Name: Wilson mayor calls for more effective gun laws nationwide after shooting scare at Little League tournament
Uploaded: 2022-07-12T16:46:00-0400
Duration: 1165528
Description: Wilson Mayor Carlton Stevens Jr. is calling for more effective gun laws nationwide in the wake of the July 10 active shooter scare at a Little League baseball game. Stevens also has a new plan to help troubled teens.

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Wilson Mayor Carlton Stevens Jr. is calling for more effective gun laws nationwide in the wake of the July 10 active shooter scare at a Little League baseball game. Stevens also has a new plan to help troubled teens.

<p>you saw on saturday, the first murder that took place and then with the shooting at the low league complex. Um, it's inspired just from what I've seen from afar, some concern in the community. Is that something that you've seen as well, concern is always an issue. Um, and you need to be concerned if anything happens like that in anybody's city, you need to be concerned because it could affect you or your family, whether it's close or distant, it could be a friend or relative, it can affect you. So you need to be concerned. Always, always be concerned. Yeah. When you hear from people in the last couple of days who are talking about the state of gun violence in the area, um, what did they say? What do they say? They're worried about? One of the things that I've noticed that people are really concerned about the bickering that's going on in our legislation and in in our, in our country. You know, it's it's almost like their their thought processes, we need our government to protect us, but they're too busy fighting each other to protect us. You know, because, you know, we're we're stuck in a limbo. You know, you have one group of people that want this, you have one group of people that want that. And if these guys don't get what they want, they're not budging and the guys don't get what they want. They're not budging. And it's us, it's the citizens, it's the people that live here in this country, we're the ones that are negatively affected not the ones that are making the laws. It's the ones like us. You know? Yeah, I may be a mayor, but you know, I'm just a regular citizen like everybody else. So I need them to make decisions and I call it common sense, common sense decisions. Um So that's what I'm hearing. And you know, a lot of my friends are gun owners. A lot of my friends on gun stores were uh in our instructors. We do that and we have these good conversations. And I will tell you if you talk to the vast majority of us whether where black white brown doesn't matter. We all want the safety of our community period. The end we just need our government to come up with a plan to help keep us safe and the way it's set up right now, things that are happening now, the way it's set up now it's gonna continue to happen. Why do you say that? Alright, So I own a gun store, Okay. And I bought something because I wanted you to see this, right? I want you to see this. Alright? So you are 18 years old. All right? And you come to my store and you You say uh Carlton, I want to buy a gun, right? And I'm like, Okay, you're 18. Let's buy a gun. Right? So you say to me that you won't to buy 22 revolver. I say I'm Sorry Man, You're 18. I can't say you're 22 revolver. And you say why I'm 18, right? But you have to be 21 plus. You have to go through the Sheriff department have to go through your L. E. Oh well that's a 22 right there. All right. But then you turn around and say, well, Well can I buy you a r. 15? You're 18. You can buy an ar 15. Do I have to go to my Sheriff department? No, you don't have to go to the Sheriff department. What do I have to do? You thought this form right here. I call it in and a minute later they're gonna tell me you approved approved late or whatever, right? If you want to buy seven millim, which is a rifle, that's that bullet right there. You can buy that at 18, but you can't buy this in addition to you don't have to go through your Sheriff department to get those two. You can get something that's designed for max destruction at age 18 without your Sheriff department knowing anything about it. So then, you know, you have people to say, well you fill out the 44 73 you know, now let's talk about that hypothetically speaking, you are 18 years old. Let's say you're 19 and when you're 18 you said, well I'm gonna start doing drugs, I'm gonna start selling marijuana. So let's say you get busted five times and you only have you have less than an ounce of marijuana on you? That's a misdemeanor? I send this 44 73 and they're not gonna know anything about it. You go through your elio Even at age 21, your elio is going to know, wait a minute. He has those misdemeanors and there's a clause good more character. Our elio can deny your permit to purchase because of those misdemeanor charges. Whereas the fans don't wanna know anything about it. We're set up for failure. I mean from the jump start we're set up for failure. You know, If you can be 18 to get one of those things, that's dangerous. And when I was 18 I was in the army but I was still very immature. I was not where I needed to be to go out and buy a weapon of mass destruction. They trained me how to shoot m 16, which is pretty much a a ar 15. They trained how to shoot em two oh threes and 50 cows and all of that. But that's the best training. You're going to get anywhere. Your dad can't teach you how to do this unless he was a sniper. You know, your, your granddad is not walking through the woods, shooting bears is not going to teach you what you really need to know two to be as safe as possible at that age. So that's that's where we are, man? That's where we are. Is there, is there a better red flag law that would work, is there? It's in europe, but I want to get down to is your gun store owner, You're an NRA instructor. You understand that there is a responsibility that needs to come with that owning and operating firearms. How do you fix the system in order to make sure that the people who are coming into possession are using guns the right way and responsible? Well, for one you need to keep the guns out of the hands of the people who don't need them. So we need to be proactive our country, in my opinion, a lot of times we're reactive okay, we want to fix the problem. Once the problem has surfaced, you fix the