detectives here at the sarasota p.d. are working tirelessly to find the driver who hit the bicyclist and took off. we have a photo of the mangled bike to show you. the man was riding on u.s. 301 between 6th and 8th streets when the driver hit the bicyclist and kept going. the bicyclist was taken to sarasota memorial hospital and died. the vehicle was a dark-colored toyota corolla. call police with any information. ryan hughes, news channel 8. >>> the search is on for carjackers in tampa. the thieves are on the run after a police cruiser chasing them crashed. it's believed the robbers used the vehicle to commit three robberies. >>> it's believed an arson is to blame for a garage fire in it was on heinz road early this morning. firefighters tell us no one was inside at the time. >> and it is is a big day for those hoping to become president of the united states in 2016. the iowa caucuses are tonight. in the latest iowa poll, republican donald trump has a 5- point lead on texas senator ted cruz, and marco rubio is in third p

the bicyclist was taken to sarasota memorial hospital and later died sadly. here's the vehicle involved in described as a dark-colored front-end damage. if you have any information on sarasota police. i'm working to get more details on the case, and we are working to determine the identity of the driver involved, gene, and once we find out more, we will let you know. >> thank you. >>> the search is on for carjackers in tampa, on the run after the police cruiser chasing them crashed. news channel 8 east lindsey mast -- 8's lindsey mastis is live. it's believed they have been on a crime spree since friday? >> reporter: that's right. i have been talking to police officers here at police headquarters. so far there's been no arrests in the case. the carjackers actually abandoned the vehicle after the officer crashed, and the police believe that they used the car take a look at this map on your screen, and the criminals carjacked the vehicle from a woman on friday, just before 10:00 p.m. on north central avenue and east kirby street. they abandoned it 3 miles away a

. >> 8 on your side uncovered the results of the report and took our questions to the sarasota county school district. >>> a convicted cop killer's supreme court the this morning for an appeal hearing. dontae morris is on death row for three of four murders. two of those murders are the shooting deaths of tampa police officers david curtis and jeffrey kocab in 2010. today morris' attorney will argue that florida's death penalty sentencing system is unconstitutional. >>> and this morning, the midwest is getting hammered by a massive winter storm. check out the video. blizzard warnings are in place for minnesota. officials are warning drivers there to stay off the roads. as much as 10 inches of snow are expected to fall. >>> and we want to get a check on our weather with meteorologist leigh spann. getting warm here. >> it is. even when you walk out the door right now, it's going to feel much more spring-like. 72 plant city. 70 in clearwater. 71 sarasota. and 70 in lakeland. but the big thing, look at the difference between yesterday and today. lakeland is 13 degrees warmer than just at

morning hours of january 30, surveillance cameras were rolling as this white flat bed drove toward the sarasota ford dealership off u.s. 301. the flat bed went to the back and made a beeline toward a ford f450 worth $76,000. it was the most expensive vehicle on the lot that night. watch as the crooks load it onto our flat bed without belonged there. doing. >> where did it happen? >> reporter: dealership

lieutenant ken castro was a beloved and respected public servant both inside the sarasota police department and out in the community. but according to these documents obtained by newschannel8, back in october, castro used law enforcement resources for person use. records show he looked up a woman's drivers license information and gave it to his brother who then trespassed onto her property and caused damage. >> it is important that law enforcement officers take this seriously. because, we have a right to privacy in our person day is a. when that privacy is breached it can have very negative consequences. >> reporter: castro was trained and knew this was illegal. according to florida statutes, law enforcement may access this purpose of carrying out official functions. after the investigation began, castro resigned from the force on october 25. he is now facing a criminal charge for misuse of confidential records. >> my name is john rogers with newschannel8. >> reporter: we reached out to castro, but he did not respond to our requests for comment. legal experts say his story could serve as a

this guy stole the one *thousand dollar gadget from the hobby marketplace in the sarasota square mall. and as you can see, it happened in plain view of their surveillance cameras. the theft happened on tuesday... and still no sign of him. if you recognize him, or know anything about the crime... call the sarasota county sheriff's office. 3 is florida finally putting the *brakes on red light cameras? a bill in the state senate... could make it happen. senator jeff proposed it. and it just passed the senate transportation committee, on thursday. the bill must still get through two *more senate panels. a similar measure in the state house was approved last month. 3 the tampa city council is also rethinking the future of those cameras. data provided by tampa police shows that the number of crashes at intersections has gone up in intersections *with cameras... and those without. meanwhile, profits from the 160-dollar citations are falling annualy. that has some council members confident the contract with the camera company will not be renewed: 3 tampa's red light camera contract is set to

this is the first year for the grades on the common core standard. hillsborough, soar sarasota, an a. each school received its own individual grade. >>> there is another case of a porch pirate caught on camera. was stealing medication from a sick child. josh thomas has more. >> reporter: the ups guy drops off a package. in this case, it was something the family was waiting for. check it out. in this camera inside of the doorbell, we can see a woman walk right up to the door moments before the ups truck leaves and she takes the package with medicine in it. her cronies wait in her honda and then she gets in and takes off. as you can imagine, the child's father is repulsed. >> i hope you are happy. you took medicine from a kid. i mean, wow, you are great. awesome. you know? >> reporter: unbelievable. the good news is, the man says his son will be okay, but a good reminder to not have packages delivered to your home when you are not there. >>> well, there is a reward available tonight for help nabbing a rolex thief. this guy was checking out a rolex from a craigslist ad. swapped it

