ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at 4pm - January 26, 2026

Episode Date: January 26, 2026

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Next at four, tracking bitterly cold temperatures. It could feel like below zero tomorrow morning. Chief meteorologist Don Schwinnaker has your first alert to the cold weather advisory. Plus, phase two of the road cleanup, DOT crews focus on secondary roads today. What you can do to help clear the roads. And another snow day on tap for thousands of students tomorrow. We're taking a closer look at the winter storm's impact on local schools. Plus a deadly shooting and knife attack, a mother, son and daughter killed in Fayetteville, new reaction and what we're learning about the suspect.

I Witnesses at 4 starts 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 11I Witness News. Right now at 4, enjoying as snow day in Central Carolina. This looks like fun. Kids all across the viewing area getting out for a fun day of sledding and just fun out there. Yeah, in the snow. That looks so fun. But tonight, though, in all seriousness, the main threat's going to be black ice. Chopper 11 flying over in ice-encrusted Raleigh today. Many people staying inside and off the roads. Thanks for joining us on this Monday. I'm Amber Riffith. And I'm Barbara Gibbs. It is the first alert day as we get you ready for tonight's plunging temperatures. We have team coverage of the storm aftermath and what is ahead. Let's begin with chief meteorologist Don Twinnaker, who is tracking the dangerously cold temperatures, Don. And good evening to you. We're at taking.

taking a look at the latest warning from the National Weather Service. It's a cold weather advisory. Kicks in tonight from 7 o'clock and goes until 10 a.m. tomorrow. That's because we will see single-digit wind chills and could get into the below zero wind chills. We're not seeing anything out there on the first alert. Doppler net nice and dry. It'll continue to stay dry across the area through the overnight hours. Live look into Durham, 35 degrees right now, partly cloudy skies. Winds are variable at seven, but those gusts are getting up around 20 miles per. hour already pushing wind chills into the 20s. I look at actual temperatures. This is good news. Some 40s on the board. That'll help melt away

some of the ice and sleek down south. 36 Raleigh, 34 Durham, 35 Carborough. You're below freezing Oxford, Roxburgh and 32 for you in Roanoke Rapids. So let's look at those wind chills and the feels like temps as we head through just the evening hours. You'll notice by 10, 11 o'clock tonight we're down around 10 degrees. We'll slip into the single digits by midnight. It goes up a little bit, but the winds get even gust year overnight. And we could see gusts up to 20 miles per hour pushing those wind chills down from zero to five below. We'll talk more about a very cold night ahead

and a first alert to what could be another system moving close to us toward the end of the week. We'll talk about that in your first alert forecast coming up in just a bit. Ladies. So much to talk about. All right, Don, thank you. Well, the warmer temperatures today help melt some of the ice as Dom was talking about on the road surfaces,

but whatever melted is expected to re-freeze overnight, making for another treacherous morning commute. Our live drive vehicles are on the roads right now monitoring all the conditions. Here's what we are seeing right now. This is southeast Raleigh off of Rock Corey Road and you see the side street there has not been touched and this is what we're seeing on C.C. Andrews Road that's in person county there as well anywhere where there's any shade and those secondary roads are big concern. Here's a look at the conditions on some major thoroughfares. This is I-95 in Coverland County. No issues here. Look at that. The roads there are dry. No, they look great. All right, I would assume is working to learn if I see conditions played a role in this crash in Durham County this morning.

A car ended up in a retention pond on NC 55. There's no word if anyone is hurt in this. Today, Governor Stein continue to urge people to stay off the roads. If you have to be on the roads, we hope you don't have to travel, but if you do, go slow, give a lot of distance to the cars in front of you. And I just want to thank everybody for looking out for each other. Transportation crews now shifting their attention from the main thoroughfares to side and through streets working to clear as many roads as they can. Michael Perchick joins us now and Carrie about how you can help them do their job. The sun providing a major assist today, helping melt what's accumulated on the roads over the past 48 hours, but there is still plenty left to do. Driving conditions much improved from Sunday night, though the advice from NCDOT remained consistent. If you don't have to be on the roads, stay home.

