ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at Noon - December 16, 2025

Episode Date: December 16, 2025

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Several stories breaking right now on eyewitness news. Chopper 11 is over the scene of a house fire in Wake County. We're working to learn if anyone was hurt and how the fire started. We have a live report. And breaking economic news this noon, the federal government today releasing the November jobs report, as well as retail sales ahead of Christmas next week. And the Wake County School could decide the future of Liggin Magnet Middle School, a school that's been around for more than 50 years. It's the news at noon. Now, live coverage from your local news leader, today's top stories you need to know, and your first alert forecast. Here's what's happening where you live. This is ABC 11 eyewitness news. Breaking news right out of the gate here at noon. Chopper 11 is over the scene of a house fire on Mitchell, Mill Road and Zebulin.

Firefighters have been working to knock down the fire and put out any hotspots. Jemis Price is live there on the scene from the neighborhood with the very very. latest. Jemise? Amber, we are about a half a mile away or so from where this fire investigation is underway. I want you to take a look down the street here and you can see there are a number of fire trucks here as well. So we are still a good ways away from exactly where those firefighters are. So I want to take you to a video from Chopper 11 where you can get a bird's eye view of this investigation. We know there were multiple agencies that responded to this house fire in the 7,600 block of Mitchell Mill Road here. We know there were also agencies coming from different

counties in here to help respond to this fire. So right now we are still working to learn if anyone was inside when this fire happened, possibly the cause of this fire. But we know this investigation is still underway right now. Of course, once we get more details, we will bring those to you. But for now, this is the information we have right here on the ground. I'll send it back over to you guys in the studio. Amber. All right. Jemisa Price. keep us posted there on that house fire there and Zebulin. Thank you. Well, after some dangerously cold temperatures, the December thaw is welcome. Meteorologist Cruz Medina is joining us now. So Cruz, everyone wants to know how warm it's going to get over the next few days. Well, we're going to

see a nice warm up. And starting with this afternoon, so you can already tell outside today, it doesn't feel as harsh as it did yesterday morning. And so tipters this afternoon are going to push into the low 50s across much of the region. And we will see those warmer temperature stick around through the next several days as well. So getting out of the temperature, outside today is not going to be as unbearable as yesterday. Tipjures will peak around 2 or 3 p.m. with lots of sunshine and then we come down into the 40s as we go into this evening. So even the evening hours compared to yesterday will be warmer. Yesterday evening, tipters were in the 20s.

Now overnight tonight we do go down into the upper 20s, lower 30s, but still a few degrees warmer than where we started the day this morning. And so tomorrow morning, yes, it'll be cold in the morning, you'll need the light jacket still. but tipters are going to warm up a little quicker. We should be in the middle to upper 40s by 11 a.m. And then the afternoon highs tomorrow are actually going to peak in the middle 50s. So still several degrees warmer than today. We will see increasing cloud cover, but a breezy southwest wind is going to help to push up those temperatures and they go up even more as we go into Thursday. But those tipters are going to come down with rain chances on the way as well. We'll be tracking out that rain with first alert predictor coming up in your extended forecast.

Amber. See you soon with more on the warm up cruise. Meantime the Wake County School Board holding three meetings today. District leaders set to discuss enrollment caps at five schools but also renovation plans to the historic Liggin Middle School. Elena Athens is joining us live with a look ahead so Elena this beloved school is more than 50 years old. Yeah and some of those who went to that school decades and decades ago are planning to attend the work session about an hour from now about the school's future. One alumni told me this morning that he does want to see

and hear about some of the options that are on the table and also hopes that there's a public hearing on these possibilities sometime in the new year. So the Wake County School Board is going to discuss three options for Liggin Middle School, which opened as an all-black high school in the 1950s. The first proposal would be to renovate the existing building and restore ball fields. This would be the cheapest option and is estimated to cost more than $100 million. The board will also consider building a new school on the existing property. And lastly, building a new facility where the ball field is currently located. The school is scheduled to undergo a multi-million dollar renovation. There have been some discussions that led it to heated exchange about possibly knocking

it down. Alumni have been fighting to save the school. After the high school was integrated, it was converted into a middle school. Some Liggin alumni say they understand that the school does need a refurb. to meet the growing demand, but they want the original part of that school to be preserved. So we'll see how the meeting goes today. Some of the options that are on the table. Again, that's going to start in just about an hour from now.

