right now on news channel 8 at 5:30 pm: >> it evening, i am some bad news for the lightning. steven stamkos is headed for surgery after a lateral meniscus tear. >> reporter: early predictions are that he could be out for at least 50 games. we checked out with local experts to see what he might be in for. >> not sure if a skate came up and got him or if that was a

bit of discomfort. . with that, bad news for lightning captain -- captain steven stamkos to. >> i hope this is a injury that will not injure him for the season. >> reporter: he will be out indefinitely with a lateral meniscus tear. >> there is usually a bend and a sheer force like that, that sheer force causes the meniscus to tear. >> reporter: orthopedic surgeon doctor phuc vo sees this often and athletes and says if stamm coast has pieces removed, he could return sooner. >> it could lead to arthritis 10 to 25 years down the road. >> reporter: if they repair it, he will be out much longer. >> ideally if we can do that, the future of the knee is better. it takes three or four months for that to heal so the athlete is out for a long time.

for the best. >> i thought this was going to be the year or so i want him to come back. >> reporter: stay with news channel 8 for updates and lightning coverage. melissa marino news channel 8. a jacksonville's man appeal for killing a teenager over loud music was denied. he appealed the 2014 conviction in the death of jordan davis and was tried in 2013 and convicted on three a car of unarmed teenagers. the original jury could not agree on the first-degree murder charge. a fort myers middle school student is in big trouble for pulling out a pellet gun on the school bus and scaring classmates out of their wits. eight students from cypress lake middle school were forced off the bus for safety. no one was hurt but kids and parents were shaken up and the street had to be closed. the business of medical marijuana is getting ready to bloom with the passage of

>> reporter: florida's future cash crop could be medical marijuana. researchers with new frontier data, a cannabis market research company, our high on cash projections for cannabis. jeff sharkey and taylor beale, founders of the medical marijuana business association, are not surprised now that amendment 2 passed. >> business is becoming real. >> reporter: the new frontier study says that by 2020, medical cannabis could be a $1.6 billion industry bottom line. >> 7% sales tax. it's certainly going to generate some sales tax revenue for the state. >> reporter: the florida legislature still has a role to play with implementation of amendment 2. what will they do next is a burning question. >> we will defend and protect the people's right and they have spoken loudly and clearly and overwhelming -- overwhelmingly. >> reporter: --

safe, accountable. it's also available, and affordable. >> reporter: because of the state's population and the expanded patient pool that amendment 2 covers, florida could make up 10% of the legal cannabis market in the united states. in tallahassee, matt falconer -- mac trelka news channel 8 . governor rick scott tweeted this picture this afternoon showing scott and president- elect trump together at trump tower in new york city. i'm pretty sure the governor took the selfie. it also included a caption from the governor said that -- saying that it was great to see his friend, donald trump. there are simulation swirling around governor scott today. feeling predictions that the governor may be offered a position in trumps administration but as mike

twitter page says he went to the big apple to meet the president and offer his help. still, the trip fuels prediction -- predictions scott will be interested -- in the running for a job. he says he isn't interested. >> i will do what i can to make donald trump successful but i like this job and i want to finish this job. >> reporter: a top adviser says nothing has changed his mind. >> he has a job he wants. >> reporter: scott this week acknowledged what has been speculated for more than a year, he is eyeing the u.s. senate seat up for grabs in 2018. while scott has a pass to another statewide office, pam bondi may not. making a dc appointment more likely. if pam bondi were to take a job with trump, rick scott would name her replacement.>> i think the attorney general does a wonderful job. >> reporter: three main -- three names are serving as a

incoming senate president joan negron did not return our call. the third name and likely front- runner is a trusted scott former appointee, jessica nuccio who was a lawyer for scott and then ran his jobs agency. he left the job saying he wasn't gone forever. >> i think in the future there will be a role in public service. >> reporter: is mike vasilinda news channel 8 .>> more names for attorney general will likely surface if and when a pam bondi appointment moves forward. pam bondi met with trump at trump tower yesterday. five tigers are getting a fresh start at a bay area sanctuary. they were brought to live at big cat rescue after a sanctuary out west shutdown. rhyne hughes was there for

and then loaded into the back of this truck and driven from colorado here to tampa. this is a 15-year-old tiger that just arrived in florida after a 30 hour journey on the road. are the looks of it, he is ready to get out of his cage and make this sanctuary his new home. >> it's a huge task. it takes coordinating tiger transports over state lines, transport period is huge. >> reporter: five big cats had to leave their home in lo acres to rome and receive top- notch medical care from the acquitted facilitation accredited facility. they seem to adapt quickly. >> this is where they become more active, frisky, playful. in the summer time with our beastly summers, hot and humid, they are kind of lazy. this is there peak time. >> reporter: more than 85 tires, liens, bobcats, and

