8 on your side has a way to find the best price. good evening everybody. i'm rod carter. >> i'm jennifer leigh. thank you for joining us this evening. more fall-out after a down and dirty republican debate. front runner donald trump is backing out of a high-profile conservative event. ted cruz and marco rubio attacked him on stage and trump grabbed headlines by referring to part of his anatomy. things just got more interesting from there. >> boy, did they. fox moderators tried their best to keep control but often a conversation over policy issues turned into shouting and insults. >> this little guy has lied so much. >> here we go. >> donald, learn not to interrupt. it is not complicated. >> excuse me. i have given my answer lying ted. >> don't worry about it little marco. >> gentleman. >> gentlemen, you have to do better than this. >> i don't think the people in america are interested in a

>> apparently they were not interested at all. fox news did a focus group. when canned what they thought, viewers responded with words like disappointing, embarrassing, and shameful. >> at the end. trump's rivals agreed to support him if he is the nominee. >> i wouldn't vote for donald trump and i wouldn't vote for hillary clinton. i intend to vote for our nominee. i expect that nominee to be a real conservative. a real republican. >> the bitter fighting in the republican party has voters and candidates wondering about the general election. >> senator marco rubio said if the mood doesn't change, the gop will lose to hillary clinton. political reporter mark meridith is kicking off our team coverage tonight. we have learned donald trump is backing out of this political action conference. what does all this mean?

it means quite a bit. because donald trump is essentially snubbing his nose at the conservative group meeting down the road here in washington. they are bringing ted cruz and marco rubio. the who's who of the republican party. as we are talk about donald trump deciding to skip the conference and campaign in kansas. then he is headed to florida to have a rally in orlando. he will do what we saw him do tuesday. he will hold a press conference at prime time 9:00 p.m. at west palm beach. what is interesting about this strategy, it goes against what everyone else is doing. there are a handful of states that will be voting on saturday. then we have more contests on tuesday. and believe it or not guys, another republican debate is scheduled for thursday night. so less than a week away. if it is anything like what we saw last night as you were just talking about, some of the comments made, it will be echoed again because of the strategy that has been going on right now. it is still working for grabbing people's attention.

viewers watching last night. so, rod and jenn, this keeps going on day after day after day. >> they were watching. it was like a train wreck. you couldn't look away, but the republican race continues to be just as unconventional. for democrats on the flip side, hillary clinton and bernie sanders, they are getting ready to head back to the debate stage. but the question is, is it too little too late for sanders to take a lead now in this race? >> reporter: you bring up a good point. now, he did win a handful of states this past week. super tuesday. he did well in minnesota, oklahoma, his home state of vermont. but when you look at the math, hillary clinton is running away with the delegates right now. and of course, when we are talking about a nomination contest, it is not the number of states you win. it is how many delegates you get. she is also doing very well in the super delegates. party leaders who have pledged her support. so while i was looking at the polling before coming on the air a few seconds ago, it was interesting. when you look at who is

right now, hillary clinton is poll. good weekend for bernie sanders. there will be the debate on sunday night for the democrats. another one for the republicans. but, right now, hillary clinton's campaign is already looking forward to november because if you listen to the debate last night for the republicans, you didn't hear bernie sanders' name mentioned. he was once called as a socialist, but really the hillary clinton. >> all right. one of the most interesting mark thank you. >> some in the republican party seem to be panicking over the idea that trump will be the nominee. >> in fact, many are actually talking about a contested convention. our team coverage will continue right now with 8 on your side's candace mccowan as she explains what that would actually mean. >> reporter: good evening. we could see a contested convention come july if one of the candidates doesn't have a majority of the delegates by the time they get to the republican convention in cleveland.

nominee, a candidate needs 1,236 delegates out of 2,470. donald trump is well on his way, but he has not sealed the nomination. here is why. he is still one of four real options and the field may not get any smaller any time soon, especially if senator marco rubio wins florida and governor john kasich wins ohio on march 15, their home states. here is what happens. each of the delegates would vote by secret ballots. if one of the candidates doesn't get a majority, they would vote again after some campaigning until one of the candidates did walk away with the majority of the delegates. but here is another curve ball. to even be considered at the convention, a candidate must have won a majority in eight states. trump is already there. others have some work to do. i tell you all that to let you know that in the end, the republican officials, they can still change all of the rules up until a few days before the

that is why senator marco rubio says he doesn't want to see a contested convention. it could get messy. back to you. >> very interesting. thank you candace. an important reminder for voters. florida's primary is march 15. tomorrow, early voting will be underway in all bay area counties an we posted all the information need on our website, wfla.com. closing arguments are underway in the erin andrews $75 million civil trial. an attorney for the hotel she is suing is speaking right now. let's listen in for a moment. >> you are saying you have never heard this before. it would indicate some issue. whatever it may be worth to you on foreseeability. someone in a minor accident with whiplash. and they walk down the street

