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

Episode Date: June 26, 2026

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Right now at four, a wet start to the weekend. Our fleet of live drive vehicles are on the road in Wake County this afternoon. They're tracking what could be a wet commute home for drivers in the eastern part of the county. A conversation two decades in the making, a resolution between leaders in Fayetteville and Comberlin County about merging their 911 services. At the end of the day, we want the best situation for our community. How the leaders say the change will help better 911 response times. Plus another busy weekend in downtown Raleigh, the 8th of the end. annual Out Raleigh Pride Festival kicks off tonight.

We're talking with downtown businesses as they get ready to welcome those large crowds. Eyewitness News at 4 starts 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 eyewitness news. Right now at 4, a wet and humid start to the week, some spotty thunderstorms rolling in the Central North Carolina this afternoon and we've got our crews on the roads in Eastern Wake County where some of the showers are moving through I should say a

kind of wet and human start to the weekend because it is Friday afternoon. Thank you for joining us for the news at 4 I'm Barbara Gibbs and I'm Lauren Johnson. Amber has the day off depending on where you are you may need a number all you saw those windshield wipers going spotty showers and thunderstorms moving throughout parts of our viewing area right now yeah those showers are expected to die down this evening but we are not in the clear just yet tomorrow is a First Alert Day, those storms set to repeat themselves. It's the blazes from Chief Meteorologist Don Schuickr.

Hey, Don. And good evening to you, ladies. Yeah, we are tracking two areas of showers and storms right now, mainly moving to the north and to the east. We'll zoom in on the first alert Doppler. This one's just getting ready to go through Wilson. Has a little bit of lightning associated with it as well. That will continue to track off to the north and east.

Some light to moderate rain in eastern Wake County. There is a secondary area of showers down here from Laurenburg to Red Springs, Lumberton, and Pembroke all seeing these showers. These are sliding north and east. So they may clip Fayetteville over the next hour. We'll keep an eye on that. Live look from Fayetteville looking out that way. You can see the dark skies in the distance on the self-help sky cam.

86 degrees right now on a north wind at 10 miles an hour. Rain cooled in Irwin to 73, 76 in Sanford, 84 out to your chapel hill. 85 Durham and Raleigh, 89, Rocky Mount 88 in Roanoke Rapids. A first alert to the evening ahead. you taking the pup for a walk tonight. There's about a 40% chance of showers really across the evening, better earlier. And then the rain chances go away later in the evening. But the time we go on for ABC 11 and 11, we're down to 75 degrees. We'll talk more about those rain chances tomorrow and a heat wave to tell you about your first alert seven-day forecast coming up in just a bit. All right. Don, thank you. And as we continue to track those thunderstorms, now is a good time to download the ABC 11 mobile app.

We'll send all those weather headlines directly to your devices. You can also check the first alert. Doppler net and the seven day forecast at any time. All right, let's take a live look now at Fayetteville Street and downtown Raleigh kind of through the trees there. You can see the street in just a few hours of Raleigh. Out Raleigh Pride Festival gets underway there. That's right, all this activity downtown, not only boosting the local economy, but introducing businesses to potential new clients.

John Dowding is live from downtown Raleigh. It's Out Raleigh Pride gets underway. John, another weekend of some really good exposure for downtown. And Lauren, Barbara, this is just one of the weekends that we have that's going to be busy. We still got another busy weekend next weekend for July 4th. But you see right here behind me, a lot of these local vendors here are getting set up for the first night of out Raleigh Pride. Tomorrow is the big celebration here downtown. You saw it's kind of raining a little bit here. As Don was talking about some of those storms coming in, we're expecting some really warm temperatures over the next few days.

But to quote one of the LGBTQ icons, Barbara Streis-in, what she said, don't try to rent on my parade. And that's definitely what they're not going to let happen tomorrow. It's a real important to our downtown economy right now. A much-needed boom to downtown Raleigh's economy, heading into a second consecutive weekend. Last weekend's Canes Parade, bringing in more than 180,000 people downtown. Visit Raleigh staff, say Out Raleigh Pride typically brings in more than 25,000 people as well. America 250 celebrations next weekend, also expecting to bring in thousands from across North Carolina, to celebrate America's historic birthday.

