the front porch. luckily both of them are expected to survive. what you're looking at right now is aerial pictures from action air 1 from a short time ago of the scene. the neighborhood where this happened, 10th avenue south near tropicana field. >>> let's take a look at some video from the ground though. we have a crew there right now of the house. you can see the bullet hole there. a glass shattered. we know the child's name but we are not releasing it because she is a victim and a minor. the 23-year-old was terrell hollowman. they are looking for a white dodge challenger, similar to the one on your screen. we don't have a description of the person who did the shooting. we are trying to stay on top of latest on abc action news starting at 5:00. >>> right now, a little flash back to last month when a box of puppies turned up on the side of the road in tampa. today w

st. pete police reported to a dozen reports thinking they all involved the synthetic drug spice. users are like zombies, sometimes unable to even communicate. there's been an increase in spice related overdose and medical emergencies reported all over the bay area, today it was in st. pete's unity park involving about a dozen people >> drumplet held donald trump held a rally in arizona, and protesters blocked a road with signs saying, trump is hate. three people were arrested. >> on the democratic side, hillary clinton has a huge delegate lead. bernie sanders has refused to step down. west. clinton has been focusing her campaign on the east. >> 18 cuban migrants were captured off the see marco island south of naples. they had been at sea for 22 days. next port at cozumel, mexico. fox 13 is going to have a team in cuba. political editor craig patrick is going to be covering president obama's visit. look for their reports next week. >>> be plane crash in russia killed everyone on board. tonight there's new video, cctv footage shows the fly dubai airplane be exploding in a flash of

st. pete police said they have made for arrests. it is not limited to just here in st. petersburg pier we've heard of outbreaks also in the tampa bay area. also in polk county and clearwater and beyond. tonight we will look at efforts substance. reporting live, kera mashek. >>> five people are grateful to boat flipped over in pinellas county. strong surf and wins overturned the boat. you can see people were forced to sit on top of before crews showed up. the coast guard came to the rescue about 7 miles off the beach. one motor -- one butter had a diabetic condition but everyone is expected be okay. >>> in hillsborough county a boy was hit while riding his bike. the driver did not see dylan herman on route 41 and crashed into him around 2:30 am. unfortunately the boy was not wearing a helmet. >>> ahead, protesters caught off traffic. the huge demonstration and the threats that finally cleared the road. >>> everything was destroyed. everything. all my life. >> ceiling collapse. the reason her mother -- the reason a mother said her children were traumatized by >>> look at

st. pete police if you @know anything about this case. @>>> st. pete mayor's rick @krisman will be to cuba later @this month. @his second trip to the island. @his first official trip was @back in september. @rays are flying down to play in @an exhibition game against the @cuban national team on march 22 @cuban national team on march @22. @president obama will attend @that game. @a spokesman for the mayor's @office says details are still @being worked out. @>> a beautiful weekend out @there, lindsay. @weather to do anything. @>> lindsay: you name it, @anything. @one of those weekends if you @don't spend any time outside, @you are missing out. @>> anjuli: open up the windows @if you have to stay inside. @>> lindsay: refreshing out the @door. @it is cooler and the warmth @will make that appearance, by @midweek if you don't enjoy the @cooler mornings, big-time @a couple of minor changes @starting out in the cloud @pattern department. @we have high clouds that have @moved in overnight and they @should be around most of the @day today. @notice that appea

new overnight -- a woman rear-ended a st pete police cruiser as the it happened on central avenue, near 31-st street. the parked cruiser had its lights on while waiting on a tow truck for a disabled car. police say the driver -- cathy moloney -- has been arrested for dui. the officer was taken to the hospital to be checked out. an nypd officer is being treated after police say he was shot in the shoulder in brooklyn. police say a narcotics investigation was underway when two suspects tried to take off in a car, dragging one of the officers. shots were fired, an officer was hit, and so was one of the suspects. they're both expected to be okay. the two suspects are in police a third suspect is still on the run. a question viewed as controversial by some is starting to show up in are you gay? now asking workers about sexual gender identity as businesses push to be more inclusive. getting change for you. it looks like a new books-- after a series reports"-- about police using the law-- property from citizens. investigator noah pransky explains-- our investigation showed how police in florid

