WRAL Daily Download

Imagine finding out that your new home was so poorly constructed and has so many faults that the only thing you can do is tear it down and start over. This is exactly what happened to a Chatham County family. Come to find out the inspector didn’t do his job and failed to note 30 plus violations. The family sued the builder and the county, but their struggle continues. 5 On Your Side Producer Pritchard Strong shares this cautionary tale with us.

Most of us have heard of Stonehenge in England, the mysterious pre-historic vertical stones in a circle that people around the world venture to see. But few people know that we have our very own Stonehenge in Chapel Hill--one of North Carolina’s seven wonders. Like the original Stonehenge, it’s also a sacred place where people can go to meditate and contemplate. In this episode, WRAL’s Hidden History Reporter Heather Leah shares with us who is behind this magical place and tells us about other similar spaces he has created.

For most of his two terms in office, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has worked behind the scenes to bring his priorities to fruition. But in recent weeks, Cooper has resorted to aggressive tactics, using the bully pulpit to oppose GOP agenda and harangue moderate Republicans into siding with him, yielding little success, criticism from opponents and speculation about his future plans. WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran explains.  

In 1968, at the age of 75, a tobacco farmer decided to build a miniature stone village with rocks he mined himself from his own property. What followed was a magical mini-town featuring 27 buildings complete with tiny inhabitants that you can see if you look closely. In this episode, WRAL’s Hidden History Reporter Heather Leah takes us to one of North Carolina’s seven wonders—Shangri-La, a magical place in Caswell County. She shares what’s behind it and how you too can experience the sacred beauty.

When it comes to hurricanes, climate change has real consequences. Going forward, storms impacting North Carolina are likely to bring more rain, more wind, more flooding and stay longer. They are also likely to make their impact further inland. In this episode, WRAL meteorologist Kat Campbell and WRAL’s climate reporter, Liz McLaughlin, break down the risk for us and let us know what we can expect as we head into the 2023 hurricane season.

LINKS: https://www.wral.com/story/nc-state-predicts-normal-2023-atlantic-hurricane-season/20809597/

If you’re a Duke Energy Progress or Duke Energy Carolinas customer, you can expect to see major rate hikes in the next three years. Rates are projected to increase by 19 percent in that period and could even double within six years. Duke tells the North Carolina Utilities Commission, which must approve the hikes, that they are needed to update the energy grid and continue providing reliable service. WRAL Investigates reporter Cullen Browder walks us through the potential changes and how it could impact your wallet.

In most cases, if you are overpaid by a business or an individual, the law says you only have to pay back three years of what you improperly received. This doesn’t apply, however, to the state retirement plan. When a retired Raleigh city worker found out he had been overpaid by the state retirement fund by $240,000 dollars, he was forced to declare bankruptcy and go back to work at 80-years-old. In this episode, 5 on Your Side’s Keely Arthur went straight to the North Carolina state treasurer to find out how and why this is happening to people and what can be done to avoid this in the future.

Thousands of North Carolina kids struggle with reading. Experts say it's because a lot of them have been taught bad habits. That's leading to changes in North Carolina classrooms. There are also things parents can do at home to help. WRAL Education Reporter Emily Walkenhorst explains. 

Every year about 500,000 women in the United States experience miscarriage, that’s ten to fifteen percent of all pregnancies, or one in four. Still, it’s often a silent loss—the woman suffers quietly, only sharing her pain with people closest to her. But WRAL reporter Sarah Krueger is speaking out because she wants other women to know they are not alone in this struggle. In this very emotional episode, Sarah bravely shares her experience with multiple miscarriages and encourages other women to stay hopeful even after these devastating losses.

The Tar Heel Traveler, also known as reporter Scott Mason, has traveled thousands of miles, from the mountains to the coast of North Carolina. He’s interviewed thousands of people about the very things that make our state unique. And he’s told their stories, thousands of them. In this episode, we talk to Scott about his new milestone—2500 stories and counting.

https://www.wral.com/tar-heel-traveler/