ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at Noon - February 20, 2026

Episode Date: February 20, 2026

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Breaking right now at noon, the U.S. Supreme Court today delivering a gut punch to the Trump administration. The high court today ruling the Trump tariffs are illegal. Trump calling the ruling a disgrace will have the breaking details. And in Wake County neighborhood on edge after Raleigh Police Officer and a murder suspect are injured in a shootout. Elena Athens is live with an update. And new at noon, the Durham mayor today addressing violent crime after a string of deadly shootings. The news at noon is next. Right now, live coverage from your local newsleader.

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 at noon, a significant economic setback for the Trump administration. Good afternoon. I'm Diane Wilson. Barbara and Amber have the day off. The Supreme Court today ruling in a six to three decision that President Trump's tariffs are illegal. legal ruling coming on the same day as we learned the U.S. economy slowed sharply in the fourth quarter.

ABC's Christian Cordero has a breaking details. Today, a landmark Supreme Court decision cut to the center of President Trump's economic agenda, dealing the president a massive loss. The six-three ruling written by Chief Justice John Robert said the emergency powers the president used, quote, falls short, adding, we hold that the emergency powers act does not authorize the president to impose tariffs. This has been a Supreme Court that has really been shrinking down executive power. We saw them do this during the Biden administration with his student loan debt forgiveness. The reasoning here is nearly identical.

The idea that presidents cannot look back to old vague statutes from Congress to expand their own power. Trump regularly touts his tariffs, imposing several new rounds while the Supreme Court was considering this very case. Even yesterday, the president said this. Without tariffs, this country would be in such trouble right now. Trump's tariffs were challenged by a group of states and small business owners who argued in front of the high court in November. Victor Schwartz, a wine importer, was a lead plaintiff. Reckless tariffs threatened everything we've achieved. The Constitution gives the power to tax to Congress.

The Trump administration argued the law from 1977 allows the president to regulate importation in times of emergency. The administration says that applies to tariffs. the emergency is what President Trump calls existential threats from persistent trade deficits and inflows of illegal drugs. But today, the court decisively disagreed. In the six to three ruling justices Thomas, Kavanaugh and Alito dissented from the majority. Christy Ann Cordero, ABC News, Washington. New at noon, a Raleigh police officer is recovering after being shot in the back of the head during a shootout while trying to arrest a murder suspect. It happened last night at a North

Raleigh apartment complex on West. would bend drive off a six works road. A suspect 26-year-old Solomon Owen set to appear in court this afternoon. Ireland, Athens, joined us live with an update. Good afternoon, Elena. Good afternoon to you, Diane. We're just learning from the Raleigh Police Department that the officer who was shot in the back of the head was wearing a ballistic helmet at the time. But the department is not commenting right now on the extent of his injuries.

Meanwhile, as you mentioned, Solomon Owens is expected to go before a judge later on this afternoon. And is facing charges in two serious cases. 13 charges in total is what he is expected to be arraigned on. First, police say the 26-year-old murder, Joseph Adams and Garner February 9th. The victim was found shot into death inside a red car on timber drive. The motive in that case remains unclear. An arrest warrant was issued and police were in the process of executing that when the second incident happened. Last night in Raleigh, a SWAT team was attempting to take Owens into custody when the police chief says Owens opened fire.

The arrest warrant says that Owens was using an AR pistol and shot Officer Jay Rich in the back of the head. Again, that officer was wearing a ballistic helmet at the time. The officer was sent to WakeMed Hospital, treated and released. ABC 11 spoke with an eyewitness who lives in the unit right next door to where this happened. He first last night saw a red laser peek through his blinds and soon after hurt a barrage of shots being fired. I counted 12 plus. I've never been in a situation like this. It kind of did shake me up and not I'm not really impressed or shaken easily. So Owens is charged with attempted murder from the incident from last night. He will face that judge in about two hours from now. We're live in Raleigh, Elena Athens, ABC 11, eyewitness news.

Elena, thank you. Well, turning to weather-wise, we are in for a treat to start the weekend with potentially record high temperatures this afternoon. Meteorologist T-Sert joins us now live with more. Good morning, Steve. Hey there, Diane. Listen, we knew it was going to be warm today. Matter of fact, last hour was 68 at 10 a.m. And then all of a sudden the rain came in.

