and tickets are proving tough to comome by. >> tickets of the future of the eyebrows. good evening everybody. i'm jenn holloway. > i'm josh benson. thanks for being with us. a stunning announcement from sea world. their killer whale shows will be coming to an end anand so will the e whale breeding programs. the e news follows increasing controversy of keeping the whales in captivity. candace mccowan joins us with the latest. >> reporter: lawmakers are praising this move this afternoon. it is no secret their earnings have suffered. the ceo is now ending the practice of keeping the whales in the parks and joining forces with an organization that has been their critic. they are t the hallmark of sea world, but in 2019, the killer whale shows of sea world orlando will come to a close.

the massive shift in direction comes after years of targeting from animal rights activists. the debate peaked after the the documentary blackfish about the whale tilicum who killed his trainer. he is ill and expected to die soon. >> society's attitude toward these very, very large, very majestic animals being under human care has shifted. and a variety of reasons. whether it is the film, legislation, people's comments on internet. it was just clear to me that we needed to o remove this barrier. >> reporter: the 29 whales already in captivity at sea world's parks including seven in orlando will live their remaining lives at the e parks. they will be moved to habitats called orca encounters where

>> as beautiful an animal as they are, it is a shame they have to live in that confinement so i do understand it. >> reporter: sea world says the future direction will focus on more highlighting the rescue and rehabilitation work anand providide animal themed amusement t rides s that provide an educatioion component. and peta is calling on sea world to release the whales to ocean sanctuaries. ththe latest body of scientific research shows that can be more dangerous than helpful to the whales whwho have lived in captivity. >> candace mccowan, thank you. new tonight, tampa police have released pictures of a shield that stopped a bullet aimed for the officers. it hit ththere in the middle. the shooting happened when police responded to a domestic disturbance at battles point. sonny chin came out with a gun and fired at the officers.

people in possession of 20 grams of marijuana or less will be f fined. it will be like getting a traffic ticket. it passed 5-1 and will go into effect in 30 days. 8 on your side wants toto know that other cities are e doing the sasame thing. >> the marijuana policy project has a list of counties dishing out fines instead of arrests. here's the list. palm beach county, monroe county, miami-dadade county, saint petersburg are still considering the change. newschannel8's adrienne pedersen hit the streets to find out what this new measure really means for you. >> reporter: good evening. so, we keep talking about 20 grams or less. let's check this out. i have some basil here. i'm going to put it into this baggy and let's pop it on the scale. right about 22 grams.

under the measure, possession of 20 grams or less would no longer be a misdemeanor that mean? rather thanan get cuffed, offenders would face fines. they start at $75. then double at second offense at $150. then $300 for a third and $450 after that and you have to pay up within 30 days. >> i'm for the legalization of marijuana, but i think it should be a little bit higher so that way, they can kind of regulate it a little more. >> you have all the college kidsds. you'll have a lot of the town doing it. yeah. >> reporter: 8 on your side has other questions though. so, if you are caugught, does it go on your record? the answer? sort of. it is not a drug record that would prevent you from getting jobs in the future necessarily. or even moving into certain apartment complexes. it is still public record though and people can look it up. like a traffic ticket.

could your boss fire you if you get fined? that depends on where you work. companies will have individual policies but many wouldn't. >> in are more important things in the world to have handled than have people going to jail for a little marijuana. >> reporter: officers insist this ordinance is not a get out of jail free card. if you are caught with more than 20 grams, it is still a felony criminal offense. i'm adrienne pedersen, newschannel8. new tonight, former presidential candidate marco rubio says he is not interested in becoming someone else's vice president. he made these remarks this afternoon. he continued to criticize donald trump says he would fracture the gop. he also refuted trump's claim there would be riots if he was not the nominee. in just a few days, president obama will be throwing out the e first pitch at a baseball game in havana with

natitional team. kathy castor will be there. the saint pete mayor and many others will be there as well. jeff patterson joins us live in tampa this afternoon. sounds like a lot of folks are going to this historical game. >> reporter: yes, good evening jenn. a lot of people who want to get in won't be able to. a lot of people love baseball. they love history. but this is proving to be a hard ticket to come by. >> it will be an emotional trip. >> repororter: in a few days, mario nunez and his father will be on the trip of a lifetime. they will be in the stadium to watch president obama throw out the first pitch in a baseball game between the tampa bay rays and the cuban national team. >> the fact that we will be in the stadium partaking in the baseball game that will be historic in its own right. and then, to have our president throwing out the first pitch, i don't know. what could be better than that?

