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

After starting our day in the 60s, expect high temperatures in the mid 80s for Saturday.

Skies will be partly sunny and winds will be out of the northeast.

Lows will fall to the mid 60s at night for the Tampa Bay area. It will drop to the upper 50s again in the Nature coast. 

High: 86 Low: 64 Rain Coverage: 0%

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Today's Big Stories

1. PACE and Metropolitan Ministries to offer hurricane relief
Tampa PACE is bringing its health and wellness care to two RV parks hit hard by flooding during Hurricane Milton.

2. Plant City native organizing hurricane relief efforts
In our Pursuit Unlimited segment, Spectrum Bay News 9 usually highlights an individual overcoming obstacles. In this case, a group is putting aside their own storm challenges to help others.

3. Consumer sentiment improved for third consecutive month in October
With the economy continuing to be the No. 1 issue among voters with less than two weeks until Election Day, Americans are feeling better about their finances. Consumer sentiment improved for the third consecutive month to its highest level since April 2024, according to the new University of Michigan Survey of Consumers.

4. CDC says 75 people in 13 states sickened in E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounders
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today provided updated figures about the E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounders, which has now sickened 75 people in 13 states, including one person who died.

5. Biden aims to cancel student debt for 8 million Americans facing financial hardship
The Biden administration today announced a proposal that aims to cancel some student loan debt for about eight million Americans facing financial hardship. It marks the administration’s latest effort to take on student debt amid a series of legal setbacks and uncertainty.

6. Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins brings historic wrestling promotion home to Tampa
Tampa is the new home of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The historic promotion is now owned by Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, who purchased it back in 2017.

Your Notes for Tonight and Tomorrow

• TRAFFIC ALERT: Columbus Drive in Tampa will be closed this weekend starting tonight at 10 p.m. It will be shut down between Nebraska Avenue and Florida Avenue. Drivers can get around the closure by using Floribraska Aenue. This is for roadwork on the downtown Tampa interchange. It's expected to reopen by 5 a.m. Monday. Meanwhile, crews still have several roads closed in Lakeland to fix flooding issues from the hurricanes. Main Street, Elgin Street, Fern Road and Gary Road are all closed. Detours will be in place.

• TRAFFIC ALERT: The westbound lane on East Linebaugh Avenue is closed between Nort Florence Ave and North Annette Avenue as the Tampa Water Department conducts maintenance on the water distribution system. 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 Tuesday at 5 p.m., weather permitting.

• COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Saturday's games include Florida State at No. 6 Miami (7 p.m.) and UCF hosting No. 11 BYU. Florida and USF are off this weekend.

        
           NATIONAL NOTES        

Saturday, Oct 26

• Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a Get Out the Vote campaign rally with former First Lady Michelle Obama in Kalamazoo, MI
• Former President Donald Trump delivers remarks at campaign rallies at Suburban Showplace, 46100 Grand River Ave, Novi, MI (12:00 PM EDT) and at Bryce Jordan Center, 127 Bryce Jordan Center, University Park, PA (4:00 PM EDT)
• V.P. nominee Minnesota Governor Tim Walz campaigns in Arizona, on behalf of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, delivering remarks at a Native Americans for Harris-Walz Get Out the Vote celebration in Window Rock (2:45 PM MST), and at a campaign rally in Phoenix (6:00 PM MST)
• V.P. nominee Sen. JD Vance delivers remarks at a rally, The Georgia Freight Depot, 65 MLK Jr Dr SW, Atlanta (11:00 AM EDT), delivers remarks at Penn State Behrend Erie Hall, 4711 College Dr, Erie, PA (4:30 PM EDT), and holds a town hall at Rock Church, 1501 Market St, Harrisburg, PA (7:30 PM EDT)
• Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff campaigns in Harrisburg, PA.
• West Virginia Governor Jim Justice and his dog Babydog participate in Team Trump Road Trip event in Erie, PA, on behalf of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump
• National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, hosted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with potentially dangerous unused, unwanted, and expired prescription medications collected for destruction - free of charge and anonymously - at over 4,000 collection sites operated by law enforcement agencies and other community partners.
• President Joe Biden travels to Pittsburgh for political engagements
• MLB World Series continues: New York Yankees @ Los Angeles Dodgers
• The UK's King Charles III and Queen Camilla conclude visit to Australia and Samoa, which has marked the King's first visit overseas trip since his cancer diagnosis.
• 40th anniversary of a 12-day-old American baby girl born with a heart defect being given the heart of a baboon. She survived for 21 days.
• 30th anniversary of Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Jordan's King Hussein signing peace treaty at the border crossing of Arabah

Sunday, Oct 27

• Former President Donald Trump delivers remarks at campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York 5pm ET
• Former President Barack Obama speaks during Win with Black Men roundtable discussion, in support of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris 7pm ET
• Vice President Kamala Harris campaigns in Philadelphia
• V.P. nominee Minnesota Governor Tim Walz campaigns in Las Vegas, on behalf of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris
• Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff campaigns in the Atlanta metro
• 2nd anniversary of Elon Musk completing the acquisition of Twitter * In July 2023 he renamed the company 'X'
• 10th anniversary of Taylor Swift releasing her fifth studio album '1989', featuring the singles 'Shake It Off', 'Wildest Dreams', 'Blank Space' and 'Bad Blood.'
• 20th anniversary of the Boston Red Sox breaking the 'Curse of Bambino' to win the World Series.
• 10th anniversary of the UK withdrawing the last of its troops from Afghanistan.