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

Capitol Broadcasting Company, the parent company of WRAL News, is part of the 2024 class inducted into the North Carolina Media & Journalism Hall of Fame at the University of North Carolina.

WRAL parent company inducted to NC Media & Journalism Hall of Fame 

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

Pork Coverage

A recent decision by the United States Supreme Court could impact pig farmers in North Carolina. The court upheld a California law that bans the sale of pork in California from farms that confine pregnant pigs in gestation crates.

California law imposes new limits on pork producers in NC

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Banning China and other US enemies from buying up farmland, or property near military bases, is an idea gaining popularity in numerous states including North Carolina.

NC lawmakers vote to ban China, Russia from buying up farmland

Farmer on tractor

Inventiveness combined with a sense of humor led to 'Meat Sweats,' a product birthed by two Raleigh-based brothers with a veteran presence to supplement the barbecue boom.

No sweat: Raleigh-based brothers launch 'Meat Sweats' 

Meat Sweats: Raleigh brothers launch tasty BBQ spritz

Some inventiveness combined with a sense of humor led to 'Meat Sweats,' a product birthed by two Raleigh-based brothers with a veteran presence to supplement the barbecue boom.

we grew up as military brats and we traveled around and lived in um, really world renowned regions for barbecue texas Georgia, you know, north Carolina. Now the caribbean. Um, and so we've seen regional influences. Um, The spritz is, is, like I said, it's, it's, it spans all genres of barbecue. Right? So whether you're from Kansas city or south Carolina, um, texas, people use apple juice and apple cider vinegar and some combinations. Sometimes they use little ingredients that are regionally based, but um, we don't really have a favorite sauce. Um, We grew up in Georgia, which is mostly vinegar based, but you know, tomato base is delicious. There's white barbecue sauce is in northern Alabama mustard based in the Carolinas. And um really this, this product complements all those different sauces. What we're using today on this pork butt is our flagship. The first product we created is called hogwash. It's just a mix of apple juice, apple cider vinegar, a little brown sugar, a little salt. That's where the idea was born during the pandemic, Just smoking with friends and family. And uh, we just couldn't believe there was no product like it on the market. Uh, so we decided to make a product and it's taken us a little while to get it off the ground. But Uh, we launched this past uh, this past fall uh, were available online only right now. We'll be in retail in 2023, you know, you use some seasoning or some rubs, uh, then you put it on the smoker and that's when our product comes in as you spritz it during the smoke to keep the bark moist and uh keep the meat juicy. You give it some really good texture and color and flavor. We do like to say put your your your protein on and let it form a crust so 23 minutes in. Uh Then you can apply your spritz because you don't want to knock the seasoning off for your rub. So if it's if it's not set yet you can just kind of spray it off. So we'd like to get the initial crust form. Uh And then you know Whenever you feel ready. Um you know we initially give a guideline of every 30 minutes cheers. Mhm.

Raleigh-based 'Meat Sweats' a welcome addition to the grill

From election security to Holocaust education to bathrooms in Wilkesboro, the 1,400-page state budget funds countless under-the-radar projects.

13 things tucked away in NC budget

Wake County cafeteria

The price of beef and chicken is going up -- and now pork is expected to rise too.  A new law may soon change how pork is raised and sold in the US.

OF DAN BY WAY OF TECH. PUSHING FAKE PRIZES OR REIMBURSEMENTS. >>>. PORK IS TAKING BIGGER BITES OUT OF BUT IT'S IMPORTANT PRODUCERS SAY A NEW ANIMAL WELFARE LAW IS ABOUT TO MAKE BRINGING HOME THE BACON MORE EXPENSIVE. >> IN THE PAST >>> WE HAVE LACK OF PROCESSING CAPACITY. WE NEED MORE COMPETITION IN THAT SPACE. >> IT IS NOT JUST FOR PRICES ON THE RISE. CHICKEN AND BEEF, EGGS, MILK, HOME

New law could change how pork is raised, sold in the US 

The auction price at the Kentucky State Fair started at a few hundred dollars, and topped out at $4.8 million. 

