WRAL Newscasts
4:30AM News on WRAL - Monday, July 15, 2024
(upbeat music) - Well, we got a minute and I'm gonna buy that truck I've been wanting. - Wait, don't you need like weeks to shop for a car? - I don't. Carvana makes it super convenient to find exactly what I want. - Hold up, you're buying a car on your phone? Isn't that more of a laptop thing? - You can shop wherever you want. - I like to do my research. Read reviews, compare models. Plus, Carvana has thousands of options. How'd you decide on that truck? - Because I like it. - Oh, that is a great reason. Go to Carvana.com to sell your car the convenient way. - Shot in 4K ultra high definition. Your number one source for local news. WRAL news, coverage you can come on. - This morning, the nation is still reeling from the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump at Israeli in Pennsylvania. The new information we are learning about the investigation as the Republican National Convention is set to begin today. And in a rare address from the Oval Office, President Biden tries to calm anxiety across the country. - We cannot, we must not go down this road in America. - His comment on the FBI's investigation into the gunman. - North Carolina delegates and lawmakers have traveled hundreds of miles to attend the Republican National Convention. We're hearing reaction from them and why the tone has shifted for this week. - And a heat alert, several of them. We have a heat advisory and just to our east and excessive heat warning, I'll show you when it will start to feel like the triple digits. - Good morning, everyone. It is 4.30. We have you covered on all the new information. Coming into the newsroom about the investigation into the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. What a weekend. Thanks for joining us on this Monday. I'm Renee Chiu. - And I'm Jeff Hogan. It is good to have you along here this morning. A lot to get to here. The heat alert on the way here. - We are kind of in a rutch right now. Certainly a mid-summer deal, Elizabeth Gardner in the WRS right now with that alert. - And we hit 100 yesterday. We'll likely hit 100 again today and the heat index will make it feel more like 110 across our viewing area. Just to our east, it'll feel more like up to 115. And so especially our eastern counties you're gonna need to be especially careful out there for this afternoon. We'll see the same thing again tomorrow, but then the pattern begins to change. But this is how it'll feel today. By lunchtime already feeling like 100 and then feeling like 108 to 110 this afternoon, even at 8 p.m. it'll feel like 101. So this is gonna be one of those days. Just like yesterday, you really just can't mess around. It's 80 degrees already with a dew point of 72. So it's a very warm, stuffy, muggy, uncomfortable start this morning. 78 in Fayetteville, 77 in Rocky Mountain and 72 degrees in Roxborough. There's only a small chance of a thunderstorm. We had a few of those pop up yesterday. Just a 20% chance again for us this afternoon with an actual high today of 100. Again, we're gonna see this tomorrow, but we do have a big pattern change coming toward the end of the week with more rain and cooler temperatures. I'll show you it coming up. (upbeat music) - Elizabeth, thanks. We continue to follow developments into the investigation of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump as the Republican National Convention starts today. Knew this morning we have learned the shooter was a member of a sportsman club in Pennsylvania. The facility has shooting ranges, including a rifle range of 200 yards. It's still unclear how and why the rooftop where he was was left uncovered after the Secret Service says it identified it as a vulnerability days before the rally. We've also learned a local police officer saw the gunman on a rooftop during the rally, but the Butler County Sheriff says the office was unable to engage him. - We have team coverage for you this morning as state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are responding to what happened. Plus, what you can expect today as the Republican National Convention is expected to begin in Milwaukee. Let's start with Michelle McConaughey in the life center right now, Michelle. - Yeah, we're gonna take you live out to Milwaukee. This is a live picture right now. Two prominent North Carolina politicians are expected to speak this week, including U.S. Representative Richard Hudson, as well as Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson. We don't have their specific schedules, yet we are working to learn exactly when they will be there. Former First Lady Melania Trump is also expected to attend the RNC, although it's not clear whether she will speak there. Also, former GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley will speak at the convention. Senator Jim Bergen is also expected to be there. We're not sure if he's going to speak, but W.R.E.L.S. Laurel Levine will have more on that coming up for us. - Former President Donald Trump is already in Milwaukee, ahead of the Republican National Convention. He was seen getting off his plane last night, less than 24 hours after surviving an assassination attempt. In a statement on social media, Trump said he considered delaying his trip to Wisconsin for the RNC by a few days, but he said ultimately he could not allow a potential assassin to change a schedule. Trump is not expected to speak at the convention until Thursday, which is the last day of the convention. - Certainly as we head