ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at 4pm - October 22, 2026

Episode Date: October 22, 2026

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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. Breaking right now at 4, we are one step closer to knowing the fate of Miguel Selgaro Alvarez, the man charged with killing UNC Chapel Hill student faith hedge path. Jury deliberations are now underway of the prosecution and defense, rest their case, and presented their closing arguments today. Thank you for joining us for the news at four.

I'm Barbara Gibbs. And I'm Amber Repenta, and breaking news here is first at four. The jury has now been deliberating just for about 40 minutes now in the murder trial of UNC Student Faith Hedgepeth. The prosecution and defense both wrapping up their closing arguments today, as Barbara just said, lawyers for Miguel Salgaro Olavar's telling jurors their job is to, quote, test the state's evidence and decide whether prosecutors have presented enough to prove their case.

The state earlier today saying the forensic evidence in this case is, quote, screaming the truth. We have team coverage this afternoon breaking down the case and how we got to this point. Let's go straight to Akela Davis, live outside the Durham County Courthouse. Akila, you've been following this trial since day one. Tell us what is happening right now. Yeah, the fate of Miguel Sagera Aliberis is now in the hands of the jury. They've been deliberating at this point for about 40 minutes after hearing closing arguments from both the state and defense. I want to take it. I want to take you into the courtroom and talk to you a little bit about what I saw today. The state told the

jury that forensic evidence in this case is, quote, screaming the truth. Prosecutors appeal to their emotion telling them that Faith Hedgepath had a promising future that was taken from her at just 19 years old. The defendant Miguel Sagero Aliberis is facing four charges. That's first-degree burglary, sexual offense, rape, and murder. The state pointed to DNA evidence found on the blue Riesling wine bottle, Bacardi rum bottle, and Faith's Body. No matter what kind of mistakes were made or things that were missed, it doesn't erase the palm print. It doesn't somehow lift the DNA out of faith. That evidence still exists. They still got the guy because he left

his DNA like confetti all over that room. Now, during the defense's closing statements, attorneys urged jurors to use logic and consider that Olivares was also 19 years old in 2012 the same age as Hedgepeth. The defense argued that the two could have had a consensual sexual relationship and that male DNA can survive inside the body for days.

They maintained their argument that evidence in this case had been mishandled and even missed. They also tried to raise doubt by asking the jury to consider what else could have been missed. You have to forgive me if that creates a little bit of a lack of confidence in the state's vetting of its own evidence that it is presenting to you in this case and asking you to rely on to reach a verdict of guilt and murder and rape a life sentence. We have means. That's the vetting of the evidence. What else did they miss? What else with the computers? We downloaded lots of cell phones. Who? Who downloaded? What programs did they use? Who were the team members? What were the

parameters for the searches? So the jury continues deliberating at this hour. I'm stepping back inside as we are now on Verdict Watch reporting live in Durham. I'm Akela Davis, ABC 11, eyewitness news. As we said, the jury has been deliberating for about 45 minutes now. Akela, keep us posted from the courthouse. Thank you. Let's go to Steve Daniels now. He's in the breaking news center. Steve, it's been a month, almost a month since this trial started. Remind us how the jury about the jury makeup and who is now deliberating this case here. Yeah, Barbara and Amber, here's what we know about the jury as they are deliberating behind closed doors right now. I want to go through the makeup of that 12-member jury. It's five black women, four white women, two black men, one white man.

They also have four alternates, two men and two women. They have had a front-row seat to the trial. It began with eight days of jury selection. in the nine days of testimony. The prosecution called 23 witnesses in that time. The defense did not call any witnesses, but they did cross-examine many prosecution witnesses, and they rested their case on Tuesday. Miguel Soluero Olibaris is charged

with killing the UNC student when Faith was 19 years old. So the jury is considering these charges. This is what they are deliberating right now. These are their options. First degree murder, first degree rape, first degree sexual assault, and also first degree burglary. They'll decide if he's guilty or not guilty

on each of those charges. As you know, he has pleaded not guilty. It's really impossible to predict how long these deliberations will go. What they are doing in that jury room right now is they're going through each of those charges I just outlined and they're considering the evidence in each of those charges. That can take some time. But at this time, no indication. They haven't come back with any questions for the judge.

