Noon News on WRAL - Wednesday, December 17, 2025

from WRL News headquarters in Raleigh, your number one source for local news. WRL News, coverage you can count on. Rain on the way. I'm timing out our rain chances, and when this rain is going to arrive, it will arrive tomorrow. We'll talk about the timing coming up. Breaking news in Durham. Fire tore through the roof of a motel in Durham, the impact on traffic as you head out for lunch. And diving into records, we are learning more about the criminal history of the man involved in a standoff and hostage situation in Chatham County. Thanks for joining us this hour. I'm Renee Chu. Chris Lovinggood has the afternoon off. Our next weather maker is on the way. This one comes with the promise of rain. Meteorologist Amy Wilmuth is in the WRO Severe Weather Center to tell us when the first raindrops could arrive. Amy. Likely tomorrow afternoon, maybe in the morning in our western counties, but we'll get two rounds of this rain. And Renee is right. We need the rain. We're in a drought right now. This is the first round that's going to arrive tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow evening. And then the second round is on the West Coast right now. And that's going to arrive overnight tomorrow night and into early Friday morning. So we'll get. two rounds of rain. Let's talk about the first one here. And through the day today, you'll notice that we'll see more clouds around, a lot of high clouds out there, but it stays dry. Tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock, some showers starting to make their way into the southwestern part of our viewing area. So for the most part, the morning commute is pretty dry, just a small chance for rain. Around lunchtime, some scattered showers will be possible. Make sure to have the umbrella handy. And during the evening commute, we'll have scattered showers as well. This is the first round that will continue into the nighttime hours. The second round will arrive overnight Thursday into Friday morning. We'll take a closer look at that coming up in just a little bit. But it's a 60% chance in the afternoon and evening, an 80% chance tomorrow night. And then our rain chances will drop off as we head toward the weekend. A live look at our studio tower here. And you can see some of those high clouds out there, but it's a pretty nice day. Temperatures are warming up. We're at 50 now in Raleigh, 56 in Rocky Mount, 58 in Fayetteville. High temperatures today climb into the mid-50s. So it's a nice mild afternoon before that rain gets here. And again, we'll take a closer look at when that rain ends and how much we could get coming up. Amy, thank you. Breaking news in Durham this noon where a motel fire blocked traffic for a few hours. Skyfive gave us the first look at the scene at the Super 8 on Guest Road. W.R. Flynn Snyder joins us live on the ground. Flynn, what have you learned in the last half hour? Renee, the scene here has settled down. Firefighters are gone. The Red Cross now on scene, assisting those who have been displaced by this fire. At least 50 firefighters were on scene here earlier. Take a look at this video from Sky Five showing firefighters focusing on a large hole in the roof there of this Super 8 motel on Guest Road in Durham. Officials with the Durham Fire Department tell us the fire did start in a hotel room and was put out in about 25 minutes. Flames got into the walls and attic. space here. Everyone in the hotel was evacuated. The Red Cross is now helping those who have been displaced, including a couple I spoke with who was woken up by firefighters telling them to leave. I just grabbed my coat and I just left out. I didn't, I didn't have time to think of nothing else, but to grab my stuff and we got an infant, so they had to get the baby and come on out.

