WRAL Newscasts
4:30AM News on WRAL - Tuesday, June 25, 2024
# # # # # # It's another warm start out this morning, but not as cold as it was yesterday. I'll show you what it will feel like through this afternoon and when the hottest day this week will be. A few days left in the legislative session, lawmakers are eager to get things done. A look at the strictest medical marijuana bill yet and what it means for the future of recreational use. Plans for a massive apple campus at RTP are on hold now. The factors that led to the delay and what this pause means for us here in the Triangle. And it was a big night for the Florida Panthers who are now Stanley Cup champions. How they secured the cup for the first time. Late June and finally hockey season is over, but we are definitely in our summer season. Hello everyone, thanks for joining us. I'm Renee Chiu. And I'm Jeff Hogan, great to have you along. It was the longest NHL season ever. It stretches out 259 days, I mean most of the year. Lizz with Gardner and the WRS Severe Weather Center. We might have to argue about the humidity. I still think it's pretty much here. Well, I have proof that it's not quite as long as you use it was yesterday. But yeah, I mean it is June. We're in the middle of a heat wave danger as heat all week long for short. We take a look at Clinton this morning and it's quiet skies are clear. It is 76 degrees in the triangle. It is warm, but we have a northeasterly wind today and that is bringing in slightly drier air than yesterday. It's a subtle change potentially, but look at our heat index. Yesterday our heat index was well into the triple digits. And today we may just not see much of a heat index at all because our humidity will be just enough lower. And so we're looking at our temperatures climbing up into the mid 90s and of course mostly sunny skies. Yesterday we had a few scattered storms. We're less likely to see that. Now tomorrow could end up being the hottest day of the week. We have 100 and our forecast for tomorrow. I'll show you what it will feel like. How much hotter than that? With the heat index coming up. Elizabeth, thanks. New this morning the state senate passed its strictest bill to legalize medical marijuana. It's now up to the state house to decide whether to approve it. WRO's Laura Levine joins us live from the legislative building this morning. And Laura, this is an effort to get the bill passed before the legislative session wraps up. Yeah, Renee, lawmakers have been going back and forth on this matter for quite some time now. And we know a stricter version of that medical marijuana bill did pass the senate last night. It's a last minute effort to really get a legalization bill over the finish line. So that bill would ban North Carolina from allowing fully legal marijuana even if the federal government legalizes it. That's meant to win over skeptics specifically on the religious right. They're concerned that medical marijuana would be a first step toward recreational legalization for all adults. Now the bill now goes to the state house where it remains to be seen if this change will win over enough support. Laura Levine, WRO News live in Raleigh. The impasse over how to use a billion dollar budget surplus remains in place in the state legislature. The house has already said it will not take up the $31.4 billion spending plan the senate passed last night. Both chambers want a large expansion of the state's private school voucher program. Both also include some money to help stabilize child care centers when federal funding decreases July 1. But the house budget also includes small additional raises for teachers and state employees and a bonus for retirees. The senate budget does not. If they don't reach a deal by July 1, the two-year budget that's already in place will go into effect. But that billion dollar surplus would go unspent. Apple is delaying its plans for a massive campus in Research Triangle Park. The billion dollar project is expected to be one of the largest in our state's history. Now it's on pause for up to four years. Back in 2021, Apple announced plans to build a 1 million square foot research and development campus in RTP. It planned to bring 3,000 jobs with salaries averaging around $187,000. State commerce officials approved an economic incentives package that included grants of more than $400 million. Now the company is delaying the start of the project after a review of its real estate. WRL asked a corporate site selection expert about factors that led to the delay. Think about the sea change in the economy with respect to spiking interest rates and historic levels of inflation. Skyrocketing construction costs. Skyrocketing construction labor costs. Governor Cooper says he's spoken with Apple executives. He says they pledged their commitment to build an RTP, adding that it will still be among Apple's most significant campuses. First Lady Joe Biden will be in North Carolina today. She'll speak at a political finance event in Charlotte. This will be the first of two visits for the First Lady to the state this week. This will be in Raleigh along with President Biden on Friday. This week the first debate of this year's presidential cycle is happening and you'll notice a few different rules than what we've seen in the past. Microphones will be muted unless it is their turn to speak and there will be no live audience. The debate is Thursday at 9pm. You can watch it on WRL. A popular Durham restaurant is forced to close after a car crashed through the side of the building. The surveillance video shows the moment that Kia came flying through the wall into Mescalito's kitchen. The manager there tells WRL speeding is an issue on that stretch of Fayetteville street. Luckily, no employees or customers were hurt. "Grateful. Grateful that everything came out okay. Nobody's hurt. Fortunately, it is a damage to the building. But that is repairable. We can fix that. That's not an issue. We're just glad that everyone was okay." Durham Police say Bran has been here for a long time. Durham Police say Bran didn't love it, but was sighted for reckless driving. He was not seriously hurt. While construction should not take long at the restaurant, their reopening is subject to health department approval since the car went through the kitchen. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S. Justice Department. Assange plans to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge this week. The deal will allow him to go free after spending five years in a British prison. Assange has found out that he will be in the middle of the city. The deal will allow him to go free after spending five years in a British prison. Assange's felony charges related to his alleged role in one of the largest U.S. government breaches of classified material. The plea deal must still be approved by a federal judge. New this morning, President Biden has approved a major disaster declaration in Iowa because of widespread flooding. Flooding in the northwest part of the state has left highway submerged and that's cut up. Cut entire towns off from surrounding areas. Mandatory evacuations are happening and they're still going through the pandemic. They're going through the area and they're going through the area and they're going through the city. They're going through the area and they're going through the area. New this morning, President Biden is going to be in the area and they're going through the area and they're going through the area and they're going through the area and they're going through the area and they're going through the area and they're going through the area and they're going through the area and they're going through the area and they're going through the area and they're going through the area and they're going through the area and they're going through the area and they're going through the area and they're going through the area and they're going through the area and they're going through the area and they're going through the area and they're going through the area and they're going to the area and they're going through the area and they're going through the area and they're going through conditions are expected to be complete by the 2029 NFL season. Tempere also owns Charlotte FC, which will also stay for 20 years under that deal. The manufacturer of Osempic and Wagovi is pouring billions of dollars into Johnston County. Officials are calling it the largest life science investment in state history. It's a story W.R.E.L. first brought you last week. The $4.1 billion investment will quadruple the size of the Novo Nordisk facility in Clayton. It will add 1,000 jobs with the minimum salary of $69,000 a year. Novo Nordisk says this should help supply issues it's been facing. Construction of the expanded facility is expected to be finished between 2027 to 2029. Today a group advocating for disability rights across the U.S. will visit Raleigh and Durham. The caravan for disability freedom and justice will be at Dick's Park from 10 to noon today. They'll share information about inclusion, disability rights and services, voter rights and more. The group will hold a pair of events in Durham from 6 to 8.30 tonight. And indoor events will be at Part and parcel on Chapel Hill Road and an outdoor event is happening at Lions Park. A film crew will be shooting a TV series on UNC Chapel Hill's campus in a couple of weeks. This will impact traffic and parking between July 8th and 10th. UNC says filming will largely take place outside on the Corkle Place and surrounding buildings. So if you'll be around the area during that time, expect delays, road and parking closures, we're unsure which TV show will be shot there. The Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup champions. The Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers last night 2-1 to win Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. It's the first time the Panthers have ever won the cup in their 30-year history. It's also the first cup for Coach Paul Maurice, who formerly coached the Hurricanes and Wailers. It is 4-39 coming up, more flooding in the Midwest. See the incredible drone video of floodwaters in South Dakota that got so bad, a rail bridge collapsed. And this hot spell is taking its toll on local farmers and soon your wallets. How the loss of crops could shoot up prices at the grocery store. And here's a live look at Clinton this morning. A cooler start this morning than yesterday, but we will be in the 90s again. It would sure be nice to get some rain. Meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner maps out our chances for the week. From the WRAL Severe Weather Center, North Carolina's most experienced team of meteorologists. It is 4-43. It's a warm start out there again this morning. 76 in Durham, 76 in Raleigh and 74 degrees in Fayetteville. This time yesterday, our dew point was also at about 75-76 degrees. And today, it's in the upper 60s. And it's a subtle change, but when I was walking in, I was like, "Huh, it actually feels a little better than it did yesterday." Temperatures are still as warm in most places, but we do have some 60s showing up on the map. 68 tar burrows, 66 in South Hill, but most of us are in the low to mid 70s, heading out the door. 73 in Southern Pines, 74 in Irwin and 72 degrees in Goldsboro. Walking the dog this morning, it's warm and muggy, of course. And we'll see behind in the mid 90s that it'll feel more like around 100. We had a few storms yesterday. Today, looks dry across the viewing area. Elizabeth, thanks. At South Dakota River, Rose so high that it caused a railroad bridge to collapse. You can see a large part of the steel bridge underwater as floodwaters rushed over it. The bridge is the main rail link from South Dakota into Iowa. There were no reports of injuries from the collapse. However, the highway patrol says one person died in the state after a utility vehicle rolled down a hill created by a washed out road. This fall, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether states can restrict gender affirming care for minors. This will be the first time the High Court will weigh in on this issue in a substantive way. The case was brought by the Biden administration challenging a transgender care ban that was enacted last year in Tennessee. The law outlaws hormone therapy and puberty blockers for minors and imposes civil penalties for doctors who violate the law. A growing number of states have enacted similar laws targeting transgender care. On the second anniversary of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, groups on both sides of the issue rallied in Raleigh. The anti-abortion group NC Values Coalition held a news conference on Halifax Mall yesterday. And the national organization for women also held a rally at the legislative building. Parents in Louisiana are suing the state's education department and school board after a recent law passed to place the ten commandments in schools. Nine families file the federal lawsuit Monday. The families are suing to challenge the constitutionality behind the new law. It requires the ten commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom. The parents and civil rights groups say the new law violates the establishment clause, which forbids the government from taking any action to establish a state religion. A New Jersey man is accused of going to Florida to try to kill another player from an online video game. Authorities say 20-year-old Edward Kong got into an argument with another player on the game Arch Age. They say he flew to Florida where he bought a hammer and gloves before sneaking into the other man's home and attacking him. The man who was attacked needed staples in his head. Investigators say Kong told them he did it because he is a bad person online. He's charged with attempted murder. Garner police are looking for a person involved in a shooting and robbery. It happened around midnight Monday at Resco Mart on Purser Drive. Police say a man wearing a mask and all black clothing robbed a cashier. During the robbery, a gun went off and the cashier was grazed. The man left with some money. Dry, hot conditions in our state are taking a huge toll on farmers as well as on everyone's wallet. Big cash crops that farmers rely on are withering in this heat wave. That leads to higher prices at the grocery store for all of us. The Robertson family in Wayne County invests a lot of time and money on farm crops like corn. But during an extended heat wave without rain, crops don't develop the way they should. Wade Robertson says he quit tending to his potatoes in corn a week ago. The loss has taken a toll. You know, you hear mental stress right now for farmers. That's a big, that's a big thing. They're mental well-being because it is stressful to know you're losing thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars. NC State economist Mike Walden projects the loss of crops for North Carolina farmers to cause prices at the grocery store to go up by as much as 25% over last year. 447 at the time right now are Tuesday morning. It's going to be a great day. It's going to be a great day. It's going to be a great day. It's going to be a great day. It's going to be a great day. It's going to be a great day. It's going to be a great day. It's going to be a great day. It's going to be a great day. It is really hard to recover from that. We have a Northeast wind right now is 7. It has dropped our humidity just to touch this morning. Yesterday at this time our two points were in the mid 70s and this morning they were in the upper 60s. It's a subtle change, but I noticed it when I walked in this morning. Temperatures will be in the mid 80s by lunchtime and we do have clear skies. We have the top of the tower lit in blue this morning for clear skies across our area. For a few people that did see some rain yesterday, most of it was in our southeastern counties. Melissa Hayes from Walnut Creek sent us her rain gauge where she ended up with two inches of rain. That was a tiny pocket there in mostly in Wayne County where we ended up with some rain. Show us what's happening in your backyard. Go to www.wrl.com search weather watchers send us your weather photos. Around town today another hot one 95 and Raleigh 94 in Durham and 97 in Fayetteville. We didn't have that chance of storms yesterday. Today and tomorrow look pretty dry tomorrow's big story is going to be the extreme heat yesterday. Like I said, we were way up into tropical today were knocked down to around