ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at 11pm - May 16, 2026

Episode Date: May 17, 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. All new tonight on eyewitness News at 11A search and rescue operation is underway on Lake Gaston after a kayaker disappeared into the water. What another man says happened before that man went missing. And sources say President Donald Trump's $10 billion. lawsuit against the IRS may soon be dropped, but only as part of a deal that now raises several questions. Plus signs of the ongoing drought conditions, low water levels, putting a damper on the fun over at Falls Lake for boaters looking to cool off from those hot temperatures.

And it is official. Your Carolina hurricanes will return to the ice on Thursday for game one of the Eastern Conference finals after Buffalo beat Montreal tonight right here on ABC 11. Kate Rogerson will have more on that NHL playoffs coming up. Those stories much more are straight ahead. Thank you so much for choosing us on this Sunday night. For eyewitness News at 11, I'm Dewan Hogarth. So glad to have you with us. Now, in our time together tonight, it was a hot day across Central Carolina,

and things are only going to get hotter. So behind me here, you see temperatures across the board here for tomorrow, and we're even looking at reaching the 90s in some places, as you see. Mediologist Cruz Medina in our First Alert forecast center, with more on the incoming heat wave. Look, there's no other way to put it, Cruz. Just I'm looking at 90s all over this board here. Yeah, it's a little taste of summer, so a preview, if you will.

And so it's not just going to be tomorrow that we see the 90s. It's for the next several days. So Monday and Tuesday will also rise into the low to mid-90s. You might notice by the time we get to Monday, it will feel a little humid outside. Thankfully, this isn't summer-like humidity, but we haven't felt humid conditions in a while, so you'll be able to notice it, that's for sure. So the last time we had a 90 degree or above day was back on April 25th. That was 21 days ago. So we're kind of overdue. We have been below average for much of May so far. And as we went throughout this afternoon, we got up to 88 in Raleigh, folks there at level 7 rooftop bar still enjoying the warm conditions outdoors. It is 74 degrees right now in the city of Oaks, 70 for Goldsboro and Fayetteville and 68 in Roxburgh. Later tonight, we only drop into the lower half of the 60s. So it'll be a mild start with 63 degrees in Raleigh. As you. step out the door. Here's how your Sunday forecast shakes out. We should be in the 80s already

by 11 a.m. by 3 p.m. reaching those peak highs in the low 90s and then staying very warm into the evening as well. So it's all across the state we could expect above average temperatures. Even if you're heading to the mountains for a day trip tomorrow or the coast, it'll be warm all across North Carolina. And this heat continues into the start of the week. We'll talk about how long it sticks around and our next rain and storm chances that's coming up in your extended forecast. for that. Dewan, back to you. All right, crews, we'll get back with you in a few minutes. But first, the hot weather is not helping the ongoing drought.

The city of Raleigh warning the current water supply is down to 77%. I want to show you this video from Falls Lake here, which serves as the city's primary drinking source, Chomper 11, capturing several dry areas, shoals and increasing shorelines earlier this week. Our crew is returning again today as water levels appear to continue to drop. And it comes as warmer weather rolls into the triangle and more. people make their way to the lake to cool off. Are John Doubting speaking with boaters tonight about some of those hazards coming to the surface at Falls Lake? It's hard not to miss the

impacts of the drought here on Falls Lake. You're seeing more and more of the shoreline as that water recedes and more shoals popping up in the water. It's creating some dangers for those who want to go out on the water as temperatures rise and people are looking for a way to cool off. That worked out great actually. When we first got started we did have a moment where it immediately went from, let's say, 10 feet to about two feet. As the temperatures rise this weekend, water levels at Falls Lake continue to drop. It's been down since the fall, but it's definitely dropped, what, another foot or two feet in the last two to three weeks. Officials say lake levels are down four feet below normal for this time of year, causing concerns for some boaters.

I kind of spent some time on the front of the boat while we were getting closer to the bank parts, just trying to make sure we didn't run up on anything. Chopper 11, capturing receding water levels earlier this week at Falls Lake, showing increasing shorelines and what looks like more shoals popping up in areas of the lake frequently used by boaters. There's shoals and everything, especially out in the bigger lake. You see a lot of like trees and stumps and rocks and stuff like that that you like wouldn't that you look out for normally, but you can't see.

Those we spoke to out with a warning for anyone thinking of coming to the lake. Just be careful, especially if you're tubing or skiing, you know, try to be mindful that there are things in the water, obstacles, things that you could possibly collide with that you may not normally have to worry about. Boaters we spoke to also urging caution when you go out on the water so you don't damage your boat or even hurt yourself. From Falls Lake, I'm John Dowding. ABC 11, Eyewitness News.

