I didnt know if she was safe or not. I feared for her life. Andrews is seeking 75 million from her stalker and the hotel the chain where he took images of her changing and posted them online. A local School Bus Driver is angry this morning. She believes her kids are in danger from drivers who just dont follow the rules. The pasco bus driver claims someone ignored this stop signal and flashing lights and almost clipped one of the kids as he got off the bus. We will explain how she is trying to stop from this happening again. A sigh of relief today from residents cleaning up after tornadoes ripped through southwest florida. The storms are over and things could have been much worse. Strong winds tore off roofs from homes and uprooted trees but no injuries are reported there. Well time right now is 5 31 on this thursday morning. When you step outside, surprise, its cold. Yep, that cold front that brought those strong storms has now pushed to the south. Bringing in the cooler air. Notice were still dropping. Inverness you just dropped to 50 degrees. 55 throughout polk county. 55 lakeland, bartow. 58 degrees in sarasota. Thats not the big story. The big story is how strong the winds are coming in 15 to 20 northwest. And thats a sustained wind. Thats when we look at the average over time. And then we look at the individual strongest gusts and numbers. Up to 30 Miles Per Hour. Its all behind this cold front. We have a few clouds left around right now but i expect a sunny day. Just not a very warm one. Winds stay strong all day, high of only 65. At 5 38, i take you eight days into the future to see how long the cold air sticks around. In the meantime, windy, windy. Wind definitely on the roads. Reeking havoc on the skyway bridge. So hold on to your vehicle. You can still cross it, its not closed but fhp has issued bridge. Really windy. And lets look now at the southern end of Pinellas County, southbound 275, that exit to 54th avenue south, whats going on . Construction. They have the exit blocked. Youre not able to get off there. You need to exit before at 22nd avenue south and head over to 19 and down to 54th. Thats the best way to do this so youre not heading further into pinellas and reaching the skyway bridge. Thats weather and traffic on the 8s. And now back to gene and gayle. Thank you, leslee. Its 5 33. New information this morning about a Pinellas County couple police report. While you were sleeping, the parents bonded out of jail. Police believe they lied about their toddler being in the backseat of their stolen car. And now 8 on your side is asking more questions about how next. News channel 8s Adrienne Pedersen is tracking the case live from the Clearwater Police and adrienne, this story is so convoluted. Reporter gooding, gayle. Good morning, gayle. And the woman you heard gene call sassy, you will hear from her a minute. This story sounds unbelievable. And thats why later today we will be talking to investigators here at the Clearwater Police department trying to find out how this all unfolded and why parents would lie about their car getting stolen with a 3yearold in the back. We found the mother and asked what she had to say for herself. Do you regret any of this . No. Reporter your 3 and i regret you being in my face. Reporter you heard there, i regret you being in my face. Wow. Fiery words from a mom who called 911 to report someone stole her car from right outside her home with her 3 yearold in it. Turns out the kid was never in the car at all and thank goodness for that. Instead, he was at day care the she sent investigators on a pointless chase. Police arrested the driver of the car. We just got this mug shot in to our newsroom. Stevie gamble, jr. , supposedly the moms boyfriend. He is now behind bars on more than 15,000 bond for stealing that car and running from deputies and i just checked and he should be in court later today at 1 30. Of course, we will keep you updated on what happens with him. And you should know again the parents bonded out. We will stay on top of their story plus the kids are all okay this morning. The grandmother now has custody of them. Of course, gayle thats the most important to note, the kids are okay. But still, its so infuriating. Here everyone in a complete panic looking for a child that wasnt missing in the first place and thats the moms response . All right. Thanks, adrienne. Its 5 35. Now an 8 on your side alert about the safety of our kids as they head to school this morning. This is a daily problem and the School Bus Drivers claim their theyre constant thely facing drivers who just zip by the bus, even when the red lights are on and the stop arm is out, the lights are flashing. When this happens, this puts lives in danger, young lives. And now a pasco county School Bus Driver is sound ised off to 8 on your side and our ryan hughs is live in pasco county this morning. Ryan, she is fed up. Reporter gene, good morning. She tells 8 on your side enough is enough. She said almost daily she sees people zip by the school bus and just the other day, a driver almost hit one of her students as he was trying to cross the road. Probably the scariest moment that i have ever experienced as a School Bus Driver and ive had some doozies but that capped them all. Reporter robin russ tells 8 on your side that driver was in a rush to get to a Family Dollar store on state road 54 in zephyrhills. She took to social media to remind drivers to be aware and picking up or dropping off kids. Across the country, similar incidents play out every day, thousands over the course of the year. Russ hopes her message gets through to other drivers on the roadway. And now that School Bus Driver actually wants Pasco County School district to perhaps install cameras that may catch the license plate numbers of those vehicles that zip right by, gene. Back to you. Incredible. And that video, it just makes me cringe every