So at this point, there's really no indication we're getting about how long deliberations could run. Amber. Yeah, you never know in these cases. All right, Steve, thank you. And as we are on verdict watch, you can stay up to date with what's happening. in that courtroom. Just check our live blog on ABC11.com. You can also download the ABC11 mobile app for the latest. Let's turn now to first alert weather on this Thursday. Our stretch of seasonal weather continues. Hikers over at Ustead Park and Raleigh taking advantage of the beautiful weather today.

It was gorgeous. Chief Peterologist Don Schwinnaker joins us now. The First Alert forecast center. Don Amber was at the fair today. What a gorgeous day to be at the fair. Is it going to be better the rest of this week? Oh, yeah. Do we get food on a stick? I don't know. a stick. Doggonna, we need to get any food on the stick back from her today? Oh, well, I have to. Yeah, you want to head to the fair? Check out the next three days as we wrap up the last few days of the North Carolina State Fair. Tomorrow, 70, 68. It will be a little breezy. That's the only problem on Saturday. So if you're up in the gondolas there, you may swing a little bit or on the giant Ferris wheel. Sunday, a few clouds wrapping it up 70 degrees, but really a spectacular stretch of weather. The only problem is we've got drought. And coming up at 5 o'clock, we'll show you the latest drought report, because, Look at the rain chances all the way to next Thursday, holding at zero. And they're going to stay that way. Live look. First alert Doppler net tonight.

We are dry across the Carolina. So let's take a live look into downtown Durham. Not a cloud in that sky. 71 right now. Sunny skies on a northeast wind at nine miles per hour. It's going to be chilly night tonight. We will see those numbers quickly tumble. If you are headed out to the North Carolina State Fair tonight, 61 by 7 o'clock,

you're definitely going to want a jacket on the midway. Those numbers falling through the 50s. By 10 o'clock, we are into the 40s, and I would not be surprised if a few folks wake up tomorrow to attempts in the 30s. And we'll show that to you in your complete overnight forecast. We've also got that first alert to your seven-day forecast. It does get a little warmer over the next seven days. We'll break that down coming up in just a bit.

Barbara. All right, that's a big change, 30s in the morning. All right, Don, thank you. Well, now to some other headlines in your speed feed. First new details on a crash involving a school bus in Johnston County. It happened just before three this afternoon on NC210 at North Pleasant Coates Road near Benson. The bus was carrying 16 students from West Johnson High School. Officials say no injuries were reported.

A Clayton man has been charged after his brother was shot in the head during a domestic altercation. It happened in the 500 block of North Fayetteville Street. Police say that's where they found Stephen Driscoll with gunshot wound to the head. Officers later learning the shooting stem from an altercation between Driscoll and his brother Justin Driscoll. Justin Driscoll was arrested in charge with felony assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. Stephen Driscoll was taken to the hospital, nor word yet on his condition at this time. A Wake County woman is facing animal cruelty charges after officials say they remove more than a dozen chihuahuas from her home. According to court documents obtained by eyewitness news, Sharon McDonnell was arrested in charge with 10 counts of animal cruelty.

Longleaf Animal Rescue and Hillsboro shared this photo of the dogs saying the chihuahuas are now at their facility. The nonprofit says this is the largest intake they've had in history. They say the dogs need vaccines, they need dental work and other preventative care. As of right now, they're not up for adoption, but they are being cared by some foster families. Look at those little sweet faces. Amber, that's your speed. Feedback to you. Very cute.

Barbara, thank you. New this afternoon, the ABC 11-I team is asking questions about who has access to license plate reader data and what safeguards are in place there. Those automatic license plate reader cameras often run by a company called flock, to stir up controversy in communities all across the country over privacy concerns. Those privacy concerns coming into the spotlight here in North Carolina as well. After the FBI arrested a Charlotte Mecklenburg police officer, they say he illegally accessed a flock database, ultimately leading to an investigation into racial bias and multiple police resignations.

The I team's John Dowding is joining us live from Apex Now with more. So John, I know that you sat down with the chief there, the police chief for an interview about their safeguards today. What did he tell you? So Amber, the chief says here the town has really had this contract with flock for just about over a year now. And he says it has drastically helped how the department can do things here in town. Now he sat down with us to talk to us about some of those privacy concerns. He's hearing from community members about flock camera usage here in Apex. And he's also telling us about some of the safeguards the department has in place to prevent potential misuseage.

