right now on news channel 8 at 5:30. good evening i'm jennifer leigh. >> and i'm josh benson, thanks for being with us tonight. last fall lakeland passed a law loosening alcohol sales on sunday. businesses in the area pushed for the law to push sales, now it appear test expense of other business owners. josh thomas is live in lakeland. >> reporter: well the law to change the times alcohol can be sold here on sundays, has had some unintended consequence, and a negative effect on other

when the city of lakeland allowed alcohol to be sold every sunday from 7 tim till in the morning until -- 7 tim till in the morning until 2:00 in the morning, but not for this guy who's bar is outside the city limit, he has to follow the polk county law. >> i had customers waiting when i opened on noon on sunday, and now they're not waiting outside. they're driving into the city limits. >> reporter: he's not alone. this man run's business in the county. >> next door there's a store in the city limits. >> reporter: he signed a petition started by lawson to get county commissioners to look at the disparity in the law, something the commissioners are willing to do. >> we have a couple of choices, one would be to change the county-wide ordinance and allow

or simply change our ordinance, just leaving it for the unincorporate rated area. >> reporter: even business owners understand how it could be faired as unfair outside the city limits. >> i know when the law charged i basically talked to my wife, and we thought the same thing. how long it was going to be before someone brought that point up. >> reporter: well the point has now been raised, and county commissioners are holding a public workshop on this particular issue on march 15th. >> well, josh, what about the public? will they have a say in changing the law county-wide? >> reporter: that actually depends on the actions of commissioners taking the particular workshop, but if they agree to explore the issue, yes, there would be public hearings on the topic. >> and we'll keep people posted on when the hearings might be. josh thomas, thank you. and no bond for a man that

police officers tried to pull over eugene, but he sped off hitting the 5-year-old walking on the sidewalk with his grandparents. he jumped out of the vehicle and tried to run away, but he was caught. a gruesome discovery at a home in jacksonville. human remains were found on the property where a man who's now in prison once livered. he was arrested -- lived. he was arrested in may on charges of aggravated assault and battery of a law enforcement officer. rough surf is making it difficult to search for a missing boater off the coast of florida. the man went fishing yesterday afternoon. he was reported missing by a friend after he didn't return. deputies did find his 17-foot boat along the shoreline at indian harbor beach, but so far no sign of the boater. a miami medical student

in haiti is going back to the island to teach about prevention. he got it in a nine month medical mission, after a few days and a trip to the doctor, he's better. he plans to teach people the ways to protect themselves on the virus. and the charges keep coming for a woman tied to a string of jewel heists. according to investigators she walked into a jewelry store, pulled out a gun, zip tied the employees and stole almost a million dollars of jewels. we are just a few weeks into tax season and the irs is already alerting taxpayers that there could be something wrong with your tax returns. >> in most cases we're hearing they're-filing, and doing it -- they're e-filing and doing it

>> the troubles two back to the data security breaches of last year, where millions of social security numbers ended up in the hands of thieves, and now they're filing a fake return to get the refund. more security measures are in lace this year to detect the real return from the fake one, but the irs can't do much to prevent fraud except file before the thief does. around 3 million uninsured people in florida struggle to find coverage. capital bureau reporter matt is in tallahassee with the details. >> reporter: uninsured people in florida have limited options. these women work are free clinics and hope to change that. >> people that don't have insurance, don't qualify for government programs for assistance, we are their safety net. there's a big gap still, even

>> reporter: they're helping the florida association of free and charitable clinics lobby the legislature in hopes of getting state funding or the 90 clinic you cans around the state. >> mental health services other of them don't have job -- most of them don't have jobs, and can't get the dental services they need to say get the job, so our services helps increase the chances of them getting worth. >> reporter: the legislature did approve more than $9 million for the clinics in the budget, but it was ultimately vetoed by the governor. they say the vetoed money could have helped more. >> they find themselves without coverage at all, and this could be cases like people needing neurosurgery, we performed open heart surgery. our physicians and patients and

health providers provide it free of cost. >> reporter: $160 million worth of health care dollars were provided to the uninsured last year. the senate included 9 and a half million dollars for free clinics in their budget proposal, and they hope the house follows suit. the us air force is sending six fighter jets to finland for spring exercises there. they'll fly training forces as part of operation atlantic resolve. it was initiated in 2014 to reassure nato allies after the russian intervention in the ukraine. finland has worked with the us several times in the last few years. as maive expansion -- massive expansion program at tia is moving along. >> a sneak peek coming up.

