right now on news channel 8 at 5:30. i'm lee. >> and i'm josh benson. thanks for being with us. >> we're tracking the tropics and tropical depression 9 is in the gulf of mexico. we'll meteorologist steve jerve. when will we start to feel the effects? >> the flow will help to increase the winds from the east. but wednesday and thursday is probably our peak day we'll see the efect of the tropical storm. not at this moment upgraded to a tropical storm. still a tropical depression. as we look at the computer models we call them the spa ge

-- spaghetti models. the general trend is is to curve the system back to the northeast. it's a con sense sus as to -- consensus as to how far south it is. wednesday at 2:00 p.m. six per mile an hour winds the most of tampa bay northern polk northward is in the cone. this is called a cone of air meaning it can wobble quite a bit which is why we have to maintain our vigil of watching this thing. heavy rain, coastal flooding keep in mind the southern part is usually the strongest. as we look at the center and the hurricane hunters were just

image rayry. you can -- imagery. you can see the thunderstorms to south are pushed farther to the south over the land mass of cuba itself. that's where the bulk of activity has been this afternoon. that's not good for a system. that and try air which there is still plenty of in the midz and high levels of the -- mid and high levels of the atmosphere. we like those influences on the storm to weaken it or not allow it to streth if that trend carries on we'll talk about it later. >> you can track the weather any time by using our app. a free download for you in the app store. an emergency meeting is set to begin in about a half an hour to address mold concerns at a pinellas county school. the ceo said he would pay for an independent inspection at the academy and the parents

jamel lanee' is live outside the school. >> getting some backup. not only are parents not speaking out but now former teachers are coming forward exposing a situation they say that has been going on for years. >> do you think there's mold in the building? >> i'm sure there is. >> beth largo is expoeszing a -- she started working there two years ago. >> we sent out a mold kit to see if that was an answer. we never saw the lults but continue -- results of the kit but continued to have hunches. >> by the christmas break we were seeing the mold. and by spring break they asked us to pull our furniture away

down the back wall. we spent hours moving everything away from the wall taking away student work and everything. and nothing ever happened. >> anonymous cell phone video was sent to 8 on your side cleaning up mold days before school opened. parents lashed out at the ceo after five tests showed no mold in the classrooms. >> i want a mold inspector shadowed by a pareo through and i want transparency with the report to all these teachers and parents that want answers. >> now that former teacher tells me that she also has a son that goes here and since he's been going here he's had to be hospitalized for allergy problem. >> it makes me wonder why can't the school district itself step in. >> the good news is a

district will be here tonight to listen. it's very tricky with a charter school they can't step in until they have documented proof of a mold issue. >> jamel lanee' live for us in largo, thank you. a man in the hospital after he hurled himself through the front window of a woman's home and she fought back. that woman and her son were sleeping when a noise woke them up. they found a young man in the house. he became violent picked up a bat and started swinging. sxhe her son held that -- sxhe her son held that man down. >> we had a strong man who was able to hold him down and a woman with a bat. it could have been a lot worse. >> i'm thankful the people i love weren't injured or hurt. >> that man is in the hospital in critical condition. his friend says they were using drugs before the attack.

state kosht wants to make -- court wants to make sure annexes are secure. this comes in the wake of the pulse nightclub shootings. the chief justice says that when he learned the shooter cased the club first his first thought was making sure that it doesn't happen at a courthouse. >> that's what happened in >> eight judges and two lawyers will conduct the study. county finding practices will be part of the review. sweeping changes to florida's standardized testing system could be in the works. this after a judge's ruling said that some schools weren't following the law not allowing third graders to move on due to

department of education and some school districts were reprimanded last week. the judge said the children shouldn't have been held back for not answering questions on a reading test. the students had no reading deficiencies. beth over-holt says her group was elated. >> we feel like the judge ruled in our favor. we feel like this is a big win for us sglment advocates say --. >> advocates say this could be good for the future. >> we want to test to be used to inform instruction not to penalize and punish and that's what we have in florida. >> bob shaffer with the group fair test says that holding back students harms them in the long run. >> this policy is based on

not on educational evidence. >> while the ruling from last week only applies to third grade tests shaffer says he wouldn't be surprised to see more changes. >> the victory in court should be the first step toward the total overhaul of florida's testing system. >> reporting in tallahassee i'm matt. >> the florida department of education will attempt to appeal and ask for st it could be heard by the florida supreme court in the future. too drunk to fly. a pair of pilots hauled off in hand kufs. >> the -- handcuffs the trouble they're now facing. college self-defense is hitting a whole new level.

always on your side.

eagle # hd coverage brought to you by your sun coast hyundai dealers. college students in florida are heading back in waves. today is the first day for students at the university of tampa and florida state university. and as 8 on your side's gayle guyardo shows us some are returning with a heightened level of self-defense in an active security situation. >> the new norm after high profile campus shootings prove you can never be too safe and what happened this summer at orlando's pulse nightclub has

>> she's a graduate of grit a tactical education firm that got its start here in florida teaching students what to do in an active shooting situation. from running away to finding cover. >> the third option is to hide. you can hide until law enforcement arrives what we like to tell foebs is you only hide in -- folks is you only hide in preparation to run or fight. >> for every every day items are essential tools. she shows you me you can strike. watch what she does with keys and a flashlight. you make sure that your thumb is up. you put the light in their face and the first thing it does is blinds the threat. then you would take the key and you can go for the face, throat, whatever. >> she hopes she never has to use it but is glad she has the

gayle guyardo news channel 8. >> grit ready warns to avoid using self-defense moves unless it's your last resort. too drunk to fly. to you nited airlines pilots could be fired after they showed up to their flight drunk. they were arrested before the plane was spoeszed to take off. hours for replacement pilots. >> these people have a huge responsibility. they have so many lives they have to be responsible for. >> this is one of the areas where pilots and all flight crew members have a virtual zero tolerance policy. >> the offense could carry a fine or a jail sentence. united airlines saying they're investigating and both pilots

over. san francisco 49er's quarterback colin kaepernick is under fire for not standing the for national anthem but he's not apologizing. >> instead he is vowing to stay seated until he feels injustices in the united states have been corrected. jenn holloway joins us live. >> what is the latest? >> we've got the latest r as a professional athlete colin kaepernick has made $16 million this year by running and throwing a football. now he's trying to raise awareness and send a message by sitting down. ? oh say can you see. ? ? >> it's the way most cams begin. most -- games begin.

