breaking news overnight, a death investigation in a quiet brandon the neighborhood. we're live on the scene with where the investigation stands. and animals found beheaded along the courtney campbell causeway linked to a religious ritual. plus, tracking the tropics this morning. tropical storm julia along the coast. will it have an impact here. i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. let's get you out the door on this wednesday. >> we're going to talk about tropical storm julia. if you're waking up now, you probably department go to bed. it formed late last night.

west of jacksonville. you can see when i turn on the rain and the cloud, it doesn't look different than yesterday when it was the to the south. and really all it did is get the closed circulation so they called a tropical storm. for us, it's helping to draw in tropical moisture around it. the latest on julia, it will head north and west through southeastern georgia and then diminish. it's not moving very fast. but thankfully drift ago away from us. and it's drawing already this morning, watching just a few showers along the coastline. not right on the shore but just off in citrus, hernando and pasco. we have spotty showers along the coast of clearwater beach and seminole out there and then heavier downpours around bradenton and sarasota. during the morning, i expect showers near the coast. toward the afternoon, those storms will push inland and we get a better coverage of rain. again, there's still a tropical

but the effects from tropical storm julia are small. that's for sure. in weather and traffic on the 8s, i will take you hour-by- hour through your wednesday. leslee has the commute. we have a great drive here. this is 275 in pinellas, 54th avenue north, it's a good drive. you can see we're all in green on the bay area interstates. and let's move over to pasco county. this is unfortunate news. we have a fatal accident eastbound ridge road is this is up in pasco county near the port richey area. keep that one in mind. that's a look at weather and traffic. back to gene and gayle. breaking news in brandon where detectives are investigating a death in a quiet neighborhood. >> yeah, they are trying to figure out how a person at a home died. ryan joins us live from the scene. >> reporter: good morning to you as well. still an active scene in the brandon the area.

scene tape surrounds the one- story home. there are a number of deputies onscene at this hour. the investigation is underway. we're told investigators are waiting for a search warrant before they enter the home. they'll go inside and to investigate after a 911 call came in around 12:15 this morning regarding a dead person inside and. they are classifying this as a death investigation at this point. we don't have many details as exactly what transpired. they are interviewing people but the shers stressing that they are not looking for any suspects. again, a death investigation underway here in the brandon area. once we get more information from this scene, we will certainly bring you the latest information. gene, back to you for now. >> okay, a lot happening. thank you. more breaking news now. a body found on the side of the road in safety harbor. this happened just after midnight near 4th avenue and 5th street north. dispatchers tell us they

area but so far, they are not releasing anything about the person or how he died. and a frightening scene overnight in pasco county after an suv smashes into a port richey home. this happened on greenbrier lane in the jasmine estates neighborhood of port richey. you can see the suv crashed through the home's garage. the suv ended up in the house. fortunately, no one was hurt. right now, e questions about dead animals found along e co campbell causeway. headless chicken, goats and others were left to rot in the hot sun. it was discovered just east of the boat launch. police claim the heads had been cut off. also found at the scene, fruit, flowers and some coins. investigators say these are are are are are are are are possible science of religious offerings. a woman who fishes on the

years and she wants it to stop. >> i've seen dead goat, chickens. i think it's animal cruelty. there's a lot of people that like to come out here and relax. >> road crews removed the bodies and buried them. pasco county detectives need your help finding crooks targeting marinas. this surveillance video is from holiday. you can see the guy creeping around the boat. trying to climb on the side. this is at tackle outfitters 2. investigators claim the man is one of four who stole from boats in dry dock storage. and in hudson, investigators believe a different group vandalized and stole from source one marina. the thieves there got away with several engines and shot up two boats. governor rick scott will spend a second day in nation's capitol fighting for money to the fight the zika virus. governor scott is hoping to convince lawmakers to move

funding. it comes as the state reports 70 locally transmitted cases of the mosquito-borne virus. the total number of zika virus including travel related is up to 790. the city of winter haven is looking for a new city manager. the commission voted 3-2 to fire the current manager immediately. the assistant city manager will serve until a replace. is found. a warning from a who -- replace. is---- until a replacement is found. smoke started pouring out. >> that is a man describing what happened to his computer. it's a replacement battery he

