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

Episode Date: September 28, 2026

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Right now on Iwoods news, Justice for Faith, the trial begins today for the man charged in the murder of Faith Hedgebet, the UNC student who was killed in her apartment. And a procession happening today in Wake County in honor of a young soldier from Apex who was killed during a training exercise. And history being made, Meredith College welcoming its first ever female police chief. And taking a selfie with the Stanley Cup, where the cup will be today before the first game of the new season tomorrow. It's the news at new. 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.

And good Monday afternoon. Thanks for starting your week off with us here at noon. I'm Amber Repenta. Barbara has the day off. This gorgeous weather from this weekend spilling over into today. Meteorologist Cruz Medina is here now. You're popular when the weather's like this. Well, you're always popular, but even more stuff.

It's been so beautiful throughout this weekend. It's really hard not to like this weather. Gorgeous. And so this afternoon is going to be no different. A beautiful day if you want to get out and about. But if you don't like warm temperatures, then really enjoy today. Because by the middle of the week, we're talking the potential to possibly get to near record territory. So the record on Wednesday is 89.

We're forecasting 87. So within a few degrees of the record. And then the same for Thursday. The standing record 90. We could hit 89, possibly even tie the record in time. time we shall see. But this afternoon, this is what things look like outside. This is actually North Hills and Tipters there, 69 degrees, 64 in Roxborough and 72 in Goldsboro. So this afternoon, it's not going to be overly hot. Tipters will jump into the low 80s at times, especially from

the triangle south. Decent amount of sunshine through the next hour or two and then we'll see the cloud cover increase, especially as we go into this evening. Still a great afternoon to get outside, even for a game of pickleball. By this evening, if you want to step outside then, tipgers will stay in the 70s, but with the drier air around, it's not going to feel humid. Tipters will actually feel a bit cooler when you walk outside. It'll feel rather refreshing. So if you want to get out for an evening walk, go for it. And then overnight, we should drop into the 50s.

So another refreshing start to your day tomorrow. We'll talk more about this warmup and also what to expect in the upcoming weekend. That's all coming up in your seven day forecast. Amber, back to you. All right. See you soon with more crews. Thank you. And new here at noon, a trial begins today for the man charged in the murder of U.N.C.

Student Faith Hedgepath. She was killed 14 years ago in her Chapel Hill apartment. Akela Davis is joining us live outside the courthouse with an update as the jury selection is beginning. Hi, Akela. Hi there, Amber. This high-profile murder trial is officially underway. Faith Hedgepest loved ones are here seated behind the prosecution. It's also important to note that the North Carolina Victim Assistant Network is here.

They're going to be providing support throughout the entire trial for HedgePest family. Miguel Sargiero Aliberis entered the courtroom this morning in a suit, and he's seated with the defense. Hedgep has family members set across the room behind the prosecution. Now, we know jury selection is now underway. Court officials asked everyone in the audience to leave the courtroom while potential jurors are set. The goal here is to find jurors who can set aside anything they have heard about the case and decide fairly based on evidence presented in court. The potential juror pool that we saw includes a diverse group.

of people of all age ranges and backgrounds. And of course, we know jury selection is expected to continue throughout the day. We'll be here. I'll be here. And I'll have more ahead on eyewitness news at 4. Reporting live in Durham, Akela Davis, ABC 11, eyewitness news. Keelah, we'll see you at 4 with more there from the Durham County Courthouse. Thank you. Happening today, a procession in Wake County for a fallen soldier. The body of army private first class, Ethan Brewer, will return home this afternoon. He died earlier this month. during a training exercise in Texas when his Humvee rolled over. Brewer graduated from Apex High School in 2025 before joining the Army as a medic.

He started serving at Fort Hood earlier this year, and Honor Flag will escort his casket from RDU Airport to the Apex Funeral Home. PFC Brewer was just 20 years old. Raleigh Police are investigating another string of car break-ins, shattered glass scattered across the parking lot at the Holiday Inn on Little Briar Creek Lane. Police say 27 cars were broken into this weekend and property was stolen from at least one of the vehicles. They are investigating that. Meantime, a fundraiser today honoring the life of Brooklyn Carroll. She is the young girl killed last year when a drunk boater hit her while she was swimming in Harris Lake.