It also helps introduce a lot of our residents and visitors to the downtown area, discovering new restaurants and retail establishments that they might know even existed before. Volunteers set up on Fayetteville Street Friday ahead of the kickoff to Out Raleigh Pride. They say they're excited for the celebration to return as a way of celebrating everyone in the community. I believe in everyone having a fair shake, everyone being seen for who they are. And that's really important to me. I'm an ally of the community and I will always be. We'll see so many people coming out already to get started for those celebrations.

But again, like we said, one of the things you got to think about and watch out for the heat. It's going to get really bad over the next few days coming up here at 5 here from a UNC doctor about some of those warning signs that you should keep an eye out for before you head outside, how you can try to keep yourself safe and also what you can do now to protect to protect yourself from getting sick if you go outside over the next few days in that heat. Live here in downtown Riley, I'm John Dowding. ABC 11, I witness news. All right, John, thank you. Now to some other local headlines in your speed feed tonight, first two firefighters are recovering after they were hurt

while battling a house fire that broke out in Garner this morning. Video from our crews show firefighters from both Wake and Johnston counties responding to that fire. Officials say the homeowner woke up to smoke detectors sounding, escaped safely, and a neighbor called 911. The two firefighters suffered minor injuries and retreated there at the scene. We have an update in a deadly domestic dispute in Johnson. County. It happened yesterday at the AAF Flanders plant at 2121 Walpat Road. That's in Smithfield.

Officials say Jesus Bermudez went to the business, shot his wife Lorena Keperipaz. She was found dead in the parking lot. Bermudez is charged with one count of first-degree murder. He's being held at the Johnson County Detention Center without bond. A traffic alert for drivers in Kerry, part of Airport Boulevard at Sorrel Grove Church Road is closed following a water main break. The center turn lane and left lane to I-40 are closed, Our crew was out there as crews work to repair that break. The town says it could take up to another eight hours to get the repairs done. Also in Wake County, SAS Institute announced today it's cutting 300 positions throughout the company.

The employees who are affected can apply for other open positions or take advantage of transition services. SAS, a prominent North Carolina analytic software provider did not share specifics on the location of those layoffs. The company did share a statement with eyewitness news saying in part these changes are intended to, align SAS resources with our long-term strategic priorities as we continue to invest in key growth areas including R&D sales and cloud. SAS has more than 400 offices worldwide with its main campus there in Kerry. That is the speed feed. Barbara, back to you. All right, Lauren, thank you right now for we're learning more about talks of merging 911 emergency services in Cumberland County. Last night, faithful city leaders approved a proposal during a special meeting today. County

leaders review the resolution. Penelope Lopez joins us live in Fayetteville with the latest update. Penelope, good afternoon. Good afternoon, Barbara. You know, this is a conversation that's been two decades in the making. The real sticking point here was who was going to lead the administrative side of the center. After much discussion, both the city and county have agreed on a joint resolution. Because the importance of doing it right is more important to me than doing it quickly. I'm extremely optimistic. I mean, the conversations that we've had over this last week, we have moved closer together in where the points around this consolidation have been in years. Pressure is mounting for the city and county to merge their 911 operations.

This comes after a bill introduced last week forced 911 services to consolidate with Cumberland County. Today, the city council and county board agreed to move forward with combining their services with certain garbriol, to sign a memorandum of understanding within 45 days. Keep all current employees in their current positions and pay them fairly. Split cost fairly. Create a system where both the city and county share decision making and hire an independent consultant to help guide the consolidation process. After the expert helps with the plan,

they can execute it over the next year and a half to two years. You hear the mayor and I both talk about the highest level of service, the highest standard. That's what our citizens deserve. That's what our taxpayers deserve. So when you consolidate it, you get that, you get that highest standard. You get that best practices. At the end of the day, we want the best situation for our community.

