8AM News on WRAL - Thursday, July 30, 2026

crashes popped up in the system. So I'll look at that as well. And then head southbound on Highway 1 from Wake Forest. We have a seven-minute delay. You can tune us into the radio 101.5 HD3. Breaking news. An update now, RDU says security wait times are back to normal levels after there were long lines earlier this morning because TSA screening lines went down. Ali Kalibar is inside terminal two in the WRL breaking news tracker. Ali, some passengers reported waiting in line for up to an hour this morning. Yes, very long wait times. We are seeing those wait times back to normal. As you said, Renee, we can see there's little to no lines right here at the security checkpoint. We did just get an update from TSA within the past 15 minutes saying a technician is here working to fix all of the issues. They say that three X-ray screening lanes are down and touchless ID is down as well. TSA says that they are working to get passengers screened for flights as quickly as possible. But earlier this morning around 6, we did hear from a viewer that lines were about 45 minutes to an hour long. And so we are working to get some more updates on this when those issues will be fixed. Of course, we're staying on top of this. Reporting live at RDU, Allicad the Bar, WRAL News. More breaking news this morning. A Wake County man is now facing charges after he's accused of attacking a woman with a machete and pouring gas on her. This happened this morning. The WRL breaking news tracker was on that scene at a mobile home park on Old Home Police Circle and that's near Wendell at around 240 this morning. We did see deputies at EMS crews at that scene. So 19-year-old Charlie Banos Jimenez was arrested. According to an arrest warrant, he threatened to kill the woman. Her condition this morning is unknown. Jimenez as being held without bond. He is set to appear in court this afternoon. The husband of a carry woman missing in Grenada now says he believes there was no foul play involved in her disappearance. Liz Waddell vanished on the Caribbean island more than a week ago. Caitlin Waddell shared the update to the website. find liz.com. The website was created to collect tips in the case and post updates in the investigation. While no file play is suspected, Liz's husband says a missing person's investigation will continue. Investigators are trying to figure out what happened between when she was last seen on surveillance video leaving her Airbnb to when she was spotted swimming in the water right before she vanished. Today we will get an update on our drought conditions across the state, and this will happen after the city of Raleigh announced that it will lift water restrictions come Monday. W.R.S. Kirsten Clark is live at Falls Lake, Falls Lake being Raleigh's primary drinking source. And Kirsten, the lake level has risen more than two feet over the past week.

Yes, Renee, as of Tuesday, Falls Lake had risen to 248 feet. That's the closest it's been in a while to the 251.5 feet at normal level. Now, the water supply storage rose from 66% full last week to 84% full. The lake had not been at that level since mid-April, shortly before Raleigh implemented those stage one water restrictions. Now, this paired with the recent decrease in water use, is enough to trigger a lift in those restrictions. And the chair of the state... drought management advisory council, Klaus Alberton, he says it's a step in the right direction, but still not enough to just end conservation efforts. We're not really out of the drought yet. I mean, everybody's lawns and gardens should be looking pretty good after the last few weeks. But again, Falls Lake, some of the groundwater levels still have some room to improve. Yeah, so definitely still plenty of room left for improvement. The new drought monitor will give us some insight into what conditions are looking like in our area and across the state. We'll bring you the latest information as soon as that drought monitor comes out later this morning. Live at Falls Lake, Kirsten Clark W. REL News. So July has changed the picture, but are we finally turning the corner? Tonight at 6, the W.R. Severe Weather team breaks down where the drought stands now. They break down what's improved and what comes next. Well, in the last 10 minutes now, we have received a new statement from UNC about football general manager Michael Lombardi's administrative leave. The university has confirmed it is in the process of investigating the allegations that led to Lombardi being put on leave. The statement did not elaborate upon those allegations and what those allegations are. So let's bring in WRL's Kelsey Coffee. She's joining us live from campus right now. And Kelsey, we could learn more this morning as the Tar Hills return to the practice field. Yes, Laura, that's what we're hoping. Michael Lombardi, the highest paid GM in college football now on administrative leave. UNC had been silent, but that statement that was just released in the last 10 minutes says that the university is investigating the allegations that led up to this, but the university was clear in saying that it would not comment on the nature of those allegations because this is a personnel issue. So now as the tar heels are expected to. go into their first practice of the season, we could learn more information, speculation about Lombardi's future has been covered nationally. The New York Times, ESPN, and other media outlets all reported the leave is the result of an HR complaint. We are working to independently confirm that. Lombardi's job comes with a $1.5 million price tag a year. WRL Sports investigative reporter Brian Murphy says, while the 26-27 team is ready to take the field, changes with Lombardi could affect next season.