We're live in Carrie. Elena Athens, ABC 11, eyewitness news. All right. We'll be following that meeting closely. Elena, thank you. Waye County educators are also expected at tonight's meeting speaking out in support of special education students. The teacher union says current working conditions are at crisis level,

with educators burned out from a shortage of special education staff. And they plan to hold a news conference tonight, calling for more funding and support positions. Also happening today, the man accused of killing his co-worker at a local business in Briar Creek is expected back in court. Investigators say 26-year-old DeMori Woods shot and killed 26-year-old Darian Hewitt at Onward Safety Solutions back on November 25th. Woods is being held without bond and he could face the death penalty. He is due in court at 2 this afternoon. Also due back in court today, a high-level staffer at the General Assembly who is charged with arson. Prosecutors say 38-year-old Diane Cook set a townhome on fire back on November 20th while two people were inside.

Investigators believe she used a candle to set the fire, but they're still trying to figure out who exactly Cook was targeting. Cook serves as legislative assistant for state Senator Norman Sanderson, a Republican from eastern North Carolina. cars in a Durham apartment complex targeted by thieves. We counted nearly a dozen vehicles with their windows broken at the Bentley Ridge apartments off Highway 55 in South Durham. According to Durham police, officers are canvassing the area now in an effort to find any available video footage that could help them with the investigation. Turning now to several breaking economic headlines this noon, the jobs report shows the U.S. added 64,000 jobs in November, a sign that the labor market is slowing. That is a six.

significant decline from 119,000 jobs added in September. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.6% in November from 4.4% in September, much of that reflecting federal employees who accepted a deferred resignation offer. Also breaking sales at U.S. retailers were flat in October. According to the Commerce Department, retail sales were unchanged in October from the month before. That is down from September's 0.1% increase and the weakest monthly reading in five months. Sales at clothing and accessory stores rose 0.9% while business at furniture and home furnishing stores increased 2.3% likely due to rising prices because of tariff costs. Most furniture is made in China.

And the Trump administration continuing to take its economic message on the road. Today, Vice President J.D. Vance heads to Pennsylvania. It comes just a week after President Donald Trump held an event in Pennsylvania saying he delivered an unbelievable economy. He also blamed former President Joe Biden for any negativity associated with the economy. Today, LAPD investigators will lay out the evidence against Nick Rayner to the L.A. County DA. Right now, the son of Director Rob Reiner is behind bars on suspicion of murdering his parents on Sunday. Sources say Saturday, Rob Reiner and Nick got into an argument at a holiday party, and Nick was seen acting strangely. Law enforcement sources say the couple's daughter found them with fatal stab wounds a day later. Meanwhile, President Trump has been criticized from both sides of the aisle for his comments about Rob Reiner. ABC's Rachel Scott has more. President Trump defending his attacks on renowned actor and director Rob Reiner, who along with his wife, Michelle, was brutally murdered over the weekend.

he had just one day after the attack, the president linking Reiner's murder to his activism and criticism of him, saying Reiner had a massive, unyielding and incurable affliction with a mind-cripling disease known as Trump derangement syndrome. There is no evidence connecting the murders to Reiner's political views. Within hours of that post, several Republican lawmakers denouncing the president's words. Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massey writing, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered. Former Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green, writing, this is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies.

But when asked about that criticism, the president doubled down. He became like a deranged person, Trump derangement syndrome. So I was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all in any way, shape, or form. I thought he was very bad for our country. Democrats say the president's comments stand in sharp contrast to what he and other Republicans said after the brutal murder of conservative activists in Trump ally Charlie Kirk in September. Its Congressman Seth Moulton accusing the president of celebrating the Reiner's deaths because of their political views, saying it's, quote, the exact same behavior that Republicans complained about after Charlie Kirk's assassination. Days after Kirk was shot, Vice President J.D. Vance called for anyone who celebrated Kirk's death to lose their job.

The First Amendment protects a lot of very ugly speech, but if you celebrate Charlie's Kirk, Charlie Kirk's death, you should not be protected from being fired for being a disgusting person. A spokesperson for Turning Point USA, the organization Kirk founded, sharing this video of Reiner condemning political violence, saying Rob Reiner responded with grace and compassion to Charlie's assassination. It's beyond belief what happened to him, and that should never happen to anybody. I don't care what your political beliefs are. That's not acceptable. That's not a solution to solving problems. They added that Reiner's response in that moment makes it all more painful to hear if he and his wife's tragic end. Rachel Scott, ABC News, Washington. And tune in tonight for an ABC News special, the Rob Reiner's story, a Hollywood tragedy. You can watch it at 10 o'clock right here on ABC 11.