problem before the problem exists, then you don't have that problem. Right? I mean to me it's apples and oranges, right? So if our government can come up with a method of ensuring the ones who are getting the guns are mentally and legally capable of having those guns, that would be the first battle. Alright. Which in my just in my opinion, some of the guys that I've talked with, No one. Well, let me say something, no one that I've talked to, that's an N. R. A member that is a gun store owner. No one has a problem with people having to go to their elio to get a permit to purchase for every gun sale. Nobody has shown any resistance to that red flag laws are are good and they work for what they work for now? Let's talk about both sides. One side saying red flag laws, it will keep us safe. One side is saying, well, what if someone just decides they want to be mean or mischief and and say something that's not accurate and this person's gun is taken, right? You, you have it on both both ends. You know, I understand both sides, but red flag laws only work if you have a gun, if you don't have a gun, what are they gonna take from you? Right? So if you, if you're wanting to hurt somebody, but you don't have a gun, there's nothing to take. The red flag laws are not going to help that person that's scared of you. But then you could turn around and go buy a gun after they have reported you, you can go buy a gun, you can buy a rifle or shotgun with no problem because our federal government is not going to know that someone called and they're scared of you. They're not gonna know at that time we're not gonna know right. Gun store owners don't know. So honestly, let's go back. I mean mental awareness and, and uh, the state of our, of our Children and their mental state is very important. But when you're 18 years old, you if you have some type of mental disability, which is, which is what I use. That is signs are seen in that home prior to being 18 years old. How do I know that? Well I'm a former teacher. I'm also a former principal. I know I know Children I worked mainly in the middle school. I worked in a high school as well but worked mainly in a middle school. I know when Children have issues and I've heard parents defend their Children and their issues I'm not going to put my child on this, they don't need this. We're gonna go to church you know and a lot of times we use I mean don't get me wrong God can do anything but he gives us the tools on earth to fix things. A lot of people that I know what a lot of the families that I knew that went to the schools to Children parents they felt like I just take them to church, we're gonna pray them through this. And one lady honestly one lady actually said that she said to me as the principal of that school, she said mr stevens I'm not gonna put him on anything else. We're gonna pray him through this and I'm gonna beat his butt every time he does something wrong. And he was one of the people who killed somebody in Goldsboro about a month ago. So But I saw this because he was in the 5th grade then I saw this in the 5th grade. I saw that in the fifth grade so it's up to us as parents. We have to be more vigilant but we also have to not have, I'm not gonna say proud. We we don't need to be embarrassed. We don't need to be fearful of what others are gonna say. You know what your neighbors are gonna say, who cares if your child needs help, Your child needs help. But if you allow your child to grow, grow up, grow up an 18 year old, 18 years old, it's almost too late. And then they go out and they have the sense enough to go purchase a gun and hurt somebody or hurt themselves. It starts in the home we we need we need more adolescent um mental health, mental health, we need it in the schools we needed in the homes, you know? Years ago it was It was pretty prevalent, you know? But then I don't know if we went through this, I don't know what happened. But they started cutting uh funding for mental health, you know, it used to be Children um to get 40 hours a week or 40 hours every two weeks from different mental health agencies and these people are coming into their homes and helping these Children, taking them out in the community helping them. But they stopped, it went from 40 hours to like five hours. So these Children for five hours a month, you're you're getting help but what about the other countless number for hours, you know and you send them to school. They're giving the teacher hell and the principal, they're constantly being suspended and then it's just a it's a revolving door man. And so we gotta start young now let's say it doesn't happen in 18. That's when the government needs to kick in. I thoroughly believe and I firmly believe that you have to b we have to be more diligent than who we allow to have guns. Yes the A. T. F. Is doing their job. Yes gun store owners and every gun store owner I know they're going to follow the law. When I say follow up they are going to follow the law. Some of my best friends in the gun industry are in Goldsboro company called Wild India. Those guys sell hundreds of guns every month but not one time even when I go to purchase from them, not one time have they ever slided on doing their paperwork? They are vigilant but they can only do so much. But if a person goes into a gun store and says I want to buy it we're gonna sell it to him. Now I will say this, I made it be known that if you're between the ages of 18 and 20 I am no longer selling you an a. r. 15 or an assault rifle of any sort unless you are a member of the military. That's a personal commitment that you have made a personal commitment that I made and I'll put it out there and you know, some people, um I got a couple of calls. Well, of course, I don't know if that's the best thing to do. You know, you know, it's not that I'm going against the Second Amendment, I'm doing what I feel is right man. I have Children. And my oldest daughter actually took my class, right? And she wants a gun, right? She's right, Daddy give me a gun, you know, because daddy got I gave you a free class and I got to give you a free gun, but I will give her one whenever in my heart and her mom and I feel like she's ready, right? She's young and she's doing great, right? But I just want to make sure that you're more stable. She's 24 years old, man. I don't I don't understand why everybody don't see that. I don't get it. Another