breaking news, an intense search for a hit and run is over, new details on her arrest. >> and new details our 8 on your side exposes a loophole landlords are using to get around the law. >> and sports illustrated tackling body images, the historic decision to put a plus size model on the cover. good evening. i'm jennifer leigh. >> i'm keith cate. thanks for joining us. we begin with breaking news. after a day long search for a suspect in a deadly hit and run police have a woman now in cust ditch authorities found and detained allison huffman -- custody. authorities found and detained allison huffman at an apartment complex a little over an hour ago. >> let's go live to paul mueller where police caught up with the suspect. there's a lot happening right now. so what's the latest from where you are? >> reporter: there certainly is. let's break it down for you of 9:00 tonight at the promenade apartments, carillon, the

petersburg, a very active scene, fhp here as well as st. pete police. the police got a call around 9:00 from one of huffman's friends who lives in this building right here. he says hey, huffman is here with me. come in and get her and that's exactly what st. pete police and fhp did. they're inside right now questioning her. now a few hours before that i had the opportunity to speak with the last two people who saw this tow truck driver alive. >> then the guy just come from nowhere, stop for us, tried to help us. >> reporter: their car broke down on the bridge. then seem go out of nowhere 44- year-old tow truck driver roger perez appeared. -- seemingly out of nowhere 44- year-old tow truck driver roger perez appeared and put the people in his truck so they wouldn't get hit. then he went to hook up their car. all of a sudden -- >> i hear no scream, no nothing. >> reporter: that's when fhp says allison huffman allegedly

he was thrown into the air and died on the bridge. >> i didn't believe that this was -- happened so fast. >> keep on shaking. i can't even talk. i can't even breathe. >> reporter: hours later troopers found huffman's car at crowne plaza hotel in tampa. after the crash she took a taxi to the hard rock casino. huffman has a history arrested four times for dui. perez has a history, too doing anybody. >> you talk about a guy that would come to work 15 minutes early, this man comes to work two hours early just to see if he could help out. for this to happen is ridiculous. he was just pulling over to help somebody. >> reporter: and now the couple who last saw him alive praying for his loved ones. how do you feel for his family tonight? >> sad. the guy was lucky enough to have his family and then he's gone. >> reporter: and again here at the promenade apartments in st. petersburg tonight you're

huffman is now being questioned by both st. pete police and fhp right up there right now. from here they will take her to the pinellas county jail where she will be booked. she could have her first appearance before a judge tomorrow. keith? >> but they are certainly taking their time, a lot of questioning going on at that apartment complex, paul mueller live in st. petersburg, thank you. on a related note here the florida highway patrol is seeing an alarming spike in hit and run crashes. in 2015 they responded to 92,000 that's up from 84,000 the year before. in fact, the fhp is calling this hit and run awareness week. they want to get the word out that if you leave the scene of an accident, you could now face serious prison time. now an 8 on your side investigation, service animal discrimination. >> interfering with a working medical service dog is not only wrong but illegal. this means they can't be turned away from housing, restaurants or anywhere else, but our 8 on

discovered a tampa couple forced out of their apartment after the landlord called their dog a lease violation. that story brought back vivid memories for another woman who fought the same battle two years ago. she reached out to 8 on your side investigator shannon behnken. disgusted that this had happened again. >> reporter: medical service dogs are truly a lifeline for people who need them and there are laws with strict penalties to protect against discrimination, but disability advocates tell me land lords find loopholes to get around those laws. >> that's how amazing she is. >> reporter: sharon fowler is blind and she can't imagine getting through a day without her service dog laura. >> laura halt. >> reporter: but two years ago her hoa tried to evict laura claiming the dog violated the neighborhood's pet rules. illegal.

