ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at 5am - February 6, 2026

Episode Date: February 6, 2026

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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. 5am, TGIF, good morning. Carolina, welcome on this Friday, January 6th. I'm Joel Brown. And I'm Diane Wilson in for Anna Rivera. She has a day off. Thank you for joining us. This morning on eyewitness news, students at Shaw University deal with a dorm fire. Investigators say caused by an accidental electrical issues. Plus another emotional day in court as the Heddingham mass shooter faces sentencing. And a cold but sunny morning with a few scattered showers in the afternoon.

Meteorologist Steve Stewart with our forecast weekend forecast coming up. You heard that right. Quailan Murphy's off. Steve Stewart is here as we get our first check of weather and traffic. Raise your hand just in case there's any confusion. And you're the man predicting some very cold air tomorrow. Yeah, it arrives tonight and tomorrow morning windshield is probably in the single digits. And the wind is going to be elevated most of the day. Today, though, listen, we're starting out with some sunshine around. As we go throughout the day today, we'll watch a disturbance that's coming over the Ohio Valley.

That'll be moving our way, could bring some light showers, wouldn't be much, and I wouldn't even be surprised if we get a flake or two mixed in on the backside, especially north of 85. Again, just a novelty. About 47 today. Now, yesterday was only 38, so we'll be a touch warmer today. That's good, but the average is 54. Not quite there just yet. We need rainfall. This is month six now. I've only got five on. here but you go back to September we had a deficit of over three inches so I know we're just starting out the month but to see six in a row on the wrong side of average that's significant we need some

rain in here 20s out there this morning getting up to 34 by 10 a.m. midday likely at 41 lots of sunshine through the morning the clouds really don't come into play until later on probably after two o'clock will be mostly cloudy and then you'll see some of these light showers maybe a flake or two mixed in there's some light rain moves in not everyone's going to get rain but the Derry is at two. It's not going to be much likely just a few hundreds of an inch. And that's about it. 21 into North Hills right now. That's 11 degrees colder than this time yesterday with teens up in our northern counties. 22, Raleigh, 24 Irwin and Faveau currently at 24 degrees as well. Meantime, if you're heading out this evening for a walk, there could be a shower early evening.

But after that, I think their rain chances really go down and temperatures holding in the 30s under cloudy skies. And after midnight, we'll clear things out. A couple days above average. maybe a couple days in the 60s. More on that coming up in just a few minutes. All right, Steve, thank you. Taking a look at your real-time traffic maps on this Friday. And look, we are blessed with no problems. It's a Friday gift for us so far.

Let's hope it stays that way. It's early still, but we will keep an eye on your traffic this morning for you. Now to that long night at Shaw University in Raleigh, students forced to evacuate an already problem-plagged dorm after fire breaks out inside one of the rooms. You know, this is significant because it's a same dorm that's been plagued by. by heating and hot water problems all winter long. Cindy Bay live on campus in downtown Raleigh with what we know.

Cindy, good morning. Good morning, yeah. Well, we are working to learn exactly what caused the fire, but the fire chief says it was an accidental electrical issue. The Raleigh Fire Department responded to the fire at the Dimple Newsom Residence Hall yesterday evening. And according to the fire chief,

the flames were mostly contained to one room, which has significant damage. Rooms nearby have, minor smoke damage. Now this is the same dorm that's been having heating and hot water issues for weeks now. We spoke with students last week about these issues as they navigated back-to-back winter storms. It's really finicky. It goes in and out. Some days you'll wake up hot or some days you'll wake up going. There's no telling. Now the university has noticed students about measures in place that includes a backup boiler to support heating. However, we're working to learn

more from the university on their reaction to this particular incident and how it's being handled in Raleigh. Cindy Bay, ABC 11 eyewitness news. Yeah, we'll push for more answers today. Sidney, thank you back in court today. Another emotional day of testimony at the Heddingham mass shooter's sentencing. Yesterday, victims' families and the shooter's father testified. Tamara Scott's on this for. She joins us live at the Way County Justice Center in Raleigh with more.

Tamara, good morning. Hey, good morning, Joel. Yeah, over the last several days, there has been no. doubt emotional testimony. More of that is expected today. But yesterday we started to hear more about the disturbing thoughts that Austin Thompson had prior to the shooting and family made a plea for justice. This was a monstrous act of planned violence. Look at me, Austin. My dearest husband Gabe, he was a man who worked day in and day out to not only ensure the safety of his home, the community on the country as well. You stole his life. That's Officer Gabriel Torres's wife on the stand.