The fall is a very important time for them. If Lombardi does not return for some reason or his leave is extended, you know, there are others in that department that can handle that. But certainly Michael Lombardi is being paid well to be in that position. UNC's Chancellor Lee John Roberts and head football coach Bill Belichick are both expected to address the media this morning. Coach Belichick will be having a news conference within the next 30 minutes so you can watch that on a live stream on WRL.REL.com at 830. Kelsey Coffee, WRL News live in Chapel Hill. Racial profiling accusations. A triangle man is suing the federal government after he was detained during last year's immigration enforcement operation. The DHS response to the video that has been viewed more than nine million times. Anne honoring Brooklyn Carol, how the family of a girl killed by a boat on Harris Lake is now remembering her nearly a year after her death. And our Muggy Meter dropped two levels in the last 24 hours into tolerable, but I would say it feels nice out here. I'll let you know when it starts to creep back up, and we have more rain in our forecast coming up.

813 and it feels wonderful out here on the patio right now. Get outside, take your cup of coffee and sit on the porch if you can, enjoy it as much as you can. Maybe at lunch you can find a cafe with your cup of coffee and an umbrella where it's shady and it'll feel great. Our temperature at lunchtime likely to be at 82 or if you can walk around the block around your building, it should be really, really wonderful. Just try to enjoy this beautiful weather while at last. This is the kind of weather that we'll get into eventually, you know, mid to late September. So a little sneak peak of what early fall. will feel like. Exercise forecast really couldn't be much better. We're starting off in the mid to upper 60s to right around 70 this morning and with the low humidity it feels wonderful. We do climb into the mid 80s for this afternoon and so it will end up feeling pretty warm this afternoon but again with the low humidity things feel just fine. Once we get into the weekend things begin to change we can settle back into a really wet pattern. I'll show you how much more rain is headed our way coming up. Grant. Yeah, so watching that crash off of Morrisville Parkway. Now seeing some delays headed westbound on Morrisville Parkway. So just keep that in mind. We have some delays from a crash there. This is a crash with injury. So still working to learn more information about that. That's going to be pretty close to the Morrisville Elementary School there off of Morrisville Parkway. There's now a nine-minute delay headed south on 87 from Nightdale. We're going to have a check on one of those traffic cameras coming up in just a few minutes. Okay, Grant. Thank you. The Department of Homeland Security is responding to a lawsuit involving a local man. We're talking about Fernando Vazquez here. He's now suing the Trump administration. He argues that he was wrongfully detained during high-profile immigration raids last November. He shared this encounter on TikTok and it has since been viewed 9 million times. DHS, meanwhile, is denying allegations of racial profiling in this case. The 18-year-old says that he was at a landscaping job and carry when he was detained by immigration officers. He is a U.S. citizen and was born in the Triangle. When we spoke to him last year, he said he told officers that he was a citizen and he had his real ID to prove it. I told him from here. And then he also asked me, he was like, but where were you born? I told him that I said where I was born. He said an officer threw out his wallet and stranded him in the woods away from his work site. The ACLU has filed a damages claim against the federal government. It alleges this was racial profiling. In a statement, a DHS spokesperson denied the allegations saying, quote, a person's immigration status makes them a target for enforcement, not their skin color, race, or ethnicity. We did ask for clarification since Vasquez is a U.S. citizen. We have not heard back. The former Rivers Correctional Institution in Hertford County will become a 1,300-bed immigration processing center. The Florida-based geo group says it entered into a five-year agreement with ICE. Immigration advocates urge state leaders not to do this. They point to allegations of mismanagement and abuse at similar facilities nationwide. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul says Republicans are seeking to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress. Anthony Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right more than 100 times during questioning from senators yesterday. The hearing was part of Senator Paul's investigation into the origins of COVID-19. It was expected to be contentious after several years of public clashes between the two men. Dr. Anthony Fauci declined to answer questions to avoid the possibility.

