president obama in havana symbolically opening anigh era in u.s. relations with cuba as some carry on the fight against a still repressive regime. >>> trail of violence at donald trump's campaign events. we speak to a protester who found himself being punched and kicked. >>> distracted driving may have caused a crash that toppled a school bus carrying a high school basketball team. remarkably everyone survived. >>> and, dear, mr. president, one woman's letter from havana gets a response from president now, she hopes he will stop by for a thank you and a coffee. "nightly news" begins right now. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt reporting tonight from havana. >>> good evening from a rainy havana, behind me the museum of the revolution. just a few hours ago this communist nation welcomed president obama who is stepping on to cuban soil under a falling rain became the first american president to visit here in 88 years. as part of his two-day trip, the president will meet with cuban leader raul castro and make an address to the c

we're in ra havana tonight with the complete coverage -- havana tonight with complete coverage. >> good evening, everyone. i'm rod carter. >> and i'm melanie michael. thank you for joining us. >>> we begin with special coverage of president obama's historic visit to cuba. havana and emerging from it -- havana and emerging from it the president and mrs. obama. >> over the past year both embassies have reopened, many business deals between those two countries already taking place including direct flights to cuba and soon cruise ships will be docking in havana as well. >> but the president stresses there is still much to do. our own keith cate traveled to historic visit. he is there tonight and begins our special coverage. >> reporter: good evening from a rainy havana cuba, not the day you want for a historic presidential visit, but still what a day this is turning out to be, look at the people, some in balconies, some below in street alleyways waiting to catch a glimpse of the president of the united states along with the first family. you can see at a restaurant people standing under the

and keith, what is the feeling on the streets of havana today? >> reporter: good morning from havana, cuba. as you can see, a lot of people on the streets. it happens everywhere, there's a rumor that president barack obama or the first family may be going. and people lining up just to catch a glimpse. rumor. things get circulated. but the truth of the matter is, we know one thing, the president will be at today's baseball game with razl castro. it's a historic moment. something you don't want to miss. news channel 8 will be there to cover it for you. in the meantime, we're just hanging out here in havana with some of our closest, best friends on obama watch. have a great morning. i'm keith cate, reporting from havana. >> okay, keith, thank you. here in tampa, there are a lot of expectations regarding the lot of anticipation for today's big game. we continue our team coverage with news channel 8's ryan hughes live now from la teresita this morning. hey, ryan. >> reporter: good morning. many cuban-americans here in the bay area can't wait for today

>> reporter: well, havana, not like tampa. scalping is not really permitted in a communist country so i don't think so. it will be very difficult once they get there to find tickets of the stadium. >> all right, thank you. in tampa. thank you very much. and d our own keith cate is also president's historic visit. he will be watching the rays game in havana. you will see his reports starting sunday. >>> the u.s. house has voted unanimously to declare what east as genocide. this comes after secretary of state john kerry completed his review of the terror group. he says they are committing genocide against christians and other minorities in syria and iraq. this is only the second time they have used the term genocide in an ongoing conflict. >>> efforts are going on toe free an american student jailed in nonorth korea. otto wormbier was sentenced to 15 years hard labor for stealing a propaganda flag. . he begegged for help in front of cameras.s. >> an innocent scapegoat. >> the allegations for which this individual l was imprisone

but the latest from havana and the mounting expectations for today's game. keith has been in the islands since the president landed on sunday. >> reporter: good morning from havana, cuba. as you can see, a lot of people on the streets. there's a rumor that president barack obama or the first family may be going. people lining up just to catch a look. but most of the time, it's a rumor. things get circulated but the truth of the matter, we know one thing, the president will be at today's baseball game -- with razl castro. it's a historic moment. in the meantime, we will hang out here in havana with some of our best friends on to bah ma watch. i'm keith cate reporting from havana. >> all right, here in tampa, there's a lot of expectations about the president's visit to cuba and anticipation before today's big game between the tampa bay rays and the cuban national baseball team. and we continue our team coverage with ryan hughes. good morning. >> reporter: many cuban- americans here in the bay area can't wait for today's big game, especially those who frequent

reporter: good evening from a beautiful havana, cuba. it was another historic day for president barack obama, the that face to face meeting with raul castro, the president of cuba. they were talking over human rights issues, the economic embargo, raul castro saying there's a profound difference between these two countries, no question, and it has to go without saying president obama's charm offensive doesn't work on everyone. some of the streets are wondering why it took so long for the president to make this historic visit. >> why not before, eight years before? why not? when everything have a choice to do? why not? now is too late. >> reporter: this woman sought me out of a cheering crowd to express her frustration. there's concern about what will happen once president obama leaves office. will there be the kind of change in human rights and freedom the people so desperate leister and have now been teased -- desperately desire and now have been teased to expect. erma and chaz mcmullin from brandenton are on their second they want to ta