Well, having empty roads always makes it easier because you're not running as any sort of obstacle. Kim Dina with NCDOT notes that less traffic makes it easier for crews navigating these conditions. Remote learning across the triangle in place today and tomorrow, one factor that is keeping cars parked. The agency now bringing in extra workers and will start addressing roads and subdivisions tomorrow. Those crews came from divisions east of us that didn't receive the type of precipitation we received. So they're going to be hitting primary roads today alongside us, and then they're going to concentrate on subdivisions tomorrow. So one note that you might want to pass on to people living in subdivisions that are maintained by the North Carolina Department of Transportation,

park your cars in your driveway so that we can clear all the snow. Coming up at 5, the new technology utilized by the town of Kerry, how it's giving officials a better understanding of winter storm impact. I'm Michael Perchick. ABC 11 eyewitness news. Michael, thank you. And several school systems have already decided to keep students home again tomorrow. That includes Wake County Public Schools. It will be another day of remote learning for students. And here's a look at the full list. Durham Public Schools, Chapel Hill Carborough City Schools, Johnston County Schools and Orange County Schools also pivoting to remote learning. Chopper 11 meantime flying over Y.E. Smith Elementary in Durham today, you can see the streets around

the school there still covered in ice and snow. And the same goes for some neighborhood streets in northern Wake County. Road conditions the number one reason, of course, school districts decided to keep students home for another day. Duan Hogarth in Wake County now with the impacts this winter storm is having on our local schools. A lot of impact, Dewan. Yeah, Amber, and this is something that school leaders that they actually talk about, they think about each and every year. They actually carve out days into their calendar. They're called bank days specifically for situations such as this when these roads end up becoming a little bit impassable. However, for tomorrow, Wake County School leaders deciding to cancel all classes but have in-person learning so kids

can still learn. Rogers Lane Elementary School and other Wake County schools will be closed tomorrow. However, class technically will still be in session, all because of this. WCPSS staff and families due to the threat of Black Ice Tuesday, January, 27 will be a remote instruction day for all schools. That message sent to students, staff, faculty, and parents in the district, like Maria Vasquez, whose daughter is glad she can stay home for another day. He said, oh, that's good. That's good tomorrow, you know?

And for mom, it's also a blessing in disguise. It's good because we enjoy with her too, because we don't have too much time with her, because we're working every day, every day. Wake and other school leaders are making daily, decisions on having in-person learning as the forecast continues to develop and choosing remote instruction in lieu of relying on bank days built into the school calendar, which Kenneth Swan can appreciate. We have more weeks off, so I was coming along. So it's not a challenge at all. I'm actually glad they're able to go remote to preserve their spring break. And as of right now, still no word on

what Wednesday will actually bring leaders across our area, including the not just Wake County schools, but surrounding areas. making the decision on Wednesday or regarding Wednesday, that is, sometime tomorrow, and that will be communicated out to all of those who are impacted. Now ahead at five, it's not just parents, staff, or students that are impacted by the closure of school. You're going to meet someone at five who also would like for school to be back in session and is well aware of how safe it needs to be. That's all new for you ahead at five. We're live in Raleigh this afternoon. Duane Hogarth, ABC-11, Iowa News. All right. We'll see you at five with more there.

Duane, thank you. In the meantime, there are still a number of power outages across the Carolinas with most in South Carolina and in Garner. Duke Energy reporting about 17,000 customers in the dark. Jeff Brooks with Duke Energy gives us an update. The vast majority of outages that remain are in the western part of the state. In the mountains, in the upstate of South Carolina, Henderson County in particular next to, you know, Bunkham County, Nashville, Hendersonville there. That's all the brunt of it.

And it's that combination of a large amount of freezing rain that came in last night, along with some pretty gusty winds they're dealing with out there. So it's a bit of a mess there, I would say. There's still probably 500-plus outage locations that our crews are going to have to go to, broken poles down lines to make those repairs. Brooks also telling eyewitnesses that they're keeping an eye on another possible snowstorm this weekend. Minister Stunichler was talking a little bit about that. We'll have that more coming up in his forecast.

In the meantime, take a look at this work happening today at RDU, Chopper 11 over the airport as plows work to clear the runway and the tarmac. Here's a live look now at Terminal 2 at RDU. Not all, but many flights did resume today at RDU. Flight Aware reporting 119 cancellations at RDU today and 113 delays. Nationally, there were more than 5,000 flights canceled so far today. Look at those blue skies over the airport. Eyewitness News is also committed to keeping you safe during the storm. Our entire team working around the clock to keep you updated on the changing weather conditions.