It's unclear how many people were displaced, although no one can stay here right now because power has been cut to the building. The portion of guest road that was closed for this emergency response has now been back open. Fortunately, though, no reports of any injuries as a result of this fire. Flint Sider, WRL News, live in Durham. New this noon, we are learning more about the criminal history of the man involved in a standoff and hostage situation in Chatham County. 50-year-old Kevin Hammer died in that incident. We are working to learn how he died. W.R.S. Monica, Casey, is live in Chatham County. Monica, what's the latest in this case? Renee, we are still trying to learn if Hammer took his own life or if he was shot by a law enforcement officer yesterday. We also know a deputy with the Chatham County Sheriff's Office was shot in this incident. Senior Deputy Deputy Matthew Mitchell was shot in the arm and the leg. He was transported to a hospital for treatment and we now know he has stable vital signs and is expected to make a full recovery. The Chatham County Sheriff's Office. says they were responding to an armed standoff that escalated into a hostage rescue situation. Deputies went into that home after developing concerns for the hostages safety. Kevin Hammer had pending charges in multiple counties, including drug and driving related charges in Lee County. And most recently in November in Chatham County, he was charged with resisting a public officer, communicating threats. assault with a deadly weapon, and drug and domestic violence-related charges. The Chatham County Sheriff's Office tells us the FBI is leading this investigation. Live in Chatham County, Monica Casey, WRL News. And happening right now in the WRL Live Center happening today, the U.S. Senate expected to vote on a bill to federally recognize North Carolina's Lombie tribe. Now, it has already passed the U.S. House of Representatives with bipartisan support. This is a bill that President Trump has promised to sign. This moment is the closest the tribe has ever been to full federal recognition. They did receive partial recognition back in 1956, and tribe leaders say federal funding would really help boost. health care and economic development. So of course, we are waiting on that vote. As soon as we have that, we'll bring it to you. Michelle, thanks. We want to show you what backed up traffic on NC 540 for about an hour this morning. Maybe you were stuck in this traffic. Sky 5 gave us the first look at the crash. A car wedged underneath a school bus in Holly Springs. And this happened a little before 8 a.m. so the traffic backup was significant. There were no students on the bus when the crash happened. The bus was towed away shortly after 9 a.m.

Traffic paused at RDU International Airport this morning. A truck got stuck under the bridge on International Drive. That's the road that takes you past the UPS and the FedEx facilities. The truck was clearly too tall for the structure. No one was hurt. It took less than an hour to get it out of the space and to reopen the road. FBI agents will be returning to Nash County today as they try to solve a decades-old missing persons case. Agents dredged a creek yesterday where Travis Lynch's car was found last week. He disappeared more than 20 years ago on Christmas Eve. The Nash County Sheriff's Office is working with Highway Patrol to process the vehicle. Agents will be back in Middlesex today for another day of dredging. A special ceremony this morning that could cut down on your wait times at your local DMV. Dozens of new workers graduating from training courses and ready to go to work. W.R.S. Kirsten Clark is live at Nash Community College where that ceremony just wrapped up. And Kirsten, Governor Stein says this is the largest DMV graduating class ever. Oh, yeah, just moments ago, we watched nearly 150 new driver's license examiners up on stage getting their certificate of completion. They were surrounded by family, friends, the governor, as well as Commissioner Paul Tyne. And now they will use their skills to help an agency that an audit has previously deemed underfunded, understaffed, and overworked. Now, I want you to take a look at this video of the graduation here. All of the people you see in gray shirts will be working at DMV offices across the state. Governor Joss Stein was the guest speaker at the graduation. He talked about the mini budget he signed into law two months ago. It loosened DMV rules, allowing more people to renew their driver's licenses online. And since then, nearly 80,000 people have been able to renew or get a license using the online portal. Stein also committed Commissioner Paul Tyne for his involvement in working to improve long lines and wait times at the DMV. We had a chance to speak with Tyne and ask how this edition of new examiners will help. solve years of problems. But we've got lots more work to do. We've got to improve our processes. We've got to improve our website to make it easier for our folks to engage with us. There's all sorts of things that we need to do, but we're up to the challenge.

Now, we've all experienced those lines, those wait times. We had a chance to speak to some of those new examiners as well. And they talked about why they wanted to become examiners. And for many of them, it's because they've had those experiences and they want to use their new skills to help others. Live in Nash County, Kirsten Clark, W. RAL News. New at noon, UNC Health will expand its footprint in Wake County. State officials approved plans to build two freestanding combination, urgent care, and emergency departments. One will take the space of the former Walgreens at Strickland and Creedmoor Roads in North Raleigh. It's slated to open July 27. The other will be built on Highway 64 and Apex. It's expected to open in July of 2028. The facilities are intended to ease the patient load at UNC Recs. More than 100-Wate County students will soon learn exclusively via remote learning after concerns raised by the town of Kerry and the county fire marshal. Crossroads Flex High School is for students who need more scheduling flexibility. It will move to virtual classes only starting January 5th. The school has been operating in a business zone, and the space can only accommodate 49 students, roughly a third of its enrollment. Next fall, they will move to the Garner Resource Education Center. A handful of Wake County schools would no longer be closed off to new families. The school board is considering a proposal that would drop enrollment caps at four Western Wake Elementary Schools and one high school. Alston Ridge, Holly Grove, Parkside, and Scotts Ridge Elementary Schools, and Heritage High would drop the caps. But significant growth in the Zebulin area is leading system officials to propose a cap there at Zebulin Magnet Elementary. Happening today, NC Central University is expected to vote on a tuition hike that would take effect next fall. The Board of Trustees at NC Central will consider a 3% increase for new students. The Board of Governors gave UNC System Schools permission to consider tuition hikes up to 3% for next fall. It's been one year since the hire no one saw coming. Bill Belichick to UNC. The W. A.R.L. Documentary Unit breaks down how a basketball school hired one of the greatest football coaches of all time in a brand new doc. WRL documentary investigator Kristen Severance will be live on W.R.L. at 4 p.m. to talk about the project and why the stakes are so high. You can watch Coaching Carolina the Belichick Way tomorrow night at 7.30 right here on W.R.E.L. Next at noon, putting together the pieces. The latest economic reports show a snapshot of where the economy stands after the federal shutdown. Is it enough for economists to be optimistic?

