North Carolina
Pet owners in North Carolina town will be fined if cats are unleashed
A North Carolina town is cracking down on free-roaming cats, warning pet owners to keep their kitties on leashes outside, or face fines.
Cary, North Carolina — a town of 176,000 people located in suburban Raleigh — has had an ordinance on the books for more than half a century requiring all domestic pets, including cats, to be leashed whenever off their owner’s property.
Similar rules exist in other Wake County towns and cities throughout the state.
But Cary’s leash law caused a stir on social media earlier this week after the town’s Animal Services reminded residents on its Facebook page that “cats must be leashed when not on their owner’s property.”
The local agency listed some of the risks of allowing cats to run wild, including the fact that the popular pets kill an astonishing amount of birds each year, are the number one predator for small mammals and can transmit diseases to wildlife and humans alike.
“The safest thing to do for an outdoor cat is to teach it to be a house cat,” Animal Services maintained. “Indoor cats generally live longer, will not be struck by cars or risk injury from other animals.”
Tens of thousands of homes in Cary have at least one cat. Every year, Animal Services receives about 1,000 calls about stray or feral cats or litters of kittens, supervisor Chuck Haggist told News & Observer.
“For cats, they don’t have to be on a leash on your property but once they step onto a neighbor’s property down the road, that’s where the issue comes in,” Haggist said.
Owners caught violating the leash rule can face fines ranging from $20 to $250, depending on the number of offenses.
On the fifth offense, a cat caught walking around without a leash could be seized and taken to a shelter, from which it would have to be reclaimed by its owner for a fee.
Haggist said that while his agency is not actively looking for unleashed cats, it urges pet owners to understand the dangers for the cats themselves and for those around them.
“Coyotes are killing cats; there’s hawks, owls,” Haggist said. “The lifespan of an outdoor cat is about half of an indoor cat.”
Despite their relatively small size, cats are highly skilled predators that hunt birds, lizards and other small critters.
The American Bird Conservancy has previously said that cats kill an estimated 2.4 billion birds in the US alone each year.
Cat owners have the option of building outdoor enclosures, dubbed “catios,” to keep their curious kitties confined to their property while enjoying nature, or install invisible fences like the ones commonly used for dogs.
Not everyone in Cary, however, is on board with the cat crackdown.
In 2019, a resident — who pointed out that he does not own a cat — started an online petition, calling on the Cary Town Council to repeal the leash ordinance because “it is antithetical to the nature of cats to be on a leash.”
The Change.org petition has been signed by 267 like-minded cat lovers.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — A graduation ceremony for NC State University’s Department of Biological Sciences at Reynolds Coliseum on Friday night left hundreds of family members outside, frustrated and emotional after they were not allowed into the building.
Inside, graduates were met with pomp and circumstance as they walked across the stage to accept their degrees.
Outside, people shouted in confusion as they realized they would not be permitted to enter.
“I’m hurt. She’s hurting. We’re hurt,” said Dr. Darlene Jackson, a grandmother from Winston-Salem. “They’re asking, can’t we get here? But this is ridiculous. Ridiculous.”
We get here, and we are turned away. That’s BS. It shouldn’t be happening like this. They did not plan this well,
– Sally Charlet, NCSU grandparent
Families said they arrived about an hour before the 7:30 p.m. ceremony, only to find a line wrapped around the building. Many said they were eventually told the venue had reached capacity.
“They are saying the fire marshal shut it down because it’s too crowded,” Jackson said. “They should have known how many occupy this. They should have had it in a different place.”
Sally Charlet said she flew in from Florida earlier in the day to watch her granddaughter graduate.
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“We get here, and we are turned away,” she said. “That’s BS. It shouldn’t be happening like this. They did not plan this well, and they should have tickets. That would have made a lot of sense.”
According to GoPack.com, Reynolds Coliseum seats about 5,500 people.
Some families said they were especially devastated after years of supporting their students’ work.
This is awful, and it needs to be made right.
– Eddie McFall, NCSU parent
“It’s very disheartening,” said Rhonda Bartone, whose son earned his Ph.D. In toxicology. “He did a five-year program getting his Ph.D., and we have no family. And they’re seeing him get his Ph.D. right now. We had to text his professor and ask him to please take some pictures of him. It’s hard not to cry.”
