ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at 9am - January 4, 2026

Episode Date: January 4, 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. Good morning, Carolina. I'm Bianca Holman. It's Sunday, January 4th this morning on eyewitness news. Nicholas Maduro and his wife are now in the U.S. in custody in New York after a highly coordinated military operation, President Trump says the U.S. will help run Venezuela while transition takes place. Congress was not briefed in advance, marking criticism. Venezuela's vice president demands their release while Caribbean flights were canceled over security concerns. We've got a full breakdown, including local reaction next.

And a Raleigh teacher killed in a home invasion. Neighbors in shock the suspect in custody what we're learning from the investigation this morning ahead. Let's go ahead and take a live look at the Raleigh skyline as the sun is. up on this Sunday morning looking pretty good there but don't be fooled by the sun it's pretty chilly out there it is Steve yeah we started out in the 20s it's it's kind of a normal afternoon we anticipate which is good after that cloudy chilly day that we had yesterday meantime we'll probably have a high temperature today in the lower 50s the average highs at 52 degrees so really

close to that and at times just a couple of clouds around that yesterday's 47 little misleading that was or while you were sleeping most of the day was about 40 degrees and hardly any rain at all at RDU and most areas got well under a tenth of an inch. So dry for a stretch, we'll get some rain chances coming into play. There's some timing discrepancy here, whether it's going to be Friday night and Saturday morning or Saturday evening. But the point is we'll fine tune as we get closer, but that's the next opportunity. So a lot of dry time. You want to get that car wash today.

Good day for it. We'll get to those lower 50s and lots of sun as we go throughout the day today. Meantime, we're looking clear as we go through the day. High clouds come into play later on this evening and will be with us over. night and might see some of those clouds around again for tomorrow 33 degrees out at north hills right now that's about five degrees colder than this time yesterday with widespread upper 20s and low 30s out there so freezing temperature kind of a popular number at this hour head not a lantern festival tonight getting down to 40 at 7 o'clock then we fall down to the mid 30s as we get later in the evening but that's the time those high level clouds start streaming in make some plans this week boy it's really going to feel like spring multiple days in the 60s couple could touch 7 More on that coming up in a few minutes. Bianca. All right. Steve, thank you. Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro is out of power after a daring U.S. operation.

He faces a 25-year conspiracy indictment accusing him of flooding the United States with cocaine and corrupting his own country. Maduro is expected to make his first court appearance in the coming days. Here's ABC's Lionel Moise with the details. This morning, Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro and his wife are waking up in a New York City detention. Center. They were captured by U.S. forces and landed Saturday evening at Stewart Airport in Orange County, New York, escorted off the plane by more than a dozen federal agents. NYPD blocking off streets as a heavy security motorcade carrying Maduro made its way to the Manhattan detention center. President Trump announcing his capture Saturday, posting this picture

showing the Venezuelan leader in U.S. custody. According to two sources, the military operation was carried out by the Army's Delta Force after the CIA identified the leader's precise Over the course of the night, aircraft began launching from 20 different bases on land and sea across the Western Hemisphere. In total, more than 150 aircraft, bombers, fighters, intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance, rotary wing were in the air last night. The president now saying the U.S. will run Venezuela until there can be a transition of power and also says he has not ruled out boots on the ground. Are you saying that Secretary Hegseth and Rubio are going to be running Venezuela and will, Will you be sending a U.S. military troops to provide?

They're going to be a team that's working with the people of Venezuela to make sure that we have Venezuela right. Because for us to just leave, who's going to take over? I mean, there is nobody to take over. Venezuela's vice president demanding the immediate release of Maduro and his wife, saying Venezuela has a duty to safeguard its sovereignty that has been attacked. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Congress was not notified prior to the mission, saying doing so would have, quote, endangered the mission. On Capitol Hill, at least four House Republicans releasing statements criticizing this military operation in Venezuela.

Democrat leaders in both the House and Senate are calling for an immediate briefing for the gang of eight and a full briefing for all members of Congress next week. Lionel Moyes, ABC News, New York. Lionel, thank you. Well, this weekend, people trying to return to North Carolina from the Caribbean are stuck because of the government closed the airspace there as the situation unfolds in Venezuela. At the RDU airport, six non-stop flights to and from San Juan were canceled on Saturday. More than 613 other flights also canceled to and from Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Aruba, and more than a dozen other destinations in the Lesser and Tilly Island group north of Venezuela. Flights should resume today.

