ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at 11pm - August 6, 2026

Episode Date: August 7, 2026

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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 eyewitness news. Tonight on eyewitness news after Miss North Carolina's title was stripped over old social media post, a wider conversation has been started. We're diving into the impacts your digital footprint can have an expert sharing some tips to protect you from regret. And Wake County parents confront a substitute school bus driver after he misses the drop off spots for their kids. You'll see what led to a major escalation and why police are now investigating that incident. But first here at 11 o'clock tonight, we're tracking some pretty extreme heat that'll be hitting our area in the coming days. We're glad you're joining us here for eyewitness news.

I'm Steve Daniels. And I'm Lauren Johnson. Scattered thunderstorms marched through the area earlier. The first alert weather team says we are in the clear for now. But as we look ahead to the weekend, the heat turns up and the areas in the triangle are already taking some. precautions. Don, what should we expect moving forward into the weekend? Yeah, it was a rocking night tonight in Durham and Granville, Vance counties. Live look at first alert Doppler net. The showers have shut off. This last little batch that went through Mecklenburg County has really shut off and into Warren County. And we are done with the rain. Now the heat returns as we go into tomorrow.

Live look into downtown Durham. The rain did cool us into the 70s. 74 right now feels like 74 under a cloudy sky. After being in the 90s today, warmest day in over two weeks. Numbers have cooled into the 70s across the region tonight. So let's look at your forecast. Today we had the clouds. We went to 93 degrees with that mix of clouds and sunshine. We had those evening showers and storms as we fast forward tonight into tomorrow. Will it be warm again. A stray shower in the afternoon. A few more clouds. So that may hold us a degree or two cooler. but the warm up really starts as we get into Saturday and Sunday. We're talking low to mid-90s and by next week. Feels like temperatures up to 106.

We'll talk more about that. In your first alert, seven-day forecast coming up in just a bit. Stephen Lauren. Okay, Don, we'll see you soon. And as we get ready for this extreme heat into next week, Wake County is now reopening its cooling stations. The county's temporary cooling stations open today. They'll remain open through at least next Tuesday

to help people in need of a cool place to go get some relief. We have a list of some of those locations, the times that are open right there on your screen. And take a moment and download the free ABC 11 eyewitness news app. It'll help you track changing weather conditions on the go to get started. Search for ABC11 in your app store. Tonight's stormy weather up and down the East Coast

and the shutdown of a major FAA air traffic control center leading to major hassles for people flying in and out of the RDU airport. And that ripple effect will be felt well into tomorrow a major air traffic control facility, lost radar and radio frequencies covering a 330,000 square mile swath of the Midwest, Hundreds of flights were unable to take off. Others forced to divert after the outage that's now been fixed.

Thousands of people at our airport impacted by the problems. There have been 150 delays in 26 cancellations at RDU and already 11 fights. Flights have been canceled tomorrow. The young woman who was crowned Miss North Carolina USA. Brittany Bolton House has now lost that title. Yeah, the Miss USA organization announcing today they stripped Britney of the after reports of problematic past social media post resurfaced. Right now ABC News can't confirm the exact sentiments she shared in her post.

But in a statement, pageant officials said they do not tolerate racism, homophobia or transphobia. They added the decision was based on conduct that happened over an extended period of time and that it was made jointly with Bolton House. The chairman and CEO of Miss USA says, quote, A title here isn't a trinket. It's a position of trust extended by an organization and accepted by a woman who agrees. to carry a standard in public. Brittany Bolton House has not yet commented publicly,

but the Miss USA organization says she took ownership and apologized for her behavior. And now her dethroning is sparking a wider conversation online about the impact of your digital footprint. Jamies Price spoke with a data expert in light of this story. The conversation comes as students are about to head back to class. And James, you're sharing some tips that we can all learn from tonight. That's right, Lauren, your digital footprint is a part of your reputation.

and now with those growing technology trends, experts say it is now easier than ever to dig up those old and deleted posts, a reminder that your post are permanent. Whether you're applying for a job or you're running for office or you're competing for a title, people are increasingly looking up your digital footprint along with your resume. Kimberly Simon, a data and cybersecurity expert says you will never escape the things you post online. Your digital identity is now the center of a major conversation tonight after Brittany Bolton House, Miss North Carolina, USA, 2026 was stripped of her title after resurfaced social media posts. What was stated in those alleged posts is not clear. Simon says it's still a reminder that the internet has a long memory. People are definitely paying for what they post online, whether they know it or not. So if you apply for a job or you're being considered for a position, and you're just, you're being considered for a position. you've got a lot of inappropriate posts online.

