(AP) — A legislative panel has declined to recommend to the full General Assembly that late-model automobiles be exempted from annual North Carolina safety inspections.

The Joint Transportation Oversight Committee voted 7-5 Wednesday against putting the proposal on its final list of recommendations. The idea is less likely to get heard this year without the committee's formal recommendation. The short session began later Wednesday.

The proposal would have exempted the first three newest model years from the safety inspections, which cost $13.60 per vehicle.

Some lawmakers argue the inspections on newer vehicles are unnecessary because they have better technology and equipment and travel on smoother roads.

Committee co-chairman Sen. Bill Rabon of Brunswick County said he voted against the exemption in part because inspections can help point out problems to older drivers.

 (AP) — Attorneys for John Edwards are indicating their case is winding down, but they are not yet saying whether they will call the former presidential candidate or his mistress to testify.

Defense attorneys said they would make a decision soon on whether to call Edwards and Rielle Hunter. It was not clear when they would make that decision public.

Testimony ended Tuesday for the day with the trial still focusing on financial records.

Edwards is accused of masterminding a plan to use about $1 million from two wealthy donors to hide his pregnant mistress as he ran for the White House in 2008. Edwards has pleaded not guilty to six counts of campaign finance violations. He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

(AP) — North Carolina State baseball coach Elliott Avent has been suspended for three games for making physical contact with an umpire.

University officials announced Tuesday that the Atlantic Coast Conference notified the school of the suspension.

The incident happened Sunday in the bottom of the sixth inning of a 6-4 loss at Virginia Tech. Avent was ejected for tossing a catcher's mask toward the N.C. State dugout.

Following that, there was physical contact between Avent and home plate umpire David Pritchett — which carries an automatic three-game suspension that can't be appealed.

Avent was to miss games against UNC Greensboro on Tuesday, and at Florida State on Thursday and Friday.

In a statement issued by the school, Avent says he accepts the suspension.

(AP) — Gov. Bev Perdue is proclaiming a day where the North Carolina tourism industry is recognized for its importance to the state's growth and economic stability.

The governor has proclaimed Wednesday as Tourism Day.

A statement from the governor's office says visitors spend more than $50 million per day in North Carolina and contribute more than $4.3 million per day in state and local tax revenues as a result of that spending. Each North Carolina household saves over $430 annually in state and local taxes as a result of taxes generated by visitor expenditures.

Perdue's office also says that for the first time, state tax receipts as a result of visitor spending topped $1 billion in 2011 and have increased more than 50 percent in the last 10 years.

 (AP) — The older daughter of John Edwards is set to take the stand in her father's defense.

Cate Edwards is a 30-year-old lawyer who has sat behind the former presidential contender nearly every day of his corruption trial, now in its fourth week. She's expected to testify Tuesday.

Edwards has pleaded not guilty to six counts related to campaign finance violations over nearly $1 million from two wealthy donors used to help hide the Democrat's pregnant mistress as he sought the White House in 2008.

Cate Edwards fled the courtroom in tears earlier this month during testimony about her mother's reaction to her father's affair with Rielle (ree-EHL') Hunter. It is not clear what she knows about the cover-up that may help his defense.

Edwards faces up to 30 years in prison.

AP) — Gov. Beverly Perdue has spoken to Mississippi's governor after she criticized the approval of last week's referendum banning gay marriage by saying it made North Carolina "look like Mississippi." But her spokesman said Perdue didn't apologize for her remarks.

Perdue spokesman Mark Johnson said the governor had a very good discussion Monday with Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, who said last Friday he was disappointed with what Perdue's comments during a Pitt County visit.

North Carolina became the 30th state to pass a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage with 61 percent of the vote.

Perdue responded to a reporter's question at the Friday appearance by saying people around the country are confused how a state that had stood up to improve race relations decades ago could approve the amendment.

(AP) — Lawyers for John Edwards will begin presenting his defense at the former presidential contender's campaign-finance trial.

The first witnesses to be called by the defense include former Federal Election Commission chairman Scott Thomas, political pollster Harrison Hickman and ex-Edwards attorney Wade Smith. Edwards' attorneys have not indicated whether he will take the stand.

Edwards has pleaded not guilty to six criminal counts arising from alleged federal campaign-finance violations. He's accused of masterminding a scheme to use nearly $1 million in secret payments from two wealthy donors to help hide his pregnant mistress as he sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008.

On Friday, the trial judge rejected a defense motion to dismiss the case. If convicted, the former North Carolina senator faces up to 30 years in prison.

BOSTON (AP) — A North Carolina man who authorities say became disoriented and tried to open a cabin door on a US Airways Express commuter jet from Maine to Philadelphia has been released on $500 bail at his arraignment.

Prosecutors had requested $1,500 bail at the arraignment Friday of 40-year-old Michael J. Ensalaco, of Mooresville, N.C.

Massachusetts State Police held Ensalaco overnight on a charge of interfering with a flight crew after the pilot diverted the flight to Boston on Thursday.

His lawyer said at the arraignment in East Boston District Court that his client suffers from a neurological disorder that causes disassociation and confusion. The lawyer says he expects charges to eventually be dropped because of the medical condition.

Friends and family members say Ensalaco is a married father of five.

GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue says passage of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as solely between a man and a woman makes the state "look like Mississippi."

Perdue was in Greenville on Friday to tout her proposed state budget for 2012-2013.

Responding to a question from a reporter from WITN-TV in Washington, Perdue said people around the country are watching the state and are confused. She said North Carolina was a progressive and a forward thinking state that stood up for civil rights.

The governor said people now are asking what's going on with North Carolina and added, "We look like Mississippi."

On Tuesday, North Carolina became the 30th state to pass a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. The amendment passed with nearly 61 percent of voters supporting it.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A federal judge has refused to toss out campaign corruption charges against John Edwards, meaning he will have to present his case before a jury.

Lawyers for Edwards argued before U.S. District Court Judge Catherine C. Eagles on Friday that prosecutors failed to prove Edwards intentionally violated the law.