It's grown so quickly and so broadly that now the public is sort of paying more attention to the potential. consequences of having national data. A nationwide system of tracking vehicles, raising privacy concerns in the triangle. The I team is looking at data from flock about how their system is being used here and finding out how our local law enforcement and police chiefs are holding their officers accountable when using this new technology. In Apex, the town has eight flock cameras. Apex police owns that data collected and holds onto it for seven days. In the last month, the department made 155 searches in the system. In an interview with the eye team, Chief Ryan Johansson says officers need specific reference case or incident numbers to conduct search

and says they have safeguards in place when officers conduct multiple searches on the same vehicle. Prior to conducting those searches, you have to submit a probable cause declaration within the department. And so that goes immediately to your supervisor to evaluate whether or not you've met that threshold and then up beyond that to a lieutenant to evaluate whether or not that threshold is being met. Now the chief also told us that they actually minimize the amount of time the department onto data collected from flock cameras. After hearing from the, some people here in the community about those concerns about how long that data is held.

We did reach out to Flock, the company behind those cameras, here into Apex to talk to them about some of those concerns. They told us in a statement to the eye team here, that customers of Flock own the data and control that data as well as who they share that data with. Flock does not own or sell that data. Every search through Flock is auditable, and Flock's audit assistance tool detects abnormal activity

and flags it for Administrator Review. Now that audit assistance will be required for all law enforcement customers by the end of 2026. Now Apex isn't the only municipality here in the triangle that has Flock Cameras in place right now. Coming up right here at five, we checked it with the Capitol City

to see what Raleigh Police is doing over there with flock cameras and to see what they're doing to prevent any potential misuse. We're live tonight in Apex. I'm John Dowdy. ABC 11, Eyewitness News. This is a conversation so many police departments are having

with the community. All right. John, thank you so much. Still ahead here on Iwood's News at 4 o'clock. Young voters in Wake County are making their voices heard this election. We're talking with some of our local college students as they cast their ballots. Why they say getting to the polls this year is important to them. And it is Hunger Relief Day at the North Carolina State Fair. We'll tell you how you can help those in need and have fun while doing it.

Don? And we're taking a live look this hour at I-40 in Miami Boulevard. And you can see volume up on both sides, especially on the right side there. It's really starting to back so that maybe slow down if you're head. that way. As we had to break, here, your traffic hotspots brought to you by West Shore Home. Meet NXA, a luxury bathroom experience engineered for beauty without the upkeep. NECA brings the timeless beauty of natural stone and marble into a new era. Luxury without compromise. Beauty without the burden. Only available with NXA from West Shore Home.

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Eyewitness news. We are local news weeknights four to six 30 and 11. Well now to vote 2026. North Carolina is now top 1.1 million votes in this early voting period continuing to far outpace turnout from 2022. Yeah. Participation is up about 38% compared to the same time period during the most recent midterms with Wake County leading the state with more than 137,000 votes cast. There are 18 early voting sites in Wake, including the Western Boulevard Business Services building at NC State. And today, students sharing why they are participating. I think everybody should vote. I mean, democracy is built on people kind of sharing their views and making their voice heard.

And that's primarily done through voting. So I think that's important for everyone. And especially our generation, you know, we're going to lead the forefront of society. And we need to, you know, do our part in the voting process. Coming up here at 5 o'clock, Michael Perchick will join us from campus as students shared their thoughts on the new location after it was moved from Talley Student Union. It is day eight of the North Carolina State Fair, and it's also your chance to get back to a good cause while you're having fun. Yet today, it is the Smithfield Foods' 2026 Hunger Relief Day at the State Fair. Fair growers get in for free by donating six non-perishable food items to any fair gate.

All right. Elena Athens joins us now live from the State Fair. Elena, we saw you were sampling some things from earlier today. There's a lot to do today for a good cause. Yeah, and right now I'm in the middle of like a fried heaven situation. You can fry anything here at the stand behind me. It's just called deep fry. How about that? You fry olives or frying olives?

I don't know. Fried olive, maybe, maybe not, but they're frying Oreos. Look at these guys over here. We got a sister duo. You got fried cookie dough. Yeah. And what did you get my, my darling? Fried chocolate. So this, what do you think? Good? Good, really good. Yeah. Was it something

that was on your list that you had to get? Yes, I love cookie dough. So when I saw it fried, I thought, you know, why not? Oh no, I know. There's powder sugar everywhere, darling. That's part of the fun and the fair. Okay, so it's just one of the spots that you can get some of those, like, sugary trees or something that's, like, really out of the ordinary, like these fried olives. I'm half, I'm almost about to try that because I'm intrigued at the very least. But if we can take you around and give you a live look right now at the fairgrounds where you can see. that there are so many people and it's starting to really build as the evening is ahead of us. The state fair sees some of its highest attendance today.

