Going head to head in houston. Senator ted cruz is hoping to bring frontrunner Donald Trumps winning streak to a halt. The texas senator just scored a key endorsement from his own states governor. And a study shows that most the wheel. About 87 of drivers are doing Dangerous Things on the road, being drunk, speeding, texting, they all made the list. The report reveals nearly 33,000 americans died in crashes in 2014. Its 4 01 on this thursday morning. Lets get a check on the weather with leigh. Thankfully we have this storm system thats passed us by. And the system has pushed up into the northeast causing Severe Weather and snow fall. But for us, were seeing the remnants now, just a few clouds, certainly colder. We are down to 54 in inverness right now. Drop over the next three to four hours. 55 in lakeland. One of the reason, the winds are so strong out of the northwest. Look at this, 20 Miles Per Hour in brooksville. 17 Miles Per Hour in lakeland. But gusting up to nearly 30 Miles Per Hour. And that just draws that colder air to the south so that the high today, only 65, well below the average of 74. At 4 08, i will take you hour byhour through the day. Windy, windy. Yes, it is. But we have a good drive. A wonderful drive. Were going to look in new port richey, state road 54 to the sun coast parkway, 15 minutes. And about 15 minutes on u. S. 19 through palm harbor from state road 54 over to tampa road. Ybor looks great. And also the veterans delays. Howard franklin. How long will it take to you cross it . Six minutes. Traffic. Back to gene and gayle. A clearwater mom and dad are out on bond. They are accused of calling police to report someone stole their car with their 3yearold son in the backseat. The problem, police claim they made up the whole story. Their little boy was safe at day care. He is now with grandma. Why did the parents lie. We sent news channel 8s paul mueller figure it out. Reporter the mom had her car stolen two weeks ago and this time she knew if she told them the kid was in the backseat, they would be there right away. Awful, awful, awful. I thought i wasnt going to see my grandson. Reporter the grandmother of the 3yearold breathing a sigh of relief now that she has custody of her grand child. Cops say the boys mom called 911, someone she said had stolen her car from outside her house with her son inside. They arrested the driver about there must have been 15, 20 police cars behind him. They still thought the kid informs the car. Reporter and he wasnt but the mother and father later told the cop, they lied. Tonight they told us do you regret any of this . No. Reporter your 3 and i regret you being in my face. Reporter you think your children are the victims here . I think im the victim. I got my car stolen twice in one month and im going to jail. Theres a ridiculous turn of events with irresponsible behavior today. Reporter the grandmother is just grateful that her grand child is okay. Im getting my grand babies and theyre going to be safe and okay. Reporter so as for that child who went missing who really never went missing, during this whole ordeal, he was at his day care in pinellas park. Paul mueller, news channel 8. Regret you being in my face, what is that all about . Well, today Hillsborough County will try to figure out the number of Homeless People this morning, hundreds of volunteers will begin the process of counting Homeless People they come across. Theyll walk street, alleys and the woods to find homeless men and women. The county is trying to better understand the homeless problem in the community and develop outreach programs. Governor rick scott is asking for more zika Antibody Test kits. Three pregnant women in florida tested positive. The Health Department isnt identifying the women or saying where they live in florida. The zika virus is linked to birth defects. And a warning that the outbreak could get worse before it gets better. We know that we also dealing with a tricky virus full of uncertainty so we should be prepared for surprises. The director of the World Health Organization made those just months ahead of hosting the summer olympics. Brazil is considered a zika hot spot. Happening today, Sports Reporter erin andrews is headed back to court. She is suing her stalker and marriott for negligence claiming the hotel allowed the stalker to request and stay in a room next to her. Lindsey mastis is following the developments. I know her father testified yesterday and its possible we could hear from her today. Reporter thats right. Her father is wflas own chief investigator steve andrews. He told the court his daughter called him. What he heard would make any dad shudder. She was telling me, screaming out of her, that were up on the internet of her changing. Reporter erin andrews attorney insist that the the stalker requested a room next to her and then he filmed her. Steve andrews admits that it wasnt until this happened that he started to worry about his daughters safety. The first time in my life as her sorry as her father where i didnt know if she was safe or not. I feared for her life. Reporter her stalker served 30 months in prison. He is now free. He is expected to testify via video. She is expected to take the stand during the civil is trial which could last two weeks. You can bet we will have a close eye on this. Yeah, it was a very emotional day, thank you. This morning, people in Charlotte County are assessing the damage after strong storms this is video from eagle 8 hd flying