it's something anyone who shopped on cyber monday will have to worry about... as those packages will start showing up any day now. ((dave courvoisier)) >> that means it's going to be open season for package snatchers - the ones who go around swiping boxes off front porches. paul joncich is here with what you can do to make sure it doesn't happen to you. ((paul joncich)) >> good neighborhood, bad neighborhood, gated or not. it doesn't matter. more packages are getting stolen off front porches than ever before. one reason: the post office will deliver a record 750 million packages over the next month. and to thieves, those boxes a this was tuesday morning in the northwest valley. within 20 minutes of a package being delivered, a complete stranger swipes it right off the porch. the homeowner filed a police report and shared this video on facebook hoping someone would recognize the woman, but so far no luck catching her. i spoke to the homeowner on the telephone today. ((4:58 crime victim: "my thing today is i'm actually reaching out to get another camera installed so we can see more. i think even though it costly, putting more cameras up and making sure the neighbors are

more people are putting cameras out." )) ((paul joncich)) while video of an item being stolen rarely leads to getting your stuff back, you can sometimes get a refund if you attach the video to a claim... ((paul joncich)) here's what else you can do to protect your deliveries. sign-up for text alerts anytime you get a delivery. have your packages mailed to your workplace. ask for signature delivery, that way y get a post office box just for the holidays. finally, the number one remedy according to police, know your neighbors and call on them to pick up packages or at least keep an eye out for strangers. by the way, video of that package thief has been shared hundreds of times. there is still a chance the woman will be recognized and caught./// ((dave courvoisier)) two more casino groups are phasing out free parking on the las vegas strip. last night... caesars entertainment announced it will follow mgm resort's lead...

in fact... beginning on december 29-th... locals will no longer get a free pass at mgm- owned parking garages. and today.. the wynn and encore announced it will start charging for valet parking in mid- december... while self- parking will remain free for now. as for caesars... the company will charge for valet and self- parking at the linq and harrah's in decemeber. in january... caesars, the cromwell, paris, planet hollywood, bally's and the flamingo will start charging. luckily... locals with valid i-d will still be able to park forr you're local. rio will be the only property that will remain free for everyone. coming up at 6:30... i talk with the director of unlv's center for gaming research about what the properties have to gain from implementing the fees./// ((christianne klein)) from the strip... to the fremont street experience... let's check in with tedd florendo at the 30-th annual downtown hoedown! ((tedd florendo)) ((( chilly morning temps

valley neighborhoods as the freeze warning was lifted this morning. temps outside currently in the 50's and below average in the daytime. overnight lows expected to get cold again but not down to a hard freeze warning. winds stay light thankfully. ................................ ... ............... he'res your hour by hour. chilly conditions through the evening under clear skies. we go expect very little wind and little cloud cover. cold by man was shot and killed in the parking lot at the 'durango canyon apartments.' those are near durango and tropicana... we're told witnesses said they saw a man and a woman fighting

when the argument spilled over into the parking lot. that's when police say another man drove up and got involved. at some point... the suspect pulled out a small assault rifle and fired a single shot... killing the man. the suspect was last seen driving away from the apartment complex in a dark-colored sports car, possibly a challenger. it's also unclear if the woman and the suspect know each other. last word from police, this deadly shooting a random act. if you know anything... call police or cr ((dave courvoisier)) a local middle school teacher was sentenced today... for having an affair with a 14- year- old student. nicole wilfinger was sentenced to at least two years behind bars. she took full responsibility in the courtroom today... but asked the judge for mercy: (( "from the beginning that my lapse in judgement affected so many people and no way make any excuse for my behavior and there's nothing i can say or do that can change what happenecd." )) ((dave courvoisier)) >> wilfinger kept a journal

everything form first kiss to the first time she had relations with the student. phone records shows she had hundreds of calls between her and the student as well as text messages... and even tried contacting the student's friends after she got caught./// ((christianne klein)) the state of nevada's presidential election will go under the microscope... after an independent candidate filed for a recount. the petition was filed by rocky de la fuente... who received less than 1 perce it will be a sample recount... meaning not every ballot will be recounted... and it cost him 15-thousand dollars. de la fuente told us it is not about changing the results... instead he wants to make sure every vote is counted as it was cast. he also said he is zeroing in on the silver state because he himself has experienced quote "manipulative behavior" in the nevada caucus./// ((christianne klein)) the death toll rises... in that wildfire in tennessee. we get the latest as officials say the worst looks to be over... and as family members still wait