about the replace. s-- techs are now warning people about the replacements. >> they assure us they are working with the owner of the laptop to come up with a solution for him. and it's dangerous. more and more stories about these batteries and how they can preplace and the samsung 7 having issues and now laptops. if you have these type thes of batteries, just be aware. and i know in -- types of battery, just be aware. >> yeah, you have to be careful, especially when you're buying something that may not be compatible. >> yeah, make sure you know what you have in your home. >> exactly. and let's get a check on the weather now with leigh spann. >> yeah, tracking newly formed tropical storm julia. in fact, the center of circulation is on land at this point. it's in north and -- it's

now we do get moisture to draw in off the gulf of mexico today. which is why there are a few showers pushing onshore, especially in pinellas, sarasota, manatee county. a quick downpour not out of the question this morning. as the day goes on, the showers will push farther inland. this morning, 20% rain chance. that goes up to the about a 30% rain chance through middle of the day around lunchtime when it's 85 degrees. 50% rain chance later day. highs right around 88 degrees. tropical storm julia really leads the headlines because it's brand new, just formed late last night, slowly heading north. lingering tropical moisture locally. morning showers near the coast. afternoon storms inland. the wind flow around julia. and near average over the next couple days. highs in the upper 80s to near 90. today's rain chance at 50%. back to typical at 40%

waking up to the unfortunate news in pasco county. port richey, fatal accident. let me tell you where this is at. it's eastbound on ridge road at airway boulevard. all the eastbound lanes are blocked and that's due to an investigation that takes place whenever there's a fatal accident. we have a good drive on u.s. 19. and you have red lights around little road and state road 52. but aside from that, a good drive. and airway boulevard is a bit west of little road but it's before moon lake. so that's where you're locate ther roadway here. and i went by last night, still opened up, southbound macdill just past azeele. the 2016 heart walk is right around the corner and news channel 8 is committed to raising $100,000 but we need your help. fuccillo kia is again generously matching the first $50,000 we raise so every dollar you donate really counts as two.

raymond james stadium. go to wfla.com/heartwalk for details. team usa hacked. >> that's right. the sensitive documents released online about some of the best athletes in the world. and flames shooting from a school bus filled with children. how the bus driver saved everyone onboard. first, tampa's first medical cannabis clinic and who can get the alternative treatment. i'll address the questions as we follow the debate you're watching news channel 8

tampa's first medical family cannabis clinic is open for business. when i told started to get a lot of feedback from viewers wanting to know more about who is eligible for the treatment protocol. >> there are three officials diagnosis that the people are allowed to receive medical cannabis, chronic seizures, chronic muscle spasms and cancer. >> this is charlotte. she is why florida has what is called charlotte's web now viable, a non-euphoric strain

with this drug treatment. it was a last resort for her family and the only thing that brought her violent seizures under control after traditional treatments almost killed the child. and now i'm hearing from patients wanting to get in touch with the doctor. others like tony quinn who commented on my facebook are just glad that this treatment is now available in tampa bay. he write, long overdue. no child should suffer. and theni kelly, she writes, i have known families whose children have suffered terribly from seizures. i'm happy there are now moring options for these families. -- are now more options for these families. and one believes medicine should not be limited to your zip code. and this is a very hot topic right now because when voters head to the polls in november,

the florida medical marijuana leaguization initiative. a yes vote supporting -- marijuana legalization niche the tiff. a yes vote supports -- legalization initiative. now investigators believe that russian hackers are responsible for exposing the con the -- the confidential medical data of usa olympic athletes. the records approved she was approved finance an exemption

believes they are part of a russian group called fancy bears. across america today, former nsa contractor edward snowden wants president barack obama to pardon him. snowden has stayed in russia since he leaked classified government information. supporters are host a video call from snowden today in ne you have got to see this disturbing video out of phoenix. three police officers, see that right there? hit by a car. you see the officers there standing by the suv when the car -- here it goes again. slams into them. now the most disturbing part of the story, the city's police chief believes the driver deliberately struck the police officers. all three are expected to recover. the driver was also hospitalized and no word yet on charges for the driver.