that Republicans could use his testimony to prosecute him for perjury. Senator Paul claims Anthony Fauci lied to Congress and to the public. Anthony Fauci denies that allegation. Frankly, the American people deserve an apology. I hope today Dr. Anthony Fauci will come clean, admit it was a mistake to fund dangerous research in China. Under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution. to refrain from answering your questions. Former President Joe Biden issued a preemptive pardon for Anthony Fauci before leaving office. Paul believes that should have prevented Anthony Fauci from pleading the fifth. This weekend will mark one year since the tragic death of a 10-year-old girl from Apex on Harris Lake. Brooklyn Carol died last August 2nd after a boat hit her while she was swimming. A memorial is now in place over at the Cross Point boat ramp. Brooklyn's loved ones want to make sure her name lives on and that her legacy helps keep others safe in and on the water. Everybody did everything. They could, but was there something more that could have helped? That's an answer we'll never know. And that's an answer that we hope to be able to keep other families from asking themselves. Just two months after Brooklyn's death, the family established the Brooklyn-May Carroll Foundation. They hope to raise money for safety kits that will be put at boat ramps across North Carolina. They are gathering online donations and sponsorships at an upcoming golf tournament. Carrie-based SaaS is celebrating 50 years as a technology leader. In an exclusive interviews, SaaS CEO and founder Jim Goodnight talks about what's next. He says the company uses generative AI to explain its findings and leaves the decision-making to people. When we find a money laundering situation, we will then use AI to explain exactly what we found. We don't use AI to produce answers, but we use it to try to explain the answers. So good night talks about how the company started and why places like Google have studied their workplace culture. You can watch WRL Presents SAS at 50 on WRL.com right now. A new report from the state auditor found North Carolina spent more than $111 million to operate roughly 55 base camps during Hurricane Helene. The report found operating base camps cost a little more than half a million dollars a day. Lodging was around $800 a day and roughly $42 a day on meals for each worker. The auditor's office flagged the meal expenses, saying the cost was based on the anticipated number of people.

rather than actual individual consumption. The state auditor says that amounted to a lack of metrics to track the actual cost of meals. W.R.R.L.'s documentary team traveled to small towns all over Western North Carolina to capture the stories of loss, devastation, hope, and rebirth after the storm. You can watch Haleen, what we lost, what we found on WRL.com. It is 820 now and today will be a very pleasant day for end of July in the middle of the summer. What a gift this will be with our lower humidity. Elizabeth Gardner is tracking how low that will go and also what our temperatures will be like. Elizabeth. It's just really nice out here on the patio right now. We'll turn around and take a peek behind me. You can see all the sunshine and even with the sunshine. We have a northerly wind. Our wind is out of the north at six miles per hour. That is pushing in this nice dry air mask behind the front. came through on Tuesday night. 69 is our temperature. So temperatures are starting to climb a little bit. We're gonna stay nice and comfortable for the next couple of days. But our next weather maker arrives on Sunday. Out of heaven on Saturday, we'll likely have increasing clouds. Temperatures will stay on the mild side. This front is going to bring in much more humidity. We may start to feel it Saturday, but we'll definitely feel like Sunday into Monday. Showers and thunderstorms develop right around the middle of the day. decided to start with Saturday just so you get a sense that Saturday's still going to be fine. More cloud cover Saturday. And notice early afternoon there could be a sprinkler too. I think the chance of any rain on Saturday is low enough that if it were me with outside plans, I wouldn't worry too much about it. But by the time we get to midnight or so, we start to have a better chance of some rain. It doesn't look too widespread for us by 7 a.m. But right there at noon, we really start to see those waves of showers and storms developing. There's 5 p.m. on Sunday. And then this is just going to... continue Monday Tuesday Wednesday maybe even into Thursday so we're going to have another long stretch with a good chance for rain. How much rainfall total? It's actually looking really good. Look at this as much as an inch to two inches for the next seven days. And this doesn't even start until Sunday. We had so much rain a foot of rain in the month of July, which of course was I think a record. I think the most rain that we've ever seen in the month of July. We didn't even have a tropical system. So it looks like that may continue into August, at least over the weekend and into the middle of next week. No intense heat either. Our only day with highs in the 90s will be. tomorrow. All right, something I've mentioned before, just south of Raleigh, we have some delays there. Also on I-87 east of Raleigh heading towards Raleigh. We have some delays headed south. On 87, you can see there are definitely more delays. A lot of folks heading into Raleigh right now for work or whatever else. So again, this isn't at at atypical, but we do have some more delays there. So just keep that in mind for your morning commute. We do have some delays at a nine-minute delay headed south on 87, a six-minute delay headed south on high.

