3 3 3 ((walter)) its now 5:__ thanks for joining us. i'm walter allen((jen)) and i'm jen epstein. and despite the fact that it's presidents' day... and there should be fewer people on the roads... it's been a very dangerous morning for drivers. 3 (jen in new port richey... a motorcyclist and a semi collided along ridge road overnight... and the motorcyclist was killed. this was a few hours ago, around 12-30. they're still investigating and there are delays there.. so far, authorities haven't identified the person on the motorcycle, or said what led-up to the crash. we'll pass along new information, as we get it. 3

a driver 3 wrapped this car around a *pole along ulmerton and feather sound in pinellas county overnight. the car is so mangled, you can't tell what type it is... but our photographer on the scene is hearing it was an f-150 truck. we're still waiting to find out if the driver *survived... crews are out there, working the scene at the moment. 3 3 ((walter)) and also while you were sleeping... another bad accident... this time, on the howard frankland bridge... we've confirmed that this accident is, unfortunately, fatal. 3 ((walter fox-13's shayla reaves is along the bridge right now... shayla, two of our co-workers saw this accident on their way in, before three this morning. 3

3 3 ((walter 3

3 3 3 (dave 3 variable clouds, with a late day shower possible. rain chances 20-30%, with high temps in the mid 70s. showers and storms likely tonight, with lows temps in the lower 60s. rain chances 70%. after a quick early shower in the morning, skies will become mostly sunny. high temps in the lower 70s. 3 3 no closed captioning is available for traffic. 3 3 3

3 new this morning: a rude awakening for people living in a duplex in largo. a fire started there a few hours ago on "west bay drive." by the time crews got there, smoke and flames were visible... but everyone got out safely... we're still waiting for officials to release information on the *cause of the fire. 3 3 (jen) in st. petersburg: police are trying to figure-out what a *gun was 3 (jen a boy living at the home on yale street south found the gun over the weekend.

chasing a cat under his house. he grabbed it, and fired a shot. luckily, no one was hurt. police say the gun is an unregistered revolver with several rounds in it. they believe someone threw the gun or hid it under the house. 3 3 (anchor) a manatee county deputy won't be on the job today... he's on routine leave, after being *forced to shoot and *kill a man involved in a domestic violence disturbance. 3 (walter authorities were called to a home on "bookelia circle" in bradenton sunday afternoon. a woman reported her husband was *drunk and armed with a *knife, and threatening to harm her, and himself. detectives say: by the time they got there, the woman had gotten away safely... but the man was outside, and had cut his wrists... they asked him repeatedly to drop the knife.... but he refused, and they say: he came at them in "a threatening manner"... 3 (walter) one deputy opened-fire. 50-year-old "marc stoddart" was shot and killed. no one else was hurt. 3 3 (walter) less than 48- hours after the death of supreme court justice, antonin scalia, there's a political firestorm brewing over his replacement. (jen) fox's casey stegall shows us

(take pkg) runs: 1:41 std out 3 flags at half staff sunday...in honor of supreme court justice antonin scalia... from the supreme court chambers... to the texas ranch where he died saturday...on a hunting trip. late sunday scalia's body left texas for virginia.clement says: "i'm quite confident that law students will be reading justice scalia opinions a century from now." at the nation's highest court...colleagues are offering praise for scalia...who they affectionately called "nino." liberal justice ruth bader ginsburg...saying she and her conservative colleague were - quote - 'best buddies" for more than thirty years. meantime, justice scalia's passing leaves a supreme court now split between liberals and conservatives... and, that is fueling a political fight. president obama says he plans to nominate a justice to fill the vacancy. and democrats say they support that. however, republicans say a new appointment should wait for a new president.hatch says: "we were right in the middle of a presidential campaign and somebody is going to win that and the person who wins that is going to have the right to replace justice scalia whether a democrat or republican." clinton says: "it is outrageous that republicans in the senate and on the campaign trail have already pledged to block any replacement that president obama nominates." justice scalia's death leaves conservatives without a key vote that could impact some major cases before the high court. the white house says president obama won't introduce a nominee this week. but, rather when the senate returns from recess. (on cam tag) officials here in texas say it appears justice scalia died of - quote - natural causes. in el paso, texas,