2,200,000 Now, 2.333 $3,300,000 to Me right Here.

Pricy pork: Ham auction brings in record bid of $4.8M

Ham sells at auction for over $4 million 

A lawsuit filed last week by Food and Water Watch, a consumer advocacy group, accuses the giant pork producer of falsely stoking consumer fears and misleading the public.

Smithfield sued by group claiming it stoked fears of meat shortages as pandemic spread

Smithfield Is Sued by Group Claiming It Stoked Fears of Meat Shortages

People travel many miles to this rural, out-of-the-way spot on the road near Goldsboro, which sells all sorts of fresh pork products. The business is a longtime family operation.

RICH ROADWAYS. CHECK OUT HER LAB REPORT COMING UP AT 6:00. RIBS, HAM, AND BACON. IF YOU LIKE WORK, THE TRAVELER KNOWS WHERE TO GO. >> SCOTT TAKES US OUT INTO THE COUNTRY IN WAYNE COUNTY. IT MIGHT JUST BE THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE. >> THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE IS IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. >> WE ARE OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE COUNTRY. THIS IS OUR FRESH MEAT DEPARTMENT. >> TYPOS. NECK BONES. >> ANY KIND OF FRESHMAN YOU CAN IMAGINE. >> FRESHMAN PIERS McKAY. >> IT IS AN OLD FAMILY RECIPE. >> WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO HAVE COME TO ORDER 100 POUNDS OR MORE COMING FROM OUT OF STATE. >> IT IS WHAT WALT DISNEY WOULD HAVE DONE IF HE KNEW ANYTHING ABOUT PORK. MACK PIERCE DID IT INSTEAD. >> HE HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE THINKING IT WOULD NOT MAKE IT OUT HERE IN THE COUNTRY. >> MATT OPENED IN 1975. >> IT WAS A VERY SMALL OPERATION. WE HAD ONE, 12 FOOT SECTION. >> FROM ONE CASE, HOW MANY CASES DO YOU HAVE NOW? >> ABOUT 200 FEET OF RUNNING DISPLAY WHERE YOU HAVE FRESH MEATS AS WELL AS COULD PROJECT. >> THESE ARE FULLY CURED HAMS. >> THE HAM HOUSE WHERE IT TAKES HALF A YEAR TO CURE THE HAM. >>, TALK TO YOU GO THROUGH? >> A TRACTOR-TRAILER WORTH OF STOCK EVERY MONTH. IT LOOKS LIKE FRESH SNOW. >> IT LOOKS LIKE A CROWD. >> IT IS LIKE A BEHALF. YOU HAVE THEM BUZZING EVERYWHERE IN HERE. >> ON SOME SATURDAYS, A THIRD OF THE CUSTOMERS ARE FROM OUT OF STATE. >> AS FAR NORTH AS NEW YORK OR AS FAR SOUTH AS FLORIDA. >> CLEAN AND VERY NICE. LOTS OF EMPLOYEES. >> WE HAVE HAD PEOPLE WHO HAVE WORKED HERE FOR 40 YEARS. >> WHENEVER YOU FIND SOMETHING GOOD, YOU CAN ALWAYS COME BACK TO IT. >> WOULD YOU SELL THE MOST OF? >> THE COUNTRY LIKE SAUSAGE, BY FAR. >> THE PORK CENTER SOLD ALMOST 1 MILLION POUNDS. >> IT HAS ONE OF THE BEST FLAVORS. >> THE SAUSAGE? NOT TO KNOW. >> NO, HONEY. I'M THE HAM QUEEN. WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? >> WE ARE TALKING ABOUT PORK AND MORE PORK. >> HOW IS THE PORT? >> IT IS AN EXCEPTIONALLY GOOD. >> HE WAS THE LIVE OF THE PARTY. HE WAS SO MUCH FUN TO BE AROUND. BESIDES MY WIFE, HE WAS MY BEST FRIEND IN THE WORLD. >> CAN YOU BELIEVE IT HAS GROWN AS MUCH AS IT HAS? >> IT HAS BEEN A BLESSING. >> A BUSY BUSTING.

