ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at 11pm - July 31, 2026

Episode Date: August 1, 2026

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Right now, live coverage from your local newsleader, 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. Right now on eyewitness news, this is the last Friday before changes are coming to how much you pay to park in downtown Raleigh. Rates are set to increase tomorrow. We are live downtown where people are wondering how these changes could impact the foot traffic there. And only on eyewitness news tonight, we've discovered weight count. is housing teenagers in foster care inside a county office building. The deputy director of social services tells me why it's happening, what she needs from us in the community, and what she expects to happen to those teens later in life if we don't get them help right now.

But first year at 11, we're helping you plan for the weekend ahead as we learn more about the potential for severe storms and damaging winds around here on Sunday. We're glad you're joining us here for the news at 11. I'm Steve Daniel. And I'm Lauren Johnson. Here's what you need to know. Sunday will be a first alert day as we track the risk of a pretty strong storm that's blowing through our area. Let's get right over to New Orleans. Cruz, Medina, who's in for tonight. Cruz, what should we be looking out for on Sunday? Well, there could be a few isolated storms during the afternoon and evening that will

be capable of producing damaging winds. So it's not going to be a setup like what we had Tuesday. Again, this is more of an isolated setup. We're just giving you the heads up that we could see some disruptive weather on your Sunday. And so in case you're wondering, that is the wetter of the two weekend days. So if you

have outdoor plans, tomorrow is your day. We will have some showers moving in very, very late in the evening tomorrow. So most of your day is completely dry, partly sunny, highs around 90 degrees, Sunday, mid to upper 80s, with scattered rain and storms coming in, especially for the second half of the day.

This is downtown Raleigh tonight. Beautiful shot there from our Pindo Sky Cam, 75 degrees right now we have a mainly clear sky, but at times tonight, especially as we get toward daybreak, could have a few fair weather clouds out there. Tipters will be a little warmer than previous nights, mid to upper 60s. It'll be a bit muggy when you step out the door as well.

So you'll notice the uptick and huge humidity tomorrow. That's going to help to fuel Sunday's rain chances. So tomorrow, one thing you might notice is at times you'll see a decent amount of sun and at other times you might be seeing a decent amount of cloud cover. Despite that, winds out of the south that are bringing in those humid conditions. That's going to push us to around 90 in Raleigh, 91 in Fayetteville and then we'll see mid 80s in our northern counties. Coming up with first alert predictor, we're going to track out Sunday's rain chance hour by hour and also talk about an unsettled pattern taking shape in Central North Carolina coming up in your extended forward. request. Back to you. Okay, Cruz, we'll see you soon. And if you download the ABC 11 app, it'll help you track the changing weather on the go. Just search ABC 11 in your app store. Breaking news, we are now learning police are investigating a shooting in Fayetteville. Fayetteville police currently on the scene on Deep Creek Road, where we have confirmed one person was shot there. We're being told the victim is suffering from non-life-threatening injuries. Fayetteville police were also called to a nearby car wash in that area. That's where they think

the victim of that shooting may have gone searching for help. Investigators say tonight's shooting is believed to be random, but it is also not related to those human remains found on that same street yesterday. We will continue to bring you updates as we learn more. In downtown Raleigh, we need to get ready to pay more per hour to park beginning tomorrow. The city is raising hourly parking rates for the first time in about seven years. This impacts all city-owned parking locations from parking decks to street parking. And some downtown visitors were the changes could deter more people from visiting the city center of John Dowding, live in downtown Raleigh outside one of the city's parking garages and John the city's already putting people on high alert. Yeah, they're already

putting people on notice here. Take a look at the sign here at the Wilmington Street parking garage. Already see the new hours that we're going to be paying for starting tomorrow. $3 per hour at most of the parking garages owned by the city here in downtown Raleigh. But there still are, though, some ways you can save as the hours that, as we have to pay more for parking downtown. It's just another reason to not come here and to go to the other parts of Raleigh. Parking in downtown Raleigh is getting a little more expensive starting Saturday. Maybe like picking and choosing like which garage we go to probably yeah. Yeah really which parking we go to.

For the first time since 2018, the city is raising hourly parking rates at all city-owned parking decks and on-street parking. That just seems like a wrong decision for in a, maybe in a time when downtown needs more people coming in and having more reasons to come. On street parking goes up from $1.25 to $1.50 an hour. Parking decks like the Wilmington Street Garage go up from $2 an hour to $3 an hour. But what is sticking around, free two-hour parking. Having the parking available for two hours is great because, like you said, it reduces friction for people coming into town. Stephanie Bautista said she'll stick to two-hour parking locations when coming downtown. We try any restaurants or just like try any things.

Like today we're going to a new park. I know like some parking, like you can park free for two hours, so probably beat that. Others worry higher prices to park could discourage more visitors from stopping downtown. I think that's good for the city. We're having people here. And that's what the city needs is foot traffic. Now again, this is not going to impact any private parking locations. Only the city-owned locations.

Now, city leaders say that the changes to the hourly rates and the increase that we're going to have to pay for parking downtown is so they can make better investments in security, maintenance, repairs, and improvements to some of the parking locations here downtown. Head over to our website, ABC11.com. We got a full breakdown of those changes and what you'll be paying when you come downtown here. Live here in downtown Riley, I'm John Dowding. ABC 11, eyewitness news. We'll have to check in in a few weeks, John, and see how people dealt with all this. John, thank you. A Durham family is once again dealing with flooding inside their home. It's the third flooding event in just the past four years, and now we're helping them get some answers from city leaders. The latest flooding happened on Tuesday night when

torrential rain hit the triangle. Their home in Durham on Dudley Circle took in nearly 14 inches of flood water, and they blame poor drainage and undersized culverts for contributing to the flooding. The homeowners tell us they contacted the city after each flooding event, but so far nothing's been done. But just tonight, we're hearing from the city who told us, quote, because of the specific conditions on and around their property, the city has been limited in how. much it can intervene. The team does plan to investigate the most recent flood event and we'll share our findings with the McLean's once our review is complete. The family of Liz Waddell says they are headed home today more than a week after the carry woman went

missing in Grenada. The 43-year-old was last seen going for a swim but never returned to the shore. Her husband, Kalin, has been on the ground helping authorities with that search there. Foul play not suspected in Liz's disappearance. Kalin posted a statement thanking the police, the people of Grenada and their friends and family back here in the triangle for their support. We're also hearing from Liz's sister, Anna Watkins, who said in a statement today, I'll lead Grenada with a broken heart. While the missing person investigation remains open, I am grieving.

I am devastated. My heart hurts. And the world around me feels like a blur. A man described by Durham prosecutors as a top gang member pleaded guilty today to first degree kidnapping of a club promoter who went missing back in 2022. These are photos from the courthouse today from our news gathering partners at the news an observer. 34-year-old Darius Tyson will serve between six and nine years in prison. He'll get credit for the four years he's been in custody.

44-year-old Sean Burton of Durham, who was last seen in March of 2022. His family hasn't been seen him or heard from him since, but his body's never been recovered. After his disappearance, Durham prosecutor zeroed in on Tyson. He was initially charged with murder in the case, but when he went to trial on those charges earlier this month, the jury could not agree on a verdict, and the judge declared a mistrial. Coverland County Sheriff's Office is investigating after human remains were found in a wooded area there. The remains were discovered just after 4.30 yesterday afternoon behind a home on Deep Creek Road near the intersection with Cade Hill Avenue. More than a dozen sheriff's deputies were on the scene collecting evidence and leaving the wooded area with canine units.

Community members tell us they're pretty shocked by the news. I'm sorry, you know, my heart goes out to them and I'll keep them in my prayers. Right now it's unclear if there's any connection between the. the home and the discovery of those remains. The case does remain under investigation. And the sheriff's office is now asking anyone with related information to call the crime stoppers tip line. Chatham County has ended its $400 million incentive for VINFAS, the Vietnamese electric vehicle maker that was supposed to build a battery and vehicle assembly plant in the county. The county commissioners making that decision earlier this week, two months after the state sued VINFAS to acquire the land. The county manager tells our news gathering partners at the news and observer, VINFAS has failed to meet the performance obligation.

and project deadlines and termination of the agreement is warranted. Vinfast committed to the project in March of 2022, promising thousands of jobs. Vinfast has yet to complete any significant construction at that site. So to come here at 11, a wild turn in an I-Team troubleshooter story. We've been following for a long time. Why two of the leaders of a Durham Foundation are now on the run from the law. State officials say an invasive pest has been found here in North Carolina. And we'll talk about the devastating impact they could have on our B population.

just ahead. And crews checking those temperatures outside. All right, temperatures are in the 70s right now. We should be near 90 for our high tomorrow. Let's look back at this month because it was a very rainy month. 16 of the past 31 days have had measurable rainfall at Rdu and entering a new month. We're actually going to be in a wet pattern. The details coming up in your seven day forecast. Want to talk ETS with the people behind them? Join me. It's Jean-Jacqueshaw on the upside ticker talk. We dive into what's moving markets with timely analysis. trends and answers to ETF questions you've actually been thinking about. Hit play on the upside ticker talk and elevate your ETF investing IQ.

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 must see. FX's The Shards. Streaming August 5th on Hulu on Disney Plus. Sign up now at Disneyplus.com. We are back now with some new details

in an I-Team troubleshooter investigation into a Durham Foundation accused of not paying its employees. Now the founder and CFO are facing some new charges after a high-speed chase that started in-person County. The person county sheriff tells the I-team, his deputies were involved in a chase with Courtney Jordan and Nick Gallardo. On Sunday, both men are leaders of CJF Foundation, which has been the focus of several I-team troubleshooter investigations.

