This is KNDU 25, your local news station.
KNDU Local News 11 at 11 starts now.
Good evening and welcome to 11 at 11. I'm Rachelle Murcia.
And I'm Dustin McDunn. Here's what's happening tonight.
A fire near Maptan has scorched over 110,000 acres.
But as Rob Hayes reports, the firemen now have the upper hand.
Hot and fast, that is how this fire burned. But it got too greedy too early.
Because it consumed most of the fuel in this area, there is little left for it to feed on.
And that has given firefighters the upper hand.
They now say they should have this fire contained by tomorrow or Monday.
But there's still a lot of work to do between now and then.
As the sun rose this morning, spent fire crews returned to the staging area.
Meanwhile, the second shift, load up their water tanks.
After a 6 a.m. briefing, they're off to the fire line.
It is a hot, dusty day for most of them.
Not only fighting the flames, but calming nervous residents.
I think even if their homes aren't in immediate danger, I think it gives them a really good sense of well-being.
That there's some resources right there to protect their individual home and property in case the wind should shift
and they should find their house in danger.
Entire vistas of hills and plains sit blackened today.
But with so much burn, there is little left for the flames to consume.
Rebel hot spots fall victim to concentrated air attacks.
It's so dry out there that once the fire is passed, it basically consumes all the fuel.
There's a little danger of it re-burning and there's no mop up.
It's just dead once it's burned.
So basically we're just fighting flaming fronts and chasing.
With the end in sight, life here begins to return to its usual rhythms.
As the focus shifts back to the green and the black fades into the past.
The cost of fighting this fire will not be forgotten anytime soon.
After just three days, the price tag is already approaching the one million dollar mark.
And that was Rob Hayes reporting from Mabton.
And we were also told help is on the way for the mop up.
The National Guard troops that were trained to fight fires two weeks ago are being called to help on this fire.
500 soldiers will arrive in Grandview tonight to receive their equipment.
And they plan to deploy the fresh firefighters onto the fire lanes tomorrow morning at six.
The Guard will help existing crews fight hot spots and make sure that the fire is controlled.
Around the northwest tonight, a wildfire in Montana is at 81,000 acres.
It grew after winds gusting to more than 50 miles per hour pushed the fire to the northeast.
The fire is burning actively west of Grassy Mountain in a north to northeast direction, closer to the mountain.
An evacuation of the Grassy Mountain subdivision remains in effect.
The nine-day-old fire is about 45 percent contained.
And a group of forest fires continue to blaze across Oregon, threatening to consume even more land every day.
The fires have spread rapidly, burning 110,000 acres this morning.
High winds serve to sustain the growing blaze, and roughly 500 firefighters were called in to combat the fire,
adding to the crews arriving from several states.
The death of a Portland man who fell from a cliff in the Columbia River Gorge has been ruled an accident
by the Multnomah County Medical Examiner's Office.
The body of 46-year-old Samuel Lee James was found next to Interstate 84 on Thursday afternoon.
He was alone at the time of the incident.
Across America tonight, a shooting rampage has left four people dead, including the shooter
and a fireman who was raising money for charity.
It happened this morning in Connecticut when 29-year-old Mark Cote opened fire.
He fired the first, the 30-year-old who lived in the same apartment building.
He then shot a fireman doing charity work and another woman before turning the gun on himself.
A fire in suburban Los Angeles has destroyed a row of businesses there.
A California taco restaurant and some adjacent buildings have been damaged.
There are no reports of injuries, and the cause of the fire is still not known.
School is back in session at the University of Richmond at Virginia,
but just as students enter classroom doors, they will find the doors to the Napster website closed.
The University of Richmond has blocked access to the popular website Napster from campus computers.
Napster is a controversial music sharing website recently brought under fire
by the recording industry of America for copyright issues.
Around the world tonight, the people in one state in India are trying to put their lives back together this weekend
after flash floods swept through the area, killing 122 people and destroying 1,000 homes.
The government is doing all that it can to help out.
On Friday, officials took to the air to drop food packets and other relief supplies,
but it's hard to miss the fact that authorities were not prepared to handle this disaster.
Forecasters say these were the heaviest rains to hit this part of India in 50 years.
It's been an incredibly stressful week for four journalists held captive in Liberia.
The four worked for a British television company and said they feared for their lives.
The four spent a week in jail after being accused of espionage.
They worked for London-based Insight News Television.
Liberian officials say the government agreed to drop all charges against the group in exchange for an apology.
And the divers who tried in vain to rescue the crew of the sunken Russian nuclear submarine Kursk
spoke out about their attempt today.