over the damage. And you can see some homes lost their roofs. Thats a pool enclosure completely torn apart there. One of the hardest hit areas is deep creek subdivision. Winds there, so strong, some fences knocked down, the pool enclosures ripped away. In virginia, its a more serious situation, several people are trapped under storm debris in a community. Rescue crewers are working to free them. They crews are working right now to free them. The tornadoes left a path of destruction six miles long. We know as many as 25 people are hurt. The time right now is 4 08. Lets turn things over to leigh spann to find out what the weather is doing now. Well, the storms are gone but a cold front has come through. And now we are going to turn to winterlike weather. Temperatures will have fallen to 54. Thats cool but with a 20 to 30 Miles Per Hour northwest wind, you will need a jacket and you will need to hold on to your hat. Temperatures only slowly creep up. Were still at 62 by noon. Around 65 degrees at 3 00 p. M. Thats nearly 10 degrees below average. And then we drop quickly through evening, back down to about 57 degrees at 7 00. So big headline today will be the strong northwest winds creating dangerous boating conditions and really just annoying to be outside. And thats bring hyperemesis gravidarum the chillier air. Highs bringing in the chillier air. During the weekend though, the afternoons will be pleasant, below average, yes, but with sunshine. And now the traffic on the 8s. No rainfall but windy out there. You got to use caution, especially on the skyway bridge, hold on to the wheel. We have a great drive otherwise. This is 275 right at bearss avenue. Wonderful drive moving into downtown tampa. All right, lets move over now and look at the maps. Here is lakeland, i4 looks wonderful between each entrance of the polk parkway, a great commute, about 11 minutes. And down into tampa, no delays on i4. The polk parkway itself looks good. And six minutes on the howard franklin. Four on the gandy. And seven on the Courtney Campbell causeway between tampa and clearwater. Thats a look at weather and traffic on the 8s. Back to gene and gayle. Before storms moved through florida and up the east coast, it hard. The community of convent was devastated with hundreds of memo mobiles and campers destroyed. Mobile homes and campers destroyed. One man was trapped in his rv during the storm. When i raised the blind storm. When i raised the blind up, the privacy fence took off. And the next thing i know, i was hitting the icebox and air born. Up on the ground face, didnt know where i was. And i thought it was still going. The wind was still blowing hard. He suffered a fractured shoulder and knee and he has cuts and bruises on his back. Incredible. Well a local School Bus Driver is outraged. Her message. What she saw that made her so mad, she had to post it to social media and how it could impact the safety of your children. Then reporter maybe you feel out of place at work. Youre certainly not alone. Im Adrienne Pedersen and ill introduce you to one local its 4 14. This morning, an 8 on your side story about your workplace. In florida, samesex workers can technically be fired for just being gay. A bill that aims to stop this just got shut down. One major local player backed it though. News channel 8s Adrienne Pedersen takes us inside tech data, a company striving for inclusion. Reporter 24yearold christian feels safe sitting in the middle of his company definitely not something he would have done just a few years ago. It was a very small company. I wasnt comfortable coming out. Its something you have to think about all the time if you are closeted like that. And it really wears you down to have to do that. Reporter tech data known for always being inclusive just started a group called spectrum for lgbta employees. If employees are encouraged to be themselves, then they put more effort into work. Reporter spectrum members will have guest speaker, attend fairs. This got us wondering how companies . Well the Human Rights Campaign keeps track with the Corporate Equality index. Three Bay Area Companies got perfect scores for 2015. Tech data is on the field. Plus two law firms. Company. Channel 8. Tech data also has employee Resource Groups for women and military members. We checked and a lot of Larger Companies are starting similar groups so you will want to check before you sign your next contract. Well, it happens far too often, children nearly getting run over by other cars while trying to get on or off the school bus. And now one local bus driver is sending out a message to get drivers to slow down. Driver robin russ told 8 on your side it happened to her on state road 54 in pasco county. A driver barely missed one of her students while trying to speed around the bus, ignoring the stop arm and flashing lights. I screamed my students name and told him to get back on the bus. Ive never spoken to him like that before so he kind of leapt back on. Well, we did some digging and found a study by the association showing more than 70,000 cases in 26 states just from one day. Well, you have heard the warning, now maybe seeing this your car. Deputies want to find this guy you see here. This is home Surveillance Video from lakeland. And you can see the man walk right up and pulls on the trucks door handle. Walks away. No luck here. But deputies tell us that the guy and an accomplice later scored a gun, cash and electronics from three other unlocked cars. Check this