NewsWatch 12 at 5: Top Stories

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]news. We're taking a live look at Klamath Falls, where the city is under a severe thunderstorm warning right now.

[00:00:06]Our weather team is tracking storms producing damaging winds and a lot of hail. Thanks for joining us for NewsWatch 12 at 5. I'm Grace Rits. Let's get right over to Chief Meteorologist Matt Hoffman. Matt, what is the latest on these storms? Well, some pretty strong storms, Grace. We're really concerned about damaging wind gusts and a lot of hail being produced by these storms. The potential for gusts up to 70 mph in the Klamath Falls area with this severe thunderstorm warning. It goes until 5:15, knocking on the doorstep.

[00:00:38]You can already see the rain falling in Klamath Falls from our weather cam, and winds have been very gusty. Also, there's another severe thunderstorm warning. This is down in northeastern portions of Siskiyou County, also going until 5:15. This storm capable of wind gusts up to 60 mph. And these storms have been rolling westward anywhere between 35 to 40 mph, and also producing heavy downpours and a lot of lightning.

[00:01:07]But see what this line has been leaving behind along Highway 140. We're seeing this hail. This is not snow. This is hail that has been accumulating on 140 from Quartz Mountain Pass, working its way westward through Bly, as well as Bly Mountain. And we're likely going to see this rolling in into Klamath Falls, as well. Quarter-size hail will be possible with that line of storms. Take a look at the latest wind gust at the airport in Klamath Falls. Gust pushing 50 mph. So, these storms capable of the biggest threats, damaging winds, as well as hail up to a quarter size or so. We're going to be watching the green shaded area.

[00:01:47]Some of this does stretch into Jackson County, but we should see storms begin to weaken as we head deeper into the evening, especially after sunset. We'll be tracking them closely. Look at how temperatures have fallen as the winds, the outflow, the colder air from the storms in Klamath Falls now down to 48°.

[00:02:07]It was much warmer a bit ago. Right now, 62° in Medford. Things are quiet now, but we're going to watch these storms as they do push westward. Notice how things start to wind down as we get later into the evening, but we're tracking some more active weather into next week, and rather into tomorrow. Next week is actually looking quite quiet and much warmer, but tomorrow we will be concerned about more storms and maybe even some severe weather as well. The potential for some damaging wind gusts again tomorrow, hail, as well as heavy rain and a lot of lightning. I'm going to talk much more about your forecast for tomorrow. We'll time out these thunderstorms. A lot of events going on, including the Rogues as well as a graduations. I'll have the details and we'll have another update on those storms in the basin right now. Coming up in just a bit, Grace.

[00:02:55]Matt, thank you. And in a crime alert, multiple agencies aided in serving a search warrant to a home in rural Central Point after child sexual abuse material was uploaded to the app Discord. The Southern Oregon Child Exploitation Team served that warrant at a resident on Table Rock Road after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about the images being uploaded from the address. Digital devices were seized for forensic examination and the investigation is ongoing.

[00:03:27]GO. GO.

[00:03:32]WHAT YOU JUST WATCHED WAS BODY CAM FOOTAGE THAT was just released by the Mount Shasta and Weed Police Department showing a March 21st officer-involved shooting after a suspect pulled a firearm from his waistband while seated in the front of a police vehicle as officers searched his car. The incident began when a Weed officer stopped a vehicle for multiple violations and found suspected methamphetamine in a speaker box. As the officers approached the police vehicle, the suspect is seen pointing a firearm leading to gunfire.

[00:04:03]The suspect was taken to the hospital and later died. The investigation into the justification of the shooting is still ongoing with the California Highway Patrol leading that investigation.

[00:04:15]And a proposed ballot initiative which would criminalize breeding practices as well as hunting and fishing has just received enough uncertified signatures to appear on the November ballot. As it becomes more likely Oregonians will vote on IP 28, NewsWatch 12's Robert Aliotti joins us live from Jackson County.

[00:04:35]Robert, you got a closer look at what this could do for if the measure is passed. What unexpected impacts might it have?

[00:04:45]Yes, Grace. Thank you. I'm here on the Rogue River where ordinarily you might be seeing some fishermen getting some casts in. And if this measure makes its way onto ballots, voters will decide the fate of fishermen, hunters, and other people doing outdoor recreation and activities as well as professions. So, the first thing I wanted to know when I started digging into all of this was what is classified as an animal.