time. And you got to remember that you need to stop no matter what side of the bus youre on and what direction youre going because the kids might be crossing one way or the other. All right. Ryan, thank you. Happening today, residents of Island Estates in clearwater are holding a town hall meeting to discuss their concerns about the proposed expansion of the clearwater aquarium. It will grow from roughly 60,000 square feet to about 130,000 square feet. And there are also plans for a bigger tanks for the aquariums famous dolphins winter and hope. The plan is already approved by the city. Todays meeting is at st. Brendons church and is scheduled for 6 30 tonight. The time right now seconds away from 5 38. And leigh, its chilly out there. And getting colder actually. Behind yesterdays cold front, we are seeing strong winds from the north. So between now and about 8 00 this morning, i expect it to continue to get chillier. And that wind is not helping out at all. Makes it more uncomfortable. Hour by hour, all the way down to 54 degrees at 8 00 this morning. And could be patchy clouds around but not going to be the big story. The big story, the winds. And thats the going to keep us from warming up that quickly. In fact, were still at 60 by 11 00 this morning. 36 at 1 00. And inch up to around 56 degrees at 3 00 p. M. And still very strong winds. All day today and then tonight, we drop off quickly after sunset. And now i do want to let you conditions, a Small Craft Advisory offshore. And High Surf Advisory and a lake wind advisory on the east coast. But this is behind a cold front thats going to keep us cold today, tomorrow and saturday. Highs in the low to mid60s. And we see a warmup tuesday into wednesday but im already expecting another cold front thursday. We will check on traffic on the 8s. We dont have to worry about the rain. No, just a little bit of wind. If you have a high profile vehicle, a truck or suv, its not a miata or what do you have . A mini. Yeah, a mini. Situation for 275, this is the camera for 38th avenue south but its zoomed in because this is 54th avenue south. And its hard to see here but traffic is being diverted to the left. So the offafternoon to 54th avenue south is blocked. You cant exit here. What happens if you want to exit and you cant . You got to go and guess whats so remember if youre traveling down there, exit at 22nd avenue south. If youre leaving the house soon, make your way to u. S. 19 and then you can access 54 because you dont want to have to accidentally go across the skyway. Back to gene and gayle. Thank you. A mans prank goes a little too far. And i screamed and took off running. And i went across the street and called the police. Yeah, maybe more than a little too far. Still ahead, the joke he played on his girlfriend and why he ended up in jail. And an 8 on your side warning for parents about those popular sippy cups. Coming up next, the danger inside those cups that are being posted all over social media this morning. Its 5 40. Listen to this warning with parents. Its about sippy cups so popular with little ones. Parents are posting pictures and videos online showing problems with mold. News channel 8s Lindsey Mastis joins us live with the morning alert. I hate to think kids are drinking out of anything that mold i did. Reporter yeah, gayle, good morning. These sippy cups are so popular because they keep kids from spilling their drinks but that Technology Inside the cup that some parents insist is causing the problem. These pictures are posted online. We have sippy cups that parents are saying have major issues with mold. One parent believes it even made her child sick. And that is disgusting. And this woman insists that when she cleans them, its she claims its impossible to actually remove and clean the stopper itself. So parents are showing problems with several brands and they are posting videos online. Right now, Tommee Tippee is getting a lot of attention. And they put a statement on facebook claiming that the problem isnt the cup but with cleaning procedures. Now in a video, they show parents how to remove the valve and how to wash it to keep mold from billing up. And they do admit there could be unforeseen factor thes that they didnt anticipate when testing these cups in their labs so they encourage parents that have problems with the cups to contact them. And they are also offering to Rights Campaign place cups with offering to replace cups with a different version with cups that have had issues. We want to know if you have any issues and if you havent checked, take a look and let us know what you find. I remember back in the day, those things you but the design could make it more difficult. Thank you, lindsey. well a man sits behind bars this morning after successfully pranking his girlfriend. This is plain dumb. And bizarre. Its not the best prank either. David jimenez staged his apartment as if he had been murdered. She finds her boyfriend face down in the bed covered in what looked like blood and an 8inch knife sticking out of his neck. Well needless to say, she panicked. And i screamed and took off running. And i went across the street and called the police and told them that my boyfriend was murdered. Well now listen to this, when Police Showed up to investigate the staged alleged murder, they found the fake him. He is sitting in jail facing deportation to mexico. Some encouraging news this flu season. The flu vaccine is doing a better job this year than in years past. It is 59 effective. Thats a lot better than last winter where the vaccine was less than 20 effective. Health officials report that its been a milder flu season so far, although the season has not peaked just yet. Marijuana related emergency room visits are on the rise in colorado according to a study that claims out of state visitors are especially vulnerable. Records showed a 190 increase. However showed