John, thank you. And as the drought conditions continues, the city reports the current water supply pool is at 77%. That's down 1% since last week. The city reporting the water restrictions. implemented last month are working. Last week's water usage averaged about 60 million gallons a day compared to about 69 million gallons daily before the restrictions were implemented. And as temperatures rise and the drought continues, now is a good time to download the ABC 11 mobile app. We will send you all of the weather headlines directly to your devices.

You can also check the first Lord Doppler net and the seven-day forecast. All right now, search and rescue operations are underway in Halifax County after a kayaker went missing. on Roanoke Rapids Lake, gassed in fire and rescue, sharing these pictures with us of crews searching the lake today. Officials say they responded to the lake Thursday night after reports of a man in the water yelling for help. When they got there, crews were able to locate that man drifting in the water, holding onto a life vest. They were able to rescue him. He told them he and another man were in the kayak. That man had given him his life jacket and he was unsure where that man was at. Crews have since been searching for that man and right now that investigation

is still ongoing. Also happening right now, Raleigh police are searching for the driver. They say hit and killed a woman. It happened last night on New Bern Avenue near Shanta Drive. Today, the woman killed was identified as 54-year-old Nicole White. They say she was hit by a car as she was trying to cross the road outside of the crosswalk. She was taken to the hospital where she later died. Police are still looking for the driver and have yet to share any details. In Moore County, a traffic stop there ending with a crash that injured several people, including a young child along a busy stretch of road. The Sand Hill Sentinel sharing these pictures with us of that crash. Authorities say a sheriff's deputy tried to pull over a driver just

before noon near US 1 and Magnolia in the town of Aberdeen. Instead of stopping, deputies say the driver then sped off just over a mile from there near US 1 in Sonny. Boulevard in Southern Pines. That driver then slammed into multiple vehicles. Several people were hurt in that crash and at least four people had to be rushed to the hospital. The driver of that car was also injured and taken to the hospital tonight. No word on any charges at this time. Well tonight, two men are facing charges after a shooting at a Nightdale bar left two people injured. Police say they responded to the Sportspage Sports Bar on North Smithfield Road just before 2 o'clock this morning after reports of a shooting. When police got, there, they learned that there had been a fight between a group of people. And during that fight, one of those men pulled out a gun and started shooting. One person was shot and another person was grazed. They were taken to the hospital and are expected to be okay. And Joseph Alston was charged in connection and is now facing multiple charges, including assault

with a deadly weapon. A second man, William Fuller, is also facing charges tonight. We knew this evening a proposed deal involving the Justice Department and President Donald Trump. sources telling ABC News it would create a so-called Truth and Justice Commission and establish a compensation fund to pay claims made by alleged victims of government weaponization in exchange for President Trump's President Trump dropping his lawsuit against the IRS. But the agreement, well, it's likely to face several legal hurdles. Tonight, here's ABC's Alison Kosick with those details. Tonight, President Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS may soon be dropped.

but sources tell ABC News only as part of a deal now raising new and legal political questions. The lawsuit stems from the leak of some of his tax returns in 2019 and 2020 by a government contractor who pled guilty in 2023. And now sources say the president is preparing to drop the $10 billion lawsuit in exchange for the creation of a fund that would compensate his allies who claim they were targeted by the, quote, weaponized the Biden Justice Department. Trump is setting up a $1.7 billion political slush fund for the proud boys and the oathkeepers and his other political lieutenants and hangers on.

ABC News Learning, the fund would be called the President Donald J. Trump Truth and Justice Commission and funded to the tune of $1.776 billion of taxpayer money, that number, a reference to the nation's founding. Sources say the commission would be under no obligation to disclose the process of awarding any compensation. Trump would not be personally eligible to receive payments, but sources say entities associated with him would be. As would the 1,600 individuals charged in the January 6th Capitol attack that Trump pardoned his first day in office last year. Even some Republican lawmakers appearing shocked. I don't even know how that's allowable to happen. Sources saying this deal

came together after the Justice Department and the White House abandoned a months-long effort to try to pay Trump directly. Democratic lawmakers are now calling on Congress to pass legislation to restrict the use of taxpayer dollars for the proposed compensation fund. Alison Kosick ABC News, New York. Alex Saab, a former close ally of ousted President Nicholas Maduro, has been deported to the United States. Saab, leading Venezuela's Ministry of Endaunt. industries and national production from October 24 to January of this year. The deportation was carried out today, according to a brief statement issued by Venezuela's Administrative Service for Identification, Migration, and Foreigners.

That statement says that he will face judicial proceeding in the U.S. for alleged various crimes. It's unclear tonight where in the country he is being sent. Well, still I had a national day of action. Thousands of people are rallying in the heartland of the civil rights movement to protest against recent redistricting efforts. And downtown Raleigh, turning into an art exhibition this weekend, Artsplosure returning to downtown Raleigh.