The Norwegian divers who opened the Kursk only to find it completely flooded
said today that Russian military officials were incredibly cooperative.
The Russians have been targets of criticism for being generally uncooperative,
but the divers on the scene say they received just the opposite of that from the Russians.
In other local news, two people suffered minor injuries after a ride at the fair malfunction last night.
But that hasn't stopped both the young and old from losing their stomachs on the carnival rides.
Christina Chavez tells us how injured or not carnival ride junkies just can't stop.
Two people were taken to Kennewick General Hospital and treated for whiplash
after a shock absorber from one of the rides failed.
One of the carts from the ski junk was dropping faster than normal, causing the cart to hit the rails harder.
But first aid volunteers say cases like this are rare.
You don't see the kids getting hurt too much on these rides.
You know, just it'd be like one in a hundred chances that it's going to happen.
And most kids aren't fazed by the possible hazards of getting on the ride.
Well, some of them go really fast and some of them go really high and they're just really fun.
I like it because it's really high and when you go down your stomach drops and it kind of feels weird.
In fact, paramedics say carnival riders are more likely to suffer from upset stomachs than aches and pains from the ride.
Then we just try to bring them in, give them some water and try to lay them down, get their stomach a little eased up from the ride.
Davis Carnival runs the ride operations at the fair and have done so for the past 12 years.
Fair representatives say they have consistently received high marks for safety.
In Kennewick, Christina Chavez, KNDU Local News.
The carnival ride injuries last night were just a few of the major accidents that the first aid station has treated.
But first aid says the number of major accidents is decreasing compared to last year.
First aid volunteers say people are drinking a lot more water and staying in the shade.
Prevention is helping decrease cases of dehydration and heat exhaustion.
The first aid station was moved to a new location in the fairgrounds last year.
The big problem? People didn't know where to get the medical assistance.
From last year us being here, they're starting to be a little more knowledgeable on where we're at and how to get to us.
First aid is treating minor injuries. Blisters and bee stings are the most common.
In a new restaurant is headed Yardway, city officials have found a location for an olive garden.
This patch of brush on the corner of Gage Boulevard and Center Parkway will be cleared out for the Italian restaurant.
Olive Garden corporate representatives are also trying to pitch in more than $4,000 to put up a traffic signal at the intersection.
No date has been set on when the restaurant will open.
Sounds good. Another thing that sounds good is our weather recently.
And right now, meteorologist Drew Jackson joins us now for a first look. Drew?
Well, Rachelle, a very nice day today. About 5 to 10 degrees cooler than it was yesterday.
There were some breezes this afternoon and they're going to die down this evening.
Now as we go into tomorrow, it'll be a sunny day and another cool day.
Look for a high temperature in the Tri-Cities tomorrow, about 81 degrees. Cooler in Yakima with 75 degrees.
That's a quick look at the weather. I'll have more details, including a seven-day forecast a little bit later on.
But now let's head over to the newsroom at Jeff Moreau with Mead Off Sports.
Mariners played safe at Safeco for the first time in a while.
It's essentially out there taking on the White Sox here.
After the Sox ride for five runs, the Seventh, the M is only led by two.
Mike Cameron right there laces this pitch to center field for a two-run double.
He drove in three tonight as the Mariners snap a three-game losing streak with Oakland's loss to the Yankees today.
Seattle now has a two-and-a-half game cushion in the AL West.
Still to come tonight, the Posse, the Bears, and a World Series update.
Plus, the Seahawks add some beef for the next five years. I'll explain all that and much more coming up in about 15 minutes for the rest of the day in sports.
Back to you guys.
Thanks, Jeff. The Olympics are approaching quickly, and it has many people very excited.
But it also has some people a little bit worried about terrorism.
We'll have the story when we come back.
But first, here's a look at today's winning lottery numbers.
Stay tuned. You're watching K&U Local News.
We'll be right back.
The Bush Education Agenda.
Reform Head Start.
Focus on reading.
Restore local control.
Triple funding for character education.
Whole schools accountable for results.
Now is the time to teach all our children to read and renew the promise of America's public schools.
At Les Schwab, we're proud of our written warranty.
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Think of our warranty as a customer service thank you, honored at more than 300 Les Schwab tire centers throughout the West.
It's why we say, if we can't guarantee it, we won't sell it.
Walking around campus, you know, you might want to strut your stuff a little bit.
You look good, you feel good.
Yeah.
Oh, you can wear them with a lot of stuff. Like you could layer them if you want.
Oh, those look good, Sierra.