You may never be told that's not why they didn't reach back out, but it certainly paints a picture on who you are. Jeff Phillips, a longtime pageant judge at both the state and local levels agreed, pointing out how the public spotlight can highlight not only what someone is doing today, but what they've done in the past. Once you step into a position, you've got to be aware that you are going to be and always be

a public figure. And that takes on an entirely different type of scrutiny. And now new technology is making it easier to find out what you're doing online. AI has really changed the game. Years

ago, someone would have to manually search through thousands of posts to find something. Today, AI can quickly scam through years of social media activity. Simon shared tips that can help us all responsibly navigate the online space. Pause before you post.

Don't post when you're angry. Don't post when you're emotional. Don't post when you're trying to be funny on someone else's expense. A few seconds of thinking can save you years of regret. And Kimberly Simon encourages us to look at our social media presence as a part of our legacy. Every post is a part of that story. And how that story turns out, well, that's up to you. Lauren, Steve.

All right. Pause before you post. Wise words tonight. Tamise, thank you. Changes could now be coming to two big social media platforms, Instagram and Facebook, after a judge ordered their parent company, META, to pay $567 million to address harm caused to young people by the platforms. A New Mexico court says the bulk of the money, $420 million will be used for treatment services for young people. The rest will go towards awareness and prevention screening services and other costs over the next five years. Jurors ordered civil penalties against META saying it knowingly harmed children's mental health

and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms. Meta said it plans to appeal and issued a statement saying, we work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and have been transparent about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors and harmful content. In Wake County tonight, Holly Springs police are now investigating after some parents say a substitute school bus driver would not let their kids off the bus. Middle Creek Elementary parents say the driver missed several stops on their route, and when they tried to alert him, they say he just kept

It happened Tuesday when students on bus four were picked up after school. According to parents, the bus driver did not travel the intended route passing multiple assigned bus stops. A parade of parents followed the bus driver demanding he stopped the bus. Parents claim the bus driver would only flash a sheet of paper and say, this is not a bus stop. Parents said their kids were visibly upset, crying, yelling. Parents eventually blocked the school bus with their cars and called police for help. The kids, as they're coming down the hill, they'd roll down all the windows, they're sicking their arms and heads out screaming, help us, help us.

That will haunt my nightmares forever. And when he finally parked the bus, the kids are still banging on the windows, screaming, help us, help us. We're all saying, we thought our children's lives were in danger. It sounds like he was honest to goodness given bad information, but he was not communicating with anyone. All he would say to us is, this is not a stop. In a statement released tonight, the district shared knew that the transportation department is reviewing the situation and talking with that driver.

The protocol when a driver experiences uncertainty about a route should be for a driver to pull over in a safe space and contact a supervisor. A longtime music professor is no longer employed at Appalachian State University after being accused of sexual misconduct involving students. According to our news gathering partners with the news and observer, the school says Professor John Stanley Ross has been accused of sustained pattern of alleged sexual misconduct, including towards students. Allegations against Ross first came to light in 2015 when a group of students reported allegations of sexual harassment that the school says were unsubstantiated at the time. But then earlier this year, the school received and investigated another allegation against Ross putting him on administrative leave and then concluding he was involved in, quote, egregious misconduct. Following the investigation, the school notified Ross of its intent to fire him in June, but Ross then resigned before the firing could take effect. So to come here on eyewitness News at 11, the Trump administration is releasing the results of its investigation into Duke Law School.

Why the DOJ is alleging race-based discrimination impacted the admissions process at Duke. And mosquitoes are a pretty big nuisance in the summer, and according to researchers at NC State, things may be getting worse. The latest on these findings that show mosquitoes might be building a resistance to certain insecticides. And Don, check on those temperatures outside. And numbers have dropped into the 70s tonight. It's a little cooler out there after some rain moved through parts of the viewing area. We'll talk about another big warm-up on the way as we head through the weekend and look at your seven-day forecasts coming up.

Your summer travels deserve an upgrade. With select Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac vehicles connected by OnStar, you can stream, game, and more on the go. Whether you're headed to a music festival or a cottage getaway, you can access hundreds of apps on Google Play right from your center display. Explore OnStar tech today at OnStar.ca and discover how to take your summer to the next level. OnStar. Better never stops. Summer heats up in FX's The Shards. Set in 80s, Los Angeles, the Shards follows a group of beautiful, privileged prep school students who are preyed on by The Trawler, a serial killer targeting teenagers across the city. This fever dream of youth, beauty, sex, and mystery is a lot.

must see. FX's the Shards. Now streaming on Hulu on Disney Plus. Sign up now at Disneyplus.com. We are local news. ABC 11 eyewitness news continues now. The federal government says Duke Law School intentionally performed race-based discrimination during its admissions process. The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division says investigators found the school deliberately steered admissions outcomes using essay tags and applicant characteristics correlated with race. Investigations The educators also found that black and Hispanic applicants had a substantially higher likelihood of admission than white or Asian applicants with the same academic credentials. Today's findings follow a separate federal investigation opened last year into the Duke Law Journal selection practices. The Justice Department says it'll now pursue a settlement and if that fails, they'll file a lawsuit.

