WPTF Afternoon News

The Durham Public Schools Foundation has awarded $135,000 in grant funding to 26 Durham Public Schools. These projects are focused on addressing absenteeism and supporting our most vulnerable students. These grants empower school communities to launch transformational initiatives while joining a peer cohort that receives support, resources, and connections through DPS Foundation. Taylor Outler, fr...

Zohran Mamdani has been elected mayor of New York City, capping the Democrat’s stunning ascent from little-known state lawmaker just a year ago to one of the most talked-about politicians in the country. Former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger has won Virginia’s election for governor. Her win gives Democrats a boost heading into the 2026 midterm elections and compels Republicans to consider how Presid...

Anthony Rapillo owns four restaurants between Cary and Raleigh. He's getting ready to open three other spots in the Triangle. When he heard that more than 580,000 across the state were impacted by SNAP benefits ending, he decided to step in to help. He is now offering free food, once per week, to SNAP recipients at V Pizza, La Taqueria and Flour and Barrell. Rapillo joined Jeff Hamlin to discuss h...

Leonardo Williams has been reelected for a second two-year term as mayor of the city of Durham. During his first term as mayor, the former Durham Public Schools educator and administrator created the Bull City Future Fund. That effort is a partnership with United Way and the Triangle Community Foundation to raise funds and invest in local nonprofit groups focused on preventing youth violence. Will...

Today marks Election Day 2025 in several states and cities . The hot races are in Virginia, New Jersey, California and In New York City, where the mayoral race between Democrat Zohran Mamdani, independent Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa is coming down to the wire. Early voting turnout broke records before today's big election day. Leading the democratic ticket is Mamdani, a 34-year-old Qu...

There are more than 40 million Americans who utilize SNAP, including about 1.4 million North Carolinians. The loss of SNAP benefits can also impact the state's agriculture industry. It’s impacted the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, which has been hit hard by a loss of funding. Ron Pringle, President of the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, joined Jeff Hamlin to discuss the impact of the loss of funding.

The General Assembly isn’t scheduled to reconvene for the start of its 2026 short session until April, but the National Federation of Independent Business has already begun pressing lawmakers to bring health insurance costs under control. NFIB State Director Gregg Thompson this week sent a letter to legislators, telling them that rising insurance premiums are hurting Main Street’s bottom line. Tho...

In Dick Cheney’s hands, the vice presidency became a nexus of influence and manipulation — no longer the timid office where its occupants had tended their boss’ ambitions. For George W. Bush’s vice president, bunkering in secure undisclosed locations after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks was less an inconvenience than a metaphor for a life of power that he exercised to maximum effect from the shadows....

To start college basketball season, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum has unveiled the first Duke Blue Devils vs. North Carolina Tar Heels Rivalry Bobblehead. The first Duke-Carolina Basketball Rivalry Bobblehead is being released in celebration of the teams tipping off their respective 2025-26 seasons, with North Carolina taking on Central Arkansas on Monday night in Chapel Hill and...

During National Family Caregivers Month and National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month in November, the Alzheimer’s Association Eastern North Carolina Chapter is amplifying the voices of people living with dementia and their caregivers to empower more families to find support, connection and hope. More than 381,000 North Carolinians provide unpaid care for loved ones living with Alzheimer’s or o...

Concerns are growing across the Triangle for families that receive federal food assistance. Community members are stepping up to help as families lose access to federal food assistance. Members with the Durham Rescue Mission say they're preparing for more people to look for hot meals or food items and put a call out to the community asking for help. Rob Tart, the CEO of the Durham Rescue Mission,...

After three community colleges joined a program guaranteeing admission to North Carolina State University for some students, the program is now available at all community colleges in the state. Students from all 58 community colleges in North Carolina can use the Wolf Pack Connect program. North Carolina Community College System President Dr. Jeff Cox joined Jeff Hamlin to discuss Wolf Pack Connec...

