WASU Afternoon News Updates WASU News Department

In local news, the Turchin Center for visual arts will observe its 20th anniversary on Friday. According to the Watauga Democrat, a celebration will take place on Friday, May 5 from 5 to 8 p.m. as a part of Downtown Boone’s “First Friday.” The event will include art exhibitions in six galleries, live music, art-making stations, refreshments and a cash bar. The event is free and will be open to the public. 

In state news, a Roanoke Rapids firefighter was charged with with statutory rape and indecent liberties with a child. According to WRAL, Matthew Monroe Norton was arrested on April 28 and charged with one count of statutory rape and one count of of indecent liberties with a child. Norton was issued a $500,000 secured bond. The investigation remains ongoing. 

In national news, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday that it made a record number of arrests and seizures in a coordinated effort to target fentanyl and opioid sales on the dark web. According to NPR, the operation began in October 2021 and spanned the United States, Europe and South America. Authorities arrested 288 people and seized 85 kilograms of drugs, 117 firearms and $53 million in cash and online currencies. 

And now for a special weather report powered by Booneweather.com. Today will be a mostly cloudy day with some spotty rain in the morning and a high of 49 with a low of 36. Winds will range from 15 to 25 miles per hour. Some gusts are expected to be up to 40 miles per hour so make sure to bundle up! For 90.5 WASU, I’m Andrew Rice.

Good afternoon everyone, my name is Jenna Guzman here with your afternoon news break for May 2nd, 2023. Let’s get started.

In local news, a new gallery exhibit will be featured in the Jones House. According to the Watauga Democrat, the gallery will feature images of animals which were photographed over the past century and a half. The images are all courtesy of the Digital Watauga Project. The exhibit will be in the Jones House from May 3rd to May 30th. The opening reception will be held Friday, May 5th from 5 to 7 P.M. According to the Watauga Democrat, the Digital Watauga Project will be donating 20% print sales revenue to the Watauga County Humane Society.

In state news, more than half of the buildings on UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus contain lead. According to WRAL, after water testing on all of the campus’ buildings was completed after almost a year, it was found that 149 buildings out of the 262 buildings tested had lead detected in water fixtures. Vice Chancellor for Institutional Integrity and Risk Management George Battle told WRAL that "We started remediation of those fixtures where we found lead during the testing so that process continues.” In addition to this, the school will now test buildings built before 2014 every three years starting next year.

In national news, a new mystery balloon has been spotted. According to NBC News, the U.S. military is tracking a balloon that flew over Hawaii last week. Three U.S. officials told NBC News that they do not know who owns it, however, it does pose a threat as it is not “communicating signals.” According to NBC News, it is unclear whether or not the balloon is a weather device. The balloon also appears to not be controlled by someone or something. It is now headed in the direction of Mexico. Officials are still investigating who this object belongs to.

Now onto sports.

Good afternoon everyone! My name is Andrew Travers and this is your final Tuesday afternoon sports break of the spring semester.

In App State sports news, the Mountaineer baseball team will be in action here in Boone later today as they take on ETSU at 6 PM. The Mountaineers enter the game with a record of 21-19 overall and 11-9 in Sun Belt Conference play. The team is coming off a three-game conference series with JMU this past weekend, where they won the games on Friday and Sunday and lost the game on Saturday.

The NBA playoffs continue tonight as games are beginning to shift into the Conference Semifinals. Recapping the action from last night, the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Boston Celtics, with James Harden finishing with 45 points for the Sixers and Jason Tatum finishing with 39 points for the Celtics. The second game of the night finished with the Denver Nuggets beating the Phoenix Suns. Nuggets center Nikola Jokic had a standout performance, finishing with 39 points and 16 rebounds in the game. Tonight’s matchups will see the Miami Heat taking on the New York Knicks at 7:30 PM, and the Los Angeles Lakers taking on the Golden State Warriors at 10 PM.

And finally in NFL news, Super Bowl 57 was just named the most watched U.S. television broadcast of all time according to recent ratings provided by Nielsen. According to ESPN, the data from Nielsen that was released today shows that the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs on February 12th brought in an average of 115 million viewers. This is almost two million more viewers than Nielsen’s previous estimate of viewership for the well-known sporting event.