And here in the Triangle, news of the United States actions in Venezuela, sparking mixed reaction in the Venezuelan community. Some here in the triangle applauding the move, while others worry about it. about the president set by the actions of the Trump administration. President Donald Trump announcing details of the mission Saturday and said the U.S. will oversee Venezuela's governmental operations. This sparked protest across the country. And here's our Chopper 11 flying over a rally in downtown Raleigh Saturday evening.

Some expressed concerns over the long-term U.S. involvement and what that looks like. I think this is a moment where we get back to fighting for what our country, what we won, what we want to see it. become instead of letting it in the hands of U.S. And some Venezuelans also gathered in more square to celebrate the news. Many say they feel true freedom for their country is closer than ever before and say U.S. involvement could legitimize their calls. He says we have a political coalition led by Maria Corino Machado, who is the leader of the opposition.

We consider her the political. leader of Venezuela. And if we have Trump's support for her, then we feel we have a legitimate foreign backing towards true freedom in Venezuela. And those we spoke to also say they're feeling hopeful that the people of Venezuela might have a voice again. Coming up, what we know about a deadly shooting at a restaurant in Fayetteville. Plus, a car crashes into a Clayton restaurant. What officials say could have led to the incident? And North Carolina Highway Safety grants are now open how these grants can help save lives ahead. But first, how are things looking outside, Steve?

Cold, but not bad. A typical day today will have temperatures probably climbing up at near normal. We're around freezing in most spots at this hour. Sun's up, though, and nice and sunny as we go throughout the day. Today we'll make it to some lower to middle 50s. Big warming trend this week, though. Details after the break. Welcome back, everybody.

Good morning to you. going to be stepping out side of for today. It was temperatures in the low 50s in Roxburgh, about 53 in the Raleigh and Fayetteville topping out at 54 and lots of sunshine out there to be had today. Disappointing rainfall, we knew it'd be light, but there was only one area down here near Lillington, Harnett County, parts of Johnson County. They got up around a quarter inch of rain, but the rest of us really kind of missed out and didn't get much at all. More of a nuisance than anything. All right, low 50s as we go through the day today, lots of sunshine for heading outside, maybe getting a little shopping today, not

bad you can see the hour by hours there 33 in the north hills at this hour not much of a breeze at all and upper 20 still in oxford a little bit cold inside the city at 28 degrees will warm the ice lay still a bit colder than this time yesterday 5 to 10 degrees colder at this hour evening plans of heading out to the deep act is he harry potter 44 degrees before little chilly though mid 30s when you head back to your home and there'll be more clouds starting to drift in from the west high level clouds that is new york 37 chicago's good Denver, Dallas, Atlanta, all the major hubs should be okay. That's ice up there near Minneapolis and pushing into Wisconsin and more rain and significantly heavy rain in Southern California that could cost some issues again. So far the major hubs though showing no delays. Got you seven day coming up in a few minutes, Bianca. All right, Steve, thank you. Two people are dead after a shooting at a Fayetteville restaurant. It happened just before 7 o'clock on Saturday night at Max Speed Shop on North McPherson Church Road. There in Fayetteville,

The police say when they arrived they found two people shot. One person died there at the scene and the other person died at the hospital. Police have not shared their names or what led to the shooting. We do know of a person of interest has been located and is being questioned by detectives. A Clayton restaurant is closed for the weekend after a car crashed into it. Town officials shared this picture of the Vincent Pub on East Main Street. You can see there a Red Dodge Charger ended up partially inside the dining area. The crash happened yesterday morning when the driver veered off Main Street.

The restaurant was closed and the driver believed to have had a medical emergency was taken to the hospital. The building has been deemed unsafe. Well, last call for Boozid and Luzick checkpoint statewide. Plus, a big change for Durham schools, what the district has planned for cell phones in class. And a Durham rapper turns motivation into movement. His story in two minutes. The time now, 915, the state's booze it and losing campaign ends today. Authorities in all 100 counties increasing patrols and sobriety checkpoints in an effort to crack down on impaired drivers.

