WRAL Newscasts
6AM News on WRAL - Wednesday, July 17, 2024
Kerry, get ready for the exciting new go-carry downtown loop! Enjoy easy access to downtown destinations like downtown Kerry Park, Kerry Regional Library, the Kerry Theatre and more. The loop operates Thursday through Sunday every 25 minutes and it's free to ride. Driving downtown, park at the town hall parking deck and hop on the downtown loop. With the new go-carry app, you can effortlessly plan your trip and track your bus in real-time. The app is free to download and use. Visit go-carry.org to learn more and start your journey today. Now breaking news from WREL, coverage you can count on. Breaking news this morning, two tractor trailer crashes causing backups for morning communers. One is on I-440 in Raleigh where steak sauce spilled all over the road. The other is on I-85 near Hillsborough. And we have the potential for two rounds of severe storms for today and tomorrow. I'll walk you through today's threats coming up. Former rivals of Donald Trump right now showing their support for him at the Republican National Convention. They're backing of the former president in a show of unity ahead of the election. And a push to ban cell phones in Wake County classrooms. Why students say taking them away would do more harm than good. Big debate our cell phones and classrooms and asset, a learning tool or a distraction. Good morning everyone. It is six o'clock. We want to distract you from the heat by showing you this beautiful sunrise to kick off our Wednesday. I'm Renee Chiu. I'm Jeff Ogenea. Thanks for starting your Wednesday with us. I'm getting laser focused on the change that is coming because we can see it. It's in sight now. Amy Wilmeth and the WRS severe weather center. Absolutely a huge pattern flip. We're going from dangerous heat today. The potential for some storms. The heat backs off big time starting Friday. That comes with rounds of rain. We do have this cold front that's headed our way and that's going to stall over the area Friday and that's why we'll have this steady flow of moisture and the potential for storms each and every day for the next seven days. We have a level one risk today. It's from Wake County and points to the north. The biggest threat would be damaging winds. The other threat today, again, a heat advisory, again for the area. The heat index could get up to 108 this afternoon. Our by hour today, not too bad this morning, warm and sticky, but then it gets very hot. 97 the high storms start to arrive by the time we get to the evening commute. A live look at downtown Raleigh. It's an okay start. We're down to 79 now in Raleigh. So temperature is cooling off just a tad in the last hour. We did have a little bit of rain yesterday. There's a lot more to come. I'll have more on how much rain we could get coming up, Ken. Amy at 602, we continue to follow a couple of breaking news a crash on I-85 this morning. That really shut down part of 85 this morning. We'll let you know how to get around that just in about a few minutes. We also have a crash on Wade Avenue and I-440. Again, we have a reporter on that scene. We have a live report coming up and I'll let you know how to navigate that as we head into the morning this morning. But in terms of a big picture, we just want to let you know that all the major routes are delay-free around the triangle this morning, short of those two crashes. We've been following all morning long. Here's a live look at I-40 and Lake Wheeler Road, traffic flowing nicely in both directions. That's been a mess in a couple of places out of the roads. Ken, breaking news this morning too. Tractor trailer crashes are causing backups for the morning commute. On I-85 in Orange County, there's a FedEx truck overturned, right? The median there near U.S. 70. And in Raleigh, a tractor trailer carrying steak sauce spilled on the belt line, leading not just to traffic delays but a big cleanup effort as well. We start there in Raleigh with W.R.S. Laura Levine right there. And Laura, those crews, what a task they have. I guess it's priority A1 to get that cleaned up. Yeah, Cruz here in Raleigh, Jeff, are dealing with a very sticky and slippery situation. We're talking about this. 38,000 pounds of steak sauce and teriyaki sauce spilled on the highways. Take a look at what we're looking at right now. You can see the tractor trailer involved in this accident, flipped on its side down the embankment. We've seen Cruz tossing the remaining jugs that they've had here on the scene onto dumpster trucks. We've also seen those DOT crews driving down the interstate, spraying it with water, working to clear this area. Cruz first got the call just before two o'clock this morning about this accident. I can tell you the Wade Avenue inbound lanes near the on ramp remains closed at this time. I counted about three police officers there blocking that on ramp, making sure that we don't have too much traffic coming this way. But you can see cars are moving in and out of this. Again, a very fluid situation. 