We’re also following the flight delays and tomorrow’s impacts after a plane crash at RDU. Plus, Only on WRAL, why a high school student is not allowed to participate in one of the most important events of his life.. and how he and his family are fighting for him to graduate. Watch WRAL-TV at 11 p.m., and search for these and other stories on WRAL.com.

On WRAL at 11: Cooler weather tomorrow morning but we’re about to warm up. When and where temperatures top 90 degrees

The "Dueling Dinosaurs" exhibit opening this weekend at Raleigh's North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences will feature what's believed to be the most complete T. rex skeleton ever discovered.

'Dueling Dinosaurs:' One-of-a-kind dig, laboratory access at Raleigh science museum

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Athens Drive Magnet High School and Conn Magnet Elementary School won national awards Saturday at the Magnet Schools of America's annual conference.

Top two magnet schools in the US are in Wake County

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One day, the 5 On Your Side phone rang with a call supposedly from a local number. The caller on the other end said they were with a local power company and payment was late.



<b>RALEIGH, N.C.</b> — One day, the 5 On Your Side phone rang with a call supposedly from a local number. The caller on the other end said they were with a local power company and payment was late.

Knowing it was a scam, 5 On Your Side’s producer pressed '1' to see what happened.

"Welcome to Duke and Progress Energy. How can we help you?" said the voice on the line.

5 On Your Side's producer told the voice she had just received a call about her power being cut off.

"I’m sorry to hear this happening, but I’m here to help you," said the voice.

5 On Your Side’s producer made up an address and name for him, and he immediately said she needed to buy a Moneypack card to pay the outstanding bill or power would be cut.

Whether it's asking for your Social Security Number or claiming you owe money t the Internal Revenue Service, millions of illegal robocalls are being made every month to scam Americans out of personal information or money.

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Maybe you’ve received one like it, or one that says, "If we don’t hear from you … we will be forced to take legal action."

They’re among the countless, common robocalls that still get through despite added protections.

Around 4.1 billion robocalls were placed in October 2021, which Consumer Reports said actually shows the number of calls is on the decline.

A recent deadline imposed by the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/151" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Traced Act</a> requires carriers to certify they’re using what’s known as STIR/SHAKEN technology.

“STIR/SHAKEN is designed to help identify spoofed calls that use a fake number to trick you into answering your phone,” said Octavio Blanco with Consumer Reports.

The deadline for phone companies to block robocalls is next week, and representatives for AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile all said Friday that they will meet that deadline.

AWAY, WE'RE EXPECTING ALL FOUR LANES TO BE RE-OPEN. >>> TUESDAY IS THE DEADLINE TO PUT AN END TO ROBO CALLS, WILL WE ACTUALLY STOP RECEIVING THOSE UNKNOWN ANNOYING CALLS? THE BUREAU CHIEF, LAURA LESLIE, TRIED TO FIND OUT. >> WE ALL -- HOLD ON A MINUTE, WE ALL GET THEM, SPAM CALLS, MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY, USUALLY WHEN YOU ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF DOING SOMETHING ELSE, COMING NEXT WEEK, THEY SHOULD BE LESS FREQUENT. NC PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUP SAYS SCAM CALLS ARE MORE THAN JUST IRRITATING, THEY ARE SCAMMING PEOPLE OUT OF A LOT OF MONEY. >> IT IS FRUSTRATING, ANNOYING CALLS, VICTIMIZE MANY FOLKS THAT COLLECTIVELY COSTS US OVER $10 BILLION EVERY YEAR, SCAM ROBO CALLS HAVE BEEN ILLEGAL SINCE 2009, CONGRESS PASSED A LAW TWO YEARS AGO REQUIRING U.S. TELECOME COMPANIES TO IMPLEMENT NEW TECHNOLOGY TO IDENTIFY AND BLOCK THE CALLS, THE ORIGINAL DEADLINE WAS JUNE 30 BUT THERE WAS A 90-DAY GRACE PERIOD THAT ENDS ON DECEMBER 28. >> THE COMPANIES WON'T HAVE COMPLIANT TECHNOLOGY, CALLS TO OTHER NETWORKS MAYBE BLOCKED IF THEIR TECHNOLOGY TO BLOCK THESE ROBO CALLS. >> SPAM CALLS ARE ALREADY DECREASING, THEY DROPPED BY ABOUT ONE-THIRD OVER THE SUMMER AS TELECOME ADOPTED THE NEW PROTECTIONS, THEY SHOULD DROP MORE NEXT WEEK, BUT CRAIG SAYS, SPAM TEXTS ARE ON THE RISE. >> WHICH IS SOMETHING WE ARE SEEING POP UP AS A RESULT, FOLKS SWITCHING THEIR METHODS OF REACHING OUT FOR THESE SCAMS, THE NEW REGULATIONS DON'T COVER SPAM TEXTS AT ALL, WE EXPECT TO SEE A LOT MORE OF THEM, CRAIG SAYS, THEY ARE URGING THE FCC TO REQUIRE TELECOMES TO BLOCK THOSE AS WELL, I CHECKED WITH THE BIG THREE MOBILE COMPANIES, AT&T, T- MOBILE AND VERIZON, ALL SAY THEY'LL BE READY TO MEET THE DEADLINE, BUT SMALLER COMPANIES HAVE TWO MORE YEARS TO CATCH UP. WRAL NEWS WAKE COUNTY. >>> IT DEFINITELY WILL BE NICE TO HAVE FEWER ROBO CALLS, YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT THE REGULATIONS AND YOUR OPTIONS

