704 Unfiltered

North Carolina's Division of Motor Vehicles is facing a worsening customer service crisis, with average wait times jumping 15.5% since 2019, according to a state audit released Monday.

The audit by State Auditor Dave Boliek found that customers now wait an average of 1 hour and 15 minutes for service, with nearly 14% of visits exceeding 2.5 hours in fiscal year 2025 — a roughly 79% increase from 2019.

"It's time to solve the DMV problem," Boliek said. "North Carolina has the will and the tools to make our DMV better."

Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/staffing-concerns-wait-times-nc-dmv/275-cd8b8b4e-bb03-4b18-8381-de4377aea950?tbref=hp

WCNC Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with news that impacts you from the team at WCNC Charlotte.  
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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has approved the South Carolina Office of Resilience’s (SCOR) Action Plan for allocating more than $150 million in Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds in response to the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene.

“This approval is a key step in getting much needed disaster recovery assistance to South Carolinians,” said Ben Duncan, South Carolina’s Chief Resilience Officer and head of SCOR, the agency responsible for overseeing the program.

The approved plan includes a comprehensive assessment of unmet needs following Hurricane Helene and outlines how the funds will be used to support long-term recovery. According to the plan, South Carolina faces $2.1 billion in unmet needs, with $1.7 billion in housing-related needs alone.

Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/article/weather/hurricane/helene/hud-south-carolina-disaster-recovery-plan-hurricane-helene/101-839bb631-674f-4860-9f12-b07cb899061f

WCNC Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with news that impacts you from the team at WCNC Charlotte.  
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U.S. kindergarten vaccination rates inched down again last year and the share of children with exemptions rose to an all-time high, according to federal data posted Thursday.

The fraction of kids exempted from vaccine requirements rose to 4.1%, up from 3.7% the year before. It's the third record-breaking year in a row for the exemption rate, and the vast majority are parents withholding shots for nonmedical reasons.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/us-childhood-vaccination-rates-fall-again-exemptions-set-another-record/507-ab069523-2e81-4195-be68-21c6b17f40a3

A shift in the weather is coming just in time for the weekend, but not before Friday brings a heightened risk for flooding across the region. 

As a cold front slowly moves through, heavy downpours from slow-moving storms could lead to flash flooding in some areas. 

FULL WEATHER IMPACT FORECAST: https://www.wcnc.com/article/weather/weather-impact/weather-alert-flooding-risk-friday-august-1-2025/275-b132f118-b8fb-417b-9594-c895ff471fe3

WCNC Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with news that impacts you from the team at WCNC Charlotte.  
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All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere.

A Richmond Senior High School student is accused of shooting and killing a junior firefighter in June.

The 17-year-old suspect is charged with first-degree murder for the death of Gabriel Ennis, a junior firefighter with Cordova Fire & Rescue. The suspect has not been named due to their age. Investigators said the 17-year-old turned themselves in to authorities. He is being held with no bond in juvenile custody.

Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/teen-arrested-for-firefighters-death/275-371678ce-b708-4313-9256-d0dc224b0ba7

WCNC Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with news that impacts you from the team at WCNC Charlotte.  
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All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere.

A Charlotte family vacationing in Hawaii is seeking higher ground following a tsunami warning triggered by a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Russia's Far East.

Chris Fabiano and his family were at a beach on Oahu's north shore when emergency alerts sounded on their phones around 4 p.m. local time, warning of tsunami waves expected to reach Hawaiian shores by 7 p.m.

"We were literally at the beach, and then we all got the iPhone alarms," Fabiano said during an interview with WCNC Charlotte. "We just got in the car. We just decided to go back to our hotel and get up to some safe high ground."

Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/charlotte-family-impacted-by-hawaii-tsunami-warning/275-ab9de7f6-a7e3-4e3d-a1bb-a2f23f8d5590

WCNC Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with news that impacts you from the team at WCNC Charlotte.  
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All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere.

Apartments have been seriously damaged after a fire broke out early Tuesday morning in east Charlotte.

It happened on English Hills Drive, not far from the intersection of East W.T. Harris Boulevard and Albemarle Road.

"I opened my front door, and there's a fire truck," Brianna Peoples said. "I was asleep, we were both asleep. It was very quiet, I woke up, I was smelling fumes. I just woke up because of what was in the air."

Medic said paramedics responded to the scene, but nobody has been taken to the hospital for treatment. One of Medics' paramedics provided life-saving oxygen to a small kitten pulled from a burning building.

Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/apartments-destroyed-in-east-charlotte-fire/275-28dd4bb4-389b-4b44-9421-74190deeedbf

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is investigating a reported sexual assault at the Carowinds theme park.

WCNC Charlotte reviewed an incident report that said the assault was reported Sunday evening. Details were scarce, but the police report said the victim was a teenager. The victim's identity is withheld in the report because they are a minor.

Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/carowinds-sex-assault-report-7-22-2025/275-20169de8-7724-42d1-a84e-514974d129ac?tbref=hp

WCNC Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with news that impacts you from the team at WCNC Charlotte.  
SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Pandora || TuneIn || Google Podcasts || iHeart

All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere.

Prominent Charlotte civil rights attorney James Ferguson died this week. He was 82.  

Ferguson, who was born in Asheville, was a key figure in the desegregation of Charlotte schools in the late 1960s. In a 2012 interview, Ferguson said he was inspired to become a civil rights attorney by the Greensboro sit-ins. Later, he and a group of friends fought to desegregate public facilities in his hometown. Ferguson also co-founded Charlotte's first integrated law firm and was president of that firm for 40 years. 

Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/prominent-attorney-james-ferguson-dies-charlotte-civil-rights-lawyer/275-cd388c34-63e7-4746-829e-a4f4d5cb9686

WCNC Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with news that impacts you from the team at WCNC Charlotte.  
SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Pandora || TuneIn || Google Podcasts || iHeart

All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere.

A 17-year-old was shot and killed Friday night at the Pageland Watermelon Festival in South Carolina, police said.

The shooting happened Friday evening during the festival on July 18. Pageland police officials confirmed the teen died in a statement released Saturday. The victim was identified as Sean Davis at a prayer vigil on Sunday.

Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/teen-killed-in-shooting-at-pageland-watermelon-festival-sc/275-55c30cf5-ca08-4515-8600-39fe277084cd

WCNC Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with news that impacts you from the team at WCNC Charlotte.  
SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Pandora || TuneIn || Google Podcasts || iHeart

All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere.