ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at 11pm - April 15, 2026

Episode Date: April 16, 2026

Eyewitness News at 11pm - April 15, 2026 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Right now, live coverage from your local news leader, preparing you for tomorrow starting tonight and your first alert forecast. Here's what's happening where you live. This is ABC 11, I Witness News. Right now at 11, protecting kids from bullies online. Today, parents and students here in the triangle sat down with one of the biggest social media companies in the world to talk about a growing problem. Many people say is costing lives. Take a look at this number, according to Pew Research, 30, 3% of teens say they've seen cyber bullying in the past 30 days. And a lot of students say they've had enough. Sometimes you can get so sucked up into the things that you're watching that you didn't need to remember that this is not real.

Like these people could be lying for all we know. What TikTok has to say right here in the triangle tonight and what you can do to protect your children. But we begin with the big news in Wake County. Extreme drought conditions are now forcing the city of Raleigh to restrict water use citywide. Hi everyone. Thanks for joining us here for the news at 11.

I'm Steve Daniels. Lauren has the night off. This is some video of Falls Lake and you can see how the water is receding in some areas. The first restrictions go into effect on Monday and it's a change that may get worse, especially if our area continues dealing with a lack of significant rain. There's a lot to break down here for you, so let's start with what we know. If you're looking to run your sprinkler or in-ground irrigation system, you can only do so between midnight and 10 a.m. Also, homes with odd numbered addresses can water on Tuesdays and homes with even numbered addresses can water on Wednesdays. The water restrictions also impact the towns where Raleigh provides the water, Garner, Wake Forest, Rollsville, Zebulin, Nightdale, and Wendell. Jemis Price is live now in Raleigh.

And Jemise, I know you talk to parents who have some concerns about where this could go in the days and weeks ahead. Steve, I talk to a lot of families. A lot of us here in Wake County will be impacted by those water restrictions, including this community here, just outside of downtown Raleigh, who really just wants to keep their lawns looking nice. have to cut back as the city's water supply has dropped. On a hot day, kids are keeping cool at Gibson's Play Plaza splash pad. It's so nice to be somewhere where you have access to just water to splash your face. Even if I'm not splashing in it directly, you know, it's nice to get some of that little breeze.

Pools are okay under the city's new water restrictions, but it's not completely clear if splash pads will be impacted. Coming from California, we had a very intense drought years ago, and I hope it doesn't get to that extent because a lot of the fun things do get removed. Also hoping for the best are the folks over at Logan's Garden Shop at the farmer's market. They remember the extreme drought nearly two decades ago. The city's not asking us not to use water, just to be thoughtful about how we do it. Joshua Logan says there are things that we can do to make the most of a little bit of water and still keep up with our landscape. needs. The first step is soil prep. Making sure that our soil has a lot of organic matter in it. When we plant, use a nice layer of mulch. What that does is it helps to

trap the moisture in the soil and less of it evaporates with the wind and the sun. He encourages people to do their watering in the early mornings or late in the evening. If you water during the early morning or later in the evening after the sun is down, most of that water is going to seep into the soil, get drawn up into the the plants and they're going to be more resilient and will require less watering. He also showed us a few tools that can help, including this watering can. A watering can is a great choice as opposed to a hose. You're going to use less water at a time when you're moving from one area to another. You're not having the water constantly running.

So the goal here is to just really be mindful of our water use, that water restriction will go into place on Monday. So for a complete breakdown on what you can do and what you can do, head over to ABC11.com. Steve? All right. Yeah, conservation is the key and some great tips from Logan's there on how to keep things green. Jamis, thank you. All right, let's get over to meteorologist Steve Stewart. Not only has it been dry, we're in these drought conditions, but the heat's really cranking up. Yeah, really, yeah, absolutely. Way above average. It's not just a day or two. It's like four days in a row we're up there. So 92 today, that tied a record set back in 1941 out of RDU. The last time we were that warmer, a little bit warmer at 93 degrees for September 25th. That was over 200 days ago.

No forget the average is only at 73. Now tomorrow we could tie a record probably come just shy of it as we get into Friday and Saturday. But again, a lot of heat's coming our way. And then the issue was rain. Rainfall at RDU since January 1st, just over six inches. That's the driest on record when you look at the last 82 years where the data not good at all. And because it's so dry and, of course, hot as well, that burning ban is until further notice. And likely going to get a couple rounds of soaking rain is the only way we're going to get out of that burning ban. And you can see where the rain is. It's going around the periphery of the high pressure. And this high is just stubborn, really slow to move. And eventually the ridge breaks down. And by Sunday, we could get a shower, but it's not going to be much.

