Name: Swimmer Riley Gaines joins NC House members to support 'Fairness in Women's Sports Act'
Uploaded: 2023-04-19T11:57:27-0400
Duration: 1522231
Description: North Carolina House members and 12-time All-American swimmer Riley Gaines will hold a press conference in support of HB 574, "Fairness in Women's Sports Act."

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North Carolina House members and 12-time All-American swimmer Riley Gaines will hold a press conference in support of HB 574, "Fairness in Women's Sports Act."

All right, thank you all for being here today. My name is Representative Jennifer Balco. I'm one of the primary sponsors of the Fairness and Women's Sports Act. Um H B 5 74 I want to say just before we get started that this, this bill is very important. It talks about how we are being fair in women's sports and that because girl athletes are important and they deserve safe opportunity and rights to compete in a level playing field with that. I'm gonna start with our guest to be able to talk first off. I'd like to know Riley Gaines. She is in stand. She is the stand with women's spokeswoman for Independent Women's Forum and is, and is ac four sister organization for Independent Women's Voice. She is a recent graduate from University of Kentucky where she was a 12 time all American swimmer at the 2022 NCAA division one women's swimming and diving champion. Raley was forced to compete against a biological male swimmer. Raley, would you like to say? Thank you a little bit of background about myself and really how I got here, why I'm in front of you guys um, I started swim when I was four. I'm 22 to 22 now. So I've dedicated 18 years of my life to my sport. Um, of course, this means in middle school and high school, you're practicing before school, you go to school straight after school, you go back to practice for a couple hours, you eat your dinner, do your homework, ice your shoulder, go to bed, do it all again the next day, same thing at the collegiate level. We're practicing six hours a day. Three of those hours being before eight AM. Um So it's impossible to put into words, the amount of time, the sacrifices, both social, physical, emotional um that you put into your sport. That being said in my senior year last year at the University of Kentucky, um I made it my goal to win a national championship indicating becoming the fastest female in the country in my event about midway through my senior season. Um I was on track to do that, but the person who was leading the nation was a swimmer. I'd never heard of before. This was, of course, the first time I became aware of a swim named Leah Thomas, but there was a lot of red flags. This person came out of nowhere. Their senior year, they were leading the nation by multiple seconds. Um They were ranked at the top and everything, every freestyle of it from the 100 freestyle to the mile, which is a sprint. The of course, the 100 is a sprint. The mile is long distance. And so think of your Olympic runners, your best 200 m runner is not your best mile or your best marathon runner. But that's what we were seeing. A few days after these nation leading times were posted, an article was posted disclosing that Leah Thomas was formerly Will Thomas and swam three years on the men's side at University of Pennsylvania before transitioning to the women's team and again, dominating the field. Um I of course, read this and I was shocked, but truthfully, I felt a bit of relief because I was able to look up. Who will Thomas was I was curious, was this a lateral movement to which that answer was no, this was not a lateral movement. This was a biological male who went from ranking 462nd at best among the men. Um The year prior to now again, dominating amongst the women, the N AA. They saw nothing wrong with that though. Um Our national championships last March, I got to personally witness and feel the effect this infringement had on, not just myself but my teammates, my competitors, um all D one swimmers at that meet. Um It's impossible to speak for everyone and I don't claim to speak for every single girl, but I can wholeheartedly attest to the tears I saw from ninth and 17th place finishers who missed out on being named an All American by one place. And I can wholeheartedly attest to the extreme discomfort in the locker room. When you turn around, there's a six ft 4, 22 year old, biological male, fully equipped with an exposing male genitalia in an area where you're undressing. And I can wholeheartedly attest to the talks and whispers and grumbles of anger and frustration from these girls who just like myself had dedicated their entire lives to get to that point. And I can wholeheartedly attest to, um, the silencing and the suppression of voices that's being in being put in place by these universities administrations. Um That first day of competition, we watched Leah Thomas swim to a national title beating out Olympians, beating out American record holders, the most impressive female swimmers this country's ever seen again by seconds, which in swimming seconds is a lot. This is a sport that's measured down to the 100th of a second. So to have someone trailing by that many seconds is an anomaly to say the least the next day of competition. It was a 200 free cell where Leah Thomas and I raced and almost impossibly enough. It resulted in a tie and we went the exact same time down to the 100th of a second. And upon tying, we go behind the awards podium where the NCAA official looks at both Thomas and myself and says, great job you guys tied, but we don't really account for ties. So Leah takes the trophy home, Riley, you go home empty handed. And when I questioned this, I, I of course asked, you know, why I understand we tied. I understand there's one trophy. But why are you adamant on giving this trophy to Thomas? He looked at me and said, well, Leah has to hold the trophy for photo purposes. You can pose with this one, but you'll go home empty handed and that's what has thrusted me into this position. Um I knew the unfair competition was wrong. I knew the locker room um scene was wrong, but when they had reduced everything that I had worked my entire life for down to a photo op to validate the feelings and the identity of a male. That's when I had had enough. Um And so what I've been doing this past year is exactly this traveling state to state testifying in support of these fairness in women's sports bills. That's why I'm grateful to be in North Carolina. I am so hopeful that they will do the right thing, the common sense thing. Um I'm, I'm honored to stand alongside these women who are so strong. Um It's so powerful to have women who are at the forefront of this movement. And so I'm so grateful um to these sponsors and cosponsors. Um And again, I'm