well. so the bottom line is stay out of the water. walk the beach if you don't mind the wind, but stay out of the water. >> thank you, shay. getting you caught up on the race for the white house. candidates making their way through new hampshire for the primary all day. hillary clinton meeting with supporters. on the top, marco rubio shaking hands with voters. and christie christie in manchester. our todd walker traveled to new hampshire to cover the election there. he is live there right now. todd. >> reporter: laura, this is a small state but has a huge impact on the national election because they are the first to drop an actual ballot into a box. they got a lot of individual attention from candidates. experts we talked to today say the biggest impact that new hampshire has on the entire election is it weeds candidates out of the race. it is widely expected after candidates drop out as new hampshire has its say. for the last couple of weeks, new hampshire has been the center of the political universe. this morning, past the campaign signs, this was a point it didn't matter anymore. when new hampshire primary voters stepped into the voting booth, they got one of the first says in the matter. >> i think new hampshire sets the trend for the rest of the country. >> the trend is very unique. >> reporter: it's a small state that gets a lot of attention for its choice for president. >> people here are looking to engage civically and looking to weed the candidates out. >> the concerns of people in new hampshire may not be the same as big you are an area -- urban areas but at least all of the issues get out on the table. >> reporter: how often do the choices made here turn into a candidate becoming the nominee. saying always first always right. >> reporter: since 1980, the winner of the new hampshire primary has gone on to win the republican nomination three out of five times. for the democrats, three out of six got the primary nomination. they are proud to cast that vote. >> this is the only place in the nation that you can ask a question and ask a follow-up question of a candidate. >> reporter: for just a while be the center of the political universe. >> people get a chance to see the character of the candidates. >> reporter: polls across the state actually have leeway in how early they open and how late they close. most will close at 7:00. some will stay open until 8:00. we have seen a steady stream of people coming through the polling site this morning and this afternoon. new hampshire traditionally has a high voter turnout. laura. >> todd, a lot of changes have happened in new hampshire though. do you know a few of those for the primary what has really changed? >> reporter: well, yeah. this is actually the 100th anniversary of the new hampshire primary. way back when it started the first in the nation status, they blew off the primary. but now they show up and they definitely pay attention here now. >> thank you, todd. also right now, here is how we're getting ready for our primary in florida. check out the thousands of male- in ballots going out today in largo. 200,000 in all. ashley glass is walking us through important deadlines and what you need to know to vote. >> reporter: today marks february 9th of course. looking ahead, we have an important deadline that every floridians needs to keep in mind. february 16th, one week from get registered so that you can vote in the florida primary. this is also the deadline to update are you a registered democrat or republican. important to keep in mind, florida is a closed primary system. you can only vote within your registered party for the florida primary in march. how do you get registered and update your party affiliation? keep this website in mind here. yourvote -- yourvoteflorida.com. you can update your information or register to vote on that website. you have to do it by february 16th. you will find everything that you need to know to register and update your party affiliation. you can also get linked in here to every supervisor of elections website in the entire state of florida. one final take-away, i spoke with the supervisor of elections today. time every single year if you are registered as an independent, you cannot vote in the florida primary in march for the presidential race. know that. save yourself the time and confusion down the road. remember that important deadline, february 16th. onone week from today. to register to vote and update your party affiliation. >> thank you, ashley. and donald trump is coming to tampa on friday. remember yesterday i told you that event was sold out? well now his people are saying of tickets. it is happening at 7:00 over at the sun dome and it's free. just register to get your tickets. also we found out that trump's speech will have a lot to do with national security and keeping americans safe. just go to abcactionnews.com on. right now let's take a look at -- it looks like it is beautiful out there, shay. right now. i think this might be cameras out there. it looks beautiful. but is it still cold. >> it's cold. >> that's the question. >> and windy. you probably noticed the camera shaking a bit. we've already talked about the dangers along with the winds for boaters today. the bottom line is it's also a comfort factor issue. with the wind gusts possible for a couple more hours tonight close to the coastline and inland, 30 miles per hour gusts, it's going to continue to feel brisk across the area. check out these temperatures. 