Defense Secretary Pete Higg said today giving a critical briefing to members of Congress, but about the alleged drugboat attacks in the Caribbean, and it comes as eight more people were killed overnight. and the manhunt in Rhode Island this noon for the gunman who killed several students at Brown University, plus the reward now being offered for information leading to an arrest. And the health care fight in Congress lawmakers have just a few days left to agree on a new bill to extend the Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies will have that new at 1230. Watch Lauren Johnson tonight on ABC 11. I Witness News. Happening now in Rhode Island, the intensifying manhunt for a suspect in the mass

shooting at Brown University. FBI teams seen on the ground here searching for evidence after Saturday shooting left two students dead and nine others injured, including a Durham Academy alumna. Authorities releasing these new images to the public here coming up showing three new angles of a person of interest. You'll see the person dressed in black caught on video. There you see walking several blocks from the Brown University campus, and the FBI is now offering a $50,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of the alleged gunmen. Defense Secretary Pete Hegeseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio head to Capitol Hill to deliver classified briefings to members of the House and Senate. They will answer questions about a U.S. attack that destroyed an alleged drug smuggling boat, killing nine of 11 people on board. A second attack, not seen publicly yet, killed the two survivors.

Critics say that second strike may have violated international law. Meanwhile, the U.S. military has destroyed three more boats in the eastern Pacific. U.S. Southern Command announced three new strikes late last night against a lead drug boats killing eight people. They say the boats were operated by U.S. designated terrorist groups and traveling along narco-trafficking routes in international waters. The Pentagon has not submitted evidence to back up these claims. At least 95 people have been killed in U.S. strikes.

Well, every child deserves a special gift on Christmas, and that's why every year, the Angel Tree Program, with the help of the community, tries to spread a lot of holidays here. Tamara Scott has that story here in two minutes. And as 2025 winds down, the city of Raleigh is preparing to ring in the new year, where the annual acorn drop will explain how the city is prepping. And the FDA is sending warning letters to retailers that are selling, still selling an infant formula that was recalled last month.

That story new here at 1230. Now to the Salvation Army Angel Tree Program, which helps to provide Christmas gifts for hundreds of children in our area. Today, Angel Tree distributions will begin for both the Salvation Army of Wake and Durham counties, providing toys and items for thousands of local kids. Tamara Scott has more. For the next three days, 1,200 volunteers are, filling this room, packing up toys and clothes to send over to children just in time for the holiday.

1035, are you here? 1035. Organized chaos. We have stations, you know, there's check-in, there's sorting, there's sometimes we have to fill gifts for kids. And so we do have all of these stations, but we have lots of people and a lot of moving parts, and so it may sometimes look like it's chaos. But Major Lorraine Crawford says it's for the best reason. These bags are filled with love from our community, not just toys, but people went out and shopped with such intention and such love, and they cared for each item they put in there. This is the annual Angel Tree Distribution Week, where hundreds of families are taking home toys and clothes that were donated by our community.

It is amazing. Like, the amount of children and families that they're able to help every year is truly amazing, and to get to be a part of it is truly an honor. We're actually organizing the boxes like I have 9 to 12 months. This box is three to six months. During the three-day distribution, the Salvation Army will serve around 80 families every 30 minutes. And they have 1,200 volunteers helping make it happen. So this is a good way to give back, you know, when you see the angel tree, grab a tag, fill it out, you know, and volunteer. One of those volunteers tells me this is her favorite. favorite event to be at each year.

Oh, it's very fulfilling. I'm very fortunate to where I don't have to worry about that for my kids. So the fact that we can come and help make children's Christmas is just as bright as everybody else's is just an amazing feeling. Thank you, Merry Christmas. For a lot of volunteers, this was their first year coming to help out with this operation. But they tell me after seeing the joy and being able to put something like this under someone's tree is what's going to bring them back for years to come.

Tamara, Scott, ABC 11, IWitness News. Doing great work over there at the Distribution Center. Tamara, thank you. Happening tonight two Hanukkah celebrations in Wake County. They're happening at Raleigh's Moore Square and the downtown Kerry Park. Both events are happening from 5.30 to 630 tonight. Tonight is the third night of the eight-day Jewish holiday. And we are counting down to the new year. Of course, they drop a ball in Times Square, but here in Raleigh, we drop an acorn.