st. pete police saying 16 cars involved. fhp saying six. either way only one lane is getting through on the howard frankland, backing things four miles to roosevelt. take the gandy bridge to get across and avoid to 7 a if you can -- 275. if you can. it's still slow on the gandy too though. >>> look at that, we're looking at temperatures warming up into the 70s. looking at partly cloudy skies and then 69 by tonight. there's your 7-day forecast. low 80s. ready for spring? it's coming. >>> don't we know it, mondays can be tough? we hope this next story will put a smile on your face. >> a dad's tweet of his very serious baby boy is going viral. proves that the jackson 5 song "abc" is one of the most infectious melodies ever written. abc easy as a 123 , abc >> at first he resists, but joy takes over and he joins his dad. >> so cute. >> video posted saturday already racked up close to 10,000 views. >> he's like wait! special guests. the beautiful ladies you'll see in a second. there they are. with working women of tampa bay. >> they are celebrati

st. pete police have found the @the drive-by shooting that sent @a toddler to the hospital. @the dodge challenger that @pulled up at a home on 10th @avenue south in st. pete on @thursday. @the car was found abandoned @around 11:00. @the car was reported stolen on @monday. @forensics unit looked over the @car for evidence. @someone inside that challenger @open fired hitting a 3-year-old @open fired hitting a @3-year-old, kayla mack in the @stomach. @sitting on her grandmother's @front porch. @another man was shot and @treated and released from the @hospital. @his condition is not known but @the little girl is expected to @be okay. @no arrests have been made in @the shooting. @>>> 8:11 is the time. @he spent 340 days in space, now @scott kelly will enjoy his time @on earth. @two weeks after returning to @earth, kelly announced that he @is hanging up his space suit. @nasa announced his retirement. @the holds the american record @for longest period of time set @in space. @1. @kelly said his time in space @allowed him to reflect on what @his next step on earth would be @his next s

st. pete police pwent to unity park to handout pfliers explaining the dangers of pspice. pman made form of marijuana is poften laced with poisonous pchemicals. pon saturday police found about a pdozen homeless people in park. pthey were vomiting have seizures pbut it's not just spice that got pto worry about deputies are also pseeing a spike in overdoses prelated to xanax. pit 50 peoples more potent then ure heroin if injetsed all once pstop buying xanax on the street pbecause their life literally pdepends on it. p>> it's no the just these two pdrugs they are concerned about peither. pthere's new opoid hitting pstreets. pthis one is so new it doesn't peven have name yet. inellas county sheriff as pwarning for anybody selling pdrugs vowing to pursue murder pcharges against anyone who roduct ends up killing a erson. p>> always nice to see law penforcement out in their pcommunity getting to know the eople they serve and in this pmorning good day good deed we pget to see some deputies showing poff dance moves while they are pspending today with kids over pweekend. pthere it is

st. pete police are searching for the gunman who showered a home with bullets, hitting a 3-year-old little girl. two were shot in the shooting during broad daylight. the police are ready to serve justice. >>> time now 4:34. today hundreds of invited guests are expected to attend the funeral of nancy reagan. the 94-year-old died from congestive heart failure, and she will be buried next to her she planned many of the details of her funeral including her guest list. >>> president montana be speaking at the south by southwest music festival in texas. it's said he will report on the civic engagement in the 21st century. thousands will be awaiting his arrival there. >>> a wild high speed chase caught on camera in polk county. look at what led to the driver's arrest. >> here he comes! >> reporter: a witness posted this video of the pursuit on youtube, and you can see the polk county sheriff's vehicles chasing the white vehicle. at one point he drives through a pasture and then a ditch. this morning the driver is facing a long list of charges. >>> not once but twice the mother of a special needs

st. pete. police say he has been on the run since january, and since that fiem police time police say he has said about a dozen fires. this is a man carrying a long skateboard seen running away after setting a car's gas tank on fire, and more recently he set fire for dumpsters close to homes and that fire actually spread to cars and fence, causing damage and causing neighbors to worry that someone will get hurt. >> we are all very concerned and eyes peeled as much as we can, and i often wake up into the middle of the night and i come outside to look around and see if i hear anything or see any usual activity. >> take another look. the skate board that he is carrying may be a home made one with square edges and if you know someone who has something like that, tip off police. anyone with information should call police or crimestoppers. and then hillsboro fire and respect and the sherrif's office are actively semping searching for a man who was on a upon pontoon boat and show he somehow he got into the w

