ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at 5am - January 21, 2026

Episode Date: January 21, 2026

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Right now, live coverage from your local newsleader, 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. Middle of the week, 5 a.m. Good morning, Carolina. Welcome on this Wednesday. It's January 21st. I'm Joel Brown. And I'm Anna Rivera. Thanks so much for joining us today. We are gearing up for a potential winter storm this weekend. But today we're tracking mild weather across our viewing area. That's right. Still tracking temperatures on the way up today. tomorrow but then the winter storm brings significant icing concerns and also bitter cold. I'll have more on that my forecast. And right now, preparations underway ahead of a potential snowstorm. The new update from Duke Energy on its readiness to handle any potential outages.

Straight ahead, new reaction from the Headingham community as the suspect in a Raleigh mass shooting is expected to plead guilty to killing five people in court today. 5 a.m. in time for a first check of weather and traffic together. Meteorologist Cueleon Murphy is here today and especially tomorrow you could call the warm before the storm. Absolutely. Temperatures climbing and days to prepare ahead of the weekend storm and the impacts is going to bring for us. Our confidence continues to build for the significant winter storm. I think we're going to see greater impacts with accumulation Saturday and Sunday and likely into their early parts of Monday morning before the accumulation comes to an end. Well, this comes with bitter cold and also significant concerns for snow and ice accumulation.

as well. We're talking a quarter of an inch possible for some spots. Those numbers, of course, will continue to be outlined in the days ahead. But the bitter cold's going to linger through the middle of next week. Some near record low temperatures possible. Also, some near record high low temperatures, too. With this icing and snow potential with the wintry mix, we have concerns for power outages, of course, closures are possible to likely at this point. And we're going to have some dangerous travel around here, too. So what's going to happen is Friday and Arctic Front's going to to roll through. In addition to that, an area of low pressure from the Gulf is going to eventually roll to the east and we'll have a low developing off of our coast as well. So we're going to have

plenty of moisture in place this time around and plenty of cold air. That was missing from last event, but it's going to be solidly in place. Right now, our questions are still where this low sets up and the types of precept we can see. And it gets tricky because we introduce some warmer airs in the mid layers of the atmosphere and that changes the precept type. The other problem right now is that That low is still well offshore the West Coast, but once it moves on to the United States coastline, models can better sample. This is the other thing. This is the European for Saturday morning, 8 am., still showing dry conditions, with a later arrival of the precept, but the GFS starts this event a bit sooner into Saturday morning. So that's where some of the discrepancies are still in play and we'll continue to try to nail down of those in the next 24 hours. It's cold, though, dressed for the cold air, 20s and teens out the door on fields and actual temperatures.

the high near 50 today warming up more tomorrow. I'll have more on that coming up. Right now, weather and traffic together. Anna, back to you. Well, Quailin, right now really quiet on the roads. We're not seeing any slowdowns. I did see a report of a crash at 440 eastbound and yonkers. But take a look.

We have a live DOT camera in that spot right now, and I don't see any crashes that we need to worry about. Also, good news is that traffic is really light and everyone is still able to go that posted speed limit. So overall, things looking pretty good for your Wednesday morning commute. All right, so forecasters putting out the warning this morning a potentially catastrophic storm is headed this way. And if temperatures are slow to warm back up, that could bring ice, making the weather event even more dangerous.

Bianca Holman live over at the NCDOT Salt Barn in West Raleigh to tell us how Duke Energy is preparing for any possible outages. Bianca, good morning. Hey, good morning you guys. So from the NCDOT to Duke Energy, all of these organizations are doing the preps now in preparation for whatever Mother Nature brings. and especially Duke Energy, they are watching out for the possibility of ice. And that could really bring some big trouble to our area if that ice freezes over. And then that creates drama and chaos for the tree limbs. And you know what?

It takes about six to eight inches of snow for tree limbs to collapse, but only takes a quarter inch of ice to snap those same tree limbs. Staff have been checking their supplies and inventory to make sure that they're ready if anything needs repair or restoration over the next course of the days. Also, Duke Energy has added smart, self-healing technology on a lot of main power lines, which benefits roughly one million Duke Energy customers here in the triangle. The technology automatically detects a power outage and then looks for ways to reroute the power to other lines. This is like a GPS for the power grid, and it helps to reduce outage time down to sometimes less than a minute and can reduce the number of customers impacted by an outage by as much as 75%. We've upgraded poles and wires across the state over the last few years to make them stronger and more resistant to outages from severe weather.

