ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at Noon - January 7, 2026

Episode Date: January 7, 2026

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Right now on eyewitness news, state lawmakers push for change following the murder of a Raleigh school teacher inside of her home, the action they're calling for at the state legislature. And Governor Josh Stein today highlighting a program that helps those incarcerated become productive members of society. Tamara Scott has the details and breaking right now new developments in the Caribbean, the U.S. today seizing an oil tanker. What's next in the conflict? 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. I'm Amber Repenta. Barbara Gibbs has the day off. Thanks for joining us here at noon. If you stepped outside, you know, it feels like spring has arrived. Meteorologist Cruz Medina joins us now with the details on just how warm it's going to get over the next few days. What a change, Cruz. Oh, absolutely.

You could be outside in shorts today comfortably if you choose to. So temperature's four this afternoon will actually make it into those those 70s. That's going to be for areas like Raleigh. And then down into the sandhills, 72 in Fayetteville. If you're up in Roxborough, you could even reach 70 today. And usually you're one of the cooler spots. So with sunshine today, it should be easy to achieve those temperatures. And we're already seeing tipters well into the 60s at this time as our winds are coming out of the west and southwest.

And that's coming in from a warmer air mass. So if we look across the region, back to our south, check out some of these areas like Augusta and Charlotte and Columbia. That's kind of the direction our winds coming from and those areas are also very warm at this hour. So stepping out for lunch, it'd be great to be outside today. It's not overly windy. Those tipters reaching the 70s for the afternoon hours. Like I said, you could be outside with shorts. You definitely don't need the jacket for the afternoon.

And then tipters come down into the 60s as we go into this evening. Now overnight, we should see tipters in the 30s across the northern tier from Roanoke Rapids back to Roxburgh and then right around 40 degrees in the triangle. So it is going to be a bit chilly tonight compared to last night and we could see some more areas of fog. That said, it's likely not going to be as dense as what we had early this morning. So out the door tomorrow, if you're heading out for a morning walk, it will be chilly. You'll probably win a jacket for the morning hours tomorrow. And then tipters for tomorrow, those highs will not be quite as warm as today. So we drop back into the 60s briefly, a high of 65. Raleigh with clouds increasing still staying mild and we've got more 70s in the forecast some of those could be near record we'll talk more about that coming up and your seven-day forecast in just a few minutes Amber all right see you soon with more crews thank you and right now at noon a growing memorial for the Raleigh teacher killed inside of her own home fresh flowers left outside the home of Zoe Welsh along with this sign that simply says I am sorry state lawmakers now seeking to take action following the murder of the Raleigh school

teacher. Two House Republicans sent a letter to leaders of the House Select Committee on involuntary commitment and public safety, requesting they review the facts of the case into their work. Michael Perchick is joining us from outside the state legislature with those details. Wake County representatives Aaron Perrae and Mike Sheetzel, both of whom are Republicans pending that letter alluding to the lengthy criminal history of suspect Ryan Camacho saying he never should have been out on the street. Last month, Camacho had faced a misdemeanor breaking and entering charge, which was ultimately dropped after a mental competency exam found he could not stand trial. In response, the district attorney's officer requested he be involuntary

committed, which was denied by a judge. In a letter to the committee, Parade and Sheets out right, quote, specifically we asked two questions. How could a person who was found to not be competent to proceed to trial for a breaking and entering charge and who had a lengthy criminal history, including over 20 arrests, be released and not involuntary committed even at the request of the district attorney? What additional tools would assist law? enforcement in the courts and preventing horrific crimes like this from occurring in the future. Coming up this afternoon, we go one-on-one with Representative Sheetsdale what he'd like to see the committee consider.

In Raleigh, I'm Michael Pertschick, ABC 11, eyewitness news. Michael, thank you. The North Carolina Joint Reentry Council meeting today in Raleigh, the group focusing on efforts to improve the rehabilitation of offenders returning to their communities after incarceration. It is an effort supported by Governor Josh Stein. Tamara Scott is joining us live with more. on this initiative. Tamara? Hey, good afternoon. Yes, well, today the conversation centered around jobs, housing, mental health support for those who are going to be reentering into society.

And so today leaders with the North Carolina Joint Reentry Council and Governor Stein say this is their focus for 2026. The Department of Adult Correction leads these meetings every other month is a way for leaders to get on the same page about what happens after someone leaves prison. This morning, the group is taking a look at targets for 2026, including a new re-entry 2030 dashboard that tracks their progress. North Carolina joined the National Reentry 2030 initiative when former Governor Cooper signed the executive order in 2024. Governor Stein spoke today and reinforced the message the former governor left, while also pushing for the courts to do better about bringing justice and advocating for more mental health.

