WPTF Morning News

Fall weather is really starting to kick in and we are not expecting any days in the 90s for the next 10 days. Laura Smith with CBS17 tells you all you have to look forward to for the upcoming week, and talks about her Christmas trees.

The WPTF Morning crew shared their memories of September 11, 2001 -- including Mike Raley, who was on-air when the terrorist attacks occurred.

Today marks the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Mike Wheeles, from our sister-station 94.7 QDR, was live on-air when the World Trade Center was hit. He shared his memories with Rob Connett on the WPTF Morning Show.

Today marks the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. How has air travel and airport security changed in the last two decades? Aviation analyst Jay Ratliff gave his thoughts on the WPTF Morning Show.

Football might be on the minds of a lot of people, but it's postseason baseball season in Zebulon! Carolina Mudcats broadcaster Greg Young joined the WPTF Morning Show and previewed the team's playoff series that starts Tuesday night.

Did you know September is Life Insurance Awareness month? Business expert Jill Schlesinger says life insurance is an important thing for you to think about, and you should get it if you don't already have it.

The Hopscotch Music Festival is this weekend in downtown Raleigh, where dozens of local bands are performing at numerous venues. One of those bands is "Jack The Radio." One of their members, George Hage, joined Rob Connett in the WPTF studio to talk about the festival, and a new song they just released.

The Carolina football team hosts App State this Saturday evening in Chapel Hill, and one of the big story lines is wide receiver Tez Walker being ruled ineligible for the season by the NCAA. Rob Connett discussed that decision with the Voice of the Heels, radio broadcaster Jones Angell.

Hurricane Lee is up for a category 5 already but currently no threat of landfall as of now. We also have the last day in the 90s for the near future and temperatures in the 80s over the weekend. Football may be interrupted by some weekend showers. Dave Downey tells you all for this weekends forecast.

"Note in the Pocket" is an organization in the Triangle that provides clothing for children. Sarah Caldwell and Dallas Bonavita joined the WPTF Morning Show to discuss their upcoming "Sneaker Ball" to celebrate ten years in business.

This Sunday, The V Foundation will be hosting an event in Chapel Hill for Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month called "Dribble For Victory Over Cancer," which celebrates and honors children with cancer, and gives them a chance to meet members of the Tar Heel basketball teams. Rebecca Erquitt from the foundation shared some of the details when she joined Rob Connett on the WPTF Morning Show.

College football players have a lot of unusual names. Rob Connett quizzes the morning show crew and they have to guess if the names he says, are real players names, or made up names.

No record broken yesterday but there is another chance we will break one today, in short - it will be hot again. Tropical Storm Lee has been upgraded to a category 1 hurricane and is looking to get to a category 4 or 5 maybe this weekend. CBS17's Laura Smith is with Rob Connett with your forecast for today and a look at the rain coming up this weekend.

Yet another hot day today, and it's looking like it'll be like for the better part of the week as well. Laura Smith with CBS17 joins Rob Connett with today's forecast and a look at tropical storm Lee.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation is looking for volunteers to help with their "Fall Litter Sweep." Bridgette Barthe from NCDOT shared details of this month's event, and how it all works, with Rob Connett on the WPTF Morning Show.

A woman in Tennessee has broken the record for the longest mullet. Rob and Harrison reacted to the story and the details of how "Tami" worked to become the new record-holder.

We are expecting record breaking heat today, and we are going to keep that trend of high temperatures throughout the week. Dave Downey, the newest member of the CBS17 team, is joined by Rob Connett to give you todays forecast and tell us a little bit about himself.

Twenty Seven years ago Hurricane Fran Hit North Carolina. Jon Champion, Mike Raley, and Tony Rigsby. All had to Work that day and they tell Rob Connett about what their experiences.

It seems like every company is coming out with their own "pumpkin spice flavored" product nowadays. So Rob put together a list, except some are 100% real and others are completely made up. Can the rest of the morning crew decipher through the list?

The UNC football team kicks off the 2023 season this Saturday night with a game against South Carolina, over in Charlotte. Jones Angell, the radio voice of the Tar Heels, joined Rob Connett to preview the season -- and share his thoughts on the ACC expansion news that broke during Friday's show.

There's a special event happening this weekend in downtown Raleigh, called the African American Cultural Festival. And it kicks off with a very special guest performance tonight. Rob Connett and Jon Champion talked with a board member of the festival, Dia Harris.

We will be getting a beautiful look at what fall has in store for us this weekend, followed by temperatures back into the 90s on Labor Day. Laura Smith, CBS17 meteorologist, joined Rob Connett to discuss the details of the forecast for the Triangle.

WPTF General Manager Carolyn Carver reports from Wilmington on Tropical Storm Idalia's impact on North Carolina's coastline.

CBS 17 Meteorologist Lance Blocker calls into the show from Wilmington to report on Tropical Storm Idalia's affect on North Carolina's coast, including severe flooding.

While parts of North Carolina's coast received several inches of rain and continue to deal with flooding from Tropical Storm Idalia, the Triangle got lucky Wednesday night and early Thursday morning. CBS 17 Meteorologist Laura Smith discusses the details of how the storm impacted our area, and what type of weather we can expect Labor Day weekend.

Ella Park is a freshman at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and was not too far away from where the shooting took place on campus Monday afternoon. She shared her story of what it was like for her and her roommates during the tragic event, and what the next step will be for UNC students and staff.

