Category: Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Local News
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Raleigh fire crews are working to learn what caused a fire on Thursday at Shaw University.
WRAL’s Breaking News Tracker is on the scene where
ladder trucks were seen outside a building with smoke coming from a window.
Students on the scene told WRAL News the building is a dorm. WRAL News is working to learn what caused the fire and if there were any injuries.
Students on the scene told WRAL News the person whose dorm caught on fire was using a space heater since the building was having heating issues. Students said that when they attempted to pull the fire alarm, it was not working, and the students went door to door alerting people about the fire.
Thursday’s State Board of Education meeting saw education leaders discuss large swath of issues, with one board members suggesting moving funding out of technology and into teacher’s pockets.
NASHVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) — The Nash County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a shooting involving a deputy that happened last night in a neighborhood on Tom George Road just north of Nashville.
Deputies say they were called to the area just after 9 p.m. for a domestic disturbance the caller told dispatch her father was holding a knife to her mother’s throat and had multiple loaded guns and the suspect wanted death by cop.
When deputies arrived, they say the man barricaded himself inside the home when he came out he was armed and aimed an AR-15 at authorities.
One of the deputies then fired, hitting and killing the man.
The suspect was identified as Christopher Erb.
“This is a very sad situation for the family, my heart goes out to the family, my heart goes out to my officers who had to see this and tried life saving measures at that point. But it’s a case where these law enforcement officer go out here every day saving lives, protecting property and trying to diffuse situations,” said Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone.
The deputies involved are now on administrative leave.
The Durham County Sheriff’s Office announced that a drug trafficking investigation resulted in the arrest of a man and the seizure of enough fentanyl to kill more than 2.3 million people.
On Wednesday night, the sheriff’s office’ Anti-Crime and Narcotics unit, with assistance from the State Bureau of Investigation, executed a search warrant at a home on Newland Place.
Law enforcement officers say they located several weapons, including an AR-15 and an AK-style assault rifle, a large sum of cash and narcotics. In addition to the 4.6 kilos of fentanyl, authorities said they seized 3.8 kilos of marijuana, 215 grams of cocaine, 12 grams of heroin and 23 grams of mushrooms.
Rodney Ephraim, 49, faces several charges. Those include trafficking in fentanyl and MSDP a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school.
“Two milligrams [of fentanyl] can be a lethal dose,” said Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead. “According to DEA data, one kilo of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people. When you consider the population of Durham County is just under 350,000, it’s sobering to think of.”
Authorities are holding Ephraim in the Durham County Detention Center without bond.
A 19-year-old man was intoxicated when he drove through firefighters and ran over their fire hose in eastern North Carolina, the Craven County Sheriff’s Office says.
Getty Images/iStockphoto
A case of underage drinking escalated to felony charges when a teen drove through firefighters battling a blaze and squashed their fire hose with his tires, according to investigations in eastern North Carolina.
It happened in the Dover community during the Jan. 31 snowstorm, and the 19-year-old driver “attempted to spit on deputies” when they confronted him, the Craven County Sheriff’s Office said in a Feb. 5 news release.
The chaotic scene also included the arrest of a 34-year-old man accused of starting the house fire as part of domestic dispute, the sheriff’s office said.
“While multiple fire departments were working to extinguish the fire, a vehicle drove around multiple fire department vehicles that were blocking the roadway and ran over a fire hose being used to fight the fire,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Brian James Carrell … was identified as the driver and admitted to consuming alcohol. After further investigation, Carrell attempted to spit on deputies.”
A sobriety test indicated Carrell’s blood alcohol level was .11%, officials said. The limit in North Carolina is 0.08% and the legal drinking age is 21.
Carrell, who lives in Jacksonville, was arrested and charged with:
Felony malicious conduct by prisoner
Driving over a fire hose
Damage to property
Possession of an open container
Consuming alcohol underage
Driving while impaired
Dover is about a 90-mile drive southeast from Raleigh.
Mark Price is a National Reporter for McClatchy News. He joined the network of newspapers in 1991 at The Charlotte Observer, covering beats including schools, crime, immigration, LGBTQ issues, homelessness and nonprofits. He graduated from the University of Memphis with majors in journalism and art history, and a minor in geology.
SAN FRANCISCO — What can viewers expect from Bad Bunny’s highly anticipated Super Bowl halftime performance? So far, all we know is that he’s expected to perform solely in Spanish, bringing Latin identity at the center of America’s most-watched television event.
But Bad Bunny could reveal more details Thursday in San Francisco when the Grammy winner speaks ahead of Sunday’s game.