And so the city council unanimously said that we would support whatever decision came out of that integration. And the resolution also points out the importance of including Fort Bragg in the conversation. Now state leaders will review the resolution. Reporting live in Fayetteville, I'm Penelope Lopez, ABC 11. Eyewitness News. We know you'll keep following this. Penelope, thank you. As the Cains continue to celebrate their Stanley Cup win,

a look ahead to next season already underway. Tonight, the Hurricanes make four picks in the 26 NHL draft with the entire hockey and scouting staff gathered at the Lenovo Center. First round, 7 p.m. ESPN. Trayvon Miles will have live coverage of the draft coming up on eyewitness news at 5 o'clock. Actually, they're not at the Lenovo Center. They're at Lenovo, so they'll be there gathered up for the viewing and watch party. I mean, it's already starting.

Yeah, corporate hits. See what happens for next season. All right. Next to four, it is the first win for the Department of Justice's prosecutors and a slew of cases against President Trump's perceived political enemies. Former National Security Advisor John Bolton pleading guilty to mishandling classified information. And the search for survivors continues after back-to-back earthquakes in Venezuela. The death toll is rising.

Cruiser searching through the rubble as international aid begins to arrive. And Lake Crabtree is seeing a record amount of boat renters this season. and what you need to know before getting out on the water. Don. And some heat headed in. We'll talk about that coming up. We're taking a live look at I-40 Airport Boulevard, a parking lot on a Friday evening as folks are slowing down. As we hit a break here, your traffic hotspots brought to you by your First Alert Forecast 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 11I Witness News. This spring, denim gets a softer, lighter update. Introducing Old Navy's drapey denim wide leg, a new fit that moves with you.

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Eyewitness news. We are local news weeknights 4 to 630 and 11. Right now, for a major setback in the war with Iran, a United Nations evacuation mission halted after an Iranian drone struck a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. The UN now refuses to move any stranded vessels until the safety of every ship can be guaranteed. President Trump sharing this message on social media today saying, quote, The Islamic Republic of Iran shot at least four one-way attack drones at ships traversing the Strait of Hormuz. One of the drones solidly hit the upper deck of a large and very expensive cargo carrying ship. Damage was done, but the ship was able to proceed on its way. We knocked down three other drones.

Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our ceasefire agreement, end a quote. Today, former national security advisor John Bolton pleaded guilty in a case related to classified information. It follows a years-long investigation led by both Trump administrations. Prosecutors alleged Bolton broke the law, despite knowing how to properly handle classified information. He faced 18 counts total for allegedly sharing notes via email with his wife and daughter taken from his time at the White House. Prosecutors argued some of the information in those notes had classification levels as high as top secret. He also knew the damage to national security that could be caused by mishandling that sensitive information. Nevertheless, as Mr. Bolton just admitted, he put our national security at grave risk in violation of the law.

Bolton served under Trump's first term, then became one of the president's most vocal critics. Under the terms of his plea agreement, he will pay roughly $2.2 million to resolve the case. He will complete community service. He forfeits any retirement pay tied to his time in federal service and could face prison time. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for late October. The latest person arrested in the plot to attack the UFC event at the White House is due in court this afternoon. 20-year-old Alexander Mercado of Chicago is charged with obstruction of justice. He is accused of deleting a signal app on his phone after being contacted by an FBI agent one day before the UFC event.

According to the indictment, the agent asked Mercado in a telephone call if he planned to travel to Washington, D.C. to help with the attack, Mercado denied it. This afternoon, a judge declares a mistrial in the federal trial of the man accused of starting the most distrown. destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history. The jury unable to reach a verdict. Jonathan Rindernecht was accused of maliciously starting the deadly fire that devastated the Pacific Palisades neighborhood last year. He was indicted on three federal counts, which could carry up to 45 years in prison. The jury got the case Wednesday and reported being deadlocked Thursday afternoon with two unwavering jurors. The U.S. Attorney's Office plans to retry that case. Right now in four of Venezuela's acting president says the death toll from those devastating

back-to-back earthquakes continues to rise as well as the number of people missing. Take a look at this drone video showing the rubble in the capital city there after the earthquake. ABC's fill-tate has more from the growing search and rescue operation. Today, the race against time in Venezuela, rescue workers painstakingly sifting through massive piles of rubble searching for quake survivors. One of those rescued, a four-year-old boy carried to safety, and now, you know, search and rescue teams arriving from around the world. We have a total of 25 teams, both search and rescues and medical teams from across the world

deploying with a total of 1,000 rescue personnel. Multiple teams dispatch from the U.S., the first search and rescue response team arriving today with a dozen trained canines trained for finding people trapped in the rubble. A website for reporting missing loved ones lists more than 50,000. as unaccounted for, with fears the death toll could increase drastically. New video shows the moment the quake hit, you can hear people screaming, glass shattering, dust from a collapsed building filling the streets. The coastal city of La Guara hit hardest, building after building flattened. This woman who says she has multiple family members trapped under the rubble, begging for more help from the government. government. Saying human strength is not enough, they need heavy equipment to help them with the search.

And here at home, workers in Florida gathering supplies to aid those displaced. They're in a state of shock. Some people and some people have lost everything. The main airport in Caracas suffered catastrophic damage in the quake, complicating search and rescue and aid delivery efforts. Lauren Glouren Gloucberg, ABC News, New York. New this hour, Lake Crabtree says they've seen. seen a record number of boat rentals this season. The park sharing the record for boat rentals was broken on Mother's Day and then again last Sunday for Father's Day. If you have plans to rent anytime soon, here are a few tips. The best day to visit is Friday. The park says

it's typically the least busy arrive as early as possible. Boat rental opens at 10 a.m. Know the type of boat your group is looking for and don't come too late. Rental stop at 5 p.m. each day. All right, let's take a look. We've got some live drive vehicles out there and this is one of them. This is a wet area in Wake County, road conditions also kind of messy in Wendell. And so just be aware of that because I know big weather you're talking about earlier, we've got some spotty showers moving through the area. And it always seems like feast or famine. Some people are like, I didn't get any rain.

That is true. Yes, some folks are getting hammered with rain and other folks won't see any rain today. And same story tomorrow. We're all going to see the heat though coming up. I want to show you this. This is a long-range forecast from the National Weather Service showing heat danger by days. And here's today. And you can see today minor heat danger, maybe a little moderate, some orange around here. That's it. As we get into tomorrow for Saturday,

we're starting to see some major heat danger right through downtown Rodley and certainly down into the sand hills. So that's tomorrow. Let's run this ahead all the way into next week. And you'll notice by Thursday we see extreme heat danger. That's because we are really going to see the temperatures ramp up. Look at the long range forecast. And by next Wednesday, we're up around 100. That doesn't break a record. Thursday, Friday would. But we're feeling heat feels like temperatures 105 to up to 111. And the street continues through the force. So some extremely hot weather headed our way. Biggest heat wave of the year happens next week. Before it gets here, though, we're tracking showers and a few thunderstorms. None of it's severe tonight. But we do see some thunderstorms now working into southwestern Cumberland County out of Red Springs and Lumberton. And that'll work toward Rayford as well over the next 15. minutes. Heavy rain in Wilson, eastern Johnson County, Western Wayne County, Newhanta, right over the pork center. Some showers falling there. And we do see some showers up to the north and west. Not a bad evening out at the RTP talking about hit or miss. It's just mostly cloudy.

Right now at the box yard, 85, but it is dry with some sunshine poking through. We'll go from the 80s to the 70s tonight for overnight lows. 72 Raleigh, 74 in Fayetteville. Normal is 68. That's our seasonal average. We're going to be well above that tonight and it just gets even warmer. Headed for a run in the morning, get it done early tomorrow. Temperatures will be in the 70s by 10 o'clock. We're in the 80s and by lunchtime we're feeling like 90 degrees. So here are the spotty showers right now. Those are going to go away as the sun goes down. Your first alert predictor forecast model shows the rain in here this evening by 9 o'clock. Still a couple of showers out towards Shattam County. But again, overnight, we lose the sun. We lose the heating. We lose the showers. Then as we start the day tomorrow, we'll see heat and humidity by 3 o'clock.