Today there will be a golf tournament and other events at McGregor Downs Country Club and Carrie. And proceeds will help to support scholarships and safe and sober voting programs. New at noon, Meredith College welcoming its new police. Police Chief, a swearing-in ceremony is happening today for Eva Howard. She's making history as the first woman to lead the college's police department and security team. Chief Howard is more than 20 years of history and law enforcement. She previously worked for the Durham Public School Safety and Security Division. She also worked at NC State.

And happening today, another committee meeting as the Kerrytown Council continues to discuss that scathing audit, exposing how the town was spending your money. It comes after the state auditor blasted the town for a culture of extravagant. against spending and lack of oversight. This stems from that investigation into former town manager Sean Stiegel, who was found in that report to have used public funds for high-end expenses. Tonight's meeting starts at 515. The Data Center debate escalating in Fayetteville this week. Officials want to hear from you about a proposed regulation. They are set for this Wednesday, September 30th. The first will be held from 10 a.m. to noon. It's at College Lakes Recreation Center.

and the second session is from two to four. That's at Massey Hill Recreation Center. And the final session will be at Clifdale Recreation Center from 6 to 8 in the evening. City Council is expected to release the proposed ordinance next month. Happening today, Durham leaders addressing the rising cost of child care. County commissioners are set to vote to establish an early childhood task force. The goal is to analyze the availability and cost of care for children under the age of three, as well as any barriers affecting families and the impacts of importance.

improving access. Today's meeting begins at 5.30. Now to the push to recruit more men in education, NC Central hosting a two-day conference bringing teachers, students, researchers, and community leaders together. They'll focus on factors that shape men's pathways into education and strategies for strengthening recruitment, preparation, and support. Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams is slated to be among the speakers. The events underway at the NCCU Student Center until 4.30 this evening, and it continues tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 2.30. A high school football game remains in limbo after fights disrupted play on Friday. District officials are now trying to figure out when overtime will decide the winner between Millbrook and Rollsville.

Fights under the Friday night lights prompting the game to be suspended as law enforcement broke up the scupples. Milbrook High says its security measures were in place and it will work with Wake County Schools to strengthen procedures for future athletic events. And today we'll hear from Panthers head coach Dave Canales after another disappointing Sunday, the cats coming up short during a defensive battle in Cleveland. The Brown scoring the go-ahead touchdown with less than two minutes in the game. The final score, 21 to 18, and Carolina Falls to 1 and 2. And they have the Lions at home next Sunday night. And our Stanley Cup champions gearing up for a very big week.

Their first home game of the season is tomorrow. And today, General Manager Eric Tolski will speak to reporters ahead of puck drop. The Cains will likely practice before and will be there for all that action at the Lenovo Center. And new at noon, the Carolina Hurricanes are taking that Stanley Cup on tour. They're visiting several communities in Wake County. This morning, fans lined up at the North Maine Athletic Complex in Holly Springs to catch a glimpse of Lord Stanley. And that's where we find Sean Coffey. So, Sean, some of those fans waited for hours for a pick.

Yeah, that's right. We spoke with some fans who were near the front of that line this morning. You said that they got here at around 8 a.m. with folding chairs, brought their breakfast and their coffee. and it was all to catch a glimpse of obviously this special piece of hardware right here. The Stanley Cup continuing to draw huge crowds wherever it has visited over the past few weeks. And today is no exception. As this line you can see to your left stretches onto the baseball field

and then up through the concourse and around the entire building down toward the access road here to the stadium. Hundreds of people waiting some of them upwards of three hours to get their photo with the Stanley Cup and get their moment with it. We spoke with one man who said that he was near the front of the last. line and couldn't miss the opportunity to come out here and get a photograph. Get a glimpse of it, get a picture with it because it's really a once in a lifetime experience. You know, this could be the last time it comes here. I hope not, but it could be.

So you've got to take advantage of that opportunity. And I will say they are moving people in and out of here quite economically. Again, we've got hundreds, if not thousands of people that are trying to get a photograph during the time window that the cup is going to be here. After this, the cup will head to apex for another event. later this afternoon. So you do have another chance to go out and get a photo with it if you can. And obviously stay with eyewitness news for the latest on the Cain's season opener tomorrow. We'll have coverage for you all day long as they now begin their title defense press guys.

