standing for the pledge. >> plus a violent criminal attacked a woman, then attempted a carjacking, after hours on the run what it took to track him down. >> plus an id theft ring is out of business, but the victims may not even know they've been taken. just ahead 1 woman explains how the situation is ruining her life. good evening. i'm jenn holloway. >> i'm josh benson. thanks for being with us tonight. a family turns to 8 on your side schooler refuses to stand up and pledge allegiance to the flag that. gets him in trouble. turns out that student has every right not to do it. paul mueller is live at the hillsborough county school board in building tampa. what exactly is the district's policy on this? >> reporter: here it is, josh in, black and white the school policy and it says students do have the right not to say the pledge of allegiance only if they don't get in the way of

>> i don't believe in standing up for it since there's more than one religion. >> reporter: he may be only 12 years old, but mark dawson, a 6th grader at liberty middle school, sure knows what he believes in. >> reporter: why is this so important to you? >> because i believe in more than one religion and one -- wait, more than one nation. >> reporter: he says a teacher yelled at him here at school last month for not standing classroom. turns out it was the teacher who was in the wrong. a school spokesperson told me that teacher was unfamiliar with the school policy, but now they're aware of it thanks to a talk with the principal. so when he does this, do you consider him courageous? >> yes, i do. >> reporter: his aunt said he did the right thing by standing up for what he believes in.

>> oh, yes. i will stand behind him if he's right and if he's wrong, i will tell him he's wrong. >> reporter: he continues not to take part even though other kids he claims give him a hard time. why not just do what everyone else is doing? >> because i want to follow my own path. >> reporter: what is that path? >> believing in what i want. >> reporter: and the family claims this has happened not just once but three times they claim while the school district says it happened once and then the issue bed. >> paul, does the family have any plans to take this issue any further? some say they have a legal right to do so. >> reporter: in fact, they're actually thinking about that right now. tonight they told me they're actually thinking about suing the school district because they claim the district infringed on their child's rights. so obviously stay tuned on this one. >> paul mueller live for us in tampa tonight. thank you. this story is sure to have a lot of people talking.

share your thoughts now on the news channel 8 facebook page. some breaking news tonight, another death blamed on those dangerous takata air bags. the 50-year-old woman died september 30th in california while driving her 2001 honda civic. the faulty air bags can inflate with too much force causing the metal interior to rupture and spew shrapnel inside the vehicle. this is now the 11th known fatality in the u.s. attributed venice police have a dangerous criminal off the streets. last night after 8:00 ralph forte attacked a masseuse at the 88th spa in venice and made his way to a publix reportedly and attacked an employee. investigators tracked him down by fingerprints left at the scene. as the search continued this morning, several schools were placed on lockdown. in the meantime some locals are criticizing police for not

school. so notifying a parent at 10:00 at night that a crime occurred on the island and the suspect fled in the opposite direction of the high school, i'm not sure if that's a decision the parent wants to make keeping the child out of school. >> forte apparently admitted to the crimes. the injured masseuse is now out of surgery and recovering. a financial nightmare is over for a pinellas county woman now that st. petersburg police busted a fell theft ring. detectes identities of at least 18 people and the victim count is likely to go higher. now the pair and third person are accused of running up thousands of dollars of debt for all kinds of purchases. peter bernard is live in st. petersburg. this case took what, a year to crack? >> reporter: right, josh. it took that long for investigators to gather all the information they needed on this case. tonight two of the three people involved in the scheme are facing justice.

life at a standstill. >> reporter: music teacher eileen etioli is constantly hounded by creditors all because police believe these three stole her identity. >> tried to open women's accounts like victoria secret and they got into bank accounts and put them in my name, but the irs was the worst. >> reporter: police tell me denise dallas headed up the scheme st information from her employer to pay for utilities and cable tv at the house she shares with her daughter jessica. >> we found where 18 different credit cards were used to pay the monthly credit card bill since november and we found out where the information was compromised from. >> reporter: they even used a stolen card to buy food for jessica's boy friend, an inmate at the pinellas county jail. also accused is shawntell jones. police believe she opened a

