right now on news channel 8 at 5:30. it's an annual florida tradition that's really for the bold. tonight these guys make gator hunting a family affair. i'm lee. >> and i'm josh benson thanks for being with us tonight. alligator hunting season is underway in the state of florida and people are hitting the water in hopes of bagging record-breaking reptile. . some say polk county is the prime spot. >> that's right. think about all of the lakes we have. we're at lake parker and some say these waters are full of massive gators and that is what this is all about. for travis lanford catching a gator is an adrenaline rush. >> finally getting it, running them down to the point where they want to fight. there's something about it that

>> every year he hits the water with his brother during alligator hunting season. >> they wait until the sun goes down. >> we have a red eye shine. when you shine a light across the lake you can see them. >> hoping the eyes belong to a monstrous reptile. >> they often spend hours battling a beast. >> you're dealing with a top predator in the watt thaer could turn on you -- water that could turn >> there's no predators so if you let the numbers grow there's nothing stopping them. >> for the first time travis is a hunting guide meaning he can take people out who don't have a permit. >> we're charging to take people out and show them about taking alligators. also we do a fee for somebody that has tags without a boat. >> giving them a taste of the excitement that hooked him in. >> i'm chasing after something

it's pretty exciting. >> well the season officially started at 5:00 this evening. it goes through 10:00 a.m. every morning and goes through november 1st. >> can you hunt at any lake with a permit? >> no no. it's certain lakes. for example here at lake jonathan, i'm sorry lake parker it's only two permits for this one. others it's hundreds. >> thanks so much. well with the first day new way to get to and from tenoroc high school. as hughes hughes shows us a death of a student prompted change. >> getting to school on the first day and every day forward just became a whole lot easier for students in polk county. >> it's better so people have somewhere to stand so they don't get hit by cars. >> this sidewalk poured days

highway. it's something students claim was needed a long time ago. >> people could get hit any time. because people can drift off into the grass and hit somebody. >> that's what happened three years ago this month. 17-year-old hernz was headed to skoo -- enrique hernandez was headed to school when a car plowed into him. he died. >> it's it's something we felt for about -- we fought for about three years and finally getting it done. >> it took months with the finishing touches added in the last few days. dozens of people marched to honor enrique and to hope that everyone gets to school safe and sound. >> seeing as much people -- it's worth speaking. it's something easier than

ryan hughes news channel 8. >> the county paid for the construction which cost about $2 million. the sun is up but flood waters are still high across louisiana. this is a look at flooding in baton rouge. tens of thousands of people had to be rescued there. meteorologist ian oliver joins us now from the forecast center. we understand you recently got an update. there is a death toll out there. >> sadly seven people confirmed historic flooding in louisiana. some locations recorded more than two feet of rainfall in two days. the flooding rains in louisiana were from the same weather system that brought very heavy rainfall and the cooler temperatures to the tampa bay area last week. it drifted up the gulf coast. about 20,000 people were rescued from the waters. hundreds of those by volunteers with boats.

shelters over the weekend. another sad detail, louisiana's insurance commissioner estimates that about 75% of those affected by the flooding did not have flood insurance. president obama has declared several louisiana parishes as major disaster areas which will help some in securing relief aid. check out this video of a water rescue in louisiana. rescuers worked to free a woman from a submerged car there in baton rouge. you can see th break the vehicle's window and just as it goes under water completely the woman is pulled to the service. the woman's dog in the car under water. just as rescuers are ready to give tup pup is pulled to -- give up the pup is pulled to safety. those were civilian volunteers. nice to hear that in what has been a tragic stretch of days. >> an unbelievable video there. and a big problem for

thanks the for update. a man fice custody tonight in florida. law enforcement in nassau county arrested roy this morning. they found him hiding in the trunk of a car. his sister and her boyfriend were also arrested. he's accused of killing tim smith. smith was responding to a suspicious person call when he was shot. a record when it comes to guns at airports. the tsa reports from august 5th to the 11st. they discovered 78 guns. 68 were loaded. 21 had a round in the chamber. the previous record for firearms found in a week 74 was in may of this year. in many cases travelers simply forget they have the weapons with them. tsa also found a knife inside a pill bottle in san francisco and four replica grenades were

