3 thanks for joining us. Im walter Allen Vanessa and im vanessa ruffes, in for jen epstein. Were following a news alert out of tampa right now. 3 3 vanessa just a short time ago, officers went to a home on west cherokee avenue. And were forced to open fire, when an armed man. Shot at them. The officers werent hurt. But it was a really close call. In fact, they may owe their lives. To a piece of police equipment. 3 vanessa fox13s Alcides Segui is on the scene for us. Scary stuff, alcides. Tell us what happened. 3 3 3 3 3 thanks, alcides. 3 3 dave 3 patchy fog early, with variable clouds for the afternoon. High temps head slowly back to the lower 80s. Tonight will be mostly cloudy and mild; lows in the upper 60s. More clouds on tap for friday, with a 30 chance of a late day shower. High temps in 3 no closed captioning is available for traffic. 3 3 3 walter 3 developing this morning crews are searching for a man who disappeared. After jumping into lake thonotosassa. It happened around seven last night. The man was on a pontoon boat with a group of people. He jumped in the water, started panicking, and went under. Witnesses say he didnt know how to swim very well. We will keep you updated as the search continues. 3 vanessa while you were sleeping a stolen car slammed into a house in tampa. It happened along north mulberry street, around one this morning. Police say they tried to pull the driver over. And he tookoff. Crashing through a fence, then into the house. Luckily. No one inside was hurt. Neither were the people in the car. Both of them juveniles. Are under arrest. Since the vehicle they were in. A 2009 ford edge. Had been reported stolen. 3 vanessa the search is on, for a serial arsonist in st. Petersburg. Police say hes been on the run since january. And has set about a dozen fires. 3 vanessa this is Surveillance Video from one of those cases. A man carrying a long skateboard was spotted running away after setting a cars gas tank on fire. More recently, police say he set fires to dumpsters close to homes. Those fires spread to cars and fences. Causing damage. And causing neighbors to worry someone could get hurt. 3 were all very concerned, were all keeping our eyes peeled as much as we can. I often wake up in the middle of the night and ill just come outside just to look anything, see any unusual activity. Vanessa 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 walter Tampa City Council could change the punishment, for people caught with small amounts of marijuana. Right now, anyone caught with pot faces uptoayear in prison. A thousand dollar fine. And they lose their drivers license. But the new ordinance would decriminalize marijuana. People carrying 20grams or less would be issued a citation, that leads to a fine. Tampa police made nearly twothousand pot related arrests last year. The vote comes at 930 this morning. If it passes, and mayor bob buckhorn signs off on it, it would take effect immediately. 3 vanessa now we know donald trump didnt just win the Florida Republican primary, he clobbered it. Turns out he won 66 of our 67 counties. Miamidade was the only hold out. Standing strong with native son, senator marco rubio. 3 vanessa but despite big wins like that, and in so many other places. Plus a huge lead in delegates, the gop is not convinced they want trump to be their nominee. walter and today, top conservative leaders are meeting in washington. To discuss ways to derail his campaign. Or even forming a third party. With what they call a true conservative candidate. 3 walter one name being tossed around. House speaker paul ryan. Hes experienced. The congressman from wisconsin was mitt romneys running mate, four years ago. And he has the support of his predecessor, john boehner but ryan quickly removed himself from consideration. And donald trump says there would be heck to pay. If the gop took the nomination away from him at the convention this summer. 3 i think it would be i think bad things would happen, i really do. I believe that. I wouldnt lead it but i think bad things would happen. walter 3 with at least three more states in his win column from the latest super tuesday, trump still has to do better in upcoming contests, to get the necessary 12hundred37 delegates. That leaves his two remaining opponents with a sliver of hope he can still be stopped. 3 walter there was supposed to be another Republican Debate next week. Supposed to host it monday night. But its been canceled, because donald trump pulledout trump said yesterday, he thought there had been enough debates. 