Equipping folks with the tools that they need to succeed with their second chance, of course, is right for them. It's great for their families, but it also helps all of us. Everyone benefits when every person meets his or her fullest potential, when they contribute to the fullest extent of their abilities to our communities. He referenced the recent death of Ravenscroft teacher is Zoe Welsh, who was allegedly killed by a Raleigh man who has a long history with the justice system. Stein went on to say 90% of the people who are incarcerated in our state prisons today will eventually get out and approximately 18,000 people will leave incarceration this year alone. So he wants there to be better tools to succeed. Too often when people leave incarceration and come back into their communities, they find door

after door closed to them. They can't find housing they can afford. Transportation they can rely on. health care that they can access, a job that will hire her. Every time a door closes on someone, it becomes harder for them to stay on track. And local advocate Kerwin Pittman added to this saying he has efforts coming soon of a transformation of a former jail in Wayne County into a workforce development campus. Tamara, Scott, ABC 11, eyewitness news. Tamara, thank you. Breaking right now here at noon, the United States.

States today seized two more oil tankers. Homeland Security Secretary Kristy Noem says the tankers were seized in pre-dawn operations and were either last docked in Venezuela or were headed there. She says, quote, the world's criminals are on notice. ABC's Perry Russum is in Washington with more. The U.S. seizing two more oil tankers today as tension builds in the Western Hemisphere. Homeland Security Secretary Christine Nome posting this video online saying two pre-dawn operations were carried out back to back by the U.S. Coast Guard, one in the North Atlantic, the other near the Caribbean. In the North Atlantic, the Coast Guard seizing the Bella won, a tanker the U.S. had been pursuing for weeks. During the pursuit, the tanker was renamed Maranara and claimed by Russia.

Russian state media posting images of what it says shows the tanker being boarded by U.S. forces. In the Caribbean raid, video posted by Secretary Nome shows U.S. forces repelling onto the deck of the M.T. Sophia and then fanning out to take control. Noam says both tankers seized today were either last docked in Venezuela or headed there. They're sanctioned tankers. They're not seized every one of them. President Trump adamant the U.S. will control Venezuela's oil. We need total access.

We need access to the oil and to other things in their country that allow us to rebuild their country. Energy Secretary Chris Wright today says the U.S. plans to take over the flow and sale of Venezuela's oil. And from there, those funds can go back into Venezuela to benefit the Venezuelan people. They are not generating any revenue from their oil right now. They can't move it unless we allow it to move because we have sanctions because we're enforcing those sanctions. This is tremendous leverage. We are exercising it in a positive way. Two sources tell ABC News the Trump administration is planning to oversee the sale of Russia's oil indefinitely.

Back to the seizure of the Bella 1, the Russian Ministry of Transport, releasing a statement that reads in part, quote, no state has the right to use force against vessels duly registered in the jurisdictions of other states. Perry Russum, EBC News, Washington. Perry, thanks now to a deadly crash in Fayetteville. I witness news crews on the scene here on Gillespie Street. We're told the driver of a Dodge SUV hit a person in the road at the corner of Mountain Drive, not far from the Crown Center. That person did not survive.

Police now identifying the victim is 41-year-old Hillary Jarman, but they say she was illegally in the road when she was hit. Charges are not expected against the driver. And new at noon, students and faculty at U.S. U.N.C. Chapel Hill today holding a rally to defend international studies at the university. They have gathered on the steps of the south building. This is a live picture here. As you can see, they have flags, they have signs and they are there voicing their message. Over the holiday break, faculty were informed at UNC Chapel Hill of an administrative proposal

to permanently close UNC's six globally celebrated international and area study centers. Those centers have been at the heart of Carolina's international education for undergraduate and graduate students for decades and those students there making their voices heard about the plans for the closure. And now to the General Assembly in Raleigh on Jones Street in today's meeting of the House Select Committee on Government Efficiency. The committee is tasked with identifying potential waste and mismanagement in state and local government. Today the group will get an update on UNC System Schools here from Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell about the city's Department of Economic and Social Advancement and also review civil rights violations

in Buncombe County. The meeting begins at 1 o'clock. Happening today, a special meeting in Rocky Mount, the city council gathering to discuss the ongoing issue with utility bills and also to get an update from the city manager. The meeting starts at 2 o'clock at City Hall. And breaking right now, ICE agents have reportedly been involved in a shooting in Minneapolis. The breaking details just ahead here at noon. And a court hearing today for Nick Reiner, he is charged in the stabbing deaths of his parents, including Hollywood director Rob Reiner. That story here in two minutes. And the new push by the Pentagon that could impact women serving in the military. That's new at 1230. Watch Lauren Johnson tonight on ABC 11. I Witness News. We are following breaking news now out of