3 (jen/wipe cg3) the list of names to replace justice scalia is brewing. one possible contender is sri srinivasan --a u-s appeals court judge. if selected, he would be the court's first indian-american justice. another potential nominee is

of appeals for washington d-c. and merrick garland--another appeals court judge. he was considered for previous nominations. 3 3 ((walter today's good day good deed is from citrus county. the sheriff's department there tweeted this out. they said local firefighters went above and beyond the call of duty. they were called out to rescue a 7-year-old autistic child who climbed a 24-foot flimsy tree. but it's what they did *after the rescue that's getting attention. they cut all the low-hanging limbs off the trees in the yard to ensure the child stays safely on the ground from now on. 3 ((jen)) he left office in disgrace eight-years ago. ((walter)) this morning, new scandalous allegations, against eliot spitzer. 3 ((walter and... ski trip turned scary... 48-people... trapped 40-feet up in the air... for *hours. how they got out of there... after the break.

3 3 3 3 3 3

life as spokesbox is great. over half a grand when they switch to progressive. so i'm dabbling in new ventures. with the dalai lama. terrible player. go paperless don't stress, girl i got the discounts that you need it's a balancing act, but i got to give the people what they want -- more box. any words for the critics? what can i say? critties gonna neg. [ applause ] the what?! [ laughs ] (walter/ former new york

morning... he's accused of assaulting a woman at the ritzy plaza hotel in new york city, saturday night. attack, the woman tried to kill herself, by slitting her wrists. she survived. relationship they had... or if she plans to pursue charges. so far, spitzer has not been arrested. he resigned in after getting caught in a prostitution scandal. more developments this morning in the flint water crisis... governor snyder expand medicaid coverage for contaminated water. that coverage would include people under 21 as well as pregnant approves the request, about 15- thousand more residents would be covered. for 18 months... the city used water that was contaminated with lead and other toxins. the u-s surgeon general plants to visit the city tomorrow. 3 a scary moment at a ski resort in new hampshire. 48 people are rescued after two tram cars got stuck 40 feet in the air. it happened at cannon mountain aerial tramway in the white mountains. after being

passengers had to rapell down to the ground. thankfully, no one was seriously hurt. officials at the resort say there was an issue with the trams' brakes. 3 3 ((jen the cruise ship that was thrown around during a violent winter storm last week is heading back to sea.. 3 ((jen)) 'anthem of the seas' set sail out of new jersey....((walter)) fox's dan bowens spoke with passengers boarding the repaired ship... 3 : "lightning doesn't strike twice." passengers boarding the anthem of the seas at the terminal in for a smoother ride this time. "if it went through last week, it can get through anything.: last week, the royal caribbean vessel was heading to the bahamas, when it encountered a terrifying storm off the carolinas.nats "oh my god...." hurricane-strength wind gusts at 75 miles per hour and waves nearly 40 feet high. some passengers describing it on good day after returning.: "everything was all over the floor, there was glass. everything in the bathroom was on the floor, toiletries and 3 everything and we're like, the first thing that comes to mind is 'oh my god, i'm gonna die. this is it.""the crew could've easily hidden, they were walking around nonstop everything from the room...they were fantastic." no one was seriously hurt the 10-month-old ship that can hold over 4,000 guests returned to port late wednesday night. : "captain did a great job." the coast before it heads out to sea. crews had to repair the anthem damaged during that storm clear this weekend."this is been on ships that have come back with one propulsion motor before." "people should give credit to the captain and people who designed that ship seaworthy." while there are still questions about whether

week, some say the possibility inclement weather is sometimes part of the cruise package. "the first cruise i went on had a hurricane and the second cruise i went on a year later had a tropical storm so i've been on ships with bad weather before so....i get sick." hopefully not this time. dan

