ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at 5am - March 25, 2026

Episode Date: March 25, 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-I Witness News. The clock striking 5 a.m., good morning, Carolina. Welcome on this Wednesday. It's March 25th. I'm Joel Brown. And I'm Anna Rivera.

Thanks so much for joining us today. The war with Iran raging on what we know about the new attacks in the Middle East and where negotiations stand on peace talks. Preparing for deployment. About 1,500 soldiers from Fort Bragg will soon be heading to the Middle East what we're learning about the timeline. And this morning, a man behind bars accused of impersonating a Raleigh police officer, the charges he's now facing. The Raleigh Convention Center entering the next phase of recovery after the devastating fire back in December. What we know about the progress underway. And UNC parting ways with Hubert Davis after five seasons. The search for the next head coach will have to get to a busy Wednesday time for a first check of weather.

and traffic together. Meteorologist, Clayland Murphy is here. Let's update the folks on where we are on this warm, cold roller coaster. We started high, we came low. Now we head back up today. Yeah, now we're neutral. It was a seasonal levels for today, but then tomorrow temperatures will climb above average. This morning, though, it is colder than yesterday. So make sure you're prepared for temperatures in the 30s out the door.

Some of you are down to around freezing this morning. Under mainly cloudy skies on the way home from school today, low 60s, with some great recess weather as long as the kids are prepared with that extra layer, maybe the long sleeves, the hoodie, certainly the jackets, partly cloudy skies on the way home. This is the temperature changing. You can see the drop is much bigger south of the triangle right now by 13 to 17 degrees colder at this time. We're at 35 degrees at RDU, a light wind right now. So thankfully not much of a wind chill to deal with at this time. Sitting at 30 in Lewisburg, freezing Oxford and Roxford and Roxborough, Fayetteville 34, it's 30 in Sanford, Southern Pines, 32. We have these light winds for now, a little breezyzy, later today, but that wind coming in from the east and southeast. We'll keep some clouds around at times, but thinner as far as transparency goes for the afternoon. So you'll see a bit more sunshine later today. For the evening temperatures in the 60s through 7, we're into the 50s starting at 8 o'clock, still even at 10 tonight. It's not going to be as cold tomorrow morning. So your first alert to 40s and 50s out the door on your Thursday morning. We're still in for that late week warm up with near record highs on Friday in the middle 80s. But we are tracking the next front, which will bring us some showers. Friday into Friday night and also much cooler air for the weekend. We'll track that when I come back. Right now, weather and traffic together, Anna, back to you. Quilin, overall picture does look really good.

We're not seeing major issues that are going to slow you down, but we do have a serious crash already. Breaking News 1 is on the scene right now. This is the westbound side of Wade Avenue to the ramp onto I-40, on the ramp to I-40. And we have a car that went off of that exit ramp. So Raleigh Police are on the scene right now. And so is really fire. At this point, it is closed because of that single car crash. It does look like that car went off the embankment and hit a tree.

We are getting reports of injuries. I'm going to keep an eye on that. As soon as we have more details, we'll let you know. Here in the Breaking News Center this morning, we are following the latest on the war with Iran. Overnight, more missiles from Iran falling from the night sky over Israel as new details emerge about potential peace talks with Iran. sources telling ABC News that Trump administration sent Iran a 15-point peace plan addressing Iran's ballistic missile and nuclear programs and maritime routes like the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran still insisting there are no negotiations underway with the U.S. right now. Mediators are said to be pushing for a meeting soon, but the Wall Street Journal reports Iran has its own list of demands, including no limits on its missile program and the closure of all American bases in the Gulf. With no signs of the conflict ending, we are learning soldiers with the 82nd Division are headed to the Middle East to assist U.S. efforts there. ABC News sources confirm the number of troops is less than 1,500, and the mobilization will include ground forces and a headquarters element, which include personnel who oversee logistics and planning. As thousands of our military families sit on standby waiting for the call, we checked in with veterans who have experienced the same reality. Shadonna McFall spent 20 years serving our country. uniform in the United States Air Force and she was deployed three times once to Afghanistan.