Most of the time I'm broke, but when I do scrounge up some money for clothes, head on over to Walmart and pick up something for a reasonable price.
Like these jeans, I found that fit me perfectly.
I like those with those shoes.
As long as I look good, then I'll buy it.
Oh, and Ross looks good.
I look good.
It's about time.
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This program is closed caption for the hearing impaired.
Australian officials today sought to reassure the world about security.
Despite published reports of a possible plan to attack that country's only nuclear reactor, NBC's Fred Francis joins us tonight from Washington.
U.S. intelligence sources tell NBC News that New Zealand police arrested and released three men with ties to Afghanistan after charging them with passport fraud.
One of those men had a map which highlighted a small nuclear reactor in the city of Sydney where a million people will gather in three weeks for the games.
These people had the room in the house set up in such a way that it gave us cause for concern that they might be intent on some activity as a prelude to the Olympic Games.
Other officials played down the suspicions.
If they had clear evidence of terrorist activity, that someone would have been arrested. That's the truth of it.
Australian officials agreed that the reactor at Lucas Heights is safe.
The government sees no credible threat to the Lucas Heights facilities, whatever.
The Sydney Olympics, with its geographic proximity to southwest Asia, where Ben Laden has his support, has assembled the most integrated and sophisticated security organization ever seen.
It ties Australia to every major police and intelligence organization in the world, including the CIA.
And U.S. intelligence sources tell NBC News that there is no information at the CIA's Counterterrorism Center that Sydney is vulnerable.
And that was Fred Francis reporting.
Now, we had a pretty cool start to the weekend, but will the mild temperatures stick around?
In just a few minutes, meteorologist Drew Jackson will let us know.
But first, here's a look outside with the help of the Providence Tower came in Yakima.
Stay tuned. We'll be right back.
1969. America in turmoil. Al Gore graduates college. His father, a U.S. senator, opposes the Vietnam War.
Al Gore has his doubts, but enlists in the Army.
When he comes home from Vietnam, the last thing he thinks he'll ever do is enter politics.
He starts a family with Tipper, becomes an investigative reporter.
Then Al Gore decided that to change what was wrong in America, he had to fight for what was right.
He ran for Congress, held some of the first hearings on cleaning up toxic waste, made the environment his cause, broke with his own party to support the Gulf War,
fought to reform welfare with work requirements and time limits.
Al Gore, married 30 years, father of four, fighting for us, to ensure that prosperity enriches all our families, not just a few.
Strengthen Social Security. Take on big drug companies to guarantee prescription drugs for seniors.
Hold schools accountable for results. Tax cuts for working families and the middle class.
Al Gore, fighting for us.
Fire season is now upon us. Special care is needed to preserve our natural resources and to protect your community from the ravages of wildfire.
You can help by planting trees in proper locations. Avoid power lines and be sure to leave room for future growth.
Information and financial assistance are available.
To learn more, call the Department of Natural Resources at 1-888-STU-KIT. That's 1-888-STEWKIT.
Welcome to the Walmart jewelry department. This one is a herringbone and it's 20 inches long.
That looks awesome on your wrist. It's like Christmas every day.
Treat yourself today. Spend your husband's money. Everything here is from Walmart.
Yes, I think we have the best selection. Diamonds, gemstones, gold, watches, sapphires. Do you like sapphires?
And the quality is beyond your imagination.
Walmart. Where fine jewelry doesn't have to cost a fortune.
I go a little crazy sometimes.
Honey, can you just take a channel, please?
MSN Internet Access.
How about some sort of sport thing?
What about that?
16 by 9 digital TV.
I see a channel, Mommy!
And a digital camcorder for catching all those first steps.
Turn on the fun, best fun.
That's my boy.
There's been getting chilly at night. Do you think the chilly nights are going to continue?
Yeah, they are, Rochelle. In fact, I think we're going to see one of the chilliest nights we've had in a long time tonight
and then even colder tomorrow night with some locations even down in the upper 30s.
So we'll talk more about that in just a bit, but let's head outside right now
and take a peek through our tower cam at the AutoPlex in Pasco.
Nice night out there tonight. It's cooling down, though, as we talked about earlier.
And as we head into the next 24 to 48 hours, we're going to see temperatures cool down quite a bit.
Let's take a look at the satellite picture now, and here's what we have going on.
Notice there's clouds west of the Cascades, but lots of clear sky east of the Cascades,
and that clear sky and diminishing winds is going to set us up for the cooler weather overnight tonight
and another cool day on the way tomorrow.
Dry weather, though, this afternoon, and in fact by the end of this radar loop,
the whole Pacific Northwest has dried out quite nicely.
