Seattle News Tonight for Thursday, 10/15

It sends life-saving alerts right to your phone. But is Alert Seattle working when it counts? Animal testing at UW back in the spotlight as disturbing video reveals how infant monkeys were used in the process. Why PETA says the video is important to the public and how UW defends their research. Seattle City Council members scrutinizing Mayor Wilson's budget plans for Seattle Police. With council members divided, we are digging into what that means for taxpayers and public safety. An early surge in flu cases across western Washington. Emergency rooms are already seeing peak level numbers, and several deaths have been reported weeks ahead of the usual timing. This is way earlier than we would normally expect to see flu increase. Why health officials say you should not wait to get your flu vaccine. Hello, I'm David Rose. And I'm Hannah Kim. Those stories and more from Seattle and around the world. But first, today's top stories and breaking news with Fox 13's Sabira Rayford. We begin with breaking news out of Bend, Oregon. The Associated Press is reporting two officials have told them five people are dead after shooting inside an Oregon elementary school. Police say the shooter is dead, but it's not clear if they are part of that death toll. According to police, a call for shots fired outside of Silver Rail Elementary School came in just before 1 o'clock this afternoon. Investigators say police arrived within minutes and the suspect was shot shortly thereafter. There's no word on the identity or age of the suspect or their connection, if any, to the school. Police have also not identified anyone who was hurt or killed, but tell the Associated Press that children are among the victims. We will continue following developments and bring you more details as we learn more. Washington is now among several states where election offices were targeted with a suspicious powder sent through the mail. The Secretary of State says a letter sent to the agency's election division was intercepted this afternoon. The office says it's working closely with law enforcement to keep election workers safe and informed and calls this a, quote, attack on democracy. Federal authorities are actively intercepting mail after several congressional and election offices were also targeted. They include a suspicious mailing sent to the office of Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut. Envelopes laced with powder were also reported at election offices in Louisiana and Oklahoma this week. Switching gears now, the Seattle Seahawks are back at it tonight in Denver for Thursday night football. Fox 13 sports reporter Lauren Helmbrecht has a preview of the game you can watch on Fox 13 coming up at 5.15. The Seattle Seahawks on the road taking on the Denver Broncos in the first of three straight primetime games for the reigning Super Bowl champions. This is a tough stretch for the Seahawks, but they look to step up to the plate and bounce back from a tough loss in week five where they were hosting the San Francisco 49ers and fell short. The Seahawks had four turnovers in that game, and that's been a big issue for this offense, something that they have a sense of urgency to fix. Hopefully, they'll try to make it an adjustment tonight against the Broncos. A big matchup in this game is the Seahawks' defense versus the Broncos' offense. The Seahawks' defense has forced 11 turnovers the most in the NFL, plus they're allowing the fewest average yards per game. Meanwhile, the Denver Broncos' offense recently gave play calling back to their head coach, Sean Payton. That was in Week 5, so this will be his second game calling. And for this Denver offense that was just a few plays away from making the Super Bowl against the Seahawks last year, they haven't really made it click just yet. And so a message coming out of the Broncos' camp is they want their quarterback, Bo Nix, to let it rip in this game. This is a matchup of two former AFC West rivals who will be rocking one of the best uniform matchups in the league with throwbacks from the Seahawks and the Broncos as these two teams face off in Week 6 right here in Denver. For Fox 13 Sports, I'm Lauren Helmbrecht at Empower Field. Another big storm is brewing in the Pacific. The Trudy has strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane. It's about 300 miles southwest of Acapulco, Mexico, with sustained winds of 90 miles per hour. According to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Trudy's on track to become a major hurricane on Friday, hitting West Mexico sometime this weekend. With that, let's turn now to meteorologist Claire Anderson. Yeah, here's a look. I mean, this hurricane is expected to get a lot stronger, shockingly stronger, within the next 24 hours even. And here it is, again, a Category 1 storm with wind gusts of 115 miles per hour with sustained winds of 90 miles per hour. And look at this track. As we head into tonight and tomorrow, it is expected to get to a Category 4 storm, a major hurricane by tomorrow midday. Moving further northward up the coast of Mexico, Saturday into Saturday afternoon, and then turning northwest is a Category 2 storm. But definitely watching this very closely. Again, major