service dogs from any pet restrictions. fowler fought and won. >> you shouldn't have to choose between an extension of you and your home. >> reporter: her story went national and she hoped it would help end this kind of discrimination. >> it's a medical device as opposed to a pet. >> reporter: so she was stunned to see our 8 on your side investigation and learn that pam clark and her fiance james moved to a shelter after their landlord filed foray location telling them pam's dog a -- for eviction telling them pam's dog had to go. he told us he knows the law protects for those with medical service dogs and the landlord claims he filed for eviction because the couple stopped paying rent, but did they? pam and james say the landlord refused to accept rent after they refused to get rid of ammo. >> they will try to find any loophole that they can. >> reporter: fowler wants to

situation by spreading the word about the law and a message of compassion. >> they have to choose between their home and her service animal, no. that man, he should be ashamed of himself. he really should. >> ada laws prohibit this kind of discrimination and there are strong penalties, up to $50,000 in fines, six months in jail and court ordered community service. the law is there, but enforcing it is another story. >> how how do they enforce -- so how do they enforce it and how does this land lord break the law? >> victims in these cases have to file with the justice department and it's a very long grueling process. the other option is to sue and that's what the other lady in this story did, but you take your chances with that, too. >> the system doesn't make it easy for people. >> no, it doesn't. an epic battle is brewing

should replace supreme court justice antonin scalia. republicans are insisting the president should hold off letting the next president name a successor. the democratic candidates disagree about that. >> i don't think president obama should do that at this point. he's at the end of his term. he should allow the next president to do that. >> the only reason to block this is pure partisanship. >> and while that debate continues flags are flying at half staff for justice scalia who died of natural causes over the weekend. new tonight a $1 million lakeside mansion in orange county is so badly damaged it's been condemned. the wind mere home was foreclosed in september. vandals spray painted it red. inside it was painted black and the floors and fixtures ripped out. it is now set to be sold for just $325,000. ill some tense moments in miami-

a garbage truck took a 100-foot tumble off an exit ramp. you can see the mangled mess the crash left behind. news channel 8's jen holloway is live tonight in the tampa news center and how is the truck driver tonight? >> the last time we checked he is in serious condition in the hospital. miami fire and rescue is still trying to figure out exactly how this crash happened. we've got some video. fire rescue officials say the truck was driving off an exit ramp on southbound i-95 when it fell over 100 feet onto this parking lot below. the driver of the solid waste truck was ejected and is now in the hospital, no other injuries report. we do know the crash also damaged two other cars nearby and caused some structural damage to a close by park, a park that's normally filled with children but thankfully not today. >> presidents day, so those kids had off from school, thank you, jen. a powerful tornado touching down along florida's panhandle today caught on camera. the national weather service confirms a twister hit the

this is near the alabama border. a local sheriff deputy said he's never seen one form that big and so quickly. at least 10 homes were destroyed, no serious injuries were reported, though. another strong tornado swept through wesson, mississippi, severely damaging one school there. that tornado was so strong some of the roof on top of the school's attendance center came crashing in. it also damaged some cars and tore tree limbs all apart. and net another twister, this one touching down in central louisiana. customers at a pizza hut ran for cover as intense winds ripped the roof off a carwash and sent it flying into that restaurant. two pizza hut employees suffered minor injuries. there are big changes happening right now in cuba. >> coming up next news channel 8's jeff patterson shows us the impact that lifting the embargo could have on us here in the united states. >> plus history in the making, how these sports illustrated covers could be a game changer

>> we saw the results of the severe weather farther to the north, mississippi, alabama. we're at the tail end of that. still showers and some strong thunderstorms are possible overnight. local radar is detect lightning to the west of us. we'll have your full forecast and the potential severe

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news' jeff patterson is havana right now -- news channel 8's jeff patterson is in havana right now. >> jeff has spent the past five

new details on lifting the embargo. >> reporter: the u.s. secretary of transportation is scheduled to be here in havana tomorrow to sign an agreement that will allow u.s. commercial airlines to operate here daily allowing many more americans to travel here from all over the united states. today the u.s. congressional delegation led by congresswoman kathy castor toured old havana and talked about the changes that are happening now. construction is going on, more americans are coming, but this country may not be completely ready if thousands more americans come with new daily commercial flights. >> they are ready from a cultural spiritual, you know, relationship based, but in terms of the sheer impact, i don't know that they can be ready for that. >> reporter: minnesota