After two and a half hours of arguments, the judge ruled from the bench that there was enough evidence to let jurors decide.

Motions to dismiss are routine in criminal trials, but are rarely granted. The decision means Edwards' lawyers will begin calling witnesses Monday.

Edwards has pleaded not guilty to six criminal counts related to campaign finance violations. Prosecutors say he was the mastermind behind a scheme to use nearly $1 million in secret payments from supporters to hide his mistress and their baby.

 (AP) — Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue's final budget proposal relies heavily on a higher sales tax she wants to restore public school funding cuts from recent years and to expand other initiatives.

Perdue on Thursday released a nearly $21 billion spending plan for the coming year that adjusts the second year of a two-year budget the Legislature approved last year over her veto. She is not running for re-election and leaves office in January.

The governor's proposal includes a three-quarter-cent sales tax increase that would generate $760 million in additional funds next year. A big chunk of that money would help eliminate mandated cuts for local school districts that are projected to reach $500 million.

Republican leaders at the General Assembly say they won't support a higher sales tax.

(AP) — A Democratic Party official will try to get a Wilmington polling place moved because the church used for this week's balloting had a sign relating to the constitutional amendment on gay marriage.

The StarNews of Wilmington reports the marquee outside Devon Park United Methodist Church proclaimed "A true marriage is male and female and God."

Democratic precinct chairman Nancy Ballard Cox considers the sign voter intimidation and plans to ask elections officials to change voting in the precinct to another location. The constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman passed statewide, it was rejected by a majority of voters in the precinct.

Elections officials ruled the church sign was beyond a buffer zone between campaign signs and the door of the polling place.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ The federal government is spending $4 million to help hook up farmers and low-income customers.
 
Currently, fewer than a quarter of the nation's roughly 7,100 farmers markets are set up to use the Electronic Benefit Transfer system, or food stamps. But Kathleen Merrigan, deputy secretary of agriculture, says she hopes these grants will bring another 4,000 of those outlets on line with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
 
The money is to equip these locations with wireless ``point of sale'' equipment to be used with the food program's debit cards. Grants range from $5,404 for Delaware, which has 11 markets, to $426,945 for California, with 687.
 

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ Progress Energy and Duke Energy have agreed not to ask customers to pay millions of dollars in severance costs of employees who could be laid off as part of their merger.
 
The utilities' decision not to pass along up to $230 million in costs was part of updated paperwork filed Tuesday with the North Carolina Utilities Commission. The companies promised to reduce retail rates by $70 million and swallow any costs for severance pay.
 
The deal would make the combined company the nation's largest utility. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has twice rejected the merger on grounds that it would create a monopoly that could manipulate regional wholesale electricity prices.
 
The combined company would serve 7 million customers in the Carolinas, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) _ A Cumberland County judge has ordered that a man imprisoned for decades after a double murder conviction should be released because he has served his time under North Carolina's old sentencing guidelines.
 
The Fayetteville Observer reports Judge Greg Weeks ordered 63-year-old Bobby E. Bowden on Tuesday to be released from prison by 5 p.m. Friday.
 
The Fayetteville man has been incarcerated since his arrest and conviction for the deaths of two people at a convenience store in 1975.
 
State lawyers had argued that a life sentence should mean Bowden stays in prison the rest of his life and shouldn't be able to reduce his sentence with good behavior credits. But Weeks said Bowden had been earning the credits until 2009, and that the state can't change the rules retroactively.
 

WILSON, N.C. (AP) _ The results are in from the constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in North Carolina, but gay and lesbian couples are still demanding the right to marry.
 
Same-sex couples will ask for marriage licenses in Wilson and Durham on Wednesday, the start of a week-long campaign protesting their inability to wed.
 
The ``We Do'' campaign's protest against the state's gay marriage ban made news last fall. Two demonstrators were arrested in Asheville after they refused to leave a county office building where marriage licenses are granted.
 
The campaign is spreading to eight North Carolina counties in the next week. The demonstrations involving local couples spreads Thursday to Forsyth County, then to Mitchell, Madison, Buncombe, Randolph and Mecklenburg counties.

(AP) — Voters in North Carolina overwhelmingly supported Mitt Romney in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination and the chance to face President Barack Obama in November.

North Carolina has become a key battleground state, and it is considered integral by both campaigns to securing the general election.

In addition to North Carolina, Romney won victories Tuesday night in Indiana and West Virginia pushing him closer to the 1,144 delegates he needs to clinch the GOP nomination. The three victories will hand him 100 or so delegates of the 288 he still needs.

Both Obama, who was uncontested in the Democratic primary, and Romney, recently spoke in North Carolina

 (AP) — North Carolina voters have approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage solely as a union between a man and a woman, making it the 30th state to adopt such a ban.

With 35 percent of precincts reporting Tuesday, unofficial returns showed the amendment passing with about 58 percent of the vote to 42 percent against.

In the days before the vote, members of President Barack Obama's cabinet expressed support for gay marriage and former President Bill Clinton recorded phone messages urging voters to reject the amendment.

Meanwhile, supporters ran their own ad campaigns and church leaders urged Sunday congregations to vote for the amendment. The Rev. Billy Graham was featured in full-page newspaper ads supporting the amendment.

 (AP) — Burke County schools have voted to do away corporal punishment.

 (AP) — North Carolina voters likely will move presidential hopeful Mitt Romney one step closer to securing the Republican nomination in a state that he and President Barack Obama consider integral to their general election campaigns.

Indiana and West Virginia are also slated for primaries Tuesday, but even a convincing win by Romney in all states would leave him just shy of the 1,144 delegates he needs to win the nomination. Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich will appear on the Republican ballot but have withdrawn their candidacies. Ron Paul, who has 94 delegates, will also appear on the ballot.

Both party's presidential frontrunners recently spoke in North Carolina. Obama spoke at UNC-Chapel Hill on April 24 regarding student loan debt. The week prior, Romney addressed jobs, gas prices and health care costs.