Look how warm it is. 78 Durham, 74 in Irwin and 74 in Southern Pines. Cooler in Roxburgh at 63. but again well above our average high here in the evening hours. Tomorrow morning at the bus stop, it's warm, shorts and t-shirts are fine when the kids come home from school, sunny and hot once again. The issue of the drought worsens with low to no rain chances for the next seven to ten days. More on that coming up in a few minutes, Steve. Okay, Steve, we'll see you soon, thanks.

Now the latest on an attempted murder and arson investigation in Goldsboro. Police tell us the man shot a woman inside her home on Shelly Drive as she tried to escape what they called a potential breaking and entering in progress. Police say the man shot at them and they returned fire, potentially hitting him. And then he ran back inside the home leading to a long standoff. Then after police tried using tear gas to get the guy to come out, he started a fire in the bedroom, destroying most of the home. Eventually, he was taken into custody. Police say the woman who was shot is in the hospital and is expected to survive.

In Wilson County, a family is grieving tonight after their one-year-old little boy was hit and killed by a truck. According to the highway patrol, a freight liner was driving eastbound on NC-42 last night, hit one-year-old Brooks Ambrose. His family says he was playing outside. A fundraiser for Brooks is posted online. It's raised $35,000 in 24 hours. The driver of the freight liner remained on the scene and is not facing any charges. New tonight, Ivy News is sitting down with the family of a man named Terrence Quarles.

He was shot and killed in Raleigh on Monday on Thelma Street just off Newburn Avenue. Tonight we learned Terrence is the father of an eight-month-old and a four-year-old. His mom says Terrence was 27 years old, her only son and her youngest child. She moved her family to Raleigh from Washington to escape gun violence. Two women and a man are now charged in connection with his murder. They appeared in front of a Wake County judge on Tuesday. Shekita says she doesn't know any of the people. Police say were involved.

I'm tired of this gun violence. I'm tired of the shooting. I brought my baby down here to live a better life. But obviously it wasn't bad hurt because, you know, the gun violence. We need to get rid of that. I never met any of these people. I don't know who it is. I mean, my son was close, but I don't know who these people are.

So, but I want them to, I want justice to be done. The three people arrested in connection with his murder are expected in Wake County court again next month. New here at 11, the family of a Durham Uber driver who was murdered last year is now suing the company claiming it failed to protect drivers from dangerous passengers. According to the news and observer, the lawsuit stems from the shooting death of 57-year-old Emmanuel Gabetti. He was killed during a ride in January of 2025. The lawsuit accuses Uber of ignoring longstanding safety concerns,

citing studies showing many drivers have faced violence or robbery while working. Uber says it cannot comment on the lawsuit, but maintains it continues to invest in safety features for drivers. New here at 11, we're taking a look at the impact of being glued to your phone. We all do it at work, at school, even at home. but for parents and kids, social media can be especially complicated. Tom George has more on a conversation in Durham tonight about how to navigate the TikTok generation. Oh, must have missed you. I guess it wasn't paying attention, but that is what many of us deal with, whether we are at work or at school, people glued to their phones.

And it is especially a big topic of conversation for parents and students. And so TikTok was on hand here in Durham to talk about what parents and families need to know. It's something all generations are guilty of. And if you have ever asked your parents or caregiver to stop opening at the phone so you can talk to them. At Jordan High School, students getting honest about the good and the bad of social media from the constant barrage of content. It is also like an entertainment come back. And so we need to kind of recognize that because if we don't, then we can be very easily sucked into it. To seeing influencers and the pressure to measure up.

Sometimes you can get so sucked up into the things that you're watching that you didn't need to remember that this is not real. Like these people could be lying for all we know. Parents everywhere wondering how to raise a TikTok generation. One piece of advice from national PTA leaders, just ask what your kids are looking at. When adults and parents lead with kind of the harder, we don't want you to do this or the tighter rules, that kind of has your team pull away a little bit and not share as much. So the key to a good conversation is be curious about what they're doing. Meanwhile, TikTok says they do have some restrictions in place, like limits on what teen accounts can see, do and post. Even their own representative says they try to practice what they preach,

asking their kids what they're seeing when they're scrolling. It's like, show us what's funny today, and really having kind of a shared experience as a family to kind of make sure that we can kind of get a sense of what they're watching. Some parents from Jordan say they were pleasantly surprised at how much social media literacy their kids are picking up on. What was interesting here tonight for me to hear was to hear from some of the teens in the panel about maybe urging parents

to kind of trust their teens a little bit more. And trust that maybe those conversations and our biggest lessons will always be the ones that happen when we're not looking at a screen. You're perfectly find a way you are. If you're doing good things and you're eating healthy and you're living a good life and you're being guides. In Durham, Tom George, ABC 11, Iwoodness News.