The temperature dropped down to 52. We still expect brighter skies, and we still think as long as that wind is westerly, we should boost that temperature up to the 70s. The record is 75, so we could beat that for today. Yesterday topped out at 74, by the way. So you see the rain showers that have moved down by. Still some spotty light showers out here in the triangle, but the heavier showers down in Harnett County, getting ready to move into Fayetteville.

So Anderson Creek, good soaking, Benson getting some rain over towards Kenley up the 95 corridor as well. Now today's rain plus all the way through Sunday, about a quarter to a half inch of rain, not the type of real good soaking that we need to help out, but we'll take what we can get. It's wet out there at North Hills, 54 degrees now. Again, that temperature plummeted with the rain. but we should get some brighter skies

than warm back up. You see where it's almost 80 right now down in Fayetteville. We'll see if that warmer air can nudge its way back up here to the north. It's been in the 40s all morning long up in our northern counties. Hell's Kitchen tonight if you're heading to the Deepak, 69 when you walk in and low 60s by the time you're going to be heading home under partly cloudy skies. But you still need the jackets.

Winter wants to come back early in the week. More on that coming up in just a few minutes to end. All right. Thanks, Steve. We need to enjoy these tempters now then. New at noon now to efforts to prevent violent crime in Durham. Durham mayor, Lil Williams today outlining the Bull City's efforts to prevent violent crime following a recent surge of shootings that have left neighborhoods on edge. Cindy Bay is live outside to Durham City Hall with more Cindy.

That meeting just getting underway right now, right? That's right, Diane. And our eyewitness news, ABC 11 crews are tuning in to learn more. Meanwhile, Mayor Leonardo Williams, excuse me, is speaking right now. And this comes as safety has been on the minds of many people in the community, especially after a string of fatal shootings. The city has been working to address crime considering resources such as shot spotter and the real-time crime center, which are police technology that has gotten pushback in the community. Some say they want city leaders to focus more on community-led prevention strategies. And this comes as the Durham County discontinued the Bull City United program after eight years of operation.

The program was aimed to reduce gun violence and there are continued calls for better resources for young people. The city is currently in the middle of a three-phase violence reduction plan in which national experts and advocates are leading community learning sessions, discussing strategies to reduce violence. And so we're expecting to hear more about the mayor talking about the violence reduction center and what that will mean for the Bull City. ABC 11's Akela Davis is listening to that press conference right now and we'll bring you in. whatever we learn ahead on Iowa News in Durham. Cindy Bay, ABC 11 Iowa Windows News. Cindy, thank you. And new at noon, a fire engineer

with the town of Kerry facing dozens of new charges of child exploitation. We first told you about this case yesterday at noon involving 59-year-old Mark Soussey. According to arrest warrants, the investigation involves images of sexual images of girls ranging in age from 5 to 13 years old

and date back to 2014. Sousie is expected back in court this afternoon. investigation underway in Cumberland County. Flames breaking out last night at the Family Farm store on Sunnyside School Road in East Fayetteville. Firefighters say the store's front door was broken when they arrived on scene and this is the second suspicious fire at the building in the past month. Thankfully no animals were hurt in the fire. The Durham Public Schools is looking to hire bus

drivers. The hiring event is happening tomorrow February 21st at Southern High School from 9 a.m. until noon. You can expect on the spot interviews, learn about training benefits, and available opportunities. In your voice, your vote, and some North Carolina voters are raising concerns about letters. They are getting in the mail. These letters encourage voters to update their voter records by providing their driver's license or social security numbers to help make the voter roles more accurate. But the timing of this letter ahead of the March primary is causing confusion and questions

for voters. According to the State Board of Elections, about 241,000 voters across the state. received this letter. It's important to note completing the form is voluntary and not required. After months of planning, interviews, renovations, preparations, Market on Market Street is officially opening its doors today. This is all new ways to do business in Durham. The market on Market Street is a new retail incubator space that aims to make owning a retail space in downtown Durham affordable and accessible to everyone. There are three new shops to start. Business owners say they are thankful for the opportunity.