Back to you. Yeah, that's a lot of fun for fans to see that ahead of this game tomorrow. All right, Sean, and a beautiful weather for it too. Thanks. Meantime, you can relive the Hurricane Stanley Cup run. A new championship film debut just yesterday, recapping the highlights and the moments of the cup win and some new player perspective as well. It's streaming now on ESPN Plus and Hulu. Meanwhile, the Cains are celebrating their Stanley Cup championship win

with some new bling, the team, unveiling the 26 Stanley Cup Championship ring. Take a look. The rings were designed and created by luxury jeweler Jason of Beverly Hills. And each ring features nearly 900 individually set stones, including 9.8 carrots of white diamonds and 1.4 carrots of natural red rubies. Other little details on the rings include each player's. signature, a removable championship puck pendant that shows stormy the cane's mascot when

taken off. That's really a lot of bling. Republican North Carolina Senator Tom Tillis is weighing in on the upcoming Senate race to replace him. We'll have that story just ahead. And the terror suspects arrested near an air base in England that the United States uses to launch bombs against Iran, how the pot was foiled in two minutes. And a special arrival, pandas on loan from China arriving at their new home in the United States, we have the exclusive details. Eyewitness News. We are Local News, weeknights 4 to 630 and 11. We're following a terrifying close call this nude. Authorities stopping a possible terror attack at an air base outside of London. It's been used by U.S. forces during the war with Iran.

ABC's Olivia Rubin has the story. New video showing police at R.A.F. Fairford Military Base in England today. A day after officials in the U.K. say they four. the possible terror plot there. The base is used by the U.S. Air Force and a key hub for operations in the Middle East. It actually makes my blood run cold when I think how close we may have come to disaster this weekend. British officials saying they arrested five UK nationals, all men, between the ages of 23 to 25, detained for, quote, preparation of a terrorist act. I can confirm that following extensive interviews and inquiries, the five men who were arrested are being released on police bail this afternoon.

To be very clear, this does not mean that the investigation is over. Police swarming the area after receiving a call about three suspicious vehicles traveling toward the base. An anonymous farmer telling the BBC she called the police after allegedly seeing hooded and masked men. She has done exactly what we would hope that someone in that extraordinary situation would do. I'm really grateful to her. These three white vans see nearby, a bomb disposal robot approaching them, police evacuating dozens of nearby homes, but they haven't said yet whether they found explosives. Be assured we are considering this from every possible angle,

including that this may be actively committed by proxies or individuals either knowingly or unconstitutional. unknowingly working on behalf of a foreign state. And the UK defense minister also saying that while this investigation is still ongoing, he is not drawing a connection with Iran to these arrests. The Iranian embassy and the UK also denying involvement today. Olivia Rubin, ABC News, Washington. Olivia, thank you. A busy road in Raleigh could double in size from two lanes to four.

That story just ahead. And what's next for Lindsay Clancy, the mother charged with killing her three children in Massachusetts. That story new at 1230. And a powerful nor'easter causing some severe damage along the outer banks. Even washing away part of NC12, we have an update. Happening today, your chance to weigh in on major roadwork in Wake County. The state DOT inviting the public to learn more on the plans to expand pool road, stretching the road from two to four lanes and also adding a center median there.

Tonight's meeting is from 5 to 7. It's at the Barwell Road Community Center, and you can view the maps and submit your comments. A deadly noreaster is finally weak. New York and New Jersey declaring states of emergency as this storm and high tides brought dangerous coastal flooding. Look at the images here. Waves of 16 feet and more were reported off of Southern New England and the Jersey shore. At least one person has died in New York. The storm also caused major travel headaches across the region, Amtrak, and many airlines are offering travel waivers to some passengers affected by conditions there. And some good news from the North

Carolina coast. Highway 12 has reopened on Ocricer Island Island. after that powerful nor'easter caused flooding and forced the road to close this weekend. As a result, ferry service to Hatteras is resuming on a limited schedule, and emergency ferries continue from Rodanthi. And Highway 12 remains closed in other parts of the Outer Banks. The Department of Transportation posting these pictures on social media today. This is P. Island. State officials say their first priority is building a protective dune while removing asphalt

and grading for a one-lane on-site detour. Look at that damage there. They also add that they'll have a better timeline as to when NC12 can reopen after the next high tide. Wow. Yeah, I was looking at that all weekend, just seeing the updates from the DOT and just how many people were stranded out there. Oh, really? You're like 400 cars lined up this morning just waiting to get on these ferries. Oh, wow.

So this system was massive. It was beyond even our coastline. I actually want to show you what it's doing right now. And so this is a look at the satellite. You could still see that system swirling over parts of the mid-Atlantic and North and the cloud cover reaching all the way down into Virginia. So although we're not expecting much of a meaningful impact today, some of those clouds will rotate down into our area until you'll notice as the day progresses we will see more clouds.

