Good evening and thank you for joining
us for Creme 2 News 10 and 10,
where we give you more news and less time.
Let's get started.
In the last few hours tonight,
Spokane City Council members
passed an emergency ordinance
making drug use illegal in public
areas effective immediately.
Creme Two's Kyle Simchuk shows us how
local leaders are reacting tonight.
Tonight, in a unanimous vote,
Spokane City Council members passing an
emergency ordinance several weeks before
the state's existing drug laws expire.
Now, anyone possessing
or using drugs like meth,
heroin or fentanyl in public could be
arrested and charged with the misdemeanor.
After July 1st, the penalty becomes a gross
misdemeanor or up to nearly a year in jail.
However, the law gives officers discretion.
They can offer someone treatment
or community resources instead
of a citation or jail time.
We're not trying to ruin anybody's lives.
You're going to notice that it is a
gross misdemeanor and not a felony.
Because a felony does have the
ability to ruin somebody's life.
And if somebody needs some help,
we want to help them and we
want to keep our community safe.
Is it perfect? No.
But it's the best that we have at this time.
It gives our officers a tool.
I hope it will be applied
fairly as they go forward.
Council members heard testimony from
business owners and citizens who say
they're fed up finding needles and
fentanyl foil on sidewalks late tonight.
Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward,
reacting to the new law,
saying in part, quote criminalizing
the possession and use of drugs,
sets the critical expectation that
we have prioritized the health
and safety of our community.
This action establishes tough
boundaries for drugs and leaves
every opportunity for treatment.
Governor Jay Inslee has called
lawmakers back to Olympia to
pass new state drug laws before
they expire at the end of June.
If that happens,
the city's ordinance will likely be
amended to match state law in Spokane.
Kyle Simchukremtu News
and we spoke to people in the West
Hills ahead of tonight's vote.
One resident says the ordinance is
important for the city's overall health.
It will be beneficial for all of Spokane,
and it's so needed.
And what's happening is the
state has failed to take action,
and communities are having
to do this on their own.
Bellingham has passed an
ordinance four other cities have,
and it's time for us to take control
again. Governor Jay Inslee called
a special session to discuss
drug possession in Washington.
Across the border tonight,
we are learning that fentanyl
related deaths in Idaho nearly
doubled between 2021 and 2022.
That's according to the Idaho
Department of Health and Welfare.
Today, a specialist with the South
Central Public Health District
said the best way to prevent drug
related deaths is through education.
Meantime, fentanyl related deaths
are also on the rise nationwide.
But is it the leading cause of
death among American adults?
It is a claim that many
politicians have made,
including Washington Representative
Kathy Mcmorris Rodgers.
She wrote in a newsletter that
fentanyl is now the leading cause of
death for Americans aged 18 to 45.
What are you
guys seeing in terms of
fentanyl in the state of Idaho?
Well, we're seeing a massive
increase over the past few years,
so tomorrow on Creme 2 News at Six,
I, along with our local Verify team,
dig into the data to uncover if fentanyl
deaths have actually overtaken cancer,
heart disease and car crashes.
Well, in less than 24 hours,
the Spokane Valley City Council
will consider a new ordinance to
target unlicensed massage parlors.
If passed, all massage credentials would have
to be verified by local law enforcement.
Now, to be clear,
there won't be any new requirements
added to the license itself.
It's just a verification process.
We'll cover the outcomes of tomorrow's
meeting right here on KREM 2 News at 10.
All right, let's talk weather locally.
After a rainy weekend,
summer like temperatures could be
heading back to the Inland Northwest.
Let's get straight to chief meteorologist
Jeremy Goo with more on what's in store,
Jeremy.
Well, Mark,
when it comes to those temperatures,
we're sitting pretty mild tonight,
believe it or not.
A dew point in the 60s means that
it's just difficult to cool down.
So right now, we still sit in the
50s at the 10:00 o'clock hour.
All in all, not that bad,
but our showers have kind of dissipated
across much of the Inland Northwest.
That's a bit of good news
as things wind down.
No more convection,
no more worry of strong storms that
will continue to the trend overnight.
Tomorrow We'll see some more scattered
showers develop later in the afternoon.
I think our best shot at getting more
widespread moisture kind of happens tomorrow,
early evening,
but then it moves out, winds down,
we wind up catching another break,
and then a big shift in the
weather pattern arrives.
As we move into the middle part of the week,
we'll dry out and
temperatures start climbing.
Tomorrow looks a lot like today.
Wednesday,
we're back up near 70,
and by Thursday we're in the
70s and getting even warmer
as we head into the weekend.
Coming up,
I'll take you back outside and
we're going to talk a summer
like weekend and that includes
a look at Mother's Day.
