WPTF Afternoon News

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released water from the dam at Jordan Lake to prevent flooding. All the rain that's fallen since Tropical Depression Chantal pushed the water level at Jordan Lake to nearly 14 feet above full pool. The water has piled up so quickly, the Corps of Engineers is released the equivalent of eight Olympic-sized swimming pools every minute. Elaine Wittry of the U.S. Ar...

The Kinston Police Department is facing tough questions this week, after a video surfaced showing a Kinston police officer punching an 18-year-old multiple times, while holding that teen on the ground, even after the teen says he blacked out. The incident escalated when the 18-year-old, Cameron Williams, says he walked over to the responding officer to ask who police were looking for. Longtime Wak...

The Liberation Station bookstore in Raleigh lives again. Owner Victoria Scott-Miller has announced the store will reopen in 2026. The new Liberation Station will resident at Montague Plaza, a 15,000 square foot space in southeast Raleigh dedicated to housing Black-owned businesses. It’s been a long process to get the store back open. Scott-Miller joined Jeff Hamlin to discuss Liberation Station.

Another legal blow for St. Augustine's University in Raleigh in its fight to keep its accreditation. On Monday, an arbitration panel upheld the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools decision to remove the university from its leadership. The ruling leaves St. Augustine's accreditation up in the air after persistent financial trouble. Steven Williams, a St. Augustine's graduate says universit...

As stormwater runoff worsens and butterflies disappear, cities across the U.S. are rethinking how they manage their landscapes. A new study by Lawn Love finds that North Carolina cities rank among the best cities for rain gardens. The rankings looked at average monthly precipitation, supply access, public interest, and groundwater pollution. Kimberly Magerl, Social Studies Editor for Lawn Love, di...

Last week the state saw a high volume of water displaced from Chantal. With more rain on the way this week, clean up may become more challenging and there could be an increase in certain pests. Michael Doyle, state epidemiologist, says the summer is peak season for tick- and mosquito-bone diseases. Doyle joined Jeff Hamlin to discuss how summertime can bring threats from small insects

Inflation rose last month to its highest level since February as President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs push up the cost of a range of goods, including furniture, clothing, and large appliances. Consumer prices rose 2.7% in June from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Tuesday, up from an annual increase of 2.4% in May. Worsening inflation poses a political challenge for Trump, who promis...

David Gergen, a veteran political adviser who served four U.S. presidents and became a respected voice in media and academia, has died at age 83. Gergen held key roles in the administrations of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton—serving as a speechwriter, communications director, and counselor to the president over a career that spanned decades. Duke University Political S...

A Raleigh-based technology company is teaming up with Wake Technical Community College and the Durham Bulls to spotlight tech career opportunities for students and recent graduates. RapidScale, a managed cloud services provider, has announced a fully endowed scholarship as part of a $60,000 investment aimed at boosting workforce development and innovation in the Triangle. Cindy Luttrell, Dean of I...

Attorney General Jeff Jackson and State Superintendent Mo Green have filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration over major cuts to education funding in North Carolina. More than $180 million in federal support—targeting teacher training and other essential programs—has been withheld, impacting nearly every public and charter school system in the state. Green warns the move could cost over 1,...

Governor Josh Stein has vetoed House Bill 805, a measure that would have legally defined North Carolina as recognizing only two sexes—male and female—while rejecting gender identity as a legal or biological equivalent. The bill also sought to limit where transgender students could sleep during overnight school trips and restrict state funding for gender-affirming care. In his veto message, Stein c...

Chantal’s heavy rainfall in parts of North Carolina over the past weekend flooded roads and damaged property, including cars. It’s leaving some car owners asking what’s next. Tiffany Wright, with AAA Carolinas, said if your car was impacted by flooding during Chantal, the first thing owners need to do is to contact their insurance company. Wright joined Jeff Hamlin to discuss the steps you need to...

In under a day, parts of central North Carolina were inundated with record-breaking rain. Nearly 9 inches fell in Chapel Hill, and some areas of Chatham County saw close to 1 foot of water. Streets turned to rivers, cars were submerged and emergency crews rescued more than 200 people from rising floodwaters. Helena Garcia is a Ph. D candidate at UNC Chapel Hill who has studied the growing tendency...