And we've trimmed a lot of trees. And of course we have a severe weather guide on our website, ABC11.com. Definitely check it out. There's so many tips and insight that you can learn from our severe weather special that we've had. Live here in Raleigh, Bianca Holman, ABC 11, eyewitness news. Yeah, when it comes to energy, we'd almost rather see more snow than we would see more ice. That's what brings down the power lines. Bianca, thank you.

Now's a good time to download the ABC 11 app. It's a great way to stay up to date on current weather conditions. Plus, you can always check. First Alert, Doppler net in the seven-day forecast. Now to the big new developments in the worst mass shooting in Raleigh history. The accused killer is expected to plead guilty later this morning avoiding a criminal trial. Austin Thompson is accused of killing five people in Raleigh's Hidingham neighborhood when he was just 15 years old in 2022. Among the victims are Raleigh police officer as well as Thompson's own brother.

Tamara Scott is live from the Wake County Courthouse in downtown Raleigh with more on what we can expect to see. Good morning, Tamara. Hey, good morning, Anna and Joel. Yes, it's been nearly four years since five people were killed in that Raleigh-Headingham neighborhood. And today, lawyers for Austin Thompson say that they hopefully are going to use this guilty plea as a way to bring closure to the victims and to this community. Austin Thompson was just 15 years old when police say he killed five people, including his breast. brother and a Raleigh police officer and injured two others during a rampage through the Raleigh neighborhood. Thompson's attorney filed a motion yesterday for a guilty plea.

In court paper, it states that Thompson wants to plea guilty to all the charges to spare the community at trial and inflict more trauma. His lawyers wrote this in their notice to plea. While the serious brain injury he suffered has made it such that Thompson cannot explain why he committed this shooting, he has always accepted that he did this. We also got a chance to talk with people from the heading hand neighborhood. To put us through a trial and the cost and the show and it just seemed really ludicrous. So I'm so grateful they had the good sense to come to this plea today.

Now Thompson's original trial was expected to start in less than a month. Instead, we're expected to hear this guilty plea today and soon learn his sentencing. Back to you. All right. We are expecting that to go down sometime in the 10 o'clock hour. Tamara Scott, thank you. Wake County will continue providing students with regular school lunches even when they run out of money to pay for them. That decision coming during last night's meeting, the Wake County School Board chose not to resume the practice of serving an alternative meal of only fruits, vegetables, and water to students who have run out of meal money. School administrators had made the request because the district's student meal debt has risen to more than $152,000 since the district began.

using donations to cover unpaid meal costs. Administrators will now have to figure out a way to cover the meal debt. School nutrition programs are supposed to, by law, be financially self-supporting. A new look is on the way to North Hills in a six to two vote. The city is moving forward with a rezoning request that clears the way for Kane Realty to build four towers that could stand 37 stories high. The developer says it will build the new towers around the busy area of Six Works

Road and Lasseter Mill Road and Midtown Raleigh. King Realty amended its proposal to now include 500,000 contribution to the city for a new fire station and nearly a million dollar contribution to the city's affordable housing fund. This has been a continuous battle with neighborhood groups and the developer. Neighbors' concerns range from transportation and traffic to infrastructure needs. The City Council plans to take up some of the traffic concerns that could come along with this project during its Transportation Committee meeting later this week. All right, 508 is the time and happening today. President Trump expected to meet with NATO-AIDS. allies at the World Economic Summit in Switzerland will break down what we know about the president's visit.

Israel's prime minister accepts an invitation to join President Trump's Board of Peace. Straight ahead details on this new initiative by the Trump administration. Good morning quick. Good morning. Wind chill values right now in teens and 20s. We're going to see increasing clouds today, but on the way home from school, 50 degrees with partly cloudy skies. We're tracking the concerns for a bitter cold air this weekend and a significant storm. I'll have more on that after the break. This is first alert weather from ABC 11. I witness news.

Well, good morning. It's Wednesday. Time is 511. We have quiet weather for you again today. We're going to have dry conditions, but a bit more cloud cover on the way as well. Across the country, we're starting to see some moisture developing in the form of rain from Texas and departs of Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, some snow showers around the Great Lakes, including Chicago right now. But this is a winter storm watch or many winter storm watches issued from the parts of the desert southwest, all the way east. are going to have impacts from the same system that's coming our way for the weekend. More winter weather advisories for locations to the north. 62 in Dallas today, 56 in Atlanta, New York, 36 degrees. Here at home, we're in the 20s and teens right now with highs near 50 degrees.

