obama - "you, the survivors and families of 9/11 your steadfast love and faithfulness has been an inspiration to me and to our entire country. even as you've mourned, you've summoned the strength to carry on. in the names of those we've lost, you've started scholarships, you've volunteered in your communities, you'v to be a good neighbor and a good friend and a good citizen, and in your brief embrace you have reminded us that together, there is nothing we americans cannot overcome." )) ((sharie johnson)) good evening... i'm sharie johnson. today marks 15 years since the horrific 9/11 attacks. ceremonies have been held across

lost that day. president obama was on hand during a wreath laying ceremony at the pentagon. there... he reminded our country that we must stand together against terror groups... like isis: (( president barack obama - "they will never be able to defeat a nation as great and as strong as america, so instead they try to terrorize in the hopes that they can stoke enough fear that we turn on each other so we change who we are and how we live. and that's why it is so important today that we reaffirm our character as a nation. people drawn from every corner of the world, e ((sharie johnson)) in pennsylvania... a ceremony was held in observance of those on board u-s flight 93. you'll remember those passengers stormed the cockpit to prevent the hijackers from completing their mission.. bringing the flight down in a pennsylvania field. at the site of the crash... bells were rung in

on board were read aloud./// ((sharie johnson)) on board one of the planes that was hijacked 15 years ago... a palo verde high school teacher. her death prompted one student to take action.... the i-team's vanessa murphy brings you his story... ((vanessa murphy)) fifteen years ago - on september 11th.... ((ryan terrana/marine: i remember like it was yesterday.)) ((vanessa murphy)) ryan terrana was a freshman at palo verde high school. ((ryan terrana/marine: basically on my way to school when the first tower got hit and we just spent the whole day unfolded til the second tower fell.)) ((vanessa murphy)) later in the week he learned devastating news about barbara edwards, a teacher whose class he had just enrolled in.... ((ryan: she was on the plane that hit the pentagon.)) ((vanessa murphy)) he says the death of edwards led to his decision at 17 years old... ((ryan: just serve my country....)) ((vanessa murphy)) ...to join the military. ((ryan: i think that was a huge driving force on me wanting to do something about

kind of reflected back, you know like why you did this, i mean because everyday was a struggle.)) ((vanessa murphy)) he served as a marine in iraq and afghanistan... ((ryan: i lost a lot of friends....brothers...)) ((vanessa murphy)) those losses....the injuries he saw....and the combat....have all taken a toll on the now 28 year old las vegas native... but he says he never regrets that decision he made after 9-11... ((ryan: it was a once in a lifetime experience...)) ((vanessa murphy)) vanessa murphy... ((vanessa murphy)) 8 news now. >> edwards name is one of the thousands inscribed into bronze panels along the edges of the memorial pools that sit where the towers once stood. ryan says he visited the memorial while in high school./// ((sharie johnson)) here at home... folks are paying tribute to those affected by the events on 9/11 at fremont street. that's where we find brittney edney now... brittney? ((brittany edney)) tonight at 7...

september 11th procession and tribute will take place here along fremont street. the procession will go from main street to the 3rd street stage where there will be a moment of silence. the fire department's bagpipers will also be playing to pay tribute to all those lost. we'll be here tonight to cover the event... but everyone is invited to come down and show their support and participate. for now, reporting live, ((sharie johnson)) >> earlier today....hundreds came to pay their respects at the palm northwest mortuary's 9-11 ceremony. 8 news now reporter nia wong has more. as a new day peeks through... it carries with it a mixture of emotions from years past ... ((jennifer cox: it was kind of somber. woke up at 3 o clock this morning and you kind of remember where you were 15 years

on this day of remembrance at the palm northwest mortuary....pews were packed in a ceremony honoring the victims lost on 9/11 . just outside...jennifer cox and her son came to the "healing field" to pay their respects on a day forever seared in their memories. ((jennifer cox: i just remembered we just watched tv all day and just cried )) ((nia wong: 2,996 flags now stand tall here at the healing field. each one representing a life lost on september 11th. some with ties righ every flag carries a card with the name and biography of each victim. the field is divided by flights...the pentagon and the world trade center. ((jordan seibert: it changed th way that we handle the world and terrorism in general )) though jordan siebert's 2 year old son is too young to grasp the full extent of this day.... ((jordan seibert: this is a part of his heritage and he's going to have

means to him and his country one day )) names of those who died are etched on the wall of remembrance. serving as reminder of how short our time can be...and offering hope for generations to come. ((jennifer cox: it means there's hope....respect...and our freedom, never stop fighting for our freedom and terrorists won't win )) nia wong 8 news now. ((sharie johnson)) >> flags will remain at the each flag is for sale and proceeds will benefit the firefighters of southern nevada burn foundation. ((sharie johnson)) we'll be right back./// "you're watching the valley's news leader...with

((sharie johnson)) the clean up continues at johnson junior high school after mercury was discovered earlier this week. the e-p-a has been working all weekend to decontaminate the campus.

he's been looking into whether or not classes will resume tomorrow. mauricio? ((mauricio marin)) >> school district officials were hopeful in getting johnson junior back open by tomorrow. but we've just learned the campus will remain closed tomorrow as clean up crews work to decontaminate areas that may still have concerning levels of mercury. >> the e-p-a says they collected about a quarter cupf significant amount of the substance found overall. the clean up has now focused on the gym where a teacher first discovered a student playing with the mercury this week at an assembly. classrooms and hallways have been cleaned up. and the e-p-a has also screened 60 homes. the health district deemed one home unsafe until it can be decontaminated because of concerning levels of mercury. at the shool--more than 800 bags of shoes and clothes have been screened. one parent told us they got an automated message to come by the school. but turns out she had to wait for an actual person to get in