Highway 1 from Wake Forest this morning. From Apex headed north of Highway 1, a two-minute delay, so no big concerns there. East on I-40, not seeing any delays either. And then if you go towards Durham, we have some delays, mainly from Chapel Hill. I'll have to check on this, see if we can look at one of those cameras. Now a 10-minute delay east on I-40. Tunes in the radio, 1-1.5 HD3. Dr. Chatbot, should you trust AI with your health questions? Five on your side explores the growing trend and shares the warnings for trusting AI with your... As you get into your car, tuned to WRL News Plus on your radio in Raleigh on 99.3 FM. In Durham, 96.5 FM and everywhere on 101.5 HD3. Good morning, everyone. The time is 826 here on your Thursday. I'm Laura Levine. Let's head out to meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner out there on the weather patio, Elizabeth. A really nice morning. It really feels great out here. It does. Our humidity has dropped nicely. Our temperatures are comfortable, starting to warm up a little bit, but still, 69 in Raleigh right now, 68 in Roanoke Rapids, 70 in Goldsboro, 71 in Rocky Mount. Outdoor dining today, absolutely, especially in the shade. Our temperature at lunchtime in the low 80s, under an umbrella, you know. or in the shadows, it'll feel great. Dinner time, too. I mean, seven, eight o'clock, temperatures are going to be in the low 80s. And again, if you're in a shady spot, it should feel fantastic. Tomorrow's a little hotter. And then over the weekend, we get into a chance of storms, especially by Sunday, Grant. And check into those drive times. Probably the slowest spot right now is going to be south on 87 from Nightdale, a six-minute delay again. This is not a typical, but we have some delays there. So keep that in mind. Leave a little extra time for your commute this morning. We're heading towards Rale from Nightdale. And then also from Chapel Hill, this is really picked up. I'm going to check on more of our traffic cameras. See if we can get a view of this delay. And if there's a crash there, I'll let you know about it in our next half hour. Now a 14-minute delay headed east on I-40 from Chapel Hill into Durham. Tunes into the radio, 101.5 HD3. The husband of a carry woman missing in Grenada now says he believes there was no foul play involved in her disappearance. Liz Waddell vanished on the Caribbean island over a week ago. While no foul play is suspected, her husband says a missing person's investigation will continue. Happening today, we will get an update on drought conditions across the state. This is happening after the city of Raleigh announced it will be lifting water restrictions on Monday. At Falls Lake, the water supply storage rose from 66% full to 84% full on Tuesday. We have much more news coming up next on Fox 50. Now, breaking news from WRL, coverage you can count on. We are following breaking news. TSA delays at Rdu. This is a live look inside Terminal 2 where some screening lanes are out of service. What TSA is doing to fix the equipment before the next wave of travelers. And a front from a couple of days ago finally has delivered a gorgeous air mask. It feels nice and comfortable out here on the patio. I'll let you know how long that will last.