I'll have your full forecast coming up. Anna, back to you. All right, Kualin, thank you. ABC 11 and the first alert weather team are here to make sure you are ready for whatever the season may bring. You can watch our eyewitness news special. Your first alert to winter right now on ABC11.com. This week, officials in Cumberland County are looking for volunteers. The county needs help with its 2026 point in time count.

The annual effort is acquired by the federal government to provide critical data on the number of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. Fayetteville and Cumberland County officials will conduct the count Thursday and Friday. You can sign up to volunteer on the county website. 512 now, make sure you stick around for Good Morning America.

Yeah, ahead of seven one-on-one with Conan O'Brien. How Conan's preparing for his second turn as Oscars host and the big surprises he may have in store. on Hollywood's biggest night. Keep it right here. We are local news. ABC 11 eyewitness news continues now. 515 and today President Trump is scheduled to meet with NATO allies at the World Economic Summit. Overnight the president had a delayed start to his trip after Air Force One was first was forced to turn around for a minor electrical issue. White House officials say President Trump eventually switched planes. The president will deliver a speech in Davos, Switzerland today, where Greenland is expected. to be a major focus. The president now threatening to impose new tariffs on NATO allies who oppose

his move to take over the Danish territory, including a 10% import tax starting in February on goods from certain European countries. President Trump claims Greenland is needed for U.S. national security. Meantime Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is accepting President Trump's invitation to be part of the Board of Peace. This initiative is part of the Trump administration's plan to create a committee that will oversee the rebuilding of Gaza. President Trump previously suggested the board could potentially replace the United Nations, which upset some in the international community. Leaders from dozens of other countries, including China and Russia, have also received invites to the board. Closing arguments are expected today at the trial of a former police officer accused of not responding quickly enough to the deadly school

to deadly school in Duvaldi, Texas in 2022. Prosecutors have alleged that Adrian Gonzalez arrived at Rob Elementary School more than a minute before the gunman entered the building. They say Gonzalez did not follow his training and failed to delay or stop the shooter. 19 students and two teachers were killed in that shooting. Gonzalez is charged with 29 counts of child endangerment accused of having neglected his duty and training during the chaotic response to the shooting. He pleaded not guilty. If convicted, Gonzalez could face life in prison. The former police chief facing similar charges is awaiting trial. Actor and director Timothy Busfield has been released from jail in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

yesterday on his own recognizance and he is allowed to leave but ordered to have no unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 busfield's charged with child sexual abuse prosecutors allege he improperly touched two child actors on a set of the tv show busfield denies the accusations Sabrina carpenter returning as a performer at this year's Grammy award she's up for six trophies four of them including song and record of the year for man child Carpenter's first performance was last year when she won two trophies. The 68th Grammy Awards take place on February 1st. All right. 518 now as we take a live look outside of you at downtown Raleigh. Still waiting on the sun to come up in the capital city. It is cold out there right now. In the 20s feels like the teens in some places. Yeah, this is one of our colder mornings for this week.

Would it get a nice little warm up again today. Yeah. Even better tomorrow. Even better tomorrow and then the bitter cold arrives next week. So we do have some cold air. Definitely moving in for the weekend high temperature today around 50 says closer to average above average tomorrow 60 degrees and then we have the arctic front moving in friday the high 47 with some rain showers that arctic front sets the stage for the bitter cold this weekend 30s and 20s as we head into saturday sunday and monday and of course winter storm concerns but early next week feels like temperatures also way down eight degrees sunday is going to be the feel 13 monday in the morning tuesday morning six degrees or feels like temperature we're still seeing some decent model agreement at this point as we As we compare the models, GFS in the Euro, and both are unfortunately painting a picture of ice potential, along with some snow.

So we're talking on wintry mix with this system this time around. So we have two fronts that will be coming through here the next couple of days. One moves through early tomorrow morning and brings some spotty showers, but despite the front still near 60 degrees. Friday's front is the one that's going to set us up for the cold Arctic air. We'll have a low pushing offshore, but another low around the Gulf is going to be tracking towards our coast area as well. and that's going to bring the moisture potential for us. So that'll be the moisture source. Of course, the cold air originating from Canada dives deep down all the way towards the Gulf South.