After the break, a look at the big event and all the other festivals that took over the triangle today. But before we had to break, we'll bring back to Cruz. All right, temperatures tonight are still warm in the 70s at this hour. Get ready for 90s as we go into Sunday and into the start of the next week. But we're also tracking some late week showers and storms back in the forecast. much rain we can see over the next seven days coming up after the break. Welcome back in Alabama protesters rallying today in support of the modern civil rights movement. Organizers were confronting what they call a coordinated assault on black political power and the right to vote.

It comes as voters in Louisiana head to the polls after delaying the primaries amid a redistricting battle. Here's ABC's Akajanchi tonight with those details. Today, thousands gathering in Montgomery, Alabama, hoping to mobilize support for voting rights in the face of court rulings, they say, are diluting the voices of minority voters. We have seen this before where some people in black roads try to deny or take away our rights. Those protesters marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where in in 1965, a violent clash between law enforcement and civil rights activists galvanized support

for passage of the Voting Rights Act. The law prevented discriminated discrimination. discrimination against minorities at the ballot box and helped to elect thousands of African Americans and Hispanics to all levels of government. But last month, the landmark Supreme Court ruling gutted a key protection of the Voting Rights Act, striking down a majority black congressional district in Louisiana. I think this whole race baiting race issue on the redistricting is, has been put to bed finally once and fall. Just yesterday, the Supreme Court rejected Virginia's bid to restore a congressional map that would have given Democrats a chance to pick up four seats in the House. And in Alabama, Republicans yesterday appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out a lower court ruling requiring a second majority black district, Democrats pushing back. We're not going to stand by and allow them to move forward.

We're going to win so that we can correct this mess that we are now in. With an unprecedented race to redraw congressional lines across the country before November. Ica Jocchi, ABC News, New York. Well, back here in the Triangle, this was the scene in downtown Raleigh today, the annual arts plosure event taking over Fayetteville Street right in front of our eyewitness News Center. And this is an art market of 175 visual artists from across the country, along with live music performances, as well as activities for the kids. And if you couldn't make it out there today, do not worry.

the festival will return tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. All right, in the Bull City, hip-hop music taking over again today for the 56th annual Bimbe Cultural Arts Festival. This year's headliner was hip-hop legend himself, Mr. Doug E. Fresh. In addition to the live music, there was also arts and crafts, the local vendors, plenty of food out there, all happening at Rock Corey Park in Durham. Also in Durham today, the annual Durham Creek Festival, bringing vibrant flavors, music, and the traditions of Greece to the triangle. The free family-friendly event is happening at St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church on Highway 751. You can enjoy a wide range of traditional Greek dishes and desserts along with Greek wine and beer.

And there was also plenty of music and dance and performances along with the marketplace of Greek vendors there. A day two of the festival is tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 7 in the evening. The city of Durham also celebrating Asian, American, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The annual Common Roots Festival returned to Durham Central Park today. There were live performances there as well, local art, a vendor market, and plenty of options for food. All right, so we enjoyed a wonderful Saturday. At the beginning of the broadcast, I did say Sunday evening, it's just been a long day. It looks Saturday evening.

But what are we looking like for the rest of the day tomorrow going into the evening and then much of the week. Tomorrow is great. So if you didn't get outside today for any reason, tomorrow's going to be nice, but it is going to be hot. So low 90s are back. It's definitely shorts weather and will be for the foreseeable future. So we've got several 90 degree days on the way. That'll extend into the start of the work week as well. So low to mid 90s, expected we will be near records. Tomorrow we could even tie a record.

And then by the time we get to the back half of the week, we drop into the 80s. As a cold front moves in, that front could stall bringing rain and storm chances into next weekend as well. But the storms early in the week will stay back to our west. That's where the jet stream is poised. It's to our north. And so that's going to keep the cooler air behind it. That will stay more back toward the Dakotas and Iowa for all of the southeast and the mid-Atlantic region. High pressure will build in and that's what's going to boost those tipters into the 90s. I'll walk you through tonight with First Alert predictors. So we'll have some cloud streaming through. Tipters will be in the middle to upper 60s as you start your day tomorrow. And then for the afternoon,

we are pushing into the low 90s with a mostly sunny sky. So just a few fair weather clouds expected tomorrow afternoon. And going into the overnight hours and into early Monday, it'll actually be even warmer. So we could be near 70 in some spots. We'll start off with sunshine, a few areas of fog, especially down in the sand hills. And then by the time we get into the afternoon, that burns off. And we should see temperature's rebound back into the low 90s once again. So for tomorrow, not only are you starting out mild in the 60s,

So you probably don't need a jacket stepping out the door in the morning unless 60s feel cold to you. By the afternoon, you certainly don't need a jacket with tipters pushing into the low 90s. Tomorrow will be a day you'll want to make sure you stay cool and definitely find breaks in the shade. Going into the start of the week, here's that area of high pressure that I mentioned. That's going to keep our winds out of the southwest. And so it's not just us that's going to experience the hot tipters, but it's really much of the east coast and also back toward the heartland of the country. So mid to upper 80s back toward Memphis and Atlanta, that front starts to move in on Tuesday for those areas.

