6AM News on WRAL - Wednesday, October 1, 2025

North Carolina football is back. Join High School OT Saturday, August 8th for the 2026 High School OT Jamboree at First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park. Watch some of the state's top programs hit the field, including Wilson Hunt, Union Pines, J.H. Rose, Rollsville, Southeast Raleigh, Wake Forest, Cardinal Gibbons, Millbrook, Southern Durham, and Middle Creek. Bill Gates open at 3 p.m., J.V. kicks off at 4. Farcity action starts at 5. Get your tickets now at high. School OT.com. Now, breaking news from WRAL, coverage you can count on. Right now at 6. Breaking News, a deadly shooting in Durham. Police are at the senior Holloway Street. This is a live look from the WRL breaking news tracker of what we know about the victim and the investigation. And our two hurricanes are still sitting off the coast of the United States. We continue to pull away. We're dealing with cloud cover this morning. I'll show you what you'll see as you're headed out the door. And protests on campus. UNC students are gathering today in support of a professor put on leave. The accusations against him and the concerns over free speech. Good morning, everyone. Great to have you with us at 6 o'clock. Welcome to your Wednesday, and it's a new month. It's October 1st, and it's finally going to feel like fall. I'm Renee Chu. And I'm Michelle McConaughey. Yeah, finally. I think we're finally going to see some of that fall weather. Hopefully meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner now in the W.R.E.L. Severe Weather Center are still talking about those two storms, Melda and Alberta. We are. And so they're both still hurricanes. And Berto is likely to lose most of its tropical characteristics for today. But Imelda is likely to move right over Bermuda as a category two storm. Of course, both of those continue to move well away from us today. There's still maybe some coastal impacts, which we'll go over in a little bit. Cloudy skies this morning and a few sprinkles down around Harnock County and Wayne County. We're seeing a little bit of light rain popping up. It's a 20% chance up until mid morning. And then after that, we should be nice and dry. We may see some grass. gradual clearing this afternoon, but the clouds are, for the most part, going to hang around until we get into the evening. They may thin a bit, but I don't think we're going to see, you know, huge holes in the clouds yet today. At Fenton and Kerry, we have cloudy skies, but a comfortable dewpoint. It's dropped down to 56, and our temperature is 55. So it feels good as you're heading out the door this morning and a comfortable mid to upper 70s for highs this afternoon. Once we get into the day tomorrow, we're going to see cooler air moving in. I'm going to show you some nice crisp mornings in our forecast. Look forward to Elizabeth at 601. Hey, rather quiet start to your morning. Commuter, here's a live look at Wade Avenue. The westbound lanes moving away from us, but you can see a stalled tractor trailer. They are on the shoulder, but not causing any problems for you this morning. All the major routes coming into Wake County, Raleigh, this morning, just a one minute delay if you're coming in from Wake Forest. Similarly, we're not seeing any delays on any of the major routes heading into Durham as well. With your morning commuter in mind, tune us in on the radio when you head to your car, 101.5. H.D3. Ken, thank you. We're following breaking news. Durham police are at the scene of a deadly shooting this morning. Police say it happened just before midnight on Lathrop Street near Holloway Street. That's where we find Ali Kalibar in the W.O.R. Breaking News Tracker. And Ali, police are still trying to piece together what happened.