The Durham Foundation is accused of failing to pay dozens of its employees. In September, Durham Police charged Jordan and Gallardo with obtaining property by false pretenses and conspiracy charges related to the Courtney Jordan Foundation's activities. Now, when it comes to the high-speed chase, Sheriff Wilborn says when it ended, both Jordan and Gallardo were taken to Duke Hospital with injuries, and his deputies returned to Person County to obtain felony warrant. He says by the time the deputies returned to Duke Hospital to take the two men into custody, Jordan and Guyardo were gone.

The sheriff says there are active warrants in person county, stemming from the chase, including fleeing to elude. Both men are also wanted on those outstanding warrants right now in Durham. North Carolina agriculture officials are warning us all right now to be on the lookout for a highly invasive predator. The yellow-legged hornet has now been confirmed in our state and it threatens honeybees and crop production. The discovery was made at a home in Matthews after earlier detections in Georgia and South Carolina. Carolina. Its primary feed prey is insects and it can feed on a wide variety of species, but honeybees can comprise in some areas over 35% of their diet. They already have a lot of pressure on them, droughts that we have, different pests and diseases. Adding one more heavy

pressure like a predator could impact the health of honeybee colonies. State officials are asking beekeepers to be on the lookout for the yellow leg tornette, which has a reddish brown muddy color hive. The Hornet uses a hawking technique hovering to catch honeybees in flight. The state is working to locate and remove any nest to prevent further spread. More than 200 surveyed traps, tarps have been set all around Union County. All right, let's go to Raleigh now. We're moving begins at a brand new student department complex near NC State next week. This is Hub Raleigh. It's on Hillsborough Street at Cox Avenue, just steps away from NC State University. But this place is unlike any other student housing you've seen before. There's a rooftop pool

a hot tub. They've got a wellness spot in there and an entertainment area too. The 12-story building includes more than 600 units and 2,000 beds moving at that new apartment building begins on Monday. Many of our neighbors here in the triangle say they're having trouble putting food on the table right now and that's why ABC 11 and the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina have teamed up for our Stop Summer Hunger campaign. And today's the last day to donate so you have less than an hour now. Every dollar will be matched up to $100,000. This is the final stretch. Trying to meet our goal of funding. spending seven million meals and so far thanks to your generosity 6.2 million meals are paid for.

We've put everything you need to know on ABC11.com and a big thank you to everyone who has dug deep in their pockets and helped to donate families in need. All right, let's talk to Cruz a little more about the weather coming back. He used one word a few minutes ago that I have stuck in my mind. What's stuck with you? It's going to be unsettled around here. Oh no, Cruz. Unsettling. Does that make you feel something? All right, well, that's the best way to describe the pattern we're going to enter. Okay. But that doesn't apply to Saturday.

Okay. So at least you have that one that is settled, right? All right. Well, Saturday is going to be a partly to mostly cloudy day. There will be some peaks of sun at times, but definitely a lot of clouds as well. Highs will be near 90 degrees, so it's also the warmer of the weekend days. And something you'll notice tomorrow as the humidity starts to ramp up. So going into Sunday, it's going to be warm and muggy and we have the rain chance.

and then late in the day will also have a risk of storms. Level one risk for now. We'll see if that's increased in time. There will be a lot of clouds in place, though, so not likely. And then as we go into next week, that's when it's unsettled. So we carry the rain from Sunday all the way into the middle of next week with daily rain chances. Now here's Sunday's outlook. This is that low end, level one risk, just a gusty storm with possible damaging winds.

That'll be what we're keeping an eye on. And it'll depend on how much sun, if any sun we see through. throughout the day on Sunday. Now through tonight, no rain chance expected. We will see the clouds kind of beefing up ahead of Saturday. Tipters will be in the upper 60s as you step out the door. It'll be warm and muggy, mostly cloudy. And throughout the afternoon, like I said, some sunny breaks in the mix, but definitely a lot of clouds.

We'll be watching back to our west, a few storms moving through the triad and those could scrape our western counties in the overnight hours tomorrow. But most of your daytime plans should be dry. Going into Sunday, a spotty shower possible in the morning, still mostly cloudy, and then by the afternoon pushing to near 90 again, we'll have some scattered showers and a few storms. Again, if we see some of these sunny breaks like with first alert predictors picking up on, that damaging wind potential could increase. But right now, watching the main line of showers and storms to come in during late Sunday evening. So there will be some dry time on Sunday, too. It's just Saturday is going to be the day where you have most of that dry time. So highs tomorrow and the triangle and the sandhills right around 90, mid to upper 80s and our northern counties.

