ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at Noon - January 28, 2026

Episode Date: January 28, 2026

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News at noon, firefighters in Wake County battling a house fire and bitter cold temperatures and update on the people and pets inside. And get ready for back-to-back weekends of wintry weather, meteorologist Clayland Murphy, with an update on the increasing chance that we will see more than a dusting of snow. And verdict watch in Orange County jury deliberations resume in the double murder trial of Isaiah Ross. Plus, an update on flu cases in North Carolina. It's the news at noon.

Right 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. Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for joining us here at noon. I'm Amber Repenta. Barbara Gibbs has the day off. More frigid temperatures this afternoon. Highs in the upper 30s. Hopefully some melting is going to happen. It is below normal though for this time of year but all eyes of course on the weekend with the chance of snow again. Meador, I'll just quay, Julian Murphy joins us now with more quay. Say it ain't snow. It is snow. We're talking potential for the weekend. We now have Saturday and Sunday Sunday highlighted as first alert days for that snow potential tomorrow and Friday still get prep days for you more sunshine Thursday

upper 30s for highs upper 30s Friday but it turns cloudier and that colder air works in Saturday's high only 24 29 degrees on Sunday so our confidence continues to increase for that impactful snowfall Friday night through likely early Sunday morning. I think Saturday the best chance to see. that higher accumulation potential. We have a 50 to 60% chance to see major impacts for most of central North Carolina. Some of that extending back towards areas like Charlotte as well and certainly towards the coastline. I do expect that we'll see a winter storm warning likely for this event too. It's all about the low pressure though. We still have questions on where that low sets up but more confidence is building as our models continue to hone in on the snowfall impact for the weekend. So as we track the low, it's going to bring us the moisture and also that snowfall threat.

From dorm right now we have more sunshine than cloud cover at this time and temperatures finally making their way to around freezing and above. In the triangle 32 Durham 33 Raleigh 36 and Clinton right now still below freezing in Oxford but we can start to see more of that melting happening especially with a bit more sunshine at this time. It is colder though with the feel because of the winds. So more of the 20s on wind chills for the triangle back to the west of Burlington 25 feels like freezing around Clinton and Fayville. These are the clouds working through right now. you have more sunshine north and west of the triangle at this time. Temperatures climbing to the upper 30s, low 40s today, but another cold night in store. I'll have more on that when I come back. Amber, back to you.

All right, Clay, see you soon with more. Thank you. Now to a large house fire in Wake County. Breaking News 1 showing the scene on Fowler Road just off of Mitchell Mill Road in Rollsville. Firefighters battling the cold as they work to put out the flames there. Tamara Scott explains how no one was injured. A family is displaced today after a fire ripped through their home early this morning. Roseville fire department staying on scene for a while so they can clear out the rest of the hot spots in the home. I did get a chance to talk with the Roseville Battalion Fire Chief, who tells

me the call came in just around 5 o'clock this morning. They immediately saw flames shooting from the roof when they got here. And with help from neighboring agencies, they were able to clear the fire, but this didn't come without challenges. Because this is a county street, there are not many nearby fire hydrants. They had to use tanker trucks to get water from a hydrant at the nearby high school and then transfer it to the home. Everyone inside the home did make it out safely. The cause is still under investigation. The house is very well built. It's got multiple layers in the ceilings. So not only where we're working from the outside of the house, we're also working upwards into the ceiling to try to gain access. And you still see we've got some fire hot spots

where there is still some fire in the wall. But they're working to get that down and let go ahead and let WC1 beginning their investigation. And the cold temperatures also created a challenge as they started to work. They ended up calling in the DOT to help salt the road after the water that they used in order to not cause a problem for other drivers once they were finished. Tamara Scott, ABC 11, eyewitness news. Tamara, thank you. And as we keep an eye on conditions, we have our storm chaser vehicle in Durham right now,

monitoring some trouble spots. This is a live look. This is Trailwood Drive in the Crowsdale Farms Community. And you can see there, this is the problem. This is why buses cannot run and schools are going to remote instruction. There's a lot of ice patches in the neighborhoods, especially where there is any shading taking place. So if you're heading out, be sure to take it easy,

because as you can see, you can just run into some areas like that that are still pretty well covered in slick spots. And we continue to clean up, of course, from last weekend storm and keep an eye on the possible snow for this weekend. Let's go. Be sure to download the ABC 11 app, and we will keep you up to date on what's happening right in your community. And breaking right now, there is extra security at schools in Nash County this noon. The district responding to an online threat this morning.

