ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at 5am - July 23, 2026

Episode Date: July 23, 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. Still dark, still early, probably raining where you are. Good morning, Carolina. Welcome on this Thursday. It's July 23rd. I'm Joel Brown.

And I'm Anna Rivera. Thanks so much for joining us today. Heavy rain possible flooding, rough conditions, threatening millions of people across the entire viewing area. It's going to be a messy morning commute with many places seeing anywhere from two to four inches of brain. So we've got team coverage tracking conditions for you this morning. Cindy Bay and Sean Coffee out on the roads. We'll check in with them in just a moment. But first we begin with traffic and weather together.

Quailan Murphy standing by on a first alert day. Good morning. Good morning showers and storms developing overnight with that front moving closer to us. We've seen some warnings overnight including flashfoot warnings to the west. Even a severe thunderstorm warning at one point. Now we have a flood advisory for Alamance County and parts of Chatham County, too, until 8 o'clock this morning. This basically means there's some street flooding potential here with some of the heavy downpours. We've had some pretty healthy rain totals so far from Alamance to Orange and Durham counties between two and four inches for some spots down into Chatham, too, starting to see those totals build.

Elsewhere, no advisories, but definitely locally heavy rain along I-85, Northperson, Granville, Vance County, and Warren, even Nash County, seeing some impacts with Franklin. Also into Halifax County in Northampton, you're seeing some locally heavy downpours as well. So I didn't see the locally heavy rain now pushing into parts of Western Wake County so we could see some impacts around carry around RDU shortly here with downpours. Could be some delays at some points this morning too for RDU thunderstorms developing around Sanford. This is the flood watch. It goes through tonight for most of us early Friday morning for the sand hills. But as I mentioned, some areas have already picked up that two to four inches of rain. So we'll continue to add on to that. Those of you around the sand hills

fairly dry for now, but by lunchtime do expect things to start turning up in terms of your shower and storm potential. Greatest flood risk today, level three or four from Raleigh and points east. But once again, we all have that threat for flash flooding today. So pushing you through the next few hours, still locally heavy rainfall around the triangle points north, starting to spread now into the southern counties as our models continue to update this morning. By lunchtime, I think we'll have Some pockets of locally heavy rain to the south, some breaks for some of you to the north. And then by the evening, a few lingering showers will be possible. So you can see how the rain chances start to break down later this evening and tonight.

74 degrees right now with isolated storms out there. We have temperatures in the 80s south where we've seen drier weather. And that's where it feels like 88 in Clinton. Temps in the 70s through noon, also through 3 o'clock today. And we'll be in the upper 60s later tonight. Bertha is in the Gulf, northern Gulf right now pulling away from Louisiana. making its way towards Texas later today with that second landfall and then that system will be all set and done. But the moisture continues to bring us some impacts too.

We'll talk 70 forecast. When we'll get back to the 90s for high temperatures that's coming up right now. Weather and traffic together, big impacts. Anna, back to you. Yeah, so far so good though, Quailan, as far as crashes go, I don't think a lot of people are on the road right now, but you can see all of this green and even some blue, which is showing where we're seeing some ponding. Let's take a live look outside of the DOT cameras. This is 40 in Miami Boulevard. You can see just how wet it is, especially as Quaylin was saying, Durham County and North, really seeing those impacts. And let's take a live look outside at Breaking News One.

This is Breaking News 1 out and about on the roads right now on I-85 in Orange County. You can see that rain is coming down. Windshield wipers are going, and it's likely this is going to be the scene for a lot of people who are getting ready to drive in. And in Wake County, Sean Coffey and Cindy Bay tracking the rain and flood threats for us this morning. We'll check in with Cindy in just a minute, but first, Sean, what are you seeing? Yeah, good morning, Anna. We're over in Kerry right now. We actually just pulled off of Southwest Kerry Parkway and connected over to Davis Drive heading north down. We're kind of in the area of Preston and Kerry go ahead and flip the camera around.

Last half hour, we told you we were looking for some of that heavier rain and moving into the air, and you can see it already has started to do that. I mean, this is just in the last 10 or 15 minutes, the rain really starting to come down more heavily near the Carey Apex line. And if you look at the radar right now, it looks like even heavier rain could be coming to this area in the next few minutes. So if you are starting your day here in the next half hour or so, be cautious of the fact that the rain is coming down pretty well here in this part of the county. At this point, you're going to want to build in some extra time. Like we've been saying all morning long, this is going to be pretty widespread throughout the area this morning. Obviously, we have our crews spread out across the triangle at this point.