(AP) — An ex-speechwriter for John Edwards will take the witness stand at the former presidential candidate's corruption trial.

Wendy Button is expected to testify Edwards asked her in the summer of 2009 to help draft a public statement admitting he had an affair and fathered a baby outside his marriage. Edwards reportedly told Button he knew about the nearly $1 million provided by wealthy donors that helped hide his pregnant mistress as he sought the Democratic nomination in 2008, but there were legal reasons he couldn't disclose his knowledge of the cover up.

Edwards now denies knowing about the money and has pleaded not guilty to six criminal counts related to campaign finance violations. He faces up to 30 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines if convicted.

 (AP) — It's decision day for a bid to add a proposed ban on gay marriage to the North Carolina constitution so it's much harder to change in the future.

The state votes Tuesday on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as only between a man and a woman, putting North Carolina at the center of a growing debate between generations and America's major political parties over legalizing same-sex unions.

The fate of the gay-marriage ban in the last Southern state without a constitutional amendment hinges on who shows up to vote.

Amendment opponents are drawing support from Democratic Party candidates, younger voters, urban areas and the NAACP. Supporters of the gay marriage amendment are finding their core support in the GOP, older voters, rural areas and conservative black churches.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ George Lindsey, who spent nearly 30 years as the grinning Goober on ``The Andy Griffith Show'' and ``Hee Haw,'' has died. He was 83.

A press release from Marshall-Donnelly-Combs Funeral Home in Nashville said Lindsay died early Sunday morning after a brief illness. Funeral arrangements were still being made.
 
Lindsey was the beanie-wearing Goober on ``The Andy Griffith Show'' from 1964 to 1968 and its successor, ``Mayberry RFD,'' from 1968 to 1971. He played the same jovial character _ a service station attendant _ on ``Hee Haw'' from 1971 until it went out of production in 1993.
 
Lindsey told The Associated Press in 1985 that ``America has grown up with me. Goober is every man; everyone finds something to like about ol' Goober.''

Tee times for the 1st round  (Thursday) of the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte.

(AP) — Supporters and opponents of the proposed constitutional amendment on marriage in North Carolina could be making their closing arguments in a debate sponsored by a lawyers' group.

An event has been scheduled for Thursday evening in downtown Raleigh by the conservative-leaning Federalist Society. If the amendment is approved, it would make clear traditional marriage is the only domestic legal union recognized in the state.

Speakers opposing the amendment are Duke University professor Mike Munger and Katy Parker, legal director of the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Backing the amendment will be Vote FOR Marriage NC chairwoman Tami Fitzgerald and Ken Klukowski with the Family Research Council's Center for Religious Liberty.

The early voting period for the primary ends Saturday.

(AP) — Beverage giant PepsiCo is holding its annual shareholders meeting in the coastal North Carolina city where a local druggist created its namesake soft drink more than a century ago.

The corporation's business meeting is Wednesday in New Bern. That's where local druggist Caleb Bradham invented Pepsi-Cola and named it for its ingredients of pepsin and cola nuts. Bradham lost the company in bankruptcy after World War I and its assets were bought by a Wall Street broker.

The New York-area company's meeting will see PepsiCo shareholders vote on executive compensation and the board of directors. Another vote considers whether PepsiCo should disclose where it spends millions on lobbying efforts.

Gov. Beverly Perdue's spokesman says she invited PepsiCo to her hometown during a 2009 meeting with the CEO.

North Carolina Democrats running for governor are trumpeting their fundraising and prominent supporters as they try attracting attention during early voting ahead of next week's primary election.
 
Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton's campaign said he raised nearly $650,000 in the year's first 3 1/2 months. Bob Etheridge's campaign said he'll report raising more than $310,000 since he entered the race two months ago. Bill Faison's campaign did not release a preview of his first-quarter fundraising report.
 
The reports are due Monday.
 
Presumptive Republican nominee Pat McCrory's campaign said last week he raised nearly $1.7 million so far this year. McCrory planned a Raleigh fundraiser Monday headlined by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
 
One-stop voting continues through Saturday ahead of the state's primary elections May 8.

The State Highway Patrol looking for a few good men and women... kicking off a recruiting campaign.  The application process takes about five months and is intense.  If you'd like more information, go to www.ncdps.gov

(AP) — The bank that held the mortgage on property owned by former NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield has bought the home at a courthouse auction.

AP) — Intense interest in a ballot measure that would change North Carolina's constitution with a ban on gay marriage or other domestic unions is generating a surge in early voting.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reports that turnout for early voting leading up to the May 8 primary election is on pace to top any other primary since the state began one-stop voting in 2000.

The first week of one-stop voting has even surpassed the first week in the presidential primary election of 2008 between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

More than 120,000 votes have been case so far, even though the Republican presidential nominee is no longer an issue.

Statewide organizers on both sides say they're encouraged by the early voting numbers and that their cause will win.

(AP) — An ambitious aide and his agreeable wife are among the star witnesses at former U.S. Sen. John Edwards' trial.

Andrew Young and his wife, Cheri, testified this week that Edwards knew money from his campaign supporters was being spent to hide his pregnant mistress, Rielle Hunter, from the tabloids. But Edwards' attorneys say the couple was using Edwards' problems to extract money from those supporters to build their dream house.

The Youngs are still together despite 12 years of turmoil. Young was accused in court of having a one-night stand. He agreed to lie for Edwards and claimed he was the father of Hunter's baby, then convinced his wife to let Hunter live with them for months.

(AP) — President Barack Obama will headline his first re-election rallies next week, marking an important turning point in the race for the White House.

An Obama campaign official says the president will headline back-to-back rallies May 5 in Ohio and Virginia. Obama carried both states in the 2008 election and will need them again in November if he wants to hold the White House.

The official says first lady Michelle Obama will join the president at the rallies, which will be held on the campuses of Ohio State University in Columbus and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.

