news channel 8's mary mcguire is live from st. pete beach. and mary, the last time you were out there, the thunder and lightning we were both, wow, what is it like right now? >> reporter: since the last live shot, we have moved to get away from the lightning. that was a little bit scary if the last half hour. the rains have been heavy this morning. and we have seen a lot of lightning and a thunder. and i know a concern for a lot of people as they head out the doors this morning is going to be the road conditions. and while we were driving over here from tampa to pinellas, we did see a lot of roads covered in water. and as you can see across the street from here, you're seeing a lot of puddling, a lot of big puddles of water. so folks definitely need to stay safe as they're going out their doors maybing their morning commutes. by tropical storm colin. residents here were under a sewer system emergency because that system was so indated by those flood waters. and since then, they have made upgrades to that system. they have increased the capacit

the new test was just implemented here at sun coast i'm mary mcguire, news channel 8. >>> should you plan a road trip ovthmonths? we'll tell you where gas prices are headed. >> plus find out where you could find girls in bathing suits and our own anthony all red on the river walk today. . >> this thursday at 7:00. and here is a look at the 2016 rio summer olympic games. i'm hillary clinton and i approve this message. letterman:"has a line of clothing, now where were these made?" trump: "these were made, i don't know where they're made. but they were made someplace. but they're great. it's ties, shirts, cufflinks, everything sold at macy's and they're doing great.? letterman: ?where e the shirts made?? off-camera voice: ?bangladesh.? letterman: ?bangladesh.? trump: ?well, it's good. we employ people in bangladesh." letterman: ?ties? where are the ties made?" they have to wo, too. these are beautiful ties. they are great ties. the ties are made in where? china? [ audience laughter ] z22qrz zy6z >>> on wall street today, the the s&p was do 36. >>> you can expect more good shows on show

i'm mary mcguire. >>> still ahead. haters are going to hate. that's what they say. olympic debut in front of a rather hostile crowd in rio. >>> now 8 on your side special coverage of the rio olympics. >> earlier this week wichita boxer hernandez. >> and now another american has his sights set on the podium. paul ryan checks in tonight from >> i'm thinking you know yeah they're cheering for me so i kind of use it for my advantage plus usa is a loud team and that's my country right there. i hear them from a mile away. >> reporter: vargas won a split decision. >> i can tell he's a grown man. it looks like he's in his 30s. so a teenager. so especially finding in his back yard that kin leave it in the hands of the judges. >> reporter: he turns 20 tomorrow. just in time for his round 16 match up. >> thank you for all your support. and thank you my family. hi mom. hi dad. i love ya'll and put on for my country. >>> and you can catch paul channel 8. you can also watch the special extras he's putting together on the olympic section of wfla.com. >>> it is certainly an excitin

mary mcguire joins us now where the book shop owner has put up a sign in response to this. >> in her new book amy schumer calls the city of tampa and claims people who live here don't know how to read. so this book shop owner put up this sign. stefani beddingfield was just about to close up decided to crack open comedian amy schumer's memory. gist a few pages in she couldn't believe what she was reading. >> i was on the road doing a tour and traveling between two horrendous cities fayetteville, north carolina, and tampa, florida. i'm not scared about making those people mad because i now for a fact no one who lives there has ever read a book. tampa and i'm reading a book. >> she took action changing the sign in front of her store which reads dear ms. schumer give us another chance love the three people who read. we asked the mayor if he read it. >> based on what she read she had a heck of a one night stand. there are some entertainers doing their jobs. that's a good thing. >> now amy schumer will perform in tampa in october and you can bet she will address this controversy when she i

mary mcguire was there as the two made their friendship. >> reporter: a tiny fluffy white puppy with pink ears. >> he was the cutest ever. >> reporter: when asked by her dream coordinator what her dream come true might be the answer came easily. >> i have my own one. >> lymphoma in may of last year she's been undergoing treatments and johns hopkins hospital. never giving up on a dream of a puppy. after hearing about her request the children's dream fund searched far and wide and found the perfect pooch and found them in missouri. >> it make misheart bursts with >> we seen things from the puppy that showed he would be opened to the young girl. and that we think trainability is good. >> reporter: this morning the two met at the tampa international airport. celebrating casper's arrival and lacy's cancer remission. reporting in tampa mary mcguire news channel 8. >> children's dream fund has been making dreams come true for children with illnesses since 1981. >>> marco rubio is fighting to keep his senate seat. it has not been an easy battle. coming up, why he is getting heated from the l

mary mcguire is live at a sandbag filling location. so mary, a lot of people are not taking any chances, especially after last summer's widespread flooding. >> reporter: well, they are taking the same better safe than -- they are taking the saying better safe than sorry to heart. it's time for folks to come out and scoop up the sandbags ahead of forecasted wet weather. sandbags rely line of defense against flooding. across the bay area, sandbag filling stations are opening up for residents as flooding remains a concern in many areas. steve lives on the hillsborough river and came to load up on sandbags just in case. >> well, we want to make sure that all of the debris is cleared out by the curb so the water will flow into the storm drain. when we had that series of hurricanes when we were threatened by charlie, i was out there in a poncho with a and away from the curb so the water could flow freely. i think that's important. >> reporter: additionally, officials are requesting residents with a storm drain check to ensure that the drain i

mary mcguire is live near 275 where this happened. mary, first of all the big question this morning , are there any injuries here? >> reporter: thankfully everyone is okay but that's hard to believe once you see the video of these cars. they are mangled after this fiery crash. i just drove across the howard frankland bridge to pinellas county and then back here to hillsborough and you can see that that crash is completely clear so there won't be any traffic tie ups this morning. this happened after a third car slammed into those two cars and they lit on fire. now let's take a little bit of that video that we shot from earlier this morning. this all happened right after 2:30 on 275 near tampa when a st. petersburg police officer stopped to asis -- assist a motorist who had broken down in the northbound lanes. a third vehicle crasheded into -- crashed into the cruiser and the other car. the other car caught on fire. the florida highway patrol is we don't know the name of the police officer involved in this crash or the identity of any of

mary mcguire is live. first of all, weave seen we've -- we're seen what can happen in crashes like these. any injuries? sglz thankfully everyone is -- >> reporter: thankfully everyone is okay. more good news, the crash was completely cleared from the howard frankland bridge. this fiery crash broke out after a third car slammed into two cars on the howard frankland br e i want the show you video that we have from around 2:30. that's on i-275 near tampa when a st. petersburg police officer stopped to assist a motorist who had broken down in the northbound lanes. a third vehicle crashed into the cruiser and the disabled car. no one was hurt but those two other cars issue not the police cruiser, caught on fire. the florida highway patrol is now investigating this crash and we do expect a little bit more information on what led up to this a little bit later today. they were left in, it's unbelievable that no one was injured this this crash, paul. >> it certainly is. i know a lot of people are asking the questio

mary mcguire, this is good video. >> reporter: they say the best defense is a good offense. that rings true in this case. the homeowner was able to catch the face and the boy of the bad guy. they say the best defense is a good offense. >> i don't have a big enough house. i don't ve exterior. but it doesn't matter. >> derek cunard is glad he took the saying to heart after he caught this bad guy in the living room monday. >> i feel like reaching through and grabbing his face and saying get out. >> reporter: this guy got away with thousands of dollars in vintage watches, expensive sunglasses, cash, and other south tampa burglaries. over the past six months. the crooks face and voice captured crystal clear thanks to cunard's at home security camera. a new tool that could help authorities. >> without the video, you have no clue what could have happened. you have to imagine what the possibilities are. how they got in or out. with the video in place, everything is clear cu offering up to a $3,000 reward for anyone with information leading to an arrest. i'm mary mcguire, newschannel

mary mcguire spent the day at the sun coast blood center in sarasota. she joins us to let us know about these tests. >> reporter: many of the people receiving blood from centers this already have weakened immune systems from diseases these new tests make sure they are not hit with a one-two punch. >> you are sitting in a chair. you can watch tv. >> reporter: rod millington has donated blood countless times over the past couple of years once every three months to be exact. >> you feel good about donating and helping your community and helping people out.>> reporter: today was a bit different. after one point of his blood was collected this afternoon, it will go through a set of new screening tests for a variety of pathogens including the zika virus. >> we are always concerned about the latest pathogens. for us, we do have pathogen inactivation of our platelets which has been proven effective to render the zika virus in the virus. >> reporter: these tests reduce the risk of tainted blood making its way into patients suncoast was the first blood center in