hurricane as we head into the second half of October. Here, a lot calmer. Beautiful conditions out along the coast. Claylock Lodge, clear skies there. People out walking along the beach is a great spot to be today. Blue skies over our Queen Anne camera as well. The leaves are starting to turn everywhere, which is just so nice to get out and about. But upper 60s today for SeaTac along with Olympia, 69 for Bremerton, 66 for Bellingham and Everett. Out towards the coast in the low 70s, 70 degrees for Wenatchee this afternoon. Beautiful clear sky. We had a foggier start to the day, which I do think has kind of taken a few degrees off our high temperatures. Kind of took a minute to clear, but beautiful clear this afternoon. Winds not too bad right now, 5, maybe 15 miles per hour. I do want to point out we are seeing those gusty winds through the Cascade Gaps, those easterly winds as expected. So North Bend's a little gusty out there this afternoon. Futurecast does show most of the clear skies into this evening. Tomorrow morning, not as much foggy conditions. We are continuing to see offshore flow keeping us clearer. Mostly sunny skies throughout the day Friday. But Friday evening, we start to see those increased chance of showers out along the coast. Morning showers Saturday. but notice by the afternoon time it gets really nice and sunny, potentially a convergent zone shower. But overall, not too bad, dry on Sunday as well. So looking at temperatures dropping, heading from tomorrow in the mid to low 70s to the 60s with some morning showers, breezy winds, partly sunny into Sunday. Some scary moments for staff and students at Seattle John Muir Elementary School. A shelter-in-place order was issued after reports of a man with a gun near the school. Seattle police say the man was possibly in crisis. It happened just before 3 o'clock. The shelter-in-place order was lifted just a short time later. Police say there was no known danger to the students, staff at the school. Right now, officers are still searching for that suspect. Tonight, the search is on for 13-year-old Victoria Mervine. The alert was pushed out by Washington State Patrol on behalf of the Lummi Nation Police Department. She was last seen on Monday off South Red River Road in Ferndale, and it's not clear where she was headed. She was wearing a gray hoodie, a black vest, and blue jeans. If you've seen Victoria or know where she is, call 911 right away. A silver alert has been issued for 78-year-old Agnes Cozine. According to Washington State Patrol and Federal Way Police, she hasn't been seen since Tuesday evening off 21st Avenue Southwest. Her family tells Fox 13 she goes by Aggie, lives with dementia, and left Lakota Hills Senior Care Center. They have been out all day today, posting flyers and searching for video that might show where she went. My mom went missing on Tuesday night around 5.30, 5.15, 5.30. She resides in an adult family home, and at about 5.15, we believe, she wandered from the facility. We just want to find her. We just want to know where she is and that she's safe and bring her back to us. We're very worried about her. She is on medication. She has dementia. She's probably very scared and very confused right now. Here's another look at Aggie. If you've seen her or know where she is, call 9-1-1 immediately. Bellevue police are investigating a deadly crash near Southeast 30th and Bellevue Way that killed a cyclist. It happened just after 6 30 this morning in the northbound lanes. First responders tried to save the cyclist's life, but they did not survive. Police say the driver's cooperating with the investigation and that there were no signs of impairment. The cause of the crash is is unknown, but Bellevue PD says the darkness and early morning fog may have played a role. A man has been charged with first-degree arson for allegedly starting a fire at the Tacoma rental home belonging to former UW and NFL player Desmond Trufant. Prosecutors say 50-year-old Sean Demery set the fire to the empty home on purpose on Tuesday. Crews were called to North 10th Street early that morning over reports of flames pouring out of the home. Tacoma detectives say they used surveillance footage to identify Demery. They say he allegedly set fire to some outdoor furniture on a covered patio. Demery was arrested on Wednesday and is being held on a $75,000 bail. Well, Fox 13 was there this afternoon as flames shot out of the roof of an apartment complex in Tumwater. It happened off Israel Road this afternoon. The good news is officials weren't able to get everyone out in time. We spoke to a nearby neighbor who saw the smoke, called 911 and then ran to help whoever she could. I wasn't sure if it was that apartment or one next to it. So I went over there and climbed the fence and was yelling fire and fuego, just hoping that people heard me and got out. I was right up on the fence. I stood up on a planter and was hollering because I saw a few open windows. One person was rescued and a few pets are still unaccounted for. Right now it's not clear what sparked the fire. There's more news ahead with Fox 13's David Rose and Hannah Kim. Seattle relies on Alert Seattle to send out critical safety messages. That system was not used during