thanks to the help of target 8. >> thank you for joining us tonight. >> we do begin with an update on breaking news. eagle 8 hd is above the scene of a homicide arrests that went down the middle of a very busy roadway. you're looking live at the intersection of mlk boulevard and u.s. route 301 and hillsborough county. the person was wanted in a deadly shooting in st. petersburg earlier this afternoon. eagle 8 hd in st. petersburg just a little over an hour ago and the victim described as an elderly man was shot in a home and died of his injuries. tonight, a new number one in tampa bay but this top spot kind of hits rock bottom. the stats are out on which they area bar ranks the highest in duis. melanie michael is live on the busiest party night of the year. what's the new number one?

the newest members are out from the sheriff's office, monitoring the bars of hillsborough county were duis originate. that new number one is a place called the drink, where we are right now. obviously the drinkers were a lot of people drink. if you have ever had any doubt that thanksgiving eve was the night to hit the town, just ask these folks. >> happy thanksgiving! >> reporter: yup, it's the busiest biggest ba far where people dell -- where people gobble up cocktails and talk turkey with friends. >> reporter: what is it about the night before thanksgiving that draws the biggest crowds? >> it's everybody coming back home, being with their family and friends eight they haven't seen in so long. >> reporter: but this isn't just a few buddies for a few brewskis, the wednesday before the big day has recently taken on a new name that showcases shall we say a misbehaving

>> it's one of the busiest nights in the industry if not the busiest night. >> reporter: and a big battle for cops trying to keep duis down. back in 2014, this particular top spot were duis originated. since then, they have wrestled with the ranking by cracking down. >> shouldn't do while you are drinking. >> reporter: park your car, leave it here.>> you can leave it here and pick it back up tomorrow. >> reporter: if you are taking in this pre-turkey day downtown, you have another way to get from point a to point b, the downtown or, a free

there are really several ways to get home. uber, lyft, tabs, walking. you can leave your car in the parking lot. leavitt so you don't get behind the wheel and come back tomorrow and get it. do not get behind the wheel anytime this week. >> and we've had a problem with wrong way driver's. we have reported on that. horrible tragedies on roadways. people really have to >> reporter: and especially this weekend but we should tell you there are going to be a lot of dui patrols going on and doing the right thing isn't enough, it's $10,000. that's the average price for a dui. you could hurt yourself or someone else so just be good this weekend. don't get behind the wheel. >> be good and be thankful the following day. melanie michael live in tampa. and it is the busiest travel day of the year.

area highways. here is a live look at i-75 south of progress boulevard. things are moving along pretty well in both directions at the moment. it has been a busy day at airports all over the country. thousands of americans are flying home to see family for thanksgiving. we have seen delays at tia but passengers we spoke with say pretty smooth sailing so far. if you're headed to the airport tonight, check your flight status before you leave. pasco county deputies have arrested a 44-year-old woman for a series of toms brook that local businesses work investigators believe any of watson is responsible for three bomb threats -- anive watson is responsible for three bomb threats. >> she wouldn't stop crying

could get in trouble for this. she didn't realize how bad it was. >> deputies were already at her house for a shoplifting arrest. they're not telling us if that is somehow connected to the bomb threat. holding the powerful accountable. >> is the state attorney's office going to protect the law? >> stephen andrews is target 8. >> for nine years, then, target 8 got involved and for nearly a decade, a sebring veteran tried with no success to get the department of veterans affairs to listen to reason. >> he is dealing with heart problems and is worried that his wife might have difficulty receiving his and of its if something were to happen to him. the va refused to change his marital status from single to married. when a congressman couldn't get the job done, he decided to

maybe he could help. >> maybe he could. this wasn't really all that complicated. all it required was for someone at the va to do their job. keith and debbie said their idus in the 80s but for the last nine years he has tried to convince the va that he is married. >> i was starting to think they are not going to do anything. >> we were watching news channel 8 and we saw your story where you had hoped another set of says, we need to contact this guy. >> reporter: he served in the air force in the 70s, suffered a service-connected injury and he now receives a small disability check. i met with them in bradenton before he underwent a heart procedure. >> it has become urgent since i came to this heart failure situation. >> reporter: if something happens, keith wants to make sure debbie receives his benefits but for nine years,