names and went on a spending spree. >> it's been a horrible life experience. >> reporter: eileen is still trying to recover from jones' escapade using her good name. she has a message for her tormenters and others contemplating id theft. >> i would say don't do this again because your life will be in jeopardy with the jailhouse. >> reporter: st. petersburg police want to find denise dallas. the detective tells me she knows he hopes she turns herself in. >> peter bernard live for us in st. petersburg, thanks. a cafeteria worker is hailed a hero there just seconds after an inmate took a corrections officer hostage in bartow. tina morris was eating lunch in a nearby park when four inmates came running toward her with one heck of a wild story. they told her their fellow inmate held an officer at night mate and drove off with him in a bartow -- knifepoint and

city truck. she called 911. >> these four inmates here are like freaking out, but i drove down to flower and i looked both ways and i don't see the work truck anywhere. >> in the end deputy jeffrey rexrode escaped when the two stopped at a gas station. the inmate david ross was later caught in pinellas county and according to the department of corrections, because these werer not typically carry a gun, only pepper spray and handcuffs. a somber moment tonight in largo while family and friends remember loved ones who died from overdose or of drugs or alcohol. the pinellas county sheriff's office and narcotics overdose prevention and education group also known as nope hosted this event. those attending spoke of their loss, but also their support of those who continue to struggle with addiction.

i come out here for my daughter who is addicted to heroin. she's been clean for 2 1/2 years. >> this is the eighth year for that vigil. hillary clinton and donald trump are back on the campaign trail tonight. the bitter rivals coming together less than 24 hours after their final debate to break bread at new york's waldorf astoria. sitting just one seat away from each other for certainly been a tradition for the candidates to attend this annual alfred e. smith memorial dinner and then poke fun at themselves and each other. there is a lot of talk now that the final presidential debate is over, poll watchers we talked to believe clinton won the debate, but what everybody is talking about today, trump's comments on whether he will accept the election results. today he clarified that position saying he would accept the results if he wins.

analyst dr. ed bitten. this may not bode well for the republican candidate. >> people who might have an inkling of supporting him and overlooking his indiscretions and so forth probably were turned off by it. so it hurt him i would think. >> trump also said today that he would accept a clear election result, but he also says he reserves a right to connest it or file a -- contest orfi he'll be making a campaign stop in tampa monday. we are on your side with everything you need to know ahead of election day. go to our website www.wfla.com. click on the news tab, then click politics. there you'll find our 2016 general election voter guide. right now investigators in portland are slowly going through the debris left in the wake of a building explosion. take a look at this mess, a historic building destroyed, but there is some good news tonight.

that blast are now out of the hospital. a subcontractor is blamed for hitting a gas pipeline during excavation. this is video of a texas cop credited with saving the life of a little boy and it's going viral tonight. the entire incident was caught on dashcam video. the 3-year-old was visiting his mom at work when he spiked a fever, had a seizure and stopped breathing. even though the officer wasn't directly dispatched, he was close by when he heard the call. once there he immediately started cfr. that little ambulance showed up. too close for comfort. >> coming up next a city leader who is telling 8 on your side the relationship between the ptc and the cap company it regulates is inappropriate. >> plus apple may be planning to add a second screen to its new macbooks. we'll explain the magic toolbar just ahead. >> temperatures reaching the upper 80s, a very warm day around the bay area, but there are big changes for the weekend. a cold front is headed our way,

when powerful people need someone to do their dirty work, they hire bob buesing. how far will he go? buesing fought to foreclose assisted-living retirement homes, threatening local seniors with homelessness. then, buesing defended wells fargo against charges of helping a ponzi-schemer swindle millions. buesing's firm was even accused of overbilling local schools , running fees up to seventy thousand dollars. how far will bob buesing go?