relief from pain and boredom, how virtual reality is used to ease the stress of staying in a hospital. and a warmer feel today thanks to a southerly wind flow, but a change overnight, and then a very nice stretch of weather. the seven-day forecast is coming up. that and more coming up. you're watching news channel 8, the station that's always on

(donkey sound) (elephant sound) there's a big difference between making noise, (tapping sound)

(elephant sound) (donkey sound) when it comes to social security, we need more than lip service. our next president needs a real plan to keep social security strong. (elephant noise) hey candidates. enough talk.

the biggers names in music taking over los angeles tonight for the 58th annual grammy awards. taylor swift will open the ceremony, and adele, sam hunt,

and they'll have tributes to recently passed stars david bowie and glen frye. and the sports illustrated issue made history releasing three different covers with three different body types. graham, klausen and the situate suit editor -- issue editor talked about it on the today show. >> for them to put me on the cover, don't get me started, i might start crying, but i'm cover. >> >. we're starting a new thing, like everybody, everybody has an amazing body, you know, you have to own yourself. >> the sports illustrated swim suit issue hits stores today. fans. filming on episode 8 is

the names of the new cast members, including lawyer larry thomas der -- laura dern and more. it's scheduled to hit theaters in november of 2017. and dead pool crushed the competition this weekend at the box office. it's based on a marvel comic, and made a new record for a february debut and r-rated debut as well. the revenant is about to make history as well. it topped the bittic academy fill -- british academy film awards. the film was up for several awards at the academy awards as well. it turns out paying

work, but the reverse just might. researchers found university that lured employees with cash for getting 7,000 steps a day don't motivate anybody, but if they give employees the money, then threaten to take it away if they don't meet the step goal, then the program is 50 percent more likely to be effective. virtual reality is being used to provide relief for people staying in the hospital. it's a study in los angeles, daughters are studying the effects of virtual reality on hospital patients who's real word surroundings can be sterile and uncomfortable. with the program patients are carried to different worlds where they can leave worries behind for a little bit. night. >> a shark just went by my head! >> oh my god, this is incredible. it was like the greatest diversion i could have had. >> it's an incredible opportunity to escape the four walls of the hospital. >> it really is a great idea.

virtual reality system with about 70 people so far. many say it's helping relieve stress and anxiety. well, a huge expansion project of tampa international airport is moving along full steam ahead. a new facility will help move food to restaurants inside the airport. ryan hughes shows how it keeps it safe and secure at the same time. >> reporter: this state of the art building is the receiving point for every piece of bread, can of soda or shirt sold within tampa international airport. all goods are screened here before being sold to passengers. >> >. it's going to be the most high tech concession center around this part of country. >> the concessions receiving and contribution center, build and operated by bradford airport logistics takes in good to to be sold at various shop throughout the airport. trucks pull up and drop off the goods, they're placed here in the middle of the building, screened by workers, then reloaded on to different trucks

and then those trucks head to the airport. those workers must make sure no weapons or suspicious objects are smuggled into the airport. this is just one part of a nearly 1 billion-dollar ex- chance prohibits underway at tia. within a few years 65 new restaurants and shops will open, and other renovations will allow passenger toss move throughout the airport with ease on people movers. the airport is excited about the first step. >> this receiving and contributions center is a critical -- distribution center is critical to everything we're doing. >> reporter: reporting at tampa international airport, ryan hughes, news channel 8. >> the food and goods will be delivered within 30 minutes of their arrival at the

cloudy day here at the beach. 70 degrees. the temperatures warmer and air milder with a southerly flow. generally the winds from the south here today. later tonight we'll see the possibility of thunderstorms move into the area, and here at hue larry thomas bay, the east -- hula bay, the east wind, and there's a line of thunderstorms working through the area. especially strong in northern areas. the area of low pressure causing the thunderstorms farther to the north in places like alabama, so farther south the intensity not as great, but between 1:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., break stronger thunderstorms fact north. possible early in the morning, maybe while you're sleeping any time in the time frame there and for the morning commute fact inland. nice weather ahead once we work the thunderstorms through the area. 69 the temperature this