Pushing back on property taxes, we have to pay them, but are there ways to make them more predictable? Why lawmakers are tackling that question today? And a coin collector's dream. What's so special about these three pennies and why collectors thought they were worth thousands of dollars each? Coming up next, sea storms moving in with WRL's exclusive Dual Doppler 5,000. Sponsored by the WRAL Weather app. Download now for live radar. We are back here with breaking news right now in the WRA Live Center. New motions were filed in the Alston Thompson case. He is the accused shooter in the Raleigh-Heddingham mass shooting case back in 2022. They were filed by Thompson's legal team to suppress evidence, specifically statements made by Thompson after he was taken into custody. They say he was severely injured with a gunshot wound to his head. The motion said he was in and out of consciousness and heavily medicated. Now, we just got these documents. We are going through them. We will have more information on this coming up at 1230. Michelle, thank you. America is feeling the pinch. Research from Bank of America shows most low and middle income paychecks are not keeping up with inflation. New economic reports paying a more detailed picture of what affordability looks like right now. Amy Kylie reports. These reports come as the president prepares to address the nation tonight. 2026 is going to be a bountiful year. The Trump administration is promising a happy new year for affordability ahead of the president's prime time address tonight. The White House says he'll look back on 2025 and look ahead to 26. Economists and fresh data paint a complicated picture of affordability. A new report shows retail sales were flat between September and October. Affordability is certainly an issue, but when you have higher income earners, it's going to be less sensitive for them. A report out yesterday shows the unemployment rate hit a four-year high last month. We are in this sort of no-hire, no-fire type of market. It also indicates the economy lost 105,000 jobs in October and gained 64,000 last month. Over the last six months, there's been essentially no job growth. And there's three reasons for that. Immigration, Doge. And tariffs. Another part of affordability is the cost of goods. Tomorrow's consumer price index update will give insight into that. Statistics show CBI growth was easing for the first few months of the year. Then what happened is you saw the president come into office and ignite the most inflationary policies in our lifetimes with these tariffs. As for the GDP, as we go into 2026, I'm still pretty optimistic. I'm Mimi Kylie reporting.

