The North Carolina Senate voted along party lines Wednesday to ban anyone from wearing masks in public for health reasons, following an emotional debate about the wisdom of the proposal.


NC Senate votes to ban people from wearing masks in public for health reasons

Protestors gather in Graham 

A year later, the full impact of the North Carolina abortion law is becoming clearer for both supporters and opponents.

A year later, impact from NC's 12-week abortion ban coming into focus

Ultrasound

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey will run for governor in the deep red state.

<b>CNN</b> — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey will run for governor in the deep red state.

"Today, I come before you with a very clear purpose: I am seeking the Republican nomination for governor of West Virginia," Morrisey said as he made the announcement on Tuesday.

West Virginia's current governor, Jim Justice, a Republican, is seen as a likely potential contender to run against centrist Democrat Joe Manchin in the 2024 Senate race. Manchin is up for reelection to the US Senate in 2024, but he has not yet said if he plans to run.

Morrisey won the Republican Senate primary for the 2018 midterms, but lost to Manchin in the general election. He has served as West Virginia's attorney general since 2013.

Manchin has been a fixture of West Virginia politics for years, but he would be a top target for Republicans if he runs again in the state where voters turned out strongly in support of former President Donald Trump in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.

The Democratic Party once held major sway in the state, but its standing has drastically eroded over the years. Justice, for example, ran for governor as a Democrat in 2016 and switched parties the next year.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announces bid for governor

Within the span of an hour, two different men were shot within a few blocks of each other in Raleigh.

22-year-old shot to death near Western Blvd., second person shot only a few blocks away

Two men shot within a few blocks of each other overnight in Raleigh

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country's foreign minister and other officials apparently crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran on Sunday, sparking a massive rescue operation in a fog-shrouded forest as the public was urged to pray.

Helicopter carrying Iran's hard-line president apparently crashes in foggy, mountainous region

Iran_Azerbaijan_46800

A dozen abandoned and derelict boats are finally being cleaned up from coastal waters in our state.

Hundreds of abandoned, storm-ravaged boats float along the NC coast

A dozen abandoned boats pulled from the NC coastal waters

A dashcam video showing a Morrisville police officer springing into action to rescue a driver from a speeding train is going viral on social media.

On cam: Police officer helps driver off deadly tracks seconds before a train speeds past

VIDEO: NC police officer helps driver off tracks seconds before train speeds past

The efforts to repeal diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at North Carolina's public universities come amid a broader backlash in conservative circles against affirmative action and other more recent racial justice reforms that passed after the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.

Divisive or beneficial? Questions linger as UNC system looks to cut diversity programs

UNC-Chapel Hill campus

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

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

Evening Pick 3 Pick 4 and Cash 5

Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday Powerball drawings, as shown live on WRAL.

Powerball Drawing

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

Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour is staying in Raleigh. The Canes legend agreed to a contract extension with the team. The details of the extension are currently unknown.

Here to stay: Canes sign Brind'Amour to multi-year extension

Rod Brind'Amour vs. New York Rangers Game 4

Seize the Grey has won the Preakness Stakes for 88-year-old Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. His victory ended Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan's Triple Crown bid. 

Seize the Grey wins the Preakness for D. Wayne Lukas and ends Mystik Dan's Triple Crown bid

APTOPIX Preakness Horse Racing

One person is dead and another charged with Misdemeanor Death and Careless and Reckless Driving after a crash closed part of I-85 southbound for several hours early Sunday morning.

Fatal crash: 21-year-old passenger ejected from Jeep on I-85 in Durham County, driver charged

Police car crime scene night

In a span of four hours, the top-ranked golfer in the world was arrested wearing gym shorts and a tee shirt, dressed in an orange jail shirt for his mug shot, returned to Valhalla Golf Club in golf clothes and made his 10:08 a.m. second-round tee time.