McFall says the community who often wonders what they can do, she says kindness should come first during this time. We're going to have to give each other grace at work, at home, in the community because you don't know whose husband or wife, granddaughter, grandchild is deploying and what they're going through. ABC News sources said troops are expected to deploy soon. apartment complex forced to evacuate last night because of something suspicious inside the building. And we now know it was something used on a farm. Eyewitness news on the scene at Good Holmes Bordeaux,

the former Holiday Inn now converted into apartments. The building was fully evacuated with crime scene tapes stretching from Fire Station 5 on Boone Trail all the way to Olin and Village drives. Police now say it was a piece of equipment used to measure ammonia levels on a farm. Now to rally police arresting a man on charges, he imperman. A impersonated a law enforcement officer and court records reveal he's been charged with the same crime in Wake County at least seven other times dating back to 2015. Yeah, police say this most recent case led to unwanted sexual conduct, contact. Raleigh police say they got a report of 33-year-old Meredith Cromarty conducting a fake traffic stop last Thursday. Police say Cromarty then continued to contact the victim and was seen driving near the victim's home. The investigation also uncovered another incident from the day before where Cromartre, a legend, alleged,

forced the victim into unwanted sexual contact. On Monday, Cromarty turned himself into the Orange County Sheriff's Office. He was served with the outstanding charges from Wake County, including impersonating a law enforcement officer, extortion, sexual battery, and kidnapping. The Raleigh Convention Center is taking its next big step in recovering from a fire that forced major adjustments downtown. City officials say the convention center will begin installing permanent cooling equipment starting today. Our Tamara Scott joining us live now from the Raleigh-Iwood News Center with more on the recovery efforts. Tamara, good morning. Hey, good morning. Yes, the Raleigh Convention Center is entering its next phase of their recovery efforts. So you may start to see more activity around the downtown area this weekend and to next. Now, new permanent cooling equipment is expected to arrive today to replace that temporary system that they have been keeping the building running for the last few months.

Next week, a crane will move in along McDowell Street to lift that equipment onto the roof with some late enclosures expected in early April. Now, this all while, the center is transitioning back to normal operations and parts of the permanent kitchen are being restored after months of serving meals out of a mobile setup at the Red Hat amphitheater. Now, the temporary kitchen, which served more than 89,000 meals, is now set to be removed by the end of the month just in time for the first concert of the season. at Red Hat Epitheater on April 14th. Now the convention center has already welcomed more than 85,000 guests in the first quarter of 2026 as it continues to recover from the spires. So this news of more recovery on the way is going to be very exciting

for folks looking forward to getting back in there. Back to you. Yeah, feeling more like normal over at the convention center. Tamara, thank you. It is 507 now in the verdict is in straight ahead. The social media giant hit with a hefty fine after a New Mexico jury finds its platform harm children. We're going to walk you through that landmark case.

And straight ahead why a major airline is suspending some VIP treatment for members of Congress. Plus one airline introducing new economy seats that transform into a couch for long-haul flights when that's expected to launch. When Westcham first took flight in 1996, the vibes were a bit different. People thought denim on denim was peak fashion, inline skates were everywhere, and two out of three women rocked the Rachel. While those things stayed in the 90s, one thing that hasn't is that fuzzy feeling you get when Westjet welcomes you on board. Here's to West jetting since 96. Travel back in time with us and actually travel with us at Westjet.com slash 30 years. 510 now, breaking news one on the scene of a crash. This is at Wade Avenue Westbound on to

I-40. You can see that there was a car that went over in a bankment. First responders are there on the scene. We are working to get more details. But for now, they are working to get that cleared as quickly as possible. 5-10. The time, and we're tracking nice conditions. It's colder this morning with temperatures out the door in the 30s, some 40s down around South Carolina, 30s into Virginia. Lunchtime temperatures for us today, loaded at 50s, but highs in the 60s this afternoon. We'll see a mixture of sunshine and clouds a little breezy later today. At the coast, temperatures back into the 60s, so a nice warming trend there. We'll see a range of temperatures from 50s to the 70s in the mountains.

Tomorrow high temperatures approaching 80, still below the record high of 87, but Friday we're going to get mighty close to that record of 87 for now. sits at 86 degrees for the high. There's a cold front to the north that's going to bring some chillier air, but also some showers and storms Friday. More on that when I come back. Joel. Quaylin, thank you. Now to the big developments in Chapel Hill,

UNC relieving Hubert Davis of his duties as men's head basketball coach. Carolina announced the firing last night, five days after the heels early exit from the NCAA tournament. Now the program is conducting a nationwide search for the next head tar heel. Bianca Holman covering the latest live on campus right there in Chapel Hill. Bianca, the firing is a move that a lot of fans saw coming. Yeah, well, again, like you said, after they lost to VCU in the first round of NCAA tournament, you know, a lot of people were on watch for it, and so they have decided to part ways.

