>> right now on newschannel8 at 5:30. >> voters asked for ballot and they never showed i. with fears of fraud swirling around the election, 8 on your side makes sure your vote counts. i'm jennifer leigh. >> i'm josh benson. thanks for being with us tonight. voter pi ballots never showed up in the mail. they asked for election replacement ballots. jamel lanee is live in largo. what happened to the missing ballots? >> reporter: good evening josh. officials say it could have gone to a previous address or lost in the mail. but they tell any they have a system in place to make sure your vote will count.

for her mail-in ballot but it never came. >> i called because i had not received my ballot. and ... other neighbors had. and i'm like, well, where is mine? >> reporter: she was sent a replacement ballot from the supervisor of election's office, but with concerns of voter fraud, she wanted to make sure no one else could use her missing ballot to vote. she is not the only voter that is worried. election officials say they have a system in place to make sure your vote counts. they ri >> that is why we stress it is important for voter to stay consistent with their signature. have a nice legal signature on all of your official election documents including your voter registration application and your mail ballot return envelope. >> reporter: your ballot is bar coded to you. >> once it comes back to us, our system marks that voter a has voted. if voter a tries to return a second ballot, we are notified hey, voter a has already voted.

mail-in ballot and vote in person. either way, you will receive notification that you voted. >> they will receive verification they have voted during mail, early voting or in person. >> reporter: now, the supervisor of elections office is mandated to conduct a manual audit at the end of the election. so officials have to make sure the number of ballots tabulated equal if number of ballots cast. >> they are testing these machines right? >> reporter: yes. they are always testing the machines and the viewing is open to the public. that way, people can come in and see that they do these test samples with the machine to make sure it actually works and they are working to count the ballots. josh? >> all right, jamel lanee live for us tonight. thank you very much. now, we are on your side with everything you need to

guide for you, early voting locations and hours on our website, wfla.com. both presidential candidates once again on the campaign trail in florida. we are about 30 minutes away from trump's rally in tallahassee. he told the crowd he is confident he will win florida. hillary clinton attended an early voting rally in coconut grove. many polls show her ahead of trump in the sunshine controversies, each of florida's four constitutional officers are standing by their man. all four are elected republicans but as capital bureau reporter mike vasilinda shows us, not all of them are fully on board the trump train. >> reporter: governor rick scott was the first statewide elected republican to jump on the trump train. he was followed by pam bondi and others who supported jeb

bondi called some comments by trump. >> disgusting, period. >> reporter: but she says she will stay behind the donald. >> he will appoint conservative justices. >> reporter: after backing bush, atwater and putnam say they will vote trump, but neither working overtime in his election. >> if the occasion presents itself, we are committed to helping elect republicans acro from going to a trump event? >> no, i wouldn't. >> reporter: governor scott still heads trump's fund raising efforts but he will not be at trump'sal ha' rally tuesday night. >> we have the zika. are there things we can do better if we have another hurricane. that is my primary focus. >> reporter: rick scott appear to be running for another office.

attorney general, their political future is murky. u.s. senator marco rubio calls trump the best alternative to hillary clinton but he has dodged appearances with the donald. in tallahassee, mike vasilinda, newschannel8. >> and, we have just learned tonight that former secretary of state colin powell is the latest republican to announce he is voting for hillary clinton. powell revealed his he has been critical of donald trump, but he has also been tough on clinton. he pushed back on reports suggesting he gave clinton the idea to use a private e-mail server as secretary of state. a southwest florida woman claims her refrigerator saved her life when gunfire erupted out of her senior community. brenda raleigh heard a burst of gunfire and a ping sound. it was the sound of a bullet

straight angle it would have hit her. and a k-9 officer sniffed out illegal fish in a man's car. someone reported anglers catching too many red drum. the k-9 officer named cain caught the scent of the fish and the officer confronted the angler. he confessed to being over the daily bad limit and was cited. prince's former home will become a shrine they voted to make paisley park into a permanent museum. visitors will see the purple urn containing the artist's ashes. tours are due to start on friday. a florida city makes it into the top three on a bad list. daytona beach has one of the highest rates of heart attacks in america. gallop and health ways poll

hawker. duluth, minnesota, charleston and huntington, west virginia topped the list. however, tallahassee had one of the lowest heart attack rates. now to a warning about headlights. new tests for the insurance institute for highway safety show many popular trucks are falling short when it comes to headlights. that could be very dangerous for drivers. >> reporter: looking to shine a light on what is considered a serious safety hazard. the insurance institute for highway safety headlines and the results are not good. >> most of theticups includeing the ford f150 the most popular vehicle in the u.s., had a poor rating. >> reporter: out of 11 fall and large pickups tested, only one, the ridge line had the acceptable rating. all four of the small trucks were rated poor.