we continue to watch this off the coast of sarasota county. but if we can go to the other over there? kate, we cannot hear your mike. no reports of damage though, correct? as of right now. but it again dropping to the surface. what we are seeing is very tightly rotation over the oak knoll area as the sell continues to move off to the northeast. we are going to continue to see moving northeast over the next 25 - 30 minutes. kate, think your mike is up at this point. are you hearing any damage reports? speemac we are not hearing anything as of right now. i do want to let you know this tornado warning is also an effect for southeastern hillsboro county and northwestern hardy county as well. the storm will be moving quickly again around 35 miles an hour. the storm we are looking out right now again the part of the storm that we are concerned about right now now has moved from state road 64 and is now near the town of manhattan , and also pushing toward oak knoll. so just like ashley mentioned, if you live in this area you want to go to your safe ro

the camera images from the sarasota pd shows a car and a dump truck going through the lights. and dodging traffic before crashing into a parking lot. >> it is a good indication how running can be. police say they have encouraged more drivers. >> we have dropped for the first three, 4 years. report from highway safety challenges that notion. it found the total number of accidents increased following the installation of the cameras at intersections. now a bill working its way through the florida house is aiming to shut down the cameras for good. >> in the intersections where the lights are, they have increased. traffic fatalities have increased. >> a house representative, craig stubbe, said the dmv report changed his view. in his home town, accidents increased by 20%. >> it is hard to justification allowing red light cameras when they are not doing what we thought they were supposed to do. >> reporter: the legislation works its way through tallahassee, police say they are on stand by, i don't know the effect. we will do what they feel is the best. >> we heard from american traff

. >> 8 on your side uncovered the results of a report and took our questions to the sarasota county school district. coming up in a live report, we will share their explanation of checks as required by law. >>> a convicted cop killer's case goes before the florida supreme court this morning for an appeal hearing. dontae morris is on death row for three of four murder, two of the murders are the shooting deaths of two tampa police officers in 2010. today morris' attorney will argue that florida's death penalty sentencing system is unconstitutional. >>> and the mid as well as getting hammered by -- midwest is getting hammered by a massive winter storm. blizzard warnings are in place for parts of minnesota. as much as 10 inches of snow are expected to fall. >>> over in the bay area, warming up: up. last hour in tampa we were at 71. and now we're at 72. which is warmer than the average high temperature for this time of the year. yeah. lakeland, 70. 70. in fact, we are significantly yesterday. lakeland, plant city, brandon, all 11 degrees warmer than at 5:00 yesterday morning. six degrees warme

and the northwest wind in sarasota. the front literally is in between sarasota and naples. we are 59, a 58 dew point, we're behind the front with a northwest wind at 8:00. cold front sun the east coast a storm on cape cod tonight and tomorrow. more rain than -- rain than snow. it is raining in san francisco. the weather for the super bowl should be great. sunshine near 80. >> 40 in nashville. chilly we stay in the 40s. despite a good deal of sunshine. the mercury in most places stays ins 50s. clearing late tonight. from northwest to southeast and cooler we're down to 44. we have sunshine tomorrow. breezy and cooler and 58. that continues. check out next week. it is chilly every single night. we bounce around a bit. 40s and 50s. lows in the 60s. every day. >> kelly back to you, thank you, paul. coming up tonight at eleven... near the anniversary of his >>> coming up tonight at 11. the anniversary of his death a family whose son was killed is suing on interstate 4. why they blame the state fair for what happened. >>> a battle over whether exes lottery ticket. see how the judge

we are in the warm sector of the storm system. and 70 in sarasota. so much warmer than this time yesterday. in lakeland, 11 degrees warmer. nine degrees warmer in brooksville. and five degrees warmer in bradenton. we don't have the thick fog this morning but we may see lowering of clouds around 7:00 this morning. what i want you to notice is, sea fog hanging just off the coast may sit around all day long. and it's going to be warm and humid with the high of 830. in weather and traffic on the 8s at 4:38, i take you through eight days and what temperatures you can expect. >>> we have a good drive as far as congestion is concerned, we don't have that but we have issues and they are in the sarasota and bradenton area. and let's start off in the sun coast area for our friends that live down there. what you need to know before you head out the door, 301 both directions is blocked at 63rd avenue east and that's due to an unfortunate fatal crash this morning. 15th street is a good alternate in sarasota, you've got the left lane take anway both northbound and

the concert starts at eight. 3 today in sarasota: the fifth annual "fun and fitness expo" is taking place. "new college" is hosting it. the event introduces students and the community on ways to be active and stay healthy. it runs from one p-m to five p-m on the sarasota campus. more than 70 vendors will be there, many offering services like makeup and manicures. there will classes and massage services. best of all... it's free admission. 3 and finally... a holiday we hopefully *don't have to celebrate today. this is national "umbrella" day. a device first used... way back in 21 a-d, in ancient china. and it's believed the ancient egyptians first started the "umbrella indoors" superstition." they mostly used umbrellas to shield from the sun... and they thought opening an umbrella inside *offended the sun god. the superstition picked up more steam in the 18 hundreds, with the invention of metal umbrellas... which often *injured people when they were opened inside. 3 ((//2shot)) toss to 3 3 3 3 some people don't like to share their wifi, but at bright house networks, we do. login to one of

