good evening, two brothers in sarasota county are in trouble with the officers. and these two could face federal charges as well. i mean this is big trouble >> reporter: they absolutely could jen.

that will just give you an idea of the trouble their facing. you can see the men, when the men pointed the laser at the police chopper the screen goes dark, the cameras was blinded as were the pilots. >> imagine if you're driving a car at night in a very dark area and somebody were to take a very bright flashlight and shine it in your eye for a second. it's going to take a long time to maintain that car. a laser does the same thing. >> reporter: but the pilot is only asked to report incidents like this. and that's just what they did. >> you're going to get caught. the beauty about a laser is it tells us exactly where it's coming from. so you know keep doing it and you are going to get caught. >> reporter: deputies tracked down 25-year-old gary bennington and his younger

both now face charges for pointing that laser at the aircraft. >> reporter: the faa is reporting in 2014 alone there were more than 3,800 laser incidents reported to date none have resulted in an accident. the pilot i spoke with this afternoon with the sheriff's office told me, if this type of behavior continues, it's only a matter of time before one of these incidents does result in an accident. reporting in sarasota, i'm chip osowski. and today a man was arrested for the deaths of two other men. cummings was is believed to have killed the two.

murders were drug related. they sit on poles at busy interceptions watching for drivers to drive through red lights. the red light snaps a picture. >> are you a fan of them. >> not at all. >> reporter: the mayor says his city will say bye bye after residents voiced their concerns loud and clear. >> over 200 plus calls and contacts we've had since we've had the contract in place, you can imagine none of those have been, hey these are great. >> i'm glad they're finally seeing the truth and the cameras are not about safety. they were sold to them about money. >> reporter: they don't like the process to contest the red light tickets. compare 2014 to 2015 there's 57 fewer red light cameras across the state and that number is expected to drop even further. in gulfport, peter bernard, newschannel 8. today tampa fire investigators believe a

malfunction in a laundry room caused an early morning fire in sulfur springs. the fire and smoke caused extensive damage to several units at the west chester manor apartment forcing 18 people out of their homes. the one bit of good news here there were no injuries. well plenty of students dread testing of any kind, but in one bay area school district there is growing concern over end of year testing. polk county school district made changes this school year to it policy and it now wants the end of year exam to count toward 30% of the student's final grade. some students started a petition drive calling for is unfair. >> if i worked all year for an a and i take a test that i wasn't really prepared for. and it drops me down to a b that's not really fair to me because i still worked very hard to get an a. if i had a b that would go down to a c. >> reporter: nearly 4,000

which now has the attention of the district. district leaders plan to hold a community meeting and will create a student review process. nearly 86 million americans are at risk for diabetes. that's why today the medical examiner's association and the ad council and centers for disease started running this promotion act kicking off a campaign to raise awareness of prediabetes. >> a lot of people know about diabetes but they don't know about prediabetes. it's all about reversing the -- >> all the info you need is on wfla.com. it's a night that bolts

a chance for some pay back delivered to the blackhawks for last year's play off finals. >> reporter: the two hottest team in the national hockey league are facing off. the bolts taking on the blackhawks. which team will reign supreme and what set of fans are ruling pirate alley. we'll have highlight and postgame reaction. plus an update on the always tenuous jonathan durant situation. floridians know it's a good idea to check the water before you dive in and here's why. a homeowner found that crocodile. it's a crocodile not a gator. fish and wildlife officials responded but they really

there the crock climbed out of the pool and mosey back into the ocean all on his own. while it's a bit chilly for a dip in the pool, thousands of people are bracing for a winter snowstorm and florida is looking to cash in. >> reporter: they could be buying groceries or prepping the road, but instead they're here. robert shebida is from delaware. delaware, what are they expecting today? >> three feet. >> it doesn't matter when snow happens. what it is it's the signal that it's wintertime. when people get into winter they start thinking very quickly how do i get out of winter. >> reporter: last year they used snow men holding signs saying sunshine or bust to

they'll be doing more of the same this year with signage in colder cities like this saying less polar more solar. a method they tell us worked even with a record setting warm december. >> the mild december proved beautiful for us. november was a record, we're going on 27 months of record tourism. >> reporter: at the top of the winter storm leaving some asking why go home. >> maybe we stay here for a couple more weeks. >> reporter: we talked to some visitors who were talking about extending their trip s so they can avoid travel complications this weekend. >> steve and i were talking about my brother who lives outside of the dc area but works in the district. they've already given him a snow day tomorrow. they're like don't, don't, don't even bother. because they're not always equipped. we think of it being north of

they had a lot of problems already last night. >> and many of people escape that kind of weather. breezing in from the west we have a few clouds. we are expecting possible thunderstorms tomorrow morning though as a cold front approach it is area. this is a subtropical thing. made for a milky sky. i mentioned the thunderstorms and the timing on those would roughly in from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. line of showers and thunderstorms basically headed our way. and severe well slight chances for severe storms. primarily mainly from pinellas county northward, coastal areas in particular with the cold front and of course the storms that can come off the coast is unfortunately we saw this past sunday morning. so a slight risk of severe higher than a marginal risk focused on the northern side of the state. in fact, the farther north you travel the bigger potential for

as for the weekend forecast that's much much different too. we'll talk about changes for that coming up. still ahead on 8 at 7:00. check out this cutey. >> i'll tell you the dramatic

a dramatic rescue of a baby otter was caught on camera. the mother otter died while trying to rescue her pups from the storm.