fatalities occur at night, dawn, or dusk. so for the driver to be able to see obstacles to see the environment, and make changes or come to a stop, the headlines are the only thing that will be able to do that. >> reporter: tests include how far the high and low beams project. low beams are measured for the amount of glare on oncoming >> reporter: the poor results prompted the hs to include headlight ratings as part of the criteria for the top safety pick award next year. we have put the full list of vehicles from the highest to the lowest rated on wfla.com. over the past few years, florida citrus industry has been devastated by a disease known as citrus greening. >> and coming up, the new technique farmers are trying to reinvigorate their groves with

launches a new career. we will show you shaq's new venture. >> classic october day. we topped out at 80 degrees and averages are close to what we would expect. rain chances remain fairly low. we will see if it staiths way in the eight day forecast coming up. >> we'll have that and more coming up. you're watching newschannel8, the station that is always on

i moved on her like a [bleep]. you can do anything. grab them by the [bleep] we have to make sure that donald wins this election.

and failed to show up for florida. here's what i believe in. bringing people together and reaching across the aisle to get things done. protecting social security. and building an economy that works for all of us. i'm patrick murphy and i approved this message

>> citrus greening is an epidemic hurting orange growers across the state of florida. so officials are trying to fight back offering incentives to help farmers restore their crops. but is it enough? newschannel8's john rogers joins us now live in bradenton

hey there john. >> reporter: good evening jen. well, the folks here and nixon fruit farms have take a hit in the balance sheet because of citrus greening. they say the state's efforts won't stop it. dean and his team are gearing up for prime time. next month, these oranges will be in season. and ready for picking. but, their crop continues to get smaller and smaller. >> it has been worse the last four or five years than we have ever seen. >> reporter: citrus greening a state-wide crisis. it is a bacterial disease that restricts the tree from receiving its nutrient sos the fruit grow misshapened app develop a bad taste. and the trees eventually die. the study shows 90% of all citrus groves have the disease. >> some areas we planted three or four times in the last ten years. >> reporter: to help the effort, the state is stepping in. the florida department of

million in incentives to help cover the cost of new irrigation systems and newly planted trees. >> this incentive program, is it too little too late? >> it is a lot little a lot late. >> it is a far cry from what we spent on it. >> reporter: they are fighting on their own. they are testing new chemicalling to fight greening. >> these trees were sticks. >> reporter: now, they feel the state should change its focus. >> what they need this stuff from coming in so we can deal with what we have got. >> reporter: some growers like the folks here at the fruit farms have had to diversify. and add to what they grow in addition to their origins. the folks here will soon be growing bamboo to sell to the public in the next couple of years. just another result of citrus greening that is forcing these farmer to look elsewhere to make profits. >> yeah, they have to make a

tonight. thank you. new tonight, we have just learned that busch gardens has shut down the congo river rapids ride after a deadly accident at a park in australia. four people were killed when one of the river rapids rafts overturned at dream world park. two people were thrown off, two were trapped on a conveyer belt. that ride had problems earlier in the day. dream world is now closed. police are looking for the muhammad ali center in broad daylight. the whole thing was caught on camera. there he is. the man walked into the center in louisville. took the fingerprint and walked out. the image shows which artist, was valued at $5,000. and basketball hall of famer shaq wants to serve krispy kreme donuts. he is now the global

location in tampa. if you tag your social media posts with shaqortreat, you will be eligible to win some prizes. a unique aircraft has been creating buzz at a california airport. it is believed to be a prototype of a flying car. kind of personal aircraft. the company called z arrow signed a 34 year lease on an airport in holster. on their website, they promised to develop a revolutionary new form of transportation. some already caught glimpses of it being tested. no word on when it will be available to the the pub public. now, max defender 8 with chief meteorologist steve jerve. >> well, a million watts of power and our new s band radar. not much to detect here on the shower activity. it has been a dry day across the region. we have seen a lot of high clouds streaking across the

precipitation. the clouds are there. 75 degrees here at hyundai new port richey with the northwesterly wind at 6 miles an hour. freedom plaza, the same kind of sky. almost looks like it could see a few showers here with this. but certainly not today. 79 degrees. same at nissan of venice. east wind at 3 miles an hour. winds have been relatively light through this period. 48% relative humidity. in our headlines, quite dry for us. the rain chances at 10% or less through next weekend. our humidi easterly flow into the area. that's a slow return of that. not as noticeable this time of year when temperatures are not as hot. and of course, red tide is still anish in parts of sarasota county. a great shot of yesterday. a bird formation. we had those high cloud ins the sky yesterday as well. the average high is 82. today, we observed 80 for a high temperature. our average low, 66 degrees. that is exactly what we are

