K9 Protection Dogs in Durham, NC

DURHAM, N.C. — The Pack has scuffled heading into the postseason without a series win since sweeping Clemson at the end of April.

Going toe to toe with that same foe in its ACC championship opener, the Pack could not replicate its midseason success, falling 7-6 in a thriller to the Tigers.

“A loss obviously hurts,” said senior shortstop Justin DeCriscio. “But it’s like if you’re 0-3 in a game, you’re not gonna let those losses hurt you. You’re going to learn from them, keep going and produce when you need to.”

The Durham Bulls Athletic Park with its iconic ‘Blue Monster’ and ‘Hit Bull Win Steak’ sign was a perfect setting for this drama-filled affair. The Pack went back-and-forth with Clemson totaling five lead changes and huge momentum swings, seemingly every inning.

“It’s just a lot of close plays,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “Both teams gave it everything they had, and they just made a couple more plays than we did.”

The Wolfpack (33-19) certainly had its chances against the Tigers (43-15), but key mistakes by the red-and-white sunk the Pack’s chances. Hitting into four double plays, NC State constantly got in its own way, tossing multiple scoring opportunities away. While the Wolfpack matched punches with Clemson throughout the evening, the inability to truly stack runs and pull away proved costly as the Tigers narrowly pulled ahead in the eighth inning.

The Wolfpack also suffered some bad luck against the Tigers. Not once but twice, NC State nearly barreled home runs to right field thanks to sophomore second baseman Luke Nixon and sophomore catcher Alex Sosa. However, both shots were caught at the warning track, leaving NC State empty handed and unable to break the game open.

Being aggressive on the base path, multiple runners were thrown out trying to extend a base hit, leaving more runs on the table. The most damaging base running error came in the eighth, with the Pack in reach of tying it. Junior Brayden Fraasman smacked an RBI single into right, but was caught trying to take second after the throw home.

In recent series, the top of the lineup has struggled mightily, with the bottom of the lineup bearing the burden of run production. Against Stanford, the top of the lineup went 10-for-50. Finally breaking through against Clemson, the first four batters went 7-for-17. With sophomore first baseman Chris McHugh back in the lineup after missing time with a hand injury, the Pack’s best hitter helped to round out the batting order.

“He’s been banged up on that hand a few times,” Avent said. “He’s wearing a handguard now and yeah it bothers him a little bit, but this time of year you compete and you suck it up.”

At the top of the lineup, McHugh went 2-for-5, junior left fielder Josh Hogue went 2-for-4 and DeCriscio went 3-for-3.

With the bats up and down throughout the night, the Wolfpack needed a strong outing on the mound. While the Pack’s pitchers certainly had their moments, especially sophomore Jacob Dudan, NC State’s pitching wasn’t at its best. Whether it was leaving starting pitcher junior Dominic Fritton in the game too long or long reliever freshman Anderson Nance never settling in, the Wolfpack suffered its share of struggles on the mound and Clemson took full advantage. Racking up 16 hits as a team, the Tigers minimized the Pack’s greatest strength — and it ultimately proved to be the difference.

Dropping seven of its last ten games, the Wolfpack is quickly trending in the wrong direction entering the postseason. Likely a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Wolfpack will have to turn things around in a hurry to make some noise in the postseason.

Next up NC State will await its destination for the NCAA Tournament. The full bracket will be announced on Monday May 26 and the regional round will begin on Friday May 30.

Another chain known for burgers is eyeing North Carolina for expansion.

Fat Patty’s is looking to bring new franchises to the Raleigh, Durham and Charlotte areas.

“As we continue to grow beyond our roots, we’re thrilled to bring Fat Patty’s to new audiences in a thriving state like North Carolina,” Sean Oatney, the chief development officer at Fat Patty’s, said in a news release. “Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham are dynamic cities full of food lovers and community pride, which is everything we look for in a great market. We’re excited to find the right franchise partners who share our passion for people, great food and hometown hospitality.”

Founded in West Virginia in 2007, the self-described “home away from home” restaurant and bar Fat Patty’s has since grown to five locations across West Virginia and Kentucky, with another in development in New Jersey. The chain started franchising in 2022 and has said it hopes to expand in the South and the East Coast.

As the chain has just recently announced it is looking for franchisees in North Carolina, no specific locations or projected openings have been shared.

Fat Patty’s is the latest burger outsider to make its way into the Tar Heel State and the Triangle market, where loyal fans frequent well-established Cook Outs and Char-Grills.

So what can Triangle eaters expect to find at Fat Patty’s? An eclectic mix.