early voting for the august primariesened way. cast -- primaries underway. there are 12 million registered florida voters, more than ever before. that's why every county must hold eight days of early voting and can add six more if they choose. many counties that don't take part in early voting will be ready to go on saturday. she's made history at the >> and now simone biles is hoping to score her next gold medal. a preview of the must watch events. the reason this squirrel could use a little help from taylor swift. a few thunderstorms remain offshore. that's where the bulk of them are. that's an indication we have a strong easterly breeze. we'll talk about the effects

you're watching news channel 8. the station that's always on

paramedics in connecticut diskored a situation that buzz -- discovered a situatio was downright nutty. a squirrel got its head stuck in a cup. you can see it trying to free itself. it took two tries for firefighters to get ahold of the animal. they removed the cup and the squirrel made a run for it. some dark skies here. 9 degrees. showers and thunderstorms as i remarked at 5:00.

and a sea breeze conversion offshore. beaches are hotter today. taking away the cooler west coast sea breeze. 85 degrees here. a bit overcast at the moment. no rainfall. no an impressive florida day without the sunshine. at the crystal river a mix of sunshine and clouds. not much in the way of brightness. our temperatures warm this evening. pass of the international spags station visible for about two minutes. reaching max height about 33 degrees. that's at about 9:35 tonight. hot day 95 degrees. not quite record hot but very warm. 97 degrees back in 1995 is the record. i think sarasota tied a record, 9 # degrees. a hot day.

it gets pretty warm here. mostly sunny skies, average temps. at 6:00 p.m. tomorrow storms will push towards the coast. the easterly flow is overwhelming. sometimes we see a light flow and the peninsula reacts to the heating of the day. today the easterly flow has pushed back the west coast sea breeze and we're seeing thunderstorms drop offshore at the moment. a li nel moving towards -- nush nel moving towards -- bushnell moving towards citrus county. a few lightning strikes in this area. maybe 646, over #00 strikes here that o -- over 900 strikes here that occurred. we'll see that develop where the sea breezes are coming together over land but because the easterly flow is strong

92 tampa international. 85 in downtown st. petersburg. perhaps a little bit rain- cooled at the moment. showers to the west. that blow up we typically see over land. that scatter shower chance in the forecast for the evening. in the tropics this area of low pressure right there. that circle is where the wave is. the story out in the atlantic this year. the red color drier air. this tropical wave to do anything. we'll watch it. yet another storm coming off of africa. has a little more promise but a bit of dry air. that's the way we look towards africa this time of year. a few scattered showers here as we get throughout the evening hours. 8:30, account.

tuesday 92 degrees. rain chances 40%. could start any time. march westward in the easterly flow. high temps remain close to normal. many times you take away the west coast sea breeze and it makes it hotter. guys? >> good advice. stay inside and watch the olympics. speaking of. now to our special coverage of the rio olympics tonight promises to be a big night for track and field and gymnastics. one gymnast has made history and now she could be eyeing five medals. small small joins us -- jarred smalley joins us now. >> never before seen performances that we've had praktly every night in the -- practically every night the

because simone biles is just that good. she performed her gravity defying vault and took her third gold. tonight she's out for a nourt the balance beam competition. >> i'm excited that i met my own expectations. i can't worry about what everybody else puts on me. so i'm fairly happy. >> gold medallist allison felix runs the 100 meters. medal. he's from ohio, atiny town of -- a tiny town of 500 people. >> i had great experiences last summer but this is ten times as big. coming from a small town to racing in front of the largest fan base ever it's a wonderful experience. >> and you've heard about the incident that is have gone

it happened in the park. it happened right behind us from our live shot location. a camera was running overhead. it runs on wires. the guide wires gave way and it fell to the ground. it crashed about 60 feet belo and injured a -- below and injured a few people in the park. another unfortunate incident. there soon quite a few the -- there have been quite a few the last couple weeks here. paul ryan is also in rio right now. you can find his reports every morning. he will be there through the closing ceremony. after spending her days and nights raising three kids, going school, and holding down three jobs a pinellas county woman found the time to get in the 250 sweat hours for habitat for humanity. she and her three children are ready to move into their brand new home.