July's bite of Seattle shooting and now a full review is underway to figure out why people weren't informed at a number of levels. Fox 13's Dan Griffin shares how it's supposed to get information to you and how to sign up. Inside Seattle's Emergency Operations Center, city officials can mobilize fast to send warnings directly to your phone. We wanted to know more about how it works. It's a way for the community to get informed and know about what's happening and what actions to take. Critical warnings sent straight to you. You have to opt in, right? You're not automatically in the system. That's trained city departments like police and fire how to use Alert Seattle. We do about two to three Alert Seattle trainings a year. Alert Seattle messages are drafted by city departments to warn you about earthquakes, outages and safety threats by text, email or phone call. Yet officials say only 83,000 people are signed up as of now. The World Cup where you had a massive amount of people in the city and the games, there's So many events happening, and so we were activated for the World Cup. But when gunshots rang out at the Bight of Seattle this summer, the system went unused. After heavy public backlash, Mayor Katie Wilson requested an investigation by the Office of Inspector General to determine why the public was without safety information for nearly five hours, including no alert Seattle messages. In September, she signed an executive order to overhaul emergency response protocols, including how Alert Seattle is triggered. People can sign up at seattle.gov slash alert. That says Alert Seattle signups spiked after the shooting. It's free and takes seconds as city leaders vow to never leave residents in the dark again. Yes, only more training and more outreach and engagement from now on. Now I signed up for Alert Seattle fairly quickly with calls, texts, and emails enabled. We've got information on how you can do the same on fox13seattle.com and the Fox local app. Reporting downtown, Dan Griffin, Fox 13 News. Today, students in Seattle and across the state participated in the Great Washington Shakeout. The yearly drill is designed to get the community prepared for earthquakes. Fox 13's John Hopperstead has more from today's drill. At the Children's Center at Burke-Gilman Gardens, they are more than prepared for an earthquake here on the day of the Great Shakeout. In fact, when parents come in here today, there's emergency supplies free that they can take. You've got emergency blankets, whistles, you've got flashlights, and also information on how to build a kit for you at home, a family communication plan, everything you would need to get ready for an earthquake. In fact, they're supplied here as well. In the back, they have a two-week supply of water. They've got a two-week supply of food, things like hand warmers, tarps, diapers. They're ready to go, and then, of course, they're very prepared if an earthquake hits. Our goal is to be two weeks ready, so it's important that we update our emergency supplies. A great way for people to remember it is daylight savings. That's a great time to stock up supplies, check to see. We keep 55-gallon barrels of emergency water that's been sanitized and treated that we can use in the event that our water gets shut down. And then we've got two weeks of food on hand, so if we were stuck here for any period of time, we would be able to take care of our kids and hopefully help out our friends and neighbors in the community as well. We do monthly drills, along with fire drills and everything like that, so they know what to do when they're in the emergency. They hide under the tables, they cover their heads, and they know that that's what's going to keep them safe. So as you can see, they're very prepared here at the Children's Center, and they're hoping that this inspires other schools, other preschools in the area to be prepared in the future as well. In Seattle, John Harper, Fox 13 News. Well, federal-weight police are trying to catch a burglary suspect. Take a look at these photos. Detectives say the crime happened last week. They're asking for your help to identify him. So if you know his name, Crime Stoppers will pay you a cash reward of up to $1,000. Just text the information through the P3 Tips app on your cell phone. President Trump is reversing a decision to live stream the execution of the Fort Hood mass shooter. Reporter Jared Halpern takes a closer look at the controversy that involved both sides of the aisle. Despite an earlier announcement by Pentagon leaders, the firing squad execution of former Army Major Nidal Hasan would be streamed publicly. President Trump now says that is not the case. Hasan was convicted of killing 13 service members and wounding 32 others during a mass shooting at Fort Hood. He's been sentenced to die by firing squad and President Trump writes that while he thinks streaming the execution might have been a strong deterrent, quote, many very good and well-meaning people would rather not watch him die through streaming or any other visual device. Some experts had urged the president to cancel the live stream, saying it poses a threat to national security. We know that there are a lot of sick people out there who seek fame