4:30AM News on WRAL - Friday, February 6, 2026

Snap away the stress of selling your home with Sold It in a Snap. With our local expertise, moving becomes a breeze, no repairs, no showings, just peace of mind. Provide a few quick details, schedule an in-home walkthrough with a Jim Allen Group expert, and receive your personalized cash offer in a snap. Snap away the stress of home selling with the local expertise of Sold It in a Snap. Log on to sold it in a snap.com to get your offer now. That's sold it in a snap.com. Shot in 4K ultra high definition. Your number one source for local news. WRL News. Cover it. You can come on. Our next weathermaker is going to drop in and bring us some rain later on this evening. We'll time that out at a very cold weekend. Plus dorm fire. Fire firefighters say an apparent electrical fire broke out at Shaw University. The safety concerns after complaints about dorm maintenance. Plus murder trial sentencing. Powerful testimonies reveal new information, including a confession note. What we're expecting today in the case of the Raleigh Mass shooter. Your time's 430 as you're joining us this morning here on WRL News. We appreciate you choosing us for your new source. I'm Chris Lovingen. Let's go ahead and swing into weather with meteorologist Elizabeth Garder. Looking pretty calm and quiet out there this morning, though. It is a cold start to the day, Elizabeth. Oh, it is. Our temperatures dropped again. And really, that's going to be the theme all the way through the weekend. Our high pressure system from yesterday moved out. So we're in between systems, at least for now. But a fast moving front will drop in, bring us a quick chance for rain and then usher in another round of some very chilly air. This is not likely to happen until mid to late. afternoon, but it is likely to be around during the evening commute. So keep that in mind, especially if you're planning to head out of town. That tends to really make things move slowly when you add rain to the mix. Of course, Pittsburgh is looking nice and quiet this morning, all clear. We're looking at clear skies, of course. 21 is our temperature in the triangle. We have a wind out of the east at five miles per hour. So it does mean we have a wind chill, at least in a few places. It feels coldest in Durham and Raleigh at 15 right now. It's 19 in Roxborough and South Hill. It's 23. in Southern Pines and 27 in Fayetteville. Really, we're only looking at a windshield in the triangle at the moment, but we are looking at some windy conditions for the weekend. Our high this afternoon climbs into the upper 40s, and then we'll take a dive from there this weekend. I'll talk more about it coming up. All right, sounds good, Elizabeth. Thank you. Students at Shaw University are out of a dorm after what appears to be an accidental electrical fire. Let's go ahead and bring in Ali Cab the Bar. She's at Shaw this morning. And Ali, this comes after other complaints about dorm maintenance. Yeah, students were telling us just last night that there were problems with heating. and hot water at the dorm already this week. And now on top of that, a fire on the third floor. And you can still see the damage left behind. You can see that hole in the dorm. You can see there's no windows there. The damage left behind. The fire department says the third floor is uninhabitable. This is video from the WRL breaking news tracker showing what that scene looked like around eight last night. It shows crews having to even use a ladder truck to put out the fire. Now, all students got out safe.

but they tell us they did run into extra problems with the fire alarm. We all went into the back hallway to try to put a fire alarm. The fire alarm was not working on both floors. So we all decided to split up and go to east floor and get everybody up the door rooms. Now, students have been living without hot heat and hot water for days now. And so the university addressed this, but it has not been fixed as of last night. This morning we're reaching out to the university with these questions. What efforts have they taken to fix the heating and hot water issues? Also, where are the display students staying? And why did the fire alarm not work? We have multiple questions that we sent out to the university. We'll let you know when we hear back. Reporting live in Raleigh, Calfour, WRAL News. Another day of proceedings in the Austin Thompson's sentencing hearing. Thompson's defense team will cross-examine a digital forensic investigator testifying about Austin Thompson's internet search history. Also, today is expected to be the last day for the prosecution's presentation. Looking into next week. Thompson's defense team will begin its own presentation with its own witnesses and expert testimony. And we expect to hear from Thompson's mother again. Yesterday, we did hear the testimony about a note Thompson left in his bedroom the day he killed five people, including his brother and Raleigh's Headingham shooting. Yes, this is the note as it was found. The reason I did this is because I hate humans. They are destroying the planet slash earth. Investigators also detailed a lengthy internet search history. Well over 1,000 searches for guns, school shootings, and more. As we mentioned, you can expect to hear more about the search history when court resumes at 9.30 this morning. And just as a reminder, we will carry the court proceedings live today. Find all of what we have covered so far and throughout the entire sentencing hearing on the WRL YouTube page and on WRL.com. Investigators searching for Nancy Guthrie in Arizona have given a timeline of when she was last seen. The Pima County Sheriff's Office says at 147 a.m. Sunday, her doorbell camera was disconnected. And then 25 minutes later, software detected movement on a camera. Then just before 2.30 a.m., Nancy's pacemaker app was disconnected from her phone. Deputies still have not been able to gain access to any surveillance video and say they have no suspects. The FBI also addressed one of the ransom notes. They say it had a deadline of 5 p.m. yesterday and if a transfer was not made, there would be a second demand come Monday. Meanwhile, Guthrie's son Cameron released a second video plea for their mother's safe return home on his sister, Savannah's Instagram account. Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven't heard anything directly. We need you to reach out and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward. But first, we have to know that you have our mom.

