Episodes
Aug. 29, 2023
Shooting at UNC Chapel Hill leads to a faculty member’s death, student arrested
There are no words except for it happened here. A shooting took place on the campus of UNC Chapel Hill Monday afternoon in a science building, Caudill Laboratories. One faculty member was killed. The entire campus was put on ...
Aug. 28, 2023
Why NC schools are traveling the globe to recruit teachers
North Carolina school districts are grappling with a teacher shortage, so school districts are scouring the globe to attract new educators. WRAL Education Insider Emily Walkenhorst details the unusual lengths to which recruit...
Aug. 25, 2023
Missing Moore County woman's body found, boyfriend charged
The family and friends of Allisha Watts have been searching for her for weeks, holding vigils to keep her disappearance in the public eye. Today, the search ended with a grim discovery-her body in a cemetery in Norman, North ...
Aug. 24, 2023
COVID money disappearing from school budgets
During the pandemic, school districts across North Carolina received tens of millions of dollars as part of special COVID funding to pay for things like cleaning schools, PPE, teacher retention bonuses, and technology needed ...
Aug. 23, 2023
“Forever Chemicals: North Carolina’s Toxic Tap Water” WRAL Documentary
A company in North Carolina dumped massive amounts of toxic chemicals into the Cape Fear River for decades, the drinking water supply for hundreds of thousands of people. These "forever chemicals" also contaminated the air an...
Aug. 22, 2023
Thousands of fire safety violations found in Wake County public schools
When we send our children to school, there are so many things we worry about. But when was the last time you thought about fire safety in the building where your kids attend class? Our WRAL Investigates team poured over thous...
Aug. 21, 2023
Triangle talent following their musical dreams to Nashville
It’s one thing to say you want to be a musician when you grow up; it’s another thing altogether to chase your dreams and make them happen. In today’s episode, we are talking to two young women from the Triangle, Abby Schiller...
Aug. 18, 2023
Why are we still tipping everyone?
We all feel the pressure when someone is checking us out at a business turns the iPad around and it prompts us to tip. It started during the pandemic as a way to reward front-line workers, but the practice seems to be hanging...
Aug. 17, 2023
Lost divers rescued off North Carolina coast
Usually, when we hear stories about people getting lost at sea, they don’t always have a happy ending. This is especially true for people who are doing anything slightly risky, like scuba diving. When 4 divers disappeared off...
Aug. 16, 2023
Will there be enough Wake County school buses to get students where they need to go this year?
It’s a struggle every single year for school districts across North Carolina to get enough drivers to man their buses and their routes. It’s especially tough for the state’s largest school district, Wake County, to manage its...
Aug. 15, 2023
Construction blasts surround nearby homes with thick clouds of dust and cause damage
Blasting at a construction site in North Raleigh is sending thick dust clouds onto people’s properties. Think dust so thick that you wouldn’t be able to see a foot in front of you. One North Raleigh homeowner caught the blast...
Aug. 14, 2023
Casino plan is a big bet on North Carolina
In recent months, a behind-the-scenes battle over legalized commercial casinos has emerged in North Carolina. Gaming companies have stocked up on lobbyists and they’ve donated to lawmakers. Meanwhile, dark-money groups have s...
Aug. 11, 2023
Fighting to stop fentanyl overdoses in Nash County, NC
4000 people are dying in North Carolina every year as the result of drug overdoses. A whopping 77 percent of those deaths are related to the powerful drug fentanyl according to authorities. The scary thing is that even in the...
Aug. 10, 2023
Emotional account of the wildfires in Maui from a Triangle man who is there
Greg Taylor splits his time between North Carolina and Maui. The wildfires that have devastated the island killing dozens of people and destroying everything in their wake have Taylor grieving for his adopted home. In this sp...
Aug. 10, 2023
The century plant is going away
After attracting hundreds of visitors over the summer, the century plant in the WRAL gardens is finishing its reign. It bloomed and grew to more than twenty feet in the past few months. It is scheduled to be cut down, but don...
Aug. 9, 2023
Rising above it all; one woman’s determination to thrive despite the odds
Connie has had a hard life. Her family was plagued with addiction and poverty, and without good role models it looked like her future might not be bright. But, she built a home and a happy, fulfilling life for herself, her pa...
Aug. 8, 2023
Can office space in high-rise buildings be turned into residential space?
Everywhere you look there are high-rise office buildings that seem to be empty, or at least partially empty, in our area. Currently, 18.1% of the office space in the Triangle is vacant. At the same time a new study reveals th...
Aug. 7, 2023
NC’s GOP ticket could take a right turn in 2024
If Republican front-runners win key primaries next year, the top GOP general election ticket in North Carolina could be more socially conservative than any in recent memory. WRAL State Government Reporter Paul Specht explains...
Aug. 4, 2023
WRAL’s investigation into the death of a quadriplegic man at a Raleigh rehab center
In July, Carl Michaud, a quadriplegic, fell out of bed at the Raleigh Rehabilitation Center and died. His father wants to know how this could have happened. So far, he’s gotten no clear answers. He turned to the WRAL Investig...
Aug. 3, 2023
New information in the disappearance of a Moore County woman
Allisha Watts has been officially missing since July 16 and her community is desperately seeking answers about where she might be. WRAL reporter Chelsea Donovan has uncovered new information about the person of interest in th...
Aug. 2, 2023
Scientist from Raleigh has real life ties to “Oppenheimer” movie
It’s one of the hottest movies in the country right now, Oppenheimer, which documents the true story of the scientist who created the atomic bomb. One of the scientists who worked on the team in Los Alamos, New Mexico, Dr. Le...
Aug. 1, 2023
North Carolina’s rising temperatures lead to more extreme heat waves
Scientists tell WRAL that climate change is creating more extreme and more frequent heat waves in our state and across the country. The Raleigh-Durham area has on average forty more high temperature days per year that pose ri...
July 31, 2023
State and local leaders differ on school funding
Across the state, county school leaders say they need more money for facilities, staffing and safety measures. But state spending isn't rising fast enough for counties to keep up with their needs. And local leaders aren't fin...
July 28, 2023
Unprecedented increase in ocean temps off the NC coast could impact weather and ecosystems
Scientists have tracked a steady climb in ocean temperatures since April. This is causing unprecedented heat stress conditions in the waters surrounding Florida and in the Gulf. More isolated marine heat wave conditions have ...