3 we know the northeast is experiencing some bitterly cold temperatures this weekend... thanks to a polar vortex. this is how that vortex looked from space.. this picture was taken by astronaut "scott kelly" who is wrapping up his year in space. he posted it along with the message: "that polar vortex even looks cold from here!". by the way, kelly has just 15 days left on the international space station... he will come back down to earth on march first. 3

3 forecast with dave. 3 3 it is 5:__: time now on the roads - with our "skyfox on time roads - with what's happening on the roads - with our "skyfox on time

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3 ((walter)) go ahead, lift your glass and say cheers... ((jen)) it's not just *president's day... tampa is celebrating something *sudsy today. 3 (jen and... a disney cruise ship... on the way from florida to grand cayman... spots something peculiar in the water. what they scooped up and took on board. 3

hey, guys, it's annie. you know, as moms, we are always looking for new ways to save money. pwell today, i'm going to share with you pa simple tip that could help you stretch your budget when it comes to your grocery shopping. not bad. pit's easy: bogos from other stores

pbut walmart every day low prices, pwell, that could save you some money. tampa, the total amount saved at walmart vs winn dixie was $24.49 in this week's basket - that's 22%. including bogos. give walmart every day low prices a try today.

3 today is officially 'florida craft beer day'.... mayor bob buckhorn will make the proclaimation later today. the holiday honors tampa's rich brewing history. florida's first locally owned and operated brewery was opened exactly 119-years ago in ybor city. the florida brewing company was the first in the southeast.... and the largest exporter of beer to cuba. today's ceremony starts at 6-15 tonight at the historic building off east 5th avenue. 3 (jen) they're celebrating at tampa international airport today... they're in the midst of a major expansion... and today, showing-off the

distribution center." it's a cutting-edge facility on westshore boulevard, that allows t-i-a to add more concessions and more choices to passengers. in fact, next week, they'll open two new restaurants: "bay coffee and tea" and "auntie anne's pretzels." 3 (jen) this airport project comes just as the u-s and cuba are about to mark a historic travel moment. (walter) *tomorrow, officials will meet in havana to sign a formal agreement that would establish regular airline flights between the two countries... and tampa could be on the forefront... fox 13's kellie cowan has the story. 3 for more than 50 years, traveling to this tiny island nation has been a no-go for most americans, but politicians like florida congresswoman kathy castor are hoping to change that "when you land in cuba it's like going back to 1955. it's been isolated and isolation has not served cuba well and it's not served our country well. just talk to the folks who live here in west tampa and the families who've had to struggle with all kinds of bureaucratic red tape just to visit their family members" today congress woman castor and six state representatives from both sides of the aisle embarked on a trip to cuba ... castor's mission: to build support among fellow members of congress to end the u-s embargo ... "the embargo has not done much to hurt the cuban government but has hurt every day cubans"but not everyone agrees that an end to the u-s embargo on cuba will bring about the changes they say cuba desperately needs"i share their optimism but sadly, as everyone knows, there's been little progress on the principal issue, which is the issue of human rights.

and then we pander to these regimes and just hope, like in north korea, that things change" castor though says the end to the embargo is only a matter of time....her bill to lift the embargo could be brought to the floor for a vote sometime this year ...