just really hopeful and I appreciate you guys being here and listening. Um So thank you guys. Thank you Raleigh so much. I appreciate that. Um, my next guest is Peyton mcnabb. Payton is a high school female athlete from Murphy, North Carolina. My neck of the woods who was injured from being forced to, to play against a biological male in volleyball. Peyton. It doesn't. Hi. Uh, my name is Peyton mcnab. I'm a senior at Hawai Dam High School in Murphy, North Carolina. Um, due to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association policy allowing biological males to compete against biological females. My life has forever been changed on September 1st 2022 I was severely injured in a high school volleyball game by a transgender athlete on the opposing team. I suffered from a concussion and neck injury that to this day, I'm still recovering from other injuries I still suffer from today include impaired vision, partial paralysis on my right side, constant headaches as well as anxiety and depression. I was unable to play the rest of my last volleyball season and although I'm currently playing softball, I'm not able to perform as well as I know I have in the past because of the injury, my ability to learn, retain comprehend has also been impaired and I require accommodations at school for testing. Because of this. I could go on and on about how this incident has affected my life. But I'm not here for that because I'm not here for me because for me, I know that my time playing is coming to an end. I'm here for every biological female athlete behind me. My little sister, my cousins, my teammates allowing biological males to compete against the biological females is dangerous. I may be the first to come before you with an injury but if this doesn't pass, I won't be the last, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association policy states that it allows participation in interscholastic athletics for all students regardless of gender or gender identification. It is the intent that all students are able to compete on a level playing field in a safe, competitive and friendly environment, free of discrimination. Clearly, that does not include biological female athletes. My ability to compete was taken from me having to play against biological males is not a level playing field and is most definitely not safe. Um That is why this bill is so important and just to keep everybody safe, thank you for allowing me to come and speak on this matter. I pray you do the right thing. Thank you. Thank you, Peyton. So very much my next guest and the speaker would be um a, she's a representative from Wake County and house district 37 she's one of my primary sponsors in the Fairness and Women's Sports Act. Erin. I'm sorry, you were. Thank you. Well, good morning, I'm Aaron and I represent Southern Wake County and uh in the North Carolina House of Representatives, that's district 37. So I'm here today to express my strong support for this bill. This is a common sense bill and I'm not just a legislator, I'm here as a mother, a mother of two teenage kids, both are athletes. They play competitive sports and my oldest is a daughter Madison and she actually plays competitive volleyball. I was hoping that she would be able to meet Peyton today, but she's, she's at school, of course. So look, I'm here for her. I'm here for the other parents who have uh Children uh in high school that play competitive sports. I'm here for safety. I'm here for fairness and that's exactly what this bill is. This bill is a pro women's sports bill. This bill is a pro fairness bill. This bill is a pro safety bill and this bill is a pro common sense bill. And that's just not me telling you that that's the majority of North Carolinians that agree with me. It is not right to allow biological males to compete against biological females in sports. We're talking about not just participating in an activity. We are talking about competitive athletics competition here and that is due to the inherent biological advantage. Males have post the onset of puberty. So let me be clear this bill, there's nothing in this bill that would preclude anyone from identifying and it does not prevent anyone from playing in competitive athletics if they choose to this just levels the playing field and makes it fair and equal for all participants. So I know as a as a parent of a competitive athlete that there are years of work that goes into becoming a competitive athlete, years and years of work, years of preparation of hard work, of perseverance of determination of training and years of support from your support system. And I know that the athletes here that spoke to you this morning can attest to that whatever that support system looks like. In my case, it's our family for my Children. So I want to express again my absolute support for this and I appreciate the leadership of Representative Balham on this bill and I look forward to seeing its passage in the house. Thank you. Thank you, Representative. My next speaker, our guest is uh Sylvia Hatchel. She's the coach Hatch was the head coach of a women's basketball team at UN C Chapel Hill for over 30 years winning an NCAA championship in 1994. She was an assistant coach for the US A's 1988 Olympic women's basketball team that won the Olympic gold medal. She has been inducted into seven Athletic Hall of Fames, including the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame and the national coach of the year for several years. Coach Hall. Thank you for uh letting me be here today. I listen to all these others speak and I speak, I guess from uh a little bit of a different perspective because I did coach mm, 45 years of basketball and um then 33 at the University of North Carolina. Um you know, I support transgender athletes rights to their gender identity as they see fit and as they want it to be however competitive sport is one of the few places in our society where sex differences really make a difference. Those differences are for men, greater strength size, speed, muscle mass, men's greater hearts, lung capacity, hands, feet and skulls, women's greater body fat, women's and men's difference, distribution of body fat and lean muscle mass and more. Uh the results is in performance advantages for men is almost in every, every sport. And trust me, it makes a huge difference. Therefore, to ensure that female athletes have access to fair and safe competition, they should not compete against trans identified boys or trans identified man at any age. They should not have not, not be put in those types of situations. Separate sports categories facilitates inclusion. They have always been created to provide more people with a chance to enjoy competitive victories. Without the two sex categories we would have