into a critical moment in the presidential campaign, North Carolina leaders are asking for peace. W.R.E.L.S. Laurel Levine joins us from the Legislative Building in Raleigh. Laura, tell us about some of the reaction from our state lawmakers. - Good morning, Jeff. Lawmakers are calling this situation a wake-up call. We know 2,400 delegates from across the country are coming together in Milwaukee this week, starting today to officially and formally offer former President Trump, the Republican Party presidential nominee. We know several North Carolina lawmakers, delegates are in attendance and have made that trip to Wisconsin, including Senator Jim Bergen. Bergen is confident political rhetoric will calm down moving forward. Meanwhile, lawmakers tell us who are out there right now that this year's convention has significantly high insecurity compared to previous years. Bergen says this unprecedented event, as I've mentioned, is a wake-up call to everyone on both sides of the aisle. - It's up to us as voters to not accept that. So I'm challenging people. If people go negative, just tell them no. You know, it's okay to disagree, but let's all try to find a good way to do it respectfully, and hopefully we can make a change in this country. And I think it's gonna happen. - Yeah, so what we've known for this campaign to be a very heated campaign and election cycle, now the tone is shifting. Of course, we will continue to follow some of the reaction coming from our local lawmakers. That's out there in Milwaukee. Lora Levine, WRLU's live in Raleigh. - President Biden is calling for unity after a gunman tried to kill Trump. In an address from the Oval Office last night, Biden says the investigation into the motive of the shooter is ongoing. - We do not know the motive of the shooter yet. We don't know his opinions or affiliations. We don't know whether he had help or support, or if he communicated with anyone else. Law enforcement professionals, as I speak, are investigating those questions. - The President ended by calling on Americans to unite as one nation despite differing political views. - We spoke with Democratic State Representative Brandon Lofton in Mecklenburg County minutes after President Biden's speech to get his reaction. - I thought he immediately struck the correct tone by unequivocally stating that violence has no place in our politics period. Lofton also said what happened was not just an attack on a former president, but on democracy itself. Tonight, Lester Holt will sit down with President Biden for an exclusive one-on-one interview. And you can watch a preview on NBC Nightly News tonight at 6.30. You can see the full unedited interview in a prime time special at nine o'clock on doubling RAL. Then stay with us for special coverage of the Republican National Convention starting at 9.30. - NBC News has learned from two sources, the rooftop from where the gunman opened fire at the rally was identified by the Secret Service as a potential vulnerability days before the event. Take a look at this map of the shooting scene in Butler about 35 miles north of Pittsburgh. The rally took place on the grounds of the Butler Farm Show. This is where the stage was set up. And on the roof of this building is where the Secret Service had snipers, they had a pretty good vantage point. The gunman managed to get to the roof of another building and it's about 400 feet from the stage where Trump was standing. - Investigators continued to search the home of the shooter last night in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. A law enforcement official said there was explosive material found inside. The FBI also said bomb making materials were found inside the car the shooter drove to the rally Saturday. Law enforcement say Thomas Crook's parents are cooperating with the investigation. - We are learning more about the man killed during the shooting, Corey Comprator was a husband and a father of two girls. He was also a firefighter. Pennsylvania's governor said Comprator was at the rally with his family. He said he shielded his family when shots rang out and that he died a hero. The firefighter worked with the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Department. In a statement on Facebook, the department said, Corey will be greatly missed by all who knew him. Corey Rusty's brother and we will take it from here. 57 year old David Dutch and 74 year old James Copenhagen were also injured. They are in critical but stable condition. - Investigations continue into the plan and response from Secret Service during the assassination attempt on former President Trump. Critics of the Secret Service's actions say security planning at Trump's rally was poor. WRL spoke to former FBI assistant director, Chris Swecker, about the Secret Service's response in the moment the shots began to ring out. They have to plan for that sort of thing and they have to know what to do. They look like a lot of chaos around the car, a lot of chaos getting him off, a lot of agents look like they didn't know what to do. - The FBI is leading an investigation into the Secret Service's actions and the head of the Secret Service is also expected to testify at a hearing with the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability one week from today. - A political party headquarters was vandalized in Carter County over the weekend. Democratic Party chair Katie Tumberland said in a social media post, she was called Sunday morning in response to vandalism at the Democratic Party office