Episodes
May 3, 2024
Antisemitism, millions for vouchers, a bourbon-soaked soiree
President Joe Biden visited North Carolina twice this week, and rumors are flying about a trip state lawmakers and lobbyists took to Kentucky. As protesters opposed to Israel's bombing of Gaza replaced the American flag at UN...
April 26, 2024
2024 legislative session kicks off, Bernie Sanders investigation highlights NC
Medical marijuana, immigration, gambling updates and a $1 billion state budget surplus could come to dominate the new 2024 North Carolina legislative short session. Plus, Senate leader Phil Berger talks about the future of th...
April 19, 2024
Budget news, Balanced Nutrition, and sports gambling pays off
WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie wraps up the week on Jones Street, including an investigation into the nonprofit led by the wife of the lieutenant governor. Plus, good news for budget writers, and a look at the state’s...
April 12, 2024
Japanese, Ukrainian leaders look to NC, plus 2024 budget sneak peek
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visits with Gov. Roy Cooper in Raleigh, and two members of North Carolina congressional delegation travel to Ukraine for meetings with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The North Carolina Su...
April 5, 2024
Teacher turnover, the daycare cliff and weight-loss drugs
WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran discuss a surge in teacher turnover in North Carolina public schools, and the end of coverage of weight-loss drugs by the State Health Plan....
March 22, 2024
State school superintendent race keeps NC in national headlines
WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran talk about the terror watchlist suspect whose North Carolina arrest could turn into a referendum on immigration policy, plus the growing nat...
March 15, 2024
Post-election surprises and fights, plus WRAL polling
Donald Trump leads Joe Biden in North Carolina their potential 2024 rematch for president, a new WRAL News poll found. But Republicans don't have the same lead in the race for governor, pitting Democratic nominee for governor...
March 14, 2024
WRAL and 99.9 The Fan present: The long road to legal sports betting in North Carolina
In Season 3 of A Brief History of Triangle Sports , Brian Murphy from WRAL News and Tim Donnelly from 99.9 The Fan explore the history of sports betting in North Carolina. Mobile sports betting is legal today but getting to t...
March 8, 2024
Election upsets, Chamber concerns and runoffs
The week's primary elections brought a spate of upsets by populist conservatives, and that's got the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce concerned. WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and State Government Reporter Will Dora...
March 1, 2024
Primary countdown, sports betting, and who's on the legislative hot seat
WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL Sports Investigative Reporter Brian Murphy bring you a roundup of the week's crazy election stories, the go-live date for sports betting sites in North Carolina, and a rough wee...
Feb. 23, 2024
Primary money, Leandro redux, historic capitol records
Dark money seeps into North Carolina primary races from some unexpected places. The decades-old Leandro public education lawsuit is back in court. And state historians unveil research into the enslaved people who built the st...
Jan. 19, 2024
Biden's visit and the battle over home insurance rate hikes
President Joe Biden came to Raleigh to talk broadband internet investments and "Bidenomics" before grabbing a milkshake with Gov. Roy Cooper. WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL State Government Reporter Will Dora...
Jan. 13, 2024
HOAs, gerrymandering and the campaign trail
On this week's episode of The Wrap, WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran have the latest on the multiple lawsuits against the state's new voting maps. Plus: Lawmakers' latest at...
Dec. 22, 2023
Who won 2023 in NC politics?
With another year nearly over we ask: Who won 2023? WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and State Government Reporter Travis Fain have lots of thoughts, and now you're gonna hear about them! Plus: Another redistricting law...
Dec. 15, 2023
NC campaign filing closes, with some surprises
The 2024 primaries are set, and several people surprised North Carolina political observers by opting not to run. Also: There's another Mark Robinson in North Carolina politics now, and this one's a Democrat. Plus: Out with t...
Dec. 8, 2023
Campaign filing season, and an exit at UNC
UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz is out at UNC-Chapel Hill, reopening North Carolina's long-running conversation on political meddling and fair governance in the state's university system. Plus: It's election filing season! Li...
Dec. 1, 2023
Medicaid expands, governor picks new state auditor
North Carolina on Friday became the 40th state to expand Medicaid, opening the health insurance program to 600,000 people — many of them the working poor. It brings a multibillion-dollar infusion for the state's health care p...
Nov. 10, 2023
Beth Wood vehicle saga drives on
State Auditor Beth Wood was indicted this week, accused of using publicly owned vehicles for personal errands — a charge that grew out of the scrutiny she received after wrecking a state-owned car after a December holiday par...
Oct. 27, 2023
We have maps, now for the lawsuits
North Carolina lawmakers returned to the legislative building this week, maybe for the last time this year, and passed new election maps. Now we wait for the lawsuits. And speaking of lawsuits: A major one is in court next we...
Oct. 20, 2023
New maps, old fights: Redistricting heats up again in North Carolina
The political power play that is redistricting got underway again this week. North Carolina lawmakers will likely have fully approved maps by next week. WRAL state government reporters Travis Fain and Will Doran break down wh...
Oct. 13, 2023
A week of veto overrides, lawsuits and division over war in Israel
Lawmakers gathered again in Raleigh Tuesday to override Gov. Roy Cooper's vetoes on five bills, taking the Republican supermajority's override record this year to 19-0. But a resolution on the conflict between Israel and Hama...
Oct. 6, 2023
Congress in disarray? Of course there's a North Carolina connection
The Wrap turns its attention to Washington, D.C., this week, where the U.S. House of Representatives deposed its speaker and a bow-tied, beer-brewing North Carolinian ended up with the gavel. Plus: The new state budget is law...
Sept. 22, 2023
$30B budget, Medicaid expansion will be law after exhausting, secretive process
After months of closed-door talks, leaks and rumors, North Carolina has a new state budget packed with priorities backed by the legislature’s Republican majority. In the end, a long-discussed deal to legalize new casinos in t...
Sept. 15, 2023
State budget talks fall apart
State budget talks — including negotiations over a heavily lobbied gambling expansion — broke down this week between the House and Senate. Senate leadership says the House broke its deal. House leadership says the Senate dema...