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

Episode Date: October 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. And right now at 11, Raleigh is hitting pause on data centers. Thanks for joining us here for the news at 11. I'm Steve Daniels. Lauren has the night off. Eyewitness news was there as the Raleigh City Council passed that six-month moratorium tonight by a seven-to-one vote. It's a pause that's supposed to give the city some more time to investigate the potential impact and develop an ordinance. But member mirrors of the community say a six-month ban really isn't long enough. Jemis Price joins us live now from Raleigh City Hall.

And Jemise, only one city council member voted against tonight's moratorium. Tell us more about what happened there. City Hall tonight. Steve, councilwoman Christina Jones voiced her concerns about the length of time of this moratorium, concerned about those six months. And it's the same concerns that folks in this community had tonight. as they packed those council chambers six months. They tell me just isn't long enough to do the research to find out more on those potential impacts.

But city leaders say they're not starting at square one. They've done the research. They've been doing this research well before this moratorium was introduced. Our future is not for sale. Community advocates pushed back against data centers and the city's temporary pause on them. During a rally, their concerns were made clear. Six months isn't long enough. There's a lot that the city does not know. Can it get all this information in six months? That becomes a really big question.

The same energy outside field council chambers Tuesday night. The debate over data centers had finally reached Raleigh. This moratorium doesn't have a conditionality about it. It's simply time. So in six months, whether or not the city is able to do what it says it's going to do, moratorium ends. In a 7 to 1 vote, the city council approved a temporary pause on data centers development, a move that some say doesn't go far enough. What is the harm in giving roll any more time? We have a city of nearly half a million people and there's still a massive knowledge gap about what data centers can meet for our communities. And somehow six months is enough. We're asking for 32

months. The moratorium would temporarily suspend development approvals of data centers with footprints exceeding 10,000 square feet. City officials say Raleigh's current regulations do not contain standards tailored to large-scale data centers. The pause will give the city time to study the impacts and determine whether new regulations are needed. Six months is not enough time to make decisions that impact not only the day-to-day of citizens, but also their lifetimes and future generations. The people of our city and especially those of Southeast really deserve to have a proper state in the creation of policies and actions around the data centers and this six-month plan will not allow that to happen.

Councilwoman Christina Jones raised concerns and potential challenges with the current moratorium. She was the only one to vote no on the council. We are in the small shortest and that's something that we have to say to the public then if we can we're going to prove that we can do it. I understand that the line is here. The struggle for me is that I don't know exactly what and I have I know we're going to have this conversation later, but we're making decision now. And that moratorium takes effect tonight and will continue through April. Now, city leaders are promising nearly a dozen opportunities for public comment,

but folks in the community want a dialogue. They want a conversation surrounding this moratorium and data centers moving forward. Steve. A six-month pause for now. The conversation will continue in the months ahead. Jemis, thank you. Let's turn to the weather right now in a tropical depression in the southwestern part of the Gulf. could become the first hurricane of the Atlantic hurricane season by Thursday.

That system is expected to bring flooding rain and powerful wind and storm surge to areas from southern Louisiana over to the Florida panhandle and potentially rain here in North Carolina. But right now it isn't exactly known how strong the system could become or where exactly it'll hit. Let's get over to Chief Meteorologist John Schweniker for the first alert weather forecast. What are you seeing right now? What are the models telling you about this? Just got the 11 o'clock update in. I just updated it right now.

So it'll show it to you as we're getting it. This is still a tropical depression. Number nine, winds are gusting around 35 miles an hour, or gusting to 45. Now it is expected to become Hurricane Issaia sometime on Thursday afternoon, at least at this point, could become a cat too by Friday, making landfall somewhere near Biloxi, Mississippi, or anywhere from the eastern parishes of Louisiana to the western panhandle of Florida tonight. So that really hasn't changed much. It does go a little bit further to the west, drawing that moisture away from our mountains a little

bit. A look at all of the model plots. The red line here. This is the National Hurricane Center straight line. Most of the models tonight have trended a little further to the west. So I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow we see this coming to the west a little bit if those models continue to agree with it. As far as rainfall goes, well, you can see the low really starting to form down here. This is Friday at 5 o'clock. It starts to make landfall by Saturday at lunchtime. The thing that's changed for us tonight, this has actually slowed down some of the showers. And it looks like Saturday is going to remain mainly rain free. Still some cloud cover working through. Then as we get into Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon, that's when we'll see the bulk of that shower activity work through. Tonight,

though, we are clear in those clear skies. You're going to slam the temperatures down. Coldest night since June, 57 clear skies under northeast wind at five as we look ahead and fast forward forecast. Tonight, we saw 73 for the high today. We'll drop into the 40s for lows as we go into tomorrow that sunshine will warm us into the 70s after the. that chilly start and it will be a very nice day. We'll talk more about that, more on the track of the storm, and our first alert to your seven day forecast coming up in just a bit.

