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

Rahul Verma of the Uday Foundation, distributes the Indian dish khichdi, a mixture of rice, lentils and vegetables, to patients outside a hospital in New Delhi, Nov. 24, 2017. Verma filed a public interest lawsuit in the Delhi High Court in 2010, seeking a ban on the sale of junk food and soft drinks in and around schools across India, where people are far more prone to diabetes than in other parts of the world. (Atul Loke/The New York Times)

A Father Sues to Curb Junk Food as Diabetes Spreads in India