The application window is open for the North Carolina Governor's Highway Safety Program. These grants support community-based initiatives that support efforts to prevent impaired, distracted, and aggressive driving, promote occupant protection and speed reduction and improve safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists, and other vulnerable road users. Applications are being accepted now through January 30th. And we've got a traffic alert for you. In Wake County for the next four nights, the DOT is closing one ramp each night at I-40, I-4-40, and the U.S. interchange for soil testing.

The first detour tonight is for U.S. 1 northbound and I-440 westbound drivers. The detours will be in place from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Now, we've got a big change for students at Durham Public Schools. The district implementing a new cell phone ban. The policy aligns with a new state law. All middle and prep school students in Durham will be required to turn off and put away their devices during classes and other instructional activities. Waite County and other districts across the state have passed similar policies. On time now to spotlight all things North Carolina made, and we're catching up with a

the Durham music artist who's branching out to inspire young people to chase their dreams. Joel Brown talks to the artist about his new venture. You gotta breathe through the hard times. You gotta breathe through the hard times, hard time. After 13 years of slowly building his career in rap music, Charles Lewis had an epiphany. He needs to be more than a musician. He wants to be a motivator. I want people to look at me differently and see that, oh yes, he is a rapper, but at the same sense, he can't

cares about his audience and pushing them to understand. They don't look at what I have. Look at how much I love what I'm doing. So then you can channel that back to what you love to do. Pressure. Pressure. Leveraging his rap persona as Kid Callie. Hey, it's you again.

Let's take a quick walk. We're going to talk about having a purpose. Charles launched his own motivational brand, MDMG. Stands for money doesn't mean greatness. You believe money doesn't define. greatness. What does? What you love to do? The determination, the motivation you have to wake up every single day if you weren't getting paid. Where are people finding you? So you can go to the website right now. Obviously all of my social media is going to be Kid Callie MDMG. MDMGRATness.com

went live this fall selling t-shirts and hoodies and blazoned with the brand, racking up sales and new followers on social media. Charles says he's building a movement, a mind, set for dreamers across the world. There's people that want to chase their dream. They just don't believe in themselves. And sometimes you just need somebody to come by that is a stranger and tell you

you got it. A new North Carolina made brand with a heavy dose of North Carolina made motivation. You're not going to stop. You're focused. In Durham, Joel Brown, ABC 11, eyewitness News. All right. Well, today is a wonderful day.

It is a normal Winter day. Typical January day. But the sun is going to be out because yesterday was just a drag. It was so dreary. If you're going to be cold and dark like that, you might as well get some good rain. And we just didn't get much. Yeah, just a few hundreds of an inch in both spots. But today's clear though. Today's good. Look at that. Sunshine downtown. Fantastic. It was a cold start. It's still pretty cold out there. But we're going to get up to more seasonal highs later today. So I still want a jacket or a sweatshirt. But you could get rid of that later this week. It's going to be feeling like April shorts and T. shirt's fine. We have a couple days we could touch 70. Next rain chance comes into play late Friday and a Saturday. There is a timing discrepancy here. Some of the models have it later on Saturday like the European model here. Others are first thing in the morning. So we'll fine tune that at least as we get closer. But the end result over the course of the next few days, starting Tuesday and lasting for five days. Numbers in the 60s to near 70. And then we'll start to get back to more realistic temperatures as we get in the next Sunday. We need the

rain. Already a deficit here in January, December was dry. November, really dry. October dry. In September, had a deficit of over three inches. So when you add all these up, the drought monitor is going to get worse more than likely. We have moderate drought now. Thank goodness it's not the growing season, but yeah, definitely need some rain. We're quiet here. These are the high clouds that'll come in later on for tonight, and we'll catch some high clouds for days. Low 50s as we go through the afternoon, we'll have plenty of sunshine. Those high clouds start streaming in later on as we get. into the evening hours you can see that with predictor they'll be coming in from the west and they'll be with us overnight tonight and then tomorrow sun cloud mix will continue having