Plus, no foul play, the husband of a carry mom missing in the Caribbean, gives a new statement about the search why he says he's not giving up hope. And back on the field, UNC will start its football practice today as off-the-field questions about the program, Loom Large, how they are getting ready for the season despite uncertainty about GM Michael Lombardi status. A lot to share with you here in this 8.30 half hour on Fox 50. We thank you for tuning in on this Thursday morning. It's a beautiful Thursday morning. I'm Renee Chu. And I'm Laura Levine. Yes, a nice way to kick off Friday Eve with that drop in humidity. Let's get out to the weather patio with meteorologist Elizabeth Gartner. Our muggy meter dropped two levels from what we saw, say, on Tuesday. Tuesdays a day, of course, that we had really muggy conditions and those strong storms in the evening. It does sit intolerable right now, but it's almost a comfy, and it really feels very pleasant out here. We take a look at the gardens behind us. 69 is our temperature, so it is starting to warm up a little bit as we're getting into the 8 o'clock hour, but our Mike DeWine point is staying very nice at 62. It is 70 in Roxborough, 69 in southern pines, 71 and Rocky Mountain. And even though our temperatures are on. the rise. It's still anywhere from about three to five degrees cooler than this time yesterday. And that along with the drop in humidity is enough to really notice a difference. It will be a warm afternoon. We climb into the mid and upper 80s with dry conditions, but it's still in the shade is going to feel pretty good. I mean, it's going to be on the hot side. But again, low humidity makes such a big difference. Sunday, we're back to a chance of showers and thunderstorms. That trend is likely to continue well into next week with more significant rain in our forecast. I'll show you how much is coming on. way. Coming up, Grant. All right, check it on I-40. This is going to be at NC-54. I want to check on some areas that are close to Chapel Hill because I was seeing on our traffic map. We had some areas of red and it was saying almost a 10 to 15-minute delay. I'm really not seeing a huge delay headed eastbound on I-40. But if I see any changes with that, I'll let you know about it over the next hour or so as we keep giving you more updates on our traffic across the area. You can see everything's looking pretty smooth on I-40 at NC-54 so far this morning. But if you have any reports of the traffic. Backed up there, sent it to report it on WRL.com. There must be something going on in that general area. This is up to 23 minutes now for a delay. So again, I'll have to kind of take a closer look at that. Again, our traffic cameras in this general vicinity were seeing this area of red. Not really seeing a whole lot of traffic, but I'll keep a close eye on it. West I-40 from Wade Avenue, a six-minute delay heading into Durham this morning, but no major concerns there. Heading into Raleigh right now, just a two-minute delay headed northbound from Apex, a six-minute delay headed south from Wake Forest. Tune to send on the radio, 101.5, HD3.

Well, we are minutes away from hearing from UNC head football coach Bill Belichick. He is set to address the press any moment now. And this will be ahead of the second season for him as head coach for the Tar Heels at the beginning of their practice as it begins today. Now, you may recall the first season was disappointing, but it's unclear if he is going to address the Michael Lombardi situation. You may recall, we've been reporting about that. Lombardi was placed on administrative leave. And just this morning, we learned around 755 from the university that there is an investigation. happening and there are allegations as well. Now, in terms of what those are or will, of course, be asking more information as Chancellor Lee John Roberts is set to give a press briefing at 9.30 this morning. So stay with WRIO News because we're going to be listening in on this press briefing starting in just any moment. It will come back to me in maybe, I don't know, 10 minutes from now and we'll try to get you an update. Chris, thank you. Within the last 30 minutes, TSA confirmed multiple screening lines remain down at RDS Terminal 2. This comes after we saw long security lines earlier this morning. Ali Calabar is inside Terminal 2 from the WRL breaking news tracker. And Ali, TSA says there is a technician working to fix those security lanes as soon as possible. Yeah, and hopefully before the next peak time this afternoon. But right now we are seeing little to no lines here at the security checkpoint. We do want to show you, though, this video from the WRAL breaking news tracker showing the longer than normal lines we saw around seven this morning. There's typically little to no lines at that time. TSA says three X-ray screening lanes and touchless ID services are down, causing these backups. Viewers tell us they waited about 45 minutes to an hour to get. get through security around six this morning. We are working to find out when these issues will be fixed, especially if it affects the next peak time. We are also asking why this happened, if there was a technical issue or another issue. Of course, we are keeping you updated. Reporting live at RDU, Alley Cat the Bar, WRAL News. Breaking news. A Wake County man is now facing charges after he's accused of attacking a woman with a machete and pouring gasoline on her this morning. The WRL breaking news tracker was on that scene at a mobile home park on Old Homeplace Circle near Wendell around 2.30 this morning. We saw deputies and EMS crews at that scene. 