WPTF Afternoon News

Right now, more than 607,000 are food insecure across the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina’s 34-county area service area. At the same time, the USDA has announced a decision to end public reporting of food insecurity data nationwide. Jason Stephany, the Vice President of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, joined Jeff Hamlin to discuss the USDA’s decision and the im...

Jimmy Kimmel is set to return to late-night television after a nearly weeklong suspension. The suspension triggered a national discussion about freedom of speech and President Donald Trump’s ability to police the words of journalists, commentators and even comics. Two groups of ABC affiliates that denounced Kimmel last week said they would not carry his return on Tuesday. Phil Napoli from the Duke...

It may seem hard to believe now, but there was once a time where the political world was more civil. Rufus Edmisten was the Democratic nominee for governor in North Carolina in 1984. Republican Jim Martin would eventually win that election. Edmisten and Martin would go on to work together on legislation that would help North Carolinians in their day-to-day lives. Now, Edmisten is the co-host of th...

There’s another new addition at Durham Technical Community College. Durham Tech and Novo Nordisk broke ground on a new Life Sciences Center on Monday. The new 35,000 square foot center is an innovative facility designed to prepare students for careers in biotechnology and other life science fields. President J.B. Buxton joined Jeff Hamlin to discuss the new center.

President Donald Trump's announcement of a new $100,000 fee on H-1B visas caused a flurry of confusion among companies that use the visa program, as well as among immigrant workers and countries around the world, as they tried to gauge its impact. The H1-B via program is a legal immigration program that allows U.S. employers to temporarily hire skilled foreign workers in "specialty occupations" ac...

A candlelight vigil was held in Raleigh Sunday in memory of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Hundreds of people attended the memorial service held outside Wake GOP headquarters on Sunday. The event included prayer, hymns, tributes from organizers with Wake County GOP, and remarks from state officials Luke Farley and Dave Boliek. Sandy Joiner, Chairwoman of the Wake County Republican Party, join...

Spinal cord injury is one of the leading causes of long-term disability worldwide, often impacting young people who face a lifetime of physical and neurological challenges ahead. A new study questions a widely accepted treatment strategy in the critical first days after injury, findings that could reshape ICU protocols and improve patient outcomes. Dr. Miriam Treggiari, senior author of the study...

Former Appalachian State football coach Shawn Clark has passed away. Clark was a Mountaineer through and through, playing as an offensive lineman on Appalachian's 1995 Southern Conference championship team that went undefeated in the regular season. He served as an assistant coach on two FCS national championship teams before being named the head coach in 2020. Clark led ASU to two Sun Belt Confer...

How will tariffs and hidden costs affect new vehicle purchases? Jon Champion sits down with Brian Moody, Executive Editor of Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader, to break down what car buyers need to know about pricing pressures, supply challenges, and the true cost of driving a new vehicle off the lot.

Media and culture expert Robert Thompson from Syracuse University talked about the controvery surrounding comments made by talk show host Jimmy Kimmel -- and his subsequent suspension by ABC

Jimmy Kimmel’s television future is hanging in the balance after ABC suspended his late-night show following the host’s comments about Charlie Kirk’s killing. The comments prompted dozens of stations to say they wouldn’t air the show, a move that was cheered on by a top federal regulator. The veteran late-night comic made several remarks on Monday and Tuesday about the reaction to the conservative...

Jeff Hamlin talked with Rabbi Mendy Wilshchasky aboute the upcoming Jewish holidays.

Early voting is underway in Durham. Voters will cast their ballots over the next 16 days. There are city council seats up for grabs and there's also the mayoral race. Current mayor Leonardo Williams is facing four opponents in his re-election bid. His challengers include Anajnee Bell, the daughter of longtime Durham mayor Bill Bell. Other challengers include Rafiq Zaidi, Lloyd Phillips and Pablo F...