mary mcguire first reported on mold concerns on wednesday. and mary, we were talking about this. parents are very upset. >> reporter: well, since that many parents and school staff here in largo reach out to me and they believe that the ceo of the charter school company is lying about the mold problem but he is absolutely adamant that the school classrooms are safe. now on friday night, dozens of parents packed into the cafeteria to grill the ceo of the charter school's parent company. before the meeting, several parents showed us the classroom, pointing out what they believe is mold near a vent, wet floors where the tiles are coming up d where they claim paint is hiding the mold. they are pointing their finger at the charter school's ceo and they want answers. >> when i come to school, all i do is cough. and in my first period class, i'm could having and could having and yakking. >> reporter: he maintains there is no mold showing five tests done by companies he claims prove that the classrooms are safe for students. the meeting will take place at we do expect to have a crew can

news channel 8's mary mcguire is at a sandbag filling location. and our ryan hughes is at ray jay with the buc's big decision to move thursday night's game. we start our team coverage with leigh. leigh, what's going on with the storm? >> right now, hurricane hunters from macdill air force base right here in tampa left about 12:30. they have been flying around the center of circulation. they found about a 33 miles per hour wind. again, not just a graphic. this is actually gps tracking where the plane is. it left out of macdill air force base. once we get the information from this flight, we will have more information and we will get a new forecast track from the hurricane center within the half hour. stay with us. this is the 11:00 p.m. update, 35 miles per hour winds. it was still a tropical depression. it is expected to become a tropical storm before making the turn to the northeast sometime tomorrow. this is 8:00 p.m. on thursday. you can see how during the evening on wednesday and throughout the day on thursday, our weather will get much worse.

you can bet we are going to check up. >> mary mcguire live in largo. thank you very much. >>> a pinellas county mother is demanding answers after her daughter was dropped off at the wrong school bus stop. now, that bus driver is off the job. her 8-year-old daughter was missing for more than an hour. the child was dropped off at a bus stop more than 20-miles a way from where she should have been. the mother told us the substitute bus driver doesn't >> and she was crying and i could not understand what she was saying. a woman had found her. she didn't know where she was. so the woman got on the phone and told me she was in tarpon springs. it was very upsetting and traumatizing really. >> wow! well pinellas county school officials told us the substitute bus driver did not follow policy or meet expectations. again, that bus driver has been taken off the job. >>> the fsu student accused of a gruesome his eyes since this incident. you may remember the 19-year- old was biting off flesh from the face of one of his victims. now that has awake everyone is anxiou

news channel 8's mary mcguire is live at a sandbag filling location. a lot of people aren't taking chance, especially after last summer's widespread flooding. >> reporter: you have that right, gayle. they are adopting the philosophy to be better be safe than sorry. and you can see there's still a lot of sand here in south tampa for people to scoop up today in preparation for the wet weather. homes and property, sandbags are the first line of defense against flooding. across the bay area, sandbag filling stations are opening up for residents as flooding remains in a concern. steve came to flowed up on sandbags just in case. >> well, we want to make sure that all of the debris is cleared out by the curb so the water will flow down. when we had the hurricanes and out there with a rake pulling the debris down and away from the curb so the water could flow freely. i think that's important. >> reporter: additionally, officials are requesting that residents with a storm drain on the property check it to ensure that the drain is clear of debris including leave

and as mary mcguire shows us, state officials are working to find out where the person contracted the illness. >> reporter: officials are not telling us where that person living in pinellas county, only that a person here in pinellas county does have the zika virus and they didn't contract it by traveling to any known hot zones including miami. it is the news we never hope to hear. the zika virus in our own backyards. governor rick scott revealed the latest case of nontravel related zika in pinellas county. >> we only have two areas we believe have local transmission. >> reporter: the question remains where did that person contract the virus? at this point, we don't know that it happened in pinellas county. efforts now shifting to find out the answer to that question. >> we need to start doing strategic testing with the family, where the individual worked. all those things. >> reporter: the governor insists there are only two known direct transmission zones the first area, is a one square mile portion in the wynwood neighborhood. the second area in miami beach. >> the good news there