While Obama has been headlining re-election fundraisers for several months, the events in Ohio and Virginia are his first non-fundraising campaign events.

The official requested anonymity to speak ahead of the campaign's formal announcement

(AP) — North Carolina's top law enforcement official says he'll vote against a proposed constitutional amendment on next month's ballot that would make clear traditional marriage is the only recognized domestic legal union in the state.

Attorney General Roy Cooper spoke against the referendum in an email to supporters Wednesday. He called the proposal for the state constitution "unclear, unwise and unnecessary." Cooper said the proposal also lacked careful deliberation.

Lawyers and other professionals have joined anti-amendment activists in arguing the changes would deny some children health insurance and weaken domestic violence laws and child custody rules. A pro-amendment group didn't immediately respond to Cooper's announcement but its representatives have said any negative effects alleged have been overstated by opponents.

Both sides in the debate started running television ads this week.

(AP) — North Carolina's improving unemployment rate means about 18,000 people who now qualify for long-term jobless benefits will no longer qualify next month.

Division of Employment Security spokesman Larry Parker says the state expects the U.S. Labor Department to give notice soon that North Carolina recipients will stop qualifying for the federal unemployment funds in early May. Parker says those receiving the long-term unemployment benefits will receive letters about two or three weeks before their benefits end.

Parker says the benefits are paid based on a formula that accounts for a high unemployment rate, which dipped below 10 percent in February and March.

The number of jobless workers qualifying for extended benefits is down from about 25,000 in January and 47,000 last June.

Search for Kelli Bordeaux

On April 26, 2012 the Fayetteville Police Department will be coordinating a search for evidence connected to the disappearance of Kelli Bordeaux. The search is open to volunteers from the public who are interested in helping to find Private First Class Bordeaux. Due to the significant outpouring of support from the public requesting to help in the search, notice is being sent via the media and social media to inform the public about the opportunity to assist. The Fayetteville Police Department is also asking for the media’s assistance in advising residents in the North Fayetteville area that there may be searchers crossing private property as a part of the search.

A command post for the search will be set up in the parking lot of the Cape Fear Valley Health System’s Health Pavilion North located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Ramsey Street and Andrews Road. Check-in for the search will be open from 9AM to 9:45AM. Volunteers will need to show a valid photo ID and sign in/out at the command post. After check-in, search teams will be assigned to various locations around the North Fayetteville area. The search is expected to begin at 10AM and run until all areas are searched. After completing the search, volunteers are required to check-out at the command post.

Suggested Items to bring:

• Wear comfortable clothing, hat, and shoes. Volunteers may be walking through dense underbrush.
• Water will be provided, but it is suggested to bring a bag-lunch and a backpack to carry supplies in.
• Insect repellent and Sunscreen.
• A walking stick is helpful and useful in case of snakes.
• Rain gear in case of inclement weather.

 (AP) — An administrative judge has ordered that a Butner police captain be reinstated after he was fired for the handling of the case of a suspected drunken North Carolina Highway Patrol trooper.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reported that Judge Beecher Gray's decision released Monday orders that Capt. Walter Bruce Williams be reinstated to his position and rank, with back pay and attorney fees.

Williams was the ranking officer at a 2010 traffic stop in which Butner police were accused of protecting a state trooper suspected of drunken driving.

Gray says Williams' dismissal was improper, in part, because the city failed to show it had policies involving field sobriety tests which Williams could have violated.

Off-duty Trooper James Williams Jr. was later fired.

(AP) — A new company is making plans to mine fuel and minerals out of asteroids that whiz past Earth.

Planetary Resources Inc., says the mining and fuel processing would all be done by robotic ships and will eventually lead to the creation of a kind of gas station based in space.

The Seattle-based company's founders pioneered the idea of selling rides into space to wealthy tourists. Investors and advisers include the CEO and chairman of Google, filmmaker James Cameron and former astronaut Thomas Jones.

Jones calls the mega-million dollar plan "the stuff of science fiction." But he adds, like many ideas in science fiction, "it's possible to begin the process of making them reality."

The first step would be launching a series of telescopes to search for rich asteroid targets. The company expects to get that done within two years.

Outside scientists call the plan daring, difficult and highly expensive. They say it's hard to see how it will be cost-effective.

An upcoming NASA mission to return just 2 ounces of an asteroid to Earth will cost about $1 billion.

(AP) — Republicans in the North Carolina Senate are rolling out a package of public school initiatives they say would create performance bonuses for teachers but end their employment tenure so that districts could more easily dismiss ineffective ones.

Senate leader Phil Berger planned to unveil publicly the details at a news conference Monday. The Associated Press received an advance copy of the details of the plan, which would cost an additional $45 million in next year's budget.

The new plan would put veteran teachers on annual contracts. The proposal also would direct the 115 districts to come up with their own merit pay system in time for the fall of 2013.

The plan also would focus more heavily on making students proficient in reading by third grade.

(AP) — A former aide to John Edwards has taken the witness stand in his criminal trial to testify about the ex-senator's role in allegedly violating campaign finance laws to cover up an extramarital affair.

Andrew Young was the first witness called by prosecutors Monday as they began making their case that Edwards masterminded a conspiracy to use nearly $1 million in secret payments from two wealthy donors to help hide his pregnant mistress as he sought the White House in 2008.

Young recounted meeting the woman, Rielle Hunter, as she travelled with Edwards in 2006. Young also introduced Edwards to Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, an heiress who provided much of the money at issue.

Edwards has pleaded not guilty to six counts of violating campaign finance laws.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The line for tickets and the interest in hearing President Barack Obama speak about student debt is high at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

A line of students seeking tickets to hear Obama in Chapel Hill camped out overnight despite Sunday's rain in front of the box office of the university's former basketball auditorium where he'll speak.

Obama visits the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Tuesday and similar colleges in Colorado and Iowa as he woos young voters by taking about student loans and the rising cost of education. All three are in states Obama won in 2008 but are expected to be closely contested with likely Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Prosecutors and defense lawyers in the John Edwards trial are poised to begin making their case to jurors on whether the former presidential candidate violated federal campaign finance laws.