Several people outside shared photos sent by students inside showing empty seats.
“There was unfortunately not better planning for the hundreds of students, maybe even thousands of students, and, of course, thousands of students, even more people, parents, siblings, loved ones,” said Julia Norton, whose fiancé earned his Ph.D.
One father, Eddie McFall, who is also an alumnus of NC State, said he has three children at the university, including a senior graduating Friday.
“His mother was five feet from the door when they shut it down,” he said. “Won’t let anybody in there.”
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About 45 minutes after the ceremony began, someone came outside to address the remaining crowd. Families were told their only option was to watch a livestream from the student union or on their phones.
“I can go to my house and watch the livestream,” McFall said. “Who’s the event coordinator? Who from the school did this? This is awful, and it needs to be made right.”
NC State did not respond to questions about how the situation unfolded or why the event was not ticketed. The university said it provided a livestream for those unable to attend in person and had posted earlier in the week advising visitors to expect delays around the coliseum.
Copyright © 2026 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.
NORTH CAROLINA — Fifteen lineworkers from North Carolina’s electric cooperatives recently traveled to Guatemala to help bring first-time access to electricity to a rural village.
The group spent three weeks working in El Plan Nuevo Amanecer.
Crews constructed three miles of line, bringing power to more than 50 homes, a school, two churches and the community’s only health clinic.
Photo: North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives
Without access to bucket trucks or heavy machinery, volunteers worked by hand across rugged terrain.
The project helped bring light to the village, creating new opportunities for education, economic growth and safer everyday life for the community.
The effort was done alongside NRECA International.
Volunteer lineworkers represented several North Carolina electric cooperatives, including EnergyUnited, Union Power Cooperative, Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative, Jones-Onslow EMC, Edgecombe-Martin County EMC, South River EMC, Surry-Yadkin Electric Membership Corporation and Rutherford EMC.
Photo: North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives
The NC Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Thursday, May 7, 2026 results for each game:
Winning Pick 3 numbers from May 7 drawing
Day: 3-7-3, Fireball: 0
Evening: 3-5-8, Fireball: 9
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from May 7 drawing
Day: 8-1-3-1, Fireball: 5
Evening: 7-1-5-3, Fireball: 4
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 5 numbers from May 7 drawing
10-11-14-19-36
Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Double Play numbers from May 7 drawing
01-25-31-32-33
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 7 drawing
05-08-21-44-48, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All North Carolina Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $599.
For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at North Carolina Lottery Offices. By mail, send a prize claim form, your signed lottery ticket, copies of a government-issued photo ID and social security card to: North Carolina Education Lottery, P.O. Box 41606, Raleigh, NC 27629. Prize claims less than $600 do not require copies of photo ID or a social security card.
To submit in person, sign the back of your ticket, fill out a prize claim form and deliver the form, along with your signed lottery ticket and government-issued photo ID and social security card to any of these locations:
- Asheville Regional Office & Claim Center: 16-G Regent Park Blvd., Asheville, NC 28806, 877-625-6886 press #1. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
- Greensboro Regional Office & Claim Center: 20A Oak Branch Drive, Greensboro, NC 27407, 877-625-6886 press #2. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
- Charlotte Regional Office & Claim Center: 5029-A West W. T. Harris Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28269-1861, 877-625-6886 press #3. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
- NC Lottery Headquarters: Raleigh Claim Center & Regional Office, 2728 Capital Blvd., Suite 144, Raleigh, NC 27604, 877-625-6886 press #4. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.
- Greenville Regional Office & Claim Center: 2790 Dickinson Avenue, Suite A, Greenville, NC 27834, 877-625-6886 press #5. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
- Wilmington Regional Office & Claim Center: 123 North Cardinal Drive Extension, Suite 140, Wilmington, NC 28405, 877-625-6886 press #6. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
Check previous winning numbers and payouts at https://nclottery.com/.
When are the North Carolina Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 10:38 p.m. daily.
- Pick 3, 4: 3:00 p.m. and 11:22 p.m. daily.
- Cash 5: 11:22 p.m. daily.
- Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Carolina Connect editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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