A few showers further east into Idaho and Montana, but even there dying down as the sun has set this evening.
High temperatures today look like this, 80 degrees in Walla Walla, 79 in Pendleton.
These are about 10 degrees cooler than they were yesterday afternoon.
Indeed, look at Ellensburg, only 65 this afternoon, so quite a cool day up in the Kittitas Valley.
Now for right now, we're cooling off quite nicely, 63 here in the Tri-Cities, 61 down in Hermiston,
and also 61 in Pendleton.
Locally, 63 in the Tri-Cities, humidity is 50 percent.
Winds, well the computer says north and zero, that's its lingo for calm winds.
West-northwest winds in Yakima, with the temperature there, 61 degrees.
As we look at the satellite picture, here's what's going on.
Notice the direction of the clouds. They're diving southeastward towards the Pacific Northwest,
but there's not much there. There's no storms headed our way at all.
Large ridge of high pressure out in the eastern Pacific,
sending most of the storminess further up to the north into Alaska,
then we're just left with some cool northwesterly flow,
and that pattern's going to continue over the next couple days.
We are keeping our eye on this down here. It's a cutoff low,
and over the next couple days we'll see this drift towards the northwest,
and maybe give a thunderstorm for the mountain areas,
but probably not until Wednesday or Thursday of next week.
In the meantime, lots of sunshine, dry, nice weather on the way.
So forecast for tonight looks like this.
Look for clear skies almost everywhere, and with the clear sky and the calming winds,
look for temperatures to drop down to the low to mid 40s, 43 in Yakima tonight,
48 in the Tri-Cities, 50 in Pendleton, 52 in Walla Walla.
Now for tomorrow, look for the skies to remain clear.
It'll be a sunny afternoon, but a cool day,
67 in Ellensburg, 75 in Yakima, 81 in the Tri-Cities.
And as we take a look at the seven-day forecast, Yakima first.
You'll see that the cool weather lasts into Monday,
but then there's a rebound towards midweek with temperatures rising into the mid-80s
before breezy and cooler weather arrives for Thursday, Friday, and into Saturday.
And finally, for the Tri-Cities, same story, just a little bit warmer,
temperatures rising into the mid-80s before a cooling trend
and a possibility of a thunderstorm over the mountains on Thursday.
So it's nice weather.
Yeah, turn off the air conditioners and enjoy the cool night.
Yep, that's right.
All right, thanks, Drew.
All right, and now time for a quick look at what's coming up in sports.
We turn it over to Jeff Murrell. Jeff?
Thanks a lot, Jess. I'm so used to being at the desk.
I kind of feel deserted over here like I'm on that Survivor show.
Would the Mariners have those same feelings tonight at home?
You'll find out. Plus, a former Cougar gets his day in the spotlight.
You'll find out about Ryan Leach's new promotion, Next in Sports.
So right in front of the client, he blurts out,
I forgot my pink Angora sweater.
All I did was toss it in with the leftover tuna casserole.
Let's whip up some of those yummy galvanized nails.
Ship them out overnight along with the 77 little stink bugs in a sock.
Nobody knows the way people talk around here better than U.S. Cellular,
and nobody can put you in a better calling plan, U.S. Cellular.
The way people talk around here,
10 Western state digital plans include free roaming
and long distance from your home calling area.
I remember the time our furnace went out,
and for days all we had was a gas stove to keep us warm.
We didn't have much, but we got by.
We were working people.
Maria's father poured concrete,
and I worked as a secretary while raising five kids.
Maria worked her way through school.
She was the first in our family to graduate from college.
Maria Cantwell went on to be elected to the state legislature,
where she helped make nursing homes safer
and expanded access to health insurance for thousands of Washington families.
In Congress, Cantwell helped pass the Family Medical Leave Act,
allowing workers to take time off to care for a loved one.
Maria Cantwell then helped build a high-tech company
that has grown to more than 700 employees
and become an Internet leader in audio and video software.
I'm so proud of Maria.
She's never forgotten where she came from.
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Every lottery dollars fund parks to play in
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Kennewick has its first World Series champion of the new millennium today
in Connorsville, Indiana.
The 14-year-olds took game one of the World Series doubleheaders,
6-5 over Tri-Valley.
And then that forced a game two scenario
where Joey Burns belted a grand slam for Kennewick
as they upset Tri-Valley 12-3
and captured only the second World Series title in Babe Ruth League history.
Burns was also named the most outstanding player of the series.
The city of Kennewick couldn't make it a twin build
with 12-year-olds in the Cal Ripken League World Series and Matson, Illinois.
