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

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

FILE -- The author Ta-Nehisi Coates, at home in New York, Sept. 25, 2017. Coates’ first novel, “The Water Dancer,” is due out in September 2019. Set in mid-1800s Virginia, the novel is about an enslaved man named Hiram Walker whose life is deeply affected when he nearly drowns in a carriage accident. (Cole Wilson/The New York Times)

Cover of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Forthcoming Novel Revealed