news channel 8's mary mcguire has more on how the investigators were able to get the suspected killer locked up. >> reporter: several agencies including clearwater police, tarpon springs police and florida department of law enforcement all worked together to take this bad guy down. here's a look at the suspect, 39-year-old frederick bentley. police tell us both bentley and 27-year-old torenzo smith lived at this motel when an argument broke out early saturday morning. bentley then reportedly pulled out a gun and shot smith at a close range. news channel 8 caught up with the victim's first cousin who tells us his family is absolutely devastated after this loss. >> we can only stand together as a family at this point in time. we'll be taking it pretty tough because it being somebody really close to us and it being my aunt's baby boy, you know, so it's going to be tough, definitely going to be tough. >> reporter: after obtaining an arrest warrant, authorities found bentley walking down a road in clearwater. he was taken into custody without incident and is now charged with one count of f

in pasco county i'm mary mcguire news channel 8. >> they just sent us the update from the spca. bellisima had surgery, check her out. she's doing absolutely great. doctors say the surgery was successful and she's in recovery right now giving her a thumbs up. >>> the olympics are coming to a close tonight and tomorrow and that is all that is left. i me here. but there are still a few more wins. they are looking to add even more tonight. what you can expect to see tonight when we come back. >>> we'll have that and more coming up. you're watching the station that is always on your side. well, when you have copd, it can be hard to breathe. to get air in. so i talked to my doctor. she said... symbicort could help you breathe better, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. symbicort helps provide significant improvement of your lung function. symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort contains formoterol. medicines like formoterol increase the risk of deat

news channel 8's mary mcguire has more on how investigators were able to arrest the suspected killer. >> reporter: several different agencies including clearwater police, tarpon springs police and the florida department of law enforcement all worked together to take this bad guy down. here's a look at the suspect, 39-year-old frederick bentley. police tell us both bentley and 27-year-old torenzo smith lived at this motel when an argument morning. bentley then reportedly pulled out a gun and shot smith at a close range. news channel 8 caught up with the victim's first cousin who tells us his family is absolutely devastated after this loss. >> we can only stand together as a family, you know, at this point in time. they're going to be taking it pretty tough because it being somebody really close to us and it being my aunt's baby boy, you know, so it's going to be tough, definitely going to be investigating the scene and obtaining an arrest warrant authorities found bentley walking down a road in clearwater. he was taken into custody without incident and is now charged with one count of

mary mcguire is joining us there live. >> reporter: tampa police tell morning. we have video i want to show you as >> the driver is shook up. she was on her way she never could have saw the individual coming across the street in this area in this darkness. >> reporter: this area is closed off to all drivers. it is expected to be closed off until 7:30 this morning. we know the medical examiner is expect. ed to ex-- expected to be here to examine the pedestrian that was when the area reopen. >> thank you very much. >>> this this morning work to fill a sinkhole next to a hudson hole is at a stand still. a permanent fix will resume in the coming days. it lead to cracks in nearby drive ways. the hole formed on sunday causing the pavement and the ground to fall into the ground. the county is thrilled that it wasn't any worse. >> with all the rain we had in afternoon thunderstorms, i'm appreciative of this family for getting this done as quickly as they are. >> another sinkhole hoped up in the same spot in 2009. the home has been sold twice since then. >>> the woman ac

mary mcguire first reported on the concerns. and she is live in largo. mary, good morning. how is the ceo this? >> reporter: well, melanie and gene, he is adamant that there's no mold in the classrooms here in largo. but many parents believe that he is just cofering the problem up. now on friday night, dozens of parents packed into the cafeteria here at plato academy to grill the ceo of the charter school's parent company about what may be making their children sick. before the meeting, several parents showed us the classrooms, pointing out what tiles are coming up and places where they claim paint is hiding the mold. and they are pointing the finger at the ceo who made us this pledge -- >> i'll donate the funs for you to go out and get your own reports of a company of your choosing. >> reporter: independent? >> independent. and i will pay for it personally. >> reporter: now he maintains there's no mold showing us five tests done by envideo impleteal environmental companies that he claims show the rooms are safe for students. and i've had many parents reach out saying that