But as the rain gets heavier, we're going to expect to see some pretty major disruptions to the morning commute this morning. Obviously, we'll be ready to respond to any issues that we see out in the rain. roadways will continue to keep you posted here from the southern half of Wake County. The thing's definitely starting to pick up over here in the carry apex area, guys. Back to you. Yeah, Sean, you can see it and you can also hear it. Thank you. And Cindy Bay also driving across Wake Forest in our storm chaser vehicle.

And Cindy, what's the latest there? Hey, good morning. Well, we've been checking out the conditions here in northern Wake County, where we've passed by the town of Wake Forest. But now we're heading west on 98, a specific. now towards Falls Lake and this is a checking out the road conditions right now. Just to look at that, you can see that it's still very wet outside, wet roads with some darker spots if you can see right there just showing that water is starting to collect

in certain spots of the road. We've passed through periods of light to heavy rain and just a reminder that it's still dark outside so morning commuters just be careful when you head out there, especially when you're out on the roads as it is wet right now. And so we're continuing to just check out the conditions across Northern League County and we'll bring you the latest as soon as we can. Back to you.

Cindy and Sean, thanks to you both to Capitol Hill now where the Senate will take up a massive defense bill aimed at boosting some of President Trump's top priorities like the Iran war. House Republicans advanced the trillion dollar package yesterday, mainly along party lines. However, six Republicans did cross the aisle to support it, including North Carolina

Congressman Don Davis, it includes billions for the Pentagon, national security, and farmers impacted by recent tariffs. As the war in Congress escalates with new attacks overnight, President Trump is honoring the four U.S. service members killed in the Middle East last weekend, including two soldiers from Fort Bragg. They were remembered to their families at Dover. They were returned to their families at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware yesterday during a dignified transfer. The Fort Bragg service members have been identified as 25-year-old Tyler Feehan of Hawaii and 30-year-old Michael Swinton of Fayetteville. New this morning, we're following a high-profile meeting overseas.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio just met with Russia's foreign minister. This is new video, those tense talks happening in the sidelines of a summit in the Philippines. They discussed ways to end the war in Ukraine. Indirect peace talks have stalled as the U.S. focuses on the war in Iran. It is 507 and we're already getting a snapshot of the 2028 presidential race and a progressive New York Congresswoman AOC currently leading the Democrats in a new bombshell poll will explain after the break. And permanent daylight saving time facing new opposition in the Senate.

We'll tell you why after the break. And this morning rain and storms generally triangle and north especially. We have a flood advisory for most of Alamans County down into Chatham for some street flooding concerns. That goes until 8 o'clock full forecast coming up. And right now the road's just really wet. We're not seeing any crashes. You can see a lot of green. A lot of blue showing where that ponding is happening.

You're going to want to add some time to this commute. And now let's take a look at those traffic hotspots brought to by the Fred Anderson family of dealerships on Glenwood Avenue. Fred Anderson Toyota, Fred Anderson Kia, Fred Anderson, Nissan, all home of the Fred Anderson family plan, including lifetime oil changes, lifetime car washes on all new Toyota's Kia's Nissan's and hundreds of used cars. The Fred Anderson family plan saves your family thousands while giving you lasting value with every mile you drive. Thinking of selling or trading your current vehicle, Fred Anderson, wants to pay you more even if you don't buy from us. Get the family plan at Fred Anderson Toyota, Fred Anderson Kia, and Fred Anderson, Nissan, all on Glenwood Avenue. ABC. 510, welcome back on this first alert day. It's Thursday and we're under a flood watch until tonight for areas south of the triangle through early Friday morning.

We have locally heavy rainfall, not so much to the south, but certainly around the triangle points to the north and east. Some of that locally heavy rainfall working right towards RADU. We have heavy downpours for parts of Durham, in Alamans counties with that flood advisory to the west. Also locally heavy rainfall for parts of Halifax and Northampton County too. Here's the wet setup around RDU right now. Again, if we see thunderstorms in this area at points today, that could lead to some delays at RDU. So be on lookout for that. Temperatures will be stunted in the 70s as a result of clouds and locally heavy rain today. So a break from the heat still very humid out there. The temps in the 70s north today. 70s in the triangle through the morning and afternoon. So pretty steady on the temperatures. We've seen a rise this morning around Fayetteville that's because we've been so dry there for the last several hours so you're in the 80s to start right now temperatures around 80 at noon your storm chances go up this afternoon through the evening hours to locally heavy rain included 70s on the mark all the way through midnight tonight on temperatures at the coast also looking at some active weather with a moderate threat of rip current so today is not the best beach day highs

