there's personnel in there, but not his parent. you know, i can't contact him or anything. so i don't know what's going on." )) brian loftus parents are now leaving walter johnson junior high... after nearly standing outside for over a day... waiting to see their children. loftus. kirsten joyce >> and i'm kirsten joyce. walter johnson is closed today.. after a student brought mercury to school... causing a lockdown since midday yesterday. the clark county school district sent out an official statement on the hazmat situation.. saying --quote-- "the epa is screening students for their safety. we have to follow their guidance for releasing students. school police and metro are their as well assisting as well as other first responders." ((brian loftus)) >> and that's where we start

stevens and nia wong.. who are outside of the school. we'll start with nia first.. on how all of this started, nia? ((nia wong)) >> according to the school distrit....a student brought mercury to this campus this morning. we're told at least 5 students were exposed to the chemical in the gym here. well until a few minutes ago....students were still being released. >> here is cellphone video taken from within johnson middle school. you can see students huddled be released. one parent tells us school officials were using blankets to cover the windows of the cafeteria where students are staying to block the view inside. the clark county school district says the epa is screening students for their safety and the district has to follow their guidance before letting students out. captain ken young of ccsd's police department says they've brought in out of state resources to help--- specifcally the california epa. and they're having to check

which is why this is taking so long. ((>> harmony hensley/8th grade: they made us put our bag and our shoes and other things in a trash bag and then they had us wipe our hands and feet off then they had this tool,and they stand over your body with that )) >> we're told students will get their belongings back. but when that is....is up in the air. ((nia wong)) >> for now classes are canceled for today at walter johnson middle school. reporting live. nian ((kirsten joyce)) >> do you know how many students are left to be screened? ((nia wong)) >> we know johnson has around 13-hundred students. still no word on how many if any are left to be screened in the building. ((kirsten joyce)) >> meanwhile, parents are slowly getting to reunite with their children this morning... as they are being released after going through the screening process. ((brian loftus)) 8 news now reporter michael stevens... has talked to parents ..

michael, what's going on out there? ((michael stevens)) ((stressful. can't breathe i had no control for my children and their safety.

((michael stevens)) >> ((michael stevens)) ((brian loftus)) >> ((michael stevens))

((kirsten joyce)) we have received dozens of comments on social media... ana says, "my heart goes out to you parents. the poor kids.

exhaustion of waiting to see your child. hope you all get to hold them soon." and kimberly added, "there are a lot of parents angry. school has been taking away students cellphones. students are hungry and tired. they have only received juice, water, cinnamon buns, graham crackers. the school is not telling parents anything. this is coming from texts parents have received from their child. this is horrible." if you would like to join conversation, just go to our 8 news now facebook page. /// ((brian loftus)) let's now sendhi weather. ((sherry swensk)) it's been warm overnight to be waiting outside for their kids. temps in the 90s through mid evening... 80s by midnight...

............. clear skies after a hot sunny day at 98 degrees. ............. the rain is ending over arizona and

the tropical remnants of newton spread over arizona. ............... a slow and steady warm-up today with hot and dry conditions. looking for highs up near 100 degrees. .............. ((sherry swensk)) demetria, how are the roads doing? ((demetria obilor)) there's a crash on southbound grand canyon at flamingo here watch out for a crash at buffalo and windmill. use alternates like

crash at bonanza and hollywood. earlier this morning, a wreck was reported on russell and polaris, just west of i-15.

to prove how authentic my new brewhouse bacon burger is i'm going undercover, at an actual brewhouse. it's awesome. amazing! what if i told you, you are eating a jack's brewhouse bacon burger from jack in the box. not this one. absolutely lying. and what if i told you... that i'm jack. whaaaat?!! no way! no! didn't see that coming, did you? porter ale cheese sauce, grilled onions, and bacon on a artisan potato bun. hey, where did jack go? he was just here. ((sherry swensk)) yosemite national park is getting its biggest expansion

it's adding 400 acres of critical wetlands and meadow habitat on the park's western boundary. earlier this year, the trust for public land purchased the land from private owners... for two-point-three million dollars. it's the biggest addition to the park since 1949. /// sherry how's the weather today?