On this Thursday before the final weekend, a spokesperson tells me, and that spokesperson estimates that roughly 100,000 people will come through the gates to have all sorts of fun today. Ready, ride. Eating all the food. Folks from all over the state continue converging on the capital city for the North Carolina State Fair. Today is hunger relief day. Each person who drops off six cans or packages of non-perishable food will get a free admission ticket. All donations are going to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina to help families fighting food insecurity.

This is probably the single biggest food drive we do across the state. Not even just the triangle, but the state as a whole is really seeing increased rates of hunger and food insecurities. All right, so ahead at 5 o'clock, how some teachers are using the food drive here at the State Fair to teach their students a meaningful lesson. coming up here on Eyewitness News at 5 o'clock. For now we're live at the State Fair, Elena Athens, EBC 11, I'm Witness News. I gotta say, Elena, the fried olives sound good. I mean, I'm Southern, we fry everything,

but I bet the fried olives are good. I don't know, I don't know. I'm salty, sweet, I mean, I guess that's what's happening. Please let us know, put it on your social media. It's fried heaven, I like that. We must know. All right, let us know. Thanks, Elena.

Elena, thank you. All right, if you're headed to the fair tonight, we have a list of some items that organizers say they need the most. The list includes things like peanut butter, jam, canned tuna, pasta, and more. And again, it used to be non-perishable items. Exactly. And we are continuing our fight against food insecurity.

We hope that you'll join us for the 40th annual ABC 11 Together Food Drive. It begins November the 18th, and our goal this year is to raise 1.4 million meals. And with your help, we know we can do that. We can surpass that. Yeah. Okay. So I have a question for you before you get into this gorgeous weather. Yes.

You have a little scruff on your face. What's going on? I had a couple of days off. Okay. No. Oh, I like all your pink too. This is for October. Yeah.

And then every year I do no shave November. And since I just happened to be off and got a good start on it, I thought we'd try it. Now it always goes away December 1st. And then all proceeds go to benefit the pediatric brain tumor foundation. If you remember, Bob and the show Graham used to be on the radio. Every year in November, they would do a fundraiser. And since Bob's been off, they haven't been able to do that for Bob's buddy, so I've tried to take up the torch. So it's on all my social media.

you're welcome to donate. I know money is really tight this year. So even if you can just donate a dollar, $5, whatever, we'll take whatever we can. But Cruz Medina and Steve Stewart are again going to be doing it with me this year as well. All right. So now you know. Now you know. And it'll get worse and you'll complain. But that's okay. I hope you're still watching. Let's see what's happen. It is for a great cause. And unlike the kids who have no choice if their hair goes away, I get to make them go away in December. All right. Let's take a look at the state fair. if you are headed out tomorrow and I agree with you Barbara. Fried alo sound delicious with a nice martini on the side I think would

be good too. I mean that's that may be a little not a fair thing. Okay, we see the temperatures climbing through the 60s to about 70 by 3 o'clock. So it will be a degree or two cooler tomorrow with the low humidity. The drought continues unfortunately and it's going to stay very warm. Look at the temperatures. I mean, it's mild for this time of year, but we don't see any rain chances over the next six to seven days. We'll stay in the 70s. By next Tuesday, we are trending a little warmer. Not a lot warmer. We're not seeing 80s, but we could go mid-70s by next week. Other than that, just a beautiful stretch of weather unless you're trying to grow grass. Live look at first-hler Doppler. Net tonight, we are dry. Let's head live on our camera out to North Hills. Blue sky, sunshine, and a temperature right now at 71 beautiful degrees. North-northeast wind at nine miles an hour. This is the weather that we get for suffering through some of those very hot days. at summer. Tonight we'll see temperatures. Look at this. 38 in Roxburgh. I've got 39 in Sanford. You're

always the icebox of the sand hills, but it will be cooler tonight through the overnight hours. Then tomorrow, those temperatures back into the 70s. Durham will actually stay in the 60s, 72 in Fayetteville. Your first alert, seven-day forecast powered by Accuilweather 68 on Saturday. Sunday, a few clouds. RDC Marathon, ABC 11, a proud sponsor of that. Great weather for runners. It would be in the upper 40s, low 50, by the afternoon, last day of the North Carolina State Fair in the 60s and 70s. Monday, 71, Tuesday. The Cains are back after the state fair road trip when they're gone for a couple of weeks. They're back for their first home game in a while, 74.