st. pete police tried to stop a black suburban, but the driver took off. a helicopter followed the car to tampa. the vehicle was found at a club near howard. officers arrested one man in the club, a second tried to run but was found and bitten by a police k-9. police say they found drugs in the car. both men face multiple charges. >>> in pakistan a bomb placed under a seat ripped through a bus carrying government employees. that bombing killed 15 people and injured nearly 40 others. so far no group has claimed responsibility but suspicion taliban or their allies who have been waging a war on the country's government now for more than a decade. >>> north korea's highest court says it's sentenced a american college student to 15 years hard labor in prison. otowarmbier tried to steal a propaganda banner and he made an emotional confession last week saying a u.s. church asked him to bring back its trophy. it's not clear if the confession was voluntary. >>> we're looking at temperatures in the 70s. upper 70s by later onp this afternoon and 80s in the ex -- i'll

st. pete police are looking for so-called super recognizers. toes, noses, eyes, hormones know, too. dogs know. kids know. st augustine knows. debs know. guys who peaked in high school know. oh yea, this guy? he definitely knows. scotts bonus s. it' i do everything on the internet. but it's kind of slow. my friends said i should get fios because it's the fastest... i just downloaded 600 photos in 60 seconds. that's seriously better. (man) we're out of 2%. i wonder what else could be better around here? (man) i heard that. now get our best offer ever. super fast 100 meg internet, plus tv & phone for just $69.99 a month online with no annual contract. 100 meg speeds at a price this good? fios can do that. cable just can't. switch to fios >>> good evening. i'm reginald roundtree. i'm jeannie dean. we are staying on top of three big stories happening now. obama administration is allowing thousands of pregnant women and children in flint, michigan to get medicaid. that's in response to lead in the city's tap water. waiver allows those exposed to blood monitoring and help services for the

st. pete police are on the trail of a serial arson suspect. this picture of the suspect. the suspect has started five fires in the last two months all in a six block radius in warning neighbors to be extra individual lent. >>> coming up, a dramatic scene caught on an offer's dash can. a van caught on the railroad tracks and the train coming down. why the driver wouldn't leave the vehicle. >>> we'll take a look at what people are paying and why for air service. >>> and a woman rescues a sick alligator, nursing him back to health. she faces a new fight. >>> welcome back. tonight we're getting this dramatic video in. an officer on patrol finds a van stuck on the tracks with the freight train coming. the dash cam catches the driver to leave the van. the train slams into that van, fortunately no one was injured. >>> we're learning the man charged in that kalamazoo mass shooting is suing uber. jason is claiming $10 million. he claims working for uber caused psychological damage. he killed 6 and injured two others while picking up fairs site. >>> over the past five years, the co

st. pete police officer are in the hospital. this a live picture from the scene at central avenue and 54th street in st. pete. astolen car full of teens hit an undercover truck with the officers inside. investigators are saying some of the teens were hurt. some officer's injuries are, he is expected to survive. >>> this comes just two days after a hillsborough county sheriff deputy died in a wrong way crash. the deputy was with the force for six years. he died when 31-year-old eric drove the wrong way on the expressway smashing into him head on. macbeth was killed in the crash. investigators are looking into whether alcohol was a factor here. >>> 4:31. acheck on weather and traffic. first, traffic. is this affecting our commute this morning? >> it is. as you can see a big crash on central avenue. i mentioned this before, this is in st. pete, folks. this is what you need to know before you head out the door. we have a little bit of construction, they have to wrap up getting rid of the track from the grand prix. so remember that i

st. pete police officer are in the hospital. this a live picture from the scene at central avenue and 54th street in st. pete. astolen car full of teens hit an undercover truck with the officers inside. investigators are saying some of the teens were hurt. some officer's injuries are, he