Steve. Okay, Tom, we'll see you soon. A veteran Raleigh police detective is getting ready for his first court appearance tomorrow after getting fired from the RPD today following a bar fight in Wake Forest last night. 32-year-old Christopher Reed is facing several charges, including assault causing physical injury

to emergency personnel and assault on a law enforcement officer. Wake Forest police responded to the Carolina Alehouse on North Park Drive about two 215 this morning. When they arrived, they learned the restaurant's manager asked Reed, who was off duty at the time to leave because he was being disruptive. As Reid was leaving, he allegedly tried to hit two customers and assaulted the manager. A short time later, officers found Reed walking along Capitol Boulevard and they say he had injuries sustained after he tried to jump a barbed wire fence. Investigators say he then assaulted a Wake County EMS worker and threatened a Wake Forest police officer. Reed was taken into custody and taken to the Wake County Jail. He has now been released on bond.

He's still in court tomorrow afternoon. A spokesperson for the Carolina Alehouse sharing a statement with eyewitness news saying, we're so sorry this happened and we are cooperating with officers on this investigation. We're in the process of turning over camera footage. The safety of our team members and guests are always of utmost importance, and we are making sure all team members are taken care of. We'll bring you updates tomorrow here on eyewitness news after his Wake County Court appearance. A Chatham County daycare worker has been arrested and charged with seven misdemeanor counts of child abuse.

A parent reached out to us here at eyewitness news saying his 15-month-old daughter was abused at Amazing Explorers Academy in Chatham Park in Pittsburgh. Arrest warrants show Villaletta Wollovich is facing charges in connection with the alleged incident that happened last week. The documents alleged Wollovich jerked the child off the ground, slammed her body down on a sleeping bag on the floor several times, put her hands over the child's mouth and slapped the child on the back. The child's father says it was another parent who alerted him to the alleged abuse. We've reached out to amazing explorers for comment about the arrest and to Wolovic as well. We'll let you know what we find out. New here at 11, the White County Sheriff's Office has identified the man who was killed in an accident involving a garbage truck.

This happened about 920 this morning on Lower Creek Court in the Deerfield Park neighborhood in Apex. We had Chopper 11 overhead as the investigation was unfolding. The sheriff's office says an employee named William Young was killed. Details about what caused the accident are unclear tonight, but we know the sheriff's office is now working with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. New here at 11, a third person has now been arrested in charge in connection with the murder of two men in Goldsboro earlier this year. Investigators with the Goldsboro Police Department have now identified JDV on Barry as a suspect,

and they've charged him with several counts of murder and felony conspiracy. Back in August, Goldsboro Police found Nasir Green and Tristan Mason dead from gunshot wounds. Investigators have also charged two other people. Today's arrest was made with help from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in Norfolk, Virginia. where Barry was located. Happening tomorrow, state lawmakers are gathering in Raleigh for a special session, focused on tackling rising gas prices in North Carolina because of the war with Iran. They may decide to suspend the state gas tax, and that is 41 cents a gallon.

According to AAA Carolina, the average price for a gallon of gas right now is 409 for diesel. That jumps to $6. By comparison, last year, those prices were 282 and 348, respectively. According to the NCDOT, that agency could lose upwards of $225 million. if the gas taxes suspended for 30 days because that tax that tax accounts for 40% of DOT revenue. Still to come here at 11, we're following a major event happening in Durham tonight. It's the Durham Police Department's National Night Out, and we're hearing from the new police chief, Stephanie Martis,

about the event that law enforcement says is really vital to strengthening its relationship with the community. And we're also learning the Army's execution date for Fort Hood shooter Nadal Hassan. He'll be executed by firing squad after getting convinced. for committing the deadliest mass shooting ever on an American military base. Those details coming up. And Don's with us checking on the temperatures that are feeling different out there tonight. Oh, yeah, it's cooler out there tonight. Numbers running in the 50s.