And a reminder, you can watch the president's address to the nation tonight at 9 right here on W.R.L. Tonight's address comes just days before the president returns to North Carolina. The White House says President Trump will speak at the Rocky Mount Event Center 6 p.m. on Friday. Rocky Mount is the first congressional district, which was recently redrawn. It has long been represented by Democrats, including currently by Congressman Don Davis. North Carolina is also home to what is expected to be one of the most expensive Senate races in the nation in 2026. Right now, all the major indices are in the red. Let's take a look at the Dow Jay Jones Industrial Average, down 130 points, S&P 500, down 58 points. NASDAQ also triple digit decline, down 300 points as investors tried to process all that latest economic data that has been coming out from October and November. Former special counsel Jack Smith is set to testify before a congressional committee today. Smith will give a closed-door deposition to the House Judiciary Committee. They will discuss his prosecutions of President Donald Trump, both for his alleged mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort and the attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Trump has called for Smith to be prosecuted. Smith has continually denied his work was politically motivated and has said that he is willing to testify publicly. Beautiful skies out there are partly cloudy skies. We go to meteorologist Amy Wilmuth now in the W.R. Severe Weather Center. We had a pretty start and it's starting to get more cloudy now, but it's warm. It is. And look at Fountain Mountains, slowly disappearing, slowly melting away, and this will continue to melt away. And it's probably not going to be there at all once we get to tomorrow, maybe even later on today. Temperatures are in the 50s now. It's 50 in Raleigh. It's 58 right now in Fayetteville, 55, and Goldsboro, 56 in Rocky Mountain. So we're warming it up. Temperatures are anywhere from about 5 to even 13 degrees warmer right now compared to this time yesterday. So if you're out and about, you're running some errands, you don't need the heavy coat this afternoon, mid-50s for highs. And even this evening, it doesn't get super cold. We're in the 40s through the evening with mostly cloudy skies, but it will stay dry. The next weathermaker is headed this way, and we'll have two rounds of much-needed rain. The first round is tomorrow afternoon, tomorrow evening, about a 60% chance for rain. And then the second round will come over. night tomorrow night into early Friday morning. And temperatures will be interesting. We'll have a warm front lift to the north through the day tomorrow and it's still north of us Friday morning. So our high on Friday will likely come very early in the day. Here's a look at both of those weathermakers. This is the first one that's going to impact us tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow evening. This is the second one, the cold front that arrives early Friday morning and brings the second round of some rain. So let's track this hour by hour with future cast. Today is dry.

Renee mentioned we have more clouds around, but you don't have to worry about any rain. Tomorrow morning, it looks like it's a dry start for us tomorrow morning, just a small chance for a shower. At lunchtime, maybe a couple of showers, especially south and west of the triangle. And then by the time we get to 3 o'clock, we'll see more widespread rain, scattered showers possible for the bus ride home for the kids tomorrow afternoon. So make sure they go to school with the rain gear. And for the evening commute, we're considering issuing a weather alert day for tomorrow because it does look like we'll have some wet roads for... the evening commute. Kat Campbell will have more on that today at 4 o'clock, but it certainly looks like it will be a little bit more of a rough evening commute compared to the morning commute tomorrow. And then tomorrow night, this is 11 o'clock, still some scattered showers with that first round of rain. That second round, making its way into the North Carolina Mountains. And this is the cold front that's going to move through very early Friday morning. And by the time we get to 5 a.m., you can see that front making its way into our western counties, scattered showers ahead of it. Maybe an isolated rumble of thunder. I don't expect severe weather, but I wouldn't rule out at least one or two thunderstorms, especially in our eastern communities. By 8 o'clock in the morning, maybe a couple of light showers east of the triangle, but most of that rain will be moving out. And then Friday, the rest of the day, we'll have clearing skies, we'll have a lot of sunshine, temperatures will drop through the day, and it will be breezy. We could have wind gusts anywhere from 30 to 35 miles per hour. So you'll want to secure all of those holiday decorations Thursday before that wind arrives on Friday. I look at how much rain we could get, and keep in mind we're in a drought right now across most of the viewing area. So we need this three quarters of an inch to maybe an inch of rain possible, and that's for Thursday and... into Friday. And then the good news is the rain is gone just in time for the weekend. And we can enjoy the weekend. It'll be pretty nice. 54 Saturday. So that's the cooler of the two days. Lots of sunshine. And then on Sunday, it's even milder, mostly sunny with high temperatures in the low 60s. And then we cool back down into 50s as we head into Monday. Yeah, Thursday rain sounds nice. And then we have a nice weekend ahead. Amy, thank you. Weight County roofing scams. Coming up on our evening news starting at four, the man at the center of this scheme is accused of damaging shingles to create repair work for himself, the sting operation that led to his arrest and what homeowners should know. Then at six, rate cuts and your money. As families budget for gifts, travel, and year-end expenses, a closer look at what the most recent cut and another on the horizon could mean for your finances. Those stories and more coming up. during our evening news. Just say no why Warner Brothers is appealing to shareholders to reject one of its takeover bids. And it's complicated. The on again off again talks that could save a budget airline from flying into the history books.

