WRAL Daily Download

An EF-1 tornado with winds as high as 110 miles per hour touched down in Garner Sunday. It hit just seconds after the warning was issued. Amazingly, no one was injured, but the tornado damaged homes, cars, and uprooted trees. WRAL reporter Eric Miller was one of the first journalists at the scene. In this episode, he shares what he saw, what people experienced, and how they are cleaning up the mes...

Lawmakers recently set aside millions of dollars for a pair of education projects that are raising some eyebrows. The companies receiving the money didn’t compete for the contracts, and the state agency that has to implement the projects they fund didn’t have much say in the process, revealing a disconnect between lawmakers and agency officials. WRAL State Government reporter Travis Fa...

Three people were shot and killed at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. The gunman was killed in a shootout with police. Witnesses have identified the as a former professor with ties to North Carolina. He was a tenured professor at East Carolina University and graduated from Duke's business school. Chelsea Donovan spoke to people who knew Anthony Polito and joins us with what she learned.

Imagine your child is sick and you don't know what's wrong. Then a routine blood test at the doctor's office reveals she has lead poisoning. A Wake Forest couple recently experienced this nightmare. After testing everything in their environment, they learned a snack food was the source of the lead. WRAL's 5 On Your Side team investigated this case. Producer Pritchard Strong joins us with what they...

Tuesday night was the first Wake County School Board meeting since a 14-year-old student was stabbed to death at Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School last week. Several people related to the students involved say that the school was warned that violence could erupt and that they did nothing to stop it. The school system has not responded to this allegation as of this recording. WRAL's Aaron Thomas...

For many Americans, medical bills are the thing that pushes them over the edge to a place where financial recovery seems impossible. One in ten people are still paying off medical bills in our country; that’s 23 million people. Fifteen years ago, a Durham police officer tried to save a man’s life after a heart attack. The man died. As a result, Jerry Elliot asked the Durham Bulls to in...

The conflict between Israel and Hamas is causing a rift within the Democratic Party. President Biden has been criticized by some within his own party for not doing enough to help Palestinians who have been hurt by Israel’s attacks on Hamas. Meanwhile, some North Carolina Democrats have faced criticism from some within the party for not showing enough support for Israel, the U.S.’s top...

Sometimes, you visit a place so magical it’s hard to believe that it’s real. When you go to the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge you feel like you’re in another country. It is so spectacular, so magical, that it takes you on a journey. In this episode, WRAL’s Hidden History reporter Heather Leah shares the story behind the bridge, the gardens, and the local art that makes it come...

Three Cumberland County middle school students were treated and released from the hospital after eating gummies on a school bus. It’s not clear whether the gummies were infused with CBD, THC, or something else. The sheriff’s office is investigating. WRAL Fayetteville reporter Gilbert Baez is covering the story and joins me in this episode to share what he has learned about the incident...

Southeast Raleigh High School was closed Tuesday after violence on campus took the life of a 15-year-old student and sent a 16-year-old to the hospital. A 14-year-old is in custody facing a juvenile petition in the fatal stabbing. The entire school community is in mourning as staff, students and parents try to wrap their heads around the tragedy. WRAL has a team covering this unfolding story. In t...

In August, the unthinkable happened in our backyard-a shooting on a college campus. It took place at UNC Chapel Hill. A professor was killed. For hours students and staff sheltered in place in campus buildings while police searched for the shooter. A graduate student was eventually captured and charged in the professor's death. He was in court today, so was WRAL investigative reporter Sarah Kruege...

The 2024 race for North Carolina attorney general is expected to gain outsize attention — and loads of spending — as the role becomes more politicized. No longer is the position just for going after scammers and defending the state in lawsuits. In recent years, partisan debates over abortion rights and voting laws have pitted states’ judicial and legislative branches against one...