downtown. She wrote that at some time during the previous evening, someone threw rocks and a concrete planter into the front window. Police are investigating. - Coming up in 10 minutes, we will hear from a former classmate of the gunman and we have much more on WRL.com, including the protests expected today outside the RNC, plus how the man who died in the shooting spent his final moments protecting his family. - Summer break has come to an end for Cumberland County's year-round students. About 15 school buses are expected to return to the roadways this morning, bringing kids back to school. Cumberland County's Board of Education made an agreement with local law enforcement last week to supply school resource and traffic control officers to schools. Now each municipality will have their own officers as SROs with unincorporated areas being covered by the sheriff's office, who confirm they are ready to serve year-round schools in the county. - Reaction is pouring in from around the world after Saturday's shooting at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania. The message from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. - And people in Texas are demanding answers as thousands are still without power days after Hurricane barrel hit the area. When power companies say the issue will be fixed. - And this is a live look at North Hills on this Monday morning. We are expected to hit a hundred degrees today. A meteorologist, Elizabeth Gardner, will tell us when we could see some relief from the heat. - Well, we got a minute, and I'm gonna buy that truck I've been wanting. - Wait, don't you need like weeks to shop for a car? - I don't. Carvana makes it super convenient to find exactly what I want. - Hold up. You're buying a car on your phone? Isn't that more of a laptop thing? - You can shop wherever you want. - I like to do my research. Read reviews, compare models. Plus, Carvana has thousands of options. How'd you decide on that truck? - Because I like it. - Oh, that is a great reason. Go to Carvana.com to sell your car the convenient way. - 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. - From the WRAL Severe Weather Center, North Carolina's most experienced team of media relatives. - It is 444 and our big story again today is the heat. We have a heat advisory. In fact, for our viewing area, it'll feel like 1.10 this afternoon and a little closer to the coach just east of our viewing area. It's an excessive heat warning, feeling like up to 1.10. This is a look at our hour-by-hour heat index by the middle of the afternoon. It could easily feel like 1.08 to 1.10, actual high temperature today, right around 100. So it's another day you really need to take it easy and we're gonna copy and paste today to tomorrow, but then things are gonna change for us. We take a look at Apex this morning and skies are clear, but it is 78 in Tarboro. It's 80 in Goldsboro right now, 75 in South Hill, 76 in Irwin. It's 80 in the triangle. Out walking the dog this morning, it feels pretty oppressive and it could be dangerously hot later on this afternoon. - It's a live look for you right now in Milwaukee, where the Republican National Convention begins today. Coalition to March is a group planning to demonstrate outside the convention today and they say their plans have not changed after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. Omar Flores, the lead organizer of the protest, says he expects about 5,000 people at his group's March today. WRLL is on top of all things. Republican National Convention for you. We will have updates from the convention on YouTube and on our website, WRLL.com. - A North Carolina lawmaker will be leading the Pledge of Allegiance at the RNC. House Representative Jared Lowry is a former Marine and is a member of the Lumbee tribe. He's also an alternate delegate at the convention this week. Lowry tells WRLL he feels an extra sense of pride in leading the Pledge of Allegiance, given what's happened. - You have to get it right, and there's a lot of weight that I feel because it's a moment where we can all be united and do something together, regardless of your party, regardless of any type of affiliation you have. You know, all the way back in elementary school, we said the Pledge of Allegiance because America is the one thing that united us together. - Lowry tells WRLL he's set to give that Pledge of Allegiance at 5 p.m. - World leaders are also reacting to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he was shocked and horrified at the news. - This wasn't just an attack on Donald Trump. This was an attack on a candidate for the presidency of the United States. This was an attack on America. It was an attack on democracy. It was an attack on all the democracies. - French President Emmanuel Macron called the shooting a tragedy for our democracies and Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, posted on social media that political violence is never acceptable. - And we're learning more about the young man who opened fire at Trump's rally. A former classmate of Thomas Matthew Crook says he was bullied and didn't fit in. - He wasn't like with the click, so he was always had a, I guess, target on his back. - What do you mean by that? - Just being bullied. Crook's was 20 years old and this upcoming election would have been the first presidential election. He was old enough to vote in. Investigators say so far they haven't found any evidence on social media or other writings by Crook's that might help identify his motive. - Former