a 109 increase. However, residents only saw a 44 increase. Experts believe most people are unfamiliar with the effects of marijuana. Those ecigarettes. We have been talking about it since last night. I shows a battery blow up inside a mans pants pockets. Check out the surveillance ouch. Too close for comfort there. Yeah, you can see the sparks shooting right from the mans pants on fire. Well the man rushed outside, ripped off the pants. Someone comes and sprays him with the fire extinguisher. That man suffered Second Degree burns on the leg. Of these . Remove the battery. Thats what experts say, before you put it in your pant pocket. Wow. That video is unbelievable. Hurts to watch. Happening today, Pasco County Schools is holding a job fair for college graduates. If youre interested in becoming a teacher. Theres some open opportunities in language art, math, science and social studies among others to 6 00 p. M. The u. S. Department of labor is set to release its morning. Last weeks report saw the number of applications for unemployment assistance november. Experts believe that means recent uncertainty about the businesses to cut jobs. We might be some of the happiest people in the country in florida. Smile. Thats according to a telephone survey. The organization found naples has the highest well being and Healthy Living in the country. And then sarasota metro, that all right. Way to go. The ratings were measured depression and Financial Security and for good measure, going to throw in weather there as well. Generally its nice. Days. Now thats passed. And we are still seeing patchy clouds now but the bigger system, again, this was a havoc across the southeast, its moved up into the new england area, causing them the threat for strong storms and right behind it, look at this in the midwest, heavy snow fall, no thank you. Our weather while cool, it doesnt the stop. 54 degrees this morning. You may need to grab a jacket because of the strong winds. 62 at lunchtime. Cooler than average at 65 degrees. Most of the country would laugh at us for saying its cool. Winds north, northwest this morning 20 Miles Per Hour gusting up to 30 Miles Per Hour. So the strong winds are going to stay around all day. What a wind is moving air and the colder air is moving south. So that we never warm up much today, windy, cool, sunny. Tomorrow morning, that cold air continues to rush to the south. Were 10 to 15 degrees below average tomorrow. Highs today 65. Only at 62 friday. And a nice, mild weekend. Leslee, how is traffic on the 8s . Well, its windy on the skyway bridge. It. So use caution. Meanwhile, look at this, weve still got construction tying up the exit to 54th exit southbound here on 275. Dont miss this exit. Could create a problem for you. And lets look at the alternate. Exit 22nd avenue south, thats before 54th and then head over to u. S. 19. U. S. 19 looks great right now. Traffic is very light and absolutely no delays, of Pinellas County. And lets go ahead and check out another live look. Here is just beyond 54th south pinellas. Thats a look at weather and traffic on the 8s. Back to gene and gayle. Thank you, leslee. A mutilated puppy left for dead in south korea now has a Second Chance at life right here in the United States. The amazing family that will to her ahead. A great story but first, last minute preparations underway for this weekends oscars ceremony. How hollywood is preparing for youre watching news channel 8 preparations are underway, see it right there, the red carpet being rolled out for hollywoods biggest night. That red carpet rolled out for the oscars. Will be stepped on by countless stars but beyond that, you see the bleachers back there, thats where the spectators will be and the reporters. How cool is that to be on the carpet. Well shes been away from home far too long but adeles return the to london was welcomed with not one but four awards. She was the only artist at the 2016 brit awards to the take home more than a single award. Among the award, the global success, best british female artist, best album and best british single. Congratulations. This next story will tug at your heart. A dog raised for meat and left for dead is looking forward to a new life this morning. The golden retrieve mix was found in the trash in south korea. The butch thought her wounded legs would make her meat bad so he literally threw her away. Luckily the right people found her. Is set to be in the United States with her arizona family in the coming weeks. So welcome to the United States. Thats right. Get her citizenship stat. Yes. New in the next half hour, how one local company is taking extra steps to be more inclusive for all employees. Plus, destruction up and down the east coast. Look at the image, ahead the areas cleaning up today from tornadoes and which are the hardest hit. First, weather and traffic on the 8s, thats in three minutes. Thursday. I am expecting it to be windy all day long. As cold air spills in from the northwest, a high of only 56 despite sunshine. And while the winds will be lighter tonight, its going to be chillier in the 40s. Leslee, how about traffic on the 8s . Well, looks like theyre wrapping up construction. This is located at southbound 275, the exit to 54th avenue south has been blocked but they are picking up the cones and it should reopen any minute. Well good morning and thank you for watching news channel 8 today. Im gayle guyardo. And im gene ramirez. Our top the story this thursday morning, this clearwater mom and dad you see here, they just bonded out of jail. They are accused of making up a story about their little boy being in the backseat of their stolen car. And get this, they arent sorry for lying either. Reporter do you regret any of this . No . Your 3 and i regret you being in my face. Sassy. Turns out the little boy was never in danger. He was safe at day care. Super tuesday is less than