A Brightspeed contractor struck a water main in Elm City, leaving the town without water for hours and prompting residents to demand long-term fixes.

New district data show about 18% of Wake County students are chronically absent this year, with the largest gaps among Hispanic, LEP and special‑education students. Wake is launching a task force and a community campaign to try to reverse the trend.

A Cary resident scratched a $100,000 Cash Payday ticket bought in Durham and claimed $72,018 after taxes at the lottery’s Raleigh headquarters. The $30 game launched in March and still has dozens of big prizes unclaimed.

A Chapel Hill resident took home $72,011 after a $100,000 Powerball prize doubled with the 2X Power Play.

Rice Business Dean Peter Rodriguez will become Wake Forest University’s 15th president on July 1 as Rice prepares an international search for his replacement.

Broken HVACs left classrooms in the 80s at two Durham schools; the district deployed temporary fans and portable AC units while crews troubleshoot and order parts.

North Carolina is forming a statewide collective of domestic-violence fatality review teams to spot patterns and recommend prevention steps.

An Aberdeen man won a $130,000 Cash 5 jackpot after buying a $1 ticket at a Southern Pines Circle K; he claimed $93,613 after taxes at the NC Lottery headquarters.

A plan to add four athletic fields at Hilltop Needmore has split Fuquay-Varina — parents say youth sports are at a breaking point while neighbors fight to save the park's hills and trails.

Hundreds of relatives were turned away from NC State’s Department of Biological Sciences ceremony on May 8; the university apologized and says it will review commencement planning.

Rev. William Barber II's federal suit against AMC was dismissed; he will host a private screening at the Greenville theater and be allowed to bring his stool.

New U.S. Census estimates put Raleigh at 506,306 residents as suburban Wake County towns surge.

WRAL's 'Broken' series won a national Service to America Award after exposing gaps in North Carolina's foster-care system and helping push reform.