Starting with starters, aka “munchies,” Fat Patty’s serves pretzels with a choice of beer cheese or poblano queso, potato chips with pimento cheese, egg rolls stuffed with chicken, black beans, corn and cheese, loaded potato boats, and a lot of fried foods: mozzarella sticks, onions, green tomatoes, mushrooms and bacon cheddar fries.

There are a few nachos and quesadillas available, along with salads, chicken wings, chicken and traditional sandwiches (think French dip, Italian, club) and pizza.

The focus of the menu, though, is the burgers, which they call “Patties,” made with a half-pound of fresh beef and served on brioche buns.

Sure, there’s the plain Jane staples, but Fat Patty also offers a variety of specialty burgers. Here are a few examples:

Finish off the meal with an ice cream sundae, molten chocolate cake or dessert pretzel a la mode, topped with cinnamon, sugar, caramel and whipped cream.

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Well here it is, the era of Shake Shack is upon us.

Last year the Triangle suffered the culinary indignity of being beaten to the punch by Charlotte at something food related, when the global burger brand opened its first North Carolina location there. Now it’s the Triangle’s turn, or more specifically Cary, as Shake Shack opens its doors Wednesday in Waverly Place.

Shake Shack is well known to burger lovers, but for the uninitiated, the New York-based burger chain serves griddled burgers and hot dogs in the spirit of the highway shack, along with crinkle cut french fries and frozen custard. In a decade and a half the company has grown from a stand in Manhattan’s Madison Square Park to a publicly traded fast food phenomenon.

Cary’s Shake Shack is number 247 worldwide, but there are a few local touches that make it a singular spot within the burger empire.

Shake Shack has a lineup of frozen custard concretes. There’s the Shark Attack, which pushes the limits of chocolate, made with chocolate custard, fudge, chocolate truffle cookie dough, chunks of Mast Brothers chocolate and chocolate sprinkles. Then there’s the Cary Cookie Crumble, with vanilla custard, marshmallow sauce and cookie butter, plus a black sesame concrete, a limited-time import from Shake Shacks in Japan.

Special for the Triangle is a blended concrete made with chunks of seasonal fruit pies from East Durham Bake Shop. Area director Allan Ng said a team from Shake Shack scoured the Triangle for the best baker and arrived at the one-year-old shop from husband and wife owners Ali Rudel and Ben Filippo.

“Each time we go to a market we really look for the best baker in town, that has the same ethos as us,” Ng said.

Ng, a Raleigh native and NC State graduate, is area director for Shake Shack locations in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and now part of North Carolina. He said he’s well aware of the beloved burger joints that have been here for decades, that he loved them too.

“I grew up eating Char-grill on HIllsborough Street,” Ng said. “The owner of Snoopy’s used to come into my parents’ Chinese restaurant. Those are my childhood places to go. I went there in college. I love what they do. We didn’t invent the burger, or the milkshake or the hot dog. What we want to do is come here and be a modern version of the roadside burger stand and be part of this community.”

In planting its burger flag in Cary’s Waverly Place development, Shake Shack disregarded the allure of booming downtowns in Raleigh and Durham, and developments like North Hills. The Waverly Place Shake Shack is a new build, with a wrap-around patio looking out on the rest of the development. Ng said Cary’s growth and nearby Holly Springs and Apex made this Waverly the place for the first Triangle location.

“Cary has that small, hometown feel, where we can enter the Triangle area and learn,” Ng said. “I think this is a good starting point.”

There are already two Shake Shacks in Charlotte, with a third in the airport. Ng wouldn’t commit the company to a second Triangle location just yet, but he did tell his mom he’ll be visiting more often.

“My mom asked me that same question,” Ng said. “I said, ‘Mom, you’ll see me more.’”

The Cary Shake Shack is located at 310 Colonades Way in Cary’s Waverly Place shopping center. It’s open seven days a week, starting at 11 a.m.

DURHAM, N.C. -- A 100-year-old North Carolina woman was fed up after she says she had no access to thousands of dollars in her checking account.

It was no small chunk of change for Marie Green, of Durham, as the total in her checking account was more than $7,700.

"It hurt me because I couldn't pay my bills," Green said.

The sad saga started at the end of January, when Green's son, Steve Riggsbee, said he helped his mom open a new checking account with Capital One, depositing a $3,600 check in the new account.

"We deposited it by mobile, and then the next thing we know, we get back on, we look, and it says your account is restricted," Riggsbee said.

I'm trying to help her, but they thought I wasn't supposed to be helping her. I said, 'My mother's 100 years old. Come on, she can't hear too good. That's the only reason I'm trying to help her.- Steve Rigsbee

He said he helps his mom with daily tasks because of her age, so he called Capitol One right away.

"The check has been red-flagged or something," he said the bank told him. "So, I said, 'What for?"