The Pima County Sheriff also said they found blood on Guthrie's porch, and he says they believe she is still alive. A man is in critical condition this morning after an overnight shooting in Selma. This happened at an apartment complex on Rick's Road. When the WRL breaking news tracker arrived, crime scene tape blocked off the back parking lot at the Meadow apartments. When police arrived, they also found a 20-year-old who was shot, but no motive or suspect information has been released. The U.S. Department of Transportation's Inspector General is launching an audit into how the FAA is training new air traffic controllers. And this is part of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's plan to supercharge, as he calls it, control hiring. And he mentioned that last year. Since then, they've had about 600 new trainees. However, the Inspector General says more than 30% of the trainees failed in fiscal year 2024. The Academy also faces an outdated curriculum and a shortage of qualified instructors. The FAA previously said it plans to hire at least 89. controllers by 2028. The US State Department is sending $6,000, where I should say, $6 worth of humanitarian aid to Cuba. I believe that's supposed to say, $6 million there. There we go, $6 million worth. It includes basic necessities like food, hygiene kits, and solar lamps that can charge phones. This comes as the Trump administration attempts to cut off oil to the island. He's threatening tariffs to any country that exports oil to Cuba. State Department officials say they are providing aid in response to lingering effects of Hurricane Melissa and government hoarding. It recently released audit revealed specifics about the town of Carey's finances for fiscal year 2025 after questions about spending. The audit uncovered weaknesses in the town's internal control, starting with former town manager, Sean Stiegel. It said Stiegel did not emphasize the need for compliance or even accountability. The second weakness was a missing financial report from the town related to a grant worth more than $2 million. The town's financial director says a $23.6 million net in 2025 put the town in good position. These results left many with questions about concerns regarding Stiegel's overspending and lack of transparency unanswered. All of those numbers we still are not clear on where we stand in that. So again, it's, I'm still perplexed and confused. The state auditor, Wake County District Attorney, SBI, and a private law firm are also investigating the town's finances as well as the former town manager. The Durham County Sheriff's Office says it made a major drug bust more than four and a half kilos of fentany. The drugs were found at a home on Newland Place. Officers also found several weapons, a large amount of cash and other narcotics. 49-year-old Rodney Ephraim was arrested in charge and he is being held without bond. For those of you in Nashville, North Carolina, the boil water advisory is over. All required water samples have come back clear and safe, and the town had been dealing with water pressure issues there for a bit now. And Carmelin County, the town of Stedman is officially considered distressed. Basically, that designation applies to any town dealing with problems and delivering drinking water or wastewater services. Town leaders voted to apply the designation, and that's because distressed makes towns and cities eligible for grant money that can help resolve the issue.

