ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at 5am - January 8, 2026

Episode Date: January 8, 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. 5 a.m. on your Friday Eve, good morning, Carolina. Welcome on this Thursday. It's the 8th of January. I'm Joel Brown. And I'm Anna Rivera. Thanks so much for joining us today. This morning on eyewitness news, a police chief of Newton Grove is set to appear in court today after a second. crimes investigation. We'll break down the charges he's facing. And in Utah, two people killed, six others heard after a shooting outside of a Salt Lake City funeral. What we know about the search for the suspects. And the city of Minneapolis is on edge this morning after an ICE officer shot and killed a woman during the Trump administration's latest immigration crackdown.

Straight ahead, reaction from local and state leaders there. It is time for a first check of weather and traffic together. Meteorologist Steve Stewart is here again for Quaylan. Look, I'm aware of the needs and the ones of snow lovers, but in my opinion, one of our best weeks continues today. Yeah, it's not bad. Yeah, I mean, if you like it, warm. We're going to get back to more typical winter weather. Sure, plenty of time for that. Let's just enjoy what we've got for the time being. Good morning, everyone. Got some passing at clouds right now. Just a few of them. We'll see more of these clouds as the day wears on. Anticipate high about 65 degrees around the triangle. That's a little bit cooler than yesterday, 73 degrees that we had.

76 and 7 are the records on the stadium. You see the deficit there approaching an inch. We need to get some rain. There could be a spotty shower tomorrow evening and again Saturday. It's really after sunset. That's the highest chance we'll get some rain and then we'll go dry again after that.

Now the model's not too bullish on the amounts at this point in time, a quarter inch or so, but north of 85, that's where we could see some totals between a half inch to an inch of rainfall. In meantime, we're looking at numbers in the 40s early on, getting up to 58 though by the time we get to that midday hour, And we're looking at a sun cloud mix through the first half of the day

with more clouds coming into play later on, becoming partly sunny to even mostly cloudy. Right now we're at 41 degrees out at North Hills under fair skies. That's about seven degrees cooler than yesterday. Widespread upper 30s and low 40s, but you can see freezing there in Roxburgh by far the coldest spot.

Head now tonight, not bad at all. Numbers holding on to near 50 by 9 o'clock this evening and mostly cloudy. Average of travel forecast coming up in a few minutes, Anna. We're really quiet on the roads right now. Steve, our crash count sitting at zero, also not seeing any slowdowns that you need to worry about. So overall, things looking good for your Thursday morning commute.

Happening today, a local police chief under arrest and set to face a judge today. Newton Grove Police Chief Greg Warren facing seven felony counts, including secret peeping on a minor. The chief was arrested by the State Bureau of Investigation. And Cindy Bay is live at SBI headquarters in Raleigh with more on the disturbing case. Cindy, good morning. Good morning, Joel. Well, Iwitness News has learned that the alleged. incidents happened three years ago in

2023, according to court documents. And so Greg Warren is facing seven felony charges, including counts of secret peeping of a minor. According to documents, prosecutors say he went into the victim's bedroom and took photos of them while they were sleeping.

He is charged with taking and possessing these photos. Warren has served as police chief for the town of Newton Grove since 2019, and we're working to learn more about the current interim status of the police chief. But the FBI says Warren is in custody with an ongoing investigation by the FBI. We're also working to get reactions from the community, as Warren is expected to appear

in court this morning. In Raleigh, Cindy Bay, ABC 11, eyewitness news. Cindy, okay, thank you. And now to breaking news, right now Utah police are searching for suspects after gunfire robs and Salt Lake City Church. Authorities say a fight broke outside of a funeral with at least eight people being struck. They say two of the victims were killed. Some of the others were taken to a local hospital with three people reported to be in critical condition. Police say the shooter or shooters remain at large, but some tips have been coming in. The FBI's area field office said it has offered to help with the investigation. This morning, the governor of Minnesota is calling for peaceful protests after a federal agent shot and killed a woman during immigration and

customs enforcement operation. The woman has been identified as 37-year-old. Renee Nicole Good, a Minneapolis resident. In the disturbing video, you can see her Honda SUV in the street. As federal agents demand, she get out of the vehicle. She reverses the car, puts the SUV in the drive, and then an agent standing in front of her fires is shot through the front windshield, then two on the side. Another video shows a different angle. President Trump shared it, the video, claiming her SUV hit the agent. Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Christine Nome were quick to defend defend the agent's actions.

