right here in southern nevada. the increase doctors are seeing among students and women using the drug. ((brian loftus)) > plus... a student is being recognized as a hero. what he did to save one of his friend's lives... while they were eating lunch. ((kirsten joyce)) > and the story continues! when j-k rowling will release the next installment of the harry potter series. /// < welcome to a brighter morning, this is 8 newsnow with kirsten joyce, sherry swensk, demetria obilor and brian loftus > ((kirsten joyce)) > thanks for joining us, i'm kirsten joyce. ((brian loftus)) and i'm brian loftus. a wave of heroin addiction is sweeping across the country... with a big spike in the last decade. ((kirsten joyce)) and the faces of these addicts are also changing. most of them are younger, female, and caucasion. patranya bhoolsuwan reports on how this trend is affecting southern nevada. < ((patranya bhoolsuwan)) to those who knew aly blackmore back in high school in henderson, she says most would remember her a happy student who loved her friends and volleyball.

secret life..fueled by an addiction to heroin. ((aly blackmore/former heroin addict: "i was the type that would do anything if you handed it to me i was going to do it...and 90 percent of the time it was heroin.")) ((patranya bhoolsuwan)) and she says finding her fix was easy. ((aly blackmore/former heroin addict: "we could walk out onto the street and find someone.")) ((patranya bhoolsuwan)) she says her own mother, a nurse, initially had no idea. ((aly blackmore/former heroin addict: "when everybody found out it was a big shock, nobody knew, nobody expected it.")) ((patranya bhoolsuwan)) according to the centers for disease control, heroin use has more than doubled in the 18 to 25 age bracket. use among women went up 100 percent and whites up 114 percent. dave marlon, founder of solutions recovery, says the old socio- economic stereotype when it comes to drugs like heroin no longer holds. ((dave marlon/founder solutions recovery: "this is showing up in green valley, it's showing up in summerlin, it;'s showing up downtown. the opiad epidemic is the number one health problem in our

bhoolsuwan)) and he says since his rehab facility opened in las vegas 10 years ago...more women and more teens are coming through the door. ((dave marlon/founder solutions recovery: "i believe you can buy a 10 dollar balloon of heroin in any school in the valley today.")) ((patranya bhoolsuwan)) marlon says 4 out of 5 heroin users start with prescription pills. something 24 year old las vegas native taylor burnett knows all too well. ((taylor burnett/former heroin addict: "pretty much everything it touched it messed up.")) ((patranya bhoolsuwan)) 24 year old taylor burnett recently got clean at solutions recovery...after getting into drugs as young as 11. he started with pot, then pills then heroin. ((taylor burnett/former heroin addict: "it was just a dark dark time in my life, i don't want to go back to it.")) ((aly blackmore/former heroin addict: "i went to 7 funerals in 2015 and 5 of them were heroin related.")) blackmore, now 21, is married and mother of a 7 month old baby girl a family she credits for her new life free

((aly blackmore/former heroin addict: "some of us have to die so others could live..it's a terrible way to look at it but i am grateful that i made it out.")) > ((kirsten joyce)) heroin deaths in the u-s have been up now for the past three years - it's the number one killer of illegal drug users. but painkillers kill more americans... than heroin and cocaine combined. /// let's get to sherry with a look at today's weather. sherry swensk clear and cool this morning, but

we hit those 70s yesterday, but no record high of 75. we were just shy of that by a couple degrees. in fact, we've hit 73 for the last three days. ............ occasional high clouds have been slipping in and out of our skies... but we'll have plenty of sunshine today! .............. temps are in the cool 40s right

and calm winds. ............. more temps in the 70s again today so enjoy this break in our winter. ((sherry swensk))

minutes. < > > that's a look at the roads... back to you./// ((brian loftus)) > batter up because the cashman field lights are coming back on for the upcoming chicago cubs and new york mets game. tickets go on sale tuesday at noon... at the cashman field box office. box office. two games are scheduled for march 31-st and april 1-st. ticket prices start around 40-dollars. both teams will likely have their entire roster for opening day. /// ((kirsten joyce)) > u-n-l-v is mouring the loss of former football assistant coach rich abajian.

