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3 3 3 3 in just a few hours... the fun begins, at the annual florida strawberry festival. but all that fun... comes with some *extra protection. the festival is adding security this year. fox 13's shayla reaves joins us now from plant city, with the details. 3 3

3 later this morning, the city of tampa is expected to vote on an ordinance, decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana. 3 instead of charging offenders with a misdemeanor.. police would issue *citations. the fines would start as low as 70 dollars and increase for repeat offenders. and this would only apply to people caught with 20 grams of pot... or less. fox 13's alcides segui talked with t-

idea. that part of the story, is ahead in our five o'clock hour. 3 3 plans are in the works to lessen wait times at the tampa i-r-s office. we showed you live pictures of the long lines wednesday morning on good day. hundreds of people have been waited up to *six hours in that line. many of the people are in line because of i-d fraud, and they need to verify their identities in *person. the i-r-s blames the wait on a reduced budget and smaller workforce.((more)) 3 u-s senator bill nelson has sent a letter to the i-r-s commissioner urging action. the i-r-s plans to hire more workers. in the meantime, they say people can make appointments *online... for their st. pete office. 3 3 making headlines across the state: possible animal abuse... posted to facebook. daytona beach police are investigating this photo... showing a dog lying down with *tape across its mouth. a man with the user name "bryan futur gomez" posted it to his facebook page sunday. it

responses. gomez claims the dog is his nine month old pit bull-lab mix... and the tape was used for emergency purposes. he also posted a video yesterday showing the dog using his paw to *remove the tape. 3 a litter of puppies left for dead on the side of the road is slowly recovering. this is new video of *one of those puppies... natalie. she was severely malnourished, has a vitamin d deficiency, and rickets... which explains her walk. but as you can see by that wagging tail... she is *still a happy little puppy. they will be up for adoption soon at the humane society of tampa bay. and we'll let you know when it happens. 3 3 today in tampa: a postal worker is being honored... for a very heroic act. terrell brown was doing his route last november, when he heard a noise and stopped his truck. it turned out an elderly man had fallen off a ladder. brown quickly called 9-1-1 and

ambulance arrived. he even called a family friend, to let them know the man was okay. the postal service will give brown the letter carrier *hero award this morning... during a ceremony at his office in town n country. the man he helped... is expected to attend. 3 3 a little girl... with one *big message. she's asking the hillsborough county commission... to *spare the bears.((more)) 3 megan sorbo of orlando has been traveling all around the state, advocating for an end to the state's black bear hunt. the 10-year-old's most recent stop, was wednesday's commission meeting in tampa. and she definitely impressed everyone there. 3 the young girl got their attention... before she even spoke. she brought her *own pink step-stool to the podium... just to make sure she could *reach the microphone. she then cited facts and figures... on *why florida's bear population

then asked commissioners to pass a resolution to ban bear hunting in hillsborough county. sorbo was among several *adults who also advocated for the same cause. but her youthful passion got the *most attention from the commission: 3 state officials in favor of the bear hunt say it's used as a tool for managing the growing bear population. commissioner sandra murman said the commission is looking into the hunt resolution to see what it entails and if it's something that could be done here. 3 toss to dave... 3 3 ((dave))

3 another warning sign... from north korea? up next: the new law... that may have sparked a *launch. 3 plus: mother nature never looked more amazing... and *dangerous at the same time. the eruption happening right now, in south america. 3 but first, another look at last night's winning lottery numbers. and someone *did with the powerball jackpot... right here in florida! so you better check these numbers. last night's jackpot was worth about 292 *million dollars! good luck... hope you got the ticket... good day is back in less than two

3 3 topping 3 headlines around the world this morning: a dangerous new *stunt... from north korea. officials in south korea say the north has test-fired several short range *projectiles. 3 as many as ten

launched from the east coast town of wonsan. they flew about 60 miles before landing in the sea. and it's still not clear what *type of projectiles they were. the south korean defense ministry says they could be missiles, artiliery or rockets. 3 that launch came just *hours after the u.n. security council unanimously approved the toughest sanctions on north korea in two decades. the u-s spent seven weeks negotiating the new sanctions with china, north korea's traditional ally. the sanctions include mandatory cargo inspections.. a ban on sales of small arms and weapons.. and expulsion of diplomats from the north who engage in quote, "illicit activities." 3 an amazing sight in equador... where a volcano is erupting. the volcano has had more then *70 firery explosions in just 24 hours. it's also sending clouds of ash into the air. the explosions are expected to continue the next few days. people are being told to avoid the area... because lava is approaching some roads.