Sunday, 72 and Wednesday, 73 degrees. But what a beautiful stretch. Great weekend shaping up. Just know that if you're up early the next couple of days, might need a jacket or an extra cup of coffee, ladies. Right. And mittens, Barbara. He said, he said big.

Meat is too. Big old coat for your dog. Don things. Coming up, three triangle restaurants earn their way into the Michelin Guide. When we come back, we'll tell you which local eateries are ranked among the world's most distinctive places to eat. All right, and if you need a ride to the polls, Lyme Bike has you covered, the special deal

the bike rental company is offering to North Carolina voters. And a reminder, you can find eyewitness news live on ABC 11, Disney Plus, and everywhere you stream. We're back now for some news you can use this hour. First, the push to get voters to the polls. Lime is now offering two free 30-minute trips to and from polling locations or ballot drop boxes. It's available for voters in Durham and Raleigh. Use promo code Vote 26 in the

Lyme app to unlock your free ride on any Lyme bike or scooter. That promotion begins this Saturday, October 24th, and it runs through Election Day, November the 3rd. New this hour, health insurance premiums are on the rise. Industry groups say employer health care expenses could rise about 9% during this year's open enrollment. Analysts attribute the cost bumps to increase use of health services and they also cite expensive treatments for conditions like cancer and the growth of obesity medications as well. Now to a recall alert for Liddle shoppers. The recall involves gelatly coffee and vanilla gelato with coffee sauce and cookie pieces.

Lidl says that routine testing detected Listeria in a sample. The product was sold at Lidl stores here in North Carolina. A picture of it there. The containers have a Best Buy date of March 26, 2028. You should throw that gelato away or return it to Liddle for a full refund. So far, no illnesses have been reported. And that's news you can use. Barbara, over to you. All right, Amber, we'll do it for more North Carolina restaurants received Michelin Guide honors. That includes three in the triangle. The travel guide just announcing this year's recommendations on Wednesday, a sandwich shop, a pasta restaurant, and an upscale venue, damp good barbecue, DeSoro and Carrboro and Herons in the Umsted Resort and Spa. All earn a big Bib Gorman, which is a recognition for serving exceptional food at a great value. The triangle missed out on a Michelin Star for the second year in a row. Counter in Charlotte is the only restaurant with one Michelin Star in our state. Next to four, some good news for people in flood prone Fayetteville neighborhood. Construction has officially begun in the Locks neighborhood to improve drainage and road access there.

We have a look at the million dollar project now underway. Plus the foodie heaven over at the state fairgrounds. Look at that this year. There are more than 80 new foods. ABC 11 family are giving it a taste test. It's a rough assignment. Want to get away but can't live without Wi-Fi? With select Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac vehicles connected by OnStar,

you can enjoy an in-vehicle Wi-Fi hot spot with up to 15-meter range so you can stay connected even in unexpected places. Whether you're setting up camp or fueling up at a rest stop, you can enjoy the entertainment of Home on the Go. Explore OnStar Tech today at OnStar. Star. CA and elevate your travels. OnStar, better never stops. We are local news. ABC 11 eyewitness news continues now. And we continue to follow breaking news out of Durham this afternoon. The jury deliberating in the murder trial of UNC Chapel Hill

Student Faith Hedgepat. The prosecution and the defense both wrapped up their closing arguments today. Let's go to Steve Daniels. He's following the latest in the breaking news center. So Steve, we're on verdict watch now. Yeah, hi, Barbara, Amber, Amber, on verdict watch right now. We're about an hour and 10 minutes into those jury deliberations right now. This is the live feed coming in from inside the courtroom at the Durham County courthouse. When the camera is focused in on that seal right there, that means court is not in session. That is the indication to us on the outside. The jury is still behind closed doors in the jury room deliberating. They are considering five different charges right now against Miguel Soluero Olivares, the man who is charged in connection

with the death of UNC student faith hedge path in 2012. Let's show you what's happening outside the courthouse. Our eyewitness news team there as well. We know Faith's family has been there in the courtroom. Many of Faith's friends as well. They are all there. They are waiting. They are standing by as well as reporters outside the Durham County Courthouse. Our team is there. Akela Davis reporting in. She'll have the latest coming up at the top of the hour at 5 o'clock. Let me show you how the day has unfolded so far. It was closing argument day. First, it was the prosecution's turn to present their closing arguments about their nine days of testimony. And then the defense team, came in and they created what they hope will be reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury

based on the evidence that was presented during the prosecution's case and during the cross-examination the defense team engaged in during the trial. So closing arguments have finished about an hour and 10 minutes into jury deliberations right now on those five charges against Miguel Soluero, Oldivades. We will be on top of it here in the breaking news center and with our team at the Durham County Courthouse and track it all for you through the evening here on eyewitness News, Barbara. Steve, thank you. Before construction is underway in the flood prone locks Creek neighborhood in Fayetteville. Penelope Lopez is joining us live from that community on Carriage Street. So Penelope, give us a sense of what it's like there.