steamy, but it does go up again for tomorrow and Thursday in particular and it stays high in the tropical zone on Friday and Saturday again. So we just we know how much of a break coming our way today is likely to feel like 100 tomorrow will be 100 with 104 and then 105. So it's possible that both or either one of those days Wednesday or Thursday will go under a weather alert day. Still could be feeling like 103 Friday and 100 on Saturday. We could end up with a heat advisory for tomorrow. Look at this high for tomorrow. Durham and Raleigh 100 100 Fayetteville 100 Goldsboro 99 in Rocky Mountain. It's going to be a very uncomfortable day. We typically average one 100 degree day per year. We're going to end up seeing it. The average first is July 13th. The average last is July 30th, so we mostly see those only in July. The earliest was on June the 7th and one year we had one on October 3rd. That was a crazy year for sure. We are cool around Thursday and Friday technically with highs in the low 90s, but the humidity will be up. We will have a chance for thunderstorms. We're going to walk through those chances for the next few days. Come up in just a few minutes. Thanks Elizabeth. South Carolina flight instructors being celebrated for an emergency landing on a highway. Hear what was going through her head as she landed safely without even causing a traffic backup. Alex Trebek is being honored with postal stamps, Jeopardy Style. We'll have a look at the trivia question that's included on these special stamps. Today in entertainment news Beyonce is opening doors for emerging black country artists and Sabrina Carpenter is number one. Here's David Daniel with The Hollywood Minute. When I first heard that Beyonce was making a country album, I felt ready. Beyonce has opened a door that's going to be really hard to close. Call it a cowboy Carter response. Beyonce covered features six emerging black country artists delivering live recorded country versions of some classic Beyonce songs. The collection is available now in spatial audio on Apple Music for Black Music Month. Sabrina Carpenter has her first Billboard Hot 100 number one. Please, please, please debuted last week at number two just ahead of her viral hit Espresso. Both are on her new album Short and Sweet due out August 23rd. The great beyond. The infinite darkness of the universe. Music is rocking the big screen too. Ghost right here right now is expanding after grossing $5 million globally. Instead of just a long weekend as planned, Trafalgar releasing is keeping the Swedish rock bands concert film in theaters for the rest of the week and next week as well. In Hollywood, I'm David Daniel. More affordable housing options are soon coming to Raleigh. Stained city leaders announced more than $500,000 in federal funding from the EPA for the cottages of idle wild development in downtown Raleigh. The money will go toward building 18 affordable housing units at the intersection of Idle Wild Avenue and East Lane Street. Households earning 30 to 80% of the area median income will be eligible to own or rent in this new community. A public land trust model will be utilized to maintain affordability. Folks are getting hit hard. It's the number one issue I hear about from the people I represent in Congress, in this district. And we add a respond and do as much as we can. We throw everything we can at the wall. The problem with affordable housing is there's not one thing you can do. You got to do a hundred things. This is one of those things today. Congressman Wiley Nichols says he hopes to see the project completed within the next two years. The development will also integrate cleaner stormwater infrastructure to enhance property value and provide environmental benefits. We're getting our first look at the postal stamp that will honor late jeopardy host Alex Trebek. When you buy a book of 20 stamps, the layout looks like a jeopardy game board. Each stamp shares the same clue. This naturalized U.S. citizen hosted the quiz show "Jeopardy" for 37 seasons. The stamp also includes the correct response. Who is Alex Trebek? You can preorder them now on the U.S. Postal Service website for about 15 bucks. A flight instructor is being celebrated for her quick thinking by making an emergency landing on I-77 in South Carolina. She landed the plane safely after she and her student experienced a mechanical failure. This happened last week just north of Columbia. Nicole Smith says she and her students started hearing clicking noises about 40 minutes into their flight. She believes a piece fell out of the plane. And she needed to find a quick place to land safely. My thought at the time was just to make sure that I didn't go into oncoming traffic. I did see the cars going off on the shoulder and I was trying to mitigate that as best as possible while still landing safely. Right there on the median. Smith was able to land the plane with no injuries to her, her student or anyone else on the ground. Authorities say there wasn't even a backup on the interstate. Well done. People have been seeing it so much lately. They're used to it now. We're coming up. We'll have a look at the local athletes competing in the team USA track and field trials. Plus a dramatic fall in the women's 800 meter race leads to a stunning upset. And the state senate and house are at odds about how to use a billion dollar budget surplus. The big topics the two chambers disagree on including raises and bonuses for state employees. (upbeat music) (upbeat music)