We’re also following how a local school is responding after a mother says a teacher threatened her child. Plus, how local leaders are preparing for Passover with increased threats to Jewish Americans. Watch WRAL NEWS at 11 and search for these and other stories on WRAL.com.

On WRAL at 11 : Showers leaving out of the area tonight. The cooler weather coming after and when we could see more rain

More than 21% of North Carolina's four-year-olds enrolled in the state's pre-kindergarten programs during the 2022-2023 school year, up from the prior year but still below the state's pre-pandemic highs, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research.

North Carolina ranks 29th in public pre-K enrollment, new report shows

Durham County budget increases funding for pre-K students

Compared to pre-pandemic prices, ground beef is up 35%, chips are up 45%, bread is up 57% and a 12-ounce can of soda is up 66%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tracks trends on common grocery store items.

WRAL Investigates: 'Greedflation' and other drivers behind inflation at the grocery store

A look at inflation at the grocery store

All assets associated with the tag: Yale University

Yale University Coverage

 It's a story most of us have heard -- a friend goes on a diet program and loses weight but can't seem to keep it off. A new study by the Yale School of Medicine found that obesity may cause irreversible changes to the brain.

BE BROUGHT TO CITY COUNCIL IN OCTOBER. >> IT'S A STORY MOST OF US HAVE HEARD A FAMILY MEMBER OR FRIEND GOES ON A DIET AND LOSES WEIGHT BUT CAN'T SEEM TO KEEP IT OFF. NEW RESEARCH EXPLAINS WHY IT'S COMMON FOR PEOPLE TO GAIN BACK THE WEIGHT THEY LOST. KEN SMITH LOOKED INTO THE STUDY AND HE JOINS US DOWN TO SHARE HOW OBESITY CAN ACTUALLY ALTER THE BRAIN PERMANENTLY. CAN YOU KNOW, THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY? REALLY SURPRISED IS BECAUSE PEOPLE SO COMMITTED TO LOSING WEIGHT AND KEEPING IT OFF. >> BUT HIS TO ROB OBESITY MAY CAUSE IRREVERSIBLE, IRREVERSIBLE CHANGES TO THE BRAIN. ACCORDING TO THIS NEW STUDY BY THE YALE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, RESEARCHERS TOOK 30 PEOPLE CONSIDERED TO BE SOME 30 PEOPLE OF NORMAL WEIGHT. THEY WERE FED FATS AND SUGARS USING FEEDING TUBES TO LIMIT THE INFLUENCE OF TASTE AND SMELL. RESEARCHERS THEN USED AN MRI TO LOOK AT BRAIN SIGNALS. PEOPLE WITH NORMAL WIND CHILL, BRAIN ACTIVITY INDICATING THEY WERE FULL. THAT WASN'T THE CASE WITH OBESE PEOPLE IN THE STUDY, THEIR BRAIN ACTIVITY SHOWED THEY DID NOT FEEL FULL OR SATISFIED EVEN AFTER THE LAST 10% OF THEIR BODY WEIGHT MEDICALLY SOMEONE IS CONSIDERED OBESE. IF THEY HAVE A BODY MASS INDEX OR BMI OF OVER 30 NORMAL WEIGHT IS BMI IS BETWEEN 18 AND 25. THE STUDY WAS PUBLISHED IN THE JOURNAL NATURE METABOLISM. NOW EXPERTS AGREE THIS STUDY SHOWS WHAT THE CITY IS A DISEASE BECAUSE OF THE ACTUAL CHANGES TO THE BRAIN. AND THAT MAY EXPLAIN WHY SOME PEOPLE HAVE SUCH A DIFFICULT TIME KEEPING THAT WEIGHT OFF DEATH

Study: Obesity changes the brain in a way that makes people eat more

"Harvard is sitting on top of a $54 BILLION hedge fund they call an 'endowment' that they pay zero taxes on," tweeted Charlie Kirk, the founder of the conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA. PolitiFact checks his claim.

Fact check: Do top universities have billion dollar untaxed endowments?

PolitiFact: Half-true

The Justice Department accused Yale University of discriminating against Asian American and White applicants in its undergraduate admissions process.

Justice Department accuses Yale of discriminating against Asian American and White applicants

Justice Department Accuses Yale of Discrimination in Application Process

The findings come from a survey conducted by Yale and Earth Day Network. More than 1,000 U.S. adults participated. 

Majority of Americans fine with eating less meat

Outback Steakhouse Meal

Memory and thinking skills naturally slow with age but now scientists are peeking inside living brains to tell if depression might worsen that decline -- and finding some worrisome clues.

Scientists: Depression may accelerate brain aging

Yale will soon join other universities in making emergency contraception available to students in a vending machine on campus.