Devastation along the Gulf Coast after one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history.
So sad. This is where we work and we shop and that's just sad. I don't know what to say.
Stranded travelers.
I wish I was there. At least I would know what was going on.
How New Orleans residents are trying to get home from Las Vegas to see the damage first hand.
A local teacher under arrest for killing someone. Who he's accused of killing with his bare hands.
This is News 3 at 6 with Beth Fisher and Kendall Jennings.
The devastating aftermath. People along the Gulf Coast seeing images of their flooded out and destroyed homes
one day after the powerful storm hit land.
We are valiant people in this part of the world and we will endure. The important thing is that we're still alive.
Good evening to you. I'm Nina Ratatich and for Beth Fisher tonight it is being called one of the most violent natural disasters to ever hit the United States.
The category 4 storm caused massive devastation from Louisiana to Alabama.
And in Mississippi officials fear the death toll will continue to rise as a result of the sudden storm surge.
At least 100 people are already reported dead in the Biloxi Gulfport area.
The Superdome, which had been used as a shelter for thousands of people in New Orleans, is being evacuated because of rising floodwaters.
Two of the levees that held back a lake broke overnight sending floodwaters rushing into the city.
80% of which is now underwater.
The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is being felt all over the U.S. from local rescue teams going out to help
and families who can't reach their loved ones to the economic ripple effect.
We have first response team coverage tonight from Stacy Escalante and Dana Wagner on all of that information.
We begin though with News 3's Alex Savage from the News 3 Satellite Center to tell us about a group of New Orleans natives stranded here in Las Vegas, Alex.
The problem is they just can't get a hold of anyone back there.
This group from New Orleans came here to Las Vegas last weekend for a pool tournament over at the Riviera.
But then Katrina hit their hometown hard and now they are stuck here.
They're staying at a friend's house in the meantime and watching these incredible images of destruction.
Much of New Orleans is underwater right now and many of these people we talked to today are very worried about family.
They have a lot of relatives who stayed put during the hurricane and right now there's really no way to find out how they're doing.
At the same time many of these people are also worried their houses may not be standing when they get back.
It's been so we don't know how it looks now and we can't get through to it.
As far as our homes are concerned we are an unknown.
You know right now we don't, you know only based on what I heard from my mother yesterday is that the water was rising in our neighborhood in Harvey.
And so for the condition of our homes in Gretna Harvey we don't have any clue.
I never ever thought that it would be this devastating.
It really, really hasn't set in until, until this morning when I looked at the news.
And those folks from New Orleans they are hoping to get a flight back home sometime maybe next week.
Obviously the airports there are shut down right now but they tell me they have no idea what to expect when and if they do make it back home.
We're live in the satellite center, Alex Savage, News 3. Kendall back to you.
Alright Alex, those visitors from New Orleans could be here for quite a while.
Authorities in that city are asking anyone who left not to come back at least for the time being.
Las Vegas is thousands of miles away from Katrina but local casino companies are feeling the impact.
Harrah's Entertainment shut down three of its properties in Mississippi and New Orleans.
Every day those resorts are closed, Harrah's could lose more than $2 million in revenue.
The area along the Mississippi coast is a major tourist attraction with beaches and resorts.
MGM Mirage and Boyd Gaming also own properties in Mississippi.
The Nevada One Disaster Medical Assistance Team or DMAT is on their way to the Gulf Coast states to help.
The team consists of 35 members of physicians, nurses and other medical specialists.
DMAT responds to large scale disasters including the New York Trade Center disaster when it was attacked on September 11th.
Volunteers from the local Red Cross chapter are also on their way to Little Rock, Arkansas where they'll get all of their supplies.
They'll spend the next three days in the devastated areas.
The vehicle will most likely be used to feed people who have been left homeless from the hurricane.
Clark County Urban Search and Rescue Team has been called to duty and can head out anytime in the next three days to the Gulf Coast states.
What you're looking at here is video of the team during a mock terror drill exercise so they practice a lot.
The team has expertise in rescuing victims from collapsed buildings which could come in handy with hurricane ravaged structures.
And a lot of people have been calling the station and wondering how you can help.
One way is to make a monetary donation.
News 3's Dana Wagner joins us from the Call 3 Center tonight to tell us where you can send that money, Dana.
We've received hundreds of phone calls here in the News 3 Call Center.
A volunteer standing by from the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross.
We have five telephones here. They have been ringing off the hook since noon today.
