WRAL Daily Download

Car payments are getting harder for families to afford as the cost of groceries, housing, insurance, and other bills continue to rise. 5 On Your Side's Keely Arthur speaks with Ashley Rowe about what families can do get back on track to void delinquency or repossession. 

President Donald Trump spoke in Gastonia to give a boost to Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley. His comments got a strong response from Governor Josh Stein. WRAL's Will Doran and Grace Holland talk through what it reveals about the President's midterm mindset.

WRAL sports investigate reporter Brian Murphy talks about what he learned from investigators who looked into allegations of drug use, sexual relationships and compliance issues within the UNC football program. Murphy met with lead investigators for over an hour on Thursday, the same day Steve Belichick's resignation was announced.

For today's WRAL Daily Download, we're going back in the vault to a previous episode.

A new Consumer Reports investigation found concerning levels of certain additives and contaminants in some widely-sold foods and drinks. WRAL 5 On Your Side's Alex Littlehales explains what the findings show.

As WakeMed plans a massive partnership with Atrium Health, major questions remain about the cost of care, charity care and the potential for a $2 billion investment in the Triangle. WakeMed CEO Donald Gintzig sits down with WRAL's Dan Haggerty to discuss the questions coming from patients.

The fall foliage forecast is out for 2026! WRAL meteorologist Kat Campbell spoke with a local expert to go over what our leaves will do this year. The heat, along with inconsistent rain over the summer, has put our area in a less-than-favorable position for fall foliage.

What does that mean for the timeline for leaves to change colors? Are there still places in North Carolina where we can see those bright colors pop? Campbell and WRAL's Louis Fernandez spoke through what we can expect.

Less than two months from midterm elections and the campaign trail is heating up for U.S. senate Democratic nominee Roy Cooper and U.S. senate Republican nominee Michael Whatley.

 Cooper told supporters at a campaign stop in rural Wayne County Thursday that he stands by his record on public safety, defending his actions as North Carolina governor a day after nationally televised attacks from President Donald Trump.

Whatley took to the national stage during the Republican national midterm convention in Dallas. Recent polls show Cooper with a lead over Whatley as the election approaches.

WRAL's Will Doran and Louis Fernandez talked through where the race stands and what you need to know with November right around the corner.

The North Carolina Education Lottery has for years not met its goal of giving out at least 38% of proceeds to public education, which mostly includes K-12 schools, according to a state audit. A state statute indicates that at least 50% should go toward paying out winnings, the auditor said.

North Carolina State Auditor Dave Boliek said in a new report, North Carolina lawmakers and policymakers should make a decision about the future of the North Carolina Education Lottery.

WRAL’s Randall Kerr and Carolina Yaffa talk through the audit and how the North Carolina Education Lottery system works.

What led up to UNC Football's General Manager Michael Lombardi's resignation? WRAL's Pat Welter and Chris Lea walk us through the month leading up to his resignation. 

Consumer Reports evaluated dozens of doorbell camera models, looking at video quality, response time and data security. 5 On Your Side's Keely Arthur speaks with WRAL Digital Producer Jaylin Jones about what happens to video that gets recorded, where it's stored, and how easily police can depend on the product. 

On Monday morning, we heard from UNC football head coach Bill Belichick for the first time since the resignation of general manager Michael Lombardi. 

Lombardi’s resignation came in moments before WRAL reported new details about the scope of the investigation, a probe that was launched shortly after he was placed on administrative leave in July. 

People familiar with the investigation told WRAL that outside lawyers hired to conduct the inquiry are asking people close to the program about whether son and defensive coordinator Steve Belichick used drugs at university facilities and whether he gave drugs to at least one player. Investigators are also asking about whether at least one member of UNC’s recruiting staff has a sexual relationship with at least one player, the people said, adding that investigators are also asking about similar possible relationships between recruiting staff and assistant coaches.  

Listen into our coverage of the day's events and where UNC goes from here.

Voting is underway in North Carolina, as the 2026 midterm elections started here Friday. North Carolina is the first state in the country to begin voting, although most voters are still unlikely to cast their ballots for another month or more.

The online portal that overseas and military voters can use opened at midnight. And as the day went on, officials in all 100 counties also began mailing out ballots to people stateside who have already requested to vote by mail.

As that was all happening, the State Board of Elections also met Friday morning to approve some last-minute changes to the rules for mail-in voting. For the most part, the new changes will require a stricter interpretation of state law, making it more likely that people’s ballots will be thrown out over technicalities that state officials previously let slide.