of the new arrivals. ryan hughes, news channel 8. is the highest civilian honor in our nation. which of your favorite stars will take home the medal of freedom? the last time our team of the week went undefeated in the regular season, it was 1970 and the beatles had announced their breakup. i will introduce you to these pinellis county rock stars near 80 degrees again today but it will be a cooler evening. big changes for the weekend. we will have that forecast shortly. >> that and more coming up. you are watching news channel 8, the station that's always on your side. better call behnken has done it again. reuniting tampa bay viewers with $2.3 million in unclaimed cash. >> shannon behnken is live at our phone bank. >> we had a $20,000 claim out

>> reporter: shannon behnken was on your side all night helping you cash in on money you never knew was yours. >> we help viewers reunite with $1.7 million. >> reporter: now there are over $2 million to choose the station that's always on your side. hey! is this enough? a little more... grandma! there's no more room. oh look who's here! i know i had one more... hmmm... more. how's it looking? 20 more minutes... 8, 9... we need 1 more yes... let's enjoy.

and she became friends with every animal she met. it's getting late, grandma should go. one more? in the end, all we really need more of, is each other. happy thanksgiving from publix.

hyundai dealers. visit your local hyundai dealer today or visit www.byahyundai.com. hollywood is well represented this year, including ellen degeneres, robert deniro, tom hanks and robert redford, diana ross, bruce springsteen, and tony winner sisley tyson. >> come into the light. >> the first look at going over in a big way. it's the first full trailer for the live-action beauty and the beast next summer. it had 127 million views in the first 24 hours. this no doubt helped, emma watson posted it on her facebook page accounting for 27 million views. one of the biggest cable reality shows is about to call a rap.

on april 12. the series premiered in 2012 and produced 130 episodes. it ranks as the most-watched nonfiction series and cable history. the decision to end the show after season 11 was a joint decision between the cast and the network. this year's ice sculpture exhibit in belgium is getting ready to open to the public. ice artists have been working on the ice sculptures since early november. british columbian artist andreas schlicthein says ice is like no other material he has worked with. >> ice is really wonderful to work with. it's not like wood or stone. it's attractive but tools go right through it. you just glide through ice and it makes such a nice sound. >> in case you missed it, it's like no other. he still have a chance to

this time last year, the clearwater tornadoes were knocked out of the first round of the playoffs by the baisch -- by charlotte. but they are now the team of the week. let's go to anthony allred with a look. >> reporter: facing the team that knocked them out of the first round of the playoffs last season, the clearwater tornadoes never let it happen again. >> last year was a big loss so we was ready. repaired, mentally and physically. we came out. >> we took that lost last year. we had to come back with a bunch of energy and we made it happen. >> reporter: the tornadoes jumped out to a 17 -0 lead in the second quarter and they never looked back from there. >> be decided so much going into the game. it's -- it just went from there.

>> reporter: the tornadoes got a hot trick of interceptions. special teams increased the lead with a couple of field goals that proved to be the difference in the game. >> mehmet topal great. lot of confidence. we prepared, preparation and everything. we can play against any team. >> reporter: tornadoes, holler at me. stay undefeated on the season. the tornadoes could have been the team of the week every week. and to feature after last year, after they got you, you got them back this year. that definitely took a total team effort and that's why you're news channel 8 of the week. >> [ cheering and applause ] >> reporter: congratulations to the clearwater tornadoes. news channel 8 team of the week. >> [ cheering and applause ] >> reporter: with the clearwater tornadoes, anthony allred. >> we coming.

today is the great american teach in, a chance for community members to speak to area schoolchildren about what they do and how school helped them get there. i talked with students at men didn't elementary school -- mendan elementary school. we landed right on the they had great questions and i learned many wanted to be doctors, sports players, teachers and a popular one today, helicopter drivers as they said. thank you to the school and ms. madison for having us out. it was a lot of fun. and it was a great day to fly. 80 degrees the recorded high. also peaking tomorrow night, the of -- the leonid meteor shower starts. look up to the northeast sky. up to 28 m an hour. the sky has been clear enough

better for tomorrow. these are the current temperatures at west. talk about a temperature divide. the changes in the last 24 hours for portions out west. denver is 45 degrees colder than it was 24 hours ago. 21 degrees colder up here in bismarck, north dakota. that's obviously associated with an area of low pressure and a winter storm. a blizzard watch for portions of the dakotas, minnesota. this area of low pressure is going western part of the country and move into that colder air. that's where it will add up combined with high winds and colder temperatures for winter weather in that part of the country. pretty chilly conditions for us locally. 79 degrees for saturday. 68 degrees for sunday. note that schefter difference between saturday and sunday. that is associated with a cold front, only a tiny chance of showers. this is also going on on friday. the next generation of weather satellites, those will