She gave an 18-minute victim impact statement that also included a video of her four-year-old daughter. When she demanded Thompson look at her, it was one of the only times he looked up. The state focused on trying to establish there was premeditation on Thursday. Aurelli police sergeant testified Thompson searched school shootings 25 times, serial killers 30 times, and torture another 30. We also saw for the first time an apparent confession letter explaining why Austin Thompson killed his brother and others. The sergeant read that letter on the stand and he said that he committed the act because humans are ruining the earth and he killed his brother because he would have gotten in the way. Both parents have testified that they knew nothing and there were no signs of any of these disturbing thoughts or actions. Back to you.

So Officer Torres's widow getting a chance to face her husband's killer. What a moment in court yesterday. Tamara, thank you. Federal investigators have opened a civil rights investigation into it now fired Raleigh Police Officer who's accused of taking a woman to his house for a sexual encounter. The FBI believes more victims may be connected to sex crimes allegedly committed by the former officer. Tumal Cogdale was arrested in October. Ralee Police Chief Rico Boyce said Cogdell met a victim following a crash he responded to. He allegedly drove the victim in his police vehicle to his home where they had a sexual. encounter while he was on duty. A grand jury indicted him on several charges, including obstruction of justice and several counts of solicitation of prostitution. Police procedure experts say federal involvement in the case signals the severity of the allegations.

We need to send a message to other law enforcement agents or other people in power that if you take advantage of that power, there are consequences when you do it using your official capacity. The way County District Attorney's Office tells us it's not uncommon for state and federal investigators to work together to determine if state and federal laws have been violated. I witness news reached out to the attorney representing Cogdale about the FBI's involvement. We have not heard back. A Durham cold case is now sold, thanks to students from Western Carolina University. Back in August of last year, Durham Police located a human bone near a creek along the Ellarbee Creek Trail near Acadia Street and West Club Boulevard. In December, a group of forensic anthropology students and staff searched the woods for evidence. The program director found the remains of a person who was missing since 2023.

An investigator with Durham police said due to the assistance by everyone involved from Western Carolina University, we can bring closure to the family of the deceased as well as clear a case. Western Carolina University students also helped recover human remains in Cherokee last year. 507 is the time and Monday night a big decision for a historic Wake County School. Plus, state health officials launching measles warning texts. And the U.S. meeting with Iran back at the table today. What's its sake ahead? Steve, good morning. Good morning, everybody. Outside right now, we've got fair skies and cold temperatures.

We're in the lower 20s, Roxburgh down to 18 degrees at this hour. We'll have highs, though, a little bit better than yesterday, upper 40s and some low 50s, clouds increasing. And a few spotty light showers, all the details after the break. A tin's donut and coffee is the original. original collab. And now, any classic donut is a dollar when you buy any size original or dark roast coffee. Get a deal on the iconic duo with a Tins dollar donut plus tax at participating restaurants for limited time. Terms apply. See app for details. It's time for Tims. This is first alert weather from ABC 11. I witness news. Welcome back everybody. Happy Friday to you. Better than

yesterday temperature wise. We start out with sunshine. Well, in with some showers. Better chance, I think, in our northern counties and through the triangle, very light amounts. Maybe a snowflake mixed in, too. Might have sunshine most of the day down in favor of a little bit warmer. Your clouds will increase probably as we get closer to the dinner time hour. There's the disturbance up in the Ohio Valley that's going to be drifting in here later on for today. It's also bringing a lot of cold air. You're really going to notice that tomorrow. 20s out this morning getting up to 41 midday. Lots of sun earlys. You take the pups out for a walk today. Right now we stand at 21 degrees of North Hills.

Dry air, dew point at 19. That's 11 degrees colder than this time yesterday with widespread 20s, but are northern counties in the teens. And same thing in Siler City at 18 degrees this morning. Friday night, you got plans to hit the town. Again, early evening, there could be a spotty light shower. But as we get later evening hours, holding in the 30s, though, and clouds will be decreasing. And by the time we get past midnight, just a few clouds left over.

New York's good, Atlanta, Chicago gets a little bit of snow. Minneapolis as well, Denver, through the mid-60s today for travel. Some areas that might get some headaches today, Chicago, Indianapolis, Columbus, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, if you are traveling there. So far this morning, their major hubs look pretty good. Got your 70 forecast in just a few minutes. Stay in.