So make sure you do have that free ABC 11 mobile app to stay connected and up to date. We turn now to that deadly triple shooting in Fayetteville, a mother, son and daughter all killed. The shooting happened last night in the 5200 block of North Sumac Circle. The victims range in age from 50 to 23. A police officer says that the mother knew the gunman. Penelope Lopez is live at the FAPA police department with the latest on this investigation. Penelope, good afternoon. Good afternoon, that's right.

A family now finds itself at the center of this tragedy. Police say 50-year-old Sherry Smith, her son Aaron Poole and her daughter Amanda Smith all died following this altercation with someone Sherry knew. We were able to obtain doorbell video of the incident of that block. Just a warning to those out there that you can hear the gunshots ringing. This video is now being reviewed by investigators as part of the investigation. It was like pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, and then it was over. Neighbors on North Sumac Circle are still in disbelief. I was sitting there watching TV and I kept seeing a blue light flash.

And I thought, is that lightning because of the storm? I looked out the window and all the way down. the block there were police cars. There were 10 to 12 police cars. So I came outside and I seen an ambulance pull up and I seen them bring a body out of that house on a gurney. Ring camera video obtained by eyewitness news shows the moments leading up to the altercation. In the video, you can hear several rounds of gunfire. A brief silence follows, but within seconds, gunfire continues. I haven't really heard gunshots like that, like really ever. and hearing it so close to the house, it was just, that was really nerve-wrecking.

Fayetteville police say 50-year-old Sherry Smith, her son, Aaron Poole, and her daughter, Amanda Smith, were all inside the home. Authorities say at some point Cherry and 25-year-old Nigel Lewis, someone she knew, got into an altercation. Multiple shots were fired. Upon arrival, officers pronounced Sherry and Aaron dead at the scene. Lewis, who had multiple stab wounds, fled the scene looking for help at a nearby home. EMS transported Sherry's daughter Amanda to a local hospital for medical treatment, where she later died. Joe Brown has lived in this neighborhood for 60 years. Those people basically stayed their cells.

There's a man there that he's always out working on cars and stuff. I just never seen them have any problem with anybody. Neighbors like Maria Christina, who personally knew the family, remember them as kind people. A very close-knit family. I mean, they definitely loved each other. Even just talking to the mom, she absolutely adored her kids and she was so proud of them. An officer has found Lewis outside of a neighbor's home with stab wounds. He was later transported to a local hospital.

He is now in stable condition. He is charged with three counts of first degree murder. Live in Fayetteville, Penelope Lopez, ABC 11, eyewitness news. Penelope, what a story and gosh, just speechless with what happened. there. Thank you for that report and we'll look forward to updates on this story. Penelope, thank you. Coming up at four, we're learning more about a standoff and garner why police say that they were forced to fire shots at the suspect. Plus heightened tensions in Minneapolis following another fatal shooting by border control agents. What the Trump administration says, it's now reviewing after

that shooting. Now to some other local headlines in your speed feed. First, we're working to learn more about a deadly shooting involving a Johnston County Sheriff's Deputy. It happened yesterday on Madden Rose Loop off Pierce Road in the Cleveland community. Deputies were called to the home after a woman reported her family member was shooting a gun inside the home. That man reportedly confronted deputies when they arrived and would not follow commands to drop the weapon. The man whose name has not been released yet was shot and killed. No deputies are injured. We're learning more about a standoff on Alta Crest Lane and Garner. Police now tell eyewitness news it began when an officer witnessed Nathan Tharp ram a woman with his vehicle knocking her to the ground. Tharp allegedly tried to run the woman over again as officers tried to get her to safety, forcing officers to fire their weapons at the vehicle. Tharp, who was not injured, then drove his vehicle into a nearby home, causing extensive damage. Police say he then forced his way inside that home where he barricaded himself. Police were able to get the residents of that home out safely. After several hours of negotiations, Tharp surrendered. He's now facing a slew of charge.

Deliberations in the Isaiah Ross trial will be delayed for another day. The Orange County Courthouse will be closed again tomorrow due to the winter storm. Ross is charged in the 2003 murders of 15-year-old Lyric Woods and 18-year-old Devin Clark. On the stand last week, Ross testified he only killed Clark in self-defense after Clark killed Woods. And that is your speed feed. Amber, back to you. Barbara, thank you. Now to Minneapolis, where protests are continuing after the death of Alex Pretti. He is the ICU nurse who was shot by a border patrol agent over the weekend.