active since 1999. the eruptions have been pretty regular, the past two decades. 3 a historic vote today in new zealand. but they're not picking a person... they're picking a *flag. the country is deciding whether to *change it's original flag... the one on the *left, featuring the british union jack. critics say the current flag is too similar to australia's, and references a colonial past they want to forget. on the *right... is the new design finalist... featuring a *fern instead of the "union jack." it was chosen from more than ten *thousand submissions. the flag voting will last for three weeks. opinion polls indicate the *original design will likely win. 3 and... just another reminder for parents: *don't throw away your kids baseball cards or comics! that trash... could be a real treasure. like a crumpled paper bag that was recently discovered... with *seven "ty cobb" baseball cards inside. they are some of the *rarest baseball cards in the world...

be in existence. the cards were just verified authentic, by a dealer in california. but the home where they were found, is behind kept secret. the value of the cards? *over a million dollars. 3 3 ((walter/jen)) 3 3 3 3 3

3 3 still ahead: singing... for their lives. the competition really heats up tonight... on american idol. 3 plus: just foo-ling around, with the fans. the rock band that just pulled one one amazing prank.

welcome aboard my starship. ahoy, mateys! it's full of things i love... like me brave crew... and my fellow space adventures and free of things i don't. like aliens. just like eye patches. and when it's time to refuel, i eat chex cereal. it's full of stuff

no artificial flavors, and it's gluten-free. excelsior! eat up, me hearties! keep it down! i'm exploring the galaxy. arrrr, that's not even

3 the time now 4 xxx... and here's a look at the top trending stories this hour. and we begin, with a big shift... for american idol. for the first time this season, the show will only be on *one night a week. 3 and tonight is the big night. first... the show will have a *double elimination... narrowing down the field to just eight finalists. then, they will all perform *live for your votes. theres also a special performances planned... from demi lovato and judge harry connick junior. the next *double elimination will be *next wednesday. idol will keep the one night theme all this month. it all starts tonight at eight, right here on fox 13. 3 and now, to a rock band having some fun with its fans. apparently there were a lot of rumors swirling... after foo fighters frontman "dave grohl" performed solo at the oscars. some fans thought... he *might be going *solo. 3 well the band addressed the issue... in one hilarious way. they teased for several days a big *annoucement video. and

yesterday... all *seven minutes of it. in the video, grohl gives a pretend interview about his *solo plans... even adding a few *solo recording sessions. and then the rest of the band members *really got the fans freaking out, when they tried *replacing grohl... with a *new lead singer: 3 yup... that's former boy bander... "nick lachey." that actually didn't sound so bad. but it was all just for fun. the band ended the video with a written statement... "for the one millionth time we are *not breaking up, and nobody is going solo" 3 still ahead: from country music... to "kick flips" some very fun events, happening today in tampa bay. plus: dave

thursday forecast. again! r again! again! again! again? again! again! general mills is removing artificial flavors and colors

so you can love cereal... again! 3 happening today: the florida strawberry festival kicks off... and so do those country concerts. tonight is the first concert night... featuring this guy, josh turner. he performs at seven thirty p-m. there are hundreds of *free tickets to the show... on a first come basis. but you can *guarantee a seat... for just twenty bucks. 3 you can hit the halfpipe today... for a fun event in tampa. it's the 22nd annual "tampa pro." it's a skateboarding tournment... party... and concert event. it all starts today with registration, and practice runs at the tampa skate park.

concerts planned at the "bricks" bar in ybor city. tickets start at 15 dollars... or 30 dollars for a weekend pass. 3 ((//2shot)) toss to dave... 3

3 3 3 ((jen toss to 3 shayla.... 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

stre-e-e-e-eam stream, stream, stre-eam stre-e-e-e-eam stream, stream, stream when i want you in my arms when i want you and all your charms whenever i want you

ba da ba ba ba 3 ((walter houston... we have no problem! after 340-days and 144-million miles in space... astronaut scott kelly is finally back home in texas. the big *physical difference he's already noticed, from his time "up there." 3 ((jen from touchdown to smackdown... it could get *very heated at the republican debate tonight... and not just between the *candidates... the *two moderators who could get caught up in this. 3 ((walter and... have you seen the new powerball signs... the jackpot is down to 40-million... after a big win last night. and get this... the winning ticket... was sold right here in florida. someone has 292-million reasons to smile! 3