3 vanessa looking for a new job . Aldi is hiring they have positions at all levels. Starting at 1150 per hour. And full health and dental insurance, for people working at least 25hours a week. To apply head to the aldi on james redman parkway in plant city. Or at 14933 florida seven til 11 today. And again, next tuesday. 3 vanessa shes been missing for a month. They thought she was dead. walter but not this determined dog. Lunas amazing return, when we come back. 3 walter and. History in the making. The rays head to cuba next week, to play the national team. And some fans are going with them. But this is about so much more than sports. The heartache they hope to heal on the island. After the break. 3 vanessa 3 vanessa a big sigh of relief for commuters, in the nations capital. Were just minutes away from subway service, resuming in washington dc. Its been shutdown since tuesday night, so crews could examine all the thirdrail power cables. Hundreds of thousands of metro riders were inconvenienced. And thousands on twitter predict there are more problems coming. 3 walter president Barack Obamas Supreme Court justice nominee, merrick garland, will meet with democrats on capitol partly because, he has gotten bipartisan praise in the past. But some republicans are still opposed to the nomination. And theyre not changing their nohearing, novote, notevenameeting stance. Senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell, says he wont even consider it, but wishes garland well. Republicans say the nomination to replace the late justice antonin scalia, should be made by the next president. 3 vanessa recently, in california, the us navy discovered something amazing. An 18monthold german shepard, on san clemente island. The puppy had been declared missing and presumed dead for nearly five weeks. Foxs jamie chambers has the incredible story of survival. 3 3 3 it is 5 time now to find out whats happening on the roads with our skyfox on time traffic. 3 no closed captioning is available for traffic. 3 3 vanessa the rays. Are about to become the First Major League team to play in cuba since 1999. And when they head to the island next week, 50 local fans will go with them. 3 vanessa the trip is possible, thanks to the downtown st. Pete partnership. walter and while baseball is a big part of it, for many this trip is more about the heart, than the diamond. 3 Wally Mario Nunez and his father, felipe. Will make the momentous trip. For them. They have family in cuba. But lost contact with them decades ago. Theyre hoping to find those relatives, and trace their family tree. President obama is also traveling to the island. Hes the first sitting president to visit cuba in 88 years. On tuesday, he made it easier for so many other americans to visit the island. By loosening travel restrictions. Nunez says its an exciting, historic time. And hes thrilled to be a part of it. 3 theres something happening serendipitously that i think all of these points of light are coming together. I think baseball is a wonderful means by which the two countries can bridge that gap. Wally 3 the group will leave from orlando on sunday, and return on wednesday. Also going along with the rays former new york yankee, and tampa resident, derek jeter. You can watch the game, tuesday, on espn. 3 walter fox13 is going along on that historic trip. Sports director scott smith game and the president s visit. Next week. 3 walter we know the beach is a huge draw. Tourists come from all over to but theres a spot inland, thats also getting crowds. 3 vanessa the big boom. In pasco county. Why one group of travelers in particular, cant get enough of this place. And its triggered a building boom. 3 our next item is a genuine name your price tool. This highly soughtafter device from progressive can be yours for. Twenty grand . No we are giving it away for just 3 easy payments of 4. 99 plus tax the lines are blowing up weve got deborah from poughkeepsie. Flo yeah, no, its flo. You guys realize anyone can use the name your price tool for free on progressive. Com, right . [ laughing nervously ] [ pickles whines ] i know, its like theyre always on television. What . Its sleek design. Is moldbreaking. Its intelligent drive systems. Paradigmshifting. Its technologyfilled cabin. Jawdropping. Its performance. Breathtaking. Its selfparking. And the allnew glc. Mercedesbenz resets the bar for the luxury suv. R starting at 38,950. Our gardens have evolved. We can run them from anywhere. Make them greener faster. Drop them and watch them bloom. Theyre 5star worthy, grown regionally. And keep their color. A lot, lot longer. These gardens are the next generation of blooming. Bring on spring, with earthgro mulch four bags of guaranteed color, just 10. 