This is the Trump administration seems to be looking for a way to de-escalate the growing crisis over immigration enforcement tactics. ABC's Karen Travers has more now from the White House. Today, a major change in the Trump administration's operations in Minnesota in the wake of the fatal shooting of Alex Preti. President Trump's sending his borders are Tom Homan to oversee immigration enforcement in the state, saying Homan will quote, report directly to me. Mr. Homan is the point person for cooperating with state and local authorities and corresponding with them, again, to achieve this level of cooperation, to subdue the chaos on the streets of Minneapolis.

The White House today distancing itself from comments Saturday by Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noem and senior advisor Stephen Miller, who accused Pretti of domestic terrorism. I have not heard the president characterize Mr. Pretti in that way. But press secretary Caroline Levitt also pointing the finger at Minnesota's Democratic leaders. This tragedy occurred as a result of a deliberate and hostile resistance by Democrat leaders in Minnesota. Earlier Monday, Minnesota Governor Tim Walls called President Trump to talk about how the two can work together to find a solution to the unrest over ICE operations. The president posting on social media that he and Walls seemed to be on a, quote, similar wavelength.

A spokesperson for Walls saying the president, agreed to, quote, look into the number of federal agents in Minnesota. Walls called the conversation productive, but in a new Wall Street Journal op-ed, writes, I have repeatedly appealed to President Trump to lower the temperature, but he refuses. State and local officials say weeks of protests have had a negative impact on police officers who are spread thin and exhausted. Well, I'm hopeful that folks can get together, that cooler heads will prevail, and that we can figure this thing out.

because regardless, the current situation is not sustainable. Democrats are now vowing to oppose a package that includes funding for the Department of Homeland Security and five other departments. If they do not vote for passage, it could mean a partial government shutdown at the end of the week. Karen Travers, ABC News, the White House. And we're learning more about a deadly plane crash in Maine on Sunday. Authorities say six of the eight people on board the private jet were killed. That plane crashed on takeoff from an airport in Bangor. It happened as snow was falling in the area.

That plane was a business jet registered to a company in Houston, Texas, and the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are now investigating. Now, if we're taking a look at these photos that show the extent of damage to the powerful winter storm, that extensive damage spreading all across Tennessee, check out the broken trees in Hendersonville, More than 820,000 customers were without power at one point today across a swath of southern states from Texas all the way to Virginia. A worst hit, though, was Tennessee accounting for nearly a third of those outages. All right, take a look at this foreman taking advantage of her sleek covered road in Austin, Texas. Look at that. Clamping on her skis and skiing down the street.

The Austin Airport reports a total of 0.11 inches of ice and 0.1.1 inches of ice and 0.0.4.4. 8 inches of sleet recorded there. So it looked like it was kind of perfect to take a little jaunt down your neighborhood on your knees. One way to get down your hill. Yeah. Meantime, the journey continues for those Buddhist monks trekking through North Carolina bound for the nation's capital. Despite the bitterly cold weather, the monks walk for peace has not missed a step. Today, the group in Franklin County after trekking through snow covered roads in Raleigh yesterday. The monks are making a 2,000-mile pilgrimage from Texas to D.C. in an effort to promote peace. and national unity. It's got a chief meteorologist Don Schwinnaker. It's kind of played out exactly

as y'all said it would. We got the warming today. We got the sunshine, but everything that melts with those temperatures coming, it's going to be slit. It's going to be brutal. We've got wind chills tonight could go below zero. We're going to explain why and how those windchills work in just a moment. First, I'll show you that advisory that is in effect. Entire viewing area under a cold weather advisory kicks in at 7 o'clock tonight and it stays that way until 10.8. tomorrow. So let's talk about the wind chill. What is wind chill? Well, with windshield, our bodies are losing heat through a process called convection. Basically, the heat goes from our body and radiates out into the air. When we don't have any

wind, that means the heat sticks around kind of in a layer around us closer to our body and we stay relatively warm. Even on a night when it's 12 degrees, our feels like temperature will be 12 degrees. That changes when a cold, dry wind blows through. And if we look at the wind 20 miles an hour, which is what we could see gusting tonight, 12 degree temperatures, it feels like six below at times. And that's because not only does the wind break up that warm layer of air around us, it also takes all the moisture off our skin and dries it off, and that helps to cool us as well. It speeds up to heat loss and makes us feel colder. Windchle only effective on humans. It doesn't work on inanimate objects like pipes or anything