Out-of-the way family-owned business highly sought after for pork products 

A pandemic-driven pig shortage could push up the price of peoples pork pretty soon.Its the result of an industry crippled by the closure of meatpacking plants and still playing catch-up. 

Bill Lucky's pigs are poised to go for a lot more money this year. Baby pigs, we three week old pigs today are worth $50 a year ago, They were worth 5 to $7. So very large difference between last year and this year. And for the most part, the reason is pretty simple. Some of the high prices right now would be the fact that there just aren't as many pigs out there. The pandemic tossed the industry into turmoil, some farmers forced to euthanize their hogs. A lot of producers said, hey, what's our future going to look like? And they were afraid of this price decline that we had and the availability of getting the ability to put pigs into a packing plant. And that uncertainty was enough to push some farmers away from pigs. Someone just got out or they cut numbers back severely, so consequently we don't have any pigs on as many pigs on the market right now. So how long will it take to get caught up and get more pigs out there? When will it change? Who knows? It depends on how fast producers restock and build herds back up. As for when you might start paying more for your pork. Lucky says that's still up in the air, but eventually grocery stores will likely push up the price. If the price stays up for a long period of time, they're going to have to come up to his advice when you see a good price, pick it up. I don't do like we do we buy on sales and things like that. So we buy all of our all of our meeting the grocery store our pork, so we watch what's happening there too.

Pandemic pig shortage could impact price of pork 

Pandemic pig shortage 

Pork and poultry litter has been burning for hours in a silo fire that drew nine fire departments and about sixty personnel to Prestage Farms in Clinton.


STUDENTS AND THEIR GUESTS AT A SCHEDULED TIME. EVERYONE WILL BE REQUIRED TO WEAR A FACE MASK. >>> RIGHT NOW FIREFIGHTERS FROM MULTIPLE COUNTIES ARE GOING ON THREE AND A HALF HOURS OF W ORKING TO PUT OUT A FIRE INSIDE THIS SILO. THIS IS AT PRESTIGE FARMS IN SAMPSON COUNTY. I WANT TO TAKE YOU IN AND SHOW YOU WHAT FIREFIGHTERS ARE DOING. AS I ZOOM IN, YOU CAN SEE ALL OF THAT -- WHAT NOW LOOKS LIKE LIQUID JUST RUSHING OUT. THAT IS THE CHICKEN AND TURKEY LITTER THAT THEY'RE FLUSHING FROM THIS SILO. LOOK AT THIS. THEY'RE GOING THROUGH ABOUT 1,000 GALLONSES OF WATER A MINUTE TO FLUSH THIS OUT AND PUT THAT FIRE OUT. I'M TOLD THAT FIRE IS SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN WHERE YOU SEE THAT LADDER TRUCK AND IN WHERE YOU SEE THIS ACCESS DOOR. RIGHT NOW, THERE ARE ABOUT 960 FIREFIGHTERS WORKING TO PUT

Silo fire burns at Clinton pork and poultry farm

This grilled pork tenderloin with a muscadine fig sauce offers meat-lovers another option for Thanksgiving dinner. 

Local Dish: Grilled pork tenderloin

Willoughby Nute and Sheria Smallwood of Metro Diner share the recipe for Pulled Pork Mac Stack, a dish that's savory, meaty and sweet.

Celebrate Porktober with savory, sweet, meaty dish

North Carolina hog farmers are wary of the African swine fever, which has wiped out thousands of pigs across the globe.

NC farmers nervously eye African swine fever

North Carolina pork, pecans and apples make one delicious salad. 

Local Dish: Pork pecan salad

In response to tariffs levied on imports by the Trump Administration, Mexico on Thursday doubled its tariff on U.S. pork, and China on Friday is set to implement 25 percent tariffs on pork, soybeans and tobacco from the U.S.