some of those high clouds with us uh 33 degrees in the north hills right now that's five degrees colder than yesterday with freezing temperatures in most spots this morning although clinton above freezing there at 36 was still five to nearly 10 degrees colder than this time yesterday evening plans if you're heading out just hitting the town temperature is falling down to around 40 by 7 o'clock. By 9 o'clock, we're down to 37. Meantime, here we're going to see a big switch. We're going to get a wind shift. We'll get to the mid-60s as we go into our Tuesday. There'll be high clouds around. We'll continue with those high clouds. This front is just to our north, about 70 for the high temperature. It's way upstream

with this developing system here. That's our next rain chance as we head into next weekend. Meantime, heading up to the mountains for some skiing today. Some of the bases, not bad at all. Of course, are making snow at night. Temperatures mainly in the 40s. The beach is full sunshine today with numbers in the low to mid-50s if you're heading out there. Around here today we'll be in the upper 40s in Henderson, 52 into Durham, Faville at 54. Lots of sunshine for you today. Then some of those clouds come into play tonight, but upper 20s and low 30s, more seasonable once again for our overnight lows. First of late 70, little milder tomorrow, but it's really starting Tuesday. The numbers are going up. There'll be plenty of high clouds around as we go

through the midweek. Still warm on Thursday, more clouds, but still despite that about 70 on Friday. And there's that risk of a shower. Again, timing discrepancy when that's going to happen. We'll fine tune it. And we stay in the upper 60s by next Sunday. We'll get back down to the 50s. Bianca. All right, Steve, thank you. From pool noodles to parades, how giant puppets bring a community together. North Carolina group is turning trash into treasure and bringing joy to local parades. Members of the Street Creature Puppet Collective in Asheville use everything, from pool noodles to coffee filters to build glowing lantern puppets. Here's a closer look at their work in action. We started 13 years ago. There was a group that met monthly that was interested in puppetry, and a lot of us were interested in big puppets.

Every Wednesday, 7 or 9 is our open to the community puppet night. So people will come. and they'll say, you know, I want to just help you. They'll just jump right in, or they'll just bring their own thing that they want to work on. Lately, we've been doing a lot of lantern parades. This is a puppet, meaning that it has all kinds of working parts, but it's also a lantern, so it lights up. This hooks into the backpack,

then you have the head that you operate. This is the only seahorse puppet I've seen. I love seahorses. They're one of my favorite animals. There's a lazy Susan inside the neck that creates the neck mechanism. mechanism. The heads rotate, the eyes blink, and the wings flap. All these are made out of willow. It's very light and easy to bend. What's great about it is that it's sustainable and we use a lot of found materials. One of

the things that puppeteers are great at is trying out lots of different materials and thinking about, well this could be made out of foam and this could be made out of fabric. Pool noodles and tubing and things like that, dowels. Bamboo, cardboard, coffee filters. I do this because I love making things together in community, and I also love being out in the street with giant puppets interacting with people. You're showing people, look, you can make this stuff out of garbage. Find a couple of friends and do a fun thing and then just bring it out, and that doesn't have to be heavy, serious. It's light and joyful and celebratory and very much honoring the ecological richness that we have here in the mountains.

And Raleigh, reaction from neighbors as a teacher is attacked in her home, what we know about the suspect this morning. Plus, President Trump did not alert Congress before capturing Nicolas Maduro the mixed response from lawmakers. And Iran's Supreme Leader warns rioters as protest violence kills 15. Right now, live coverage from your local newsleaders. 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 and we've got a live look into downtown Durham looking pretty good today feels decent out there so far it's a little chilly but good morning Carolina it's Sunday January 4th I'm Bianca home and you're watching

eyewitness news on ABC 11 and wherever you stream the details of the top stories in all the today's news is just ahead. But first, let's go ahead and check in with meteorologist Steve Stewart with the look outdoors. It looks nice out there. So you still need a jacket, though. Yeah, a little cold. I mean, typical January day for us today. But this is the coldest day we're going to have for a while. It's going to heat up. It's really going to warm up in a big way. Hey, good morning, everybody. Looks like high temperatures today will likely be in the lower 50s. Pretty much a normal day. Lots of sun today, less a couple of clouds here and there. 76 and six are the records on this date. And boy, we hardly got any rain at all. yesterday as most areas are very light. It's kind of a nuisance. We needed a soaking rain, though. It's dry for a stretch. The next chance is late Friday into Saturday, and this is a timing discrepancy.