19-year-old Charlie Banos Jimenez was arrested and according to the search warrant, Jimenez threatened to kill the woman. Her condition this morning is unknown. He is being held without bond. He's set to appear in court this afternoon. The husband of a carrywoman missing in Grenada now says he believes there was no foul play involved in her disappearance. Liz Waddell vanished on the Caribbean island just over a week ago. Kaelin Waddell shared the update to the website, findliz.com. The website was created to collect tips in the case and to post updates in the investigation. While no foul play is suspected, Waddell's husband says a missing person's investigation will continue. Right now, investigators are trying to piece together what happened in the time from when Waddell was last seen on surveillance video, leaving her Airbnb to when she was spotted swimming in the water.

right before she vanished. Today we will get an update on drought conditions across the state. This is the look here at our current drought monitor. And some good news that we can report and have in reporting is that the city of Raleigh announced it will be lifting water restrictions on Monday. So WRL's Kirsten Clark is following this live at Falls Lake and Kirsten, that drought monitor actually was just released in the last few minutes. Yes, it was, Laura. We'll be sure to take a look at that and bring you those updates at 9.30 this morning. But this came in handy for a lot of people this month, an umbrella, right? Because we experienced the wettest rain event in more than a year. It's really a good sign for what's ahead in the future. So when it comes to Falls Lake, the water supply storage rose from 66% full last week to 84% full on Tuesday. The lake had not been at that level since mid-April, shortly before Raleigh implemented. stage one water restrictions. Now this paired with the recent decrease in water use is enough to trigger a lift in those restrictions. An assistant state climatologist Corey Davis, he says we are not in the clear, but the drought monitor should show widespread improvement over the central part of the state. We're not back to normal for the year just yet, but certainly I think when we look back at this drought a year or two from now, we should see July as that turning point. That's when it stopped being exceptional and started being manageable. Yeah, so this is definitely good news for the drought. As you mentioned, that drought monitor came out in just within the last couple minutes here. So we'll take some time to take a look at that and that report back with those improvements coming up at 930. Live at Falls Lake, Kirsten Clark W. REL News. So the month of July has changed the picture, but are we finally turning the corner? Tonight at 6, the W. REL Severe weather team breaks down where the drought stands right now and they explain what's improved and what comes next. Student at Raleigh's Durant Road Elementary School will be back in class today, but not in their normal building. They will get to start the new school year at nearby Abbots Creek Elementary School. That's because Durant Road is one of three Wake County Public Schools where structural problems need to be fixed before students can return to class. Work at Durant Road is scheduled to be completed August 17th. Students at Abbots Creek Elementary School are set to start their school year on the traditional calendar, August 24th. On Capitol Hill, a vote that was scheduled for this morning on Todd Blanche's nomination for Attorney General has been postponed. This was delayed after North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis and Texas Senator John Cornyn brought concerns to the DOJ about the Trump IRS settlement. Both senators have clashed with the president before. Neither is up for re-election in November. Todd Blanche has been acting AG has been serving as acting AG since President Trump fired Pam Bondi. Planch was previously the president's personal attorney. All right, are you feeling lucky? The powerball jackpot is growing once again, and no one matched all six numbers in the last night's drawing. Now the jackpot is up to $707 million. The next drawing is Saturday night, and you can watch it right before WRL News at 11. Health hack or risk? Should you trust AI with your health questions? Five on your side explores the growing trend and shares the warnings for trusting AI with your information. Plus, who pays when a tree comes down in a storm who's responsible for the cleanup and damage? What homeowners need to know after Tuesday night storms?