And this morning, crews moved the famous 1,200-pound copper sculpture there from its home in Raleigh's City Plaza. It's going to spend the next few weeks at artist David Benson Studio where it will get a nice polish ahead of the big night to ring in 2026 winding down the year here and it's a nice warm up around here it is and even beyond what you'll see in the seven-day forecast is looking pretty warm as we end out the year as well so I don't know I feel like people are going to have mixed feelings about that but I for one am a fan of it not feeling like it did yesterday morning I don't know about it was so cold it was all right so we're On the up, those tipters keep rising. Let's check out not just the next seven, but the next 10 days. And here is that warm up that I was talking about. So in the near term, very warm, very much above average, with highs pushing into the 60s as we go into the end of the week. We'll have another warm up this weekend into the 60s. So Saturday on the cool side, Sunday is warmer. And then into next week, it looks like we'll see some warm temperatures as well. Now, even this afternoon, where it's not going to be in the 60s, it's sure going to feel a lot better than it did yesterday. So this is our Pindos. sky came in downtown Raleigh. It is 44 degrees right now. And yesterday at this time, we weren't even above freezing yet. So we'll take that nice warm up. Rocksboro, you're at 45 as well. And so if you're getting outside in the next few hours, I think you still need a jacket, but maybe not your thickest jacket. Maybe not a parka. You can probably get away with a light winter jacket as those tipters push to around 50 degrees. For this evening, we'll come down into the 40s.

So if you have evening plans, it won't be unbearable outside. And first alert predictor shows that as we go into the overnight hours. Temperatures and some spots could stay in the 30s, while others will be in the upper 20s. So we'll start the day off tomorrow, mostly sunny, just a few fair weather clouds around. And as we go throughout the day, southwest winds are gonna push those highs

into the mid to upper 50s, but we also will see the cloud cover increase as we go throughout the day. So tomorrow will feature a bit more in the way of cloud cover. It's still going to be warmer than today. So if you take a look at the breakdown by region, our northern counties look to be the chilliest tomorrow,

with tipters there reaching about 55 in the triangle and sand hills that's more middle to upper 50s as we go into the afternoon for highs. Now going forward as high pressure slides offshore, this is going to keep those southwest winds coming in. So tipters just keep rising not only into Wednesday but into Thursday as well. Thursday we also have that front coming in. So that's going to bring back the rain chances. Tipters will be in the low 60s, not just in central North Carolina, but for our friends back to our southwest as well, areas like Atlanta. And then the rain comes in as we go throughout the day.

So by midday on Thursday, I'd expect some of our western rows of counties, even the triangle region to start seeing some rain. That'll continue into the evening and overnight hours and we'll start to pull out as we go into early Friday. So Friday is dry, but we could still have some lingering damp conditions throughout the morning hours. Now with that southwest wind, look at how much above average we're going to be tomorrow, 7 degrees above average. and then about seven or eight degrees above average as we go into the Thursday as well. So tipter's just all around getting warmer through the next few days. So we're definitely coming out of that deep freeze. We're thawing out.

And tipter's on Friday will still be warm when you wake up. But throughout the day, they start falling very quickly. So by the time we get to the end of the week, we're expecting 50s for the first half of the weekend, 60th by Sunday, and then 50s again as we go into the start of the next work week. That does look pretty mild, especially after the freeze we've had around here. Absolutely. All right, Cruz, we'll take it. Thank you.

A second doctor connected to the overdose death of actor Matthew Perry today. We'll learn his punishment after pleading guilty to charges against him. We'll have that story just ahead here at noon. We'll also take you inside a new school gym in Wake County. It's designed for students with sensory equipment. That's new at 1230. And also a court hearing today to stop the construction of a new ballroom at the White House. We'll have that for you here in two minutes.

Happening to... Canada's Wonderland is bringing the holiday magic this season with Winterfest on select nights now through January 3rd. Step into a winter wonderland filled with millions of dazzling lights, festive shows, rides, and holiday treats. Plus, Coca-Cola is back with Canada's kindest community, celebrating acts of kindness nationwide, with a chance at 100,000 donation for the winning community,

and a 2026 holiday caravan stop. Learn more at canadaswunderland.com. Today is second doctor charged in connection with actor Matthew Perry's ketamine death is being sentenced. Perry was discovered unresponsive at his LA home in October 2023. Mark Chavez is one of five people charged and convicted in connection with the friend's actor's overdose death. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and also admitted to selling fraudulently obtained ketamine to another doctor. Chavez faces up to 10 years in prison. Happening today an emergency court hearing on the construction of the new White House

Ballroom, a historic preservation group filed a lawsuit arguing the project must be stopped because the president did not get approval from Congress or submit plans for review. However, a secret service official involved in the construction says any disruption in the project could hamper the agency's ability to provide security for. the president. In court papers, the Justice Department insists Trump will seek input before above groundwork begins on the 90,000 square foot ballroom. And with no floor votes expected this week, North Carolina appears now headed into 2026 without a full budget in place. Brand new here at 1230, Sean Coffey is going to break down and explain the impact of that.

And President Trump is headed to North Carolina this week just ahead what we know about his visit.