>> right now on newschannel8 at 5:30. >> goodnight, i'm jenn holloway. >> i'm josh benson. there are details between the transportation commission and ride sharing like uber and lyft. they are investigating the head of the conduct of the ptc. jeff patterson joins us live in tampa to tell us what is going

dana young wants the ptc to be shut down. she is asking if fdle to get involved because she wants to know if the law is being broken. >> reporter: when kyle cochran went to speak out against ride sharing services he said he had just happened to be in town on a family vacation. >> i was not there advocating for or against any ordinance. >> reporter: at interview in april. since then, 8 on your side has obtained hundreds of e-mails between him and the heads of cab companies. the subject line of one of the ole mails is uber info for meeting written by a cab company person for him. days before his family vacation. state prepresentive dana young is now asking the fdle to investigate him and his e- mails. >> it is clear that right now, we have the fox guarding the

the ptc has been a disaster. >> reporter: we caught up to her while campaigning to talk about it. >> it definitely concerns me that there was any sort of e- mail communication between an alleged regulator. someone being paid to protect the public. and the regulated entity. >> reporter: we wanted to interview kyle about the potential for an fdle investigation but his pr person turned us down. we e-mailed office. >> reporter: i'm from newschannel8. >> reporter: but we turned down again and again. apparently, he is not talking about this right now. yeah, dana young said she is not sure if his actions are illegal or unethical, but she wants an investigation to determine that. >> do we know the impact this could have on the ptc and their actions against uber and lyft? >> reporter: when we first

april, cochran actually resigned his post with the ptc. he resended that, but lit be up to the full ptc board in november to find out what if anything there is to do about this. >> we will certainly stay on top of this story. thank you jeff. investigators now know what sparked this massive fire at a popular east tampa shopping center. it was a big one. >> is everyone out of the building? >> no, no, no building. i have help on the way. okay? >> yes, ma'am. >> they are on their way. thank you. >> okay, you're welcome. >> thankfully, everybody did make it out safely. according to the fire marshal, the flames were caused by an electrical malfunction in the ceiling just above the kitchen. newschannel8's ryan hughes spoke with people in that area who says the loss of the story is a big hit to that community. >> the supercenter was the place to shop for people in this neighborhood. and now they will need to find

everyday needs. elizabeth scotland shopped at biggen deals all the time. >> i'm so sorry. when i want a little food, i run in fast and pick it up. and go back in. >> reporter: the shopping center along east hillsborough avenue was a one stop shop. it housed a grocery store, a pharmacy, and a check cashing counter. >> i come in here and buy many different little things like cream of green bananas, red bananas and seasoning. >> reporter: scotland and other east tampa residents were shocked when they saw their neighborhood grocery store up in flames 9:00 monday night. eagle 8 hd was there when the fire tore through the roof. they called it to three alarms rushing more equipment to the the scene. everybody got out quickly as the fire burned ferociously. >> everyone is account for so we know we have a good head count and that at this time, we

left inside so that is obviously a good thing. >> reporter: the supercenter was once a popular iga supermarket. it was easy to stop here instead of driving to more popular stores further away. >> it is a good store. it's a good store. >> reporter: reporting in east tampa, i'm ryan hughes, newschannel8. well, four more mosquito born zika infections have been reported in miami-dade county. two of them are linked to that compromises little haiti and liberty city. across the miami dade region, 168 people have contracted the virus. that county is the only one in florida with an active spread of zika. the state has yet to receive any of the federal money that was approved two weeks ago. >> florida is right in the middle when it comes to state gun laws and violence. some democrat ins the state believe we are going in the wrong direction.

reporter matt galka to find out why. >> reporter: stricter gun laws equals less gun violence. that's the take away from the center for american progress report that ranked every state in order of how their mandates related to gun violence. the findings, the ten states with the loosest gun laws had three times the amount of violence than the states with the ten strictest laws. florida was 27. tallahassee mayor andrew gillum says things are going in the wrong direction. >> i think it is appropriate in this state that the laws that we have enabled or the absence there of. that are creating the conditions in my opinion for gun violence events. >> reporter: and he says his hands are tied. >> in the state of florida, we preempt local governments from taking their own decision making when it comes to keeping their community safe. >> reporter: but here at the

>> reporter: jd johnson runs the classes. >> florida has been a trend setter. a lot of laws like the self- defense laws in florida are mirrored in a lot of other states. >> reporter: this is not his first time taking on the gun issue. he is currently involved in a lawsuit with the nra an other pro second amendment groups for not banning the firing matt galka, newschannel8. well, facial regular in addition software used by law enforceable all across the nation. >> but this technology is being called into question. today, newschannel8 took a closer look at the program and how it is being used here in the bay area. >> plus, a sweet little girl who is enduring. we will tell you how new technology is helping her to attend class and make friends from home.

too. we will look at max defender 8 and a cooler, yes, a keel weekend forecast ahead. >> we'll have that and more coming up. you're watching newschannel8,