3 the beach is one thing, but southeastern pasco county is probably not what many consider a tourist destination. But as new Housing Developments and Shopping Centers have sprungup around wesley chapel. So has the demand for hotel rooms. 3 walter and. Those hotel rooms are almost always full. But whos there . vanessa fox13s chris cato tells us thanks to lots of room, and an easy commute to Tampa International airport. This place is booming. With business 3 you wont see many vacancy signs in southern pasco county these days. We are growing and busting at the seams what you will see. Is a lot of this. Developers are rushing to meet a demand for more hotels along the booming state roads 5456 corridor. Five new projects are under construction in a relatively small area between lutz and wesley chapel. weve had record years of tourism the last three years in florida. We know that its gonna grow even more. Tourism manager ed caum says the typical pasco tourist is a Business Traveler who flies in for a conference and stays for an extra weekend of play. Its beautiful . Like tammy helms of south carolina. Shes here for a nursing conference. I love it this is an awesome place to stay, by the way. Shes plugging the residence inn in lutz. Which stays more than 90percent full. Yearround . Which is why theres a new Hilton Garden Inn going up next to it. But the county isnt just relying on the Business Class to fill up rooms. Its now aiming at 3 vanessa this year, pasco county is on pace to break the onemillion dollar mark in hotel tax collections. For the first time in county history. walter tourism manager ed caum says thats a big win, for all taxpayers in pasco. 3 vanessa were following a developing story police officers. walter a man opened fire on them. And a piece of police equipment, likely saved the officers lives. What happened next. When we come back. Well have a live report from fox13s Alcides Segui. 3 walter plus. He carried on his dads name, and his music. Frank sinatra junior was supposed to perform in st. Petersburg tonight. But theres been a tragedy. The sudden death, thats rocked the music world. 3 with havertys furniture, the spring home event is happening now. 3 3 walter 3 its 5 , on thursday, march 17th. Happy st. Pattys day. Im walter allen. vanessa and im vanessa ruffes, in for jen epstein. Were following a developing story out of south tampa. Where a suspect shotat police officers. 3 vanessa it happened in the Ballast Point area, and thats where we find fox13s Alcides Segui right now. Alcides. We hear the officers shield. May have been a lifesaver. Fill us in. 3 3 3 vanessa thanks, alcides. 3 3 3 3 no closed captioning is 3 3 vanessa sad news this morning, for fans of ol blue eyes. walter Frank Sinatra junior has died. Just hours before he was due to perform in st. Petersburg. 3 walter fox13s Shayla Reaves is on the story for us. Shayla he was touring. And in daytona. When suddenly, disaster struck. This is hitting the industry hard. 3 3 3 3 walter thanks, shayla. 3 3 walter also in the top stories closing arguments could come today at the hulk hogan versus gawker trial in pinellas county. But first, the woman seen in the sex tape that prompted this heather clem says her husband bubba asked her if she would have sex with hogan, and she said yes. Clem also encounter with him was at hogans house. She says those encounters happened a few times. But she had no idea it was being videotaped until bubba broke the news to her. 3 walter in a couple hours, were getting an updated look at the new st design team is unveiling new schematics and updated renders at eightoclock. Some of the new elements include art pete leaders hope to finalize the ideas and concepts for the pier approach by june. 3 the Macdill Airfest is coming up. And lots of people are excited to see whats new. About 200 thousand people are expected to be there. To watch the thunderbirds precision acrobatics team. 3 walter but with macdill headed into its 76th year, its also a chance to see a piece of technology that was once a secret weapon. vanessa fox 13s lloyd sowers got a look. 3 this one in particular was probably made in 42 or 43. Denny cole pieces together a device with a story. But theres not a lot out there. This was very secret. So secret was the design, the gears and the dials. So protected. The guy who picked it up the bomb site he had to have a pistol. You know guard thewhole thing, so there was not a lot of information out there. But now cole, an aviation historian, is restoring, researching, and retelling how the legendary norden bombsites were key to the success of american bombers