(walter) meantime, people are apparently still desperate to get *off the communist island. saturday night, a disney cruise ship stopped on its way to grand cayman, to pick-up 12 suspected cuban migrants. they were on what's described as a "rustic" vessel... which, according to the coast guard, is a term used to describe "dangerous" or "unseaworthy" items... they were all authorities... and will likely be sent back. it's unclear whether the migrants were heading to the united states... 3 ((jen)) there's a daring driver, who's out doing donuts in the street.((walter)) and what seems like showing off, is actually really dangerous. the video that could get the driver arrested, just ahead. 3 ((walter plus... a new diagnosis for a common ailment. turns out one common symptom isn't alzheimer's after all. how this new information, could change things for senior citizens, struggling to communicate with their families. 3

know you can keep your financial big picture under control. know you can see how much you have to spend and whether you should transfer funds. know you can easily keep track of what you're putting away. and know you're budgeted for the

3 it's 5:--, it's monday, february 15th. i'm walter

epstein. it is only five- thirty.. and it's already been an awful morning on tampa bay roadways. let's start with vanessa. 3 3 no closed 3 captioning is available for traffic.

shayla 3 3

3 3 3 3 ((jen)) the roads are dangerous enough.. without

pinellas park police department say someone is doing just that.. and putting lives in danger.. 3 ((jen fox 13's ken suarez is live 66th street and 121st avenue.. with some outrageous video. 3 3

3 (jen) in orange county: detectives are trying to solve the stabbing death of an 81-year-old man. and it comes with a warning for the public this morning. 3 (jen investigators found "julian gresham's" body in his home, near the orlando international airport saturday night. his car was missing... and a gun may have been inside. they thought his 45-year-old daughter, "tessie gresham," and her boyfriend, "david buchan," had taken the car... and they're considered "persons of interest" in the case...

sunday morning... and the car wasn't with them... now authorities are warning people: if you see the vehicle, don't approach it... call 9-1-1 instead. it's a beige taurus, with florida tag number: s-k-m-3-u. 3 (walter) it's so frustrating... struggling for words... up until now, people thought that symptom was part of alzheimer's disease... now, scientists think that's not the cause at all... instead, they trace it to a mysterious brain disorder, that, like alzheimer's, robs people of their memories. it's called "primary progressive aphasia"... and medical experts think: people who have it can *understand, but just can't find the words to express their thoughts. now they're working on devices that could be used to help them speak. 3 3 (jen round-up time, is over. the "python challenge" has come to an end in the everglades... and it was a huge success. fish-and-wildlife officials say: hunters bagged at least 102-snakes, this year. now that's a *preliminary number... we'll get the *final

and we'll also learn *who *won, for the *biggest python caught, and the *most pythons caught... there are cash prizes on the line... and also, environmental concerns. pythons are an invasive species, and threaten the other creatures who call the delicate eco-system of the everglades, home. 3 (walter and... on the east coast... a *swarm is gathering... thousands of "blacktip sharks" are migrating, in the atlantic ocean. and they're being spotted all over the place... primarily, near palm beach. this is video from "florida atlantic university." researchers *tagged some of the sharks... they know they're looking for warm water... but they're hoping to learn *why they're so partial to this *particular area. 3 ((jen)) 3 there's been a lot of conversation, and controversy, over the rays moving across the bridge to hillsborough county.((walter)) well now, a new proposal... that would move them farther away... at least, *part of the time. just ahead: the city that wants to *share the team! 3

3 3

i don't know what i'm doing. i can't find anything just when i think it's just not going to work. this woman that works there comes over and asks can i help you? and he was so happy, to do it amazing right? i never would have

would have thought that anyone would find that do that. make that go out of their way for me. right then, right there i couldn't believe it he was so helpful i know it's such a small thing little thing. simple thing but it made me smile made me happy made my day share your story.

