evening, i'm keith cate. schaible. joining us. a half months. investigators believe they have a fire now they're working to track down this arsonist. most of the time he strikes when people are sleeping. his target is trash dumpsters but the flames have spread damaging cars and other news channel 8 peter bernard is live in an alley off mlk street, i guess because that's ground zero for this fire starter, right, peter. >>reporter: it's ground zero. good evening, stacie. this guy is a menace to all of us. at this location alone, he torched a row of dumpsters, and damaged cars and scooter and went across the street and damage a plastic fence andnd he torched another dumpster. a security camera caught this fire bug in the act. on the afternoon of january 17th, he lit a gas tank on this ford and went off. take a good look. this guy had

could kill someone. look what happened to this trash container off 20th avenue north. it's a melted mess. it's feet from 1920-style homes made of wood. >> a little close. the neighbor's fence caught on camera, so that's a little dangerous. >> arson investigators can't pin down a motive for his deeds, but it could be he gets a thrill. >> there's excitement and adrenalin from the fire, but the apparatus with everything that goes with the fire. >> the fires keep coming. sometimes minutes apart in a six-block area of the crescecent lake neighborhood. many setet in the dead of night for few to report the flames. >> it makes m me scared if it's down the street from me, a few houses. >> we found evidence of a fire in a dumpster likely set by the

investigators are pleading for help to solve these cases. >> any type of strange behavior in the dumpsters in the alley -- police are asking those with security cameras to check to see if they have a video of the arson. if you have it, they want to hear from you and they want people to be aware of anyone hanging around in the back alleys after midnight and report suspiciousus alleys. stacie. >> doo investigators thinks he's targeting areas on purpose, do we know? >> they think this is totally random. another thing that's interesting, they think the guy lives in area. so neighbors have to be aware and he's probably one of their own. >> all right, peter bernard live in st. petersburg, thank you. >> yeah. a dangerous high speed car crash ends in a crash in lakeland. watch the top of your screen. you're going to see a car speeding into

several times. deputies are not far behind. they were actually chasing this car. stolen weeks ago. here's another look at it. the driver in the passenger -- the driver and the passenger were hospitalized and injuries not seriousus, but they're facing charges. in pinellas county, a stolen car full of teenagers tried to hit pinellas county police officers. he took aim at a k-9 officer and his dog. they were able to avoid getting hit. police used stop sticks on that car. the three teenagers inside were caught and arrested. president obama has made his choice for the next supreme court justice. but getting congressss to accept him will be an uphill battle. >> this is the greatest honor of my life. other than lee an agreeing to

>> merrick garland was emotional as he spoke about his mom nation and his family. many voted for garland when he was on the court of appeals but the gop is adamant theyey're waiting for the next president to appoint the next nominee. >> president obama made this without seeingg the nominee confirmed, but in order to po lit size it for purpose of the election. >> he's doing his job this morning. they should do there's. >> blocking the nomination is a risk that could backfire on republicans at the ballot box especially if a democrat wins the white house. a big shift in the presidential race on the republican side. ads you know, rubio ending his bid for the white house after a disappointing showing in his home state. the florida senator lost to trump in yesterday's primary. last night rubio told his supporters he was proud

campaign. our political reporter candace mccowan was covering that speech. a lot of emotions and questions. what's the political future. >>reporter: a lot of people wanting to know what's next. he left that chance of a popolitical future open. where would he land? that's the question. some tells us the options may be slim. it has been 24 hours of heart break for rubio supporters. >> i watch with great answers and he has the answers for our country. >> we love rubio. so we're down to say the least. >> tears, sadness, that was seen from the only florida county that rubio won and the steamam from that loss could last a while. >> his loss in florida by such a large margin is going to tarnish him a bit. >> even without the image of loser political columnist william march

for reelection, but he's pledged not to do that it's a primary -- >> all that talk of governor. >> the problem he would run into is adam putnam, the commissioner setting up a run for years and he'll be a strong candidate. >> as for the little nickname he has picked weeks. >> i refuse to say it. marco. >> can he shake the school yard name? >> yes, he can shake it. that's just the kind of insult that gets tossed off in the political in the heat -- in the political thrill at one moment. over time. >> wendy saying that rubio might have to put in work working for other political parties, but his political prognosis is not pretty.