38,000 pounds of products spilled on the highway. The good news in all of this, the driver of the tractor trailer, was not injured. In this case, we're told no injuries and it was just evolving this tractor trailer. So right now we are working to learn what may have led this driver to veer off the highway. We do know that on ramp here. If you drove past this area, you know how it winds and it's a really tight curve. So again, we're going to learn more information about what led up to this accident. Still a very fluid situation out here. Laura Levine, WRL news live in Raleigh. Glad no one was injured there. But what a morning on the belt line. We now go to Nick Perlin in the WRL breaking news tracker for another crash. This one on I-85 near Hillsboro. And Nick, we know there was also a car involved in this crash with a FedEx truck. And Renee Cruz has been working to remove that FedEx truck for about five hours now. And because of that, you can see this part of I-85 has been closed off while they've been trying to do that. And I got to tell you, traffic is starting to pile up. And I do want to show you some video from the WRL breaking news tracker to show you what this crash looked like when I first arrived here. And you can see that tractor trailer toppled over into the median and part of it even extending into the southbound lanes. Now we do know from state highway patrol that two vehicles were involved. Obviously that tractor trailer you see and also one other car. We're still trying to learn more about injuries in this crash. But as of now, like I said, we're seeing more and more pile ups here on I-85 northbound. So we're still working to find out when this will finally be reopened because this is going to cause major delays for your morning commute. Once we have more information, I'll be sure to update you. Live in Orange County, Nick Perling, WRL News. And happening right now in the WRL Live Center, a dump truck hit a Burger King on Avon Ferry Road in Raleigh. You can see the damage here right over the drive-through window. The calls came in around 350 this morning. There is some minor damage you can see in this picture here. Nobody was hurt. It is unclear whether this Burger King on Avon Ferry Road will be open today. School leaders in Wake County have picked Shaw University to be the new partner for the school system's leadership academies. The school board still needs state approval to make that official. The Wake Young Men's and Young Women's Leadership Academies don't have a permanent partner right now after a fallout with St. Augustine's University over its accreditation. The board's vote starts the process to fix that, starting in the 2025-26 school year. Students will attend leadership programs at Wake Tech. Until then. Former President Donald Trump's pick for Vice President will speak tonight at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. J.D. Vance appeared alongside Trump once again last night at the convention. Tonight, Vance is expected to formally accept his nomination. In his speech, it is thought he will focus heavily on his personal life story. Vance will then join Trump on the campaign trail for the first time at an event Saturday in Michigan. Two former President Trump's fiercest competitors during the primary season are showing their support of his nomination. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis quickly came back into Trump's fold after suspending his campaign. Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley held out until much more recently. She accepted a last-minute invitation from the RNC to speak at the convention. The party hopes her endorsement of Trump brings in her more moderate supporters. President Trump asked me to speak to this convention in the name of unity. You don't have to agree with Trump 100 percent of the time to vote for him. The second day of the convention focused on rising crime in America. Many of the speakers focused on immigration and border security. Former President Trump will speak tomorrow after he officially accepts the GOP nomination. This morning on today, Savannah Guthrie leads team coverage at the Republican National Convention. She's live in Milwaukee with a look at the biggest moments from the second night and a look ahead to tonight. Today starts at seven right here on W-O-R-E-L. We're working to learn the name of a person who died in a motorcycle crash in Raleigh. This happened just before seven last night. Both sides of Wade Avenue and Glenwood Avenue were closed as police investigated. This is video from the W-R-L breaking news tracker. Police tell us the crash involved two vehicles and a motorcycle and we're working to make calls to learn more about what happened there. Covering Wade County students in Wake County public schools say they need to have their phones in school as a group is pushing for a ban on them. People who want phones, band and classrooms address the Wake County School Board last night. They say phone usage in schools has led to distractions, lower grades, and poor mental health among students. One student who spoke with W-O-R-E-L says phones should be considered more of an asset than a distraction. Taking away students' resources for potential learning is very harmful to students and while you could argue in some perspectives that it can be a detriment or a distraction to students, I would counter that in a way that the