lonely baby otter was stuck underneath the house. but crews were committed to finding it. a mother otter placed a pup in her mouth and ran across the road. sadly, the mother was hit by a car. a neighbor saved the pup and brought it to the wildlife center and warned them there was another one trapped under the house. unfortunately this pup died two days later. so now they're focused on the one remaining orphan. this little girl is recovering nicely.

release it back into the wild in a few months. and should you have to pay more for netflix video? netflix thinks so. it could be the next game to blow up your smart phone.

on wall street, the s & p was up nine and the nasdaq climbed a fraction of a point. general motors wants to give uber some competition. it's jumping into the ride sharing business with a service called maven. the first test market will be anne arbor home to the university of michigan. major u.s. cities will follow later this year. gm is also working on rental hubs in a partnership with another uber competitor lift. >> reporter: blue bell fans hang in there just a few more day, the ice cream brand is making its return to bay area grocery stores on monday. the company is ramping up production following a massive recall due to listeria contamination. now blue bell will be delivering ice cream to the area.

britax is out with a couple of recallless. one includes a stroller. a top bar with foam can snap off and cause injury. the company will provide a free replacement arm bar. britax is also saying its be safe car seat 35. the carry handle can crack and break. britax has received 74 reports of problems including one that caused a minor injury. the company will provide a free repair kit. if you like to watch netflix in hd and these days who doesn't you might be in for a price hack. customers have a choice, they

for standard shows or $2 more for high definition. the force is very strong in the toy department. star wars toys generated more than $700 million in sales last year. that means star wars pulled in more cash that jurassic world, minions and avenger toys combined. the chinese version of twitter just cranked up the limit. weibo will now allow 140 character only the first 50 will display. tech website reported that twitter is looking at posts up to 10,000 characters. the card game raised $9 million making it the most

history a year ago. now it's available for apple devices for 1.99 and an android version is said to be coming very soon according to mashable.com. in the game which i did not make up so, send hate my to my producer, kittens will explode unless you defuse them with items like a catnip sandwich or laser pointer. wow. here's some good news for siracha lovers, you no longer have to keep a big bulky bottle in your car or desk crash. the website siratcha to go is selling the real thing in tiny packets just like ketchup. while the idea is practical, it is not cheap.

delicious cinnamon bun. now you can crush both with an oreo. here's something else to look forward to. red velvet oreos will make their return just in time for valentine's day. sounds pretty tasty. well the aurora boreales spectacular last night if you had the right viewpoint. and astronaut scott kelly certainly does. kelly and astronaut tom peak shared this sight of the northern lights. he called the view magical and we agree. some of these pictures are spectacular coming from space from the aurora. those guys have a spectacular perspective. trudy nice shot from the gulf port.

evening over all milder because we're seeing an easterly breeze for us. 63degrees at 4:00 a.m. stays mild. humidity has made a bit of a come back but the east and southeasterly flows made it a milder flow. that increases by 7% by 10:00 a.m. 64degrees barto. 61 clear water. 60 weeki wachee, 60 brooksville. 21degrees minneapolis. although we're talking about a storm system that goes from cincinnati to dc up to new york city. most of these areas aren't really super cold. they're cold enough snow but not at extreme levels. this area of low pressure is one we're talking about. winter storm warnings to the south: tornado warning pushing into mississippi and alabama. very unstable air. and of course the clouds spreading out ahead of that. a nice subtropical stream of high and mid-level clouds.

pressure. the colder north and northwest side that's where the snow is going to occur. maybe up to 2 feet or more the computer model suggested some places like virginia. but potentially places like washington, d.c. too as jen was saying her brother's job shut down saying don't even come to 54degrees on saturday. clears the area. 57 on sunday. and if you're headed out to the children's parade know that the clouds will probably be hanging around a bit. it'll be cool, it'll be windy. so that translates into dress warmly for that especially if you're out early in the day. sunnier and warm on sunday. nice day. and 67 degrees on monday jump right back, chilly. >> 54, way better than the alternative of the north of us.

>> good stuff. and if you want to contact us follow steve jerve too. he's on facebook.

if you need an igloo and honestly who doesn't. you can count on someone who knows a lot about ice. you can go to an eskimo or turn to a hockey player. nick a hockey player made this colorful igloo.

he went out and bought dozens of cake tins and froze them with colored water. in a black veil inside her husband's memorial service today. >> now on "extra." celine dion's emotional good-bye to her husband. the superstar fighting back tears. the open casket, the ceremony and the same church where they married 21 years ago. then, will smith sounds offotted oscar firestorm. >> this is -- off on the oscar firestorm. >> this is so not about me. j although's star-packed opening night on the strip.

celebrity guests. i'm governor j. lo t j. lo after her soldout show. >> the stars, the sex. >> adult moments. >> mario has every -- >> -- single -- >> -- moment. the incredible o.j. story you never heard. how the defense team altered the mansion for the jury. the two new specials on the trial of the century. what kris jenner told the man playing her late husband. >> david schwimmer called me. plus, jane lynch and her angel from hell co-star. >> guardian angels are a lot like herpes because everybody probably has one. now on "extra" from entertainment studios hollywood, the entertainment capital of l.a. welcome to "extra," i'm mar mario lopez at the universal premiere. >> coming up, first patrick dempsey.

off meredith grey herself?