i'm keith cate, reporting from havana. and here in tampa, there are a lot of expectations about the president's visit to cuba and a lot of anticipation before the big game. and we continue with ryan hughes live from la teresita this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning once again. of course, many cuban-americans are looking forward to the big game later today, especially those who frequent this restaurant in tampa. many teams volunteered for the trip and the rays were picked to play against cuba. players are embracing the opportunity. 34 players are in cuba. for some who are from the island nation, this say homecoming of sorts. and the team brought equipment to donate to youth groups. before the game, president barack obama will address the cuban people on a speech tell he is expected to call for the expansion of human rights on the island. and he will meet with dissidents. the meeting has been highly publicized. some have reported that they have been followed around but haven't been detained at this point. we

keith joinstous night from the stadium. >> reporter: good evening from havana. president barack obama spending his final day in cuba watching the tampa bay rays take on the cuban national team with raul castro by his side. this is only the second time since 1959 that a major team has played in cuba. the reasons for that help explain why the president made his trip to cuba in the first place the roar in cuba was deafening. 55,000 baseball fans stood, screamed, and became a part of history. the president of the united states and the first family there. the island's main stadium. a guest of raul castro. an extraordinary sight. and this invitation only crowd >> do you think it will change anything? >> reporter: this man said it was good obama was at the game and good he is going to other places. he thinks all of it will make a difference. the rays players an coaches acknowledged the significance of this moment. >> you think this brings the country together a little more? >> i do. i feel like this is a big step. and, just to be able to share common ground like this.

it's a huge deal for me. dusty fields across havana. junior, you play every day? >> yeah. >> passion for the sport runs deep, often driven by a shot at the majors. what's your favorite team? >> yankees. >> we love baseball since we are little boys. we, you know, watch baseball on tv and we listen to radio and people play baseball and it's part of our tradition already, you know. >> there are currently around 18 players in major league baseball. until now defecting was the most common route to the majors, but the u.s. has announced changes that could soon provide a legal path for american teammates to directly sign cuban players, putting the next generation of cuban athletes on a whole new playing field. >> we'll great some day, cuban players can play in the major league baseball but legally. >> do you think he'll make it to the major leagues? >> noah, who is coached by his father, says when his time comes he'll be ready. >> how good are you? >> really good, yeah. >> one local baseball expert told us there are 11 million people living in this country, and the he ex

keith joins us from havana. >>reporter: good evening in hold havana.

several airlines are bidding to fly to havana. several could depart from tampa. >> reporter: georgiani chavez is making her first trip to cuba. like most americans, she chartered her flight, but that could soon change. several airlines hope to offer commercial flights to the island soon. several u.s. carriers applied to the u.s. department of transportation for u.s. cuba flight rights. u.s. and jet blue would have several flights a day out of tampa international if approved. cuba, only a few carriers from chosen airports will get to fly to havana, the mecca destination. >> it will be a competitive environment for winning the flights. there are only 20 slots allowed from the united states to havana and dozens of applications to serve havana from the united states. >> reporter: jamel lanee, newschannel8. >>> steve jerve, you know what today is right? >> it is leap year? the beginning of the strawberry >> good guess. through. minds. we decided biscuit. >> seems like quite a debate. some were saying cheesecake. >> cheesecake with soun

keith cate is in havana. we'll have more coverage on first at 4:00. >> a lot of people watching to see what happens. thank you. >>> time now is 6:38. leigh is here for a check of our spring-like not so much weather. >> definitely spring and it definitely doesn't feel like it this morning. we're seeing temperatures more like what we would see in january. let me walk you hour by hour through the day. for the next two hours we can see temperatures fall. i'm expecting the upper 40s to near 50 by 8:00 a.m. we don't get to warm up very much. still in the mid 50s at 11:00 a.m. we then mid 60s through the afternoon. specifically 66 at 4:00 p.m. the breeze will keep it feels cool all day. it will feel like a winter game. phillies and tigers in lakeland 63 when that game starts, rays and pirates in bradenton at 60 degrees. tonight is the coldest night. check out the lows. 45 apollo beach, 46 chest chase west chase, 37 in brooksville. could see some frost on your car. 44 tonight in bartow. i know for the spring breakers

lots of big news coming out of havana yesterday. and also the president when he addressed the cuban people on cuban television told them that that their own future was in their own hand which is something they're not used to hearing over there. >> yeah, can you imagine after so many years of being oppressed to hear a leader say. >>> telling the castros that differing opinion, of course talking about the dissidents who the president met with. so a lot of things happening there. >>> this morning, the girlfriends of the two men involved in the easter bunny mall brawl are defending their men. >> yes, each claims the other threw the first punch after a little girl slipped off the easter bunny's lap. listen to how the mother of the 15-month-old describes what happened. >> grabbed her. we snapped three pictures and the baby just fell. he didn't have any type of sympathy. he never reached for her. he was so inhumane towards the baby. and of course her father went to him and you know, said what's going on? how you going to just drop my baby?