through violence, and I'm afraid that it would encourage violence against Americans. But others disagreed, saying it was a potent symbol that could have made the world safer for Americans. The one thing Islamic jihadists and others like that actually understand is power, and that's a pure show of American power. J.D. Vance was among those who said he would not watch the execution and lawmakers from both parties also raised concerns. The Fort Hood shooter should be put to death, but there's a way to deal with this that's proper. That's how they do it in North Korea, not in the United States. We're better than this, we're a kind people, not a cruel people. Hasan's execution by firing squad will take place at Fort Hood. It is scheduled for December 3rd. We'll be right back. Disturbing video of infant monkeys inside at a University of Washington research lab is reigniting the debate over animal testing. A warning to viewers that it may be upsetting for some to watch. The video was released by PETA, which says the images show why primate research should end. UW says the study shown in the video stopped years ago and argues that research like this has provided important information about risks to human health. Baby macaques, some just days old, on lab tables. Their heads shaved, electrodes attached to their bodies as researchers test their development. The video was recorded years ago, but released this week by PETA, after the group obtained it through a public records request. It doesn't really matter that these experiments happened six years ago, because experiments with infant newborn macaques continue to occur and to happen at the University of Washington. Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel is PETA's chief science advisor on primate issues and a former UW primate scientist. She says the public should see what research using monkeys can involve. We want people to see these monkeys for who they are, to understand what this experimentation means to these animals. U-Dub doesn't dispute that the video is disturbing. Dr. Sally Thompson-Iritani is U-Dub's assistant vice provost for animal care. First, let me ask you, have you seen the video that PETA put out? And if so, what is your reaction? Because to the general public, it looks like animal cruelty. I do understand the reaction that people are feeling. And I do think that it is hard to watch. So I don't want to minimize that in any fashion. She says she has watched the video several times, but argues it doesn't show the scientific purpose of the study. The research examined what could happen to developing offspring when a pregnant mother was exposed to substances like methylmercury or domoic acid. Some of these effects with low-level exposure to these contaminants, you might not see even at birth. They sometimes show up later in development. U-Dub says that research can help scientists better understand what levels of exposure may be dangerous during human pregnancy. PETA argues science now has better ways to answer those questions. We don't need to rely upon an infant monkey taken from their mother and experimented on to tell us how drugs and treatments can improve human health. The specific neurotoxin experiments shown in the video have ended. Thompson-Iritani says UW has more recently used primates for infectious disease research, but says there is not a current study of that kind underway at the facility. PETA claims every monkey involved in the experiments is eventually killed. Is that accurate? And if so, why were they euthanized instead of taken to a sanctuary? The primary reason that the animals are usually euthanized at the end of these experiments is that we need to collect the tissues, because there are several questions that we can't answer when we're looking at the animals during their lifespan. The larger debate is whether science still needs monkeys at all. The federal government is increasing its investment in alternatives, including organoids, human tissue models, and computer modeling. PETA says those tools should replace primate research. UW says they are promising, but cannot yet answer every scientific question. Saying that we're going to be able to do something like this overnight and we're going to not have to rely on animal models anymore is not realistic. But saying that we are evaluating how we can incorporate these new emerging technologies into our systems, into our biological questions, is something that we are extremely dedicated to doing. Earlier this year, UW renamed its primate center the Washington National Biomedical Research Center. PETA calls that rebranding. UW says it reflects a broader mission that includes new non-animal research methods while still using primates when scientists believe they are necessary. There is good science to be done now. But not if you're relying upon the monkey to stay in the middle, to be somehow this translator for what's happening in humans. U-Dub says there is no plan to abruptly end all animal research, but says it is committed to reducing or replacing animal use when other methods can answer the same questions. And we'll be right back. A budget that impacts taxpayers and public safety was front and center today at Seattle City Hall. Mayor Wilson's proposed