Today they lost to West Palm Beach, Florida.
They were shut out 9th and nothing in fact.
McDonald Gunn of Florida pitched a one-hit shutout
to help the East beat the best of the West for the U.S. championship
they will face off tomorrow against Korea.
The Mariners have lacked a little soul these days.
Tonight they got some back.
Barry White throwing out the first pitch here.
Can't get a no for yellow, babe.
How do you like that?
Okay, that's pretty sad.
Top of the third, John Halama striking out.
Charles Johnson, he was pretty soulful tonight.
Writing some of that Mariners pitch has been very wrong as of late.
Bottom five, Alex Rodriguez.
Can't get a no for this pitch, babe.
For a solo shot, the center field is 32nd of the year.
Top of the sixth, some Mariner defense.
They finally step up here.
The recently acquired Al Martin with a great sliding catch there on CJ's liner
as Halama right there retired his 16th straight tri-soc batter.
Halama was very soulful tonight.
He improved to 11-6 on the years.
The Marines whitewashed the Sox 11-5 and Seattle snaps a three-game losing streak.
Let's hope they can't get enough of winning, babe.
I really tapped out that whole Barry White thing, didn't I?
The Bears hosting Spokane in a pitchers' duel at County Stadium tonight.
Oh, it was pretty exciting.
He taught the man of the hour pitch seven scoreless frames,
only giving up one hit as the Bears took game two of the series 2-1.
They play the final game of the series tomorrow at County Stadium.
Let's check in with the Posse on the road tonight in Utah.
Similar winning results against the Pioneers is this one Salazar sizzled
with a three-run home in the fifth and then added the game-winning RBI single
in the top of the ninth for the Posse.
Senor Smoke Jose Salcedo went seven and two-thirds,
scattering seven hits but didn't get the win.
The Posse will trail by only two and a half games if Solano lost tonight.
It's important because Tri-City has the day off and they begin on Monday
with a three-game set against those very same Solano Steelheads.
Today was day three of American's training camp.
The Posse is broken up according to age, practice, scrimmage,
and worked on their hockey skills because that's what you do in camp.
But for some of the veterans though, it was a chance to meet the new coach
and we sought their impressions.
Definitely a super good coach so far.
Kind of picked up right where Don left off.
He's kind of a hard ass.
I mean, we're already doing bag skates, my first skate out here,
and I mean, I respect that.
It's great because he just played here, so he knows the ups and he knows the downs
and he knows what it's like.
So I mean, that's right there in itself is probably about 100% bonus,
so it's real good for us.
Chris McIntosh will have to stay five years and like it.
The rookie holdout finally agreed to a five-year contract today.
With the Seahawks, the deal is said to be worth more than $5 million
over that nickel period.
McIntosh is expected to start at right tackle
and should begin practicing with the Hawks early next week.
Today in Pullman, the Cougars held a touch scrimmage against the scout team.
This final tune-up was designed to prep the Cougars
for next weekend's opener against Stanford.
In the game, the scout team ran a Stanford-style defense,
not to much avail.
After the morning workout, the team bussed to Camp Larson in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
to get some much-needed rest.
And finally tonight, not to make this cliche any cheesier than it is,
okay, I will, Ryan Leaf turned over a new Leaf today.
The former Cougar quarterback tapped more than just the kegs he did in college.
He tapped into the Chargers' starting lineup this year for San Diego.
Now, Leaf hasn't started a regular season game since December of 1998,
so you'd think he'd know this quarterback position by now.
I've had two years now to absorb it, and we've cut it and put it the way we want to,
and Jeep has a real good feel of how he wants to call it.
One of the best moves bringing in Mike Johnson to help me out.
So he makes me work hard, he expects it, and it's his standard, and I want to live up to that.
Now, Dustin, you're a big Ryan Leaf fan, aren't you?
Yeah, him and I grew up in pretty much the same area of Montana,
so I've known Leaf for quite a while.
It's about time he gets rolling here.
Hopefully he's grown up a little bit.
Yeah, we shall see.
Thanks.
Jude, do you have a last word for us?
Yes, sunny and breezy on the way tomorrow.
Look for high temperatures near 80 in the Tri-Cities, 75 in Yakima.
And as we head into the next seven days,
look for a warming trend to head our way towards midweek
and cooling again towards the end of the week.
All right, sounds great.
All right, well, that's going to do it for us.
I thank you for joining us, and we'll see you again tomorrow night at 6 o'clock,
and we'll leave you tonight with a look from the Autoplex tower cam in Pasco.
Good night, everyone.
Good night.
Good night.