great friend of mine, I mean, oh my God, he's one of the best friends I've ever had. I was talking with him and his wife and they were just like, I don't know Carlton if you should do that. But then his wife circle, I should say, you know what, I just thought about something. I don't want my son an 18 year old to be able to go buy a R 15. I don't want that, Right? So yeah, that was a personal commitment I made. Am I gonna lose money? Who cares? I mean, all money is not good money, right? And you don't I don't sell a lot of a ar fifteen's and assault rifles to young people, but I have in the past. But as of right now, unless you're in the unless you're active through the military, meaning you've gone through basic training and if you go through basic training, I know that, you know, Right, if you're active duty military reserve or national guard and you're 18 between 1820, I'll sell it to you. But if you're not, you can't get it from me. As of right now where we stand in Wilson, is there is there an action that you feel needs to be taken for your community, Is it? I mean, whether it's with the Police department or whether it's an initiative for mental health out of the current situation, is there an action that you feel needs to be taken? That's a very good question. Um, let's talk about the Police Department number one, I will put our Police Department up against any Police department in the state. Matter of fact, probably again in the country, these guys not. And I'm not just gonna talk about the Police Department, our Sheriff's Department man. These guys are on point. They are were were a cut above and I know it without a shadow without we have guys that come here that had offers to go other places that will make more money, but it's this community. our community were different man and and I know every mayor might say my city is different but they're lying right? I'm the only retail industry right now, Wilson is different. We are we are we are like a country within a within a city, right? We we we are growing by leaps and bounds, you know. So is there a concern? Yes because of course everyone you have shooting you have bad people everywhere. Right? But I think if we could help what I would like to see is more mental health for adolescents in the schools. Uh right now that's what I would like to see because these Children have gone through the last couple of years of pure hell having to be taught from home learning from a computer. Don't go here where max don't wear a mask, wash your hands. Don't wash your hands. Uh don't look at the person, their eyes when you're talking to them because you might get you know they've gone through so much you've had Children That went through 12 years of school, they couldn't even have a graduation. So things are different for them. Like when I grew up we didn't have any of this. These Children are going through a tough time. So they need help. And our parents and I know a lot of parents that are but parents need to see that and reach out for it help. The problem is we need more people that are in that field. I know a few L. C. S. W. S. I know one in particular, great friend of mine and she is wore out because her her list is so long and she's constantly with a child you know and it's she even said to me our Children are in trouble. So I would like to see more mental health now when it comes to the safety and security, our police department or sheriff's department they're on point. So I'm not worried about that. Now. Can you stop everything? Of course not. You know. Of course not. And then you have to me when you have people that do mass shootings and especially when you shoot little Children. You know, there's a word that I use for them and I might not need to use right now. But you're a punk, your sissy like your there's nothing to you like you have why if you want to hurt somebody, go find one of these guys walking up the street, walk into them and slap them. Let's see what happens then instead of shooting off a little Children, that makes no sense. You know. So some things we cannot control the things we can control like mental health. Getting more help. More funding from our state, more funding from the feds. I think it's needed for our schools and for our parents. I said well on that note that's it I'll leave it alone because I can go much much more, but all right, anything else that I didn't ask concerning? I mean, the state of gun violence needs to north Carolina the comparison with other communities, what you want to see down here. Anything that I didn't ask you. I don't, I think you hit it. Hit the nail on the head. I want, I know there's some concern about things that happened this sunday. I know there there's always concerns. You know, we have people that are doing that. We have people that do different marches. You know, it's not just the guns and the violence, you know what another trigger or drugs another trigger or is like I said, mental health, you know, we have so many different triggers and we have groups of people in different pockets that are trying to do things right. We have people that are really trying, but we need more. We need more. We need to be proactive and not reactive. And if we are proactive, I think not only will our city continue to be one of the best cities ever. Our country, our country will start changing and start turning when I were congressman, our lawmakers stop bickering amongst themselves and you know, learn how to and I'm not there. So maybe I should have said, I'm not up there. I'm not fighting the good fight of faith, but dude, sit down and compromise. You know, some don't read, don't want red flags, Some do won't we won't we come to a middle ground. How can we, how can we merge? Because the longer that they fight the more we're gonna hurt now in Wilson we're doing what we can here, right? Our city council is phenomenal. We're all from different backgrounds, different beliefs and different things. But when it comes to this city we come together now we may argue and fight in the background but by the end of that conversation we are one, we are one and we're not fighting. We are we're discussing different ways and different methods because we all have 111 final answer and that is our city being a great city. If we can do it, god knows, they can do it. You know God they can do it, you know? But that's I don't know. We'll see what happens right.</p>

