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

((walter)) 3 its now 5:__ thanks for joining us. i'm walter allen((jen)) and i'm jen epstein. the news, weather and traffic are next... but first: let's check those winning powerball numbers. 3 (jen here we go... 12-13-44-52-62 and the powerball is: 6. that jackpot was worth 292-million dollars... and no... it wasn't us... the good day lotto pool didn't cash in... but maybe *you did... 3

3 3 3 no closed captioning is available for traffic. 3 3 3

3 accused of hitting and killing a tow truck driver, as he helped a stranded family on the side of the howard frankland bridge... is headed back to court today... and she won't just face a *judge. 3 (walter dozens of "tow truck drivers" are planning to attend allison huffman's hearing. they want to speak to the judge... they also plan to protest outside the tampa courthouse. investigators say: huffman hit and killed "roger perez borrotto" on the howard frankland bridge last month... she was already out on bond when the accident took place. she was awaiting trial on an un-related *theft that bond... and could decide today whether she can bond out again. the tow truck drivers are against that... saying her checkered driving record before this accident, makes her a danger to the public. 3 3 (jen a highlands county teacher, accused of having a *sexual *relationship with a *student... is facing new charges this morning. 38-year-old "stacy lynn hooks" was arrested last month. she's a math teacher at "hill gustat" middle school in sebring. investigators

texts to a 14-year-old student. now, they've added a charge involving some sort of "obsene material." hooks is on administrative leave right now. 3 ((walter)) taking the *huff out of the *puff. tampa city council-members will start discussing a new marijuana policy today... that could mean lighter punishment for people caught with it. 3 ((walter fox-13's alcides segui is on the story for us. alcides, this could lead to a larger relaxation on drug laws... but first, this has to pass... tell us what's on the table. 3 3 3 3

3 thanks, alcides. 3 3 thanks, alcides. 3 3

lawmakers are working to allow drug addicts to exchange their dirty needles for clean ones. the bill is now at the governor's desk... after the florida house passed it. it's in an effort to reduce the rising number of new h-i-v infections in south florida. the state leads the country in new cases... and those numbers are highest in miami- dade and broward counties. the pilot program will be run through the university of miami. a mobile unit would be sent out to exchange needles.... as well as help people with treatments and counseling. 3 3 (walter it looks like ben for the white house. the retired neurosurgeon says: he sees "no path forward" after super tuesday. carson has won only a few delegates, despite being popular for awhile *earlier this campaign taking part in the g-o-p debate in detroit tonight, 3 (walter) but you know who and so will fox news anchor, megyn kelly. (jen)

skipping the next fox news event. he later admitted: that might have cost him some votes in the iowa caucus... that ted cruz eventually won. 3 (jen the debate is tonight at nine, on the fox news channel... and even if trump and kelly place nice, it could get heated between moderator. ted cruz supporting donald trump, during an appearance on "fox news sunday" last weekend. tonight. should be interesting... again, it's tonight at nine. 3 (walter) adding even *more fuel to the fire: a speech today by the *last republican presidential nominee, mitt romney. he's expected to talk in salt lake city today about, quote, "the state of the 20-16 race." now, it's not likely he'll* endorse anyone... but he will probably take some jabs at donald trump. romney's already criticized the frontrunner for not releasing tax returns, and for not *quickly denouncing a former k-k-k leader. some wonder if romney is considering *entering the race. he says he's not... but to some, he looks like a good option. maybe that's why a

recently aired one of romney's old 20-12 campaign ads! they say: it was just an accident. 3 (walter the candidates who are *definitely in the running, are really focused on florida right now... even though the primary is still 12- days away. and voters in the bay area, are really important to them. yesterday, hillary clinton opened *her campaign headquarters, in tampa... and marco rubio will set-up shop in brandon, today... ted cruz has an office on dale mabry... and bernie sanders organizers are working out of a home in seminole heights. and there's a reason they're all so eager to be here... for republicans, the primary is winner-take-all... and for democrats, it's the state with the fourth-most delegates. 3 (walter) the florida primary is march 15th, and early voting is already underway in hillsborough and polk counties. so far, in hillsborough, nearly 60-thousand votes have already been cast. 3 3 (jen/ home... sweet... home. after nearly a year in space... and then a long flight from the landing sight in kazahkstan... astronaut scott kelly is finally back in