what is he saying about other -- >> candidates say they have to make a change and use mold bold language and use that outsider messaging. what we see in the campaign racing, we might see in the congressional races. >> more donald trump's. >> maybe not to that level. >> candace mccowan. we have good news for the irs. they're taking appointments. the point is to make these lines, it's hard to see there, but they lasted for a while. they want the lines to disappear. for days and days, 8 on your side found taxpayers at the tampa office waiting for hours just to $8 on your side found taxpayers at the tampa office waiting for hours just to see a real person. sometime waiting all day and never getting in. we'll stay on top of this to make sure these appointments fix the problem. there is new legal trouble for a teacher behind bars.

educator accused of sleeping with her student is hitting new charges. you may be a dog person or a cat person, but this woman is a gator person. why she may have to get used to life without her unusual pet. it was a warm day. 88 degrees for a high temperature. someme of the inland spots and largely bececause the humidity is so high. we're seeingg sea fog now we'll talk about morning fog chance, coming up. we'll have that and more coming up, you're watching news channel 8 coming up. ththe station

new information about a high land's county teacher arrested for having sex with a student. stacie hooks is now facing 21 charges which is a big hike over ththe nine charges she was originally facing. hooks is accused of having sex with her 14-year-old student andnd she's facing child porn charges because she had pictures of the students on her phone. the -- the naacp held a news conference to announce a trip to washington dc to tackle this issue. they want to know why the department of justice looked at the disparities of african americans ticketed on

>> the rights of the naacp has been involved with the united states department of justice and civil rights service since they came down in july. >> that trip will take place tomorrow. they'll meet with the commission on civil rights on friday. the north port police department is up for a national award for using a valuable tool to fight crime. that tool, social media. the department is a finalist for the golden post award. it's given to departments that have done outstanding work solving crimes using socialal media. in the past few months, north port pd solved a dozen cases thanks to facebook and twitter post. >> some people say it's a facebook page. but you know, we've seen the positive impacts that it can have, and i think it's only going to grow. >> just a year ago, the department's twitter page had onlnly 30

facebook p page was non existence. now they have thousands of followers. when you hear the word pet, you think dog, cat, something like that. >> what about alligator. >> coming up, a polk county woman's unusual pet and why she could be forced to give him up, and why she's not happy

see you later alligator. a lakeland

keep her pet alligator. >> that's right. a pet alligator. and melissa marina joins us from lakeland. this alligator lives inside her home? >>reporter: that's exactly right. normally you would expect to see an alligator some where like this, a lake. to put things into perspective, i have a tape measure to show you how long he is. there we go. 6 feet andnd that's the problem. he's definitely not your average alligator. >> he sits on the couch. he knows how to work the remote. you know, so he's just a house gator. >> his name is rambo. >> no, no. >> mary thorn treats the 15-year-old, 125 pound gator like her child. he has his own bedroom. and a pool. >> he dresses. yeah, he likes to dress and see this -- he's got my hair.

doesn't want me to take him off my shoulder. he wants to be babied. >> she rescued him before he grew more to 6 feet. the code requires 2 and a half acres of land to keep an alligator of that size. >> the inspection tore caught on. >> he said how big is he and i said i don't know. >> we spoke with an alligator specialist who says living like this isn't healthy. he's sensitive to sunlight. >> he see how weak he is. if he leaves me, i'm afraid he's going to pass away. >> just unbelievable. a spokesperson for the florida wild life commission didn't want to comment, but they're looking into a number of issues in this case.

sitting here. our jaws are dropped. >> we're speechless. >> is there a concern of rambo biting anybody. >> the trap keeper believes this is a concern. this is a wild an ma'am. imal and -- he's an wild animal. >> the alligator was in her f face. melissa moreno live in lakeland. thank you. to find out about the state's rules when it comes to exotic animals, go to our website, wfla.com. check out thihis great shot from eagle 8. a beautiful afternoon on the water. it's a sailboatat near pinellas county. you c can see water. pretty calm. it looks like it was a relaxing day for this sailor. enough wind to move about. got some sea fog out there, so wasn't encountering that. the sea fog in

this is 71 degrees. cooler for obvious reasons along coastal areas and the westerly breeze bringing the cooler gulf water air over across t the coastal areas, but warmer in the inland spots andnd that's the look. the sea fog moves out and back on here as the peninsula cools off a little bit. this is freedom plaza and this is sun city -- that's the view from hula in tampa. 79 degrees and a west wind at 9 miles-an-hour and a few high clouds. spring breakers, they're loving this except for the sea fog on coastal areas. air 78 degrees. there's a possibility of seaing -- there's a possibility of seeing fog. coastal and inland areas -- 81 degrees at 3:00 p.m. 75 degrees at the evening hours. more clouds with a 10% rain chances. they're dying the hillsboro river green. that's spectacular.