st. pete police are showered a home with bullets during a drive-by shooting and hit a 3-year-old girl. the drive by was in broad daylight. both victims are recovering this morning, but the police chief is promising to catch the people involved. >>> today hundreds of invited guests are expected to attend the funeral for former first lady nancy reagan. the 94-year-old died of congestive heart failure, and husband. reagan, herself, planned many details of her funeral and memorial including her guest list. president obama will not attend the funeral, instead, he will be speak at south by southwest music festival. he will deliver a speech on century. security there will be tight as >>> here he comes! [sirens] >> yep, a witness posted this video of a pursuit on youtube, and you can see the polk county deputies chasing the suspect. he crashed into another truck, and before deputies finally caught him. this morning the driver is facing a long list of charges. >>> not once but twice, the mother of a special needs student claims a school bus driver and the bus attendant left her child on the us a

st. pete's police chief and mayor outraged a three-year-old is caught in the crossfire. >> to the person what did this, what is a coward and would shoot a child, we're going to find you, we're going to prosecute you, and we're dog put you away. >> reporter: police say holloman is a neighbor who often hangs out at the house. he was in a similar situation last january, shot is in another drive-by. no arrests have been made in that case. now neighbors are worried about who could be next. >> it's too scary. >> reporter: and while police search for the suspect, they want to reassure people this is not a random act of violence. the mayor says he is working with the police chief and the city council to work on that still lingering here in south st. petersburg. live in pinellas county, sarah rosario. >>> a become shell breakup, or shake-up coming from the most well-known veteran charity in america. the wounded warriors project firing two of its top executives. the charity's ceo and coo let go after complaints from employees about how they spent donated money. the allegations include lavish spend

st. pete police say kenneth harrington, here, saw the kids passing by as he sat on his porch sunday night. according to the arrest report the 48-year-old told them keep walking but they stopped and started to ask questions. that is when he pulled out a gun and pointed it in their direction. >>> caught on camera, a video showing a police officer getting physical with a florida woman is going viral this morning. on sunday in cape coral and argued with her boyfriend when this all happened. >> i want you -- >> stop! >> it was posted on facebook by a witness. she ended up with scratches and bruises. the officer pulled the woman off the pavement telling the crowd she was faking injuries. police put the officer on administrative leave. the cape coral mayor is asking people not to pass judgment until the investigation is finished. >>> in democracy 2016 -- it could be a make it or break it day today for some presidential candidates. >> voters head to the polls in five states this morning including in florida. our state is the biggest prize with 99 delegates up for grabs for republicans. >> michael

st. pete police pofficer and a suspected drunk pdriver. pthe officer was sitting in a pcruiser waiting for a tow truck pwhen along came a 57-year-old pand rear ended the cruiser. pshe was arrested for dui. pthe officer wasn't hurt but he pto be checked out. p>>> day two of the hulk hogan pand gawker trial. phe's suing them for $100 million pfor posting a sex tape online. phe said he had no idea he was pbeing recorded. phe was making the case that he's pa different person publicly than phe is privately. p>>reporter: yes, he's been pcaught a few times making pinconsistent statements but he phas an explanation. phe says the man speaking in the pcourtroom is terry the private pcitizen. pthe entertainer is hulk. pone is not always the other. phe said he never saw the sex ptape, but on tv and interviews phe said he did. pgawker's defense argued that he ptape was released but he said he ponly appeared on the shows in an pattempt to do damage control. p>>man: i was there and i didn't pwant to talk about terry and my pexperience on the radio. pthe

st. pete police released this video of a suspected fire bug. they believe he has set five fires in the past two months in the crescent lake neighborhood. clifton french is live in the neighborhood. i understand that the target has been large plastic dumpsters. is that right. >> reporter: exactly. this is one of those dumpsters in these alleys where they have been set on fire. now, what investigators are saying is that this guy is simply walking up with a lighter or matches and setting anything that is on fire inside of these trash cans. fire after fire in just two in the crescent lake neighborhood. plastic dumpsters melting into the pavement, catching anything nearby on fire as well. investigators say they believe someone is using matches or a lighter to simply spark whatever is inside. >> paper trash, everything that we would normally throw away. >> reporter: this is one of the latest fires, a melted dumpster in the alley. but investigators say this charred fence shows the danger. next time it could be a home with people inside. >> maybe we ne