in the 80s 6 seasons and 70s mainly in the mountains with some showers there too so that front Settling back towards Tennessee across our region and kicking off the eastern seaboard, we have bertha to the south and more rain and storm impacts around areas west to heat concerns around Dallas and into Oklahoma. 88 in Atlanta today, Tampa or excuse me Dallas, 98 degree Chicago 77. Now tomorrow is still some locally heavy rainfall possible, so we still have concerns for some flash flooding. I think we start to see less coverage Saturday as that front starts to settle to the south. So if you have some beach plans on Saturday, still looking not too good there. Sunday and Monday, some lingering showers possible. Joel, back to you.

Quailan, thank you. We're following new developments on Capitol Hill right now, where a bill to enact year-round daylight savings time nationwide is now facing major hurdles. Some senators are speaking out against the measure. They argue a later sunrise could endanger children and some workers who would face a morning commute in the dark. The chamber is currently debating the legislation after the House passed it last week. In your voice, your vote, progressive congresswoman Alexandra Ocaso-Cortez now leading a key battleground poll on the 28 presidential election. The New York lawmakers soaring past other Democratic contenders like Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg to lead the PAC in New Hampshire, a critical early primary state.

The new poll finds 22% of voters support AOC. Senator Mark Kelly, California governor Gavin Newsom, and Senator Bernie Sanders are also considered 2028 favorites. 513 and saving lives one text at a time. Wake County officials weighing in on texting 911 during a crisis. We'll hear from them after the break. Several big concerts kicking off at Carter Finley starting tonight, but rain and traffic may cause headaches. Everything you need to know straight ahead.

We are local news. ABC 11 eyewitness news continues now. It's 516 in a hostage situation in East Raleigh this week, now highlighting a life-saving tool. most people forget they have. Texting 911. It happened at home on Pin Oak Road. We spoke to Wake County authorities

about why that simple text can make all the difference. The most important thing, the first text you should send is where you are. We can't help you if we can't find you. So we need to know where you are. What address are you at? If you don't know the address, can you give us cross streets of what's near you?

The description of a building that you're inside of, a car that you're inside of. Court documents show Donovan Preved allegedly threatened to shoot a woman and tried to stop her from calling 911, but someone else inside the home quietly texted 911 instead, giving authorities what they needed to respond and arrest the suspect. It's going to be a pretty busy day around Carter Finley Stadium because of two big concerts that are expected to bring heavy traffic. Today, the legendary hard rock band Guns and Roses will perform starting just before 630.

And on Saturday, folk pop singer Noah Khan will take the stage. Back in October, the Chris Brown concert at Carter Finlay brought traffic to a standstill. It was so bad, some fans even missed the show just trying to get there. So here's what to keep in mind if you are heading to either show this week. You are encouraged to arrive well before the start of the show to avoid peak traffic congestion. Parking lots open at 1.30 for both shows. Expect heavy traffic from 1230 to 6.30 and by parking in advance to expedite entry into parking areas. C State landing a big signing.

Andrea Munoz is joining the Wolfpack. The team released these photos this week. The defender comes from one of the most storied soccer academies on the planet, La Mesa in Spain. It's a pipeline that's produced some of the best players in the world, including fresh off a World Cup run Laminia Mall, Danny Olmo, and Powell Kubarsi, just to name a few. And turning down to the severe weather slamming Central North Carolina, flooding, threatening millions of people across the viewing area today. We have crews on the roads in in the viewing area tracking conditions throughout the morning and some areas have already seen four inches of rain Quaila. Yeah, and parts of Durham County

four plus inches are ready. We're tracking the now but also the later guns and roses. You mentioned that tonight. 6.30 the show starts will still have a chance for some scattered showers and storms around that time hoping a lot of that thunder can stay south of the stadium at this point. Temps will be in the 70s. First alert we're tracking how some Flood Advisory this morning too now newly issued for parts of Durham County now in areas north along I-85. That's where that band has been heaviest producing those heavy downpours. So this flood advisory for Chatham County and also Alamance goes until 8 o'clock, heavy downpours