The impacted schools are Red Oak Elementary, Red Oak Middle, Northern Nash High and Rocky Mount High. Officials are working to determine the credibility of that threat, but they are asking parents to remind their students that making threats is not appropriate. students in Nash County were just returning to the classroom today following the winter storm. New at noon, we are back on verdict watch now in Orange County as jury deliberations continue in the Isaiah Ross double murder trial after being paused due to the winter storm. Ross is charged with killing teenagers Lyric Woods and Devin Clark back in September 2022. Our Cindy Bay has been following the trial from the beginning. She is joining us live with more on the deliberations. They're now underway, Cindy.

Yeah, Amber, jury deliberations are still underway as of this hour, and it's been more than an hour total today of the jury deliberating. Now, all jurors were present this morning after the courthouse has been closed since Friday. We also saw Isaiah Ross come into the courtroom, excuse me, with his defense attorney, Jonathan Trap present. Now here's where things stand. The jury reviewed some of the evidence again, including some videos and the crime scene photos. excuse me the jury was unable to reach a verdict last week but told the judge last week that they were making good progress and so we are waiting for the next developments and we'll bring them to you as soon as we can ahead on eyewitness news in hillsborough cindy bay bc 11 iwitness news

cindy get some hot tea thank you for that update we appreciate you thank you today marks one year since a retired green beret was reported missing in coverland county it was january 28th last year when methodist university leaders said clint bonnell did not show up for his classes. His wife, Shana Cloud, told deputy she hadn't seen him since the day before, but authorities saw his personal items at the house. Bonnell's torso was later found in a pond near the family's home in February. The rest of his body still has not been found. Cloud is charged with his murder. State lawmakers delaying a hearing on public safety in Charlotte, and it comes after a federal judge's ruling preventing state lawmakers from releasing the investigative

file of De Carlos Brown. He is the suspect in the deadly light rail stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Irene Zarutzka. Lawmakers are probing public safety in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County and have invited seven city and county leaders to testify about safety. The hearing was already rescheduled from January 22nd to tomorrow but will now be held February 9th. Now to Harnett County where the city of Dunn is welcoming its new police chief, Timothy Lynn Gay will officially take over next week. He has three decades of leadership and law enforcement experience most recently serving as a deputy chief in the Rocky Mount Police Department. He is filling the vacancy left by the resignation of former Dunn Police Chief Kerry Jackson

back in October. And happening today, a health check on flu season as state officials released the latest data on respiratory illnesses this afternoon. As of last week, there were 181 flu-related deaths in North Carolina, including five children. But emergency room visits and hospital admissions were both decreasing. Doctors say it's not too late to get your flu shot. And new at noon changes to the state's plan on electric vehicle charging stations. The NCDOT saying it will reduce the number of stations being built along highways and interstates and instead put them in rural areas and along highways where there is less coverage.

The decision comes after new guidelines were issued on the federal funding for the project, allowing more flexibility for charger placements. There's a traffic alert for drivers in Raleigh. A portion of Newburn Avenue will be closing today and tomorrow between North Carver Street and Hill Street. Crews will be working on sewer maintenance and repairs there. Westbound traffic will be redirected and a lane will be closed from 830 until four both days. The NFL world is in disbelief over Bill Belichick being snubbed as a first ballot hall of Famer. That story new at 1230.

In escalating tensions in Minneapolis, the Department of Homeland Security's preliminary report shows two ice officers opened fire on Alex Preddy, and it comes after as a representative, Ileon Omar, was attacked during a town hall. We'll have the details here in two minutes. Watch Lauren Johnson tonight on ABC 11, I Witness News. The Department of Homeland Security has conducted a preliminary review of body camera footage and the shooting death of Alex Preddy in Minneapolis. That's according to a report sent to lawmakers, and it comes as. As tensions grow in the Midwestern city, Congresswoman Ilan Omar attacked during a town hall there last night as President Trump praises his administration's immigration's efforts. ABC's Reno Roy has the latest now. ABC News obtaining a report sent from the Department of Homeland Security to Congress on the shooting death of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Preti.

The report, notifying lawmakers that a preliminary review of the body camera footage worn by federal agents involved has been conducted. Oh my God! The agency noting that two firearms were discharged during the incident. At no point in the DHS report does it say Preddy attempted to reach for his weapon, as officials had initially claimed in the hours after the shooting. Preddy's firearm, which he had a legal permit to carry, was removed from its holster by an officer before the shooting. President Trump telling ABC News he believes the administration can still finish its immigration enforcement operation in a, quote, de-escalated form.

