. right now at 5:30. >> good evening. >> thanks for being with us tonight. >> major developments regarding a new high speed ferry service between burger were released today. the ferry service is going to launch in november and mary learned a round trip certainly won't break the bank. >> the dream of traveling between downtown tampa and st. pete without getting stuck in traffic with soon become a reality. it will be between two of the bay area cities becoming more concrete and project officials become more detailed. >> it's a six month project.

up their cars. we're asking them to try a different way and experience it for themselves. >> across the ferry, the vessel travels back and forth across the water in downtown st. pete. about 50 minutes time eliminated sitting on bridges. >> for a sense of relaxation and the sense of wind blowing through your hair and the sense of its fun. there's no better way the arrive in a new city than to get off a dock instead of of a car. >> it's 10 bucks for adults and 8 bucks for kids. after thanksgiving, weekday sailings on the ferry will begin. after a 6-month trial run officials evaluate the successfulness and from there look to make it prominent. tickets are set to go on sell

reporting in tampa. >> we'll only operating one vessel. they'll offer free public so community can test the waters. >> national safety experts believe florida roadways were becoming deadlier than in years past. >> fatal car crashes are rising both here and around the country. news channel 8 explains why officials are worried this trend will only get worse. >> good evening, the nation safety counsel is concerned if this trend continues we could see the deadliest year in nearly a decade. in october 2003 mark was going out to eat and asked his wife to join him. she was nine months pregnant and didn't feel good. >> he said i wish you would go with me. i love you abdomen i miss you. i said i love you too and i'll see you in a couple of hours. >> he was hit by a speeding driver a mile from their home.

on impact. our little girl was born two weeks later. >> sadly, more and more families are getting the same news across florida. >> in the first six months of 2016 nearly 1600 have died in crashes. that's nearly double compared to 2014. >> is that surprising to you at all? >it's not surprising. >> in fact, the trooper had just wrapped up this fatal crash scene right before this interview. >we're seeing more fatalities because we're industry down here. >> he says snow birds, tourist and the year round beautiful weather means packed roadways which can cause a spike in crashes here. the florida highway patrol is well aware of the trend and dispatching troopers to watch for speeders and put a stop to this. >> i beg of you, pretend there's a trooper behind you all the time. everyone will drive better and you'll see the fatalities plummet. >> a careless driver forever

mistake. >> troopers say drivers shouldn't be so reliant of technology. they responded to a lot of accidents because people allowed their cars to do the drives instead of their eyes. reporting live, news channel 8. >> we have a case of road rage on the streets of lee county. that sends a motorcycle rider to the hospital and lands another man in jail. michael johnson left his house on his motorcycle to get a wedding gift for his wife. he was gone 10 minutes when a man in a green truck in front of him slammed on his brakes. he pulled up beside the truck and confronted the driver and he hit the guy on the motorcycle. >> did you not see me back there? slow down and pay attention. this is my life. he rammed me. i was going to pass him and he looked at me and said his profanity and bam.

to, he had tunnel vision and couldn't believe he was alive. the driver of the truck was arrested and charged with battery with a deadly weapon. >> a woman claimed she was pulled over for being a christian. she got wrote a ticket for this, having a vinyl lettering on her truck's windshield. according to state law no one can drive a vehicle that has signage or material on a windshield that's not trance parent. she claims she was singled out becaus the law. >> the first thing he said to me, i want you to know that you are breaking the law. i said how am i breaking the law, sir? he said with that sign up there, that jesus thing. >> the florida highway patrol said in no way did they write the ticket because of content. it was in violation of state law. the woman says she plans to fight the citation. >> a meeting of the minds in sorts of polk county today. mayors gathered for the sixth

polk state college. the goal is to get community leaders together to share ideas and talk about what's happening in their community. the supreme court of florida could rule as early as tomorrow on the fate of nearly 400 death row inmates. they've been living in limbo since last january when hike in the nation ruled that the way death sentences are handed out is unconstitutional. they explain before the decisions were made, the court has >> the u.s. supreme court said that the way florida imposes death sentences is unconstitutional because the jury didn't have the final sell. 388 people on death row. in june, jacksonville lawyer represented one inmate and argued all the inmates should be automatically should be sentenced to life.

declared unconstitutional. the sentencing scheme is the same one we've been using since the reinstatement of the death penalty case. >> it's whether the state's new death sentencing scheme which lawmakers passed this spring goes far enough because it only requires 10 of the 12 jurors to agree on death. former supreme court justice was in the court this week lecturing on the death penalty. a decade ago he wrote florida must adopt a to continue to compose death. >> they continued to do it and i think the law has evolved since then and when the time has come, i don't think 10-2 repairs the deficiencies in the statutes. >> what they decide is likely to face multiple appeals. >> to compromise, lawmakers there would be no death penalty at all.

