it's 7:00 and the station

schedule. 8 at 7 begins now. and good evening everyone. a police chase ended with a violent crash and captured by the surveillance camera at a nearby business. plus, chip, you had a chchance to speak with the owner. what did they have to say about this? >> reporter: absolutely very interesting guy. he told me that an employee at a neighboring business told him about what happened, so he immediately went inside his business and reviewed that videotape. this surveillance camera was pointed d at the right spot to capture thisis dramatic video. you see a car traveling eastbound on george jenkins boulevard in lakeland. then the stolen car driving over a bank, flipping over and bursting into flames. sheriff's deputies extinguished the fire and got the driver,

his passenger, 17efhra17-year- old ephram allen to safety. sheriff's investigators returned wednesday afternoon mapping out the scene. the stolen car was carjacked from a lakeland man at gunpoint in february. the owner didn't want to be identified but the men who stole his car were clearly violent. >> behind me there is like two trees. so i was thinking i should run over there because, you know, i have a chance, like 50-50 chance if they try to shoot me. they could hit the tree or me. >> reporter: he was hoping to get his car back in one piece. that clearly is not happening.g. and this is still a very active the polk county sheriff's is investigating the pursuit t and here. the lakeland police department carjacking. right now it's not clear if the men who crashed the car are actually the ones who were

carjacking. that's again part of the investigation. those two men at last check were currently at the hospital recovering from their injuriries. reporting live in lakeland, chip osowski. an arsonist is on the loose in st. petersburg tonight. he struck several times since mid january lightingng dumpsters onon fire. however, the flames have damaged cars, fences, and a lot of other property, too. peter bernard has video of that fire bug that could land him in jail. >> reporter: a security camera caught the fire bug in the afternoon. on january 17 he lit the gas tank on this ford and santered off. take a good look. he had no concern his crimes could kill someone. look what happened to ththis trash container off 20th avenue north. it's a melted mess and it's just feet from 1920 style homes all made of wood. >> a little close. yeyeah. the neighbor's fence caught on five.

can't pin down a motive for this fire bug's deeds, but it could be he gets some kind of thrill. >> makes me kind of scared. especially if it's down the street from me, literally a few houseses. >> reporter: we found evidence of a fire in dumpster likely set by the arsonist very close by. st. petersburg fire and police investigators are pleading with the public to help them solve this case. in st. petersburg, peter bernard, news channel 8. dozens of residents staying at an rv park in hudson are at a risk of having their personal information stolen. burglars broke into the clubhouse and stole the safe inside that office. 80 residents had their credit card information stored inside it. and now many have can cold those credit cards. they are worried another burglary could actually happen. >> obviously, thatat's a serious situatation. >> definitely. definitely. they should have an alarm system in there of some sort, which they don't.

nearby was burglarized last night. the sheriff's office has not determined if the two incidents are connected. tonight questions remain about the treatment of african-american bicyclists in the city of tampa. today the naacp held a news conference to announce a trip to d.c. to tackle this problem. >> many people believe this is an all too common sight. an african-american on a bicycle being ticketed or arrested. a man violated a trespass order bicycle. the guy walking away was asked by the suspect to keep it. >> this specifically addresses black. >> reporter: today the naacp held a news conference about this very issue and to announce a trip to d.c. to meet face to face with the u.s. commissionon on civil l rights. >> ncaap has bebeen involveved with the united states department of justice and department of civil rights. >> reporter: tampa police asked them to come down after a tampa bay times reported

ticketed at a higher rate than others, although the d.o.j. report has not been released, police say the total number of bicycles stopped is down. those here today say it may be down, but it's a huge problem and it goes well beyond the bikes. >> an essential component is high-quality relationships between the community and law enforcement. a woman is fighting to keep her six fofoot alligator that lives with her in the house. no yolk. rambo has his own bedroom. she got a license when she rescued him 11 years ago. however, he is now six foot long and florida code requires two and a half acres to keep an alligator that size. she doesesn't have that size property, and now she could lose him. >> he dresses. yeah. he likes to dress and see this? he's got my hair.

want me to take him off my shoulder. he wants to be babied. >> a spokesman confirmed they are investigating this case, but they would not comment on when a decision will be made. i have to say chief meteorologist i love all creatures big and small. but a gator ain't getting no in my house. can't do that. >> no. after having lived in florida for 25 years, that's one of the most unusual storories i haveve seen. >> me neither. i have lived in florida most of my life. > he likes dress up. >> unusual story. > warm weather. st. patrick's day is tomorrow. the celebration of the green. 71 degrees at 8 a.m. 81 degrees at 3 p.m. 75 degrees at 8 p.m. so it's going to be a mild evening fours tomorrow night and certainly this night. . but fog likely already forming. and that will be a possibility for r tomorrow morning. by the way, they are dyeing the river green on sasaturday when the

it's beenen a warm day. 81 degrees tampa international. not a record, but a warm day especially with the high humidity. 77 degrees now riverview. a little cooler inin pinellas county. sarasota, venice, you can see compared to 86 in sebring totoday. they were upper 80s with the dewpoints in the 60s, low 70s farther south. low 70s are almost summerertime-like readings in terms of the amount of moisture in the air. fog forecast is high. already there aalong coastal areas. sea fofog. likely forming inland as the overnight progresses. you can see the early morning hours low visibilities as a result of the fog. we wiwill talk more about t that forecast, including rain for the weekend, coming up. still ahead on 8 at 7. >> scandalous details about the sex life of radio personality "bubba the love sponge" and his ex-wife in the hulk hogan sex tape trial. that is just ahead. one year ago the north port police department had no social media presence.