i'm mary mcguire news channel 8. >> extra background checks to keep your kids safe at daycare sounds like a great decision, right? until so many sign up that it clogs the computer system for dcf and as melanie michael the middle. >> tina gill has one of the most important jobs in the world. she takes care of your kids. >> we knew this was coming. and we were warned as providers. >> as a mother of two who run as daycare in brandon. tina knows how important it is to have employees thoroughly screened. >> it's a great thing. >> they go through a series of local, state, and federal background checks now add to that list two more layers, a offender registry. sounds like a great idea until all those providers apply at once. we reached out asking why the backlog is so bad. they tell us they've added additional resources. >> in the end it ends up hurting the children because we can't get the quality teachers in the classroom. >> she says that's why she reached out in the first place. sthaegsz used to -- process that used to take 24 hours can take up to three weeks. >>> two more cases of the

mary mcguire was there as the two made their friendship. >> reporter: a tiny fluffy white puppy with pink ears. >> he was the cutest ever. >> reporter: when asked by her dream coordinator what her dream come true might be the answer came easily. >> i have my own one. >> lymphoma in may of last year she's been undergoing treatments and johns hopkins hospital. never giving up on a dream of a puppy. after hearing about her request the children's dream fund searched far and wide and found the perfect pooch and found them in missouri. >> it make misheart bursts with

reporting in tampa, i'm mary mcguire, news channel 8. >>> after the deaths of two teens a dangerous road is finally getting a sidewalk. both teens were hit and killed while walking to or from tenoroc high school along old dixie high school in polk county. the rush is on to finish that project. >> reporter: good evening. this is the busy stretch of roadway that students ar forced to walk on without a sidewalk. but not for much longer. >> we walked for about three years completely. >> reporter: that's when life changed for anna lee hernandez. her older brother, enrique hernandez, was walking to tenoroc high school along old dixie highway when a driver hit and killed him. >> he had big plans, going into the army and doing all this great stuff, but, i mean, he didn't make it through his senior year. didn't get to graduate and it walk on the edge of the pavement or along the shoulder. >> reporter: his death has prompted changes to this dangerous road. >> there was that kind of a public outcry for the need for the sidewalk, so the county commissioners opted to fund the three phases of the side

mary mcguire spent the day at the sun coast blood center in sarasota. she joins us to let us know about these tests. >> reporter: many of the people receiving blood from centers this already have weakened immune systems from diseases

mary mcguire first reported on mold concerns in largo on wednesday. she is live in largo this morning. mary, why are the parents outraged? >> reporter: well, after that original story aired, i had many parents reach out to me and they believe that the ceo of the charter school company is lying to them about the mold that could be in the classrooms. but he maintains that they are safe. now on friday night, dozens of parents squared off with the before the meeting, several parents showed us the middle school classroom, pointing out what they believe is mold near a vent and places where they claim paint is hiding the mold. they're pointing the finger at the charter school ceo and they want answers. >> when i come to school, all i do is cough. and in my first period class, i'm coughing and coughing and ya is no mold, showing five tests done by environmental companies that he claims prove that the classrooms are safe for students. again, the meeting will take place at 6:00 tonight here at plato academy in largo. and we plan on covering everything that has.

news channel 8's mary mcguire is live from st. petersburg. and i'll tell you, it's really >> reporter: yeah, we have heard a lot of thunder rolling in and claps of lightning out here. and i want to show you something, when we got out here, none of this water was here but so far, in just the hour that we have been out here, the water levels have really risen. my boots almost completely covered by the water that is coming in. we have seen waves crashing up from the bay as the there you can see a lot of lightning out here. and this was an area that was very hard hit during tropical storm colin. we know there was a sewer system emergency. and residents could not use water for days because there was such -- you can hear the thunder and the claps of lightning. they could not use their water for days because of the sewer system emergency. but since then, the city has capacity by about 3 million- gallons. the goal is to make sure that none of the raw sewage water goes into people's homes out here. and another concern, when you're dealing with floodin

mary mcguire is live from there. how are folks in pinellas county getting ready for the pope benedict social severe -- for the potential severe weather? >> reporter: well, the mayor called tropical storm collin a dress rehearsal. we are here at woody's water front cafe. and i want to show you video from when tropical storm collin we saw savage waves rolling in back in june. the tropical storm showed us how mother nature can bring her a-game when it comes to hurricane season. after four decades of marriage, they have seen a storm or two. they know when it comes to weathering bay area weather, timing and patience is everything. >> we are taking it seriously. we are taking it in stride. but like she said, we have a hurricane box packed and we're ready if we have to go. >> reporter: now in the tropical storm collin, residents here in st. pete beach were restricted on water use for days due to a sewer system emergency. now going into this potentially severe weather this week, the sewer system has not just been upgraded bu