Minneapolis this noon. Reports of a shooting involving federal law enforcement in Minneapolis. These are live pictures from the scene from one of the stations helicopters there. You can see a very large crowd has gathered there and you can see a lot of officers on the ground. Governor Tim Walls posting on X that his public safety team is working to gather information on what the governor says is an ice related shooting in Minneapolis. We are going to continue to monitor the feeds and the breaking news here coming out of Minneapolis will bring you any new developments just as soon as we learn more and new details come in you can see them throwing rocks it looks like here let's

stay on this for just a moment it looks like they're throwing rocks at this car and now someone is getting out of the car let's just stay on this for a moment this is video okay that I'm being told this is video not a live feed but you can see there looks like some sort of conflict there with the driver of that car. They were throwing rocks and the driver got out. Okay, we'll continue to monitor that situation there and we will keep you posted. Moving on now, a court hearing today for Nick Reiner. He is charged in the stabbing deaths of his parents, Rob and Michelle Reiner. ABC's Alex Stone has the story. Nick Reiner here in court, it has been weak since we last saw him. The last time he was

expected in court, his arraignment was delayed until today. Reiner accused of murdering his parents Rob and Michelle Reiner in their home in December. The two found by their daughter stabbed to death. Sources saying on December 13th, before the murders, Reiner and his father got into an argument at Conan O'Brien's Christmas party and that his mental health had been declining. Nick Reiner has long struggled with mental health and addiction.

Today, his attorneys could give their first indication of how they plan to defend Reiner and whether mental health will be a part of their defense. Reiner facing two counts of first-degree murder. He could as early as today plead not guilty by reason of insanity or he could change his plea later. If he does claim insanity, a jury could decide to send him to a psychiatric facility instead of a prison. But his attorneys would have to prove under California law that his insanity came before his addiction and not because of drug use.

Today's hearing expected to be a quick one. This gets the process going in the courts. Alex Stone, ABC News in downtown L.A. Alex, thank you. There are signs of progress this nude in Southern California after the costliest wildfires in U.S. history. One year ago today, the Eaton Fire in Altadena and the Palisades Fire in L.A. destroyed thousands of homes and took 31 lives. One man has been charged with sparking the Palisades Fire, which started as another fire days before. Across the region, only a fraction of homes have begun to be rebuilt, a process described as complex and exhausting.

LA's mayor says she's inspired by the pace of rebuilding, though, and she says more than 400 homes are now under construction. Some North Carolina teachers hold a walkout will explain why new here at 1230 and the city of Charlotte blazing a new trail. Details on its first all-electric fire station as well as electric fire trucks. Happening today, Fayetteville Tech showing off its new fire and emergency training complex. The ceremony will include live demonstrations from the burn pit, the fire tower, and other training capabilities. The event begins at 2 o'clock at the complex on Tom Starling Road. Charlotte's first all-electric fire station is now in service. The new station near the airport is equipped with a rooftop solar system that powers roughly 30% of the building.

It's also home to the city's first electric fire truck. The fire chief says the station will help keep up with the growth in West Charlotte. The new firehouse represents the same commitment now matched with the resources needed for today and the flexibility needed for tomorrow. Officials say they will evaluate the electric trucks and see if trucks like it can operate in other parts of Charlotte. Well, it might not feel like winter this week, but we do know that we are not done with the cold weather just yet. It's North Carolina. We know how this goes. So we're asking you to join us this weekend for an eyewitness news special, your first alert to winter.

We're breaking down what to expect for the rest of the winter months, plus, how the changing temperatures can take a toll on your body, and how the state's largest school district decides on a snow day or school day. Join the first alert weather team this Saturday here at 7 p.m. Right here on eyewitness news. And this week is the final week to donate to the 13th annual Welcome Baby Coat Drive. Friday is the last day you can drop off gently used in new children's coats to the locations listed there on your screen. The coats will be distributed to Welcome Baby families during their weekly giving closet event. This year's goal is to collect more than 1,400 coats.

for Durham County youth breaking last year's record but today you don't really need a big coat at all I did I ditch the coat yeah when I walked my dog this morning mind you it was still pretty chilly then but I just walked outside in an undershirt yeah I was like if I have a coat on I'm gonna sweat I was surprised though how much fog was out there this morning that was a lot of fog my windows were even off and my ground was sweating it was such a weird morning but we're seeing things improve across the region and so for the afternoon it's going to be very very quiet. We've got a lot of sun today and it's going to be warm with temperatures in the 70s. So not quite record breaking, but getting close to those records today. Now, as we go into the end of the week in the first half of the weekend, you can see we're going to be pretty close to records there as well. Friday we've forecasted 72. The record set back in 2008 was 73. And then for Saturday, we've actually bumped that up to 74 now and the record is 75 set back in 1930. So we will be very close to records. Whether we hit them or not, that's yet to be seen, but we'll keep you updated in time.