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The service is free and automatic, and should label those calls as spam or block them altogether.

But as 5 On Your Side experienced with the fake Duke Energy call, it doesn’t always work.

There are some other steps to try including limiting calls to those on your contact list. You’ll find directions <a href="http:// https://www.consumerreports.org/robocalls/the-best-ways-to-block-robocalls-a1048700708/">here</a>.

Just know, it will block calls from numbers you don’t have stored which could include the doctor's office a repairman.

“There are also third party call-blocking apps, and they can help,” said Blanco.

Some charge a fee, others offer a free subscription or free trial. Just know when that trial ends, you will be charged monthly.

5 On Your Side's Monica Laliberte spoke with an NC State researcher about the frequency of robocalls.

IMPORTANT HOWEVER THEIR ROLE NEEDS TO CHANGE. >>> DO NOT ANSWER ROBOCALLS AND THEY WON'T CALL BACK, WE'VE BEEN TOLD THAT FOR YEARS BUT ONE NC STATE RESEARCHER TELLS 5 ON YOUR SIDE'S  MONICA LALIBERTE THAT'S NOT THE CASE. >> Reporter: THEY CALL CONSTANTLY. WHEN YOU ANSWER YOU ARE CERTAIN YOU JUST TO SET YOURSELF UP TO GET MORE CALLS. >> BUT ON AVERAGE THE PROBLEM IS NOT GETTING WORSE, BUT IT'S NOT GETTING ANY BETTER EITHER. >> Reporter: ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF PETER SCIENCE BRAD RIED SPENT NEARLY A YEAR STARTLING -- STUDYING THESE CALLS. >> IT DOESN'T MATTER WHETHER OR NOT YOU ANSWER THE PHONE, THEY WILL TRY TO CALL YOU REGARDLESS. >> Reporter: HIS TEAM SET UP 66,000 PHONE NUMBERS AND TRACKED THEM FOR 11 MONTHS. >> SOME OF THEM WOULD GET ROBOCALLS SEVERAL OF THE DAY AND OTHERS WE WOULD GO A WEEK OR MORE WITHOUT GETTING A ROBOCALLS. >> Reporter: RESEARCHERS SAY IT DIDN'T MATTER WHETHER THE NUMBER WAS OLD OR NEW. OR WHERE IT ORIGINATED. >> WE COULDN'T REALLY FIGURE OUT WHY SOME NUMBERS GOT MORE THAN OTHERS. >> Reporter: THEY DID FIGURE OUT THE ROBOCALLS STEM FROM SOPHISTICATED MASSIVE OPERATIONS. >> SOME OF THESE CALL CENTERS, AND THEY ARE CALL CENTERS, TAKE UP MULTIPLE STORIES IN AN OFFICE BUILDING AND HAVE COMPUTER SYSTEMS THAT CAN CALL FOUR OR FIVE NUMBERS AT ONCE BUT THEY ALSO HAVE DOZENS OR POTENTIALLY HUNDREDS OF EMPLOYEES. >> Reporter: THEY SPOOF CALLER IDS TO MAKE THEM APPEAR LOCAL TO INCREASE THE CHANCES YOU WILL ANSWER. AND THOSE TIMES YOU PICK UP AND HEAR SILENCE >> IT'S BECAUSE A ROBOCALLS OR HAS CALLED FIVE PEOPLE AT ONCE AND ONE OF THEM WAS YOU BUT SOMEBODY ELSE ANSWERED FIRST. SO THEN THEY JUST IGNORE YOUR CALL BECAUSE THEY'VE ALREADY GOT SOMEBODY ELSE. >> Reporter: HOW DO WE STOP THEM? RESEARCHERS ARE STILL WORKING ON THAT PART, AND WE CAN'T WAIT. >> WHILE THE RESEARCH SHOWS HE WILL GET ROBOCALLS REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU ANSWER, KEEP IN MIND ENGAGING WITH THE ROBOCALLS ERRORS LET'S SCAMMERS KNOW THEY HAVE AN ACTIVE AUDIENCE AND THAT WILL TRIGGER MORE CALLS.