>> all this time i said there is a problem. i asked what was the problem and they would never tell me. >> reporter: someone wrote down the wrong initial for debbie's middle name. keith turned to congressman tom rooney for help. >> he said the va does what it wants to do when it wants to do it. that is really not how that should be handled. >> reporter: i emailed the va november 15. the next day, the va sent this email to keith notifying him been changed. >> what a coincidence. >> because you made something without was basically impossible possible to happen. i am very grateful. >> you helped immensely. i want to thank you for that. >> i am hoping this makes your thanksgiving nicer. >> it makes it a lot nicer. >> reporter: nicer because he is married and therefore entitled to a little more from the va each month.

informing them that the va had already deposited the money it should have paid him dating back to 2012. it will be a nice thanksgiving for them. >> the va put stephanie wong middle initial and that screw the whole thing up. >> that's all we can find at this point. that and you need someone who is willing to do their job, wants to do their job. give credit to the people at the same burke -- st. petersburg regional office for taking care got involved. i think the reason this made news was because this was a fix that could have been done in 24 hours and it took nine years.>> that is ridiculous. glad it's resolved. >> thank you, steve. if you have a problem you would like steve to investigate, call our target 8 helpline at the number on your screen. to open or not to open is the question for retailers on

which stores are keeping their doors closed for the holiday. 79 degrees for a high temp and adding moisture back into the atmosphere. morning fog a good possibility even for thanksgiving. we look at the forecast and the

polk county deputies are looking for the grinch who stole teenagers bike. investigators tell us the victim rode his bicycle to the food mart in winter haven and left it outside. then this guy came along and rolled away on it. soccer shoe stores in tampa are packed today but don't count on picking up last-minute items tomorrow, publix is closed. they want to let employees spend time with their families. home depot and lowe's will also be closed tomorrow. target, prime outlets and westfield malls will be open but only in stores are open and which ones are not tomorrow, just go to www.wfla.com. thanksgiving wouldn't be the same without turkey. a law firm in clearwater makes sure 500 families can put a burden on the table. people lining out -- up outside carry neil's office to get the turkey. a bay area deputy is being recognized for his strength. >> what an incredible back

how he is still blowing away

hey! is this enough? a little more... grandma! there you go... there's no more room. 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. we need more rolls there was a little girl,

more? in the end, all we really need more of, is each other. happy thanksgiving from publix. where shopping is a pleasure. a sarasota county deputy just became a world champion weightlifter but that's not his only accolade. you see lieutenant johnny yong as the oldest corrections deputy in florida. >> and he has lived quite the life.>> reporter: good evening

lieutenant johnny yong works at the county jail. he is a kind, unassuming man who speaks six languages and you will soon find out why.>> world association bench -- broke lieutenant johnny yong will admit he is no spring chicken at 81 years old that you won't want to mess with him. he was just crowned world champion in his age group at the world bench press and dead lift championships. he holds multiple world records while jail. >> fitness is part of my life. >> reporter: but where did this come from? he showed me in an old video clip. >> that's you. >> always on the bar. >> oh my gosh. >> reporter: johnny yong is a former circus acrobat. >> the only ones in the world that performed this feet. >> reporter: johnny yong was born and raised in [null]

he and his brothers formed the young -- young days yonh -- formed the yonh duo. that not everything was as it seemed. >> that everybody that is in the entertainment has no hardships. we had hardships. >> reporter: he retired from sheriff's -- he retired from show business and began working for the sheriff's office. >> i'm going to stay working. >> reporter: and passing this test won't be an issue for a long time. lieutenant johnny yong lifted 250 pounds to emma gold medal you saw there. he says if he pushes himself he

doctors don't recommend that because i don't want him to strain himself so he is going to keep training and go back to the championships next year and try to reach the world record. >> i get a poll in the back just thinking about that. 81 and still pushing all that weight. that's amazing. john rodgers live in sarasota. now, max defender 8, the world's most powerful radar and your storm team 8 forecast with chief meteorologist steve jerve. >> marv an easterly flow with precipitation and right now, max defender 8 is looking all clear at the moment. the next couple of days we might see a few sprinkles come saturday with a cold front that will readjust temperatures a little bit but we're not expecting much in the way of precipitation. 74 degrees the current jim dray in lakeland, southeasterly wind up for me mean. thanksgiving forecast in the low 80s. looks pretty good depending on