3 catchers will take the field later this week... for the unofficial start of the major league baseball season. the rays... hope to bounce back after a disappointing season in the standings and in the stands. 3 (walter - but before the first ball is even thrown... a radical idea is being pitched to the team and to tampa bay.(jen) a french language newspaper has suggested montreal and st. petersburg share the rays. russell joins us to talk about the unique idea... and how it could work. russell? 3 (russell) despite their

have struggled where it really matters... in attendance. they're consistently one of the worst team in baseball in that category. and usually once a season... rumors swirl about another city luring the team away... but this latest idea... is different... a french newspaper has suggested montreal and st. petersburg.. have joint custody of the team. 3 dismiss the idea... here it would lower the ownership cost for a canadian owners looking to buy a team.. and would maximize t-v revenues for both cities. could use the extra income... 3 (russell) obviously, this is just an idea... there have been no discussions with the m-l-b.... and the players association would likely object to such a plan anyway. and with st. petersburg now allowing the rays to look outside the city to build a new stadium... it's highly unlikely the team would want to build a new park... and the team play

3 3 it's now 5:__. time to check the forecast with dave. 3 ((dave alright, we've seen polar plunges before... but this one is different... and not just because of the outfits. these brave... or

minnesota don't just jump in 24-times... in 24-hours. holy canoli... it's for a money for the special olympics... this year, eight people are taking the daring dip... and they've become regulars at this. they actually look forward to they raised 200-thousand break that record, this year. and just might do it.

3 3 3 it is 5:__: 3

what's happening on the 3 roads - with our "skyfox on time traffic". 3 3 no closed captioning is available for traffic. 3

3 (walter in sports this morning: an emotional night in toronto, at the n-b-a all-star game... kobe bryant's 18th and *last... before retiring. he left the court with a minute-six left on the clock, after putting up 10-points... a standing ovation, and hugs all around... as the crowd chanted his name. he'll always remember this... so will they. the night was also memorable on the scoreboard. it was the highest scoring n-b-a all-star game 3 *ever... with 369-points. the west won it, 196-to-173. now the nba is off for a couple of nights. they'll resume *thursday. 3

are still shaking their heads over this one... fox-13's kevin o'donnell shows us: a controversial call handed them the loss... and ruined their streak. 3 jon cooper doesn't take losses lightly and he's having a hard time handling how the lightning lost this one.... cooper thought there was a zero chance for st.louis to be awarded a second goal tonight... but the eye the sky thought differently. namstnikov isn't a guy that normally drops the gloves... but he tries to add a spark early.... getting into it with robbi fabbri. vladi knows how to do it.... pulling the jersey over fabbri's head.... great move and his teammates like it. it doesn't do much for an offensive spark... st. louis catches the lightning off balance.... just :36 into the 2nd period... it's fabbri with the breakaway that beats bishop... 1- nothing...blues. st. louis goaltending has been a wall against the bolts... brian elliott turned away the first 37 shots....... late in the third... matt karl turns it over and patrick berglund with another break away.. he follows up his rebound.. at first they wave it off... saying he kicked it in... he did, but replay overrules and it's a 2-nothing lead... i think it's the wro aln coop goal against st. louis in 6 periods...nikita kucherov cuts the lead to 2-1... he almost adds a tying with time running out.. but it hit the post and the lightning's 9 game home winning streak ends. taking over jeff gordon's famous numer-24 car is a tough seat to fill... but maybe chase elliott is just too young to realize the job he has.... the son of legendary driver bill elliott goes out the first behind the wheel and makes history at daytona... becoming the youngest driver to capture the pole. last year's daytona 500 winner joey logano is the last on the track in the first round.... logano just squeaks into the top 12.... advancing by listen to this.... by one- second.... he bumps casey mears out of contention.... chase elliott is the youngest in the group among some of nascar best drivers... elliott was the 10th in line in the second round and his 196.31 miles per hour bumps kyle busch off the pole.... so that leaves only matt kenseth and dale earnhardt jr. in the way... kenseth's car is quick he turns the track 196.036... so he moves into the 2nd spot.... earnhardt jr. was the favorite to win this third

comes up short with the 3rd fast time 195.682..... so chase elliott becomes the youngest driver to sit on pole for the 500. 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

hey, guys, it's annie. you know, as moms, we are always looking for new ways to save money. pwell today, i'm going to share with you pa simple tip that could help you stretch your budget when it comes to your grocery shopping. not bad. pit's easy: bogos from other stores aren't always the best deal, pbut walmart every day low prices, pwell, that could save you some money. tampa, the total amount saved at walmart vs winn dixie was $24.49 in this week's basket - that's 22%. including bogos. give walmart every day low prices a try today.