same results. >> one florida cabinet member has sticker shock. $75 million being pumped into repairing garages at the capitol damaged by trees. the final outcome of the capitol facelift doesn't justify the cost. >> i'm 75 at minimum to have to show for that. accessibility on one side of the building and two parking garages prepared. >> it's expected to take two years to complete the senate parking garage and four years to complete the overhaul with plans for more monuments and gathering places in and around the capital. >> will ushering the future of ride sharing. you might have heard uber is

to show you how technology could impact your commute in the future. >> nbc's tonight show host has been part of pretty crazy jokes in the past but this one could take the cake. we're going to show you where his face is popping up now. >> cooling showers and thunderstorms, yeah, there's a few of them but not many. we're actually trending a bit drier the next couple of days. we'll see a few of those showers. we'll have the forecast coming up shortly. >> we'll have coming up. you're watching news channel 8.

i'm hillary clinton and i approve this message. he's a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot. donald trump is a phony, a fraud. he's not a serious adult. i can't vote for donald trump given the things that he said. trump should not be supported. i believe he's disqualified himself to be president.

be best of your commute. imagine if your uber car shows up. >> cars shuttling people around any time soon? we have the answer. >> operating a hand full of self-driving cars in pittsburgh. >> i think the public will be delighted expecting it's going to be experience. >> uber's is guided by 20 cameras and seven laidsers, a driver and engineer in the front seat monitor the performance and stand by to take over if something is wrong. there's no plans to expand self- driving uber in tampa. uber has a hard enough time here but ironically, tampa is one of a hand full of cities

uber. tampa's expressway is designated for vehicle testing. audi did it here in 2014. just like those uber cars, the driver presses a button, takes his hands off the wheel and cruises away. because several auto makers and tech firms are testing or plan to roll out their own ride share program soon uber is trying to stay ahead of the game. but work being done actually making that sort of competition possible. merideth, news channel 8. >> we all know smoking can change your body for the worst. scientist discovered it can change your dna. researchers studied dna samples from nearly 16,000 adults and found smokers had changes in genes linked to cancer, heart disease and stroke. most genes recovered within

but some genetic changes remained 30 years after they kicked the habit. the battle for the white house isn't just taking its toll on hillery clinton and donald trump. it's negatively effecting american workers. u.s. employees say political discussions around the officer stressing them out and making them less productive. that's according to a study from the american psychological association. younger adults and men tended to feel the worse effects from this type of stress. coming up and news channel 8 is again committed to raising $100,000 but we need your help to do that. kia is matching the first $50,000 we raised so every dollar you donate right now counts as two. the walk this year is november 12th at raymond james stadium and we're hoping to make our channel 8 team bigger than ever. go to our web site for details on how to donate and join our team.

least on screen. he had to wait for it. the trailer for pitt's new movie is creating a lot of buzz. the day his split with angelina was revealed they posted his romance. now speculation is swirling all over she played a part in fact off screen split. and the is set to challenge a celeb, an did i warhall. a familiar face from nbc's late night has popped up in an unlikely place, an idaho corn maize. the corn maize has been cut into the shape of tonight show

the maze is comprised of 20- acres and a million ears of corn. >head lines here, calling for drier air aloft. that's going to help limit rain chances. the fall temperatures, no drop in forecast. maybe slight changes long term. not what you're looking for. next week, deeper moisture returns for the middle of the week. down in venice, 86 degrees and loads of sunshine. precipitation and dry day out here i locations. north west wind at 9 miles per hour. there's a look at that time lake club. our temperatures have been warm here. little bit of rain fall, that's encouraging five 100ths. of course, mix of clouds and sun golf course looks fantastic at this point. look at the radar, it continues to show a few pop up showers here. southern parts of pasco. northern hillsboro county scattered about. these thunderstorms develop and

maybe some descent totals come along with this. maybe an inch of rain as it stays around for a while. it's isolated at the moment. farther south a shower east of down st. peters burger. central county, west of fort pete a few thunderstorms there. springs, from sharely gnash earlier today. a mix of cloud and sunshine earlier today. storm team wfla in case you want to share it on facebook. only a few showers in the inland locations as you just sh o 7:00 a.m., 77 degrees. temperature of 86 degrees at noon. 4:00 p.m. 90 degrees with the 20% chance of showers. the overall set up calling for the drier air aloft. at the surface, we're staying humid. the drier air slowly sliding to the south. you can see it and it's going to help it stabilize the atmosphere. lower rain chances ahead and fewer storm chances expected. plan on that for the next couple of days. that's the big influence on

90 degrees and 88 in downtown st. peters burger. the dew point 73. north wind at 8 miles per hour. in the tropics, tropical depression carl. the computer models haven't done a good job. they're interesting to know tropical storm lisa also weakens long term. as for the 2000 hurricane season four of hurricane season runs until the end of november. area of low pressure to the north of us. this evening, only a few lingering showers and storms. very dry air aloft as we talked about and that's going to slowly sink to the south and help stabilize things. thursday afternoon limited rain fall. not feeling like fall despite the drier air in parts of the south east, don't plan on cooling off with that front any time soon as you can see here. 20% chance for thursday.

rain chances below or near seasonal averages all the way to next week with the deeper atmosphere of moisture we talked about. we'll have to lift the rain chances as we get to wednesday and thursday. summer air drier as we head to the weekend. >> almost had something real nice. >> yeah. thanks so much. a woman facing steep medical bills denied by her insurance company. >> ahead we're going to explain the clause in her policy causing her to $50,000. >> remember, you can join jenn, julie and me from 8:30 to 9:00. hope to see you there. >> charlotte police pleading for calm after another shooting erupted in violence. what new surveillance video of a suspected bomber shows him to appear to go doing with the suitcase. inside, the military lab on the front lines of the battle.

we are one nation under god. that black and white, we are one nation indivisible. that republican and democrat, we are all americans.

they'd be carried out in a stretcher, folks. i could stand in the middle of 5th avenue and shoot somebody and i wouldn't lose any voters. priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising. . a philadelphia man threatened with a gun during a road rage incident and the guy in the other vehicle was a police officer.

at him calling him a racial slur. they say the officer was off duty at the time and been removed from street duty and under investigation now. more police officers will soon be working the streets of chicago. chicago p.d. plans to make 970 new hires for the next two years. that decision coming after the city has seen more than 500 homicides just this year. 2016 is considered the deadliest year the two decades n >you often hear about insurance companies denying claims. the reason behind a colorado's denial is bizarre. she tripped over her grand children's sled on her porch fracturing her cheekbone. her medical bills topped $50,000 but her insurance company won't pay a penny of it because when she went to the hospital doctors discovered her blood alcohol level was 1.5 and

accident happened. >> do you think alcohol caused you to fall? >> i'm 100% sure i would not have fallen if the sled wouldn't been there. >> her insurance company has a clause that says injuries sustained to the effects of intoxication or drugs is excluded under this policy. mullins believes the fall would have happened even if she would have been sober. >> news channel 6 is coming up next. >> well, it sounds like a prank but charged with poisoning. coming up, what deputies believe she put in her teacher's coffee that's got the student arrested and expelled. plus a serial robber on the run. we'll show you which store he has hit and how many times he's come back for more. >> hillsboro county monitoring the water swallowed by the sink hole. >> those stories plus your forecast and sports with dan

8. the station always on your side. well when i shop, my coupons are in a neat little stack, and my weekly ad is folded like this. ready to go... that's how i save a lot at publix. how 'bout you?

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how 'bout you? publix. where shopping is a pleasure. . right now on news channel 8 at 6:00. >> two major environmental issues in tampa bay, now two state investigations. >> first, we blew the lid off the dirty little secret local leaders are steaming mad. they found out about the sink hole from us. >> plus the hammer drops at st. pete city hall. the punishment for two employees at the center of a sewage scandal. good evening. >> thank you for joining us. we begin with breaking news tonight. in an 8 on your side story we've been digging into for weeks, governor rick scott now ordering the d.e.p. to investigate that sewage dump

that following hurricane hermine. meanwhile, heads are rolling over the sewage scandal. mayor rick announced he is taking two employees off the job. 8 on your side's mark douglas is now live in st. peters burger with the breaking developments. mark, my understanding is these are not low level employees either. >> well, to the contrary, they are among the two highest ranking people at city hall working for the mayor. let me turn your attention to the se p of all this. the mayor has replaced his water resource director and the city engineer, both of them on unpaid leave and replaced them immediately with interim directors. both men played a fundamental roll in the flawed decision to take the treatment plant off line two years ago which led to the resent 150 million-gallon sewage spill into tampa bay. they also ignored warnings by a