7PM News on WRAL - Tuesday, December 9, 2025

We're following breaking news in Granville County where residents have been asked to shelter in place due to a large investigation, how neighbors describe the tense moments before evacuation. The winter weather has moved on, but freezing temperatures return tonight. How cold it'll be stepping out tomorrow morning and the windy warm up on the way. Awake County Town says it needs more water to support its growth. The solution, taking it from the Cape Fear River. Coming up, the opposition from neighboring cities on that proposal. All right, let's start with what's happening right now here at 7 o'clock. There is a shelter in place that's issued for part of Granville County tonight. We've had Sky 5 over this scene. This is Pine Ridge Road there near Franklin, pretty much all day. And we have seen this heavy law enforcement presence there the entire time, including a SWAT team. You see the heavy armored vehicle rolling in there. WRL's Willie Danley is there live now. Willie, a lot of roads blocked off. One of the most interesting parts is despite us seeing everything from above and you being there on the ground, law enforcement hasn't really given us many. details that said you've been able to talk to some people nearby Yes, Dan, I've spoken to a lot of people who live in this area and just like us, they're wondering what exactly happened on that road. You can see this is Pine Ridge Road. You can see how the fire department have this street blocked off. This road is blocked off in its entirety. I want to take you to some video that Sky Five captured from above and you can get a sense of just how large this scene is. I spoke to one woman who mentioned that she was inside her home when she saw a white pickup truck pull up. After that pickup truck pulled up, She says her street was flooded with police officers. Take a listen to this. They were telling him to drop his gun and get out of the vehicle. He obviously is not complying. Still in a standoff, they said it could take all night. They don't know how long it's going to be. But because he was right in front of my house, cops came to my back door and evacuated me and my baby. She tells me that that subject is barricaded inside of that car. We have reached out to the Granville County Sheriff Department to learn more information about what led up to this. There have been reports that there may have been a shooting that took place. We've reached out asking those questions and we're going to get some answers. Willie Danily, WRL News, Grandville County. All right, Willie, Brian Schrader here at the WRA Live Center and all new at 7 following two developing stories right now. First of all, a crash on I-40 eastbound in southeast Raleigh. This is the camera at Rockquarie Road. We have an overturned vehicle here. Reports indicate that people are out of that vehicle. No reports about any serious injuries at this point, but traffic is down to just a couple of right lanes. And we are seeing some pretty heavy backups leaving Hammond Road heading out toward that Rock Quarry Road interchange. Also, tonight, we are...

tracking school closings and delays. The only district that is closed in our area for tomorrow is Mecklenburg County, Virginia schools. All new, we have learned that Granville County schools will be on a two-hour delay for tomorrow. And those other counties that you see in orange there in our border areas, they are also going to have delays for school. Tomorrow concerns about icy spots remaining in some of those shaded areas, especially also on bridges in our border counties tomorrow. All right, Brian, yeah, the roads are wet. Temperature is dropping, and we can see some freezing in some areas overnight. Not going to be quite as cold as we saw last night, but still chilly out there, Kat. Right. It's not going to be as cold, and there's not as much moisture left over to freeze in the first place. And so the threat is more limited outside tonight. Be careful as you travel on bridges, though, especially toward daybreak. Still a hard freeze in our northern counties, 26 and Roxborough, 27, South Hill and Rocky Mountain. Not a hard freeze, though, in the triangle, 30 for the low. 30 in Fayetteville tonight. The snow totals that we saw yesterday where you've got the darker shades of blue up here. That's the area where we saw the most melting today because the most snow fell there. And because of that, that's where there could still be some shady spots that get a little slick in the morning. Take it easy. Just know most of our cameras show roads are pretty dry out there tonight. So this is not going to be a widespread threat for us. And at this hour, road temperatures are still above freezing. If you need to run a quick errand, Dan. Thank you to Kat. And look, we are an area that is growing, and that means a whole lot of development out there. It is time for a developing story. Tonight, we are talking about Fuque Wave Arena, a town that is nearly tripled in size since 2010. A greater number of people means a greater need for infrastructure, the basics, the roads, the power lines, the sewers, and the water. Fukuave Arena needs more water, and they want to get it from the Cape Fear River. And we are talking about millions of gallons per day. The problem is, They're facing some pushback from people downstream. WRO's Heidi Kirk joining us live from Raleigh. We're a meeting about this just wrapped up. Heidi, walk us through the conversation there tonight. Well, Dan, my main takeaway here is a lot of people care about this proposal. In fact, you can see people stepping out of this meeting behind me literally as we speak. It was nearly a packed room, and it's one of several meetings that have gone on all about this. Now, go ahead and take a look at your screen. This is the root of that proposal. This is some video of the Cape Fear River, and it's a resource that a lot of people across our region really care about. Now, officials say the town's current water supply would be able to meet the demands, would not be able to meet the demands in the future. future. So they want to take it from here, the Cape Fear River. But here tonight, people shared concerns that it could have an impact on growth in other downstream communities. Now, Fue Wave Arena wants to take more than 6 million gallons a day to meet the needs. Before the meeting, we talked to Fayetteville's mayor Mitch Colvin, who says his city could not afford the impacts of that much water being taken out every day without its return. He says it could lead to higher treatment costs that could slow the city's own development. We want to support our neighbors, but the responsible thing to do would be to return that water back to our community so that we can use it in the future.