keith cate is in havana right now. we sent keith to find out how the improved relationships with cuba is impacting the bay area and the cuban people. we'll have keith's report in a few minutes, but first let's go to jenn holloway >>reporter: after six decades of hostility, a sit down with -- the communist dictator. the brother of the leader of the revolutionary of 1961 took to the stage. they're side by side at a press conference. the audience was filled with a huge reputation from washington. 40 members of congress, both democrats and republicans making it the largest such delegation of obama's presidency. during his speech, the president stated the embargo is going to end although he says it will take time and not sure how fast change will come. >> i have said consistent after five decades, the relationship between our governments will not be transformed overnight. we continue as president castro indicated to have serious incidents including on democracy and human rights. say there's an enormous hope of reconciliatio

in the meantime, keith cate reporting from havana, cuba. beautiful night in havana and a beautiful morning as well. i'm keith cate, back the to you. >> all right. thank you, keith. and keith was just talking about this in detail. let's tell you more. president barack obama did attend that baseball game between our home team, the tampa bay rays and the cuban national team. the president sat next to razl castro. at one point, he even tried to catch the wave. the rays ended upbeating the cuban national team 4-1. today the rays are back in florida. and the team will take on the twins. >> yeah, one of the most important things out of yesterday from cuba was the president said to the cuban people telling them that the and that's different from what they're used to hearing about hands. so that was interesting to hear the president to say on cuban soil in an address televised to the cuban people. >> it will be interesting to see if that can happen. >> just the fact that they heard this is a change. >> yes, very promising. >>> and right before the g

president obama will arrive later in havana, cuba. it's transformed parts of havana. now the city is preparing next. >> a man is dead after allegedly breaking into his neighbor's home in the middle of the night. what she is saying next. >>> good morning. i'm candace mccowan. thank you for waking up with us. >>> happening today, spring is here. it began at 12:30 a.m. it's the exact moment of the vernal equinox, when the sun's rays are directly over the equator. while the calendar says spring a snowstorm could hit portions of the mid atlantic and northeast today. >>> let's start by checking out our forecast with debra. >> good morning, candace. the great news is we don't expect a wash out like we saw yesterday. currently we are seeing spring-like temperatures. temperatures in the upper 60s to around 70. we do see a few showers moving through the area but that's all because there's a cold front moving through. once that front moves through we'll begin to clear out from north to south. so expect any scattered showers that you see to be ending right about the noon area, ce

it was nice to see a baseball game actually take place this afternoon in havana cuba. the rays are on the field as we speak against the cuban national team. and this has been quite the day. ray's manager kevin cash introduced each player escorted to the field by a child. and several rays players made obama's seat behind home plate. chris archer passed along matt moore's glove as a gift. then the first cuban born player to leave the country then return to play a game in cuba. a little pop out but a piece of history for verona. 2nd inning, a single there, kevin, the cubans found out about his speed today the hard way. he slides in safely to put the rays on top 1-0. the president loves that. raul castro even has to applaud the base running by the rays. a 2-run shot. they fight for the ball in right field. everything's a souvenir. the final home stand of the season for the lightning begins tonight. this one is a biggie. one of the teams battling for a playoff spot in the eastern conference. this is an example of how crazy this playoff chase has gotten for each team involve

. >> our own keith cate traveled from tampa to havana and was also at the game. >> good evening, from havana, the president is no longer in cuba, he wrapped up his visit with a baseball game, seated right behind home plate with the president of cuba, raul castro, the rays went on to win the game 4-1 but this really was more than a game. in fact, politically speaking, president. -- header for the president. >> there was a lot of love and no loseers at this game. >> >> who signed your ball? >> this man's favorite player, deroan, serano. >> this could be a home crowd. >> awesome. >> he is among the hundreds of cuban baseball stars who are in search of a better life. years before returning to this game where he batted first. the biggest highlight this day took place before the first pitch. the president of the united states, barack obama, and the first family walking into the stadium with cuban president raul castro, something unimaginable for decades and yet, here it was, economic and political differences set aside for the one thing these 2 countries can agree on, and that is the love o

keith joins us from havana. >>reporter: good evening in hold havana. time has stood still for decades. the old cars, stores, hotels, bars, lots of people on the street. fewer today because of the presidential visit, but the inconvenience is welcomed if the president can deliver on his message to forge new agreements and commercial deals and build new mexico ties between our two nations. one of the areas of agreement found on the playing field. baseball field is -- american cultures. even if the tickets are hard if not impossible to come by. >> did you just -- >> this is the first time you have visited to cuba. >> it's important to obama after his ceremony here at the jose memorial. he walked across the street and had a meeting with castro and with entrepreneurs focused on business. like from america, the economy is something cubans are think baseball can change and heal lifelong differences? >> rodriguez got a job working at the stadium and told me it won't heal the wounds, but it will help. the rays players wer

