The WRAL Daily Download is an in-depth conversation about a single news story. WRAL covers news across North Carolina every day, but this podcast focuses on one story at a time, bringing context to each conversation. The in-depth, localized podcast takes you into the latest stories from Raleigh, Durham, and the entire Triangle region on North Carolina. This is community news aimed at keeping you informed about the more subtle stories that are happening around you. Hosted by WRAL News journalists, episodes post weekdays by 4:30am.
With a major race this weekend in Chapel Hill, the Daily Download tackles running culture. What makes someone wake up at 3:30 a.m. to run 17 miles? We find out with WRAL runner in residence (and investigative data reporter) Ali Ingersoll, MC for this weekend's Tar Heel 10 Miler.
Did you know if you're a woman in North Carolina you are likely to pay more for car insurance than a man? A recent study shows that women pay more than men, even women with clean driving records and no other logical factors that could increase their rates. There's even a law in North Carolina that prohibits this, so why is it not working? WRAL's 5 On Your Side reporter Keely Arthur investigated this topic. In this episode, she shares what she learned and has tips on how women can be smart consum...
Wake County parents,students and staff see pros and cons in later school start times for middle and high schools and earlier start start times for elementary schools. Later start times could be better for academic performance, but extracurricular activities and bus schedules could be negatively affected. WRAL Education Insider Emily Walkenhorst explains the Wake County Public School System's ongoing debate over bell schedules.
North Carolina lawmakers passed a law that increases penalties for protesters and broadens arrest powers for police during protests. The American Civil Liberties Union claims the legislation is unconstitutional and could lead to the arrests of peaceful protesters. The ACLU has filed a federal lawsuit against the state in response to the new law. In this episode, WRAL state government reporter Will Doran explains the lawsuit and how it could impact the new law.
North Carolina’s shelters have the second highest kill rate in the country. In 2022, 14,000 animals were euthanized. The main reason is that the number of animals being taken in, more than 120,000 last year, far outpaces the resources of the shelters. WRAL multiplatform producer Delaney Eyermann shares her investigation of this issue and possible solutions.
A 27-year-old customer has died at WakeMed after being stabbed, according to witnesses, by the owner of a downtown Raleigh convenience store last week. As of this recording, Raleigh Police have not charged anyone. Witnesses told WRAL the clerk who also owns the store accused Mark Garrity of shoplifting. He left the store and collapsed on the street where a witness gave him CPR. The victim’s mother spoke to WRAL reporter Keenan Willard. In this episode, he shares what she had to say and brings us...
Republican lawmakers filed half a dozen bills last week dealing with transgender youth. Two would ban transgender girls from playing on girl sports teams, basing eligibility on what a student’s birth certificate says. Others limit hormone therapy and medical procedures. All of them draw North Carolina further into a culture war raging across the country.
North Carolina Republicans scored big last week when Democratic Rep. Tricia Cotham decided to change parties. Her bombshell decision gives Republicans a veto-proof majority in the chamber, making it easier for them to write their agenda into the law books. Cotham vows to hold onto some of the beliefs that got her elected to a deep-blue district in the Charlotte suburbs. That has political observers wondering: Will she flip on any hot-button issues? WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran discu...
The Paycheck Protection Program funneled billions of dollars to companies in need during the pandemic to allow them to pay their rent, keep their lights on and keep workers on the payroll even when their doors were shut. But now, US Attorney of the Eastern District of North Carolina Mike Easley says the money didn’t all end up in the right hands. In this episode, WRAL Investigates Senior Producer Randall Kerr tells us about the investigation into PPP fraud and the effort to get the money back....
Many of us use Raleigh-Durham International Airport to travel to see friends and family, but did you know there was an airport in our area before RDU? The Raleigh Municipal Airport operated from 1929 to 1973. Famous pilots, including Amelia Earhart, landed there. And there was a romantic nature to early air travel that defined the facility. Development has obscured most of the remnants of the airport, but WRAL’s Hidden History reporter, Heather Leah, reveals what is still there, and shares the s...
Demand for real estate in fast-growing North Carolina is pushing up prices of homes and apartments. So state lawmakers are proposing a series of bills that would loosen building regulations in an effort to speed supply, and possibly push down prices. WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran breaks down the bills, who's behind them and whether they have a chance of becoming law.
North Carolina's General Assembly is on the cusp of legalizing mobile sports gambling, letting people bet on just about any sport, from their phones, 24 hours a day. Other states have done the same, boosting gambling across the country. Some worry it's too much of an addicting thing. WRAL's Brian Murphy takes a hard look at gambling addiction.
The fentanyl crisis affects families across North Carolina, taking a record number of lives in the state. It's a crisis that impacts everyone, even the man behind the lens of WRAL's latest documentary, Crisis Next Door. Investigative documentary reporter and producer Cristin Severance talks with WRAL photojournalist Jay Jennings about his work on this documentary, and his deep personal connection to one of the families interviewed.
North Carolina lawmakers are working up a new state budget. And mixed in with the raises for teachers and state employees: A major partisan policy fight over climate change, abortion and public schools. WRAL's state government team breaks down the new proposed budget, and how it's being used for leverage.
