WRAL Daily Download

It’s not every day that you get to work with your dad on the project of a lifetime. That’s the gift I have experienced for the past year as I delved into one of his old cases to create a true crime serial podcast for WRAL, “The Killing Month August 1978.”  Even though I was just an adolescent at the time, it was a murder case that always stuck with me—six people dead, shot, and in some cases, even buried alive. The criminals were a band of brothers known as the Johnston Gang who killed witnesses when they threatened to snitch on them to police. My dad, William Lamb, was the prosecutor, who along with a very talented assistant district attorney and a dedicated group of investigators, sought justice in this case. In today’s episode, I have the privilege of interviewing my dad in person about what this experience has been like working with me on the podcast and about what he thinks about the final product.

The WRAL Investigates' team set out to find out what’s in those over-the-counter products that promise to help you sleep or give you a buzz. While marijuana is not legal in North Carolina, a certain level of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, is. Call it marijuana light—you can find it in smoke shops and convenience stores. In this episode, senior producer Randall Kerr shares what their investigation uncovered.

From the mysterious Gimghoul Castle in Chapel Hill to the curious spinning angel of Oakwood Cemetery, the Triangle area is full of eerie urban legends to tell around Halloween.

In this episode, WRAL Hidden History Reporter Heather Leah joins me to explore some of the most popular and chilling haunted places around Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill – many of which you can visit or drive past if you want to give yourself a good scare!

Have you ever wanted to explore a real ghost town? Odds are good you’ve driven or hiked past remnants of a ghost town or a lost community without even realizing it. In this episode, WRAL’s Hidden History reporter Heather Leah takes us on an exploration of several ghost towns hidden atop mountains, beneath lakes, deep in the woods, and even on an abandoned island.

Since 2020, the number of juveniles connected to crimes in North Carolina is up by 19 percent. A juvenile offender is anyone 17 or younger. And some of those accused are as young as 10. This has led to an overcrowding problem in youth detention facilities. It’s also leading many people to ask why younger offenders seem to be committing crimes at a higher rate. WRAL Investigates’ reporter Sarah Krueger joins us in this episode to share what’s she learned about this growing crisis.

The North Carolina State Health plan covers more than 700,000 state employees, retirees, and their family members. There is discussion about dropping coverage of weight loss drugs which have skyrocketed to popularity in the past few years. The Board of Trustees is meeting to discuss concerns over the price of the drugs. WRAL reporter Destinee Patterson joins me in this episode to explain. 

Football stadiums and other sports complexes were built to bring people together. But there is some history behind these stadiums that could divide us. Our most recent WRAL Documentary, “Ghosts in the Stadium”, is the story of four iconic stadiums in the Carolinas and their links to the painful history of race relations in the United States. WRAL Sports Anchor Chris Lea hosted this documentary which premiered last night on WRAL and is available to view on WRAL.com. 

“Ghosts in the Stadium” is a new historical documentary from WRAL looking at the unknown pasts of four iconic football stadiums in the Carolinas and their links to the painful history of race relations in the United States. WRAL Documentary Producer Cristin Severance and WRAL Sports Anchor Chris Lea set out to uncover who these stadiums were named after, where they were built, and what communities were replaced. In this episode, Chris Lea joins us now to talk about the making of this documentary airing tonight at 7:30.

Monday afternoon a man was shot in downtown Raleigh near Moore Square Middle School. He was taken to the hospital and police arrested a suspect. The school was briefly put on lockdown. Multiple streets were shutdown. This brazen act of violence in a highly populated area has many people in the neighborhood very concerned about safety. In this episode, WRAL reporter Willie Daniely explains what happened and how people are reacting.

North Carolina's voting districts have been debated for years - fought over in the state house and in the country's highest court. Now lawmakers and lawyers are preparing for another round. New voting districts proposed by Republican lawmakers would tilt North Carolina's representation in Congress far to the right. The proposal has drawn criticism and threats of legal action from the left. But this time, challenges may be less fruitful than past efforts. WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran explains why.