over europe. The whole point of even having a b 17 and having 10 people put their lives on the line at risk, was him getting those crosshairs and when that release point is reached and the bombs released. American bombs hammered hitlers ability to wage war. But in that were special. The norden sites were the computers of their day. But with gears instead of circuit boards. It had gear ratios that you put in different inputs. Based on your weapnons, airspeed and altitude when bombers arrived near the target, the pilot turned it over to the bombadier. He would actually take aircraft and fly the aircraft simply by moving the bomb site and keeping the crosshairs on the target. Then the site did even more. And the bomb site decided when to release the bombs. There was nobody pushing a button, they would actually hold it and set all this up and when the bomb site said everythings right, it dropped them. The bombs dropped,guided by the gears and dials, they were assembled in American Typewriter and adding machine factories. And if you think about it and look at whats inside one and all thelinkage and levers, it is like a typewriter. , so in World War Two thats what they did, what denny does is assemble pieces rebuilding the amazing devices that helped win a war. Lloyd sowers fox 13 news. 3 vanessa if you go to the vanessa 3 fox 13 news. 3 vanessa if you go to the Macdill Airfest. Look for denny and his history display 3 wally 3 3 vanessa its so hard. Balancing work and life. walter but just ahead the new law one state is considering, that would help parents. Share more family moments. Laura has that story for us, after the break. And at progressive, we let you compare our progressive direct rate. Great deals for reals . And our competitors rates sidebyside, so you know youre getting a great deal. Saving the moolah. [ chuckles ] as you can see, sometimes progressive isnt the lowest. Not always the lowest jamie. What are you doing . Im being your hype man. Not right now. You said i was gonna be the hype man. No, we said we wouldnt do it. Im sorry, we were talking about savings. I liked his way. Chaching talking about getting that moneeeey talking about getting that moneeeey savings worth the hype. 3 vanessa every parent knows the challenge. You try to balance work and the kids, and squeeze in time for your relationship. You cant. At least, not well. And that leaves you feeling guilty and exhausted. 3 vanessa well now, state lawmakers in california are saying thats enough. Theyre getting involved. walter and it could save parents from a really tough choice between their kids, or their boss. Lauras here to explain. 3 laura it really is a balancing act. So many balls in the air. Each of them important. You have to be at work. But often, that means sacrificing important moments with the kids. Well, soon. That might not be the case. 3 laura california lawmakers are considering a bill that would amend the states Family School and partnership act. It would allow parents more paid time off to attend schoolrelated events. Like plays and parades. And it would make a huge difference to so many people who have no choice but to put work demands, before family. 3 my husband gets to go to absolutely nothing during the week, i feel like im a single parent. This would really help i have 2 little ones that go here, and time for both. 3 laura right now, the act allows parents five family days off, without risk of losing their jobs. But theyre unpaid. And thats just not feasible for many families. This new bill would shorten it to three days, but make them paid. And that. Could make a big difference. 3 laura now, this is only for attending schoolrelated activities. Like awards ceremonies or field trips. But it could give so many families what they want most time together. Making 3 its now 5 . 3 time to check the forecast with dave. 3 dave weve seen a lot of amazing weather video lately. But just look at this. Heavy rain causes a Northern California highway to collapse. And wash away. Officials blame recent storms for the collapse of a hillside. The area has been continually soaked since the beginning of the month. 3 service says more than five inches of rain fell in the last week alone. It is 5 time now on the roads with our 3 no closed captioning is available for traffic. 3 3 3 the last time the bucs had a player with double digit sacks in a season was simeon rice more than a decade ago. The bucs newest addition along that defensive front feels like he can be the next. Defensive end robert ayers had a career year with the giants last season, wiht 9. 