st. pete. police expecting any delays from people geting in there to see that? >> reporter: no, that's the good news. they have a vendor coming in. they have handled this before. they are professionals at this. so no delays are expected. i want to point out we are on the track, but the trolley down to the dolly is still going. here it comes by. >> you may want to move out of the way. step to your right, peter. all right, sir. thank you. that's really, really close, peter. we posted everything you need to street closure and detours on wfla.com. search grand prix. i think i was more nervous than peter there. >>> strong storms are leaving damage and flooding in their wake across the south. this is a flooded bridge in louisiana. a passenger in a car shot this vo on interstate 20 in gibbs land. drivers inched forward as floodwater rushed on the other side of the bridge. just look at. this can you see the rushing water knocked over a tree as well. >>> well, here at home we are looking at beautiful weather. check this out at lakewood ranch. sunny skies. comfortable tem

st. pete right now... teaching police employees his special skill. 3 ((jen "eliott perrott" is a "super-recognizer." that means he has a natural ability to recognize and remember faces. he's training a few st. pete officers and staffers who have been tested for the important. with cameras popping up everywhere, there are lots of images to scan and study. and with the right training, humans can be really good and finding what, and *who, they're looking for. 3 "we find that humans outperform facial recognition software completely. let's put it in perspective. we had one identification from facial recognition software last year, and since may of last year unit which is a team of four made 1,300.." --jen and get this: 3 the st. pete police department will be the *first in this nation to officially apply should be up and running in a few weeks. 3 ((jen and speaking of st. petersburg... there's some hidden history downtown that you probably don't even know about. two big buildings... that people can't even see! we'll unwrap the

st. pete police pursued a car... all the way from pinellas county... to a bar in tampa. they say: the driver refused to stop... they finally bailed out, k9 officers were out there and bit one of the men charged with fleeing and eluding... and could face *more charges, since authorities say: they found narcotics in the vehicle. 3 new this morning, firefighters went from saving the day... to saving the dogs in new port richey. crews were called out to a burning last friday. while no people were inside... they did find 5 dogs. all of them needed oxygen after inhaling smoke. after a little t- and "hardman"... all of the the cause of that fire is still under investigation. 3 (walter no, chicken little, the sky isn't falling... but it is gonna get extra planes flying overhead in the bay area, starting today... they're arriving the big airfest, coming up this weekend... they're also rehearsing... the most active times for aircraft traffic will be from 11 a-m to six p-m... the airfest runs saturday and sunday, but the sky could be noisy until *monday... when everyone goes home.

st. pete police. >> evan lambert in st. pete, thanks. >> new at 10:00 a search for a stolen suv ends in arrests for a group of suspected purse snatchers ending a week-long county crime spree, and they were apparently targeting vulnerable women. >> criminals stole this suv and then used is it to make life a nightmare for women mostly in >> they are vicious, heartless criminals. >> they were serial purse snatchers we are told they stole purses from several women, including this one who was too shaken up to show her face. >> she was at a wal-mart and never will forget what she saw getting into her car. >> i saw a man's hand and he had his hand on the scrap strap of my purse. >> and then she saw him get into that suv and take off perng. >> off. >> $586 was gone. >> and days later, police say the same purse snatchers approached her and one grabbed her bag and pulled her to the ground and she broke her wrist. and this woman is not surprised >> if you had the gutless heart to do that to one person and get away, you would do it to m

st pete police will be using it. officers will be assigned a specific neighborhood and people living in those areas can message officers directly and know who is working in the neighborhood. this is big because there are already more than 95 neighborhoods with -- within the city represented. >>> any iphone users think siri knows everything. >> the responses are not that helpful. especially when it comes to actually calling for help. >> reporter: consider it a loophole and voice activated responses. like many of us, siri does not know how to answer properly when asked about domestic >> if it were to respond, i'm sorry this happened to you. i believe you and here are some resources. >> reporter: you say i was just rate, can you help. siri is not exactly sensitive but imagine the positive outcome it siri said the right thing. >> for instance, to do used -- to use your phone, if you assume you're going to get support. you are not fearful of the judgment that often comes.>> reporter: the mere mention of the word prompts s

st. pete police are investigating arsons. and most of them in dumpsters. this very spread and damaged vehicles and structures. they do think it is the same person they are asking everyone to keep their eye out for anything suspicious. >>> bad timing for a suspected thief, police say the man tried to break into the miguel's mexican restaurant while workers were inside. the officers got there fast. the suspect was not cooperative at first and tried to kick out a >>> deputies are warning people in pasco after a robbery. it was at the rv resort. someone broke into the resort's clubhouse and office area and during that robbery a safe was taken from the office con taping credit card information from 80 residents. if you know anything call pasco county sheriff's office. >>> the highway patrol is investigating a deadly motorcycle accident. and that accident was around 1:30 this afternoon in the southbound lanes of u.s.-301 at park creek boulevard in riverview. traffic was tied up while the trooperred investigated. they have not said what caused it or released the