dash cam video. it's a school bus engulfed in flames. every student made it out safely though. and the bus driver is now being called a hero. the driver says the bus started making noises and then she smelled smoke and noticed flames. she escorted each student out of the bus the to the safety. the cause of the fire is under investigation. no students were hurt. now an 8 on your side consum apple's new operating software, it's off to a rough start. >> yeah, it got off to a rough start. news channel 8's meredyth censullo is here with the big bug. and what to do if you haven't already installed your iso 10 already. >> yeah, it was getting a lot of chatter on social media yesterday. people just having issues with the anticipated update to their

into installation problems with ios 10. some users got an error message asking them to plug in for a complete restore. it was a major headache for people who installed the update in the middle of the work day or away from their personal computer. apple apologized and asked anyone connected to connect to itunes to complete the update. if you haven't been pushed update just yet, back-up your data just in case. and i instructions for updating on wfla.com. and competitor samsung, their own issues here. several galaxy 7 note phones have overheated and caused fires. and samsung plans to push out an update to temporarily fix the problem. the update will only charge the note to 60% power. no word on when that update will hit phones but you are encouraged to stop using the

commission is working with samsung on a formal recall of phones sold in the u.s. so guy, the two major smart phone competitors having some fails this week. >> can't live with them. can't live without them. >> technology. >> what are you going to do? >> yeah. well, just waking up now, by the way, we have a new tropical storm. it's kind of sitting on top of jacksonville right now. tropical storm julia formed late last night. it's going to and west slowly. the flow around it is bringing us a couple showers. we have a small one here around indians rocks beach. around venice, gulf states community, some sprinkles. tropical storm julia will fizzle out over the next 48 hours or so. what's it doing for us? not much different than before.

a 50% rain chance. again, that's a good rain chance. good coverage of rain, especially east of 75 with a high of 88. right now, 80 in tampa. so it's steamy. 76 in bartow. 75 in brooksville. bob in venice says it's 78 degrees. as julia drifts north, we will get a south to southwest wind which will push the showers east of 75. again, a good rain chance with the tropical moisture in place. patchy cloud, feeling muggy tomorrow morning and then back storms. 40% chances thursday, friday and the weekend. pasco county, that's where we're starting things off this morning. driving through pasco, we've got a good drive on state road 52. slow around little road. and fatal crash eastbound on ridge road. this is right at airway boulevard. that's quite a bit west of little road. keep that in mind. you're routed around it but the eastbound lanes are blocked. and again, we have a little bit of construction here.

but eastbound university parkway, the left lane blocked underneath 75. and that of course is due to the diverging diamond intersection there. south tampa area, we have a big hole in the roadway. so be aware of this. it is southbound on macdill. the left lane is blocked. no traffic delays. traffic is light right now. that's a look at weather and traffic on the 8s. back to gene and gayle. >> thank you. some new perks from amazon. and the smart phone ends price feature on priceline. >> yeah, that was my favorite. now it's gone. those the stories are coming up. first,way paychecks are getting bigger. how much incomes are going up. you're watching news channel 8

it looks like americans are getting raises. new numbers show household incomes on the rise. the data shows the average that's a 5% jump from the previous year. so good news financial for you. the number of people living in poverty fell almost 15%. that's the greatest one-year drop in nearly 50 years. a new freebie from amazon for prime members, they're adding free audio books. they'll show up on the digital audio service called audible channels. it will feature original programs and additions of news

the online retailor explains prime members will have access to a rotating section and selection of more than 50 audio books. you can no longer name your own price for airfares on priceline. this is according to the news and analysis website skip. it explains the bidding process became too complicated for smart phones and tablets so amazon discontinued the service. >> i i would put in a ridiculous amount and see if it would >> did it stick in. >> no. weather and traffic on the

4:28. time for weather and traffic on the 8s. when the kids are at the bus stop this morning, there will be a few showers, mostly near the coast, muggy at 78. when they get dropped off, a high of 88 degrees. have fun at school today, kids.

a good drive but we do have one big problem that is a fatal crash, eastbound ridge road blocked at airway boulevard.

deputies find a body inside and a brandon home. investigators are now on the scene. and an suv smashes right into a home. the dramatic images and what we are learning about the and while you were sleeping, tropical storm julia formed off the east coast of florida. this morning we are tracking julia, what it means for you coming up in seconds. good morning and welcome to news channel 8 today. i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. a lot going on this morning. but we want to the start with leigh spann to get the latest on the tropics. >> good morning. you probably went to bed with rain to the north woke up this morning to tropical storm