Just within the past five minutes, Renee, we've seen forensics and pull out a metal detector and they're scanning the front yard. You might be able to see it. It's all happening behind those bushes there. Witnesses tell us that they saw the shooting happen in the front porch. Now, take a look at this video from the WRL breaking news tracker. It's a closer look of where this all happened. Durham police say that a man was shot and killed around midnight on Lathrop Street. neighbor, Marcus Henderson. He was in his car, in his driveway when he heard gunfire. He shocked something like this happened so close to him. But I mean, it's getting close and close to my house. Like normally, at least down the street, but you know, like, by the guy, he got out of my car just a little bit sooner. And I could have been, I could have been me, you know, brace your heart, you know, and it's like, like for what? And so he says that they were very surreal moments. Right now, Durham police still investigating. They've been out here for the past six hours. We're working to find out the identity of the person who died as well as what led up to this. We're staying on top of this story. Reporting live in Durham, Allie Cadabar, WRAL News. Allie, thanks. We're trying to learn new information after a vehicle crashed into a mobile home in Wake County overnight. This was the scene off old stage road near Lake Guy Benson from the W.O.R. Breaking News tracker. We can see what looks like some of the damage left behind and the car was being seen loaded onto a tow truck. A neighbor told us the impact was so hard she felt it in her own home and saw the car in her neighbor's bedroom. Really lucky because if it wouldn't be for the tree, that car would go to our house too. Highway Patrol says there were injuries, but it's unclear how badly anyone was hurt. Neighbors tell us they want something to be done to stop these frequent crashes. New this morning, a group of UNC students and faculty plan to rally today in support of a professor. Dwayne Dixon was put on administrative leave after he was accused of advocating for political violence. WRL's Kelsey Coffey is live for us in Chapel Hill this morning with more details on this, Kelsey.

Yes, Michelle, that rally is scheduled to happen here on campus. A little bit later of this afternoon, Dwayne Dixon teaches Asian and Middle Eastern studies here at UNC. Now, organizers say that putting him on administrative leave is suppressing free speech. In a statement, Dixon said the action taken against him goes beyond a single person saying this is an issue that affects all of us. WRL reported on Dixon in the past, including two arrests. at protests. In 2018, he was charged with assaulting someone during the toppling of the Silent Sam statue on UNC's campus. That case was dismissed. A year after that, or rather a year before that, Dixon was accused of carrying a semi-automatic rifle during a protest. Those charges were also dropped. Several websites have tied Dixon to a far left group. Now, the rally should start this afternoon at 1230 here outside the south building. This is where the school's chancellor's office is located. We did reach out to you and see this morning to see if they had a comment on this rally that's scheduled for today. We're still waiting to hear back. Kelsey Coffey, WRL News, life in Chapel Hill. Let's give you a live look at Capitol Hill right now as a government shutdown is officially underway. The first since 2018, lawmakers failed to pass a spending bill before the midnight deadline overnight. Lawmakers are expected to be back in session today to keep discussing a stopgap funding bill. Yesterday, the Senate failed to reach 60 votes on a bill that would have funded the government past the current fiscal year. A temporary bill that would have pushed the deadline back to October 31st. also failed. Federal agencies officially stopped receiving money this morning. In North Carolina, 200 state employees have been furloughed as a result, and we are working to find out how many more people will be impacted here. Thousands of federal workers will stay on the job without pay until a bill is passed. Critical services like those involving public safety will continue. Following the failed Senate vote, Republicans have been quick to call out Democrats for the shutdown on ex-North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis placed the blame on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, accusing Chuck Schumer of playing political games. And the White House has a message on its website, a countdown clock that says zero. Below it reads, quote, Democrats have shut down the government. Democrats are calling on Republicans to the negotiating table. Chuck Schumer is outlined as basic. If they want support from the Democratic side, for God's sake, sit down and let's talk it over at the table as soon as possible. There are plenty of tables in this capital for this purpose. And Democrats are looking for an extension to Affordable Care Act subsidies and money that offsets Medicaid cuts from President Trump's big beautiful bill. It is still unclear how long this shutdown may last. And I'm Laura Levine here in the WRL Live Center. U.S. stock futures now reacting to economic uncertainty. As investors, it really assessed some of the ramifications from the government shutdown. What you're looking now here is that really some of the numbers, most of them sank this morning. We know the Dow Jay Jones fell more than 200 points or 0.5%. S&P futures and NASDAQ, 100 futures declined 0.6% and 0.7 respectively. So experts say that the stock market has typically glided by previous government.

