deputy and a pitbull -- between a pasco county deputy and a pitbull. >> and mandatory evacuations where everyone is forced out by fire. >> reporter: jeff patterson in havana, cuba, where tonight a nation is in mourning. coming up we'll tell you how this country is observing the death of fidel castro. >> good evening. i'm jennifer leigh. >> i'm keith cate. thanks for joining us tonight. we begin with a split second decision caught on camera. a pasco county deputy shot off her finger while trying to defend herself from bernard is on the night beat in pasco county tonight. >> reporter: that deputy went to a home in hudson to investigate the first dog attack. as she entered a yard, this same dog attacked her and now that dog is dead. >> she was on her back and the dog was headed for her. >> reporter: jim ames pointed out the spot where pasco county deputy monica bray found

attacking pitbull. >> someone had cut the leash on her dog coming up the back way there. >> reporter: he tells me the incident started moments earlier. >> another person came in to steal her generator. he got bit on the bicep and wrist. >> reporter: deputy bray responded to the dog bite call. her body camera recorded everything. >> hello? [ barking ] >> reporter: suddenly the pitbull attacked. >> better stay there, >> get back. [ growling ] >> shot my finger off. i just shot my finger. >> reporter: in trying to fend off the attack deputy bray shot the dog and part of her left ring finger. >> i don't want to look at it. >> reporter: bleeding and in pain. >> mold on. get in my car. let's go. >> reporter: another deputy put her in his squad car. >> why didn't you put him out of his misery?

who lives in this tent in the woods doesn't believe the deputy had to shoot. her neighbor disagrees. >> i would say it was the dog or the female deputy. >> reporter: it's important to note that deputy bray has three pitbulls herself, so she's very familiar with the breed. as for the man bitten in the first part of that story, he is homeless and has some serious wounds. the deputy will be okay. >> what about the dog's owner, facing any charges, peter? >> reporter: most likely not. it appears somebody may have let that dog loose, at not. the deputies aren't saying anything about that right now. >> peter bernard on the night beat, thank you. breaking news, wildfires are wreaking havoc now no tennessee. tonight the tourist destination gatlinburg is under mandatory evacuation, thick orange smoke blanketing the town southeast of knoxville. this video was taken from inside the gatlinburg hotel. you can see the doors are closed and people are just looking outside at the smoke

users on social media are reporting that more than a dozen structures are on fire. the wildfire in the great smoky mountains national park is now about 500 acres because of strong winds. some more breaking news right now, evacuation orders are also in place because of a wildfire in lakewood, colorado. the fire burning on green mountain is now estimated to be 300 acres. fire officials did not say how many homes or residents are affected by the ev seen from denver, which is about 12 miles away. it is unknown what started the fire. new tonight authorities now believe today's attack at ohio state university may be linked to terrorism. according to the feds, the student abdul artan could be connected to a facebook page with grievances about attacks on muslims. investigators are working to figure out why artan went on

people hurt. nbc's chris palone shows us they're looking at his online posts for clues. >> reporter: midmorning calm, then chaos at ohio state university, one of the nation's largest college campuses. >> i was going to class, just all the people were running and was nervous. >> reporter: it was originally reported as an active shooter situation, but witnesses say a fire alarm caused a crowd to gather outside an engineering building. that's when a man in a car jumped the sidewa police say the man got out of the car and attacked bystanders with a butcher knife. >> we heard the chaos, shouts, screams, shouts, that kind of thing. >> reporter: an officer confronted the attacker, then shot and killed him. >> he engaged the suspect and eliminated the threat. >> reporter: law enforcement sources tell nbc news that the attacker was an 18-year-old somali living in the u.s. legally, a student at ohio state named abdul razak ali

they believe the attack was intentional. now they're trying to figure out why. one clue might be this facebook rant. federal officials say artan posted it shortly before the attack saying attacks on muslims around the world led to a boiling point. i can't take it anymore. >> this was done on purpose to go over the curb and strike pedestrians and get out and start striking them with a knife. that was on purpose. >> reporter: all victims are expected to survive, though the emotional wounds might take longer to heal. >> it's it's not supposed to happen. >> reporter: federal officials warn they're a long way from determining what set artan off. classes at ohio state resume on tuesday. >> we also learned today that artan's family came to the u.s. in 2014 from pakistan. they had been there seven years after fleeing violence in somalia. a rowdy mob of juveniles is blamed for looting a connecticut convenience store.

