Shortages of teachers, infrastructure and technology workers will hamper schools' ability to provide the best education, facilities and tools to children, Superintendent Robert Taylor said Thursday.

Higher employee pay will be key to running Wake schools smoothly, superintendent says

Wake County Public School System Superintendent Robert Taylor speaks to the League fo Women Voters of Wake County, April 18, 2024

Compared to pre-pandemic prices, ground beef is up 35%, chips are up 45%, bread is up 57% and a 12-ounce can of soda is up 66%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tracks trends on common grocery store items.

WRAL Investigates: 'Greedflation' and other drivers behind inflation at the grocery store

A look at inflation at the grocery store

Orange County native and scientist Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett and UNC researcher Dr. Ralph Baric are among nine people who will receive North Carolina's highest honor on Thursday.

Orange County native and scientist Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett and UNC professor and researcher Dr. Ralph Baric are among nine people who will receive North Carolina's highest honor on Thursday.

Corbett and Baric are being recognized for their scientific contributions in the fight against coronavirus.

Corbett graduated from Orange County High School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She helped develop Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine and is the National Institute of Health's lead scientist for coronavirus vaccine research.

UNC coronavirus researcher Dr. Ralph Baric discusses battle against COVID-19

DISPUTING THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE CHINA NUMBERS. JOINING US NOW LIVE, ONE OF THE TOP RESEARCHERS IN THE COUNTRY. ON THE FRONT LINES OF THIS WAR. THE PROFESSOR WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AT THE UNC SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TALKING WITH US. WE WANT TO REITERATE TO OUR VIEWERS, JUST HOW INVOLVED YOU ARE WITH THIS. IT IS YOUR LIFE'S WORK. YOU PUBLISHED AN ARTICLE IN OCTOBER, 2070, JUST TWO AND HALF YEARS AGO. ARE WE READY FOR THE NEXT SUPERBUG OUTBREAK? AND WHEN ASKED ABOUT VIRUSES, YOUR NUMBER ONE WAS FLU, NUMBER WAS TWO CORONAVIRUS IS. DID YOU BELIEVE THAT A GLOBAL PANDEMIC OF THIS TYPE OF STRAIN WAS SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD SEE IN YOUR LIFETIME? LET ALONE IN 30 MONTHS? >> AND WELL, IT IS A PLEASURE TO BE HERE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR GIVING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK. WE HAVE DONE RESEARCH ON EMERGING CORONA VIRUSES FOR 20+ YEARS. NEW EMERGENCY IN CORONA VIRUSES HAVE APPEARED IN HUMAN POPULATIONS ABOUT FOR YEARS NOW. YOU'RE CORRECT, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED INFLUENZA AND CORONAVIRUS TO BE THE MOST LIKELY CULPRITS TO CAUSE NEXT PANDEMIC. FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE THIS IS BECAUSE WE ARE DOING RESEARCH ANALYZING THE STARS LIKE CORONA VIRUSES. THE STARS CORONA VIRUSES COME FROM BATS. THEY ARE PREVALENT AND BAT SPECIES AND WITHIN THE STRAINS CIRCULATING IN BASS ARE A PARTICULAR SUBCLASS THAT ARE AT HIGH RISK. HIGH RISK MEANING THAT THEY CAN REPLICATE IN HUMAN CELLS EVEN BEFORE THEY JUMP BETWEEN SPECIES. >> I WANT TO PUT SOMETHING ON THE SCREEN HERE. BECAUSE THIS WAS ALSO PART OF YOUR -- YOU SAID THAT WE NEEDED TO HARDEN OUR DEFENSES AGAINST FUTURE OUTBREAKS. HOW DO WE DO THIS? YOUR ANSWER WAS PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE. NOW THAT WE HAVE SEEN HOW THIS PANDEMIC IS UNFOLDING, CAN YOU ELABORATE