http://www.wral.com/news/local/WRAL.com - Local NewsCopyright 2008 by WRAL.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:13:45 -0400Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:13:45 -040060http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3344928/Storms dropping golf-ball-sized hail and spawning hundreds of lightning strikes have damaged a church's steeple and downed trees.Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:13:45 -0400Newshttp://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3344928/http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3346862/Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison said the officers followed procedure Wednesday morning when they entered the home where the 13-year-old had been sleeping.Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:43:43 -0400Newshttp://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3346862/http://www.wral.com/news/local/politics/story/3346071/Pressure is growing on former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards to speak out about rumors of an extramarital affair that resulted in a child.Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:41:21 -0400http://www.wral.com/news/local/politics/story/3346071/http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3344908/According to search warrants returned Tuesday, Dakota Walter Lee Melton met and chatted with the boy on Myspace, picked him up near his home in Sanford and took him back to Cary.Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:44:05 -0400Newshttp://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3344908/http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3345511/Biond Fury, a self-described metaphysician, music and film producer and publisher, bought the 9,200-square-foot house at 1810 Cedar St. in Durham last month for $1.3 million.Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:45:45 -0400Newshttp://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3345511/http://www.wral.com/business/local_tech_wire/news/story/3345138/New government data shows Bull City ranks 73rd nationally, Raleigh-Cary 76th among nation’s metro areas. Growth in both exceeds national average.Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:45:45 -0400http://www.wral.com/business/local_tech_wire/news/story/3345138/http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/3346233/Authorities say a man charged with shooting and killing his ex-girlfriend, a New Hanover County detention officer, has killed himself.Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:52:28 -0400Newshttp://www.wral.com/news/state/story/3346233/http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3346023/Three elderly Triangle women say that this week, two or three young men knocked on their doors, tried to sell carpet and then stole cash and prescription drugs.Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:52:28 -0400Newshttp://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3346023/http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3346101/From a melee at Triangle Town Center to a brawl at Red's Beach Club, street gangs have become a hot topic. To investigate, Fox 50's NC Wanted talked to some people who have intimate knowledge of gang activity across the Triangle.Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:52:28 -0400Newshttp://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3346101/http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3343969/More schools met or beat expected academic growth this year, but the state didn't include reading scores in the mix. A tight budget also means lower bonuses for top-performing schools.Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:55:06 -0400Newshttp://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3343969/http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/3346521/Two candidates for governor attempted Thursday to woo the farm vote at a policy forum, with Republican Pat McCrory promoting offshore drilling and Democrat Beverly Perdue touting her knowledge of the agriculture industry.Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:05:30 -0400Newshttp://www.wral.com/news/state/story/3346521/http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3344570/A 12-year-old boy was accidentally shot while his parents argued last Saturday, said Lt. P.J. Joyner, with the Nash County Sheriff's Office.Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:29:43 -0400Newshttp://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3344570/http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/3344316/Duke Energy Corp. plans to turn gas produced by a Durham city landfill into electricity.Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:01:20 -0400Newshttp://www.wral.com/news/state/story/3344316/http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/3343793/Investigators in Ohio and Florida are still looking into the deaths of men with ties to a Georgia grandmother who has had five dead husbands, authorities said Thursday.Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:01:13 -0400Newshttp://www.wral.com/news/state/story/3343793/http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3343612/Seven of 10 North Carolina high school students graduated in 2008 within four years of entering high school, state education officials said Thursday.Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:39:15 -0400Newshttp://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3343612/http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3343685/The changes come after an 18-month internal review and are aimed at making the agency more strategic, accountable, efficient and effective in its delivery of transportation projects, programs and services.Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:16:23 -0400Newshttp://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3343685/http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/3343676/Police have identified the remains of a body found in the woods on July 26 as those of a missing Fayetteville man.Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:58:00 -0400http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/3343676/http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3343380/More than 175,000 low-income seniors, veterans and people with disabilities in North Carolina have yet to claim their economic stimulus payments from the federal government. Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:33:20 -0400Newshttp://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3343380/http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/3342259/State inspectors have issued fines for safety violations in a lumber yard that killed two firefighters in March.Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:47:33 -0400Newshttp://www.wral.com/news/state/story/3342259/http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3342134/The family of an 11-year-old boy who drowned in the Roanoke River Wednesday evening said he died trying to save a friend. Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:07:00 -0400Newshttp://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3342134/http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/3342029/There's a call for all war veterans living in Durham. Filmmaker Larry Cappetto will be there Sept. 10 and 11 to interview war veterans for his continuing national documentary series.Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:20:08 -0400Newshttp://www.wral.com/news/state/story/3342029/http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/3342032/Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina celebrates 75 years of service with a day in its honor, a commemorative online exhibit and a book donation.Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:37:06 -0400Newshttp://www.wral.com/news/state/story/3342032/http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3341668/There have been more than 50 domestic violence homicides in N.C. this year. In response, a group in Johnston County held a vigil Wednesday evening to draw attention to the problem. Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:16:36 -0400Newshttp://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3341668/