Hey, good afternoon. Here is what the road into the main community looks like. You can see there's orange tarps around the street and there's a detour sign all the way towards the back. Officials tells me, officials tell me that this is the first step in tackling a long-term issue. You can see where to the point that when the rain comes down and it's standing water, it made my bricks, my rocks come back up. Valerie Simpson moved to the neighborhood less than a year ago and has already noticed the effects. The nearly $1 million disaster mitigation grant project aims to reduce flooding. Standing water, all in my driveway, my backyard stays.

You hear squishing, my shoes get wet. Same thing for the front yard. I thought was because a lot of feather area. has a lot of red clay. So I thought that this was a lot of red clay area. I didn't know nothing was going on with the drainage until you say something to me today. Cruz will replace the current drainage culvert

with a larger, more durable concrete structure, and raised the roadways. This project is designed to help the entrance. So it's going to help our neighbors, our residents, and I help the first responders to get in here quickly to get and rescue those that are in the back of the neighborhood, because there's a lot of flooding that goes on in the back. The project only addressed.

the entrance. It won't solve flooding from the creek, a problem for Morgan Pate, who's lived in the back of this neighborhood for 20 years. It's just going to throw a little bit here, throw a little bit there to say that they're doing something. It's just a reaction for us. And officials insist that safety and access are the main goals for this project. But some residents like Pate are still skeptical. Coming up, we'll go over some of the timeline of this project and what happens next. We're now reporting live in Fayetteville. I'm Penelope Lopez, ABC 11, eyewitness news.

All right. We'll see you with that timeline. In an hour, Penelope, thanks. In Raleigh, right now, housing officials and community leaders are meeting face-to-face to address the city's rapid growth and ways to keep things affordable. The goal of today's conferences coming up with fresh ideas to house a capital city on the rise. The conference runs through tomorrow. It's sponsored in part by the North Carolina Housing Coalition. Tonight, the Kerry Town Council is expected to continue discussing a scathing audit,

exposing how the town was spending your tax dollars. It comes after the state auditor blasted the town for a culture of extravagant spending and lack of oversight in the wake of the investigation into former town manager Sean Stiegel. Tonight's meeting starts at 515. All new at 4, the North Carolina Courage could be looking to move from Kerry to downtown Raleigh. According to the Triangle Business Journal, the courage is pushing for a new stadium in downtown. The team owners say the move would allow room for more fans and new revenue streams like a store to sell merchandise year-round. the Courage play at Wake Met Soccer Park and Kerry. Owners say they had the lease through next year.

If the courage did move to a new stadium, it would be a part of Kane Realty's downtown South project. Eyewitness news reached out to both the courage. And Kane Realty, we have not heard back yet. Halloween is now a little over a week away, and as we count down to the holiday, law enforcement is ramping up safety efforts. Starting next week,

the North Carolina State Highway Patrol is activating its Halloween booze it and lose-it enforcement campaign from Monday, October 26th through Sunday, November the 1st, law enforcement is increasing patrol statewide. It's all in an effort to encourage people not to drink and drive. And it is day eight of the North Carolina State Fair. It's also hunger relief day there. All right, you can get into the fair for free by donating six non-perishable food items.

And once you're in, you may want to try some of these delicious food offerings. More than 80 new food vendors making their debut at this year's state fair of food items. And today, our morning team got the chance to try some of them. Take a look. Got a full spread. This is the moment that we have been waiting for. We got work to do. Yeah, we have been waiting for this.

We are trying out four new unique food being offered at the state fair this year. Joel, take it away. Okay, let's start. You heard about the pickled cheesecake that they had this year. This is the pickled cheesecake. And when we were talking about this on the run-up to the fair, I was curious on what this was going to taste like. What?

Go ahead. Do you want me to try it? Yeah, no, no, I do. I want to see your face. No, no, no, no, no. You already picked it up with your karate fingers. Excuse me. Excuse me.