news channel 8's ryan hughs is live at the sarasota county school board offices. and one school already has the policy in place. what's that about? >> reporter: gene, good morning. pineview school here in sarasota county has a policy. it was enacted after a student asked for it. meeting here today along with some supporters here at school district headquarters. and some students and parents are calling for a widespread policy on transgender bathroom use. it's a result of a push from this student, a year ago nathan quinn began the transition process. it wasn't until recently that the principal allowed him to use the boy's bathroom. and now he and supporters want a district-wide policy. it will be discussed here later today. >> it's not just about me. it's about the other trans kids. they need the the same rights. >> reporter: and again, nathan quinn expected to the turn out here. when we first posted this story on our facebook page back in january, it certainly ignited a firestorm. so a lot of differing opinions on this one, gene. so we will be here and could want o

the collection in st. pete has been stolen in six years. 3 3 in sarasota: a traffic camera could be the hit and run crash. sarasota police say *this is bicyclist - then drove off. 3 fox 13's josh cascio has the latest on the case - where he spoke with the victim's father. 3 there's an emptiness in troy sandifara&and it only grows wider as days go by without answers. take vohis son skylar was hit and killed on his bike on january 31st in sarasota. it happened at the intersection of 301 between 6th and 8th streets. this new video - was released by the shows the suspect vehicle just crasha&police hope it jogs someone's memory out there. model - toyota carolla le 4 is driving the car in that video needs to come forward. somethign very special from us behind tha tloved and cared fo rhi m7;36;29 its crazy how it 7;33;48 each day that goes by we dotn know if that car has that cars been sold we dont know if that cars even in the state thats why were hoping to get the word back outtake vo was speeding before the - if you know anything contact 3 3 back t you.sarasota pd. contact the sarasota pd. 3 back t you. 3 3 in

and the dove 105.5 f-m on sarasota talk radio, listen to wsrq 106.9 fm. and hear 10 weather in spanish on maxima 92-5. the heat is cranking up in when people there could finally see a break from record breaking temperatures. but first, disney gives star war fans a major surprise! live look of times square this morning from earth cam dot with advil, you' ll ask what backache? what sore wrist? what headache? what bad shoulder? advil makes pain a distant memory. nothing works faster stronger or longer than advil it' s the world' s #1 choice. what pain? hi dad. uh huh. yeah...sorry about that. think about it there must be higher love down in the heart what do you think? and in the stars above hi ted, glad you could join us, we think you' re going to like these numbers. bring me a higher love a recall alert you need to know this morning. several automakers are expanding their recalls when it comes to defective takata airbags. more than half a dozen are adding more vehicles to the recall list... including volkswagen, audi, and b-m-w. announced it will launch fou

, all along the i-75 corridor and bradenton and sarasota area, even highway 74, state road 70, all those roads you definitely want to use caution. of course on i-4 we're also seeing some fog in the plant city area. let's head outside corey dierdorff is on i-275 around starting to see the fog. downtown pretty clear. as we've been talking about all morning these patches of fog are hit and miss -- or miss. so you want to be careful, leave a little early and use low beams. back to you. >>> breaking news in bradenton. deputies on the scene of a shooting that sent one person to the hospital. shots were fired along 5th street east in bradenton early this morning. our assignment desk is making phone calls now to find out if deputies are actively looking for the gunman. keep it here, we have a crew headed to the scene and we'll bring you live updates as soon as we get new information. >>>>>> a university of tampa bay football star in big trouble, busted by pinellas county deputies as part of an internet sex sting. rodney dunigan joins us live in pinellas county outsid

but now the sarasota school board members are going to consider extending a transgender bathroom policy. board members will talk about the policy ever since pine view made the change. but the students are divided. >> it is nothing against trans- people at all. i am not afraid, it is just them being in the restroom with you, it is uncomfortable. >> i think to fully be seen as the gender you identify with, access. >> reporter: and hillsborough is already working to draft their own policy. reporting in sarasota county, sarah 2. >>> and now a new agreement between the u.s. and cuba. airlines going to start submitting applications to 900 cities in cuba. >>> well, the pope continues area with a significant drug photographicking problem. the hope has--drug trafficking problem. the pope is heading to the u.s., mexican border tomorrow. >>> well, donald trump is coming out swinging again on the campaign trail today. this time, his target is the bush family and ted cruz. we look at south carolina where the voters head to the polls on saturday. >> reporter: george w bush took the stage on monday, t

and at 10:00 this morning, the sarasota police department will area, including this one. and gayle, 8 on your side has a running list of your all the gas stations in the bay area that have had these skimmers installed, unknowing to a lot of people. at this point, gayle, it's 30 and probably going up. >> well, i guess what is confusing is if they have to open up the pumps to find if there's a skimmer in there, how are we supposed to be so vigilant? they're tough to spot these days. >>> we're hearing from the mom who lied to police about her 3- year-old son being in the back of a stolennen car. listen so what she had to say walking out of jail. >> i'm sorry for all of this. i really do apologize to the media for making everybody worry about my child. but it's something i went happen again. >> that's the mother. police report that lead clearwater police on a wild goose chase to find her little boy. she is now facing various 911 system and filing a police report. now during the search for the 3- year-old boy, a driver joined in to the chase to try and find that stolen car with