[00:05:09]Under Oregon state law, an animal is already legally defined as any mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, or fish. Now that the guidelines are laid out, let's begin to look at the impact this measure might have. Hunters and anglers in this state provide a boatload of money to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

[00:05:27]Tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions of dollars, in the grand scheme of things. Gone, it's just gone. It's not just hunting and fishing that will be impacted. Commercial fishermen and ranchers will be out of work as well. To take it a step further, Todd told me that even people looking to just get outside will suffer.

[00:05:45]Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife supports all of this public land in the state, and who supports Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife?

[00:05:53]Hunters, anglers, etc. In the face of that economic impact, David said that the measure would provide support to those who are out of work. But if we are able to convince Oregonians that now is the time to move away from killing animals, the initiative would set up a transition fund. The funding would then be supplied from impacted organizations and activities. Transition fund can partially, at least, be funded by redirecting any money that currently goes to any activity that would be criminalized if this were to pass.

[00:06:29]Now, David let me know that he understands that this measure may not pass in 2026, but he still hopes that this measure will inspire Oregonians to start having a conversation about treating animals with just a little bit more care and respect. Live on the Rogue River, I'm Robert Aleydi.

[00:06:45]Robert, thank you. The Department of the Interior has announced a proposed expansion of hunting and fishing opportunities across national wildlife refuges and fish hatcheries. The plan would open or expand more than 1,450 hunting and fishing opportunities at 107 national wildlife refuges and four national fish fish hatcheries in 32 states. The proposal includes potentially expanding hunting at the Klamath Basin refuge with the 30-day public comments period starting today.

[00:07:19]And [snorts] the Jackson County Sheriff's Office has officially canceled all evacuations for the Blackwell fire as local fire crews provide their final update on the fire. Crews remained on scene overnight last night to extinguish hotspots and continued mop-up operations into today. Smoke may still be visible as firefighters ensure there's no risk of the fire reigniting. Local fire agencies ask everyone to remain vigilant this fire season and recommend keeping their vegetation around their home controlled as there's currently no restrictions on powered equipment in Jackson and Josephine counties. And for the first time in history, the rare Mazama newt has laid eggs in human care as part of conservation efforts at the Oregon Zoo. The species is only found in Crater Lake and has lived there for thousands of years. But scientists say they're dangerously close to disappearing. The Oregon Zoo obtained these newts in late August and have been closely replicating the conditions of Crater Lake. They now say two newts have laid a total of 52 eggs. They aren't sure if the eggs will hatch just yet, but they say it's a promising development. Our news team spoke with the Oregon Zoo who told us an invasive crawfish is taking over the lake shore.

[00:08:34]One of the things that the crayfish is part of the problem is that they're consuming they're predating on the newts, but they're also eating their food. So, they're eating the same sources of food that these newts are eating.

[00:08:48]Currently, there is an ongoing effort to list the Mazama newt under the endangered species act which could provide federal funding. Conservation advocates say that funding would expand crawfish removal as well as strengthen long-term recovery programs that hope to prevent the species from vanishing entirely.

[00:09:06]And tomorrow's a big day for baseball fans. The Medford Rogues are back and ready for a showdown versus the Seattle Studs tomorrow. NewsWatch 12 Sports Paisley Pool has the game plan updates after heading out to their practice today. Paisley, what's the latest update you got for us? Yeah, thank you, Grace.

[00:09:24]Weather out today at practice was a bit cloudy, but that didn't matter for these guys. They're ready for some summer baseball no matter what happens tomorrow. I spoke with head head coach Kevin Olmstead, so here's what the plan could look like for this weekend. So, from my understanding, if the weather is too bad, we will cancel tomorrow.

[00:09:44]We'll do a double header Friday, single Saturday, single Sunday. If the weather is too extreme for Thursday and Friday, we will just do a double header Saturday and a single Sunday. President Dave May of the Medford Rogues says in his 10 seasons, they've never lost an opening day to weather. So, baseball fans, keep your fingers crossed that this trend continues. And of course, our NewsWatch 12 weather team will keep you updated on conditions. But for now, live from the Total Sports Desk, I'm Paisley Pool.

[00:10:12]Back to you, Grace.

[00:10:13]Paisley, thank you. This afternoon, Oregon earned an age-friendly designation through AARP, marking the state as somewhere residents can live well at every stage in life. The announcement comes as Governor Tina Kotek has pushed efforts for to support older Oregonians, including last week's announcement of housing actions. Kotek says the state is going through a shift in demographics with more adults 65 and older than under the age of 18. Kotek and other advocates say the designation isn't a stopping point.