WUNC News

This weekend Cary will host the nation’s largest round robin table tennis competition. More than 300 internationally ranked players will visit Cary for the event.

Mike Babuin is the founder of the Cary Table Tennis Association and creator of the competition. He says that while many Americans play table tennis at home, few consider it a serious sport. That’s not the case in other countries. And he says the countries taking table tennis seriously are the ones bringing home Olympic medals:

Ten people were injured in an explosion on Fort Bragg last night. The injured are eight marines and two navy personnel. Marine staff sergeant Jayson Price says the explosion happened during a routine spring exercise called “Rolling Thunder.” The exercise uses live ammunition including 155 millimeter howitzers.

"The cause of the incident is under investigation and the regiment remains in a check firing status, meaning they’re not firing until safe training can resume," Price says.

Country park in Guilford County will commemorate the 230th anniversary of the battle of Guilford Courthouse this weekend. Re-enactors will show how revolutionary soldiers lived and will re-create the battle.

Bus ridership is increasing throughout the Triangle, thanks in large part to rising gas prices. January ridership on Triangle Transit was up 17.7 percent from last year. Brad Schulz at Triangle Transit says gas prices are just one reason people are choosing the bus.

A group of parents in Guilford County wants daily recess in elementary schools. They will present a petition along with supporting research to a Board of Education meeting tonight. Currently, elementary school principals in Guilford County decide how students spend the time that's dedicated to physical activity . Parent Amy Hanson says recess helps children learn.

"Kids need a break from concentration, for their brains to process the information that they've taken in and to refresh them to learn more. Kids are also better behaved after recess and can focus more on learning."

A new microscope developed at Duke University may increase doctors’ abilities to detect melanoma. Chemistry professor Warren S. Warren oversaw the development of the laser-based microscope. He says doctors may be “overcalling” melanoma and removing moles in case they are cancerous.

North Carolina conservation groups say preserving land for public use has long-term economic benefits. A new report from the non-profit Trust for Public Land claims that every dollar North Carolina invests in parks, farms and wilderness has a return of 4 dollars to the local economy. The report measures the “natural goods and services” of different ecosystems in the state. An area is valued by the quality of its air and water and its ability to remove pollutants naturally—making wetlands and forests the most valuable and developed or barren land the least valuable.

Wake Technical Community College is holding a two-day bio-diesel workshop this week. Students will learn how to convert waste vegetable oil into bio-diesel using the college’s new 40-gallon processor. Rich Cregar, an instructor in Automotive Systems Technology, started the course four years ago as part of a state-wide project to incorporate sustainable technologies into the curriculum of North Carolina’s community colleges.

The Division of Forest Resources is working to put out with a number of fires across the state. Windy, dry conditions have contributed to 211 fires over the past several days. Forest Resources spokesman Brian Haines says crews have had trouble containing the 582-acre Lumber Plant Fire in Surry County in western North Carolina.

North Carolina Amtrak will suspend Piedmont mid-day service between Raleigh and Charlotte starting today.  Service is being halted due to improvement projects along the route. Amtrak Spokeswoman Amanda Perry says the closures are to give workers a chance to recondition the tracks and improve on-time service.

"It would minimize delays and service interruptions and that sort of thing.But the actual speed of the train is not expected to increase."