And for us, it's going to take until about Thursday for that front to arrive. So ahead of that, the humidity is going to be increasing and eventually we get showers throughout the day on Thursday. So some storms could be embedded as well. And this is just a prediction here from the weather prediction center. Seven-day rainfall totals could range anywhere from three quarters of an inch to over an inch of rain. So isolated, higher amounts would be possible wherever the storm set up. And also, we can see these totals increased depending on if that front stalls out over us, which some guidance is suggesting might be a solution for the end of the week.

So stay tuned. Make sure you check back in with us for forecast updates as we go throughout the week. Quick look outside from our Pindo SkyCam at 74 degrees in the City of Oaks. Your first alert seven-day forecast shows that after that rain moves in on Thursday, we will drop into the 80s, so that day is unsettled. That front, once it's to our south, even though it'll stall out over us, temperatures will push into the low 70s. So it will eventually cool down and we'll see that unsettled weather continue into next weekend.

Keep that in mind. Like I said, check back for updates, but that is going into the holiday weekend for Memorial Day. So make sure you're keeping close tabs on that forecast. Dowan. All right, many thanks for that cruise. Well, next at 11, raising awareness about mental health and the road to recovery. Thousands of people are lacing up their shoes for a one. walk in effort of breaking the stigma around seeking help.

Well, it was a special day for some local military families in Harnet County. Today, the Veteran Legacy Foundation honored six veterans with awards. The awards were presented to the family of the service members. As you see here, this is Senator Ted Budd. Also, they're in attendance for today's ceremony. Well, May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and today almost 1,000 people walk together in solidarity for mental health. The group, Nami, hosting their annual walk to raise money and,

eradicate the stigma around receiving help for one's mental health. Bianca Holman sharing more with us on the critical need of mental health awareness. Hundreds gathering to bring attention to mental health awareness. Many of all ages walking because of their own journey. My grandmother passed away in 2016 due to ovarian cancer, and I truly felt my first suicidal ideulation, and I did not know how to explain the emotions to my mom and to my family and to my friends. I am a person with lived experience because I am a burn survivor.

Felicia McPherson sharing how NAMI helped her manage depression and workplace PTSD. She now serves as a peer support specialist and a licensed mental health counselor. You are not alone. You are not alone. We are here for you at NAMI. We have local affiliates. We have state affiliates. We have national affiliates.

This walk is a time to highlight the importance of mental health wellness and the reality of the data. According to Nami, North Carolina, one in four North Carolinians are dealing with with the mental health issue. One of the biggest ways that you can really be aware of mental health challenges is someone's change in the way they're being, whether it's the way in which they're kind of showing up. Maybe they're not attending the things that they used to anymore. Maybe it's the way they're just not able to be present as much.

The crowd coming together at Perimeter Park in Morrisville with Raleigh Police Chief Rico Boy serving as honorary walk chair in Marshall. Joyous, honestly. We've got our music going. We've got people dancing. We've got people walking around just excited to be here. While there's lots of smiles and laughter, Taylor wants people to check in on your loved ones, even teens. This is a real life thing that is happening every day.

There are one and three individuals that are dying, and teenagers especially that are dying each day. And if we do not ask for help or come as a resource for others, that there are going to be more and more people each year that are having suicidal thoughts or even taking their own life due to suicide. Bianca Holman, ABC 11, Eyewitness News. All right, Yanka, thank you for that report. Okay, Kate Roderson is here in studio. A few more days left to race for those Cains,

but we now know when game one of the Eastern Conference Finals will be. Yes, Game 1 Thursday, Eastern Conference Final. That might be more than a few days, Dewan. But you know what? We have a date on the calendar, and that's all that matters. Carolina Hurricanes still don't know if it's going to be Buffalo or Montreal if they face. But these guys got a game, and they have a reason to practice now. We're talking Cains, courage, and a little bit of baseball.

and we come back with sports. When we come back, a major traffic alert for drivers in Wake County, the stretch of the belt line that is closed for the weekend and what you need to know if you are in the area. And several towns in Wake County are on the list for the fastest growing neighborhoods in North Carolina. We'll tell you which.