st. petersburg police made it to tampa but their creative efforts to ditch officers didn't go as planned. police say the guys drove away from the st. pete officers during a traffic stop and when they got to tampa they tried to get into a nightclub, hold nights hoping to blend in with the crowd. the other tried to run but a police k-9 caught up with him. the second suspect was eventually caught and police say they found drugs in their car. >>> a bar fight ends with a man dead, another facing charges for dealing that deadly blow. bobby ryan's mug shot just came to us. authorities say last month he got into a fight with christopher malensky in a downtown bar and grill in tampa. he died last week. an autopsy revealed his death was a result of injuries from the the fight. ryan is now charged with manslaughter. >>> if you plan on going out drinking for st. patrick's day tomorrow aaa urges you have a designated driver or a cab, or call 855-286-9246, to to go -- tow to go. a tow truck will take you and >>> dealing with a metro-apom lips. the nightmare of a commute after the entire subway system is shut down. >> flint, michigan, isn't the only c

st. pete police went to punity park to explain the pdangers of spike. pthe man made marijuana is often placed with poison. pon saturday people found phomeless people vomiting and phaving seizures after smoking pspice. pcameras were rolling as a police pofficer found a couple punresponsive after using that pdrug. p>> hello. phello. pare you aware? pso was her boyfriend in the pblanket next to her. p>> police called paramedics. pcouple was okay. pst. pete police say since last pthursday they've had 28 calls pfor suspected overdoses from pspice many they're urging people pto stay away it from. pfortunately at this point no one phas died. p>> that is not the case with panother illegal drug making the prounds, a growing number of pdeaths in pinellas county blamed pon a fake xanax.{ pbuyers think they're getting one pthing but it turns out they're ptaking potentially deadly pamounts of a drug that many ptimes stronger than behind. p-- heroin. pso far at least nine people have pdied in pinellas county. pjosh is there live to tell us pmore about what's going on

st. pete police surrounded a krispy kreme doughnut shop but it was good. and the officers were up on the roof while the mounted police horse, the canine and others were greeting customers as they came in. they took over the krispy kreme with a few hours it was to raise olympics. they raised $4000. more than any other agency in florida and this year they were shooting for $5000. i hope they made it. not every day you see that much activity go going on there. >>> well the sky over polk county will be packed with planes for sun and fun. there are a few mishaps. why this will be the safety event yet. >>> been puts the finishing touches on the stadium where the rays will play. we'll have more come ug up with (cell phone rings) where are you? well the squirrels are back in the attic. your dad won't call an exterminator... can i call you back, mom? this time... if you're a mom, you call at the worst time. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, it's what you do. where are you?r it's very loud there. are you taking at 3 new

st. pete police are investigating a shooting. it happened just after eight last night... along "james avenue south." police say: two men got into an argument... and one of them shot the other. the injured man was taken to the not released his name. it's not clear if anyone has been arrested yet. we'll pass on more information as we 3 3 (jen) also in st. hulk hogan, and celebrity website "gawker" begins today. jury selection gets underway, in just a few hours. 3 lawsuit against "gawker media" after it leaked clips of a sex tape, with him in it. hogan says: the tape was made without his permission... and gawker violated his privacy, publishing it. the case has been making its way through the courts for about several appeals by gawker. but it's now finally going to trial. hogan is suing the dollars. he claims the story hurt his reputation, and career... causing him to lose entertainment." about a week. ((walter)) there's a new way to get around the downtown tampa waterfront... the "pirate water taxis" are now up and running, with stops along the riverwalk, channel district a

