ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at 11pm - September 19, 2026

Episode Date: September 20, 2026

Eyewitness News at 11pm - September 19, 2026 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. But thanks for joining us for this late edition of eyewitness news at 11. I'm Sean Coffey, Duane, has the night off. New tonight, a bomb threat forcing an evacuation at the target in Apex. Apex police evacuated that store while they responded to the threat. Police spent several hours searching the store before giving the all clear. We were there as workers were allowed to reenter the store and the store ultimately reopened. Also new tonight, first responders rushing to a crash on I-95 South in Cumberland County. This was the scene just south of Exit 65.

Our breaking news crew found that car in the wood line after the driver lost control and hit an embankment. That caused the car to go airborne, flipped several times and hit several trees before coming to a stop. The driver was pinned in and first responders used the jaws of life to get the driver out. He was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries. Highway Patrol believes a medical emergency caused the driver to lose control of the car. Tonight we continue to work to learn more about a tragic crash in Granville County that killed a Charlotte father, mother, and their young daughter. Our crew found debris left at the scene on I-85 near mile marker 196. Highway Patrol tells us that deadly crash happened around 4 o'clock this morning.

Authorities say Jason Nye hit a Providence Fire Department fire truck that was on the scene of an earlier accident. Nye, his wife, Christina, and their six-year-old daughter all died at the scene. The couple's 10-year-old son was airlifted to Duke Hospital. No one else was hurt. The investigation into that crash continues. Tonight, as we celebrate Hispanic and Latin Heritage Month, eyewitness news is learning more about ice activity in North Carolina and nationwide. The ABC News data team analyzed ICE arrest data from the deputies. deportation data project. They found ICE has detained more than 5,000 North Carolinians so far this year,

and more than 253,000 people nationwide. New tonight, John Dowding spoke with local advocates about how this activity is impacting mental health for those in the immigrant and refugee communities here in the Triangle. Back in November, Operation Charlotte's Web saw a surge of activity by immigration agents here in the Triangle. Now, we're learning more about ICE arrests that are continuing here in the triangle and the impact it's having on the immigrant community. We're definitely seeing increased activity with this. Advocates say an uptick in ICE activity is inciting fear and anxiety in immigrant communities. People with status are afraid to do things like drive because they think I'm going to get pulled over.

I'm going to get arrested and I'm going to get put into ICE custody. According to data from the deportation data project analyzed by the ABC News data team, this year, ICE detained more than 253,000 people across the country. ICE apprehended more than 5,000 people in North Carolina alone with the Raleigh area, seeing at least 441 arrests. What we're saying now is people who are getting detained at regular check-ins. Of those detained across the country this year, roughly 28% were convicted criminals, 30% had pending criminal charges, and more than 40% had no criminal history.

Because of this fear, it's having us. an effect overall in the quality of life of North Carolinians. Immigrant advocacy groups say the concerns in the community center around the fear of being out in public. The stress, the fear, the anxiety, the stigma, the things that really have prevented folks from getting the mental health care that they need have become more challenging. This growing fear comes as a new report highlights the mental health needs for North Carolina's immigrant and refugee communities.

Staff from El Futuro released the Immigrant Mental Health Solidarity Report. The report emphasizes the need to meet people where they are to lower the barrier for mental health access. Reimbrusing services such as home visiting and community health worker visits, supporting training for community health workers and peer support specialists that really highlight the particular needs of immigrant and refugee communities. The eyewitness do sent a Freedom of Information Act request to ICE and Border Patrol back in November asking for details about the detentions that happened here in the triangle during Operation Charlotte's Web. The Department of Homeland Security still has yet to respond to our request. In Raleigh, I'm John Dowding. ABC 11, eyewitness news.

New tonight, Google says it's artificial and intelligent system. All right, it's been a quiet evening across Central North Carolina tipters today reaching about 90 degrees. And as we go forward, we're expecting still some warm tipters on Sunday and Monday. Sunday is going to be a dry day. If you have any outdoor plans, it will be hot and humid, but still pleasant to be outside. Monday, most of the day is dry. It's late in the day we have a chance of storms. And Tuesday, that looks like that's going to be the start of the wetter days that will carry into Wednesday and Thursday.

By the way, Tuesday is the first official day of fall. You can see tipters will cool down into the low 80s, but eventually 70s later in the week. For tonight, just left with a few clouds around. Back to our west, there's been numerous showers and storms in the mountains, and we've We've seen some of those formed to our south as well today. Thankfully, we managed to stay dry outside of a few very early morning showers that we had this morning. By tomorrow morning, waking up dry temperatures will be in the 60s. It's going to be warm and humid stepping out the door, but again, not bad for this time of the year.

