New at noon a
Little Rock mayor Frank Scott
Junior has named a new police chief.
This morning, the mayor announced
that interim Chief Heath Hilton
will take on the role full-time.
Helton helped oversee the launch of the
department's new Real Time Crime Center.
During the press conference,
the mayor shared that the city's
violent crime numbers are down.
You can watch the full announcement
right now on thv11.com, and we're going
to have reaction to the news tonight.
At 5:00 and 6:00.
Well, good afternoon and
thank you for joining us.
I'm Michael Johnson here with
meteorologist Scott cover.
And Scott,
we have a lot to talk about.
We do it is we have a lot to talk about.
It's calm, but it's called
and it's gonna get colder,
you know, in the weather garden a little
bit earlier this morning and I started
to complain about how cold it was.
And I caught myself and said,
you can't complain about this.
This will be considered warm
by about this time tomorrow.
Let's take a look at the latest
with the entire state of Arkansas
now under some level of a wind
chill alert in northern Arkansas,
we've got a wind chill warning.
It's here where we expect the wind
chill Thursday night into Friday
morning to drop as low as -,
30 negative, 30.
I don't think I've ever said
that in my career.
Doing the weather in the
Central Arkansas area,
certainly going to be very blustery
as well -, 15 to -, 20 likely.
And in southwest Arkansas,
those counties,
they're also under a wind chill
watch where they're expected to
see windchills in the negatives.
Again, it's all part of a cold
front that moves through tomorrow,
but still kind of chilly out
there today at the noon.
Lower right now it's 45 in Little Rock,
42 Batesville,
48 in D Queen.
Your high temperature for today likely
makes it up into those upper 40s,
a very normal December day.
Some clouds have continued to move in and
we are expecting an overcast afternoon.
That front moves through western
Arkansas tomorrow morning here in
the metro by the afternoon hours.
Then it also brings with it
a chance of a wintry mix.
Now the bigger story will remain
just how bitter cold it's going to
get and the dangerous wind chill
that is to follow that front,
but coming up here in just a few minutes.
We'll take a look at the latest future
radar and get an idea of what and
how much precipitation you can expect,
and just how bitter cold it's gonna get.
Scott, thank you.
And remember, you can always find the
latest weather updates on the TH 11 app.
You can also watch our newscast.
It's free to download on the
Apple App Store and Google Play.
And be sure to follow the THV 11
weather team on Facebook for forecasts
and updates over the next few days.
THV 11 is your winter weather central,
and we're getting you ready for the cold.
And with outside temperatures set
to reach dangerously low levels,
staying safe and warm inside is key.
That means the people who keep our
heaters running are working around
the clock right now. Degree elevens.
Julissa Garza found out why.
Right now is the time to make sure your
heater is ready for what's to come.
Just making sure that everything
is running properly and it's kind
of within the margins of error.
That's what technicians at Pascal
heating and air are busy doing
this week as our Kansans brace
for the temperatures to drop.
If you think there's a problem,
getting it fixed before it goes
down is really the way that you
can prevent being without heat.
If you haven't turned your heater
on once this winter, now is the
time to make sure it's ready.
Let it run for 20-30 minutes,
kind of let it run through its
startup cycle, and then if it's
running and it stays running good,
then you can turn it off
if you turn it on.
And there is a burning smell.
Comfort specialist drew
Vest says that's normal
because the furnace only operates for in
Arkansas two to three months out of the
year if we have a normal Arkansas winter.
And so for those other nine to 10 months,
you're going to have debris start to
build up on those heat exchangers,
changing your air filter.
Important, too.
And if something is wrong,
Vest recommends calling
an expert right away,
especially because some parts
can be hard to get a hold of.
What we've seen a lot with all
these supply chain shortages
that were caused by the pandemic.
Was that the most random part?
Sometimes the most parts we use are
going to be starting to get backordered,
vest says. It's important to keep in
mind running your heater might lead
to higher energy bills, but there's
a way to provide a little relief.
Turn it down a couple of
degrees just so it's not going
to run as much and as often,
and that'll really help with
your energy bills in Searcy,
Julissa Garza, THV 11 news
Vest says if you're making a call
to a technician, be patient.
They're working to get to everyone on time.
Now, something else to prep ahead
of the cold weather your pipes.
There are some simple steps you
can take to avoid disaster.
Let your faucet drip and open up those
cabinet doors to let some heat in.
You should also cover those outside spigots,
either with blankets or actual spigot covers.
Those are just small things you
can do to make sure that you save
money in the long run.
That little bit of extra money,
you're going to spend an energy, gas,
water, you're gonna make it back
tenfold when you don't have to call
us for a cost of plumbing repair. Now
we've got more info on the cold coming
in and how to stay ready on th11.com,
and you can text the word weather
to 501-376-1111 and we'll send
you a link to those resources.
The nasty weather is coming
at a very inconvenient time,
as close to 113 million Americans are
expected to travel for the holidays.
While today isn't expected
to be a busy travel day,
Chris Van Cleave tells us why
you may want to think about
leaving a little earlier.
This morning, the storm that made driving
dangerous in the Pacific Northwest pretty
icy and pretty slick. Yeah,
super Slick was going like this
and cancelled about 200 flights
in and out of Seattle's airport.
Tuesday is just getting started.
The system is now lining up to bring
crippling snow and frigid temperatures
to major Midwest airport hubs in Detroit,
Minneapolis, and Chicago.
I really don't want to miss Christmas
with my two boys and my husband.
Kelsey Hicks, is trying to beat the
storm that could steal Christmas.
