for having a plastic milk crate? good evening everybody, i'm josh benson. >> i'm jenn holloway. thanks for joining us. first, let's get the latest on hurricane matthew. within the last half hour, we learned it is now a category 4 hurricane. meteorologist ed bloodsworth joins us now with the latest track. ed, this thing is getting bigger and bigger. >> this is a rapidly intensified over the last 24 hours. going from a strong earlier today. satellite presentation, very really sort of a textbook hurricane here. winds are now at 140 miles an hour. the hurricane hunters have been flying in this thing all afternoon. making several passes through the storm. they are on their way back to home base. they had the winds right at 135 initially. seeing higher gusts. now sustained wind is set at 140 miles an hour. the latest forecast track from the hurricane center keeps us rolling rather slowly off to

through saturday afternoon. being being picked up by an upper level trough. that results in a fairly hard right turn of the system. taking it as a major hurricane toward jamaica. the system is expected to remain as a category 2 hurricane over the bahamas. you see the cone of uncertainty does include extreme southwest florida. most of the forecast models keep this out to the atlantic, but a lot can change over the next 24 hours. we have to wait and see what effects it will have on the state of florida. >> we will check in with you in a few minutes. an update to breaking news we have been telling you about. a crash involving a box truck shut down a lane on i-4. it is taken out of the situation for a while. the left lane was shut down, you can see, the cars are

but within the next few minutes we expect this to open up. we will keep an eye on it. and here, actually, here is what it looked like earlier. we don't have that picture, but we were just telling you about the fact the situation is almost over. so, that breaking news is over as far as we are concerned. meanwhile, a polk county man is in jail for illegally using a milk crate. apparently, that's illegal. timothy traller was charged with possession of stolen property and hauled off to with this arrest. >> reporter: good evening, his family says they are shocked that this landed him in jail. but, we are told this is the same as having a shopping cart. it belongs to a business. so, if you are busted with one, you could end up in jail. >> it shouldn't be enough to carry you to jail. >> reporter: but that is exactly what happened to timothy troller of auburn dale. he was riding his bike along thursday night. >> they see someone riding a

him. >> reporter: that is when they saw him with the crate. he charged troller with possession of stolen property. a misdemeanor. >> you are possessing something that is stolen from the b business. >> reporter: troller claimed he found it on the side of the road. his grandfather tells newschannel8 he had no idea this was even a crime. >> my daughter and her fiance cleaned out >> stuff like that right there. a man jailed. i would warn him and give him a ticket or something. >> reporter: our deputies are looking for those out committing the smallest crime. those who go out and steal a milk crate are the same people probably breaking into cars. >> reporter: edward hale admits his grandson has a long criminal record, but he doesn't

something wrong. >> reporter: right now, troll sore still in the polk county jail. he has first appearance tomorrow morning. in polk county, melissa marino, newschannel8. just into our news room, the u.s. justice department is filing suit against the owner of a lakeland mobile home park for discrimination. that suit alleges the owner and the managers of may grove village discriminated against potential clients that were african-american. now, in that lawsuit, it accuses them of quoting different prices and and black families. we are reaching out to that complex for comment. also, the tampa police department just got a huge impressive donation. it will equip officers with protective vests to be worn in very dangerous situations. it is new gear that goes on over their standard uniforms. and it is design today be put on during an active shooter situation. 8 on your side's ryan hughes shows us how effective the new vests are for police officers. >> reporter: at least 75 tampa

with the hopes it never has to be used. tampa police officers luis vargas and lorraine anderson are aware of the danger. both of them get additional protection from this new equipment and peace of mind. >> i know, i have babies, he has babies, everybody has families. i feel a lot safer with this. >> reporter: the yarid foundation and rise tampa dona the department to buy the point- blank active response shooter kits. >> the community and the police, we have a lot of problems. we have a lot of things to work through. but doing something good and doing something right can only help the problem. >> reporter: the shooting at pulse nightclub in orlando in june underscores the dangers police face. active shooting situations are on the rise and yarid hopes the vest keeps officers safe when they deal with evil.

they have a better chance. >> reporter: and so, do the officers who put their lives on the line. >> this is my job. it is my profession an anything helps. anything that will help me get home to my loved ones. >> reporter: in tampa, i'm ryan hughes, newschannel8. >> police leadership says it hopes to eventually equip all 1,000 tampa officers with those vests. a couple of coffee left a bad taste in south florida officer's mouth. she claims employee put soap in her coffee. she smirked when she set the drink out. she fought it was a bad cup of coffee. then she returned and this happened. >> the same employee from the day before came over and took the cup from him and she moved her mouth toward the cup and she made a motion like she was going to spit into the cup of coffee.

statement saying they are looking into the matter. the employee has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation. new tonight, the centers for disease control is updating zika advice when it comes to safe sex. it is recommending men who travel to a zika active area wait six months before having unprotected sex. the cdc recommends that women should wait two months. however, the world health organization recommends that both men and women wait six months altogether. and, a new app could help track the spread of zika and other health officials in texas are teaming up with the acceptabilitiers for disease control and others. it helps you report your health status and mosquito activity and gets updates on mosquito borne diseases and on how to avoid them. it has only been tested on states near the mexican border. they plan to expand its use to a lot of other states very soon.