That is all for sports, thank you to everyone who listened to my sports breaks throughout the semester. Now, here’s your weather forecast.

Today’s weather is courtesy of Booneweather.com. Today is a windy day, with a wind advisory currently in place, with a high of 53 degrees and a low of 36. For the last time of this semester, for 90.5 WASU-FM, my name is Jenna Guzman, and thank you for listening to all of the news breaks I've been a part of.

In local news, a historic photo was transformed into a mural. According to the Watauga Democrat, the photo-turned mural is of community members from Junaluska which is estimated to be dated to the 50s. According to the Watauga Democrat, the mural was installed on a building in Junaluska this month. Having this mural put up was a collaborative effort between the Junaluska Heritage Association, members of App State faculty and staff, along with Dr. Chip Thomas, a physician who has worked with the Navajo nation for over 30 years. Thomas, who is also a street artist, helped paint the mural onto the building, which is located at the intersection of Church and Tremont Street.

In state news, the North Carolina Supreme Court has modified several laws regarding voting. According to CBS17, the first change is that the state’s voter ID law has been reinstated, which was passed five years ago. The second change is in regard to voting rights. According to CBS17, the court has decided to end voting rights for felons who “are out of prison but still serving probation or parole.” Finally, the court overturned a gerrymandering decision in the state.

In international news, Ukraine was hit with “the deadliest strike” from Russia. According to the New York Times, a rocket hit an apartment this morning in the center of Ukraine. This attack killed over 20 people and injured dozens more, making it “The deadliest attack”.  According to the New York Times, this attack is the first large attack against civilians in over a month.

Now onto sports.

As always starting with App State sports the App State softball team will be traveling to Harrisonburg Virginia to face off in a three-game set with JMU. Games start this afternoon at 4 followed by a game Saturday at 1 and one Sunday at 1 as well. App State Baseball is also in action vs JMU but at home instead for their three-game series. Games start this afternoon at 6 followed by a game Saturday at 3 and a game Sunday at 1.

 In local professional sports, the Carolina Panthers selected Alabama quarterback Bryce Young With the first pick in the NFL draft. This marked the second time that the Panthers have had the first pick in the NFL draft, and the second time they have used it for the Quarterback position. Following the selection of Cam Newton back in 2011.

Also happening around North Carolina professional sports the Carolina Hurricanes continue their series against the New York Islanders tonight with game 6 of the 1st round. The puck drops at 7 PM. More action also happening in the NHL playoffs is the Bruins and Panthers at 7:30, the Stars and Wild at 9:30, and the Avalanche and Kraken at 10. 

The NBA playoffs are also in action this afternoon with the Kings and Warriors facing off at 8, and the Grizzlies and Lakers at 10:30. That's it for me, as always I hope everyone has a great rest of their Friday, then a wonderful weekend.

From Booneweather.com, today is a cloudy and warm day with a high of 66 degrees and a low 49. There will also be some thunderstorms later today.

In local news, a celebration for what would have been Robert Dotson’s 100th birthday will take place on May 13. According to the Watauga Democrat, the event will gather to celebrate the flatfoot dance legend at the Historic Apple Barn in Valle Crucis. The event will feature workshops, a documentary film showing, a potluck dinner, a square dance and performances by the Green Grass Cloggers. 

In state news, the NC State police chief announced Thursday that a student’s body was found in the woods near Lake Raleigh Wednesday night. According to WRAL, the death of Ben Salas is being investigated as an apparent suicide. This is the eleventh student death at NC State this school year and if the cause of death is determined to be a suicide, it will be NC State’s sixth student death by suicide this school year. 

In national news, Jerry Springer died at age 79 on Thursday. According to AP News, the one-time mayor and weekday afternoon television show host died peacefully in his Chicago home after a brief illness. Springer’s show was seen as a phenomenon, at times surpassing Oprah Winfrey’s show in ratings. After more than 4,000 episodes over a 27-year span the show ended in 2018. Throughout his life, Springer flirted with politics becoming the mayor of Chicago before resigning after a year. Now to sports. 