the steps of the plane around 2-30 this morning to lots of applause... the first ones to greet him at the foot of the stairs: his two daughters... girlfriend... and twin brother mark. 3 (jen) also there to greet him... the vice president's wife, dr. jill biden... (walter) she brought beer and apple pie for him... saying: there's nothing more american than that. 3 (walter/ kelly's *trip is over, but this *mission isn't. it's entering a *new phase. now nasa will start studying kelly, to see how the long time in space changed him. and they have an awesome tool to help them with that... they can compare scott to his identical twin brother mark... who's also an astronaut. already, scott has noticed: he's two inches *taller than he was when the trip started. but that's probably not permanent... now that he's back on earth, gravity will compress his spinal disks again, returning him to his normal height. mission is far from over... 3 (jen so, what else could a

well, one possible problem is: brittle bones. all that floating around in space... can break down the bones... in the legs, hips and spine. muscles get weak, too. doctors will look for a puffy face and legs... in space, blood is flowing more in the upper part of the body, and less in the lower extremities.. so there could be some residual swelling. balance could be an issue... the inner ear is sensitive to gravity, and stops working properly in space. that can make astroanauts disoriented and motion sick up there... when they come back to earth, they could have problems standing up, walking and turning. and don't forget the messed-up body clock. in space, there's no 24-hour day/night cycle... so he'll have to re- adjust to that, too. 3 (walter) president obama called kelly already... and tweeted: "welcome back to earth: hope gravity isn't a 3 drag"... get it?!(jen) kelly says: there are some things he'll miss about

forward to running water, showers and fresh air... and he can't wait to jump in the swimming pool in his backyard. 3 3 ((jen)) it's one of the most *significant, and *contentious, cases the supreme court has heard in *decades...((walter)) and it could end in a tie... how that could affect *women... and family planning... from coast to coast. 3 ((walter and... holy *cow... look at all those *dogs! the pile of puppies that's making headlines... and the tired mama, that just wants to get some sleep!

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put more fun in your day with ice-cream-flavored coffees at dunkin' donuts. go for delicious flavors like butter pecan, cookie dough, or new pistachio. enjoy one today. america runs on dunkin'. 3 the supreme court is

and now, the remaining eight justices are grappling with one of the biggest cases they've heard in years. (jen) it concerns a controversial abortion law in texas... and their decision could impact women *everywhere... but fox's shannon bream tells us what would happen... if this ends in a *tie. 3 (nats of protesters) it's the most significant abortion case at the supreme court in decades. the case centers around a texas law that requires most doctors performing abortions to have hospital admitting privileges no more than 30 miles away and mandates that abortion clinics meet the standards of ambulatory surgical centers.keller says: "the issue in this case is can texas inact valid patient regulations and improve safety and when over two hundred and twelve women annually are hospitalized due to abortion, texas can." the arguments were so vigorous that they spilled over from the allotted one hour to almost 90 minutes. justice breyer questioned why abortion facilities should be held to such high medical standards - asking:" ... what is the benefit here ... when the risk is minuscule compared to common procedures that women run every day in other areas without ambulatory surgical centers?" texas solicitor general scott keller said lawmakers acted following the evidence that surfaced during the trial that ended in multiple murder convictions for philadelphia abortion doctor kermit gosnell. justice alito noted one brief said some texas clinics had *quote* "holes in the floor where -- where rats could come in, the lack of any equipment to adequately sterilize instruments." opponents of the texas law argue that 75 percent or more of the abortion clinics in texas will close if the regulations go into effect.

to why they would restrict access to safe and legal abortion in the state of texas with the kinds of regulations that have been passed."(on cam tag) justice kennedy is likely the key to this case - and it wasn't clear from today's arguments which way he will ultimately vote - but he did at one point ask whether the court had enough evidence - and whether the justices should send the case back down to the lower court for further consideration - a move that would almost certainly delay supreme cout tin ti3& te a jste- coeresand er i a p4 , heoour 3

a natural gas industry tycoon... and partial owner of the oklahoma city thunder... is dead this morning.. killed in a fiery car crash. "aubrey mcclendon's" s-u-v slammed into a concrete pillar of a bridge wednesday morning.. his death comes just one day after he was indicted by a federal grand jury... on bid- rigging charges. mcclendon was the former c-e-o of "chesapeake energy".. and founder of "american energy partners".. police are currently investigating whether the crash was intentional. 3 a tunnel connecting the golden gate bridge to marin county in california will honor the late robin williams. the state senate approved a resolution to change the tunnel's name last year. it has a rainbow border...

comedian's joyful personality. signs went up yesterday officially dubbing it the robin williams tunnel. those new signs cost about 3- thousand-dollars... rpivate donors paid for them. 3 a california dog broke a state record after giving birth to *17 puppies! 6 to 8 puppies is normal for 3 maremma sheepdogs. but this 3-year-old dog more than doubled that! as you can imagine, it's a lot of work to feed all of them... so people are taking shifts to help mom out. good news is all of the puppies already have homes. they're going to be working on farms just like mom.... who has already headed 3