843 we've been waiting on the new drought monitor all morning long expecting big changes after totaling a foot of rain in July and we've got it so great to see now the red shaded area is extreme drought and it shrunk to a very small part of our viewing area so that is huge also a lot of the severe drought is shrunk as well right through the middle of the viewing area we're back down to moderate drought so this is a huge huge change especially for our viewing area but expected as much rain as we've seen in July live, the drought monitor now finally being able to reflect that. It is a lovely start this morning. Our humidity is down, temperatures are comfortable. Raleigh's at 69, 71 degrees currently in Wilson. Heading out the door just feels lovely. It's a big difference than heading out the door yesterday. That front just hadn't quite pushed away from us far enough yesterday to make it feel really good, but it feels wonderful heading out the door. So it's a great lunch hour to spend some time outside if you have that opportunity. I'm eating dinner outside this afternoon also great and exercise too. try to get it in while our humidity stays low today and tomorrow. Grant? Yeah, some improvements on I-87 this morning. We had some more delays around 6 to an 8-minute delay at various times, set at south on 87. Now only a 2-minute delay from Nightdale this morning. And it's south on Highway 1 from Wake Forest, only a 5-minute delay now. Just some minor delays on I-40. It looks like the worst of the delay is going to be just west of Raleigh along I-40. Tune us in on the radio, 1-1.5 HD3. So I was listening in on head football coach Bill Belichick over at UNC, kind of talking a little bit ahead of the first day of fall practice. Now, right off at the top, one of the people on the communications team with the football team said that they kind of repeated what the university said regarding the Michael Lombardi situation, saying that all staff and coaches are prohibited from talking about that situation regarding the GM. But WRL Sports investigative reporter Brian Murphy did have a chance to ask a question. He asked Belichick. Without Lombardi, did they have to make some kind of adjustments to this coming season? And Belichick responded, quote, we've made a few adjustments, but we are working through the process. So no specific details regarding the investigation into the allegations made against GM Michael Lombardi. But WRL will stay with this story to bring you information as soon as we get it. Still so many questions, Chris, thank you. Well, more people are turning to chat GPT and other AI tools for health questions. The answers are fast and they often sound reassuring and trustworthy. But as five on your sides, Kili Arthur explains, they aren't always accurate.

A survey out shows that 17% of adults use an AI chatbot like chat GPT to deduce complicated health scans or answer medical questions. You may not want to do that, though. First, they may be inaccurate. Second, it may compromise your privacy. AI systems are not bound by the same privacy laws that your doctor's office is. Whatever information you tell a chat bot could be used, sold, or even stolen in a data breach. Use AI as a starting point for information, not for diagnosis or treatment, and keep your personal health information private. If you are going to use an AI chatbot, that's okay. But make sure that you verify that information with a trusted medical source. Keeley Arthur, five hours. your side. This morning we are learning new information about the deadly shooting at a Seattle Food Festival here festival over the weekend community members held a vigil yesterday to honor the victims. Three people were killed including a 19 year old suspect. At least four people were hurt including a toddler. A 15-year-old was arrested at the scene, accused of shooting an untraceable ghost gun into the crowd. Preliminary testing now shows the bullets that killed two bystanders didn't come from the suspect's gun. A third suspect still remains on the run. Investigators believe at least four guns were fired. The co-owners of Holly Christina photography are facing criminal charges. Holly and Christopher Askew are charged with obtaining property by false pretenses. Prosecutors say they took nearly $6,000 for a wedding they never photographed or refunded. It is the first criminal case tied to this business. They had already been sued by the state attorney general after hundreds of couples reported losing money or never receiving their wedding photos. WRL investigates confirmed a new charge filed against a local teen accused of using AI to create sexually explicit images of Wake County girls. We first reported last week that the teen faced nine felony charges. Several parents told us the victims were Wake County students. Now there's a 10th charge of sexual exploitation of a minor filed against the same teenager. This 10th charge wasn't counted at first because of a technicality in the law. Many people across the triangle spent most of the day cleaning up after Tuesday nights severe weather. A headache that often comes with storm cleanup is determining who is responsible when property is damaged. Insurance covers your home and up to $500 for tree removal if a tree hits your house. But if a tree just falls in your yard, you are on the hook. Check your insurance policy, though. Second, if a healthy tree... falls from a neighbor's property onto yours, well, it's your responsibility to clean it up. For example, if your neighbor's tree falls on your house, your insurance pays for the damage. Now, if it was reversed, then it would be your neighbor's responsibility. There is a caveat. If the tree was clearly dead or dying and highly susceptible to tipping over, then the tree's owner is responsible.

