Respects from california. Tonight we honor his Extraordinary Service to our nation and remember one of the towering legal figures of our time. Reporter Justice Scalia was 79, the longest serving justice on the Current Court but his death at a texas ranch came without warning and it came in the middle of a Landmark Court calendar than nothing less than the boundaries of president ial power under review. His passing sets the stage for a political battle over his successor and the Supreme Courts balance of power. On a polarized bench, he was well known for his sense of humor, as his fiery descents. The cornerstone of a conservative wing that influenced the law of the land on issues ranging from affirmative action and abortion to gun ownership and free speech. Not to mention obama care. But he was a firm proopponent of the letter of the law, not the proopponent of the letter of the law, not the intent. The nations first Italian American justice was appointed in 196 by president ronald rage reagan. But fair conservative. I am not going on the court with a list of things that i want to do. My only agenda is to be a good judge. He was confirmed unanimously, 980 by the senate. An unlikely snareo for his successor. President obama says he will choose a nominee but leaders of the Republican Controlled Senate have made it clear they do not want to move forward until a new president is seated next year. Brian moore, nbc news, washington. And now 8 on your side, special coverage, from cuba, as the u. S. Considers lifting the cuban embargo. Congressman cathy castor and a group of u. S. Representatives left Tampa International airport today for havana. 88 on your side jeff patterson, the only reporter there to cover that trip. And tonight, jeff talked with the congresswoman, just after she arrived about what she and the other representatives are hoping to accomplish while there. In just one year since being in havana, i am seeing a lot of construction under way, hotel under construction behind me. There are tourists everywhere. In old havana. And this is exactly what the u. S. Congressional delegation has come here to see, and to find out how it is all impacting the average cuban. I think youre right, jeff. There is a lot happening here. Thousands and thousands of american tourists are here. In addition to european and many others. And that is changing the face of old havana. I wonder what is happening further outside the city. Reporter congresswoman cathy castor is leading this group of u. S. Representatives to see what life is like in cuba today. They will be seeing what a growing number of americans are now experiencing. As they can now travel to cuba for the first time, in decades. I would like to talk to the entrepreneurs and Small Business owners about their hopes. She will be talking to Small Business owners like Fernando Garza gonzalez, who we met in his private restaurant. My business is a new business. Only three months, i opened this business. He has 10 employees working here. Something he wouldnt have dreamed of until recently. I only work to the government, you know. And now i have more work. More work, also more opportunity. While theyre here, cathy castor and the u. S. Congressional delegation are even going to talk to some people about these beautiful cars to find out how they keep them on the road and to find out how they are profiting from american tourists coming to cuba. In havana, im jeff patterson, news channel 8. 8 on your side is the only television station bringing you these reports from cuba on this trip. Jeff patterson will continue to bring us stories from havana all week long. Tonight, all of u. S. 19 is back open after a very large brush fire in northern hernando county. The firefighters worked for hours to contain this fire, at the weeki wachee area. It did jump several roads. Voluntarily evacuated. However, no homes or businesses were actually ever in danger. There is a house down here at the end of the road. So i contacted them, to try to get a hold of them, and they were on their way up here. Somebody else had gone over there and trying to alert them, get them out of the house. Thank god everybody is okay. There are no reports of any injuries. And again, u. S. 19 is back open, in both directions. Thousands of people descended on ybor city, in a quest for these. The annual fruit of santiago night parade was a success with no major incidents to report. We have more from the parade route from chip. Police were out in full force but the bigger question is where are my beads . Are those mine or yours . Reporter i will get to that in a moment but first, police were out in force and still out in force at this hour as people are making their way out of ybor city. There were no major issues at but there have been in previous years. Police were determined this would be an enjoyable and a safe event. There were the floats. There were the bands. And there were the cops. Lots of cops. A visible presence to ensure a safe night parade. Tampa Police Working with the Hillsborough CountySheriffs Office to put Law Enforcement officers all over the place. We have a mixture out here. You see officers on horse. You will see officers on bike. You will see officers in uniform. You will see officers just in plain clothes. So we will definitely have a good mixture of Law Enforcement officers who are trained to work events such as this. Reporter every year, thousands attend the night parade. Natalie johns supporting her pirate glasses. Appreciates the added security. Actually makes me feel awesome because i live within two blocks from here and i was able to get off work and come right home and got in around the way from clearwater. And i feel super safe knowing that this is here, with all of the security. Reporter other paradegoers are not convinced it really does make a difference. Well, i grew up here. I