budget for Seattle police was laid out for council. here are the numbers that matter to you. Wilson's two-year budget is proposed at 9.1 billion, an increase from around 8.9 billion from the previous administration. SPD's projected budget of that is around 550 million, with a 68 million dollar increase. And the vast majority of that 68 million increase will cover wage increases negotiated last year with the police union. One of the biggest sticking points right now between the mayor and some council members is the number of new hires. Wilson is proposing a budget that hopes to reach 1,250 full-time officers. Council Member Rob Kettle says he doesn't like that cap and it stunts the city's goal of reaching well over 1,400 SPD officers down the road. Currently, Seattle has 935 deployable officers. Under Wilson's budget proposal, SPD expects to net 43 new officers for 2027, but nets zero new officers for 2028. That continues to raise concerns about slow 911 response times, which is on average just under 10 minutes for life-threatening calls. Also, staffing levels per capita is significantly lower than comparable cities that roughly has double Seattle's level of staffing. Councilmember Kettle also questioned the 1,250 full-time officer threshold, calling it a PR number, saying under the current situation, he says the city can't even reach that. But now with this new bill, we're not taking off anymore, we're landing. And as the briefing shows, the 1250 number is not the 1250 number. We're going to land short, and that crash landing is going to impact our public safety posture. But other council members come into Mayor Wilson's defense when it comes to the budget, like Eddie Lynn there, pointing out that other city departments could be facing major budget cuts, but that SPD doesn't have that issue. In fact, Mayor Wilson's plan doesn't take away any money, especially during a challenging fiscal environment. I want us to have a level playing field and make sure that we are characterizing what's actually happening in the proposed budget. Seattle City Council could make a final vote on SPD's budget on November 20th. New tonight, body cam video showing the arrest of a convicted felon who Bellevue police say wanted to get to his gun to shoot them. Take a look. I'm okay, I'm fine. You're not getting out of this. officers say johnny mixabua continued to struggle until he was handcuffed and even then was trying to get into his jacket police found a loaded handgun in the pocket it all started on october 4th when officers were dispatched to reports of a theft in progress they contacted the 30 year old and then learned he was driving a stolen car. After he was cuffed, police say they found an improvised explosive device in his vehicle. The bomb squad responded, removed it, and then detonated it at a safe location. Xabua was charged with attempted assault in the second degree, unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree, and making a false statement to police. He's being held on $550,000 bail and on a federal hold for violating the terms of his probation. He was convicted of stealing two mail trucks in West Seattle in 2023. He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. An unusually early start to the flu season is raising alarms across western Washington. Health officials report that emergency room visits for flu-like illnesses have been climbing since August. We're seeing two deaths and hospitalizations this month alone in Snohomish County. Fox 13's Frankie Thompson spoke with public health leaders about the unexpected surge. According to the CDC guidelines, the official 2026-2027 flu season technically started on October 4th. But here in Snohomish County and throughout the region, the virus clearly doesn't wait for the calendar. The only thing predictable about flu is that it's unpredictable. The State Department of Health says emergency department visits for flu-like illnesses started climbing back in mid-August, a trend usually not seen until late fall. Different seasons have different strains of influenza that circulate and they kind of have a mind of their own as to when they start. So we can't really control when flu season starts. The health department in Pierce County says emergency room visits are matching Thanksgiving levels. The Snohomish County Health Department reports 63 flu hospitalizations since late August, levels usually reserved for December. This is way earlier than we would normally expect to see flu increase. Not only is it early, but it's also starting on the west coast and moving eastward, which normally flu, we see the first uptick in the southeast part of the country and then it moves up northwest and west. The early wave of the virus has already turned deadly. Snohomish County has recorded two flu-related deaths in October. Officials say one of them reported this week. King County reported nine flu-related deaths in late September, the same time Thurston County also recorded one flu death. We're also seeing along with the flu increase, there has been an increase in COVID infections as well. What's driving the early arrival of the flu virus is still too early to determine, but health leaders stress that getting vaccinated is their biggest suggestion. In