So how do you know if a tree in your yard could come down? Well, look for dead branches, cracks, if the tree is leaning more than normal. Also, check the ground. Look for any roots lifting and even mushrooms growing around the base could indicate decay. The BTS appears to object to Grammy category and a look at Michael B. Jim Jordan in the Thomas Crown Affair. David Daniel has more in today's Hollywood Minute. No Grammys for BTS next year. The K-pop Supergroup announced they will not submit music to be considered for the 2027 Grammy Awards. A statement by the group included the hope that music can be heard and loved for what it is rather than being divided by region or language. Last month, the Recording Academy confirmed next year's ceremony will include a new category for Asian pop music performance. And I was surprised how easy it was. But I'm not finished yet. That's what excites me. Here's your first look at Michael B. Jim Jordan in the latest remake of The Thomas Crown Affair. He follows in the fashionable footsteps of Steve McQueen and Pierce Brosnan as a rich businessman turned art thief. Jim Jordan does double duty directing the film as well. The Thomas Crown Affair is due in theaters next March. In Hollywood, I'm David Daniel. All right, switching gears here. We are waking up to some really lovely temperatures this morning, Renee. And not only is it beautiful out there, and it also feels really nice out there. Finally, the muggy meter, the needle moving in the right direction. Meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner taking a look at the drought status and the improvements we're seeing all because of the recent rainfall. Yes, we've had 12 inches over a foot of rain in the month of July. And if you told me that we would see that without a tropical system, I would definitely be skeptical. So many fronts moved through in the month of July. Finally, we started to see the drought monitor respond. The drought monitor is not just based on rainfall totals. It's also based on how much water is in the reservoirs, how much water is in our soil. So there are several elements that go into it. So it's not rainfall solely. So that's why sometimes it can take a very long time to get out of a drought. But great news here. So in red is the extreme drought. And we went from 28% of the state in extreme drought now to just 9% of the state. state only a few slivers left in our viewing area right along the Virginia line and then just a tiny corner of Samson County so much of our viewing area especially right around the triangle has moved from severe to moderate drought so down a level and then you can see that brown that sort of darker brown shaded area that's where we have severe drought so we're not out of it but boy big big changes we went from about 80% severe drought to just 40% of severe drought across the state so good news all around certainly All that rain that we saw over the weekend and the ground of thunderstorms on Tuesday. Of course, continues to help fill up the reservoirs as well. So it's nice and quiet out this morning behind Tuesday night's front. It feels wonderful. A nice drop in our Mike DeWine point down to 62. Our temperature right now is 69. Beautiful sunshine for today. High temperatures will be in the upper 80s to around 90s. So we're not seeing a big cool down, but when you drop the humidity, it really makes it feel pretty nice out. So the Bulls game for this evening should be really lovely. And we're looking at just some nice weather in our forecast. We will see a hive.

90 tomorrow, but the humidity remains low. Our next best chance of rain comes Sunday, but that chance lingers well into next week. Elizabeth, thank you. And before we go to break, here are the winning lottery numbers. We will have another check on weather and traffic coming up next.