((debbie kooser/parent: "so when i got here they said did you get a live call from a real person. no. so? a little bit of confusion? yes a little confusion but at least we were able to pick up his bike.' " )) ((mauricio marin)) >> the e-p-a isn't taking any risks to prevent mercury from possibly spreading. they've checked and cleared all 7 buses that service johnson junior. ((mauricio marin)) >> once again---if there are still parents who may have clothes that they feel may have until 9pm tonight to check articles of clothing. they ask you bring them in a trash bag. reporting live...mauricio marin. 8 news now. ((sharie johnson)) still ahead... hillary clinton has plans to visit las vegas this week... but an illness could put her upcoming campaign trip on hold. the valley's news leader is back after the break./// "now, live...this is 8

over 20,00 od for access to basic health services and critical cancer screenings. but congressman heck voted to defund planned parenthood and was willing to shut down the government over it. heck opposed roe v. wade and voted to criminalize abortion. congressman heck is what's wrong with washington.

looking back on 9/11. we recently sat down with undersheriff kevin mcmahill.. who talked about the impact that day had on law enforcement: (( undersheriff kevin mcmahill// lvmpd: "as a law enforcement officer you knew that what it is that you do on a daily basis is going to have to change, because let's be realistic, the fight against terrorism wasn't really well defined at that point. what local law enforcement at that time really believed was that it was a responsibility of every other agency within the unite it was somewhere else, it had never hit the shores of america obviously, other than.. i always look at peral harbor as a terrorism attack as well..and so we just wern't prepared as a law enforcement community.. nor did we have a formal role within terror operations prior to 9/11." )) ((sharie johnson)) several things have changed since 9/11... including right here in the

undersheriff. from active shooter training to it's counter- terrorism fusion center. but a significant change also came from a department many people may overlook. and metro is convinced bridging this gap will prevent an attack on las vegas.

((lt. sasha larkin, metro office of community engagement: this is part of our religious outreach, this is majid as sabour // butt to // we come to all of their events and holidays and even come to prayer on friday's here and they've really given us a solid understanding of the muslim community here in las vegas )) ((sharie johnson)) and larkin says the difference in the relationship is not only seen, but felt. ((lt. sasha larkin, metro office of community engagement: they are definitely less fearful, they are engaging with us and i'm so proud to say that they call and report suspicious activity )) ((sharie johnson)) >> metro also partners with hope for prisoners, to keep incarcerated people from reoffending. it's kept roughly 80% of people from returning to a life of crime./// ((katie boer))

issued for early tuesday morning through tuesday evening. a trough region will bring gusty winds along with low relative humidities to parts of the area by tuesday. .................... let's break down this watch and what it means.... this will lead to dangerous fire weather across southern nevada and the colorado river valley. timing...winds will increase tuesday morning...peak tuesday afternoon...then begin decreasing tuesday night. wind...south to southwest 20 to

mph. humidity...10 to 15 percent. ..................... right now we're already seeing those breezy to gusty conditions--which will only increase come tuesday. here's a look at current winds--and how about these temps. in the upper 90s and above average today! ..................... normal temps are about 96 for today. we passed that late this afternoon. ................... heading into tonight look for mid 70s overnight... with temps. monday about average in the mid 90s.... we'll see a big drop though from sunday to tuesday as an approaching low pressure system really hikes up our winds and

as for rain... really no threat for now...with most current precip well to the north... even with this trough approaching we should stay dry through the extended forecast. ................ here's your 7-day... we go from upper 90s today to low 90s tomorrow...real ly the big dip comes tuesday like i mentioned... highs down all the way to the upper 80s for tuesday and wednesd starting to climb a bit again by late week. look for those low 90s to linger from thursday in through this next upcoming weekend. ((sharie johnson)) ((sharie johnson))

jabs... they're also trading leads in the polls. clinton currently holds a five point lead over trump. that's according to a new washington post and a-b-c news poll. that's quite a jump from last week's "c-n-n-o-r-c poll"... which showed a much tighter

points in that poll. libertarian nominee gary johnson is at nine percent... while the green party's jill stein is at two-percent. neither seems likely to reach the 15 percent required to participate in the presidential debates set to start at the end of this month./// ((sharie johnson)) clinton will be back in nevada for another campaign visit this week. her campaign says she'll be in las vegas on wednesday... to talk about her plans to it's not yet been announced where the democratic candidate will be. earlier this weekend she was diagnosed with pneumonia.. but it's not clear if that will impact her trip./// ((sharie johnson)) we are your local election headquarters keeping you updated on all the races on air and online at las vegas now dot com./// ((sharie johnson)) up next.. chocolate lovers... rejoice. where you can find such attractions as a chocolate and wine lounge... and even go to school to learn

((sharie johnson))

development out of johnson junior high. the 13-hundred students there will not be in class tomorrow as expected. so how long until the threat of mercury is cleared? join us tonight at 6:30... live... from the school district./// ((sharie johnson)) those of you with a sweet tooth... here's a story for you. chocolate.. chocolate... and more chocolate is taking over the streets of san francisco this weekend. it's all part of the annual "ghirardelli chocolate festival". displaying their best treats in... where else... ghirardelli square. and it's all for a good cause. proceeds benefit "project open hand": ((sharie johnson))

coming up next.

we do not have e-great inner cities where everyone is prosperous >> right now i sit down on a one-on-one with donald trump junior and vision for the country. >> it's not about them taking the selection away from nevada voters. >> koch brothers have got into the race and a face-off. >> it's definitely an election where the negatives are at the forefront of voters opinions. >> we sit down with face the nation john dixon about voters voting for candidates in the theater of the --