The afternoon it heats up mid to upper 80s. It'll be partly cloudy out there, but still plenty of sunshine. So if you have any outdoor plans for tomorrow, you're good to go. The warmest spots will be 90 in Raleigh and 89 in Fayetteville, Roxburgh. a little cooler at 87 degrees. And then, of course, as we go into next week, we are expecting a big cool down. The details on that coming up in your seven-day forecast just shortly.

Back to you, Sean. All right, we'll see you soon, Cruz. Thanks. New tonight, Google says its artificial intelligence system, Gemini, hacked into three companies. Google says it happened in May while the AI model was undergoing testing. According to Google, Gemini was given a fictional company to attack. However, that company shared name with a real company.

Google says the model gained access to that company, as well as two others by using passwords it found online or by guessing login information. According to Google, Gemini ended the attacks once the models realized it had hacked into those real companies. Google also says it notified the three companies and that the hacks did not cause any damage. President Donald Trump says he will address issues

surrounding artificial intelligence by creating an AI force in the same way he formed Space Force. He said he also plans to name an AI Tsar. The president's post on Truth Social comes just days after a former AI, researcher warned that artificial intelligence could wipe out the human race. The president saying those fears over AI are a hoax and he will not stifle growth in the industry.

Meantime, former President Barack Obama is weighing in on those AI concerns, saying AI companies should not be allowed to set their own regulations. Government has to be regulating this. I heard one of Donald Trump's main advisors on this make the... argument that the market will take care of it. These companies will solve the safety issues because they have very incentive to do so. If it turns out to be dangerous, people will just sue them and they're worried about financial liability.

That's not how we treat airlines or drug companies or food companies. Some of the heads of the most influential AI companies have called for more government regulation as AI continues to develop rapidly. And now to the latest on the war in Iran. Saudi Arabia says Iran-backed Houthis have attacked its capital with a ballistic missile. It's the first time Riyadh has been targeted since the escalation in fighting with the Tehran-backed rebels that's opened a new front in the Iran conflict. ABC's Perrin-Russam has more. As the war with Iran passes the 200-day mark, Saudi Arabia says Iranian-backed Houthis have a attacked facilities across the country, including the capital of Riyadh. On Saturday, the Saudis say they intercepted a ballistic missile fired toward the capital. A large plume of smoke could be

seen near the city's main airport after a series of explosions. The Saudis also say the Houthis tried to target civilians and civilian sites in the western region, but they were thwarted by its defense air systems. On Friday, the Houthis claimed the Saudis launched more than two dozen strikes in Yemen as air and ground operations intensified. The attacks raising concerns about security in Saudi Arabia, the wider conflict with Iran, as well as fuel prices. The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded nearing $450 a gallon, according to Gas Buddy. Americans like Brittany Bivens of North Carolina say they're feeling the pitch. I'm a teacher, so I don't make a lot of money.

It's really, you have to make a decision on gas, food, you know, the basics. The average price of diesel hitting a record average of 644 a gallon. President Trump insists the higher prices are a small price to pay to set back to Iran's nuclear program. I think most people, if they had a vote on lower gas prices or letting Iran have a nuclear weapon, I'd be willing to vote that it would be a massive landslide. People don't want to have Iran have a nuclear weapon. And you know what? They won't. And the war is going to end soon.

sources tell ABC News new estimates show the cost of the war has reached $43 billion, with just 45 days to go until the midterm elections. Perry Russum, ABC News, New York. A symbol associated with hate and anti-Semitism found in a local park. Coming up at 11, what we know about the swastika is painted on a sign in Clayton. And lacing up to end Alzheimer's, we take you to the walk happening in Moore County to help bring hope and support impacted by the disease. All right, tipters tonight are in the 70s.

As we go forward, we're expecting it to stay warm, but we'll get a cool down eventually, and that's going to bode well for us because that comes with some rain and the latest drought monitor here showing worsening drought conditions across Central North Carolina. We'll see how much rain we can get over the next seven days coming up after the break.

Tonight, Clayton police are investigating after someone drew swastikas on a sign at East Clayton Community Park. We're blurring out the images connected to the Nazi regime, and parks and recreation maintenance staff there have since removed those park signs. At this point, Clayton Police say the incident has not been classified as vandalism,

but they are reviewing the circumstances surrounding the imagery. Tonight, the North Carolina Central School of Law is mourning the death of one of its own. Professor Charles Smith passed away on September 15th at the age of 88. In 1973, he became one of the first black patent attorneys in the country. He joined NC Central School of Law back in 1979, where he made lasting contributions throughout his tenure. He also served in the military and was a Vietnam veteran. A celebration of life will be held next Saturday at noon at Kings Park International Church in Durham. Today, hundreds of people hit the streets in Pinehurst to help fight Alzheimer's.

