ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at 4pm - February 13, 2026

Episode Date: February 13, 2026

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Next here at four, we are following several developing stories. Yeah, it's a pretty heavy news day and we're going to walk you through it all. We're live in Durham as this mother faces charges. She's accused of killing her own child and trying to kill another young child. What neighbors are telling us about that family. And a Wake County judge handing down five consecutive life sentences for Raleighamash shooter Austin Thompson without the possibility of parole, the husbands of two of the victims sharing with eyewitness news what this means as they attempt to move forward.

And we have live team coverage of president. and Trump's visit to Fort Bragg this afternoon, the thank you he delivered to soldiers for their mission that captured the Venezuelan president. IWitness News at 4 o'clock begins right now. Right now, live coverage from your local news leader, keeping you connected to your community and your first alert forecast. Here's what's happening where you live. This is ABC 11. I Witness News. Now it for a tragic story unfolding in Durham. This mother now charged with killing her young son, a second child also injured. And we begin with that heartbreaking story on this Friday. I'm Amber Repenta. Hi, everyone. I'm Steve Daniels. Barbara has the day off.

41-year-old Andrea Faust was arrested this morning after Durham police found two young children unresponsive at their home in East Durham. She is now charged with first-degree murder and also attempted first-degree murder. Cindy Bay is live in that neighborhood near NC-98. With some details you're learning from neighbors today, Cindy. Yeah, Steve and Amber, this is just also tragic. Some neighbors say Andrea, excuse me, Faust was a mother of two young boys. I'm told that they're both under the age of five

and that the oldest one was killed. We're still waiting for an update on the condition of the youngest child, but police say Faust tried to kill him. A tragic scene at this neighborhood in East Durham where police say two small children were found unresponsive at this. home on Chartwell Court Thursday evening. The mother of the children, Andrea Faust, is now charged

with killing one child in trying to kill the other. Neighbors say the two were brothers. Durham Public Schools confirmed with eyewitness news they were not of school age. After the second child was born, I knew she was under more stress than normal, but she was in awesome, very nice, caring, love to children very much. So this is a great shock. Now it's unclear whether the father of the children were home at the time of the incident. We're still working to learn the circumstances surrounding the incident, but we just heard from the next door neighbor just a few minutes ago. And so we'll have more on what they're saying about what they know about Faust ahead on eyewitness News at 5 in Durham. Cindy Bay, ABC 11 eyewitness news. All right. We look

forward to hearing more from you at five, especially what neighbors have to say. I'm sure in shock. Cindy, thank you. And New at 4, we have some new details on another tragedy unfolding in our area this week. The Vance County Sheriff's Office releasing some new information as it continues investigating the deaths of two teenagers found in their home on Monday night. Authorities say they're still waiting for the cause of death of the 13-year-old girl and her 17-year-old brother. Authorities now tell us four other children, ages 12, 13, 16, and 17. All siblings were present at the time of the children's death in that home, as well as their first. father. They say there's no known threat to the public, but no one has been arrested.

A teacher with the Chatham County School is facing charges for allegedly being caught with child pornography. Today, 40-year-old Christopher Rex was arrested at an apartment complex on NC-54 in Carborough. According to court documents, Rex allegedly downloaded several illegal images of children online. He is a teacher at one academy in Siler City. According to the district, Rex has now been placed on mandatory leave without pay. He is also currently being held without bond and facing 10 charges of sexual exploitation of a minor, and he is expected in court on Monday. Of life without the possibility of parole in the custody of the Department of Adult Corrections.

Life without the possibility of parole in the custody of Department of Corrections. Life without the possibility of parole. Life without the possibility of parole. Life without the possibility of parole of 150. And you can see a lot of reaction there. a very emotional morning inside of a Wake County courtroom today. Austin Thompson that confessed Raleigh Mass Shooter sends us to five life sentences in prison without parole. A judge handed down that sentence, as you heard for the October 13th to 2022 shooting spree in the Headingham neighborhood.