This appears as an attempt to kill or to cause bodily harm to agents, an act of domestic terrorism. The ICE officer fearing for his life and the other officers around him and the safety of the public fired defensive shots. The Department of Homeland Security announced they were sending at least 2,000 agents to Minnesota this week to begin what they called their largest immigration operation to date. Minneapolis police says good was not the target of any long. enforcement investigation. Now to members of the Charleston, South Carolina community gathering to remember a midwife who died during complications during childbirth. A vigil was held yesterday in honor of the life of Dr. Janelle Green Smith. She died on January 2nd while giving birth to her first child. She was 31 years old. Smith, who was black, had spent her

life advocating for black maternal health. In a statement, the American College of Nurse Midwives said her death underscores the reality that black women face disproportionate. at risks during pregnancy and child Perth. According to the CDC, black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women. Police in Goldsboro now asking for the public's help to solve a now four-month-old murder. It happened back in September. 58-year-old Allison Sealer was shot in a home on Olivia Lane and later died from her injuries.

The search for the shooter continues. Anyone with information is asked to contact Goldsboro Police. Happening tonight, the Wake County School District is set to hold a community engagement meeting regarding the future of Liggin Magnet Middle School. That meeting may help determine if the historic school is renovated or torn down and rebuilt. Are Sean Coffey joining us live outside of the school this morning to explain. Sean, good morning. Good morning, Anna. Well, several Ligon alumni have told eyewitness news already that they don't oppose the district's plan to upgrade the school, but would prefer that it remained as it is rather than tear the school down and

started new. And those are concerns that so far, the Wake County School District has said that they have heard, hence this meeting kicking off what they call a series of meeting to get community engagement. Tonight's gathering here will be with different stakeholders over the course of the next few weeks to discuss these plans that the district have. This is all in an effort to meet growing demand as the district grows, which alumni have told us they understand, but want to see done right. We're in a financial pinch. People don't have unlimited funds to do things, but I have great confidence that the administration and the board members are fully aware of the headwinds that

are out here. One proposal would be to renovate the existing building here. Another would be to build a new structure on a different part of the property or over on the ball field. Tonight's meeting will begin at 6 p.m. and run until 8 p.m. and we will have much more on later editions of eyewitness news. Back to you. Sean, thank you. It is 507 now. In the United States withdraws from dozens of international organizations why President Trump says the move is necessary. Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. announces a new food pyramid emphasizing protein and healthy fats. We'll break down what you need to know about the new federal dietary guidelines. And good morning everyone, stepping outside right now, temperature is not terrible.

We're in the 40s of most spots. Sanford, though, at 35 in Roxborough, need to turn the heater on. It's cold down to 32 degrees, but will be above average again today despite the clouds. come into play tomorrow. Details after the break. Good morning, everyone. Most of us starting out in the upper 30s and low 40s, but it's freezing up in Rocksboro right now. But don't worry, you'll warm up today. Heading out to the Keynes game tonight, a lot of clouds. Temperatures falling from mid-50s, getting down to near 50 degrees by the time you're heading home. Could be some issues for travel today. The Northeast and the East Coast looks good, but Chicago's going to have some rain. Kansas City, Oklahoma City. Denver, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, and Flagstaff.

These are areas that could have some delays today. So far, all the major hubs, though, looking pretty good. Got you 7 in a few minutes, Anna. Okay, Steve, thank you. And new this morning, President Trump signs a memorandum withdrawing U.S. from 66 international organizations. A White House social media post said the groups no longer serve American interests.

They include 31 United Nations organizations and 35 entities that are not related to the UN. One of them, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. That's the bedrock treaty that underpins international cooperation on climate change. The U.S. joined the treaty and Congress ratified it in 1992 when George H.W. Bush was president. In this morning's health check, the Trump administration has flipped the food pyramid, prioritizing protein and healthy fats and minimizing grains while urging Americans to avoid sugar and highly processed foods. Changes, health secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. said, will make America healthy again.