never known about and celebrated some of the greatest female athletes of all times. These names you may remember. Uh but by no means are limited to Billie Jean King, Martina Nava Mary Lou Retton or Peggy Fleming. All these ladies would have been defeated by and overshadowed by countless male players and lost in history in 2022 the World Aquatics, the governing body for swimming, diving and other water sports, acknowledged the differences between women and men with the rules changed. That excludes uh people who have experienced male puberty from women's events in 2023. Just a few months ago, world athletics, which is the governing body for track and field followed suit in 1972. Title nine was passed. I was a sophomore in college playing sports and uh I played and coached for all 50 years. We just celebrated last June 23rd, the 50th anniversary of title nine. But we are almost in a place right now where we're going backwards, especially with a situation like this. The purpose of title nine was to make sports fair and equal. I repeat, fair and equal females having to compete against transgenders is not fair and equal. Is there a place for transgenders in sports? Yes, but it's a separate category. Speaking as a coach, let me say it simply just not a level playing field. It's not. So I strongly urge the support for the fairness and women's sports act for the sake of fairness, safety opportunity and the rights of women. Thank you. Thank you, Coach Hall. But uh the next guest, she's a little close to my heart. This woman watched me grow up playing basketball um in my local high school. So I'd like to um have Judy Stroud. She's a former player, coach and referee. She was a player and a coach for the women's basketball team at Western Carolina University. She was a, um W NBA referee for six years. She is currently a supervisor for the AC C women's sports referee. She's a member of the Western Carolina Hall of Fame and she lives in my hometown in Henderson County. Come on up, sweet, Judy. Thanks to all of you all for supporting this and making it, hopefully come to fruition. That's what we can hope for. My name is Judy Stroud as uh Jennifer had said, um, you can tell from my looks and everything. I've been around a little while. Uh I actually, as Sylvia said, was a freshman in college when title nine came about, I've been through a lot of difficult challenges and hurdles of discrimination uh before and especially now, uh playing coaching administration. You wouldn't have enough time for me to, to explain all the things that I faced, uh that our teams faced tremendous strides have been made. Yet women are at the very crossroads of possible. The biggest discrimination that could ever happen. We will be discriminated against if this does not pass and go through. Uh I'm doing this for my four great nieces. Uh, one is yet to be born, uh, two is yet to be born in 21 is six months and the other one is two years old and I didn't want do not want them to be a part of something that they can't um be proud of. Um, you know, you work to attain a goal like uh Riley said, only to be denied. That's what I started today. Don't take my spot in 1974. I was one of 60 women invited to try out for the World University Games. What an honor. Um They were gonna keep 15 and that 15 would go on to possibly be the Olympic team of the 60. I was number 16. I was good. I felt good about what I, I had performed and what I'd done, but my good was just not good enough and I was ok with that. Had number one, number seven, number 15 been a biological male all those years, as Riley had said from the age of 4 to 22 for her, same for me would have been just completely, I would have been and I, I just would have been devastated to not be able to do that. But of course I wasn't chosen but don't get the point where the girls don't have that fair access. It's not a place for safety for them. That's the things that we need to keep in mind and at the forefront when we're doing this. And um, you know how many parents take their Children to a A U events. Y B O A soccer, volleyball. You spend entire weekends, you drop $1000 in a weekend to go to rock Hill, South Carolina playing a volleyball tournament. You're doing that at, at least 10 to 12 to 15 weekends a month, then you're sending them to. I don't know how many camps you pay all this money in hopes that this child one will have a great time. Enjoy, learn teamwork, learn a lot of great values and hopefully possibly get a college education on a scholarship. I brought this because title nine came into effect in 1972 when I was a freshman, this is my college grant and aid. My senior year, I got $50 a quarter. Now all the men that were playing basketball got full of rides. So all I'm saying is don't take that away from the girls, from the women because they need us, they need us to make a stand, they need us to do this for them, do it for your nieces, for your daughters, for your granddaughters. Uh This is not a level playing field as coach said, thank you. All right. All any questions we're gonna open up for questions. Just a couple you wanna call and now what was the motivation? What was your, I'm sorry, what the motivation be because we have women competing in, in um in all of those sports even at the college level. Why should we stop at high school level? So I, I wanted to include all of it to make sure everyone was covered. There's still scholarships that they're competing for even in the college level to keep. Yes. Um, with the proposed changes to changes to, I think all, um, if they have proposed rules, yeah. Um, this bill for this law, should it be passed? Fire? Are you prepared for that? And, and what are your thoughts there? It's proposed legislation? It is not passed yet. I believe if you, I mean, we will, will take on the five when it gets here, but it is again not proposed at all. The other thing is, is we're not governed by them. We are not bound by them. Furthermore, I'm confident even if we adopt, they will be a challenge in court um or overturned. Those proposed legislations are contrary to the intent of what title I was and the lower court's decisions on that matter. So I see that you'll have a lot of people standing up to approve that just like the ones you saw here. Can we have one more? Um We have also heard of Coach Hall. What does that? If that's something we need to add in this bill can be changed to add that in if that's something we see in the future that there is a uh we need to make that we, we can do that, we, we can make that happen if we feel that that's, that's the direction to go. All right, thanks. Thank you. Yeah, that one's very nice. All right. So I'm, I'm talking here. I wanna talk out of here because it's on. Um, but I do have just a couple of questions for you.