As you know, it took the lives of Nicole Conner's Mary Marshall, Susan Carnitz, Raleigh police officer Gabe Torres, and Austin Thompson's own brother, 16-year-old James Thompson. Elena Athens, live now at the Wake County Justice Center. I know you've been hearing from a lot of people who have new reaction from from loved ones. of those victims. This has been a long waiting day, nearly four years, Elena. Yeah. And I don't really know that many of the loved ones of the victims felt full or felt full closure after getting that sentence. They say it certainly helps. Austin Thompson really was looking straight on as life sentence after life sentence was issued. His parents were sitting just a

few rows back and I did see his mother cry at one point. The parents were led out of the courtroom through a side door. They did not comment on the sentence or the judge's harsh words. Defendants' crime were the product of months of fantasizing, planning, and preparation, and not the product of transient immaturity. The judge called Austin Thompson a callous, highly intelligent person who understood his actions and the risks. Love ones of other victims comforted each other as the punishment was issued. Officer Gabriel Torres' wife cried through the entire sentencing. Several Raleigh police officers were also in the courtroom in honor of the fallen officer. Some of the victim's loved ones

were too upset to speak with us after the sentencing, but Susan Connors and Susan Karnese's husbands spoke about the court's decision to issue the harshest sentence possible. When I tried to go to sleep at the end of October 13th, I knew that Sue wasn't coming home ever. And, and I was, I was, And I knew that the police had caught the person who killed her and that he was probably never going to go free. And the court confirmed that today. It doesn't bring anyone back, but no. It's a step closer to, just to step closer to everything being over with. So Thompson is going to be transferred to an adult correctional facility.

He's been at a juvenile detention center all of this time awaiting this hearing in the Cumberland County area. ahead at five, what the judge noted was particularly concerning and that he gave some weight to in online searches in just the three months or, you know, two months right before that mass shooting took place. So we're going to walk you through that ahead at five o'clock. For now we're live in Raleigh, Elena, Athens, ABC 11, eyewitness news. All right, we'll be diving into the judge's thinking in coming up with that sentence next hour. We'll see you then, Elena, thank you. And eyewitness news has been covering this trial with a live blog. It's a great way to look back and read up on how we got to today's sentencing. You can take out your phone. You can scan the QR code there

right on your screen. It'll take you to the webpage, or you can find it on the front page of ABC11.com. Now to the presidential visit at Fort Bragg this afternoon, President Trump, the First Lady and the Defense Secretary Pete Hague Seth meeting with soldiers and their families. The president making this visit to honor members of the special forces who stormed into Venezuela last month in Wistoway, Nicholas Maduro, the leader of the South American country to face drug smuggling charges back in the United States. We want to show you the live feed, coming in, Air Force One. They're on the ground at Pope Army Airfield right next to Fort Bragg. The First Lady and the President will be hopping on board Air Force One, leaving in the moments ahead.

They're heading down to West Palm Beach for the weekend. And we have live team coverage of the presidential visit to Fort Bragg. Penelope Lopez is on post. Akila Davis is in Fayetteville. Let's begin with Penelope. Good afternoon. You know, Pope Army Airfield was filled with service members today. and their families, in addition to that White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles was also there. Trump touted the success of this operation, though dozens of Venezuelans and Cuban military personnel were killed. No U.S. force were killed. Last month, we proved this truth once again when some of our greatest soldiers right here to ever live, frankly, successfully captured the outlaw dictator of Venezuela, Nicholas Maduro.

Tonight, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visited Fort Prague, the largest military installation in the world to spend time with military families. We have the strongest military in the world. By far, we have the best equipment. We have the greatest people, soldiers. Trump honored special forces members who carried out Operation Absolute Resolve in Venice. Venezuela, capturing Nicolas Maduro and his wife last month to face smuggling charges in the United States. Fort Bragg is home to the Joint Special Operations Command, which oversaw the mission. Delta Force operators rehearsed the extradition in a full-scale replica of Maduro's

compound, practicing the layout in total darkness. Today, soldiers from the 18th and 82nd airborne divisions and their families filled Pope Army airfield as Trump delivered his remarks. Your commander in chief, I'm so proud of you all. And so let me begin by saying a very, very big thank you to our great warriors and the men and women of the United States Army. Unbelievable. And this visit also coincides with the start of early voting here in North Carolina. Trump endorsed candidate. Michael Watley was also on stage.