Today, the opening ceremonies will mark the official start of the 2026 Winter Olympics, and that is at 2 p.m. right here on WRL, and some sports have already started. Team USA got the win over Chequia and women's hockey yesterday, and the final score of that game was 5 to 1. Today, figure skating team events begin. Women's ice hockey events move forward, and Team USA will compete in two curling matches. But no medals have been awarded just yet. The first honors will be awarded tomorrow morning for men's downhill alpine skiing. And today, oh yes, American skier, Lindsay Vaughn, she will be practicing for her event, and this is her first attempt since she injured her knee during a race last week in Switzerland. Vaughn was originally scheduled to start practice yesterday, but heavy snow and avalanche prevention efforts earned her an extra day of recovery. She says as long as she has a chance to win, she is not letting go of her Olympic comeback. But in big news, if you've been following the NFL Hall of Fame announcements here on WRL, former Panthers all-pro linebacker, Luke Kikley, was selected to join the Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class. His teammates and coaches all in agreement that no one worked harder or prepared more for games than Kikley. So congratulations to Luke. Your time is 439. Pets left behind. Neighbors are bringing animals to shelter after families next door are arrested by ICE. The Minneapolis shelter taking those pets in. Plus mental health care. Governor Josh Stein signed a new executive order why he believes the plan will improve public safety. Hey, just a heads up. We are going to be slightly warmer today. This is a live look over North Hills. Coming up, meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner will show us when near 50 degree temperatures will hit and the chance for afternoon rain.

Snap away the stress of selling your home with Sold It in a Snap. With our local expertise, moving becomes a breeze, no repairs, no showings, just peace of mind. Provide a few quick details, schedule an in-home walkthrough with a Jim Allen Group expert, and receive your personalized cash offer in a snap. Snap away the stress of home selling with the local expertise of Sold It in a Snap. Log on to sold it in a snap.com to get your offer now. That's sold it in a snap.com. When sleep isn't working, everything feels harder. Your health, your patience, your focus, even your relationships. I'm Megan Giggling with Parkway Sleep Health Centers. Too often, people are told to wait months or even years just to talk to a sleep specialist, but untreated sleep problems don't wait. At Parkway, care begins within weeks with home sleep studies and fast coordinated support so people can move forward instead of staying stuck. Better sleep changes everything. Parkway sleep, your fastest path to better sleep. Start today at parkway sleep.com. Sound sleep. Sound health. From the WRL Severe Weather Center, North Carolina's most experienced team of meteorologists. It is 443. It's nice and quiet for us right now. Skies are clear. A little bit of cloud cover may swing by as we get through the next few hours, but that's going to be really inconsequential. Eventually, we're going to see a cold front that's up to our north and west swing through, and that's going to bring us a quick chance of some showers late this afternoon into this evening. Starting as early as 3 or 4 and lasting until maybe 7 or 8 in our eastern counties. It's likely to not bring us a whole lot of rain. in and out pretty fast, and it doesn't look like we'll see anything frozen with it. We do have the top of the tower lit in blue for clear skies this morning. It's a nice start out there, but it is cold. We're back into the teens in some places. 19 in Lewisburg, Tarborough, South Hill, Rocky Mounts 21, 27 in Fayetteville, 22, and Irwin. A little bit of a wind chill. It feels more like upper teens or midteens in the triangle right now. So keep that in mind as you're heading out to walk the dog. Those gloves are going to feel good this morning. Again, once the temperatures warm up into the upper 40s, if you shower. roll in. Three Durham Public School administrators faced a judge on obstruction of justice charges. We want to show you video taken yesterday, and it's one you'll only see on W.REL. Tanya Wright, Tanya Giovanni, and Aisha Hunter faced charges related to an incident at Eno Valley Elementary. An instructional assistant tied up a six-year-old girl with autism using a jump rope in November of 2024, according to these claims. Wright has resigned from DPS. Giovanni and Hunter are currently on leave. Ms. All right, you're being charged with three counts of obstructing, felony instructing justice in one count of perjury. You are charged with six counts of felony obstruction of justice, and you're also charged with two counts of perjury. You are charged with five counts of felony obstruction of justice. WRL also learned the parent of the child who was tied up has now filed a lawsuit, and that lawsuit names the woman who tied the child up and the other adult in the classroom. Neither of those women have been charged, though. Animal rescuers are seeing a new type of surrender. They're now taking in pets whose owners were detained by ICE. One shelter in Minneapolis has seen more than a dozen surrendered pets as a result of ICE detentions. Most were taken in by a neighbor with little to know information about where the owner was taken.