more resources students have to better their education, the more they can grow. The school board did not comment publicly on the proposal. The parent who is leading the push says she hopes the board will vote on it soon. The American League is back on top after the midsummer classic. This two-run homer by Jared Duran of the Boston Red Sox put the AL up for good and last night's Major League Baseball all-star game. The American League beat the National League five to three. Duran was named the game's MVP. It's the 10th win in the last 11 all-star games for the AL. The NL's lone win in that stretch came in last year's game. Coming up and what's trending, a look at the big stars who came out on the game's red carpet. Researchers are taking a closer look at the site of the Titanic Shipwreck, the work they're doing there today to learn more about what lies on the ocean floor. Also new details of the timeline of the attempt on former President Donald Trump's life over the weekend, what it is revealing about the actions of the gunman. And I think everybody excited to see a map with blue on it will have cooler temperatures. But that comes with the potential for some flooding. I'll show you when we expect the heaviest rain coming up. As you get into your cartoon to WRL news plus on your radio in Raleigh on 99.3 FM, in Durham 96.5 FM and everywhere on 101.5 HD 3. What's next? At Moss Adams, that question inspires us to help people and their businesses strategically define and claim their future. As one of America's leading accounting, consulting and wealth management firms, our collaborative approach creates solutions for your unique business needs. We leverage industry focus insights with the collective technical resources of our firm to elevate your performance, uncover opportunity and move upward at MossAtoms.com. How dangerous is it to unwrap a burger at 40 miles per hour? More so than you think. In a little over two seconds, your car can travel slightly more than 117 feet, which is the same length as 20 bicycles. Anything that distracts you while driving is dangerous. That's why driving while texting can be deadly too. So put it down, it can wait. Don't drive distracted. Shifting is safe. A message from the Colorado Department of Transportation. Welcome back. I'm meteorologist Amy Wellman with M4 Elizabeth this morning. You're looking live at downtown Raleigh, a little bit of cloud cover and it's already warm and steamy. We're in the 70s for our temperatures and for our viewpoints and that just tells you that it's very sticky outside already. Dog walking forecast. It's better to do it this morning when temperatures aren't too hot. We have dangerous heat again this afternoon. I heat advisory in effect 97, the high. The heat index could get as high as 108. So dangerous heat for today. It backs off a little Thursday. It really backs off as we head into Friday, Saturday and Sunday. That's when high temperatures go into the 80s. But that's going to come with several rounds of showers and storms. I'm going to show you the days when we expect the heaviest rain coming up in just a little bit. Hi, Amy. Having now in the WO traffic, we continue to follow this breaking news that we've been following all morning. A couple of crashes that you see right there on your screen. On the left side of the screen, that's at Wade Avenue at an I-440. The on-ramp to I-440. Eastbound close right now, an overturned tractor trailer that spilled a whole bunch of steak sauce. Right now, we're seeing that traffic is moving along on the belt line. So not really affecting the major route on the belt line this morning, but just that on-ramp to I-440. Eastbound is shut down right now as you try to clear that scene. On the right side of your screen, that's I-80, at that's 85 north there in near Hillsborough, two crashes involving a FedEx truck and a vehicle. Right now, they've got the northbound lanes completely shut down as you continue to work to move that FedEx truck out of the way. I would recommend using highway 70 as an alternate route to avoid that whole area, but then I-85 north. With new information this morning, that's giving us a better idea about how the gunman who shot at former President Donald Trump was able to evade security. Officials say the shooter came to Saturday's rally with a rangefinder, a tool that is similar to small binoculars. It is used by hunters to gauge distance. Since it isn't a weapon, security let him through. Officials think he then got a rifle from his car and they believe he used an air conditioning unit to climb onto a nearby roof outside the security perimeter. Witnesses saw him and alerted police. The shooting started about two minutes later. The opening of UNC's new surgical hospital is being delayed. The more than $420 million hospital in Chapel Hill was supposed to open its doors to patients this month. Hospital officials say a recent burst pipe and significant water leak damaged part of the building's backup electrical system. The hospital is now expected to open in late August. A group of undersea specialists is now examining the wreck of the Titanic at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The organization that owns the salvage rights to