We'll be able to fine tune that as we get closer. In the meantime, if the car is dirty, good day to get it washed. We'll climb to those low 50s, with some the entire day today. And then fair skies as we go there early evening, but eventually we're gonna have some high level clouds streaming in as we go overnight

and we'll have some of those clouds around tomorrow as well. Right now we're looking at full sunshine and 33 degrees at North Hills. Not much of a breeze at all. About five degrees cooler than this time. Yesterday in many areas right around that freezing mark kind of uniform temperatures, although southern pines the warm spot this morning at 38 degrees. Evening plans if you're heading out to the Lantern Festival, not bad. We'll get down to the upper 30s by 8 o'clock, so seasonally chilly. And that's also when we're start seeing some of those high-level clouds streaming in from the west. Make some plans this week if you can. I mean, we're really going to have some warm temperatures feeling like late March. early April. All the details on that coming up in a few minutes, Bianca. All right, Steve, thank you. Well, breaking into our newsroom this morning, around two this morning, a single car crash in Spring Lake claimed the life of an active duty soldier from Fort Brad. According to officials, the vehicle failed to stop at a stop sign, struck

trees and caught fire. We're told witnesses tried to help, but EMS pronounced the soldier dead on the scene. State troopers are investigating. The former Venezuelan leader, Nicholas Maduro is in the United States to face criminal charges after a daring U.S. military operation removed him and his wife from their residence. President Trump called the capture a highly successful operation and said it positions the U.S. to run Venezuela and access to its oil reserves. Legal experts warn the operation may violate international law and questions remain about the country's leadership with Vice President Delci Rodriguez named interim president and opposition leaders challenging her authority.

Meanwhile, celebrations erupted in South Florida among Venezuelan Americans, while Caribbean travel was disrupted with hundreds of canceled flights. Normal operations are expected to resume today. Authorities say Maduro and his wife will face prosecution in New York for alleged narco-terrorism conspiracies. Well, now U.S. officials plan further briefings while Venezuelans and international observers away clarity

on the country's future. leadership. And during President Trump's briefing, he said he did not inform Congress in advance because he was concerned about someone leaking details of the operation. Members of Congress from North Carolina are weighing in on the operation in Venezuela, and we're getting mixed reaction about the capture of Venezuelan president and his wife. Democratic Congresswoman Deborah Ross issuing this statement, saying in part, Donald Trump authorized the military operation to enact regime change in Venezuela. He acted without regard for the Constitution and without considering the long-term consequences for our security or our democracy.

Republican Senator Ted Bud posting on X, saying in part Maduro was an illegitimate dictator who has long been wanted in the U.S. on charges of narco-terrorism corruption and drug trafficking. Poet's decisive action to capture and bring him to justice is monumental, not just for ending his brutal regime in Venezuela, but will save countless American lives. These actions are within the president's authority and send a clear message to America's enemies. Our nation will not allow threats to our safety and security to continue unchecked. Well, demonstrators also taking to the streets in downtown Durham yesterday, opposing the operation in Venezuela. More than 100 people gathered at the Bull statue in CCB Plaza calling for peace for Venezuela.

The group is asking members of Congress to end the U.S. involvement there in the country. Because I think it's outrageous what's happening, and we all need to speak up and let everybody know that this is not acceptable. It's up to us. It's up to us to say this is our democracy, this is our Constitution, and we are not going to stand by and let you do whichever you want. We're going to hold you accountable. Demonstrators also spent the afternoon singing and praying for the country. And breaking this morning also from abroad Iran's supreme leader says rioters, must be put in their place as violent surrounding protests kills at least 15 people there. The demonstrations over economic hardship marked the largest since 2022,

with authorities signaling both harsh measures and possible negotiations. A teacher murdered in a home invasion in a Raleigh neighborhood. Zoe Welsh was a teacher at Ravens Cross School, and she was on the phone with 911 when the burglar attacked her. It happened inside her home near Wade Avenue in St. Mary Street. Diane Wilson has details from RPD and reaction from neighbors. Raleigh police telling us they got a 911 call from the victim, Zoe Welsh, around 630 this morning from her home on Claystery, reporting a man was inside her home.