Swimmer Riley Gaines joins NC House members to support 'Fairness in Women's Sports Act'

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I'm meteorologist, Amy Wilmeth in the WRL severe weather center, quiet weather in the forecast for a while. We did have the cold front move through yesterday. A northerly flow behind that will cool temperatures tonight into tomorrow today. Though beautiful weather with near normal temperatures will get up to 73 in Durham, 74 in Raleigh and 78 for the high temperature in Fayetteville. If you're headed to the Bulls game this evening, what treat? This is great baseball weather. The game gets started at 635 will be at 68 at 6 p.m. down to 65 by seven o'clock and 63 by eight o'clock and it stays nice and dry for that. It does turn kind of chilly tonight. Many of us down into the forties, 48 in Durham, 46 in Rocky Mountain, 49 in Goldsboro, 49 in Southern Pines. So it is going to be a chilly start to our Friday and it stays fairly cool Friday afternoon. We'll have partly to mostly cloudy skies. 67 for the high in Durham, 69 in Raleigh, 72 for the high temperature in Fayetteville. So many outdoor events this weekend and the weather cooperating very nicely. Brugal oo gets started Friday evening and then it happens again on Saturday for Friday evening. If you're headed, there, temperatures will be nice and mild in the sixties and it stays dry and then spring days in Cary, that's on Saturday, that's out at Bon Park looks like great weather for, that will be in the mid f in the morning. But then upper sixties by one pm, low to mid seventies during the afternoon and early evening hours. And maybe after that, you want to go some soccer, the courage taking on the rain. It's a home game and beautiful weather for soccer. Low seventies at 7 p.m. 69 by nine o'clock and 64 at 11 o'clock, that's for Saturday evening. So a lot of things happening this weekend and the weather really looking good. 74 today, a little cooler Friday and then back up to 74 Saturday, even warmer Sunday, 81 for the high 86 on Monday and then upper eighties in the forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.

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Gov. Roy Cooper, museum leaders and museum paleontologist Dr. Lindsay Zanno on Thursday preview Dueling Dinosaurs, a brand new exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. The exhibit opens to the public Saturday.