It'll be a cool start tomorrow. And, of course, we're watching that weekend rain. We'll break both those down for you in your first alert forecast next. We are local news. ABC 11 eyewitness news continues now. Tonight, neighborhoods across the Bull City held events for national 9. night out and the Durham Police Department had its own event at their downtown headquarters. Michael Perchick talked with officers, including the new police chief, Stephanie Martas. He joins

the slide now. She talked about the importance of getting out there and meeting Durham residents, many for the first time tonight. Yes, Steve, she was sworn in just last month. So for many folks who came out this evening, this was their first opportunity to meet her in person, presenting an important opportunity for the chief to start building those relationships. Durham will be my forever home and I am going to be a part of this community. Chief Stephanie Martis walking through the parking lot Tuesday before hopping around some of the 51 neighborhood national night out events across the Bull City. From the Birch Avenue community to Oakwood Park, people enjoying music, games and the chance

to connect in a different way with officers. It's important for us to put the work in on the front end. We don't want to get to know the community right in the middle of a critical incident. So we have to leverage those times where it's relaxed and fun and an inviting environment to create those relationships because it pays dividends. That's also top of mind for Sharika Wright, runs divine wisdom intervention. I've been where they are. And so being though I've walked in that path, it's easier for me to go out with assistance.

She's faced mental health challenges. Now her agency offers a range of support services. Just to be able to assist because there's so much going on in the world. Help people find resources for housing for food transportation. National Night Out is aimed at promoting crime prevention strategies, enhancing community partnerships and strengthening neighborhood unity. We could come out to a community to help and love on each other, encourage each other what we can do to save each other to stop the violence. DPD has made progress on several fronts in tackling violent crime. Year to date, homicides, robberies, burglary, breaking and entering and motor vehicle.

thefts are all down, but other trends are heading the wrong way, with increased reports of forcible rape and victims of aggravated assault. This is just another opportunity so we can gain that trust for people feel comfortable, giving us information that will lead to arrest in this city. And so it's important for us to be approachable and to have that sense of trust and transparency. In Durham, I'm Michael Perchick, ABC 11, eyewitness news. Michael, thanks. New at 11, a North Carolina man is heading to federal prison tonight for one of the

most brazen music fraud schemes in history and artificial intelligence made it possible. 54-year-old Michael Smith was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison in order to repay more than $8 million. Prosecutors say Smith used AI to generate hundreds of thousands of fake songs and then used up to 10,000 bot accounts to stream those songs billions of times. The result, more than $8 million in fraudulent royalty payments diverted away from real musicians. To put that scale in perspective, in one month alone, Smith's bot streamed his fake music, point nine million times. That's nearly nine times more than Taylor Swift's entire catalog received during that same month. New here at 11, the Army has set an execution date for Fort Hood shooter

Nadal Hassan. According to a memo from acting army secretary Adam Tell, Hassan will be executed by firing squad on December the 3rd at Fort Hood in Texas. Hassan was convicted. You might remember of the 2009 Fort Hood shooting that killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 others. It was the deadliest mass shooting on an American military base in history. Now at 11 from the I-Team Troubleshooter, the North Carolina Attorney General says the state's fight is far from over against the Raleigh-based wedding photography company that shut down and is accused of not providing products and services to dozens of couples. The judge granted a default judgment against Holly Christina photography and its owners. But Attorney General Jeff Jackson says if the company owners do not comply with that judgment, contempt is the next step. And that could be civil or criminal. It's up to the judge.

On Monday, a judge ordered a default judgment in A.G. Jackson's civil lawsuit that accused A. and its owners of failing to deliver services and products customers paid for. Since January, we've been investigating HCP after hearing from dozens of brides who said they paid HCP thousands of dollars to document their wedding and it either didn't happen or they did not get the pictures in the video HCP captured. As part of that default judgment, a judge ordered HCP to pay $600,000 in restitution to those impacted customers and to provide the couples with the photos and the video from their wedding day.

For more on this developing story, you can go to our website, ABC11.com or our streaming app. Tomorrow is day eight of jury selection in the Faith Hedgepeth murder trial. She was the UNC student murdered in her off-campus apartment in 2012. The jury is now seated, and they're working to find a fourth alternate juror in Durham. Prosecutors and defense lawyers still have to decide on one more alternate juror before opening statements can begin. This long process is wearing on people in the courtroom, people yawning and stretching as potential alternates are questioned. The opening statements could begin tomorrow if that alternate is selected in the morning.

In Chapel Hill, UNC football is hiring a national search firm to find coach Bill Belichick's next general manager. The tire heels have retained ZRG turnkey to lead that search for a permanent general manager. The announcement comes five weeks after Michael Lombardi resigned during an internal investigation there at the university. In the meantime, former Michigan football GM and Navy veteran Sean McGee will serve as an interim consultant supporting Bill Belichick and the athletic director at Carolina, Steve Newman. mark as that search moves forward. ZRG Turnkey is no stranger to executive job placement in the world of sports. The firm's recent college football clients include Wake Forest, Miami, Penn State, Florida, and also Michigan. All right now, more on the temperatures outside tonight.