Now for today, our winds are out of the west. You could see that transporting in that warmer air. We're already near 70 in some spots, like the triangle, but down in the sand hills you have already reached 70 in areas like Fayetteville. And you can see it's all across the deep south and the southeast that we're dealing with this warmth. So a big dome of high pressures over the south.

That's allowing things to warm up very nicely. We'll see that stick around with us through the rest of the week. Now for this afternoon, if you have plans to be outside, we were just talking about how you don't need a coat but also enjoy the sunshine. You're probably putting on your shades. You could even ride it with your windows down this afternoon while it's nice and warm out.

And then for tonight, it is going to be a bit chillier than what we had throughout this morning. So you could see through the night, we'll have some clouds passing through. What you see here that looks like clouds on predictor, that would actually be clouds at the ground. So fog as we go into tomorrow morning. That'll be most likely along I-95. Elsewhere can't roll it out, but it's likely not going to be as dense as this morning. Now tipter start near 40 degrees as we go into the afternoon. afternoon. We'll see the cloud sticking around with us. Tipters tomorrow should make it into the

60s for high. So it won't be quite as warm as what we saw or what we will see for this afternoon or Friday or Saturday, but it's still going to be much above average by 10 to 15 degrees across the region. So some of the coolest spots tomorrow will be across the northern tier toward the Virginia border for the triangle mid-60s there and then mid to upper 60s and the sand hills. Now as we go into Friday, this is ahead of that next weather maker that will bring us a little bit of rain on Saturday. Our winds are still out of the south. We're still going to see the moisture increasing. But through the late afternoon and evening, it's possible some of our northwestern counties get a shower. Nothing significant there. And we'll see a better chance as we go into

Saturday for the second half of the day. But it's something just to keep in mind as we go forward in time. Here's a live look at Raleigh right now. Our Pindo Sky Cam looking good. Sixty-eight degrees in the city of Oaks. Just to recap tonight, tipters will be a bit chillier, so going down to about 40, even some spots north of Raleigh going down into the 30s. Then for tomorrow, more clouds, not as warm as today, but still seasonably warm. Tiptors make it into the mid-60s in the mid-60s and the send hills, lower 60s in areas like Henderson and low 70s down in areas like Fayetteville. Your first alert, ACUweather 7-day forecast shows that shower chance on Saturday. This is not going to be drop-busting rain. It's not even going to be a lot, and some areas could stay dry. But beyond that, we've got a big cool down coming, 50s for highs on Sunday, and we could be in the upper 40s as we start out the next work week. Amber, back to you. Up and down, up and down continues. What do we call this, false spring? False spring, yeah.

Second winter's on the way. All right, Chris, thank you. The White House freezes $10 billion in federal child care funds to five states run by Democrats. That story just ahead here at noon. And former Representative Marjorie Taylor Green sitting down with the ladies of the view here from her new at 1230. And the new information we're learning about the suspect in the mass shooting of Brown University and why investigators do not believe the attack was being planned for years. Watch Steve Daniels. Tonight on ABC 11, I Witness News.

Now to new details about the man who killed two Brown University students and an MIT professor, allegedly, the Department of Justice saying he planned the attack for years. Officials say Claudio needs Valenti left behind videos confessing to the murder. but gave no motive. The DOJ says he expressed no remorse and called his actions a little incompetent. The shootings occurred December the 13th and 15th and Valenti was found dead

in a New Hampshire storage facility on December the 18th. At least five states run by Democrats are urgently trying to make plans after the Trump administration announced it is freezing funding for low-income programs. The administration says it is

investigating potential fraud. The federal money helps hundreds of thousands of families pay for child care. The states affected include California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York. Many local officials say they were not given a heads up. And state health officials are concerned about not just the spike in flu cases, but the new measles cases just diagnosed in North Carolina. We have details ahead. And teachers at several schools holding walkouts across the state, including here in the triangle, what they're demanding from state leaders.