I want to be downtown. I mean, if you're going to be part of the city, you want to be downtown. For the longest time, it's something that I was just running as a single business owner out of my office. So this particular opportunity just gives me the space and the capability to really expand into a lot more products that I just didn't have the space to do before. Selected businesses receive a year-long lease and receive hands-on coaching. Investigators say they still have no clear motive as to why Nancy Guthrie was abducted from her Arizona home. That story just ahead. And Department of Veterans Affairs is now backtracking on a new rule that would impact disability payments.

That's story in two minutes. And egg prices have plummeted. We'll explain why that's great news for American shoppers, but bad news for American farmers. Eye witness news. We are local news weeknights four to six 30 and 11. It is now day 20 in the search for Nancy. Guthrie, the mother of today's show host, Savannah Guthrie. She vanished from her home in Tucson, Arizona in the dead of the night. Some 400 investigators are looking for clues into her abduction.

The FBI is still trying to identify the suspect captured in Guthrie's doorbell camera. The Department of Veterans Affairs is halting enforcement of a new rule that would reduce disability payments for many. The rule said a veteran's disability level would be based on how well they function while on medication for an injury or illness and not simply having the impairment itself. For example, if a veteran has a service-related knee injury, but medication they take helps them function better, that would be taken into account when determining how much they're receiving benefits. But the VA announcing yesterday it will halt enforcement of the rule after veterans quickly and loudly opposed it. Nevada officials have provided more details about the death of

58-year-old social media personality and activist Shirley Raines. Raines was the founder of the nonprofit organization beauty to the streets. She was known as Ms. Shirley in the communities where she offered people free food, clothing, and hair and makeup to those on Skid Row. According to the coroner, Raines died on January 27th from hypertensive heart disease. Well, don't let your guard down. The CDC releasing a new report showing the hot spots when it comes to the flu spreading across the country and find out why higher beef prices aren't going away anytime soon. That's during just two minutes and remembering Eric Dane, the actor, who became a heart throb while on Gray's Anatomy. That story new at 1230. A warning to meat eaters get used to high prices for beef. U.S. cattle

herds are at their smallest levels in 75 years while demand has stayed high. Prices for ground beef last month were up 17% from a year ago putting a strain on household grocery budgets. Major meat packers including Tyson, JBS and Cargill are closing plants or cutting capacity in anticipation of a smaller herd. Egg prices have plummeted. That's great news for consumers and a crisis for American farmers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average price of a dozen eggs at the grocery store is $2.58.

That's about half of what many consumers were paying a year ago. Bird flocks have been on the rebound after last year's avian flu outbreak, but that has farmers suddenly selling at a loss. Farmers have worked tirelessly to rebuild their flock and tighten biosecurity with assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, agriculture. It worked. The supply of eggs has ballooned and prices fell. And now farmers have too many eggs selling at rock bottom prices. The CDC today releasing a new map tracking flu cases across the country. As you can see, South Carolina, Alabama and Texas are some of the states

shaded in a deep burgundy color showing a high-level flu cases. But North Carolina is shaded in a like salmon color representing low flu activity. There have been 279 flu deaths since North Carolina this season, but ER visits are significantly lower than a few weeks ago. Flu season runs through May. Well, weather-wise, some record high temperatures stay, right? Still going for it. I'm still going for it. Okay. Listen, we were 68 and then the rain came and we fell down to 52. The skies are going to break and we should recover and get more of a westerly breeze and that'll help bring the temperature back up. So still going for that record there, Diane. And it's almost 80 in Fayetteville, by the way. So it's definitely not that far away, really warm air.

You see the drops on the lanes had a nice shower that moved around downtown. We still have some showers around as we go throughout the mid, early afternoon hours. And the record at RDEU again's at 75. I think we're going to get there. A wet weekend, yeah, there'll be some showers around, mainly tomorrow morning, then a break. And then on Sunday, that's probably our best opportunity of getting some rain and turning cold again. Not only Sunday, but really Monday and Tuesday, a couple of days are going to be in the 40s. And with a brisk northwesternly wind, that 46 on Monday will feel like the upper 30s will moderate, though, as we get later in the week.