now they are up for a national social mediaia award. and i'll tell you why. we'll have that and more comiming up. you're watching news channel 8. the station that's always on your side. if you're going to say "better ingredients. better pizza." you better deliver. which is why i'm introducing our new papa's quality guarantee: love your pizza, or get another one, absolutely free. pget any large pizza up to 5-toppings pfor just $9.99. online only. at papajohns.com the sun'll come out tomorrow...

tomorrow is not a given. but entresto is a medicine r that helps make more tomorrows possible. tomorrow, tomorrow... i love ya, tomorrow p in the largest heart failure study ever, entresto helped more people stay alive and out of the hospital than a leading heart failure medicine. women who are pregnant must not take entresto. p it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren. if you've had angioedema while taking an ace or arb medicine, don't take entresto. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure... ...kidney problems, or high potassium in your blood. p tomorrow, tomorrow i love ya, tomorrow r ask your heart doctor about entresto. and help make tomorrow possible.

a lot of steamy details came out t today in the court trial of hulk hogan versus gawker. as jeff patterson shows us, today the jury heard frorom "bubba the love sponge's" ex-wife about heher open sex life. >> showed a videotape of myself and mr. bollea. >> reporter: soft spoken and wearing a modest white shirt, heather clem testified by videotaped deposition in the hulk hogan sex tape trial. the radio personality's ex-wife claims she didn't know she was

camera having sex with terry bollea, who is better known to the world as hulk hogan, but later admitted bubba recorded her having sex with otother men. stilill, she maintains she didn't know she and bollea were being recorded and bollea also didn't know about the recording. >> i immediately asked for it to stop. >> reporter: the trial is expected to wrap up late thursday. the jury may begin their deliberations then. jeff pattersonon, news channel 8. ifif you thought virtual reality was virtually here, you will have to wait a little bit longer. that story coming up. also ahead, apple's battle in court has other companies cranking up their encryption. find out which app will allow you to make voice calls that no

on wall street today the dow was up 74. the s&p gained 11. the nasdaq was up 35. americans will be spending a lot more to fill their easter

the average person spenends $146 on candy to a new outfit. that is the highest amount in the 13-year history of the survey from the national retail federation. 31% of those surveyed plan to have an easter egg hunt as wewell. playstation fans anxious to step into the world of virtual longer. sony is delaying the release of the vr headset. october. the price is $399. sony needs to wait until there is enough hardware available and content for the headsets to use. the delay could give facebook's oculus rift a head start in the market. whatsapp is beefing up security. it could begin encrypting voice calls made through the app. ththat's according to a report in the guardian. it says within weeks whatsapp, owned by facebook, could begin encrypting voice calls. they cite unnamed sources

google and snapchat are e planning apple's legal battle. in court. papers filed yesterday said the objectives are contrary to law. the feds want apple to create software that could hack into encrypted iphones specifically to unlock the phone used by san bernardino shooter syed farook. ice is slippery until it sticks to something like a chokehold windshield or airplane wing. however, researchers at the university of michigan may have come up with a solution to this problem. they developed a coating that makes ice slip off of surfaces with just a light pushsh or just the force of gravity. they call this icephobic coating. it hopes to start using the coating in frozen food packaging within the next year and possibly on airplanes and cars a little bit later.

working on a similar r substance inspired by the mucus secreted by slugs. the u.s. is a pretty happy place to be. but if you want to be happier, you might want to check out denmark. it ranked number one on a list of happiness compiled in part by columbia university. swswitzerland and iceland rounded out the top threree. canada at number six. the u.s., by the way, came in at number 13. syria, afghanistan and eight sub-saharan countries were the least happy places on earth to live. go ahead nom nom nom suggesting noisy eating could cause you to eat less. your mothers told you to stop that smacking. researchers believe the crunch effect makes you more aware of what you are consuming and as a result you stop snacking sooner. experts showed that police listening to loud music ate more than those in a quiet environment.

department has been incredibly effective in using social media to solve crime and now the department is actually a finanalist for a national awarard for that. news channel 8's john rogers shows us how they use posts to turn the public into crime fighters. >> reporter: if you have ever seen the north port police department's social media pages, josh taylor is the man behind it. around here he is just as important as any detective. in the past few months, at least a dozen cases have been solved thanks to social media. some posts were humorous, like this one from january. the man wore a "star warsrs" shirt, so the department asked the public to use the force, saying he was not in a galaxyxy far, far away. he wasas soon arrest nd. >> if we just put out we are looking for this person, please help us, it doesn't resonate with folks. we try to look for something to get their attention. >> reporter: this week an idenentity thief wearing a