Millions of families are impacted by the disease, and you can help bring hope and support to those facing this battle. ABC 11 is proud to partner with the Alzheimer's Association for the walk to end Alzheimer's. As Akila Davis reports, the first of those walks happened today in Mark County. Every stride is intentional as dozens race towards the finish line in hopes of improving the lives of those impacted by Alzheimer's and dementia. Susie has been living with the disease for four years. She's a real trooper. She understands the disease. She's living with that. And she's doing a wonderful job. Mike Rosper's wife, Sue, is this year's blue flower recipient. He says the days are tough as he watches the love of his life slip away. It's very difficult. Susie and I always try to look for the smiles every day, always find something good to say.

We always kiss each other good night. We always still kiss each other in the morning. But there's some difficult times where you just want to go out in the garage and just scream. ABC 11 is a proud sponsor of the Walk to End Alzheimer's Moore County at the San Hills Community College. This event raises awareness as more than 7 million Americans are living with a disease. and that includes 210,000 North Carolinians. My wife of almost 16 years died two months ago at age 55. Megan Mackey is heartbroken, but she's here in honor of her wife, Jamie.

She spent the last few years of their relationship as her primary caregiver. It just tore her brain apart. And it is just, it's like slowly watching someone just literally die before your eyes. The hope is that each step taken brings these families closer to better care and research for the disease. In Moore County, Akela Davis, ABC 11, eyewitness news. This was the first of three walks to end Alzheimer's. The next one is on Saturday, October 3rd in downtown Raleigh, and the third is scheduled for October 24th at Segra Stadium in Fayetteville. Again, ABC 11 is a proud sponsor.

All right, Cruz Medina joins us once again. Cruz, it was a nice day to go out for a walk. I was out at one of the festivals. We'll have more on that in just a little. bit here on the show, but a pretty nice end of summer day here. Absolutely, and we're going to see nice weather continue as we end out the weekend. But next week, Sean, we actually have some rain back in the forecast. And although that might seem unpleasant to some of you, we actually really could benefit

from the rain around here as drop conditions continue to worsen in Central North Carolina. The rain chance really peaks as we go into late Monday. That'll mainly be evening and overnight. By Tuesday, still dealing with scattered rain and storms. And then Wednesday and Thursday, that's just garden variety. showers, but it'll also be much cooler by then with highs in the 70s. Now for tonight, no rain to worry about. Most of the rain is focused back to our west that's in the mountains of North Carolina.

But first alert predictor will walk us through what to expect. Tipters in the overnight hours will only cool down into the 60s. It'll be a few degrees cooler than it was when you woke up this morning. We have a lot of sunshine as well, just a few clouds around. Then by the afternoon on Sunday, we push to near 90 degrees. So upper 80s in most spots, partly cloudy. late in the day, there will be a cluster of storms dropping in from the north. If you're watching from Roxborough or Burlington, you probably have the best chance of seeing any rain at all tomorrow.

But again, that chance very low. Those storms should be dying out as they move toward our region. Here's the breakdown. So if you're watching from our northern counties, that will be some of the cooler spots tomorrow. Still making it into the mid-80s. The triangle and the sand hills, upper 80s are expected. So a few spots could even be close to 90 degrees. That, of course, is very much above average for this time of the year. 82 is about our average high for this part of the month. Looking ahead into Monday, a front that pushed to our south yesterday. That's what brought the rain and storms. That's going to start to slowly lift back to the north.

It'll be hot and humid with scattered showers and storms. Tuesday it pushes a little farther to the south, so it can't really decide what it wants to do. It goes north just to move back south. It stalls out to our south. That's going to keep rain chances around. Scattered showers and storms likely on Tuesday. and because we're going to be south of that front, our winds will be coming out of the north. That is going to deliver some cooler fall-like air just as we go into the start of the fall season.

But with that front lingering around, the cooler temperatures, the cloud cover, the rain, all of that. We're expecting a decent amount of rain here. We're talking anywhere from one to two inches of rain over the next seven days. So that's not all going to fall on Tuesday. It's not all going to fall on Wednesday. It's not going to fall on Thursday. It's the cumulative amounts of rain that we're expecting those three days that are going to amount to that much here in central North Carolina. So again, that bodes well for the drought conditions that we're facing.