61 in brooksville. bartow at 59. and 62 at mcdill. we've got tampa coming in at 61. colder temperatures ahead. i'll let you know more about the winds. and laura, you know today is fat tuesday, right? >> yes, i do. we're super excited. we have live pictures from bourbon street coming up in just a bit. thanks, shay. remember yesterday when we told you about that $20,000 from the museum in st. pete? well, the cops found it. sort of. someone actually dropped it at the front door of the arts center in st. pete. the police are trying to get some clues, maybe finger prints off of it to find out who took it and why they decided to just bring it back. and while tampa city leaders were talking about ways to end gun violence today, we got word a second person died from a weekend club shooting in tampa. christopher houston died at the hospital late last night. you're looking at video during the chaos when 18 people were shot early saturday morning. the police are looking for the person who did it. more on how tampa city leaders are trying to clean up the problem. that's coming up on abc action news at 5:00. you can't go anywhere without seeing construction in downtown tampa. but it might be a little prettier at least this time when a portion of the river fencing has been made into an interactive piece of art. christie post did it earlier today, taking selfies there. it looks like you're playing an instrument. post it to social media. the area is under construction until june for pump improvements. it will be around maybe for a few months. have a good time with it. right now a live look at the heart of mardi gras from new orleans. andy choi is down there right now. >> reporter: there's a national holiday for just about everything. on fat tuesday, the choices are aplenty. the question is which do you eat first? >> i think it's a crying shame that we sit here today having to have this discussion. and it's not every day there's drama at a school board meeting. how did the superintendent handle coming back to work in public for the first time since she was accused and now cleared before we go, a sea of orange and blue in downtown denver right now. hundreds of thousands of people packed into the civic center area to celebrate the broncos' super bowl victory. the team and the lombardi trophy made their way through the streets of denver in a parade. the nfl is taking a strong stance against college players convicted of sexual assault or weapons crimes. in a memo obtained, the nfl says players convicted of any of those crimes wouldn't be invited to any league-related event. meaning they will miss out on the nfl combine and draft. draft-eligible players will need to consent to a background check. if something comes up in the check or if the players don't agree, they won't be invite today an nfl event. several incidences in the nfl over the past few years. >> domestic violence, including child abuse, sexual assault, irresponsible ownership or handling of firearms, these activities must be condemned and stopped. >> reporter: it all came to a head when ray rice, adrian peterson and hardee were entangled in alleged domestic violence incidences at roughly the same time. now for clarification, "usa today" explains that last year's number one pick jamison winston who was accused of sexual assault would have been able to attend the draft and combine under the new rules. he was never charged with a crime, much less convicted. players with the past convictions can reportedly still hold private workouts, school pro days and more. with your favorite streaming >> right now we want to take you to oklahoma city. these pictures coming in just moments ago. check out that video there. you see a grass fire burning dozens of acres right now. crews from kfor capturing this just moments ago. heavy smoke can be seen for miles. firefighters are trying to keep it from spreading to a nearby neighborhood. our affiliate in the area are telling us there are multiple fires being put out in that area. forecasters say the warm temperatures, the low humidity and as you can see that fire looks like it is leaning over to the right, it's the wind gusts that are just a recipe for wildfires. also right now, the leader of the polk county school district is fighting for her job. superintendent catherine leroy was cleared of harassment investigation charges last month. but that same investigation revealed inappropriate behavior that the school board is struggling to accept. raiche has been following every step of the investigation. he joins us now with what will happen next. ryan. >> reporter: laura, this was the first board meeting since the internal investigation into the superintendent was made public. obviously the board is not happy with the inappropriate and unprofessional relationship between the superintendent and the associate superintendent. i'm back here, this is where the board members park. there are 7 spaces. i'm here to try to illustrate where they stand on this issue. this morning, one, two, three board members said they do not have confidence in the superintendent. the fourth field said how about a three-day suspension. she thinks that is appropriate for the superintendent. then the other three haven't decided or haven't said publicly where they stand. there is a special meeting at 5:00 p.m. on friday to discuss and decide the fate of the superintendent. superintendent can no longer be a highly effective leader as the ceo of the polk county school district. >> somebody is not telling the truth. we don't know who that somebody is. but both of them are at fault for establishing a relationship that was not professional. >> reporter: kay fields is referring to the superintendent and associate superintendent greg rivers. he filed nine charges against her, including sexual harassment. the superintendent said all nine allegations were unsubstantiated. she was fully exonerated. but the problem is what the investigation did find is still very embarrassing to the district. laura. >> for sure, ryan. this has been going on for weeks now. so friday at 5:00 p.m., they're holding a special