2 NC counties are under alert, including Cumberland County.

The North Carolina Senate voted along party lines Wednesday to ban anyone from wearing masks in public for health reasons, following an emotional debate about the wisdom of the proposal.


NC Senate votes to ban people from wearing masks in public for health reasons

Protestors gather in Graham 

A year later, the full impact of the North Carolina abortion law is becoming clearer for both supporters and opponents.

A year later, impact from NC's 12-week abortion ban coming into focus

Ultrasound

All assets associated with the tag: stingray

Stingray Coverage

A female stingray named Charlotte is pregnant--even though she hasn't shared her aquarium tank with a male of her species in at least eight years.

POLITICS. >> IT IS FRIDAY OF VALENTINE'S DAY WEEK. SO WHAT BETTER TIME TO TALK ABOUT COUPLES TONIGHT? I WANT TO TALK ABOUT A COUPLE THAT IS DOMINATING THE HEADLINES WITH THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS OF LIKES AND SHARES. NO, NO, I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT TAYLOR SWIFT IN TRAVIS KELCE. I'M TALKING ABOUT THE OTHER. IT COUPLE THIS WEEK. A STING RAY AND A SHARK OR PERHAPS A STING RAY UNDER SELF. MAYBE YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT THIS STORY THIS WEEK. A STING RAY NAMED CHARLOTTE AT THE AQUARIUM AND SHARK LAB IN HENDERSONVILLE IS PREGNANT AND NO ONE KNOWS HOW THERE ARE NO MALE STINGRAYS IN HER HABITAT. THE FACILITY BELIEVES THERE ARE 2 POSSIBILITIES HERE TO STAY, WHERE IT COULD BASICALLY BE CLONING HERSELF OR SHE MAY HAVE MATED WITH A SMALL SHARK IN HER HABITAT. I WANT TO WALK THROUGH BOTH POSSIBILITIES BECAUSE BOTH ARE POSSIBLE AND SUPER RARE. SO LET'S START WITH THIS ONE. THE UNLIKELY COUPLE COULD THE FATHER THE SHARK. SHE'S NEVER BEEN AROUND A MALE UNTIL WE PUT THOSE 2 LITTLE. BOYS AND HEAR DIFFERENT SPECIES DO MADE FROM TIME TO TIME THERE KNOWN AS HYBRIDS. ONE EXAMPLE IS ACTUALLY PRETTY COMMON BREEDING. A HORSE AND A DONKEY GIVES US A MEAL. ANOTHER ONE YOU MIGHT HAVE HEARD OF A TIGER AND LION BREEDING. THE 2 BIG CATS GIVES US A HYBRID CALLED A LIGER AND HERE IS ONE FROM MARINE WILDLIFE. IT'S EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY RARE. A DOLPHIN AND WHALE KNOWN AS A WALL FUN. ALL 3 OF THESE HAVE ACTUALLY HAPPENED. SO SO WHY NOT A STING RAY AND A SHARK? THE 2 FISH ARE IN THE SAME FAMILY. THE FACILITY IN HENDERSONVILLE EVEN SAYS THEY FOUND BITE MARKS ON THE FEMALE STING. RAY, WHICH IS A COMMON THING FOR SHARKS TO DO WHEN THEY MATE AN EXPERT AT SEA LIFE AQUARIUM TOLD THE NBC AFFILIATE IN CHARLOTTE THIS PROBABLY IS NOT THE ANSWER. YOU SEE SHARKS AND RAYS MAY BE RELATED, BUT THEY'RE MORE LIKE 3RD OR 4TH COUSINS, 6 OR 7 TIMES REMOVED. >> BACK TO THOMAS TOLD WCNC, QUOTE, IT IS VERY, VERY UNLIKELY STINGRAYS AND SHARKS WHILE THEY ARE RELATED, THEY ARE VERY DISTANTLY RELATED. SO IT'S VERY UNLIKELY THAT THEY WOULD MATE TOGETHER. >> BUT THE AQUARIUM AND SHARK CLUB WHERE THIS HAPPENED IS NOT RULING IT OUT. THEY WROTE IN A FACEBOOK POST, QUOTE, JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING HAS NOT HAPPENED OR HAS NOT BEEN DOCUMENTED, DOESN'T MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE. SCIENCE IS DISCOVERY. THAT BRINGS ME TO OPTION NUMBER 2. IT'S CALLED PARTHENOGENESIS. THE WORD COMES FROM 2 GREEK WORDS, PARSON DOSE, MEANING VERSION AND GENESIS, MEANING CREATION. I KNOW THAT SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, BUT THIS KIND OF THING HAPPENS MORE THAN YOU THINK IN THE WILD. A STUDY RELEASED IN 2021 FOUND CALIFORNIA CONDORS HAVE VIRGIN BIRTH. THEY CAN. THEY CAN HAVE VIRGIN BIRTHS. A SNAKE AT A CONSERVATION CENTER IN ST. LOUIS GAVE BIRTH TWICE EACH TIME WITHOUT A MATE REPRODUCTION CAN ALSO HAPPEN IN SEA STARS CRAYFISH JELLYFISH AND AUNTS. SO COULD HAPPEN IN A STAY. MORE LIKELY POSSIBILITY. THE MATING WITH A SHARK. BUT EITHER WAY, CHARLOTTE STORY IS PRETTY REMARKABLE. WE JUST UNDERESTIMATE THESE POOR LITTLE SIS. IT'S A ONCE IN A. >> WILL. LEWIS TO BLUE MOONS EXPERIENCE AND IT'S LIKE, WOW, THE FACILITY PLANS TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS DNA TESTING WILL HAPPEN SOON. AND IN THE MEANTIME, >> CHARLOTTE'S CAREGIVERS ARE LOOKING AFTER HER AND HER PUPS. THIS IS A VIDEO THEY POSTED AFTER TAKING AN ULTRASOUND. >> THEY EXPECT CHARLOTTE TO GIVE BIRTH WITHIN THE NEXT 2 WEEKS. >> I KNOW THAT WE'LL FIND OUT SOON. RIGHT? DORSAL FIN ON THAT. HA HA. AND BY THE WAY, IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT WE ALSO HEARD FROM THE NORTH CAROLINA AQUARIUM AT FORT FISHER. THEY AGREE RAYS AND SHARKS CAN'T BREATHE BECAUSE OF THE REPRODUCTIVE ANATOMY. THEY SAY THAT THE CLONING THEORY, THE PARTHENON GENESIS IS LIKELY THE RIGHT ONE. BUT I DON'T KNOW. FIND OUT. I THINK DON'T

Stingray Coverage

The mystery of North Carolina's pregnant stingray