welcome back. there is new information tonight about a story we've been reporting for weeks now and tonight victor crist is calling for an emergency meeting of the hillsborough county ptc. e-mails uncovered by 8 on your side show a very close relationship between the director of the ptc and the regulating. tampa mayor bob buckhorn thinks this should be investigated. >> if there is collusion there, i think people need to answer for, that but clearly the perception is that that is an agency that is way too close in my estimation to the people that they're regulating. >> state representative dana young is formally requesting the fdle to investigate the relationship between the ptc and cab companies. today the fdle assigned the

alert tonight, hyundai is recalling more than 60,000 cars because their glass sun roofs can fly off while driving. a wind deflector anchor plate on certain 2015 and 2016 sonatas was not properly bonded. that apparently can cause the sun roof to malfunction, but if you try to force it closed, it could fly off. there have been no reported injuries or accidents, but a few have detached. you can find more recall information that a russian citizen was responsible for a massive 2012 data breach. that man was arrested yesterday in prague. he's now awaiting extradition to the u.s. the hacker apparently tried selling 117 million passwords on the dark web for about $2,000. linkedin still does not know how many passwords are still in use. rumors are flying about what we'll see at apple's event next week. it looks like the new macbook

screen display that takes the place of some of the keys. the trademark ninja believes this feature will be called the magic toolbar. the display will change based on a program that's running using only the keys needed at the time. fedex has some holiday job opportunities available planning to hire 50,000 full and part-time workers during the holiday season. seasonal jobs include package sorters, drivers and delivery mondays after thanksgiving to be some of the busiest in the company's history. today marks a major milestone for professional hockey here in tampa bay. it has been 20 years since the ice palace opened its doors as the official home of our tampa bay lightning. in october, 1996, the bolts beat the new york rangers in its inaugural game.

way thanks to its owner. >> it's been transformed into one of the most beautiful fan friendly links in the league. it's remarkable to think this rink is 20 years old because it seems like it's 3 or 4 years old. >> of course, the bolts home to bring that stanley cup home once more this season. paul ryan will have an update on tonight's game coming numb sports. -- up in sports. now max defender 8, the and your storm team forecast with chief meteorologist steve jerve. >> a super typhoon smashed into the philippines overnight with 145 mile-per-hour winds. it toppled trees, knocked down towers and flooded towns. thousands of people were forced to flee, samening as a hurricane. they've had quite a -- same thing as a hurricane. they've had quite a few this year, i think six category 5s

a few thundershowers. you can see on a live sweep nothing detected at the moment. the orion meteor shower takes place tonight. there might be interference from the light of the moon. could see up to 20 per hour if you're lucky. get away from city light. that moonlight will be just there. friday night football tomorrow looks pretty good here, 77 degrees, may see a few clouds, slight chance of a sprinkle as this cold front slides into the area, should of the game, near 70 degrees. we'll slowly see humidity fall. 79 degrees sunday, 78 saturday, a few clouds, but breezy generally as the effects of the front are initially felt, but this all comes with lower humidity which most of us say we're looking forward to. nice shot from beth howell tonight at indian rocks beach, what a gorgeous sunset on the beach. thanks for that feet in the

start the day at noon, dew point 68, north to northwesterly wind 6 miles per hour. current temperature 72 degrees in bartow, 706 in st. petersburg, 69 degrees weeki wachee, 72 winter haven. a lot of dry air aloft with the clear skies this evening. some of that dry air tends to filter down to the surface. folks inland were feeling that more coast. the few clouds disappeared as the evening went along. the precip off to the east. in the tropics the next five days we're still watching this area, about a 50% chance down from 80% chance a couple days ago, so not as impressive. it certainly is there. the forecast says generally in this area for possible development and the computer models want to move this farther north and eventually push it northeast.

clouds around, near 70 degrees friday morning, lots of sunshine. later in the day here comes this cold front headed our way, a small chance of showers near the boundary as it continues to push south. later friday it goes all the way through, switches the wind direct around to the northwest and then we're in the drier atmosphere. saturday afternoon nothing but sunshine, high pressure taking over and will control the next several days, not an unusual weather pattern for this time of year to get this kind of setup over the the forecast friday, saturday and sunday a mixture of sunshine and some clear skies. temperatures meanwhile will stay in the upper 70s with that drier atmosphere, overnight low temperatures cooler as well. we start to return some humidity long term. we'll start to see temperatures come back overnight with a bit more humidity in the atmosphere. this is the routine this time of year when cold fronts go through. they switch their winds around back to the east. good timing for the weekend in terms of very comfortable