causing serious injury. that is not foreseeable. >> josh benson joins us now live in the tampa news center. after days of testimony, this case will soon be in the hands of the jury right? >> reporter: that's right. it has been an emotional time for erin andrews. she is the daughter of 8 on your side investigator steve andrews. he testified in the trial which is now winding down. the judge issued instructions to the jury. they took a short break for lunch. then they returned to the nashville courtroom to hear closing arguments. andrews claims the hotel's management was negligent and says that the stalker requested a room next to hers. attorneys on the hotel blame it all on barrett. andrews' attorneys pushed back

>> barrett couldn't have done it without the negligence of the nashville marriott. their repeated violations one after another of the standards that are there to protect us all and our families. our children. >> andrews is asking for $75 million and the jury will decide what percentage barrett should pay and what percentage the hotel should pay. the jury is not sequestered. they might decide to take the weekend off and start deliberating monday. but when we hear a verdict is near, we will break in an bring the decision to you live. >> josh benson live in our tampa news center tonight. thank you josh. now to a story all new. revelations in the death of bobbi kristina brown. an unsealed autopsy report shows she had morphine,

prescription drugs in her system. her estate is accuses her partner nick gordon of giving her a "toxic cocktail" and putting her face down in the tub. crews are removing the lead pipes in flint, michigan. they are targeting neighborhoods with high numbers of children, elderly, and people with weaken immune system. the pipes leached lead into the water. important medical procedures can be very, very costly. >> coming up next, 8 on your side takes a closer look at a website that helps you find the best deals for procedures like mris. >> also ahead, right now, the newschannel8 outdoors expo and boat show is underway. our reporter anthony allred is there checking things out for us. all the cool stuff. he will join us live in just a few minutes. >> a cold front raced through early this morning with a few showers and certainly helped to clear the skies out. we have a beautiful weekend

we will have it for you shortly. >> meet fifi. this is the last airworthy b- 29. the type of plane that dropped

>> medical costs can be outrageously expensive, but there is a new website to help you find the best deals. 8 on your side's lindsey mastis shows us how it works. >> reporter: just like price hunting on plane tickets, save

the best prices. >> it is like expidia for medical care. >> reporter: john wakefield found out on it when he needed an mri. on average, mris here in tampa cost $1,700. because of his insurance deductible, he would have to pay it all out of pocket. instead. >> i paid $450. >> reporter: the ceo of save on medical insists doctors have incentives to reveal their prices. >> they want to fill their excess capacity. >> reporter: all you have to do is choose your procedure, put in your zip code, press search, and then, you can compare prices and even read reviews. >> patients who come through our site want to pay for the howard johnson, but stay at the ritz-carlton. >> reporter: it has helped patients in 39 states including here in florida.

newschannel8. >> the company says most people are using the service for mris , cat scans, and mammograms. you have a few hours to visit the newschannel8 boat show. >> it closes at 8:00, however, it goes on all weekend long at the florida state fairgrounds. anthony allred joins us live. he has been roaming around even reporting from underwater earlier. i see you are actually on dry ground now. what's up with that? >> reporter: you know, i have been a little bit of everywhere. right now, i'm trying to price some boats and i have to tell you with close to 150 of these boats out here, there is definitely a boat for someone. for everyone i should say. now, my photographer chris coiner was talking to this guy about this boat right here and it was like a foreign language to me. so i thought i would bring david in to explain what is so special about this boat david? >> it is a donzi. a classic 22.

as you know, they have been building performance boats from the 60s . special boat. great performance boat. >> reporter: so, this one you are expecting this one to sell fast? >> actually, we have sold it already. we ... we sold it this morning. deposit and get it delivered monday. >> reporter: i guess for somebody like me if i'm looking, are there special prices here at the boat show? >> there are special prices. there are factory rebates. dealer. right now, they are offering a >> okay. >> reporter: well, this boat is really a great boat. i'm putting it in my top five right now. and so far, i have seen three. so i may be holing onto this. so guys, you better break open the pocketbook. >> did you say this is going in

have three on the list? >> or has he only seen three so it is easy to have one on his top five? you have fun out there anthony. >> reporter: i am. i really am. newschannel8 outdoors expo sunday. we have more information on wfla.com for you. >> so fun. >> he was underwater earlier. he was singing this song from a cartoon like 30 years ago. now it is stuck in my head so me and him are going to have a chat later. >> he gets some good assignments. know what would be good? a an outdoor assignment today. >> yeah. temperatures this weekend look good too. mid 70s . a little cool on the beach this moment. 62 degrees. a little bit of a breeze off the water. at times kind of gusty. that is why it is so cool at that spot. if you are headed to the beach,

