There, you can see some police cars and we will have a live report on how the confrontation turned deadly in about two minutes. And in our other top stories this morning, while you were sleep, a car plowed through a tampa home in the middle of the night as a driver tried to get away from police. Investigators report that car crashed into the home on mulberry street north. And no one in the house was hurt. But there were two people inside the car, both were arrested. And some other news, president Barack ObamasSupreme Court nominee is headed to capitol hill today. Appeals court judge Merrick Garland will speak with senators. He would replace justice suddenly last month. Republicans are arguing the next president should nominate justice antonin scalias replacement. And in a few hour, the issue of decriminalizing marijuana goes before the tampa city council. Councilmembers are expected to vote in may investigator of lessening the punishment for having small amounts of pot. In a few minute, we will would have to pay in fines. And we are looking at what people on both sides of the issue are saying. Controversial issue. We will tell you how its going to pan out. Lets get a check on the weather with meteorologist leigh spann on this st. Paddys days morning. Youre wearing your green. Thats right. I wanted to show you the fog map. This is the map i look at to see how far you can see due to the thick fog. And at this point, everybody is clear. There may be isolated spots with thicker fog but keeping an eye on it for you. At this point, things look good and its also warm. 70 in bartow. 71 in bradenton. The st. Patricks days forecast, the leprechaun dancing at 8 00 a. M. , yeah, some fog. And 71 degrees and quite steamy at 8 00. At 3 00 p. M. , 18 degrees. By 8 00 p. M. , i left in a 10 rain chance throughout the afternoon and evening. For saturday with better rain chances. At 5 08, i have the rain chance forecast for the weekend. And leslee is going to let you know about traffic this weekend. You know how said theres patchy areas of fog, guess where some of it is righght now, Sunshine Skyway bridge. They just closed it. Completely closed yet again. My maps at all. Yeah, they closed it done from Hillsborough County sheriffs department. So i75 is the alternate. This is construction in the sarasota area but thats not as important. Look at this, no vehicles passing at this poinint. It will take a while to get both sections closed, but breaking, just came in, Sunshine Skyway bridge being closed down due to heavy fog in the area and theyre not taking any chances. Look at the area by the fishing pier, very thick too. Again, its rolling in. So ill be keeping you updated throughout the morning and let you know when it reopens. In the meantime, you know what you have to do, takic75 instead. Its a long alternate but its thats a look at weather anand traffic. Back to adrienne and gene. Thank you. Lets get back to the breaking news we were just showing you. Tampa police are on the scene of a Deadly Police shooting. This is happening right now near cherokee avenue east of himes avenue, just south of Ballast Point boulevard. We are talking south tampa here. And lets go straight to news channel 8s ryan hughs who is live at the scene. Ryan, i know youre working to get a lot of updates there. What have you learned just in the last few minutes . Reporter well, adrienne, this is what we know at this hour. We are told by tampa police that this incident happened around 3 00 a. M. You can see the road is blocked off with yellow crime scene tape at this hour. The home in question is the one down there, the 3300 block of cherokee avenue here in south tampa. Police were called because of a domestic disturbance. We are told a man then appeared with a gun. He attempted to fire at the officers but no shots wewent out of the gun. And now he went inside, returned, he fired again and hit a Police Shield that police picked up because of the initial threat. Thats when they opened fire. Many times apparently, striking the man. He was pronounced dead onscene. Were told by a neighbor, he heard eight to 10 gunshot t around 3 00 this morning. And a moment ago, gunshots around 3 00 this morning. A moment ago, a Police Spokesman told us what the Police Officers encountered. Do you consider this a close call for the officers onscene this morning . When you look at the shield, it is actually very scary. It isis virtually in the center of the shield. You can see there was a very clear shot that hit the center of the shield. Reporter to call this a close call for the tampmpa Police Officers involved this morning. And again, this is another live look at this very active scscene here in south tampa. At this point, no word on the mans identity. The woman involved in the initial dispute, she was s not identified and we are told that the Police Officers involved will be placed on paid administrative leave as likely the florida departrtment of Law Enforcement and the Tampa Police Department investigate this very scary situation. Sounds like the officers were prepared and i am sure they are so grateful for the shield this morning. Thank you, ryan. We will check back. And you can download our breaking news. Right now, several suspects are in custody after being arrested in a striring of purse snatchings. Stretching all across the bay area. Now they have been questioned by police all night. News channel 8s joshsh thomas joins us now live from the lake whales Police Department. And josh, where do things stand right now . Reporter well, right now, the arrest of those suspects by lake whales Police Department has actually peaked the interest of other Police Departments in the bay area following a string of purse snatchings from manatee to here in polk county. Happened inin the parking lots of supermarkets. The mo for the suspect, they wait until the victims are loading vehicles or waiting inin cars and then they strike. A woman