the band will hold a free concert in havana this friday. the concert was originally planned for this weekend but rescheduled for friday due to president obama's visit. hundreds of thousands are expected to watch the concert. news channel 8's keith cate will bring you special coverage of president obama's historic visit to cuba and he will be there when the rays take on the cuban national team all on news channel 8. >>> a south carolina fire department is mourning the loss of its own. he was hit and killed be a fire truck. a fire truck was backing up to the scene when a firefighter on the back of the truck fell off. he right now this story is all over social media. a number of people are reaching out to send messages of condolence to the firefighter's family. >>> a three alarm fire at an indianapolis truck stop causes $2 million in damage. more than 100 firefighters battled the flames at the flying j truck stop actually grease fire sparked the inferno. everyone got out safely. >>> police at the university of south florida are cracking down o

the president and the rays and the rolling stones will be in havana. a tampa man had planned to be there with his father bringing him back to cuba for the first time in decades. jeff patterson is telling us how it will happen. good timing. >> reporter: incredible timing. mario nunez's father was last in cuba 1945. this month mario and his 87- >> my dad is 87 years young. i like to say he's strong like bull. >> reporter: mario nunez is a tampa native and has a facebook page call tampa native and his father was born in ebor city. >> we are descendents that came from havana and through key west and now in ebor city and helped to develop the cigar industry. >> mario's father was in cuba when he was 17 and mario decided it was time for his father to return. >> it is going to be emotional trip. >> reporter: they will be there to witness history. >> the fact that we are going to be in the stadium partaking in the baseball game that will be historic in its own right, and then to have our president throwing out the first pitch, i don't know. what could be bette

keith's reports from havana will begin tonight at 11:00 right here on news channel 8. >>> let's get a final look at the forecast from debra. it should be drier today. >> it is definitely going to be dyer today than it was yesterday. in fact, we're already starting to see things die out. you see the cold front draped across the central part that's going to sink to the south as we head through the next several hours. the rain will dry out. although we're still going to see a decent amount of clouds hanging around. so for this afternoon highs right around 74 degrees. rain is ending by this afternoon. >>> this sunday. the republican establishment has tried persuasion. >> mr. trump is a con man, a fake. >> it's tried schoolyard tactics. >> and you know what they say about men with small hands. >> and still, donald trump keeps winning. but last night, more ugliness at a rally. [ shouting ] >> as trump warns of violence if he's denied the nomination.

which airlines are planning havana? >> we were able to lift our high to 75 degrees. tomorrow morning. forecast coming up. >> we'll have that and more coming up. you're watching newschannel8. >> in polk county, an ambulance crash shut down highway 60 for several hours. it was returning from the station in winter haven hospital when it jumped a curb and knocked down power lines. part of highway 60 was closed while crews cleaned up the no one was hurt. >>> we told you about a program to identify people with special talents. the saint petersburg police department has found several of those people who scored high of the super recognizer test to help identify and local suspects. seven employees scored very high. in the top 2% in the nation. one of them is a civilian. the department is hoping to put their skills to use in the very near future. >>> a mail carrier was honored man on his route. terrell brown saw a man lying in the yard. it was an 84-year-old man who had fallen and hit his head while he was trimming trees. he was

i'm keith cate reporting in havana. back to you. >> the president wrapped up his he is on the way to argentina for his first trip there. as for keith cate, he continue to bring us reports from cuba. we will hear from him again tonight at 11:00. looked like a gorgeous day down there. >> yeah. >> certainly sort of mirroring though i'm guessing a little warmer there than here. but the blue skies were all we had to deal with too. >> probably a few high clouds but generally, we had perfect blue skies today. just perfect. 71 degrees for a high. started out kind of cool. but the warm march sunshine felt pretty good. tonight, the launch of an atlas rocket over cape canaveral. we will see clear conditions and if you look to the east, you may potentially see this tonight if you have good visibility where you are located there. cargo delivery to the international space station. a full moon tonight. the moon and jupiter in the sky. temperatures comfortable. 72 in winter haven. 64 crystal river. 69 saint petersburg. we are looking a

and today in cuba, the tampa bay rays are in havana. president barack obama is expected to attend the game. first pitch is scheduled for 2:00. and our observe keith cate is in cuba. he traveled from tampa to havana to follow president barack obama on this historic visit. in the next half hour, keith shows us how the cuban people are reacting to the president's visit. >>> if your morning alerts, former wrestler hulk hogan wins round two in his fight with gawker over a sex tape video. gawker is expected to appeal. news channel 8's lindsey mastis join us live from the tampa news center. lindsey, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this is the same jury that awarded hulk hogan 115 million now they're awarding an additional $25 million for that comes directly out of the editor. today. protected a lot of people from through. we're very excited. >> reporter: the jury not only wanted to punish gawker but to serve a warning to other media companies from posting similar videos in future. gawker plans to appeal. they indicated that the amount