Excuse me. Joel, tell us what this is. What is this? The bacon, the bacon, the bacon, the bacon, cheeseburger, corn dog. This is by Pioneer Wagon, the Pioneer Wagon. That looks delicious. Oh my God.

Yeah. The Pickled cheesecake, by the way, is from Mr. Pickle. And this is the Hawaiian. That is the deep-fried Hawaiian Sweet Roll by D&J Concessions. John Peterson. Excuse me. Excuse me. See what happened?

You don't mind a little cinnamon on the microphone, too. There's like a kiyabasa in here. Now, if you need a sweet treat, after all this healthy food, get yourself one of these Biscoff cookie crunch with fresh strawberries. This is from Minnie's chocolate tap. It's got crushed Biscop cookies, and you know I'm a sucker for Bistco. You love a Bistock. That's why you always fuzzled up. They put this fork in here, but it's a little tough to eat with a cook.

Only for the cookies. It's tough to eat with a fork. You're doing great. That's healthy. Look how big the strawberries are. I know. Seriously, a lot of fruit and stuff. Yeah, that's healthy.

I like how you chose the cookies over the strawberries. That's healthy with the strawberries. You know, I don't know about the cheesecake with the pickles. I like cheesecake. I like pickles, but I don't like them that close. Yeah. All right. You can go sample it all yourself.

I like the corn dog, though. There until Sunday. Up next here at 430, a North Carolina pilot says he and his wife are very lucky to be alive after their small plane crash. After the break, we're hearing from the couple about their terrifying ordeal. And a black bear ban is now in effect in West Carolina. in North Carolina, what wildlife officials say triggered that decision. Covering the Carolina as a North Carolina pilot shares his story after surviving a small plane crash earlier this month. Dustin Davis and his wife were flying in Columbus County at around

6,500 feet when Davis says the engine suddenly quit. The closest airport was eight miles away. Davis said he attempted to land the plane, but they crashed into a tree before hitting the ground. It's been two weeks since that crash. Davis says he'll never forget the moment he and his wife touched the ground after climbing out of the wreckage. I told my wife, I was like, here we go. You know, just pray that God does something for us. The closest way that I can equate to what it felt like when our feet touched the ground that night was the day that I asked Jesus into my heart and save me.

Wow, the FAA confirms a single-engine plane had engine problems before crashing into the trees. New this hour, there is a ban on feeding black bears in Western North Carolina. That ban is now in effect in Buncombe County. Wildlife officials say the ban comes as they see a rise in reports of bear encounters. Since May, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has received more than 800 reports of bear activity in the county. Five pets have been killed and two residents hurt. Officials say the ban gives wildlife officers a way to address concerns before bear activity becomes a public safety risk. Starting today, 24-hour emergency ferry service will be provided and providing limited access to how to have.

Island. It comes as NC12 has been damaged for the second time in four weeks. The North Carolina Department of Transportation says there's around 800 feet of pavement damage and 1,800 feet of protective dune now gone as well. According to NC DOT, the ferry will run between Rodanthe and Stumpy Point. Dare County officials say visitors cannot enter the island while the state of emergency remains in place. Coming up on I wouldn't choose at four, some websites could go dark after an AI assisted discovery. Why experts say this could be one of the most impactful security issues in recent memory. And the most popular baby names of 2026 are in.

After the break, see which names made the list. ABC 11 First Alert Weather on eyewitness news every day. New this afternoon, OpenAI says one of its models aided in uncovering a security flaw that could put billions of people's personal information at risk. And now the FBI is warning organizations to take vulnerable systems offline if they can't immediately install the fix. ABC's Reno Roy has the very latest. Web developers around the globe are scrambling to fix a massive security issue impacting an estimated 70% of the world's websites and apps.

Hackers could take over entire websites and steal people's sensitive information. A cybersecurity researcher and open AI helped identify the flaws in a technology called PHP that keeps many popular sites like Wikipedia and Etsy up and running. A.I. saying, quote, we consider this one of the most impactful security issues in recent memory. And the developers of Ph.P rated the vulnerabilities a 9.2 out of 10 in terms of danger. If it is hacked or exploited by bad actors on the internet, a whole variety of different things that people use websites for. That could mean usernames and passwords. It could mean personal details. It could mean information related to your flights or your health. It's really widespread. Some websites are on the world going dark temporarily, including many government public sites in Europe as they race to fix the bug.