The coast of North Carolina is the part of the state that will be hit the worst by hurricane Idalia. Lance Blocker with CBS17 is in Wilmington waiting for hurricane Idalia to hit the coast, and is preparing for his live coverage of the storm. They are expecting severe wind and rain and possibly even tornados forming. He joins Rob Connett to urge people to stay safe and what we can expect during and after the storm..

Hurricane Idalia has made landfall over Florida and has already started to cause some serious issues. It is expected to hit North Carolina Late Wednesday night and Thursday morning with high winds and storm surges. Laura Smith with CBS17 speaks with Rob Connett to discuss the extent of danger we should expect and which parts of the state are going to get hit more then others.

The UNC and Chapel Hill communities are grieving after Monday's shooting. Sarah Coates, a counselor with "One-80 Counseling" here in the Triangle, joined the WPTF Morning Show to share her thoughts on how everyone grieves differently, and how we can move forward.

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein gives his thoughts on Monday's shooting on the UNC campus, along with some tips and advice for the incoming tropical weather.

Olivia McCall, Director for Wake County Board of Elections is hosting an event on September 9th from 10AM to 3PM for new voter ID policies. The public will be able to check voter status and get a new photo taken if needed. She also discusses other forms of ID that can be used.

Hurricane Idalia will be passing by North Carolina Wednesday night, and Thursday morning, we will get hit with some storms and heavy winds. Laura Smith with CBS17 Discuss what we should expect with the upcoming Hurricane with Rob Connett and how we should prepare.

Fall is on the way and so are cooler temperatures, but in the mean time we have more tropical storms to look foreword too. There is a new gulf storm in development around Cancún that is expected cause us some issues. CBS17 Meteorologist Laura Smith tells you everything you need to know to stay informed.

David Pokorny of Playa Bowls talks about the opening of their Durham, North Carolina location. Interviewers: Mike Davis and Jon Champion. Original Air date: August 25, 2023

We are all looking forward to the cold front that is going to hit next week, but first we have to get past these final few days of heat index's around the 100s. A chance of storms later this afternoon and some tropical storms devolving in the Atlantic. Laura Smith CBS17 Meteorologist is here with the details.

Urban-farming has been on the rise in the past few years here in North Carolina, it offers a great year round solution to some of the problems that modern farmers face. Carolyn Rose-Seed, from MamaSprings Farm and the market manager of the South Durham Farmers' Market joins Jon Champion to discuss what exactly urban farming, and what her duties are at the Farmers Market.

Back to more hot weather today and tomorrow. CBS17 Meteorologist Laura Smith brings you your daily weather forecast and the reason why we have been experiencing such high temperatures.

Republican strategist and Purple Door Aesthetics Founder Michele Woodhouse analyses the first GOP Presidential Debate of 2023, held on August 23, 2023, notably missing former President Donald Trump.

Campaign Connections President Brad Crone analyses the first GOP Presidential Debate of 2023, held on August 23, 2023, notably missing former President Donald Trump. Interviewer: Jon Champion, Mike Davis.Original Air Date August 24, 2023

The National Taxpayers Union (NTU) has been around for over 5o years and has been looking out for businesses and organizations, that are taking advantage of consumers. Pete Sepp, the president of the NTU, joins the WPTF morning show to talk about an on going lawsuit with google and how they handle their search results. There are also multiple other tech companies are coming under fire from the government and how it could affect the taxpayer in the future.

The town of Zebulon has just received a grant from $500,000 to spruce up Little River Park. Kaleb Harmon from the town of Zebulon joins Mike Davis to tell us what they are planning on doing to modernize and update this park and what are the future plans for the fasting growing town in the triangle.

We are finally out of the 90s today, and even more good news tomorrow is going to start out in the 60s. Next week should be more of the same but before that we are going to hit temperatures nearing the 100s again. Laura Smith. meteorologist from CBS17 has all you need to know.

The morning crew played a new game during the ROUNDTABLE today, as Rob puts everyone to "grocery list" test, to see if they know which item is more expensive.

Have you heard about the latest warning from the CDC? They're reminding Americans to stop kissing and cuddling turtles. Yes, you read that right. Rob and Harrison discussed this story on the WPTF Morning Show.

It's hard to believe, but we're nearing the end of the 2023 minor league baseball season! The Carolina Mudcats start a 12-day home stand tonight at Five County Stadium in Zebulon. Rob Connett talked with play-by-play broadcaster Greg Young to see how the team has been performing this summer.

Laura Smith, meteorologist from CBS17 has updates on all the Tropical storms she has been watching these past few days. Along with a new storm, tropical storm herald. Luckily none of these storms should get near us, Laura Smith has all the details.

Sunday was National Radio Day, and the WPTF Morning Show is celebrating with throwback photos of everyone from early in their careers (you can check them out on the WPTF Facebook page). On the Roundtable, the crew discussed what brought them into the radio industry in the first place.

We had a beautiful comfortable weekend, now we have another hot start to the week. But it isn't just us, the whole country is experiencing this heat and its going to last a little longer. CBS17 Meteorologist Laura Smith joins us for your daily forecast, and to recap tropical storm Hilary that hit the east coast over the weekend and the tropical storms that are being watched in the Atlantic right now.

Today is "National Black Cat Appreciation Day." But it's also a good time to be reminded about the importance of having your cat -- or any other pet -- spayed or neutered. Lawanna from "Purr Partners" joined Rob Connett on the WPTF Morning Show to discuss how they, and other area shelters, are still needing people to adopt animals.

The Salvation Army of Wake County is hosting its back-to-school bash today, helping students with supplies. WPTF's Kristine Bellino talked with Sharmaine Joyner about that, and other upcoming events the organization is putting on.