WPTF Afternoon News

Over the weekend, President Biden signed the deficit ceiling bill, which prevented an unprecedented default on U.S. debt. Nate Saunders gets some perspective from Meredith College Political Science Professor David McLennan.

Photo Credit: Nate Saunders The V foundation's 30th Anniversary Gala was held on Saturday. The organization, named after NC State's legendary basketball coach Jim Valvano, has raised 310-million-dollars for cancer research for the past 3 decades. Jeff Friday, the assistant director of communications at the V Foundation, spoke with Nate Saunders about the foundation.

Photo Credit: Charles Hadley How do we appropriately address AI? How is the presidential election shaping up? and a high profile visit from India. Morrisville Town Councilman Steve Rao and Nate Saunders discussed these and more on Friday.

Photo Credit: Charles Hadley Mandy Cohen has been named the new Director of the CDC by President Joe Biden. Morrisville Town Councilman Steve Rao and Nate Saunders discussed the significance of the appointment.

Smart approaches to basic services... that's part of the town of Morrisville's "smart city" effort led by Chief Information Officer Rick Ralph. He talked about that with Nate Saunders and Morrisville City Councilman Steve Rao.

Photo Credit: Charles Hadley On the WPTF Afternoon News, Morrisville town council member Steve Rao talked with Nate Saunders about the debt ceiling deal reached by Congress and President Biden.

Hillside High School's drama department has gained attention for tackling youth violence and gun crime. Now, its production has caught the eye of state education leaders. Retired Hillside High drama teacher Wendell Tabb recently met with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt and the director of Safer Schools NC about a play that focused on gun violence. Tabb joined Nate Saund...

Hitachi Energy--which has its American headquarters in Raleigh--is aiding the renewable energy transition by investing in energy careers in the Raleigh area. There are plenty of job openings with Hitachi Energy. Anthony Allard and Kristen Koch of Hitachi joined Nate Saunders on Thursday.

Another Atlantic hurricane season is officially underway. It's the time when everyone in North Carolina needs to prepare in case this is the year the state gets hit with a "big one." North Carolina is no stranger to these monster storms that can bring deadly storm surge, destructive winds and devastating flooding. Nick Petro of the National Weather Service joined Nate Saunders to discuss the expec...

Southside Christian School has almost 300 attendees who have confirmed that they plan to attend a groundbreaking event on Friday morning at 10 o'clock. The event will be held in the Winston Pointe Subdivision. Currently, Southside Christian School utilizes rented facilities from two area churches who share their space. Jenene Davis, the head of Southside Christian School, joined Nate Saunders to d...

It's kitten season and animal shelters across the Triangle are seeing an influx of cats. Farryn Cook, development coordinator at SAFE Haven for Cats, spoke with Nate Saunders about what the shelter is doing and how you can help.

The reality of legal sports gambling got another step closer Wednesday when the bill passed in the NC Senate. House Bill 347 will now head back to the NC House to be reviewed once again. Bill Squadron, an Associate Professor of Sports Management at Elon University, joined Nate Saunders to discuss the bill.

A report from the American Lung Association, to be released on June 7, examines the impact that a transition to electric passenger vehicles powered by zero-emission electricity sources would have on North Carolina residents. Will Barrett, National Senior Director of Advocacy and Clean Air for the American Lung Association, talked with Nate Saunders about the environmental benefits of electric vehi...

A bus driver in Charlotte has been let go after getting into a gunfight with a rider. MPOX, or monkeypox, is back in the news and Wake County health officials are sending out warnings. Nate Saunders and Wake County Soil and Water Supervisor Scott Lassiter discussed the local implications of stories that made the news this week.

Senior pranks... they can have extracurricular implications. Nate Saunders and Wake County school principal Scott Lassiter discussed end of year pranks and new efforts by local police to reach out to youth sports.

The ACC is not breaking up. At least not any time soon. Reports emerged from the conference's spring meetings in Amelia Island, Fla., that seven of the league's members united in exploring the Grant of Rights contract in search of loopholes that would let them out. The meeting happened two weeks ago. David Glenn of Chapelboro.com joined Nate Saunders to discuss the fallout of the meeting.

A bill to legalize mobile sports wagering and, in some select locations, in-person sports betting has been passed by the NC Senate and now goes to the House for approval. Scott Lassiter, Wake County's Soil and Water Supervisor and local political analyst, joined Nate Saunders to discuss sports gambling in North Carolina.

Photo Credit: Ken Huth The Durham County Sheriff's Office recently arrested multiple individuals following its STEP Operation, or Sheriff's Targeted Enforcement Program. The STEP Operation crisscrossed Durham County over an eight-day period. Durham Sheriff Clarence Birkhead joined Nate Saunders to discuss the program and the office's new podcast it is conducting with North Carolina Central Univers...

A UNC Greensboro professor is launching a new initiative to improve the wellness of children – and it starts with a fist bump. Dr. Mike Perko, a professor of public health education in UNCG’s School of Health and Human Sciences, has created 500 Fist Bumps – a public health effort delivered through youth and rec sports organizations that uses fist bumps as a connection point for building care, trus...

A biologic therapy that famous athletes swear by to treat arthritis and sports injuries -- also shows benefit for the kind of neurological pain caused by chemotherapy or diabetes. In a study using rodents, Duke Health researchers found that a spinal injection of the conditioned serum eased limb pain for far longer that typical treatment. Dr. Thomas Buchheit, associate professor of Duke University'...

The biennial Beer Serves America report finds that the U.S. beer industry supports over 75,000 local jobs and contributes $12.8 billion to North Carolina's economy. Of the nearly 75,000 jobs the beer industry supports, these jobs fall in a multitude of labor sectors across the state. Lester Jones of the Beer Institute joined Nate Saunders to discuss how vital beer is to the state economy.

Photo Credit: Kristine BellinoYou are probably seeing more electric cars and trucks on the road... but charging for them has not been created equal. Nate Saunders and WPTF traffic czar Mike Davis spoke about that along with other types of "green" transportation.

If you traveled this past holiday weekend, you probably can already see there's plenty of others doing it too. But, the latest High Point University poll took a closer look at the summer travel season. Poll director Martin Kiefer told our Nate Saunders says many are looking to get away.

Later this week, June will usher in meteorological summer. With a sneak preview of what the weather will look like, Nate Saunders talked to Andrew Kren at the National Weather Service.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis entered the race for the White House, albeit with clunky Twitter space rollout. For more perspective, Nate Saunders talked with N.C. State Political Science Professor Andy Taylor.