quarterback colin kaepernick took a seat on the bench. >> i'm going to continue to sit and stand with the people being oppressed. to me this is something that has to change. >> his sit-in is he says his way to stand up to racial injustice in america. >> there's people being murdered unjustly and not being held accountable. >> something he's discussed openly online for sometime. and those who have talked with him say that he is committed to this cause. >> they football and my endorsements that's fine. i'm standing up for what's right. >> there has been pushback from fans and players including giant's victor cruz. >> you have to stand up with your teammates. >> kaepernick insists he'll continue to sit down during the national anthem until he sees change. >> do we know what the team or

has not done anything whereon. and we herd -- wrong. and we heard locally. he said if he was facing the same situation he would be very disappointed and have a conversation with that player in particular. >> a lot of that opinion online as well. thanks jenn. >> 78 degrees veteran's ford here. east winds. bit of overcast no rainfall. although, actually six one hundredths in rainfall but no current rain falling. three tenths of an inch of rain in connorton. new port richey as well. in our heldlines we're awaiting tropical depression 9. rather depression 9 to become a

tomorrow. widespread five to eight inches of rain possible through friday with some isolated higher amounts. that's the current forecast of the computer models. we hope it would turn away and fizzle out. but that's just the reality of what we're looking at with a great amount of bhoisture in the -- moisture in the sphere. approaching west and southwest wind flow and watch the high tides into the bay as well. that's the current forecast track. it will likely change but we have to go on the current data and thinking to make the forecast. inverness some showers to your east. so maybe more rain. pasco and hernando county quiet. rain in pinellas at the moment. overwhelming any hope of a west coast sea breeze likely. north port a few showers but that's about it.

90 degrees at 4:00. 78 at tampa international airport. the dew point high. steamy and oppressive in st. petersburg. so although it's humid at least the air temperature is reasonable. if you missed this at the on of the newscast this is the cooler cloud tops. the center o the north of the glob. the center hurricane on our aircraft about 200 miles directly west southwest of key west at this point. a dry area. you recall the imagery we show here across the state and into the southern gulf of mexico. dry air not good for tropical systems and still a bit of it out there. so again the forecast track all important. this will change but the current thinking on all the data that we have and the

that's thursday at 2:00 p.m. the cone is what we try to focus on. knowing as we learned from 2004 that these storms wobble around a built. the difference in -- bit. the difference in landfall could have an effect. the south side is where the stronger winds would be. coastal flooding associated with that. the unter -- hunter aircraft the high gusts are why there's a potential for a tropical storm. not an affect for the bay area or florida. hermine and ian the next two storms on the list. for tuesday, wednesday, thursday you can see rain chances are higher especially thursday which it appears won the day for the possible -- it

the rainfall. additional rainfall from from day before could cause local flooding. >> thank you. an act of heroism in the nick of time. >> an officer pulls man out of the way with moments to spare. remember you can join jenn holloway julie phillips and me on news channel 8 on great 38 every night from 8:00 to 9:00.

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making headlines across america. a century-old church in west philadelphia went up in flames today. video from a news helier shows flames shooting through the roof, doors, and windows of the church. two people were inside but they made it out safely. according to firefighters it started in the basement, but right now no word on what caused the fire to start. a daring rescue caught on camera. a new jersey transit officer threw himself on the the train tracks as the train was approaching. the officer jumped down to help the man but he resisted.

tugs the officer managed to pull the man out of the way with barely a second to spare. >> in my mind i was like this is not going to happen. not while i'm here. i'm going to do what i can to pull this guy through. had i done nothing i wouldn't be able to bear that thought in my mind. >> the officer usually works the overnight shift ending at 7:00 a.m. but happened to be working overtime. and it was a good thing he was. nech coming next. >> keith and stay sooe with what we're -- stacie with what we're working on. >> why it's a miracle this little girl survived and why her mother was probably the intended target. the construction project on ulmerton road. mark's on it because you paid for it. a sarasota woman contracted the zika virus but when she went o the hospital for treatment she was given the run

so we have important zika information. those stories plus your forecast and sports with luke dan lucas. the station that's always on

right now on news channel 8 at 6:00. we are tracking a tropical depression tonight. what impact this could have on tampa bay ahead. and a teen's first walk to the bus stop ended up being his last. what's being done in the wake of another student's death in polk county. more traffic headaches and a multimillion dollar project that you paid for.

thank you for joining us. a tropical depression expected to bring heavy wind and rain to tampa bay. >> steve jerve joining us now. >> it's something we've been watching since last week since tropical invest 99l became a tropical depression yesterday. it poses some threat to the west coast of florida. we have tropical depression 9 and tropical depression 8 that could affect north carolina and hurricane gaston which is well out to sea and not a concern. there's a track you can see tuesday at 4:00 pm with 35 mile per hour winds. and then reacting to a trough surface cold front. 60 mile per hour winds undergoing some wind sheer limiting the strength of the system we hope. stronger with the advancing winds, potential coastal flooding. that's the current thinking on the timing. note the cone.