Good evening, Tampa Bay. We're wrapping up the day for you with the most important stories you need to know and your weather outlook.

Your Weather Planner

Friday will start with partly to mostly sunny skies, then a chance of scattered thunderstorms will come in for the afternoon.

Highs will be in the low to mid 90s.

Storms will cover less than half of the area in the afternoon.

Lows will fall to the mid to upper 70s at night. 

Highs: 94 Lows: 78 Rain Coverage: 40%

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Today's Big Stories

1. State Rep. Carolina Amesty accused of forgery, surrenders to Orange County jail
The Republican Florida House member is charged with four felonies. She's accused of notarizing her own signature, forgery, uttering forgery, and false notary certification.

2. St. Pete Beach officials fire city attorney, consider pause on development
St. Pete Beach city commissioners voted to fire City Attorney Andrew Dickman earlier this week. City officials said the move is in response to nearly 20 lawsuits against the city, some from the appointment of interim commissioners earlier this year.

3. LGBTQ+ advocates react to removal of section from Visit Florida site
State officials are facing criticism from members of the LGBTQ+ community after a section that was dedicated to LGBTQ+ travel was removed from the Visit Florida website.

4. OSHA investigates Tampa worker death involving auger
Tampa Fire Rescue said crews discovered the man who was killed during an accident relating to the auger, which is a spiral-shaped tool that can bore out holes.

5. Blue Origin sends up 6 space tourists in New Shepard rocket
Six civilians, including a University of Florida professor, took off from Texas on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket and returned as astronauts after experiencing the thrills of microgravity on Thursday morning.

6. FDA finalizes rule increasing minimum age restrictions for photo ID to buy tobacco products
Starting Sept. 30, retailers need to verify the age of tobacco buyers under the age of 30 with a photo ID.

7. Florida Politics: UF named fourth-best public higher ed institution in U.S., according to new Forbes analysis
According to the analysis by Forbes writers, UF offers “students high earning potential with low debt burdens and a great return on their investment.” Tuition costs also played a major role in the high ranking for UF.

Your Notes for Tonight and Tomorrow

• RAYS UP: The Tampa Bay Rays will play the San Diego Padres tomorrow night. First pitch is at 6:50 p.m. at Tropicana Field.

• TRAFFIC ALERT: The southbound lanes on North MacDill Avenue are now closed between West Kathleen Street and West Columbus Drive as the Tampa Water Department fixes a water main break. The northbound left turn lane from North MacDill Avenue onto West Kathleen Street is also closed due to this work. There will be barricades and signs in the area to help reroute traffic. The work is expected to be completed with a return to normal traffic patterns by tomorrow at 5 p.m., weather permitting.

• HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS 2024: Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights opens tomorrow, running on select nights from Aug. 30 through Nov. 3. Officials said that guests can expect a new collection of spooky experiences, including 10 all-new movie-quality haunted houses inspired by cinematic greats and eerie original stories created by members of Universal themselves, and five scare zones. View more details about Halloween Horror Nights, including a sneak peak of what to expect this year.

        
           NATIONAL NOTES        

           Friday, Aug 30

• Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at Moms for Liberty Joyful Warriors National Summit event.
• 3rd anniversary of the last U.S. military flight leaving Kabul after the evacuation of over 123,000 people, including 6,000 Americans, following the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan two weeks earlier. 
• Paris 2024 Paralympic Games continue. U.S. teams in action today in the men's goalball prelims against Brazil (9:00 AM CEST), women's sitting volleyball prelims against China (12:00 PM CEST), mixed wheelchair rugby prelims against Japan (1:30 PM CEST), and women's wheelchair basketball prelims against Germany (4:00 PM CEST).
  • Medal events today in para-athletics, para-cycling track, para-swimming, para taekwondo, and para table tennis. Other sports today are boccia, para archery, para-badminton, para-rowing, shooting para-sport, and wheelchair tennis