While on that 911 call, investigators say the suspect 36-year-owned Ryan Camacho began assaulting her. When officers arrived at Welch's home, police say she had life-threatening injuries. She was taken to the hospital where she later died. Police charge Camacho with Welsh's murder and felony burglary. Neighbors in the area say they don't recognize Camacho and can't believe this type of crime happened in their neighborhood. Mind-blowing. It's devastating for people who live on this area, but it's crazy. Yeah, I mean, kind of shocking to hear about this sort of stuff going on so close.

To me, I mean, literally like right down the street here, yeah, got a lot of kind of, I don't really how to process what I can do. Welsh was a teacher at Ravencroft in Raleigh, the school providing this statement. The Ravenscroft community is devastated by the loss of our beloved colleague and friend Zoe Welsh. Zoe has been a cornerstone of her upper school science department in the Ravenscroft community for years. Her loss is deeply felt by all of us who had the privilege of working with her and learning in her classroom. The school adding they will be providing grief counseling and support resources for faculty, and students when they return to campus on Monday.

Raleigh Police Chief Rico Boyce providing this statement saying, I am deeply heartbroken for this mother, friend, and mentor to many in our community, and for the unimaginable trauma her family must endure. We extend our deepest sympathy to Ms. Welsh's family during this incredibly difficult time. And that was our Diane Wilson reporting. Well, another measles case reported in North Carolina, health officials now tracking exposure in Gadsden County. Also, flu cases sparking up nationwide.

A new strand is driving it and rising up the desk. And a dream shock for a diehard Wolfpack fan. That story coming up next. But first, good morning, Steve. Hey, good morning, Bianca. Good morning, everybody. Outside right now, the sun's up. Temperatures struggling to get up.

We're in the lower 30s right now. Goldsboro just updated. There's 37 in Sanford at 33 degrees. High is where they should be, maybe a degree or two above it. When the low to mid-50s, but a big warm up this week, all the details after the break. Welcome back, everybody. Happy Sunday to you. It looks like today's kind of a normal day temperature-wise up in our northern counties like

Roxborough, 51, 53 in Raleigh, and about 54 down into Fayetteville and lots of sunshine for you today. Boy, the rainfall was not impressive. There was one area down here in Harnet County near Lillington that picked up about a quarter inch. Most of us, though, less than a tenth of an inch or just a few hundred. of an inch didn't really help us out much at all. Still pretty dry out there. We'll get to the low 50s today. Lots of sun hour by hour and by the evening hours. Early evening clear, but late evening we'll probably start seeing some clouds rolling in. 33 into North Hills right now. That's five degrees cooler than this time. Yesterday with widespread 30s across the board near 40 now in

Clinton, but that's still seven degrees cooler than yesterday and about five degrees cooler in Raleigh. Meantime, if you're heading out to F. 4 this evening, maybe going out to the D-Pack tonight to see Harry Potter. Mid-40. chilly when you head in about to 36 by the time you're heading home and you'll probably see those high clouds streaming in at that time. Chicago's good. Minneapolis, a bit of a mix. That where you see that red shade, that's some ice that concerns there. New York's fine, Atlanta, Dallas. So the major hubs should be okay today out west. So there could be some delays later on with more heavy rain expected. Already seeing some delays there in Philly about 30 minutes. Got your 70 forecast coming up in just a few minutes, Bianca. All right. Steve, thank you. Happening today. Family and friends, will say goodbye to Emma Elizabeth Biffel, the daughter, a former NASCAR driver, Greg Biffle. A total of seven people died, including Greg, his wife, and two children. When there's C-550 jets slammed into the runway at Statesville Regional Airport on December 18th. Emma's memorial service will be held at 3 o'clock at the Kane Center in Cornelius.

