ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at 11pm - January 2, 2026

Episode Date: January 3, 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. The first weekend of 2026 is looking like a soggy and cold one. Thanks for joining us here for the Friday night edition of eyewitness News at 11. I'm Steve Daniels. And I'm Lauren Johnson. You can see from this future radar, there is some rain in our forecast on tap for Saturday. and it comes with a dip in temperatures as well. Don joins us with a closer look at the first alert forecast. Hi, Don.

And good evening to you. We've got things started with a live look at First Alert Doppler tonight. A couple of sprinkles and showers out west of Richmond County or Richmond County, but otherwise we're dry at the moment. But by the time we head through the overnight, about three, four o'clock in the morning, we'll see those showers shifting east. Your first alert predictor forecast model, excuse me, showing temperatures or showing rain, mainly from the triangle south in the morning then as we get into the afternoon we still see showers hanging around here's the backside of those showers those could linger into tomorrow night now it's not going to be a ton of rain but it could rain at any time tomorrow live look into rocksboro it's clear tonight winds are calm 43 degrees look at your overnight forecast the showers arriving by eight o'clock tomorrow morning with temperatures very cold in the upper thirties as a matter of fact may see a little wintry mix up in mecklen County. We'll talk more about that and a first alert to some warmer

temps feeling more like spring in the seven-day forecast coming up in just a bit. Ooh, that's what we're looking forward to. Don, thank you and make sure you download our free ABC 11 mobile app. We'll send you watches and warnings directly to your devices. You can also check that live Doppler net and seven-day forecast at any time. New tonight, Raleigh Police are investigating a shooting that happened this evening outside a food line grocery store. Officers were called to the scene on Capitol Boulevard just before six o'clock tonight when they arrived. They found an adult victim with a gunshot wound. That person was taken to the hospital.

Police say the investigation is ongoing. And also new tonight, a Benson man is facing charges for taking a gun into Wake Med's Raleigh campus on New Bern Avenue. That alleged incident happened on New Year's Day. Police say 21-year-old Travion Jackson took that handgun inside the hospital. He was on probation after being charged in 2025 with possessing a weapon of mass destruction. And according to police, he has a history of failing to appear for court dates. Jackson is now charged with going armed to the terror of the people, having a gun on educational property, and possession of a firearm by a felon. He's being held on $500,000 bond. Now at 11, we're learning new details about a thwarted New Year's Eve terrorist attack right here in North Carolina.

Federal prosecutors announcing today the arrest of Christian Sturdivant. Investigators believe the 18-year-old planned a knife and hammer attack on New Year's Eve at a grocery store and a Burger King in a town just outside Charlotte. The arrest is part of a growing trend we're seeing in North Carolina and across the country. John Dowding spoke with former federal agents about why they're seeing a spike in these incidents and tells us what's behind them. Well, this wasn't a simple investigation. Investigators from the FBI, the NYPD and local North Carolina police departments coming together to stop a terrorist attack before it happened and saving dozens of lives in the process. He was preparing for jihad and innocent people were going to die and we're very, very fortunate. They did not. Tonight, a New Year's Eve terrorism plot foiled. Federal officials say a North Carolina team.

who pledged his allegiance to ISIS now faces charges for planning a violent attack as families prepared to celebrate the new year. It gives me a little bit of comfort that at least they're catching these people before it happens. Investigators arrested Christian Sturdivant on New Year's Eve. Federal prosecutors say the 18-year-old planned a knife and hammer attack on New Year's Eve at a grocery store or this Burger King in Mint Hill, a town just outside of Charlotte. They seek to attack soft targets with easily accessible. weapons and with little to no warning.

According to court documents, Sturdivant planned to attack at least 20 people. Federal investigators found hammers and knives hidden under his bed and also found a note title, the New Year's attack, as well as a handwritten manifesto. Investigators say Sturdivant spoke with two different people online he thought were ISIS participants. They turned out to be undercover agents, one from the NYPD and the other from the FBI. But investigators say Sturdivant has been on their radar since 2020. They say he made contact with an ISIS member on social media when he was 14.