sponsored a bill with congresswoman castor to itself had the embargo. several in this group -- to lift theism barringism several in this group are -- the embargo. several in this group are ready for that major change. >> you work on it, find the solutions. >> reporter: sara stevens is the executive director for the center for democracy in the she organized this congressional trip and she now. >> i think everyone on both sides of the strait are tired of status quo. it doesn't make any sense. >> reporter: big changes happening for a country that hasn't seen a lot of change since the 1950s. in havana, cuba, jeff patterson, news channel 8. >> 8 on your side is the only television station bringing you reports from tuba on this trip. -- cuba on this trip. jeff patterson will continue to bring you stories from havana all week. sports illustrated is

one but three covers featuring women with three distinct body types, but the 1 getting the most reaction is ashley graham. she's the first plus size model to grace the coveted cover. the size 14 model calls it groundbreaking. news channel 8's melanie michael joins us now live in tampa. mel, a usf professor was discussing this very topic tonight. >> reporter: she was, jen. good evening to you. you know, this is what we're used to seeing with the stereo typical model's body right here, but sports illustrated have a totally different take on the matter. it's being called the curviest cover ever featuring for the very first time a size 14 model, the gorgeous ashley graham. her curves and confidence are heating up the headlines creating conversations including classrooms at usf. >> i don't think there should always just be like a skinny thin model every time. >> reporter: we were part of

sexuality class taught by dr. dave sheridan where we asked students is a curvey cover a good thing? >> i like it. i think it's good. i think we should see more variety and more like different body types. >> i think it's great being a plus size person myself. i would love to see more like me on there. >> reporter: the usf professor admits this photo is indeed groundbreaking, but to truly celebrate a woman's shape in mainstream america she tells us you can't make this just a one time deal and she points out what's truly attractive here is not necessarily the size, but the sass. >> people say that the most beautiful and attractive thing to someone else is confidence and so if ashley can be out there and feel confident and look beautiful and confident, then i think that's what makes her attractive to people. >> ashley graham herself told nbc's today show this is one of those moments where she's

the curvey girls. the sports illustrated swim suit issue began in 1964, what a long way we've come. >> and i think ashley looks gorgeous. melanie michael, live in tampa, thanks for bringing us that story, appreciate it. well, our rain chances definitely falling here after this round of showers i was talking about a couple of minutes ago, 40% chance, actually just upped that to 50%. you can see the rest of the week a dry period of time here, very nice comfortable temperatures, great week ahead after this round of showers and thunderstorms. nice picture from frank taken yesterday actually at the courtney campbell causeway, what a nice sunset it was last night. 66 degrees at midnight, temperatures not really a big issue because we've been returning a lot of atmospheric moisture thanks to a southerly flow, but note the rain chance here increasing as we get into the early morning hours. that's the point of all this. it will pass through largely

50% rain chance at 6 a.m. and the rain chance falling off at 8:00 to 9:00 and a very nice afternoon with sun returning and near 70s. it's mild about everywhere, lots of 67s from odessa down to seminole and largo, 66 in inverness, 65 bartow, 66 st. pete, 64. these are the forecasts wind picking up with the squall line moving through in the early morning hours around 4:30 in the morning. then it will pick up perhaps in the afternoon around 2 p.m. but generally lighter winds overall, probably less than 15 miles per hour. keep in mind we can see some strong wind gusts when this squall line especially say around 1:00, 2 a.m. passes through the area, could see some very strong wind gusts, outside chance of seeing a funnel cloud, a tornado. low pressure, cold front is going on. you saw the dang up in mississippi today, even up in the -- damage up in mississippi today, even up in the florida

you can also see rain gathering back to our west, maybe an inch of rain, perhaps a little bit more in the heavier amounts favoring coastal and northern areas, rain already coming down in new port richey up to the coastal areas, western hernando county and farther out in the gulf of mexico we've got quite a few lightning strikes, thunderstorms moving towards the coastal spots, too. keep in mind the next several hours you could see stronger thunderstorms and potential for severe weather. of course, if there are severe thunderstorms or anything, we will pass any advisories on to you. is in our model moving inland down to sebring, north port and lakeland and by 6:00 a lot of this has cleared the area. so a very fast moving system overall. that's a short term look. this is the rpm model. around 3:15 in the morning a pretty good area of showers, potentially that squall line passing through, but this same