We'll have more from his remarks and President Trump's remarks later in our show at 5. Live on Fort Bragg, Penelope Lopez, ABC 11. eyewitness news. All right, we'll see you in an hour with more there from Fort Bragg. Penelope. Thank you. All right, let's go to Akela Davis now live in Fayetteville, hearing from people reacting to the visit. So Akela, what are they telling you there? Mm-hmm. You know, if you live here in Fayville, you know, just about everyone is military connected. We're hearing from people on both sides of the aisle about President Trump's visit. Inside Fayetteville staple, the Rainbow Restaurant. Customers enjoyed their

hot meals for lunch. It was a mixed crowd with a variety of opinions and political views. The bus around town was the president's visit as he and the first lady, along with the Secretary of War, met with Fort Bragg soldiers. I spoke with two women who had different thoughts about this visit. Oh, I think the military families are going to be so excited to see him and the fact that he cares enough to come and thank them personally for all that they did. I respect the idea. He's the president and this he comes to, he's here to uplift the soldiers. which is good, but in the meantime, I'll leave it at that. I'm not that thrill. So ahead at five, more reaction from these women,

plus what the Fayetteville Police Department is saying about the counter protests that are actually scheduled for six this evening. Reporting live in Fairville, Akela Davis, ABC 11, eyewitness news. Akila Davis, getting the reaction of people there from our Fayetteville newsroom right on Hay Street and talking to people around town.

Akela, we'll see again soon, thank you. There are new developments in the Green Beret murder in Cumberland County. Coming up new here at 4 o'clock, more than a year after he was murdered. A grand jury has now indicted Clint Bonnell's wife for his death. We have the details ahead. Also coming up here, there is a new tip line open in Garner as police work to solve the murder of this father of five. At a busy intersection earlier this week, he was shot to death inside that red car. And Don is keeping an eye on the Friday afternoon drive home right now.

Yeah, we're taking a live look at I-40 at Wade Avenue right now. Volume is up on both sides, but it continues to move along. on both sides. As we hit a break here, your traffic hotspots brought to you by the First Alert Weather Team. The ABC 11 First Alert Forecast Team is working to keep you safe. Oneies across the region. Some cloud cover starting to build. That rain is going to push on through. A cold air coming in. The First Alert Forecast Team. Only on ABC 11, eyewitness News. IWitness News. We are Local News Weeknights 4 to 630 and 11. New here at four, there is a sign.

North Carolina has now turned the corner on flu season. WakeMed is lifting flu restrictions, effective Monday. Children of all ages who are not sick can return to all hospital nursing units in patient care areas across WakeMed. The hospital system says a decrease in people sick with respiratory illness is the reason behind this return to normal visitation. The visitor restrictions have been in place since December. Now to some other local headlines in your speed feed this Friday.

First, a Cumberland County ground jury has indicted Shane a Cloud. for first degree murder in the death of her husband, retired Green Beret Clint Bonnell. Bonnell was last seen January 27th, 2025. On February 25th, Sheriff's deputies found his torso in a pond. The autopsy showed Bonel was shot four times. The rest of his remains have never been found. Shana Cloud's trial date is expected sometime in 2027.

And right now you can watch the ABC 11 True Crime Green Beret murder documentary. What happened to Clint Bonnell on our website, ABC 11. A celebration of life for Joey Adams will be held tomorrow at Lake Benson Park in Garner. Adams, a father of five, was found dead inside his car on timber drive near Vandora Springs Road on Monday. Police say he had been shot and so far there have been no arrest. Garner Police have now set up an anonymous tip line in the case. The number is listed there on the screen. It's 911 890-7318. And we are working to learn more about a fire that damaged a home

in Raleigh today. Chopper 11 was over the scene as firefighters responded to the 500 block of Transylvania Avenue. That's inside the belt line just off of Glenwood Avenue. You can see the hole in the roof there from the fire. There's no word on whether anyone was injured or what started it. And that is your Friday Speed feed. Steve, back to you. Okay, Amber, we have our eye on the economy this afternoon and the prices were paying for a lot of things. Inflation was actually lower than expected last month. That's according to some new data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Consumer Price Index shows Prices rose 2.4% in January from a year earlier, and that's down sharply from the 2.7% annual rate in December.

This better than expected report is largely driven by the cost of energy falling 1.5% last month, and rent prices rising by just 0.2% over the month prior. The cost of food and groceries also increased by 0.2%. You can put the ABC11 price tracker to work for you by going to ABC11.com. Search price tracker, and then type in your area. You can look at grocery prices, housing, or utilities, see how the cost of living has changed for households like yours. The Department of Homeland Security is out of time.

