Medicaid expansion was approved last week in the General Assembly after state leaders reached an agreement earlier in March.

Gov. Roy Cooper officially signs Medicaid expansion into law

Parents of students at Ligon Middle School said they did not get an alert from the school after shots rang out nearby on Monday morning.

On WRAL at 5: A man is dead and two officers on leave after a shooting near a middle school. Why parents say they should’ve been alerted sooner.

On WRAL at 6 p.m., 5 On Your Side explains how much more you’re going to pay for insurance because of other drivers.

Tonight at 6: Why you could pay more for car insurance because of other people's crashes and crimes

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A woman wielding two “assault-style” rifles and a pistol killed three students and three adults at a private Christian school in Nashville on Monday in the latest in a series of mass shootings in a country growing increasingly unnerved by bloodshed in schools.

3 children, 3 adults killed in school shooting in Nashville, Tenn.; shooter also dead

Covenant School shooting in Nashville

Deputies found Bernard Williams on Sunday morning in a ditch on Landfill Road.

Wilson County deputies find 14-year-old boy dead in ditch, homicide investigation underway

First responders begin their investigation after a teenager's body was found Sunday on Landfill Road outside Wilson. Drew C. Wilson   Times

Fayetteville police used the federal DNA database to identify a suspect in a 28-year-old rape case and made an arrest Monday morning. 

Linked to cold case by DNA, Fayetteville man pleads guilty to rape, kidnapping 

Roy Junior Proctor

A man fired five gunshots at Raleigh officers and others on Monday before two police officers returned fire and killed him, according to Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson.

Man shot at police, passing cars near Raleigh middle school Monday morning

Shots fired in southeast Raleigh

Someone from the zoo called the Randolph County Sheriff's Office just before 11 a.m. to report having received a bomb threat.

NC Zoo evacuated, closed after bomb threat

North Carolina Zoo entrance

NCAA bracket

College hoops bracket challenge

Asked to respond to questions about recent social media comments, Lee County Commissioner Kirk Smith declined and deflected. 

LEE COUNTY, N.C. — Asked to respond to questions about recent social media comments, Lee County Commissioner Kirk Smith declined and deflected.

"In light of the fact that in the past, the media takes liberty to edit and often takes one out of context, I will decline an interview. I prefer emails as they provide one with evidence for the record," Smith wrote.

WRAL News reached out to Smith after several people shared comments he made about race on Facebook. Smith characterized those questions as "a concerted effort by the Progressives monitoring us, to silence my comments on FaceBook."

Smith is a regular participant on a Facebook group called North Carolina Truth Seekers / Formerly Lee County Truth Seekers.

In his email to WRAL News, Smith said he "will personally respond to each and every one of my constituents." It's not clear whether those he clashed with on Facebook are Lee County residents.

He shared his standard response, which reads:

I appreciate your desires to silence me. All tyrannical types be they governments or groups will not allow opposing viewpoints and they fundamentally oppose those freedoms provided  by our Constitution.

I am critical of the direction our culture is heading and will staunchly defend the foundational document establishing our liberties. I am sorry that those whose “feelings are hurt”  must seek a “safe space” because of words.

Please feel free to appear before the Board of Commissioners to make a Public Comment. You will have three minutes to state your case.

Jodi Leese Glusco

Lee County commissioner declines interview after comments made about race on social media

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

WRAL WeatherCenter Forecast

Medicaid expansion was agreed upon earlier this month, and Governor Roy Cooper signed the legislation Monday.

Roy Cooper signs Medicad expansion

WSMV in Nashville is covering reports of a shooting at Covenant School.

Live coverage from Nashville: Shooting at Covenant School; 6 victims, shooter dead

Nashville police: Shooter dead after attack on school

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

The woman who shot six people at a Nashville private school on Monday was 28. Police are investigating the connection between her and Covenant School.

Nashville police ID school shooting suspect

Nashville police update ID of school shooting suspect

Videos

Chapel Hill's rise comes on the back of a Cardinal Gibbons upset loss to Enloe. Northwest Guilford, Apex, and Asheville are debut this week in the statewide top 25.

Girls Soccer Rankings: Three new teams join top 25, Chapel Hill slides up

Girls Soccer: 2023 Brittany Soccer Showcase Day 1

North Carolina guard Caleb Love will continue his college career at another school, he announced Monday.

UNC guard Caleb Love to enter the transfer portal

UNC falls, 68-59, to UVa. at ACC Tournament

Proctor contributed an average 9.4 points per game and 3 rebounds in his freshman season

Citing 'unfinished business,' Duke's Proctor says he'll be back in 23-24

Tyrese Proctor

HighSchoolOT has released its updated statewide top 25 and area code top 15 softball rankings. There are 12 undefeated teams left in North Carolina and all are in the top 15 of our statewide rankings. 

Updated Softball Rankings: Where do the 12 undefeated teams stand?

Softball: Eastern Randolph vs Southwestern Randolph (Mar. 20, 2023)

Duke women's basketball guard Celeste Taylor is back in the fold for another year, as the senior announced Monday afternoon via social media that she'd be returning to play for the Blue Devils for the 2023-24 campaign.