shutdowns and I've actually been able to look at some of that previous data from seven years ago, but this one could be riskier given the slew of economic factors at play. Investors remain concerned about a slowing labor market and inflation risk. Now, this time around, the market is likely to focus really on the link of the shutdown. That's going to be really critical to monitor at this time. We're going to keep you updated and see how they continue to react to this shutdown. And we'll see what happens when the market's open. Thanks, Laura. Cuts to North Carolina's Medicaid program are taking effect today after the deadline for a new state budget came and went. Governor Stein says the lack of a budget leaves the program millions of dollars short. State lawmakers debated two plans to boost Medicaid funding last week, but nothing was approved. The state has warned hospitals and doctors that the funding cuts could now be passed on to them. Political science professor David McClennan says this could mean the difference. of doctors being able to stay in the program? And if that were to happen that there is no restoration of funding to the reimbursement program, that could mean the doctors drop out of the Medicaid program, which means that people have less access. Republican lawmakers have pushed back, saying cuts should not be needed immediately. We have full coverage of the funding fight in the NC Capital section of W.R.L.com. New this morning, a third person has been arrested. In connection to an August shooting in Wake County, the Wake County Sheriff's Office says 19-year-old Raul Castillo Acevedo Jr. has been arrested and charged. 18-year-old Anhello Quarino Rodriguez and 24-year-old Axel Seguyen Diaz were also previously charged. Deputies say the three men shot at multiple cars and homes on Moonglow Drive near Pool Road. This happened back on August 24th. A juvenile was also taken into custody. Deputies say the investigation is still... ongoing. Happening today, Southport's police chief says he plans to release the names of all eight victims in Saturday's shooting. Three people were killed in that shooting and five others were injured. Family members have confirmed one of the victims killed was 64-year-old Joy Rogers who moved to Southport about a year ago. Former U.S. Marine Nigel Edge is facing murder charges in the shooting. Edge is accused of firing from a boat into a crowd at the American Fish Company in Southport. His next court appearance is in two weeks. Oceanside collapsed. Several homes have fallen into the ocean on the outer banks as Hurricane Imelda turns in the Atlantic. Why people who live there say not enough is being done to protect homes?

Crossing a line. That's what the Durham mayor is saying about a threatening letter with powder that was sent to the police chief. The security changes being made after this incident. And our two hurricanes continue to pull away, but we are looking at cloudy skies this morning. I'll let you know when the clouds begin to thin and we have some nice weather back in our forecast. As you get into your car, tune. And here are your winning Mega Millions numbers. 48, 27, 3763. The gold megaball is 14. As you get into your car, tuned to WRL News Plus on your radio and Raleigh on 99.3 FM. In Durham, 96.5 FM and everywhere on 101.5 HD3. North Carolina football is back. Join High School OT Saturday, August 8th for the 2026 High School OT Jamboree at First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park. Watch some of the state's top programs hit the field, including Wilson Hunt, Union Pines, J.H. Rose, Rollsville, Southeast Raleigh, Wake Forest, Cardinal Gibbons, Millbrook, Southern Durham, and Middle Creek. Bill Gates open at 3 p.m., J.V. kicks off at 4. Varsity action starts at 5. Get your tickets now at high. SchoolOT.com. 614. It's dark and boom right now, but it's likely to be a very busy weekend there. We're going to have beautiful weather here. and across the mountains and at the coast as well. We're going to see all the hurricane impacts really starting to die down by the weekend. Take a look at the orange shaded area. It's just cropping up. That's the highest elevations of the mountains where we're starting to see some nice moderate color and some light color in some of the foothills as well. We take a look at where we typically see the first color and that's going to be in the smokies or around Mount Mitchell or Grandfather Mountain. That's the purple shaded area. So this is the time when we tend to see the peak of the leaves in those areas. And then once we. get into the middle of October, we start to see the leaves really peeking around Boone and toward the end of the month that's closer to around the Asheville area. So good time to head up to the mountains. I'm going to talk about our pretty weekend here coming up. Ken? Rather than traffic every 10 minutes, Elizabeth. Take a live look at I-40 and Carreutown Boulevard. Traffic flowing nicely in all directions, even though traffic is beginning to pick up just a little bit. Coming in from Garner, Johnson County, Highway 36 to the Beltline, no delays. Also, that's southern loop of the belt. deadline delay free as well. The Northern Loop is part of your morning commute this morning, clear sailing all the way from the I-87-440 interchange over the Wade Avenue, free of congestion at this hour. Take a look at this. Going, going, going, gone. High Surf in Buxton claimed five homes in 45 minutes yesterday, and officials say it could happen again today. House number five. One, two.