We're starting to see some storms form, and those storms could turn severe, especially between 6 and 10 tomorrow night. Here's the line of showers working through the severe risk. It has been backed off in Raleigh, just a category 1 out of 2, but Eastern County still a category 2. Biggest threat would be damaging winds, so we'll be watching that all day long. Meteorologist Steve Stewart will be on in the morning with updates throughout the morning. 94 tomorrow in Raleigh, 91 in Durham, 93 in Fayville, your first alert, seven-day forecast.

Shows those temperatures in the 90s on Sunday and isolated late-day storm. Monday, stray storm, 30% chance of showers, 92. We end the month of June at 95 degrees, and then, oh, my, hold on, because here comes the hot weather, 100 on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday, at this point, those would be record highs, 102 and 103. Those are not feels like temperatures. Feels like temperatures next week could be up around 110. So be ready for the hottest weather of the year. And I know you talk about this being a cumulative effect on people.

And boy, next week could be a really dangerous situation. It really does. You need to start preparing Tuesday, even Monday, by getting your fluids up and getting ready to go because the heat takes its cold day after day. All right. All right. Thank you. Yes.

Well, next weekend, join us for the Fourth of July party. Yeah, Raleigh's Dix Park, bringing back the fireworks show and the live performances for America's 250th birthday. That fun kicks off in the mid-afternoon, runs through the night. Here's a list of what to bring, blankets, small coolers, refillable water bottles, comfortable shoes, sunscreen, bug spray, and flashlights. All right, and the bag policy includes small clutches and fanny packs. Bigger bags need to be those clear bags.

Medical and diaper bags are allowed as well. ABC 11 is proud to be the presenting sponsor. Still to come, Operation Firecracker, the State Highway Patrol cracking down on drunk drivers ahead of the 4th of July, the campaign hoping to send a message of celebrating the holiday responsibly. Also coming up, remembering a North Carolina deputy killed in the line of duty. More about the tragic accident and the driver now facing charges. Tori Johnson with your ABC Secret Savings.

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ABC 11 eyewitness news continues now. It is Pride Month and all over the triangle. Celebrations are happening to mark this month, including the largest pride gathering in the state out Raleigh Pride. The three-day event kicks off tonight on Fayetteville Street. You can see behind us the preparations for that big celebration already underway. The rain is not stopping anything. Akila Davis has what you need to know about the special event.

The stage is set as final preparations are underway in downtown Raleigh for the 14th annual Out Raleigh Pride Festival. I'm very proud to be a part of the community. I walk around with no shame. I'm proud to have children who are, is accepting and encourage adults to walk in their authenticity as well. Organizers like Niche Cameron with the LGBT Center of Raleigh hope the festival empowers people to live openly and authentically. Good morning. Good morning. She says the celebration has grown over the years, and in fact, this year marks the first time out Raleigh Pride has expanded into a three-day event, spanning the entire weekend and ending with the drag brunch on Sunday. More than 250 vendors are expected to take part, signaling the festival's growth.

It's all about people being seen and accepted and loved, and I think pride is just such an important time for everyone to be able to come out and feel. comfortable. Festival organizers say the LGBT plus community hasn't always felt safe and accepted. Ahead at 5.30, how events like this are helping foster a more inclusive triangle. In Raleigh, Akela Davis, ABC 11, eyewitness news. Akela, thank you. Fort Bragg's Red, Red, White, Boom Festival returns tomorrow. The annual Independence Day celebration will take

place on the main post parade field. Not only will there be fireworks, there will also be vendors, bounce houses, and a parachute demonstration by the all veterans parachute team. Gates open at 3 o'clock tomorrow afternoon. The fireworks show is at 945. That event is free and open to the public. And as we prepare for the 4th of July, holiday law enforcement will be cracking down

on impaired driving with the Operation Firecracker Booze It and Lose It Campaign. This campaign kicks off Monday and it runs through July the 5th. It's all in an effort to encourage sober driving during the July 4 celebration. Law enforcement agencies and all 100 counties will conduct enhanced patrols to take impaired drivers off the road. Covering the Carolinas now, a deputy was killed when an 18-wheeler collided with the crew painting stripes on US-74 in Southeastern North Carolina.