more moisture in the atmosphere. when the mornings start at cooler, that means some patchy morning fog. just a heads up for the next couple of mornings. if you're headed out tomorrow morning and you're going to drive to the east coast, down south, something like that, just know that you could be dealing with fog in some spots. a great shot from lucerne park. our metro test this evening, 60 degrees. temperatures falling quickly into the 60s at most locations. 63 degrees for the low, humidity back in the atmosphere and a high of 81 degrees with partly c 72 degrees st. pete, sarasota. 73 degrees lakeland, north port 64 degrees, around the rest of the country a lot of folks hitting the road. they are traveling to see family and friends. 66 degrees los angeles, salt lake city 55 degrees minneapolis 49 degrees, cincinnati and boston around 39 degrees. really not extreme cold across the country but there are some travel delays. minneapolis and appear largely weather-related but less than a

around the rest of the country there's not much going on. flight delays are minimal but you have to watch the great lakes, the ohio valley in the northeast. across the country, you can see the weather occurring. rain on the coastal areas, cascades relatively dry now out in california. the west is quiet. most of the rain as you can see is in blue and white. snow largely for the great lakes. the northeast, relatively quiet. some approaching clouds and precipitation for the next 12 hours. you can see high clouds streaming our way and mid-level clouds. you have seen those in the sky for today. we have tropical storm otto with 70 miles per hour wins but was later windshear, it may strengthen into a hurricane before landfall. that would be the first hurricane landfall in costa rica since 1851.

in that part of the caribbean. tropical storm's, lots of tropical storms. westerly track across south america, nicaragua, and costa rica. could be some heavy rain associated with the system. this evening, some fairweather clouds but overall not expecting precipitation. same story tomorrow. low-level moisture equals early fog. nice afternoon for thanksgiving. sunshine and clouds. that trend will carry through friday. slight chance of rain. high temperatures drop into the upper 70s. sunday, a nice-looking day. next week, monday, tuesday and wednesday, temperatures in the low 80s with a slight rain chance for wednesday. [ gobble ] [ gobble ] >> i was waiting for the turkey to pop up. >> was that tatar or taught? >> i'm thinking it's taught because he got pardoned.

monday nights disappointing loss. dan lucas

sports on news channel 8 sponsored by your gold coast honda dealers . the bucs running back situation the bleak thanks to injuries. doug martin is back in the mix and life is good. it's about to get much better. two running backs back on the practice field. jacquizz rodgers coming off a sprained foot and also charles sims who injured his knee but is on the injured reserve designated to return list, is eligible to return after a 21 day practice window after the week 14 game.

this four-game suspension like an injury. the rules will change starting sunday, mike smith did not tip his hand up how the bucs will adjust but they spent a lot of time with vernon hargreaves, playing him at inside and outside corner positions. look for him to play a couple of spots against the seahawks. >> the great thing is we have cross-train him to do that so that gives us an option but we it gives us some flexibility. i think we have a pretty good idea of how we want to approach it. >> if it's suspension, injury, things like that, we've been dealing with that all year. you've got to have people to be able to play. that's why you have to continue to build depth. the people have to coming please. >> and my how roberto aguayo has turned things around. he is this week's nfc special teams player of the week

field goal performance against the chiefs on sunday. he is seven for seven now in his last four games. the lightning our home against the philadelphia flyers who played last night in south florida so it's the opponent for a change playing the back- to-back in this one. we expect the goaltender to start tonight. he just shut out the flyers last saturday. the both got much-needed rest on tuesday following a five- game road trip. took eight points out in nashville still stings a bit. >> we've been on the road a lot so you expect some games to maybe not have your legs but at the same time we hold ourselves accountable and that game wasn't good enough. >> the guys are doing whatever they can to win hockey games and i know we need to get through that. we came out with 10 points not road trip. it was big for us.

these home games. >> him the lightning worked on the penalty kills this morning. the flyers were 2-2 last night on the power play. >> something to watch. keeping them alive, the lightning glenn bishop celebrated his 30th birthday. when they returned to the arena today, the staff had a surprise for him. look at the custom take made for bishop. that is a set of teeth on top of that birthday cake. you remember when bishop lost both of his front teeth in that game not too long ago against the maple leafs. he treated his thanks to the rich and staff. >> how are his front teeth looking? >> they are in perfect shape. >> they are brand-new. >> you would never know. nightly news is coming up next followed by news channel 8 at 10:00. >> and news channel 8 at 8:00 on great 38.

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tonight, the getaway, tens of millions take to the road and the air -- the most in years. inside the new command center as the tsa tries to avoid a repeat of scenes like late details tonight, federal officials now say the driver in the school bus crash that killed five children should not have bee on that road. building a team -- president-elect trump names two women to top jobs, plus an exclusive inside the massish secret service plan to protect the new first family. high alert -- lester's look inside the nypd's bomb squad