North Carolina
‘Diaper Bank’ helps support families in North Carolina
Any parent knows how expensive and necessary it is to buy diapers for their children, but there’s a larger conversation to be had about the very real impact of parents not being able to afford diapers.
Now, there’s help for some families thanks to the Diaper Bank of North Carolina.
Venessa Diaz is a young mom with three kids, but she’s smiling more easily these days knowing what her family has overcome.
When her son Raul was two years old, he was hospitalized with acute pancreatitis. Beyond the emotional and financial stress, Venessa worried how she was going to get enough diapers to cover all of her children.
“It was a lot, and without the diaper bank, I don’t think we would have made it through that time,” Diaz said. “I feel like it really just took a lot of pressure off at a time where we were most vulnerable.”
There’s no government assistance for diapers, and they’re not covered by WIC or food stamps — the cost adds up.
“Families are literally making choices between buying food or buying diapers and every single time, they will choose to feed their children and try to make those diapers lasts as long as they can,” said Michelle Schaefer-Old, the founder of the Diaper Bank of North Carolina. “So we’re seeing babies left in one diaper a day, families rinsing out and reusing diapers.”
Schaefer-Old started the bank in the Durham area in 2013. In 2022, they opened a warehouse in Charlotte.
“People are not aware that the need is there. Because it’s embarrassing to talk about,” she said.
About 76% of the families served by the diaper bank work one to three jobs, and they still can’t afford basic hygiene items like diapers.
Diaz told Channel 9′s Elsa Gillis she wouldn’t have been able to work if she didn’t have a diaper supply to drop off with her child.
“Because if you don’t have diapers there, [day care] won’t take your kid,” she said.
All of these years later, the commitment remains to spreading the word that help is available.
“It comes down to dignity, and dignity should not be a privilege,” Schaefer-Old said.
You can get more information about the Diaper Bank of North Carolina at this link.
(VIDEO: Iredell County organization works with local businesses to provide diapers for struggling families)
A $2 Powerball ticket turned into a life-changing investment for Richard Kee Jr.
Kee tried his luck on the ticket in January and won the $209.3 million jackpot prize, the second-largest prize won in North Carolina history.
Kee, who lives in Roanoke Rapids, bought the winning ticket from West 10th Mart on West 10th Street in Roanoke Rapids.
Kee chose to remain anonymous for 90 days. North Carolina law dictates a lottery winner of $50 million or more can choose to be anonymous for up to 90 days after claiming the prize.
Kee’s winnings will come through a lump sum payment of $95.3 million and, after required federal and state taxes, took home $68.6 million.
ELLERBE, N.C.. (AP) — Andre The Giant, a towering menace in the wrestling ring but a gentle giant on the movie screen, is being honored with a roadside marker in his beloved adopted small town in North Carolina.
Officials plan to unveil the marker Thursday in Ellerbe, North Carolina, a community of about 1,000 people where the wrestler born Andre Rene Roussimoff lived on a ranch just outside town.
Andre was billed at 7-foot-4 (2.24 meters) and 520 pounds (236 kilograms) during his time wrestling for the WWE in the 1970s and 1980s.
A larger than life villain, Roussimoff was touted as unbeatable until he faced Hulk Hogan in a match in 1987 at WrestleMania III that launched the once regional wrestling company into a nationwide entertainment force.
Later that year, Roussimoff appeared on film as the giant Fezzik in “The Princess Bride.” Fezzik was the gentle-hearted muscle for the antagonist and needed rhymes to remember his instructions.
Roussimoff was born in France. But as he wrestled around the U.S. South he fell in love with the region, buying his North Carolina ranch and raising cattle on his land about 60 miles (97 kilometers) east of Charlotte.
He became a critical part of the Ellerbe community. In 1990, he taped TV and radio spots against a possible low-level radioactive landfill nearby. A pair of his size-26 cowboy boots are kept at a museum.
Roussimoff died in 1993 at age 46 in France where he was visiting for his father’s funeral. They had a service for him there, but his body was cremated and his ashes spread at his beloved ranch.
The Richmond County marker at NC Highway 72 and Old NC Highway 220 simply says “Andre The Giant. 1946-1993. Actor and professional wrestler. Was born Andre Roussimoff. Known for role in The Princess Bride in 1987. Lived nearby.”
North Carolina
NC State’s 2026 Atlantic hurricane forecast calls for an average season with 12 to 15 named storms
North Carolina State University is calling for a fairly average 2026 Atlantic hurricane season similar to recent years.
Researchers predict:
- 12 to 15 named storms (the average between 1994 to 2025 is 15 storms)
- 6 to 9 hurricanes (the average between 1994 to 2025 is 7 storms)
- 2 to 3 major hurricanes (the average between 1994 to 2025 is 4 storms)
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. Look for WRAL’s hurricane season outlook airing May 18.
NC State’s forecast was released on Wednesday by Lian Xie, a professor of marine, earth and atmospheric sciences.
Xie and researchers are calling for 1-3 named storms and 1-2 hurricanes in the Caribbean Sea (slightly below recent averages) and 2-5 named storms and 1-2 hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico (near recent averages).
Researchers at Colorado State University released their Atlantic hurricane season outlook earlier this month, pointing to a slightly below-normal year ahead and calling for 13 named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes.
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