meeting. meeting. investigation. and then ultimately vote on the future of superintendent catherine leroy. they have to be careful because everybody involved has an contracts involved. obviously they want to avoid a lawsuit down the road. live in bar doe, ryan raiche. back to you. >> thank you, ryan. we want to take a live look at bourbon street right now because ladies and gentlemen it is officially fat tuesday. it must be chilly because i've never seen so many coated during fat tuesday and mardi gras. this is all happening on bourbon street. it's a celebration dating back to the early 1700s. this of course leading up to ash wednesday tomorrow, the start of lent. this is an annual tradition to indulge and do whatever you want before ash wednesday. this guy finally figured out there. andy choi shows us how fat tuesday falls on more high calorie day. >> reporter: this even falls on more food related holidays. what is on the mardi gras menu. >> so this year we're thinking 3,000 if not more. >> reporter: that's 3,000punckis off of the shelf. >> we go and get some every >> fresh every morning. so they're fresh every day. >> reporter: don't forget to make room for national bagel day. it's the ultimate meal under 5 bucks. >> happy national bagel day. >> yes, sir. >> cheers. >> oh, yeah. >> good, right? >> and i'm going to stretch it. toss it out a little bit. hungry, cosmo's pizza can help you celebrate national pizza day. that might send your new year's resolutions over the edge. >> this is when resolutions start slipping up a bit. >> how do you not eat all of these at works. i have a belly so i kind of do. >> reporter: remember this, keep all things in moderation, including moderation. the diet starts tomorrow. i'm andy choi for the now. >> that's one of my husband's favorite lines by the way. everything in moderation, especially moderation. >> and the diet starts later. we were looking at that live picture from new orleans. how cold is it. >> their conditions are similar to ours. 57 in new orleans with 35 miles per hour wind gusts. >> that's why they were wearing the scarves. >> if you're headed out for the mardi gras celebrations, temperatures will be in the mid 50s and it will be windy out there with the 35 miles per hour wind gusts. rain is unlikely. maybe just a drizzle or quick sprinkle. by 10:00 tonight, it will be on the chilly side but the temperatures kind of leveling off, in the mid 50s there with the winds starting to come down some. take a look at the temperatures across pinellas county right now. upper 50s to low 60s. hillsborough county you can see temperatures are in the low 60s. when it comes to rainfall over the next 24 hours, it doesn't look like we will see much if anything. maybe just a quick drizzle or sprinkle moving across the area. what you will notice most will be the temperatures and those wind speeds that stay with us. so nothing more than a sprinkle for rainfall. but those temperatures, you want to know when this chill is going to break, right? another one, two, maybe three or four days. i'll let you know. you know what doesn't like the chilly temperatures? manatees. and we've got more on that and how to catch a glimpse of them in a safe passive environment coming up in a little bit. >> all right, shay. i've got candy and -- you're going to love what i'm about to tell you. you're about to see a big change in some of america's favorite candies that might make you crave it even more. i'll explain when we come back >> right now the zika virus continues to spread here in florida. now the department of health is giving updates every day at 2:00. okay. so we have 16 cases in florida right now. seven counties. three cases in hillsborough in our area. rick scott saying the cdc has sent us 950 test kits. important for pregnant women out there. jamison uhler is here to give us more information. >> health leaders in iowa are reporting their first cases. so far no one has gotten it from mosquitoes here in the u.s. the cdc moved the operation center to the highest level to prepare. the only other times a level one activation happened was with the ebola and after hurricane katrina. >> before you leave, this was the snickers that you were looking for. don't forget it. >> another reason to eat more candy. artificial coloring will be taken out of all of the candy. twix, snickers, it will take five years to get the changes done. we asked if everything will be beige. the company is looking for natural alternatives. checking in on the traffic camera. that's our live drive right now. before you grown, this one is -- groan, this one is supposed to be better. we're live on the road to show you what is actually going on. >> oklahoma city firefighters will continue to hit the hot spots for a little longer. you see the flames in the middle of your screen. it looks like the flames are actually leaning over to the right. that's because we're being told the wind gusts right now are about 35 miles per hour. and as you can imagine, just a recipe for disaster. back here at home, we're taking a live look at our live drive camera. that's i-275. that's good for 4:30 in the afternoon. that's one of the places where well this year so far we're talking about 275 heading north. well, back about three weeks ago, they changed the traffic patterns in the area and made the lanes more narrow. that has been a nightmare well since they made another change, making one of the skinnier lanes back to the original alignment. they're telling us we should be less, you know -- there should be less, you know, congestion there. you see what it looked like when it started. right now you see the live drive camera just zooming on by with the construction in the area. since it's another change, you can expect a few delays. we will keep an eye on that one for you. whether you