Sjordivant received direction from the Tsan identified ISIS member to dress in all black, knock on people's doors, and attack them with a hammer. Federal officials say at the time, a family member stepped in and stopped him. Chris Schwecker is the former head of criminal investigations for the FBI in North Carolina during 9-11. He says incidents like these are on the rise. Young people like this or people who are angry and bitter and they've latched on to this ISIS ideology can be extremely lethal. You know, they don't seem capable, but they're the lone wolves that we fear. In January 2025, FBI agents arrested a Durham man at RDU who was about to board a flight to Morocco to join ISIS.

And the I team told you about the arrest of a high point man in May who allegedly had ties to the violent extremist network known as 764. They don't have to smuggle a terrorist cell into the United States and do all the complicated things. They can just indoctrinate a young person or a disaffected person here in the United States and turn them into a weapon. Federal agents say this serves as an important reminder for families to have conversations with their children about the dangers that lurk online. Now as for Sturdivon, he could face up to 20 years behind bars if he's convicted. In Raleigh this evening, I'm John Douting. ABC 11, eyewitness series. John, thank you. A Raleigh man is facing a long list of charges tonight after investigators say.

he led police and deputies on a chase in a stolen van. We had Chopper 11 over the scene. This is along US 1 southbound near the Moore County Richmond County line near Glider Road. You can see what happened from the ground video as well. The Moore County Sheriff's Office and the Pine Bluff Police Department were both involved in that chase, which ended in this field where police say 37-year-old Aaron Leach ran into a wooded area. A search was underway for a long time to try to track him down. They eventually did.

And the heat from the van's engine apparently caused the field to catch fire, damaging a Moore County Sheriff's Office, patrol vehicle, and a Pine Bluff Police Canine Unit. Here's how first responders arriving on the scene described that fast-moving fire over the radio. Sheriffs off the Vinesmore Central and Richmond that we're going to need a lot of fire department resources out here. They may want to add Aberdeenna's a fast-moving rush fire in a field that's got high grass, endanger in several barns, and a resident. Fire and rescue just arrived on the scene. They're going to need a lot of help.

They're going to need a lot of help. No one was hurt, but police say Leach stole that HVAC van from a company in Chatham County. He's now facing a long list of charges, including possession of stolen property, setting fire to a field, communicating threats, reckless driving, and fleeing to elude arrest. In Johnston County, a man charged with numerous felonies after beating an elderly couple is denied bond by a judge because he's considered a danger to the public. Eyewitness news was there as Thomas Wright made his first court appearance, where the state was requesting his bond raised from $250,000 to $1 million.

The Johnston County Sheriff's Office says Wright went on a crime spree and four oaks on New Year's Eve. At the end of his spree, deputies say the 39-year-old forced his way into a home attacking an 81-year-old man and his 74-year-old wife. James Rhodes has been released from the hospital, but he suffered a broken nose, a broken eye socket, and bleeding in his brain, his wife, Teresa, still in ICU at WakeMed Hospital with similar injuries and suspected eye damage. Wright is now facing at least six felony charges. The state intends to indict Thomas Wright on January 12th. He is expected to be appear back in court on January 22nd. In Wake County, this now former teacher at a charter school in Rollsville was arraigned this afternoon on a new set of charges. His name is Armani Fields. He allegedly sexually assaulted a student.

Two law enforcement agencies have filed charges against the 25-year-old. He was a teacher at the Rollsville Charter Academy. Fields is facing several felony counts, including first-degree kidnapping, sex act with a student, and sexual exploitation of a minor. Rollsville police say he sexually assaulted a minor back on November 6th, and the Johnston County Sheriff's Office is also accusing the 25-year-old of having images of him engaging sexually with a 14-year-old. Shop local leader, Raleigh, shop local Raleigh leader, Jennifer Martin, apologizing after coming under fire when she was exposed as the author of an anonymous comment she made in a

closed Facebook group. Martin replied to a parent who was seeking advice about their transgender child's desire to play after school sports. Martin responded to the question, dismissing the existence of being transgender. She has quickly identified as the person who wrote that comment. An online petition with hundreds of signatures called on Shop Local Raleigh to take immediate action. Today, Martin issued an apology on Facebook. It said in part, quote, I want to sincerely apologize for a comment that I made that caused real hurt and pain to some in our community. Martin went on to ask for forgiveness and says she hopes to move forward to continue to work with those in the community.