This evening Duke University released a statement that says today the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division issued a letter of findings related to Duke law's admissions practices. We are reviewing the letter in its conclusions carefully. Duke is committed to complying with the law and will continue to do so in a manner that is consistent with our academic mission. A grand jury has indicted a former Robinson County Sheriff's deputy for killing her stepdaughter. Connie Graham is charged with first-degree murder, felony conspiracy, and altering and stealing or destroying criminal evidence. Sarah Graham was 18 years old when she went missing in February of 2015.

A judge declared her legally dead in June of this year. A short time later, Connie Graham and her two sons were arrested in connection. to the case. Newburn Avenue in East Raleigh undergoing a makeover as the bus rapid transit line construction project kicks into high gear. Yeah, let's show you what we're talking about. Cruise are now removing trees in the median and orange fencing is now up a sign of that long away to progress. Some businesses and homeowners have lost some of their property to make way for that corridor. Business owners tell us they're taking advantage of a $2,500 grant program to help them get through that construction process. We're trying to get the facade up and going so that again people

can see us from the road, particularly anybody who gets locked up in the BRT traffic. Sometimes if you want things to be better and you want change, sometimes you have to deal with this stuff. The BRT will eventually connect downtown Raleigh with Wake Med and New Hope Road. This is the first phase is expected to be operational by the summer of 2030. Bless you. Thank you. So sorry to interrupt you.

Do you need a tissue? No, I'm okay. As the summer season continues, mosquitoes aren't just a nuisance. Some are also becoming a little harder control. NC state researchers say tiger mosquitoes are developing resistance to pyri thyroid, a common insecticide used in mosquito control. Researchers say resistance has increased in Wake County. They are now working to better understand why as state health officials are monitoring

West Nile virus cases. We always want to be managing it. We have a number of tools that we can manage it with that work for both the West Nile mosquitoes as well as the tiger mosquitoes in this study. But we have to know where. and how resistant those mosquitoes are. The invasive tiger mosquito can spread West Nile, but is better known for carrying viruses like Zika and parasites,

such as dog heartworm. It's not just mosquitoes. You're here to tell us. It's also allergy season. Apparently. Don, can I have a sick note? Sure. You know what?

Why don't you take the next couple of days off tomorrow, Saturday, Sunday. I like what I hear the proof. At least Saturday of Sunday. So there you are. Something's in the air, right? Let's talk about the one big thing tonight. And if you are off for the weekend, lots of dry time. We still could see an isolated shower Saturday and Sunday.

But right now, it's looking like a pretty good weekend for August. Live look at First Alert, Doppler. That's still a few showers left down here in Moore County, but they are dying out. Live look at our RDU, all the planes park now after some delays earlier. 74 degrees cloudy skies on a west-southwest wind at three miles an hour. Maniota Murphy tonight stayed dry down in Greenville. They're still in the 80s. 74 in Raleigh, the triad, 76 in Lumberton, 72 Charlotte, 60s out in the mountains tonight.

Overnight, we'll see our numbers, a couple of degrees cooler, down into the low 70s. Normal is 70 for the sum of year. It's a little bit above average. And with the moisture from the rain tonight, patchy fog is possible, especially from Durham on north through the I-85 corridor tomorrow morning. Those places that got wet will cool off tonight and we will see fog. Now from Raleigh East, you didn't see much. The showers just fell apart. One or two rumbles with thunder down and Wayne County earlier.

These will continue to die out west of us tonight. The high pressure nosing in from the west, pushing most of the moisture back to our west and keeping it out of here. So let's walk you through the next 48 hours. Your first alert predictor forecast model tomorrow morning. A lot of this looks like cloud cover. This would be fog, especially up through the northern air. areas to start the day. Then as we get into the afternoon, the fog burns off the heat and humidity here. We'll top around 91. There'll be a few more clouds tomorrow so that I'll hold

us a degree or two cooler. Notice these little spots of green tomorrow evening. Another round of evening showers as possible where most of you don't see anything, but there's enough energy in the atmosphere. Anything fires does bring more rain. Then as we go into Saturday morning, we'll start at nine since some folks may sleep a little later. on a Saturday. Temperatures up around to 80 degrees. It's going to be warm. It's going to be humid.