>> the orinid. >> of the constellation orion. coming up in sports the bucs head out to san francisco a day earlier than usual. find out why. that's ahead. >> plus the lightning look to start the season 4-0. could they survive the avalanche tonight? we'll have highlights and locker room reaction next. >> this year's heart walk is coming up in november, but now is a great time to join stacie fuccillo kia is matching the first $50,000 we raise. go to www.wfla.com/heartwalk for details. >> plus here's what you'll see tomorrow at 6 a.m. >> reporter: is the next mark zuckerberg in a college near you? i'll tell you where nor students are majoring in entrepreneur -- more students are majoring in entrepreneurship and why that's not a bad idea. >> plus weather and traffic on the 8's on news channel 8

amendment 1 guarantees your right to generate your own solar energy. it also guarantees that those who don't choose solar don't have to subsidize those who do. amendment 1 means commonsense consumer protections safeguarding seniors-and all floridians from scams, rip-offs, and long-term contract traps. amendment 1: good for the economy. good for the environment. good for florida.

robert kearney: i fought for my country in kosovo and iraq, and i've been a republican all my life. but i'm the father of three girls. i can't stand hearing donald trump call women pigs, dogs, and bimbos...and i sure don't want my daughters hearing it. i want my girls to grow up proud and strong, in a nation where they're valued fought for. so, i'm voting for hillary clinton. hillary clinton:

sports on news channel 8 is sponsored by your gulf coast honda dealers about. >> according to espn's latest alts team rankings -- ultimate team rankings, tampa bay is home of the best franchise sports. the bolts have gone out of their way to let visitors score first in all three games this season and the boys in blue welcome the way. matt duchene corrals the bouncing buck. 1-0 colorado after one. in the closing minute of the 2nd the avs strike again. this time duchene tips it open and unlike games one through three there was no comeback in sight. in the 3rd another bad break for big ben, second time this season a screwy bounce sabotaged him. this comes off the wall to andreas martinsen. colorado deals tampa bay its

heading out of town. >> can't keep playing from behind. we played from behind in four games and did we deserve to be playing from behind in all those games? i can't sit here and say that. it would be nice to have the lead. you just can't keep testing fate because eventually you won't come back and we didn't tonight. >> we didn't play bad. they played well. obviously we'd like to come out with four wins. when you go 3-1 to now we got to go on the road and take care of business there. how about some thursday night football, the good kind, not the nfl variety, miami visiting virginia tech, canes trailing late in the 1st half, but berrios is found in the end zone, 16-9 at the end of the break. kya won't quit. he's better at throwing stuff

but the hokies prove to be too much. virginia tech beats miami 37- 16. the u falls to 1-3 in the acc. the tampa bay buccaneers are heading out of town departing for san francisco tomorrow. sunday's kickoff against the 49ers is set for 4:05 eastern, 1:05 pacific. tampa bay is 5-15 against west division opponents since 2002. although wants to avoid jetlag if possible. >> if you do those flights three hours, you usually don't hop out of bed the crack of dawn and feel 100% of yourself. i can't explain why. there's a lot of stuff in the universe i cannot explain like how to run it more consistently. >> i think that's more priority than worrying about lack of sleep. >> and it's dry out there. i lived in arizona. >> i'm going to miss this nice

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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. you've got to work together. whether it's protecting social security 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

taking a look at that forecast tomorrow. >> one more warmer day, but we'll get changes as the day goes along as the cold front slides through the area, 70 to start the day, but we'll end up with warmer highs it looks like in the mid-80s. as the cold front goes through, it will change the winds out of the northwest and a little cooler drier weekend because the humidity will be much lower. in our night cap tonight the undecided voter an internet meme sensation has gone to washington. here's ken bone known for his distinctive look in that red sweater and now izod has brought him to a get out to vote commercial. he's seen around the landmarks and memorials in the ad, but the message is simple. simply go out and vote. >> does he get a lifetime supply of those sweaters? >> he became probably the

sweater. >> that and the disposable camera. >> thanks for being with us. jimmy fallon is next. >> our next newscast starts at 4:30 a.m. have a great night!

[ cheers and applause ] ? >> steve: from studio 6b in rockefeller center in the heart of new york city, it's "the tonight show starring jimmy fallon." tonight, join jimmy and his