Opening statements are set to begin Monday morning inside the federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C.

Edwards pleaded not guilty to six criminal counts related to nearly $1 million in secret payments from two wealthy supporters. Much of the money was used to hide the then-married politician's pregnant mistress during his 2008 campaign.

Prosecutors are expected to argue that Edwards sought and directed a conspiracy to conceal his affair to keep his presidential hopes alive. Edwards denies violating the law or even knowing about the payments, which his lawyers describe as gifts.

The trial is expected to last at least six weeks.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — The judge overseeing John Edwards' criminal trial has ordered a former speech writer for the two-time presidential candidate to turn over any drafts of books or articles involving him and other key players in his case.

Edwards' lawyers are seeking an extensive list of documents from Wendy Button, a 2008 campaign staffer expected to testify for the prosecution.

U.S. District Court Judge Catherine C. Eagles ruled Friday that Button did not have to turn over all communications with third parties including the media regarding Edwards, his former mistress Rielle Hunter or his ex-aide Andrew Young from 2009 to the present. Button also doesn't have to produce correspondence or proposals involving books and articles, or her postings on Facebook or other social media sites regarding Edwards during that time period. The judge put off ruling on the remainder of Button's motion to quash the subpoena.

(AP) — Prosecutors and defense lawyers in the John Edwards trial are poised to begin making their case to jurors on whether the former presidential candidate violated federal campaign finance laws.

Opening arguments are set to begin Monday morning inside the federal courthouse in Greensboro, N.C.

Edwards pleaded not guilty to six criminal counts related to nearly $1 million in secret payments from two wealthy supporters. Much of the money was used to hide the then-married politician's pregnant mistress during his 2008 campaign.

Prosecutors are expected to argue that Edwards sought and directed a conspiracy to conceal his affair to keep his presidential hopes alive. Edwards denies violating the law or even knowing about the payments, which his lawyers describe as gifts.

The trial is expected to last at least six weeks.

Police have called off a pond search in their search for a missing Fort Bragg soldier.

23 year old Kelli Bordeaux was last seen Saturday at a bar in Fayetteville.

Diver teams inspected the pond which is located 8 miles from the Froggy Bottoms bar after recieving a tip.

The search which was called of Thursday afternoon. Police have not said if they found anything.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will make a three-state swing next week to call on Congress to prevent interest rates on student loans from doubling.

The White House says Obama will speak at universities in North Carolina, Colorado and Iowa. All three are key general election battleground states.

College-aged voters are also a critical constituency for the Obama campaign.

The interest rate on a popular federally subsidized student loan will double in July unless Congress acts. The rate hike affects new subsidized Stafford loans, which are issued to low and middle income undergraduates.

While in North Carolina, Obama will also make his first appearance on NBC's "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" show. NBC says the show will tape a special broadcast Tuesday at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

HIGH POINT, N.C. (AP) _ North Carolina's governor is kicking off the world's largest furniture trade show with an announcement expected to mean hundreds of jobs.
 
       Gov. Beverly Perdue is visiting the High Point Market on Friday for a jobs announcement Involving Davie County, about 30 miles away.
 
       The News & Record reports Wisconsin-based Ashley Furniture Industries will announce more than 500 jobs. Ashley is both one of the country's largest home furniture manufacturers and store operators.
 
       Ashley Furniture President and CEO Todd Wanek did not respond to a message from The Associated Press seeking comment ahead of Perdue's news conference.
 
       State legislators said privately that tax breaks they approved last summer were aimed at attracting an Ashley furniture distribution center to Davie County that could grow to about 1,100 employees.

(AP) — Gov. Beverly Perdue has called on the embattled chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party to resign, adding her name to the list of party leaders seeking David Parker's departure.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Perdue said she had spoken with Parker several times and told him that he had lost the confidence of party leaders. She said she asked him to step aside for the good of the party.

Perdue said Democrats needed to return to focusing on their core issues and end the controversy, which has already led to the resignation of the party's executive director.

Jay Parmley resigned last Sunday. Earlier Tuesday, Parker reiterated he would not step down.

(AP) — The executive director of the North Carolina Democratic Party has resigned in the wake of frustrations by party activists over high turnover at the party headquarters and harassment allegations there.

Jay Parmley joined the party last year as its top administrator. The Associated Press on Sunday obtained a copy of his resignation letter in which Parmley vehemently denied harassing any party worker.

Party Chairman David Parker accepted the resignation and said he believes there have not been grounds to fire Parmley. Other party leaders have raised concerns after emails circulating within the media mentioned the allegations.

AP) — A North Carolina woman is recovering after a lifeguard truck ran over her on a South Florida beach.

Rinda Mizelle of Charlotte, N.C., says she was sunbathing on the beach Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale when she felt the Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue truck rolling across her body.

Mizelle tells the South Florida Sun Sentinel that she felt like "a human speed bump."

Police say lifeguards freed Mizelle from beneath the truck. Officials say the driver has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

Fire rescue spokesman Matt Little says Mizelle was treated at a hospital for minor injuries.

From her home in North Carolina, Mizelle told the newspaper that she suffered burns, cuts and orthopedic and neurological injuries. She has retained an attorney.

(AP) — Gov. Beverly Perdue is speaking out in urging voters to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment on next month's ballot that makes clear gay marriage and civil unions aren't recognized by the state of North Carolina.

Perdue's office released a video Thursday on YouTube in which the Democrat said the amendment could harm families and businesses in the state if it's approved May 8. She argued it's wrong to write discrimination into the constitution, no matter someone's religious or personal beliefs about same-sex relationships.

Perdue's office said she planned to hit on similar themes Friday at a Charlotte women's conference.

The governor announced her opposition to the amendment in October, a month after the Legislature agreed to put it on the ballot. A governor can't veto proposed amendments.

 (AP) — Masters champion Bubba Watson has his home in North Carolina up for sale.