tickets for the game is proving >> yeah. i have had this scheduled for several weeks. >> reporter: steve rupert has been taking tour groups to cuba more than 20 years. on my last trip to havana, rupert and i spoke about the fact the rays and the president would soon be coming. he has been working on getting tickets since then because he has a number of bay area clients who would like to go. >> so how difficult has it been to get tickets? >> well so far, it has been i contacted the rays. they said that they have no tickets at all. >> reporter: rupert has contacts in cuba scrambling to get tickets for the game. but they have been impossible to come by. >> i have heard there's a group offering packages of $3,500 for three nights so go to the game. so they got tickets.

here's the consolation prize. if the tampa tour groups don't make it into the game, the rolling stones will be putting on a free concert in havana just a few days after the baseball game. so if they don't get into the baseball game, maybe they can get satisfaction there. >> all right, so let's say pepeople like rupert or anybybody else who goes to cuba during this time, will it be possible to buy tickets from scalpers on the streets of havana? >> reporter: well, havana, not like tampa. scalping is not really permitted in a communist country so i don't think so. it will be very difficult once they get there to find tickets of the stadium. >> all right, thank you. in tampa. thank you very much. and d our own keith cate is also president's historic visit. he will be watching the rays game in havana. you will see his reports starting sunday. the u.s. house has voted unanimously to declare what

east as genocide. this comes after secretary of state john kerry completed his review of the terror group. he says they are committing genocide against christians and other minorities in syria and iraq. this is only the second time they have used the term genocide in an ongoing conflict. efforts are going on toe free an american student jailed in nonorth korea. otto wormbier was sentenced to 15 years hard labor for stealing a propaganda flag. . he begegged for help in front of cameras.s. >> an innocent scapegoat. >> the allegations for which this individual l was imprisoned would not give rise to arrest or prison in the united states or just about any other country in the world. >> former new mexico governor bill richardson isis working to try and get him released. and we are getttting a look at some new images of the

>> and it is a look that has some people shaking their heads. 8 on your side wants to know why it appears changes have been made to the e previously approved design. >> also ahead, nike unveils cool new kicks with a very futuristic feature. >> very warm day. most of the shower activity well to the north. we will have your forecast coming up. >> well, you won't be needing these armchairs anymore at the irs building. why long lines are a thing of the pass thanks to an 8 on your side investigation that got results. >> we'll have that and more coming up. you're watching newschannel8.

>> closing arguments in the hulk hogan sex tape case could come tomorrow. today the jury watched a series of taped depositions from terry bollea also known as hulk hogan. he is suing gawker for $100 million for releasing the recording. it shows him having sex with bubba the love sponge's then wife. the release of the tape violates his privacy he says. planned parenthood are trying to stop governor rick scott from signing a restrictive abortion bill. planned parenthood delivered 12,000 petitions to the governor's office arguing the bill hurts women's health. the governor has until march 26 to decide whether or not to sign it into law. we are getting our first look at resigned plans fofor the saint petersrsburg pier. they include a fishing deck, watcheher lounge, and a small forest. .

getting everything that was originally promised. peter bernard joins us live from the pier demolition. hi peter. >> reporter: hello there josh, good evening to you. there is hardly anything left of this old pier. take a look. if you think about it, by the end of 2018, if everything goes as planned, we are supposed to see a brand new pier. fancy new drawings. color drawings give us a glglimpse of what may be built. heavy equipment is taking the old pier down to its bones. and here is what it may look like after construction is finished two-and-a-half years from now. >> it is beginning to get real. >> reporter: pier architect rob rogers says they are subject to change. >> have there been any downgrades because of cost? >> i don't think so. >> reporter: but there are changes like the docks originally set to go near the main building are gone. the reason? the old thing thatat held up the pyramid can't hold the entire

>> that has been the thing that downtown has needed forever is some boat parking so people can come on their boats. >> reporter: amy may get her boat parking but it may be closer to shore on floating docks. she takes issue with an amphitheater. >> that is not aestheticly pleasing. i can imagine this will have some push back. >> reportrter: they say the project will check off almost everyone's wish list. >> though there are subtleties and differences as they move along, all of the component pieces are there. >> reporter: i showed the new designs to cindy. >> do you like what you see? >> i like it. yeah. i like anything rather than what is out there now. >> of coururse. nothing is out there now. >> we need something. >> reporter: that sentiment is almost universal. this has been an emotional tug of war more than a decade. >> what you see here is true to the original concept. >> reporter: the pier architect

to provide better views and allow more storage at the restaurants. they have to be able to herb and flow as things come across and as they get into the project. they are learning what can and can't be built. joshsh? >> yeah, you are not going to please everyone. but you know, you want them to stick to the original plan. so can people still give their ideas on what should be built down there? >> reporter: yeah, as a matter of fact, during the summer they will be offering more imput sessions. i have been involved with this story about a decade myself. so they will get more imput. more ideas of what can and can't be built. it is not going to be finished. all the plans won't be finalized until it is built. that's what he said. >> okay, peter bernard live for us in saint pete. thank you very much. steve jerve joins us now with a look at the weather. we saw a shot from paint seat. no fog today. no sea fog so far. >> we had some this morning. not as bad as the previous night and the upcoming night shouldn't be so bad either.