5 sacks. But truth be told, feels like he was gipped and that half should have been a whole. In a Conference Call introduction today, ayers talked about why he thinks hell produce for the bucs. Spring football kicked off tonight at florida state. No starting quarterback sean maguire, whos out all spring with an ankle injury. But jimbo fisher says he will open up the competition to the 3 qbs behind him. And give them all equal reps. Third redshirt freshman Deondre Francois and true freshman sure it mattered who was under of spring was apparently a disaster according to the head just how horrible his team they looked. I mean its not like its bowl week or doesnt matter to jimbo. And attention. The Cocktail Party continues. Today it was announced that the florida georgia football rivalry will continue in jacksonville for another 5 years. New renovations to Everbank Field helped to secure the deal. I mean, its only been happening there for 83 years, so rest easy the rivalry continues through 2021 the 12 hours of sebring is right around the corner. Saturday. Starting just before 11 oclock. Green flag. Its only half of the rolex 24 up in daytona. But nonetheless. Its an endurance race that has its own challenges. Christian fittipaldis team is the defending champion at this race. He said the 12 hours in sebring. Is almost as demanding as the 24 hours in daytona. You have to be fast. And race cleanly. As important. Fittipaldi healthy balance in a long race 3 walter and back to the 3 walter and back to the boards for a minute. President barack obama has tournament selections. His choices for the final a m. North carolina. And michigan state. And hes playing it safe. Picking the topoverallseeded jayhawks to win the national championship. Its 5 stay with us. 3 if your family outing is magical for all the wrong reasons. You may be muddling through allergies. Try zyrtec for powerful allergy relief. And zyrtec is different than claritin. Because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. Try zyrtec. Muddle no more introducing longhorn s big, bold, steaks. Our new 10 ounce filet. Our 16 ounce tbone. And our fire grilled 18 ounce outlaw ribeye. Only at longhorn steakhouse. You cant fake steak. Our gardens have evolved. We can run them from anywhere. Make them greener faster. Drop them and watch them bloom. Theyre 5star worthy, grown regionally. And keep their color. A lot, lot longer. These gardens are the next generation of blooming. With earthgro mulch four bags of guaranteed color, just 10. The home depot. More saving. More doing. 3 wally you dont have to be irish to celebrate this st. Pattys day. But if you wear green, youll save green, at ihop. The International House of pancakges is offering a short stack of buttermilk pancakes for just a dollar, to anyone wearing emerald today. The deal runs from seven this morning, till seven tonight. 3 vanessa if youre looking for a more traditional irish breakfast, head over to pj dolans irish pub on east bearss avenue in north tampa. Theyll be servingup corned beef hash. Beans and toast. Rashers bacon. Even black and white puddings. Starting at eight this morning. And if you stick around long enough, you can enjoy live music and drinks, starting at two in the dollar cover charge. 3 walterand in dunedin, cricketers british pub is the place to be. Theyre holding a big party, in the parking lot. Theres a huge tent setup, where you can enjoy food, drinks and music. Bagpipers. Hula hoopers. Face painters. And the bands start playing, at four this afternoon. The event is free, including the parking. 3 vanessa theres much more to come on good day. walter lets turn it over to russell and laura to find out whats ahead in our 6 oclock hour. 3 russell 2shot it is a very busy thursday morning. The Sunshine Skyway bridge is closed again because of fog. Vanessa will keep us updated all morning long. laura and were just getting word of a historic announcement from the ceo of seaworld. This will change the company. And the theme park forever. 3 russell take vo plus rescued from the floods. How the National Guard rescues pets that are left behind. 3 laura take vo and fish out of water find out why this seal crosses the street every single day. Its all ahead at six. 3 3 pvanessa welcome to the 6 00 phour of good day. Pit looks foggy over the sunshine pbridge and f. H. P. Is closing it pto all drivers so all of you pthat use the Sunshine Skyway pwill have to use i75 in the pmeantime. Precent reports say that pvisibility in some places preduced to below 100 feet so not psafe for folks to drive over the pbridge right now. Pthis did cause quite a concern a pcouple of mornings ago when this phappened, particularly with