store after being at a party. they pretty much swiped whatever they could get their hands on while causing $4,000 worth of dan. police are still investigating the -- damage. police are still investigating the incident and looking for all those involved. a hillsborough county teacher is accused of molesting an 8-year-old girl. ament santiago was arrested today. he said this was not one of his students. eileen holden is planning to retire from polk state. under her leadership the college launched its first bachelors degree that led to a dramatic growth in enrollment and a name change from polk community college to polk state. holden retires in july of 2017.

president fidel castro. lines stretching in every direction alongside revolution plaza on what has been a day filled with emotion and uncertainty across the island nation. at the top of each other the boom of a 21 cannon salute echos through havana during this official nine-day period of mourning. we sent news channel 8 jeff patterson to cuba and he joins us from havana. >> reporter: good evening. tonight te respects to fidel castro. this is revolution square where he made many of his famous speeches. three popes have given mass at this location. the line here snakes all the way up into the monument as people file by the remains of fidel castro. he was cremated several days ago and this country is now observing nine days of mourning. there's usually music in the streets of havana.

locations have completely closed down. they aren't even selling alcohol anywhere in cuba to observe and pay respects to fidel castro. they may be dancing in the streets in miami, florida, but they aren't doing that here tonight. some of these people will literally wait hours to pay their respects to fidel castro. after the observances here a funeral procession will wind its way through the entire country as fidel will be laid to rest in santiago week. jeff patterson, news channel 8. >> jeff will be reporting all week from cuba. the funeral for fidel castro is presenting somewhat of a dilemma for world leaders. today the white house announced neither president obama or vice president biden plan to attend. president-elect donald trump took to twitter today to weigh in on how he plans to handle cuba after castro's death. always the obama's administration has worked to normalize relations with cuba,

a stop to it all. trump's surrogates on sunday criticize president obama's evolving cuba policy. >> what president-elect trump is also saying is that he just objects to the way that we reengaged diplomatic negotiations with cuba the last several years with this administration because we got nothing in return. >> trump's stand on cuba comes as commercial flights return to obama's first trip to cuba. right now parts of the deal south are under the gun for severe weather. storm -- deep south are under the gun for severe weather. storms caused a large tree to fall and fair a hole in in home's roof and land on cars parked as well, no injuries reported. a whole lot of potato chips burnt to a crisp in new smyrna

were called in. traffic was slow because people wanted to take a look, watch it burn. the cause of the fire is under investigation. well, are you feeling overloaded when you open up your mailbox lately? if, so you're not alone. >> coming up 8 on your side shows you how to put a stop to this unwanted holiday mailer mess. >> delta airlines takes charge of a passenger whose on board political rant sparked outrage. above normal, but a cold front says on the way and causing some rain in the mountains of tennessee, your forecast coming

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the political season is over and now the holidays are in full swing. >> as soon as we throw out the political mailers, our

catalogs. 8 on your side's jenn holloway has ways to stop being bombarded. >> we can all stop those ads from coming, but the keyword here is time. ask almost anyone walking the tampa river walk and kneel tell you the same thing. it's called junk mail for a reason. >> i just dump it. you mean how would i get rid of it for good? i don't know. now do you do that? >> reporter: according to earthtalk.org on average about 20 pounds of junk mail per year. >> it sucks. it's really annoying. >> reporter: how do we stop it? the federal trade commission has a couple suggestions. first get online in order to opt out. you can do it at a few websites including dmachoice.org or catalogchoice.org. you'll have to give up some of your personal information and it might take from 30 to 90 days to take effect. that probably means you are too late for this holiday season,

