WPTF Afternoon News

Career and technical education took center stage on Wednesday morning as North Carolina Governor Josh Stein visited the Hendrick Center for Automotive Excellence at the Scott Northern Wake Campus. Governor Stein and Lieutenant Governor Rachel Hunt toured the state-of-the-art facility and signed a proclamation designating February as Career and Technical Education month. Dr. Scott Ralls, Wake Tech...

Last week, the N.C. State Student Senate passed “The Campus Environmental Health and Safety Act.” It’s a resolution that, among other things, calls on the university to test all campus buildings built before 1990 for PCBs. The resolution comes a little more than a year after N.C. State University closed Poe Hall due to PCB contamination. Before Poe Hall was closed, numerous former N.C. State facul...

U.S. inflation accelerated last month as the cost of groceries and gasoline rose, a trend that will likely underscore the Federal Reserve’s resolve to delay any further interest rate cuts. The consumer price index increased 3% in January from a year ago, Wednesday’s report from the Labor Department showed, up from 2.9% the previous month. It has increased from a 3 1/2 year low of 2.4% in September...

President Donald Trump’s decision late Monday to impose tariffs on imported aluminum and steel makes it more expensive for American companies buying the materials from other countries. Some economists think the tariffs will make things more difficult for all involved. UNC Charlotte Economics Professor Dr. Matthew Metzgar sad the tariffs are doing more harm than help. Steel imports will have 25% ta...

A new North Carolina bill would facilitate Bitcoin investments in the state’s public funds for transportation, education, retirement, general spending, and more — potentially creating a strategic reserve of the valuable cryptocurrency. Sponsored by Republican House Speaker Destin Hall, the NC Digital Assets Investments Act would authorize the state treasurer to purchase certain virtual currencies,...

Inflation is still on the minds of North Carolinians interviewed for the latest High Point University Poll. North Carolinians were asked to consider how the prices they are currently paying for products compared to last year. It was found that North Carolina has its highest consumer Sentiment Index rating since 2019. But there are still concerns about the inflation. Dr. Martin Kifer, Chair of the...

Residents in eastern Wake County now have a new option for transportation. Go Wake is expanding its service in Wendell. The new opportunities have been created because of a new bus stop at Wake Tech's East campus, which will now service the area on weekdays. It will help people like Wake Tech East biology student Valentina Pascoe, who moved to North Carolina last year. Pascoe has had to walk over...

When you find yourself behind on a rent payment; when you’re seeking caregiving assistance; when your home has been destroyed by a natural disaster -- Helps starts here with NC 211. Since 1999, NC 211 has been serving the state as an information referral center for health and human services. Operated by United Way of North Carolina and powered by 47 local United Ways across the state, the valuable...

The new interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has effectively issued a stop work order to staff at the federal government’s only agency designed specifically to look out for American borrowers’ best interests. In an email, staff were instructed to cease all ongoing work on rule-making, investigations, enforcement, supervision and other activities that they are tasked by Cong...

Emergency rooms in North Carolina are facing long wait times as a surge in patients and a worsening flu season put strain on health systems. As of Saturday night, more than half of WakeMed’s emergency departments, including both adult and children’s campuses, had estimated wait times exceeding an hour, with some patients waiting overnight. Dr. Christine Knettel, an emergency physician with UNC Hea...

It has been ten years since the tragic deaths of 23-year-old Deah Barakat, his wife, 21-year-old Yusor Abu-Salha, and her 19-year-old sister, Razan Abu-Salha, who were killed in their Chapel Hill home on February 10, 2015. While their killer claimed the attack stemmed from a parking dispute, many believe it was a hate crime targeting the three young Muslims. Ali Hida, a friend of the victims and f...

Peter Hans, president of North Carolina’s public university system, has temporarily suspended the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees' authority over athletics, citing concerns that board members overstepped their designated duties. In a January 16 memo to trustees chairman John Preyer, Hans noted instances where members acted independently of campus administration in areas that fall under the chanc...