Apex will be the new home to the state’s first standalone children’s hospital, thanks to an UNC-Duke partnership. UNC Health and Duke Health are teaming up to build North Carolina Children's Health, located at the intersection of US-1 and Interstate 540 in Apex. The campus will be built on 230 acres and will feature a 500-bed children's hospital, outpatient care center, and over 100 behavioral hea...

The heat is adding a strain to recovery efforts in the aftermath of Tropical Depression Chantal. Communities across Durham, Orange and Alamance Counties remain in cleanup mode. The storm dumped ten inches of rain in Chapel Hill and Hillsborough, nine inches in Mebane and eight inches in Durham. Janet Johnson, Executive Director of the American Red Cross-Greater Triangle Area Chapter, joined Jeff H...

The City of Mebane has issued a Code Red water shortage caused by Tropical Depression Chantal. According to the city, the Graham/Mebane Water Treatment Plant is still being repaired due to the tropical storm and the city could run out of water in the coming days. The City of Mebane is asking residents to limit their working use...with the exception of grocery stores, health care facilities and pha...

While working toward a PhD at Duke University, Isaac Villegas published a new book, “Migrant God,” which he described as a look at how the Christian faith is lived out through migrant solidarity. As the son of two immigrant parents from Colombia and Costa Rica who met in Los Angeles, the topic of immigration is a familiar one. Villegas discussed the events surrounding ICE agents across the U.S. an...

The 2026 race for the U.S. Senate is wide open after the announcement that Thom Tillis will not seek re-election. A Democrat hasn’t captured a North Carolina U.S. Senate seat since 2008, when Kay Hagan defeated Elizabeth Dole. On Tuesday, state Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced he’ll support former Governor Roy Cooper, even though Cooper has yet to enter the race. Former Congressman Wiley Ni...

Thousands of people who switched careers to become North Carolina public school teachers are leaving their roles within three years, new data shows, the latest indicator of the hiring challenges plaguing school districts across the state. Temporarily licensed teachers — largely people who enter the profession from another field are the fastest-growing teacher population in the state — make up 10%...

The cleanup continues at Eastgate Shopping Center in Chapel Hill after flooding left behind by Tropical Depression Chantal. It's the start of a long process for several businesses to get back up and running that could take weeks. Mary Stowe had several feet of water inside her store, Yarn, Etc. She says the financial impact is devastating. Stowe joined Jeff Hamlin to discuss how she’s planning to...

In under a day, parts of central North Carolina were inundated with record-breaking rain. Nearly 9 inches fell in Chapel Hill, and some areas of Chatham County saw close to 1 foot of water. Streets turned to rivers, cars were submerged and emergency crews rescued more than 200 people from rising floodwaters. According to hydrologists, the rainfall met the threshold for a 1,000-year flood. Dr. Kris...

For Martin General Hospital in Williamston, North Carolina’s decision to expand Medicaid came just too late. The emergency room abruptly closed its doors in the eastern North Carolina county that's home to more than 20,000 people in August 2023. The closest hospital is now about a 30-minute drive away. One realtor and longtime resident of Washington, North Carolina says the recent passage of Presi...

Tropical Storm Chantal continues to leave a trail of destruction across North Carolina, with 120 roads still closed due to severe flooding and storm damage. In Chatham County, Gilmore Road was washed out entirely, prompting emergency crews to block off the hazardous area. Meanwhile, in Chapel Hill, the Eastgate Shopping Center remains a scene of devastation—mud covering the lot, vehicles pushed to...

Flash flooding overwhelmed parts of Chapel Hill on Sunday night, catching many by surprise and leaving significant damage in its wake. Two women found themselves wading through waist-deep water after leaving a movie theater, only to discover their cars were likely totaled. Businesses in the Eastgate Crossing shopping center also suffered severe water damage, highlighting the widespread impact of t...

On a scorching day with heat index values soaring past 100 degrees, thousands of North Carolinians found themselves without power in the wake of Tropical Storm Chantal. The storm left a trail of outages across Alamance, Chatham, Orange, Person, and Durham Counties. By Monday afternoon, more than 20,000 outages had been reported statewide, with Orange, Alamance, and Chatham counties among the harde...