ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at Noon - December 17, 2025

Episode Date: December 17, 2025

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Right now on eyewitness news, new details on the hours-long standoff in Chatham County that led to a deputy being shot and the suspect killed what we're learning ahead. Plus, a fire at a Durham hotel, rooms evacuated, no injuries reported. The calls of the fire are now under investigation. And hoping for federal recognition, the history-making decision that could be made today for the Lumbie tribe. Right now, live coverage from your local newsleader. Today's top stories you need to know. your first alert forecast. Here's what's happening where you live. This is ABC 11. I witness news. Thanks for joining us here this Wednesday at noon. I'm Amber Repenta. And I'm Barbara Gibbs. We have a lot going on this afternoon. We'll get to it all. First, let's go to the weather and toss things over to meet. I'll just cruise Medina for our midweek forecast. Hi, Cruz. Hey there. Well, it's going to be

a dry day, but you'll notice there's a lot of clouds. And that's ahead of our next weather maker that brings rain throughout the day tomorrow. And we could really use some rain. So if we look back at the month so far. We've only had one day that really had a soaking rain and that was the first week of December. So we got eight tenths of an inch there. But also you can see we're dealing with a departure right now. So we're actually behind where we should be for those monthly normals as far as rain goes. And thankfully, this is the forecast for tomorrow showing those rain chances increasing as we go into the afternoon evening and overnight hours. So we do have a nice dose of rainfall on the way and you can see it kind of getting organized back in the state of

So out ahead of that, we've just got clouds today, no rain chance for today. So if you're stepping out, whether that be for lunch or you're planning, you know, to be outside later today, maybe for evening plans. Tipters will be mild today, middle to upper 50s for most areas, falling into the 40s for this evening. And then overnight, many areas could actually stay above freezing. So you'll see that here in tonight's forecast. We've got tipters right out freezing along the North Carolina, Virginia border, middle to upper 30s as you go from the triangle down into the sand hills and a few areas like Fayetteville, Lumberton and Clinton could actually hit 40 degrees for that low tonight. Now tomorrow is even warmer, but of course that rain moves in.

A high of 60 is expected in Raleigh. It'll be a bit breezy, especially as we get into the later parts of the day. We'll track out not only those windy conditions, but an hour-by-hour look with first-illard predictor of the rain. That's coming up in your extended forecast. Amber. See you soon with more crews. Thanks so much. And breaking news right now at noon.

We are just getting new legal documents in the Austin Thompson case. He is the young man charged in the deadly maximum. shooting in Raleigh in 2022. His legal team just filing a motion to suppress statements made by Thompson after he was put into police custody. Here's what we know based on these statements. Austin was questioned by police after his team says he suffered a gunshot wound to the head and his lawyers say he demonstrated symptoms of needing brain surgery and injury and anything that he said should not be used as evidence. Thompson's attorneys also say he was never read his Miranda or juvenile rights. Thompson is charged with killing five people,

including his brother and a Raleigh police officer in 2022. And the trial is set to begin February 2nd. Developing now lingering questions in Chatham County after an hours long standoff. Authorities say a suspect is dead. One deputy shot and a hostage rescued. Elena, Athens has the latest from the Chatham County Sheriff's Office. Atlanta, good afternoon. What do you know now? Good afternoon to you, Barbara. Yeah, a source is telling me that Chatham County Senior Deputy Matthew Mitchell was shot multiple times in the hand and the leg. We are hearing from the Chatham County Sheriff's Office at the deputy, Mitchell. He is doing okay right now and in good spirits.

We are also expecting to get an update from the sheriff shortly about where the investigation stands and what exactly happened inside the home. We know that deputies responded last night to what is called an active hostage situation involving a barricaded person. The sheriff's office says an armed standoff escalated into a hostage situation. Being told deputies entered the home because of serious concerns for the hostage's safety and that person was rescued. The deputy is expected to make a full recovery. Kevin Dean Hammer has been identified as the suspect. He's 50 years old and a convicted felon. Eyewitness news has been looking through court documents and found that Hammer pled guilty in 2013 to felony possession of a firearm and he served time in federal prison. And we are expecting an update from the sheriff's office here.

We'll bring that to you as soon as we get it in. For now, we're live in Chatham County. Elaine Athens, ABC 11, eyewitness news. All right, Elena, thank you. New and noon, we're learning new details on a fire at a Super 8 motel in Durham. The entire hotel was evacuated. Cindy Bay is on the scene with the latest. This portion of guest road in the North Durham area was blocked off as crews responded to a fire at Super 8 by Wyndham.

You can see from our chopper 11 the damage to the roof. of the Super 8 motel. Officials say the first arriving unit reported smoke coming from the roof. Officials say hose lines were deployed and the fire was brought under control in less than half an hour. The entire hotel was evacuated and the cause of the fire is under investigation. The Red Cross is being called in to help those forced out by the fire. As crews worked to learn the extent of the damage, officials say that there were no injuries. In Durham, Cindy Bay, ABC 11, IWitness News.

Cindy, thank you. Meanwhile, fire tearing through a home in southeast Raleigh overnight. Iwood's news on the scene showing the significant damage to the house. This is on Shepard Valley Street, just off of Rock Quarry Road. We're working to learn if anyone was hurt. Happening today, Durham City and county leaders are rolling out the first phase of a joint violence reduction plan, and they want the public involved in this. The community strategy and learning session will feature nationally recognized violence prevention experts. It is the first of a six-month series aimed it's shaping an evidence-based plan to reduce violence across Durham. Now at noon, a manhunt is underway in Providence after last week's mass shooting near Brown University.

Surveillance video shows a suspect casing the area just hours before and taking off right after the shooting. Police describe him as 5'8 and stalky. Seven victims remain in the hospital while the community holds vigils honoring two students killed. Well, the first funerals, four victims of the mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Australia. gathering in Sydney overnight to pay their respects to a rabbi killed in Sunday's anti-Semitic attack. And all 15 people were killed during the Hanukkah celebration. Authorities say a father and son carried out the attack inspired by ISIS. The son who was injured by police was formally charged overnight. Happening today in Los Angeles, Rick Reiner's son will make his first

court appearance after being charged with the murders of his mother and father. Reiner's attorney he says medical reasons prevented a hearing yesterday. The 32-year-old Nick Reiner was arrested on Sunday just hours after Rob and Michelle Reiner, his parents were found dead in their home in Brentwood. Nick Reiner was formally charged yesterday. Also new at noon, former special counsel, Jack Smith, told lawmakers in a closed-door interview that his team of develop proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump criminally conspired to overturn the 2020 election. Smith said allegations also had powerful evidence that Trump improperly held classified documents at his home in Florida Marlago and obstructed efforts to recover them. He insisted

decisions during the investigations were made without considering Trump's 2024 candidacy, while the former president says he would defer Smith's testify publicly. President Trump will take part in a dignified transfer today. The president will be in Delaware to receive the bodies of two Iowa National Guard members. killed Saturday during an ambush in Syria. And the president is also expected to address the nation tonight. President Trump hinting the speech will focus on the accomplishments during the first year of his administration. You can watch it live at 9 o'clock right here on ABC 11.

The Pentagon launches a formal investigation into Senator Mark Kelly. It's called an official command investigation and generally it lasts 30 days. At issue is a video posted by the Arizona Democrat and other Democrats last month with five other Democratic lawmakers reminding service members that they have a duty to refuse illegal orders, but they didn't explain what orders were illegally commissioned to them. Kelly's attorney sent a letter to the Secretary of the Navy on Monday saying any proceedings against him would be unconstitutional. We have a heads up for drivers starting tonight.

And overnight, Beltline ramp closure and Raleigh will have those details. Plus, new hope for millions, an FDA approved drug for women's second. drive and lawmakers seek solutions on the rising on the rise of property taxes that is what we're learning is new here at 1230 watch Lauren Johnson tonight on ABC 11 I witness news in today's health check the FDA has approved a new drug that can help millions of postmenopausal women the drug made by Sprout pharmaceuticals is called Addy it's a major shift in changing how women's sexual health is understood the drug is addressing a condition for women who have low sexual desire. It was approved for premenopausal

women in 2015 and now Adi is available for postmenopausal women. The CDC is adopting new guidance for hepatitis B vaccines for babies. They're now recommending shared decision making between health care providers and mothers who test negative for the virus. Instead of recommending babies be given the first vaccine dose at birth. Some health experts say the new approach will create confusion that could have serious consequences. The new guidance is intended, though, to give parents the choice. The vaccine has been recommended for all infants in the United States since 1991. Wake County Schools in flux. Enrollment calves, remote learning, and the moves that could affect your kids. Details ahead here at noon. Also, new year, new rules. Durham students

