A person was pulled from Harris Lake on Friday, and a search is underway for a second boater. A spokesperson told WRAL News two men who were out fishing crashed into a cement pole in the water and were thrown from the boat.

 Man missing at Harris Lake after boat crashes into cement pole. On TV, what we know about the search.

More than 21% of North Carolina's four-year-olds enrolled in the state's pre-kindergarten programs during the 2022-2023 school year, up from the prior year but still below the state's pre-pandemic highs, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research.

North Carolina ranks 29th in public pre-K enrollment, new report shows

Durham County budget increases funding for pre-K students

Consumer Reports surveyed more than 2,000 members who shared their experiences with pet insurance.

Is pet insurance worth the bark? Survey reveals middling results

Pet insurance

Early returns show President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney neck and neck. But Obama is trailing in key counties. 

RALEIGH, N.C. — With about 2 million votes reporting, President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney are neck and neck, within a percentage point.

But looking at the counties from where those counties are coming, the news is good for Romney and bad for the president -- at least as far as North Carolina goes.

Consider Wake County, which in 2008 Obama won 250,891 	187,001. Not only did Wake give Obama a win, it gave him a cushion against other parts of the state where he was less popular. 

<a href="https://www.wral.com/story/key-counties-may-swing-north-carolina-s-presidential-vote/11675574/">Wake is a bell weather county for the 2012 presidential race.</a>

And with 178 of 200 Wake County precincts reporting tonight, Romney is leading 101,352 to 94,555. Even if Obama closes that gap, it seems unlikely he'll be able to build the same kind of lead he had in 2008.

Update: Wake County's didn't get its early voting numbers into the Wake County totals until 10:14 p.m. With the early vote, Obama pulled ahead. 55.12% to 43.26% for Romney.

That is DECIDEDLY good news for Obama. However, while his margin in Wake isn't quite as big as it was in 2008 and he's encountering significant drag in other parts of the state. 

Obama is leading in some other key counties early, such as Forsyth, are giving Obama and early lead.

But the smart money is now on a close, Romney win. 

And in case this isn't blazingly obvious: This only speaks to the presidential race in North Carolina and says nothing about the national outcome.

UPDATED: Presidential vote tight, Obama charges from behind in Wake County

The Storm Prediction Center has the Triangle under a Level 1 risk for severe storms Friday.

Level 1 risk: Severe storms, damaging winds possible Friday ⛈️

Level 1 risk for severe storms Friday 

A person was pulled from Harris Lake on Friday, and a water rescue and search is underway for a second boater.

Man missing at Harris Lake after boat crashes into cement pole

Person pulled from water at Harris Lake, search continues for other boaters

Police found a man shot in the 1000 block of Miami Boulevard on Friday morning.

Man dies in shooting at Durham shopping center on Miami Boulevard

Subway restaurant at The Village Shopping Center

A new North Carolina poll shows former President Donald Trump maintaining a slight lead over President Joe Biden ahead of a November rematch. The gubernatorial race remains within the margin of error.

New poll shows Trump with slight lead in NC, Robinson and Stein battling it out

Joe Biden, Donald Trump, candidates for president 2024

The owner of Clyde Cooper's Barbecue is selling the space in downtown Raleigh, according to a real estate agent representing the restaurant.

Clyde Cooper's Barbecue selling downtown Raleigh space for $2.9 million

Clyde Cooper's Barbeque

WRAL-TV News Broadcasts: Watch each newscast live or watch the most recent newscast on demand.

WRAL Late News 

WRAL Noon News

Get the latest WRAL WeatherCenter Forecast whenever you need it, including the DUALDoppler5000 and the 7-Day Forecast.

WRAL WeatherCenter Forecast

Gov. Roy Cooper joins United States Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm to make a clean energy announcement.

Gov. Cooper makes clean energy announcement

Nightly N.C. Education Lottery drawings during the 11 p.m. News.

Evening Pick 3 Pick 4 and Cash 5

Daytime Pick 3 and Pick 4 drawings are held at 3 p.m. daily. They can be seen as live or on-demand video.

Daytime Pick 3 and Pick 4 Drawing

Videos

Game 1 is Saturday night in Raleigh. Game 2 is Monday at PNC Arena.

Make your plans: Complete Hurricanes-Islanders first-round schedule

Capitals_Hurricanes_Hockey_58513

Brandon Butterworth picked up his first hit of the game with a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth to beat No. 11 North Carolina.

NC State beats UNC with walk-off homer in first game of baseball series

NC State at UNC

The No. 15 Tar Heels have now beat No. 25 Duke in 15 consecutive games. Both teams now prepare for the ACC championship next week.

Women's Lacrosse: North Carolina pulls away in the third quarter, beats Duke

Duke vs. UNC women's lacrosse

Over the course of her career, Ashley Twichell has pushed through situations that might have otherwise been the end of it, including a recurring shoulder injury and the COVID pandemic.