pay with cash or credit, many of us are overcharged for things. and we don't even know about it. at the store, items like seeds and groceries don't get taxed. at the mechanics, if you're a prius, for example it doesn't need as much as a regular charge. the computer may charge you what a regular car is getting. we have seen it in the tampa bay area, wait staff adding tip to the bill even after you signed it. make sure that you count it yourself. the restaurant could be helping itself to a few extra bucks on your dime. so check your receipts because of course everything adds up. abc action news' ashley yore shows you other local places that you're paying too much money at and new action money. >> reporter: gasoline, car loans, cash advances. prices are all higher in low- income neighborhoods. >> every month you're thinking how am i going to get money to pay this bill. how am i going to get money to pay this rent. >> reporter: she is working with neighborhood home solutions to get her finances in order and buy a house. will give more support, teaching budgeting and financial literacy to people in low income neighborhoods. >> they may not have a checking account. they don't have a budget. they don't have access to legitimate credit. >> reporter: they can face high prices for the basics. >> i'm tired of paying $700, $800 in rent for one bedroom. that's ridiculous. >> reporter: here at the obama express food mart in mid town, a half gallon of milk costs $4.50. i spent $2.15 at a wal-mart several blocks away and i got the same half a gallon of milk. that's less than half the price in a different neighborhood. this grant will connect st. pete with other areas making changes. it will go towards finance classes and one on one assistance. >> when you think about it, the people with the least need the best budgeting skills. >> reporter: help that will get >> i want a dream home where me and my grand kids can come visit. i have 10 grand kids. >> reporter: this is expected to start in april. i'm ashley yore, the new tampa bay. >> look at all of these manatees. this is crazy. there's like 300 of them huddled together trying to keep warm. this is at the three sisters springs in crystal river. it's usually a great place to visit. but because there are so many down. the manatees swim there in the winter because the spring is actually warm, getting out of the cold gulf waters. when you told me about this earlier, shay, i had never seen anything like that before. when i first moved to tampa and i saw them doing that, i was like what are they doing. it's awesome to us but they're just trying to stay warm. cold. well, some of us. your shot on that note. the water is 72 degrees for those manatees. another spot that you can view is pico in apollo beach. that is another viewing center that you can go to. again, you can view the manatees and keep them in a nice safe environment. they will be snuggling up for a time here. because the temperatures will be remaining on the chilly side. tonight we're going to see the temperatures around 8:00 at 54 degrees. tomorrow morning when you wake up, 47. by the way, tomorrow morning is not the coldest morning of the rest of the week. we will have more on that in a little bit. into tomorrow, we top out again in the upper 50s with 25 miles per hour plus wind gusts. so, yeah, this is a snuggle alert. speaking of snuggling, i have a sneak peek at the valentine's day forecast coming up. >> thanks, shay. taking a look at all of the lowest gas prices in the area. how low the pres could go. $1 gas? back. we're getting close. explaining to us what the gas prices are in our area right now it's just $1.56 over at the sam's club on big bend road. we're doing well in the tampa bay area. jackie callaway is here looking into places where it's even lower. >> i wish it was florida making the list. kansas, indiana, ohio are among the states with the lowest gas prices. prices are down double digits in every state. except for hawaii. that's just in the last month. the national average has hit $1.72 a gallon. you can see how that compares as firebases action 2013 much check out how much lower gas prices are now. we're seeing the cheapest gas we have seen across the country since early 2009. how long could it last? aaa says demand for gas typically starts increasing in august. that means typically prices are higher during the 7 months. year. both gas and crude oil supplies are at record levels right now. aaa says prices may stay low for longer than normal. one thing that may change that is if the refineries shut down for maintenance. >> you're keeping us on top of the recalls when it comes to the takata air bags. what is going on right now. >> a consumer group is suing transportation. they want to force it to make a website that can be accessed by defects easily. congress actually told dot to that has not happened. recalls. right now you can do it using your vin number. it would give you like bulletins, some bulletins from the car makers. and right now we're not seeing that. >> and it would make it easier. for. >> thanks, jackie. >> reporter: one of the leading hospitals will allow hiv donors. that story is coming up. would you take a water taxi to get around downtown tampa during a big event? we look at the perks and the downsides with the new options >> right now the royal caribbean cruise caught in hurricane force winds is on its way back to new jersey. they were told to come up with answers quickly why this happened. of course he is involved because the ship was headed to cape canaveral. there was a storm forecasted but they still went on the seas. the ship was in winds of more than 100 miles per hour. the captain ordering thousands of passengers and crew members to stay in their rooms for hours. >> the ship was rocking back and forth