the preparations are well underway at the concert venue in havana. the set-up involved 61 shipping containers and hundreds of tons of equipment. things like the stage, speakers, lights, and video screens. the stones' concert is set for next friday, and it will be free. >>> it is a pleasure to bring this size show here. it took a lot to get here. a lot of effort with the equipment and planning and all that with everybody. yeah, it's a big event. now, the stones will be the first major international rock stars to play in cuba. they expect hundreds of thousands of people to attend the big concert. >>> and our own keith cate will beginning with the president's historic trip. he reports fundraiser havana tomorrow right here at channel 8. island phillips has your sunday forecast. and a special athlete who is doing great things on and off >>> hundreds of athletes took over jesuit high school today for the special olympics. but these games, they are much competition. news channel 8's adrienne pedersen introduces us to a teenager taking charge on the field an

keith cate is in havana right now. we sent keith to find out how the improved relationships with cuba is impacting the bay area and the cuban people. we'll have keith's report in a few minutes, but first let's go to jenn holloway

and this is all ahead of the first family's arrival in havana sunday. president barack obama will be the first sitting u.s. 1928, that was calvin coolidge back then. how is that for commercialism in a communist country? you can count on news chchannel 8 to bring you highlights of president barack obama's historic trip to cuba. our own keith cate is on the way to havana this morning. >>> in the race for the white house, several days after super tuesday, w we now know hillary rodham clinton gets to add missouri to her list of wins. nbc news called clinton the winner early on but senator bernie sanders waited to concede because the race was so close. now it's official. by 1531 votes. senator sanders says that he won't request a recount. >>> time now 5:15. the family of a texas womaman who died while in custody will be able to review the texas rangnger's investigation report. now you may remember sandra bland died in police custody last summer. authorities ruled the death a suicide but some accuse law enforcement of being directly the fbi initially declined

our own keith cacate is on his way to havana this morning. you can see his reports starting sunday. house, several days after super tuesday, we now know hillary rodham clinton gets to add missouri to her list of wins. nbc news called clinton the winner early on but senator bernie sanders waited to concede because it was so close. and now it's official, by 1531 votes. senator sanders won't t be requesting a recount. >>> the family of a texaxas who died while in custody will be able to review the investigation report. you may remember sandra bland, she died in police custody last summer. authorities ruled the death a suicide but some accuse law enforcement of being directlyly responsible for brand's death. the fbi initially declined to show the report to the family. they arargued it was s protected under law enforcement privilege. >>> new york city is seeing something we're familiar with here in tampa, lightning. during the last few seconds of the wabc newscast tuesday night, lightning hit the top of we might see it again in a second. oh, there

american wants to fly out of miami to six cuban cities including havana. silver airways also proposed service to havana from several florida cities including tampa and orlando. >>> and remodeling work will continue at havana's so-called cuba yankee's stadium. that's where the tampa bay rays will play against the cuban nationals. president barack obama is set to throw out the first pitch. the stadium is a shrine for cuban baseball fans and the improvements include the field, the roof, the grand stand and the ball park exterrier. all this comes as historic cuba and the u.s. our own keith cate will be traveling to cuba this month to cover president barack obama's historic visit to the island and you can watch the reports from cuba right here on news channel 8 20th. >>> well a 3-year-old girl is breathing much better this morning after blowing a safety pin out of her nose. we will explain how it got in. >> that had to hurt. >> absolutely: >>> also, energizer is going green. what makes these new batteries so special. >>> but first -- >> reporter: we are live be

american wants to fly out of miami to six cuban cities including havana. silver airways also proposed service to havana from several florida cities including tampa and orlando. >>> well, this morning, remodeling work will continue at havana's so-called cuban yankee stadium where the tampa bay rays will play this month against the cuban nationals. president barack obama is set to throw out the first pitch. the stadium is a kind of shrine for cuban baseball fans and the improvements include the field, the ball park's interior. all this comes as historic changes are happening between cuba and the u.s. our own keith cate will be traveling to cuba this month to cover president barack obama's historic visit to the island. you can see keith's reports from cuba right here on news channel 8 beginning on sunday, march 20th. >>> all right, the time right now is 4:38 on this thursday morning. and a little bit cooler outside. >> yeah, you feel the difference. we did have a cold front come through yesterday. you might not have noticed because we didn't have rain with it

reporting from havana waiting for the sun to shine, i'm keith cate back to you. >> stay dry, keith. >>> right now preparations are underway for the rolling stones. the band will hold a free concert in havana this friday. planned for this week but rescheduled for friday due to president obama's president. hundreds of thousands of people are expected to watch the concert. >>> news channel 8's keith cate will bring you special coverage of president obama's historic visit to cuba all week long. keith will be there when the rays take on the cuban national team that's right here on news channel 8. >>> the south carolina fire department is mourning the los angeles of one of their own. the firefighter was hit and killed by a truck. officials in now the story is all over social media. a number of people are reaching out to send messages of condolences to the firefighter's family. >>> a three alarm fire at an $2 million in damage. take a look at that. more than 100 firefighters battled the flames at the flying j truck stop. destroyed the building. a grease. fire sparked the inferno. everyone wa