3 (jen what a night for that film at 3 the british academy awards in london. "the revenant" won best *picture... best *director... best *cinematography... and best lead *actor, for leonardo dicaprio. he was moved by the win... a little tongue-tied in his speech... but ended by thanking his mother, for helping him reach beyond his economically- challenged youth... to strive for his dreams. his "titanic" co-star, kate winslet won best supporting actress for "steve jobs"...

actress trophy for "room"... and mark rylance won best supporting actor for his role in "bridge of spies." the screenplay awards went to "spotlight" and "the big short"... and legendary star, "sidney poitier"was honored with the "fellowship" award. 3 3 (walter/ so... lots of people are sleeping in... or furniture shopping... today. it's "president's day"... it was originally created to honor the birthday of our first president, george washington. but in the 19- 60's, congress wanted to *expand the holiday, to honor the birth of president abraham lincoln, who was also born in february... so they changed the name to "president's day" and changed the *date, to the *third monday in february. the date change was done so workers could have a three-day weekend. 3 (jen/ and on this date... back in 18-79... president rutherford b. hayes contributed greatly to womens' fight for equality in this country. long before women got the right to *vote in the u-s, *he signed a bill...

before the u-s supreme court. 3 (jen) over the years, many presidential campaigns have come to the bay area... and so have the commanders-in- chief. (walter) but there are two incidents, nearly 40-years apart, where a local presidential visit... marked a unique, and spellbinding, moment in history. 3 (walter who could ever forget... september 11th, 2001... president george w. bush... was in the bay area. he was in sarasota, at an elementary school... when an aide walked in, and whispered in his ear... telling him what had happened at the world trade center. president bush's face got tight... and his jaw stiffened... but he stayed in the classroom for a few more minutes... before leaving to tend to the crisis. 3 (jen and 38-years prior... on november 18th, 19-63... president john f. kennedy visited tampa... he was here, doing some early campaigning for the 19-64 election... and he made three stops to give speeches... including right around the corner from us, at the homer hesterly armory. his motorcade went right down what's now known as kennedy boulevard... and the crowds were *huge. all this just four days before he was

secret service had been nervous here... worried about possible anti-castro protesters... but it went off without a hitch. 3 ((jen)) there's much more to come on good day.((walter)) let's turn it over to russell and laura - to find out what's ahead in our 6 o'clock hour. 3 right now we are following a series of very bad crashes .. including one on the howard frankland bridge fox 13's shayla reaves is there ... and vanessa is keeping an eye on how they will impact your commute. 3 high stakes after a death on the high court.. how the race for the white house has been changed by the loss of supreme court justice "antonin scalia." 3 and a child finds a gun under his house ... then pulls the trigger. coming up ... what happened next, and where police *think the gun came from. 3 3

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big, bold, steaks. only at longhorn steakhouse. you can' t fake steak. for lunch, try our steakhouse burger or any steakhouse lunch combo starting at $7. know you can keep your financial big picture under control. know you can see how much you have to spend and whether you should transfer funds. know you can easily keep track of what you're putting away. and know you're budgeted for the great escape.

3 a deadly end to the holiday weekend ... p>>laura: the holiday weekend, we phave crews at three very serious pcrashes, including two that ptogether could cause some big roblems for the morning commute pand good morning. pi'm laura moody. p>>russell: and i'm russell prhodes. pit's presidents day. pfor those who have to work, our proads are a mess. p>>laura: vanessa are looking at pthe crashes impacting traffic. pwe'll get out to shayla reaves pon the howard frankland bridge pwhere we know someone has been