North Carolina
Wildfire smoke causes Code Orange Air Quality Alert for much of North Carolina on Tuesday
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — The air quality in central North Carolina is expected to be suboptimal Tuesday.
A Code Orange Air Quality Alert is in effect for nearly all of the ABC11 viewing area.
The air quality will be lessened due to ongoing wildfires in Canada. The same problem caused a rare Code Red last month.
The wildfires continue to burn causing problems for large portions of the United States.
Extensive swaths of the northern United States awoke to unhealthy air quality Monday morning or were experiencing it by midafternoon, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow.gov Smoke and Fire map.
Fine particle pollution caused by smoke from Canada’s wildfires is causing a red zone air quality index, meaning it is unhealthy for everyone. The particles, known as PM2.5, are tiny enough to get deep into the lungs and cause short-term problems like coughing and itchy eyes, and in the long run, can affect the lungs and heart.
The EPA advises keeping outdoor activities light and short when air quality indexes reach above 150 on the agency’s map. On Monday afternoon, cities and regions hitting that mark included Lincoln, Nebraska; Peoria, Illinois; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Cleveland and Columbus in Ohio; Huntsville, Alabama; Knoxville and Chattanooga in Tennessee; Greensboro, North Carolina; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Syracuse and Utica in New York.
Sensitive groups, including people with heart and lung disease, older adults, children and pregnant women, should consider staying inside, advisories warn.
Although air quality was poor in the Chicago region earlier Monday, it has already improved to moderate quality and was expected to continue doing so throughout the day, Biggs said.
Relief from the smoke crossing the Canadian-U.S. border won’t be immediate, experts said. Large fires in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan are likely to keep churning out smoke throughout the summer and possibly into early fall, said Montana Department of Environmental Quality meteorologist Aaron Ofseyer.
“The worst is over with this round,” Ofseyer said. “Unfortunately there’s still a ton of wildfire smoke north of the border. Anytime we get a North wind we’re going to be dealing with Canadian wildfire smoke.”
Climate change and rising temperatures cause the environment to be more prone to wildfires, and more susceptible for air masses to become stagnant and stationary, explained Dr. Ravi Kalhan, a pulmonologist and professor of medicine and preventative medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.
“It’s not normal,” he said of the repeated air quality alerts experienced by the Midwest this summer.
“We keep having these events. They’re not just one bad day a year,” Kalhan said.
The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre website reported 882 active fires, with 581 deemed “out of control,” as of Monday afternoon.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
North Carolina
People gather for NC Museum of History's annual American Indian Heritage Celebration in Raleigh
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — November is Native American Heritage Month, and it’s a time to celebrate the traditions and cultures of the many Native American communities across North Carolina.
On Friday and Saturday, the North Carolina Museum of History held its annual American Indian Heritage Celebration. People learned about Native American history through live performances, food, art, storytelling and more.
Since the history museum is closed for renovation, the celebration was held at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.
“Our songs, our dances, our stories, our language–it’s all medicine to us,” Community Programs Coordinator of NC Museum of History Kaya Littleturtle said at last year’s celebration. “Medicine is anything that makes you well be it physical, spiritual, emotional, all those things are medicine. We hope is that people come out here and they learn about those things, to help uplift us as a people. We hope that it inspires them to go get engaged with things to help uplift them as a people.
This was the 29th year of the celebration.
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North Carolina
Eli Pancol helps Duke football beat Virginia Tech, keep spot as North Carolina’s top team
Duke hasn’t played pretty football at times, but the Blue Devils have consistently proven to be the top team in North Carolina.
After beating UNC (6-5, 3-4) and N.C. State (5-6, 2-5) earlier this year, Duke (8-3, 4-3 ACC) will go for the Tobacco Road sweep in the regular-season finale at Wake Forest (4-7, 2-5) on Nov. 30 (Noon, ACC Network).
Because of their consistently dominant defense and the ability to handle in-game adversity, the Blue Devils are in position to win double-digit games for just the second time in program history.
That’s quite a debut for first-year coach Manny Diaz, who has helped the Blue Devils win five of their six one-score games this season, including a 31-28 victory against Virginia Tech on Saturday in the home finale at Wallace Wade Stadium.
Duke report card vs Virginia Tech
Here’s what and who stood out on senior night in Duke’s eighth win of the 2024 college football season.
Duke wide receiver Eli Pancol caps comeback with special finale at Wallace Wade Stadium
Eli Pancol, Duke’s sixth-year wide receiver who missed the 2023 season with an injury, capped his comeback with an incredible performance in the final home game of his career.
Eli Pancol’s incredible comeback story
Finishing with five catches for 188 yards and three touchdowns, Pancol did most of that damage on two of the first four plays when he had an 86-yard catch-and-run touchdown, followed by a 77-yard catch-and-run TD. In his final two games at Wallace Wade Stadium, Pancol combined for 16 catches for 326 yards and four touchdowns.