Phone number 657-3437. It will probably be busy when you call so just continue to call. Be patient please.
Volunteers will be standing by until the phones don't ring anymore.
They'll probably be here through 7 o'clock this evening taking your donations.
What they need right now, they need checks. They need money.
You can either send the checks or you can give them your credit card information and they'll make sure all of the money that you send goes to the folks down in the southeast who have been impacted by Katrina.
Coming up in a few minutes we're going to show you the projected path for Katrina. Who's going to get hit next?
Plus we have a lot of smoke here, a lot of haze here in the valley.
We'll tell you where that came from and how long that's expected to stick around. That's in a few minutes. Now back to you guys.
Dana, thank you. Another casualty of Hurricane Katrina is the cost of oil.
The hurricane shut down a majority of oil production in the south which has caused a spike in gas prices.
News 3's Stacey Escalante joins us live from a local gas station tonight.
Stacey, some analysts say we could be paying as much as $3 a gallon in the next few weeks.
And Nina, that's not far-fetched, especially since just this afternoon we've seen prices go up six cents a gallon just at this station.
Two slices of pepperoni.
Antonio's pizza can be eaten at least in two places.
Any windows for here?
Or its delivery. Lately there's been less of that because gas costs more and drivers don't want to pay so much.
Antonio's owners get a daily reminder of the price at the pump.
Yeah, it's depressing to actually look at it.
Other stations have gone up significantly in the last several days even though according to AAA the average price in Las Vegas has stayed the same.
But when the average price is $2.67 and a catastrophic event happens and prices the next day go up 20 cents, it makes you wonder.
One gas station owner who wanted to remain anonymous is defending why he's charging $2.81 a gallon for regular unleaded.
He says last week he paid $2.58 a gallon wholesale but his next shipment will cost $2.98 a gallon or even more.
So he's trying to compensate for what he'll be paying in the future.
One local salon owner doesn't like that reasoning.
I have products there that have been, let's say, sitting there for six months.
I paid the old price.
If I have a new shipment come in for a newer price, I'm not raising the prices on the old products.
The bottom line is less production in the South due to Hurricane Katrina means the whole country will suffer in the coming weeks.
Las Vegas gets its gas from suppliers who use the ports out of California.
Those suppliers will have to redirect some of their product to the South, which means our prices will go up.
But at the same time, I believe a lot of big companies will take advantage of that fact.
And they're just going to see, let's see, how much can we cash in on that.
Some people told me that they plan on filling up sooner than later, not waiting until their tank is on empty.
As one person put it, if gas prices are the only thing we have to worry about,
we should consider ourselves lucky compared to those and what they're dealing with in the South.
Reporting live at Alton Valley View, I'm Stacey Escalante. Back to you, Nina.
Good reminder, Stacey. Stay tuned to News 3 for the latest on Hurricane Katrina.
Coming up on News 3, Nightside at 11, we'll talk to a man from Gulfport, Mississippi,
who's working in Las Vegas right now, about his failed attempts to contact relatives back home.
Kids First has learned a Las Vegas teacher has been charged with killing a man.
Paul Buboltz was set to start the school year as a P.E. teacher at Palo Verde High School when he was arrested.
He's accused of killing Justin Smiley in St. Cloud, Minnesota, after a bar fight last April.
Buboltz is charged with second-degree manslaughter.
Funeral services for the woman shot outside the Suncoast Casino are being held this evening at Palm Orchard on Eastern.
68-year-old Julie Miller and her husband, Ronald, were approached by a robber while sitting in their car a week ago.
The robber took their money and shot inside the car, killing Julie Miller.
Police say the gunman drove a silver Dodge Magnum.
There is a $50,000 reward for any information that could lead police to Julie Miller's killer.
Family and friends of a murdered woman are doubling their efforts to find her killer.
Teresa Insana was attacked in her home in Summerlin last October.
The 26-year-old Rio sales manager was later found beaten and strangled to death in a drainage culvert just a few miles from her home.
Nearly a year later, police have made no arrests.
If anyone has any information on this case, call Crime Stoppers. The number is 385-5555.
For the most part, the first day of school went off without a hitch for thousands of students and teachers around the valley.
But for one local student, it was a first-day nightmare.
He was crying and he wanted to come home. I mean, he was pretty devastated.
What happened when this six-year-old found himself lost for hours after getting on the wrong bus?
Plus, many people along the Gulf Coast waited out Hurricane Katrina, and now they're stranded and in some cases, trapped.
