Straight ahead on Late Edition, Live, Local, and Up to the Minute.
Now, this is Late Edition.
Good evening everyone. Thanks for joining us tonight.
The nation pays tribute to its military veterans today with a number of ceremonies throughout our area.
During a ceremony at Columbia Park, veterans laid a wreath on the war memorial honoring soldiers who lost their lives in battle.
A number of veterans and guests prayed for those currently in the armed forces and also for the future of our country.
In Yakima, the crowds gathered on Yakima Avenue to honor veterans in the form of a parade.
Middle and high school bands marched and played special tunes while kids and their parents lined the street to pay tribute to the men and women who have served our country.
The Veterans Medical Center in Walla Walla unveiled a statue in honor of General Jonathan Wainwright on this Veterans Day.
The late general is praised both for fighting in World War II and for his endurance while he was a prisoner of war.
Many of the veterans on hand for the unveiling were happy to see a statue dedicated in Wainwright's memory.
As a veteran, I'm real proud to work at the VA. I've worked out here for almost 20 years and it's just great that this would happen like this on Veterans Day.
It just makes everybody so proud.
Well, just to appreciate the people that went before me World War I, World War II and gave their lives and are part of their body and just so that we could be here today.
The Veterans Medical Center has also been renamed in honor of Wainwright.
Now here's a piece of information that isn't worth celebrating. More and more homeless men are veterans.
The latest survey from the International Union Gospel Mission finds one in every three homeless men seeking refuge at a shelter are veterans.
That's a lot higher than the number of veterans in the general population.
The mission also has noticed that number increasing over the past three years.
In the Tri-Cities, veterans make up 30% of the people served at the Pasco mission.
Reverend Don Thayer says that's mostly because some veterans have a hard time adjusting to everyday life.
Some of them are tour of duty, some of them are lifers, some of them are just four years, three years, and they find it hard to adjust to everyday life.
And we do get a lot of them that do come to the mission for meals, for clothing.
The Union Gospel Mission offers food, clothing, counseling and help finding jobs for veterans and anyone else in need.
Bend County Sheriff's deputies and state troopers raced at high speeds this morning to catch a man trying to elude them.
Lorenzo Gonzalez was allegedly speeding toward Pasco on chemical drive when all of a sudden he lost control and crashed.
He passed one of our sergeants at a higher rate of speed a little earlier on.
And the sergeant attempted to stop him. The vehicle failed to yield for several miles.
And about two miles down the road, I think he blew his radiator. He started to slow down.
He finally came to rest in the ditch over here.
Gonzalez was a wanted man. He had a warrant out for his arrest before this morning's incident.
During the chase, a state trooper also lost control of his car and landed in a ditch about 100 yards away from Gonzalez' car.
It's gambling Las Vegas style and it's coming to Toppenish.
The Akamah Indian Nation held the official groundbreaking ceremony today.
They're building a new 45,000 square foot casino on the land seen here.
The casino is expected to bring jobs and revenue to the area, but some people are worried it will also bring crime.
The Akamah Nation will have its own security in place to offset any on-site activity that may occur with regard to criminal activity.
The casino will feature blackjack tables, roulette, poker and other gambling machines.
It's expected to be open sometime next year.
The city of Toppenish is also honoring a Yakamah Indian for his life's accomplishments.
And as Greg Nieto reports, a relative of this man says his great grandfather's legacy is one that affects everyone.
He looks over. Everything that passes by here.
Gary Owlchild describes what he knows his great grandfather Alex McCoy is doing right now.
Today his spirit sits on this building overlooking Toppenish.
This past weekend this mural of McCoy was painted to celebrate his life.
A life that included being a witness to Custer's last stand, a war veteran and perhaps most importantly a leader.
Owlchild, who prefers the term descendant to grandchild, says even in a reflection from across the street,
all you have to do is look into his great grandfather's eyes to see what sort of man he was.
Through his eyes, he's seen everything. He's never turned his eyes away from anybody.
He says he feels a certain strength knowing the Owlchild name is always near and that others who come by to see it will feel the same.
I don't feel so alone now. It's just like an awakening for me.
And what if Alex McCoy was still here? What would he say?
Yesterday's forgotten. Today exists. Tomorrow's a possibility.
A possibility through the eyes of a hero.
In Toppenish, Greg Nieto, News 23, NBC.
The mural is located across the street from the police station in Toppenish.
The Teamsters Union is using a different tactic as it attempts to represent the 15,000 workers at apple packing plants in Washington State.
Yakima-based organizer Julian Gonzalez says it will appeal to the public with a social justice movement.
Gonzalez says the union has chosen not to file with the National Labor Relations Board.
He says employers and labor consultants manipulate that system.
After being pulled from store shelves two weeks ago, Odwalla juices are returning to Seattle area store shelves.
There is one major change though. These flavors do not contain apple juice.
As the juices are returning to the shelves, many shoppers say they'll buy Odwalla products again.
They were flying off the shelves. We were selling hundreds and hundreds.
And now what is it like?
Well, they delivered yesterday and it looks like we've sold about 14.
One girl died and over 40 people were hospitalized in this latest E. coli outbreak.
The E. coli outbreak, linked to Odwalla fruit juice, has the government considering whether to require all apple juice to be pasteurized.
The Food and Drug Administration has asked apple juice producers, or producers that is, to step up their quality control while the government considers the next step.
When you think of volcanoes in the Northwest, you probably think of Mount St. Helens.
But scientists say Mount Rainier could prove much deadlier if it ever erupts.
