hardest hit by the recession... including nevada... but fox5 uncovered a recent audit by the special inspector generals office . it found that a large part of those funds weren't being given to homeowners in need... fox5's miguel martinez valle dove in to the 50 page audit to tell us what he found. this is that audit...and in its more than 50 pages it shows that in just two years the number of homeowners allowed into this program fell by 94 percent... and even though the company kept taking tarp money from the government... as you can see in this chart... they were turning away a lot more people for assistance than they were accepting the company is called nevada affordable housing assistance corporation. the state hired them to distribute tarp funding to homeowners in need. except in 2015... a little more than 491 thousand dollars actually went to homeowners, but the company expensed more than 660 thousand. and they only admitted 117 people into the program... so if

what'd they spend the rest of the money on? well the audit shows the company instead spent the money on an employee winter social, a holiday luncheon, gift cards... among other things. i did reach out to the company mentioned in the audit... they told me they were preparing a statement and they should have that to me at some point... sigtarp... the people conducting the audit also have some reccomendations on what the state should do with the findings.. ill have that for you at 6. the e-p-a

mercury contamination - that began at walter johnson junior high school. those worries have now spread to a family home. the e-p-a is picking apart this home - not far from the school - near alta and buffalo. authorities say the family will remain out of the house for at least another day or two. investigators are ripping up items - that could be contaminated two children live at the home. one is of school age - while the other is not. this morning - johnson junior high was back in session nearly a week after mercury was discovered there. the scare forced more than a thousand students into a quarantine that lasted overnight. a few dribbles of the neurotoxin were first found on campus wednesday morning - prompting a hazmat situation that lasted until 5 a-m thursday. classes were cancelled - until this morning - and

"i want some clarity on the amount?" "why did it take so long for them to communicate what was going on?" "there's plenty of questions, but im glad they took the precautions they did to make sure the kids are safe" it was the largest decontamination effort in the history of the school district and las vegas fire department. the u.s. environmental protection agency says the cleanup effort has yielded more than a quarter cup of the element. officials say the campus has been fully decontaminated though they're still investigating how the mercury got to the school. a british man has pleaded guilty to federal charges - of trying to attack donald trump during a campaign rally here in las vegas. michael sandford is accused of grabbing a police officer's gun with a plan to shoot the g-o-p presidential nominee - during a june event at the treasure island casino. he could face about two years in prison - and be deported. he plead guilty to being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and disrupting an official function.

have faced up to 20 years in prison if he'd been convicted at trial of both charges. court documents say sandford acknowledged reaching for the gun while trump was on stage. he didn't get the gun before he was arrested - and no shots were fired. investigators tell us a civilian contractor pilot who ejected from a military jet last month... steered the failing aircraft toward the desert before it crashed. the national transportation safety board said the pilot reported the douglas a-4k skyhawk lost power approaching a air force base last month - before he parachuted safely away. he wasn't seriously hurt. the preliminary report also shows the aircraft crashed and burned about a mile north of nellis. no one on the ground was hurt. the pilot was flying back after an air combat role-playing exercise over the nevada test and training range. new evidence that massive flooding - and lava - were once prominent on mars. coming up - what new images are

the red planet. plus.... is general motors ready to beat tesla... at its own game? this is fox5 news at 5:30, your only choice for live local news right now we are one nation under god.

i'd like to punch him in the face. you know what they used to in a stretcher, folks.riedt i could stand in the middle of 5th avenue and shoot somebody and i wouldn't lose any voters. priorities usa action is responsible

new images.... of the red planet. they show a repeat pattern of dune-like areas on mars. nasa scientists call these fluvial dunes - formed by the flow of water. they're identified by a prominent crater-core... with a teardrop-shaped island in its middle. these pictures were taken by a nasa mars orbiter in may of this year. scientists say the landforms were created by massive and catastrophic

channels also likely allowed lava to flow on mars. general motors says its new all- electric car beats tesla when it comes to how many miles you can drive on one charge. g-m says the chevy bolt - which will be available to the public later this year - can go 238 miles on just one charge. that's enough to drive from new york to washington, d-c. it's also 23 miles more than tesla has pledged for a single charge on its upcoming "model three" - which is expected to go on salne year. the chevy bolt is powered by a 200 horsepower electric motor - and can reach a speed of about 91 miles an hour. it will also sell for about 37- thousand-500 dollars. but with federal tax incentives, the price should go down to under 30-thousand. from china... to mexico.... and then - the united states. coming up... a spike in heroin.... laced with a highly addicitve substance. and - we're now learning that a bounty hunter was onboard a small plane - that crashed in reno

24/7 forecast is coming up next this is fox5 news at 5:30, your only

over 20,000 nevadans rely on planned parenthood 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.

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. panini collection from subway. are mourning the loss of a bail bondsman killed in a small plane crash - in reno. he was among three people killed when the plane went down shortly after takeoff. david louie has the story. agents from the national transportation safety board are investigating why the piper cherokee crashed right after take-off at reno- tahoe airport sunday evening with three people on

smashed into the airport parking lot. among the three who died was 45 year old ed mumbert, a long- time bail bondsman based in the south bay. his death was confirmed by family pastor dick bernal of jubilee christian center in san jose. pastor bernal also shared these photos. mumbert was bringing back a client he had hunted down after skipping bail. (pastor dick bernal/jubilee christian center) "the pilot i don't know the pilot, but it was a colleague, and a good pilot i understand. and the person he apprehended and ed." (reporter) "and that was a woman?" (pastor dick bernal/jubilee christian center) "a woman, yes." the plane had taken off from san carlos airport and was returning there when it crashed. mumbert worked by himself, but once had had an office in san jose. he was a member of the jubilee congregation and would sometimes provide security when pastor bernal went overseas to potentially dangerous places. (pastor dick bernal/jubilee christian church) "ed was always there -- generous, big heart, 400 pound rugby player, great athlete. everybody loved ed. everybody loved ed." the church now