Happening tomorrow, the Raleigh Police Department is having its first cops on the block event of 2026. That event offers community members a chance to interact with police officers in a relaxed setting, allowing them to ask questions and also share their concerns. Officers will also offer some crime prevention tips. In 2025, the RPD hosted 14 cops on the block events, and tomorrow's event kicks off at 11 a.m. on Sawyer Road in Raleigh. Also happening tomorrow, a free produce giveaway is being held in Durham. It's happening from 10 a.m. until noon at the Lakewood YMCA on Chapel Hill Road. is invited to come out and grab a bag of fresh fruits and veggies. Still to come here on eyewitness news, an incredible act of heroism by an off-duty firefighter and

also his wife. They sprang into action to help rescue two people after this fiery car wreck happened right outside their home. Plus, wild winter weather causing problems all across the country tonight. We'll have a look at the snow, rain, wind, and ice impacting people from coast to coast. And Don's checking on the temps that are taking a dip for the weekend. They are.

We're seeing some showers west of us tonight. They will be working in here. more about that. And after a cold day tomorrow, big warm up on the way. We'll first alert you to it all. Next. North Carolina's first buckies is expected to open and welcome the first customers by about the spring of 2027. Right now, the future site of the Meben Travel Center is just 32 acres of red, bare earth. As you can see here from Chopper 11, but by mid-2026, drivers passing by could see some walls going up. It takes about 12 to 18 months to build a buckies and construction began in late 2025.

The opening date is tentatively set for May of 2027 for that huge convenience store and gas station operation. But that will depend on how quickly the State Department of Transportation can build a new I-40-I-85 interchange at Trollingwood-Hawfields Road there in Mebond. Clyde Cooper's barbecue in downtown Raleigh, revealing its new location, the Southern Cuisine Restaurant announced on New Year's Day. It will move to North Rale's Quail Corner Shopping Center on Millbrook and Falls of Neuse Roads. The popular barbecue joint will take over the former barbecue spot, Red Hot and Blue. The move to North Raleigh come seven months after the restaurant sold its Wilmington Street property last summer. Now to a really terrifying close call in Moore County, a car lost control and it went up in flames. And what happened next is truly remarkable.

An off-duty firefighter and his wife rushed toward the danger to rescue the people trapped inside. Shortly after midnight, on New Year's Day, a small SUV heading down Flynn McPherson Road in Harnock County lost control. And photos from the scene show how quickly things took a turn. The car fully engulfed in flames. the passenger was able to escape, but the driver was stuck inside. Off-duty Cranes Creek volunteer firefighter Dylan Turney and his wife, Kirsten, just happened to be there in the right place at the right time. Dylan ran into the fire without any fire protection.

Dylan and Kirsten are now being called heroes, something they say they don't necessarily agree with. All apart of the job, I do it not for myself, but for other people. So it's kind of hard to take credit and being a hero, and that's what I do. and it makes me feel good to actually be able to give back. Both people in the car were taken to a trauma center. We do not have an update on their condition tonight. A soggy start to the new year in the west, the country dealing with extreme weather from coast to coast.

ABC's Jacqueline Lee has more from Los Angeles. A heavy snowstorm slamming Syracuse tonight. Single-digit wind chills, vehicles stranded, and near whiteout conditions on treacherous roads. In Buffalo, Highmark Stadium offering $20 an hour, to anyone who can shovel out the seats ahead of Sunday's game. Here in Wasatch Mountains in Utah, authorities warning anyone coming through the Cottonwood Canyons area must have chains on their vehicles.

A new body camera video from Long Island, police rushing across a frozen pond to save an eight-year-old boy who fell through the ice on Christmas Day. You can see officers sliding across the ice to reach him, with the boy sharing his lesson. Do not walk on the ice. Out west, a month's worth of rain falling on San Diego. This Tesla seems struggling to navigate a flooded street. In San Bernardino County, first responders rescuing a toddler and guiding others to safety after their cars are swept away by rising water.

Farther north in the San Francisco Bay Area, extremely high tides inundating neighborhoods. Wind advisory is now posted for much of coastal California, with gusts up to 50 miles per hour. another round of heavy rain expected through the weekend and back in the Great Lakes up to one to three feet of snow as possible across western New York through Sunday Jacqueline Lee ABC News Los Angeles

you know Don's talking about the rain coming our way tomorrow and he described it earlier tonight in one word what's coming our way tomorrow it's gross yuck it's gonna be gross tomorrow it's just gonna be you well it's a perfect night though and morning for his flap track forecast stay inside right only on Friday nights do we do the flat jack forecast.