headaches down the line. >> sometimes you get so many junk mail you spend part of your day trying to get rid of them. it's very upsetting. >> experts also suggest calling the catalogs you do not want directly. the number is usually pretty easy to find. if that's too much trouble, i've included links to all those websites to opt out on our website. just go consumer watch tonight, there is still some type to shop cyber monday deals. americans are on track to spend a whopping $3.4 billion online today alone, a 9% increase from last year. as orders from amazon and other online retailers fly out the door, they don't always make it safely into your hand. porch prowlers are looking to take advantage. first experts recommend

fedex office. use smart gadgets for your home like a video doorbell with a camera that keeps an eye on your front step or start garage door opener. -- smart garage door opener. you can try out a sensor device that sounds an alarm if someone takes a parcel off of a motion detecting plate. new tonight jumping out of an airplane while taxiing won't get you to your gate any faster. watch closely. a woman runs across towards a terminal. after she pushed open the emergency exit and jumped out. it's unclear why the woman jumped out of the airplane, by the way. an unruly delta passenger got the boot from the airline permanently. >> this comes after his political rant was recorded and went viral on social media. the man is taunting, cursing, yelling at passengers who supported hillary clinton. since the video was posted last

after delta initially did nothing the #boycottdelta began trending on social media. >> he went off the plane 15 minutes, delaying our flight, came back on and said this is what you get for being a patriot loudly for the whole flight to hear and then sat down. >> delta ceo said he regrets the man was allowed to stay on the plane especially after he was originally removed. passengers on the flight will receive a refund. now max defender world's most powerful radar, and your storm team 8 forecast with chief meteorologist steve jerve. >> not this hour, but we did detect a few showers on mack max earlier today. things are quiet now. we had a few sprinkles around hillsborough county, actually produced a rainbow earlier. got some showers and thunderstorms occurring across the southeast, a fairly active day ahead of a cold front

the midwest. teddy bear roundup is on all the way through december 19th. dropoff locations are at www.wfla.com, regents bank and westfield shopping malls. toys for tots as well, same thing. the good thing is december 9th we'll have kindness day here at news channel 8. you can hit all these stops including feeding tampa bay as well as give blood, a 1 stop shop. dryest november on record is 1960, just a trace precipitation. in 19708 just .01. -- in 1978, just .01-inch. doesn't look like a great chance of getting measurable precipitation. so it will be on record one of the dryest, although proof of a few scattered showers here on the dunedin causeway, some little rain shafts here and there. not much rain fell at tampa

our temperatures will be above normal the next five days, normal or average being about 75 degrees, 83 tuesday, same wednesday, 80 thursday, 76 degrees friday. so temps will take relatively mild, but the conditions feel good. at 7 a.m. it's 607 degrees, warm for this time of year -- 67 degrees, warm for this time of year, close to 10 degrees above normal. the southeasterly flow is adding moisture back in the atmosphere. it's feeling more muggy this time of year. 71 degrees, could be some patchy fog. there is a front to the north of us and showers and thunderstorms racing out ahead of that. i mentioned the fires and we talked about the fires in the eastern and central part of tennessee. this is around knoxville in this general region. they are seeing some passing showers associated with the passage of this front, but we've heard some evacuations in downtown gatlinburg as we've just gotten word that the tennessee national guard has

section of tennessee as a result of the wildfires on ahead of that cold front. we hope for a little rain, but it also unfortunately comes with higher winds. clouds continue to lift north and clearer skies building in. we'll probably see more sunshine than today, a lot of clouds. a weak disturbance helped stir up the atmosphere a little bit combined with that southeasterly flow helping along the low level moisture. tuesday afternoon partly cloudy, much warmer temperaturlo today at many locations and you can see for wednesday morning more of the same, mostly dry, upper 60s. the cold front gets closer to us. the front won't have that same push in terms of creating showers and thunderstorms, but it will help provide some slightly cooler temperatures once it passes the area. thursday is still warm, probably our highest chance of rain associated with that front 20%. behind the front cooler, drier.