memorial service as family members arrive from idaho and southern california. this they will remember about mumbert. (pastor dick bernal/jubilee christian church) "you didn't want to run. ed would find you. he'd find you in ohio, he'd find you in china. he would find you. if you ran, ed would find you." several vehicles in the parking lot of the airport were damaged - but no one on the ground was killed or injured. a suspect is in custody after the hours-long police pursuit of a big rig reported stolen in california. the chase started at around 10-30 tuesday morning and ended some three hours later when the driver finally surrendered. california highway patrol says the truck was stolen from bakersfield. it belongs to "act enviro," a company that transports hazardous and electronic waste. the company said the big rig was carrying non- explosive, non- radioactive material. act enviro used a tracking device in the trailer to send police the truck's location.

suspect's identity. new reports indicate a rise in heroin and drugs laced with fentanyl are being smuggled across the border. it's troubling news when you consider that fentanyl is a narcotic that's chemically identical to heroin but up to 50 times more potent. adam housley has the story. federal agents are worried about a spike of lethal heroin, usually laced with synthetic opiods like fentanyl. roddick says: "we're not just talking heroin, let's make we're talking all opioids and opiotes. so all prescription painkillers, we're talking heroin, we're talking clandestinely manufactured fentanyl, which is us coming over from mexico so when you start lumping all those numbers together, you're seeing a big increase. " according to the dea, fentanyl is chemically identical to heroin but up to 50 times more potent -- and more likely to cause an overdose. roddick says: "it's coming from china into mexico, where they will make it into fentanyl so it comes across as

liquid, it comes across mixed with heroin so the threat is real and it's literally every where." and the demand is only growing. for the cartels, there has never been an illicit drug more lucrative. the heroin/fentanyl combo can be marked up 3000%. meade says: "this is something pablo escobar in the 1980s, - the guys who made a lot of money on cocaine - this is beyond their wildest dreams for profitability." that's forcing drug agents on the border to protect themselves and rely on surveillance inside mexico more than ever before. aki says: "we're changing every single day, every single day we come up with a different plan different operations to be unpredictable." health officials say abuse of fentanyl is up across the country - including right here in nevada. a farmer in illinois is turning to new technolgy - after his fields were destroyed by a tornado. "right where the tornado came across it's pretty much a total loss." they're using a drone - to survey the damage - after severe weather hit the small town of "homer" a corn crib once sat at the front

debris... with the harvest buried underneath. so an i-pad is being used - along with the drones to map everything out. "made a real time map that we can follow with gps on an ipad." "i've been taking the ipad in the skid- steer and i can drive right to the areas that we want to concentrate our recovery on." harvesting won't be done during evening hours this year. it would be too hazardous for farmers, and risky to use the equipment during the night, in case they run into the heat was on all summer... and those triple digit temperatures paid off. ford country joined forces with fox five... to raise money for the "grant a gift" autism foundation. fox five chief meteorologist ted pretty - joins us live with more - from the valley auto mall in henderson. closed captioning

and a high of 86 degrees. we'll warm back up to the low 90s on thursday, then 93 on friday.

weekend with 95 saturday and 97 sunday. we'll stay in the upper 90s to start next week on monday and tuesday. a beautiful wednesday with very light breezes and a high of 86 degrees. we'll warm back up to the low 90s on thursday, then 93 on friday. the great weather continues for the weekend with 95 saturday and 97 sunday. we'll stay in the upper 90s to start next week on monday and tuesday. closed captioning will resume shortly

a bride was all set to tie the knot... but her car broke down! so she stuck her thumb out to hitch a ride... how long it took... to finally reach the alter. this is fox5 news at 5:30, your only choice for live

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. jack's new brewhouse bacon burger, new from jack in the box. [ricky]quality top tier gas can help engine performance.hmm... this guy's performance on the road inspires me. he's the real mvp! [ricky whispers]you inspire me.

a bride planned her wedding for months - but she didn't count on her limo breaking

to the ceremony. that's when a total stranger came to her rescue. angelique denning had waited 11 years to marry her groom quickly realized she was going to have to wait longer... because on the way to the ceremony - just five minutes from her house - the limo carrying her bridesmaids and family abruptly pulled over. it turned out - she was stuck with a flat tire! "we actually had cars driving by us and they just took pictures and left and then finally someone actually stopped to see if we needed a ride." that man's name is jay. he had a car full determined to help. so he dropped them off, returned, and asked the bride, "where to?" the bride was only 30 minutes late. thanks for joining us.. fox5 news at 6 o'clock is straight

i'm hillary clinton and i approve this message. donald trump says he alone can fix the problems we face. well i don't believe that's how you get things done it takes democrats and republicans working together. that's h we got health care for 8 million kids. rebuilt new york city after 9/11. and got the treaty cutting russia's nuclear arms. we've got to bring people together. that's how you solve problems and that's what

live from las vegas fox5 news at 6 starts now. closed captioning will resume shortly students are back to school... after a mercury ex walter johnson junior high. c-c-s-d says the school is safe... but now a family's home has contamination. what will be done to their belongings. a federal program was supposed to help homeowners during the recession... including here in nevada. but -- fox five uncovered a new audit. we'll show you where the money was spent. this is fox5 news at 6. local. las vegas we have an update to a story we brought you