We're going to show you some dramatic rescues coming up on News 3 at 6, where news comes first.
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You're watching News 3 at 6 with Beth Fisher.
Kendall Tenney.
Weather with Dana Wagner.
Traffic with Tom Holley.
And sports with Mitch Roberts.
We are News 3, where news comes first.
A local mom is asking for better supervision at her son's school after the 6-year-old accidentally hopped on a bus yesterday.
First grader Lamont Wesley was supposed to wait for his mother after class at Darnell Elementary, but he got confused and hopped on the school bus instead.
Lamont's mother tells us her son will eventually ride the bus, but he isn't registered yet.
It took about two frantic hours to get him home, and she says the school had a tough time reaching anyone at the bus yard.
If they were able to contact transportation immediately, they could have stopped those buses.
They could have told them, hey, hang on to this child. Don't let him get off.
You know, don't let him go here. Don't let this happen. And I could have met that bus anywhere.
Well, I can guarantee you that each day it gets better.
Okay, the first day is bad, but it gets better each day.
And remember, the school district is about 100 school bus drivers short.
The district says Lamont was never alone yesterday, but since he wasn't registered for the bus, it took a while to track down his home address.
Once that happened, investigators drove him there personally.
The Coast Guard is working around the clock rescuing stranded homeowners. We'll show you video of their rescue efforts.
Still to come, we're going to show you different rescue missions caught on tape.
First, Dana is in the News 3 Weather Center.
Yeah, we'll show you the projected path of Katrina, who's going to get hit next.
And look at all that haze out there over the valley.
We'll tell you where this came from and when it's expected to get out of here.
Coming up next to our News 3, where news comes first.
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Thank you for making us your number one newscast at 6 o'clock.
This is News 3 at 6.
Katrina continues to decrease in strength.
Now a tropical depression, but still packs a lot of punch.
Those red boxes right there, those are tornado watches.
Those are a possibility anytime you have this type of activity.
And heavy rain, 2 to 4 inches expected in the path of Katrina.
Up to 6 inches possible.
Here's the radar with the heaviest showers now in Northern Virginia.
Also throughout Ohio and the Eastern Great Lakes region, extending up into New England.
And here is the projected path of Katrina right now, located not far from Louisville, Kentucky.
It will make its way through Kentucky, then Ohio, the Eastern Great Lakes.
And then skirting into southern Canada, not far from the New England state.
So flooding a possibility there over the next couple of days.
A lot of haze out there here in the valley.
Shooting north from the Mandalay Bay camera.
Usually have no problem making out the sheep range.
But this afternoon, it's a little tough to tell what's off in the distance.
National Weather Service says smoke from some fires in Southern California,
wafting into southern Nevada.
Current temperature of 101.
Winds out of the east northeast at 5. Single digit humidity.
Today we made it to 106 or 102.
Six degrees cooler than yesterday.
Three degrees above the average.
And tomorrow we're going to be very close to that 99.
Because of all the smoke, we've had some air quality issues.
The areas in red, that's J.D. Smith School, not far from downtown.
Unhealthy conditions there.
And the areas in yellow up in North Las Vegas, moderate air quality issues.
Try to confine your outdoor activities, if possible, if you're in those areas.
Regional satellite radar not showing much.
We have a westerly flow, which should continue right toward the end of the week.
And as a result of that westerly flow, average temperatures for this time of year.
And plenty of sunshine.
Tonight 74, the haze hanging around.
We hope it'll be out of here by tomorrow morning when the kids head out to the bus stop.
With a temperature of 77 around 7 a.m.
On our way to Ohio, 99 with plenty of sunshine.
Light winds predicted for midweek, Wednesday.
And then more of the same the next seven days.
Plenty of sunshine.
Highs right near 100 degrees.
Overnight lows in the 70s.
Nice forecast as we head into the holiday weekend.
Absolutely. Thank you, Dana.
You bet.
Still to come, Coast Guard rescues caught on tape.
Stranded homeowners across the Gulf pulled to safety.
But first we're joined by Mitch Roberts, who's going to tell us how you can help honor the shark that built the UNLV basketball program.
That's right. Tarkanian, you know, wasn't the nicest exit when he left this university.
After all he had done, they found a way to rectify that a little bit.
Plus, we'll help get you folks ready for the Rebels football season opener.
You know, all those practices, all that hard work.
Let's hope that we're clapping at the end of this season instead of the beginning.
We'll be back with News 3 at 6 right after this.
