ABC11 Eyewitness News · ABC11 North Carolina

Eyewitness News at 5am - April 3, 2026

·22 min·2 clips

A former Wake County school worker is accused of kicking a disabled student in the stomach, facing criminal charges.

This episode is a local morning news broadcast from ABC11 Eyewitness News for the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina. Hosts Joel Brown and Bianca Holman anchor the April 3, 2026, 5 a.m. newscast, with meteorologist Steve Stewart providing weather updates. The broadcast begins with a weather forecast predicting warm, cloudy skies and a slight chance of isolated showers, with more significant rain expected on Easter Sunday. Steve Stewart notes the region is in a multi-month drought that will take time to reverse. A former Wake County Schools instructional assistant, 57-year-old Jill Crockett, is charged with assaulting a disabled student at Carnage Middle School. In Cumberland County, prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty for Avonte Devon, accused of killing her two adoptive children and using a burn pit to incinerate body parts. A Fayetteville house fire caused by charred methamphetamine ashes resulted in the death of a 63-year-old mother, with her son, Maurice Briscoe, taking responsibility. LaRue Barbee is denied bond for a fatal stabbing on the American Tobacco Trail in Durham, which police say was not random. A Lyft driver, Ryan Davey, faces charges for allegedly assaulting a passenger, exposing a gun, and offering her money to stay quiet. The Raleigh Rescue Mission, partnering with Meals on Wheels and Christ the King Presbyterian Church, is preparing to deliver over 1,800 meals across Wake County using 300 volunteers. The Durham Rescue Mission is also preparing for its annual community Easter dinner and basket giveaway. The EPA is considering listing microplastics as a drinking water contaminant, with Health Secretary R.F.K. Jr. citing a study linking them to a higher risk of heart attack and stroke. A new COVID-19 variant nicknamed "Cicada," part of the Omicron family, is noted for primarily infecting children but not appearing more severe. New bodycam video shows Tiger Woods after a car rollover in Florida, where he was arrested for DUI after officers found pills in his pocket; a judge has allowed him to travel overseas for treatment. Federal prosecutors allege Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane was kidnapped, held at gunpoint, and robbed at a Dallas studio, with eight suspects arrested including rapper Pooh Shiesty. A federal judge dismissed all of Blake Lively's legal claims against co-star and director Justin Baldoni from her sexual harassment lawsuit, though three claims against other defendants remain. The tech segment reports that ChatGPT's voice mode is now widely available, YouTube will livestream Coachella, and an astronaut on the Artemis mission had email troubles. The tone is fast-paced, informational, and conversational, typical of a local morning news program. The style blends hard news updates with community-focused features and lighter tech and anniversary segments. This episode would appeal to residents of central North Carolina seeking local news, weather, and traffic to start their day. Listeners interested in national entertainment or in-depth investigative reporting might find it less relevant.

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A brisk local morning bulletin with weather, hard news, and a clear sense of place.

ABC 11 Eyewitness News at 5 a.m. works as a fast morning bulletin for viewers who want the day framed before it gets busy. It moves through live coverage, breaking stories from overnight and this morning, and a first alert forecast without losing momentum, keeping weather and…

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Start your Friday with live local coverage, overnight headlines, weather, and community notes.

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