WRAL Daily Download

Former President Jimmy Carter has long been known for his volunteerism, including building homes with the organization Habitat for Humanity. North Carolina resident Nancy Massey has been on fifteen Habitat for Humanity building missions over the years. Back in August 2001, she was on a Habitat site in South Korea, when former President Carter, his wife Rosalynn and the founder of Habitat for Humanity showed up to help build an apartment complex. She remembers, this was no photo-op. Mr. Carter knew how to swing a hammer, and did so even in the intense heat of summer. After that experience, Nancy also visited Plains, Georgia where she attended Mr. Carter’s Sunday school class. In this episode taped in March, 2023, WRAL anchor and reporter Ken Smith shares his interview with Massey.

 A long stretch of I-95 runs through our state as it takes travelers from Miami to Maine through a dozen states. Law enforcement say it's not just travelers using the route, it's also drug traffickers. WRAL Investigates' Chelsea Donovan rode along with a special team of officers on a 50 mile stretch through Nash County to see what they find in traffic stops every day.

The battle for the Republican nomination for North Carolina lieutenant Governor will be decided in a May 14 runoff. GOP candidates Jim O’Neill and Hal Weatherman have different ideas for how to lead the office after Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s term ends — assuming one of them can beat Democrat Rachel Hunt in November. WRAL State Government Reporter Paul Specht explains.

It's been a week since Pro-Palestinian protesters at UNC first put tents up on a campus quad. Since then, protests and rallies have come and gone on campus after clashes with police and administrators. Thursday, the University put up a 12-foot fence along the quad and closed the campus YMCA. WRAL Matt Talhelm and Chelsea Donovan explain how we got here.

There's a chance your future may include fewer flu shots. Researchers at Duke are trying to create a vaccine that could last for years, instead of having to get a new one each fall. WRAL Health Reporter Grace Hayba breaks down the two ways research groups are trying to get there.

Four officers were killed Monday while trying to serve a warrant at an east Charlotte home. A total of eight officers were shot, according to police. As news broke, WRAL News sent a team of reporters across the state. Eric Miller joins Ali Ingersoll to share the latest details. 

You might have seen these kits on Amazon or at Home Depot – tiny homes in a box. WRAL’s 5 On Your Side producer Pritchard Strong started looking into them to see if they’re worth buying. He joins Ali Ingersoll to talk about some of the hidden costs and interesting history of box homes in Raleigh.

North Carolina’s $500 million investment in NCInnovation — a GOP-backed group designed to help the state capitalize on discoveries in state universities — is drawing scrutiny from one of the state’s most powerful Republicans. WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran explains the allegations — and why the group denied them.

There’s an ancient legend hidden among the historic buildings in the grassy knoll called McCorkle Place on UNC Chapel Hill’s campus. It’s a witness to history—the Davie Poplar tree, as it's known, has been there longer than the university. WRAL’s Hidden History reporter Heather Leah shared the legends and the romance behind this magnificent antique giant.

A UNC Health Physician and a pilot survived when a small plane when it crashed near the RDU runway Wednesday. As the investigation into what caused the crash began, so did headaches for travelers. WRAL Durham Reporter Monica Casey walks through what she saw while reporting near the tarmac.