Now, we did send an email to the town asking if they might consider a plan going forward in which they might be able to return some of that water. So far, we have not heard back. It's worth noting there is going to be another public hearing in Chatham County on Thursday. Of course, we will continue to follow this issue very closely and let you know what the decision is going forward. Heidi Kirk, WRL News, live in downtown Raleigh. All right. Thank you for the update. Heidi, now we should say what Fuqua Verena is looking to do here, this. inner basin transfer is something that we have seen in our area before. All right, it's not novel. In 2015, Kerry and Apex petition to withdraw more water from the Cape Fear Basin. They wanted an increase of 9 million gallons a day, a good bit more than what Fukuave Arena is asking for today. The same thing happened then. Fayetteville didn't like this idea, and they opposed it. They filed a lawsuit to stop it. In 2018, both sides did come to an agreement. Kerry and Apex had to treat and then return a big chunk of the wastewater back into the Cape Fear Basin. making sure that Fayetteville didn't lose too much water. So it should come as no surprise that Fayetteville is once again sounding the alarm when this sort of thing comes up. The question is, will Fuqua Verena make a similar deal like what Kerry and Apex did? And it could be a few years before we find out. All right. So stop me if you've heard this one before. The Lumbie tribe could get federal recognition this year. We seem to say that every single year. And then every year that effort fails. But this time around is different. The Lumbie could get that federal recognition and all those federal dollars that come with it and all before the new year. How is that possible? And why did it take so long? We're going to talk about that after the break, okay? And it's chilly out there tonight, but the attention shifts to the wind tomorrow. I'm going to break down when we'll see the windiest part of the day coming up. Tribe could get federal recognition by the end of the week. Seriously, it could happen that fast, and that is a big deal, considering the tribe out of Southeast North Carolina has been fighting for it for the past 137 years. Here is a quick timeline of that. North Carolina gave the Lumby tribe state recognition back in 1885. And between 1888 and 1933, the tribe got Congress to consider federal recognition eight different times, but they all stalled or failed. In 1956, Congress passed a bill acknowledging the tribe, but it didn't come with any of the benefits like the funding for health care and education and things like that. So the tribe kept fighting. Since 1999, Congress has considered full federal recognition for the Lumby 29.

You see, this opposition is a big reason that the Lumby's attempts have failed so many times over the years. Other tribes, just like the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, argue that the Lumby tribe, quote, has not met the historical or legal standards required of sovereign tribal nations. And you know what? They aren't wrong. Now, for decades, the path to federal recognition and those all-important federal dollars that come with it was through the Office of Federal Acknowledgement, and this is a rigorous process. And the Lumby tribe checks many of the boxes, but not all of them. The Lumby say they're descended from some combination. of several different tribes. They've also gone by several different names since 1885, the Croatan, the Indians of Robeson County, the Cherokee Indians of Robeson County. It was until 1953 that they finally settled on Lumby. This is why the Lumby have been taking their case directly to Congress. They want lawmakers to make an exception for them, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians don't like or want that exception. Their statement continues saying it risks tying tribal identity to unrelated negotiations. Adding the standing of all federally acknowledged tribal nations becomes more vulnerable to political shifts rather than being anchored in history and law. And it does make sense when you put it that way. The thing is, Congress has made exceptions before. One of the most recent ones was just right in 2019. Lawmakers approved the federal recognition of the Little Shell tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana. So why them and not the Lombie? Well, money. That tribe in Montana only has like 6,000 members. The Lombie tribe has around 60,000 members, which is a lot for an American Indian tribe. There are 574 federally recognized tribes in the U.S. all get a share of billions of dollars in federal funding. About 40% of those tribes actually are in Alaska, and they are made up of about 100,000 people. So that means at 60,000, the Lombie tribe would get a pretty big slice of the pie. That's money that helps pay for public safety and social services and education, but that's not all. Recognized tribes also get lots of control over what they do with their land. For instance, North Carolina law doesn't allow cancinos, does it? But we do have tribal-run casinos, run by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Kataba Indian Nation. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians also sells recreational marijuana. Can't do that in the rest of the state. The state won't even pass medical marijuana. So you add up the Lumby now into that mix and the other tribes, they get hit with significant competition in both industries. And that's why the Lumby have been at this for so long. It's not just the history and the law and the politics, it's the money.