will be there with coverage. that's 5:42 am on saturday. seven days until thanksgiving. seven days. 34 days to the first day of the start of winter and 38 days to christmas. this year has gone fast. that's a live look at who obey. that's after sunset. civil twilight. just beautiful. 73 degrees with that easterly wind. 71 degrees. quickly, temperatures in the 60s before too long. we have a drier atmosphere in place. at hello andy of newport, that's guy has a beautiful glow. 69 degrees in the western part of pasco county and new port richey. and here in brandon, 73 degrees, same look to the sky. must be nice to be outside. at 9 pm, 67 degrees, 60 degrees at 7 am, 81 degrees at 4 pm. probably 74 degrees in st.

a lovely evening. temperatures topped out at 80 degrees. the forecast calls for high pressure to shift to the nice -- to the northeast. low-level moisture my pop a few clouds in the afternoon but still nice, near 80, some of those inland areas. changes come saturday with a cold front approaching the area. again, the rain chances are very low because it's dry ahead of the front. much cooler temperatures slide our way as we ge front will come our way and certainly early sunday morning, cooler temperatures will build into the area. limited moisture ahead of that front, stray shower late saturday. this is water vapor which shows extremely drier air moving and behind the front. much cooler temperatures. breezy. this comes along with a pretty good breeze. note that it will feel cool and temperatures will drop around the boundary. 81 degrees provide a, 79 degrees saturday, sunday 68 degrees, rain chances low.

sunshine. a nice warm up through thanksgiving but the rain chances remain low through this period. you have to think about your out-of-town guests that might stay a little longer than you would like. they should at least enjoy the nice weather. >> looks like a beautiful stretch. thanks. donald trump gets attention for a lot of things. one thing is his hair. >> we will introduce you to a bird that shares the donald's look and where it's getting a following of join us on news channel 8 great 38 every evening at 11:00. on nightly news, reading the signals from trump tower. is donald trump assembling rivals or will loyalty when the day? an arizona police officer under investigation. and young victims of an heroin epidemic. we will see you back here

now to headlines across america. hillary clinton made her first public appearance since the presidential election. the death -- the children's

her contributions to child advocacy. she once worked for the fund as a young staff attorney. in her remarks, the former secretary of state became emotional when remembering her mother and the difficult childhood her mom had. national intelligence director james clapper submitted his resignation to the house select committee today. he made the public announcement while testifying before the committee. clapper says he will leave his post january 20, the same day president obama leaves office. pence is back on capitol hill. he met behind closed doors with paul ryan in preparation for the transition of power but he posed for a selfie with the gop leadership conference as well. the house gop tweeted out this photo of all the members huddled behind vice president- elect mike pence as he held that sophistic. a chinese golden pheasant, which some say looks like donald trump, is attracting big crowd that the chinese safari park.

tourists. the bird is native to china and is among nationally protected animal species. news channel 8 at 6:00 is up next. >> stacy and keith have what we are working on. >> we have brand-new video of a car crashing into an ybor city bar. >> what led up to the destruction. plus, a motorcyclist killed in an unusual crash. how an off-duty deputy involved -- ended up involved in the tragedy. coming up. a they area doctor claims this place drags its feet paying its bills so he's done. the veterans trace program. >> those stories and you are storm team 8 forecast and sports with paul ryan coming up on news channel 8, the station

right now on news channel 8 at 6:00: >> the commotion that led up to a destructive crash at an ybor city bar. how new video helps investigators. an awful crash that killed a motorcyclist and left an of the veterans trace program. target 8 investigates who is to blame for this medical mess. and keith cate. >> and i thank you for joining us. some dramatic video from an ybor city bar where a fight broke out and the driver plowed into a crowd. chip osowski is joining us live from that bar and i understand one person is injured and police are still looking for the driver. >> reporter: as you can see

open. you can see where the car went through right there. a spokesman says the video the pee dee released today raises questions. get the driver intentionally drive into the crowd or was he simply trying to get out? the video captured by a nearby surveillance camera shows the fight breakout. punches are exchanged. you see the front end of a black sedan on the left side of your screen. take a close look at the tires. it appears the man behind the wheel is trying to leav appears he got hung up on the curb. he was turning the tires and we believe the engine was gunning. i don't know if he had it in neutral or dry put it would appear he was trying to get up over the curb.>> reporter: those who were there described the malay. >> it was chaotic. it happened really fast. >> reporter: the car then barrels into the crowd. most were able to escape to safety but michael silhol a