The developers of PHP did release a software fix, but the FBI is now warning that if an organization cannot do an immediate update, it should, quote, take their system offline to avoid hacking attempts. Is that now everybody is aware that this vulnerability exists, even the hackers that maybe didn't not know about. it. Now as AI faces growing scrutiny, this underscores its ability to detect potential threats, but on the other side of this, the same technology can be used by bad actors to exploit those vulnerabilities. Rina Roy, ABC News, New York. Now today's top trending stories in real news, first, considering they cannot fly, pet emos are making quite a name for themselves as escape artists. Check out this video from Santa Cruz County. Sheriff's office deputies were called to wrangle a loose emu that was seen running through

traffic. The emu was eventually captured and taken back to its owner. In California, library workers were in for a surprise when a bear wanders into the building. Video from Mono County Free Library shows the bear strolling past the bookshelves, tables and chairs. The furry visitor did not stay for long, though. After eating the snacks, the bear browsed the new releases and then let itself out. The library was empty. Thank goodness. at the time. Finally, a Rubik's Cube robot is taking aim at a record. Watch as this robot solves a 4x4 Rubik's cube in less than 10 seconds. Engineering students at the University of Canterbury say this crew congocted the puzzle-solving robot, which knocked out the task in 9.8 seconds.

The current best robot time for this larger version of the standard cube is 45 seconds. According to Guinness, right now the students are waiting to see if their record gets certified. That is real. fast news. Back to you. That is real fast news. All right, Barbara, thanks and new this afternoon. Parenting website, Baby Center, is revealing the most popular baby names of the year. The top name for both genders hasn't changed for 2026.

Olivia and Noah are still on top. Other popular boy names for the same, are the same, that is, for a third year in a row. Liam, Oliver, Elijah, and Mateo. And for girls, Elena, Amelia, Charlotte, and so. All Made the Top Five. Only one girl name made a debut in the Top 100 this year, and that's Magnolia. While four boy names were brand new to the top 100, Milo Stetson, Archer, and Dean. We had a lot of deans when I was back in my day in high school. We have a brand new baby Eli and our family too.

So sweet. I like Magnolia. That's cute. Isn't that pretty? Yeah. That is beautiful. Yeah, I love it. It's a good thing. All right.

Today we've got a good forecast. And really over the next couple of days, Let's talk about the weekend as we head into it on Saturday. We'll see a few clouds a little bit cooler, that high pressure, that big blue H on the top of the screen there. That is going to push this cooler air into us. And we will be in the 60s on Saturday, even on into Sunday. It slides east a little bit that'll allow a little bit of warmer air in here. But rinse and repeat all the way into next week.

Live looking to downtown Fayetteville. We're looking at the self-help sky camp, 72 right now on a northeast wind at six miles per hour. hour. And as we head through the evening, if you're taking the pups for a walk tonight, temperatures will fall through the 70s quickly into the 60s. If you go out after dark, you may need the jacket with those numbers in the 50s by 9, 10 o'clock tonight. Let's check out your rain chances over the next four days. And it looks like I forgot to turn it on. I didn't. We just don't have any rain drops on the way here. Four day forecast at 4 o'clock showing tomorrow was 72, or today was 72 degrees. Tomorrow we'll top out at 70 as we head into the last

weekend of the North Carolina State Fair. 68 on Saturday. A little breezy, but otherwise not too bad. Those winds will be 10 to 15 miles an hour. They'll die down a little bit with a few clouds on Sunday, but pretty much a perfect weekend ahead. And we'll talk more about that, along with the latest drought report coming up tonight at 5 o'clock. Ladies. Wow, he said perfect weekend ahead.

Love it. It's the only three words we need. Don, thanks. Coming up all new at four, keeping kids out of trouble. The Orange County program giving young first-time offenders a second chance. Here's tonight's ABC primetime preview. First at 8-7 Central on 9-1-1, as lava takes over Los Angeles. The 118 must figure out how to contain the fire before the city goes up in flames.

Then at 9-8 Central on 9-1-N-1 Nashville, the team reaches out to their friends in L.A. for some advice. We got a baby stuck in a wall. Another pipe baby, no way. Plus, the crew continue to deal with Nashville's newest criminal, with Cammy receiving a mysterious call. There's nowhere to hide from me. That's followed by a new episode of Grace Anatomy at 10-9 Central. The team at Grace Sloan face new challenges as their friendships, relationships, and unexpected complications intersect. That's followed by your late local news, then Jimmy Kimmel Live with guests, John Oliver, Seth Myers, and Robbie Hoffman.

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