ON THIS AND IS THIS SOMETHING STILL CONCERNING AT THIS TIME? >> THE FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM WITH THE NEW AND EMERGING DISEASES IS THAT WE DO NOT KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO LOOK LIKE. WE DO NOT HAVE DRUGS READY ON A SHELF FOR AN UNKNOWN AND WERE NOT PREPARED WITH VACCINES. THAT PRETTY MUCH LEAVES PUBLIC HEALTH INTERVENTIONS AND PUBLIC HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURES AS THE MAIN MECHANISM OF CONTROL AND THIS SPREAD OF DISEASE AND THE RISK FOR INDIVIDUALS IN THE POPULATION TO BECOME INFECTED. >> YOU KNOW, JUST TWO MONTHS AGO WE ACTUALLY TALK TO YOU TOWARDS THE END OF JANUARY. WHEN THIS WAS FIRST MAKING INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES OUT OF CHINA. SO WHAT HAS CHANGED WITH YOUR PERCEPTION WITH COVID-19 OVER THE PAST 60 DAYS? >> SO AROUND 23 JANUARY, THE CHINESE DID THREE SIGNIFICANT THINGS. THEY QUARANTINES 60 MILLION PEOPLE IN ABOUT 12 CITIES. THERE HEALTH MINISTER SAID THAT THE COMMUNITY SPREAD WAS OCCURRING AND THEY ALSO SAID THAT THE SYMPTOMATIC SPREAD WAS OCCURRING. THIS MEANS THAT HAD TRANSMISSION FEATURES MUCH LIKE INFLUENZA VIRUS. WITH THE INFLUENCE OF VIRUS, SO WE WERE WARNED THAT THIS WAS COMING. KEY INTERVENTION STRATEGIES HAD TO BE PUT IN PLACE IMMEDIATELY. AMONGST THOSE WAS TO HAVE TESTS READY TO GO TO EVALUATE CASES. TO PUT QUARANTINE EVENTS AND PLACE, LIKE THE PRESIDENT DID THAT WOULD HELP REDUCE INFECTED INDIVIDUALS FROM CHINA AND SOUTHEAST ASIA FROM BRINGING THE VIRUS INTO THE COUNTRY. BECAUSE THERE IS ASYMPTOMATIC, BECAUSE HER MOUTH AND TIM'S, THOSE INTERVENTION STRATEGIES. SO THEY COULD PREDICT WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE, WE WERE ALL IN AGREEMENT THAT WAS A GLOBAL PANDEMIC WAS ON THE HORIZON. >> THREE TO SIX MONTHS, IF YOU WOULD STAY WITH US. >> WELCOME BACK. WE ARE CONTINUING OUR CONVERSATION. A PROFESSOR WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AT THE UNC SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH. I WANT TO TALK ABOUT YOUR LAB AND THE RESEARCH THAT YOU HAVE BEEN DOING. SO FAR THE HIGHLIGHT HAS BEEN THE CREATION OF THE TEST THAT IS NOW BEING USED STATEWIDE. HAS A FOCUS PIVOTED TO A VACCINE? AND A CURE? >> WE ARE INVOLVED IN MULTIPLE COUNTER MEASURES APPROACHES. THE FIRST OF WHICH IS OVER THE PAST SIX YEARS ACTUALLY, WE HAVE WORKED WITH COMMERCIAL ENTITIES TO DEVELOP DRUGS THAT WOULD WORK AGAINST ALL EMERGING CORONA VIRUSES THAT WERE AVAILABLE TO SCIENCE. WITH THE HOPE THAT WE COULD FIND ONE THAT WILL WORK AGAINST ALL OF THEM, THAT IT WOULD WORK ABOUT THIS. IN FACT, THE FIRST DRUG THAT WE IDENTIFIED THAT HAS COME THROUGH FDA REVIEW, THAT WE DEVELOPED IN COLLABORATION WITH VANDERBILT. AND GILEAD INCORPORATED AND IT IS UNDERSTUDIES IN CHINA, U.S. AND YEAR. THE SECOND DRUG WE DEVELOPED IN COLLABORATION WITH RESEARCHERS AT EMORY UNIVERSITY. IT IS CALLED NHC, THIS IS THE EASY WAY TO REFER TO IT. IT IS ALSO A DRUG THAT DROPS THE RECIPROCATION. THIS DRUG IS UNDER REVIEW NOW. HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE USED UNDER COMPASSIONATE USE IN CLINICAL TRIALS SHORTLY. WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON COUNTERMEASURE DEVELOPMENT WITH THE CORONAVIRUS FOR YEARS. >> YOU TALK ABOUT BEING UNDER REVIEW. OF COURSE, SO MANY PEOPLE JUST WANT TO KNOW, WHAT UNDER REVIEW MIGHT MEAN. ARE WE TALKING ABOUT SIX MONTHS? THREE MONTHS AWAY THAT WE MIGHT SEE THIS READY TO BE USED BY THE PUBLIC? >> THE OUTCOME FROM THE TRIAL SHOULD BE AVAILABLE IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS. WE SHOULD HAVE A PRETTY GOOD IDEA BY THE END, BY THE MIDDLE OF APRIL. THE