the past, people have waited often until October because the flu doesn't really start taking off in earnest until November. But this year, the flu is already here and we may see a really early peak and so now's the time to get your flu vaccine. In addition to getting the flu shot, public health leaders are reminding everyone to wash hands frequently, wear a mask in crowded spaces, and stay home if feeling sick. Reporting in Everett, Frankie Thompson, FOX 13 News. Well, if you've been curious about where Sound Transit's Ballard Link extension project stands, next week you may get some answers. Sound Transit is set to host a community forum of the project on Monday. Leaders from Sound Transit, the City of Seattle, and King County will be sharing information on the latest timeline update. They will also discuss how they're working to reduce construction costs and what the Ballard community can expect next. The forum will also give neighbors a chance to ask questions and share their thoughts. That's happening at Seattle's Nordic Museum next Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. A groundbreaking ceremony was held today for a new housing and child care project in Seattle's Mount Baker neighborhood. Local leaders, including Governor Bob Ferguson and Mayor Katie Wilson, attended the event. The nearly four-acre project is called Mount Baker Redevelopment and Rainier Rising, early learning campus. It's expected to provide 400 affordable apartments and first of its kind early childhood learning center. The project also includes a 20,000 square foot open public space and a 6,000 square foot community hub. A community hub will provide services for residents and celebrate the neighborhood's diversity and commercial spaces will uplift BIPOC owned and locally owned businesses. The project is located just west of Mount Baker light rail station. The Early Learning Center and Phase 1 of the affordable housing are set to be completed in 2029. It's only October, but Seattle has already set a new record for its yearly total of Lime rides. The company announced today Lime has reached 10.5 million rides in Seattle this year, surpassing the total across all of 2025. There were some major events in Seattle, of course, this year that helped set the new record. Lime racked up 60,000 rides during the Seahawks Super Bowl parade back in February. During the FIFA World Cup, there were more than 1.7 million Lime trips in Seattle. And when the U.S. played Australia on June 19th, Seattle set its single-day record with more than 83,000 Lime trips. OpenAI is facing more lawsuits over concerns its tech is harming users. As Alexis McAdams reports, the company argues its safeguards are stronger than others in the industry. Eight states announcing lawsuits against OpenAI on Wednesday, accusing the company of deceiving users about the safety of its chatbot. Attorneys General allege that ChatGPT has coached its users, including teens, to harm themselves or others. It follows a similar lawsuit filed by Florida's Attorney General in June. It utilizes human tendencies and mimics empathy to trick people into providing more information, further encouraging this dangerous behavior. OpenAI pushing back in a statement saying it's, quote, built industry-leading age-specific protections into our product that many other AI products lack. Adding, we'll continue to work with experts to inform our work and build additional safeguards. In August, it launched a restricted ChatGPT mode for teens that it argues offers stronger safety features. It does age assurance, so if you're under 18, it puts you into a new mode or a new model that is really designed to be appropriate for someone under 18. Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission has reportedly sent civil subpoenas to both OpenAI and Anthropic over potential consumer protection violations. According to Axios, the agency is looking for documents concerning security incidents and safeguarding practices. The FTC Act says that you can't deceive consumers about your product. You can't have your product harm them in ways they can't anticipate and can't avoid. Last month, President Trump says AI leaders signed an agreement with police themselves rather than face federal regulation. there are only five games remaining in the season for the Sounders as they push for playoff seeding in the Western Conference last night the Sounders had plenty of chances to win their fifth straight game but fell to FC Dallas one nil the Sounders didn't lose any ground in the standings though as they remained the seventh seed and would be in the playoffs if the season ended today the Sounders will take on the worst team in the Eastern Conference Montreal on Saturday at Lumen Field there was a lot of you know moments where you know we put one of them away especially in the first half uh you know that game goes different but you know if you're gonna lose uh you know you gotta just sit back and say okay the guy hit a wonder strike and not really you could not much you can do about that the college football playoff format is nearing a deal to expand the field from 12 teams to 24. Final details have yet to be announced, but if approved, would include 19 at-large bids. The Power Four Conference champions is determined by each league and the highest-ranked group of 16. The expansion would happen in 2027. And a reminder, you can watch the Washington Huskies take on Purdue tomorrow night right here on FOX 13. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m., and stick around after the game for all the highlights and analysis on Seattle Sports Live. It's all right here on FOX 13 Friday night we'll be right back happy thursday everyone i'm meteorologist claire anderson in the fox 13 weather center a beautiful day with temperatures in the 70s for some spots of western washington today another warm day tomorrow i do want to point out tonight we're going to see some easterly gusty winds it's going to pick up here into the evening hours i'll show you that in just a moment but it's really aiding in keeping these temperatures really warm again into Friday with those high temperatures in the mid 70s for some locations, which could be our last 70s of the year. Now looking ahead to the weekend, we do have some early showers heading into Saturday, but drier conditions along with some cooler temperatures into Sunday. So it is not a washout of a weekend. Let's take a look at temperatures today. Upper 60s with some 70s out along the coast. That's thanks to that offshore flow. The nicest spot to be today out towards the beaches forks and hoquiam mid to upper 60s seattle sea tack olympia at 67 mid 60s for bellingham and everett 70 degrees in wenatchee this afternoon 5 to over 10 degrees warmer today across western washington especially out along the coast about 12 degrees warmer in forks now looking at the next several afternoons i want to show you this temperature change a bit of a roller coaster here nice and warm for friday little bit cooler saturday and then heading into Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. Temperatures a little bit below seasonal average, milder into next Wednesday. Now let's take a look at our conditions moving forward. High pressure today as well as into tomorrow with that offshore flows keeping this nice and clear and it is going to stick around here before that next system drops in Saturday. Beautiful clear skies today. We did have some morning fog to start our day but cleared by mid-afternoon bringing that sunshine back Into tonight, a few areas of patchy fog, but not like we saw yesterday. We had a little bit better mixing tonight. Into tomorrow afternoon, mostly sunny skies, looking really nice for Friday. Friday night, though, showers start to return. Here comes that next system, bringing the showers. By 2 a.m., you'll see some passing rain. By 7 a.m., scattered showers northbound, a little bit drier around central Puget Sound, with cascade showers as well. Into the afternoon, potentially a convergence zone, but mostly dry into Saturday evening. Looking at our rain forecast, not a whole lot. Most of it will be out towards the coast, less than a tenth of an inch expected, with a little bit more into Saturday, but not a soaker of an event. Wind-wise tonight, picking up especially into the Cascade foothills by 11 o'clock. Wind gets up to potentially 45 miles per hour around North Bend, even Gold Bar Gusty. That's into Friday morning. Throughout the day Friday, not a whole lot going on, but I do want to point out Friday night into Saturday, as this front moves through, It will pick up the wind speed Saturday morning, and then into the afternoon, you'll see it pick up for eastern Washington, calmer by Saturday evening. Temperatures tonight, mid-40s, Tacoma, low 50s, Seattle and Everett. Tomorrow's outdoor report, if you're going to go hiking, maybe checking out some of the leaves and the foliage, it looks great. Friday night lights also looks really nice for the football games. 70s tomorrow across the board, get outside, mid-70s, Olympia, Centralia, 60s out towards the coast, upper 60s, Bellingham, 70 degrees for Wenatchee. and looking at your extended forecast 60s breezy for saturday with those early showers but partly sunny sunday mostly cloudy monday drier tuesday wednesday this fall our Good Day Seattle crew has been out highlighting several pumpkin patches in our area for a special fall edition of Zip Trip Tonight Fox 13's Bill Wixey takes us to Lake Stevens to check out Carlton Farm I'm at Carlton Farm in Lake Stevens and this is a true family owned and operated pumpkin patch out here And Greg Miller is the owner and operator here. Talk about what a passion this is for the entire family, putting this on. It is. It's a whole family event here. We got Cooper here, my grandson. He helps design things here at the farm. His mom's up. She does all the painting on everything here, helps with the design. My wife runs our store up here. and then i oversee just basic farms what goes on here at the farm on a day-to-day basis getting it going and it has to be an amazing undertaking for the entire family to put this on because everybody has a job right yep everybody's got a job we're we're here early we're here late um you know seven days a week whether you want to be here or not so you know it uh it keeps us going um keeps us young keeps us uh excited about uh what's going on here and uh it's great and and so and cooper had a huge hand in