All right,
sounds good. Jamie.
I'll check back in with you
later in the broadcast.
Looking ahead, we are just days
away from the end of Title 42,
a policy that went into effect
during the pandemic.
It allowed for quick deportations
on the grounds of public health,
while tonight officials warn a
massive surge of migrants is
expected when that policy ends,
They say between 10 and 13,000 people
could come to the southern border each day.
The Biden administration is sending 1500
active duty military personnel to the border.
They are expected to arrive on Wednesday.
Within the last few hours,
Washington Governor Jay Inslee
released a statement addressing
Title 42 and said, quote,
we do anticipate more people who come
seeking asylum now that Title 42 is ending.
The Governor's office is in close
contact with the White House,
the Department of Homeland Security,
and is coordinating with state
agencies including DHSH,
the Office of Refugee and
Immigration Assistance,
and the military department
regarding potential options for
shelter and other services.
UN quote.
Well tonight bodies are still being
recovered from 2 villages in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
This, after severe flooding,
marked one of the deadliest
disasters in the country's history.
Right now the death toll is at more than 400,
but officials say they expect that
number to rise as muck and debris
is still burying entire homes.
Meantime,
A Kenyan man rescued from the
more severe flooding tonight,
new body camera footage shows the
moment of that rescue as 2 pilots
navigated the flooded terrain.
The man was driving a tanker that was
suddenly caught in flash flooding.
Officials say he was trapped in
the cabin of that tanker for hours
before finally being rescued.
A search is underway tonight for two
climbers whose tracks disappeared
at the site of an avalanche in
Denali National Park.
Officials say Nafi,
in a wall from Seattle and Eli
Michael from Indiana,
were last known to be near Moose's Tooth,
a 10,000 foot mountain 12
miles southeast of Denali.
The mountain is the tallest in North America.
Rangers followed the climbers boot
tracks until they disappeared.
The search continues tonight from
the air because ground conditions
are just too dangerous right now.
Well,
we are just two days away from the
official end date of the public
health emergency tied to COVID-19.
But before we get there,
you may need to throw any at home
testing kits you have lying around.
The FDA has recalled certain tests
that may contain contaminated
liquid solution.
The tests from Roche Diagnostics
were distributed at CVS and
online through Amazon.
The FDA says if you have one of those kits,
you should throw the whole thing
away in the trash and do not pour
the liquid down the drain.
The FDA's website has a full list
of the recalled lot numbers.
And now to our night meet with a
quick look at the day's top stories.
The man arrested for allegedly
threatening to bomb a Pullman
apartment faced a judge
for the first time today.
Newly filed court documents obtained
by KREM 2 detail what led up to the
suspects arrest and the explosive
devices police found on the scene.
The document state the suspect,
Apollo lawyer, was drunk and threatening
to set the apartment on fire.
Pullman police requested assistance
from the Spokane bomb squad.
Their presence had many neighbors on edge.
It wasn't too scary, but once
you know, bomb squad shows up and everything,
it's very like, OK, you know,
once they get out of here,
then I'll feel better about it.
Well, it told me that it wasn't
just like someone playing around
with like a small fire or anything.
Lawyer is facing multiple felony charges.
In court today,
the judge said a $10,000 cash bail.
He also banned lawyer from
Pullman city limits.
New tonight, the Spokane County Traffic
Unit needs help identifying the
driver of a dark colored pickup truck.
They say that truck was parked behind
this silver Honda Accord when the
driver of the Honda stuck his hand
out the sunroof and pointed a black
gun at the driver of the truck.
Deputies say the driver of that truck is
a victim and they'd like to talk to him,
so anyone with information is urged
to call crime Check at numbers right
there at the bottom of your screen.
Today on Riverfront Park
South pedestrian bridge,
it is getting a new bridge deck,
new lighting and new beams.
The north suspension bridge will also
be temporarily closed starting today for
construction as well as Canada Island.
For the time being, there will be a
detour route along the Howard St.
Promenade through the center of the park.
The South bridge is expected to
be reopened next year in time for
the 50th anniversary of Expo 74.
And in just two days,
Wash dot is hosting a workshop for
the community to provide feedback on
two final designs for the I-90 and the
North Spokane Corridor connection.
That workshop begins at 5:30 PM
and goes until 7:00 PM at the Hive
Library on East Sprague Ave.
This comes weeks after Governor Jay
Inslee signed the new transportation
budget that allows for more than
$166,000,000 to fund construction on
the project through the year 2025.
And that was your night beat.
To learn more about any of these stories,
just text us the word NIGHT to
509-448-2000 and we'll send them
right to your phone.