forecast, generally a pleasant category in the not too bad range. we are seeing an easterly flow that will bring back a little humidity. it is not july. the evenings and the mornings still pleasant. it could feel a little bit warm. at 7:00 a.m., 66 degrees. 85 degrees at 4:00 p.m. 80 right now. tampa international. dew point, 60 degrees. downtown saint petersburg, 78. dew point of 66. so with that easterly flow in wn a bit more atmospheric moisture. you can see here, not much going on. some high clouds streaking across the area west to east. high pressure is our feature. it will shift off to the east with another area of high pressure. a ridge building in behind it. what we are saying is very consistent weather. partly cloudy skies. humidity a little higher than average. though the rain chances remain fairly low. it will be the dominant factor

high pressure. another ridge. some clouds around staying on the warm side. a cold front sagging into the area. some of the computer modeled have suggested a slight shower. 10% or less for the area. as we get into wednesday afternoon, slim late day rain chance for us as we mentioned. mostly inland, but not very good at all. otherwise, i mentioned you probably noticed the atmosphere will feel less dry. thursday morning, warmer start to the day with that light northeasterly flow. and getting into thursday clouds, kind of a similar forecast. we are certainly on the track for the same kind of weather the next several days. low temperatures, low 60s primarily. very close to our averages. 60 degrees brooksville. 62 crystal river. normally cooler spots. 63s forecast for some of the inland areas. highs tomorrow. nice warm day. temperatures probably warmer than they were today. forecast a little bit warmer but ended up with 80 degrees largely because we had a lot of cloud cover with the high

in the sky now. the rain chance, 10% reason wednesday. not much of a chance for thursday and friday. all the way through the weekend. beautiful days, mid 08s . comfortable mornings. that is true for halloween as well. no matter what costume, whether you wear wool or dress like somebody who lives up around the north pole like an eskimo. >> ly go with steve jerve. >> oh, don't do that. that's a nightmare. >> scare the next, a trooper in ohio leaps into action to save a victim of overdose. >> that is coming up. plus, we will explain why some texas tacos are making a big move. >> and, remember, you can join jenn holloway, julie phillips, and me on newschannel8 on great 38 every night from 8:00 to 9:00. >> ahead on nightly news. exactly two weeks until election day with both candidates in florida. why it is a most win state for trump. the secretary of defense responds to the outrage of

their wartime bonuses. and why online shopping is putting our credit card at risk

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

proud and strong, in a nation where they're valued and respected. donald trump's america is not the country i fought for. so, i'm voting for hillary clinton. hillary clinton: i'm hillary clinton and i approve this message. >> now to what's making headlines across america. a disturbing incident involving

hate crime investigation in mississippi. four white high school students tied a noose around an african- american student's neck and tightened it. the school district said today that the student has been disciplined and the sheriff is now investigating that case. and take a look at a dash cam video from lebanon, ohio. a trooper responded to a hit an run call and came upon a man who had overdosed on heroin. he and another trooper quickly administered narcan which and started cpr. they had revived the man by the time the par metics arrived. and law enforcement officers have something to smile about tonight. 76% of adults have a great deal of respect for local officers. that is is a 12 point jump over last year. just one point shy of the all- time high set back in 1967. it is a positive sign for officers facing protests and

literally. for one texas taco restaurant. the building, riding on an enormous truck, made it way slowly across fort worth. why not just build a new one across town? it is one of the only classic style diners still around. the owner says he was happy to save the building by moving it. newschannel8 at 6:00 is coming up next. >> stacie and keith are here with what we are working on. >> thank you. a fiery in director. >> he tells us his side for the first time. >> when somebody tells you don't worry, it is not a witch hunt, it's a witch hunt. >> coming up, we will show you as he faced off with his colleagues over his relationship with cab companies. >> plus, a clumsy crook makes a not so great escape. we will show you where this guy got the tv from. >> meet the province town four. the new cross bay ferry. hope you like your looks

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

amendment 1 protects consumers from scams, promotes safe solar, and is endorsed by florida's firefighters. so, why are out-of-state billionaires attacking it? because amendment 1 stops their subsidies.

for special interests. it's solar done right.

>> right now, on newschannel8 at 6:00. >> finally, facing his side after nearly losing his job. >> cleaning up their mess. how the state is holding mosaic accountable. >> plus, a dramatic end to an hours long standoff. we will show you what swat teams used to finally get this guy to come out. good evening, i'm keith cate. >> i'm stacie schaible. thank you for joining us. tonight, a deal to fix the giant sink hole in polk county. the state is now requiring mosaic to fill it. the company must also make sure

florida's water supply. 8 on your side easterliesless joins us live from the plant in new wales where this all happened. hi melissa. >> reporter: good evening stacie. if you take a look behind me, you can see the plant. just beyond that is where the massive sink hole opened up. now, the state is requiring the company to fix it or face fines. neighbors we spoke with welcoming this news but still skeptical. although recent well test mccormick doesn't know if it will always be. >> it is a concern for us. >> reporter: now the state is stepping in under a deal with the florida department of environmental protection, mosaic will be required to fill in the sink hole. the company will also have to recover all of the pollution that drained into the aquifer. if the contaminated water moves off site, they must clean the mess. residents like mccormick are