Ozzie Nicholas, Cam Bergeron, Kendy Charles shine for Duke football defense
Pancol wasn’t the only senior to shine Saturday night against the Hokies. Duke’s top three tacklers were seniors, combining for 31 tackles, including three for loss. Princeton graduate transfer Ozzie Nicholas, Duke’s leading tackler, led the way again with 11 tackles. Fellow linebacker Cam Bergeron and defensive tackle Kendy Charles each had 10 tackles.
Overall, Duke had 14 tackles for loss, including eight sacks. The Blue Devils have consistently been among the top five teams in the nation at creating havoc for offenses as a steady presence in the backfield. It’s the main reason Duke is in position to reach 10 wins this season.
Manny Diaz keeps proving he was right hire for Blue Devils
Duke has won 10 games once since 1922, getting it done in 2013 under former coach David Cutcliffe, who helped resurrect a struggling program. Following Cutcliffe’s departure, Mike Elko won nine games in his first season and eight in his second before bolting to Texas A&M.
After a successful stint as a defensive coordinator at Penn State, Diaz got a second head-coaching opportunity when Duke hired him in December 2023. In three seasons as the head coach at Miami, Diaz had one year with eight wins. He accomplished that in his debut year at Duke, putting the program in position to join an exclusive club if the Devils can win their final two games.
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
North Carolina
Live Updates: Ball State vs No. 16 North Carolina At Battle 4 Atlantis 2024 – FloHoops
No. 16 North Carolina and MAC favorite Ball State face-off in the Bahamas for a special one to kick off two weeks full of holiday college basketball tournaments coming live to FloHoops. The game begins at 6:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 23 and is the second of many in the 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis Women’s College Basketball tournament.
The Paradise Island, Bahamas-based tournament hosts eight teams including No. 18 Baylor, Indiana, and Texas A&M.
No. 16 North Carolina is 3-1, coming off of a close loss a week ago to No. 2 UConn, falling 58-69 to the Huskies. They hold wins this season against NC A&T, UNC-Wilmington, and Charleston Southern.
Currently undefeated, Ball State will be hoping to upset North Carolina to add an important win to their resume en route to a potential at-large bid to the NCAA tournament at the end of the season. They have defeated Northern Iowa, IUPUI, Memphis, and Old Dominion so far this season.
Read the live updates, watch highlights and view scores after the game tips off at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Live Updates: Ball State vs No. 16 North Carolina Score At Battle 4 Atlantis
Refresh the page for live updates, highlights and scores from today’s game in the Bahamas. Tip off is at 6:30 p.m. ET.
While You Wait…LIVE NOW: Watch Columbia vs Indiana
Click here to tune in live to more women’s college basketball live on FloHoops.
we’ve got a 3️⃣ point game y’all 👏@CULionsWBB | #Battle4Atlantis | @B4AOfficial pic.twitter.com/9Rg0GzJtl6
— FloCollege | Basketball (@FloCollegeHoops) November 23, 2024
Earlier Today On FloHoops: Baylor Puts Up 15 Threes, Hits Triple Digits vs Southern Miss
After four great quarters of basketball between Southern Miss and Baylor—the Lady Bears come out on top of game one of the Battle 4 Atlantis Women’s tournament.
Five Baylor players had more than 14 points today against the Lady Eagles and were 44% (15-34) from behind the three-point line, making that the most threes for them this season. Fontleroy and Andrews both tallied four.
For Southern Miss, Grayson and Evans led the points with 12, despite Grayson fouling out.
Despite their quick start, the Eagles were unable to keep up with Baylor and will be looking for redemption against the loser of Columbia vs Indiana. Baylor will play the winner.
Read the full game recap.
Battle 4 Atlantis Women’s Tournament Schedule
Saturday, November 23
Sunday, November 24
Monday, November 25
Battle 4 Atlantis Women’s Bracket
Battle 4 Atlantis 2024 Women’s Teams
How To Watch The Battle 4 Atlantis 2024 Women’s Tournament
Every game except the championship of the Women’s Battle 4 Atlantis will be streaming on FloHoops, FloCollege and the new FloSports streaming app.
Game replays, highlights and more will be available on all platforms.
How To Watch College Basketball On The FloSports Network
Basketball games are streaming all year long on FloHoops, FloCollege and the new FloSports streaming app. Game replays, highlights and more will be available on all platforms.
Watch NCAA Women’s Basketball On FloHoops
The NCAA Women’s Basketball is streaming live on FloHoops and the FloSports app.
The BIG EAST Digital Network is also on FloHoops and the FloSports app.
FloHoops Archived Footage
Video footage from all events will be archived and stored in a video library for FloHoops subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscription.
Join the College Basketball Conversation on FloHoops Social
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