like that. But that's why that cold weather advisory is out tonight. Those wind chills will be brutal. 37 gorgeous shot looking into downtown carry now. Academy Street's been plowed and you can see the sleet balls that have piled up on the sides. Feels like temperatures in the 20s to the north 30 in Smithfield 35 Fayetteville and 34 out your door as we look down into Samson County. Here's the feels like numbers tonight falling to 10, 9 and this is just with the sustained winds. Gus will push this down to zero or even below zero in spots. Even as we head into tomorrow by lunchtime that feels like temperature still. only in the 20s. Tonight we'll drop to 12 for overnight lows with those bitter cold conditions. Clear skies right now. Everybody wants to know about the weekend. And you'll notice as we go Wednesday, skies are still clear. Thursday skies are still clear.

But what we have to watch is Texas. That's where the next system could form. And depending on what app your model your app uses, it may be showing five or six inches of snow. Now this low could come closer to us, give us another round of ice, could track up the coast, giving us snow that's looking a little more likely, or could go out to sea. So lots of questions on there. We won't have a better idea on that system until we get to the midweek. Tomorrow, 39 degrees, 40 in Fayetteville will sunshine here. Seven day forecast showing those temperatures. Upper 30's Wednesday. Friday, 37. Saturday right now, some snow showers are possible. And as much as we would see, we'll have to keep you up. throughout the week, guys. All right. I vote for the one that kicks it out to see. Me too. No snow. All right. I know a lot of people want snow, Don, thank you. Coming up next, Duke Energy's warning about a scam alert, what you need to know about a text message you may have gotten. Plus, get ready. Raleigh's first, Raising Cains opens in less than 24 hours, how you could score

free food for a year. And tax season is here. Can you believe it? Some of us could get a big surprise from Uncle Sam this year. Higher refunds. We'll explain why coming up. Duke Energy is warning of a scam text message about scheduled outages. The utility company says this message that you may have received on your cell phone was sent from a fraudulent number. The message reads, from Duke Energy, scheduled rolling power outages, effective 11 p.m. by zip codes and time will remain in effect to January 27th due to freeze condition. Click below for map and details. Your urge not, don't click on that link. If you receive the text message, contact Duke energy directly and delete that message.

Time now for some news you can use this Monday. Tax season is here. The IRS began accepting tax returns today and many Americans could see higher refunds this year. The Treasury Department estimates that they will average $1,000 more per household. That's because many filers didn't adjust their withholdings when those recent income tax breaks began. The North Carolina Department of Revenue also is accepting your returns now. Triangle Restaurant Week is now underway. The week-long event features restaurants in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. Organizers say participating businesses charge $15 for a three-course lunch and dinners cost between $25 and $50 per person. You may want to

call ahead, though, to see if the weather isn't impacting any of those restaurants. And speaking of food, Raleigh's first raising Kaine's restaurant opens tomorrow. The chain sharing these pictures with us of the Hillsborough Street restaurant right across from the NC State Campus. A community kickoff starts at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning. Highlights include free canes for a year for 20 lucky customers. This is the second raising canes in the triangle. The first opened in 2023 in Chapel Hill. The chain's also planning on opening a restaurant in Fayetteville this year as well. That is news you can use. Barbara back to you. All right, Amber, thank you. Ivan Azuz. At four continues coming up. We're tracking the bitter cold temperatures

overnight as well as a potential winter storm coming up this weekend. A massive winter storm slamming millions of Americans. Multiple people are dead and hundreds of thousands are still without power. I'm reina roy and I'll have the latest coming up. Also new at four we are with the north carolina national guard as troops mobilized in response to that storm threat. We are local news. ABC 11 eyewitness news continues now. Right now here at 430 hundreds of thousands still without power across the nation after a major winter storm dumped snow and ice in multiple states and at least 22 deaths are being reported and blamed on the storm. ABC's reina joins us now live in New York City.

Rena, good afternoon to you. Many of the deaths are attributed to that cold. Yeah, Barbara, absolutely. This has just been some pretty extreme and dangerous weather. You can see, thankfully, the snow has stopped falling here in New York City. It's been piled up on this city block and really across the city, across the five boroughs. But the streets are mostly clear. Now, though, the concern is the brutal cold.