embargo on cuba. >> reporter: good morning from havana. president barack obama is no longer in cuba, he has wrapped up his whirlwind tour. he did it seated beside razl castro at a baseball game yesterday. the rays went on to win that game 4-1 but in the political world, this sort of a double- header for the president. he has to now convince congress that they need to lift the embargo that he has been talking so much about. he has some help on his side, representative kathy castor, a tampa democrat, is fighting on his behalf to get the republicans to join forces with her to lift the embargo. we will see how that goes. and you will hearly hear from kathy castor later on today in our next report coming up at 5:00. in the meantime, i'm keith cate reporting from havana, cuba. a beautiful night in havana and a beautiful morning as well. >> all right. thank you, keith. >>> while in cuba, president barack obama attended a baseball game between our hometown team, the tampa bay ray, and the cuban national team. the president sat next to razl castro.

his first stop, the cathedral in old havana. mr. obama took an impromptu detour to shake hands and smiling and waving at a crowd. inside, the president met with the controversial cardinal, ortega, who some criticized for human rights. then on to a museum, where a portrait of president lincoln greeted the first family. finally, dinner at a restaurant in the narrow streets of old the sight see seeing is a preclude to which begins later this morning when the president meets with cuban president raul castro. they'll likely discuss lifting the u.s. trade em bardo bargo and cuba's human rights record. before the president arrived, the ladies in white were arrested, chanting, freedom. one of the highlights of the president's trip is expected to be when he addresses cubans on tuesday. >> it's a historic opportunity to engage the cuban people and lay out our future that's bright brighter than our past. >> reporter: i asked about that when i sat down with cuba's top man. >> did you think the day would come, when the u.s. president would addre

they want to provide flights between miami and six different cuban cities including havana. silver airways also proposed service between havana cities including tampa and orlando. >> an exciting day in charlotte county as the rays took on the season opener. >>> dan lucas joins us from port charlotte and what a gorgeous day for baseball. umm, dan? >> reporter: stacy, it was absolutely beautiful here. in port charlotte and the rays are here tomorrow by the way get down here if you can because it's a lot of fun. the results not what the fans wanted. the rays lost 6-2. you had base hits today from logan morrison and desmond jennings and james loney. guys in the middle of the lineup. the rays will count on. jake orariso. good day for him. a good day for the starters. >> one inning but rays starting pitcher jay ora risso flawless and a good sign for the rays offense in the 3rd inning. logan morrison singled to move kevin ker meyer and then desmond jennings coming in with a double. >> you are in that position two times. >> it felt weird because i didn't play last year but it is som

and it's ahead of the first family's ariel in havana happen -- family's arrival in havana happening sunday. president barack obama will be the first sitting u.s. president to visit cuba since 1928. that was calvin coolidge. of course, you can count on news channel 8 to bring you highlights of the president's historic visit to cuba. our own keith cate is headed toto you can see his reports starting sunday. >>> it's 645. two suspected robbers are dead after being shot by police outside a furniture store in houston. another suspect is in the hospital and two others are in police custody right now. police opened fire on the five people when they pointed weapons at them. now one of the suspects posed as a store employee before the robbery. none of the officers were hurt. it's still under investigation right now. >>> isis is committing genocide agagainst christians and otother minorities in syria and iraq. that's what secretary of state john kerry just declared. now this is only the second time a u.s. executive branch member used the term genocide during an ongoing conflict. the findings do not

our own keith cate made the joins us now from havana where the rays game was just played. havana cuba. it is a wonderful day for baseball as you might imagine. the sun is out. the cuban national team taking batting practice before the game started. and our tampa bay rays wooing the crowd. it really is a magical kind of day. [ music ] >> they are welcoming us with open arms and we appreciate being in this position. and, to have impact. to have the impact on the guys coming over from the states and hopefully, these guys will come over and play against us in the states one day. and just to continue to work toward equality. it is great. the atmosphere is unbelievable and the love for baseball is unbelievable. they are welcoming us like it is home for us. us, as ballplayers, we love the game of baseball. >> reporter: the biggest highlight, this day took place before the first pitch. the president of the united states, barack obama, and the first family walking into this stadium with cuban president raul castro, something unimaginable for decades. and yet, here it was. economic and politica

he traveled to havana to follow president barack obama on this historic visit. in the next half hour, keith shows us how the cuban people are reacting to the president's visit. >>> still chilly out there. >> it certainly is. a frost advisory this late in march, very unusual but we will take it in this crazy el nio winter so far. frost advisory for citrus and hernando but away from the coast. if you don't like it chilly, don't worry. we see leaps in the we go from 50 at 9:00 a.m. to a huge warm-up. and with lighter winds and lower humidity, the afternoon and early evening should be really comfortable. the chilly morning, pleasant afternoon. tomorrow for all you spring breaker, best beach day . that's the day to head out there. it's warmer but still sunny because a stalled cold front is going to bring our rain chances up toward the end of the week. it's a 20% chance thursday. and 40% friday. and 50% saturday. checking in now with traffic on the 8s. hopefully things are good. >> they're decent. >>> we have a good drive. let's take a look at what's going on, folks.

