WFIR News Express 12-5-2025

It is Friday, December 5th. I'm Clark Palmer. Here's our top local story. Cruise with the Roanoke City Department of Public Works completed their annual snowed training after Thanksgiving as snow flurries and freezing rain rolled into our area last night. Field operations manager Michael Venable tells WDBJ7, preparing to respond to a winter weather event starts well in advance. Most of the week, really, we've been prepping equipment, getting all of our trucks dressed and ready to use. According to Venable crews, we'll be addressing main roadways as well as the trails, greenways, and neighborhoods. We're going to send some trucks out that use a pre-wet brine system to put a pre-wetted salt down. That helps keep snow and ice from sticking to the roads. We usually address locations like downtown or Central Business District, our bridges, other raised structures that tend to ice and freeze over the first and quickest. Available hopes residents have a winter emergency kit on hand in the event of an accident. A Pentagon Watchdog has issued a report concerning Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and messages he reportedly sent to an unsecure app concerning a U.S. airstrike earlier this year. Virginia's Democratic U.S. senators are now weighing in. SWFIRS. G. Moran reports. The Pentagon report alleges Pete Hegseth risks the safety of U.S. service members by sharing sensitive military information on the signal app. Included on that thread by mistake was a journalist for the Atlantic. Mark Warner is ranking member on the Senate Intelligence Committee. We were striking. against the Houthis in Yemen and Secretary Pete Hegseth gave out all of this information on an unsecure line using his private phone that included not only security officials, but family members. I was outraged in the spring, called for an investigation. Meanwhile, fellow Democratic U.S. Senator Tim Kaine is on the Armed Services Committee. The Inspector General's report was ordered as a result of the Senate Armed Service Committee leadership. They said after the Signalgate story broke in the Atlantic, we need an IG report. Secretary Pete Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the Inspector General. I view that as near-insubordination, refusing to be interviewed by the Inspector General. But I see nothing in that report where he's accepting responsibility for making a grievous error, an error that the IG said exposed the mission and the lives of American troops. Pete Hegseth has insisted that the information transmitted about the Houthi rebels attack plans via signal was not classified. Bernie Moreno, WFIR News. Staying on Capitol Hill, Admiral Frank, Mitch Bradley, who gave the go-ahead for a second strike on an alleged drug-running boat off the coast of Venezuela, with two survivors of the first boat strike in the water, saw the two survivors as legitimate military targets based on the rules for operation, a defense official said.

U.S. Senator Mark Warner got to question Bradley yesterday in a closed-door meeting as ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee beforehand, Warner had this to say. I want to hear under what orders was he operating from Secretary Headstaff. was there not the order to kill them all regardless? I want to hear and see the unedited video. And I want to see if there was a secondary strike, what threat was being posed if you've got folks that are in the water. The double tap has generated a debate over whether the second strike was legal or could potentially constitute a war crime. PC land electronic repair in Blacksburg is offering free assistance to help students displaced due to a recent fire at Fox Ridge Apartments. The store is lending temporary Chromebooks free of cost to students so they can keep up with classes while they recover. The company is providing data recovery services at no charge, inviting those with effective devices to bring them in for help salvaging photos, assignments, and other files. Officials with the town of Rocky Mount say the case involving 15 dead black vultures recently found in town at Dent and Franklin Streets has changed due to the detection of avian flu. The Department of Wildlife Resources says sent test samples to the University of Georgia. Rocky Mount Mayor Holland Purdue with WDBJ7. We're waiting on the reports to come back on the cause of death. And once we know that, we'll know more and we'll update the community with that. We're asking people to stay away from that area for the time being. If it is avian flu, we'll let the public know and let them know what to be cautious of. Anything with a positive result from the preliminary test then gets sent to the National Veterinary Services Lab for confirmation. The Delta Dental Dickens of a Christmas gets underway tonight. For the next three Fridays, downtown Roanoke will be flushed with the spirit of the holidays. WFIRS D. Solomon Breno has that story. For the 43rd year, the streets of downtown Roanoke will be packed with shoppers, carolers, carriage rides, and chestnuts roasting. It's all a part of Dickens of a Christmas. Tina Workman, president and CEO of Downtown Roanoke Incorporate it. It starts at 5.30 with the Holland's ensemble, and then we'll do kind of that kickoff. The tree itself will be lit at 620, and then we'll continue on with Mill Mountain Conservatory after the tree is lit. And then throughout the downtown, you'll find other activities taking place. That's just what's happening tonight. Next Friday is the Roanoke Christmas parade. And the third and final Friday night includes a pet costume contest, a Samores station, and a giant snow slide. The festivities bring lots of visitors to Roanoke. It is one of the largest.

Christmas festivities around here. It is something that is widely supported and loved. It's definitely a holiday tradition. You can find a schedule of events for Dickens of a Christmas at downtown Rowanoke.org. Denise Allen Membrano, WFIR News. That's the latest. You can check back on Monday for our next update. Clark Palmer, WFIR News.