According to the NC State Highway Patrol, it happened yesterday afternoon on US 74 in Hillsborough. They say 30-year-old deputy, Damien Boss, was hit by a tractor trailer while assisting and escorting an NCDOT worker. He was taken to the hospital where he later died. The driver of the tractor trailer, 33-year-old David McPherson was arrested. and has been charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle, reckless driving, and failure to reduce speed. Today, Deputy Boss' body was escorted from the medical examiner's office in Raleigh back to Columbus County. He had been with the sheriff's office eight years and was a school resource officer at South Columbus High School. He was a husband and a father of two.

This afternoon, a former Madison County Sheriff's chief deputy is behind bars. Bronis Coy Phillips was arrested in connection to an SBI investigation into alleged criminal activity, involving inmates and detention facility staff. According to court documents, he's accused of giving inmates tobacco products, controlled substances, and even deadly weapons. He was arrested in Arizona last week and brought back to North Carolina to face charges. He's being held in Avery County with no buy. Well, starting tonight, young people in Greenville will have a curfew.

The city's mayor has signed a proclamation of emergency, issuing a temporary overnight curfew for minors in downtown Greenville. The curfew applies to anyone under the age of 18 and will be, in effect from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. starting tonight through Monday morning. This comes after the Greenville Police Department said that they're increasing their presence downtown after responding to multiple disturbances involving a large group of teenagers last weekend. In Durham, it's grand opening day, Lutra Cafe and Bakery officially opening up inside Durham's American Tobacco Campus. Well, check this out from this morning showing a long line of customers. Lutra is known for its

sweet and savory buns, soft pretzels, breakfast sandwiches. You can find the new location. downtown near the Mint beverage company. Coming up from Eastern North Carolina to Hollywood, the ECU professor helping bring the magic of Toy Story 5 to life, one music note at a time. And FX's hit series, The Bear, headed toward its final service. We're hearing them the cast as they celebrate a well-earned send-off.

And as we go to break, here is a live look at the Raleigh Skyline on this Friday afternoon. Spotty showers in some areas. It's about to give really hot. Big weather's got the forecast coming up. All right, it's been a week now. since Toy Story 5 hit theaters. Since then, the Disney Pixar film

has held the top spot at the box office. But here's a little interesting fact. An East Carolina professor helped to bring the soundtrack to the film to life. Scott Sutherland, a tuba professor at ECU is one of two tuba players featured on the soundtrack for the movie. He says his latest work will now be part of a movie franchise

that has shaped childhood memories for generations. The idea of always giving back, always helping to shape the next generation musicians is in my blood. And it's something that I will never, ever give up. And this is not Sutherland's first Hollywood role. He has played tuba on several major Hollywood scores like Pearl Harbor and Indiana Jones. Wow. All right.

Well, it is time to say goodbye to the bear. For the past three years, fans have fallen in love with the kitchen staff. And now they're joining forces one last time, hoping it pays off in a very big way. Entertainment reporter Joe Elgar Jules. Set down with the cast. You ready? Can we get a collective? Because we're headed back to the kitchen one last time for the fifth and final season of the bear.

We have each other and nothing left to lose. I'm so sad this show is ending. I'm in denial that the lights are on and we have to leave. This whole experience is with me forever. It's really the best. It's so nice to see. Hard work, persistence, talent, all this stuff like pay off. Pay off, it has.

Not just the awards. The show became a cultural phenomenon. Chef, you good? Take a breath. And in season five, we meet Sydney, Richie, and Natalie, right where season four left off. When they learned Karmie not only quit the food industry, but left the restaurant to them. We're going to keep operating. Richard, I am selling the building.

Now, with no money and the threat of a sale, the team must come together one last time. all in hopes of finally earning a coveted Michelin star. I think it's either going to be okay. No, stop! If you guys could say something to your characters, what would you say to your characters? You have so much more to do. Oh, I like that.