medical distress, your first instinct could be to leap in and help. >> but that could do more harm than good when it comes to seizures. coming up, a tampa woman with epilepsy debunks a dangerous myth on how to help someone. >> and saturday night live kicks off a new season and it is taking aim at the presidential candidates. we have a preview for you. stay tuned. >> we have district rivalry between the country side cougars and the undefeated pinellas park patriots. coming up, do the cougars want to get into between the patriots who are averaging five touchdowns a game? >> we'll have that and more coming up. you're watching newschannel8, the station that is always on

vo: we asked women in pinellas county

woman 3: out-of-touch... woman 4: that's 3 words. vo: david jolly shares donald trump's backwards agenda for women. jolly opposes a woman's right to choose and voted to defund planned parenthood and deny women access to basic health care like mammograms and cancer screenings. woman 5: i have 3 words for david jolly... not for women. vo: house majority pac is responsible

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>> saturday night live starts a whole new season and it is coming out swing. actor alec baldwin is going to play trump. kate mckinnon will do her hillary clinton and margot robbie will host. you can see it tomorrow night on newschannel8 right after your 11:00 news. it is friday, it is time for the friday night blitz. we are getting pumped up football games. we have a complete wrapup tonight at 11:00. for now, let's check in with anthony allred. he is live at clearwater and country side high facing pinellas park. hey double a. >> reporter: hey, what is going on, josh, that is right. i'm here at the home of the country side cougars where they are faces off with the pinellas park patriots and it is homecoming. you usually want a cup cake

undefeated and they are rolling. i talked to country side's head coach a few minutes ago, and he said this about this week's team's preparation. >> our perspective, our guys have been improving every single week doing a great job getting ready for the game. and, i think, you know, the way they have approached this week in practice, improvement they have made throughout the season, i think they should be ready to go this week. >> now, last week's game, that was played over at pinellas park where country side won by they won by one point. we will see what they do tonight. because, this is our game of the week. and, we have people all over the bay area covering the games. to the highlights we will go on the friday night blitz tonight starting at 11:15. josh? >> all right, patriots are not a cup cake team. thanks anthony. all right in a few hours you can join dan lucas, paul ryan, and anthony allred for the friday night blitz.

newschannel8 at 11:15. a medical alert. slurred speech, uncontrollable movements, or, even partial paralysis, witnessing the physical effects of strokes and seizures can cause us to freeze or panic and cause more harm than good. as gene ramirez shows us, that is why one tampa woman is on a mission to educate our community. >> i was laying on my parents' bed and watching tv, and the next thing i knew, i was laying on the floor. >> reporter: patty was she was just 13 years old. more than 40 years later, she still suffers from seizures. almost monthly. >> it brings all the air out of my body. and i just go ... like that. >> reporter: her husband jumps in to help in moments like these, but patty fears those with neurological disorders if alone can find themselves in trouble. so can those surrounded by people who don't know how to

anything in their mouth. get the area safe. get them to the ground. we roll them on their side. the thought with that is they won't choke. >> reporter: you should also call 911 immediately. he is one of several doctors helping patty create awareness about neurological disorders and stroke, the message, we all need to learn how we can help, and, patients can have full lives. like patty, a married mom with a career and a cause. >> i have i didn't let epilepsy stop me from living a great life. >> now patty has put a neurology awareness fair so you can identify the signs and know how to help. the fair is happening tomorrow, saturday, from noon until 4:00. at edgewater park this downtown dunedin. we want to remind you the 2016 heart walk is right around the corner. newschannel8 is committed to raising $100,000 but we need

first $50,000 that we raise together. the walk is november 12 at raymond james stadium. just go to wfla.com/heartwalk for all the details. or, sign up to join stacie's team. we are tracking scattered showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. you can see building clouds from lake land auto mall. 82 degrees now in polk county. here. it is a general mix of clouds and sunshine. if you are not getting wet right now. crystal river, not the pool, headed out on the water. also at 84. and in brandon, you can see again some of the building clouds off on horizon. a little bit of a westerly breeze out there. no rainfall reported in brandon right now. 83 degrees in tampa, winds have gone calm for the moment. had a beautiful start to the day. this from lauren clark just, that beautiful sunrise there. this ianing, 82 degrees. we will still keep the rain chance, especially for our

too bad. comfortable at 74 degrees at 7:00 into 84 by midday. then 88 for the afternoon high. first day of october, that is actually just a tad above average. 83 now temple terrace. 86 palm harbor, we are checking with 85 now for river view. still, pretty humid afternoon here with that on shore flow that we have had for the last couple of days. a rain-cooled 76 in dade city, 87 in bartow. as i mentioned still keeping the eyes on thunderstorms this an still some cloud to ground lightning as well. had a decent thunderstorm along highway 301. the lightning has come down with that. so that appears to be weakening now. we still have showers and some thunderstorms sitting right along the desew sew highlands county line. and again, i think the better chance for rain this evening will focus on the inland locations. here is the moisture forecast. we have this frontal boundary that will stall out.