the Titanic is leading this excursion. It posted to social media last night the boat arrived at the coordinates. No one is going underwater to visit the wreck. Instead, the team is sending remote vehicles and other technology to the ocean floor. This marks the first mission to the Titanic since the implosion of a submersible vessel last year that killed five people. The start of the 2024 Olympic Games is now only nine days away. This morning on today, Simone Biles sits down exclusively with Hoda Kotby and shares how she's feeling heading into her third Olympic Games. Do you feel like you have something to prove? I always say no, but I would say the only thing I have to prove is to myself that I can get out there and do it again. And what do we think? I think we're gonna get the job done. I feel really confident. Simone Biles with that this morning on today, you can see more of that interview, including how Simone is determined to do things on her terms and how she has her eyes on redemption in Paris. Today starts at seven right here on WRL. Thousands of people remain without power in Toronto after torrential rains caused widespread flooding. Emergency services had to rescue people from stranded vehicles after a series of thunderstorms Tuesday. Nearly four inches of rain fell in just a few hours. That's more that Toronto typically gets in an entire month there. Well, we are dealing with the heat here. It feels like a month. We've been doing that. Amy Wilmoth in the WRL Severe Weather Center with a look right now around town. Yeah, big heat and storm threat for today, but things are all quiet right now this morning. Temperatures are warm. The humidity is high. It is 79 in Durham right now, 76 in Fayetteville. Beautiful sunrise in Raleigh where it's 79 degrees. Your exercise forecast for today. If you exercise outside, you just have to do it very early in the day. It is going to be very hot this afternoon. We do have a heat advisory again. 97 for the high, the heated X 107 108. So dangerous heat today and then storms arrive right during the evening commute. Here's a look at the pattern change. We've been talking about this. We're going from big heat to cooler temperatures because of rain. Low pressure, it's kind of stuck between two areas of high pressure and that's going to bring us a steady flow of moisture from the Gulf and that's going to mean for rounds of rain, but it also means a break in the heat. So there's some pros and cons here. The flood risk for today and this is new. I was showing you this earlier today. We weren't under a flood risk. Now we are. We're in the green today. So a marginal low end risk for flooding today, Thursday that goes into the yellow category, level two out of four, and then Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We're back at a level one risk for flash flooding. So we have the potential for some heavy rain. Look at our rain totals potential day by day and don't focus on the actual number. Just focus Saturday and Sunday. Those are the days when we expect the highest rain amounts. So maybe make some alternate plans for the weekend. We do expect widespread rain in the map form for our forecast rainfall anywhere from two and a half inches to maybe four inches of rain. That's for the next seven days. So it's going to be day by day. We're dealing with waves of showers and storms onto the heat. I mentioned we have a heat advisory again today. We've actually had 12 heat alerts in the last 30 days, whether it's a heat advisory or an excessive heat warning. It's just been so, so hot and I know everybody has done with that and this cold front is going to help us out. It's going to move through as we head into Friday. Kind of stalls over the area over the weekend and that's why we'll have waves of rain. But look at the blue. High temperatures are going to be in the mid eighties by the time we get to Friday. Beautiful weather watcher photos sit in from Tracy and Princeton. These are anti-crepuscular rays. A beautiful shot there. If you want to send us one, just go to WRAL.com. Dangerous heat and storms today. It's still hot with storms tomorrow. We still have storms for the rest of the weekend and next week. But look at those highs. That's nice. Highs back in the eighties, Ken. All right, Amy, we continue to follow some breaking news. A couple of crashes that no doubt will affect your morning commute this morning. This one an 85 northbound involving a tractor trailer involving a FedEx truck and another vehicle. They're working to clear that scene right now and this is what those scenes look like right now. On the left side of the screen, that's the second crash we've been talking about this morning. This is I 440 eastbound. The on ramp is closed right there at Wade Avenue, a tractor rig spilled, steaks off all over that area. They're working to clear that scene and you can see traffic is getting by on the belt line itself. But just remember that I 440 eastbound ramp is closed right now. They detours in that area to help you get around that particular slowdown. On the right side of your screen, that's a crash on I 85 north near Hillsborough involving a FedEx truck and another vehicle. They've been working for the last five hours