Trust yourself and it will be okay. I think we're meeting Karmie at this time where there's a bit of like a leap of faith, but I think he's got to trust himself. Let's go. Like being fake positive? No, I'm being real positive. I'm just trying to be...

My sore, baby. What are you trying to be helpful and do a good job? I feel like I don't say goodbye to the characters because I feel like you're expressing different parts of yourself season to season through these people. So I feel like everything that I've expressed exists and is with me. So it's like it's not saying goodbye to the characters.

I'll look back at it maybe in 10 years and be like, wow, that was such a different point in time and then maybe I'll cry. I look at you all and I love you so much. This is how we keep this place alive. I think what I'd miss most about this experience is the people. I'll just miss getting to speak.

spend time with these beautiful people. I'm going to miss the team, like the entire cast, the crew. It is such a team effort. I miss it all. I miss the camaraderie. It's no last day. We're out of time. The final season of the bear is.

Healing. Healing. Healing it is. Yeah. Yeah. This is the bear. Joel Gajulo, ABC 11, I witness news. I think the viewers who will finish Joe L's sentence will say sad.

They're hating that it's ending. No, it's been a good run. It has. All right, well, the prolonged dry conditions, do they have more snakes slithering out and about in everyday places? After the break, we're testing your knowledge about the reptile and what you should know

if you ever run into one. And see you later, alligator. I'll show you what happens when a baby gator wanders onto a construction site. Oh, no. All right, let's test your knowledge about snakes. Are snakes more active in this intense heat and a drought like the one we're in?

Are they out and about searching for water? If you answered yes to those two questions, you'd be wrong. Let's get the facts from a snake expert. If this is on your big list of fears, know this. In North Carolina, we do have a lot of snakes. Almost 40 species of snakes, and most of them are harmless. But they're around. If you see one, just leave it alone.

Especially this one, the only common venomous snake in our state, the copperhead. Fortunately, they're really easy. to identify if you know the trick. Copperheads have a really beautiful pattern that looks like kind of melted Hershey kisses. So upright triangles in a line repeated on their side that are darker than the surrounding background. So if you see melty Hershey kisses on the side of a snake, it could be a copperhead and definitely keep your distance. Copperheads are nocturnal and Owen says they don't want to bite you. So if you garden, wear gloves, if you run or hike, wear closed-toe shoes and beware of ivy and tall grass.

If you have anything like this in your neighborhood or in your yard, this is the kind of stuff that a copperhead might be found in because this is also the stuff that we would see mice and rats and chipmunks. So if you don't want snakes in your yard, you might want to keep your yard a little bit more clean and tidy and remove ivy, especially on the ground, because that's really great for snakes. Snakes don't operate based off of seasons. They operate based on temperature.

So as long as the temperature is over 60 degrees, there's a chance that a snake is going to be awake in your area. The hotter and drier it is, the more they're kind of going to go dormant. They're going to reserve their energy and stay out of the hot sun. So they're probably going to be less active than they would be if it was really moist and there was a lot of food around. So we might expect to see fewer copperheads in this really, really intense. dry heat than we would otherwise. If the snake does bite, see your doctor immediately,

but also know this. They only bite in self-defense if you're bigger than maybe a mouse. So if you see a copperhead or any other snake, as long as you're not stepping on it or grabbing it or trying to pick it up, that snake doesn't want to have anything to do with you and will leave you alone if you leave it alone. So we're square on that. All right, if you're concerned about kids being outside and pets. The state biologist there says to teach your kids how to identify the copperhead you know the melted Hershey kisses. And you can also do snake aversion training, she says, for your dogs so that they know to stay away from a snake if they see one to. Ooh, let's all stay away, Barbara. Let's do it. All right. Loud to today's top trending stories