named kathy y who didntt want her face shown on television explains the fear she is now facing. I keep rereliving it. Its like a daily occurrence, im continuing to say, okay, i got robbed. Reporter now yesterday after the suspspect struck for the ninth time, the stolen jeep they had been using was spotted and stopped here in lake whales. Police arrested five males in the jeep, one adult and four minors. Those five people have been questioned all night here at the lake whales Police Department by other Police Agencies as well as they try and figure out if theres a connection between this recent string of purse snatchings. Gene yeah, we got to be aware of right now, a st. Petersburg neighborhood is on edge while an arsonist is on the loose. So in january, surveillance videos caught the criminal lighting a car on fire and then taking off. They think its this person right here you see in the video. Investigators believe the arsonist lives in the area and gets some kind of a thrill watching the flames and the fire crewsws putting them out. So police really hope you can recognize him from this video. It is 5 08. Lets get a check on your forecastst with storm team 8 meteorologist leigh spann. Its st. Patricks day, a lot of events. It is. And at this point, not seeing a lot of fog but right over the sunshine s skyway bridge, we have the thick fog. The bridge is shut down. We will let you know when it reopens but the sea fog may hang around along the coast just like the past couple days. But the rest of us, the fog that is ouout there, its very light and it should burn off quickly. Getting us upup to 76 degrees at a hohot st. Patricks day. Only about a 10 chance of a a stray shower. Is it lucky . Well, once the fog burns off, warm, 10 rain chance. Rain chances increase tomorrow and even more saturday and sunday. And speaking of sunday, thats the first day of spring and we get cooler after that, actually significantly cooler after all the rain. So a 10 chance today. 30 . And 50 chance saturday and then 30 chance on sunday. And lets check traffic on the 8s. You know, a lot of people were tweweeting me yesterday and reaching out on facebook saying they stayed at home. They didnt even take the commute. Well, heres the situation, Sunshine Skyway bridge foggy. They have closed it again. You might see a few vehicles pass by and thats basically just because it takes a while to close down both directions. And youve got about a 10 minute commute across the bridge between the toll plazas. Up there. You can see its foggy as well. Of course the alternate is i 75. A tough commute for those who work in the sun coast area and say live in st. Pete or tampa and vice versa, you got to take 75 all the way around. And the sun coast area, construction, university blocked underneath i75. This is right in the sarasota Manatee County area. You can take fruitville or state road 70. That should wrap up in about 40 minutes. Back to adrienne and gene. Thank you, leslee. Now the government continues to be in a pickle with yet another major tech company. Yeah, who they could end up suing and why. And then meet the local house trained gator who likes to you the cuddle. The reason wildlife officials are now considering whetheher he must be forced out of his comfortable home. An ironicic and tragic death in the music industry. The soulful voice we lost and how. Welcome back. Music lovers are mourning the loss of Frank Sinatra jr. Just before a scheduled performance he died of a massive heart attack in daytona beach. We were also expecting him to sing tonight at the happy theater in st. Petersburg. So thoughts and prayers with his family. Lets turn our attention to louisiana where thousands are suffering through record setting rain and flooding. Now Emergency Responders are joining forces with the National Guard to help bring in supplies. Soldiers are distributing bottled water and flood buckets filled with cleaning supplies to help everyone out who has destroyed. Meanwhile, louisiana Law Enforcement officers are busy protecting flood victims from looters there. New this morning, one person is dead and 35 others are hurt after a construction site collapsed in china. Crews are working to save the victims. Accident. But doctors believe falling debris hit t a lot of people. An 80yearold woman with bay area ties is being called an internet black widow. Now police from two different coununtries say this woman spends her entire life tormenting husbands and lovers. Well now, she e is about to be set free from prison. Take a look. She is a little camera shy here. Yeah, covering her face and all. But this is melissa fredrick. She spent four years in a florida prison for drugging a Pinellas Park man. Turns out, she used the same drug on him that he used to kill her second husband up in canada. Popolice say men find her irresistible. You can almost equate her to a venus fly trap. She has something that attracts individuals to her, her personalty, her look and then she turns on them. And d in the end, they are either a victim of either a theft or ultimately could end up dead. Personalty, look, whole package. Yep. Her third husband died under suspicious circucumstances as well in Manatee County in 2002. In florida, she would be considered a career criminal. Will she return . Right now, shes being heheld in canada and could be released as soon as tomorrow. Yeah, you dont hear Something Like that every day. Were getting more details about why a fellow inmate attacked former subway pitchman and convicted pedophile jared fogle. The attacker gave him a swollen face, scratched neck and bloody nose even. According to new document, it happened in january. The other inmate explains he was angry because so many sex predators are housed at the low security prison. Fog system serving a 16year sentence fogle is serving g a 16year sentence. A virginia jail releasing an inmate prematurely y even though the inmate told workers it was a