he met with the reverend al sharpton -- sharpton this >>> sarasota police are looking for the victims of 40 car burglaries committed in just two days. they have made for arrests including three teenagers. police say the teens were car hopping. they would go from car to car pulling on handles to see which ones were left open. they target of three downtown parking grudge is, hollywood 20, wells fargo bank and bb&t. burglarized this year were left year were left unlocked. it's a crime of opportunity detectives say can be prevented. vehicles left unlocked, and that includes at your house. up your cars, lock up your homes, do not make it easy for the criminals. >> if your car was broken into you're s to call the sarasota police department. >>> scary moments for a woman living in safety harbor after a stolen car slammed in her home in the middle of the night. hit the home on martin luther junior street and took off. deputies figure out the thieves stole the car from a home in clearwater where the owner had the spare key inside. >>> ashley beaty is taking on the temperatures, expected to not

count on 8 on your side to monitor the situation and bring you the latest developments. in sarasota county, ryan hughes, newschannel 8. >>> today downtown office workers got a look at what it's like to be in the middle of a pass shooting. the downtown partnership with the tampa police department organized officers playing the part of a shooter to enter a workplace and open fire. takes things out of that two- dimensional flat tv or video type environment, and givers them some of the actual sights and smells and everything el of a real incident. >> tampa police officers who organized the event believe seeing something this realistic gives people a chance to plan what they can do to protect themselves if this kind of situation arises. >>> the florida house is expected to pass two gun bills tonight. one would allow people with concealed carry licenses to campuses. the other lets lawmakers with concealed carry licenses pack heat during legislative floor. matt gates is sponsoring the open carry bill, calling the concept. >> why are we one of only five carry? would be just as encouraged to

schools will be closed today as the investigation continues. >>> sarasota police have a crime alert for drivers after criminals broke and 40 cars in there aren't no reports, and does not mean it cannot happen in the future. car burglars that happened at people left their car doors unlocked and that is where it gets really scary because police in other areas are saying they are having instances where criminals are owner's manual, and using it to get access anytime they want. police say in areas like redington beach, criminals are going around checking car doors and stealing your owners manual. so what do they want with that ? they want to use it to have a spare spare key made, meaning they can come back and take your car. that is why police say it is so important to lock up, and even if you are in an area you think is safe, you have to lock your doors anyway. all of the burglaries that have happened here and sarasota since the beginning of the year, police say only about 10 doors. coming up at 6:30 am i will you will need to know to make sure this does not happen to you. >>> crews are in

call the sarasota sheriff's office. 3 3 (jen) developing this morning: a health official in the zika virus... through blood transfusions. and experts say: yes, that's possible... it can be transmitted three ways: through transfusions, sex, or mosquitoes. that's why florida governor rick scott says: our state has to be on high alert... the warm, humid climate is a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. 3 (jen he already declared an emergency in hillsborough county... where the zika virus is spreading. now a *third person has been diagnosed with it... that brings the total number of cases in our state up to *12... and during a stop in tampa, thursday, governor scott discussed his plan of action for combatting this concern. 3 "we have 20 million people they want their questions answered we'll work with the cdc, we want to keep everyone informed and everyone healthy." --jen 3 the zika virus has been linked to birth defects... so far, all of the cases in florida have reportedly been *travel-related. but the state has zika test kits ready to go, for pregnant women who want to be checked o

. >> 8 on your side uncovered the results of this report and took our questions to the sarasota county school district. in the next half hour, we will share their explanation of why checks required by law. >>> a convicted cop killer's case goes before the florida supreme court this morning for an appeal hearing. he is on death row for three of four murders. two of the murders are the shooting deaths of two tampa police officers in 2010. today his attorney will argue that florida's death penalty sentencing system is unconstitutional. >>> and this morning, the midwest is getting hammered by a massive winter storm. blizzard warnings are in place for parts of minnesota this morning. officials are warning drivers to stay off the roads there. as much as 10 inches of snow are expected to fall. >>> let's head over to meteorologist leigh spann to see how things are looking our part. >> we couldn't look anymore different than that. the temperatures, that's the typical high temperature this time of year and we're starting the the day with it at 4:00 a.m. 70 in sarasota. lakeland, you're 11 degree

the bill is not passed. but now sarasota school board members will consider extending a transgender bathroom policy across the district. today's the first time these board members will talk about the policy change. students are pretty divided >> it makes me feel uncomfortable. it's nothing against trans people whatsoever. i'm not transfer begin the slightest. it's slightest. it's just them being in the restaurant he was an uncomfortable feeling. >> i think to fully be seen as you have to have all the same access. >> is not just sarasota, hillsboro and pinellas county could be next. in fact hillsboro already has its at attorney drafting a new policy for board members to vote on soon. pascoe county says they've not yet discussed it. there's a board meeting at 9:30 am in in sarasota and told him would come out and closer to 11 >>> un secretary general says some of the victims were children. the attacks some days after several world powers agreed to start pete cease-fire in syria earlier this week. despite the agreement russia s