in real news. First, some tourists in Argentina were met with a furry surprise, a wild llama in search of a snack. You can see the animal here galloping along the road towards those tourists. right there. They were busy looking through the trunk of the car and they got a friend right there bumping into them. Stop right next to the car while the tours were laughing. One of the travelers did offer the llama some cake, which confusingly, it refused. Just want to get a little close and personal. Don't want your snacks. All right, in England, Kent Police are thanking a driver who gave an imprompt to lift to an armed officer chasing a suspect helping police catch him. Police went to a property on reports of an assault in the area. A suspect took off

running. Police gave chase. During that chase, a passing driver stopped to help, told an officer, get in the back of the van. They were able to catch up with that suspect. Police arrested him soon after. That's a nice driver there. All right, let's go to Texas now. Police near Houston say a baby alligator surprised a construction crew, and that's because it wandered into their work zone. The Fulshire Police Department calling the little animal an investigator. Get a die. You get it? You get it? An officer was able to get that gator and take it to a nearby lake. An investigateer, barber. That's so cute. That's real news. Back to you.

All right. We've got snakes. We got llamas. We got investigators today. What else we got? Okay, so we're ready to celebrate America's 250th birthday. Disney is going all out with the primetime special celebrating Great American Triumphs. It is blending, storytelling, patriotism, and celebration. for our nation, the special feature both Walt Disney World and Disneyland theme parks. We sat down with ABC's Deborah Roberts, who's hosting the special with ABC News National correspondent, Will Reeve, about why they are choosing to do the special at the parks. We thought it was sort of an interesting way of looking at America, because when you think about all of those things that people do come to Disney for, they're for nostalgic experiences,

they're for futuristic experiences. So we use that as a backdrop to talk about our country and all of those things that make us so special. Disney celebrates America. The Pursuit of Happiness airs Monday, June 29th on ABC 11, and it streams the next day on Disney Plus and Hulu. She's so sweet. She was talking about going back to the park since she's like, I hadn't been here. It's been a while since she'd taken her kids. And she goes, you just get there and you feel all nostalgic like you did when you're a kid.

Yeah, I mean, it is crazy. And some of the best family time you can do. Absolutely. Because you're stuck together. Exactly. Yeah, you are stuck. All right, let's talk about radar. We've got two areas of heavy rain working through right now. Live look at first alert Doppler net. We'll go into this one.

Rocky Mount Heavy rain. That's moving toward Tarboro, Pine Tops. It's just outside your door. Some heavier showers down at Wilson. If we head south, look at the rain. We told you Fayetteville would be there by 5 o'clock. It's there right now. It extends over into Hope County.

A live look on our camera. Ooh, it is pouring right now on our self-help sky cam. at the isolated showers and storms working through. It has dropped the temperature 15 degrees. We were in the mid to upper 80s at the top of the hour down to 73 now as that heavy rain works through the All-American City. A look at the evening ahead. We see those temperatures staying in the 80s. Rain chances go down as we head toward 11 o'clock and things start to dry up. We'll talk more about the rain chances tomorrow and the heat wave headed in coming up at 5 o'clock. Let's find out what else is coming up at 5 o'clock. For that, we go to Steve Daniels.

Hi, Don, thanks very much. A local sheriff is responding to tonight to our eyewitness news reporting about his jail inmates breaking out going on the run in his community another getting the jail keys and busting out of the building what the sheriff is telling us about conditions at his jail new here at five o'clock and amazing stories of survival emerging from the earthquake zone in venezuela this young man named daniel pulled from the rubble two days after the quake hit areas around caracas knew at five how you can help those people who have lost everything including their own loved ones and you'll see gilbert's story he's years old. He works at a North Carolina Chick-fil-A. We'll show you where and why Gilbert decided to

find a brand new job in his 90s. And Gracie, the giraffe, vanished. She was missing for two weeks. So how did it happen? How was the draft finally found? Lauren, we've got some answers when I see you for the news at five minutes. We got an animal kingdom on the show, right? We've seen all the animals. Steve, I'll be here, see you then. All right. Next, it's the story of how one man brought his love for a cup of Joe to the city of Oaks. That's right. In today's North Carolina made, we take you inside Larry's coffee and meet the couple keeping the legacy brewing.