Well, Palm Springs Festival recognizes big names and breakthroughs. And North Carolina's state makes a 15. year old fans dream come true we are back now at 944 in your morning health check health experts are sounding the alarm as flu activity is increasing sharply across the country most states are dealing with high or very high activity and those levels are rising nationwide the cdc estimate there have been at least 7.5 million people sick with the flu this season, and that's based on data through December 20th. Genetic testing indicates there's a new flu variant called subclad K. It appears to be behind the vast majority of cases, and it's not covered by the current

flu vaccine. Here in North Carolina, state health officials reported 12 new flu-related deaths in the last week, and so far, there have been 39 flu deaths across the state this season. That includes two children. Well, the state health department has found a case of the measles in Gatston County. They say the person traveled through the area while infected. It's the second confirmed case in the state this week and the third in the past month. Earlier this week, officials say that an unvaccinated child in Polk County tested positive for the disease. And last month, the case was found in a person who had traveled through RDU Airport. Oh, dreams do come true. And we watched it happen for a Raleigh teenager who has Down syndrome at Alopecia.

Luke is the ultimate Wolfpack fan and he had the chance to meet the NC State basketball team. We were there and Akela Davis has a story. It's a dream come true for the ultimate Wolfpack fan. 15-year-old Luke Girardi shooting his shot at an opportunity of a lifetime. His love for the pack starting at birth through his parents. I'm from Raleigh, so I've been an NC state fan for 49 years. His father, Rob, is a proud alumnus of N.T. State. Since they were in diapers, we brought them to the games, and they got used to the noise and the crowd and just started loving the pack, just like us.

Luke lives in Raleigh, and was born with Down syndrome and alopecia. He communicates primarily through gestures and short word approximations. And you can tell his love for sports is truly undeniable. And that's why the Charlotte-based nonprofit Dream 13 rolled out the red carpet for him. The mission of the organization creates life-changing sports experiences for kids with special conditions. It's a weekend of fun for kids like Luke, and that includes attending the men's and women's Wolfpack basketball games this weekend. Luke came from us with Gigi's Playhouse here in Raleigh, and Luke is just a wonderful human being. He's got the smile that stays with you, that you won't forget.

And that smile lit up the arena as he met the men's basketball team and watched them practice. You guys were great inside with him. He loves huddles and high fives. Proof that dreams do come true. Two, three. Go back. In Raleigh, Akela Davis, ABC 11, eyewitness news. We love to see when dreams come true.

Well, the time now, 947, and time to check in with Steve as folks are headed out the door, maybe to run some errands, get ready for the week. Typical January day for us, yeah. It's chilly right now. We'll get probably close to normal highs later today. Today's the coolest day we're going to have probably in the next week, not even close, too. Downtown looking pretty good. We got the sun up. Temperatures struggling. We're still close to freezing at this hour, but they'll get up there. A brighter day today after the overcast skies that we had yesterday in seasonal high temperatures. Warming up this week, feeling like April where shorts and t-shirts will be fine, make some plans, maybe some pickleball, tennis or some golf, if you can this week. Next rain chance is really not going to hold off until late Friday, but more likely on Saturday. There's a timing discrepancy here. Some of the models like the European models late on Saturday. Other models are early on Saturday.

So we'll find two in that mess for you. But in the meantime, the one thing we know for sure is the temperatures are going to be well above the average of 52 for days, starting Tuesday and lasting all the way into next weekend. And then by Sunday, they'll start coming back down again. Meantime, we need rainfall. We're dry in January. December was dry. Really dry November. October was dry.

Go back to September. We had over a three inch deficit. So this is really starting to add up. We're going to see this moderate drought expanding until we get a good old-fashioned soaking. in here. These are high clouds around Missouri. They'll keep drifting our way. We'll see those coming into play later on tonight. That's not rain producing, though. That's way off the coast of California. We'll be watching as that develops. Low 50s through the afternoon. Later on this evening, we'll start catching some clouds coming in. You can see what predictor showing that

to the mid and high level cloud streaming in. That'll be with us overnight. And then tomorrow we might have a few more of our clouds, especially off to our north and to the west. 33 degrees at North Hills right now. The dew point at 30, not much of a breeze out there. Widespread, low to mid-30s, a little bit milder. And Clinton now at 39 degrees, still cooler than yesterday in most locations. Evening plans if you're heading out, numbers falling down by 9 o'clock at 37. And again, that's when those clouds will start drifting into play.

