North Carolina

A local reporter’s experience covering Western North Carolina in the wake of Helene

Published

2 years ago

November 8, 2024

A local reporter’s experience covering Western North Carolina in the wake of Helene

It’s hard to put into words what it’s like to pull up to where a family’s home once stood and see mounds and mounds of cracked, beige dirt.

To notice that a wooden, split-rail fence managed to withstand more than 20 feet of swift-moving floodwaters, yet not realize until later that the fence bordered the home’s driveway. To walk next door to a tiling warehouse, where men in white coveralls and muddy black boots are removing storm debris, and ask if there was a house next to their place of business.

And, when one answers in the affirmative, to have him walk you and your photographer to the spot where a family once laughed and cried and prayed together – all while knowing the tragic outcome of their story.

My job is to put these kinds of experiences into words. More than a week later, I’m still struggling to.

I tried to begin this piece – a brief description of my reporting in Asheville, North Carolina, as part of the USA TODAY Network’s Hurricane Helene coverage – in a light-hearted way.

I thought about starting with how we in the Asheville Citizen-Times newsroom had to use gallon buckets to force-flush the toilets because there was no running water. About how bags of cat litter sat in the halls in case reporters needed to take them home to create a makeshift bathroom.

I thought about describing the lovely man I encountered as I traipsed around a homeless encampment, who was all too willing to show me where a tree fell on his tent and legs when Helene swept through Western North Carolina. His rebuilt camp is the tidiest I’ve ever seen – and my beat has taken me through quite a few.

But today, on an unseasonably warm Tuesday in late October, I wrote and rewrote the beginning of this piece. Because this afternoon – and the afternoon before it – my heart is heavy.

It’s heavy for the Dryes and Wiselys, two families who lost almost everyone to the floods, and the other Asheville survivors I spoke to. For the families who are still waiting to hear about loved ones.

For the homeless residents who told me they fear some of their acquaintances who perished in the storm will never be claimed by family because of their transient status. And for the Western North Carolina community as a whole, which is mourning the loss of homes and pets and landmarks and an art colony that disappeared entirely in mere hours.

As students, journalism hopefuls are taught to keep an arm’s length from stories and sources. Reporters must remain objective, professors stress, which means maintaining a certain level of detachment. If you care too much, your feelings might find their way into a piece and influence your ability to tell the story fairly.

But what this (well-intentioned) lesson leaves out is humanity.

How can one travel to natural disaster-ravaged areas, interview families who lost parents and siblings and children and grandparents, and not be impacted?

How can a reporter spend hours at a barricade situation involving an 11-month-old girl and not feel emotional when they’re told a chaplain has been called to the hospital where the baby was rushed following a gunshot wound to her head?

And how can journalists be expected to cover school shootings – as the Texas-based photographer I worked alongside in Asheville did in Uvalde in 2022 – and remain emotionless?

I don’t believe reporters can. And I also believe this is something those in the field have long known.

At the first newspaper I worked at, I had an editor who was decades into his career. He knew I was fresh out of college and hadn’t chosen the breaking news/public safety beat (which I’m so thankful I was assigned to because it’s now my specialty.) He knew that I’d write a lot of hard stories in my career.

So, one day, he offered me a piece of advice: The moment this stuff – the really tragic, heavy stories, he meant – stops getting to you, get out of the profession. Or, at the very least, take a long enough break to where you can feel the humanity of this again.

Eight or so years later, I remember those words like he spoke them yesterday. So, on days when my heart is heavy, I think it’s OK to feel this way.

Because what’s happening in Western North Carolina is heavy – and it will be for that community and those journalists for a while.

Isabel is an investigative reporter covering breaking news and public safety, with an eye toward some of Delaware’s most vulnerable: children, those struggling with addiction, and those with mental illness. She can be reached at ihughes@delawareonline.com or via X at @izzihughes_

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North Carolina

NC Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 Day results for July 4, 2026

Published

6 hours ago

July 5, 2026

Press Room

The NC Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Saturday, July 4, 2026 results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from July 4 drawing

17-38-46-50-69, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from July 4 drawing

Day: 0-2-0, Fireball: 8

Evening: 3-0-5, Fireball: 0

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from July 4 drawing

Day: 1-1-9-3, Fireball: 9

Evening: 7-0-2-1, Fireball: 5

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 5 numbers from July 4 drawing

11-22-24-25-29

Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Double Play numbers from July 4 drawing

13-20-28-32-43

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 4 drawing

17-20-37-40-43, Bonus: 04

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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North Carolina

How the hot weather affects people taking SSRIs

Published

16 hours ago

July 4, 2026

Press Room

How the hot weather affects people taking SSRIs

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — An intense heat wave will continue through the Fourth of July weekend. Highs will be around 100 degrees, with feels-like temperatures as high as 110 degrees. Daily record high temperatures may also be challenged or even broken.

The combination of intense sunshine and prolonged heat will create dangerous conditions for anyone spending extended periods outdoors. And as the temperatures soar outside, people across Central North Carolina do what they can to stay cool, especially when they have to head out. One homeowner who experienced a hours-long power outage in Durham said it was miserable without his air conditioning. Another said it feels like the heat has intensified in North Carolina.

“I grew up in North Carolina, but I don’t remember waves being quite this intense.”

To compound the misery, ABC11’s Forecast Team says there will be little overnight relief, with temperatures only falling into the mid-70s throughout the heat wave, and the air quality is deteriorating.

Basically, right now, Central NC is a hot, muggy, sweltering, poor-air-quality mess. And it’s expected to last into early next week.

With somewhat stagnant conditions, smoke from Saturday night’s July 4th fireworks could linger into Sunday, something to keep in mind, especially for those who are more sensitive to reduced air quality.

The record-breaking heat has led to organizers tweaking some July 4th plans for the safety of performers, staff, and attendees.

Download the ABC11 App for breaking news and weather alerts

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North Carolina

Three wildfires continue burning across Eastern Carolina

Published

1 day ago

July 4, 2026

Press Room

Three wildfires continue burning across Eastern Carolina

The above video is our WITN+ livestream and may not reflect the content in this story.

EASTERN CAROLINA, N.C. (WITN) – With the extremely hot and dry conditions we’re seeing across Eastern Carolina, three wildfires continue to burn.

The North Carolina Forest Service says the latest one is in the Cypress Creek area of Duplin County, where 200 acres have burned. That fire is 10% contained.

In Hyde County, there are two active wildfires, one that has consumed 662 acres and is 83% contained, and another that has burned five acres and is zero percent contained.

Both of those fires are near the Lake Mattamuskeet area.

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