Democratic senators in Washington blocked a funding bill for it on Thursday. All other government agencies have been fully funded through September, but money for DHS got held up after Democrats demanded reform in the immigration enforcement operations. They took that position after federal agents killed two people in Minneapolis last month. Nearly all DHS workers will remain on the job, but many won't get paid until Congress does pass a new funding bill. Agencies like FEMA, the TSA and Coast Guard will be impacted. The deadline to fund DHS is actually tonight.

The Navy is now sending a second aircraft carrier group over to the Middle East. According to a senior administration official, the Pentagon, is now deploying the USS Gerald Ford, its most advanced carrier group. The move comes amid President Trump's continued talks with Iran over the country's nuclear weapons program and continued talks of a potential strike against Iran if a weapons deal is not reached. Trump says he is hoping to reach a deal with Tehran, Tehran over the next month. He has warned of steep consequences for Iran if an agreement is not made.

Five, four, three, two. And the liftoff, go Falcon, go Dragon, and Godspeed. Yeah, what you're seeing there, the replacements for the astronauts involved in NASA's first medical evacuation on their way back up to the International Space Station. SpaceX launched the fresh crew today from Florida. The four astronauts representing our country and France and Russia should reach the orbiting lab tomorrow. They'll fill the vacancies left by their evacuated colleagues. It never gets old watching those launches. I always geek out watching it.

It is spectacular, especially here in North Carolina when we can see it streaming across the sky on occasion. Yeah, I saw a couple pictures come in from viewers this morning. We were able to see it going up. And we've got some nice weather on the way tonight, some warmer weather on the way, but first we've got to get through a wet Sunday. Let's talk about it all right now. Live look on first alert Doppler, that scanning. This guy's not seeing any rainfall out there. We'll stay rain-free for any Friday evening activities.

Let's take a look at what's going on. Live look out of the Deepak. They do not have a show tonight. I don't believe tomorrow night need to breeze in town. 50 degrees right now. Sunny skies in a north wind at five miles an hour. 50 Nightdale, Raleigh, Morrisville, Durham, 49 in Zebulon and Rollsville, 51 in Chapel Hill. Zoom it out, 45 Oxford, Rhone Oak Rapids, 4.5.

49 in Rocky Mount. 53 out in Siller City. A degree cooler down in Fayetteville of 52, 48 in Goldsboro, and 50 in Smithfield. Let's first alert you to the evening ahead. If you get plans outside tonight, those temperatures will fall through the 40s. Time we go on for ABC 11 at 11. We're down around freezing. We're going to drop into the 20s again tonight.

It'll be another cold night. A little below average for this time of year under clear skies, but we don't anything frozen out there. Satellite radar composites dry across our area. It looks like I forgot to turn it on. I still have a lot of clouds across the Carolinas today. You have to go all the way up into upstate New York and Pennsylvania to find some clouds. Out west, we're starting to see some clouds working to West Texas. That's the next system that will race across the country and bring us to showers on Sunday.

Your first alert, predictor forecast monoton. Let's walk you through the next 48 hours. And tonight, 11 o'clock, we're down around freezing just above it. But any Friday evening plans look great. Then as we head through tomorrow, you'll start off Chile, 20s and 30s early in the morning. We recovered to the 60s, though, lots of sunshine in the afternoon. So if you've got Valentine's Day plans with the sweetie or maybe you've got to take the kids to the park or the dog for a walk, anything outside look great, especially in the afternoon. My honey do list is to work on my garage.

I don't know if I'll get it done or not. We'll have to wait and see. Because Sunday, Sunday's not the day to work outside. Now, we'll start off relatively dry just a few scattered clouds around the region. But look at the heavy rain roll in on Sunday. That's when we will see heavier showers in the afternoon. It's going to be all rain. I stopped at a store today and the lady said,

is it going to be snow? No snow with this one. Just showers working through as we head into the afternoon. And then you could even have a rumble of thunder through the evening hours. This will clear out, though, as we head into Monday morning. As far as rain, the American model showing around an inch to an inch and a half. American model keeps it a little drier down here. So does the European model.

You'll notice it does keep a little bit of a dry area down to our Goldsboro. But we need as much rain as we can get. We need it spread out. So it's got plenty of time to work into the ground. And so we'll be watching that as we head into the weekend. For tomorrow, 61 degrees in Raleigh, Durham of 63 in Fayetteville. Seven-day forecast shows those temperatures in the 50s with the soaking rain on Sunday. Monday, 56, Tuesday, 65.