out the door right now, polk county, lakeland, currently 64. 62 in sarasota. weather watcher big monkey in crystal beach who says 64. here's what's going to happen, walk you through the next couple hour, mild, partly cloudy, there will be a few storms that develop east of i- 75 but again, just the 20% chance. here's where things change, strong front crosses the gulf of mexico, arrives tomorrow in the northwest counties and pushes to the southeast by the evening and everything clears out. and cools off. but while this storm system is here, tomorrow morning, especially north of i-4, there's a slight risk of severe weather including strong damaging wind gusts and even the high of a tornado. a high of only 26 for friday. friday. >> thank you. >>> is your pet the top dog? coming up, we will reveal the most popular dog breed in america. >>> plus, the teen, how he letters from more than 20 colleges. >>> he's inspiring his peers to reach for the stars. a georgia teen is looking at acceptance letters from more than 20 colleges and even better, he's received more than he spent his entire high sch

the sarasota bradenton ranked nationwide. naples came in at number one on the list. clear water, you have to go a little further down the list to number 148. lakeland is 134. the worst city in the u.s. for well being apparently was charleston, west virginia. isn't our producer from west virginia? >> he is. number 190. >> you don't think there is any correlation between those facts do you? >> i don't believe so. i know those things are very scientific. thoroughly researched. not just made up by a goof ball in a magazine. >> no, that would never happen. >> never. >> that is kind of like national margarita day which was yesterday. >> what with are we doing here? oh, that was yesterday. >> we missed it. >> we do have some thunderstorms to talk about. >>> there's some severe weather across parts of the south. the red area indicates a tornado watch. the brighter red area as you can see underneath the reflectivity there shows actual tornado warnings. louisiana, mississippi, eventually alabama with this those are the yellow areas warn

anyone with information call the sarasota police department. >>> anand road crews hope to open the fourth lane along interstate 275 tomorrow morning tonight, the north bound traffic needs to detour of the interstate -- off the interstate at louis, and then get back on. little bit of a detour, but not too bad. the detour runs through 5:30 tomorrowow morning. the entrance ramps also closed overnight. >>> the city o of tampa took time to celebrbrate black historory today, and it was obvious the e theme of the gathering had a beat [ music ] >> students from elementary schools and magnet schools performed on the drives at the tampa convention center. the e theme of celebrating the power of music past and present. the mayor spoke about african american music playing a bibig role in who we are asas a society today. >> >. . we would not be who we are were it not for you and the americans that came here before you. >> this is the 28th year for the black history celebratioion in tampa. >>> still to come tonight, stuck in the shelter for years, it seemed like rufus the dog would never find a home,.

the pcircus. p>> absolutely. pcircus sarasota i think my heart pis just now beating normally pagain after my time in the wheel pof death. pno more of that i will get my pfeet firmly planted on ground. pinstead i will wow you with at pstick around everybody. poh, man. pwe're going to watch him do what phe does when good day tampa bay pcontinues from sarasota. the new caramel macchiato from dunkin' donuts. let hand-crafted layers of espresso, milk, and a caramel-flavored swirl uplift your mood. indulge in a hot or iced macchiato today. oh-oh, oh-oh oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-ooh, oh hearts are made for sharing. spread some sweetness with dunkin' donuts' cookie dough and brownie batter donuts. heart-shaped happiness too sweet not to share. p>>> good day tampa bay. pi'm charley belcher coming pcoming to you from sarasota this pmorning circus sarasota. pexit 213 off i-75. pyou'll see the big tent. pright on the same property as pthey are here tonight, tomorrow pnight a couple of shows on psaturday a show on sunday. pit's red, white and be

anyone with information is asked to call the sarasota police. >>> new at 5:00. investigation of the polk county school superintendent documents detail a male senior staff member complaints of personal and professional misconduct. and anjuli davis is live in bartow with the latest. good evening, anjuli. >> reporter: good evening to you. now the investigation is over 1000 pages long but a summary given by a law firm contracted to do the investigation has cleared the superintendent of any wrongdoing. we have learned the district's associate superintendent of operations greg rivers filed nine complaints against leroy. that report detailed a professional relationship between the two that quickly turned personal. rivers and leroy they talked socially ed would go out to drinks and get lunch. they turned over personal cell phone and e-mail records for the investigation which they say reflected a mutual bond but he claims the superintendent attempted to kiss him on a trip and hold his way on the way back from a different work function. he said when she did not feel favorably he was subjected to a

now the sarasota school board will be considered access equally to locker rooms and include transgender students in the dress codes and other policies. he also wants district representation at this year's lgbt conference. >>> heavy winter weather shut down roads across nebraska. that wet heavy snow as well as the wind really making it difficult to get around. look at that car there. same story in kansas and iowa as that storm moves through the midwest. airlines are waiving fees to change travel plans. hundreds of flights were cancelled today. southern states from louisiana to alabama could also see severe weather and tornadoes as the system is moving across the country. about storm damage closer to home. governor rick scott is asking for federal help for several counties if approved he will be able to -- they will be able to apply for low interest loans to help with the damage by the recent tornadoes. get our app so you can get instant alerts. it's free at the app store. >>> the fbi is now getting into the flint water crisis. federal agents will work with the epa to investigate if anyon