It's a move that reverses decades of nutritional precedent. Previous recommendations suggested avoiding full fat foods. Now the guidelines endorse high fat foods like red meat, whole milk and cheese and using olive oil, beef tallow and butter as cooking oils. Whether they are fresh, frozen, canned, or dried, we are finally putting real food back at the center of the American diet. The American Medical Association applauding the new guidelines, it says our quote, spotlighting the highly processed foods, sugar, sweetened beverages, and excess sodium that fuel heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and other chronic illnesses. But too much saturated fat does concern some doctors. 512 now and make sure you stick around for Good Morning America.

Ahead at 7. The surprise twist in the case of Nick Reiner, his high-profile lawyer removing himself from the case what it means for Reiner's double murder trial. Watch Amber Rupenta today on ABC 11. witness news. GoTriangle is now offering free overnight parking at its regional transit center near RTP in Durham. Yeah, the free parking is aimed at adding a convenient option for anyone using Go Triangle bus service to travel to RDU International. The parking lot is located on Slater Road right off of I-540. Travelers will be able to get to and from the airport by catching the Go Triangle RTP shuttle. The shuttle leaves for the airport every 30 minutes between 6 a.m.

6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. If you plan to use free overnight parking, you have to apply for a parking pass first, and the passes must be left on your vehicles dash. There's also a limited number of spaces available. First come first served basis. Now to eyewitness news, learning nearly 16,000 people now call downtown Raleigh Home. The downtown Raleigh Alliance reports demand to live downtown grew by leaps and bounds in 2025. In fact, a record number of new residents moved in. To meet the demand, nearly 1,500 residential units were delivered across five projects. The row at Rockway, Maeve, Alexin Moto, the Holston at the weld, and Ray at the weld. And if you've been downtown anytime lately, you know the building boom continues with even more apartments, condos, and businesses that are expected to open in 2026. There's also some big development news in West Raleigh. City Council giving the green light to rezone the former Kmart property on Western Boulevard. The rezoning will allow for up to 20 stories of mixed use development. state firm City Platte purchased the property last year with plans for new housing and retail. As we look ahead to Black History Month, UNC men's basketball is teaming up with local youth to create a special Black History Month t-shirt design. Eyewitness news was with the Tar Heels yesterday at their event at Hargraves Community Center in Chapel Hill, players helping the students create unique and original designs.

It's definitely a full circle moment for myself and I know for a lot of my teammates, being able to give back and kind of teach a lot of kids that, you know, you might see a little bit of yourself in for when you were a younger in a similar position to them. So it's really important and it's really fun. Dozens of kids where they're participating, but there can only be one winner. The team will vote on a winning design and the Tar Heels will sport the winning wear during warmups for the February 23rd home game against Louisville. Now taking a live look outside with the view of downtown Raleigh from our Pendo Skycam at 301 Hill. Brough Street. I have just been loving the last couple of days and I'm so sad that it eventually has to go away. Well, let's stay in the moment. I'm fine. Right, right. Enjoy what we die.

But I did make some plans for Saturday to do maybe some barbecue type situation. Now she wants to plan barbecue. Here we go. That might be too much. We could go over there though. That's true. She's cooking. I don't know. There was no invitation. It got lost. Outside right now that we're looking at fair guys, folks. It's a decent start to the day. It'll be cooler than yesterday, but still not bad. Mid-60s for highs. Get out and enjoy that. 70s tomorrow and again Saturday. A lot of cloud cover. There could be a spotty shower during that time period. The highest chance by far is after sunset Saturday. So it looks like we'll have most of our warmth being nice and dry. Colder next week, but really just more seasonal. We see these numbers a couple days in the 70s. There's that drop off and that 58's probably early in the day. I think by the afternoon it's going to be closer to 50 with a breeze to make it a feel even colder, and then we'll moderate as we get into Tuesday, getting closer to our normal. We need rainfall, though. If you look at all the last few months, it's been well below average, and you go all the way back to September. We were over three inches below average. So the rain coming, the model's not too excited about a lot, but I will say this is for R to you. North and west of here, there could be a good half inch to an inch of rainfall, so we're hoping some areas at least pick up a decent soaking.