Across the country, hundreds of thousands of customers, without power in dangerously cold temperatures. In the south, thick ice putting pressure on power lines. There's trees down everywhere and power lines as well. Some of the most widespread power outages in Tennessee, where crews are out in force working to restore electricity. Across the state, trees snapped in half snow-blanketing streets. In Franklin, you can see this power line sparking. Oh no. Oh, no. And this homeowner watching as a tree fell in her backyard damaging her barn. The northeast clobbered by this weekend storm buried in several inches of snow and in many areas more than a foot. Boston saw more than 18 inches. Travel conditions remain challenging so please be careful out there as cleanup continues. In Philadelphia, there's so much piled up. They're using backhose to pick up the snow and dump it into melting machines. New York City seen nearly a foot of snow. People digging out today. You don't do it now.

You're going to have problems with it later. So get out early, get it down, and go home and relax after. The brutal cold still lingering with wind chills in the single digits in parts of the Northeast. In terms of staying warm, we're working closely with all the utilities to make sure the power stays on. And it stays on for everyone, particularly those who are low income. And the cold is only expected to get worse. Here in New York, we're expecting to see to actual temperatures drop down into the single, digits as early as tomorrow morning. Amber, Barbara.

Wow, we feel for y'all and hope everybody stays safe. Thank you so much, Rina Roy, for that report. Well, the winter storm, danger is not over. Dangerly cold air is now settling in. A cold weather advisory goes into effect at 7 o'clock tonight. Chief Minister, Dr. John Swineker, is joining us now in the First Alert Forecast Center. So, Don, this wind chill could actually make it feel like below zero tonight. Absolutely. We'll show those to you in just a moment with this cold weather advisory in effect, those wind chills down into the single digits and everything refreezes tonight. Take it a live look into a carry 41 degrees right now. Sunny skies out of northwest wind at 10.

Here's our feels like temperatures currently. And they're still in the 20s up through the northern counties, low 30s, Irwin, 35 Fayetteville. But let's look at the forecast of the fields like temperatures. We'll stop this at 11 o'clock tonight, one in Oxford, six in Durham, 11 in Sanford. Then as we go through the overnight, we start to see the minus side in front of them. Five degrees below zero in Roxborough tomorrow morning. Six below in Oxford. Four in Raleigh.

Seven in Irwin. The sun will again be out tomorrow, but those feels like temperatures stay in the 20s through the afternoon. We'll talk more about the cold air that moves in tomorrow and all eyes are on the weekend for what could be another storm, although there's a lot of question marks still. We'll try and answer some of those questions in your complete forecast coming up in just a bit. ladies. Don, thank you. And back here at home, the North Carolina National Guard remains mobilized, ready to respond to any emergency as the state continues, of course, to recover from the winter storm. About 454 personnel have been activated. This is video of guard members, assisting stranded drivers,

including the driver of a stuck 18-wheeler. Akila Davis is live in Raleigh for us. More on the National Guard response. Akila, good afternoon. This is one of the Guard's biggest statewide responses since Helene. Yes, hi there. Good afternoon. afternoon plans to activate the North Carolina National Guard actually start here at its headquarters. It's been a busy 48 hours for soldiers who supported operations across the state. We had folks working mainly along the I-40, I-26 corridors and I-77, where there are tall grades and typically stranded really semi-trucks and other motorist type and did that type of recovery operations.

Operations for the North Carolina National Guard during this winter storm were mainly helping stranded drivers and overturned semi-trucks. Brigadier General West Morrison says preparations for any significant weather event starts five to seven days out. He says more than 450 National Guard's men and women were activated, deploying to the east, central and western part of the state. Inside the North Carolina National Guard Joint Operations Center, Command Sergeant Major Wells Hayes showed me how they're able to keep track of soldiers. through digital systems like this one. And in case power goes out, there's an analog board with everyone's contact information there. Fortunately, he says the National Guard prepared

for a number of situations that didn't happen like mass evacuations and power outages. He showed us how the tracking system works. And it shows where they're at so that if they get in trouble and they need help, we can actually send messages through that system. We can see where they're located to help get resources to them.

ahead at 5.30, the North Carolina National Guard is monitoring a potential weekend storm. The plans are telling us they have in place. Reporting live in Raleigh, Akela Davis, ABC 11, eyewitness news. See you at 530 with more. Akela, thank you. And new here at 4.30 due to hazardous conditions, the annual Durham City County Martin Luther King Jr. Employee Observance has now been postponed. The event originally scheduled for tomorrow has been rescheduled to Tuesday, February 24th.