probably the same idea if you are out a little later. we have a northwest wind at 5 miles an hour. that front has passed. a few clouds around. clearer skies here for the weekend. saturday and sunday, 75, 76 degrees. the average high, 75 degrees. so this is very typical march weather for us we are experiencing this weekend. tampa, red sox, yankees. sarasota, rays, orioles, for the game down in sarasota. phillies and blue jays, 70 degrees. that tells the story there. blue sky. a nice day to be out for a stroll. no matter where you are in the bay area, palm trees an sunshine. 64 degrees at 7:00 a.m. temps in the 60s . the air is a little drier behind this front so the evening temperatures and the overnight low temperatures

56 degrees at 3:00 a.m. 53 at 7:00 a.m. a lot of sunshine. maybe a few clouds. overall just sunny this weekend. pinellas park, mcdill, 70. 70 out around apollo beach. upper 70s in bartow. 81 in sebring. the sun is doing its thing there. the cooler weather is to the north with the front down to the south. we are seeing the cooler air push further south, so eventually, hopefully temperatures will be a little more cool in those spots this evening in places like bartow and lake placid and sebring. area of low pressure off the east coast trailing cold front across south florida. you can see high pressure is building in behind that giving us a nice northwesterly flow. cooler. we are seeing few of the high and mid level clouds. that will be the case for the evening too. more clear skies. so it is just giving us more sunshine today which is certainly very pleasant. saturday morning might want a jacket to start. that is true probably for sunday morning too.

ins the 50s . in the afternoon, beautiful. a lot of sunshine. light breeze, easterly flow. another reenforcing slightly cooler push of air. keeps it the same sunday. this weekend, really fantastic weather saturday and sunday. it begins with a southeasterly flow. we are looking for temps to get back in the 80s . there could be some mid 80s as we get into midweek next week. we have just removed rain chances from this period. except for long term friday. we will see how that plays. but for now, enjoy this great weekend. and, the great week next week. warmer temperatures. as i mentioned 84 by thursday. we could definitely see some mid and upper 80s in some of the inland areas. we will warm up nicely. but not before we enjoy one of the most stunning weekends of the year. >> all right. >> i'm trying so hard not to throw my hands in the air and just yeah. >> wave them like you just don't care? >> precisely. that's coming up though.

six flags is adding another element to its roller coasters to make them more exciting. >> we will reveal what that is coming up after the break. >> plus an upscale grocery store faces backlash for selling peeled oranges they put

>> good news on the job front. the u.s. economy added 200,000 jobs. the unemployment rate is staying low. they are considering it full employment.

u.s. safety regulators are looking into complaints that brakes can fail on the ford f150 pickups from 2015 and 2014 model years. there have been 33 complaints about this. ford drivers reported crashes but no one has been hurt. regulators will decide whether the recall is necessary. disney is expanding its cruise line fleet. the walt disney company plans to add two more cruise ships bringing it to six total ships. the newships will have about 250 cabins. disney fans have to wait a little while before setting sail. they won't debut until 2021 and 2023. six flags has partnered with samsung to bring virtual reality to some of its roller coasters. the theme park chain says it will roll out virtual reality this spring at nine of the properties. that is a little weird to look at huh? six roller coasters will get a new virtual reality experience

super man virtual reality. >> i'm confused how this works. >> you will get a headset to wear during the ride. we have to talk. >> yeah, we will get back to that in a second. call it peeled orange pushback. a twitter user in florida posted a photo of prepeeled oranges in whole foods. critics pounced saying it promotes laziness and violates their policies. whole foods responded saying they would leave oranges in their natural packages, the peel. >> unbelievable. >> i think that if you are willing to pay the up charge on a plastic container, then fine. you deserve to pay extra. >> i saw that as i walked over the precut apples. >> and roller coaster right? >> we could talk about that for hours. coming up at 5:30, a scuba

up in a florida power and light plant. >> plus, a passionate debate over medical marijuana in our state capital. lawmakers argue on behalf of

>> right now on newschannel8 at 5:30. >> tonight, an incredibly strange twist in one of the most famous murder cases in the past century possibly bringing i'm jennifer leigh. >> i'm josh benson. thanks for being with us. the los angeles police department is confirming they are examining a knife that may have been found at oj simpson's former mansion. jeff patterson joins us live with this astonishing story. the making. bring us up to speed. >> reporter: good evening josh. this sounds like a movie script. since it is la and oj simpson,