SECOND DRUG IS JUST UNDER REVIEW RIGHT NOW BY THE FDA FOR USE IN HUMANS. THAT IS GOING TO TAKE LONGER. GO AHEAD. >> NO, YOU GO AHEAD. >> WE ARE ALSO HEAVILY ENGAGED IN COLLABORATION WITH ON THE AGE AND THEIR CORPORATE PARTNERS WITH DEVELOPING VACCINES. WE ARE SCREENING SOME OF THE VACCINE CANDIDATES IN MOUSE MODELS OF HUMAN DISEASE. WE DEVELOPED TWO CRITICAL REAGENTS. THIS ALLOWS YOU TO EVALUATE DRUG ACCURACY AND TO EVALUATE NEUTRALIZING ANTIBODIES, WHICH ARE KEY COMPONENTS. SO THOSE ARE IN USE BY VACCINE MANUFACTURERS A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT STATES IN THE COUNTRY. WE ARE ALSO TESTING VACCINES IN A MODEL SYSTEM IN THE LABORATORY. FINALLY, WE ARE WORKING WITH JUST TWO DIFFERENT GROUPS TO DEVELOP ANTIBODIES FROM PATIENTS WHO HAVE SURVIVED THE INFECTION, THOSE ANTIBODIES PROTECT AGAINST THE DISEASE. AND SO WE ARE HELPING TO IDENTIFY INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE VERY HIGH TITERS OF PROTECTIVE ANTIBODIES SO THEY COULD BE FORMULATED INTO A SUSPENSION THAT WE CAN GIVE TO PATIENTS. >> ALL OF THIS SOUNDS VERY ENCOURAGING. I DON'T WANT TO READ TOO MUCH INTO IT. BUT IT IS SOME OF THE BETTER NEWS THAT WE HAVE HEARD. RECENTLY REGARDING THE RESEARCH. SO BEFORE WE LET YOU GET BACK TO YOUR EVENING DR., SOME OF YOU AND YOUR STAFF HAVE BEEN WORKING 18 HOUR DAYS. HOW ARE YOU HOLDING UP? >> WELL, I THINK THAT EVERYBODY IS TIRED. BUT THEY ARE ALSO VERY ENGAGED. I HAVE ABOUT 16 PEOPLE IN THE LABORATORY THAT WORK IN THEIR HIGH CONTAINMENT CONDITIONS. THEY ARE WORKING AS TEAMS. THEY ARE WORKING IN CLOSE CONSULTATION WITH EACH OTHER. MANY OF THEM HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCED WORKING WITH HIGH CONTAINMENT PATHOGENS FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS. AND SO WE HAVE AN INCREDIBLE GROUP OF TALENTED PEOPLE WHO IN ESSENCE, ARE DOING THEIR VERY BEST TO TRY TO HELP SOLVE THIS PROBLEM. >> DR., ONE LAST QUESTION. IF YOU WERE ADVISING FEDERAL LEADERS WITH THE TASK FORCE, WHAT IS THE ONE MESSAGE THAT YOU WOULD SAY TO THEM AND RELATE TO THEM? >> WELL CERTAINLY TESTING CAN BE INCREASED SO WE CAN FIND THE SILENT TRANSMISSION NETWORKS THAT EXIST THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. BECAUSE THEY ARE ASYMPTOMATIC CASES THAT WE DO NOT KNOW THOSE TRANSMITTING, WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHERE THE CASES WILL ARISE. SO THAT IS A PROBLEM. THE SECOND PROBLEM IS THERE IS A LOT OF VIRUSES THAT HAVE BEEN TRANSMITTED, IN MOST REGIONS OF THE COUNTRY.'S OVER THE NEXT THREE WEEKS, WE WILL SEE PROBABLY DISEASE CASES AND A NUMBER OF CASES APPROACH MAXIMUM LEVEL BY THE END OF APRIL. APRIL IS GOING TO BE A VERY HARD MONTH. THE KEY ELEMENT FOR SAVING LIVES IS GOING TO BE THE VENTILATORS, AND THE PPE, BUT FOR HEALTHCARE WORKERS ALSO FOR THOSE THAT ARE DEATHLY ILL, THE RESPIRATORS ARE ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TO TREAT THOSE MOST SEVERE MANIFESTATIONS OF THIS DISEASE. WHICH ARE PRIMARILY IN THE ELDERLY, BUT ALSO YOUNGER INDIVIDUALS. THAT IS THE DISEASE CALLED ACUTE RESPIRATORY DISTRESS SYNDROME. BASICALLY YOU WOULD HAVE SO MUCH FLUID OR DAMAGE IN YOUR LUNGS THAT YOU CANNOT TRANSMIT OXYGEN TO YOUR TISSUES. AND SO THAT RESULTS IN MULTIPLE ORGAN FAILURE AND DEATH. SO THE RESPIRATORS ARE THE ONLY WAY TO TRULY TREAT THE MOST SERIOUSLY ILL. THAT IS ABOUT 5%. SO WHEN THE NUMBER OF RESPIRATORS ARE MAXIMUM ONLY BEING USED IN EACH ONE GETS USED FOR ABOUT 18 DAYS BEFORE THE PATIENT GETS BETTER, WE RUN OUT OF THE TREATMENT OPTION. AND THE MORTALITY RATE GOES UP. >> DR., WE CAN DO THIS. LET'S HOPE THAT THOSE ARE IN CHARGE ARE LISTENING. THE DEPARTMENT OF AVONDALE A.G.

