Over. This is a super fastmoving storm. About two hours ago, it was in tampa and now its moving quickly to the south. And now let me show you where the tornado watch is, all the areas shaded in watch. A watch means the conditions are setting up and there could be tornadoes. We have seen a Tornado Warning south in the fort myers area and over here east but none in our area at this point. And now where the rain is coming down the heaviest, almost all of polk county, lightning strikes to the south, manatee, sarasota county, heavy rain, lightning but not looking at a lot of rotation with this storm. And thats very good news, meaning the threat for tornadoes is slim. Its still there but its slim. Avon park, sebring, strong storms and lightning pushing to the east. Now watch how fast this moves out of here. Heres the line through polk, sarasota, Manatee County at this point. Hour from now, portions of lakeland drying out and manatee drying out. And an hour later, this whole thing is done. Officially the watch goes until 8 00. I think theyll cancel it earlier. You will want to stay tuned to weather and traffic on the 8s at 4 08 because i go hourby hour through the rain. And leslee is here to let you know how to get around the wet roads. Looks like its going to be better for us, which is good news through rush hour. Right now, it is wet and we have some issues going on. Lets get to them, folks and lets talk about Manatee County. Bradenton area, u. S. 310, traveling southbound on 75, the exit and entrance ramp to 301 is closed due to an accident. Not seeing delays because traffic is light but nonetheless, activity out there. And st. Pete, overnight construction that has some will wrap up around 6 00 a. M. And we have a couple crashes on i4. More on those coming up in the next report. So stay the tuned for that. Thats a look at weather and traffic. Back to gene and gayle. An arrest in a deadly hit andrun crash. While you were sleeping, investigators tracked down the woman they accuse of hitting and killing a tow truck driver on the Howard Franklin bridge. Right now, she is being booked into the Pinellas County jail. This is new video of the florida Highway Patrol driving her to the jail and walking her inside to go through the booking process. And overnight, investigators tracked her down on caroline parkway where troopers questioned her for quite a while. She is accused of hitting and killing a tow the truck driver. He was on the Howard Franklin getting ready to tow a broken down car. She has a record. Times for dui. She is now facing charges of leaving the the scene of a crash involving death. Once she is booked into jail, she will be scheduled to appear before a judge. And in more breaking news alert. Investigators are looking for a 6yearold ashley jade martinez. You can see her on the left. They believe she may be on the right. If you see her or know where she is, call 911 immediately. And we have another story to tell you about this morning. According to the state attorneys office, whitney bell took a plea deal. She will serve 12 months of probation because of her first dui. And here is another story right now. Had thunder sleet is going to be her license suspended. And the court wants her to get an alcohol evaluation and treatment test. And now to the court of public opinion. Case of the girl recording herself while driving allegedly drunk and recording it all on periscope. Reporter gayle, thats right. This is a story that we want viral. This is one we have been talking about from the beginning and its trending on our website right now. A lot of people are commenting and some believe the punishment is not enough. Basically, she will not be going to jail. She does however have probation for 12 months and will have to go through 150 hours of community service. And now her license will be suspended for six months and theres other charges as well or other things that she will have to go through. And you can head to our wfla. Com website to see those. We want to know how you feel about this plea deal. All you have to do is go to wfla. Com. Thanks. And of course you can follow the morning alerts each day on facebook and twitter. Just search the 8alert. Its 4 05 on this tuesday. Scheduled in the case of a expected swindler exposed by an 8 on your side investigation. Robert fletcher faces is accused of being an unlicensed faces dozens of charges and is accused of being an unlicensed contractor. You can get updates on this case starting at first on 4 00. Today we could find out more about the case of a Florida State student accused of murdering her mom and step dad. A deposition hearing is scheduled for her the 21year old. She faces two counts of first degree murder in connection to the shooting deaths of her mother and step father. And president barack obama is taking the first step in nominating a Supreme Court justice, replacing the late Justice Antonin Scalia and its creating controversy. The president and his staff are now holding discussions. However, republicans argue that the next president should be happening today, its your last day the to register to vote in the march 15th florida president ial primary. To vote for a republican candidate, you must be registered as a republican. And the same holds true for democrats. For all the information you need, head to wfla. Com. In the dont miss it section, you will find links on how to register or update your information. People are assessing tornado damage this morning. Take a look here. You can see the couple here captured a twister that tore across the country in alabama. Now the february tornado destroyed at least 10 homes. Crews went door