putting phones away. And a lawsuit targets dating apps tender and hinge after victims meet a convicted doctor, that story coming up. At Desjardin Insurance, we put the care in taking care of business. Your business, to be exact. Our agents take the time to understand your company so you get the right coverage at the right price. Whether you rent out your building, represent a condo corporation, or own a cleaning company, we make insurance

easy to understand so you can focus on the big stuff. Like your small business. Get insurance that's really big on care. Find an agent today. at Dejardin.com slash business coverage. Now to a traffic alert and an overnight closure on the Raleigh Beltline. Paving will block the ramp from I-440 eastbound to Hillsborough Street and Wade Avenue. The ramp will close at 8 o'clock tonight. It will reopen at 5 o'clock tomorrow morning and detours will be in place. The White County School Board is making some important decisions impacting your child's

education. Leaders are recommending an enrollment cap at Zebulent Elementary, which is currently overcap. The district is also decided. deciding whether to remove cars at five or caps at five schools as enrollment drops across Wake County. A final decision on this will be made in January. In the meantime, the school board decided that Crossroads Flex High School and Kerry will switch to remote only learning in January. The hybrid school for athletes and performers is in a zoning dispute with town. A big change for thousands of local students when they return to the classroom in the new year. Durham Public Schools is reminding students that the new cell phone,

and personal device policy will be in effect. That policy aligns with a new state law that goes into effect January the 1st. The district says all middle and prep school students in Durham will be required to turn off and store their devices during classes and other instructional activities. Wake County and other districts

have passed similar policies. New at noon, Chatham County Public Libraries kicking off America 250 with a series of free January events. From history trivia to kids activities in a film screening, the program's marked 250 years since the Declaration of Independence. They're open to everyone and no registration is required. All right. Let's go to meteorologist Cruz Medina. He's here now with the forecast. Boy,

we start off really cold this week. And like you said, it's warming up a little bit. Yeah, it's warming up. And we're going to keep getting warmer. So 60s for highs, it's not necessarily normal for December, but that's where we're trending the next few days. So today, we don't quite make it into the 60s, but we will be warmer than yesterday. So upper 50s, near 60 degrees today. You'll notice the clouds have increased across the region and those clouds remain in place for tomorrow as well. But it's not just going to be cloudy tomorrow. We're also expecting some rain. That'll mainly be for the second half of the day. And then as we go into this weekend, kind of got a 50-50 weekend. It's going to be dry, so great for outdoor plans,

but colder on Saturday and warmer as we go into Sunday. Now today, we've got high pressure in control. This slides off to our east. Winds will be out of the southwest. But with that high pressure still nearby. We're just expecting some clouds today, not necessarily any rain. Now into tomorrow as a front gets closer, we're going to see some moisture coming in off the Atlantic. That's going to help to get a few showers going by the lunch hour and then we'll see another round as we go into the evening and overnight. That clears out as we go into the day on Friday. So today, since it's dry and it's a little bit warmer, if you're getting outside soon, maybe take the dog outside. Temperatures will be in the middle to upper 50s this afternoon and

staying rather mild as we go into this evening with temperature's in the 40s today compared to the 30s that we had yesterday evening. Now first alert predictor walks us through tonight. The clouds obviously remain in place and they could even thicken up at times. By the time we get into tomorrow morning, we're starting off in those 30s, so above freezing in most locations. By the afternoon hours, we start to see the showers arrive in our western rows of counties first. By 4 p.m., we could see those pushing a little farther east, possibly toward the triangle. And then as we go into the evening hours, that rain increases in intensity and coverage. So 8 p.m., you can see, is a lot wetter compared to that 4 o'clock timing that I was showing you just a second ago. This continues to push east.

Most of these showers wrapping up near midnight or 1 a.m. So 2 a.m. just a few showers along the I-95 corridor. And then here comes the front itself. There could be a lingering shower early on Friday. Those will clear out by 9 or 10 in the morning. So how much rain is this going to amount to? Well, for most areas, this will be a half-endarm. inch to an inch. Obviously, there could be some isolated higher totals, but this half inch or more is

definitely going to help out with the drop conditions we have in place and hopefully helps to close the gap of rainfall that we've seen so far this month. So we are dealing with a deficit. This rain will be beneficial for our region. Back to tonight, the lows will be coldest across the North Carolina Virginia border. Like I said, most of us say above freezing, and we can thank the clouds for that. As you work your way south toward the sand hills, some areas could be in the low 40s there. And that's where we start the day tomorrow in the 30s to around 40 degrees. You can see the triangle goes up to around 60 degrees. The sand hills, you could be even warmer right around the mid-60s for those highs.