Notice late in the day, there is a chance of some scattered showers. I don't think they'll be widespread. I don't think everybody will see them, but there is that rain chance. So if you've got Saturday afternoon, outdoor plans, maybe you're playing golf or headed to the park with kids.

Just take the umbrella with you in case one of those showers pops up. They do work out as we hit through the night on Sunday and even into Sunday afternoon, just an isolated shower with temperatures back in the 90s. Forecast looks like this for tomorrow. We'll top out at 91 in Raleigh, Durham, 92 in Fayetteville. We look at temperatures around the region tomorrow, 92 in Golesboro, 91 in Clinton, 92 down at Fort Bragg, 91 in Pinehurst, 92 Smithfield, 91 across Wake County, 90 in Bahamon, Carborough, 88, or excuse me, 89 in Roxburgh, 91 in Scotlin Neck and 91 tomorrow.

Rona Grappets can see a feel like temperature up around 100. seven day forecast powered by ACUO. The 91 Saturday, Sunday, again, just a spotty afternoon storm, lots of dry time. Monday and Tuesday are alert possible days when we see those feels like numbers up around 105-106. That's heat advisory levels. We'll have to wait and see as we get closer if they'll issue a heat advisory from the National Weather Service. Either way, it's going to be warm and human. The heat is on the way.

Hydrate starting now. Absolutely. Don, thank you. Competitions naturally get the blood pumping, right? but how about the adrenaline rush that comes after being chased? And it's not just any chase. We'll explain why hundreds of T-Rexes are on the run. And remember, you can always watch eyewitness news anytime on ABC11.com, Disney Plus, and wherever you stream.

Eyewitness News. We are Local News Weeknights 4 to 630 and 11. We are back now with tonight's top trending stories in real news. And first, take a look at this as Jurassic Park showed us all. Nothing gets the blood pumping quite like getting chased by a Tyrannosaurus race. We can only imagine the adrenaline rush when it's more than 300 of them on the run. ESPN once again kicking off its annual celebration of the world's most eccentric sports. The four-day showcase is known as the Ode Show.

We're taking a look at one of those events known as the T-Rex World Championship races. Roughly 300 competitors traveled from all over the country to sprint in an inflatable T-Rex costume, hoping to win a giant trophy. Of course, it can be a little dangerous to run with a bunch of four. carnivores, which is why it helps to bring some family support. Family members of one of those competitors who attended the race were rocking some T-Rex T-shirts for support out there. Always fun over there on ESPN. Look at them. Yeah. All right, plus a big day for highlighting the wild in wildlife while T-Rexes were racing. A Floating Flamingo was the ride of choice for a water wildlife rescue. Yeah, this is a really unique rescue vehicle used by this team of rescuers who needed to brave some

waves to get out to a turtle tangled and some fishing line out there. This is north of Denver, the Lafayette Colorado Police Department teaming up with an animal protection officer, floating this far out flamingo to rescue the wrapped up reptile, and the internet is ablaze with responses to that flamingo flotation device, users on social media praising the first responders and their style with reactions that were both commending and pretty comedic too. Yeah, it's kind of funny. A sight to see. And a big boost for animals. animal conservation efforts as the Toronto Zoo is celebrating the birth of an endangered female pygmy hippo. Yeah, this is big news for the species.

There are only an estimated 2 to 3,000 pygmy hippos remaining in the wild. 20-year-old mom, Kendiah gave birth last weekend after about an hour and a half a labor. Zoo staff say the calf was standing within minutes and nursing just about a few hours later. Both mother and baby are doing well. They are bonding behind the scenes and being monitored around the clock. The zoo says the birth is an important step in helping maintain a healthy population of the very rare species. Personally, I'm going to miss him tremendously for all the support that he showed me throughout the years as a young reporter getting on to the beat and seeing somebody literally larger than life coming in and supporting you the way he did is something that I'll forever be indebted for. Yeah, that's amazing memories. He was only 64 years old, had a very long battle with brain cancer.

but such an important part of Wolfpack history. Yeah, a giant really in that world. Our thoughts and prayers to his family, Trey, thank you, and thank you at home for watching. That's going to do it for us here tonight. Jimmy Kimmel's on the way next. And remember, we're always on at ABC11.com, Disney Plus, and wherever you stream.

We'll see you back here tomorrow at 11 o'clock.