to door searching for anyone trapped there. And at one home, they found a woman stuck under piles of metal and wood. Just look at this video here. You can see the rescuers pulling the woman out of her tornadodamaged home. Around the woman and prop up debris to keep it from crushing her. She was rushed to the hospital. And look at this, in mississippi people are cleaning up after strong storms and possible tornadoes. The storms are blamed for downing power lines, ripping trees out of the ground. But no serious injuries are reported. Time right now is 4 08 and we have our own weather this morning. Weve had portions of the tornado watch canceled which is what i expected to happen because the worst of the weather has pushed through a lot of spots. It no longer includes hillsborough, pinellas, pasco. It is still in effect looks like for sarasota, polk county, highlands, hardy and desoto. Again, this just happened but we are already clearing out in places. Manatee county no longer through polk county, still some heavy downpours. I dont expect a lot of rotation. But strong wind gusts. And same thing in sarasota and desoto county. And sebring getting a lot of lightning strikes as we speak. This is coming to an end relatively quickly. So if youre training for the gasparilla distance classic, plenty of puddle, so maybe a pleasant evening run getting ready for the race. 20 rain chance. By 9 00, its all gone. Look at this, clearing sky, 71 at 3 00 p. M. And then we have just gorgeous weather for the next several days. Low to mid70s and sunshine. So its just really the next two hours where we have to deal with the wet roads out there. And i just looked at the cameras in polk county, sprinkles out there. Looking good on the Howard Franklin bridge, but plant city, this is i4, you can still see a little bit of sprinkles on the roadways. So use caution. Some of them are still wet. Bradenton area, we have a collision tying up the on and offramps on i75 southbound right at 301. In the bradenton and palmetto area, keep that in mind. And over here in polk county, folk, eastbound i4 just past the polk parkway, fhp says we have a crash there. No delays but a possible fatal accident so we will keep an eye on that throughout the morning. Thats a look at weather and traffic on the 8s. Back to gene and gayle. Thank you so much. Well, we are just days away from the gasparilla distance classic. And when we hit the starting line, there will be a lot of new shoes on the route. How metropolitan ministries is benefiting from someone called the shoe giver. And big changes for cuba. Up next, news channel 8s Jeff Patterson is in havana with a look at how traveling to the this morning the u. S. Takes another step towards normalizing u. S. Relations with cuba. Patterson is in cuba to explain how this relates toward the move of lifting embargo. Reporter the u. S. Secretary of transportation is scheduled to be here in havana today to sign a historic agreement that will allow u. S. Commercial airlines to fly here on a daily decades. Havana. And 10 flights a day throughout other cities in cuba. And theres a u. S. Congressional delegation that is here this week and they are talking about the possibility of totally lifting the embargo which will allow more trade between the United States and this country. A lot going on here and were here to report about it all week. In cuba, Jeff Patterson, news channel 8. All right, always looking forward to your report, jeff, thanks. News channel 8 is the only television station bringing you reports from cuba on this delegation. Stay tuned for the coverage all a planned parenthood chin nichol cool has reopened parenthood clinic in colorado has reopened early. Robert deer is accused of going to the clinic in november and killing three people and injuring nine others. And a new mom in california is accused of leaving her newborn baby many a toilet. Police arrested the woman. They explain she gave birth in a Subway Restaurant bathroom and left the baby. Employees at the Los Angeles Area restaurant heard the baby crying and Police Tracked the woman by following blood from the bathroom to the the parking lot. The baby is now in critical condition. A new alternative to the traditional hip replacement surgery is sending patients home sooner and with less pain. The surgery method involves moving the muscles out of the way and using a range of motion devices to keep the pelvis stable during the procedure. The muscles and its giving patients a sense of independence again. When i felt like i wanted to get my clothes on and i did it all by myself, thats when i knew i was so much better. Thats fantastic. And looking at the comparison of methods traditional surgery requires an 8inch incision through seven layers of muscle. The new method, just four to five inches long and through fewer layers. Well, time right now 4 18. And 8 is on your side as we prepare for the gasparilla distance classic. Theres a group of people who want to make sure we dont take the shoes we wear for granted of course. Some people cant afford Running Shoes that have the proper support. So our own ruining enthusiast leigh spann has a report. 