here over Saxeaha tracking more of that advisory criteria now for Orange County in Durham. That's where these totals have been at three to four plus inches of rain already. Another flood advisory into Granville in Vance counties as well, including Henderson. and that's where we're seeing some heavy downpours too. And that could be extended off to the east as this band continues to track into areas like Franklin County and possibly towards Halifax, too. And we'll keep our eyes on Wake County. Wake County portion of Wake County now under the advisory for locally heavy downpours. Right over RDU is where we're seeing some of the more intense downpours right now,

some that locally heavy rainfall making its way into Lee County and down into Moore as well. Flood watch through tonight for most. It goes until Friday morning for the sand hills. I mentioned some areas have already picked up that two to four inches of rain. So we're just adding on to that at this point. And we're going to see rounds of showers and storms through the morning and afternoon. Best chances for that targeted heavy rainfall will be from Raleigh Point's east as the day goes on. And we're looking at rain and storms pretty much off and on through the evening hours as well. Live look from downtown. We have those drops on the lens there. 70s out the door for most 80s to the south where we've seen dry weather so far. A bit breezier around Fayetteville. But most winds at this point are lighter. So that also. reduces storm movement, which is why we can also see some flash flooding developing in a few locations as well. 74 at 9 o'clock still looking at strong storms by noon some showers. I think at this point the heaviest rain is south of the triangle. 3 o'clock some light showers temps in the low 70s some scattered storms possible later at this evening. So there's the front we're tracking but it really takes its time working through its stalls along the coast into the weekend.

So that will keep showers and storms around. This is lunchtime today. Heaviest rain to the south. We'll see a few scattered showers. and storms through late day. There will be some breaks at times overnight. Tomorrow morning, I think we see some locally heavy rain in pockets, and then some dry time of the afternoon for the next round of showers and storms roll in Friday night. Saturday morning starts off pretty wet for us too with some heavy rainfall potential and some thunderstorm activity. I do think we see drier weather, though, into early Saturday afternoon with just lingering scattered showers. Overall, the rain chances will start to drop into Sunday as that front pushes a little bit more

to the south. But we do have another front. into early next week. So shower and storm chances go up Tuesday and Wednesday. Bertha's latest. It's now around central Louisiana just offshore here. It's tracking towards Texas later today where it makes landfall and then continues to move inland and weekend. First alert day today for the flood threat 76 degrees still lingering flood risk on Friday the high 79 degrees. Saturday's still unsettled with the front nearby 81 for the high few showers on Sunday maybe a stray storm later in the day. Temperatures start to climb though as rain

start to drop Monday, partly cloudy. We're at 91 degrees back to the low to mid 90s, right through Tuesday and Wednesday with a few storms as our next front arrives. Weather and traffic together, Anna, back to you. Quailan, so overall good news is that we're not seeing a lot of crashes. I did just see a crash pop up on the map. It's at looks like it's I-40 West at I-85. I'm going to try to check on that in just a moment, but that is where we're seeing some of that heavy rain. Let's take a live look outside at the DOT cameras. This is 40 and Jones Sausage Road. County still seeing a lot of wet roads. But let's take a live look from breaking news one.

We've got them out on the roads on I-85 northbound in western Orange County near Eflin. You can see those windshield wipers are going really hard to see through the windshield right now. Make sure you give yourself some extra time. All right. Time on your Thursday is 522 and Governor Stein visiting Raleigh Police today. He's stopping by the department's special operations division. We'll tell you why coming up in our next half hour. Alerting you first.

First alert weather on ABC 11. 525 and Elon Musk says his GROC AI will generate its own feature-length version of the Odyssey by the end of the year. Here's ABC Sophie Fleigh with this morning's TechBites. In today's tech fights, Elon Musk is vowing to make an AI version of the Odyssey by the end of the year. He says it will be a feature-length film generated by his AI tool GROC. And he shared a clip. Musk has repeatedly criticized Christopher Nolan's Odyssey over its diverse casting. Next, Xbox has made four of its original games available on PC and handheld devices for the first time.

Xbox says it's the start of a new effort to preserve games from the past while adding new features to improve the gaming experience. You need to be running Windows 11 to play them on PC. SoundCloud has acquired the shuttered music platform Mina Protocol. Mina was known for allowing artists to operate digital storefronts while letting them keep 100% of their revenue. SoundCloud says it will honor what Mina. has created and they expect to preserve its editorial archive. Those are TechBites. I'm Sophie Flee. 526 now in a new DNA lab is now analyzing evidence in Wake County, how the facility will

provide answers to crime victims and decrease wait times for results. And it is already shaping up for a messy morning commute, rain and flooding threatening the entire viewing area. We have team coverage straight ahead. Keep it here.