protesters versus trump supporters as the candidate cancels a rally. dozens of arrests and police officers were hurt. >> spending scandal, how controversy with the wounded warrior project is affecting fundraisers in the bay area. >> 8 on your side exposed a controversy controversial towing scheme. how our report got the attention of city leaders. we begin with breaking news, violent clashes at a trump rally in chicago. when organizers canceled the event, chaos broke out. the images out of chicago tonight are disturbing. >> protesters yelling at each other, throwing punches, hundreds of officers brought in no break up those fights. news channel 8's jen holloway is live in our tampa news center with the very latest. >> i'm going to take you now live to the city looking high above as a chopper flies high, a much different scene this

we do know there are numerous officers patrolling throughout that downtown area. earlier tonight the thousands gathered inside the building were a mix of do or die trump supporters as well as those who came with an agenda to create chaos, so much so trump pulled the plug on the program through a campaign spokesman. >> mr. trump just arrived in chicago and after meeting with law enforcement has determined that for the safety of all the tens of thousands of people that have gathered in and around the arena tonight's rally will be postponed until another date. thank you very much for your attendance and please go in peace. >> reporter: shortly after this announcement fists began flying between trump supporters and protesters. dozens of fights broke out both inside and outside the arena. immediately a large contingent of chicago police officers moved in to restore order among the scuffles and shouting on

supporters and protesters. even after the official cancellation announcement many who were not fighting were still demanding their candidate of choice chanting we want trump. >> we want trump! we want trump! >> reporter: at one point a protester clamored up on stage to stand behind the podium ripping up a campaign sign until security finally pulled him away. >> shortly after the cancellation of tonight's trump rally the presidential candidate had this to say in an interview with cnn. >> i felt after meeting with law enforcement -- we met with them for about a half hour today, chris -- i felt it was just safer. i don't want to see anybody get hurt. >> we are now understanding tonight's riot did result in several protesters and supporters going home with injuries. as for police presence, you can see here in this video we've confirmed at least one chicago is of was indeed injured -- chicago officer was indeed injured, doesn't look good.

with obvious signs of an injury and the blood flowing from the side of his head. there's no word specifically how many people were arrested in chicago, but we did see a few taken away in cuffs. at a trump rally in st. louis tonight 32 people were arrested there. >> unprecedented evening, jen holloway live in our tampa news center. with just days until florida's primary senator marco rubio is criss-crossing the bay area tomorrow making stops in largo, hudson, tampa and lakeland. you can find a full list of his campaign events on www.wfla.com. a call to stop the violence, people in tampa fed up with the rising number of shootings and killings. tonight they take to the streets to say enough is enough. it's not just tampa. across the bay in st. petersburg a spike in unsolved murders has practically everyone saying the violence is out of control. paul mueller joins us now live

paul, we've heard these calls for peace before, yet we're seeing a lot more violence. >> reporter: you know what? every time we turn around we hear about another shooting, about another murder and tonight the people at this rally calling not only upon each other but for the police to help bring this all to an end. >> stop the violence! >> reporter: a handful of kids on the corner of north 15th street. >> stop the violence! stop the violence! >> reporter: along with them adults trying to teach this next generation violence doesn't have to be a way of life. >> i go home every night looking for my nephew to be sitting on my damn porch. i can't see him no more. >> reporter: robert sherman can't help but get emotional mourning the loss of his nephew christopher houston, one of two men killed at club rayne in tampa last month. >> when i look down and see my nephew on the ground, i passed out on him. >> reporter: now more than ever this man takes to the street along with others from

giving hayward a familiar face on these streets, a community activist here for nearly two decades. >> just where the bullet hit her, it hit me in the stomach as well. >> reporter: still in shock after thursday's drive-by shooting in st. pete with a 3- year-old caught in the crossfire. >> emotionally it still tears at my heart every time i hear a story about any child. >> reporter: any child, any adult is call for peace too late for so many. >> i wish i could be at home where he's at. >> reporter: and the investigation into the shootings at club rayne continue tonight. no suspect or suspects yet in custody. >> let's talk about that drive- by shooting in st. pete. you were there yesterday. where do police stand on that investigation? >> reporter: well, this morning or this afternoon they believe they have the car used in the shooting. the guy behind the wheel, though, still on the run tonight. >> thank you, paul.

the country's largest veterans' charities. the wounded warrior project fired its top two exec ever its amid reports of waste of spend -- executives amid reports of wasteful spending using money for lavish travel. the wounded warrior project only spent 60% of the budget on veterans. the firings could cause collateral damage to the credibility of other local nonprofits serving in the same space. chipotle chip osowski joins us now live -- chip osowski joins us now live. >> reporter: we're here live on bayshore tampa boulevard and first thing tomorrow morning the wounded warrior soldier ride will be taking place. what may surprise you is many locals tell me fundraisers like the one that will be happening here are about supporting veterans, not worrying about a charity with trouble on the top.