Oh, my. Then three days in a row at 70 or higher. Yeah, going to feel nice around here. by the end of next week. Do I have any days off I can use next Wednesday or Thursday? I think you're going to want to try and do that next week. I'm telling you. Make a tea time or something. Absolutely. Starting on Tuesday, nice. Let us know how you do with that honey-do list too. It's so long. Okay. Good luck. Yeah. New here at four o'clock. A local chef in Wake County is getting ready to

celebrate his heritage and we're all invited. Coming up, we have details of the Ramadan feast. Paragreen is now adding to the menu. Plus the consumer alert that Friday a baby bath seat is on the recall list due to the risk of injury and even death. What you need to know is straight ahead. And Senator Bernie Sanders delivering an endorsement here in the triangle today's early voting continues. How his support could give Nita Lom a boost in her congressional race. New here for the chef and co-owner of Peregrine in Midtown Raleigh is ready to celebrate his culture through food during Ramadan. Safe Raman will offer a special $75 three-course Iftar menu throughout Ramadan.

which runs February 17th through March the 19th. The meal will begin with dates and water, followed by snacks and hardier dishes, shared family style. For Muslims, Ramadan is a time of fasting from dawn until dusk. Spiritual purification and heightened focus on caring and sharing with others. All right, let's check out some news you can use right now. And one local fast food restaurant chain that has spots all over the country is now promising not to nuke anything. We're talking about steak and shake.

They say they're throwing out all their microwaves from all. all locations by April. It's not clear exactly what they were ever microwaving there on the menu, but it comes less than a year after the chain switch from seed oil to beef tallow and its deep friars. That brought it in line with health secretary RFK Juniors Make America Healthy Again campaign. He's been a critic of seed oils because of how they're processed. Some health experts say beef tallow contains higher levels of saturated fat, which is worse for your heart. Hundreds of cheer kid baby bath seats and baby baby seats are being recalled for safety-related concerns. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says these seats are in violation of the mandatory standard,

and they can actually tip over posing a potential drowning hazard for kids. No related injuries, thankfully have been reported. The baby bath seats were sold on Amazon.com last September. If you have one of those, you are advised to return it for a refund. And if you've done your Valentine's Day shopping, you know buying sweets for your sweetie is setting you back quite a bit this year. Chocolate prices are up 14.4% this Valentine's Day season. It comes after they rose nearly 8% last year and 10.5% in 2024. It's because of the price of cocoa beans.

Most of them come from West Africa. They've been having weak harvest because of extreme weather. And that is news you can use. Amber, over to you. All right, Steve, thanks. Coming up next year at 4 o'clock, we're live in Wake County this afternoon with a warning about potential voter registration misconduct. Plus, we have the latest on a deadly shooting on the college campus and the Carolinas.

We are Local News. I witness news continues now. New here for local boards of election are reacting to an investigation and do complaints of possible misconduct during several different voter registration drives. Yeah, the fraud, the alleged fraud happened in several counties, including Wake counties. They say that people are going door to door and have been telling people when they answer that they need to fix their registration to vote in next month's primary. John Downing is on this.

He joins us live outside the early voting location in Chavis Park there in Raleigh. So John, this is concerning, especially as early voting, is already underway. And Stephen Amber, the State Board of Elections Officials we spoke to say they're already seeing record turnout numbers for early voting just after the first day of early voting, which is, again, what makes all of this so concerning. And election officials, we spoke to say they've seen these types of incidents happening for years now. So State Board of Elections officials say they've received reports from a handful of counties over the last few months, including Brunswick, Haywood, Nash, Scotland, and here in Wake County. Now, in the last 10 years, state officials say they've received reports

from over 30 counties and say the reports all mirror a similar pattern. They report that somebody comes to their door and says, hey, you need to re-register, so let me help you with that to vote in the election. And of course, state officials will never come to your door. They will never, you know, try to encourage you to vote or anything like that.

That's really key there. State Board of Elections officials, even county election officials are not going to come door to door. So they really just want voters to be aware that if this does happen, ask for that person's identification and then call your state or your state or your county's board of election office to report an incident like this happening. Now, state board of elections officials also are telling us that they are working with the SBI as well as local district attorney's offices to investigate these claims.

Live here in Raleigh this evening, I'm John Dowding. ABC 11 eyewitness news. All right. So officials are looking into it, but you need to be on the lookout. if anyone knocks on your door. John, thank you. New here at 4, Senator and former presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders, brought his national speaking tour to the Triangle today.