our mary mcguire is live from the filling station in south tampa where people can come and it scoop up some sandbags -- come out and scoop up some sandbags today. what do residence need to know? >> reporter: good morning, gene. most popular place in town as folks prepare for the forecasted wet weather. before you head out to scoop up some of the sand, bring proof of residence single -- within an hour of opening, 150 bags had been given out. a lot of people adopting the philosophy, better safe than sorry. >> i think it's important. just for peace of mind. even if the weather doesn't hit, i have a couple bags. it will help me shore things up a bit. and i think it's important to allow communities to prepare themselves. a number of locations are set up all across the bay area to give them out for this week. bring to get those sandbags up on wfla.com for you to check out. and additionally, officials are urging residentses that have storm drains on their property to make sure they are clear of all debris so -- urging all residents that have storm drains on their property to make sure those a

mary mcguire, newschannel 8. >> walkable city. i like that title. >> love it. >> very nice, lace up your shoes. >>> a florida native made his olympic debut in front of a hostil >> we're going to show you how this teen olympian did against a star brazilian athlete, that's coming up. >> the radar has quieted down tonight. it looks like we'll be having more showers and storms, as we start the brand new school week. your full forecast is coming [chicken crows] honey what are you doing? oh, what's it doing? [cow crows like chicken] impressions. [cow crows like chicken] power up your morning with a new 300 calorie egg white grill. only at chick-fil-a. to thrive in an ever-changing environment, companies must adapt. but one thing should remain constant - corporate and institutional banking offers strategies tailored to your company's needs. know that our dedicated teams of local experts offer insight to help you achieve your business objectives. see how working with pnc can help your company grow at pnc.com/ideas >>> earlier this week, w

news channel 8's mary mcguire where water, mary, literally i'm being told filling the streets. >> reporter: yeah, that's certainly right, paul. you can see behind me, the streets are filled with water. and they have placed bare kids up. we are in the downtown gulf port area. they placed barricades so folks cannot drive into the area. we have seen some cars defying the signs and driving in the flood streets. but turn around, don't drown.

reporting in clearwater, i'm mary mcguire, news channel 8. >>> morton plant hospital has been offering the service for about two years now. brennan said she has helped deliver thousands of babies over the course of that period. >>> joining us now with a check of first at 4 weather. watching the system churning in >> a lot going on right now as we speak. it's pouring outside the studio. we've got a lot going on in the tropics as well. let's take a live look outside. you can see, we did have heavy rain. already a decent amount of rain to start off your monday. and this is just a taste of what we will be seeing as we head throughout the west of this -- rest of this week. let's take a look at radar. you can see scattered showers and storms, pushing toward the coast. i think as we head into the fairly early evening hours. you can see heavy point. very heavy rain. a lot of lightning. up through gulf gate estates. all of this heavy rain and these storms pushing off towards the west. tracking heavy rain across palm harbor. rain moving into st. pete as we say. more rain headed your way. if you'

and now the wrath is saying it's going to be maryy jane.ja mary jane kirsten dunce played e her in the spiderman movies with mr. toby mcguireary jane touring cot rap it's not confirm yet acrosss from tom hold land the newhe new spiderman which by the way if wy you saw captain america civil war, he is the best spiderman ever seen on screen.een on scr i'm very excited to see how thii plays out how his promo filmil plays out.plays out he was so great in that civilt l war environment with iron manh m and captain america and ant man. i'm excited to see how he doesod on his own. own so zendaya will be joining him apparently, joining him as marym jane they are couldn'tjane philadelphia internationalphia airporting that but not 100% confirmed from her or the studio yet. >> we are excited about that. >> it will be cool. be >> it is. >> third rematch ginning of gini spiderman.sp i'm looking forward to seeingids that. >> we're looking forward to.o >> by the way if someone wantsee to, f so and hit the number of times if s said apparently i think i saidd it 35 times because so manyse s things that are alleged.aled >> right.>> >> i think