sign up for medicare open enrollment... time is running out. call the number on your screen.. .we have a team of experts standing by answering all your questions. the valley's news leader will be right back after this./// news music voice over: "you're watching the valley's news leader with dave courvoisier,

florendo and chris maathuis. this is 8 news now at six." ((christianne klein)) got questions about medicare open enrollment? well, we have the answers. ((dave courvoisier)) >> our call 8 phone bank is here for you. consumer advocate michelle mortensen is in the call center with the men and women here to help you right now. michelle ... what's the number to call. ((michelle mortensen)) the number to call is 650-1101... and joining me now is gary denning

ones... after a devastating wildfire in east tennessee. four people have now been confirmed dead in the fire. jennifer gray has the latest on the destruction... in gatlinburg tennessee. "this is crazy" search and rescue efforts underway this morning in fire-ravaged eastern tennessee -- bill haslam/tennessee governor (r): "this is the largest fire in the last hundred years of the state of tennessee." nats

the possibility of spot fires after a terrifying 24 hours that left at least 250 homes and businesses destroyed-- and forced more than 14-thousand residents and tourists to flee to nearby shelters. nats mos intv: "you just don't know what to do. i mean, you sit there, you're expecting to come on a vacation and then find out that you can't get back to your family." nats drivers -- capturing terrifying video as they scrambled to monday night. officials now say the fire is "human caused." nats denise bearden and her fianc0 mark benzschawel were asleep when the inferno reached their doorsteps-- police rescuing them just in time. (nats) mark benzschawel/ evacuated resident: "flames were just everywhere, on both sides of the road, crossing the road, embers flying everywhere, it was a nightmare." like many others -- they are unsure when they can return home... or what they'll find...

you just don't know if it's still going to be there or not. we may go back to absolutely nothing. but we have each other, and that's all that matters. we made it out with our lives." others -- praying their loved ones are safe. michael reed has not heard from his wife or two daughters since monday night as they tried to escape. michael reed/wife and daughters missing in fires: "i've called the other shelters here, they said she isn't there...just hoping for a miracle." ((christianne klein)) >> that was jennifer gray reporting./// ((dave courvoisier)) with tedd florendo... he's out at the downtown hoedowm! ((tedd florendo)) ((( chilly weather this morning as temps dropped to near freezing through many neighborhoods. we''ll have some cold lows again overnight but not enough to prompt any freeze warnings. ............................... highs today stayed in the 50's and chilly. lows dropped to 37 in the morning with areas like nellis,

all dropping to at or just a below freezing this morning before sunrise. check out the record on this date. 79 degrees way back in 1980. we're below average for this time of year and will be near average by the weekend. ................................ .... neighborhood by neighborhood temps in the 50's and milder for the east part of the valley where we're lower in elevation. while areas to the far west colder and just below freezing this morning and only low 50's this afternoon ... .... regional temps also stayed colder for the southern great basin and of course searchlight. still unseasonably cold in the 50's also for mesquite down the colorado river valley to laughlin and death valley where they were milder, but still chilly for this time of year. ................................ ... ......... satellite and radar show some high clouds pushing through but still staying mostly clear. snow in the north part of the

with the bitterroots and the wasatch. next trough digs deep in utah and brings another shot of colder air and breezes heading into your weekend. then colder next week from the next system that barrels through as well. ....................... ............ ............. tonight expect temps in the mid to high 30's by morning. no freeze warning issued. we'll have mostly clear skies and light winds. tomorrow expect a high in the mid 50's under mostly sunny skies. winds remain lh .............. ..................... .................... extended forecast shows a slight warm up for the weekend to near average. breezy though by tomorrow night and friday with a little cooler air. moisture starved system prevent us from getting any rain, but we get colder next week only in the high 40's in some spots with lows dropping to the 30's and even 20's.