Tom, thanks. And tonight's discussion comes as data shows teenagers use each social media platform very differently. According to a survey released by the Pew Research Center, teens turn to Instagram and TikTok for news and entertainment in keeping up with celebrities. And they lean on Snapchat for direct messaging, posting, and socializing with their friends. At the same time, roughly three quarters of the teen survey agreed that online harassment and bullying is a problem for people their age, even if a minority of them reported firsthand experience with some kind of cyberbullying. So to come here on eyewitness news,

red ants are taking over a popular park in Wake County and the town is calling in the experts next to what's causing that surge and why it's worse right now in the warm weather. And saving lives, one child at that time. We have the incredible story of resilience after these officers save several people trapped in that burning apartment building. And Steve's back checking on the tempest outside right now. Yeah, very warm evening out there. Our temperatures across the region still holding on to the 70s, almost 80 degrees in Durham. These numbers are going to come down only to the 60s and another hot one tomorrow. I'll let you know when it cools down and the seven day forecast. And we're back now with a major development in the lawsuit against Live Nation.

A jury has found the company illegally monopolized the market for tickets, protecting its position through pressure and leverage. A civil lawsuit was filed against the company by 34 states, including North Carolina, arguing the company and ticket master are monopolizing the industry and driving up the prices we pay to see live music. The jury determined today ticket master overcharged customers by nearly $2 per ticket, adding up to tens of millions of dollars. The Attorney General here in North Carolina, Jeff Jackson released a statement saying this is a huge win for consumers and artists, but it also sends a message that we can still take on monopolies and win. Tonight at 11th, some quick action by a pair of officers in Georgia saved several lives and the whole thing was caught on camera. Take a look. How many kids do you have up there? This is video of the response that happened inside an apartment building near Savannah earlier this week. Police say two officers ran toward that building with flames engulfing the upper floors.

And that's where they found that mother and her two children trapped on a third floor balcony. She had no other option, so she dropped her children and the officer safely caught them. And all five people were rescued from that burning apartment. New tonight, voters here in North Carolina could soon weigh in on how much local governments can raise our property taxes. It's part of a new proposal that's moving through the legislature. According to the news and observer, a Republican-led legislative committee is recommending a constitutional amendment that would ask voters whether lawmakers should sell. limits on property tax increases by local governments. If approved, the proposal would appear on the November ballot.

And the move comes as lawmakers are looking to close a longstanding tax loophole for some affordable housing developments. It's a problem local leaders say is costing municipalities tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue every year. And changes would still need approval from both the House and the Senate and voters before taking effect. James Price has been covering the story from the beginning and you can watch a reporting streaming right now at ABC11.com.

New at 11, the North Carolina State Health Plan is scrapping its search for a new health insurance administrator. This comes after no companies met the minimum requirements. According to the News and Observer, the state health plan, which covers more than 500,000 state employees and retirees and their families, has withdrawn a recent request for proposals and now plans to issue a new one in the coming weeks. The move comes less than two years after the state switch from Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina to Aetna. State leaders say the plan will remain in a silent period, as it's called, while a revised bid process. is developed. New here at 11, the state attorney general's office is sounding the alarm following a recent software hack. A.G. Jeff Jackson says hackers published a malicious software update

to tech giant Axios. That means businesses that use Axios in their websites or their apps or internal tools may have compromised sensitive consumer data. The news comes, as Jackson says, North Carolina recorded more than 2,000 data breaches in 2025. It's a crime that exposed the personal information of nearly 9.3 million people. That's the most ever reported in North Carolina. Jackson is now encouraging all North Carolinians to have strong passwords, updated devices, and use caution when you're using email and also public Wi-Fi. Red ants are taking over one of the most popular parks in Wendell right now. It may sound a little crazy, but it's actually happening and now the town is turning to NC State University for help.

Wendell Park, the town's largest, has become ground zero for these red ants. Experts say they're not fire ants, but a native species that can bite and irritate your skin with these colonies now concentrated along trails and your buildings. buildings. And I distinctly remember the first day in August stepping out of my van and immediately five or six ants were crawling on my leg and biting me and spraying acid on my legs. It's native to North America and we want to keep it here. However, we've hit the point where it is an immense burden on this community.