. >>> sea turtles are getting ready to lay eggs along the sarasota coast. florida fish and wild life officers are reminding you not to flash picks of sea turtles at night. that light scares a female turtle and make her return to the ocean without laying her eggs. >>> reminder to buckle up across the bay area. click it or ticket seat belt enforcement drive starts tomorrow. if you are caught unbuckled you could face a $30 fine. >>> too many arrests at country side high school. clearwater police officer long is the school resource officer. she came up with something called team court. basically the volunteer public service class takes troubled teens and sentences them to positive consequences. the difference at country side is dramatic. >> i had 17 arrests last year. i had zero arrests from crimes that happen on campus. i'm able to put them in this teen court. >> long said she has had the district and across the state, as well. a few judges have reached out also. >>> this impressive shot is from the roof of tampa's amalie arena. >> let's get buckets. >> how man

the bay area bridges. that's weather and traffic, and back to gene and gayle. >> all right, leslie. >>> sarasota police are looking for the driver in a hit-and-run crash that left a bicyclist dead. it happened on 301 at about 7:15. ryan hughes is live at the sarasota police department this morning. do they have any leads out there yet, 1999. >> reporter: not that we know of at this point, but police here hope someone knows something that will eventually help them crack the case. this is the mangled bicycle, and according to police a man on the bike was riding on 301 between 6th and 8th street when the driver hit the bicyclist and kept going. taken to the hospital and died. the vehicle was likely a toyota corolla was front end damage. i'm working to get more details on the case, and we are trying to determine the identity of the man who died, and gene, once we get that information, know. >> we will check back for more, ryan, thank you. >>> the search is on for carjackers in tampa. they are on the run after the police cruiser chasing them crashed. lindsey mastis is live from the police department. police bel

these are very warm temperatures for this time of the year, this time of the day. 71 bradenton and sarasota. i checked in with my weather watcher betty in plant city and she says it's degrees. wins are coming out of the southeast at about 5 to 10 miles per hour and it's the light breeze keeping us from seeing the fog. so thank goodness for that. and heavy downpours from north georgia through alabama where they had the terrible tornadoes yesterday. and we're spreading in again when you walk out the door this morning, not as foggy but very warm. winds from the south, back near 80 degrees today and only a 10% rain chance. and that changes tomorrow. front starts arriving early tomorrow morning in the northern areas. but it's going to be a slow- mover off and on rain most of the day, a 70% chance. and cooler and drier for friday and another system this weekend. leslee, how about traffic on the 8s? >>> well, moving at good speeds on the bay area interstates. good news first. but we have a couple issues out here, one in the heart of tampa. hopefully this construction is going to be brand up soon b

the morning. around 43 for us to start in sarasota. about 40. and upper 30s should be pretty common in the heartland. 39, lakeland, and around fort mead. now, after the cold morning, like today, clear skies, beautiful blue winter skies. the low humidity, and a little less wind tomorrow. so even though temperatures topped out at 62 today, just a couple of degrees warmer for your high in tampa tomorrow. again, the difference is a little less wind should be a little more comfortable. it will still be cool. this is by far one of the more popular graphics we have come to find out here at 10 weather. no rain chance. dew points low. the wind is low. hair cast off the charts amazing, so go rock it out tomorrow. it will be phenomenal. high also be in up ther 60s for your saturday. if that is a little coul and you want warmer weather, sunday is the day we'll mark for you i'll show you those temperature miss . a moment. ton water, it has been rough. between storms earlier in the week and the wind the last couple of days, it has been quite rough on the water

the east now. pit skirting along that southern pend of sarasota county. pif you're up towards venice this pis no at concern for you. pit's it's down towards englewood pgoing a little bit wider on pthis, the motion with this looks plike it's going to continue, go pahead and put this into motion. pthis will travel on shore and pmove more towards an easterly pdirection. pso probably in the next few pminutes here, this is going to pmove into charlotte county. pat the same time, still have a pnumber of circulations that are pstill out into the gulf of pmexico. pit's pretty broad. pit's not one specific, which may pbe good. pbecause usually if you're plooking a significant tornado pmoving on shore, it is more of pan individual thunderstorm. pthis almost to me looks like pit's just a huge thunderstorm pthat is rotating and is roducing maybe a brief water pspout in this case a tornado. pthis would south river road pwhere it looks like the more psignificant amount of rotation pin that thunderstorm is poccurring. plet's just for a second, just pkind of reset things

the mix. another round of showers coming into sarasota county. in venice. everything is less intense over the bay area now from what we have had in the 5:00 hour. still tracking some strong rain or heavy showers. dangerous weather. up here around northern part of the bay and pinellas county near the hillsborough county line moving into west chase you can hear the rain getting heavier over your roof. in the next minute or two, it will cross over tarpon and around carrollwood at 6:27 and head over towards usf around 6:33. pockets of rain over the nature coast. less intense than we have had in the last two hours. behind this we are getting clearing. for the next couple hours we are in a messy pattern. for the next two to three hours we should see drastic improvements. light rain and cloudy skies and a few showers still hanging out with us as we go into mid evening before wrapping up. sarasota you can see the rain coming down as we head towards dark. rain totals we are seeing over an inch reported up in the brooksville half an inch. downtown over a quarter of an