Here are tonight's Nevada numbers.
I'm News 3 anchor and Kids First reporter Kendall Tenney.
At News 3, we care about the future of our children in Southern Nevada.
We offer a variety of weekly educational and informational television shows with the intent to further the positive development of children age 16 and under.
We maintain a current public file listing educational objectives.
If you'd like more information, you can call 642-3333.
Channel 3 working together with you because the future depends on it.
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Time now for sports. UNLV football coach Mike Sanford has picked up the pace for the entire Rebbers football program.
He wants the practices out there so hard that the games will feel easier.
We'll see how it works out next Monday morning as the Rebels open in Albuquerque against the New Mexico Lobos.
It's a Labor Day Mountain West Showdown on national TV.
Shane Steichen, we know he's going to be the starting quarterback, and they've got that brand new offense.
It has been installed as well as they can.
Now we just got to sit back and wait for our first look at what the new look Rebels have in store, but try to be patient.
It's not all on Steichen. It's all those guys you're looking at in all those helmets.
Finds out what they believe is possible this year. That's the bottom line.
Great. You know, we're excited about this one. You know, it's a big challenge.
It's a big game for us on the road against a conference opponent, one of the teams that's favored to win our conference.
And it's going to be exciting. It's on national TV on ESPN2. What more could you ask for?
A win. The price was not right, Bob, in Atlanta for peerless price today.
The receiver was cut outright by the Atlanta Falcons.
His first few years in the league were stellar with the Buffalo Bills.
So Atlanta traded a future first round pick to get him, and then he went bust.
Just never did seem to click with Michael Vick, and that was very disappointing to Falcons management, considering, yeah,
they gave up the first round pick that I told you about, but did I forget to tell you about this?
They also gave him a $10 million signing bonus. He gets to keep it.
Jerry Tarkanian made UNLV a household name across America, like how he did it or not.
He will be honored for his contributions this coming November 26 at the Thomas and Mack.
They will dedicate the basketball floor at the Mack as Jerry Tarkanian Court.
Rebel Athletic Fund members can buy tickets right now to that game.
It's against UNR, so it ought to go pretty quick as far as the tickets are concerned.
Then general public tickets go on sale if you'd like to go October 17th.
Is anybody better than Federer? We're going to find out over the next few weeks as the world's number one ranked tennis player on the men's side
tries to win the U.S. Open. Today, Roger's first round match against Ivo Menar went just as planned.
A very, very quick three-set victory. Federer wins with ease. 6-1 across the board.
Match over in just a little over an hour. Yesterday we were talking about Agassi's first round match.
He wrapped that baby up in about an hour and I think six or seven minutes.
Federer, just to prove he's better, an hour and four minutes. Thanks.
They're going by quickly. They really are. And this happens a lot in the majors.
You've got top ranked, finely tuned athletes going against people who snuck into the draw, qualifiers.
So not unusual to see some whippings happen this early in a major.
Alright, Mitch, thank you. Still to come, amazing rescues caught on tape.
As Hurricane Katrina batters the coastline, we'll show you the heroic men and women who risk their lives to save others.
Coming up next.
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Earlier, we told you about the local teacher arrested for the death of a Minnesota man.
Tonight on Nightside, hear why the incident never came up when Clark County ran a background check on Paul Moobles.
And why so many new teachers are starting the school year when their background checks have not been completed.
Plus, Hurricane Katrina forces big changes for Wheel of Fortune.
Hear what happened to the show when the storm hit. Coming up on News 3 Nightside at 11.
Coast Guard crews have been working around the clock to rescue those stranded by Hurricane Katrina.
You can do it, let go. Don't panic, just pump to us.
Many people like this woman were trapped inside their homes and in some cases on their rooftops.
This family had to be airlifted from their house because their neighborhood in New Orleans was completely underwater.
About 80% of the low-lying city is underwater. Some sections, it is 20 feet deep.
Before we leave tonight, we want to quickly update you on the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
At least 100 people have been reported dead in Mississippi.
Casinos have been washed ashore and homes leveled.
In New Orleans, rising floodwaters are forcing the Louisiana Superdome to be evacuated.
That's where thousands had been sheltered.
In Mobile, Alabama, more than 700,000 people are still without power.
There is a way that you can help. Our Call 3 Center is open until 7 o'clock tonight.
657-3437 is the number to call to donate.
Already since noon, more than $21,000 have been raised. We thank you for your generosity.
Good night.
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