tumble eventually... but not before they jump up to triple digits again for a few days. .............

pool. and while we'll cool off next week - it may not be the last year our very last 100-degree day came on the last day of the month. .............. high pressure over the west steering storms over the midwest today and severe weather very likely. ......... highs will peak in the 100s this weekend and then cooler 90s next week. ((sherry swensk)) back to you./// ((brian loftus)) las vegas officials are inching closer to finding a new stadium for a potential nfl

will meet this morning to continue discussing a hotel tax hike to fund the stadium. majestic realty and the las vegas sands casino want to finish negotiations and get approval from nevada lawmakers within weeks before they come up with a stadium proposal. developers estimate that the proposed stadium near the strip will cost 1 point 9 billion dollars./// ((kirsten joyce)) the presidential candidates made their cases for the presidency, during a town hall " commander- in- chief forum."... hillary clinton was first to appear on putting her foot down that we're not putting troops on the ground again in iraq or syria. she spent most of the night defending herself against her email scandal. when donald trump took his turn... he sought to win over voters... saying he was against the war in iraq... and hinted at a private plan to defeat isis. he was also challenged by an army veteran... questioning his immigration policy for military members: (( "do you believe that an undocumented person who serves, who wants to serve in the u.s. armed forces, deserves to stay in this country legally?" donald trump: "that's a very special situation, and i could see myself working

ab ((kirsten joyce)) >> the two candidates are expected to go head- to- head for their first debate later this month. /// ((kirsten joyce)) 8 news now is your local election headquarters throughout the campaign season... on air and online at las vegas now dot com. /// ((brian loftus)) this morning, the man who escaped from north las vegas police custody... will make his first court appearance. alonso perez was on the run for five days.. after he slipped out of his handcuffs while in police custody. body weight to pry off his cuffs. he then found a vent in the ceiling of the interview room... crawled up into it... and then out of the police station... before getting into a truck and driving off without being seen. it took police 40- minutes to realize he was missing. north las vegas police admit they a mistake: (("we're not perfect, the police are simply not perfect but we will learn from our mistakes so they are not repeated and that's the goal."))

charges... including murder and escape. /// he's a suspect in the august 27th shooting death of mohammed robinson outside a mcdonalds. /// let's get a check of the roads with demetria. /// let's send it over to demetria for a check of traffic./// ((demetria obilor)) there's a lot of construction happening at the rainbow/russell intersection as part of a county improvement project. traffic on mlk around us 95 will run slow the mlk on-ramp to northbound 95 is closed right now. use rancho instead. crews are working on project neon.

> a student brought mercury to school... yesterday morning.. the epa has concluded its screening process for children, school is canceled for the day as the investigation continues. .... the latest updates . stay with us... /// ((brian loftus))

i pledge allegiance, to the flag [continues in background] they're bringing drugs, they're brigning crime, they're rapists... you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes... blood coming out of her...wherever [pledge continues in background] you gotta see this guy; "oh, i don't know what i said. ah, i don't remember." i could stand in the middle of 5th avenue and shoot somebody and i wouldn't lose any voters... get him the hell out of here... get him out of here! get out! the new salami caprese panini from subway. pressed and grilled to cinematic perfection to get a golden brown crust and meld the flavors in melted cheese. part of the new chef-inspired

wasn't that impressive...

at the new interesting man in the world. jill wagner joins us live from wall street. good morning jill. good morning brian and kirsten! another record setting day on wall street.. the dow fell 12 points... but the nasdaq rose 8... closing at a new record high.// apple didn't wow investors... with its new i phone and product launch. shares rose... but only by a fraction. the i-phone 7 is water-resistant, with longer battery life and a better apple's including a converter... for people who aren't ready to give up their older headphones... or customers can buy wireless earbuds. investors are concerned there aren't enough upgrades-- to spur sales.// an unexpected winner in apple's big announcement--- nintendo! shares soared on news that nintendo's popular super mario brothers is coming to the i-phone... with a new super mario run game. also... nintendo's pokemon go will be available for the apple watch.// apple didn't wow

and product launch. shares rose... but only by a fraction. the i-phone 7 is interseting man in the world. who is he? a: dos equis beer introduced the new.. most interesting man in the world. he's 41 year old augustin legrand from france. he speaks spanish anc coconut with his bare hands. he has some pretty big shoes to fill. 77 year old jonathan goldsmith held the title for a decade. ((brian loftus)) we're going to toss things over to demetria...