>> by hyundai. >> hundreds of agencies all across florida use facial recognition software including a lot of them here in the bay area. >> but, a new study from georgetown law calls it biased and is calling for better regulations. >> jana jones is live where they use the software. what are they saying about the new study? >> reporter: good evening.

i asked them to show me how it works. they say it is a fast way to get an investigation started. >> within 24 hours we were able to get the potential suspect's name. >> reporter: there were no leads in that particular fraud case, but it helped to get the ball rolling. >> it took what potentially could have been a case that sat dormant. >> reporter: that is just one example of many times faces has been used. a detective who di't be on camera showed me how the software worked. >> the race, so i can narrow that down. >> reporter: face recognition may be least accurate for african-americans. she showed me an example of one black male. >> to use this data base for this photograph, particularly that i got off of a website. >> reporter: then she showed me a white male search. >> the next photograph is actually this photograph. >> reporter: the study further

standardized and overstated. i provided my picture. the first time, the system did not find me. but with a picture with better lighting i was the second person to come up. they sergeant smith says this software isn't the be all end all to begin with. >> it is just a step in the process. it is not something where we say that is the person and go out an make a physical arrest. >> reporter: detectives here tell me that they hope that this because right now, the system is so easy to use. that is part of the appeal in the first place. >> so, jana jones, anybody else, any other departments useing the software in the area? >> reporter: yeah, pinellas county sheriff's office uses it the most and tampa pd uses it from time to time as well. >> all right, jana jones live in saint petersburg. thank you. an eight-year-old florida girl is suffering from a rare

friends thanks to a robot named viggo. when amby started spending time with the school nurse than inside the classroom, her parents and the district started looking for options and they town a pretty good one. she is using this robot. it is putting her virtually inside the classroom with her peers. >> i feel like i'm actually participating in my class. >> reporter: the school district purchased six robots last year through a grant. each one co as many as 15 students are sharing them to learn from outside school walls. well, the nominees for the rock and roll hall of fame are out. this year, pearl jam is on the list. this is their first year of eligibility. they must have released their first recording at least 25 years ago to be eligible. remember that album 10 if you are a fan. janet jackson and tupac an journey also nominated.

dylan? the answer to that question is blowing in the wind. five days after he was awarded the nobel prize in literature, the swedish academy has not heard from him. they say they are not making any further attempt to contact dylan, but they are hoping he will accept the invitation to receive the award on december 10. a new all-star lineup shows gwen stefani will return as a coach on the upcoming season of the voice. she will be joined levine, blake shelton and alicia keys. and miley cyrus will return as a coach next september. you can catch the voice live tonight right here on newschannel8. and, the most famous shoes in the entire world need a lifeline. the smithsonian is working to raise $300,000 to save the iconic ruby slippers that dorothy wore in the wizard of oz. for years people have stopped by the smithsonian institution's national museum of american history to take a

picture. but according to museum staff, light from the cameras and the flashes is causing the shoes to deteriorate. and, disney rules the movie world with more than two months left in the year, disney has broken its own international box office record pulling in more than $3.5 billion. and, that total, guess what? it is expected to get even larger. disney has three more big hit to be released before tend of the year including the marvel flick dr. strange, the adventure moana, and rogue one. a star wars story. the red planet has turned to gold in nasa's newest images. they are from the mavin mission. they were tweak today show ultraviolet glow from the martian atmosphere, night glow. it is a common phenon nonin which is sky glows in the absence of external light. now, max defender 8, the

with chief meteorologist steve jerve. >> very dry air. so, we are not generate ago lot in the way of shower activity. but here, you can see the live sweep. looking for showers and generally, to the east is where they would be coming. where they have been coming throughout the week. but i mentioned that drier air is helping to keep things fairly quiet. we will continue to watch for any precipitation. we can certainly spot it. at freedom plaza, you can see 85 degrees with an ea you can see mostly sunny skies. that has been the story here throughout the day at freedom plaza and other locations throughout the area. here at nissan of venice, 84 degrees. got some nice looking cumulus clouds here at the moment. 51% relative humidity. at brandon, you can see, our temperature 85 with an east wind at 8 miles an hour. 48% relative humidity. and temperatures throughout the evening hours will dip near low 80s . upper 70s and the

uncomfortable. good news is this. you can see the big dip in the dew point numbers here. wednesdays, thursday, friday, still relatively high in the upper 60s . we have seen 70- degree readings today. but look at that fall off here with the cold front saturday. sunday, this is the front you have been waiting for. yes, the temperatures, the humidity have been a little bit lower. a little more uncomfortable. 77 degrees at mild temperatures at 4:00 p.m. 87 degrees. maybe a stray shower for us. 88 degrees now. tampa international. dew points, 65. 70 in saint petersburg. throughout the last week, we have seen the easterly flow across the bay into downtown, so the humidity has been a little bit higher higher but the dew point numbers have been a little higher as well. temperatures have been a little bit cooler. red tide not very good news here for pinellas county.

