{"id":223930,"date":"2026-04-08T21:26:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T21:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/223930\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T21:26:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T21:26:12","slug":"evening-briefing-tampa-april-8-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/223930\/","title":{"rendered":"Evening Briefing Tampa April 8 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

Your Weather Planner<\/p>\n

Breezy winds from the ENE will continue through Thursday.<\/p>\n

Morning temperatures will be in the mid 60s with variably cloudy skies.<\/p>\n

A few spotty showers are possible in the morning.<\/p>\n

Scattered showers will develop from time to time through the afternoon as highs reach 80 degrees.<\/p>\n

Drier air comes in Friday and for the weekend.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Highs: 80<\/p>\n

Lows:\u00a064<\/p>\n

Rain Coverage:\u00a040%<\/p>\n

Check your hour-by-hour forecast here<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Share your weather photos<\/a><\/p>\n

Today’s Big Stories<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Census: Pinellas County sees second-largest population drop in U.S.<\/a>
From back-to-back hurricanes, rising costs and deaths out-numbering births, the latest\u00a0 census bureau numbers show Pinellas lost almost 12,000 residents from July 1, 2024 to the same date in 2025,\u00a0dropping from 960,397 to 948,563.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Ceasefire is threatened as Israel expands Lebanon strikes and Iran closes strait again<\/a>
Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again Wednesday in response to Israeli attacks against the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, casting doubt over whether an already precarious ceasefire to end more than a month of war will hold.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0Artemis II crew to take control of Orion spacecraft in test<\/a>
As the Artemis II crew enters Day 8 of their mission, they will be busy testing out a special garment and taking manual control of the Orion capsule.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Hillsborough Schools moves forward with campus closures<\/a>
Three of the schools, Graham Elementary, Madison Middle and Pizzo K-8, will be shut down all together.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0‘Ketamine Queen’ to be sentenced for selling Matthew Perry the drugs that killed him<\/a>
Jasveen Sangha will be the third defendant sentenced of the five people who have pleaded guilty in connection with the 2023 overdose of the 54-year-old actor.<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0Ongoing construction in Lealman frustrating residents<\/a>
They say it has been causing problems for their daily commutes for more than a year and a half.\u00a0The area is between 49th Street and 37th Street.
\u00a0<\/p>\n

Featured Social Post<\/p>\n

Your Notes for Tonight and Tomorrow<\/p>\n

TRAFFIC ALERT | The outside southbound lane of Bayshore Boulevard, including the bike lane, is closed between South Orleans Avenue and South Oregon Avenue while the Tampa Water Department repairs a water main break. 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 4:30 p.m., Friday, weather permitting. The Tampa Water Department may need to return at a later date to complete additional work.<\/p>\n

ATTRACTIONS |\u00a0Disney World’s\u00a02026 Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival<\/a>\u00a0is in full bloom.\u00a0The vibrant festival runs through June 1. Attendees can enjoy character-themed topiaries, live entertainment and\u00a0garden-inspired food and beverages at the popular event.<\/p>\n

RAYS vs. CUBS |\u00a0The Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs meet tonight in the finale of their three-game series at Tropicana Field. The Rays won Monday’s game, and the Cubs took last night’s. Joe Boyle gets the start for Tampa Bay, with first pitch set for 6:40 p.m.<\/p>\n

National Notes<\/p>\n

Thursday, April 9<\/p>\n

Q4 2025 final growth figures published 8:30am
\nGDP by State 8:30am
\nUnemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report – Initial Claims
\nCourt hears Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ appeal against prostitution sentence NY
\nThe Masters golf opening round at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia * Rory McIlroy won last year’s tournament
\nNCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Frozen Four begins
\nWorld Press Photo Contest global winners announced * Photo of the Year announced 23 Apr, ahead of the exhibition opening 24 Apr
\nPress preview for exhibition exploring artists’ interpretation of American experience at National Gallery
\n‘Dear America: Artists Explore the American Experience’, press preview for an exhibition exploring how artists have portrayed and interpreted key aspects of American culture over the last 250 years. Featuring over 115 works from the late 18th Century to the present, the exhibition is organized into three thematic sections: Land, Community, and Freedom. Highlights include photographs by Ansel Adams, Margaret Bourke-White, and LaToya Ruby Frazier; drawings by Thomas Moran, Tonita Pe\u00f1a, and Eunice Pinney; artists’ books by Dindga McCannon and Kara Walker; and prints by Ruth Asawa, Charles Gaines, Roy Lichtenstein, Marisol, and Ed Ruscha * The exhibition is part of the museum’s yearlong commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the United States.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Chicken Wings at bb.q Chicken in Pinellas Park. Photo by Virginia Johnson\/ Staff<\/p>\n

At bb.q Chicken in Pinellas Park, Chef Kobe Nguyen shows the daily preparation for their chicken wing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Good evening, Tampa Bay. We’re wrapping up the day for you with the most important stories you need…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223931,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[834,275,135,137,136],"class_list":{"0":"post-223930","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-app-evening-briefing","9":"tag-spectrum-news-staff","10":"tag-tampa","11":"tag-tampa-headlines","12":"tag-tampa-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223930\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}