50 NC counties and 1 VA county are under alert, including Wake, Cumberland, Durham, Johnston, and Orange counties.

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

A campaign sign for Oklahoma state Rep. Chris Kannady, a moderate Republican seeking re-election, in Oklahoma City, Oct. 15, 2018. Kannady has gone public as the ringleader of an internal Republican Party purge of hard-line G.O.P. candidates in Oklahoma, where purges and feuds have shown the pitfalls of one-party rule. (Nick Oxford/The New York Times)

Republican Purges and Feuds in Oklahoma Show the Pitfalls of One-Party Rule