100 stap members taking part in the weekend races. They have been training but they have a secret weapon from a superhero known as the shoe giver. I measure everyone and then i go back out, get the shoes and bring them back. Reporter the 14yearold julie rice comes from a family of shoe givers. Her brother started the project at 10 years old. He contacted the cdc and asked what they needed most. And their answer was shoes. Reporter julie became the shoe giver when he left for college. For the first time though, these shoes serve a specific purpose of helping people cross the finish line at the gasparilla distance classic. The race for hope team had been part of a sixweek Training Program to get ready for the race. What will you feel like on race day at the starting line . A little nervous because i have never done it before but like i said, its a new experience, so kind of feel happy. Reporter while these families get fit, theyre also learning life lesson. Set a goal of running the race and do it in a certain time or distance and it translates into the rest of their lives when theyre setting other goals. Reporter its amazing what new soles can do for the soul. Knowing that all your shoes will be walking, how does that make you feel . Im really excited. Reporter this is the shoe giver of tampas 10th anniversary but the first time they have been used specifically for the gasparilla distance classic. I have put a link to the shoe giver website in my store on wfla. Com. Again, the 14yearold girl goes and buys the shoe action make sure that theyre the right size so they have the extra pep in their step. And not just about the running. It means so much more. And when you start Something Like that at that young of an age, you are setting yourself up for a life of success when you can organize that. And her brother both. Very, very good. Now may not be the best morning getting ready for the gasparilla distance classic. I would hold off until the evening. We have been under a tornado watch but about 10 minutes ago, i told you, some of the counties have been removed from the watch. You see theres a big line of storms just racing off to the south and east. And now pretty much now were clear in all of pinellas and points north. We have some rain in hillsborough but most has pushed. Out. County. Heres a break down of the day. At 8 00 a. M. And we will see a sunny lunchtime and pleasant by the afternoon at 71 degrees. Right now into the rain, the temperatures generally in the low 60s. Watch the timing of this, 7 45, maybe a stray shower left in Highlands County but quickly comfortable. Tomorrow morning. For you but a stretch of just gorgeous day, low 70s into gasparilla distance classic weekend. Looking forward to it. Traffic overall, we dont have congestion but a lot of issues. In the bradenton area, both the on and offramp from southbound 75 to 301 is blocked due to a collision with injuries involved. And lets talk about eastbound i4 near 22nd street. We have a collision. Traffic still getting by. And a possible fatal crash eastbound i4 past the polk parkway. And you can see the the activity out here. And we have activity on both sides and in the median, one lane taken away. And heres the left lane view further out but you can see eastbound on i4 near the polk parkway. Thats weather and traffic on the 8s. Back to gene and gayle. Robotics is helping a sick child stay in school. How a little girl is keeping up with class work while shes in the hospital. And going back in time the problem and what apple is doing to fix it. Its 4 20. Maybe youre crazy about the disco decade, but whatever you do, do not going back to the 70s. Were talking about the iphone here. Some apple product users are finding out the hard way, manually changing the date to may 1970 or earlier, after the thats because of course, apple didnt exist back then. No, im kidding. I dont know why but theyre not turning back on. Apple claims an Upcoming Software update will prevent the issue in the future. I could see myself going back looking for disco action. I wonder if it changes your music on your music app. I dont know. It. A texas girl fighting her third relapse against leukemia isnt missing a beat. She is making it to class every single day despite being 1700 miles away for treatment. Logging on to her computer in philadelphia, he attends school in texas. She beyond thankful for the impact the row bowcart has on her this robocart has on her life. If i didnt, i would be absent and i wouldnt know what they were doing. The class discussion and activity, she can focus on healing so she can one day be back for good. And you know, staying connected like that probably really helps in her healing. Yeah, and i think its great for the classmates all the way in texas to see how shes doing. I love this. Great story. Weather and traffic on the 8s is just three minutes away. Plus, bundled background checks on school employees. In the next half hour, one one Bay Area School district the doing after officials dropped the ball on checking out employees. And our continuing coverage of breaking news. The arrest of a suspected hit andrun driver. Where investigators finally tracked the woman and the charges she is now facing. Youre watching news channel 8 4 28, of course tracking strong storms in the bay area. Clearing out though quickly from north to south. So there may be showers when morning in southern areas but sunny and pleasant when they come home from school. Leslee, how about traffic on the 8s . Eastbound i4 past the polk parkway, you can see activity here, a fatal crash. And the left lanes, you got to squeeze by on the right. Rite now, no delays but i will good tuesday morning. Welcome to news channel 8 today. Im gene ramirez. And im gayle guyardo. We have a lot going on this morning including strong storms moving through overnight. The tornado watch was just canceled in some spots. Yeah, leigh spann has been following this all through the night and into the morning. Whats it looking like now . Again, this is a very quick mover. Steve jerve and i were on Facebook Live all morning long starting about 1 30 until the newscast started