the 62-year-old former football coach died earlier this week. aside from being a longtime supporter of rebel sports... abajian is credited with creating the southern nevada sports hall of fame... honoring the likes of jerry tarkanian... andre agassi... and mike tyson. abajian himself was inducted in 2008. he was also a partner in findlay toyota... and served as chief operation officer of the findlay automotive group. /// ((brian loftus)) > millenials are losing trust in banks to handle their money... following the country's economic collapse. ((kirsten joyce)) why the way they handle their money now... is affecting the bank industry. ///

the world a president has to grapple with. sometimes you can't even imagine. that's the job. and she's the one who's proven she can get it done. ...securing a massive reduction in nuclear weapons... ...standing up against the abuse of women... ...protecting social security... ...expanding benefits for the national guard... ...and winning health care for 8 million children... the presidency is the toughest job in the world and she's the one who'll make a real difference for you.

clark county's brightest students were honored at school. six students from southwest career and technical academy were awarded plaques... and recognized during an assembly... for winning the spelling bee in either 6-th... 7- th or 8-th grade. the winners and runners up will all advance to the state competition in march. those who get through will go to the scripps national spelling bee... which airs on e-s-p-n. /// ((brian loftus)) > two fifth graders at steven schorr elementarty school... are being put in the spotlight after a life- saving situation. ((kirsten joyce)) one is being credited with saving the other's life two weeks ago... when he began choking in the lunch room. patrick walker introduces us to the valley's newest hero. ((steve schorr: "we have a lot

((patrick walker)) heroes come in all shapes and sizes... ((steve schorr: "...that are here for a very special reason.")) ((patrick walker)) one walks the halls of steven schorr elementary school. ((steve schorr: "captain sprague, can you bring your men out here with you?")) ((patrick walker)) when 5th grader kyle sucaldito began choking on his lunch... it was his friend gabriel wallace who jumped into action. ((kyle sucaldito/choked at lunch: "it felt scary, i couldn't breathe, i was, my throat started to get sore a lot.")) ((steve schorr: "gabriel, out of the clear blue sky, came over to kyle, and what did you do?" gabriel wallace: "i did the heimlich maneuver." steve schorr: "he did the heimlich maneuver.")) ((gabriel wallace/saved friend during lunch: "i did that and then i realized he spit the food out, and then i realized he was actually choking and then a teacher came and i told her.")) ((patrick walker)) as gabriel's proud mother looked on... clark county firefighters presented the 5th grader with a medal... for his bravery and willingness to jump right into action. ((heather wallace/gabriel's mother: "when they told me, i was completely blown out of the water, he went above and beyond

walker)) what impressed the adults at the school the most... was the fact that gabriel used the heimlich maneuver in the first place. nobody could figure out where he learned it. ((gabriel wallace/saved friend during lunch: "i feel like i always really knew it or i just saw it from tv.")) ((patrick walker)) that detail... doesn't matter now. kyle's just happy his buddy didn't hesitate. ((kyle sucaldito/choked at lunch: "thank you a lot, for saving my life.")) ((kirsten joyce)) gabriel's favorite animal is a shark... and m-g-m resorts gave both of the boys v-v-i-p passes... mandalay bay. /// ((kirsten joyce)) > actor ben stiller is slipping back into his role of derek zoolander. ((brian loftus)) we'll give you a preview of what you can expect in "zoolander 2". ((kirsten joyce)) plus... burger king is ditching the patties... and adding hot dogs to its menu. when you'll be able to try them out.