he will bring us reports from havana starting sunday here on newschannel8. >>> saint armon circle is one of sarasota's most popular tourist destinations but parking can be a nightmare. john rogers joins us live live. we are told that commissioners want to hear from the public on this particular issue. is that right? >> reporter: oh, they certainly do jenn and they are certain to receive an earful. anybody who has been here knows what the situation is like. so check it out. we got a pretty decent spot here in the center of the circle but as you are about to see, it was quite an ordeal to get here. anyone who has ever been here can understand. >> how is the parking when you come down here? >> it can be challenging. >> this is just so typical. we are doing a story about parking and we cannot even find a place to park. >> reporter: we literally drove in circles almost an hour. even if a space became available, it didn't last for long. business owners in the city are well aware of the issue, so, they are proposing a solution. building a parking garage. it would be paid for with the help o

they'll play this week before traveling to cucuba themselves for their own history-making e splint havana. next tuesday, they'll pitch at this stadium wherere the rays will face the cubaban national team. and now major league baseball has shipped out more than 60- tons of clay and equipment to ensure the nearly 70-year-old venue in cuba will be in tiptop shape. a little different over there. and although the field is far from perfect, officials say it's ready for them to play ball. >> the field is not quite e up to what a major league field would be but that's okay. again, it's about the event. we just want to make sure that the field is safe. that the players can perform well on the field. that's all. >> this game will be the first fofor a big league club in cuba since 1999. back then, the baltimore and you can count on news channel 8 to bring g you highlights of this historic gameme and the president's visit to cuba. our keith cate is traveling to cuba this weekend. you can catch his reports starting sunday. >>> it's 5:46 this thursday morning. and we have a big story for you. cobi brya

. >>> in a few day, president barack obama and the first family land in havana, cuba. the historic trip starts sunday. anticipation is creating an obama mania on the island: you can see a few thing, shirt, flag, magnets and buttons all over havana for the president. >>> it's 5:31 on this friday morning. tgif. let's get a check of the forecast meteorologist leigh spann. >> good morning. not seeing any thick fog and friday. but there are extra clouds and if you notice ai-10 and the panhandle, a line of showers. the -- notice across i-10 and the panhandle, a line of showers. i will leave in a 20% rain chance today but most of you and d if anything, cool -- cooler this morning. it's still above average but cooler than yesterday.y. 62 lakeland. here are the streaming clouds. this is the forecast, 7:00, 8:00 this morning, yeah, more clouds than yeststerday. and not a terrible day by any means. even by 12:30, mostly cloudy. and notice the showers, again, they could stream in. not a big chance though. 81 degrees today despite the clouds. and that slim rain chance. at 5:38, i h

news channel 8's keith cate is in havana covering this historic visit. of course we're going to have coverage starting on first at 4:00. >>> happening today, a vote that could ease the headache of hundreds of drivers looking for a space at one of sarasota's most popular tourist today commissioners in sarasota will discuss and vote on a $15 million project to fix the parking nightmare in saint armon circle. business owners want to put up parking meters and build a parking garage. the meeting starts at 6:00. >>> in tampa a meeting will be held for a new loft style apartment building. mayor buck buckhorn will cut the ribbon for the lofts. it will house up to 100 new residents. >>> back to back stories of how much we are growing here in the sunshine state. a lot has to do with the weather. what happened? this is the first day of spring. >> we had spring officially start yesterday. first full day a january day believe it or not. so it's strong winds this morning helping to bring temperatures down. by 8:00 a.m. we'll be at 50 degrees. we're still going to drop

american airways wants to fly out of cities like miami to havana. silver airways proposed service to havana from tampa and orlando. >>> well, time now is 4:01. let's check in with -- meteorologist leigh spann. >> brooksville, you are at 46 degrees right now. polk county, mid-50s. 61 in bradenton and st. pete. but everybody is significantly cooler than yesterday, anywhere from about 5 to 16 degrees cooler than yesterday. and when you head to today to the opening day of the strawberry festival, josh turner at 7:30, again, just a little cool but a really fast 69 degrees at 8:00. in weather and traffic on the 8s at 4:08, i have an hour-by- hour look at your thursday. and leslee is here with the morning commute. >> that's right. love me some josh turner. i saw him last time and wonderful music. >>> let's take a look at traffic. we have a couple issues. overnight construction, that's the name of the game. and if you're traveling southbound on 275, the exit to 54th avenue is closed. 54th avenue south from 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. so here's this situation. le

keith's reports from havana will begin at 11:00 on news channel 8. dozens of protesters caused big problems outside of a donald trump campaign rally on saturday. protesters blocked a highway in phoenix not far from the site of the rally. before arizona's primary election on tuesday. that rally reached a violent point when a protesters was punched and take a look at the video. you can assaulted. it doesn't appear he was seriously injured. sanders spoke to nbc news about the presidency. >> donald trump is perfectly welcome to run for president. what he's not welcome to do is opposes him should be violently attacked, that he should be handed the presidency outside of the rules of his own party. i mean, this is sounding like 1933 up in here. >> during the rally trump vowed that illegal immigration is going to stop adding that it's dangerous. >>> this weekend both democratic and republican presidential candidates are promising to fight it out until the end even while front runners hillary clinton and donald trump inch nomination. for a look at where thing