Weeks turned into more than a month, and Green said she still had no access to her account. She filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and Capital One sent a letter in March stating her account is restricted because of fraud concerns.

Riggsbee said each time he called Capital One to help his mom, the conversation went nowhere.

"I'm trying to help her, but they thought I wasn't supposed to be helping her. I said, 'My mother's 100 years old. Come on, she can't hear too good. That's the only reason I'm trying to help her." Rigsbee said.

Meanwhile, Green's Social Security checks were directly deposited into that Capital One account, and she now had more than $7,700 in the account, and she had no access to the money.

"Because of all of that, it's run her MasterCard up because we had no other way to pay her bills," Rigsbee said. "So, she has about $3,000-something on MasterCard for her bills now from January to now."

Rigsbee said Capital One wanted him to get power of attorney so that they could speak to him on behalf of his hearing-impaired mother.

"I said, 'My mother is competent. She don't need a power of attorney. She can talk to you right now,'" Riggsbee said he told the Capital One representative. Green confirmed to Troubleshooter Diane Wilson that she didn't need her son to be her power of attorney.

"He wasn't trying to take my money away, and he was just helping me," Green said.

Mother and son, who both said they were loyal viewers of our Raleigh sister station, ABC11 Eyewitness News, reached out to the Troubleshooter for help.

"We thought you could help us," Green said. "Nobody else has. The bank didn't, they didn't tell us anything, so that's why we thought maybe you could."

The Troubleshooter reached out to Capital One, which then provided this statement:

"While we cannot go into specifics on customer cases, we can confirm that this matter has been resolved directly with the individual. The security of our customers' accounts is a top priority for Capital One. If we detect unusual activity on a customer's account, we may reach out to the customer to verify their identity and that the activity is authorized in order to keep customer funds secure. We also understand customers may sometimes need support from their loved ones in managing their finances. We provide several options to allow for that support while also maintaining the security of those accounts."

After months of frustration at her account being restricted, Green finally got good news that her account with Capital One was closed, and the bank sent her a check for the amount she had in her account.

"I appreciate you helping, I really do," Green told the Troubleshooter. "We weren't able to get help anywhere else."

Green also said she opened a new account with a local bank. She deposited the $7,700 check and got access to the money, so she says she can now pay her bills.

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Durham County has been designated as a "sanctuary jurisdiction" by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a label strongly contested by local officials.

In a statement released Friday, the Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) and the Durham County Sheriff's Office refuted the designation, calling it "neither supported by law or facts."

The U.S. Department of Justice defines "sanctuary jurisdictions" as those with official policies, laws, or practices that hinder cooperation with immigration enforcement or limit compliance with detainer requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

"We are asking DHS to provide the reason for this designation," said Durham County Attorney Larissa Williamson. "There is no legal or factual basis for it, and we aim to defend the County's reputation and financial integrity."

Sheriff Clarence Birkhead called the designation "grossly inaccurate."

"Durham County has never adopted any ordinance, resolution, policy, or proclamation declaring itself a 'sanctuary jurisdiction,'" the statement said. "Furthermore, the County does not have any policies/procedures, nor engage in any practices, that would impede cooperation with immigration enforcement or limit compliance with detainer requests."

The statement continued: "The County has consistently upheld and complied with all applicable federal and state laws, including legally required cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. To be clear, neither the Board nor the Sheriff's Office has taken any action that could be reasonably interpreted as interfering with or refusing cooperation with federal immigration enforcement."

The county is among 500 nationwide labeled as "sanctuary jurisdictions," alongside neighboring Chatham and Orange counties.

Local officials also raised concerns about the potential impact on federal funding, which is critical to the community.

"(The county) will take all available measures to ensure that the record is correct and the county's interests are protected,'" the statement said.

The 2025 ACC baseball tournament began on May 20 and runs through May 25 at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, North Carolina.

No. 3 North Carolina and No. 5 Clemson will meet in the championship game, the first meeting between both programs all year. The Tar Heels charged through No. 14 Boston College and No. 2 Florida State in hopes of claiming their third tournament title since 2019. The Tigers downed No. 4 NC State and No. 1 Georgia Tech and seek their first championship since 2016.

Follow along here for the bracket, schedule, game times and scores.

Click or tap here for the PDF bracket

All times ET.

Sunday, May 25 — Championship

Tuesday, May 20 — First round

Wednesday, May 21 — Second round

Thursday, May 22 — Quarterfinals

Friday, May 23 — Quarterfinals

Saturday, May 24 — Semifinals

Here are all the winners of the annual ACC baseball tournament. Duke won the title in 2024, beating Florida State 16-4 in the final.