The Independent Vermont Senator held a free event at the Durham Convention Center this afternoon. And new at 4's early voting continues, the race for North Carolina's fourth congressional district seat is heating up. More than 1,000 people showed up as Durham County Commissioner Nita Alam welcomed him. Sanders, who identifies as an independent but aligns with the Democratic Party, throwing his support to Alam. in her primary bid for the fourth congressional district. Alam is hoping to unseat two-term incumbent congresswoman Valerie Fushi.

Sanders spoke today about how the rich and powerful are not concerned about the working people. A message Nita Alam says is what drew her to him when she was a young college student. I saw something else in this man. I saw hope. I saw conviction. I saw for the first time that working people might actually have a place in national politics. People are worried about what happens if my car breaks down and the mechanic is going to say it's cost me a thousand bucks to get it fixed. All right?

And if I can't get it fixed, I can't get to work. And if I can't get the work, I don't have an income. And then what the hell happens to my family? Nita Alam's opponent, Valerie Fushie, has the endorsement of top North Carolina Democrats like Josh Stein and Roy Cooper. New here for North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson presenting his Dogwood Award. today. Jackson recognized people across the state who have demonstrated exceptional dedication and service in their communities. Among those honored public service officers including the SBI K-9 unit which went to Texas following last summer's

deadly floods. Jackson also recognized former Cumberland County Sheriff Ennis Wright who served as the county's first African-American sheriff. His entire career he has been guided by the responsibility of keeping people safe, truly caring about his community, keeping the justice system run. He is now retired, deservedly so, and so congratulations, Sheriff Wright. Also honored today to Wake County Sheriff's Deputies who saved the life of a teenager. We're covering the Carolinas now, and we begin with a deadly shooting on the South Carolina State University campus. That's about 50 miles south of Columbia. Police say two men were shot and killed last night. A third man was hurt, but is

expected to survive. The university says the shooting happened near the dorms there on campus. In October, there were two shootings near that same dorm area during homecoming. One woman died, another person was hurt. The names of the victims and last night's shooting have not been released and no one has been arrested there so far. Near Charlotte, 14 students were sent to the hospital after their school bus crashed into the woods. Take a look at that. This happened yesterday afternoon in Gaston County. One student now has a broken arm. The other students have non-life-threatening injuries. Thankfully, authorities say the bus driver swerved and then overcorrected and drove right off the road. The school district says 48 kids were on board the bus at the time of the crash and an investigation is underway.

We turn now to the latest in the Nancy Guthrie investigation. Investigators in Arizona releasing some new information about that guy caught on video outside her home before the kidnapping and also the backpack he was wearing. Savannah Guthrie's mother has been missing now for nearly two weeks. ABC's Jacqueline Lee has the very latest. Today, investigators in the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie say they've recovered DNA from several gloves and other pieces of potential evidence in the case. The New York Post capturing these images of at least one of those gloves. The Pima County Sheriff today speaking with ABC's Aaron Kuterski. We've gotten DNA back. Well, they already have the genetic markers of those that we think had access to the home.

Now we have to go through and try to eliminate people or make people. The sheriff saying the potential evidence has been found during an expanded search zone within a 10-mile radius of Guthrie's Tucson home. Investigators planning to return to Guthrie's house to make more measurements from the front doorway where the suspect was seen on this doorbell camera video. Investigators estimating this man is around 5-9 to 5'10 in height with an average build.

It is really about just taking that video and frame by frame and trying to get as much out as we can. Investigators say the person in that video is wearing a black 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Backpack. ABC News found one. at Walmart in Tucson for $11. They're trying to track down where the backpack was purchased. Walmart declining to comment if it is assisting in the investigation.

The FBI now increasing its reward to $100,000 for information leading to Guthrie's location or the arrest of anyone involved in her disappearance. We're not giving up. If Nancy's out there, we're going to find her. We're not giving up. Sources close to her family and friends tell ABC News, there's a growing feeling of intense frustration with the pace of the investigation and the a limited amount of information coming from investigators.

Jacqueline Lee, ABC News, Los Angeles. The Trump administration hits Harvard University with another lawsuit. Yeah, we'll have the latest in this long-running funding fight. Also, Conrad Camera, a teenage girl, is running for her life after taking a lift ride. What she says happened inside that car and the call she made that may have saved her life. Right now, though, on a Friday, we take a look at a beautiful Raleigh skyline. Lots of sunshine there, a fine finish of the work week, but half of it. your weekend may be a washout, right Don?