and tipping side to side. cabinets were slamming open. >> i'm concerned about the captain's judgment in this situation. i recent the fact that he put 6,000 people's lives at risk taking us into a storm that was predicted. >> in the meantime senator nelson says this is similar to last year's when el faro sank after it went into a hurricane's path. it was sailing from jacksonville to puerto rico killing 13 people on board. a state trooper and a good samaritan saving someone from a burning car. this happened in missouri. moments later we see the entire car catch on fire. you will see that in a moment. light causing the crashment then it took offment they were able to catch up with him and arrest him later. the fact that roaches like the ones you're going to see can squeeze through small cracks is gross enough. but its ability to do that could actually save your life one day. scientists at uc berkeley have been studying them to see how fast and flat they can squish their bodies down to. they can get down to the size of two stacked pennies. researchers developed this roach robot. it could be used in the future for earthquakes and explosions. the robot could help find survivors and safe places for first responders to actually go inside of the rubble. take me out to the ball game. can you believe it? spring training is finally here again. check this out. all the people over at the rays are packing up for spring training. guess what, they had a little raymond was there lending a helping hand. just 14 days until pitchers and catchers have to be there. and the first spring training game is march 2nd down in port charlotte. let's stay on that sports track for a little bit. life is about to go into high gear. the grand prix traction construction started today. two miles of track, 14 turns and a whole lot of fun. the annual waterfront event march 11th to the 13th. get your tickets right now. i checked today. three-day tickets start at 30 55 for adults. some tampa bay business owners think they have come up with a way to get you to concerts and sporting events faster and cheaper. so what might they be? we sent christie post to find out if water taxis are a convenient way to get around downtown tampa. >> reporter: crowded streets, bumper-to-bumper traffic. tampa for lindy whitney. >> not that. but if they had easier ways to get to and from. >> reporter: the possible solution, water taxis? yes. yacht star ship is the latest company to jump on board. in two weeks, it is launching a pirate themed service. every hour it will pick and drop people off like a bus. >> the cost is going to be $15 for adults and $8 for children. >> reporter: it's nothing new. a decade ago captain larry started his business. >> the name of all of our boats are called never neverland and that's because i never want to be on land. we have a tremendous following of residents. >> reporter: for five bucks he can get you to the arena in 12 minutes. >> i see cars stacked up trying to get to the arena. >> and you're thinking i'm here. >> yes. event, that may be faster. but here is the deal. in reality, driving would take you five minutes without traffic. in a cab or uber, that's less than $8. but larry says it's the view that keeps people coming back. >> we have dolphin that's come right through here. >> reporter: so most days water taxis probably not. but on some occasions, it could be a good alternative. >> you could park and go wherever you want today -- wanted to go. it would be nice to be on the water in tampa. >> reporter: for the now, i'm christie post. >> and if you remember, there's a proposal for a ferry between st. petersburg and tampa. both cities want to make it happen and up and running by october but that's only if they can find $1 million. find $1 million to fund it. i would love to find $1 million. >> in my back pocket. >> it was interesting. christie went out on that story and we were like i hope she has >> she wasn't out on the open water. she was on the river. that's why you weren't seeing the boat get tossed around. that was smart of them. but take a look right now. you can see the wind speeds are definitely still gusty. apollo beach camera is holding fairly steady. at south tampa, it's a beautiful blue sky out there. lots of sunshine. we have clouds starting to build in spots. so that has been hit or miss. temperatures in the low 60s right now. the winds still out of the west at 20 to 25 miles per hour with gusts up to 30. now, if you are going to be headed to mass tomorrow for ash wednesday, in the morning, we're looking at temperatures in the upper 40s in tampa. and that means temperatures and windchills tomorrow morning are going to be in the 30s all across the area. and then by noon, we're looking at wind speeds picking back up into the 20 miles per hour range. we top out in the upper 50s tomorrow. so an even cooler afternoon. peek at that valentine's day forecast. because our next cold front rolls through just as we warm approaches. we will see little if any rain. by sunday, we get another push of cool air moving in. so snuggle alert i guess for sunday for valentine's day. looking good there. between now and then, our temperatures do climb gradually through today. thursday. and then as we head into the 60s. not too bad to finish off the week. like i said, we have the cooler temperatures to finish off the weekend. and denis will have more on that and our higher rain chances ahead coming up at 5:00. >> thank you, shay. right now looking at the train crash in germany. so many people are asking the question how could something like this happen. nine people dying. two are still missing after the trains ran into each other head on. at least 50 people seriously hurt. another 150 have less severe injuries. crash really was. the transport minister says one of the