Steve, thank you. A road closure and gardener has been pushed back a week due to the winter storm. The NCDOT now says it will close a portion of NC50, also known as Benson Road this coming Monday, February 9th. The road between Umpstead Lane and Lake Drive will close for three months so crews can install underground utilities. The work is part of the ongoing bridge construction on NC50. The date is now set for the next community engagement meeting on the future of a historic Raleigh Public School.

Way County School District is considering three options to renovate Liggin Middle School, which opened its doors in the 1950s as an all-black high school. Two options would demolish the original school building. Monday night's meeting begins at 6 o'clock at Liggan. 512 is the time and still ahead. Passing inspection, the fire recovery at Raleigh Convention Center, clearing new hurdles. Plus, Ukraine and Russia exchange prisoners after months of peace talks. And the U.S. military targeting another suspected drug boat two people did what we're learning in two minutes. With the RBC Avion visa, you can book any airline, any flight, any time.

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Bitcoin is sort of inevitable at this point. I think it would come down to precious metals. I hope we don't go cashless. I would say land is a safe investment. Technology companies. Solar energy. Robotic pollinators might be a thing. A wrestler to face a robot.

That will have to happen. So whatever you think is going to happen in the future, you can invest in it at WealthSimple. Start now at WealthSimple.com. We are local news. ABC 11 eyewitness news continues now. 516 and new this morning, two people are dead after a new U.S. military strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Thursday. U.S. Southern Command posting the video on X calling it a lethal kinetic strike targeting a vessel operated by designated terrorist organizations. Officials said no U.S. military members

were injured. This is the latest strike by the Trump administration in its effort to combat narcotics trafficking. Since the start of Operation Southern Spear, at least 119 people have been killed in strikes on suspected drug boats. Also new this morning, Ukraine and Russia carried out their first prisoner exchange in nearly five months. Both sides released 157 prisoners yesterday, including Ukrainian soldiers held since 2022. Ukrainian officials say the youngest former captive is now 23 taken at just 19 years old. Happening today, Iran and the United States are set to hold talks in Oman, focused on Iran's nuclear program.

The meetings come after weeks of unrest in Iran, where nationwide protests were met with a deadly crackdown. Negotiations resume after last year's talks collapsed following a regional war and U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. The White House says diplomacy is the goal, but warnings of military action remain. In your morning health check as measles cases continue to rise, the State Health Department will now send text notifications to notify people of potential measles exposure. The agency says this will allow health officials to quickly notify anyone who may have been near a confirmed case. The text will come for that number on your screen right there. There have been 15 measles cases in North Carolina since December of last year.

At least 14 of those cases were found in people ages 17 or younger. We know at least one person was hospitalized last week. An update now on the Raleigh Convention Center as the recovery continues after that massive fire back in December. The center passed its most recent inspection for various areas impacted by the fire, including an office, dressing room and small conference room. The blaze on December 1st was caused by a mechanical failure in the building's heating and cooling unit. The convention center reopened late last month. Turning now to weather now, Steve, it's our first weekend and two weekends. We do not have snow in the forecast, but it's still going to feel like winter.

For sure, yeah. I mean, if we did have a system, oh my goodness. That would not be fun. Exactly. Don't even suggest. We're good. Hey, outside right now, it is cold if you haven't stepped out just yet. We're in the teens and some low 20s under fair skies and a good part of the day is going to be sunny. Clouds increased this afternoon. Could get a few spotty light showers around, maybe a flake or two mixed in.

Not a big deal. It'll be very light for today. Another cold weekend, a biting wind for tomorrow. Feels like temperatures are good part of the day, single digits and teens. Sunday not as bad and more clouds around, but still it's a cold weekend, but make some plants a couple days

as we had in the next week. Could be over 60 degrees. We're talking Tuesday and Wednesday. Nice to see of the above average temperature, which is 54, by the way, but you can see how cold it's gonna be this weekend. And we'll see the numbers start to come back down as we head into Thursday.

There's the disturbance that right now up around Michigan, It's heading southward. We'll watch that for later today to help bring some very light rain. All the models picking up on it, but not much here. Just a few hundreds of an inch, and that's really all we'll see.