Warner Brothers is rejecting Paramount's buyout offer. This morning, the company filed a formal response to Paramount's takeover bid. The board said in a letter to shareholders that the plan to sell to Netflix is better for customers. Paramount has made six offers to buy Warner Brothers Discovery over the past 12 weeks. Paramount has insisted its latest offer, quote, delivers superior value. Netflix is increasing its podcast catalog. The streaming service reached a deal with IHeartMedia to become the exclusive streaming source for some of its biggest podcasts. IHartMedia will keep the rights to audio versions. The list includes The Breakfast Club featuring Charlemagne the God and actress Chelsea Handler's Dear Chelsea. Look for the shows on Netflix next year. Southwest Airlines launches a new ticket deal that takes the 6-7 meme to new heights. The airline is now offering $67 flights. There are restrictions, of course. It only applies to select Tuesday and Wednesday flights between January 6th and March 4th for travel within the U.S. Travelers can find the full terms and conditions on Southwest Airlines website. Merger talks may be back on the table for two budget airlines. NBC News is reporting that Spirit Airlines resume talks to merge with Frontier. Back in August, Spirit filed for bankruptcy for the second time in less than a year. The companies have been in on again, off again talks about combining forces since 2022. A combined spirit and frontier would be the nation's fifth largest airline. Property tax relief. Still ahead, details on the effort that could help first-time homebuyers and seniors across our state. And from the hottest toys to heated leashes and boots, I'm Ashley Roe with the top gift picks for your pets this holiday season. Here's a look at the winning North Carolina education lottery numbers. We'll be right back.

News from WRAL. Coverage you can count on. Let's get back to that breaking news about the suspect in the 2022 Raleigh mass shooting. Lawyers for Austin Thompson have filed new motions today calling on a judge to suppress some of the statements their client made. Michelle Monconaghy has been reading through the paperwork. Michelle, what are some of the takeaways from these motions? Yeah, Renee, as you mentioned, and the new motions were filed by his legal team to suppress evidence, specifically statements that Thompson made after he was taken into custody. He was severely injured with a gunshot wound to the front of his head. The motion said that he was in and out of consciousness and heavily medicated. He was also confused about where he was and what day it was. At one point, telling doctors that he was confused and asked if he was on a mission trip to South America. They also say that he was not. read his Miranda or juvenile rights. Now, the trial is set for February. Those are just some of the details that we have been able to go through in the paperwork. Of course, this is something we will be following very closely. We'll have more coming up later this afternoon. Michelle, thanks. If you're a first-time home buyer or a senior, you could get a break on property taxes. Today, a state committee is meeting to consider ways to make that happen. W.R.S. Ellie Calabar explains how this could help more people afford homes in North Carolina. And this new committee's goal is to lower property taxes. Now, both Republicans and Democrats are coming together on this issue. They're talking about how to make housing more affordable by lowering property taxes. But those funds go to cities and counties. So lawmakers are working to find a way to lower property taxes without hurting local government's budgets. WRL's state government reporter Will Doran says the two top areas of focus will be relief for first-time homebuyers and for seniors living on a fixed income. If you only have a set amount of money coming in every month and your property taxes keep going up and up, that's going to make it harder and harder for you to remain in your house. That is a key focus for them. The new committee will be meeting at 10 a.m. WRAL will be there following with updates. Reporting in Raleigh, Alex Padilla Bar, WRL News. Also breaking overnight, a driver is okay after crashing a tractor, crashing a tractor trailer in Rollsville. The crash happened on Lewisburg Road around 2 this morning. Police say the driver had a minor medical issue and lost control. The tractor trailer went off the road and went up an embankment. No one was hurt and there were no impacts to traffic. Two adults and two children are out of their home after fire in Southeast Raleigh. The W.R. Breaking News tracker was there early this morning for the aftermath on Shepard Valley Street. At least 10 fire trucks were responding. The fire damaged the garage. The Raleigh Fire Division Chief says no one was hurt. Investigators are working to find out how the fire started.

