On Thursday morning, a Raleigh legend was laid to
rest. Charlie Gaddy — North Carolina’s Walter Cronkite and WRAL’s main anchor
for more than two decades — got one last goodbye, during a funeral at Raleigh’s
Edenton Street United Methodist Church. 

Rev. Bruce Stanley, whom Gaddy chose to deliver the sermon at the
service, shared a letter Gaddy had written him, that was to be opened only
after Gaddy’s death. 

“The letter begins, ‘Dear Bruce, I have never died before, so this
is all new to me,’” said Stanley, to laughs from the crowd. “What a great gift,
for him to offer his humor, even from that other side of the River Jordan.” 

Dozens of family and friends and long-time WRAL colleagues,
gathered to honor the anchor, sharing stories of the man who made people across
North Carolina laugh, cry and feel the biggest events of the day. 

“I stand here today for what is one of the greatest honors of my
life: to eulogize a man so deeply loved and admired,” said former WRAL anchor
Debra Morgan, one of three speakers tapped to share their thoughts and memories
of Gaddy. “I will miss his laugh and those big hugs.”

“How lucky are we to have known Charlie Gaddy?” asked Jim Goodmon, chairman of the board of directors of Capitol Broadcasting Company, WRAL’s parent company. 

Gaddy’s family also shared tearful memories.

One of his
nieces, Emile Frame, said, “While you and Nancy never had children, we knew we were your
daughters.”  

The funeral was also a chance to show how Gaddy, the face of WRAL
for more than two decades, not only touched thousands via a television screen,
but set the tone for generations of journalists. 

“He taught me to listen to everyone. Everyone has a story,” said
Clarence Williams, a former WRAL director who spent decades at the station, and
worked closely with Gaddy. 

Melinda Adams, a former WRAL producer who went on to work for
multiple networks, and now works with ESPN said, “Charlie was about character,
integrity and respect.” 

“He was a father figure for me, and just all around good guy,”
said Renee McCoy, a former anchor and reporter with WRAL. “Always there for
you, always supporting and always helping you to get better.” 

WATCH: Charlie Gaddy memorial service

WATCH: Capitol Broadcasting Chairman Jim Goodmon on how Gaddy’s career at WRAL began

WATCH: WRAL anchor Debra Morgan remembers Gaddy’s laugh, hugs

After the service, Gaddy was laid to rest at Raleigh’s Montlawn
Memorial Park. 

The state’s Organized Crime Task Force confiscates more than 40,000 marijuana plants and 1,000 pounds of processed marijuana in a grow bust in Mayes and Craig counties.

Attorney General Gentner Drummond says they started investigating when several out-of-state vehicles were spotted hauling untagged marijuana in Vinita.

Image Provided By: OCTF

“The Organized Crime Task Force and its partner agencies across the state are having a meaningful impact attacking the illegal marijuana trade that has infiltrated Oklahoma since the 2018 legalization of medical marijuana,” Drummond said. “The Chinese crime syndicates and Mexican drug cartels are getting the message loud and clear that they are not welcome in Oklahoma. We will not let up until this scourge is erased from our state.”

Image Provided By: OCTF

AG Drummond said authorities found six guns and three silencers. ICE detained 15 people at the scene.

35-year-old Chinese national Qi Chen is now facing drug manufacturing and trafficking charges.

Authorities say the investigation began in early June, when multiple vehicles with out-of-state tags were seen hauling untagged processed marijuana from various sites in Vinita.

A fireball fell from the sky June 26 around Noon as several hundred witnesses recalled the event. People in several states said they saw the fireball and at least one home received damage in Georgia.

If you thought you saw something that resembled a large ball of fire plummeting to earth at a high speed around noon on June 26, you were not alone.   

There were numerous reports from people around the Lowcountry and the Upstate of what officials confirmed to be a large fireball falling from the sky on June 26.

“Many reports of a fireball across the Southeast U.S.,” the National Weather Service in Charleston posted on its Facebook page. “It is not certain, but the satellite-based lightning detection shows a streak within a cloud-free sky over the NC/VA border, over Gasburg, VA. This streak was detected between 11:51 a.m. and 11:56 a.m.”

The American Meteor Society had 100 witness reports on June 26, which it lists as Major Fireball Events, on its website. Reports were from witnesses who saw the fireball all around South Carolina, including reports from Greenwood, Anderson, Clemson, and Simpsonville.

A large number of people in Beaufort, Hampton, and Jasper counties witnessed the fireball and shared their experiences on social media. The fireball was also reported to have been seen in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.

“I saw something, burning white-hot, fall from the sky off 278 near Sun City,” Lori Day Harty, a Hardeeville resident, posted on the Jasper County ask and answer social media page.

“I saw it too in Bluffton,” Ridgeland resident Juliana Horton posted.

A witness from Savannah, Ga.,  listed on the American Meteorological Society’s website, and referred to as Joseph L., described the fireball as “bright orange, small in size.”

One of the witnesses in Anderson, referred to as Ralph H., said, “I’ve never seen a meteor in the middle of the day. Wild!”  

The American Meteor Society defines a fireball on its website as “another term for a very bright meteor, generally brighter than magnitude -4, which is about the same magnitude as the planet Venus in the morning or evening sky. “

The society stated that several thousand fireball meteors occur in the Earth’s atmosphere daily; however, the vast majority of them occur over the oceans and in uninhabited regions, usually not visible during daylight hours.

“Additionally, the brighter the fireball, the more rare is the event,” the society said. “As a general thumb rule, there are only about 1/3 as many fireballs present for each successively brighter magnitude class, following an exponential decrease.”

Types of sounds generated by fireballs

Several people reported that a sound accompanied the fireball seen in the Lowcountry and Upstate.

“There are two reported types of sounds generated by very bright fireballs, both of which are quite rare,” the society said. “These are sonic booms and electrophonic sounds.”

The society has a complete list of frequently asked questions about fireballs and meteors, which can be found at Fireball FAQs – American Meteor Society.

How to report a sighting

Those who might want to report their sightings can do so through the society.

“The easiest way to report a fireball to us is to utilize our online form,” the society said. “Information on reporting fireballs is also provided by the International Meteor Organization Fireball Data Center (FIDAC).

Meteor damage reported by NWS in Georgia

The U.S. National Weather Service in Peachtree, Ga., posted on its Facebook page that there were reports of roof damage, which was presumably caused by the fireball.

“The Henry County Emergency Management Agency passed along to us that a citizen reported that a ‘rock’ fell through their ceiling (around the time of the other reports of a meteor and also what had been thought to have been an earthquake),” the U.S. National Weather Service in Peachtree, Ga., posted. “We are presuming a piece of the object fell through their roof. Henry County EMA reports than an object broke through the roof, then the ceiling, before cracking the laminate on the floor and stopping.”