In that institution's history. But all of you can and I have seen that enthusiasm and that understanding that you are part of something special over the past few years as you have prepared for this day. So to the staff of the museum, thank you. And it's not just staff, a project like this wouldn't have been possible without a lot of important partners on behalf of everyone involved in this immensely successful public private partnership. And in addition to the General Assembly's extraordinary investment, I would like to take a moment to thank some of the very generous supporters of the Dueling Dinosaurs capital campaign, the SECU Foundation, the Bank of America Duke Energy, the North Carolina Glaxo Smith Kline Foundation, Wake County, friends of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences who really not only helped us in, in raising the funds but also in making this day happen and this opportunity happen. And so many others who are recognized on the campaign do donor wall just to the right of the exhibit entrance. So I encourage you as you go through there today to make sure you take a look at that wall. Now, along with the state's investment. This village of support has enabled the museum to open this new globally unique visitor experience. And on that note, I would like to invite Secu Foundation board chair, Chris Ayers to speak to the foundation's leadership gift, Chris. Thank you. Well, good morning fellow paleontologists. Um I'm excited to be here today representing the SECU Foundation and the over 2.7 million members of state employees credit union who fund that foundation. So this is a great day of celebration for the State of North Carolina, the Department of Cultural and Natural Resources and the many museum supporters and friends who have joined together to make this day a reality. I can tell you the foundation, the State Employees Credit Union has been looking forward to this day for a long time, going all the way back to when we got a sneak peek when they first rolled these fossils into the museum uh a number of years ago. So today's ribbon cutting ceremony shines a brilliant light on the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences as a research institution and the largest museum in the southeast of its kind. The work of the museum professionals and the world class facility benefits more than 1 million visitors each year. And we're delighted to help fund the Secu Dino Lab, which will be enjoyed by students, teachers and families from across the state and beyond. In addition to the SECU Diner lab, the foundation support of the museum also includes the large icon globe that we're in right now that you see outside the building, uh The SECU Daily Planet. As longtime supporters of the museum SECU is pleased that our collaborative efforts help bring the museum and our state to the forefront of natural sciences, education and research, innovative initiatives like this can only be achieved through incredible teamwork and support from the community if it isn't obvious. Let me say that we are so happy to be part of this team and we feel really lucky to have our SECU headquarters and our Sal Salisbury Street branch right next door where we get to see the daily droves of visitors year round. SECU is built on the principle of people helping people and our members live that philosophy through our support of nonprofits that uplift people and communities throughout our great state. For those of you who may not know the SECU foundation is funded through a unique concept known as the power of a dollar where SECU members contribute through the reallocation of their $1 monthly checking account fee. Collectively a dollar truly can make a profound difference. As you see here today, this summer marks the foundation's 20th anniversary. And over the past 20 years, our foundation's commitment to North Carolina nonprofits has surpassed a quarter of a billion dollars for scholarships, grants, financing for education, housing, health care, human services, all benefits to our great state. And we're going to celebrate that 20th anniversary. This fall dueling Dinosaurs is history in the making right here in downtown Raleigh. And we're so lucky to have a front row seat to marvel at the Scientific Discovery and the World of Paleontology. We at the SECU Foundation are honored to be part of this and I want to thank everyone for the great work and contributions that so many of you have made to make this day in this exhibit a reality. Thank you, Chris. Now I mentioned earlier about our staff and they really are all superstars, but there is one particular staff member who has as this project has developed over the recent years, kind of reached celebrity status. If you read Walter magazine, you probably read a profile of her and her work and how that has contributed to uh this particular exhibit. I'm pleased to introduce that person to you this morning. None other than uh the individual who had the vision to make this happen. Doctor Lindsay Zano, head of Paleontology here at the museum, Doctor Doctor Zano. Good morning. It's wonderful to be hosting you all this morning. You know, every week I get an email from a parent who wants their child to meet and talk to a scientist every single week. They want to fuel that child's love for science, encourage them to pursue their dreams. But more than anything they want that science to be real, they want it to be accessible, meeting those Children is wonderful. It's also not enough because not every parent has the resources of the opportunities to reach out to a scientist and arrange a one on one meeting for their child. Most of the Children who are interested in science will fall through the cracks and every public event I attend, I have a conversation with someone in our community who doesn't see the relevance of science to their daily lives who's never been invited to peek behind the proverbial curtain to see who scientists are and what we do and how we go about solving problems that are relevant to our communities. Today, we mark the next step in the evolution of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. We celebrate the opening of the dueling dinosaurs experience. This is one of the most daring public science projects ever imagined at its heart is a world class specimen and the barrier breaking sccu Dino lab that houses it. The specimen represents a single moment in time 67 million years ago when behemoths like tyrannosaurs and triceratops battled for life. The lab is a place where there are no walls between the scientists and the communities that we serve. One where the term behind the scenes loses all of its meaning. A place where every kid regardless of their socioeconomical status can talk to a scientist every day, any day, a place where they can look in the face of a scientist and see themselves staring back at them a place where science is done for the public with the public and transparently in front of the public and for those that cannot make it to us on site, we're broadcasting this project all over the world. Now, the dueling dinosaurs experience is fueled by an amazing team of scientists who I'm so proud of. And in the past two years, we've grown from 6 to 14,000. And that's because a year and a half ago, we launched our public science project Cretaceous Creatures. And already over 14,000 middle school students from around the state have made once in a lifetime scientific discoveries as real members of our scientific team. And we are just getting started. I want to close this morning by thanking the state all of our incredible donors, my amazing museum colleagues, and especially my team for believing in this project, for believing in my vision. I want to thank them for tirelessly working for eight years to bring this project to the people of North Carolina and beyond. You are all dreamers and I could not be more honored to be on this journey with you. One thing we can all agree on is the world loves dinosaurs. So today we're going to bring the next generation of leaders in science and technology and engineering and innovation and have them born right here in North Carolina. Let's show the world how it's done. Thank you. Make sure I didn't mess up the screen and dropping that. Um Thank you, Doctor Zano and I don't know what the acoustics are back there. But standing up here as you were talking about Children in that next generation from up here, you could hear all the Children up there in nature Research Center visiting the labs and it just kind of brought to life. What you're talking about this experience will mean it's now my pleasure to introduce to you, my boss, uh Secretary Reed Wilson. Now I can tell you, Secretary Wilson, this is a special project. He does a lot of openings, ribbon cuttings for our sites all across the state, state parks aquariums and not to play favorites. But I know this one ha holds a special place in his heart. He was telling someone this morning that he's been working on this project for seven years and so Secretary Wilson, I'm pleased to introduce you and we finally got here. Thank you, Jeff. Good morning, everybody. Uh Thank you all for being here this morning and to all involved. Uh Congratulations. This is an amazing huge day for North Carolina and for this museum, you know, making doing dinosaurs a reality has been a collective effort. And I want to thank some people that have already been thanked, but you can never thank these people enough. First, our sponsors, we would not be here today without your generous support. No doubt about that. I also want to thank the board and the staff of the friends of the Museum of Natural Sciences and three of the four board presidents who have been presidents during this period are here with us today. Um, but the whole board has been invested in this and not only did you all raise significant sums of money, but you tiptoed way out on that branch of risk. I remember the conversations. Well, we really sure we wanna do this. Uh But you were, you made the decision to, to just dive in um because you kept your eyes on the prize and, and understood what the risk was, but all that risk went away. Uh I wanna thank the museum staff. Um Thank you so much. I know that every section of this museum has been involved with this. And I, I dare say that there isn't anyone on the staff of this museum who wasn't involved in this project at some point. Um And obviously to Doctor Zano and your paleontology team. Um Y'all are just amazing. You're brilliant. All of you. Um Javin Sutton and your ex exhibition team, Christy Flint and your education team. I mean, I could mention everybody in this museum, everyone's been involved. It's been a long process and you've done a phenomenal job because here we are today and of course, we wouldn't be here without substantial public support. Thank you to members of the General Assembly um who prioritized the investment in this state of the art lab in particular. I do want to thank the leadership of the legislature speaker Moore, Senator Pro TEM Berger, minority leader, blue and minority leader Reeves. Uh, they're unable to join us today, but I think we should give a round of applause to the entire general assembly who supported this project. So it's taken us a while for us to get here today. And as Jeff mentioned, I've been involved with this one probably since the first week I was in this department in early February 2017. Um So it's not been quite 67 million years, but sometimes it felt like it. Um Is that my wife laughing? I remember, I do remember vividly the early Sunday morning in April 2017, almost exactly seven years ago to this day when these specimens arrived. I watched as the movers painstakingly removed them from the tractor trailer truck and carefully moved them into their hidden storage places. It was definitely a goose bumps moment for hours and then we had the groundbreaking in the midst of COVID, uh which complicated everything. And as I said, then at the groundbreaking, when this lab opens, our state will become a must see destination for dinosaur lovers everywhere, from young kids to academics to anybody. Um And so here we are and it's even better than I think any of us dreamed it could be. You will see when you go in there. What a special exhibit this is. We have the best dinosaur specimens in the world and the best setting for people to see them and learn from them. Hundreds of moments and of awe and wonder will unfold in there every single day. And I can't wait to just wander over here sometimes to watch the kids' eyes pop open. Now, at the heart of this project is the science. Our paleontologists will make discoveries as they carefully uncover these and analyze them. Science will be happening in front of the public's eyes. Um And so do doing dinosaurs is an excellent way for the state to engage students in scientist scientific discovery and to develop greater science literacy. So why is that important? Um It's important because the only way we're going to solve our big problems