And that's because maybe tomorrow you get up, you'll have some time with the kids with some scattered showers around. Temperatures running in the upper 30s to lunchtime near 40 degrees. I say that you may have had two weeks with the kids and you don't want to cook them. You're ready for them to get out of the door.

But Sunday will be a better outdoor day. Live look on first alert Doppler net tonight, scanning the skies. We are seeing some showers down toward our southwest radar not quite into our viewing area, just yet working through Richmond County, rocking him toward Laurenberg. tracking south and east. So they may clip Lumberton, St. Paul's in the next couple of hours.

Live look on the mutual tower sky cam into downtown Durham 46 right now. Cloudy skies, winds are calm. Let's talk about what we're seeing as far as temperatures tonight. Mandeota Murphy and 40s and 50s. It is a warm night across the Carolinas, 48 down at the coast right now. Greenville checks in at 46 this hour, 40 up in Chase City, a little cooler there. 45 in the triad reverse those numbers, Charlott's at 54. 45 and boom and 56 down in Augusta, Georgia tonight.

We look at the latest satellite radar composite and we'll see these clouds rolling through overnight. Not as cold tonight when temperatures in the upper 30s instead of down around freezing. We just don't see enough cold air in place to make for any type of frozen precipitation. Now if we take off the filters when we look at our regional sat red, you can see it looks like a ton of rain out there. Most of this is not hitting the ground. It's being absorbed into a very dry atmosphere. But if we look back to the west tonight, heavy showers through Alabama, Georgia, around Atlanta, central Tennessee. This is all tracking east.

It will lose a lot of its moisture in the mountains, but it's still going to bring some rain to us overnight into tomorrow. Here's your first alert predictor forecast model as we go through 8 o'clock tomorrow morning. You see a little pink showing up there. That would be freezing rain. That's just the surfaces of objects getting down around freezing. And it's all rain, but it hits that and it freezes on it. If that happens, and I don't think it's a big possibility, but if it does, it will melt quickly as the temperatures get above freezing into the mid-30s by the afternoon.

Still a few scattered showers around 2, 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and then they move out of here. Then we head towards Sunday morning. It's Sunday morning you wake up at 7 o'clock. Temperatures down around freezing by Sunday afternoon. Sunshine returns. We'll see temperatures near 50. That's your outdoor day. If you need to take down the Christmas decorations, it's going to be a bad day tomorrow, just wet and cold and raw, but by Sunday, feeling a little bit warmer with that sunshine.

Then as we go into Monday, you wake up Monday morning, kids headed back to school, you're headed back to work. Temperatures will be in the 40s as we start next week. Let's take a look at the surface map, and you can see that loat pulling out of here on Sunday, sunshine returns still chilly, temperatures around 51 degrees. Then as we head toward Monday, partly cloudy skies, and again, typical temperatures running in the low 50s. That's where they should be for this time of year. But look what happens when we look west. We see 60s in Memphis and New Orleans, 70s in Oklahoma City and San Antonio, and those showers are headed our way after the showers from tomorrow. Now tomorrow, cloudy, cold, often on light rain at a northeast wind at eight miles an hour.

Again, not a heavy rain. Most of the area will see less than a quarter of an inch. First alert, seven-day forecast powered by ACA weather after a cloudy, cool, raw day tomorrow, Sunday 51, Monday 52, and then the 60s return. By next Friday, it could be near 70 degrees. So while the Northeast is dealing with really cold air and snow, we've got some nice weather, really, over the next several days. This is when we brag about living in North Carolina, this January. When it's freezing tomorrow and wet, we'll keep an eye on that 70, right? Don, thank you.