demetria obilor drivers tailgate on the roads, and it's causing accidents all across the valley... that, plus speeding is a recipe for disaster, but drivers keep doing it, and it's driving metro crazy... that follow too close and speed here on the surface streets. "the number one accident that we go to is rear-end accidents. that's the most common. and 99 percent of the time people are speeding and following too close and you see it all the time. that's what drives me crazy. :08:09;29 "a good following distance is two to three seconds, and that's at any speed. i can't give you an actual distance, but two to three seconds, if you pass a sign, count one-thousand one, one-thousand two, one-thousand three. that's the distance you should be behind someone be it in a

that's a good following distance. ((demetria obilor)) >> to reiterate what officer harvey said earlier.... if someone is tailgaiting you, it's best to change lanes and get out of their way. you don't want to antagonize the driver and escalate a road rage situation. what's driving you crazy? remember, you can write me at. traffic 8 aas ((now, live...this is 8 news now good day.))

my son saying something was happening at school today,

just wouldn't respond to me." )) brian loftus >> the quarantine has now been lifted at walter johnson junior high school, after a child brought some type of mercury to school yesterday morning. thanks for joining us, i'm brian loftus. kirsten joyce >> i'm kirsten joyce. parents have now left the area... and all students have been screened and released. the school is closed today as the investigation continues.. after being on lockdown for nearly 20 hours. the clark county school district on the hazmat situation.. saying --quote-- "the epa is screening students for their safety. we have to follow their guidance for releasing students. school police and metro are their as well assisting as well as other first responders." ((brian loftus)) our team coverage begins this morning at the school on the latest information.. with 8 news now reporters michael stevens and nia wong. we'll first start with nia with the latest developments.

((brian loftus)) >> ((nia wong)) >>

the two words to describe the emotions felt by parents as they waited patiently for their kids to be released from the school. kirsten joyce >> 8 news now reporter michael stevens spoke with some as they were re-united. michael, what did they say the last several hours have been like? ((michael stevens)) >> angry, upset, tired. those are some of the best ways to describe how parents were feeling as they waited for their kids to be released. stood out here last night is no more... all of the about 12-hundred kids have been released back to their parents arms. but brian and kirsten... it was a long process. one by one... every student was being checked and cleared... as their parents sat outside and waited trying to figure out if their kids were alright: ((the school called. they did their calls to me. they did what they had to do. i know, i understand.

civil, and be civil, things would have went a lot smoother.)) ((michael stevens)) >> frustration all around. that mom told me she was tired and upset... because she didn't have a clue how her young son was doing? i did ask her son... what it was like inside... he told me it was a slow talk amongst themselves. he was just released about an hour ago so when i asked what he wanted to do next... understandably, his answer was sleep. school is closed tomorrow... right now, just officials remain here.

process for everyone involved. ((kirsten joyce)) >> ((michael stevens)) >> ((kirsten joyce)) let's head over to sherry now with a check of weather. //// ((sherry swensk)) it's been warm overnight to be waiting outside for their kids. temps in the 90s through mid evening... 80s by midnight...

............. clear skies after a hot sunny day at 98 degrees. ............. the rain is ending over arizona and getting lighter or the tropical remnants of newton spread over arizona. ............... a slow and steady warm-up today with hot and dry conditions. looking for highs up near 100 degrees.

demetria, how are the roads doing? ((demetria obilor)) watch out for a crash on southbound grand canyon at the flamingo intersection. the right lane is blocked. traffic on ths of i-15 at us 95 is slowing down as we see more people coming down from north las vegas.