Yeah, tomorrow's the day to get outside, but by Sunday our first alert Doppler net will be lit up with showers. We'll talk about the rain when it moves in and how much we can see in your complete forecasts coming up. The Trump administration is escalating its nearly year-long fight with Harvard University. Today the Trump administration filed a new lawsuit

over federal funding. The Justice Department says Harvard failed to turn over documents in its investigation into whether the school discriminated in admissions in violation of the terms its government grants. The broader dispute dates back to February of 2025. That's when the DOJ first told the school,

it was aware of allegations it failed to protect Jewish students and faculty members from unlawful discrimination. The administration later froze billions of dollars in federal funding, a move of federal judge later overturned. Those lawsuits do remain ongoing. Meantime, the president wants a new official portrait at the Smithsonian.

The White House says he wants a different painting to represent both his first and second terms. The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery typically unveils presidential portraits only after a president has permanently left office. Trump's original portrait commissioned after he left office in 2021 has never been publicly displayed. The gallery accepted the painting in 2022, but Trump at that point launched a campaign for a second term, delaying its exhibition. We turn out to an alleged kidnapping attempt in Utah. The mother of a 15-year-old girl says that her daughter was forced to flee for her life after taking a lift ride.

Dramatic surveillance video here captures the moment a frightened, 15-year-old girl sprinted to safety after that alleged attempted kidnapping. Utah mom, Karina Ramirez, said that she called a lift for her daughter, Caitlin, to take her to an appointment. And then just moments after the driver picked up her daughter, she says she received a chilling phone call. She's like, mom, did you just cancel the lift? And I was like, no, I didn't. She's like, yeah, the driver is stating that you canceled the lift. And I was like, Caitlin, he just canceled the ride. He did it.

So she says that it was the driver who canceled the ride, offering to then drive Caitlin to her destination anyway. But when Karina used a location sharing app to track her daughter's location, she says that the car was actually moving in the wrong direction of her appointment. And that is when Ramirez says that she told her daughter to get out of the car and run as fast as she could caught there on surveillance. Lyft has now removed that driver from its platform and says that it stands ready to assist law enforcement with any investigation. Pretty frightening story. For sure. We have an update on the new otter pups at the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher. It's Otterly cute.

And a first for the city of Raleigh. A council member gives birth while in office. Coming up, we have Jane Harrison's message to her baby girl. Also this. Just because your relationship was a dumpster fire doesn't mean you need to start one. We also have a warning from firefighters for those seeking revenge this Valentine's Day. All right, we're back with this. The Wake County Sheriff's Office has something to hoot about, right?

right now. Yeah, the department sharing this picture of an owl who was rescued by a deputy. The officer rescued that owl after getting a call from someone who spotted it injured along Hilltop Needmore Road in Southern Wake County. So the owl has been taken to Wake County Animal Control before now it's been transferred to a wildlife rehabilitation center. So we're hoping that he fully recovers. Yeah, in good hands now. All right, new and four from downtown Raleigh, the North Carolina Museum of History Sharing an update as they undergo a huge renovation project. You can see from these pictures on social media, they are right in the thick of it. The museum says the project is still in the demolition phase. The renovation will expand the building by 40,000

square feet. The entrance will be relocated. They'll have more gallery space and they'll have a new restaurant too. The museum is expected to open again for us to see in 2028. Raleigh City Council member Jane Harrison sharing some pretty exciting news. She gave birth to a baby girl this week, becoming the first city council member to ever give birth while serving in office. In a Facebook post, Harrison writes to her daughter, welcome baby Cadence. Your dad and I have been waiting for you for years, and we were blessed with your presence on Tuesday evening. You're most definitely perfect, and we can't wait for you to explore Raleigh with us. Harrison also wrote an op-ed in the indie newspaper about her pregnancy journey, connecting it to the current political climate.

Big congratulations to them. And we turn now to today's top trending stories and real news, and we begin with some otterly cute video. The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher sharing this video, the story. two adorable otter pups on the move. The pups, three in total, were born in December, and they're becoming more curious and competitive. Two of the pups even got into a tug of war over a new enrichment item.