Mark Bergin

Keenan Willard

Wilson mayor calls for more effective gun laws nationwide after shooting scare at Little League tournament

Wilson Mayor Carlton Stevens (left) speaks with WRAL eastern North Carolina reporter Keenan Willard (right).

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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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Good evening. I'm Gail. Hi, welcome to tonight's drawings for Thursday, April 25th, 2024. Well, let's get started tonight with our Carolina pick three. Our first winning number is a one. Our second number is eight and our third number tonight is a nine and our pick three fireball number is eight. Again, join me for tonight's joining us on Auditor from mcconnell and Jones L LP. Now let's move to the Carolina pick four. Good luck. Everyone who's their first winning pick four number. It's a six. Our second number is eight. Third number tonight is eight again and our fourth number is a three in our pick four fireball number. There it comes. It is a one. Well, turning now to the Carolina cash five and no one wins our prize tonight. Tomorrow's, our prize is estimated at $721,000. Good luck. Everyone here's our first winning cash five number. It's the number eight. Our second number is five third number. Tonight is seven. Our fourth number here it comes. It's a 41 in the final number, NRC five. This evening is 27. The North Carolina Education Lottery has contributed over $10 billion to education. Get your winning numbers right here every night in your exclusive station for the North Carolina Education lottery. Thanks for playing. Have a great night.

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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

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

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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