then the cold front comes through, winds shift, slightly cooler drier air setting up a very comfortable week with temperatures near 70 degrees and with a big ridge of high pressure moving in from the west we'll eventually see warming take place the end of the week. we have that 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms in the overnight, first part of the day. by 9:00, 10:00 a lot of this should be clear. the rest of the week looks good, a few clouds by the end of the week, temperatures into the mid-and upper 70s perhaps by the weekend, temperatures near 70 degrees and sunshine, that's the kind of stuff people vacation in florida for. recommend actives don't go -- relatives don't go home from and come to live here. >> your 79 looks big are than every other number on the screen. is it just an illusion. the fact it's so close to 80. >> you're right and it's going to be nice this weekend. >> thank you. we have some breaking news in st. petersburg right now. >> some new developments in that deadly hit and run.

now where the suspect was just taken into custody, news channel 8 paul mueller on the screen. what is your update -- scene. what is your update, paul? >> reporter: we're live at the promenade apartments and look in that fhp vehicle you see right there. that is the suspect in this deadly hit and run that accident took place on the howard frankland bridge early this morning. that is allison huffman right there. now there are conflicting reports right now. earlier she was in handcuffs. just a few minutes ago she was taken into the fhp cruiser. she is not in handcuffs as we speak. so what is happening with this situation? apparently right now it is fluid. we are working to get the concrete details, the factual information in this case, but again that is allison huffman in the front seat right there and she has been on the run all day in connection with that deadly hit and run of that tow truck driver from early this morning.

as well as the news starting at 4 a.m. keith, jen? >> obviously they're taking their time because as you reported, they started interviewing her a good maybe hour and a half. coming up next in sports lightning general manager shuts the door on the trade rumors. >> and the nfl could started thanking out franchise tags tomorrow. will the bucs apply this rarely used tactic to running back

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the bucs general manager jason lightfield, an important job vacancy tonight hiring john spitek to be the new player director of personnel. he comes fresh from a super bowl win with the denver broncos where he was a national scout. the two worked together for three season with the philadelphia eagles is the connection. tomorrow is a day teams can lock up a free agent with a contract. it's a leaguewide standard thing. don't expect to see this happen with running back doug martin.

the last time the bucs used the franchise tag, kicker connor barth in 2012. now the florida panthers did the lightning a favor tonight beating the pittsburgh penguins in a shootout and keeps the bolts in the final wildcard spot in the eastern conference as they play host to the san jose sharks tomorrow. the bolts, however, lost three of their last four games and today general manager steve yzerman did his best to put an end to the steven stamkos trade speculation releasing a statement saying a stamkos trade not going to happen before the nhl deadline on the 29th. while it sounds like harmony on the ice, the lack of a stamkos contract will likely feed this hockey rumor beast all the way into the summer. a big game for usf women's basketball tonight at no. 11 louisville. this is a rematch from the naacp tournament last year. courtney williams who had 25

pass to maria jesperson. a five-point lead, however, louisville good team poured it on in the 2nd half. erica carry the, look at that three. louisville wins -- carter, look at that three. louisville wins this one. that's kind of the next step. >> over the hump. >> we're back with winning

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cash three, 6, 2, 4, play four, three, 1, 1, 5, fantasy five, 4, 7, 9, 18, 32. >> and in the morning steve? we got some showers and thunderstorms to deal with overnight, the latest radar showing this activity approaching the coast. so we could see some thunderstorms in the early morning hours if any should be a bit stronger, we'll be passing along advisories to you. there are some storms out in the gulf of mexico. little white dots indicate decent rain. this will pass through quickly, probably be out of here by 7:00, 8:00 in the morning moving off to the east, but possible. >> thank you.

this right here is a big chunk of eternity. >> yup. >> the 404-carat diamond recently discovered in the african country of angola about the lengths of a credit card, experts say it's virtually flawless and it could be worth about $20 million. >> i'm glad we said it was the size of a credit card. i was imagining the size of my head.