Buxton resident Brian Harris sent us this video. He says he is worried things will only get worse over the next few days and months. People who live there now believe that these were the storms, Umberto and Imelda, that will reshape the town forever. 17 homes on the Outer Banks have collapsed into the ocean in the last five years. Residents say this could have been prevented. It just wiped out 40 years of the ocean fire. This is the time something's got to be done. I mean, they can't keep kicking this can down the road. And this is new video just into our newsroom this morning of the Buxton area. And looking beyond the debris, you can see some of the homes that could be the next to go as high winds and surf continue today. Dare County officials say tons of new sand will be brought in sometime next year to replace some of the beach lost to Imelda, Umberto, Hurricane Aaron, and other storms. Investigators are trying to track down who sent hate mail to the head of Durham's police department. Chief Patrice Andrews received a letter filled with racial slurs and a powder. Investigators determined the powder was harmless. Police say the threats and racial slurs in the letter were directed at Andrews. The threats come about two weeks after Andrews posted about the response to Charlie Kirk's death on her personal Facebook page. She shared that she was upset with some people's comments about Kirk because because she believed some of his commentary was offensive. Durham Mayor Leo Williams supported Andrew's right to free speech. He says these threats are different. It did cross the line. This is a threat. This is a threat. And we will find them. We will do everything we can to find them. And the incident has prompted Mayor Williams to change their own operations in his office. They will no longer open letters with no return address. Growth is continuing to reshape every part of Wake County from our schools to our emergency services. That was a message from county leaders last night during the annual state of the county address. Wake County Board Chair Susan Evans says the county is making major investments to keep up with growth. That includes new fire stations, raises for some county employees, and more affordable housing. But Evans says the county's foster system remains one of its biggest challenges. with children in some cases living in county offices. I am now in the WRL Severe Weather Center with meteorologist Elizabeth Carter. Most of the rain from Amelda has left, but we're still seeing a couple sprinkles. And we still have some lingering cloud cover. And with those clouds, there may be a sprinkler or two. We're seeing a tiny little shower here and parts of Harnock County and Mike Johnston County and down around Wayne County. I think most of what we'll see this morning will be in our southern counties and it will be very light. So nothing big that you'll have to worry about during the morning commute. Definitely cloudy everywhere this morning. But as we head into the afternoon, we'll likely at least.