The NBA playoffs provided an exciting night of basketball action last night, as two first-round teams won their respective series. The New York Knicks put away the Cleveland Cavaliers winning game five by a score 106-95 and finished the series with four wins and one loss. Jalen Brunson led the scoring for the Knicks in the final game of the series, finishing with 23 points and four rebounds. The other series that concluded last night was the 8th-seed Miami Heat finishing off the first place Milwaukee Bucks. The Heat beat the Bucks by the final score of 128-126 and won the series overall with four wins and one loss. Miami was aided by another big performance from Jimmy Butler, who finished with 42 points last night. The lone game on the schedule tonight is Game 6 of the series between the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks. The Celtics currently lead the series 3-2 and can finish the series tonight with a win in Atlanta.

The moment that NFL fans have been waiting for is here. The first-round of the 2023 NFL Draft takes place tonight in Kansas City, Missouri. This is a particularly exciting night for the hometown Carolina Panthers, as they hold the first overall pick in the draft. The Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts and Seattle Seahawks round out the top-five of thirty-two selections that will be announced tonight. If you want to tune in to the draft, coverage will begin at 8 PM Eastern Time on ESPN.

That is all for sports. Now, here’s your weather forecast.

And now for a special weather report powered by Booneweather.com. Today will be mostly cloudy with rain developing throughout the afternoon.
The high is 54 with a low of 51.

First up, in campus news, The Appalachian reports that there are free moms on campus! News Editor Jenna Guzman detailed the efforts of the Free Moms, a volunteer group on campus comprised of parents and community members who give out free snacks, support and hugs to passing students on Sanford Mall. The group was started in the aftermath of COVID-19 and other tragedies across the UNC school system. Barbara Krueger, an 80-year-old volunteer, says “she wants students to feel loved and not feel alone, as well as for students to have a release through what the group has to offer.” The group is out on the mall every Thursday from 11am to 2pm until May 4th. Grab your free hugs, y’all!

Next, in local news, the Watauga Democrat reports that the King Street Farmers Market is back up and open for the season starting Tuesday, May 2nd. The market will feature more than 30 vendors this year, including produce and crafts, and will have such special events this year as Kid’s Art Day, Tomato Day, and a Year of the Trail celebration! The market will kick off their first day of the season with live music and select food treats.

Next, nationally, NPR reports that one of my personal favorite writers and figures in the culture sphere, Neil Gaiman, has released his first album of music to add to his pantheon of comic books and novels. Collaborating with Australian string band FourPlay String Quartet, the British author is excited to take his storytelling into a new space. Although, as he protests, whether it would be novels or comic books or film and television or plays or shadow puppets" — Gaiman says his job remains the same. The album is called Signs of Life. Inspiring!

Finally, the weather as ever from Booneweather.com. It’s more showers today with a high of 54 degrees.

In campus news, The Peel, App State’s literature and arts review magazine, will be having a release of their spring 2023 edition at the Nth Gallery off of King Street. The Nth Degree Gallery, located at 683 W King St, is home to artists studios, so it’s a pretty perfect fit for hosting the art of the Peel! The event will last from 6pm to 8pm on Friday, April 28th. Swing by, grab a copy, and see what App State’s writers and artists have been up to!

Locally, the Appalachian Theatre of the High Country will be celebrating a very important holiday next week. Of course, I’m talking about the double whammy of University Reading Day AND May the 4th, universally recognized as “May the Fourth Be With You” Star Wars Day. There will be a screening of A New Hope, the first Star Wars movie, at 7pm, on Thursday, May 4th. Get your Jedi on for the most intergalactic time of the year!

Nationally, Pope Francis has given women the right to vote in the next meeting of bishops at the Vatican. According to NPR,  For 2000 years, women have been denied a say in the decision making process of the Catholic Church. Francis has vowed to change that, at least in this voting body, ushering in five religious sisters to sit astride five priests in the Synod of Bishops, as well as 70 non-Bishop participants, of which half will be women and Franics hopes more than a few will be young people. A welcome change for one of the oldest institutions in the West.

Finally the weather as ever from Booneweather.com. We have rain on the forecast, but as the saying goes, with April showers brings your college, your station, your music, 90.5 WASU The App FM.