Apple Music’s Zane Lowe and Ebro Darden will interview Bad Bunny and pregame performers beginning at 10 a.m. Pacific time on Thursday. The Puerto Rican superstar has become one of the world’s most-streamed artists with albums such as “Un Verano Sin Ti” and “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” which won Album of the Year at the Grammys Sunday night. It’s the first time an all-Spanish-language album has taken home the top prize.
Last year, Bad Bunny’s historic Puerto Rico residency drew more than half a million fans.
Apple Music will broadcast the interview on its platform and social media sites like YouTube and Facebook.
The pregame media session might reveal some details about the performance, but headliners often keep a few secrets. Rihanna sure did, waiting until her Super Bowl performance in 2023 to reveal she was pregnant with her second child.
The Super Bowl will be held Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, with the Seattle Seahawks facing off against the New England Patriots.
The Super Bowl pregame show will open with several standout performers in Northern California: Charlie Puth will hit the stage to sing the national anthem, Brandi Carlile will take on “America the Beautiful” and Coco Jones will sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
The national anthem and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” will be performed by deaf performing artist Fred Beam in American Sign Language. Julian Ortiz will sign “America the Beautiful.”
Before the game, Green Day will play a set to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Super Bowl. The band, which has its roots in the Bay Area, plans to “Get loud!” according to lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong.
In a historic first, the halftime show will include a multilingual signing program featuring Puerto Rican Sign Language, led by interpreter Celimar Rivera Cosme. All signed performances for the pregame and halftime shows will be presented in collaboration with Alexis Kashar of LOVE SIGN and Howard Rosenblum of Deaf Equality.
In addition to being the biggest sporting event of the year, the Super Bowl is rapidly becoming one of the biggest weeks of the year for scammers. 5 On Your Side shares four specific ways scammers could try to target you this weekend.
Four common Super Bowl scams
These are the four most common scams reported around the Super Bowl.
Fake ticket alerts: A text appearing to be from a legitimate ticket hub like Ticketmaster claiming your tickets to the game could not be delivered.
Streaming account warnings: A text appearing to be from a major streaming platform like Peacock saying something like, “Your Super Bowl stream is on hold. Update your billing now.”
Freezes to betting accounts: With sports betting still relatively new in North Carolina and millions of us placing bets on the big sites, scammers will send texts like, “Your wager is pending. Confirm your identity.”
Merchandise and food delivery scams: From everything to gear to your gameday wing delivery, customers are getting text messages like “Your Super Bowl order is delayed. Track status update here.”
The takeaway
The one thing all of these messages have in common is a call to action, such as clicking a link or scanning a QR code to enter information. If you only remember one thing: don’t click the links.
There are four new teams in this week’s N.C. high school boys’ basketball rankings, and a new No. 1 in the 8A poll.
The rankings are sponsored by The Charlotte Observer and the News & Observer of Raleigh. They are compiled by longtime N.C. high school basketball expert Rick Lewis, a regular on The Charlotte Observer’s streaming “Talking Preps” show.
This week, there are two new teams in the 3A poll: East Surry (14-3) and Shelby (13-3). And Mount Tabor (14-4, 6A) and Panther Creek (14-7, 8A) also join the rankings.
In eight of the nine polls, the top team remained the same, but in the 8A poll, West Forsyth (18-0) replaced West Charlotte (15-3).
The Lions fell to No. 2 after losing, 69-64, at home to North Mecklenburg last week. The Vikings, who have won the past two 4A state titles, are currently No. 2 in the 7A rankings.
Langston Wertz Jr. is an award-winning sports journalist who has worked at the Observer since 1988. He’s covered everything from Final Fours and NFL to video games and Britney Spears. Wertz — a West Charlotte High and UNC grad — is the rare person who can answer “Charlotte,” when you ask, “What city are you from.” Support my work with a digital subscription
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — Keith Taylor is counting down to spring after back-to-back snowstorms in central North Carolina slowed his business because he works outdoors.
“It’s a delay at work, and you can’t paint outside or do anything outside,” said Taylor.
He noticed the effects of the storms even further when he made a stop at his local grocery store on Wednesday night. The store shelves were empty.
“There was like, no chicken, there’s no meat. It’s like everything’s gone. Thankfully, I got stuff at home. I just need some Gatorade, some water, but that’s it,” Taylor said.
NC State Supply Chain Management Professor Robert Handfield said local retailers could be dealing with delivery and travel disruptions brought on by the snow and ice.
“We kind of had a double whammy where, you know, after the first storm, they replenished. But then the second storm came in, and they had to replenish again,” he explained.
Handfield said some road conditions are still not safe for drivers.
“Certain roads in certain parts of the Triangle still do have ice on them, unfortunately. And so does Charlotte, actually. That ice is really dangerous. And so big trucks are not going to want to, you know, replenish right away,” Handfield said.