air as we go into the weekend mornings. those will feel pleasant. south of i-4, the moisture will be higher. we carry the rain chance a little higher for our southern most communities. that represents itself here in the rpm forecast model as we roll on through the evening. we will start off fairly quiet. partly cloudy. not as many showers during the morning hours. then, the best rain chances will focus on our inland locations. again, not quite as many as we have had the last couple of days. sunday morning, another dry start here, by afternoon, we will see rain chances coming back up to that 40% rain. it is a general 30% for most of the area. slightly drier air to the north. here is matthew. very intense category 4 hurricane. you can see the pinpoint eye. almost about 11 miles in diameter here. it will continue on the westerly track before, then making a turnoff toward the north weakening as it

jamaica. uncertainty, a slight portion of extreme southern florida here. exactedly when it makes the turn is the big question. this is the factor that will determine what happens. as it slides off to the west, we have a big upper level trough in the east, that is going to make this system take a hard right turn to the north. exactly when that happens, it is still a little bit up in the air. but again, most computer models actually keep this now out, away from florida. but certainly bears watching. 30% rain chance tomorrow. we will look at a rain chance up to 40% by sunday. high temperature of 89 degrees. and, we increase moisture by wednesday up to 50%. 88 degrees for the temperature. perhaps, some drier air being driven in by matthew late in the week. so the rain chances will generally start to come down during that time frame. for the first week of october, guys, temperatures fairly average. highs middle and upper 80s . exactly what we should expect

>> keep going right. >> yes. >> thank you ed. thanks much. well, a man in handcuffs slammed onto a police cruiser so hard, it shattered the glass and it is caught on camera. >> coming up, what the police chief has to say about the actions of these officers. >> and you can join jenn holloway, julie phillips, and me on newschannel8 at 8:00 on great 38 >> ahead for thus evening, officials near san diego releasing video of a controversial shooting of an unarmed african-american man. do t not letting letting go of the miss universe flak. and sex abuse allegations rocking usa gymnastics on nbc

>> now to what's making headlines across america. video of a man getting slammed into the windshield of a police cruiser is raising questions of police brutality. dash cam video shows lorraine ohio police officers walking pelee smith to a cruiser. smith's face is slammed into the windshield breaking the glass. police stopped smith for jaywalking while investigating drug complains. the chief says the video could be misunderstood and urged people not to rush to judgment.

marriages has been suspended without pay for the rest of his term. roy moore says the issue is conflicting orders from the state and federal levels after the supreme court ruled gay marriage is legal. all states binded to the rulings overruling any conflict. the pharmiseudical ceo once called the most hated man in america is once again auctions the opportunity to just simply punch him in the face. martin schrelli announced on twitter a woman from florida is balk on. he wants to raise money for his friend's six-year-old son who is battling cancer. he plans to match the winning puncher's bid. legendary sports announcer vin scully will call his final los angeles dodgers game sunday. more than 67 years he has been witnessing baseball history now. he has seen the dodgers move from brooklyn to la. watched jackie robinson play,

broadcaster at its final home game of the season. and new york city's most famous deli is closing its flag ship location. the oner of the carnegie deli plans to sell products wholesale. they will keep their other locations open for now. >> newschannel8 at 6:00 is up next. >> returning what they took. >> the jose fernandez baseball school is now back in its rightful place at alonzo. how social media shame likely caused the thief to return that priceless memeto. >> and trying to steal your hard-earned money. where a woman was caught on cam are putting skimmers and how she won't get away with it. >> after being kept in the dark for 19 days, hillsborough county is checking for contamination from that sink hole. just across the county line. >> there have been numerous creepy clown sightings around

local law enforcement is taking that very seriously. >> those stories plus your storm team 8 forecast and sports with dan lucas coming up on newschannel8, the station that that is always on your

>> right now on newschannel8 at >> hurricane matthew is growing stronger. storm team 8 is tracking this storm and we will show you how soon it could impact florida. >> plus, creepy clown scares. sightings in the bay area causing real concern. what you should do immediately if you spot one lurking in your neighborhood. >> and a priceless memento stolen during a vigil for jose fernandez is back where it belongs but the case is not closed. good evening, i'm keith cate.

we are going to begin tonight with a look at the tropics. hurricane matthew is growing stronger throughout the day right now. it is up to a category 4 storm. and, meteorologist julie phillips joins us from the forecast center where the very latest track. hi julie. >> thank you stacie. this storm is rapidly intensifying. the advisory came down and it was already up to a category it is very powerful. it is also slowing down a bit which has allowed it to intensify. moving toward the west, southwest at 9 miles an hour. hurricane hunters were out investigating the storm today, found the pressure had also dropped to 949 millibars so this is a very powerful storm at this point. still moving toward the west. as we head into the weekend, you will notice the turn to the north. hurricane watches are posted for jamaica.