to clear that FedEx truck. There's one lane of traffic getting through on the shoulder of the road, but for the most part, the main lanes of I 85 north completely shut down. I would recommend using highway 70 as an alternate round that'll help you avoid that mess and get around there this morning. Back in the WRA traffic center, boy, I got to tell you all the major routes, other than the crash that we've been talking about, basically delay free this morning. We'll keep you updated in the next 10 minutes. Ken, thanks. President Joe Biden is back on the campaign trail. The message he's sharing with voters in the key battleground state of Nevada. And that flooding in Toronto we told you about is taking its toll on Drake's mansion. His viral video as floodwater pour in. That's coming up in what's trending. Your heart. It's the only one you have. Fortunately, you also have a choice. Expert cardiologists, talented surgeons, highly skilled specialists, all of whom chose WakeMed. Why? The main reason is the same reason patients choose WakeMed. Everything you need for the best possible care is right here. Learn more at WakeMed.org. WakeMed Heart and Vascular Physicians. Your heart, your choice. Jake, I'm getting worried about how it's taking longer than expected. We've made so many offers and keep losing out. You could really use the JAG advantage. What's the JAG advantage? The Jim Allen Group, number one real estate team in the state since 1996 with the largest inventory of home sites in the triangle, 11,000. And they wrap more than 65 communities. The Jim Allen Group? Oh, I get it. The JAG advantage. Learn how you can score with the Jim Allen Group at the JAG advantage.com. Equal housing opportunity. This What's Trending report sponsored by Rugged Home. It looks like Major League Baseball may have its own version of Taylor and Travis. Getting Smith here now with What's Trending again. Yeah, listen, start pitcher Paul Skeins and Jim has literally done all over the All-Star game. They are supposedly the new power couple. Apparently that when the game started, they were focused on Skeins and if the cameras never missed a beat, focusing on done in the crowd cheering him on. Two things about this. One, the red carpet, they showed up and walked the red carpet. That's what they were wearing right there, the white suit. When did they start with this red carpet thing in Major League Baseball for the All-Star? I don't know, but they both met at LSU. They both went to LSU. They're both national champions. He had baseball and earned gymnastics. Totally. Here's something else having to do with rapper Drake. He's feeling the effects of the major flooding in Toronto. Take a look at this video. He posted to Instagram. It appears to show flood waters pouring into his mansion. He has a sense of humor about it. He captained this post. There's better be a special patina. Certainly resembles it, but no, that would be a four inches of rain in one day and that's what's flowing through his 50,000 square foot mansion. Oh, the damage. Goodness. Yeah, tough. Ken, thanks. Downtown Raleigh has some new prehistoric art installations. Look at these three. Depiary dinosaurs can be found around the city. Their names are Trish, the Triceratops, Bex, the T-Rex, and Terry, the pterodactyl. Trish is at the corner of Morgan and Fayetteville Street. Bex is at Moore Square and Terry is at Exchange Plaza. This comes as the city celebrates the latest dueling dinosaurs exhibit that recently opened at the Museum of Natural Sciences. Gotta go dinosaur hunting now. Those are so cool. Yeah. A tractor trailer crash caused a big mess on I-440, the work to clean up that spill on the highway after the truck overturned early this morning. And we have a big pattern change headed our way. Temperature's really cooling off by the end of the week, but it is a stormy weather pattern. I'll show you the days when we could have some severe storms coming up. Crews are still working to remove a tractor trailer on I-85 in Orange County, coming up the large pile-up and what this looked like when we first arrived. At WakeMed MyCare 365, we deliver convenience others only talk about every day of the year. Primary care and urgent care under one roof. Multiple locations, virtual visits, walk-in or schedule an appointment online. From annual physicals and routine care to sinus infection strep or the flu, we couldn't be more convenient. Learn more about our kind of care at our kind of convenience at wakemed.org. What's next? At Moss Adams, that question inspires us to help people and their businesses strategically define and claim their future. As one of America's leading accounting, consulting and wealth management firms, our collaborative approach creates solutions for your unique business needs. We leverage industry-focused insights with the collective technical resources of our firm to elevate your performance, uncover opportunity and move upward at MossAtoms.com. An official message from Medicare. A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. Maybe you can save too. With Medicare's extra help program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov/extrahelp. Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.