all. you can see e we have high clouds. they have been streaming from the west throughout the day. this is in our new camera, the lake land auto mall. 85 degrees. nice to o have a new camera out t there and get an inland reading there. soututhwesterly breeze. westerly breeze at the beach. a beautifuldayay. a significant temperature difference there. and we have a northwest to westerly wind. as for the mcdill air fest, yes, we have rain chances.s. don't think it will be a complete rainout. but we will have to watch the rain chances especially on saturday. now, we have a 50% chance. won't rain all day long, but, there is a possibility showers can develop. especicially later in the day into the early part of sunday. we might see a morning shower saturday and later in the day carrying into the early part of sunday which is whwhy we have a 30% rain chance. we think most of that rain should be out by noonon. that's the current thinking. we are also expecting slightly

as for the rain chances, there they are for you. there is our rain chance for the weekend. cooler air. there is an area of low pressure that will pass and help to pull in some cooler drier air making it slightly monday. it is warmrm this evening. temperatures in the 70s especiallyly given this time of year. but it is very comfortable. humidity is up there, but it makes for warm evenings. we have hundreds of thousands of people down here enjoying the great florida weather. 68 degrees at 7:0000 a.m. maybe a few clouds around. maybe patchy fog still. 71 treasure island. 85 in brandon. 84 in lutz. . 76 in sarasota, the beaches are cooler than the inland areas. bartow, sebring, upper 80s to 90 degrees. a stationary front to the north. an area of low pressure to the west developing and moving along the boundary. we h have quite a few showers to the north of us.

thunderstorms but the rain is there around cedar key. so know that the rain chances are a little better for you in northern spots than southern areas. this is just for totonight. now the rain chance is better in the northern areas. a few clouds around to the south as you can see on the visible satellite imagery. but the rain just north of the ingles area. you u may see a few showers this evening but right now it is just to the north. this would clip the north and central part of citrus county. but there is that chance. otherwise, relatively dry. rpm forecast computer model mostly dry overnight. but the cloud cover will inincrease as this front sags a little further south. the rain you see on the map right now, so the morning commute less fog. still some low clouds around. a mix of clouds. a little sunshine tomorrow. a couple of late day showers. we have the rain chance of 20%. then saturday morning mostly cloudy and muggy. rain chances on and off through

the models offer different timing on this. as you go throughout sunday, again, the chance is still there. this computer model a little more optimistic for rain onon sunday. we compromised it about 30% on sunday. focusing on the first half of the day. probably gone by noon. thinking. temperatures meanwhile do cool down with this area of pressure east. that will help to draw slightly cooler air monday and tuesday which look like beautiful days. >> we'll tatake that. >> look at that. monday looking great. >> it is too bad it's a monday. but what are you going to do? >> that's the only bad part about it. thanks steve. ththe story up next that will have yoyou checking your kitchen cabinets.

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.

>> now to an 8 on your side consumer alert. bumblebee tuna is recalling thousands of caseses of fish. chunk light tuna in water and vegetable oil produced in february. it could be spoiled. chipotle is giving away millions of burritos hopeing to win back customers. they plan to mail out 21 million free food coupons over the coming months. they also plan to offer some buy one get one deals on a variety of items. they hope these offers will bring back customers after seveveral food borne disease ououtbreaks.

sellll on ebay but are too lazy to ship it to the buyer? there e is now an app for that. ebay will sent a representative to your door to professionally pack your item and d ship it for yoyou. it will also track your shipments and d notify your buyer. starting june 30, it will cost ebay users an additional $5 a pickup. >> you hate titieing your shoes? nike has unveiled self-tieing shoes. the hyper adapt 1.0 has power operated laces.s. when you step in the shoe, your tighten up. they have not said how much the shoes will cost. probably not cheap. [ laughter ] >> here is a look at what's coming up at 5:30. camera. pep rally. >> and oj simpson is back in the spotlight. we will talk to simpson's

>> right now on newschannel8 at 5:30. >> i'm jenn holloway. >> i'm josh bensonon. thanks for being with us. >> funding for mental health treatment has been going down here in florida though the economy has been improving. it took a sad case to focus public attention on this issusue. a baby's father threw her off the bridge of the sunshine skyway. after her death, theyey are now reversing course. mike vasilinda joins us live from tallahassee to explain why. mike? >> reporter: good evening jenn. it was this report that was released just a little over a year ago that really started the ball rolling for what are