These clouds will be coming our way and increasing over the course of the day today. tomorrow as well out and about early on partly cloudy in the 40s we get up to near 60 by the midday hour and we'll start seeing more of those clouds coming into play at that time predictor shows that pretty good broken cloud cover early and then we'll see more clouds later this afternoon as we go into our evening hours but staying dry and again well above average 41 into north hills right now we should be closer to freezing at this time of year we are freezing in rocksboro however but most of us are in those upper thirties and low 40s it's 33 currently in sanford Evening plan if you're heading out to see Harry Potter, numbers falling down to the upper 40s by the time you head home under mostly cloudy skies. Now, that front's going to be out to the west tomorrow, likely dry. 71 are northern counties in the evening could get a spotty shower, but it looks like most of the rain stays well to the north, and we can't rule out a spotty shower during the day on Saturday. It's more likely this activity comes in in the evening hours to overnight. We're in the 60s for highs today from 67 in Fayetteville, 63 to Durham, and Henderson. about 60 degrees. Tonight will have low temperatures in the 40s

in most spots, so relatively mild under cloudy skies. And your first alert, 70, 71 tomorrow, a lot of clouds around. There could be some PM showers, but it's a better chance I think at the evening hours of getting rain. Temperatures falling on Sunday.

One real cold day in the 40s, and then we'll moderate again after that and get back to more seasonable temperatures, Anna. All right, Steve, and you were just talking about it. It might not feel like winter this week, but we are not out of the cold just yet. Now, so we are asking you to join us this weekend for an eyewitness news special, your first alert to winter. We're going to break down what to expect for the rest of the winter months, plus how the changing temperatures can take a toll on your body and how the state's largest school district decides on a snow day or school day.

Join the first alert and weather team this Saturday at 7 p.m. right here on ABC 11. Right now the roads looking really good. We are not seeing any major congestion you need to worry about. We do have a road hazard that's coming in at Lake Boone Trail near Landmark Drive. Good news is it's not causing any slowdowns, but it's right off of 440. So if you are going to be in that area, just give yourself a little bit of extra caution. It's 521, and the nominations are out for the 32nd annual SAG Actor Awards. We'll take a look at which films are leading the pack. Plus, Bruno Mars, making a comeback after nearly a decade, what we know about the superstar's fourth studio album.

And you can now catch up with breaking news and the latest headlines with the APC 11, IWitness News podcast. You can listen anytime or anywhere. Just follow ABC 11 IWitness News wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be right back. Watch Don Schweniger tonight on ABC 11 eyewitness news. 525 and a major change is coming to Apple credit card. Here's ABC's Hannah Batta with this morning's TechBites. In today's TechBites, JPMorgan Chase is taking over the Apple card. Credit card service is currently provided by Goldman Sachs. Apple's says the transition to chase will take about two years, but customers can continue using their Apple cards. Open AI is testing a new health portal. ChatGPT Health will let you link

your medical records and wellness apps to the chat bot to get more tailored responses. The company says additional privacy safeguards will be added. They caution that the new feature is not intended for diagnosis or treatment. And finally, Spotify is making it easier to know what your family and friends are listening to. A new tour of on its messaging platform displays the user's current listening activity at the top of the chat. Others can then play the same track, save it, or comment on it. Those are your TechBites. I'm Hannah Bata. Have a great day, everyone. So you might know it is the Screen Actors Guild Awards, but now it's called the Actor Awards.

And the nominations are out for this year. Ariana Grande got a nod for outstanding performance in a supporting role in Wicked for Good. But her co-star, Cynthia Arriva, was snubbed. On the streaming side, Adam Brody, was nominated as lead male actor for the popular Netflix comedy. Nobody Wants This, but his co-star, Kristen Bell, did not get a nomination. In film, one battle after another director, Paul Thomas Anderson's latest drama got seven nominations. The Ryan Cougler Horror Blockbuster Sinners got five. The actor awards will be on Netflix Sunday, March 1st.

And fans of Bruno Mars, listen up. The superstar has new music coming out. Mars announced on social media that his fourth studio album is done. No additional details were revealed. Mars new LP will be his first solo album in nearly a decade. Grammy Award winner, 24K Magic, was released in 2016. Oh, those 10 years ago? Remember it well.

24K imagine. Still hits. What a good time. Hope he still has it, Bruno. He does. Right now, it's warming up. We're feeling spring-like weather across Central North Carolina. The near record highs we could reach next week.

Meteorologist Steve Stewart has your forecast coming up next half hour. And on Capitol Hill, the house is set to. to vote today on Affordable Care Act subsidies will break down what you need to know about this new bill.