WFTS

Tampa Fire Rescue K-9 search team helps with recovery in Maui.

Pinellas County leaders work to address beach renourishment

The Feline Bistro Cat Lounge just opened in June in Carrollwood. The partnership between owner Kim Ruiz Lozada and Cecelia Nieves with Animal Lovers Dream Rescue is simple — Nieves brings in cats from the rescue, Ruiz Lozada then puts them into the lounge, and anyone who comes into the bistro can meet them and consider adopting. Ruiz Lozada said the bistro is tailored to more of an adult demographic. It has an elevated twist on a cat café and even has a special playlist for the felines. Both women say it's a great set-up, and is already working.

It’s something law enforcement hopes never to have to deal with, but they train to be prepared. On Thursday, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies participated in a mass casualty exercise at Seminole Middle and High Schools. "God forbid the real thing happens that we're as prepared as we can possibly be,” said Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. In the training scenario, a shooter parked at the school and walked across the street to a pretend insurance company where he worked and had been fired. He also had been a recent student at the school.

Looking for the perfect gift for Mother’s Day this year? Maybe a mommy and me facial, or even treating mom to a bit of Botox? Tampa Surgical Arts tell us about some savings and specials they're offering for Mother's Day!

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced the signing of 18 undrafted free agents prior to the rookie minicamp over the weekend. One of those players has a famous last name. The last time Kade Warner was in Tampa, he was 10 years old, sitting inside Raymond James Stadium, watching his father Kurt Warner quarterback the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl 43. His dad’s team lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers on a play known as the “Tampa Toe-Tap.”

A man is in "significantly" critical condition at Lakeland Regional Hospital after an officer-involved shooting in Bartow on Monday, according to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. "Don't try that in a small town. If you do, you'll get shot — you'll get shot a lot, and that's exactly what happened," Sheriff Grady Judd said. https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-polk/suspect-critical-after-officer-involved-shooting-in-polk-county

Largo Public Library Director Casey McPhee is battling end-stage renal disease and is in need of a life-saving kidney donor. She joined the City of Largo in 2002 as the assistant library director. She became the library director in 2005 and has been there since its grand opening. Now, she is looking for a live kidney donor and is determined to find a living donor with an O blood type.

TRACKING IDALIA | Governor DeSantis discusses impacts ahead of Tropical Storm Idalia

Davenport Police say a RaceTrac clerk was stabbed nine times early Monday morning in an "unprovoked, random attack." The suspect is charged with attempted first-degree murder. Police said it happened at 4:40 a.m. at a RaceTrac on Highway 27 in Davenport. The victim, who is not being identified, is being treated at a local hospital and is expected to survive her injuries, police said. According to police, the suspect, Marc Caseaf Tucker, 29, attacked the victim as she was preparing to stock more merchandise. Police said Tucker approached the victim from behind and repeatedly stabbed her in the back and side. In the midst of the attack, police said the victim slipped and fell as she tried to run from Tucker. Police said Tucker stabbed her several more times in the chest as she continued to resist. Police said the victim was able to escape and Tucker ran from the store into a nearby wooded area. Tucker was arrested without incident. He's charged with attempted first-degree murder.

People in the Tampa Bay area are preparing for Tropical Storm Idalia

Gov. Ron DeSantison Monday signed legislation to defund diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at all state universities, which he called a "distraction from the core mission." "This is better viewed as standing for discrimination, exclusion, and indoctrination, and that has no place in our public institutions," DeSantis said at a news conference in Sarasota. "If you want to do things like gender ideology, go to (the University of California) Berkeley," DeSantis added. "There's nothing wrong with that, per se, but for us, with our tax dollars, we want to focus on the classical mission of what a university is supposed to be."

Family looks for woman missing from Oldsmar

Tampa nonprofit Project DYNAMO said they were among the first to respond to help rescue Americans from the fires on Maui, but they claim more lives could have been saved if government aid had responded faster. The local government first drew criticism for the lack of evacuation prior to the fires spreading on Aug. 8, killing more than a hundred people, with about 850 others still missing as of Monday, Aug. 21. “Walking around the Lahaina looks like a cross between ground zero on 911 and like Hiroshima and Nagasaki after we drop Atom bombs,” described Bryan Stern, Founder & CEO of Project DYNAMO.

ABC Action News tracks tropical developments in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.

Hillsborough County has issued a mandatory evacuation order for Evacuation Zone A, as well as those in mobile and manufactured homes and residents in low-lying areas prone to flooding, beginning at 2 p.m. today, Monday, Aug. 28.   Visit HCFLGov.net/StaySafe for details about Hillsborough County's evacuation zones and additional storm preparation information. ABC Action News visited numerous gas stations on Monday afternoon. There was a constant flow of cars at the Walmart gas station off North Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa near Interstate 275.

A man suspected of stabbing a North Port couple to death is now in custody after a search early Friday morning. A North Port community is in shock after police find the couple stabbed to death inside their home. Police believe it was at the hands of 21-year-old Dima Tower.

As Florida's legislative session wrapped up last week, lawmakers passed some sweeping immigration reforms. This includes a couple of big changes for businesses and others for people who are undocumented, specifically Senate Bill 1718. It's a number that is inducing fear in the immigrant community. Teresita Matos-Post said the bill, once signed into law by Governor Ron Desantis will have a ripple effect.

Full Story: https://wfts.tv/3LSA5qT America’s COVID-19 public health emergency is finally coming to an end, but not before what appears to be a final attempt by scammers to use COVID-19 test kits to exploit the elderly at the expense of taxpayers.

Governor DeSantis is suspending Orlando-area State Attorney Monique Worrell after claims her administration showed "both neglect of duty and incompetence," he announced in a press conference on Wednesday. DeSantis and other officials, such as Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, cited a recent incident regarding two police officers who were shot in Downtown Orlando on Friday as an example of Worrell's administration being "clearly and fundamentally derelict." Officials at the press conference claimed Worrell's alleged behavior included failure to follow minimum mandatory sentences for gun crimes and drug trafficking sentences, as well as "allowing juvenile offenders to avoid serious charges or incarceration altogether."

The Dali Museum in downtown St. Petersburg just opened a new attraction as wild, weird and wonderful as the artist himself. Inside a giant new "Dali Dome"—60 feet wide, 40 feet high—a multisensory audio-visual experience called "Dali Alive 360" engulfs guests in all manner of surreal sights and sounds. Created by the same team that did the blockbuster "Van Gogh Alive" tour, "Dali Alive 360" allows you to step inside the artist's life, art and brain like never before.

2024 Presidential hopefuls take on Iowa State Fair

Sean Daly live at St. Pete's biggest pajama party

Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez III, the director of the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), was critically injured in Tampa on Sunday night, according to a statement from police. Miami-Dade Police said early Monday morning that Ramirez was currently undergoing surgery but did not release any additional information on his injuries or how he got them. They later issued another statement that said Ramirez was in critical but stable condition. Police said the Florida Highway Patrol and Florida Department of Law Enforcement are investigating. https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-hillsborough/miami-dade-police-director-freddy-ramirez-critically-injured-in-tampa

We're talking to the director and editor of the new documentary "Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie." It's now streaming on Apple TV+.