And that's all because of that breezy southwest wind. But a few other locations could be in the 50s. That'll mainly be across the north tomorrow. And once again, you'll want that umbrella as we're going to deal with rain, mainly through the afternoon and evening hours. Your first alert, ACUweather 7-day forecast. This shows that Friday is going to be kind of a, backwards day. We see our tipters warmest in the morning falling throughout the day. And we've got 50s on

Saturday, 60s as we go into Sunday and then 50s again as we go into the start of next week with dry conditions. Barbara, back to you. Well, we have a reminder. Be sure to download the ABC 11 app. It is a great way to stay up to date on current weather conditions. Plus, you can always check the first alert, Doppler net and 7-8 forecast anytime. Well, a serial predator facing a 158 your sentence. And now his victims are suing the dating apps they met him on. Details ahead. Watch Steve Daniels tonight on ABC 11. I Witness News. Now to a lawsuit against two popular dating apps accused of allowing a sexual predator to target women. Here's ABC Sophie Flee. This matter is concluded. You're remanded. His name is Dr. Stephen Matthews. He's a cardiologist and he was

sentenced in Colorado last year to 158 years in prison for drugging and sexually assaulting nearly a dozen women he met online. Now, several of those women are suing Match Group, the parent company behind the popular dating apps, Tinder and Hinge. Our six clients are very motivated to pressure Match Group to change its apps and to really improve the safety functioning. The lawsuit claims the company failed to protect the women from Matthews. allowing him to remain on its platforms for years, despite receiving complaints against him. One woman says she was drunk and raped by Matthews on a date in 2020 after matching with him on Hinge. Her lawyers claim she immediately reported that incident to Hinge.

But just months later, they say the app recommended Matthews to the same woman again. They say Hinge said at the time it had already banned Matthews and would ban him again. Not only are they reconnecting him with people who've been traumatized by him, but then they're not able to actually effectuate bans. Lawyers say Matthews was also still using Tinder. Statistically, so many people, once they're banned from one platform, they just migrate to another one. And so there needs to be communication across platforms. Match Group responding to the lawsuit saying, any report of sexual assault or violence is heartbreaking and deeply concerning. We are committed to strengthening our safety efforts, building innovative new technology, and working closely with industry partners to help protect our users.

Attorneys say they're calling for better technology to stop banned users from creating new accounts and to track those who have been subjects of complaints. Sophie Fleigh, ABC News, New York. Well, odometer fraud is on the rise and it is costing unsuspecting consumers. New Carfax data shows about two and a half million cars on the rise. on the road right now are suspected of having their odometers rolled back. That is a 14% increase from the previous year. North Carolina ranked 10th in the nation for odometer fraud and unfortunately tools available online are making it easy for scammers to roll back in odometer. So to protect yourself, you should check for a free car fax with a VIN number

and also always take it to your mechanic to have it looked over to see if the wear and tear on the car matches the mileage. Big honors for a group of heavy hitters in the world of advertising. The Advertising Hall of Fame's 2026 class rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange. And an end ceremony afterward, Disney's president of global advertising, Rita Farrow, helped announce the inductees. They include six industry leaders, two presidents' award recipients and a corporate honoree, They'll be celebrated at a gala in April.

Well, worries about jobs with the unemployment rate hitting its highest level since 2021. The Labor Department's latest employment report shows the economy added 64,000 jobs in November, which was more than expected, but 105,000 jobs were lost in October. While happening now, the Senate, or the state auditor looking into Carrie's questionable spending of taxpayer dollars, it is an issue that led to the resignation of the town manager, Stiegel. Mayor Harold Weinbrecht says that they welcome the assistance of the state in unwinding these issues associated with over-the-top spending and inadequate financial reporting, lack of transparency as well with the full council, staff and citizens, and an unhealthy work environment created by Sean. Stiegel agreed to resign and will receive $195,000 in severance pay. A law firm is also being contacted to review his spending over his nine-year

career. On Monday, the town announced deputy town manager, Russ Overton, has been appointed interim town manager. The I-team has been following this story and the questions about tax dollars and carry. You can watch our previous coverage right now on ABC11.com. Well, property taxes in North Carolina are skyrocketing. First of its kind, state committee is working to tackle the issue. What you should know, that is next. Plus, the Lumby tribe makes history where the tribal members as they learn a key decision from Congress. And tensions in the Caribbean continue to rise the latest on the Venezuelan oil shipment targeted by President Trump.