Cumberland County school leaders unveil a proposed plan that could lead to eight schools closing. Still ahead, we have a look at that list. Plus, we have details on the millions of dollars that leaders say these closures will save the district on maintenance fees. Plus, the sledding incident that took the life of a 16-year-old girl and seriously injured another teenager. And as we had to break here, a live look at the Raleigh skyline. Beautiful skies there from our Pendo Sky Cam over Hillsborough Street. but Don is tracking some dangerously, bitterly cold temperatures that are moving in tonight. It could lead to a black ice threat tomorrow morning.

New at four, Comberley County school leaders are outlining a consolidation proposal that could result in the closure of eight schools. The school board says the proposal addresses aging facilities and efficiencies and is aimed at reducing long-term maintenance costs by saving the system $31 million in maintenance fees. Under the proposal, the following elementary schools are recommended for closure. Brentwood, Margaret Willis, Manchester, Sherwood Park, and Stedman, and Chestnut Middle School. Alger B. Wilkins High School and Ramsey Street High School are also on the closure list. Students would be reassigned to other schools. The proposal also calls for transitioning all three currently year-round schools to traditional calendar. The plan also addresses the long-debated new E.E. Smith High School.

That new school would be built on the current site of the historic school. The school board will continue to discuss the proposal next month, and we'll keep an eye on this. Turning to your health check here at 430, new vaccine guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics significantly differ from controversial government recommendations. The AAP schedule released today contains just minor adjustments of last year's guidance. By contrast, the CDC is narrowing its recommendations for several diseases. It's also calling for a health provider consult for flu, COVID-19 and rhodovirus vaccines. Many states and doctors are relying on the AAP guidelines in light of the government. government changes. To Texas now, where an afternoon of fun turned into tragedy on Sunday.

Yes, police say a driver and a Jeep Wrangler was pulling two 16-year-olds through a neighborhood in Frisco, which is a suburb of Dallas. When something went wrong, the girls hit a curb and then a tree. They were then rushed to the hospital where one died and the other is in critical condition. As for the 16-year-old driver, police have not mentioned criminal charges yet. Well, American Idol returns to ABC 11 tonight. All right, coming up, we're hearing. from the judges ahead of season 24 as they prepared to crown a new American Idol. Plus we have must-see video. A buck perhaps looking for buck goes wild after smashing through a bank window how police were able to wrangle the animal to safety.

Well, get ready to sing your heart out because American Idol is back for its 24th season. The journey for so many hopeful musicians begins tonight. Their fate in the hands of the judges, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie. And this year there's one big twist. that will take contestes to a new city, but one that is well known for its music. Here's ABC's entertainment reporter, Joelle Gargillo. American Idol class of 2026 is in session. We're heading back to school. A dream come true in every direction.

School being American Idol University, a.k.a. Belmont New in Nashville, Tennessee. You're going to Hollywood Week. Yes, I'm Professor Brian. You can miss 10 days in my class, but just be there for the final. That's right for this season of American Idol. Hollywood Week isn't actually in Hollywood. It's in Music City, where a whole new class of contestants

are hoping to become the next big name in music. American Idol can change my life, and I'm ready for it. And that's where I had the chance to catch up with longtime host Ryan Seacrest. You look like Ryan Seacrest. And the judges, Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan. How y'all doing? You got a little way to go. I love that we are here in Nashville, right?

I mean, I think the kids come in. We'll ask them first time in Nashville, and they're like, yeah, this is crazy. What do you enjoy the most about it? Watching them discover themselves. They walk in and I was that kid. You know, somebody can see your potential before you can see your potential. What I love about this is the transformation. Hollywood Week!

Watching them chase dreams and try to go be singers and write songs and change the world is always pretty inspiring. Now, getting to talk to your second season as a judge, how has it been? Oh, I loved last season so much. How can there be any more unique voices? There are. It's quite incredible. I could also tell how hard it is for you to say no to someone.

It's a little easier. What's that word you hear more than anything else? No, no, no. That means not that you fail. It means not now. It's not happening that way. Try it again. I remember the first season watching you.

And just thinking about how much the show has impacted your life. Yes, it has. I was terrified the first season of the show. show because I'd never done a live primetime show. And I was with my blonde highlights and I was 26 years old and here we are. 26 when the show started. Yeah, I was 26. Incredible amount of lives that changed. And hairstyles. In the spirit of Idol University, let's get out most likely to your fellow judges and Crest. Uh, what is Lionel most likely

to do? Dance on a ceiling. No kidding. That'll work. Carrie is most likely to always show it on time. Brian is most likely to bring high-end cuisine to class, and I'm most likely to know where all the kegs are. Yeah. Making dreams come true. Thank you. Did you see Clay Aiken in that promo too? North Carolina, well represented. Also, two other locals are going to appear tonight on American Idol.