we still have red tide going on around some of the sarasota tennessee beaches, but if you wanted to make it a beach day, it looks wonderful. water temperatures around 60 degrees mark, and while the next couple mornings are crisp and cool, the afternoons are right where we should be this time of year, 53 degrees for the next couple days. the weekend is warmer in the mid- 70s, and we are still tracking the next system. it's looking later today which would mean tuesday night into keep tracking that system, and of course any of those morning ahead. on the go, you can get it for free. >> incredible new video as tornadoes touched down in south florida. i'm reginald rountree. all new on 10news at 5:30 p.m., the rare a driver caught this video of a massive storm creeping towards a major highway. >> they controversial homework assignment at a sarasota elementary school starts debate after one parent complaints. she overreacted? >> tonight, everyone is getting the red carpet treatment. i'm on the road in safety harbor where a very special group of people is going to their first palm ever. >> those

panyone with information is asked pto call the sarasota police pdepartment. pback to you. p>>laura: thank you. p>>russell: today is a very big pday in the race for the white phouse. piowa caucuses take place at 7:00 ptonight. pit's the first big official test pfor those hoping to be resident. pbret is joining us now to talk pall about it. phey, bret. p>>reporter: hey, russell. pgood morning. p>>russell: if we are to believe pthe polling, it appears the race pis close between donald trump pand ted cruz as well as bernie pand hillary, right? p>> it is. pthe last des moines register pwas a five point spread but the pmargin of error, plus or minus pfour. pwhen you talk turnout, that's pessentially tied at the top. pyou have marco rubio picking up pa few points and on the ground pthere's a sense his campaign is pdoing well and that's why other pcandidates are launching attack pads against him. pyou know, russell, this morning pi got up to check the weather on pthe local affiliate and every pcommercial, every single pcommercial is an ad, attack ad por pro ad. pi saw two hillary a

the sarasota county school district is the tring unchartered territory here trying to figure out something that isn't easy. >> i don't want to make policy based on fears that aren't based on reality. >> right now the district has no set policy. a case by case basis. senior nate quinn who was born female but identifies as a male says the district need as set policy. >> leaving it open to schools is going to make it a lot harder for trans people to be accepted in school. >> allows - - to use the men's bathroom after talking it over with nate's paishts. >> i feel comfortable and feel like i'm more accepted. >> - - an idea that is unsettling to some, including some of these board members. >> i've got four grand daughters that i know would be appalled to have walk into a girl's bathroom and have boys in there with them. i find it very disconcerning what's going on. >> the school board would take more time before coming up with a decision, leaving the matter in the hand of each school for now. in sarasota county, kimberly >> pretty wild earlier, with a cold front came some thunderstorm warnings,

the gulf. pbut hillsborough pinellas, pmanatee and sarasota county. pnow under that tornado watch puntil 10 o'clock this morning. pwe have a two distinct areas of pstrong thunderstorm activity. pi'm going to focus in on first pone to the north. pup in citrus county because it's pimpacting that area now.

it's after, 51 in riverview, across the bay 54 in saint pete and in the heart of tampa about 540. 49 in lakewood ranch and 52 in sarasota with 40s covering the heartland of the middle of the state from sebring, winterhaven and lakeland. as the sun comes up, so does the warm weather. we are looking at an amazing day around 70s not only for your wednesday. the next three days get a little warmer each afternoon. but after that, as we get into the weekend we are warming up. take a look at the seven-day forecast. the next five days i don't think tend weather could make it any better for you. upper 70s by sunday. next chance of storms like we talked about yesterday tracking on the horizon morning and midday about 60% coverage. if you want to head outside and track the temperatures can take a look at our weather cameras we have them all on the ted news app search wtsp in the app store. >>> a controversial picture is now under investigation. coming up at 10 news at 5:30 pm. the big question, are these students just acting out ? or should they get in serious trouble for stomping on the american flag in class ? it is being called

. >> for the first time, the sarasota county school board brought up the subject of transgender students and bathrooms. we will tell you what they had to say. >> we have have that and more >> now to 8 on your side's exclusive coverage from cuba. today the u.s. and cuba resumed an agreement to have commercial flights. jeff patterson is there. today's agreement allows 20 daily u.s. flights to havana. >> reporter: this is the hotel nationale in havana. one of the historic properties of cuba. it is fitting that here this historic agreement signed between the u.s. department of transportation that will allow u.s. commercial flights to operate daily in the u.s. for the first time in decades. >> the reestablishment of scheduled services demonstrates our continued commitment to strengthen ties between the people of the united states and >> reporter: this is just a step though. will there be further steps beyond this? >> absolutely. we are talking ferry service. we are talking making it so that anyone can travel here. so you don't have to travel on a specific flight. this is a process i don't thi

now the homeowner's landscape er is under arrest. >> the sarasota police department is being proactive with skimmers. >> this is not the guantanamo about. i'm gene ramirez and i will show you how one couple remembers them and how they >> those stories plus your storm team 8 forecast and >> right now on newschannel8 at 6:00. >> controversial takedown. a bloody arrest caught on a deputy's body camera. >> and searching for skimmers. the hunt is on for the hidden threats to your bank account. >> and falling in love at guantanamo bay. a tampa bay couple's memories of the detention center. good evening. i'm stacie schaible. >> i'm keith cate. thank you very much for joining us tonight. we will begin with the takedown. a pasco county deputy slamming a suspected thief to the ground. and the sheriff is defending his deputy tonight. he released the body cam video it shows the deputy was completely justified in his actions. jeff patterson joins us live. you see part of it. you might have one opinion. see the whole thing, maybe a different view. jeff? >> reporter: yeah, good evening keith. you hav