But most of the impacts as far as coastal flooding are isolated to the northeast at this point. And this system will continue to very slowly crawl off to the north and east as we go throughout the next 24 to 48 hours. Locally, I mentioned the clouds increasing a little later today. Tipiers will reach the low 80s for highs today in areas. like the triangle upper 70s for our northern counties. It gets progressively warmer each day. So tomorrow a few degrees warmer than today,

and then Wednesday's a few degrees warmer than what we see tomorrow. So we could be in the mid to upper 80s by Wednesday. That would near records and we could see the same scenario play out as we go into Thursday as well. For this afternoon, while it's nice and sunny, get out and enjoy the refreshing feel that we have in the air.

So even though tipters are gonna be a little warmer than what we had this weekend, the humidity's still low. It's going to feel like a great day. So get outside, take advantage of it while we have the nice weather. Here is first alert predictor walking us through this afternoon. So notice by about 3, 4 p.m. We'll start to see clouds increasing in our northern counties.

Those clouds will pivot south, again, from that nor'easter. And we could have some of those hanging around tonight and into early tomorrow morning. So you wake up, temperatures will be in the mid to upper 50s to around 60 degrees, decent amount of cloud cover in the morning. By the afternoon, the cloud cover still hanging on. We could see some breaks of sun in the mix, but temperatures will be limited once again tomorrow. So lots of folks still staying right around that 80 degree mark tomorrow. A few low to mid 80s possible, especially down in the sand hills where there will be a little less in the way of cloud cover.

The triangle reaching the low 80s tomorrow, decent amount of sunshine. Again, still expected even though we'll have a good amount of cloud cover around as well throughout the day tomorrow. You're going out to the Canes game tomorrow as they take on the Panthers at the Lenovo. TIPTures before that game should be in the low 80s, after the game, 70s expected, and we're not expecting any rain. So if you're going to tailgate that game tomorrow, you have some good weather for that. All right, out in the Atlantic, this is a different type of hurricane that we're talking about. And actually, it's a tropical storm. So we have a new tropical storm Hanna.

That's this northernmost system. And then we have tropical depression fade. This one looks a little better on the satellite this afternoon. So still waiting for our system to populate. It looks like right now it's still labeling it as tropical wave in vests 91. But again, that is tropical storm Hannah. Neither of these storms are expected to impact our coast or any of the East Coast for that matter. So thankfully, those storms are staying out to sea.

Your first solar, acuether seven-day forecast shows it heating up. Feeling more like June than October by Thursday, upper 80s there, low 90s for Friday. And then this weekend, we've got some showers on the way that's going to cool us down a little bit. right around 80 on Saturday. Showers continue, drop against the 70s on Sunday. So many events on your seven day. I know. It's going to be a busy week. And October 1st was on there. That just caught me by surprise. It's coming quick. It is. All right, Cruz, thank you. The Trump administration is set to roll back car fuel efficiency standards, the impact on what you'll pay at the gas pump as well as the climate is ahead. And get ready to pay more for some of your favorite snacks like lays and Doritos will have the details new at 1230.

And a birthday party ends in gunfire. In two minutes, we have an update on the the number of people injured in that mass shooting. Now to Macon, Georgia, where a birthday party at a park ended in gunfire. This is surveillance video capturing the hail of gunfire there. Two teenagers, a 17 and an 18-year-old, are now in critical condition following that mass shooting. Police say the shooting happened at a park early Sunday morning shortly after midnight. Ten other teens were shot. They're listed in stable condition.

There's no word from the Bibb County Sheriff's Department on any arrests or any suspect. effects. Happening today, a new effort to bring down car prices. The Trump administration is set to release new fuel economy standards. The changes would relax regulatory requirements for automakers designed to control pollution. The Biden White House set the rules at 50 miles per gallon by 2031, but regulators predict that would now drop to about 35 miles per gallon. President Trump claims this would save Americans thousands of dollars on a new car.

And this comes as fuel prices remain high. AAA says the national average is now 448 a gallon, up 38 cents in the past month and $1.34 since last year. Here in North Carolina, the average is 414 a gallon. A Fayetteville man is facing charges for allegedly impersonating a police officer during a home robbery. We'll have that story just ahead. And there are new reports about AI models going rogue and hacking federal agencies. And it is one of the area's most anticipated fall housing events. The parade of homes, it begins this weekend.

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