>> reporter: these students at winter haven's denison middle school feel the same way. for the second year in a row this class has collected money for the wounded warrior project. >> we have an obstacle course set up. you pay $1 for each person that goes and the money goes to the wounded warriors. >> reporter: there was dancing and various booths for the students to visit. the message? what happened with the national organization shouldn't matter here. >> but regardless here at the grassroots level we are still going to support our veterans and support our community because we are about our father's business here, okay? >> reporter: kristen hancock like many is hopeful the money raised here will get it to those who need it the most. straightened out. >> hopefully, but in the different grassroot organizations that are honestly

collecting the money and that is making sure the money is getting to them. >> reporter: brandon dixon knows first mandela the value of the project as a former marine. >> the more people give, the more it's going to benefit somebody, you know, or there's more to tap into in order to get funding to help these programs stay developed. >> reporter: that teacher tells me despite the problems with this nonprofit, this charity, the fundraising at her school in winter lynch will continue. >> nice to see -- winter haven will continue. >> nice to see those students stepping up. >> reporter: last year they raised $155. this year they wanted to beat that goal. they did just that raising $200. >> good for them. we've got more information about how to find a reputable charity on our website. just visit www.wfla.com. dignitaries, hollywood

paid their final respects to first lady nancy reagan today. [ music ] >> the service at the ronald reagan presidential library was full of hymns, bible readings and loving tributes. mrs. reagan died sunday at age 94. after the service her casket was carried to the gravesite where she will be buried next to her husband at his presidential library. >> most importantly she will once again lay down beside the man who was the love of her life, the one she loved till the end of her days. >> mrs. reagan told her daughter before dying that she looked forward to being with her ronnie again. president obama was in austin, texas, tonight to speak at the south by southwest music festival. the president created some controversy when he decided to attend the festival rather than the former first lady's funeral. first lady michelle obama did attend mrs. reagan's funeral. she will be the opening keynote

polk county sheriff grady judd is at it again firing back at a criminal who taunted him on facebook. today he posted these two pictures, the before and after showing cedric carr, jr.'s selfies taunting the sheriff next to his new mugshot. the message, "it's not usually a good idea to taunt the sheriff's office on facebook." yes we did stop your show. >> if you're wanted, please communicate with us on facebook. it gives us extra motivation and sometimes it gives us some leads. >> carr had been on the run since january for a robbery. deputies found him this week in lakeland in a stolen car. a towing scheme uncovered by 8 on your side. >> and the troubling part, it's legal. coming up next what city leaders want done to stop these towing companies from cashing in. >> plus relentless rain, the dramatic images as dangerous

>> we've had a streak of dry weather here in the tampa bay area, but as we head into this weekend, rain chances are coming back into the forecast. we'll have the timing on the

now an 8 on your side investigation, towing trouble. >> a towing company targeting cars with expired tag stickers and at least one of the cars didn't have an expired tag. the driver just hadn't changed the sticker yet. the real shock here, this is perfectly legal and some apartment complexes are partnering with tow companies that patrol their lots for easy money. investigator shannon behnken's report caught the attention of city and county leaders. >> and a simple thing like this can be so complex and so costly to someone that it's really heart breaking. >> reporter: tampa bay city councilman hard charlie miranda was stunned when it found an apartment complex allowing a towing company to target their residents.

advantage of people. >> reporter: russell brandon was visiting a friend when his car was towed after he forgot to put his new registration sticker on the tag. no one checked if the tag was expired before hauling off his car. >> take the car out because it's got an expired tag. they don't have the proper equipment to check the tag like the police department or the sheriff's department has. >> reporter: eight cars were towed away from foxcroft the same night. so where is the warning sign? 8 on your side checked and just found this generic sign found anything, nothing about expired stickers on your license plate. >> there's not enough signage to say an expired tag will be hauled away, just says unauthorized. what does that mean? >> reporter: we have the same question, but no one at foxcroft or miami management company would talk. at professional towing we were met with a less than welcome reception. as shady as all this sounds, it's legal.

property owner and the towing company. i don't have any authority or jurisdiction to intervene on that. >> reporter: miranda wants to change local ordinances so authorities can do something. >> i guarantee you we will be addressing this one way or the other. >> reporter: this is personal for miranda because someone stole his sticker on his very own car. he then received a ticket while parked in a city garage. he doesn't think that's right, that tow drivers and ticket writers can sometimes have more authority than law enforcement when it comes to these tags. >> what would horse. do if they saw a tag like there -- would law enforcement do if they saw a tag like that? >> the sticker is not what's against the law. it's the registration. as long as you paid your registration, law enforcement wouldn't do anything except remind you to replace that sticker. >> so in this case the gentleman who didn't put the sticker on would have been in

there seems to be no end to the misery in flood ravaged parts of the south. in five states 12 million people are under flower flower watches and warnings, 1,300 rescues and counting and hundreds of homes suffered water damage. in louisiana roads turned into rivers and people grabbed their neighbors. meanwhile scott kelly plans he. >> reporter: ed to earth earlier this month -- he returned to earth earlier this month after a 340 day trip to space. well, we have made it to the weekend and this weekend looks okay. it does look like our dry stretch of weather will be ending, but for saturday mostly dry conditions, just extra