Durham-based Smart USA meets today to map out the next steps after the Trump administration canceled the $300 million contract. The company was given hundreds of millions of dollars under the Chips Act to set up a site in Durham and be an innovator in the industry through artificial intelligence. A company spokesperson told us the Commerce Department ended the contract for convenience. We asked the department to elaborate, but we have not. gotten a response we also haven't received a response from the federal government. The state auditor's office is considering whether the town of Kerry needs to be audited. This comes after the resignation of town manager Sean Stiegel. Someone from the auditor's office was in Kerry yesterday to discuss some concerns surrounding Stiegel's resignation. He had been on administrative leave while the town looked into a pattern of overspending. The town has announced plans to hire an outside firm to do a full internal investigation. Making a choice. Our teacher of the week has the credentials to be a college professor, why he is choosing to be at Enloe High School instead. And caught on camera, delivery driver meets porch pirate. What's happening in this surveillance video still ahead. Download the new WRA weather app and plan ahead for severe weather any time. Turn on alerts to get notified about severe weather in your location. It is free wherever you download your apps.

A delivery driver gives new meaning to the word cat burglar. The story behind the surveillance video still ahead. And pamper your pet this holiday season. Live on your side, share some of this year's top picks for the four-legged family members. Retailers watch how America spends its money. And this season, they say we seem to be splitting into two types of shoppers. The Wall Street Journal report says there are people with money to burn and budget conscious shoppers looking for deals. The people left in the middle, the moderate shoppers, are holding out for the best deals and promotions. Everyone appeared to make the most of Black Friday shopping this year. MasterCard data says sales were up more than 4% from last year. Guilty. What are we buying this year? Spending has been strong on clothing, toys, and seasonal items. There have also been big sales increases in luxury items like clothing and accessories. And where are we buying it? online. Adobe Analytics shows online sales between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday jumped 7.7% compared to last year. One way to give back this holiday season is through WRL's annual Coats for the Children campaign. Now through December 31st, we need your help to gather as many coats, hats, and gloves as possible. To find a neighborhood Jiffie Lubb drop off location near you or to make a monetary donation, scan the code right there on your screen. We make it easy for you. This Friday, you can show your support during our annual day of giving. Things kick off during our 6 a.m. news. continues throughout the day with a special at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. right here on W.R.A.L. and the Salvation Army spread warmth and hope. Don't forget your furry four-legged friends this holiday season. Five on your side's Ashley Rowe share some of the top gifts for pets to put on your holiday shopping list. From toys to boots and heated leashes, here are some of this year's top picks for your pets from Consumer Reports. CR says you can make your pet's holiday dreams come true with a budget-friendly ball launcher like the chuck-it. The best thing about this one is you can just scoop up the ball with it, that slimy, nasty ball without touching it with your hands. Keep them fed even when you're not home with this easy-to-use automatic pet feeder. Set-up is really a breeze, and you can even control it using an app on your phone. And this pet safe fountain can help keep your pet hydrated. CR likes that it's small, incredibly quiet, and easy to set up. When it's time for a long winter's nap, your pooch will appreciate this dog bed's egg crate, orthopedic foam base, and the faux fur. For those cold winter walks like we've had this week, CR likes these dog boots.