And so Davis was a 12554 winning percentage at 69.8%. But the school is looking for more. Athletic leadership says that they appreciate why what Hubert has done as a player, assistant coach and head coach, and they go on to say it wasn't an easy decision. It was pretty hard to make this decision, but they say they must move forward in a way that allows the team to compete at an elite level. UNC fans also reacting this morning. We've had a few great moments like Hubert, but my take is I needed to happen. Yeah, on to the next. You know, I think that he had promised because, you know, we got to give a lot of coach.

his time, but honestly, the way that he handled that last game, it kind of means that it was time. I mean, he really didn't do well with the substitutions. So the school is going to honor the remainder of his contract and buyout, and then, of course, the national search is on, and we will be standing by watching and waiting. Back to you. Bianca Holman with the latest in Chapel Hill for us. Bianca, thank you. Make sure you stay around for Good Morning America. Ahead at 7 o'clock, why doing nothing is all the rage and how nothing maxing has become a TikTok trend and what it could potentially do for your health.

We continue to follow breaking news. This is on Wade Avenue, the westbound lanes, and it's that ramp that goes onto I-40 eastbound. You can see first responders are there because a car did go off the side of the ramp. We are getting reports of injuries involved in this and you can see that we still have Raleigh police there on the scene. We are working to get more details as to what exactly happened. Just one car involved in this crash. The major loss in court, for Facebook's parent company Meta, the jury in one of the several social media addiction trials underway, finding the company misled users about the safety of its platforms. And now the company has been ordered to pay more than a third of a billion dollars.

Here's ABC, Sophie Fleigh. In a landmark verdict, a jury in New Mexico has found meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, libel for endangering children and misleading users about the safety of its platforms. This is the first time in American history that established. state-led action's been able to hold a big tech company accountable for the harms that they've created and allowed to grow on their platforms. New Mexico accused META of failing to protect minors from abuse. Prosecutors were seeking $2 billion in damages, but the jury ordered the company to pay just $375 million. I don't believe they're doing these things to intentionally harm children and like they want that to happen, but I really do think they could be doing more.

Prosecutors presented internal documents claiming the company new features on its apps could lead to child exploitation, claiming the company ignored the dangers. META's lawyers pushing back. Meta isn't hiding anything about the risks of the platforms. It discloses them everywhere. CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying the company cannot stop all bad actors. The unfortunate reality is that some very small percent of them are going to be criminals. And we should work as hard as we can to start as we can to,

stop that activity from happening. Meta says it will appeal the verdict, saying, we work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and are clear about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors or harmful content. The judge, in a later second phase of the trial, will decide whether to force Meta to change its platforms. Sophie Fleigh, ABC News, New York. Taking a live look outside now with the view of downtown Rowley from our Pendo Skycam at 301 Hillsborough Street. It is chilly this morning, but we are expecting things to warm up as we work our way through the day and tomorrow. Looking good. Oh, even better tomorrow.

Yeah, what? 60's not bad. 60's not bad. 60's back to normal. Tomorrow. We're 80 Friday. That's what I like. Yeah, near the record. That's what I like. That's what I like. Uh huh. Pollen levels, do you like this? Very, very high. Yeah, most people don't. Very high. The pollen levels were the highest for the tree counts so far this season yesterday. So again, pine, oak, birch, walnut, maple in the count. Also, we had a low, count for weeds and grass. We'll continue to see those higher levels right through the weekend. Unfortunately, we do have some rainfall coming our way Friday during the day, spotty with the shower chance at 20 to 30 percent.

But it's Friday evening and night in early Saturday morning that the rain and storm chance climbs a little bit higher. Temperatures on the way up, though, 60s for highs today, near 80 tomorrow, mid 80s on Friday, with just one degree away from the record high. Then that cold front comes through knocks us back down for the weekend. 50s on Saturday, 60s on Sunday. Another warming trend right into early. next week low 70s on Monday. Another live look into downtown Raleigh right now. We are colder than yesterday morning so many locations are at freezing and below, including Roxburgh at 32,

Sanford at 30 degrees right now. Goldsboro 36, Bayetteville 34 and sitting right in the mid-30s in Raleigh and Durham. We have some clouds rolling through at this time, but you will see sun and clouds in the mix today a bit brighter by the afternoon. 39 degrees at 9 o'clock by lunchtime today, 54 degrees and partly cloudy, 63 at 3 o'clock. Notice the wind direction coming in from the south by that time. It's going to help send those temperatures higher today and keep the overnight lows around as well, 40s and 50s tomorrow morning, so not too bad.

Coatfront well to the north around the plain states. We're still getting that ridge of high pressure established out west to start expanding to the east, and that's going to lead to our warming trend. So tomorrow, the high near 80 degrees, a mixture of sunshine and clouds at high pressure surface high offshore. Cold front approaches Friday, but we're still ahead of it. So that's why we'll be warming up into the 80s on 4.