Gretchen Engel from the Center for Death Penalty Litigation joined Anthony DeHart on the WPTF Afternoon News to talk about a groundbreaking ruling that reveals racial bias in Johnston County’s death penalty cases.

Super Bowl party safety is very important. Making sure televisions are mounted correctly is a growing concern. Jon Champion talks with Karla Crosswhite with the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Emily Nabors with the National Council on Aging.

Faith leaders gathered for a breakfast at Duke United Methodist Church just days after President Trump announced a freeze on federal funding to various organizations. Church World Services, a partner of Duke Memorial UMC, organizes the annual Durham CROP Walk. This event, aimed at raising funds and awareness to support those in need, will take place on March 23. Jeff Hamlin spoke with Rev. Heather...

If you’ve ever wanted to walk from Durham to Roxboro, you may be in luck. A new proposed Durham-to-Roxboro Rail Trail would connect Durham County to Person County, following an abandoned railroad. Several agencies, including Durham County, Triangle West Transportation Planning Organization, City of Durham Parks and Recreation, North Carolina Department of Transportation and East Coast Greenway All...

North Carolina is dealing with a significant rise in flu cases. As of February 5, respiratory illness visits make up 19.6% of all emergency room visits, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. It’s the third week of continuous increases. Influenza accounts for 60% of all respiratory virus emergency room visits. Dr. Cameron Wolfe, Professor of Medicine at the Duke D...

Just announced by the new passenger flight company, Breeze Airways said there are more flights en route from the RDU. Passengers can book nonstop Breeze flights from the Raleigh-Durham International Airport to Memphis, Orlando, Pensacola, Florida, Rochester, New York and Albany, New York. Stephanie Hawco of RDU Airport joined Jeff Hamlin to discuss the additions and other new happenings at RDU Air...

The Southern Farm Show is underway at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. It's the largest agricultural expo in the Carolinas. Farmers have plenty of concerns right now, including the bird flu outbreak and tariffs. The Tar Heel state is a large exporter of tobacco, soybeans, sweet potatoes and pork, among other products. The threat of tariffs on other countries could limit their overseas markets. Sh...

A new year can be a good time to introduce a healthier diet, as doctors are seeing a direct correlation between high sodium diets and kidney stones, specifically in kids. The National institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases said there is an uptick in the number of children developing kidney stones. North Carolina is sometimes referred to in the medical world as a member of the “sto...

You have a chance to be in a Revolutionary War film series by the North Carolina Museum of History. The museum is seeking actors for It's Revolutionary!, an original 20-part series commemorating the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. According to a news release, it will combine documentary storytelling with engaging narrative elements. Sally Causey Blook, curator of the North Carolina M...

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is investing $3 million to expand access to Child First, an evidence-based, early childhood intervention program proven to reduce the risk of child maltreatment and prevent young children and families from entering the foster care system. This investment, awarded to Alliance Health, Trillium Health Resources and Vaya Health, will expand Ch...

China has announced retaliatory tariffs on select American imports and an antitrust investigation into Google, just minutes after a sweeping levy on Chinese products imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump took effect. This isn’t the first round of tit-for-tat actions between the two countries. China and the U.S. engaged in a trade war in 2018 when Trump raised tariffs on Chinese goods and China re...

Chapel Hill-native Keith Siegel is finally back with his family after being held in captivity by Hamas for 484 days. He was one of three hostages released on Saturday morning in Gaza and the first Israeli-American to be freed as part of the cease fire deal. His wife, Aviva, was kidnapped with Keith by Hamas in October 2023 from their home in southern Israel with only the clothes on their backs. Av...

New tariffs on goods from Canada and China are set to take effect tomorrow, with a 25% tariff imposed on Canadian products and a 10% tariff on Chinese imports. Meanwhile, tariffs on goods from Mexico are on hold for now. President Trump has also suggested that tariffs on European Union countries could be next. Gerald Cohen, an economist at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, joined Je...