like again. 62, the storms move south early in the day, but we still could see lingering rain for the morning commute. hopefully the more intense parts gone by then, but the possibility is there. tomorrow afternoon 71, skies clear, temperatures nice. overall very nice. few showers back to the west of us, mostly rain at this point. the stronger storms are essentially in the panhandle. few little showers here, see them move across highlands county, drifted into the southern parts of polk county, and the interyear part of manatee county. 72 at tampa international airport. south to southeast winds. temperatures elsewhere, mostly low 70s, a lot of cloud cover colding down the temperatures, the air because of the southerly flow has a milder feel to it. strong thunderstorm, severe thunderstorms, and even tornado warnings in the northwest part of florida panhandle. this is the cold front area of

the wrap model continues to pick up the line of approaching showers and thunderstorms for us. trying to time it here. around 2:00 a.m. for the timing at this point. the red and yellow the more intense areas, and the line comes through about 4:00 in the morning. a small tornado potential, especially to the north. tomorrow morning rain chances quickly end, then set up for a nice stretch of weathered ahead -- weather ahead. certainly tuesday into wednesday with a clear start to the day. 53, slightly breezy northwest winds into the big part of wednesday. 71 degree, look at that, 70 for thursday. ridge of high pressure building over the southeast, including florida, lifts the temperatures into the mid and upper 70s by the weekend, above normal, but as of late we spent a lot of time below the average high temperature, but we'll warm up

a lot of folks will welcome that after the chilly air around her lately. >> you will not get a complaint from us. thank you. the story of survival, a man stranded in the desert for a week. what he did to stay alive until help arrived. plus a ski lift emergency, dozens stuck up there for hours, including a baby.

know you can keep your financial big picture under control. know you can see how much you have to spend and whether you should transfer funds. know you can easily keep track of what you're putting away. and know you're budgeted for the great escape.

now to what's making headlines across america. a daring rescue at a new hampshire ski resort all caught on camera. dozens, including a baby were stuck high in a broken tram for three hours. rescue crews entered each car and repelled down with them with ropes. and a dramatic rescue along the california coast. they used ayou crane to save a -- a crane to save a man from drowning from a coast. life guards swam through rough waves to get to him and then used a crane to lift him. and stranded for a week in the desert. an oregon man says he survived on snow.

a remote area, and drank melted snow and rationing his food. a highway patrol trooper stumbled across him while checking road condition, and he's recovering at a hospital in california. and a terrifying discover ricky blake in new mexico turned out -- discovery in new mexico turned out to be a hoax. they thought it was an explosionive device, but it wasn't. a bomb squad was called it and deemed it safe. and an unusual attack is under investigation in san francisco. two people hit by blow darts walking across the godden gate bridge. -- golden gate bridge. the darts were tested to make sure they weren't coated in chemical. the people were treated and released immediately. and freezing temperatures kept firefighters from rescuing someone from a burning home in massachusetts. the three-story house fire was caught overnight, and the

flame, and it was so cold out regulators and water thanks froze up. one person -- tanks froze up. one person inside died. and jodie arias won't see visitors over the next three months. she insulted an officer, and has to demonstrate good behavior to see visitors again. she's serving a life sentence. news channel 8 at 6:00 o'clock is up next. >> here's what they're working on. accused of hitting a tow truck driver and leaving him to dry. >> a hit and run driver with a history of duis is still on the run tonight. where she was last spotted by witnesses. plus remember this woman? she live streamed her drunken drive home, and now a judge handed down a sentence. what her punishment is coming up. pinellas park police need

that video coming up at 6:00. >> reporter: plus a story from cuba talking agent big changes happening -- about big changes happening here. that's coming up. that plus the forecast and sports with dan lucas coming up on news channel 8, the station

>. an addressive search -- aggressive search for a he want and run -- hit and run driver. >> >. and the latest viral craze, and it's made its way to the bay area. plus, building business between the us and cuba. exclusive 8 on your side coverage from havana. good evening i'm stacie schaible. >> i'm keith cate, thank you for joining us tonight.

a tow truck driver is dead tonight, investigators are searching for a woman with a long history of drunk driving. her name is allison huffman. her first dui arrest was 14 years ago. now she's wanted in this morning's deadly hit and run, and mark is live near the bridge, and this is an absolutely tragic case. >> reporter: no other way to describe it, keith, and it all unfolded out there on the howard franklin bridge in the middle of the night where the tow truck driver reached out to help others twice, and died because of it. now the search is on the for the woman police believed killed him and just kept going. while most of us were sleeped, roger was -- sleeping, roger was crossing the bridge and came across a motorist in distress on the howard franklin bridge.