((anchors)) it's now 5:__. time to check the forecast with 3 dave. 3 3 3 it is 5:__: time now to find out what's happening on the roads - with our

3 lets start off with this.. a pretty bad crash in down-town tampa early this morning.. we're told that the white mercedes here ran a red light on florida avenue.. and was t-boned by a pick up truck traveling on kennedy

the mercedes was taken to tampa general hospital... the northbound lanes on florida avenue near kennedy remains 3 closed as investigators clean up the scene. 3 no closed captioning is available for traffic. 3 ((walter)) for more than 50-years, it's been "the forbidden island" for most americans...((jen)) now, new vivid signs that cuba is opening up for travelers... and the big role *tampa could play in that. 3 (jen but the rays will get there first... the big game coming up in a couple of weeks that's about so much more than *baseball... and the v-i-p who's cheering on *both teams!

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3 (jen) more proof that things are really changing, when it comes to u-s/cuba relations. on wednesday: at least six u-s airlines submitted applications, hoping to fly to the communist island. (walter) they detailed the routes they would take... and some of those flights... would depart from *tampa. 3

fly to havana at least six times a day... two of those daily flights would be out of tampa. jet blue is requesting four daily flights... with two out of tampa, as well. american, delta, frontier and silver airways all submitted applications, listing routes out of other florida cities. but not *all of these requests will be granted. the government will spend the next few months reviewing them and is expected to make a decision this summer. 3 ((jen the tampa bay rays are poised to make history later this month.. when they travel to cuba to play the cuban national team. 3 ((jen)) that game is set for march 22nd. it's sure to be memorable *and significant. (walter) fox-13's josh cascio explains the impact it will likely have on *both countries. 3 take jcthis is certainly going to be more than just a baseball gamea&this is being viewed as another step in rebuilding a relationship with cuba.take vo the rays will be the first mlb franchise to play in cuba since the orioles did it back in 1999.the rays are getting the opportunity after winning a lottery thru major league baseball.and it really couldn't have worked out better - considering the history between tampa and cubaa&a history that dates back to the 1500s.experts say this game will be a historic event - and will be bigger than just baseball.take sots

the road towards normalization whether it takes 6 months or 6 years we don know how long 4;12;08 at some point there's going to be normalized relations between 2 counties and its events like thsi that help pave that.rodney kite- powellsaunders foundation cureator of history - tb history center.1;05 this is really the start of something and we'll look back in a few years and a decaode to know we were here at the beginning is quite exciting.stu sternberg - take vothe rays will fly in to cuba on the 20tha&the next day they'll host a therea&then on the 22nd they take part in that exhibitino game against the cuban national team. looking on will be our commander in chief - president obama expected to be

3 ((wally and the president made it clear to his twitter followers: he's excited about the game... he re-tweeted a post from the major league baseball account mentioning his visit... and added the caption, "play ball!" 3 ((jen)) he was new on the job... still learning the ropes... dealing with the day-to-day operations. ((walter)) then, he ran into an emergency... and what he did next... makes him a hero. his story, after the break. 3 ((walter plus... strawberry cookies... strawberry shortcake... strawberry security? why you'll notice so many *patrols amongst the produce, at this 3

3 ((walter)) it's 5:--, on 3 thursday, march third. i'm walter allen.((jen)) and i'm jen epstein.morning, the florida strawberry festival opens... and you know it's gonna be fun, and *tasty. on the menu this year... they're also focused on *security. 3 ((jen fox-13's shayla reaves joins us now from plant city... shayla: more patrols, more protection... tell us about it.

3 3 3 3 ((jen

3 ((jen thanks, shayla. 3

going to this year's festival... you may want to leave a little earlier than expected. i-4's exit ramp expansion at thonotosassa road still isn't finished. the 2-million-dollar project was supposed to be completed in time for the festival. but it won't be done until the end of the month. it's the most direct route to the grounds... but traffic is known to come to a standstill in that area. police are asking people to avoid that interchange... instead use the branch forbes exit... head south on state road 5-74...

3 3 no closed captioning is available for traffic. 3 3 3 3 3 3 ((jen)) we have a news alert this morning... police are searching for 2 people after a home invasion in north tampa.