President Trump's campaign has started a GoFundMe page to raise money for the victim's shot during the rally. One person died, two others were wounded. Trump's campaign national finance director issued a statement that says the former president authorized the accounts of people can financially help the families as of this morning. More than three and a half million dollars has been donated. - What happened over the weekend has the nation on edge. We asked Republican strategist, Jonathan Feltz, how he thinks a divided American electorate will react. - Well, I think this, you know, could go one of two ways. It could really ramp things up in a major way or it could be a reset button for American politics. You know, President Trump came up this morning with a call for unity, it was a very measured statement, something that folks in the past might not have expected. And I think he was very sincere with it and I think he's really trying to rise, he really is rising to the moment right now. - Feltz also says that in the U.S. politicians are expected to be out in the public meeting directly, meeting people directly at their own risk and he doesn't see that changing. - Four people are dead, 10 others are injured after a mass shooting at a birthday party in Birmingham, Alabama. This happened Saturday night outside a nightclub. Police say a fight broke out inside the club and then soon after at least one person drove by and fired shots from the street into that club. So far no one has been arrested. - The governor of Texas wants answers on why much of Houston is still without power following Hurricane Barrel. Governor Greg Abbott says he wants a Texas Public Utility Commission to investigate center point energy, which supplies power to customers in Houston. The nation's fourth largest city still has more than 270,000 homes and businesses without electricity. Abbott says he wants the commission to investigate the delayed response and what can be done to fix it. Center point says 90% of the power should be back by some point today. Still has been days in that heat wave that they've been without power. We're certainly thankful for our air conditioning meteorologist, Elizabeth Gardner in the WRAO severe weather center. Our AC will be working over time again today. - Well, I tell you at my house, mine cannot keep up. I'll set it to something and it just, it can't even reach that. It's just really been, you know, such a hot weekend. We have two more days of this intense heat. We take a live look at Raleigh. We're mostly clear right now, but 80 degrees with a dual one is 72. So that's a very hot and sticky air mass all ready to start with and we'll be up to nearly one, up to around 95 already by lunchtime. We do have the top of the tower lit in blue for a clear skies. It might be a few clouds that come streaming in, but today will be mostly sunny to partly cloudy. The big story, of course, is that we have a heat advisory. It'll feel like up to 110, a purple area. Just east of our viewing area is an excessive heat warning where it could feel like up to 115. And so it's another one of those days who just don't want to mess around. Take a look at Bingo Demissives photo from yesterday. You can see that sun just looks really hot, doesn't it? That photo from Durham. Thank you for sending us that. Go to www.WRLL.com search weather watchers. We would love to see some of your photos as well. 100 degrees today and Raleigh 101 in Durham, 100 in Fayetteville. We hit 100 yesterday in Raleigh as well. And of course, that's very close to the record high. The record high is 99, tomorrow 99 and the record is 101. So both days we're going to be very close to record highs. Of course, it feels tropical. Our due points weigh up at 72. It's likely to feel like that all the way through Friday, but we do have some big changes coming our way. We take a look at our high heat, tomorrow's high 99. We'll feel more like 110. And then Wednesday, it feels like 107. Thursday, our high is 90. It's still going to feel like triple digits. But we start Thursday with a better chance for rain. And we do have some highs in the 80s to show you in the seven day forecast. But in the meantime, our heat risk is on the extreme side for Monday and Tuesday. It's major Wednesday and it does begin to ease up for us a little bit on Thursday. One of the things to remember as we're dealing with this intense heat is that darker colors absorb more heat. So you want to stay away from the asphalt. If you're out walking your dog, keep your dogs, especially during the afternoon. If you walk them in the evening right after work, you want to make sure that you're on-- even on the sidewalk, it's not going to feel as hot as it will feel right there on the asphalt. And of course, you want to avoid wearing darker clothes when you're outside. That'll help to keep you cooler. But really staying inside is going to be your best bet. High pressure building in, cold front, closer to the coast. And we're just looking at a lot of humidity with some sunshine, helping to fire up a few isolated thunderstorms this afternoon, right after lunchtime. We saw a few yesterday, especially clustered over around Rocky Mountain and Wilson. It's just about a 20% chance for today. But look at the big changes that start on Thursday. Look at those highs. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and a lot more rain to go along with it. I'll show you how much we could see later in the week. Coming up at you. 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