st. pete police report a spike in overdoses around the drug spice. we're learning about arrests pinellas county city. there are two people in custody now, by clearwater police. officers say cory lawrence and marie covanas have what marijuana. they were busted at crestlake park where several people had drug. the police chief says he's concerned about drug dealers targeting homeless people, similar to what has been happening in st. petersburg. >>> comping hernando county, a number of families out of their homes due to a gas leak are back home this morning. killian street and spring hill, an underground pipe was leaking propane gas. eight homes are evacuated until a crew could secure the leak. no injuries reported. >>> it's been 14 months since the tragic death of phoebe jonchuck, her own father arrested for throwing the 5- year-old off the dick meisner in january of the last year. bikers rode in memory of the little girl, to the bridge in st. petersburg where phoebe died placing flowers in the water close to where her body was found. for many phoebe's s

st. pete police get all the way to tampa but their creative efforts to ditch officers didn't go as planned. police say the guys drove away from st. pete officers during a traffic stop and when they got to tampa they tried to get into a nightclub called "hollywood nights" hoping to blend in with the crowd. in the end only one of the suspects actually got in. the other tried to run but a police k-9 caught one him. officers eventually arrested the second suspect, police say they found drugs in their car. >>> a devastating sight as a man on a rampage runs into a store destroying everything in it. a dramatic act of revenge. >>> we'll be watching today for fireworks over president obama's supreme court nominee. >> we could learn who the president wants to replace, the late antonin scalia as soon as this morning. >> the decision would break the tie before the four liberal after his death. there are two possibilities. senate republicans say they won't hold any hearings to consider the president's choices. >>> this morning hundreds of thousands of people in the nation's capital are in for a long ex

st. pete police say metal detectors and bag screenings will be there as well like any other sporting event. they'll have extra officers on hand downtown as well. >> no pressure, ivan. we have 150,000 people in town. >> absolutely. while we're talking about dry friday at all of the races, qualifiers. sunday is the main event. >> they'll race. >> they'll be okay. they will dry us out. i will be too heavy so i think we'll be okay. it's not going to be as spectacular. so as you take a look at this on the beaches, you won't see the water temperatures. >> it's in the upper 70s and around 80 degrees and manage low to mid-80s away from the coast. get away from the sea breeze. remember the wind blowing right off the water. that natural air conditioning and 72 right now in clear water and st. pete. further inland, titan doppler radar as has been the case the entire week has been quiet with the big area of high pressure that's in charge of the weather and of course allowed for terrific amounts into louisiana and texas. the high will give way so it will take another few days. so i think through saturd

st. pete two police officers working under cover an an auto theft task force are recovering after a stolen car crashed into their unmarked pickup truck. an officer from st. pete and officer from tampa were looking for a stolen creep when a stolen toyota tboned them on central avenue. five people were in the car. a 25-year-old man is in critical condition. one of the officers has been released from the hospital. the other was seriously hurt but expected to live. thieves had access to the stolen car because someone left a key inside. >>> investigators are trying to figure out what caused an amtrak train to go off the tracks overnight in kansas. 29 people were hurt. two critically. it was carrying 100 people to chicago from los angeles when it flew off the tracks. >>> fireworks were going off in a st. pete courtroom this morning as week two of the hogan sex trial got underway. the editor who posted the sex tape online took the stand today. during cross-examination they brought up a statement he made last week when he said child celeb news tapes are sex worthy if they are four or over. he said

st. pete police are now using a popular social network site... to p>> community policing reaches pthe digital age. pthey help connect with pneighborhoods and people they're pserving. pit's called next door and more pthan 94,000 neighborhoods across pcountry, we're using the pwebsite. p>> including about 100 in st. etersburg. pchris is joining us now with a plook at how police are tapping pinto this resource to make pneighborhoods safer. p>> makes perfect sense. pyou think about it, next door is psomething that neighbors use to pdo things like find a good pbaby-sitter, find a lost dog, a pgood yard sale or let people pknow about a rash of car pbreak-ins in a neighborhood. pthis is the perfect way to penhance law enforcement which is pso important to making pneighborhoods safer. pst. pete pd already has what pthey call community service pofficers assigned to every pneighborhood so starting today, pthose officers can post messages pon the neighborhood's pages on pthey say they can't see the pinformation that neighbors are psharing with each other so