It’s never been more of a concern. This week’s deadly school shooting in Nashville has people across the country heartbroken and wondering how we can make schools safe from these tragic events. In this episode, WRAL’s investigative producer Randall Kerr tells us about new technology that allows school staff to barricade doors and prevent shooters from getting into classrooms.
North Carolina Republicans have scrapped the state's long-lived pistol permit requirement, aided by the absence of several Democrats, which gave Republicans the numbers they needed to overturn Governor Roy Cooper's veto for the first time since Republicans lost their veto-proof super majorities in the 2018 elections. In this episode, WRAL’s state government reporter Travis Fain explains what this means for gun purchasers and owners, and how it is shaped by the political landscape of our state....
Did you know that if your car is a make and model that is more likely to be stolen that you might not be able to get car insurance? You can blame it on a TikTok challenge that shows people how to hotwire certain types of cars. And even if you can get car insurance, it’s likely that your rates keep increasing. In this episode, WRAL’s Five on Your Side Producer Pritchard Strong explains why this is happening, and what you can do to keep your rates down.
A man is dead after investigators say he fired multiple shots in a six-block area of Southeast Raleigh, some of them at cars near Ligon Middle School. Police say he fired five shots at officers. Two officers returned fire. He was transported to the hospital where he died. It all started just before 7:00 this morning in the 700 block of Cumberland Street near Rock Quarry Road. WRAL reporter Chelsea Donovan was at the scene and has the latest from a press conference with Raleigh’s Police Chief Est...
Advanced practice registered nurses have long sought to undo a North Carolina law that requires a doctor to sign off on their work. They say it often amounts to supervision on paper alone, which doctors charge tens of thousands of dollars a year to provide. Doctors say it’s necessary for patient safety. Despite widespread support for change in the North Carolina General Assembly, nothing has moved forward. WRAL State Government Reporter Travis Fain explains why.
It’s called “swatting.” Criminals make prank phone calls to 911 centers using masking technology, with the intention of sending an emergency response team to another person’s address. WRAL’s investigative reporter Cullen Browder explains what happened to one Fayetteville family after one of these calls led police to storm their home with guns drawn in the middle of the night.
Police made a gruesome discovery after neighbors reported seeing a fire in the yard of a Cary home on Sunday. In the fire pit they found the remains of 34-year-old Cecily Anne Walker-Scott. They also located 35-year-old Ian Delauder with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in an RV on the property. In this episode, WRAL reporter Chelsea Donovan brings us up to speed on the investigation.
It’s been the topic of heated debate across the country and here in North Carolina. How does the map that defines where people vote impact the outcome of elections locally and nationally? WRAL’s state government reporter Will Doran joins us in this episode the break down what redistricting is, how it works and what it means to voters.
Thieves busted a Raleigh woman’s car window and stole her purse, but that was just the beginning. Months later scammers had cleaned out her account, and she was caught in an unhelpful loop with the bank’s customer service. Until she called Keely. WRAL 5 On Your Side’s Keely Arthur returns to make sure YOU know how to protect yourself from hackers and thieves.
A recent report finds that North Carolina’s universities need to do more to prepare educators to teach reading to the state’s K-12 students. The situation has raised the ire of University of North Carolina Board of Governors, which is now threatening action if they don’t turn things around. The UNC system’s universities have less than four months to improve. WRAL Education Insider explains what they’re doing to get better and how reading education has evolved over the years.
Have you ever wondered what lies beneath the surface of the lake where you are swimming? Well, lakes in North Carolina have other worlds lurking beneath their surfaces including a train, an airplane, cemeteries, and remnants of lost rural communities. In this episode, WRAL Hidden History reporter Heather Leah takes us underwater to reveal the mysteries of the deep. arv3bqmd
Have you ever wondered why there is a crumbling chimney or a rusted car along the trail where you’re hiking in the Triangle? You may have even walked by an old cemetery in the woods and not even seen it. In this episode, WRAL’s Hidden History reporter, Heather Leah, takes us to some of these spots along hiking trails in our area and shares the stories behind some of these unusual monuments to our past.
More than 4000 people in North Carolina died from drug overdoses in 2021. This is the highest number of drug-abuse deaths ever recorded in our state in a single year. 77% of those deaths involved fentanyl according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. In this episode, WRAL documentary reporter and producer Cristin Severance tells us about her upcoming documentary: “Crisis Next Door.”
Weighed down with high expectations, UNC’s men’s basketball team never really got it going this season. Now they’ve missed the NCAA Tournament, despite starting the season ranked No. 1. What went wrong? Where do the Tarheels go from here? How much are Duke and NC State fans loving this? WRAL Sports Director Jason Jennings visits the Daily Download to hash it all out.
The new Republican majority on the North Carolina Supreme Court recently made the extraordinary decision to rehear two big voting rights cases that Democrats won in 2022. The justices’ choice, which questions decisions by the previous Democratic-majority court, could reverberate well beyond the 2024 elections and they raise philosophical questions about the court’s path forward. WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran breaks it down.
In 1961, a B-52 Bomber bound for the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base crashed in Wayne County. It was carrying two nuclear bombs which fell into the wetlands there. Amazingly, they did not detonate. Most of the evidence of the nuclear bombs has been removed from the site…but they didn’t get all of it. And many people remember the day as the day their world almost changed forever. Hidden History reporter Heather Leah explains what happened and what is there now. https://www.wral.com/nuclear-mishap-...