That's Ricky Boyce, a country singer from Goldsboro. Ricky tells us he actually applied to be on the show at the last minute after years of people telling him he should audition. Also, you can root for Jason Arndt from Pugueck, who played baseball at UNCW now plays banana ball. His teammates just might make an appearance during his audition. I saw it in a promo. Season 24 of American Idol begins tonight at 8 here on ABC 11. Barbara?

All right, we wish them well. All right, now today's top trending stories in real news, and we begin in Long Island, New York, where a response to a burglary alarm at a bank turns into an, oh dear moment, when officers meet with an unexpected intruder, a buck. So dear indeed, this body cam video shows the chaotic moments as that deer tries to escape the bank after gaining entrance by chasing, crashing through a window. Police were able to safely lasso the animal and guide him to freedom. No word if he found a dough or any dough inside.

Yep, all right. Well, on now to Kentucky and a snow tubing wipeout call on cameras. Police officers in Louisville have a little fun during the winter storm. Take a look. He's doing it. He's doing it. All right. Well, the video posted by the Louisville Metro Police Department shows an officer fly out of the inflatable tube after he was launched down a snow-covered hill by two other officers. The officer was not hurt, but his colleagues did get some good laughs at his expense. Yep. Don't ever do anything like that on camera, especially in front of your colleagues, because they're going to give you grief, aren't they, Amber?

You'll never live it down. Never. You'll retire. You'll retire. will be talking about it. That's right. That's real news. Yeah, Barbara, thank you. Now here at four from Chapel Hill, the football's biggest stage. Former Tar Heel quarterback Drake May, accomplishing a feat. Very few quarterbacks have pulled off in his second NFL season. May is going to the Super Bowl. May led the New England Patriots, as I'm sure you're probably aware, to a 10 to 7 win over the Denver Broncos to seal the AFC championship. So the Patriots will now play the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl. And at just 23 years old, he is one of the

youngest quarterbacks to ever reach the Super Bowl. Only Dan Marino was younger when he played in the big game with the Dolphins in 1985. A lot of folks around here have worked with him in different things and just saying he was incredibly humble, kind, nice, so cheering for him. All right, well, let's get it on and a lot of people watching that game last night. Boy, the just snow was coming down. Hearts were broken. On top of it. Steve Stewart's one of them. He is a huge Broncos thing. All right, We have cold weather advisory in effect tonight from 7 o'clock till 10 a.m. tomorrow. That's because the wind chills tonight will get bitter. Live look on your first alert. Dopplernet. We're dry. We don't have to worry about any snow tonight.

Looking live into Fayetteville's self-help sky camp 41, melting everything down on a northwest wind at 10 miles per hour. So let's look to the evening ahead. Those feels like temperatures falling into the teens by the time we go on for ABC 11 at 11 tonight. It's down around 12. Some of the outlying areas will be single digits. near 10, 9, 8 through the overnight hours and even tomorrow at 9 o'clock, just 15 degrees for that feels like temperature. We'll talk more about that cold air working in overnight and a first alert to what could be headed in this weekend in your complete forecast coming up in just a bit. Find out what else is coming up at 5 o'clock for that. We check in with Stephen Lauren.

Weekend, winter storm tonight. We showed you kids having fun hopping on their sleds at places like Dick's Park. Well, now we know how many people wound up in local hospitals from those slip and falls and you guessed it sledding also. I don't think you're Mike's on, so I'm going to come over here and stand next to you so everybody can hear it. Okay, how about that. All right. The winter storm also grounded hundreds of flights in and out of RDU, and we're learning how it's impacting things you're expecting from FedEx and UPS and all the other things that arrive here by air. And check this out. A woman's t-shirt. It says, I am loved and she's not lying, but Christina is now facing charges here in North Carolina for pulling off a giant romance scam. Investigators say she ripped off guys for a total of $3 million. And we have big developments in an I-team troubleshooter investigation, focused on a triangle wedding photographer. The business has now shut up. down more than 50 brides say they paid thousands of dollars and in many cases they now have nothing

to show for it we'll talk about all those stories and more when we see you next at five o'clock