possibility of seeing showers. 60% chance on saturday. and 30% on friday and saturday. so there's a chancee through the weekend, butut peeking, it looks like on saturday, the highest rainin chances o on that day. 80 degrerees, tampa international. downtown st. pete, 73 degrees. 8181 in temple terrace. coastal temperatures, pinellas, cooler than inland spots. look at clearwater beach and compare it to frost ridge -- add to that the higher humidity. it has been hot. cold front to our north. high pressure north of that, but some of these streaky high clouds you see in the sky through the day, givining it a milky look. a few scattered showers back to the west. the fog forecast continues to remain high especially for the early morning hours, but even before midnight, as you're seeing along coastal areas, so make that apart of your travel plans. if you're going to be out, low beams is

see around 10:0000 in the morning, some of the fog and low clouds may hold on. overnight, the fog is g going to develop after midnight. you can see the computer model reflects that. pretty good coverage for coastal areas and the sea fog as well. it's that time of year especially when you bring in humumidity, the temperature and humidity changes. plenty of sunshine. it looks good. friday morning, maybe an early morning shower for us. got a cold front approaching the area, and it's going to be cooler next week as a result. we have -- thisis is friday and a few scattered showers. low pressure traveling over ththe boundary will help to enhance our rain chances for saturday which is why we're going with the 60% chance on saturday. pollen remains high, perhaps falling off by the weekend. the rain chances will help that. 79 degegrees for friday. 30% rain chance saturday. 60% chances of showers and a thunderstorm for this

off. we cool down into the 60s. the 60s on monday. we're not done with the cooler air. we're in late march now. >> watch for the fog starting after midnight. some places. >> thank you steve. coming up, the best drivers in the world are getttting stuck for a 12 hoff hour race in year's winner. the lightning lose to the last place leafs. what does this mean for the playoff push. paul ryan explains coming up

in the words of

ain't first, you're last. the lightning took over first place in the -- facing the last team, but toronto, but instead of rising, they played -- they trailed 1-0. earlier in the third, brian ties the game with his 11th goal of the season. ben smith with the lamb of for the first time in a leaf sweater moments later and the home team tacked on empty neters to inflate the score. >> i don't care who we're playing. this is competitive and teams are going to take advantage of your mistakes and we shot ourselves in the foot. >> they came to win a hockey game. it doesn't matter who you're playing or the names are in the back. one team came out to win and another team thought they were going to win

>> in 19 -- in 1937 -- at the race law, that law does not apply. the bebest drivers will hit the trackck for the 64t4th annual 12 hours of seabring. among them, last year, christian. the brazilian driver competed in nascar making his debut in the championship back in 2014. he's used to physically demanding races. the 24 hours of daytona. 24 hours of la mant. when he stopped by our sports office this week, he said seabring stands above thee rest. >> seabring historically is a hard race. the asphalt is very ungentleman lated so there's a lot of bumps. it's rough and intense and a big effort from everyone in order for you to be able to try and attempt the win. the seabring is, i would say, probably the hardest race of the

>> you know what else is hard to win, the naa tournament. there was a return of dunk city. florida gulf coast back in tournament since 2013. the eagles out muscled dickinson, 96-65 to advance. it's one and done for the eagles. number one seed, north carolina and that game is in raleigh as if unc needed more of an edge. the other play, a laugher. wichita state got vandal belt. the seniors were apart of the final run. maybe a little magic left in those guys. wichita plays tomorrow. and the others play tonight. michigan against tulsa. that's what i've g got my eye on. michigan shoots more three pointers than any other team in the country. >> ricky bobby and the fair standards act. we've learned something tonight.

>> yes. it's going to be rob carter and steve back here tonight. >> we'll see you at 11:00.

developing news. tonight supreme courtrt showdown. president obama's supreme court nominee revealed as many republicans refuse to even meet with him. an epic battle brewing. trump versus clinton. after big wins, donald trump warns of riots if he's denied the nomination at a contested convention, and hillary clinton now plotting to take him on. an american student sentenced in north korea, breaking down as he's ordered to serve 15 years of hard labor. what north korea says he did. a shocking escape caught on camera. a helicopter hijacked at gunpoint flying over a prison as inmates grab h hold and hang on for their lives.