That is too cute. Remember, you do still have time to help name these pups. The deadline to vote is coming up on Thursday. And now to New Zealand and a real-life cat burglar caught in the act. Take a look at this cat stealthily making off with a towel from a school. The school shared this video on Facebook. of the mischievous cat.

I'm trying to see, oh, it's black cat there. As it got away, going through the playground with that towel hanging from its mouth, I wonder why I needed it. They say they finally managed to catch the culprit who has made off with towels, goggles and swimming costumes for over a year now. The big question is where's the cat putting

all this stuff? Someone needs to follow it. All right, on this Valentine's Day Eve, firefighters in Washington State are reminding those who may be unlucky in love not to make get a dumpster fire, literally. Did your ex hurt you this Valentine's Day, and you just want to burn everything that they've ever gotten you?

Think again. Just because your relationship was a dumpster fire doesn't mean you need to start one. Although it's less theatrical, there are still other safer, less destructive ways to show your ex you've moved on. This Valentine's Day, you want a burning love. Not a burning house. That's clever, right? They're good marketing there.

the West Pierce Fire Department, and they reposted this public service announcement. It was actually from last year saying the message still rings true in 2026. The original post, by the way, garter is 2.9 million views. You can see why. That is funny. It's real news. Back to you. Yeah, that's a fun one, Amber. All right, if you're looking for some Valentine's Day fun tomorrow in the Bull City, you can celebrate in downtown Durham with some coffee and some puppy love. Charlie's K-9 Rescue is holding an adoption event from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Yonder Lust Cafe on North Gregson Street. I'll have some dogs there looking for their forever families on Valentine's Day. And a live look now at downtown Kerry. And if you're in Carrie tomorrow, you can celebrate love at a free Valentine's date night in the park.

There in downtown carry at the big park. The event is designed for couples between the ages of 16 and up. They'll have some hands-on activities, including crafts, they'll have some live music and some food trucks as well. The event is from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the heart of downtown carry. Yeah, Valentine's Day is tomorrow. We've been reminding of that all week. Don says he's all taken care of for a while. All taken care of. 30 years, it's easy.

If I don't have to figure it out by now, I'm like, come on. All right. Tomorrow, going to be a nice day outside. Tonight's going to be great. If you're headed out for a Friday night plan, nice night for that. It's a live look right now. Looking off toward the Duke campus. That's a Baldwin auditorium there in the music department, 50 degrees, sunny skies on a north wind

at five miles an hour. Forty-five Roanoke Rapids, 46, South Hill, Oxford, 50 in Roxburgh, 50 in Raleigh, 51 in Lillington and 52 down in Fayetteville. Everybody's about where we were yesterday, a degree or two warmer or cooler, but really about the same type of weather we had. Got plans this evening should be a beautiful evening out there if you bundle up as those temperatures tumble into the 30s. By the time we go on for ABC 11 or 11, tonight we're down around freezing. Checking on the precipitation forecast, you'll notice Sunday is a soaker. This will start mid morning in some spots. Other spots will hold off till after lunchtime, but afternoon is going to be very wet around here.

And that could continue into early Monday morning. We're done by Monday afternoon. Sky is clear. We dry out as we go toward Tuesday. Check your four day forecast at 4 o'clock and those temperatures are in the 60s tomorrow. It's a better half of your weekend of soaking rain on Sunday. Localize flooding isn't out of the question. I don't think it's going to be widespread, but especially if you have drainage areas that are still full of leaves from fall.

that could become problematic for you. Monday skies will clear out 56 and we're back into the 60s on Tuesday. We're talking 70s by the middle part of next week. Steve. Okay, Don, thanks very much. Let's check out what's coming up in the next hour on eyewitness news at 5 o'clock. All new in the next hour. You'll meet two alumni of the Springfield School in Wilson County

who are working together now to preserve history while also building a new beacon of hope for generations to come. Plus a Durham woman takes Duke energy to court over a billing issue and wins, but the company does not pay up. We'll tell you how the IT troubleshooter was able to get her results. And the state of North Carolina claims a major legal victory over MV Realty. After a judge rules the company's 40-year listing contracts

are deceptive and unlawful, what it means for homeowners all new at 5 o'clock. And next year, 4 o'clock, North Carolina made, and this week we're highlighting a local dip. Coming up, a natural disaster, and then the pandemic caused this Nash County man to put his dreams on hold,

but thankfully not for good. We have more behind the man, behind Jammin' Jay's dips coming up.