Governor Wall spoke with President Trump Tuesday, today visiting the memorial for Predi. Do you believe that there will be a shift in tone here for the administration after your conversation with the president here on the streets? I'm not so interested in a shifted tone. We just need them out of here. We need accountability for what's happened. Tensions in Minnesota spilling into a town hall last night, this man charging Congresswoman Ilhan Omar as she was calling for ICE to be abolished and DHS Secretary Kristy Noem to be removed from office. Nome must resign or face impeachment. Police say the man also sprayed her with an unknown strong smelling liquid before being taken into custody. While the exact motive of the attacker remains unclear, Omar has been a frequent target for President Trump, who has called her garbage and has mocked her Somali heritage.

Omar responding to the attack, saying in part, I don't let bullies win. It's unclear when federal agents might be moved out of Minneapolis, but Trump says that Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frye is playing with fire after Frye said the city will not enforce federal immigration laws. Rina Roy, ABC News, New York. Rina, thank you. And more reaction this afternoon after North Carolina Republican Senator Tom Tillis called out top members of President Trump's cabinet in regards to what is happening in Minneapolis.

Tillis spoke to reporters last night calling Homeland Security Secretary. Christy Noem incompetent and saying she has caused serious damage to President Trump's reputation. Trump responded calling Tillis a loser. And when asked about it today, Tillis said he was thrilled about it and then took another jab at Noem and White House advisor, Stephen Miller. Meanwhile, employees at Spokane's Veterans Hospital holding a moment of silence to honor the memory of Alex Prettie, health care workers wearing scrubs lined up along the hallways with their heads down as they took a moment of silence for their colleague. Preddy was an ICU nurse at the VA hospital in Minneapolis.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio facing some tough questions from lawmakers on Capitol Hill about the U.S. involvement in Venezuela. We'll have that for you just to head here at noon. And home sales are down, but the reason why may surprise you. And the Buddhist monks continue their journey towards the nation's capital in two minutes, find out when they're expected to reach Virginia. New at noon, Secretary of State Marco Rubio today, appearing before Congress to publicly testify, on the Trump administration's policy towards Venezuela. Rubio telling the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that, quote, there's no war against Venezuela and we did not occupy a country, end quote.

There are no U.S. troops on the ground. Rubio's appearance before the committee comes one week after a Democratic-led effort blocking the president from sending U.S. military forces into Venezuela without congressional consent. It was narrowly voted down by the House. Well, it was on this date 40 years ago. shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight. All seven crew members were killed, including Krista McCullough, a high school teacher. It was the first fatal accident involving an American spacecraft while in flight. The disaster resulted in a 32-month hiatus in the space shuttle

program also resulted in greater safety protocols for the space industry. And there is another case of the measles reported in North Carolina. The latest case in Becklenburg County near Charlotte that makes 14 cases in the last month. Just across the border, measles cases in South Carolina hitting yet another record. There are now nearly 800 confirmed cases and more than 550 people are quarantined. That is the biggest outbreak since measles

was declared eliminated in the U.S. 25 years ago. Vaccination rates have been lagging in recent years. Homebuyers are backing out of deals at the fastest pace in nearly a decade. According to Redfin, more than 40,000 signed home purchase agreements were canceled in December. That represents 16.3% of all homes that went under contract. And Atlanta saw the most contract cancellations in December at 22.5%.

Now at noon, the Buddhist monks continue their walk to the nation's capital, bracing for the winter storm and the below freezing temperatures. Chopper 11 capturing the monks walk for peace as they make their way through our state. The monks starting their day in Warren County today, and they are expected to make their way into Virginia later today. Really just not missing a step with everything going on, but that's part of their meditation. That's right. Yeah. Focus.

Enlightenment. That's right. Love it. Very inspiring. Yeah. I need some of their meditation, Quay. I do too because I have zero on the inside. I'm like, oh, yeah.