The biggest concern, massive mud flows that could cover entire cities.
As Chris Ingalls reports, one town in the path of possible danger is Orting, which now has a new plan to prepare for the worst.
Mount Rainier is 30 miles away, but you'd swear you could hit it with a stone from downtown Orting.
The peak that is this town's biggest attraction is also one of its biggest threats. Rainier is an active volcano.
One siren that sits atop the firehouse is the only warning system if Mount Rainier erupts.
Officials say it's not enough.
And that probably takes care of maybe a fourth or third of the city is all that would hear that siren if it was to go off.
So Orting is now shopping for a new warning system.
Each of the city's 4,000 residents will get this letter telling them not to be alarmed when they hear a series of sirens Wednesday as officials test several systems.
Mount St. Helens was a graphic example of a volcano's destructive fury.
But mud and ice flows of this scale are possible even without an eruption.
Rainier is capped with jagged glaciers, some of them clinging precariously to the mountainside.
Scientists say even a small eruption or earthquake could send them tumbling into the river valleys below.
The resulting mud flow could bury a city like Orting, which is surrounded by the Puyallup and Carbon rivers.
But the majestic mountain continues to draw new residents who live even further from Orting's lone warning siren.
But you know a lot of the new houses out here are very well insulated with dual pane windows.
Some people sleep real hard, some people don't.
And we just might not hear the alarm.
And that was Chris Engels with that story.
With the snow level in the mountains expected to drop to 1,000 feet this week,
the Washington State Department of Transportation reminds you to check the conditions before you drive over the pass.
I think with the unseasonable weather that we've had, I think they can expect a little bit more snow and ice.
So they should probably factor that into their driving times when they're commuting, especially across the mountain passes in the state.
The department urges you to be alert to the changing road conditions and remember that safety should always be your first concern.
If you do have to drive over the pass, it's important you allow yourself plenty of time,
make sure you always carry tire chains, and always call for the road conditions before you head out.
Here's the number to call for the road conditions. It's 1-888-SNOW-INFO or 1-888-766-4636.
And that is a free call.
And while we're on the topic of weather, we had a fairly nice day today.
But what's coming up?
Tiffany Sanders has that answer right after the break, but now time to check your lottery numbers.
We'll be right back.
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For more information on hunter education, call the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Later on the Tonight Show, this show's a knockout with the new heavyweight champion of the world, Evander Holyfield.
By the way, it wasn't easy.
The first shot he hit me with the right hand right in the face, right in the jaw.
You know, that hurt.
Plus, Ricky Lake, Bob Saget, direct from Broadway, Rent and Jay's Pop Quiz, NBC Tonight, and this week, don't miss Oprah Winfrey.
A portion of tonight's news brought to you by Delta Airlines. You'll love the way we fly.
MUSIC
Timothy, we had a fairly nice day today for fall. It wasn't too cold.
And compared to some parts of the East where they're having inches and inches of snow, it's beautiful here.
Yeah, you know, 60,000 people near the Great Lakes without power tonight.
That is not good.
Fortunately, sunshine stretched all the way from the Yakima Valley into the Columbia Basin, 39 degrees outside right now in Yakima.
Now, the pressure is rising and winds are out of the northwest around 6 miles per hour.
So, very calm night in Yakima and the Tri-Cities as well, 39 degrees there. Winds are variable about 5 miles per hour.
We can see temperatures around the Columbia Basin making it up to 59 degrees at Hanford today, Walla Walla reaching up around 58.
And lows last night down around freezing and even warming up into the 40s at Hanford last night.
Highs across the valley today making it into the 50s. Once again, even 60 degrees for a high in Sunnyside today.
Lots of sunshine throughout the valley and currently temperatures cooling off rather rapidly in eastern Washington.
You can see western Washington remaining in the 50s right now at the 11 o'clock hour.
Seattle 51, Olympia 54 and Portland right now at 55 degrees.
Now, we can see from a series of satellite pictures quite a bit of activity as far as clouds go passing through the northwest.
They just continue to blow right through into the 11 o'clock hour. We can see the jet stream here.
Jet stream is what's feeding these clouds into the northwest and it's really just bringing a steady stream of clouds through.
Fortunately, for southwestern Washington, looks pretty clear. We saw some sunshine today.
We saw a few clouds, but for the most part, the bulk of the clouds remain to the north and the rest of Washington.
We got a little bit of a break today and it looks like tomorrow we're going to start to see rain in western Washington.
But fortunately, we're not expecting too much of it to make it over the Cascades.
We are going to see some snow in the Cascades tomorrow.
Definitely want to call that pass report that you heard about earlier because traveling could take a little bit longer than what you're used to.
Now, as for tonight, around the Columbia Basin, temperatures down into the 30s once again and winds will be light and variable.
As for the valley, temperatures down below freezing in most areas, 32 degrees.
In fact, it's sunny side tonight and we are going to see mostly cloudy skies.
Those clouds are going to start to build for tomorrow.
Now, around the Columbia Basin, temperatures tomorrow, about what we saw today, but we are going to start to see more clouds.
We will still see a few sun breaks, but for the most part, we're going to see some cloudy skies and that continues across the valley as well.
We are expecting some rain to the north around Ellensburg, but as for temperatures, much like we saw today, into the mid 50s, maybe a few degrees cooler.
The five-day forecast shows temperatures remaining in the 50s for the next five days, but we definitely are going to see that sunshine stick around
and overnight lows warming up just a little bit into the high 30s, low 40s.
So things look fairly nice for the next five days sunshine.