(AP) — Two North Carolinians who turned their backs on their Mega Millions tickets after last month's $640 million jackpot drawing aren't walking away empty handed.

The North Carolina Education Lottery says Wylie A. Turner of Jacksonville left his tickets in his change jar until he picked up the newspaper four days later to find he'd won, Turner's ticket matched the five white balls drawn on March 30 and won $250,000.

Ronnie C. Richardson of Zebulon watched the drawing, saw that none of his tickets matched the Mega Ball number and went to bed. He returned to the store where he bought the tickets, and the owner told him to check again since another customer had won $250,000.

When Richardson checked, the terminal told him to claim his $250,000 at lottery headquarters.

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — Some soldiers are unhappy with Fort Bragg's Warrior Transition Battalion, saying its leaders wrongly accuse troops of faking illness or injury to prevent them from getting full military benefits.

The Fayetteville Observer reported about two dozen soldiers or family members spoke out about the battalion at a meeting Monday.

Nine soldiers indicated the military has accused them of faking illness or injury in an effort to receive some form of benefit.

A battalion inspection that the Fort Bragg commander ordered in February is scheduled to be released to the public by April 18. Lt. Col. Frank Helmick called for the inspection after hearing from Vickie Ray of Texas, who is helping the soldiers.

Ray says her organization of about 75 advocates wants to find legal representation for soldiers.

(Information courtesty of: The Fayetteville Observer, http://www.fayobserver.com)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A national report says North Carolina is one of five states to meet all quality benchmarks in its state-run prekindergarten program last year.

The report by Rutgers University's National Institute for Early Education Research says North Carolina's program met all of 10 of its benchmarks while spending $126 per child less than researchers estimated would be necessary.

Georgia, Alabama, Alaska and Rhode Island are the other states to meet all 10 benchmarks.

Thirty-nine states offer early-childhood education because studies have shown kids enrolled in quality programs do better academically, are less likely to spend time in prison later and make more money as adults.

A state report says the North Carolina Legislature's $32 million cut in state support led to nearly 6,200 fewer slots in prekindergarten as of October. The service is now available to less than 25,000 children, while about 67,000 children are eligible.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — As prom season starts, North Carolina Highway Patrol troopers are conducting an initiative to reduce the number of collisions and traffic deaths involving teenagers. Troopers are calling the initiative "Drive to Live" and will conduct it from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day this week. Troopers will be enforcing all traffic laws around schools and conducting traffic safety education programs at high schools before the end of the school year. Traffic crashes are the leading cause of deaths among teenagers in the country and in North Carolina.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Two conservative-leaning organizations are starting a tour of North Carolina communities to reinforce their advertising campaign designed to highlight what they call positive aspects of the Republican-developed state budget.

The Americans for Prosperity Foundation and John William Pope Civitas Institute planned to begin their "Real Solutions Road Tour" on Tuesday with stops in Burlington, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point and Lexington. Other stops were planned Wednesday and Thursday.

The effort features a mobile billboard that promotes a web site that includes information about the budget and the groups' television ad. The commercial says the current year's budget lowered taxes and hired more state-funded teachers, but Democrats say it doesn't mention the spending plan raised fees and led local school districts to eliminate teacher and teacher assistant positions.

(AP) — North Carolina Republicans have hired Donald Trump to speak at the party's state convention in June.

 (AP) — Raleigh police have arrested seven people who protested what they say are unfair economic practices by briefly occupying a home under foreclosure.

A few dozen protesters arrived at the home Monday morning and were watched by police, who spent several hours confirming who currently owns the home.

Authorities say once the new owner said no one should be in the home, officers gave warnings that arrests were imminent. Police say seven people were charged with trespassing when they didn't leave.

The protesters say the original homeowner gave them permission to be there and they felt police were heavy-handed by calling in a SWAT team.

Raleigh Police spokesman Jim Sughrue says any time officers fear someone may be barricaded inside a building, they call the SWAT team as a precaution

(AP) — Family members say that former state Sen. Bob Shaw has died at his home in Guilford County. He was 87 years old.

His wife, Linda, said Sunday that Shaw died Saturday night after being in declining health since October. She says Shaw suffered from dementia.

Shaw served in the Senate for 18 years, beginning in 1984, and spent some of that time as the minority leader. Before that, he was chairman of the state Republican Party. He also served on the Guilford County Commission, both as chair and vice chair.

In addition to his wife, survivors include two daughters, two stepchildren, five grandchildren and two step-grandchildren.

Forbis and Dick Funeral Services is handling arrangements. Linda Shaw says funeral services are incomplete.

 (AP) — North Carolina's environmental agency is checking on how much of the industrial contaminant PCB is in the Yadkin River but doesn't yet know if it poses a human health risk.

The Dispatch of Lexington reports the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources is testing locations popular for fishing and boating in four lakes along the river. Alcoa Inc. dammed the river to power a now-closed aluminum smelter.

DENR's Dexter Matthews says final study results could be a year away.

Alcoa is seeking to cover a three-acre section of the Badin Lake bottom near the defunct smelter to keep PCBs there from moving. The company says the sediments are no risk to humans.

Officials have posted signs warning that catfish and large-mouth bass had elevated PCB levels.

UNC Chapel Hill sees record number of applicants

 (AP) — Even with the state of the economy making many families think twice about the cost of college, a record number of students are trying to get into America's first public university.

The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill reports that it has offered admission to nearly 7,600 students, from a pool of nearly 29,500 applicants.

That's an increase of 24 percent over last year, and the largest number of applicants in the school's history.

The university expects that just under 4,000 students will ultimately enroll at Chapel Hill this fall, with more than 3,200 coming from North Carolina and about 700 from elsewhere.

Applications from both North Carolina residents and out-of-state students increased this year, with more than 19,000 applications coming from another state or country.

NC governor candidate McCrory respects Romney

(AP) — The leading Republican candidate for North Carolina governor says it's time for Republicans to focus upon defeating President Barack Obama — rather than upon each other — after Mitt Romney swept three presidential primaries earlier this week.