He expects grocery stores to replenish their stock as early as Thursday. A Food Lion spokesperson also said they were working as quickly as possible to restock shelves.
From stores to schools, the effects of the winter weather continue, and families are feeling fatigued.
“I’ve got two kids, so they’ve been home from school, and we work from home, so not a whole lot is getting done,” said Jason Watson, a parent of Wake County students. The district announced that Thursday is another two-hour delay because of the continued threat of black ice.
“It’s difficult to juggle the logistics, right? Driving work, all that stuff. And when they cancel school, or they do it at the last minute, it’s hard to make sure you have everything covered,” he said.
While some areas of the Triangle may see snow, it is not expected to accumulate in places south of Raleigh.
Courtesy of National Weather Service
Triangle school districts will operate on a delayed opening due to Wednesday night’s wintry mix of sleet and snow.
Wake County, Durham Public Schools, Johnston County, Orange County, Chatham County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro school systems announced they’ll open Thursday on a two-hour delay. It’s the latest weather-related school interruption to hit students over the past two weeks due to successive winter storms.
“We value every moment of teaching and learning, and we want everyone to arrive at school safely!” Orange County said in its announcement. “A two-hour delay will allow our OCS Transportation and Operations teams time to evaluate roads and campuses for safety during the daylight hours.”
School districts warned that if conditions are worse than expected they may have to take further action such as a longer delay or closing school. Parents are being told they’ll be notified of any last-minute changes by 6 a.m. Thursday.
Wake County cited the continued threat of black ice for the delayed opening.
This story was originally published February 4, 2026 at 6:02 PM.
T. Keung Hui has covered K-12 education for the News & Observer since 1999, helping parents, students, school employees and the community understand the vital role education plays in North Carolina. His primary focus is Wake County, but he also covers statewide education issues.
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — The 2026 Winter Olympics opened competition Wednesday night with the first curling matches on the schedule in Cortina only for the action to come to a brief halt because of a power outage.
Officials paused the matches at the historic curling stadium when the lights dimmed and flickered and the main lights and heat in a nearby media center went out. Curlers kept sliding on the ice to stay ready and fans cheered when the bright lights came back soon after and play resumed.
Olympic organizers acknowledged the “brief interruption to competition due to an energy-related issue” and noted it lasted approximately three minutes. It snowed steadily all day in Cortina, with more than 8 inches (20.32 centimeters) in some places. The start of the opening luge training session for men’s singles was also delayed a half-hour due to the outage.
The eight teams playing mixed doubles opened the long curling tournament two full days before the opening ceremony for the 2026 Milan Cortina Games. American curler Korey Dropkin said he has been waiting a long time for this moment.
“Being amongst the best, it’s a very cool atmosphere to be part of,” said Dropkin, a first-time Olympian who will begin competition Thursday. “We’re looking forward to being ready to compete and pour our hearts out on the ice.”
Opening night in this mountain resort was just the first of the round robin matches in mixed doubles curling, where teams with one woman and one man face off against one another.
Cortina, which is 400 kilometers (250 miles) from Milan in these far-flung Olympics, is seeing more fans and many were in the curling center. They clapped, rang bells and chanted for their countries and favorite curlers when their teams scored or there was a break in the action. Some in the crowd held large flags for the Czech Republic, whose team was competing against Canada. Canadian fans wearing red waved handheld flags.
Bernard Benoit traveled from Ontario, Canada, to root for his home team before going on to meet his daughter in Milan. While he’s a longtime curling fan, it’s his first time at the Olympics. He said he came a long way to see the best in the world because he loves how curling is a “mix of athleticism and intellect” and a strategy game.
Benoit is cheering for Canadian couple Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant, who are competing in mixed doubles. Three of the teams are married couples and one is a sibling team. Marie Kaldvee and Harri Lill are the first ever to compete for Estonia in curling.
Italian duo Stefania Constantini, who is from Cortina, and Amos Mosaner are the defending world and Olympic champions in mixed doubles.
Stephanie Kahn is a volunteer at the curling center, who is eager to learn what curling is all about and how hard it is. Kahn is from the United States and moved to Spain when she retired. She aspired to compete in swimming in the Olympics when she was younger.
“That, for me, is what makes it so special. Being an athlete and knowing that to be at the top, top of your sport, regardless of what that sport is, it’s just such a commitment,” she said. “So I’m just excited to be in the presence of these athletes.”
The City of Goldsboro is using a drone to respond to severe weather more quickly by assessing where to send crews after snow falls.
Goldsboro Fire Chief Ron Stempien said the city invested in drone technology last year, and it’s already proving useful during winter weather.
“What that typically takes is somebody getting on the road, driving, calling back, and registering where the roads are bad. I can launch this from here, and I can get about a quarter mile that I can go up and down the streets,” he said.