A lot of people are going to be waking up and wondering what's happening. It's going to be a little chillier. It is. This is going to be a cool morning tomorrow. We'll start the day in the 40s. Normal is 55, so anywhere from 5 to 10 degrees below average. But by Thursday, we're back above that. average into the 80s when normally we should be in the 70s.

Looking ahead, the what's next? The one big thing to take away from tonight? Well, it's actually, I guess, two big things. Warmer and then rain working in. It'll be warmer the next couple of days rain on Sunday. No rain on the first alert Doppler. Tonight we are dry. Looking live in North Hills, 54 now clear skies and a northeast wind at five miles per hour. Maniota Murphy tonight, 60 down at the coast, already in the 40s up in Boone, 55. in Asheville, 61 in Charlotte and 60 in Lumberton.

We'll drop into the 40s across the area tonight. Roxborough flirting with the 30s, 46 in Durham, 48, Raleigh, 44 Sanford, and 50 in Fayetteville. We look to tomorrow that wake-up forecast and the fitness forecast. Good morning, go for a walk or run. We'll warm, though, by lunchtime we're almost 70 degrees. Satellite radar composite is clear across the Carolinas tonight. We zoomed down.

All eyes are on this part of the Gulf, as we continue to watch what will become tropical storm Issa ESA EUS tomorrow. And then it turns into a hurricane, the first hurricane of the season. This will be the latest we've ever seen a hurricane form in a season. Your first alert predictor forecast model shows the clouds start to roll in tomorrow or stay away tomorrow by 5 o'clock. We're in the 70s.

And then on Thursday, we see those clouds start to roll back in. And this will be out ahead of the rain from ESA. EIS, but that doesn't arrive until Sunday. Forecast looks like this for tomorrow. 77 Raleigh, 76 Durham, 77 in Fayetteville. Your first alert, seven-day forecast, powered by ACU weather, warming it up. Hotest day of the week is on Thursday, 84. Friday clouds continuing to stream in from the south, 80 Saturday.

Those clouds are with us. We bump the rain chances pretty much out of Saturday now. I think Sunday will be wet around here, and it could linger into Monday morning, Tuesday, partly cloudy 81. Again, this all depends on the path. of Issa Eus, if it goes a little further west, that could change things or if it slows down. So stay with us. We'll keep you updated. As we know the information, we'll get it to you. A little uncertain right now, so we'll stay tuned in the days ahead. Thanks.

Still ahead, we're taking a look at a New Hampshire fisherman who made a pretty huge catch. We've got all the details on this bluefin tuna breaking records. After weighing in at more than a half a ton, I will tell you where all that sushi may be headed now. And a reminder, you can find eyewitness news live here on ABC 11, Disney Plus, and wherever you stream. witness news. We are local news weeknights four to six 30 and 11. All right, we are back now with tonight's top trending stories in the real news segment. First, a fishing trip off New Hampshire turned out to be one for the record books. A captain and his charter guest reeled in a blue fin tuna right here weighing more than a half a ton shattering a state record that has stood in that part of the

northeast for more than a decade now. That tuna weighing in exactly at 1,116 pounds. It was caught by Captain Jamie Savage and his charter guest Brandon McGurl. Now it heads to the market where it could be sold as far away as Japan. Yeah, they're thinking about some great-looking sushi over there in Japan right now. But the tuna's tail will remain at the harbor as a trophy to remember that record-breaking catch. Now from that record-setting fish to some tiny kittens on an extra special field trip. Yeah, these kittens had a pretty fun day at school, you might say. Take a look at this video showing more than a dozen rescue kittens on a field trip. to see life at Mall of America.

They're actually from a no-kill shelter in Minnesota called the Biddy Kitty Brigade, which is a nonprofit that cares for orphaned neonatal kittens until they are ready to be adopted. Apparently, the brigade takes them on some adventures, too. Fortunately for the fish, there was a little glass protecting them from those little kittens. All right, take a look at this. One man has parked his way onto the list of Philly Grades after rounds of tight spaces and distractions. and some serious curbside pressure. This guy named Mario Zuka was declared the winner

of the first ever Philadelphia Parallel Parking Championship. Mario, aka one-shot Marr, won the competition, driving this 2012 Mazda hatchback that has 155,000 miles on it. There were different challenges here in this thing. He had to get through, including parking under active pressure from a lot of distractions and getting closest to the curb. Mario says the trick is when you're parallel parking, really visualizing.

where you're trying to go, a lot of spatial awareness, and he says the timing is critical to your successful parallel party. In this news, I'm glad you joined us. We'll see you tomorrow. Good night.