Five Durham nonprofits have received donations totaling $15,000 from The Rotary Club of Durham. The money was raised through corporate and individual contributions made to the 2025 Flags for Heroes, celebrated with more than 500 flags flown at HubRTP last June. More than $11,000 was also directed to the club’s Second Century Fund, which funds humanitarian grants locally and abroad. Cecily Kalkhof...

A small group of women with advanced breast cancer received a vaccine via a clinical trial more than 20 years ago. Today, they’re all still alive. Scientists say that kind of long-term survival is almost unheard of for patients with metastatic breast cancer, and it’s what caught the attention of researchers now. Dr. Zachary Hartman, from Duke University School of Medicine, joined Jeff Hamlin to di...

Delesha Carpenter is a researcher and professor with the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy recently launched NaloneNearMeorg. The website features an interactive map of all 100 North Carolina counties, rating them based on the number of naloxone distribution services available. Carpenter joined Jeff Hamlin to discuss why she started the website.

A former Fayetteville resident rode out Hurricane Melissa. Heather Honaker managed to stick out the storms this week. Melissa made landfall Tuesday in southwestern Jamaica with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph. Officials prepared to respond to the devastation, the scale of which would not be known until the storm passed. Melissa's winds tied records for the strongest Atlantic storm at landfall....

The North Carolina Department of Transportation has announced that NC12 remains closed between the Marc Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe, as well as on the north end of Ocracoke Island between the Pony Pens and the ferry terminal. While other sections of the highway are open and passable, drivers are advised to exercise extreme caution due to sand and water on the road in several areas. Additionally,...

Hurricane Melissa has left a trail of destruction across Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica. The storm made landfall Tuesday in Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane, with winds reaching 185 miles per hour. Officials say at least 40 people have died across Haiti. In Cuba, officials report collapsed houses and blocked roads, with 735,000 people in shelters. Jay Barnes is a hurricane expert who has written about t...

Every week, volunteers at TABLE in Carrboro spend hours packing up fresh vegetables and pantry items to hand deliver to 1,125 hungry children in Orange County. Suzanne Tormollen, director of marketing at TABLE, says many of the families already spend a large portion of their income on groceries. Tormollen joined Jeff Hamlin to discuss how the shutdown has impacted their organization.

The federal government may be shut down, but that isn't stopping a handful of county leaders from advocating for passage of the FEMA Act via a Fly-in event in Washington, D.C. Several North Carolina county leaders are attending including Brunswick County Commissioner Frank Williams. They are members of the National Association of Counties Intergovernmental Disaster Reform Task Force. Williams join...

A Raleigh-based non-profit is paving the way for young musicians and producers to get their start. Grammy Award-winning producer Justin Pelham founded Jump Academy after his Grammy win for Best Contemporary Christian Song in 2024. Since then, kids who went through his camp say they gained a great deal of knowledge. Pelham joined Jeff Hamlin to discuss Jump Academy.

Soybeans, one of the state’s top five cash crops, are again caught up in the most recent maneuver in the trade war with China, ahead of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Earlier this month, news reports suggested that China halting US imports of soybeans is a relatively easy and risk-free way to apply pressure on the Trump administration. It could impact...

Hurricane Melissa has hit southwestern Jamaica as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, causing heavy flooding and wind damage. Melissa made landfall Tuesday in southwestern Jamaica with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph. Officials warned of devastating damage and urged residents to seek shelter as the hurricane crossed the island. Melissa's winds tied records for the strongest Atlantic storm on landf...

When it comes to student success, Wake Tech is among the very best at delivering results. The Aspen Institute has named Wake Tech as one of the 200 institutions eligible to compete for the $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the nation’s premier recognition of high achievement and performance among two-year colleges. The 200 colleges were selected based on their student outcom...

After nearly a million people showed up to experience the N.C. State Fair’s festivities in 2024, the numbers have taken a slight dip, though the North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner still called 2025 a “strong year.” According to the N.C. State Fair’s press office, 946,811 people showed attended the fair this year. A dip of slightly more than 52,000 fairgoers, compared to 2024’s 998,926 attende...