((demetria obilor)) >> back to you./// ((kirsten joyce)) actor al pacino is making his way to las vegas... ((brian loftus)) >> coming up after the break... when you can get tickets to see him talk about his life- long career and achievements. /// ((demetria obilor))

i'm catherine cortez masto and i approve this message. four years ago i was diagnosed with breast cancer but early treatment saved my life. so i'm really outraged that joe heck voted ten times to defund planned parenthood which thousands of nevada women depend on for cancer screenings. the federal government to eliminate funding for planned parenthood.

the new salami caprese panini from subway. pressed and grilled to cinematic perfection to get a golden brown crust and meld the flavors in melted cheese. part of the new chef-inspired

this morning here in the valley to be apart of the ringling brothers. and barnum & bailey. if you want to throw your hat into the ring you can head in to auditions at the fern adair

the fern is located on patrick and sagebrush. the selected candidate will go on an 18-month tour with circus extreme./// ((demetria obilor)) welcome back to the valley's news leader. if you're a fan of al pacino... he's taking the stage right here in las vegas! the actor will be here next month... putting on a one man show at the venetian. he'll talk about the highlights from his decade's long career on stange and on screen. his most famous films are "scarface" and "the godfather." pacino is also expected to do a q-and- a with the audience. tickets for the october 15-th /// sherry how's the weather today? ((sherry swensk))

heat up above normal again today. ........................... afternoon highs will take a tumble eventually... but not before they jump up to triple ............. a good hot weekend for cooling off at the movies or in the pool. and while we'll cool off next week - it may not be

last year our very last 100-degree day came on the last day of the month. .............. high pressure over the west steering storms over the midwest today and severe weather very likely. ......... thunderstorms and heavy rain over the central u.s. today. city with flood watches and expecting maybe 3 or 4 inches of rain from newton. .... highs will peak in the 100s this weekend and then cooler 90s next week. ((sherry swensk)) back to you./// ((brian loftus)) metro police need your help identifying several suspects... who've been robbing businesses in the southwest part of the valley. take a good look... police say the men entered several businesses yesterday wearing masks and armed with handguns... demanding cash. fortunately, no one was hurt.

and hope the outfits they're wearing will look familiar. /// ((brian loftus)) meanwhile, police are also trying to determine.. if they're investigating a hit-and-run accident.. or a possible murder. a man was hit by a car near bonanza and pecos yesterday... who was later pronounced dead at the scene. witnesses told police they heard a loud thud and saw a car speed off. police are currently looking for a small white coupe with damage. if you have any information on these cases, please call crimestoppers. /// ((kirsten joyce)) a formeru with the possibility of parole... for sexually assaulting three young girls in his congregation. 60- year- old otis holland received 15- life terms... after he was convicted on child sexual assault and lewdness charges. he became an international fugitive when he fled for mexico.. after his initial arrest back in 2010. he's still facing similar charges in a separate case in henderson.. involving five alleged victims./// let's take a look on the roads with demetria. /// let's send it over to

((demetria obilor)) traffic at galleria and gibson has gotten a lot better as crews have finished a lot of the sewer work necessary for the henderson hospital that will open in the fall. spencer is under construction. expect delays at warm springs. use eastern.

((kirsten joyce)) we're checking back in live outside of walter johnson junior high school... where the quarantine has now been lifted. ((brian loftus)) >> as you can see, parents have now left the area.. and all students have been released and screened. school is closed for today as the investigation continues.. after being on lockdown for nearly 20 hours. stay with us as we continue to bring you team coverage all morning. /// ((brian loftus)) a punishment came down for olympic swimmer ryan lochte... ((kirsten joyce)) he's getting... after lying about being robbed in rio.. coming up on 8 news now good day. /// ((you're watching the

((kirsten joyce)) the 2016 n-f-l football

experts are estimating this year will be big for bettors! according to the american gaming association... predicts 90-billion dollars will be wagered on games because of a government ban... betting is only legal in four states... nevada being one of them. but lawmakers are now pushing for the government to allow states to decide for themselves whether to allow it. /// ((brian loftus)) speaking of football... ((kirsten joyce)) we want to get a check on your forecast. ((brian loftus)) forecast. ((brian loftus))

