ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at 5am - December 24, 2025

Episode Date: December 24, 2025

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Right now, live coverage from your local news leader, breaking stories from overnight and this morning, and your first alert forecast. Here's what's happening where you live. This is ABC 11 eyewitness news. Good morning, Carolina. Welcome on this Wednesday, December 24th. I'm Diane Wilson in for Joel Brown and Anna Rivera. Thank you for joining us right now. The holiday travel rush is on this morning. We are live at RDIU Airport with what travelers need to do. No. And two people are dead and several others injured after an explosion at a nursing home outside Philadelphia. What fire officials are saying about the blast. Straight ahead, what North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson is doing to try to protect consumers' rights and make sure an essential federal bureau is able to keep operating. But first, the ever

important forecast on Christmas Eve. Good morning. Good morning. Doing great. Uneventful today, very warm. I think people can handle this for sure. Those coming into town to visit and also So if you have some last minute shopping today, a mild start to your morning temps in the 50s with those clear skies. We'll see mainly sunny conditions the afternoon, high temperature around 70 degrees today, upper 60s at 4 o'clock. We have some clouds to the west. Those will start to filter in later today. There's a front that's going to pass through, but with dry conditions throughout the day. Live look into downtown Raleigh, 47 degrees, mainly clear wind southwest at 5. That's where we're starting off warmer than yesterday at this point.

We have visibility up to 10 miles. So no issues out there. Temperature wise, upper 40s in Fayetteville, Clinton, 43 and Irwin, still in the low 50s in Burlington, 54, Lewisburg, Dorm 47, Chapel Hill 45 in South Hill, 52 degrees. So you can see the winds will be coming in from the north today early afternoon. That's because the front rolls through a little breezy at times. By the evening, the winds start to shift again. If you're heading to Lantern Fest, what a great evening. Temperatures loaded amid 60s at 5 o'clock, upper 50s at 6. We're down to around upper 40s at 10 o'clock tonight. By that time, we'll have increasing clouds. As for Christmas climatology, our average high is 53, the average low 33. The warmest back in 1955. That was 75 degrees, the coldest, four degrees. We're going to be closer, certainly, to above average temperatures and closer to that record tomorrow. There's a chance we could get to 70 degrees tomorrow afternoon, but for now being conservative with temperatures in the upper 60s, just a stray shower chance for Christmas Day. Your first alert at the end of the week, it will be cooler.

That's going to be Friday. We'll talk more about those changes in my full forecast. I am right now. back to you. All right. Thank you, Caitlin. Well, now to the holiday travel rush ahead of Christmas. Right now, we are tracking more passengers flying in and out of RDU today. Or James Price.

She joins us live from the airport in Morseville with what travelers can expect. And James, we had a long line 30 minutes ago. It looks like the lines there kind of dying down as people were checking their luggage earlier this morning. Good morning, Diane. Yeah, that long line that was behind me maybe 30 minutes or so ago. That line

has dwindle down. But more people are still coming here to RDU and the security lines are also busy this morning so a lot of hustle at RDU as folks are trying to get to their destination to spend the holidays with their loved ones out triple A is predicting that So to make sure that this trip is seamless and safe, TSA encourages passengers to avoid wrapping gifts in case security needs to check them. Instead, consider placing those in gift bags, which can be easily opened and a few more tips for travelers coming here to RDU. Make sure you plan your parking before you get here. Don't forget your ID and keep your medication phones and valuables in your carry-on bags in case your checked bag.

is lost. Again, AAA predicted millions of folks will travel over the next few days here. So expect to see those airports busier than normal. Diane? All right. Jamies, people do not want to miss our flight. So the advice says get there early. Allow plenty of time on this Christmas Eve. Thank you, James.

This morning, there are new questions after a deadly blast leveled part of a nursing home near Philadelphia, leaving two people dead and several others hurt. Officials say firefighters were investigating reports of a gas leak at Silver Lake nursing home when the blast occurred. Emergency crews rushing to the scene to evacuate the 120 residents and staff as black smoke filled the sky. And as the rescue unfolded, a second blast occurred. The explosions trapping people inside the building as the fires burned. They pulled many residents out of the building via windows, doors, stuck in stairwells, stuck in elevator, shacks. There was one police officer who literally threw two people over his shoulders and ran