More snow potential. If we do see snow, which is highly likely, I think this will be the snow that most people have. been looking forward to. Yeah. So we'll see that for sure. Today high temperatures upper 30s. A good prep day. I know a lot of you have to re-up on those snacks and just preparation in general. So today would be a good day for that and maybe you're still trying to get rid of some of the ice around your home. Temperature is upper 30s this afternoon. So some melting still taking place today. More sun tomorrow. High temperature still in the upper 30s. That's how we'll finish out the week with cold conditions. But the clouds arriving Friday and it's going to take temperatures down into the 20s Saturday with that high.

pressure Arctic high building overhead. Saturday now on first alert day as we do expect some snowfall potential. So our confidence continues to increase with this impactful snowfall Friday night through Sunday morning is our general time frame. I think overall you'll have the best accumulation potential on Saturday into early Sunday morning. A 70 to 90% chance for major impacts for most of Central North Carolina. That stretches back towards Charlotte and all the way to our coastline too. So this will be a good statewide impactful system is how it looks. So winter storm warning is likely.

of course we'll start with the watch first and then that'll be upgraded to a warning. So late Friday night, I expect that we'll see some light snow showers, but towards the morning hours of Saturday, better accumulation potential Sunday morning, I think wrapping it up for the most part, although one of our models does extend it through Sunday. Now there's a high probability we see at least one inch of snow. There's a moderate to high probability we see at least three inches of snow. As we get to that six inch category, that's when our potential and our confidence starts to decrease. But we still have lots of time to watch the models in this case.

Extreme cold is going to be a risk for that. So I mentioned the major high impact potential for us. The cold is one of the main things that concerns me. The snowfall, of course, high impact because it'll cause poor travel and possibly some closures out there too. Maybe some infrastructure issues that we see big accumulations here. Power outages possible, but again, that will all depend on the total. So this is the euro and GFS. No change here. Both standing on business with the snowfall. Here's that upper air flow. We see that big dip into the jet stream and defraud. Friday and Saturday. This ensures that we stay cold. This also ensures that once to sew snart Saturday morning, it will start to stick right away. The grounds will be cold enough for that. This jet stream stretches all the way to the Gulf South from Texas to Florida. So most of the country will deal with this. But it's all about the lows tracking and placement. And right now we're dismissing that potential track there that's inland. We're talking about this one here, which is the more classic track for snow. If the low tracks more to the south, that means dry conditions. But at this point, We're going with snowfall. So this is the European model late Friday night,

10, 11 o'clock, some light snow showers, but we see better accumulation and a Saturday morning all through the day, Saturday and Saturday night by Sunday. This is 11 a.m. taking the snowfall away from the viewing area. Here's your first alert, 70 forecast powered by ACUweather. Upper 30s through the end of the week.

Dangerous cold this weekend. High's only the 20s, lows in the teens, but it's gonna feel like the single digits down to around zero on wind chill values. So that's a big concern for us. Monday, the high 37, We'll probably be dealing with some lingering impacts through Monday and maybe in the Tuesday of next week. But with the sunshine Tuesday, high temperatures in the 40s, that'll help with some of the melting that will occur as well.

We're going to have totals for you in the next 24 hours. So by Thursday, we'll have more timing and also the details that you really want to know. Amber, back to you. Yes, everybody wants to know. Clay, I know that they are asking you that nonstop. Thank you. Russian forces with a deadly strike on a passenger train in Ukraine. That story is just ahead here at 12.

And will the Federal Reserve lower interest rates for the first time this year? The decision that could be announced today. And new fallout to the deadly UPS plane crash in Kentucky. We'll have that for you in two minutes. Watch Steve Daniels tonight on ABC 11. I Witness News. Now to another deadly attack in Ukraine. This time, Russian forces targeting a passenger train. At least five people were killed.

President of Vladimir Zelenskyy describing the attack. is a quote act of terrorism. And this comes after a new report finds at least two million Russian and Ukrainian troops have now died in the war. February 24th will mark four years since the war began. UPS is retiring its fleet of MD-11 aircraft three months after one of the planes crashed in Louisville. Fifteen people died in the crash, including three pilots. All MD-11s have been grounded since. The NTSB's preliminary report says the plane's left engine caught fire and detached during takeoff. Federal Reserve officials are expected to keep their short-term interest rate unchanged after

three cuts last year. That is despite pressure from President Trump. This afternoon, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will hold a press conference to announce the decision most economists forecast the Fed will cut rates twice this year, most likely at the June meeting or later. And confidence is growing that North Carolina could get some snow this weekend. We'll walk you through when it could arrive. Bill Belichick will not be a first ballot Hall of Famer, will have his reaction to the snub.

And the Ivy League University that's offering free tuition will tell you who qualifies.