of the infectant here from the actual red tide into some of the inland water ways. the canals. folk ins sarasota county are feeling this. if you are sensitive to red tide, you feeling it along coastal areas. satellite, quiet. radar, same thing. we have dry air, quite a bit high in the atmosphere. but it is helping to stabilize the atmosphere. 35 miles an hour winds for this tropical wave invest 99. you can see that forecast ac keeping it well off the east coast of florida. not the same story in the pacific. we have typhoon hyaima. the philippines should move across the northern part of the philippines and pass generally north of manila which is good news. and eventually pasting south of taiwan into it looks like the southern part of china. seven major, actually, category 5 systems around the world.

but they have had quite a few in the pacific this year. as for the forecast, maybe a stray shower. probably not. same story for tomorrow. maybe a few clouds. best rain chances over on the east coast. maybe a few of those drops could move inland as the day progresses moving off here to the west. and you can see the setup for thursday morning. more of the same. but there's the cool air headed our way. thursday, afternoon, but especially into friday. that is when the changes start to take place. you can track them here on the eight-day forecast, for wednesday. 87 for a high. 86 for thursday. or less. similar kind of rain chance like we have seen eastern sections, polk and highlands county. then, saturday, sunday, beautiful, highs near 80. lower humid tie. kind of cool to start the day. >> that is a good looking forecast. thank you steve. well, a disturbing trend among colorado high school student. >> the offensive facebook group that got several students

newschannel8 at 8:00 on great

this is mike's office. if he doesn't show up, he doesn't get paid. too often marco rubio didn't show up and failed us when he did. i am patrick murphy. to get things done, you've got to show up. ty and women's health care or growing the economy, we've got to start solving problems instead of pointing fingers. i am patrick murphy and i approve this message because i'll never stop working for you. >> now to what's making headlines across america. the man accused of intentionally leaving his 22 month old son in a hot suv to

justin ross harris openly sobbed during testimony about his son's autopsy. the medical examiner was talking about the condition of the toddler's body when he was found dead in the backseat of his father's car. harris is facing eight charges including malice murder. a boston man is accused of selling crack out of a baby stroller. they watched the 48-year-old man push the stroller down the street with an 18 month old baby inside it. they caught him in the act of selling drugs. the man now taking care of that child. several colorado teenagers have been expelled for taking part in a shocking secret society on facebook. five students were kicked out of boulder prep high school for posting neo nazi comments. they talked about killing jews and african-americans. and a puppy heist that a pet store in houston. thieves stole four english

white truck and they pry their way inside and start ransacking the place. it took about ten minutes for them to load the puppies into the truck and leave. the puppies are worth a total of about $25,000. newschannel8 at 6:00 is coming up next. >> stacie is here now with a look at what we are working on. >> thanks, dangerous water found near the site of mosaic's radioactive sink hole. coming up, what the company is saying about the test results an why the woman who lives there does not trust them. >> how a mother and daughter struck by an suv are doing tonight. and what the driver had to say to investigators. >> a saint pete police officer is under fire after driving under the influence and this is not the first time. >> the man who runs the sewage plant is the whistle blow er who opened the door on the saint pete sewage scandal. an e-mail who started it all and shows what you paid for. >> those stories plus your

on newschannel8. the station that is always on your side. amendment 1 guarantees your right - to generate your own solar energy. and placing that right in florida's constitution - keeps the politicians from messing with it. amendment 1 also allows for common sense consumer protections - because that's the right way to do solar. amendment 1: good for the economy. good for florida. vote yes on amendment 1 - for the sun. i spent many years as a nuclear missile launch officer. if the president gave the order we had to launch the missiles, that would be it. i prayed that call would never come. [ radio chatter ] self control may be all that keeps these missiles from firing. [ sirens blearing ] i would bomb the [ beep] out of them.

with nuclear weapons scares me to death. it should scare everyone. i'm hillary clinton and i approve this message.

>> right now on newschannel8 at 6:00. >> toxic drinking water discovered near a contaminated sink hole. 8 the problem mosaic insists is not there. >> and hit in a harrowing walk to the bus stop. how a mother and daughter are struggling to survive. >> an e-mail that started it all. the tip that set off the sewage scandal in saint petersburg. good evening. i'm stacie schaible. >> i'm josh benson. thanks for being with us tonight. tonight, a saint pete police officer is off the force for now. officer anthony green was arrested for driving under the

officer's first dui. jamel lanee joins us where chief anthony holloway spoke earlier. what is he saying about this second dui? >> reporter: well josh, he is definitely not happy. he says his officer was given a second chance and he blue it. >> he refused to blow. so automatically, his license is suspended for a year. >> reporter: saint pete police chief suspended anthony green after she was arrested for driving under the influence. they discovered green behind the wheel of his personal car on golf boulevard last night. >> he was stopped, his vehicle was stopped in the middle of the street. he was found passed out. >> reporter: green, now on leave with no pay. but this is not the officer's first dui arrest. he was also booked back in december of 2009. authorities say he was involved