Cold early on for that walk. Lots of sunshine for you, though, warming up to 41 by the time we get to that midday hour. Once we get past two, I think the clouds are gonna come in from the north and the west and becoming cloudy, and then we'll get a few of these light showers,

maybe a flurry or two, not a big deal, but we'll get showers around rush hour, and then these showers will be pressing to the south. once we get past six, seven o'clock, and the cloud should start to clear around midnight or so. 21 degrees at North Hills right now. That's a good 11 degrees colder than this time yesterday. With widespread low 20s out there, teens up in our northern counties, really a cold start. And the big game tomorrow, if you're heading out to see UNC and Duke play there at Dean Smith Center,

31 as you're walking in at around 6 o'clock or so, and by the time you head home 25. But that doesn't tell the story. It's going to feel a lot colder with that biting wind. with feels like temperatures most of the day likely in the teens and by the evening hours again maybe falling down to the single digits. So we're going to look pretty good as we go throughout Saturday sky-wise with clear skies, but that wind is going to make it feel like you want to stay inside. Still cold, but more clouds around as we go into our Sunday. The coldest air is to the north. We'll be watching that warmer air that'll be heading east as we get into Tuesday and Wednesday. Heading up to the mountains this weekend, Sunday the better of the two days. The feels like temperatures could be about 5 to 10 below zero on Saturday.

If you don't mind that, it'll be good conditions because they've been making snow like crazy up there. Temperatures in the 40s, low 50s in the sand hills, clouds increasing today, maybe some spotty light showers around. Later on tonight, skies will start to clear a bit. We'll be in the upper 20s to near 30 degrees. And your first alert seven day forecast tomorrow about

35 degrees that biting wind will be with us. More clouds still cold on Sunday, a little milder on Monday. And then as we head into next week, Tuesday, Wednesday, a couple days. We can be in the 60s. Steve, thank you. Take a look at the real-time traffic map at 521. The crash count right now, zero point zero. Nothing going on. We hope it stays that way. Meantime, a potential competitor to Starlink just got approval from the FCC to launch 4,000 new satellites.

And digital gold dropped to its lowest since President Trump took office. What experts are warning of the future of Bitcoin. ABC 11 first alert weather on eyewitness news every day. Times 524 and Elon Musk's satellite broadband company Starlink may have some new competition. Here's ABC's Rina Roy with this morning's TechBites. In today's TechBites, a green light for a startup that plans to compete with Starlink, Logos Space Services just got FCC clearance to launch more than 4,000. broadband satellites into space starting next year.

They hope to beam high-speed internet to customers worldwide. Meta is testing a standalone app exclusively for its AI-generated videos. Vibes already lets users create and share short-form AI videos, but it's currently only accessible through the Meta AI app. A standalone Vives app could make it more competitive with SORA. Finally, these gigantic headphones are not a joke and they're not supposed to be headphones either. The blue XL from JLab is meant to be a speaker that you can carry around. They get 20 hours on a charge and cost just about $100.

Those are your TechBites. I'm Rena Roy. Have a great day. Concerns in the cryptocurrency industry following a sharp selloff of Bitcoin, the world's most famous crypto has now lost almost half its value from its October peak. Bitcoin is now trading at just over $65,000, a bit of a rebound after it dipped to, $62,000 last night. It's the lowest it's been in 15 months. Experts say the crash isn't anything new because this kind of digital currency is very, very volatile. Lots of U.S. shopping on

Amazon over the holidays. Retailer says sales jumped 14% in the last quarter, but Amazon's shares falling more than 10% in after hours trading with investors apparently spooked by the company's plans to boost capital spending by 60%. The focus, AI, robots and satellites. Well, Disney fans, to tie the knot will soon have two creepy new options. The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland will begin hosting weddings in July. They'll take place in the outdoor courtyard, and in May, the Haunted Mansion parlor will be hosting weddings on the Disney Destiny cruise ship. Disney is our parent company here at ABC 11.

The Poppy Bowl will look a little different on Sunday. For the first time ever, a special exhibition game will spotlight senior dogs available for adoption. It will be called Team Odies versus Team Goldies. The event will also include 15 pops with special needs. In all, the Poppy Bowl will highlight 150 dogs for more than 70 shelters. How about this? Two endangered Puerto Rican crested toads at the Fort Worth Zoo are making a Super Bowl pick, and they hop straight to the Seattle Seahawks.

There you have it. It's a viral video when it comes ahead of Sunday's game with Bad Bunny set to headline the halftime show The Crested Toads is spoken. They say the Seahawks are going to beat the Patriots on Sunday. So now you know how to wager. All about the Toads. Uh-huh. Oh, my gosh.

They know what they're talking about. Maybe. Moving along, 527. Today is your last date of register or change party affiliation before the March primary. And court hearing more testimony in the Headingham mass shooter sentencing. That's today. We're coming right back.