This is 1 o'clock Friday afternoon. Load to mid 80s by this time. Maybe you're getting ready for to watch some of those games on Friday making your plans. 5 o'clock Friday temperatures around the mid-80s. We're still mainly dry. Have spotty rain at this point. And then towards late Friday night, it looks like 11 o'clock

midnight right now will have some showers and storms whirling through. In terms of totals, under one half of an inch is what we'll see. We would also look at some gustier winds on Saturday, too. That wind coming in from the north at around 25 to 35 miles per hour on those gusts. on those gusts. So that's the chillier air floating in for the weekend. At the beach this weekend, temperatures 50s and 60s with sunshine at the coast. We're looking at similar conditions in the

mountains to 50s and 60s for highs. So today, 60s, mid to upper 60s for high temperatures, partly cloudy skies, partly cloudy tonight, not as cold. Mid to upper 40s to right around 50 degrees. Here's your 70 forecast powered by ACU weather. We're up to 86 Friday, 40s Friday night with that front passing through 50s on Saturday, 60s on Sunday back to the 70s, starting Monday. Weather and traffic together, Anna, back to you. Well, Goyland, the overall picture does look good right now. We're really not seeing any major issues for the most part to slow you down, but we do have one serious crash that we are on the scene of on breaking in Breaking News 1. So let's get straight to that. You can see that we do have a lot of police. This is on the Wade Avenue westbound

ramp to I-40. You can see that car looks like it's been recovered from the embankment. It was just one car involved in this crash. Breaking News 1 says that a tow truck has just arrived to this seen. You are able to still use this ramp while they are working to get this cleared. But again, you want to give them plenty of space because they are in the process of getting that moved out of the way. And you want to make sure that you are being extra cautious in that area. Now to Delta Airlines suspending some special services for members of Congress. That includes things like airport escorts and red coat services. Delta says members of Congress will now be treated just like any other passenger. The airline says the suspension is due to a

strain on resources because of the government shutdown. Delta's reservation line for members of Congress remains open. Meantime, United Airlines getting a lot of attention online for a pretty unique seating option in its economy section. Yeah, kind of like this. Instead of having three seats in a row, customers will feel like they're sitting or lying on a couch. Take a look at this video. Flyers who choose this option will get a mattress pad, blankets, and extra pillows to use. The option allows for more leg room and the ability to sleep and stretch out. United says it will offer this new seating arrangement for long flights, and the airline calls the United Relax Row,

which they claim is ideal for families with small children, solo travelers, and couples who want a little extra room. Remember the days when you just were kind of lucky, you know what I mean, and you got on that really empty flight and you were a three-chair flight and it was all empty. You had the whole thing, and that was the relaxed road. You got the whole thing, you could stretch out. Well, the nice thing for families is like they have toddler beds that blow up

and you can use them in the seat. But United never let you use those. So now you have this option. I never knew that was a thing. I got to get some kids. 523s at the time. Way County based epic games, cutting hundreds of jobs. Why the carry gaming giant says layoffs are necessary.

At Desjardin, our business is helping yours. We are here to support your business through every stage of growth, from your first pitch to your first acquisition. Whether it's improving cash flow or exploring investment banking solutions, with Desjardin business, it's all unbursed. one roof. So join the more than 400,000 Canadian entrepreneurs who already count on us and contact Desjardin today. We'd love to talk. Business. 526 and Kerry-based Epic Games is cutting more than 1,000 jobs. It comes as the company says it's facing a sharp downturn and engagement with

Fortnite, the company's most well-known game. State commerce officials say 211 triangle employees will lose their jobs. Meantime, Open AI is shutting down its vision. Video Generation app. Here's ABC's Hannah Batah with this morning's TechBites. In today's TechBites, OpenAI says, See ya, SORA. The latest version of the video generation app was launched last September. Now, OpenAI says it's saying goodbye to Sora,

but not exactly saying when. Sora hit the top of the U.S. App Store charts after its debut, but has seen months of declining downloads. Next, META is allowing creators to include shopping links for up to 30 distinct products directly in their reels. The feature is available both on Instagram and Facebook, but Facebook creators are limited to tagging products for marketplace partners like Amazon. And Nintendo is reportedly cutting production of the Switch to consoles by 33%

after falling short of holiday sales expectations. Some gamers say the lack of new releases and expensive titles are to blame for the falling sales numbers. Those are your TechBites. I'm Hannah Bata. Have a great day. We are still following a serious crash at Wade Avenue and I-40. I'll have the latest details on that crash after the break.