frankly all of your hard work may you have a blessed home. here's the key. >> and with the turn of the key. she's ready to welcome family and friends into her brand new home. >> i was skeptical at first. i didn't know how it was going work out. my kids didn't know they were getting a home. because i sdpt want to tell them they were and if anything falls through. i prayed and it happened. >> the squires renting an overcrowded two bed rom apartment to owning this 1200 square foot home. >> i have a 1249 skwart feet home. three bedrooms two baths. a walkin closet, one of the dreams i always wanted. >> the home itself is amazing. it's spacious. it's a good neighborhood. it's a place that her kids can

placed more than 400 families in new homes and in that time close to 100 children have a bert place they can call home. >> it was hard. and i was going to school and i was working full time. the only time i was able to come was on the weekends. >> now she and her three boys will spend their weekends relaxing in their new home. in st. petersburg al al news channel 8. milwaukee still reeling from weekend violence where a small part of the city was left in ruin. the message they want all of america to hear. and remember you can join us on news channel 8 at 8:00 on great 38 every night from 8:00 to 9:00 we hope to see you there. let's take a look at the

ahead tonight two major disasters at home. the flood ravaged part of louisiana. and eight wildfires on the march in destroying homes in california. we go to the amazon and show why trying to save it has become a dangerous and deadly pursuit. if you blinked you missed him. usain bolt's remarkable dash into history. that's when you see us live

in florida, people are working hard, just to get by. but in washington - "republican senator marco rubio has the worst voting record in the u.s. senate." marco rubio stopped showing up for work. let us down. i'm patrick murphy and enough's enough. i'm proud to work with president obama. to protect social security and a woman's right to choose. i'm patrick murphy and i approve this message

now to what's making headlines across america. after a weekend of violent milwaukee protests community members are coming together. they gathered at a gas statio their hope? to eventually eliminate racial inequalities and disparities. it came after officered killed an arm 23-year-old. that young man's name sivil smith. a mother accused of drowning her two children. authorities believe sheborah thomas drowned her 7-year-old

one of thomas's friends alerted police to the incident after thomas told him she killed the children. clayton wildfire continue to rip through parts of northern california. it's consumed 10,000 acres and ten homes. it's a serious threat to communities. thousands of people are out of their homes and more than 1,000 firefighters are battling the flames. so far there are no reported injuri killing a swimmer at a pennsylvania state park. jose lopez hernandez was swimming in the lake when the storm hit. they believe he made it to the beach after he was struck but later died at the hospital. two others injured. a group of airline passers -- passengers crying foul over a money key on their flight. -- monkey on their flight.

owner going through the tsa checkpoint. he's a certified emotional support animal. the tsa agents loved the little guy. cute guy. news channel 8 at 6:00 is coming up next. stacey and keith are here with what we're working on. feeding future astronauts. let sus is growing on the international space station thanks to some sarasota farmers and researchers. how they did it and what it exmoreover ration. the breech at hotels across the country. the man accused of injuring two people in a crash in court today. why do tampa and st. petersburg have to spend millions to build new shooting ranges that you paid for. you're watching news channel 8 the station that's

right now on news channel 8 at 6:00. two beloved bay area teachers hospitalized after their vehicle was hit by an accused drunk driver. an update on how they're doing. does every major ba police agency need its own gun range? 8 on your side is looking into it because you paid for it. ground breaking work feeding astronauts on the space station. how this will improve farming here on earth. i'm keith cate. >> and i'm stacie schaible. two bay area teachers still in the hospital tonight in critical condition after a weekend crash. police say that brice macleod

light early sunday morning on park boulevard. he was arrested on dui charges. his attorney says he's remorseful but we learned that he has several traffic violations. jamel lanee' join us us live. they talked about their colleagues, these beloved teachers. >> good evening we learned today that caroline sine is on life support and her passenger sean hankins his back was broken in multiple places. the people who know them are praying for a speedy recovery and they want brice macleod off the streets. >> reporter: today is the first day we're seeing brice macleod in court after he was arrested sunday morning.