Former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory told The Charlotte Observer on Wednesday the former Massachusetts governor "would make an excellent president" but stopped short of telling other GOP presidential hopefuls to drop out.

McCrory said he hasn't yet endorsed Romney but has a great deal of respect for him. The pair served on a federal homeland security advisory council during President George W. Bush's administration.

North Carolina's presidential preference primary is May 8 — the same day McCrory is on the ballot as one of six GOP candidates seeking the gubernatorial nomination.

(AP) — The North Carolina counties where people are in the best physical shape are also the ones where people tend to be in the best financial shape.

A new report released Tuesday shows that Wake, Orange, Union, Mecklenburg and Dare are the state's healthiest when it comes to factors like how long people live and how they feel. The counties also rank high in individual health factors like obesity rates and physical activity.

The least healthy counties when it comes to health outcomes are Columbus, Robeson, Halifax, Bladen and Edgecombe. The state Department of Commerce says those five are among the states with the most economic distress.

The report was compiled by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Two people have been killed after a rally to honor Vietnam veterans at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Authorities say two motorcycles crashed into each other at the track at around 5 p.m. Sunday.

The crash happened shortly after a gathering that attracted thousands of people attended a day-long Vietnam Veterans Homecoming Celebration. The free event was sponsored by the USO of North Carolina, the N.C. Association of Broadcasters and the Speedway. Three people were hurt in the collision.

All were rushed to hospitals, and police say both drivers died a short time later. Police have not released any of the people's names, but authorities have said none were from the Charlotte area.

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (AP) — The warmer weather is causing apple blossoms to appear early in western North Carolina, raising concerns that a late season freeze could damage the blossoms.

The Times-News of Hendersonville reported that Henderson County Cooperative Extension Service Director Marvin Owings, and the blossoms are appearing two to three weeks earlier than usual.

Pink ladies, braeburns, Granny Smith and red delicious varieties are in bloom. Owings is encouraging people to take advantage of the self-guided Spring Apple Blossom and Fall Harvest trails that showcase the county's apple orchards.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Facebook co-founder and North Carolina native Chris Hughes is coming back to his home state, where he's scheduled to give a talk on how social media has transformed the state of communications

Hughes will be at North Carolina State University's Stewart Theater on Monday to give the Harrelson Lecture.

It was announced recently that the Hickory native is buying a majority stake in The New Republic, a magazine founded nearly a century ago. The 28-year-old will serve as the magazine's publisher and editor-in-chief.

After helping Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskowitz start Facebook in 2004, Hughes joined Barack Obama's presidential campaign in 2007.

He later founded Jumo.com, a social network to connect nonprofits with people who want to help them. Jumo was acquired by Good, another platform for nonprofits.

PITTSBORO, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina county is reviewing a high-pressure drilling technique that could unleash jobs and profits but carries pollution risks.

Chatham County hosts the public information session on oil and gas exploration Monday night in Pittsboro. The forum is intended to inform residents who live in areas where some land has already been leased for future natural gas drilling.

Opponents packed two earlier hearings on hydraulic fracturing in Sanford and Chapel Hill.

Fracturing involves injecting a drilled well with water, chemicals and sand to crack shale rock and free trapped gas.

The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources set a deadline for Monday to receive public comments on its study released last month saying that it's possible for fracking to be done safely if lawmakers adopt the right precautions.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — A federal judge is giving gun-rights advocates a limited victory after they challenged North Carolina's law banning gun possession in public during a declared emergency.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports that Judge Malcolm Howard upheld the state law while limiting the state's power to a ban guns except at the owner's own home.

Howard says while the state has a compelling interest in public safety and crime prevention, the riot control law passed in 1969 goes too far in restricting the constitutional right to gun ownership.

The ruling closes a lawsuit by gun owners from Stokes, Beaufort and Craven counties, and two gun-rights groups. Howard ruled that the state law can't apply to them.

North Carolina can appeal the ruling.

(Information from: Winston-Salem Journal, http://www.journalnow.com)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) _ Pat McCrory is getting help from another national Republican to raise money for his gubernatorial campaign in North Carolina.
 
McCrory's campaign said former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will headline a fundraiser for the leading Republican candidate for governor April 30 at a Raleigh restaurant.
 
McCrory has benefited from fundraising appearances by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal in recent months.
 
Campaign spokesman Brian Nick said Friday that McCrory worked with Bush and a foundation that Bush founded on a public schools platform that the former Charlotte mayor rolled out this week. Nick says the collaboration will continue.

RALEIGH — North Carolina gained 8,300 jobs over-the-month and the state’s unemployment rate decreased to 9.9 in February, down 0.3 of a percentage point from a revised January rate of 10.2 percent.

“North Carolina continues to gain jobs,” said N.C. Department of Commerce Deputy Secretary Dale Carroll. “The state has gained 112,000 jobs over the past two years. Growing jobs in North Carolina continues to be Gov. Perdue’s focus. Assisting people to find work through our employment services offices throughout the state continues to be a priority.”

Seasonally adjusted total nonfarm industry employment, as gathered through the monthly establishment survey increased to 3,962,400 in February. Since February 2011, total nonfarm jobs gained 47,000 jobs and the private sector showed an increase of 44,200 jobs. The largest over the year gain in Trade, Transportation & Utilities which increased 11,700 jobs and the second largest increase occurred in Education & Health Services which was up 10,900.

It is important to note that industry employment estimates are subject to large seasonal patterns. While seasonal adjustment factors are applied to the data, these factors may not be fully capturing the seasonal trend. Therefore, when interpreting the industry employment changes it is advisable to focus on over-the-year changes in both the seasonally adjusted series and the not seasonally adjusted series.

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina's Democratic Party and a former state senator are apologizing for 2010 campaign ads that wrongly accused the Republican winner of dealing drugs while in college.