see the clouds thinning. I'm not promising that we'll clear a whole lot. We may have a few holes in the clouds, but we're still going to hang on to a good bit of the cloud cover, it looks like. It'll also be a bit breezy. Our winds are coming out of the north-northeast at around 5 to 10 miles per hour this morning, up to 13 in Fayetteville. And we'll have some gusts this afternoon similar to yesterday at around 20 miles per hour. That'll probably kick up closer to lunchtime and last until around sunset or so. Okay, so more impacts along the coast from Berto, some High surf still, the potential for some coastal flooding and gale warning too, which means we'll see gust of 35 to maybe 50 miles per hour. Both of these storms are moving away. Imelda is likely to move right over Bermuda as a Category 2 storm, but Umberto is likely to transition just to a regular low and no longer a hurricane as we get through the day today. You can see the path of both of those. Cat 2 moving over Bermuda. And notice the path doesn't go anywhere on Bermito. That's because it is no longer going to be a tropical city. system. Still, we'll have a gale warning along the coast today, so winds gusting 40 to 50 miles per hour, rip current danger, a high surf advisory, and the potential for some flooding. Of course, yesterday there were five houses that fell into the ocean in the community of Buxton. So we may still see some minor inundation, meaning that we'll have maybe some ocean overwash. And they've closed parts of Highway 12 as well. We're going to change things up for us as we head into the weekend. Look at the cool temperatures that settle in for us Thursday and Friday. blue shaded areas, and then potentially a warm up after that. So looking beautiful for us, looking at low 70s, some chilly mornings, but a real pretty weekend. We're going to see high temperatures over the weekend, likely close to 80 degrees with lots of sunshine out there. Lots of festivals happening, and the weather will be great for that, including wide open music in downtown rally. Your daughter will be performing, looking forward to that. So listen, comfortable start to your morning commute as well. Here's a live look at I-40 Lake Wheel of Road, the Westbound. lane coming toward us this morning, really flowing nicely in all directions. And that's really indicative of all the major routes coming into Raleigh and Wake County this morning. Just a one minute delay if you're coming in from Nightdale. We've seen a little bit of a slowdown building up in those highway 64 lanes. Westbound coming in from Zebulon, nothing that's going to make you late. Similarly, in Durham, very little to no delays heading that way as well. You're getting ready to head into the car. Tune. It's in on the radio 101.5 HD3. Thanks, Ken. Budget cuts. Jobs could be in jeopardy and Rocky Mount as the city deals with the financial crisis. Why a former fire chief says some of the changes could have a lasting effect. And car seat integrity. Five on your side explains when it's safe to keep using a car seat after a crash and when they need to be replaced. If you see breaking news, have a story tip or take video or pictures of the weather where you are, please report it to us. Go to www.com report it to send your video pictures or tip to our news team.

North Carolina football is back. Join High School OT Saturday, August 8th for the 2026 High School OT Jamboree at First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed 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., J.V. kicks off at 4. Varsity action starts at 5. Get your tickets now at high. Rocky Mouth's former fire chief is voicing concerns about plans to cut up to 7% of positions in the city's police and fire departments. The cuts are being suggested as the city tries to work through a budget crisis. Former fire chief Keith Harris says cutting public safety jobs regardless of rank can have lasting effects. They are the people responsible that are backing up and holding up these public safety professionals. To cut them, it can have serious consequences in the level of service that's conducted here. Spokesperson for the city of Rocky Mount says these layoffs could include vacancies that won't be filled, non-sworn positions, or civilian jobs. A final decision on possible layoffs is expected in the coming weeks. This What's Trending Report, sponsored by Rug and Home. A milestone birthday for a show business legend and Dwayne the Rock Johnson's newest film. Yeah, Ken Smith is here now with what's trending, Ken. Yeah, Michelle and Renee, let's start with that legendary actress herself, Julie Andrews, turning 90 years old today. Andrews rose to fame on Broadway in My Fair Lady and Camelot. She made her big screen debut with Mary Poppins. Of course, she's best known also for those films. One of my favorites, The Sound of Music, in addition to the Princess Diaries. Classics. Yeah. Everybody loves the sound of music. She's also the narrator of Bridgerton, the voice of Lady Missedown, yeah. What a blessing to, you know, have such a long career, and she's still doing work at age 90. Happy birthday to her. Amazing. Yeah, she looks amazing. Yeah. So your eyes are not deceiving you. Wrestler-turned movie star Dwayne the Rock Johnson taking on mixed martial arts in the Smashing Machine movie. It's a drama based on the true story of UFC fighter Mark Kerr. Yeah, and Emily Blunt acting alongside him there. But the transformation is what they keep talking about, that Dwayne had to go through. Obviously, probably some prosthetics here and there. But, yeah, it's pretty crazy to see the transformation. This A-24 film hits theaters this weekend. I think it's going to be a good one. Yeah. Thanks, Ken. Well, coming up for us, a deadly shooting, a live look at an active scene in Durham this morning. Forensics teams out after a man was shot and killed. What investigators know at this hour? Teacher on leave. UNC Chapel Hill students are planning to protest in support of a professor today. The accusations against him and the concerns over free speech.

And no steady to heavy rain this morning. Just a few sprinkles possible early on. I'll let you know if our skies will start to clear today or if we'll have to wait until tomorrow. 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., J.V. kicks off at 4. Varsity action starts at 5. Get your tickets now at high. school ot.com.