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5 On Your Side: New research on robocalls

When 5 On Your Side questioned the number the scammer called from, he snapped back.

"So, is that what you’re paying attention (sic)? You should be paying attention to the payment details. You will be disconnected in one hour. Bye, Bye" said the would-be scammer.

Duke Energy will not threaten disconnections like that, nor will law enforcement ever call and threaten to arrest you.

Any money paid is almost always gone for good.

Richard Adkins

Caller beware: Despite legislation, robocalls still being placed, including to WRAL newsroom

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A UNC Health physician and pilot were taken to the hospital Wednesday after a small plane crashed at Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU).



RDU plane crash: Pilot in 'fair condition,' UNC doctor released from hospital

Plane crashes at RDU; UNC Health pilot, doctor taken to hospital 

Orange County Schools informed Jaylan Sorrells and his mother, Ellen Sorrells, that Jaylan, who has attended the school for four years while also enrolled at the Partnership Academy, will not be allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony. The decision by the school district has Jaylen Sorrells and his mother asking: Why is this happening?

Mother frustrated after son who attended classes at Orange High not allowed at graduation ceremony

Jaylan Sorrells

Authorities on Wednesday arrested a 16-year-old in connection to the death of a 13-year-old girl earlier in the week in north Raleigh.

Teen arrested, charged in death of 13-year-old girl found shot on Monday

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A cold front will make things crisp on Thursday, but near-90-degree heat is on the way.

Cloudy and cool Thursday morning as near-record heat approaches

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(CNN) — A grand jury in Arizona has handed up an indictment against former President Donald Trump’s allies over their efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, including the fake electors from that state and several individuals connected to his campaign.

Meadows, Giuliani among indicted in Arizona in latest 2020 election subversion case

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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.

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

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With Hurricane defenseman Brett Pesce likely out for the rest of the series vs. the Islanders, that opens the door for Tony DeAngelo to slide in. The regular season didn't go as he had hoped, but he's ready to step in 

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Since his final NBA season playing for the Dallas Mavericks in 2021, JJ Redick has served as an analyst and basketball commentator for ESPN. 

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Mohamed Diarra played one season in Raleigh, averaging 6.3 points a game during a 2023-2024 campaign that saw State reach the Final Four.

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Play-by-play for Panthers games will be carried on MIX 101.5 and simulcast on Buzz Sports Radio (620AM, 104.5 FM, 99.9 FM HD2). 99.9 The Fan remains the flagship radio station for the Carolina Hurricanes, reflecting CBC's steadfast commitment to a comprehensive local sports broadcast portfolio. 

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