Still ahead here on eyewitness news, a local musician hoping to build a movement inspiring young people to chase their dreams. We'll show you how this Durham rapper is leveraging his popularity to motivate and encourage kids in his community. We're back now with our weekly feature on all things North Carolina made. Tonight we're catching up with a Durham music artist who's really branching out from rapping to inspire young people to chase their dreams. After 13 years of slowly building his career in rap, Charles Lewis had an epiphany. He wants to be more than a musician. He wants to be a motivator leveraging his rap persona as Kid Callie. Charles launched his own motivational brand,

MDMG. It stands for money doesn't mean greatness. MDM greatness.com went live this fall, selling branded T-shirts and hoodies, racking up sales and a bunch of new followers on social media. Charles says he's building a movement and a mindset for dreamers all across the world. There's people that want to chase their dream. They just don't believe in themselves. And sometimes you just need somebody to come by that is a strong. stranger and tell you you got it. All right, so that's a new North Carolina made brand with a heavy dose of North Carolina made motivation. Very cool.

All right, as the calendar turns to 2026, dozens of dogs and cats at Wake County Animal Center still waiting for a fresh start of their own. Yeah, that's why beginning today, the Animal Center is having its first adoption campaign of the year. The New Year New Pet Campaign is offering dog adoptions for $25 and cat adoptions for just $5. Right now, the center is home to 98 dogs and 10 cats. This promotion runs through January the 12th. And we have some adorable New Year cheer coming from the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher. The aquarium is sharing an update about these baby otters born just before the holidays. The staff says the three male pups are now hitting important milestones.

They started opening their eyes and they're showing off their tiny front teeth there. The aquarium says to expect more updates as the pups are growing up. Now, ABC 11, I witness news, sports. When the Carolina Panthers take the field versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday, it will be the franchise's biggest game. eight years. The team hasn't been to the playoffs since 2017. Carolina hasn't won their division, the NFC South, since 2015. Those two things have a very strong possibility to change tomorrow night. So the eight and eight Panthers can win the division by beating the bucks. That would be

easy and simple. But if it does not, does not happen, there is another route. If the bucks win, then Carolina needs the Falcons to beat the Saints in order to clinch. The players in the Panthers locker room say they don't want to put their playoff fate in the hands of any other teams, any anymore. It's time for Carolina to take care of business once and for all. It's another game. We've got to go win. We're starting to playoffs a week early. That's my feeling of it. So it's when to go home from this point pretty much. We've been working hard for this all season. Now we get the opportunity to go out there and get it done. So I don't want to depend on nobody else.

You know, over the last few weeks, we had a bunch of crazy situations happen that kind of put us over the hump. You know, I think, you know, if we want to get to where we need to be, you know, we can't rely on anybody else. We need to go take care of ourselves. You can watch the Panthers play the Bucks right here on ABC 11. Pre-game coverage begins at 3 p.m. Kickoff in Tampa Bay is set for 4.30. That game will then be followed by another big-time showdown on the NFC between the Seahawks and Niners. And then for the nightcap, you get to hang out with me, Cruz Medina, and Dewan Hogarth on eyewitness news.

Thousands, and I mean thousands of college football players entered their name in the transfer portal on Friday. One name that you won't catch in there is C.J. Bailey. NC State's sophomore quarterback has announced that he will return to Raleigh for a junior season. Bailey is the pack's first homegrown three-year starting quarterback to play in Raleigh since Russell Wilson in 2010. A unique stat about Bailey is that in two years, he's never turned the ball over in the red zone. He's tossed 42 total touchdowns and ran it in himself for another 11. Bailey's decision to return to NC State is a massive, massive get for Dave Dorn in the Wolf Pack. Of course, Coach Jorn is coming back next year for season 14.

The PAC ended their season on a strong note. They went eight and five. They won their first bowl game in multiple years. So with CJ being back and returning his dynamic play in the ACC, could the PAC be a frontrunner to win the conference and make the CFP as we're in all this madness and drama? Who knows? We can wish. We can talk about it, right?

And that's great. CJ Bailey is sticking around. Great for PAC fans. But we could see a lot of other guys coming and going from our local teams. It's so interesting to see all these teams announce re-signing. Hey, we're coming back. We're doing this. It's kind of like the NFL now with free agency.

But it's the name of the game. CJ back is huge. It boils down to the NIL money. For sure. Kate, thank you. And thank you at home for watching. That's going to do it for us here tonight. We hope you have a great weekend.

Remember the news is always on at ABC11.com. And Lauren and I are hoping to see you back here Monday night at 11 o'clock. Good night. ABC 11 eyewitness news is sponsored by Capital Chevrolet. Together, let's drive. Shop capitalchevrolet.com. You know,