She's at a conference in Chicago and
moved up her flight to Thursday morning,
hoping to beat the snow and get
back to her family in Arkansas.
I'm a little nervous that things
aren't going to work out like I hope
they would 165,000,000 Americans.
Coast to coast are in the path
of this blast of winter weather,
hitting just days before Christmas.
I'm glad I'm leaving today,
dumping snow in the Midwest,
and we'll head as far South as Texas.
Just as an estimated 113 million are
expected to travel for the holidays.
If you're flying,
be prepared to be delayed,
disrupted and cancelled,
and the Christmas dinner
may be at an airport.
But most Americans will
be hitting the road,
with nearly 102 million expected
to be driving, including
Mike Carter's son, who's trying to
beat the storm home to Chicago.
We don't want anything to
happen to our holiday plans.
That's that's the whole scary part.
Otherwise, we'll have about 10 tons of
food at home with nobody to eat it.
Why is it such a big deal that
Chicago is getting snow right
at this peak travel time?
It's because it's a huge connecting city.
Three of the nation's four
biggest airlines have hubs there,
United told us during Thanksgiving.
At about 1:00 in,
every five of its passengers somehow
passed through O'Hare during that holiday.
So take that airport out of the mix
and you get delays and cancellations
that will ripple across the country.
Chris Van Cleave,
CBS News Washington.
Now, earlier in the show,
we told you about Little Rock's
new police Chief, Heath Hilton.
The announcement comes as the
department continues dealing with this
year's record number of homicides,
something the mayor and new
Chiefs say they're focused on.
This afternoon,
we're learning more about one that
happened Sunday night that led
to the arrest of two teenagers.
Little Rock police declined to
give more background on the case,
citing an open investigation,
but TH 11 got hold of public court
documents that explain what happened.
Officers responded to a shots
fired call on Torrey Pines Court.
A woman told them she was sitting in
her car when three boys approached
her and one tapped her window with
a gun telling her to get out.
But she was armed too and raised her
gun at the boy, starting a gunfight.
She escaped alive but the boy did not.
Police charged the other two teens
because of their involvement in the crime.
18 year old Darrell Jones and 15 year
old to Marion Jones have both pleaded
not guilty to charges of capital murder.
And aggravated robbery.
Meanwhile,
2 more teenagers are facing murder
charges in the death of Jaden Shackleford.
Little Rock police arrested 18
year old Evan Franklin and 17
year old Grant Nichol last week.
Both are now being charged with
first degree murder and nickel
is being charged as an adult.
The two,
along with Jordan Parkinson are
accused of killing Shackleford
near Merriweather Park in January.
Weather January.
Another Arkansan is arrested for
alleged involvement in the January
6th attack on the US Capitol.
According to court documents,
Brennan Matusek of Hindsville,
was identified on video footage
by an FBI tipster who had served
with him in the military.
He faces charges of disorderly and
violent conduct on Capitol grounds and
demonstrating in a capital building.
Meanwhile, the year and a half long
Congressional investigation into the
January 6th attack on the US Capitol
officially comes to an end today.
The House committee investigating
the deadly assault is set
to release its final report.
The investigation lasted nearly 18 months.
During that time,
it conducted about 1200 interviews and
collected more than 1,000,000 documents.
And Congressman Adam Schiff says those
include some troubling new details.
You'll see why we're concerned that that
witnesses may have been interfered with
or an attempt to influence them. The
committee has already voted to
recommend to the Department of
Justice that federal prosecutors
should pursue possible criminal
charges against former President
Trump and some of his associates.
Now the latest developments and the
possible criminal charges leading
to a lot of questions this week,
one a lot of people are asking can
Congress charge people with crimes?
Casey Decker finds out.
The house January 6th Committee has
finally wrapped up its investigation
and recommended criminal charges
against former President Trump for
his alleged role in the insurrection.
They summarized the evidence and
sent it to the Department of Justice.
But is that really all the committee can do?
Could Congress itself charge
someone with a federal crime?
Let's verify our sources,
the Department of Justice, the FBI,
the American Bar Association,
and Daniel Richman,
a law professor at Columbia University.
Because of decades of laws,
constitutional interpretation,
and practical precedent,
federal charges can only be
brought by federal prosecutors,
and the Justice Department has a
complete monopoly over the bringing
of federal criminal statutes.
Normally, the way it works,
an agency like the FBI investigates
possible federal crimes and
passes on the evidence to federal
prosecutors within the Department of
Justice who ultimately decide what,
if any, charges to pursue.
With January 6th, it's a little different.
In this case, the committee did their
own investigating and are now passing
on the evidence to federal prosecutors.
Now the DOJ has actually been conducting
its own separate investigation,
but this move from Congress
could provide new evidence and,
perhaps more importantly,
put some symbolic or political
pressure on prosecutors to move
forward with charges against Trump.
But the committee report holds no
more legal weight than if any ordinary
citizen wrote a letter to the DOJ.
It's not an actual criminal charge,
and it doesn't even mandate any action.
From prosecutors.
That doesn't mean that there is
a necessity for prosecutors to
pursue this case and I'm not sure
as I said what it radically will
change their decision making,
but but they'll think.
I suspect long and hard about
walking away from a case to
the extent that a very clear,
powerful picture of criminality
has been assembled by the committee
so we can verify.
No, Congress does not have
the power to charge someone
with a crime with your verify.
I'm Casey Decker.
Doesn't feel too bad out there
right now, but a big blast of
cold Arctic air, it's on the way.
It arrives tomorrow.
Just how cold it's gonna get and your
chance of seeing some snow coming
up when TH 11 news at noon returns.