ICE came into his home and detained his owner. And as they were leaving, the owner shouted to the neighbor, I give you permission to find a new home for my animal. No matter where you land on the court of public opinion right now, everyone can agree that an animal like this is innocent and deserves love and care. And so that's why we're here to support the animals and support the people. There are also more canceled vet visits. They're up by 50%. The clinic manager says more families fear going to offices with their personal information. Governor Stein wants to bridge the gap between mental health care and criminal justice. Yesterday, he signed an executive order designed to create better coordination between the state's behavioral health and justice system. This comes after recent high-profile killings in Charlotte and Raleigh. The suspects in those cases had histories of mental illness. One of the key goals of this executive order is to bolster the state's ability to involuntarily commit people with dangerous mental health problems. Governor Seine says he wants to expand co-responder teams and grow awareness of helpline resources. Law enforcement is there for us 24-7. But that can take an officer off the street fighting crime. And there may be other people who are more professionally trained to deal with the person's crisis. Science says many fixes depend on funding from the General Assembly. And we asked legislative leaders, what action will the General Assembly fund this session to ensure the people in North Carolina are safe? House leaders say they are prioritizing mental health, adding that a committee, quote, will continue to explore ways to help the state address severe mental illness before it escalates into harm to others. Today is a reminder from the American Heart Association that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women. The risk factors for women include an unhealthy diet, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. And black women under 35 being treated for high blood pressure are three times more likely to be at risk for having a stroke. You'll likely see some of your friends and your colleagues as well as family members wearing red today or for the go red campaign for women. populating your social media fades there. That's why you see me wearing red, meteorologist Elizabeth Garner, also wearing red. And the rest of our anchors today are trying to make a commitment to highlighting this by wearing the color red today, Elizabeth. We are, yeah. It's important for all of us. And so it's just nice every now and then to just say, hey, today's the day that we're going to think about that. Speaking of colors, take a look at this, a really cool shot. This is from the International Space Station. This is a look at the auroras around the Earth. So this is the northern lights. And, you know, we've had the opportunity to see that a few times over the... last couple of years, but kind of a neat look as we take a look at that from the International Space Station. They see the coolest things, don't they? What we're going to see today is just kind of nice and quiet. We have a cold front that'll come through with a chance of some rain later on this afternoon. But the low that brought the rain yesterday is moving on out, and there is our cold front up to the north. Now that front is moving fast. You can see it moving across Minneapolis in Chicago with strong northerly winds behind it, and that's what's going to be in place for the weekend. Let's walk through this afternoon. This is lunchtime. We're still sunny at lunchtime. Once we get mid to late afternoon, we start to see a few showers. Notice, I mean, just over into Virginia, the blue shaded area, there will be snow with this if you're planning to travel northward or westward. But right around our area, the bulk of North Carolina, we're just going to see some showers. You can see the green there at 5 o'clock. It's likely to move out by around 7 or 8, and then we clear behind it, and cold air comes spilling it. Here's a live look at Franklin 10 this morning. They look all ready for more wintry weather, and it will feel like winter, but we're not.

looking at any more precipitation this weekend. 21 in the triangle. We'll see temperatures climbing on into the 30s after lunchtime. Right now is 21 in Durham, 22, and Apix. It's 19 in Jay Clayton and 20 in White Forest. So it's a lot colder than it was this time yesterday. And in the triangle, we have a windshield. It feels like 15 right now. No wind chill anywhere else, but we may see some breezy conditions as the front gets closer to us. Watch our temperature change. Yes, it's cold right now. But look at the dark purple area. That drops in on us just in time for the... weekend. So that's going to knock our temperatures down even farther. And it will be windy for tomorrow. Tomorrow winds gusting at about 30 to 40 miles per hour. And that means it's going to feel like mid-20s during the day tomorrow. It's going to be nice to have a weekend without winter storm, but it definitely looks very cold for us. San Francisco at 63 at game time for tomorrow. And hey, look at that. Chris, have you seen that yet? Hey. A six and a four together. I love that. Not flipped the other way. There we go. I would, I'm so happy right now. Thanks, Elizabeth. Your time is 450 this morning. Weight loss drug prices. The major drug makers are cutting prices and we're to get you a look at the new pill form of Wigobi. Plus Bill Nye honors. The science guy will receive a lifetime achievement award. We have details of that and of course your movie and music latest in Hollywood Minute. North Carolina football is back. Join High School OT Saturday, August 8th for the 2026 High School OT Jamboree at First Horizon Stadium at Wake Med Soccer Park. Watch some of the state's top programs hit the field, including Wilson Hunt, Union Pines, J.H. Rose, Roseville, Southeast Raleigh, Wake Forest, Cardinal Gibbons, Millbrook, Southern Durham, and Middle Creek. Bill Gates open at 3 p.m., JV kicks off at 4. Varsity action starts at 5. Get your tickets now at high. O.T.com. Want to sell your home just like that? Snap away the stress and contact sold it in a snap.com. Why deal with the costly repairs and endless showings? Sold it in a snap offers a smarter way. Simply provide a few quick details, schedule an in-home walkthrough with a Jim Allen Group expert, and get your personalized cash offer in a snap. Skip the selling hassles and reach out to sold it in a snap.com today and get your competitive cash offer. That's sold it in a snap.com.