this as well because you're the one oh look out there bud uh you you have actually come up with the mario theme this year is that right yeah and uh so are we gonna have a little paintball contest here on our mario theme paintball you're ready to do this you show okay here we go all right show me how it's done there Cooper, show them how to shoot it out here, get some lined up, pull the trigger, fire them in there you go, oh man look at that, there you go, keep shooting, oh he's a good shot, gotta get right over here at the target, you ready? oh look at that, one more that's pretty good, all right I'm gonna give it a shot here, I'll give, not much I got a hundred, I gotta, oh that's fun, Cooper, thank you so much for having us out, yeah thank you, bring the family out to Carlton Farm in Lake Stevens back to you. I think these segments have been very helpful because it just dawned on me that we have so many pumpkin patches. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, a lot of entertaining things to do, especially when the weather's good. This is just one of several stops our Good Day Seattle crew is checking out this fall. For a look at all of the pumpkin patches we visited, head to fox13seattle.com links. All right, you don't want to miss this video making the rounds on social media. A large inflatable pumpkin on the loose in North Carolina. A farm located near Raleigh was hosting its annual pumpkin fest when this large inflatable pumpkin managed to break free and rolled down the road. People on the street were able to stop it. Here's another angle of the pumpkin, though, as it rolled by a church. The farm's owner says he's not surprised the video got so much attention. He did worry about the rumors, though, that were floating around. Some news media outlets are taking it like it was like destroying the town or something like that. And that's just not the case. There's just a big blow up pumpkin rolling down the road. No one got hurt, it wasn't even that serious, and we had people on it within a minute. What, the news media made something more dramatic and dangerous? I can't even imagine. In an Instagram post, the farm thanked everyone for helping bring the giant pumpkin back home. But at a quick glance, when you first see it, aren't you a little surprised? You're like, whoa, because just how massive it is. Yeah, you don't know if it's just an inflatable or a piece of plastic or what, but it went on quite the trip, didn't it? All right, a holiday tradition returns to Pierce County. The Tacoma Holiday Festival is happening at the Tacoma Dome through Sunday night. The venue transformed into a holiday marketplace with locally made gifts, crafts, holiday treats, and live music. You're going to see a lot of hand-created gifts that you can't see on a mass market. And a lot of food items that you also don't see everywhere. So you can put a lot of gift ideas together all in one. Handmade jewelry, home decor, holiday decor. David, I feel like you and Jess would love that. We would. Yeah. Just Christmas. So Santa will also be there to snap a few pictures. Doors open at 10 a.m. Friday through Sunday. So if you want to buy a ticket, just head to fox13seattle.com slash links. All right, one local business owner is making sure that you can still get your sweets while staying fit. Tala Amini bakes cookies, cupcakes, and brownies that taste good, but also pack protein and nutrients. Yeah, Fox 13's A.J. Janival shows us how you can snack while staying a snack this upcoming holiday season. Through the work that I've been doing through competition, through working with kids, through my bakery. It's my way of giving back. Tala Amini wears a lot of hats. She's a professional bodybuilder, an educator who works with children with autism, and since 2020, a small business owner. Tala runs Fuelicious Bakery, an online storefront making sweet treats, but with better ingredients and packed with protein, like a cookie with 30 grams of protein. There's some people who go on diets that are like, I can't eat sweets, I can't do it. If I do it once, I'm a failure, I messed up. So hopefully, you know, that bakery inspires others that you could still have this and enjoy life too. Tala tells me the challenges that come with body image is something she understands. I myself struggled when I was a kid with an eating disorder, and I was very, very skinny, which was fine, but I never had the knowledge of like education of diet. She says finding fitness led her to finding dedication. She hopes to highlight for others the importance of realizing you can still enjoy your food while staying healthy. Reporting in Seattle, AJ Janneville, Fox 13 News. Yeah, I'll have what she's having. Yeah, and 30 grams, she said, of protein in one cookie? Those look delicious. Wow. She just got her baked goods at a local Seattle gym. She's hoping to keep growing her small business. And you can order her treats from her website. For more information, go to fox13seattle.com. We love supporting small business. Yes, I will be getting some. All right, thank you so much for joining us for Seattle News tonight. You can watch anytime on the Fox Local Connected TV app. Free to download for your connected TV and your cell phone. Have a great night.