Notice, too, we're going to get warmer, mid-60s with high clouds on Tuesday, and when you stay warm. That front stays to our north. We'll be up around 70 or so on our Wednesday. You look way upstream, way out here near California. That's our next system that could bring rain to the area by next weekend. Upper 40s and low 50s today looking pretty good. Lots of sunshine out there.

Tonight we'll see some of those clouds moving in. Upper 20s and low 30s. First of all, 7-day then. Tomorrow, 57. After that, we get to the 60s. A 70 Wednesday, still a little bit cooler on Thursday, but well above average. Clouds increase on Friday, despite that we're about 70. And then there's that risk of a shower.

We'll fine tune the timing for you over the next couple of days or so, and then by next Sunday, we'll cool down. But five days in a row of spring-like temperatures coming our way. All right, Steve, thank you. Hollywood honors, it stars from Adam Sandler to Timothy Salome, George Pinocchio, tells us everything that's going down in Palm Springs in two minutes. film festival is underway. That means Hollywood is in the desert. And George Pinocchio is there as well. Take a look. Adam Sandler appeared in Palm Springs to accept the chairman's award for his work alongside George Clooney and Jay Kelly. Rose Byrne honored for her breakthrough performance and if I had legs, I'd kick you. Ethan Hawke celebrated with the festival's Career Achievement

Award. When you're first trying to break into this business, everybody's really tough on you. You know, and the long as you stick around, the gentler they become, or the tougher you become. I don't know which it is, but I'm appreciative. For his leading role in one battle after another, Leonardo DiCaprio was awarded the Desert Palm Achievement Award. He was unable to travel from the East Coast due to the situation in Venezuela, so he sent in his thank you on tape. The entire cast and crew, thank you for the trust, the generosity, and this sense of shared purpose you brought to this film. This year's Icon Awards went to Sinner's star Michael B. Jordan and song sung blues, Kate Hudson. It feels great, man. You have so many other talented actors, you know, and filmmakers that are being honored here for the work that they've done.

So when you're in that group, you're in that class amongst your community and being recognized, it means a lot. It's really exciting. I feel really honored to be here and to be accepting it, you know. And it's nice. It's a nice time in my life to reflect on my career. Among the other honorees, Marty Supreme Star, Timothy Shalomey, receiving this year's Spotlight Award. I'm taking a moment to say thank you for the opportunity to work. Thank you to everyone for taking the time to beer tonight and onwards. In Palm Springs, George Panacchio for on the red carpet. The Critics Choice Awards are tonight, followed by the Golden Globes next week.

Well, singer Sabrina Carpenter is joining Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog, and other Muppet Show characters for a brand new special debuting. next month. It'll be streaming on Disney Plus starting February 4th. The special will also be shown here on ABC. The Muppets revival comes just ahead of the show's 50th anniversary this year. The original Muppet Show aired from 1976 through 1981. And if you've planned to visit a national park this year, the America The Beautiful Pass is now available digitally. U.S. residents still pay $80 while foreign tourists pay $250 or 100 extra without a pass. And so the list of fee, free holidays has also changed. So you want to check before you go.

And the North Carolina Zoo will be closed this week, the popular attraction shutting down for staff training and park maintenance. The zoo and its hiking trails will reopen on January 10th for normal winter hours. The Postal Service is warning that your mail might not be postmarked on the same day you drop it up. The new rule says postmarks don't always reflect

when UPS, a USPS, accepts your mail. Officials say you can still ask you for a manual same-day postmark at the post office if needed. Oh, NASA is weeks away from a critical test flight. The Artemis II mission could launch as early as February. Four astronauts will spend 10 days aboard Orion looping around the moon, testing systems for future lunar landings. And new this morning, Starlink has announced free Internet service in Venezuela.

The company owned by Elon Musk made the announcement on social media. Starlink said it would supply free broadband. and service to the people of Venezuela until February 3rd. The move comes after the U.S. military operation that outst President Nicholas Maduro. Metrics from net blockers showed a sudden loss of internet connectivity in parts of Caracas, which it said corresponded to power cuts during the U.S. military operation. Local media reports also suggest there is no internet connection in some parts of the capital. Well, former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his,

his wife in U.S. custody after military operations this weekend. President Trump says the U.S. will run the South American nation what we can expect from that change.