>> we call him captptain identity thief. >> reporter: not a superhero? >> certainly not. super zero. >> reporter: and these posts have saved lives. in february, the departmentnt was desperately looking for a missing elderly woman, all to no avail, so they put up a small facebook post. within five minutes a viewer found the woman in the woods. police officers see social media as a valuable tool. >> some folks may be scared or apprehensive in talking to a law enforcement officer, and this will open up that communication conduit. >> reporter: the department is proud that in just a short time these pages have given them national recognition, but they are more proud that it's helping bring the community together to fight crime alongside them. in north port, john rogers, news channel 8. >> a new camera in polk county. the lakeland auto mall. thanks for joining us. can you see a nice little

81 degrees. upper 80s in polk today. also coastal fog with sea fog. last hour the lows backed off a little bit. so very near the coastline though. so a heads up. kow see more of that tomorrow. 70 degrees currently. so, obviously, that low clouds and fog have helped hold down the temperatures. sea fog, inlaland fog tomorrow morning. the macdill air fest saturday, 78, 73 on sunday. there is a possibility on and off of seeing showers through the day saturday. not great timing at least the way it looks like now. 73 at 10:00 p.m. temperatures are mild after that high of 81 degrees. be mild. the same overnight. temperatures well above normal. 10 degrees plus abovove normal. of course, st. patrick's day is tomorrow. at st. petersburg. high pressure continues to dominate just to our north. cold front here. this cool air will eventually work its way through. now, we are seeing a pretty

stream of high clouds. blue sky. of coururse, the sea fog. for the rest of the evening we fog forming along coastal areas and areas. humidity so high. the dewpoint numbers are high. when that temperature cools down saturation. the difference in the temperature and the air and the water temperature. for st. patrick's day plenty of sunshine. cold front to the nortrth of us caused an early shower chance potentially on friday says the rpm forecast mod. as an area of low pressure travels, that will enhance our rain chances saturday primarily. could carry into the early part of sunday. temperatures, meanwhile, are mild. eventually cool down once that low clears the area and changes the wind direction from the north. that should for a couple of days anyway allow for slightly cooler air.

this is cooler stuff for a short period of time. >> we will take it. thank you very much. and we will be right back. plus, here's what you'll see tomorrow at 6 a.m. >> people caught with a small amount of marijuana in tampa might soon only get a small fine. why city leaders are expected to pave the way for a new ordinance tomorrow. plus, weather and traffic on

pigeons in london have something betterer to do than beg for breadcrumbs. they are flying around wearing tiny backpacks. you cannot make this up. the pidgin air patrol leases the flying rats into the air anand uses gps to map air quality y

anyone who wants to check out the conditions in the area can tweet a pigeon for the e latest up. there year on easter you can step up the sweetness. a bakery is offering this treat of unimaginable sugary goodness. it's a cream egg cooi-dough. it's got a two bakeke. it adds just a few extra calories. these are sold for three pounds, which is the equivalent of $4.25 for us. >> and it weighs ten pounds. >> right. you need the suitcase to take it home. it looks like just a stomachache. >> all the calories for two days right t there. >> exactly. a nicece evening for r us. mild side. wrap it up now. >> thanks.

i am sorry. it's gonna be nice. how about that? thanksks for joining us. you can get news at any time on the wfla news channel 8 app. bikini on a trampoline and making out with her man. her pda-packed escape with calvin harris, now on "extra." the world's highest paid celebrity couple, taylor swift and calvivin harris' s sexy >> are you watching? >> yeah. >> is the queen of the break-up anthem ready to take this relationship next level? more breaking couples news, mariah carey reportedly getting married on this private islaland. >> will it be a made for e wedding on her new show? and ben affleck's first tv interview about his break-up from jen.

challenging year. >> the stars take sides on a trump versus clinton white house showdown. >> we could have a female president very soon. >> fingers crossed. from scandals kerry washington to wendy williamsms. >> president trump? >> and wendy reveals how much weight she's lost and how she did it. >> you look amazing. plus the woman behind oscar winner brie larsen's killer style. how she convinced her to wear this dress. >> most revealing thing i had ever worn. >> now on "extra" from universal studios hollywood, the entertainment capital of l.a. [ cheers and applause ] hey, everyone, welcome to extra,a, i'm mario lopez, coming up, "scandals" kerry washingtoton on her new ad for hillary clinton and why kerry's mom is a big f fan of her love scenes on tv. also coming up, it's the world according to wendy williams, the daytime talker is sounder off.

harris soaking up the sun on vacation. the super private couple stripping down and showing the world they're in love. it tops today's couples news, here's jerry. >> brand new video, brand new pics, the sexiest shots of the world's highest-paid celebrity couple we've ever seen. taylor and calvin on a totally private, totally off the radar beach escape, celebrating their one-year anniversary. the couple kissing, taylor posing in a barely there bikini, even jumping on a water trampoline. >> it hurt a lot. >> taylor taking time off after the grueling "1989" tour that grossed $250 million. sharing pics that look like something from the hoon moon album with her 140 million twitter and instagram fans. >> trying not to step on a stingray. >> their initials in the sand, a.w. is for calvin's real name, adam whiles, the queen of break-up anthems like.