((jen it happened off yukon street. police say two men broke into a house and ziptied 2 people.... then stole electronics and jewelry. the victims were able to free themselves and call police. fortunately, they weren't hurt. right now... police are searching for the 2 men responsible. 3 ((walter the time now is 5:__. let's get you up to the minute on today's top stories: winter haven police are searching for a teenager, accused of carjacking a woman outside a polk county walgreens. it happened just after midnight tuesday morning ... at a walgreens on first street south in winter haven. the woman was texting when the carjacker opened the door, and forced her out at gunpoint. hours later, a trooper spotted the car on i-95 in st. augustine. it crashed, and three teens jumped out. troopers caught two of them. authorities are still looking for 18-year old william summerlin of bartow. there is a three-thousand dollar reward for information leading to his arrest. 3 ((walter it's pretty hard to steal something this big, but that's exactly what happened in polk county. thieves cut through the fence at "central construction" in

stole two-semi trucks! this is what they look like... they have "low-boy trailers" attached to them. owners say: thieves even gassed-up the rigs, using a fuel pump on the property, before taking off. now authorities are keeping an eye out for the trucks. 3 ((walter changes for frustrated filers... who've been stuck in long lines at the tampa i-r-s office... because of understaffing there. alcides first told us about this yesterday.... people had been lining-up overnight, and waiting four-to-six hours to be seen at this office... many of them were there because of i-d fraud... and had to verify their person. well now, add more workers at this office... you can also make appointments online, to be seen at the *st. pete office. 3 3 ((jen two local sports authority stores will be closing down.. after the company filed for chapter eleven bankruptcy.. the company also said that it's going to close about a third of its 4-hundred and 63 stores around the country. the stores on cortez road west in brandon.. and u-s 19 in new

closures in florida.. analysts say stiff competition from e-commerce giants such as amazon have hurt sales.. the store closings are expected to happen over the next three months. 3 (walter) a little boy in california, is living a big dream.(jen) he's a huge fan of police officers... and recently, he got to meet one of his heroes... but the joy from this meeting... goes way beyond these two. 3 (jen look at this picture... the boy's parents contacted the westminster police department, asking if their son could meet an officer. and officer mike gradilla was happy to oblige. the two guys spent some quality time together... and the little tike loved getting all dressed up like his new hero. the picture's gotten more than 64-thousand likes on facebook... and thousands of comments. it's all part of the department's "cop for a day" program... that's been hugely popular. 3 3 (walter and closer to home, a postal worker will be

a very heroic act. "terrell brown" was out on his route last november, when he heard a noise and stopped his truck. turns out: an elderly man had fallen off a ladder... brown quickly called 9-1-1 and stayed with the man, until an ambulance arrived. he even called a family friend, to let them know the man was okay. all this from a *rookie letter carrier... it happened during his first year on the job. well today, the postal service will give brown the "letter carrier hero award." the ceremony will be held at his post office, in town 'n country. and the man he helped... is expected to attend. 3 live in a beautiful place... there's so much to see and there's something you might have missed... russell takes us to a gorgeous opportunity... that's just a one tank trip away... after the break.

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put more fun in your day with ice-cream-flavored coffees at dunkin' donuts. go for delicious flavors like butter pecan, cookie dough, or new pistachio. enjoy one today. america runs on dunkin'. 3 some people go to *busch gardens... others to the *beach... and some take in the florida aquarium... (walter) but maybe you've missed some of the most *colorful and *creative sights in our area. russell's here to enlighten us. 3 ((russell)) one of the

i visit a new city is go to at least one museum. i also try to take in some of that city's public art. i think it helps to define what a city is... and how much it appreciates beautiful things. it's easy to forget though, that in our own towns... the ones where we art. my one tank trip didn't take me far at all. i walked. to tampa's bayshore boulevard. to see some of the things that make me happy i live here. 3 coco, josephine and i love hanging out at the of outdoor public art recently boulevard across from the the monte carlo. it's called "visual welcome" by artist yaacov agam. it's been in tampa since the 90's... but only recently did it get this high profile address on this median on the bayshore.it's where agam intended it to be. where people could walk by. drive by. it's a drive by artwork. it's not appropriate for an art museum. it's meant to be outdoors. part of the reason for that is how the agam seems to move as you move. when you walk or drive by it... it changes. one direction, it looks like this. the other... it looks totally different. robin nigh is the manager of tampa's art programs division. she finds the art... finds the money... public and private and grants... to make public art happen in tampa. and she says there is a difference between this kind of art and what you would see in a museum. a lot of it has to do with how you are engaged. how you encounter it. in the public, it's very harsh conditions. you've salt, water. you need to watch the road. there's a lot going on. along bayshore boluevard, there are several pieces of public art. some of them you see everyday. some of them you may be noticing here for the first time. in a museum, you go to the art. in public art, you stumble across it. it almost just comes to you. and art like this has to be resilient.the real intent is that it's always gotta look good. if it

also to the people who experience it. the agam was spruced up when it was installed on the bayshore. looks new again. it's become a part of the landscape now. and that's what public art is supposed to be. what would it look like without it? if it weren't there, you would really notice