>> there were two women who were at the sarasota airport.hat they saw her up ahead in line, you know, to get on to an airplane. doctors have been prescribingan ten years. humira works for many adults. it targets and helps to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, have happened, as have blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, heart failure. before treatment get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas infections are common, tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. d visit humira.com. this is humira at work. us? (echo) don't go it alone. (sfx: ding) this president's day event save 40% or more on kenmore hot buys. and save 20% or more on hot buys from other top brands. sears. house experts for home owners. piadina the newest addition to olive garden's lunch duos menu paired with your choice of unlimited soup or salad startin

the city is also exploring water taxis to the barrier islands. in sarasota isabel mascareas 10 news wtsp. >> the city has set aside $500,000 for a committee to study ways to improve transportation in town and from city to city. >>> manatee county is looking to fill the revamped animal services advisory board. a week ago manatee animal services reported a new leader. profile animals in the past. if you would like to join the vise you board contact manatee county. >>> two polk county communities are better equipped to help you in an emergency if you live in the west troop area. you now have access to advanced life support engines. the fire engines are staffed by 24/7 paramedics with access to new features. county says the upgrades mean you'll be able to get better medical care faster. >> 3, 2, 1. and we have lift off. >>> what a sight to see. a successful rocket launch from cape canaveral this morning. 19 story united launch alliance atlas five rocket blasted off into space carrying a military satellite. the mission was almost scrubbed because of the strong wi

we have a stark contrast between -- let's take a look at the mai sail. >> in is still in sarasota county. you can see -- >> look at that. yeah. >> manatee county, i'm sorry. farther south and to the east is where we're seeing that potential. this is where that heavy rain is coming down and where this cell is located right now. >> what are the rainfall totals looking like? some people were worried about flooding in the same places it always floods. >> it's coming down at a rate of two and three quarters of an inch per hour. that's heavy rain. i think the one thing that's working in our favor with this storm cell is that it's in an area that just isn't highly populated and it doesn't have any of our major roads. so if you're in las vegas, and that's las vegas, florida -- >> right. >> right. you're in the path of this storm system. but, again, this is -- so if anything this is good news that the location of this very strong cell is in an area that isn't highly populated. however, certainly matters to the people who live there stay indoors away from windows. >> i've got a couple questions fo

. >> on tuesday he went to the store inside of the sarasota square mall. he skpw-d a drone then walked off with it. >> he very carefully timed his opportunity and was able to get out the door before we got him. >> but cameras captured the man and his crime. >> he does not want to admit what he has, he has enough that got his move from the time he entered to the time he left with the stolen drone. >> he didn't realize just how many cameras are pointed at him. have done it, deputies have dusted for prints and reviewing the video. the drone costs about 1000-dollar as lot of money for a shop. >> things like this affect us we take it personally. he posted the footage on facebook. the quality is so clear jim is certain someone will recognize him. >> you may get out of the store with something but you will not get away with it on this level. everyone will see this. at this point when he thought nobody was watching now over 24,000 people have seen what he did n sarasota county, kimberly kuizon, fox 13 news. >> if you have information on who he is, contact the saras

the areas shaded in yellow. a little bit in sarasota. if we zoom in we can see we have fog in spring hill. if you're driving up the suncoast parkway you may want to use caution there. along i-4 mainly east of i-75 to plant city. this is where we're seeing the thickest of it now. as i open up my cameras, let's see if it works, let's open up the cameras and we can look at what the foggy conditions look like on i-4 there. look at that. hard to see when you're driving around. so again just use caution as you head otothis morning. out this morning. >>> we've confirmed in the last hour a church in haines city badly damaged after it caught fire last night with congregation members still inside. it's on 26th street north. we're told everyone got out safely, our crew is heading to the scene now and we'll go to

when the privacy is breached it can have very negative consequences. >> the sarasota police its own investigation. >>> someone tried to set fire to the home of a pasco county deputy this morning. pasco's sheriff has a warning for anyone who tries to harm deputies or their families. >> reporter: 30-year-old daniel thomas hall was looking for trouble. he is accused of breaking into cars before spotting this vehicle in a driveway and going up to the home. >> he has a lighter and he keeps trying to light all the furniture on fire. as he lights it on fire, he knocks on deputy lennox's door. >> reporter: deputy ryan lennox who works with k-9django has been with the police department since 2007. backup arrived minutes later finding hall on the deputy's lawn. the sheriff made it clear high and he has a strong warning. >> our deputies and their family members are absolutely going to be trained on how to protect themselves. that means using deadly force. so be it. >> reporter: candace mccowan, newschannel8. >>> the florida house and senate have reached a deal on how many jurors it takes to give a murder a