mistake. James lee was supposed to get out on march 28th. But t jail employees released him monday, before he was let go, he told the deputies he was not supposed to leave. Honest guy. Officials apapparently didnt realize ththat he lost credit for good time behavior after he got into a fight at facility. His family is still very confused about the mistake. Wow. Yeah. A threealarm fire sparks at a plant that makes plastic and now crews confirm it was all an accident. All eight employees working in the building in birmingham, alabama did get out safely. Officials report the fire started in a buildings workshop area where fiberglas molds are made. And only one part of the building was damaged there. And its known as an icon in countless film, tv show, commercial, you have seen it. And now its retiring. We are talking about los angeles 6th street bridge. In hollywood films and other productions. It is now crumbling and it can no longer support the thousands of cars that travel across it day will you. It will take four years and 450 million to build a new bridge. Hollywood takes its toll. There you go. The u. S. Government is taking on another battle with one of the Biggest Tech Companies in the world. Yeah, the app is designed so no one can read the messages including the company and the government claims this is a huge problem. Everything you type is instantly encrypted and cant be read until the person on the receiving end open it. Mark zuckerberg believes its just how technology is evolving. I dont think requiring back doors into encryption is going to be an effective way to increase security or is really the right thing to do. The Justice Department has not decided whether it will sue the e company. Its 5 18. And a little bit of fog as well. Yeah, and i would definitely say a little bit because when most of you can see for miles. Now there are clouds out here. I will zoom over the Sunshine Skyway bridge where a little bit of sea fog has snuck into the mouth of tampa bridge and has closed the bridge down. Again, its the artery between southern pinellas and western Manatee County. Otherwise, patchy fog and 70 degrees at 8 00 a. M. For most of us, the fog will burn off quickly after the sunrises. We warm up to 76 at noon and 81 degrees at 4 00 p. M. 70 in bartow already. 69 in brooksville. 71 in st. Pete. And my weatather watcher dora in inverness is at 68 right now. The front is going to stall to the north. I left in a 10 rain chance today but most ovolos be dry most of us will be dry. Tomorrow, the rain chance goes up slightly on friday. And look at saturday, this area of low pressure will bring us a 50 rain chance. Behind that, much cooler next week, highs only in the 60s. Leslee, how is traffic on the 8s . Irish is not with us this morning on the Sunshine Skyway bridge, folks. It is closed yeyet again. What does that mean for you . I75, again, closed due to the fog ouout here. Keeping an eye on it for you throughout the morning. Heress the fishing pier, not seeing vehicles come by. Again, because it is closed. All right, lets take a look now at the other bay area bridges. Great drive on the howard franklin, six minutes to cross it. And 10 on the city council can recollect and that takes you from pinellas over to on the Courtney Campbell causeway and that takes you from pinellas. Again, the Sunshine Skyway bridge is closed down. So a big delay taking 75. You might want to leave the house earlier. I dont know, maybe youre feeling a little sick today. Back to gene and adrienne. Leslee, just a bad influence. Thank you. A lakeland woman is alligator. Thats right. Marathon claims the 15yearold reptile can use the remote and likes to cuddle. She she claims the 15year old reptile can use the remote and likes to cuddle. He says, how w tall is he . You know, anand i said, i dont know, hes getting pretty big. So we measured him. And thats where it started. Look, he is face was right by hers. He needs 2. 5acres to keep a gator his size. A gator insist that his life style isnt healthy and worries he could bite someone. Clearly she is not concerned. She claims he has never snapped and she hopes to keep him. And i saw video too from the story and he is kissing him and opening his mouth and putting her hand in. Just daring the gator. I am amazed that he can use the remote. What is he watching . Like house of cards . Animal planet. National geographic. John bachman, in a rush, maybe youre tired of it, theres a lot of reasons you dont want to tie our shoes anymore. Nike has an answer when we get back. The new shoe that people will be lining up for during the e good news from nike. Shoes anymore, because you know, thatss tough. Yeah, the selflacing shoe. You slip them on and when your heel hits a sensor, you will be able to adjust the laces with the press of a button. It will be available by the holiday season, of course. But only for members of the loyalty nike plus app. You got to download the e app. Get it for christmas. Velcro shoes arent good enough anymore. No, make the kids tie their come on. Weather and traffic on the 8s in three minutes. Plus, it took 60tons of clay to make it happen but mlb Officials Say its finally time to play ball. See where the Tampa Bay Rays are headed for a historic game. And the dramatic video of a police chase that ends in flames. It all happened right here in the bay area. On this st. Patricks day, expecting 81 degrees today. And 80 tomorrow. Next week, 72 sunday and only 6 on monday. How about traffic on the 8s . Tell you, if there was a pot of gold at the end of the Sunshine Skyway bridge, you wouldnt be getting it because its closed down. 5 30 on this st. Patricks day thursday. Good morning. Welcome to news channel 8 today. Im gene ramirez. And i am Adrienne Pedersen in for gayle. Lets get to it. First, breaking news for you. For ththe second time this weekek, the Sunshine Skyway bridge is clclosed. This morning. So youre getting a liveve look