is to rely on the science and the experts who know what they're talking about. And the key to getting to that point is to expand science education to make sure that every child understands the value of science and how scientific discovery works. The Dueling Dinosaurs exhibit is going to pull people into this amazing world of science that's so important to our future. So I am now pleased to introduce a leader who uses science and facts and data to make his decisions as governor of the state of North Carolina and he has supported this project throughout its duration. Everyone please give a warm welcome to our Governor Roy Cooper. Thank you, Secretary Wilson. I'll tell you when we have cabinet meetings every Monday. His is always the coolest report, particularly when we get the updates on the dueling dinosaurs. Uh I am so grateful to everyone who helped to make this happen. The partners. Thank you so much for the work you've done all of the contributors. Uh My family, Chris is proud that our state employees credit union accounts that $1 a month is going to things like this. That is so exciting. And when I think about this week, I spent Monday Earth Day on the Blue Ridge Parkway looking at our amazing vistas uh in Western North Carolina on Tuesday and Wednesday, I got to spend time with North Carolina's own astronaut Christina Cook who set records for time that a woman astronaut spent in space and space walking. And she actually presented us with a lob Lily pine that had been germinated on the moon. Native plant, Karen, first lady made sure it was a native plant, uh excited about planting that in our pine forest at the executive mansion. And she presented us with the North Carolina flag that flew with her on her mission in the International Space Station for 11 months, presenting it to the people of North Carolina. Then I got to come over here with Doctor Zano, doctor Doctor Young and to go through this exhibit and to talk to these scientists and see see these dinosaurs and think about how amazing it was that this was happening right here in North Carolina. You know, North Carolina is the first and best in so many things. Now, we're the best in dinosaurs. I love it. You know, it is amazing and extraordinary that we have the best preserved and most complete tyrannosaur and triceratops in the world. Right here at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Scientists. This exhibit will add to an already excellent rep reputation that North Carolina has as a world class research university community College state. And I'm excited about that. I have been through this exhibit and, and to see the faces of the paleontologist, how excited energetic that they are. And they're also excited and maybe even a little bit nervous about sharing their work as they do it with the world, with the cameras on top of them, with their brushes and their equipment as they make discovery after discovery. And I said, you know, you're gonna get comments and praise and maybe some criticism from science, all scientists all over the world. They said, we know we know and we're ready for that and that's what makes this so special. Uh Doctor Young Doctor Zano, thank you for leading me through. Thank, thank you for the work. I asked Doctor Zano what she was gonna do this summer? She said, Utah, Montana and Mongolia. Wow, that's cool. Bring some stuff back with us uh to, to us but to compete, compete in today's world stem and steam classes. Are more important than ever. And our next generation of leaders will be walking through this museum every day that it's open and this exhibit will stimulate interest in a lot of them. I have declared 2024 as the year of public schools in North Carolina. And I am deeply grateful that the legislature stepped up and invested in this exhibit. Uh It, it took a lot of work to pull everything together and their work was instrumental and I am encouraging them now also to invest more in our public schools in our early childhood education. Our state has a history of investing in public education in order to fuel our innovation and our discovery. And when these young students learn in their school classes and they get to come here and meet face to face with these sci scientists. It's going to develop interest and it's going to create our scientists of the future this state of the art secu diner lab and the dueling dinosaurs belong to the people of North Carolina. It's open to everyone free of charge. That is amazing. Thanks to everybody who made this happen. This is a proud day for the state of North Carolina. Thank you so much. Thank you, Governor Cooper. Uh It truly is an exciting day for all of us and thank you for being here. Now, at this time, I would like to invite everyone to join us just outside the auditorium here. A little bit to the right at the at the entrance for doing dinosaurs for the official ribbon cutting. And I want to invite all of you up there on the 2nd, 3rd floor. Presents. Come on down and join us. So let's go celebrate. Thank you. Yeah, we're at the back line up a little bit. It's gonna be quite a few people here. They are going to be coupled. OK? Don't cut it. Yeah, check, check, get out. OK. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Right. The the face. Thanks this chair, right. You all right. So fantastic. Hey guys for media. We questions afterwards over step on. This is the best to the future. This very good virtually. Yes. Is young. Was it? How about that? This is Yeah, you and then I now make the tea for. Can you be away if you're gonna be here? J JJ? Yeah, I was gonna have how many we have to get here in the morning right here. I didn't see anyone. All right, I need to tell everyone you should never put your hands inside the mouth of a tyrannosaurus. It's very sharp, well done on the end. Just a little bit here. Thank you. All right, just in the position. All right forward. Creep forward. Look for the fray. There we go. 321. Hold on. Is there we go. No cool, cool. The skin is tough. It's a meat eater. Not a ribbon eater. So OK. Sorry. OK. Barry can we do one more second? Let me fill in real quickly with one more. Yeah, they have thank you. Who gets to keep this to bring here? Let's get next to a do what you want us here. That be perfect. And can I get you on? So right here, you know what the secret with you and, but yeah, one photo, 12 and three. All right, thanks everybody. Right. If we have five, hello, if you guys want to come over here, I'll stand where the governor is gonna be. I.