out, looks like a movie scene but these are real firefighters training for extreme situations. Fire crews from florida and new york practiced out in las vegas on the ferris wheel. It has a zip line pullly system that helps firefighter reach the rim which is hundreds of feet high into the air. The ferris wheel here is similar to the orlando eye not far from us. The new campaign urging Tampa General Hospital to cut ties with the fast food chain. Today residents and local groups are meeting at mcfarland elementary school. They want the hospital to close the mcdonalds inside the hospital. The group feels its not good for parents or visitors at the hospital. Four other hospitals in the u. S. Have already served severed ties with mcdonalds in the past year. Well, shes probably glad that she didnt break a tooth. A Washington State woman bit into a rare and Beautiful Pearl when she was at a din we are her husband. Wow dinner with her husband. It was so flawless, even a gemoologist was skeptical. He thought it was a joke but its real all right and its worth about 600. She has plans to keep the pretty gem and possibly make a necklace. Where did it come from . We got to find out. Lets get a check on the weather with leigh. Well, we are seeing strong winds behind yesterdays cold front. Im going to keep an eye to see if we get sprinkles off the gulf of mexico. Im keeping the rain chance less than 10 but it wouldnt be out of the question to get a sprinkle. Generally though, the big story is going to be the wind. Gusty and 54 degrees at 8 00 a. M. But it doesnt warm up much. 62 at noon. And windy at 3 00 p. M. And quite sunny, just quite cool at 65. Look at this, 57 auburndale. 56 brooksville. 60 in sarasota. And look, we just checked in with bob in venice. Winds are strong and so our temperatures will continue to drop over the next couple hours. Already seeing a 23 Miles Per Hour sustained wind in clearwater. 15 in bartow the. 20 in brooksville. But the individual stronger wind gusts, those get close to 30 Miles Per Hour. So theres a Small Craft Advisory and a High Surf Advisory posted today. Seas at 6 to 10 feet. And notice how we will keep the strong winds Going Forward in time. All day today, and then winds but only a high of 62. And then low 40s saturday morning. Leslee, how about traffic on the 8s . Well, were moving at good speeds out here, especially in polk county. Here is i4 around the polk parkway. Absolutely no delays. And lets take a look at 275 around bearss avenue. Also up to speed. And now some travel times for you. In fact, from the paul buchman highway on i4 all the way in to downtown tampa here at the junction, a fast 22 minutes on your drive. Thats a look at weather and traffic on the 8s. Back to gene and gayle. All right. , leslee. Its a question many people have asked, what would it cost if you bought one of everything on amazon. Com. Ive never thought of that. Ahead, someone actually calculated how much money you of shopping spree. And next, we will hear if the american astronaut about his yearlong stay in space. Remember thats the guy that couple days ago, scott kelly. We will hear from him and when he is due back. Youre watching news channel 8 today. And connect with me with story ideas. Check out my Facebook Page or send me a tweet. I posted some really interesting video about snakes. And i never knew that female snakes are big visas. Didnt know either. Youre watching news channel left up in that awesome space station. American astronaut scott kelly will once again be an earthling come next tuesday. I have been up here for a longtime and sometimes i feel like ive lived my whole life up here. He spent a whole year at the International Space station as part of a study that studies the effects of space on the human body and mind. How much would it cost to buy one of everything from amazon. Com . Well, a computer sciencist thinks he knows. The answer 12. 86 billion. He must had a lot of time on his hand because he figured there are an estimated 479 items on the site 479 million items the site with the average cost around 29. Its becoming the new standard, same day delivery and ups is now jumping on the retailers to have online orders delivered same day. Was invested. Weather and traffic on the 8s is three minutes away. Plus, a fake murder scene. It was meant to be a prank but in the the next half hour, why the jokester ended up behind its 4 38. Getting kids ready for the bus stop, send them with a coat. 54 degrees and clouds this morning and a strong wind. But we only make it about 10 degrees warmer by the afternoon, 65, gusty. Emoji man says hold on to your hat. And theyre keeping us cool, only in the low to mid60s through the weekend, leslee. And traffic right now, folk, were looking at brooksville up here. We are looking good on i75. All the way down into brandon, that is cortez road in hernando county. Commute. And also right in the heart of brooksville, downtown, were up to speed, absolutely no delays there. And a live look at traffic, here is i4 around the polk parkway. No delays. But across the skyway bridge, good morning. Welcome to news channel 8 today. Im gene ramirez. And im gayle guyardo. In our top stories this morning, Sports Reporter erin andrews heads back to court today in her hotel peephole lawsuit. Andrews is the daughter of our chief Investigative Reporter steve andrews. When he took the stand, we could feel how helpless he felt as a father. The first time in my life as her, sorry, as her father where