((sherry swensk)) it's not feeling like football weather when 100s keep showing up in the forecast. ............... horizon now... the sun not coming up for another half hour. ............ pollen still blooming out there and now sage is causing people to sneeze. .... afternoon highs will take a tumble eventually... but not before they jump up to triple digits again for a few days.

off at the movies or in the pool. and while we'll cool off next week - it may not be the last of the 100s for september. last year our very last 100-degree day came on the last day of the month. ..................... highs will peak in the 100s this weekend and then l ((sherry swensk)) ((kirsten joyce)) the iconic boeing b-29 bomber airplaines are here in the valley . this morning the commemorative air force base will be holding an

the b-29's will be on display for visitors to take a look at the aircraft up close, watch them fly, and also purchase rides in them. the event starts this morning at 9./// ((brian loftus)) u-s swimmer ryan lochte has been suspended for 10 months... and is not allowed to participate in the 2017 world championships.. according to a source close to c-n-n. the punishment is for his fake story.. of being robbed at a rio gas station at gunpoint. lochte was instead accused of vandalizign the gas station bathroom. the scandal lead to lochte losing several endorsemen it has nothing to report on a possible suspension for the olympian. /// ((kirsten joyce)) disney world is requiring children to have their fingers scanned... before entering the theme park. the system scans a finger and converts the image into a "unique numerical value" that is tied to the ticket. the park says it doesn't store fingerprints and gets rid of the scan. parents who do not want to have their children's fingers scanned...

the scanning process is not being used in disneyland in california. /// let's take a look on the roads with demetria. /// ((demetria obilor)) here's what the south beltway looks like aorund warm springs. the right lane is closed from here to about lv blvd. project. no major crashes on your freeways. slow downs in effect in the spaghetti bowl.

be sure to watch our 9/11 special here on 8 news now.. sunday from 5-30am to 6-30am. that's during the time when the twin towers were hit 15 years ago. we'll take you to the many memorials across the country.. and hear from those whose lives were forever changed that day. again that's sunday morning at 5-30... here on channel 8. /// ((kirsten joyce)) new at 6 am ... a win for the housing market .. ((brian loftus)) >> just how much sales and the price of homes are increasing .. showing signs of recovering af ((kirsten joyce)) plus... one of the lost boys is joining us in studio this morning .. we're chatting with the man who played thudbutt .. about how he plans to keep the spirit of the movie alive. those stories and more.. coming up on 8 news now good day, the valley's news leader./// ((now, live...this is 8 news now good day.)) ((stressful. can't

i'm catherine cortez masto and i approve this message. as a doctor, i see how decisions in washington impact my patients here in nevada. so even though i'm a republican, i won't be voting for joe heck. joe heck's voted ten times to defund planned parenthood, which thousands of women depend on for cancer screenings. and heck opposes a woman's right to choose even when her health is at risk. for me and my patients,

we sent him here to fix it. but congressman joe heck became part of the problem. wall street invested over a half-million dollars in congressman heck's campaigns, and heck supports their agenda -- privatizing social security, but risking our retirement in the stock market, cutting benefits, putting wall street ahead of us. congressman heck -- what's wrong with washington.

after nearly 20 hours ... the situation at walter johnson junior high school is finally over. ((kirsten joyce)) >> things wrapped up a short time ago .. after students were quarantined since wednesday morning for mercury exposure. thanks for joining us, i'm kirsten joyce. ((brian loftus)) >> and i'm brian loftus class is canceled there today ... as the investigating continues into what exactly happened. ((kirsten joyce)) we have team coverage on the situation .. 8 news now reporter michael stevens spent the night talking to distraught parents .. and nia wong looks into how the situation unv ((nia wong)) >> according to the school distrit....a student brought mercury to this campus this morning. we're told at least 5 students were exposed to the chemical in the gym here. well until a few minutes ago....students were still being released. >> here is cellphone video taken from within johnson middle school. you can see students huddled in the cafeteria...waiti ng to be released. one parent tells us school