It’s one thing to mispronounce the name of a colleague or a new friend, but what about mispronouncing the name of the highest elected official in the state of North Carolina? Well, that’s exactly what we’ve all been doing for a very long time. State government reporter Travis Fain discovered this and decided to set the record straight. He joins us in this episode with what he lea...

This story falls into the category of cool jobs I didn’t even know existed. The fancy name is “graphic facilitation.” Basically, it’s an artist who creates a visual representation of a meeting on a whiteboard for all the participants to see and digest. The idea is that these images can help people brainstorm in a way that opens up their minds to new strategies and solutions...

Sushi has become the go-to food of choice for many Americans today. But how much do we really know about what is in the sushi we eat? WRAL Investigates purchased a variety of sushi in the Triangle and had scientists test it to see what we’re really eating when we ingest America’s favorite meal. Senior Producer Randall Kerr joins us in this episode with what they found.  

Rabbi Eric Solomon of the Beth Meyer Synagogue in Raleigh traveled to Israel last week to support victims of the Hamas attack. He was transformed by what he saw, by what he heard, and by what he experienced. In this episode, he shares his emotional journey with us and his feelings about a possible Raleigh city resolution calling for a cease fire.

Democratic former state Supreme Court Justice Mike Morgan is an uphill fight in the North Carolina governor's race. To stand out, he released an unusually cinematic ad that has generated some buzz. Will it be enough for him to overtake Democratic frontrunner Josh Stein? WRAL State Government Reporter Travis Fain shares details from his recent interview with Morgan and political experts. And WRAL S...

N.C. State University officials unexpectedly closed Poe Hall Friday after toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were found inside the academic building. WRAL 5 On Your Side Producer Pritchard Strong explains what was found and who might be most affected by exposure to the cancer-causing chemicals. He reveals concerns dating back years from faculty and staff who worked in the building. 

It's hard to believe it has been almost a year since 11-year-old Hailey Brooks was hit by the truck driving her dance school float and killed. She was dancing down Hillsborough Street in the Raleigh Christmas Parade, a day that she and her family had been looking forward to for weeks. The Brooks family sat down and shared their story with WRAL anchor and reporter Debra Morgan. In this episode, Deb...

Rabbis from across the country and from North Carolina are in Israel to providing healing and comfort to the victims of the attack by Hamas and their families. One of these rabbis, Rabbi Eric Solomon of Beth Meyer Synagogue in Raleigh, spoke to me after his first full day in Israel from his hotel room about the heartbreaking things he has already experienced.  

More than half a million North Carolina taxpayers were overtaxed by the state this year. This is related to a major glitch in the department of revenue’s tax system. The number of people getting incorrect bills is climbing daily. WRAL’s 5 On Your Side team investigated the situation. In this episode, Producer Pritchard Strong joins us with what they learned.  

The words “nuclear power” have the ability to make a lot of us fearful. In the Triangle, Shearon Harris comes to mind. The cooling tower is located in southwestern Wake County on 5400 acres. The 36-year-old plant can power one million homes. But big nuclear power plants may soon be a thing of the past. In this episode, WRAL Investigates’ Senior Producer Randall Kerr explains what...

A decision by Toyota to build an electric vehicle battery plant has had a cascading effect on the state's economy. Under Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, the state has spent billions of dollars on tax-payer funded incentives, luring clean energy manufacturing jobs to the state. WRAL state government reporter Will Doran shares what he learned about those inverstments after speaking with Cooper and econo...

5 On Your Side recently did a story about a fake hotel listing on Expedia that duped both the customers and the business that was located at the actual address—a law firm. As a follow-up, they decided to create their own fake hotel listing to see what would happen. Would the vetting process that the online platform has in place actually work this time? In this episode, reporter Keely Arthur...

Pets are family. When we lose a pet the grief can be overwhelming. What if there was a place you could go to remember and pay tribute to your beloved pet, a place where people who understand what you're going through gather together? There is such a place. It's called the Rainbow Bridge. In this episode, WRAL's Hidden History reporter Heather Leah shares the story behind the bridge, her very perso...