. >>> plus, cigar aficionados are puffing today in havana. officer moeny of cuba's cigar festival. >>> but first, self-drive cars are coming to tampa this year. how much do you trust these cars? ( soft, calm music ) hi, you've reached emma. i'm out of the office right now but will get back to you just as soon as i possibly can. your call is important to me. join princess cruises discovery at sea experiences. 6-day caribbean cruises from just $549. call your travel consultant or visit princess.com princess cruises. come back new. driving cars once considered only a thing of the future are now a reality. and they may be coming to florida a lot sooner than you think. driving cars? americans don't. lindsey mastis is following the lindsey, what are some of the concerns that drivers have. >> reporter: gayle and gene, good morning. there are are a lot of reasons people are against the technology but one thing is clear, the less thing people know about how autonomous driving work, the more fearful they are. 75% of americans are afraid to the even take a ride in a self- driving car. more than

monday thehey'll tour old havana and the president will meet with young entrepreneurs on the island and the first family will attend a state dinner hosted by razl castro but the president will not be meeting with the revolution leader fidel castro. playing the phillys this afternoon in clearwater. it's the first of four games this week before traveling to cuba themselves fofor a historic trip in havana. the rays will face the cuba national team. mlb shipped more than 60-tons of clay and equipment. why? well, they want to ensure the nearly 70-year-old venue in cuba would be in tip-top shape for the big game. and although the field is far from peperfect, mlb officials say it's ready to play ball. >> the field is not quite up to what a major league field but that's okay. again, it's aabout the event. -- itit's about the event. we just want to make sure that the field is safe and that the players can perform well. that's all. >> the guys are going to have the home advantage for the cuban national team. it will be the first for a big league club in cuba since 1999 when the orioleses play cub

president obama in havana symbolically opening anigh era in u.s. relations with cuba as some carry on the fight against a still repressive regime. >>> trail of violence at donald trump's campaign events. we speak to a protester who found himself being punched and kicked. >>> distracted driving may have caused a crash that toppled a school bus carrying a high school basketball team. remarkably everyone survived. >>> and, dear, mr. president, one woman's letter from havana gets a response from president

only a selected few will get service flights to havana. our own keith cate will be traveling to havana as president obama makes his historic visit and the rays will be going to play the cuban team. father demanding answers tonight. >> pack your bags, when the disney ships will be ready to set sail. >> despite the clouds it got up to 76 degrees today. it was a warm. it looks like a cold front is headed our way tomorrow. we'll talk about the impact on the front and the weekend forecast coming up. i do everything on the internet. but it's kind of slow. my friends said i should get fios because it's the fastest... but i thought it would be too expensive... who's that, jenny? no kate...turns out they have a deal that cost me even less than my slow service. and it's 100 megs ...i just downloaded 600 photos in 60 seconds. that's seriously better. we're out of 2% then i thought, maybe other things could be better. i heard that. only fios has the fastest internet and wi-fi available. so you can send files up to 5x faster than cable, with capacity t

american wants to fly out of miami to six cuban cities including havana. silver airways also proposed service to havana from several florida cities including tampa and orlando. all of this coming as historic changes are happening between cue tampa bay area and the u.s. i will be traveling there to cover president obama's visit to the island. you can watch everything here on newschannel8 beginning sunday march 20. >>> new tonight, a frightening neighborhood. take a look. one family finds this guy in their backyard pool. and tonight, they are sharing a scare of a lifetime. >> a whopping nine foot long 300-pound alligator right in their backyard pool. paul mueller joins us live from hillsborough county with that story. it's a good thing they spotted this gator early on. >> reporter: that's right. you know, it's a good thing. luckily, they weren't about to just jump in the pool. the problem is this. their pool has a dark bottom. and that is the perfect place for a reptile to blend in. wrestled out of the water. this gator clearly not giving up without a fight.

nbc's andrea mitchell is in havana traveling with the president. andrea, good morning again. >> good morning again, matt. the president should be speaking around 10:30. that's the timing he was going to go on cuban television and unprecedented speech, speaking about human rights, before he meets with dissidents later. of course, he'll begin the speech, i understand, with comments, the first comments from an administration official, about the terrorist attack. we assume he'll try to calm fears and talk about communication with our counterterrorism officials and foreign ministers in other capitals. about conversations with belgium counterparts, as well as french and british and others engaged. and how there is coordination. that said, there's a lot of concern among national security officials that there has not been enough coordination within europe, and borders have not been secured. borders are still open, as matt and savannah, you've been reporting. according to the european system, the european union system is going to be closely examined. also,