So in terms of the risk that we're going to see this time around, of course, extreme cold, definitely a high risk for that. Snow sleet or ice, we're going to see those impacts as well, likely increasing that. We're going to see some icy rows and travel this weekend. That will extend into next week simply because we're going to be so cold. There will be very little melting happening. And I think power outages are likely as well. We may have to bump this up, especially depending upon ice accumulation. But at this point, we're about two to four days out.

So I think we'll start to be able to nail down type of precept timing, of course. And we'll get into that. I'm thinking late tonight and tomorrow we'll have more model data that will support that potential setting up for the area. 24 degrees right now. It's a live look over downtown. Seven degrees colder than yesterday morning. Lots of teens out there north of the triangle, 20s around the triangle for current temperatures. It feels like the teens in Fayetteville and Sanford right now, 18, the feel and

Smithfield 19 to feel Rocky Mountain Wilson's addressed for the cold this morning. We have clear skies now. There are some clouds to the west. We'll see a gradual increase in clouds this afternoon, but still pretty decent day. 50 degrees at 3 o'clock. Upper 30s at 9 with the clouds tonight, not as cold tomorrow morning down into the 30s. You can see the moisture originating out to the west and also snow showers around areas in the Great Lakes too. This afternoon, temperatures near 50 degrees. Here are those clouds building in later on tonight with just a stray shower tomorrow morning. 40s out the door. Tomorrow afternoon near six. 60 degrees, a bit more cloud cover on the way. And then that cold front rolls in on Friday. I think we'll see some passing showers on Friday, but by Saturday morning there's possibility that we'll start to see some of that mix developing, certainly into Saturday night and Sunday with those bigger impacts for our region. Then the cold air keeps settling in next week. Saturday it's going to feel like 20.

It's going to feel like 18 during the day on Sunday. It's going to feel like 25 on Monday. Here's your first alert 70 forecast powered by ACUweather. 50 degrees today near 60 tomorrow. Some rain showers on Friday could start to transition late Friday night to Saturday to a wintry precept. First alert days, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. I'm highly confident we'll probably have to extend those first alert days into Tuesday and maybe the middle of next week as well, simply because it's going to be so cold.

Anything that melts during the day will refreeze at night. Weather and traffic together, Anna, back to you. Well, Gwieland right now, things looking really good. You'll see a couple of icons on there. I do think those have already cleared or are in the process of clearing. because they're not causing any issues and I checked out the DOT cameras and didn't see any evidence of a crash. This is a live look right now at 40 in Wade Avenue where everything is moving nicely as traffic slowly starts to fill in. All right. Time now 522 on the Wednesday morning and days ahead of a scheduled trial.

A popular app called SNAP reaches a settlement in a lawsuit on social media addiction. Coming up straight ahead, we're going to break down what we know. Plus one tech giant launches a new age verification system to help protect children. The details next in TechBites. A major. has settled an addiction lawsuit. Here's ABC Sophie Flight with this morning's TechBites. In today's TechBites, Snap settles a social media addiction lawsuit.

The case was brought by a teenager who claims Snap and other platforms left her addicted and damaged her mental health. Terms were not disclosed. TikTok meta and YouTube are defendants in the same case. The trial is set for next week. Next, OpenAI is rolling out in an age prediction tool to determine if a user is a minor. It uses factors including how long an account has existed and when the account is active. If chat GPT incorrectly finds someone is underage, they will need to submit a selfie

to prove themselves. And finally, Adobe is rolling out new AI-powered tools for its video editing software, Premiere and After Effects. One new feature improves how editors can track moving people or objects in their video clips, making the task more precise and 20 times faster. Those are Techbytes. I'm Sophie Flay. Have a great day. Eye witness news is learning. Raleigh's first Raising Cain's is preparing to open its stores next week. The marquee of the old varsity theater on Hillsborough Street now sporting Raising Cain's signage right in the heart of NC State's campus. This will be the second Raising Kings in the Triangle. The first one opened up in Chapel Hill in 2023. We're told the Raleigh location

will open next Tuesday. We've also learned the Louisiana-based chicken finger chain is eyeing a location in Fayetteville on Skybow Road where the sushi house is currently located. That location could open up later this fall. Today we're tracking mild weather across our viewing area, but we are first alerting you about the risk of a potential snowstorm this weekend. Meteorologist Quaylin Murphy has your forecast coming up next half hour. Stay with us.