with-- who else -- the champion. ((denise valdez)) >> nascar king jimmy johnson rolled into las vegas... right chris ((chris maathuis)) >> and he went straight to school. inspiring young kids was his first assignment. john tritsch took on today's plus... city leaders in oakland aren't going down without a fight. the latest coming up here on channel 8.///

the top drivers. and one thing you can bet on is jimmie johnson will be somewhere in the group. the 7-time champ rolled into las vegas and made a pit stop at an area school... that's where jon tritsch pics up the story. jon tritsch: he's talented as any driver to pound the accellerator but today jimmie johnson pumped the brakes and stopped at school (jimmie johnsona hard to connect with the kids. i fell in love with this sport through going to races with my dad.") jon tritsch: the seven time sprint cup winner went from championships and checkered flags to challenging questions from doral academy students..and they weren't always easy to steer (jimmie johnson/nascar: "in some ways you feel that there is a larger responsibility to answer perfectly. i can only imagine that some of these kids are huge race fans and having us there talking to him, they are taking us word for word.")

champion..the student body built an intense curriculum learning about auto mechanics and performance mathmatics gage prince/freshman: "we did start off from the bottom. we had nothing. all of a sudden we have this minature dragster waiting to be raced on friday. definitely cool to see all of our hard work go to something neat like this.") jon tritsch: students also learned about the public relations and marketing side..and now could teach a lesson in fundraising and sponsorship (joselle sta'ana/freshman: "each of the sponsors spent $100 and we ra that's a really cool experience for me because i don't really go out and ask people for money.") jon tritsch: all the money raised will go to charity..but for today..the reward was when their hearts did the racing (joselle sta'ana/freshman: "before yesterday, we were just looking at pictures of his family and now we see him and we're taking pictures of him. it's so cool. i'm going to admit, it took me a lot not to fan-girl jon

8 sports now ((chris maathuis)) nascar fans will line the world famous strip tomorrow... the annal parade of drivers will take place along the strip beginning at 2:45. they'll do the traditional burnout at the spring mountain intersection. ((chris maathuis)) city and county leaders in oakland are playing catchup, doing all they can to keep the raiders in oakland. they met behind closed doors tuesday and say ronnie lotts' investment group will bring 600 million, the nfl will pitch in 200 million and the city wil infrastructure. city council doesn't want public money used... but those most vocal at the fans in oakland. (( )) noel gallo/city council:' "long overdue - we've been waiting for this for 10years - we are finally there ...." " so what' does finally there .....really mean ???? "do you have a good feeling ? good hope ? absolutely -- i'm ready to vote for it and move on " gregory jones/forevber oakland; ""all arrows are pointing toward oakland the way the nfl wants a deal done here ... they have high respect for ronnie lotts investment team .

off recruiting and ya gotta think improving that defense is their top priority. special teams play was awful, but defense wasn't too far behind and so that's tony task to go out and get the right kind of players... and he'll focus on the secondary. (( )) tony sanchez/coach ;"we stuggled... have to get longer... young guys tough guys but young. get longer and more athletic. we had missed tackles.. but our young guys have to do a good job at maturing." the runnin' rebels are back on the court tonight, but this time they're playing in cedar city against the t-birds. big game because unlv is playing against former rebel coach todd simon. rebels are coming off that win over western kentucky.

with consumer advocate michelle mortensen. ((dave courvoisier)) >> she's live with our call 8 phone bank... where experts are answering your medicare questions. michelle? ((michelle mortensen)) ((dave courvoisier)) 8 news now at 6:30 starts

((christianne klein)) >> there's still a lot more news ahead... like the president- elect's big decision... on the future of his massive business empire. we'll look into what he announced in a tweet today. >> plus... the floodgates have opened... as more and more casinos decide to charge for parking on the las vegas strip. we look into what that means for locals... coming ne ((paul joncich))

accused of killing his own son. where this took place... and why police were able to respond to the scene to make an arrest so quickly. ((christianne klein)) lawmakers take a field trip to oregon. what they're learning about the marijuana industry there... that could help shape how local laws go into effect. ((paul joncich)) and it's the hot topic of the day... paying for parking on the las vegas strip. we look into how common it is

other's lead... and what locals think about the latest round of properties that will soon be charging for parking.///