The drone allows the fire department to quickly survey road conditions and determine where plows are needed most. According to Stempien, that helps reduce response time while also saving manpower and resources.
And snow removal isn’t the drone’s only job. The fire department also uses it to help locate missing people, assess structural damage after fires and assist in other emergency situations.
“It allows us to get a head start, so to speak, and get out in front of something and try to get it working before, without having that delay,” he said.
While Goldsboro stands out for using drones in this way during winter weather, it’s not alone. Other cities in the region also rely on drones during severe conditions.
In Raleigh, drones are used to capture footage before and after storms. The city also uses them for park inspections, photography, and within the fire department.
Local law enforcement agencies, including Wendell police, have also used drones to to help locate missing or endangered people, locate criminal suspects, investigate traffic crashes and crime scene reconstruction, and oversee special operations.
Still, Goldsboro’s approach is helping pave the way, using technology to get people moving again as quickly as possible after severe weather.
Right now, the department has one drone, but Stempien said he hopes to expand the program in the future.
North Carolinians will soon have a chance to play “Survivor” without ever leaving the state.
Ahead of the milestone 50th season, CBS launched the Survivor 50 Challenge, a nationwide scavenger hunt that will hide an authentic immunity idol in every state.
Continuing through February, fans are asked to crack clues and solve riddles to track down the hidden idol in their home state. Whoever finds North Carolina’s idol will win an invitation to attend the live season finale in Los Angeles on May 20.
The challenge comes as the long-running reality competition, hosted by Jeff Probst, prepares to premiere its 50th season on Wednesday, Feb. 25. The show famously strands contestants in remote locations where they must outwit, outplay and outlast one another to win.
Here’s what you need to know.
“Survivor 50” premieres Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. on CBS and will air weekly on Wednesday nights. Paramount
How to enter the Survivor 50 Challenge
To enter the “Survivor 50” challenge, go to survivor50challenge.com.
To register, enter your email address, create a password and provide your state and date of birth. You can also opt in to receive clues for contests in nearby states.
What is an immunity idol?
In “Survivor,” a hidden immunity idol is a secret object hidden around the game area that a castaway can find and use to protect themselves from being voted out at Tribal Council.
When a player plays the idol before the votes are read, any votes against them don’t count, and the person with the next highest number of votes can be eliminated instead.
Pictured (L-R): Ben Katzman, Charlotte salon owner Kenzie Veurink Petty and Maria Gonzalez. CBS Paramount
Sandra Diaz-Twine: Although born in Connecticut, she lives in North Carolina and is considered one of the most successful “Survivor” players ever. She is the only two-time winner of the show and has appeared multiple times in subsequent seasons and as a mentor.
Kenzie Petty: A Charlotte salon owner who won Season 46 in 2024.
Jesse Lopez: A Durham resident and Duke Ph.D. candidate who competed on Season 43, where he reached the final stages and finished in fourth place.
Keith Sowell: A Duke pre-med student and Fayetteville native who competed on Season 38 in 2019.
Molly Byman: A Duke law student and Boston native who appeared on Season 39 in 2019.
Jeff Varner: Originally from Greensboro, he appeared on several “Survivor” seasons including “The Australian Outback,” “Survivor: Cambodia” and “Survivor: Game Changers.”
Jesse Lopez of Durham, N.C., appeared in CBS’s reality competition, “Survivor.” CBS
How to watch ‘Survivor’
“Survivor 50” premieres Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. on CBS and will air weekly on Wednesday nights.
This story was originally published February 4, 2026 at 1:19 PM.
Evan Moore is a service journalism reporter for the Charlotte Observer. He grew up in Denver, North Carolina, where he previously worked as a reporter for the Denver Citizen, and is a UNC Charlotte graduate.
Club West Brewing has rebranded from Sycamore Brewing with a new name and mission to partner with organizations focused on child safety and protection, symbolized by the color blue, to show trust, power, confidence, and loyalty to children.
If you have a water feature like a bird bath, you might notice an ice spike poking out. I’ve seen this happen most often during prolonged stretches of cold weather.
You may even notice it occasionally if you have an ice cube tray in your freezer.
Almost every morning the last two weeks has been below freezing. And it hasn’t just been 32° or 31°. We’re talking hard freezes – teens and 20s.
How do ice spikes form?
There was an easy-to-understand explanation that I found from Cal Tech that shows the dynamics at play.
Initially, water freezes on the top, edges and bottom of the ice cube tray or bird bath.
That leaves a small hole somewhere in the middle where the water is unfrozen. As ice expands at the bottom of the container, it expands and pushes the water up.
That narrow area freezes and appears above the surface as an ice spike.