Tonight, though, no need to worry about the rain temperature's in Raleigh at 77 right now. By the time you wake up, we should be in the 60s. Your first solar, acuether seven-day forecast shows the big cool down that I was talking about. By Tuesday, already in the low 80s, that's the first official day of fall. If you're looking for the fall temperatures, they come Wednesday and Thursday all the way through the end of the week. So low 70s, Wednesday and Thursday with showers continuing, mid-70s for Friday and Saturday. Those days will feature a decent amount of sunshine. But again, fall is coming this week, and it looks like the tipters are certainly going to represent that.

Sean, back to you. All right, Cruz, thanks. A daytime exclusive is coming up Monday right here on ABC 11. Cameron Hall sits down with NBA champ Jalen Brunson. Coming up, we'll have a sneak peek of that conversation that. includes Brunson's parents. New tonight, the Tamarin Hall show has a daytime exclusive on Monday, a full hour with Nicks forward Jalen Brunson and his family.

It's their first sit down since the Knicks won the championship back in June. Reporter Nina Paneda got a special behind the scenes look. Cam Phams on its feet, a standing in studio ovation to welcome the first family in New York Sports meet the Brunson. He can dance. He can dance. Get up and dance. The Knicks captain who helped bring the NBA, back to the city for the first time in 53 years. His dad Rick and his mom, Sandra, opened up to Tamron Hall about family, their charity, and raising a champion.

What is something, one little snippet that was surprised you about this interview? He's a very quiet guy. Okay, so that surprised me. During the course of the interview, I was like, wait a minute, who am I talking to here? Because we know Jalen, as Rick said, is this steady, even unflappable person most time on that question. even though he's got that instinct of a champion. He's hilarious. Tamara discussed Jalen's star turn on the Emmy Awards with Nick's superfan Mariska Hargate, his upcoming stints on Law and Order, plus he's hosting Saturday Night Live. I'm excited and nervous. He told Tamron he'll stick with his main day job because despite those cameos,

Jalen is still not used to lights camera action. What's question for you? What's more intimidating being at the garden or an hour of TV on Tamron show? What's harder? TV for sure. Yeah, TV. That's why I knew you were going to ask him something like that. First of all, thank you for that and thank you to Jalen for saying that I'm tougher than a game in the garden.

But in truth, what's special about this team and this show is really that we're having a conversation? Our theme this year was, let's talk about it. I want you to be a part of this experience, and that really means so much to me when I'm preparing for the show. That was Nina Paneda reporting. You can watch Tamron Hall's exclusive interview on Monday at 2, right here on ABC 11. All right. Trayvon Miles joins us now with a look at what's to come in sports. And Trayvon, maybe a bit of a trigger warning for NC State fans, right? Tell me about it, Sean. You know, we're just in there watching the games, and we can't help but to talk about what happened with NC State and Nashville today.

If you are a Wolfpack fan, might want to close your eyes. I do want you to watch, but we got to go over some tough, harsh news. pack do the inevitable they lose today on the final play of the game we'll talk more about it when we come back to sports i'm going to show you something no ai no special effects just michael wadley in his own words grocery prices are down gasoline prices are down housing prices are down inflation is down unbelievable and so is this there is no inflation seriously i'm roy cooper and i approve this message because i know costs are way up and it's a senator's job to do something It's why I have a plan to make stuff costs less and you can read about it right here

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This killer had been arrested 14 times. Released from prison on Roy Cooper's watch. DeCarlos Brown stabbed a woman on a North Carolina train, murdering her in cold blood. Roy Cooper pushed to end cash bail. Cooper released 3,500 criminals from prison early. Roy Cooper is liberal and dangerous on crime. Michael Wadley will keep North Carolina families safe.

Wadley is tough on crime. No going backpacking is responsible for the content of this advertising. Lori Buckout isn't from around here, and it shows. Maybe that's why she supported a bill that could kick thousands of people in our communities off their health insurance. Cut food benefits for up to 60,000 area families and cause rural hospitals to close. Also, ultra-wealthy DC Insiders led Lori Buck out could get yet another tax cut. Lori Buckout just doesn't get East and North Carolina.

Lori Buck out just doesn't get us. I'm Don Davis, and I approve this message. It's Fall in America. Make it count at the Ram Drive into Fall Sales Event. Make it big power with RAM 1500. Make it last with America's most dependable full-size pickup. Make it big attitude with Ram heavy duty. Make it go the distance.

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