Laura Leslie

UNC researcher discusses battle against COVID-19

Ralph Baric, coronavirus researcher at UNC

Baric, a professor in UNC's Departments of Epidemiology, Microbiology and Immunology, has been an integral part of local coronavirus research since the beginning of the pandemic.

<ul>	<li>Dudley E. Flood and Maria Foxx Spaulding, Public Service</li>	<li>David Lowrey Holt, Fine Arts</li>	<li>André Leon Talley and Timothy Buie Tyson, Literature</li>	<li>Francis S. Collins and Blake S. Wilson, Science</li></ul>

Gov. Roy Cooper will present the awards at a special ceremony at 6 p.m. at the North Carolina Museum of Art.

Previous recipients of the North Carolina Award include James Taylor, Dean Smith, Maya Angelou and Billy Graham.

This event is sponsored by the A.J. Fletcher Foundation, CBC/WRAL Community Fund of the Triangle Community Foundation and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.

Jessica Patrick

Triangle scientists receive North Carolina Award, the state's highest honor, for coronavirus research

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Israel carried out a missile strike targeting an air defense unit in southern Syria, causing material damage, state-run SANA news agency quoted a military statement as saying Friday.

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A local Hip-Hop artist and UNC-Chapel Hill educator died, the North Carolina Arts Council announced Thursday on Facebook.

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Firefighters said when they arrived here just after midnight, the side of the home was engulfed in flames.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — One woman miscarried in the restroom lobby of a Texas emergency room as front desk staff refused to admit her. Another woman learned that her fetus had no heartbeat at a Florida hospital, the day after a security guard turned her away from the facility. And in North Carolina, a woman gave birth in a car after an emergency room couldn't offer an ultrasound. The baby later died.

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

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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

After 22 years in business, Armadillo Grill on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh has closed.



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NCAA athletes will be immediately eligible to play no matter how many times they transfer -- as long as they meet academic requirements -- after the association fast-tracked legislation Wednesday to fall in line with a recent court order.

Triangle scientists receive North Carolina Award, the state's highest honor, for coronavirus research

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