3 (russell) there is lots of public art in tampa... besides the bayshore, there is also public art downtown... along the riverwalk... you can find out more by going to the city of tampa's website, then typing in "art programs. 3

every city and town has some kind of public art... this is in my hometown of paris, texas... it's our eiffel tower... with a red 3

3 3 it's now 5:__. time to check the forecast with dave. 3 3 3 it is 5:__: time now to find out what's happening on the roads - with our "skyfox on time traffic". 3 no closed captioning is available for traffic. 3

3 3 3 3 ((walter)) in sports this morning: big news for three lightning and fox-13! we have a new guy in *our lineup. here's brand new fox-13 3 tampa bay! this is my first morning with you, i'm scott smith... let's jump into sports... and start in port charlotte, where yesterday the rays kicked off the spring training slate of games - taking on the nationals. and jake odorizzi getting the start.and if you were late to your seat you missed him... pitched just 1 inning... one strikeout... 8 pitches... in a 1-2-3 framestarters only got 2 at-bats... and in one of desmond jenning's - he makes the most of it...in the third...desmond jennings doubles in kevin kiermaier/logan morrison. rays 2-1top prospect, blake snell turning heads already for his outstanding spring early on... but gets roughed up in relief duty.... scott sizemore homers... 1 ip, 3 hits, 1 bb, 1 hrrays lose 6-2 and host baltimore later today..the lightning have a total of ten players selected for the world cup of hockey... a tournment held next september... steven stamkos and ben bishop were the final two picks.... stamkos is a no-brainer with team canada, while bishop joins johnathan quick and cory schnider as goalies for team usa.... tyler johnson was not among the first sixteen picked.... jon cooper says this shows the quality players the lightning

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try a flaky filet-o-fish made with sustainably sourced fish, a big mac made with 100% beef, chicken mcnuggets made with white meat, or a quarter pounder with cheese seared on the grill. pick any 2 for $5 bucks. bada ba ba ba 3 (walter) alright, who says *activists have to be *adults... (jen) a little girl with a big message... stepped right up to the mic at the hillsborough county commission meeting, wednesday. and fox-13's haley hinds shows us: her courage, and *passion, stole everyone's hearts. 3 it started like any other hillsborough county commission meeting. that is, until a little girl in a heart-patterned dress marched in.someone please let the rostrum down for her. barely tall enough to reach the podium...that's okay. she

megan sorbo of orlando placed a pink stool on the ground and stepped up.i am here to speak on behalf of florida black bears.in october 2015, the florida fish & wildlife conservation commission authorized the first bear hunt in florida in over 20years. citing facts and figuresbears have already lost over 80%of their habitat.the 10-year-old begged commissioners to adopt a resolution banning bear hunting in the county.she certainly got their attention. you tackled a tough issue,and you did it very well.>> thanks.>>we dont have many young people come and present in public comment before, so it definitely caught our eye this mini-activist's inspiration? her first visit to the everglades.i'm trying not to be so emotional. they're beautiful animals. i've seen one once. f-w-c reported just over 300 bears killed in last year's hunt. officials maintain it's a "management tool" for an increasing population. opponents -- like sorbo -- argue current population numbers are only a guess. and she's out to spread the word.if more people speak out than just being armchair activists and just blowing hot air on facebook, they might actually get some results wherever you stand-- there's no arguing, this young girl speaks with the poise and passion of someone well beyond her years.it's my future kids' future. that's why we need more young children speaking

3 3 ((jen)) there's much 3 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 tied up and robbed ... a scary situation overnight. developing this morning ... the robbers. 3 astronaut scott kelly is back in the united states for the first time after his year-long mission in space .. we'll hear from him for the 3

debate tonight on fox news .. but the biggest fights may not be between the candidates ... why it could be a tense night for the moderators. served with sirloin steak. saut\ fresh zucchini, squash and tomatoes. it's sure to be a family favorite. visit freshfromflorida.com for great recipes. delicious is always served

today it's florida flatbread with fresh tomatoes and bell peppers. it's easy to turn local produce

label when you shop. remember, delicious is always served fresh from florida. 3 p>>russell: two people zip tied pand robbed in their own home and pdeveloping this morning, police pare still searching for the probbers. p>>laura: and no more arrests for psmall amounts of marijuana. pa controversial nie -- nie plan pon the table in tampa. pcity leaders want your opinion. p>>russell: astronaut scott kelly ptouches down in houston. phis emotional reunion with his pfamily and the bizarre side