st. pete police pneed help in catching someone pwho is setting fires across the pinvestigators say one person pstarted at least a dozen fires pin the crescent lake pneighborhood. pthe fires began in january. pmost were in dumpsters but pseveral spread causing thousands pof dollars in damage. ptake a good look at this psurveillance video. pit shows a man light a fire in a pgas tank and then walk away. phe's holding a long skateboard pin his hand. pthe skateboard has square edges, plikely homemade, and they hope psomeone recognizes him for his pin. p>>laura: new this morning, a big pannouncement from sea world. pthe parks have announced they pare ending the work of whale pbreeding program. p>>russell: this is years after ublic backlash sparked by the pcontroversial documentary. psea world will also begin hasing out theatrical orca pwhale shows. pthis is the first sea world park pthat opened in 1964 and it's panimals we know as killer whales pfor a population of orcas at sea pworld, including one pregnant, pwill live out their lives in the ark's habitat. p>>laura: the city of tampa will pdecide

st. pete police. >>> a tragic scene in lakeland, firefighters found the bodies of two people and dog in a burning mobile home. that fire started after 1:00 this morning. >> a witness called 911 but by the time firefighters got there it was too late. abc action news reporter lindsay logue is live on old polk city road. you talked to fire investigators. started? >> reporter: the fire investigators at the scene say the fire started at the front end of the home so the end closest to us and the end with the most amount of damage. it's going to be the area as far as exactly what started it, we're still waiting on those test results to come back but should have those in the hour. a charred wooden frame is barely holding up what is left of the roof that partially collapsed between the living room and kitchen. the flames bushed hot and fast, by the time firefighters got on scene they say 3/4 of the mobile home was on fire. and windows. it took them 10 minutes to get it under control, to a point where it was safe for them to go inside. when they did they found the bodies of a man and woman in the b

st. pete police chief says car theft is a major issue in our area. >> the tampa bay area has an issue of this. we all got together to address this problem. thank god we're doing something to try to curb this but until we get people to remember to take their keys out and lock their cars we will still be trying to catch the guys and gals that are stealing cars. >> reporter: we know the car was stolen a few days ago from a house on 27th street north. right now the only charge is for the driver of that car for running a stop sign. of course we're going to keep you updated as the morning continues. that will be on social media. for now reporting live in st. pete, ashley yore, abc action news. >>> to the final stretch in democracy 2016. ahead of the florida primary. of course florida is the big prize for tomorrow's third super tuesday and right now crews in tampa are gearing up for the frontrunner, gop he's holding a rally at the tampa convention center today at 2:00. >> the question is will we see some of the same violence in tampa? the billionaire is hoping a victory here will spell the end

st. pete police are looking for the man that used a stolen credit card to buy hundreds of dollars in merchandise. he's caught here on surveillance camera at a walmart. he was last seen in a blue long sleeved florida gator chert shirt. police say he bought electronics with a stolen credit card if you can identify this man call clearwater police. >>> cool out there but not as cold as yesterday. temperatures in the 50s. still a little jacket may be needed. wind not as much of an issue. by the afternoon 80 degrees and we're going to have big time changes heading into the weekend. more moisture coming in, rain chances going up. >>> 6:10. improvements made to keep flooding from wreaking havoc we find out what has been done and if local leaders are satisfied it will be enough. >> from his waist down looked like he couldn't move at all. >> then a tragic accident when two skydivers collide mid-air. one of the men was likely unconscious during his 14,000 foot freefall. >>> this morning we're hearing from one person that saw the aftermath when two skydivers collided mid-air near zephyrhills. right now doct

st. pete police psay the 18-year-old pilot and plakeland to manatee county psaturday afternoon. pnear st. pete the plane suddenly pexperienced an engine problem. pthe teen landed the plane safely pon the green at lakewood golf pcourse in south st. pete. pthe wing did clip a tree on the pway down, but the plane didn't pappear to be severely damaged. p>> i thought they said golf is a pdangerous sport. pyou can get a ball on your head. pnow look at this. p>> reporter: golfers played paround the plane for several phours. pthe pilot and dad inspected it pand took the wing off to get it pready for a tow. pcarlos says it's amazing the pteen pilot was able to avoid pharming himself, his dad, or panyone on the ground. p>> he did a good job landing pthat plane, man. pi mean, wow. pi seen it going down. pi'm like, whoa! pwe going to have a crash. pmy homeboy came out of the papartment, and he seen the plane pright here. phe showed me. pi'm like whoa! plambert. pthe faa is sill investigating p>> anjuli: more problems for pallegiant airlines. pa flight had to abort take-off pdue to mechanic i