with people to help. Overnight officials saying all residents and staff have been found, authorities are investigating the cause of the blasts but say the gas leak was in the facility's basement. The U.S. Supreme Court blocks President Trump's effort to deploy the National Guard to Chicago to protect ICE agents. The decision was a rare loss at the High Court for the White House says President Trump has sought to send troops to multiple American cities. Federal law allows a president to federalize the National Guard when he can no longer execute the laws of the United States with regular forces. A debate arose during the case about whether that term regular forces means the regular

military or all federal agents, such as those who work for immigration and customs enforcement. The court's decision comes two months after the Trump administration filed its emergency appeal. In the time since, tensions on the ground at Chicago Ice Facility appear to have eased. North Carolina Attorney General, Jeff Jackson, is suing to protect funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This comes after the acting director threatened to refuse to fund the agency's operations. The CFPB has returned more than $21 billion to more than 205 million Americans in the 14 years it's been in operation, but without any additional funds that will run out of money in January. North Carolina and other states work closely with the CFPB to win back money for people who have been treated unfairly by businesses and lenders.

AG Jackson says the lawsuit is about making sure consumers don't lose an important watchdog that protects its best interests. What's 506 now need to do any last-minute holiday shopping on this Christmas Eve? Well, straight ahead, we break down what's open and what's closed on Christmas Day. And the TSA issues a warning about juice jacking in airports will break down how. to avoid getting hacked through public charging stations and right now we are tracking severe weather across the country we'll take a look at which areas are seeing the worst conditions and right now we're very settled here at home temperatures are in the 40s and 50s very warm too with clear skies and it's warm statewide temperatures in the 70s in the

triangle in the sandhill 60s in the mountains and 60s and 70s at the coast forecast after the break well good morning it's christmas eve 509 tracking some really beautiful weather neck of the woods this morning more clouds out to the west but pretty quiet conditions for the century United States so watching flash flooding concerns out to the west and some snowfall for the higher elevations some snow showers exiting the New England states today as well 75 in Atlanta for that major hub some good travel condition 76 in Atlanta Denver 70 degrees 509 in Los Angeles Orlando 78 degrees Seattle looking at rainfall upper 40s for highs in New

York City 46 degrees today for the high we have clear skies right now some great weather at RDU we're looking at temperatures in the 40s and 50s for those early morning walks so no issues out there clear skies lots of sunshine around closer to lunchtime today mid 60s this afternoon the high around 70 degrees low 70s for the sand hills communities today a little breezy at times too if you're heading to lanter fest this evening you picked a good day we're going to have some great weather this evening ABC 11 a proud sponsor upper 50s at 6 o'clock still in the upper 40s at 10 o'clock tonight for christmas morning temperatures will be around the mid 40s I can't roll out a stray shower mainly cloudy skies tomorrow morning but the afternoon we'll have a mixture of sunshine and clouds and temperatures will be floating somewhere between the upper 60s and low 70s tomorrow afternoon your first alert that friday will be much cooler closer to average but not for long we get into the weekend with another warm up i'll have more on that in my seven day forecast diane back to you a good christmas day forecast thank you kuelan now to an i team troubleshooter scam alert for those traveling over the holidays if you are flying the tsa issued an alert about what's the risk of known as juice jacking at usb ports found at airports and other public spaces. This is where hackers can install malware at public charging stations in order to steal your personal information. Instead, it's advised you bring your own portable battery packs to charge your devices. And another threat, this holiday, is public Wi-Fi. We really encourage, you know, people to not use those free Wi-Fi sites. Or if you do,

do not do anything with personal information, banking, anything like that. If you have to use free Wi-Fi, just keep it real surface level. The Better Business Bureau says hackers, can set up fake unsecured networks to steal your data, leading to fraud. To protect yourself while traveling, use your phone's hotspot or wait for secure networks. With Christmas tomorrow, of course, there'll be a lot of last minute holiday shopping today, but if you need to run out for the last minute errand tomorrow, here's what is open on Christmas Day. Many CVS locations will have modified hours on Christmas Day. Walgreen stores will also be open on Christmas Day, but pharmacy hours may vary. You can double check the hours for both chains online. Also,

many McDonald locations are open for Christmas, but hours also vary by location. As for what's closed, Walmart, Target, Costco, Harris Teeter, Public, Sam's Club, Trader Joe's, and Whole Foods. They're all closed on the holiday. The first black-owned children's bookstore in North Carolina will reopen next week after online threats forced it to close earlier this year. Liberation Station originally opened on Fayetteville Street in 2023. But shortly after opening, owner Victoria Scott Miller reported receiving. hate messages and death threats and she no longer felt safe she made the tough decision to close in april and now thanks to more than 60 000 raised through a go fund me campaign she's

reopening the business in a new location on hill street near st augustine's university scott miller says she believes this new location will be safer because of the community that surrounds it the reopening is set for monday 513 now make sure you stay around for good morning america ahead at seven the blockbuster holiday a breakdown breakdown of all the big movies to see in the theater or stream at home. Watch Amber Roo. This holiday season, your support can help Cam H transform mental health care. From now until December 31st, every donation will be tripled for three times the impact.