Preview of Dueling Dinos, opening Saturday in Raleigh

Nightly N.C. Education Lottery drawings during the 11 p.m. News.

Good evening. I'm Gayle Hurd. Welcome to tonight's drawings for Wednesday, April 24th, 2024. Well, let's get started tonight with our Carolina pick three. Our first winning number is a seven. Our second number is six and the third number tonight is a nine and our pick three. Fireball number is six. Joining me for tonight's show is our auditor from mcconnell and Jones L LP. Now let's move to the Carolina pick four. Good luck. Everyone who's that first winning pick four number, it's zero. Our second number is a nine. Third number tonight is three and our fourth number is one in our pick for fireball number. There it is. It's three. Again, we're turning now to the Carolina cash five and no one was the top prize tonight. Tomorrow's top prize is estimated at $620,000. Good luck. Everyone here's their first win in cash five number. It's a 29. Our second number, it's 37 3rd number tonight. It's 34. Our fourth number is lucky 13 and the final number in our cash five this evening is 12. The North Carolina Education lottery has contributed over $10 billion to education. Get your winning numbers right here every night on your exclusive station for the North Carolina Education lottery. Thanks for playing. Have a great night.

Evening Pick 3 Pick 4 and Cash 5

Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday Powerball drawings, as shown live on WRAL.

Ball. Good evening, Ruan, I Randy trainer. Tonight. We have another life changing jackpot. It's worth an estimated $130.2 million. So, get your tickets ready here. Come, tonight's winning numbers. Let's start things off this evening with the number 26. Right after that America. We have the number two and congratulations to Gina Magnum from North Carolina. She won $50,000 playing powerball. All right, the rest of your winning numbers tonight 20 47. And let's round it out tonight with the number 22 and tonight 20 powerball number, that's gonna be 21 and your power play multiplayer is four. Let's take another look at tonight's winning numbers. We'll see you back here on Saturday night. It's time to play America's favorite.

Powerball Drawing

Daytime Pick 3 and Pick 4 drawings are held at 3 p.m. daily. They can be seen as live or on-demand video.

Good afternoon. I'm Luis Fernandez. Welcome to this afternoon's drawings for Wednesday, April 24th, 2024. Let's get started with Carolina pick three. The first pick three number is two, second is eight and the third is eight and our pick three fireball number is five. Join me for this afternoon's drawing is our auditor for mcconnell LP. Now let's move to Carolina pick four. The first pick four, number is five. The second is one, the third is three and the fourth is zero and our pick four. Fireball number is five. The North Carolina Education lottery has contributed over $10 billion to education and thanks for your support.

Daytime Pick 3 and Pick 4 Drawing

Brian Shrader flies over the site of a plane crash at Raleigh-Durham International Airport approximately three hours after the accident.

Seen some activity just in the past 10 minutes or so. I want to take you outside Sky five right now for a live look at the scene. We saw a van being escorted to the runway there and someone got out and now there appears to be a really careful inspection of the debris going on. So we're working to confirm if that may be the NTSB investigation team arriving at the scene. Let's zoom out and give you some about where this is. There are two main runways at RDU International and this is in the grassy field next to the runway that mostly serves terminal one on the east side of the airport, that runway remains closed while this investigation continues at the top of your screen. That is the other main runway that serves terminal two, mostly that runway is open. So we have two things going on here that could affect your flights for the rest of the day and maybe even into tomorrow, the airport takeoff and landing capacity is roughly reduced by half because they are only working with one runway. And if you have a flight coming out of terminal one, maybe Southwest, you're going to have to take that crossover all the way out to that other runway. It's going to add a lot of extra time.

Sky 5 flies over RDU plane crash 3 hours later 

A UNC Health physician and pilot were taken to the hospital Wednesday after a small plane crashed at Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU).


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Sky 5 flies over RDU plane crash 3 hours later

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