degrees, overnight low temperatures near 60, a little cooler saturday and sunday morning starts to warm up once again. cold fronts come through this time of year, drop the temperatures a little bit. we're really thinking about those folks in tennessee, very serious situation. >> i have family in the area. they say you get up in the morning and it happens around here sometimes, you get the fire in the air. it's in the air. you request smell it and see it, that's a big resort area. coming up next in sports one defensive bucs player left sunday's game wearing a boot. could it be something serious? >> there was a little controversy the end of the 1st half, what had coach koetter upset with the officials. >> news channel 8 will accept teddy bears for the rough

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sports on news channel 8 is sponsored by your gulf coast honda dealer. >> all right. let's hope this is all precautionary, but bucs defensive tackle gerald mccoy will undergo tests tuesday to check for damage to his ankle or his foot, somewhere in a bucs bonus insider roy cummings noted sunday mccoy wore a boat after the game. -- a boot after the game. so the bucs leaning on the side of caution with whatever bothered mccoy, but nothing bothered the bucs defense on a day that reminded fans of the great bucs super bowl defense of the past. in today's exclusive koetter's korner interview i asked head coach dirk koetter to expand on a little story he told sunday

falcons game. the coaches played some changes and the bucs defense has dominated ever since. >> how can we make a few changes and that's where the whole communication on defense. we said the no. one thing is we aren't communicating well enough. so if you aren't communicating well enough, the logical thing is scale it back a little. they kind of restructured their meetings. it's recommitted to communications and doing the basic stuff that smitty and r >> so check out the full version of koetter's korner up on www.wfla.com. don't forget to catch our exclusive chat with the head coach dirk koetter each monday during the season in our 6:00 newscast. you play recall a little controversy at the end of the 1st half on sunday. koetter and bucs players furious with officials over the clock running out while the bucs were trying to run a final play. here it is right here of koetter explained himself today

cameron brate was knocked out of bounds not the issue. it was the seconds that followed. >> my issue was just what took them so long to spot the ball? and part of it, it's a long story, but the mechanic has change of the umpire in two minute used to be behind the defense and he'd be right there for the players. for the umpire to have to run to the sideline, get a new ball and run back to the hatch, that's execution. i get the mechanics. an explanation for. >> bucs are standing there waiting to run a play. this is how you pass out t- shirts. usf basketball hosting kennesaw state tonight. lewis santos helped the bulls build a 20 point lead at halftime. four different bulls hit double figures tonight.

they just didn't get the ball put down in time. >> he's got a good point. they need to work on the mechanics. maybe the old way was better. thank you.

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tuesday morning, steve? >> well, it's going to be nice and warm for you, 67 degrees, probably a bit warmer than you'd like this time of year, but these days feel pretty nice, especially in the mornings and evenings. sunshine and clouds mixed throughout the day, a little more humidity than u' rain chances low increasing as the cold front gets closer to us the end of the week. time now for the night cap. an american bald eagle will soon taste freedom nearly two months after being hit by a car in clearwater. the bird was taken to busch gardens to have surgery on its injured wing. after it started flying they knew it was time to get the bird back into the wild. beautiful creature. it will be released tomorrow

park. >> it was kind of a standoff in the street. >> it makes you want to salute the bald eagle. >> exactly. jimmy fallon is coming up next. >> our next newscast is 4:30. have a great night! ? think of your fellow man. ? ? lend him a helping hand. ? ? take a good look around... ? ? ...and if you're lookin' down, ? ? put a little love in your heart. ? ?put a little love in your heart.? ? in your heart. ? (avo) the subaru share the love event is happening now and will have given ninety million dollars

o, that looks gross what is that? you gotta try it, it's terrible. i don't wanna try it if it's terrible. it's like mango chutney and burnt hair. no thank you, i have a very sensitive palate. just try it! guys, i think we should hurry up. if you taste something bad, you want someone else to try it. it's what you do. i can't get the taste out of my mouth! if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do. shhh! dog, dog, dog. [ 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 guests --