And again, the cloud cover will vary by location. Here's the front that's going to bring Sunday's rain chance. It's being driven by an upper level system that's going to get cut off from the main jet stream. And so we call out a cutoff low and that's going to keep this front actually stalled out to our west. That's why we have daily rain chances Sunday and into Monday. Again, that will linger into the middle of the week as well. So we could pick up over the next, I'd say four or five days, we could probably pick up at least an inch in most spots. Each of those days is going to vary, though, considering there will be storms in the mix.

So some of you will hit the jackpot on rainfall, and some of you, it might be slim pickings as far as the rainfall goes. If you're heading elsewhere for this weekend, we do have a chance of storms at the coast on Sunday. So Saturday, your better day to be out there without any rain. And then in the mountains, there will be some afternoon showers tomorrow. We'll see some of those linger into Sunday as well. Your first alert seven day forecast shows that alert day for Sunday going into next week, kind of a rinse and repeat pattern with daily afternoon and evening storm chances Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. By Thursday, it becomes where spotty in nature, and we should be drying out again by the time we get into Friday,

and temperatures will reflect that rising back to near 90 degrees. All right. Well, settled for Saturday, unsettled for Sunday. That's right. First alert day, so we'll tune in see what Cruz has for us. Absolutely. Okay, Chris. Thank you.

Cruz, thanks. Coming up next, Wade County is housing teenagers in foster care inside a county office building right now. We're diving into why it's happening, how we can all help, and a warning about what may happen to those teens if this problem isn't fixed.

And a reminder, you can find eyewitness news live on ABC 11, Disney Plus, and everywhere you stream. Things just for college life, like the Rosenmandal blackout curtains in gray. They say you can't put a price on sleep, but we did. for the low, low price of $49.99.

Why are you in my room? Shake exam tomorrow. Witness News. We are local news weeknights 4 to 630 and 11. Tonight, IWitness News, learning more about the foster care system. And our coverage of this issue is really a chance for all of us to work on finding solutions for the kids who are at the center of this. You may find this hard to believe, but teenagers in foster care are being. housed inside a Wake County office building right now, a government office building in the same place where

office workers are conducting other Wake County business. I discovered there's nowhere else for them to go and the county is housing as many as 20 to 25 teenagers at a time inside this county office building. Inside this Wake County office building near Wake Med, teenagers in foster care are living together, sleeping and showering and eating in offices set aside for them. Where is your heart when you see these young people who are living in this office building. It is very hard. You know, I've been doing this 30 years to have children sleeping in an office building is not the purpose of foster care. When you get into this field, it's to help children thrive and change the course of their life

to be better. This isn't what you imagine when you get into this field. Sheila Donaldson is the Deputy Director of Social Services in Wake County. When you When you talk to them, how are they doing? How are they coping with this situation living in this office building? Well, every child is different and what they have been through is different. The mere fact of being separated from your family, even if it was for their safety, can be quite traumatic. Some of them have experienced challenging and traumatic things on top of that.

So because of that, some children like being here and some don't. Dila says it's a problem that's been unfolding since COVID. The county has half as many foster families as before COVID, and staffing problems at group homes have led to fewer beds in those residential facilities. What do you need from us? What do you need from the community to help these kids out? What I need from this community is to really get down deep inside and really think about becoming a foster parent. We desperately need foster families. We need people to think about, you know, providing that stable,

family setting for a youth. There are community groups who are stepping up and helping. What kind of help are they providing right now? We have received things like assistance with the laundry. We've had people give backpacks. There's been a group that have provided special meals on the holidays. Another group provided special sheets for the kids. It's really been beautiful to see the giving heart of this community. What is the risk if we don't help these kids? now. What is the path forward for them? When children age out of foster care without that stable caregiver or person to make a connection for a lifetime, that increases their probability of entering the justice system, homelessness, substance abuse. You're saying there could be a societal

cost down the road if we don't invest in them now. Yes. Yes. We'll see these children as adults in our government system again if they do not get help. help and support from the community. And Sheila told me the best way to prevent kids from entering foster care is to invest in helping their families when they're struggling. So social workers don't have to remove kids from their family homes.

But as you heard, we need to come up with some community solutions. We need to help these kids out who are living in this office building. And the best way is for people who are in a position to step up and become foster families. Yeah, you asked very direct questions and she gave us very direct answers

as to how this can affect our community as a whole. So there's long-term implications potentially, and I think that's important to remember as well. Yeah. Great story. Preseason, they play next week out in Kent. What a star.

Got the chills. Kate, thank you. And thank you at home for watching. It's going to do it for us here tonight. Have a great weekend. We'll see you back here next week. An eyewitness news is sponsored by Capital Chevrolet. Together, let's drive.

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