trains drilled into the others. rescue crews say they seemed to fuse together at the time. the trains were going about 60 happened. a curve in the track might have prevented either engineer from seeing the on coming train. investigators have no idea why they were on the same rail at the same time. they want to look at the data recorders before they speculate if it was human error or a technical problem. students from the university of tampa are getting ready to deliver tens of thousands of bottles to flint, michigan. as you know, the people there still dealing with a water crisis as their water supply has been poisoned with lead. we're getting today. we have been hearing about the health problems from flint affecting kids. now we're hearing it could be really dangerous for older the lead in the water may cause parkinson's disease. >> did you drink the water yourself. >> we had been in the past until all of this broke loose. i'm 70. i'm concerned as well. >> i'm scared to death. somebody needs to be in handcuffs over this one. they knew about it and they didn't do anything. that's terrible. >> some 100,000 people living in flint. people in the area have been exposed to lead in their drinking water since april of 2014. well, drones are very popular. we know that. for fun and amazing shots and all of the cool things you can do with them. get this, there are more registered drones in the united states than piloted planes. that's according to new numbers out from the f.a.a. today. the agency saying more than 325,000 people have registered their drones because they were told to since the end of december. that's 5,000 more drones than planed registered with the the drones out there. 1.6million of the devices were sold last year. all of those drones as you can imagine are worrying pilots. the f.a.a. saying it gets about 100 reports a month from plane pilots saying they have seen drones flying near their aircrafts. the agency has opened around a dozen investigations into unsafe or illegal drones since it started requiring people to actually register them. anyone with a drone before december 21st has less than two weeks left to register it. new drones have to be registered before the first time you can fly them. well, if you are traveling to some colder places with your smaller children, and that's not far, i mean it was snowing in huntsville, alabama today. snowing in atlanta today. consumer reports is warning you puppy winter coats on your children can be dangerous when you strap them into a car seat. the problem is that parents loosen the straps to fit them over the coat. if there's an accident, the extra slack can be dangerous. you see how loose the straps are. if you're in an accident, the coat will compress and all of the extra slack, your kid might fall out. >> really the snow suit added this extra room. in the event of a frontal crash, all of this extra room means there's so much more space for it to ride up and his head to be outside the pro tux of his shell which means he could have a head injury. >> if you want to keep kids safe and warm, try having bigger kids wear their coat over the harness. for babies don't use a coat. just cover them with a blanket instead. all right. i want to show you something right now. there's a hashtag trending in the tampa area for much of the day. #thankyoudanielbrian. he is a wrestler with the wwe. he repaired after 16 years. on live tv he made this he said it was all because of his health issues with concussions. >> a week and a half ago, i took a test that said that maybe my brain isn't as okay as i thought it was. >> brian also talked about how he has a family to think about and just wants to be around for them. well, some breaking news here on the new tampa bay to mention. tennessee just reporting its first case of the zika virus today. the person had recently traveled to south america. well, a medical breath through just got the go ahead. the nation's first hiv positive to hiv positive organ donation will take place at john hopkins university. the now's anne mcnamara explains how it frees up more organs for everyone. >> reporter: the wait to get to the operating table can be excruciating. hundreds of thousands of organs. many die before getting the help they so desperately need. >> can you imagine for six years waiting for the phone to ring. >> reporter: the medical director of transplants at porter adventist hospital. he says the approval of hiv positive to hiv positive organ donation is long overdue. >> now that patients are living longer with these great new medications they are getting kidney failure for the same reason that the rest of the population do, including old age, diabetes, high blood pressure, things like that. >> reporter: studies estimate up to 600 people would donate their organs every year, saving more than a thousand lives. while the benefits are positive, many on other lists will benefit too. >> it will help nonhiv patient because we will be using more kidneys in general. so other kidneys can be used for the nonhiv patients and the >> reporter: it's not sure when the first hiv positive to hiv positive transplant will happen but now they can work to find recipients and donors that match. >> it will only take off even more. >> reporter: for the now, i'm anne mcnamara. >> and i'm laura harris. thank you for joining us on the new tampa bay. abc action news at 5:00 starts right now. >> right now at 5:00, rescue at sea. sailors training for this weekend's regada find themselves in major trouble this afternoon. their boats cap size in the winds. the one reason the sailors survived. i'm jamison uhler. >> several boats cap sized this afternoon. four sailors rescued. jacqueline joins us live. i understand that the waves out there are tremendous. right? >> reporter: the waves and the