Good morning to our friends over in Pittsburgh. It's dark. It's early. It's definitely colder as you're waking up. But as meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner talks about, we could see some 50s today. That'll be exciting. Well, weight loss drugs are getting new delivery methods and are becoming cheaper. Novo Nordisk announced that it is making its weight loss drug Wee Govi available as a pill. It'll be available for less than $150 a month. Right now, the pill is only offered as a starter dose. However, it's an option for people who need the medication but don't want to do a weekly injection. Novo Nordic says higher strengths will also be available in pill form soon. Now, in response to this, Eli Lilly announced Zepbound will also cost less. The cuts there range from 50 to 100 bucks. Company officials say that this move will help fight, quote, cost and coverage barriers, and both companies lower prices actually rely on buying directly from the drug makers without using insurance coverage. Honoring the science guy, Bill Nye will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award. David Daniel has award, movie, and music headlines in today's Hollywood Minute. We can work together. to inspire people everywhere. A big honor for Bill Nye. The Emmy-winning Science Guy will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the fourth annual Children's and Family Emmy Awards. He'll be honored at a ceremony in New York on March 1st. That's the sound of a woman speaks her mind when she's told she shouldn't. So she came when they said she couldn't. New music from Rita Wilson. Sound of a woman, which she co-wrote, is the performer's latest single and the title track of Wilson's next album, due out May 1st. You can time travel?

Time Hoppers, the Silk Road, sends four gifted kids back to the golden age of Islam to meet Muslim thinkers who change the world. Its producers call it the first Muslim animated film to get a nationwide U.S. theatrical release. Time Hoppers, the Silk Road, opens Saturday, locations and showtimes at fathomentertainment.com. In Hollywood, I'm David Dan. Well, during the Super Bowl, NBC Sports will do the first live sports broadcast ever from Alcatraz Island. The famous island in the San Francisco Bay was formerly a prison and civil war for it. Well, now it serves as a national park and hosts guests on regular tours. With limited electricity on the islands, producers had to use special barges to deliver generators and equipment. Sunday's broadcast will consist of football commentary and include stories on the island's history. And don't forget, you can watch Super Bowl 60 right here on WRL. It's Seattle Seahawks versus... through England Patriots. Kickoff is scheduled for 6.30 p.m. Your time is 4.56 this morning, university dorm fire. An electrical issue destroyed student housing at Shaw University, how this is putting more heat on maintenance issues at the school. Plus, murder trial sentencing. Powerful testimonies reveal new information, including a confession note. What we're expecting today in the case of the Raleigh Mass shooter. Plus autopsy report. New documents are out in connection with the shooting at a North Hills restaurant. Details of that shooting believed to be carried out by a disgruntled employee. Want to sell your home just like that? Snap away the stress and contact sold it in a snap.com. Why deal with the costly repairs and endless showings? Sold it in a snap offers a smarter way. Simply provide a few quick details, schedule an in-home walkthrough with the Jim Allen Group expert, and get your personalized cash offer in a snap. Skip the selling hassles and reach out to sold it in a snap.com today and get your competitive cash offer. That's sold it in a snap.com.