That means your generous gift goes even further to help create a future where Canadians can get the help they need, when they need it, no matter who or where they are. Together, we can forge a better path for mental health. Make three times the impact with a donation today at camh.ca slash holiday. Penta, today on ABC 11, eyewitness news. Now to the nation's most serious weather threat taking aim at California right now. The state has seen flooding rain, mostly in the northern part of the state over the last few days, but now those in Southern California are being asked to think twice before any holiday travel. ABC's Sophie Flae has the latest.

This morning, official. in Southern California are urging residents to reconsider Christmas travel as the region braces for life-threatening flooding. The last thing we want to do is ruin anybody's Christmas plans, but we have an obligation as a county family to wave the flag and say there's a threat, a real threat out there. Rounds of torrential rain and mountain snow are expected through Christmas, with showers extending into the weekend. Up to a foot of rain could fall in some spots. The greatest risk is for areas badly damaged by wildfires.

Here in Altadena, you see these empty lots from January's deadly wildfires. As families work to rebuild right now, they're trying to protect what they do have because the threat of mudslides and debris flow is a huge concern from hillsides like this where you see these blue tarps. And days of heavy rain have already drenched northern California with more on the way when gusts could reach as high as 60 miles per hour. Across the country, snow falling in parts of the northeast from Pennsylvania through New England. England. In Rhode Island, police rescuing this dog that fell through an icy pond. And a post-Christmas

storm could bring even more wintry weather, making for treacherous travel across the Midwest to the East Coast. But other parts of the country could experience one of the warmest Christmases on record. Temperatures in Denver and Kansas City are expected to reach the 60s, while Houston and Orlando could approach 80 degrees. Sophie Fleigh, ABC News, New York. Close to two dozen states are forecast to have temperatures 15 to 3.000. 30 degrees above average. RDU Airport is closing out the year with some new flights.

Frontier Airlines says it will add nonstop flights to Cancun, Mexico and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Service to Cancun begins March 7th. Service to Fort Lauderdale begins April 2nd. American Airlines also recently added service to Punta Cana and three more routes that started RDU this month,

include flights to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Cancun and San Juan. Taking a live look outside, here's a view of downtown Raleigh from our Pendo Sky Cam. at 3-01 Hillsborough Street and look at those clear skies and Kowlan I know kids my daughter said to me last night why can't we have snow stop it shush too teak it stay i mean this is perfect for me yeah i don't know about you i agree too i know some people did want snowfall there's no chance of that this year we're going to be more like cancun today high temperatures near 70 degrees

that'll put us about 20 degrees above average also for christmas day too now friday we'll have a cooler set up 52 degrees still not conducive for any snowfall Saturday we're back to 70 degrees. And then there's more cold air leading into the final days of 2025, 54 on Monday, but Tuesday is going to be much colder for us with behind a surge of a strong cold front working in next week. We do have mainly clear skies right now. Here's a view with our radar and satellite composite. A few clouds around our northeastern counties around Roanoke Rapids and also back towards person and Mecklenburg, more clouds also in the mountains. But we're sitting in the 40s and 50s right now ahead of a front that's going to work through later today. So that's why we'll have a bit of a breeze. But also it's why the sky. will be clear mainly through the afternoon. Temperatures in the 50s through 8 o'clock, 60 degrees at 10, upper 60s at noon today with the high around 70 degrees. Upper 60s still at 4 o'clock, so as you're finishing up last minute packing maybe or just getting ready for family and friends, you'll have some nice weather, maybe the patio door open today.

A little breeze at times through the afternoon gusts up to 20 miles per hour and so breezy later on tonight. If you're heading to the mountains today, some pretty nice weather here, 250s and 60s for highs at the coast, near 70 to Wrightsville Beach and mainly some. sunny skies through the afternoon. Now in Christmas has passed over the last 10 years, we've averaged temperatures in the upper 50s. Generally, we've had some very warm Christmases too.