Still some showers around the triangle right now, but we had that line that moved on through, brief heavy rain and some gusty winds. A couple of trees went down, actually. We got some reports of that. Northern Cumberland County, a moderate to heavy shower. Fayetteville about to get it now. Done getting rained up the 95 corridor. All pretty impressive as far as rainfall rates, but it doesn't last that long. So when you add it all up, we're not talking about a sea.

significant amount. But there's that line pressing south. We're still socked in. Look out here to the west. Full sunshine. So we're going to clear out. And with that, we anticipate the temperatures coming right back up around the triangle. Severe drought for most and now extreme drought showing up in a few areas. So we need all the rain that we can get. We've got more showers coming in, mainly later Saturday into Sunday. That's our best chance. And then after that, we're going to be dry again. If you add up today through Sunday, again, most guidance said about a quarter to a half. inch of rain. Not a big time soaking rain here, but we'll take what we can get. Predictor shows the rain moving out quickly, and then we'll have the clearing skies behind it. And it should be a nice evening to be out before the clouds come back. 54 right now. Again, this was 68 about an hour ago. The temperature came way down. The dew point at 52 now.

And look how much cooler it is than our northern counties and near 80 down in Fayetteville. So we're anticipating warmer air starting to sneak in. And our numbers are going to go back up. Also, we're going to get some sunshine coming into play as we get in the next couple of hours or so. Evening walk, boy, if we do make it to those mid-70s, look how nice this is going to be still a touch breezy, but not bad for a walk around the neighborhood with temperatures in the 70s. The low really cranks up here. We'll have morning rain on Sunday and then maybe some wraparound showers later in the day. Up to the north, that's going to be snow.

A bit of a nor'easter going on there. We'll have clouds continuing as we go into Monday kind of persistent. I'm going partly sunny, but listen, it's not going to feel good. Wind chills are going to be in the 30s and more cold air is going to come into play on Tuesday. So a couple of days feeling like early January. So here we go, 70s for highs today. Now, again, I know we're in the 40s and our northern counties might be a little hard to get to these numbers now. 81 in Fayetteville, that should be fairly easy considering your 79 degrees at this hour.

We're in the 50s for tonight. Cloudy skies come back. And then tomorrow into Sunday, watch for some showers around. A brisk breeze on Monday in the 40s, still in the 40s on Tuesday, and then we'll moderate and get a little warmer with another shower chance later Thursday into Friday. Steve, thank you. President Trump is now one step closer to having an airport named after him. That's story in two minutes. Plus, we'll show you incredible video of a car slamming into the back of a school bus. That's story new at 1230. And what's next for Britain's former Prince Andrew after being arrested for his action to all friends with Jeffrey Epstein? And ABC 11 is celebrating Black History Month, and we're proud to present a streaming special this weekend.

Saturday and Sunday at 530, we invite you to join us for stories showcasing the resilience, courage and creativity that exemplify the African-American community. That's wherever you stream, eyewitness news. New at noon, Florida's legislature has passed a bill to name Palm Beach International Airport after President Trump. Republican leaders say they say it's to honor him for being the first Floridian to serve as president. Trump made his Palm Beach Club Mar-Largo his primary address back in 2019 and became a permanent resident of the state. The bill needs Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signature to advance. Then the FAA has to approve it. If both those things happen, the change would take effect in July.

President Trump will deliver his state of the union address at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. Virginia Governor Abigail Spainberger will give the Democratic response. She won her election in November with a strong message of affordability. and California Senator Alex Bedelia will deliver the response in Spanish. Meanwhile, at least a dozen Democratic members plan to boycott his address and are scheduled to attend a rally on the National Mall instead. The People's State of the Union rally will begin at 830 near the Capitol. Congressman Roe Kana, the Democratic representative who has been working with Republican Congressman Thomas Massey of Kentucky to get the Epstein files released. We'll attend this year's state of the Union.

Kana says he will bring Epstein survivor as his guest to the address on Tuesday. Well, breaking right now, the Supreme Court issuing a major decision on President Trump's tariffs saying he violated federal law. And a Raleigh police officer is injured while trying to arrest a suspect in the shooting death of a garnered father. The suspect expected in court this afternoon.