potter fans, brace yourselves... because j-k rowling is ready to release a new book on the boy wizard. the 8th harry potter book will feature harry potter as an adult. it's actually based on the two part play "harry potter and the cursed child"... which debuts in london this summer. the play picks up after the final scene... with harry saying goodbye to his kids as they head off to hogwarts. /// ((demetria obilor)) > also, burger king has taken a left turn... and is ditching the burger pattties... for hot dogs. they'll start serving them later this month. one executive is calling it the biggest launch since the 1970's. there will be two kimds -- a classic grilled dog and chili- cheese dog. burger king started experimenting the hot dogs in five cities last year... before taking it nationwide. ///

at today's weather. sherry swensk

the trend is continuing as we roll into normally a chilly holiday weekend for everyone and a big ski weekend for the west! ............. temps right now around the valley are falling into the 40s with light winds. .................. warmer than normal temps will make for spring skiing rather than cold winter skiing a lot of resorts in the west... while the east stays really cold. don't forget about our ski report on las vegas now dot com to help you plan your ski or snowboard getaway. ............

but some high level moisture is spilling over the ridge into nevada and california. even some light showers up into northern california while cold air plunges into the east and more on the way this weekend. .......... temps will stay extra mild for us through the weekend and into next week! flirting with record highs through the weekend. < > /// > ((kirsten joyce)) > the greatest male model of all time returns to the big screen tomorrow. ((brian loftus)) david daniel gives us a preview of "zoolander 2". "we need you to infiltrate the world of high fashion." "we're

owen wilson return to send up the fashion world in "zoolander two." "i know that kind of getting back into these characters and working in rome, and then doing the show in valentino in paris, there just seem to be this sort of excitement for the movie." (nat-music) "prison changed me! i am bad to the core now!" will ferrell's evil fashion mogul "mogatu" returns as well... joined by his "s-n-l" pal kristin wiig. "it's like a very amped-up 2016 version of the first one, i think." "i think ben did a remarkable job juggling all these characters, and finding equal time for all of them, creating a story that really made fun of the fact that, you know, that now they're considered old, and what that means to the fashion world -- what that means in our day to day life, about how we now can't age, and we can't get fat." (nat-"coffin" bursts open, laughter) "old? lam?" in

((brian loftus)) ((kirsten joyce))

> that's a look at the roads... back to you./// ((kirsten joyce)) > valentine's day is just a few days away... and netflix might be in your plans! ((brian loftus)) coming up at five... what netflix and chill...

justice department is filing a lawsuit against ferguson, missouri. the department claims the city continues to violate the rights of african americans... ever after the shooting death of michael brown. the legal action comes after communication. .. between the city and the d- o-j broke down. federal investigators say some police officers would stop people... and arrest them without cause... as well as use unreasonable force to generate city revenue. the lawsuit comes after seven months of negotiations... to reform the police department /// ((kirsten joyce)) > when it comes to millenials and their money... out. millenials now have a new approach... when it comes to handling their cash. danielle nottingham explains why it could disrupt the banking industry. 32 year old surgical resident travis shiba hasn't walked into a bank in years. (travis shiba, millennial) "everything is online..pay my bills online, money transfers, like everything" more young adults like shiba are finding less use for them. millennial expert morley winograd says 30 percent of millennials don't have a

(morley winograd/millennia l expert) "between their student loans and the great recession and the crash of the price of their parents' house and value, they have become extraordinary distrustful of america's banks" hidden fees from the big banks are pushing technology dependent millenials to do their banking with online startups like chime and affirm which gives out debit cards and small loans. mobile payment services-like vemno-that allow peer to peer transactions--proc ess hundreds of million of dollars a year. (morley winograd/millennia l expert) "they just don't see any purpose to all the cost associated with banks when so much can be done online" bankrate estimates 63 percent of millennials - aged 18 to 29 - don't even have a credit card. (travis shiba, millennial) "you have to find a way to exercise your limited financial power so you're not putting yourself in a hole in the future" analysts say the big banks need to pay attention, a recent survey by viacom found millennials would rather go to the dentist than

danielle nottingham, cbs news,

between oregon protesters and