by sunday is when we have our better chance of seeing some showers roll through. it will still be warm near 80, not going to rain all day, but keep in find we could see some showers. spring break forecast -- mind we could see some showers. spring break forecast, temperatures near 80 along the coast. the gulf in the mid-60s. expect more clouds around tomorrow. if you want to head to the beach, i would still do it. there's a slim 10% chance of a passing shower, so another great beach day, also a great day to head out to the strawberry fest. chris christofferson is tomorrow at 330, charlie wilson tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at 10 a.m. tomorrow mid-70s, mix of sun and clouds. by 3 p.m. we top out in the low to mid- 80s, more clouds tomorrow, carrying that 10% chance of a passing shower. if you see a shower, it shouldn't last long and it should be fairly light. warm temperatures will persist

been nice. this was taken from andrea walker in tampa earlier today. gorgeous photo, thank you for sharing them with us. if you have more photos, head over to our facebook page. currently some clouds have moved in. we'll see partly cloudy skies through the overnight hours. here's the big picture. high pressure in control the last week. that's why it's been dry and also why the storm systems have been stuck west of us in places like louisiana, mississippi, texas. they've been drenched while we've stayed dry, but the high pressure is backing out. we'll see showers as we head into this weekend, but check out some of these rainfall totals. this is since monday. this past week some areas have seen about a foot of rain in parts of louisiana and mississippi. it's no surprise there they are still dealing with flooding conditions. currently outside for us

plant city of, city, 76 in st. pete. tomorrow we'll wake up in the upper 60s. the afternoon hours topping out in the low 80s. notice our forecast model painting a few late showers, most of those probably east of i-4. as we head into sunday morning, showers begin mainly in our northern spots. then we shift inland heading into the afternoon. not everyone will see the rain, but there is a chance of rain sunday. also we're likely dealing with some sea fog near the coast. keep that in mind if you plan to head to the beaches. by monday a small rain chance and it could be fairly foggy the first half of monday. remember that. unfortunately i know a lot of you hoping this rain will lower the pollen counts, but i'm not sure we'll see enough to make a dent in the pollen, but it can't hurt.

next week some folks have been asking if we're going to see cooler air, low 80s through next friday. >> it's kind of the time of year where these are the regular temperatures. >> more than normal. >> thank you. the buccaneers wrapped up a busy day on the free agent market by addressing two areas of need. find out who they signed coming up. >> plus the bulls seek revenge against the broad street r. >> a new -- paul ryan. >> a new coffee shop has opened up offering a lot more than

for sports to have entertainment value there has to be bad guys of someone has got to wear the black hat. as you might imagine, a franchise fondly referred to as the broad street bullies had no problem doing that. the bolts seeking revenge tonight, but philadelphia tickles the twine first. a loose puck is poked past ben bishop. in the 2nd flyers on the power play. matt reed rifles one through the screen to make it 2-0 -- screen to make it 2 -0. lightning fall short 3-1. tampa bay has lost three in a row. the buccaneers have two major areas of need, secondary and defensive line. in the span of two hours this

tampa bay signed dolphins corner brent grimes to a two year contract worth up to $16.5 million with incentives. the four time pro bowler made four interceptions last. tampa bay also inked defensive end robert ayers, jr. for a three year deal up to $21 million. ayers made 9 1/2 sacks with the giants last season. from the bucs to the bucs, pirates playing the rays in brandenton, solo shot ties the game 1-1 in the 5th. next at bat it's a double off the top of the wall. 3-1 tampa bay. it was 3-3 in the 8th. they try to keep it that way, but there's other plans. that's a game winning r.b.i. pie rights edge the rays 4-3.

round 2 of the val spar championship, 49-year-old steve stricker, two hops and into the cup for a big bird. that's an eagleful stricker tied for -- eagle. stricker tied for a share at the lead. there's a birdie sunk here on 9. canadian stud muffin is 4- under as well, nice approach shot on 18 led to a birdie to finish his round. will mckinzie is tied with stricker at 5-under. nine players are within two shots of the lead. the cut line was 3-over. jordan spieth is 2-over through two rounds of play. >> he's had a couple of rough days. >> we'll be right back with

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we have an update on that breaking news we told you about at the top of the newscast. those violent clashes at a donald trump rally in chicago, now according to the chicago police department five arrests have been made, no word on specific charges at this time, but two officers were injured. the officer is seen in a video bleeding from the head was hit with a bottle. he was taken to a nearby hospital and will need stitches of tune into our next newscast at 6 a.m. for more updates on this situation out of chicago. we'll also keep you updated with the latest on our website www.wfla.com. in the morning things for us here? >> a nice warm start to your saturday morning. we're already in the upper 60s to begin the day. heading into the afternoon we'll top out in the low 80s, just a slim chance of a shower saturday, rain chances better sunday but not a washout by any holding steady.

the valspar. that will be nice. >> mate to finish that up on monday. >> thanks for being with us. jimmy fallon is coming up next. >> our next newscast at 6 a.m. tomorrow with an update on the situation in chicago.

[ cheers and applause ] >> steve: from studio 6b in rockefeller center in the heart of new york city, it's "the