WRAL's Louis Fernandez and Will Doran sat down and spoke through where voting by mail stands for this year's midterm elections both locally and nationally on this week's On the Record.

What is a maternity care desert? How many of them are in North Carolina? WRAL Health Reporter Grace Hayba and WRAL News+ Anchor Elizabeth Holmes speak about how one North Carolina university is using doulas to do life-saving maternity care in rural communities. 

Students in the capital used to go to school at either a Raleigh city school or a Wake County school. 50 years ago this year, the two school districts merged into one. Now, we know it as the Wake County Public School system. But it didn’t happen overnight – in fact, it took years.

WRAL's Destinee Patterson and Emily Walkenhorst sit down with former superintendent Bill McNeal. He was a teacher during the time of the merger and would eventually lead the largest school district in the state. 

A Wake County family is raising questions about the state's cemetery oversight after someone else's remains were buried in a plot they bought burial rights for more than a decade ago. WRAL's Alex Littlehales found out it's not the first time there's been a situation like this at that cemetery.

North Carolina election officials say things are "business as usual" as they plan to send mail-in ballots out next week. But there's been legal back-and-forth at the state and federal level. WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran speaks with WRAL News+ Anchor Elizabeth Holmes about what voters need to know.

Foodborne illness outbreaks have some shoppers eyeing hydroponic lettuce, but is is safer? WRAL Climate Change reporter Liz McLaughlin spoke with farmers and shoppers who are making the change. 

Americans waste up to $1,000 annually on unused and unwanted subscriptions. The law is on your side when it comes to getting rid of them. WRAL's Keely Arthur explains how it can help you do just that.

NASA Astronaut Christina Koch returned to her alma mater, NC State, this week for the first time since her trip to the moon. WRAL Meteorologists Elizabeth Gardner and Aimee Wilmoth were there for the event and shares there favorite parts of the visit.

NASA astronaut Christina Koch visited North Carolina State University, her alma mater, on Monday for a "welcome home"-style event.

Koch, who became the first woman to leave low Earth orbit and the first woman to travel to and around the moon, spoke at a sold-out event in her honor titled "Around the Moon and Pack Again" on NC State's Centennial Campus.

On today's episode of the WRAL Daily Download, we reflect on the Artemis II mission involving Koch. 

From the archive:

Four astronauts--including a woman from North Carolina--are set to take off for the Moon on Wednesday aboard Artemis II. Nasa Ambassador Tony Rice is at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to cover the first Moon mission in 53 years. WRAL's Louis Fernandez spoke to him about this historic mission.

Critics of early-voting plans adopted this year by North Carolina Republicans are accusing GOP leaders of discrimination, alleging that they’re eliminating sites and days preferred by Black voters. The allegations framed tense debate among state and local elections officials during a meeting Thursday.

The 2026 midterm elections will be the first major general election since Republicans took control of the state’s election administration. In all 100 North Carolina counties, as well as at the state level, Republicans now control a majority on the boards of election that decide administrative issues such as where to put early-voting sites, when to open those sites and more. Republican appointees have three seats on those county boards. Democratic appointees have two.

The political flip followed passage of a law after the 2024 elections that took election administration power from the Democratic governor and gave it to the Republican state auditor.

In 80 counties, the 2026 early-voting plans passed with unanimous and bipartisan agreement. But in 20 counties, there were fights over proposals — many of which eliminate some voting on Sundays, which data shows is disproportionately used by Black voters.

Wake County public schools have been experiencing issues with their HVAC in a third of schools. WRAL Investigates dove into other records and found that many schools are struggling with widespread infrastructure issues from air conditioning to bathrooms, forcing teachers and PTAs to cover the cost.

WRAL’s Destinee Patterson and Emily Walkenhorst have more.

WRAL News brought together law enforcement and community leaders on Wednesday for an open discussion about youth violence, what’s driving it and what we can do as a community to break the cycle.   

Raleigh Police Chief Rico Boyce and Wake County Sheriff Willie Rowe were among the group we brought together for a one-hour discussion.

Here’s the first half of that conversation. For the entire hour, head to the WRAL YouTube page.

Several Rocky Mount city staff members and council members are attending a power utility conference at a four-star Virginia resort as the city faces financial strain and rising utility bills.

WRAL reporter Alex Littlehales spoke with Rocky Mount's Energy Resources Director, Bradley Walters, who acknowledged the optics of the situation at the conference's opening day.