have been actually coming to this since probably i was five or six years old. No, i dont notice a difference. This always seemed pretty safe to me. Reporter and i did speak with a tpd spokeswoman after the parade ended. She told me officers did not make one single arrest during this years night parade, call the 2016 night parade a success. And on the bead front,dy get my hands on a i did get my hands on a few beads. I will get those to you tomorrow. I kind of want to go through them before i give some of them up. I know which one, you want to pick out the best beads to keep for yourself. I can respect that. You had to earn them. Come on. Bead, brother, i understand. Chip, thank you very much. I didnt do anything illegal. See, i wasnt going to say anything about that at all. But okay, i understand. [ laughter ] thanks, chip. We appreciate it. In other headlines of the day, Hillsborough County deputies have identified two people of interest in connection with a homicide this morning near usf. They would like to talk to 24 yearold efron rosata and 20 yearold jeffra sereno, after a man was found at Aberdeen Apartments at sycamore count. If you know where they are the hear from you. Two new cases of the zika virus in florida this week. What tampa officials are doing to eliminate mosquitoes. A bitter bat until South Carolina, as republicans spar at the last debate before the First Southern primary. It got pretty heated indeed. Speaking of heated, not heated in parts of the country. In fact, the northeast is temperatures they have seen all season. I will let you know if any of that cool air is heading in our direction coming up in just a i think we shouldve taken a left at the river. Tarzan know where tarzan go tarzan does not know where tarzan go. Hey, excuse me, waterfall is . Waterfall . No, me tarzan, king of jungle. Why dont you want to just ask somebody . You fight over directions. Its what you do. Fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. Oh ohhhhh its what you do. Ohhhhhh this week, two new cases of the zika virus were reported in florida, bringing the statewide total up to 20. Three of those 20 cases are right here in the bay area. Steps to eliminate mosquitoes by disposing of old tires. The tires are a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes because they can collect standing water. Tampa residents can drop off old tires from now until next saturday. Residents can take up to eight tires to the mckay bay waste energy facility. You will need to bring a utility bill and a matching i. D. With you. Tonight, a followup to a story that we first told you about last week. Some university of tampa students who collected bottles of water for the people of flint michigan delivered that water today. The group delivered nearly 30,000 bottles and gave some to people in neighborhoods and went door to door to hand that water out to them and some of the bottles of water they collected went to a church. One member of the group is from flint. And wanted to do his best to help. The Phi Sigma Fraternity members also pitched in to help. Just hours after Justice Antonin Scalias death a debate begins who should appoint his replacement. Coming up the republican candidates for president weigh in during tonights very heated g. O. P. Vo know you have a dedicated advisor and team who understand where you come from. We didnt really have anything, you know. But, we made do. Vo know you can craft an Investment Plan as strong as your values. Al, how you doing. Hey, mr. Hamilton. A meaningful legacy. With the guidance and support of your dedicated the republican candidates for president squared off in a rather heated debate tonight in South Carolina. It is one week before that states primary. However, the death of Supreme CourtJustice Antonin Scalia was a topic of discussion. It it has not only put a new focus on the future of the court but the candidates as well. And the candidates praised the longtime conservative justice. He will go down as one of the great justices in the history of this republic. The senate needs to stand strong and say we are not going to give up the u. S. Supreme court for a generation by allowing barack obama to make one more liberal appointee. The South Carolina primary by the way is again next saturday, february 20. Meanwhile, this weekend in saint petersburg, Supporters Holding a music event, a festival, that will encourage people to register to vote before the primary deadline next week. Supporters are also encouraging voters to change their Party Affiliation. Florida does have a closed primary. Which means voters must be registered as either democrat or republican. That festival continues tomorrow at the chimatic studios in saint petersburg. Floridas primary is march 15. The deadline to register to vote or change your Party Affiliation is tuesday, february 16, this tuesday. We put everything you need to know about the primary on www. Wfla. Com. Today, thousands of catholic faithful greeted pope francis in mexico city, waving to the pontiff as he passed in the popemobile. The pope celebrated mass at the basilica of the virgin of guadalupe, considered by catholics to be the most important shrine to the virgin mary in the world. Three people are dead, dozens more injured, as an interstate remains closed right in central pennsylvania. And that crash happened this morning, about 75 miles northwest of philadelphia. Police say more than 50 vehicles were involved in this, leaving tractor trailers and box trucks and cars tangled across three lanes of traffic. It was awful. At least 40 people are injured. As you know, tomorrow is valentines day. And we are looking at some nice weather, just a few clouds, and a dry day, and temperatures topping off in the upper 60s tomorrow. Right now, it is a little cool outside. 53 in tampa. Middle 50s in pinellas county. And around 50 degrees as you head inland. Heading north, it is cold. It is 10 degrees right now in cincinnati. It is 8 degrees right now in new york city. Factor in the wind, and it feels like 22 below zero in boston right now. Any of that cool air making it south . Not so much. Thats why we live in florida, right . Tomorrow is going to be 68 degrees. 75 on monday. Temperatures kind of lingering in the lower 70s. Next weekend, we are approaching the middle, if not upper 70s. Satellite and radar picture showing just a few little clouds. Floating through the sky. That is about it. And really, we are looking at nice weather all over the southeast. The closest rain is all the way back in colorado. That storm system will move through in the next couple of days. Now, moving through tomorrow morning, sunshine, and chilly temperatures, and the middle 40s, and then tomorrow afternoon, a few additional clouds move in, we will have high temperatures in the upper 60s. And then we are watching the carolinas, north carolina, virginia, and we will see freezing rain, sleet, and snow, on monday. So keep that in mind. If youre traveling to this area on monday. Quiet weather for us, on monday. But monday night, overnight, and tuesday morning, we will moving through, and the rain will then exit tuesday afternoon. And make way for a fairly nice rest of the week. So tomorrow morning, sunny sunday morning, temperatures in the middle 40s. And kind of a chilly start to the day. Definitely need that jacket or coat ready. And 2 00 p. M. Tomorrow, we will hit our high temperature. And 6 00 p. M. , 65, if youre going out to dinner perhaps. Maybe taking the mrs. Out, or the mr. , wherever the case is. And temperatures in the 60s. A little cool. And a light jacket coming back from dinner tomorrow. All in all, a good day weather wise. Of course if you dont buy flowers or chocolate it might be a storm at your house but that is a different story. Weatherwise, looking nice. Monday, president s day, a 10 chance for a shower. Mainly later in the day. But warmer, and 75 degrees. It will rain monday night. It will come to an end tuesday afternoon. And behind that front on stretch of really nice weather. Wednesday, thursday, friday, and saturday. Pure blue sunny skies. Comfortable temperatures. In the 70s. Again next weekend, approaching the middle to upper 70s. Kind of a little tease that spring is right around the corner and we cannot complain about 44, 45 degrees tomorrow morning. No. When they have 22degree below wind chills in boston. Yes. And we saw that accident, i mean all of the weather that caused that, too, that was a mess. Brutal. We live here, because we dont have to shovel that snow. You got it. And deal with all that stuff. We aint complaining at all. No, were not. Thank you very much, appreciate it. Coming up in sports, crashes take out many of the top drivers in tonights nascar sprint up limited. It was a slam dunk contest that will be talked about for a very long time. Dan lucas shows us which players put on a show during nba allstar weekend. Plus, here is what you will channel 8 today. Watching every move you make. Why dash cams are becoming more and more popular. And dont forget to wake up with weather and traffic on the all right, nascar is doing year, involving cautions at the end of a race. And it is green, white checkered finish. There is an imaginary overtime line that the driver must cross after a restart. And they do still crash. 25 drivers, began. And lap 23. Scary. A hard hit by the 14 car. Brian vickers driving for the injured tony stewart. He is okay. The car is not. Kevin harvick also knocked out of the race. The race will end with the overtime rule, to get past the line. However, a big crash in the back ends it anyways. Denny hamlin is your winner, under caution. And they will try for the front row qualifying tomorrow. The nba slam dunk contest, you missed this tonight, you missed quite a show. The defending champ, zac levine, of the minnesota timberwolves, behind the bag, a little reverse, and he had competition tonight from aaron and stumped the dragon. And first completely over the mascot. We like that one. And now he is spinning on the hover board. Gordon with the spin. So gordon levine, they trade perfect scores and go into two rounds of a dunkoff after the final round. Gordon between the legs off of stuffs head. Yes, that should have been the winner but it is is hard to doubt this. Levine from the foul line. Under the leg. He is your champion of 2016. We think gordon was robbed. All right, florida hosting alabama today in gainsville. The gators had a 7point half time lead. That went away. But kavon allen. Look at the steal. Taking it all the way for the jam. The gators are back on top by three. Here comes jimmy taylor. Watch what he does after this slam. Right in the face. Taylor had quite a day. He only had 11 points but he the gators lose a close one, 61 55. And the tampa bay rowdiness, kicked off the pre season sun coast invitational for soccer and dcs luciana accosta, rips the rowdies player off of the field, and then the ball goes out. No whistle. A replay here. This is unbelievable. Fabian espendola, the ball is out, no call and winds up passing it for the winning goal. Dc united win it 10. Hopefully the official gets it together, this is preseason. Hope they have better form as well. A final look at the forecast. First of all, we want to take a look at a picture of someone sent in of a cute little puppy dog ready for valentines day. If you would like to send in a picture, wfla brian on facebook or twitter. Tomorrow morning, sunday morning, kind of chilly. Temperatures in the middle 40s. Tomorrow afternoon, the day of love. A lot of sunshine and 68 degrees. Goodlooking day. I want to you say that one more time before we go. The day of love. Have a good night. Saturday night live is next. 3w4r5 have you guys been watching