2015 was the second warmest Christmas on record at 74. But you can see here in recent years down to 40 degrees in 2020. This year will be closer to 70 this afternoon with just a stray shower chance in the morning, 45 degrees with mainly cloudy conditions. So overall, not a bad day on Christmas. Here's the front to our north that's gonna pass through today. This front though will be a place

In our forecast over the next several days, it's going to be meander from the south, ultimately to the north. So today it works south. It's dry. Temperatures around 70 degrees. We're looking at a warm front to lift to the north into Thursday. So we'll be near 70 degrees for Christmas Day, some upper 60s around two. I can't rule out a stray shower, though, in the mix with the disturbance tracking through. And then this backdoor front here to the north moves through on Friday. It's going to send some chillier air away just in this pocket of the country. 52 degrees in Raleigh, low 40s in Richmond on Friday. Let's dive into rain chances a bit.

This is midnight tonight. We'll have clouds around. There's your stray shower chances, really limited early in the morning. You'll have some sun and clouds in the mix by the afternoon and maybe a stray sprinkle or two. Limited rain chances all the way through Sunday, but there's a cold front coming through that's going to mean big business early next week. Upper 60s, low to mid-70s today for highs, 40s tonight with partly cloudy skies. Here's at first alert 70 forecasts, powered by ACUweather. First day of quons is Friday, the high 52, back to 70 on Saturday, mid-60s on Sunday.

That front starts working in Monday, but it's a bit delayed. So I have the high at 54, which is seasonable. And then Tuesday, much colder and brisk, down to 42 for the high 20s at night. In the afternoon, Tuesday, it's going to feel like the upper 30s. Diane, back to you. Quaylin, thank you this morning. A glimpse at the new official trailer for the new Marvel film Avengers Doomsday. That's straight ahead.

And you can now catch up with breaking news and the latest headlines with the ABC 11, News Podcasts. Listen anytime or anywhere. Just follow ABC 11. IWitness News wherever you get your podcast. We'll be right back. Watch Don Schwinnaker tonight on ABC 11 eyewitness News. 524. Now thanks for joining us on this Christmas Eve. A prominent investigative reporter is suing major AI companies over books used to train their chatbots. Here's ABC's Sophie Flee with this morning's Techbytes. In today's Techbytes, a group of writers suing OpenAI meta, Google, and other artificial intelligence companies.

The writers, including Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter John Careyew, accused the platforms of training their AI models on copyrighted books without consent. Next, Zooks is recalling a software update over concerns its driverless vehicles or crossing over center lines where blocking crosswalks. The Amazon-owned company provides free rides and parts of San Francisco and Las Vegas. Zooks says no collisions are linked to the software issue. And finally, what's being called the World's First Gaming Hotel is coming. Its designers say Atari Hotels Phoenix will have plenty of nods to classic Atari games,

plus arcades, nightclubs, and an e-sports venue. Construction starts next year, and it's expected to open in 2028. Those are Tech Fights. I'm Sophie Fleigh. Have a great day. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is bringing back one of its most iconic action superheroes to the franchise. Actor Chris Evans is back. This is the first look at Marvel's Avengers Doomsday. The first official trailer was released yesterday. In it, you see Evans arriving to a farmhouse on a motorcycle.

The character's life also seems to look a bit different. You see him take the Captain America suit out of the box, and then he's seen holding a newborn baby. The teaser ends with text on the screen saying, Steve Rogers will return of Avengers doomsday. The Avengers will assemble in theaters next year on December 18th. As we wind down this year, ABC News is looking back at the biggest breakout stars, heroes and newsmakers that had everyone talking. Join Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts for this year end special, the year 2025. It airs Monday, December 29th at 8 p.m. here on ABC 11 and streams the next day on Disney Plus and Hulu. Then join us next Wednesday night as we ring in the new year.

Tune in for Dick Clark's New Year's Rock and Eve with Ryan Seacrest. The fund starts at 8 on New Year's Eve here on ABC 11. seeing a warming trend through Christmas. Let's take a live look outside. Here's a view of the Bull City. How high temperatures could climb today? Meteorologist Quailan Murphy has your forecast straight ahead. And gunfire erupts in Wake County, leaving three people seriously hurt. What people are telling us about the shooting. That's in our next half hour. We'll be right.