They're using harmless bait stations to reduce but not eliminate the ant population. They say the goal is some balance out there at the park, not complete eradication of those red ants. Beware. Let's talk to Steve Stewart right now about this heat wave warning, but we've got some relief on the way in the days ahead and maybe a little rain too. A little rain. Let's really emphasize the word little. Unfortunately, we need to get a good old-fashioned soaker. That's just not in the cards. But hey, we got up to 92 degrees today. Our first 90 of the year pretty early too. Typically that's in mid-May when that occurs. 203 days ago was the last time we were in the 90s. So it's been quite a while. Right now it looks good outside.

warm too with many areas still holding on to the mid 70s. Highs in the 90s for three more days. So get used to the heat for a bit. Front comes in on Sunday. Little bit of rain expected, not a lot. Once the front moves on through, temperatures fall during the day. And then we got a couple of days more seasonal. Monday and Tuesday outstanding. You see upper 60s and then back to the low 70s, Tuesday, a transition day with the front coming in as we go into Sunday. But until then, still going to feel like summer out there. We've had a tenth of a day. And that's it for the month. Very dry out there. We need rain. The deficits continue to grow. One month we had a surplus in the last seven months. And that's it. So we'll likely get a spotty shower as we get into Sunday. Maybe a sprinkle Friday. Little trough moves in, but it doesn't look impressive. And both of these not adding up to anything. The long range global models just a few hundreds of an inch. So we're generally saying a tenth of an inch or less on Sunday. And many areas might miss out. Still 78 degrees of North Hills right now. The southwest breeze of 13 miles an hour.

Very warm, dew point in the lower 50s. 72 Lewisburg, 66, though, in Smithfield, 74 in Fayetteville, and Southern Pines also at 74 degrees. Now tomorrow, as you get out and about, there'll be some clouds around in the morning hours, and then they'll thin out a bit as we get later in the day, and we'll get up around 90 to 92 degrees, which if we get to 92, that'll tie another record.

Slightly cooler, little trough swings through, could squeeze out a sprinkle on our front. Today, Southwest flow boost the temperature right back up to the low 90s. Couple degrees shy of a record. There's our front for Sunday. A lot of this moisture gets used up over the mountains, but what does make it here is a cooler air. We'll notice that for sure as numbers get right back down where they should be. Let me back up there just a little bit if I can.

My graphics are, whatever. So we'll be the 60s tonight. 90s again tomorrow. I've got 92 in Raleigh that would tie another record. 92 in the Fayetteville and Roxburgh right around 90. First of all, seven day then. So 90 on Friday, still summary slightly cooler. Most outlying areas will be in the 80s,

right back to the low to mid 90s near record on Saturday. A few light showers come into play with our front. That 75 is probably going to be earlier in the day. Temperatures could fall later as we get into the afternoon. And then really nice Monday and Tuesday, Tuesday morning little chilly outlying areas in the 30s. And then right back to the 80s by Wednesday. Steve? Yeah, we'll look forward to that cool down at the beginning of the week. Looks good, Steve. Thanks.

And we hope you'll join us this weekend for an eyewitness news special. Your first alert to severe weather. The first alert weather team is breaking down everything the season can bring from tornadoes to flooding and the ongoing drought conditions as well. We hope you'll tune in Saturday night, 7 o'clock right here on ABC 11 and wherever you stream, eyewitness news. So we'll head here tonight. Several new additions are coming to the streets at South Point Mall. We'll tell you which companies have decided to plant roots here in the triangle. Eyewitness News. We are local news weeknights four to six 30 and 11. New here at 11, some new stores are popping up at the streets at South Point in Durham. The toy store called Pop Mart is building its first North Carolina store at the mall.

The store has collectible figures like the popular Laboo Boo Boo Dolls. Right now it's not clear when Pop Mart is opening. And Capital One making its presence known by Open 8's popular cafe. The new location is in the outdoor shopping area where California Pizza Kitchen used to be. The company says it's a place to study. and relax in between shopping at your favorite stores. New stuff. Don't miss the devil wears prada two in theaters.

Merrill Street, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci are back. In light of the recent scandal, I'm here to restore your credibility. I did not hire you, and all I need to do is buy my time until you fail. On May 1st, icons. I'm going to make something of this job.

Rain. Be the bridges I burn. Night my way. Forever. I just love my job. Get tickets now. The Devil Wears Prada 2. In theaters, May 1st.

directed by David Frankel. Steve, I love watching baseball this day to watch every jersey with that number 42 on and an ode to a great, great legend. Yeah, it's impressive. Even the umpires wearing the number 42 across the country tonight. Trey, thank you, and that does it for us here tonight.

We're glad you joined us. Remember, the news is always on at ABC11.com, and I'm hoping we'll see you back here tomorrow night at 11 o'clock. Goodbye. ABC 11, I Witness News, is sponsored by Capitol Chevrolet. Together, Let's Drive. Shop Capital Chevrolete. com.