The House plans to vote on the defense budget with the Lumby recognition tucked inside tomorrow, and we will, of course, let you know what happens. Tell me what you think about this story. Send us an email. 7 p.m. at w.a.l.com. Do you support the Lumby getting their federal recognition? Do you side with some of the other tribes and what they're saying? What part of this story do you want to know more about? Tell me what's on your mind, and we will go in depth. Katz. Well, gather up those Christmas decorations and make sure that you really have them secured for the day tomorrow. It's going to be windy outside, especially the inflatables. If you can put something heavy on them while they're deflated tomorrow morning, that may be the way to go. We're looking at the potential for winds to gust 30 to 35 miles per hour. If you do have any other lightweight decorations that may topple over, consider staking them into the ground, if at all possible. During the day, we're looking at winds steady around 15 miles per hour. hour to 20 miles per hour, gusting higher and the peak wind gusts are going to come midday into the afternoon hours. Your school day, and yes, it's back, the school day planner for the kids tomorrow morning. 8 a.m. is 36 and the triangle already above freezing. 10 a.m. 42 by lunchtime, still just 49 on the cool side, but definitely warmer than it was out there today. Highs reached the low to mid 50s with a bit more cloud cover moving back in during the day tomorrow. 54 is what we're going with for the high in the triangle, 57 in Fayetteville, just 51 in Roxborough and South Hill. Still a jump in temperatures compared to what we saw out there today. And the coast could get up into the upper 50s to lower 60s for the southern beaches. Now notice the green that you see on the map for tomorrow. There could be a couple of sprinkles, maybe even a few flurries late tomorrow evening, mainly for the northern mountains. This is going to come with a cold front. The cold front gets here, but there's not enough moisture for us to see anything out of it. except a wind direction shift to cool us back down. The energy staying to our north along with the jet stream flow the next couple of days, and that means not a lot of hope. If you need some more rain, we aren't looking at really any measurable rain over the next five days. We've got a 20% chance on Friday, and we did take out rain chances on Sunday. We need the rain, a moderate drought in place for almost all of our viewing area here in tan. The two exceptions, a sliver of Hoke County. as well as Mecklenburg County, Virginia in our viewing area, and we're abnormally dry at the North Carolina coast. For tonight, still a hard freeze for Roxborough, Lewisburg, Rocky Mount, South Hill, Roanoke Rapids, make sure that you take it slow on bridges tomorrow morning. And just know, even though there isn't a lot of moisture left, any wet spots that you see on the roads in the morning in our northern counties will likely be frozen in the form of black ice. We'll let you know if there are any issues in our northern counties on our morning news starting at 430. AM tomorrow. So check in for an update. 30 degrees in Durham and Raleigh tonight. 28 in Wilson, 29 for Smithfield and Goldsboro, 28 in Sanford. Here's your seven-day forecast. We are looking at temperatures bouncing back, but it's only temporary. Just one day tomorrow. 54 degrees are forecast high. And then we drop down to 47 again Thursday going up a little bit this weekend. Check this out, though. The lows starting Sunday night, the first night of Hanukkah, 22 degrees. 24 by next Tuesday morning. It is really going to get cold out there again. No real warm-ups in sight to thaw us out. I am excited to see the sun return, at least. It's been a while. The past couple of days have been kind of funny because they've been met with cheers and jeers in the Haggerty household. They cancel school. The kids applaud, and my wife and I are like, oh, my goodness, what are we going to do? So it's nice to see at least some kids.

Back to normal schedule tomorrow. I got to pull out the bus planner. I did it before schools even announced today. I looked at Mike. I was like, I think we're good to use this again. Sounds good. Thank you to Kat. Hey, we are going to be back with a heck of a story. There's a man whose life was saved, and now he seeks to save lives. He has cystic fibrosis. And when he was a kid, the doctors, they didn't think he'd live to graduate college. Well, he did. And now he's making sure others with the disease get to do the same. It's our one last thing after the break. Tonight's one last thing is about a man who doctors said wouldn't live past 18. Not only did he defy those expectations, he's helping thousands of other people just like him, and he's inviting you to do the same. Pete Proimos was born with cystic fibrosis. It's a disease that can clog the lungs and pancreas, making it hard to breathe or leading to malnutrition. Advances in science have helped Pete to extend his life. He's had a great career. He's growing his family here in Raleigh. And has three beautiful kids, as you can see in these pictures. But he knows how hard it can be others, it can be for others with CF. People with cystic fibrosis don't really have a support network. We were quietly told not to have a future. So because of that, we didn't go to college. We didn't try to get a career. Time was up constantly. Even though it was extended, it was extended just a few short years. So now he is giving back. Pete started the Philotimo Foundation two years ago. And in that short time, the foundation has covered costs for more than 10,000 patients at 50 hospitals across the country. And that is not all. They need to somehow get in front of the burden of constantly getting sick and constantly getting hospitalized to feel better. So we're there for that. It could be anything from rent to utility payments to helping someone fix their broken car and get to work. So you're wondering, what can I do if you're inspired by the work that he is doing? This weekend, coming up, the Raleigh-based Foundation is going to be holding a lung run, and it's going to raise awareness about the work that they are doing and helping to raise some of that money for the things he was just mentioning. The event is happening Sunday at Fenton in Kerry, starting at 9 a.m. A very popular place. You can go over and check it out. You can run a mile. You can actually run a full marathon that day. If you'd like, we have some information about the event on our website, w.a.l.com. So if you are curious, you're looking for something fun to do this weekend and to give back, hop online and check it out. Thanks for making W.R.A.L. Your choice for local news. Have a fantastic evening.