Raleigh-Durham International Airport is adding an Irish flair to its offerings.. At an airport announcement festooned with green balloons, Aer Lingus was introduced as the newest carrier to serve the region. Airport president and CEO Michael Landguth says there's already interest in the destination. Landguth joined Jeff Hamlin to discuss the newest addition at RDU.

The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate by a quarter-point Wednesday and projected it would do so twice more this year as concern grows at the central bank about the health of the nation’s labor market. The move is the Fed’s first cut since December and lowered its short-term rate to about 4.1%, down from 4.3%. Fed officials, led by Chair Jerome Powell, had kept their rate unchanged this yea...

North Carolina has one of the largest concentrations of modernist homes in the nation; in large part thanks to NC State's Design School. The reason we still have so many mid-century modern homes in the region is because of George Smart. Inspired by a teardown of a modernist home in Raleigh years ago, George decided the best way to prevent those in the future was to raise awareness and create deman...

Utah Valley University students are returning to classes Wednesday for the first time since an assassin struck down conservative activist Charlie Kirk in an attack that stunned the nation. Some students stood silently and stared down at the still-barricaded courtyard where Kirk was shot. On Tuesday, prosecutors charged a 22-year-old Utah man with capital murder. They say that during the frantic se...

A new simulation hospital built to help train students in the healthcare field is coming to Wake Tech. On Tuesday, Wake Tech president Dr. Scott Ralls, Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell, members of Wake Med and the Wake County Board of Commissioners broke ground on the new project. Once it’s built, it will be one of the largest and most comprehensive simulation hospitals in the country. This is the first...

The Duke Quantum Center cleared a major NSF gate and has been awarded $2M to proceed with designing a 256-qubit trapped-ion quantum computer. This would be one of the largest quantum computers in academia and could help position Durham as a national hub for quantum R&D. The Duke-led team is among the first in the nation to advance in NSF's highly competitive program, whose ultimate prize could...

A former North Carolina Democratic congressman whose bid for U.S. Senate ended several weeks ago announced Tuesday that he is running to become the top prosecutor in the state’s largest county. Ex-U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel, who also served previously as a state legislator, said he wants to become the next Wake County district attorney. Current DA Lorrin Freeman has said she will not seek another four...

Melanie Shekita, a 27-year career prosecutor, has announced her campaign for Wake County District Attorney. Shekita grew up in Raleigh, graduated from Broughton High School, got her undergraduate degree at UNC Chapel Hill and her law degree at Campbell University. After passing the bar, she joined the Wake County District Attorney’s Office in December 1998. She joined Jeff Hamlin to discuss her ca...

Virginia Tech has fired Brent Pry after three-plus seasons, with his tenure beginning and ending in losses to Old Dominion. The Hokies are once again searching for a leader who can restore the program to the heights of the Frank Beamer era. Meanwhile, UCLA dismissed Charlotte native DeShaun Foster after an 0-3 start that included losses to UNLV and New Mexico. Dave Glenn of the North Carolina Spor...

Stop Soldier Suicide, a nonprofit based in Raleigh, is leading an initiative called The Black Box Project . The program analyzes digital footprints to identify warning signs that may precede suicide, with the goal of saving lives before it’s too late. Austin Grimes, Chief Product Officer with Stop Soldier Suicide, joined Jeff Hamlin to explain how the project works and its potential impact.

The fatal stabbing on a Charlotte light-rail train last month has reignited debate over the death penalty in North Carolina. On Thursday, Senate leader Phil Berger called for ending the state’s moratorium, blaming judges, doctors, and elected officials for halting executions due to what he described as “leftist political biases” rather than justice for victims’ families. Noel Nickle, with the Nort...

It’s been more than two months since Tropical Depression Chantal tore through Chapel Hill, and for some residents, recovery has been slow and painful. One woman who relied on her RV for housing is finding the road back to normal much harder than expected. Dale Sela, a Realtor with Blue Moon Properties in Chapel Hill, joined Jeff Hamlin to share her story.