They repel water so well and they're easy to get on and off. Also, they're super cute. How about a heated dog leash? This rechargeable smart leash features a built-in hand warmer and a power bank to charge your phone. Or if you're loyal to your current leash, you can still keep your hands warm with this waterproof leash mitten with fleece lining. Finally, if you have a truly pampered pet, or one that's older or injured, check out this pet stroller from Cosway. It earns CR's talk pick for being... budget-friendly, sturdy, and easy to assemble and fold. You can find links to these items and other top gift picks from Consumer Reports on WRL.com. Ashley Rowe, five on your side. Amy has a sweet doggie named Hunter. You think Hunter would like any of that stuff? Oh, yeah. I would like the heated leash part, you know, on the cold mornings that we've had. Absolutely, yeah. We're all pampered by temperatures now in the 50s. We'll take that. Aren't you kind of shocked to see nobody out here? That's true. I don't know. Why is it so empty? Right? I don't know. Longleaf golf and family course. It's a great day for golf. I guess everybody's like not playing hooky and they're going to work and they're going to school. Yeah, maybe they'll head out there later this weekend. We have some great weather for the weekend as well. Temperatures are comfortable. It's 53 in Southern Pines over at the golf course right now, 50 right now in Raleigh, 56 and Rocky Mount, 61 now in Clinton. So if you want to get outside and get some fresh air, today is a great day to do it. We do have more clouds around, so it's a little bit gray, but it's comfortable. It's pretty mild. Temperatures will climb into the mid-50s in and around the triangle. Even after work, it's still pretty comfortable. You might want the jacket. We're back down into the upper 40s by about 6 o'clock this evening, but it'll stay dry for the rest of the day today. Tomorrow, we need to get the umbrellas and the rain jackets ready. We have two rounds of rain tomorrow, first in the afternoon and evening, and then another one, overnight Thursday, and into very early Friday morning. Behind the front, the front moves through early Friday morning, and then behind the front, it becomes pretty windy. We could have some gusts up to about 30 miles per hour, and then temperatures are kind of all over the place. Within the next 48 hours, we'll have a... warm front lift to the north ahead of the cold front. So we'll have a warming and then we'll have a cool down as well. And this helps to kind of map all of it out for you. This is Thursday. So tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. It's chilly, but we should be above freezing tomorrow morning. And it's been a while since we've had a morning with above freezing temperatures, upper 30s to low 40s in the morning. And it looks mainly dry for the morning commute, maybe a spotty shower or two, mainly south and west of the triangle. But most of the rain will come later in the day. Around 3, 4 o'clock in the afternoon, scattered showers start to move into the western half of our viewing area. Temperatures are in the 50s and 60s. That warm front will be making its way to the north as we progress through the day tomorrow. By the time we get to 7 o'clock in the evening, scattered showers are with us. I think the evening commute will probably be a little slow tomorrow because we'll have the wet roads and scattered showers. Temperatures will be nice and mild. And then even Friday morning, look at this. This is Friday morning. 5 a.m. 50s and 60s. So here's where the cold front is. So our high temperature Friday likely comes early in the day and then that front moves through, takes the rain with it and temperatures will gradually drop through the day on Friday. So we'll have clearing skies, but it will be cooler in the afternoon Friday compared to what we wake up to what temperatures back in the low to 50s for the most part. Here's a look at potential wind gusts for Friday, anywhere from 20 to 30 mile per hour gusts. So just make sure to secure

all of those outdoor holiday things that you might have in your yard. You don't want them blowing away. It will be a pretty gusty day through the day Friday. Friday night, the winds will settle down. And really the weekend looks nice. We'll have lots of sunshine on Saturday. It will be a little bit cooler behind the front. 54 for the high temperature on Saturday. Sunday, beautiful weather to get outside. We'll officially start the winter season. It's mostly sunny and feeling more like springtime with high temperatures in the low 60s. How ironic that first day of winter. Talk about a pretty penny. The final pennies minted in the U.S. went up for auction last week. What collectors pay to own these pieces of history. First, here's a look at your winning mega millions numbers. We'll be right back. As we wrap things up, here's a look at a few of the headlines we're following today. A new motion filed in the Raleigh mass shooting case. This is coming from the attorney of Austin Thompson, the teenager, accused of killing five people in the Heddingham neighborhood in 2022. Thompson was 15 at the time. His attorney does not want anything Thompson said while hospitalized with injuries to be included in the trial against him. They say he was incoherent and heavily medicated at the time. New details in a fatal standoff and hostage situation in Chatham County. 50-year-old Kevin Hammer died and senior deputy Matthew Mitchell was shot. It's unclear yet if Hammer took his own life or was shot by an officer. Hammer had pending charges in multiple counties charged with rescuing an officer, communicating threats, and assault. Deputy Mitchell is expected to make a full recovery and the hostage was rescued. The FBI is investigating. A Durham Hotel fire forced evacuations and blocked traffic for hours. Sky Five gave us the first look at the scene at the Super 8 on Guest Road when there was a massive response. Durham fire officials say the fire started in a hotel room. Power was out in the entire building. We can't tell you no one was hurt. It's unclear how many people have been displaced. The Red Cross is helping. A twist now on the regular holiday story wherein HOA objects to holiday decorations. This 28-foot inflatable Santa caused a stir in a town north of Boulder, Colorado. The family received a letter from their homeowners association that Santa was too tall for their height rules and they could be fined. That's when neighbors started a Santa's Got to Stay campaign. And guess what? worked the homeowner can keep Santa up