Democrats and former Sen. A.B. Swindell say their mailings and radio ads in the eastern North Carolina district were based on Watauga County court records that described the 1990 arrest but did not include a later letter from prosecutors dismissing the charge. Republican state Sen. Eldon "Buck" Newton says he's satisfied with the apology and is dropping his defamation lawsuit.

Newton says the letter from prosecutors shows he was innocent of the charges made in their campaign advertisements. Newton defeated Swindell in 2010 and now represents the district covering Wilson and Nash counties, which had been reliably Democratic for at least 20 years.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Organizers hope thousands of veterans and their families will attend an event honoring Vietnam Veterans at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The Vietnam Veterans Homecoming Celebration is being hosted today by the USO of North Carolina and features live entertainment.

Organizers have handed out approximately 85,000 free tickets, and veterans can still get tickets today.

For ticket information CLICK HERE

Spokeswoman Debby Robinson says veteran service organizations will be there to provide assistance to veterans looking for help on a wide range of issues.

Millions of U.S. troops — including 216,000 from North Carolina — served in the Vietnam War. More than 58,000 U.S. soldiers were killed in Vietnam, including 1,600 from North Carolina.

When they returned, soldiers were not honored like the troops in other wars.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina public school officials are overriding a requirement for 185 classroom days after local school districts complained about the extra costs to operate buses and buildings.

State Schools Superintendent June Atkinson said Tuesday that school districts estimated it could cost them about $14 million. She approved exemptions for all but about two dozen of the state's 115 school districts.

School leaders also said since the extra days would be taken out of time allotted for teacher preparation, it would displace needed training time before a statewide course of study starting out next fall.

The General Assembly last summer voted to extend the calendar while preserving a state law requiring a 10-week summer vacation.

(Information in the following story is from: Winston-Salem Journal, http://www.journalnow.com)

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Winston-Salem officials are determined to sell two city-owned sports arenas to universities in town.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports city officials say they'll aggressively pursue negotiations with Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem State University about selling Joel Coliseum and Bowman Gray Stadium.

Assistant city manager Martha Wheelock says neither school has made a written purchase offer, but each has expressed interest. Wheelock says the city would save about $1.6 million a year in operating costs and debt payments by selling the buildings.

Wake Forest plays its basketball games in Joel Coliseum, which has been appraised at about $37 million. Bowman Gray Stadium hosts Winston-Salem State football games in the fall and stock car races each Saturday through the spring and summer. It's valued at about $10 million.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina's environmental agency says someone is trying to confuse the public about its recent report saying a natural gas drilling technique can be safe with the right precautions.

News reporters on Tuesday received a fake email from a nonexistent group claiming the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources is revising its hydraulic fracturing report and issuing an apology. The email's sender could not be identified through two commercially available email tracing services.

Agency spokeswoman Diana Kees says the email is a fraud and the agency is standing behind the report it was scheduled to explain at a second public hearing Tuesday in Chapel Hill.

Supporters say allowing fracking would generate jobs, while opponents say it leads to polluted water and air.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Republican House Speaker Thom Tillis is standing by a prediction that the proposed amendment to the North Carolina Constitution banning same-sex marriage will be approved by voters, only to be reversed within a generation.

Opponents of the ban have seized on Tillis' comments, which were made Monday before a student group at North Carolina State University and first reported by Technician, the campus newspaper.

Tillis was quoted as predicting the amendment will pass with about 54 percent of the vote, but will be repealed within 20 years because young people are more supportive of marriage rights for same sex couples.

Tillis spokesman Jordan Shaw confirmed the speaker's comments were accurately reported. Shaw said Tillis still supports the GOP-backed measure, which he voted to put on the May 8 primary ballot.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A Michigan State University law professor says she couldn't find anything in her data other than race to explain why potential black jurors are rejected more than twice as often by prosecutors for North Carolina death penalty trials compared to whites.

Barbara O'Brien spoke Tuesday to a House committee examining how to make changes to the 2009 Racial Justice Act, which allows a judge to decide whether race played a significant factor in someone's death sentence. The judge can reduce the sentence to life in prison.

O'Brien testified earlier this year at the first such Racial Justice Act hearing in Fayetteville and presented the study she co-authored examining cases involving all 173 people on death row in 2010. A judge has yet to rule in the case of Marcus Robinson.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel says dissolvable tobacco products could reduce health risks compared with smoking cigarettes but also have the potential to increase the number of tobacco users.

Dissolvable tobacco is finely milled tobacco pressed into shapes like tablets that slowly dissolve in a user's mouth.

Despite its findings, the panel noted that there's a lack of research on the products. They make up a small share of the market.

Tobacco companies are focusing on cigarette alternatives for future sales growth as demand for cigarettes declines.

The FDA plans to review the findings to decide any future actions, but there's no timeline for it to act.

The report posted online ahead of a Friday deadline was mandated by the law giving the FDA authority over the industry.

MORGANTON, N.C. (AP) A Hickory woman accused of killing a father and son riding a motorcycle has been indicted on charges of second-degree murder. A grand jury handed up the indictment against Amie Jo Skeens this month.

Investigators say Skeens crashed into two motorcycles last October, killing 19-year-old Kevin Moody and his father, 42-year-old Stephen Moody. The men were together on one motorcycle; two other people were injured. Police say Skeens drove away but was later arrested.

Court documents state she initially denied being behind the wheel, saying "crackhead zombies" were driving the van instead. She's scheduled to appear in court April 30. She's currently being held in jail on a $145,000 bond. A call to her lawyer wasn't immediately returned.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Former Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain is traveling to North Carolina to rally his party's faithful and raise money for a Triangle-area congressional candidate.

Cain is the scheduled keynote speaker Thursday night at the Wake County Republican Party convention being held at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds. Earlier in the day, he'll  set to speak on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and appear at a lunch fundraiser for Bill Randall of Wake Forest, who is running in the 13th Congressional District primary.

Cain is the former chief executive officer of Godfather's Pizza who moved ahead in the Republican presidential polls last year, then suspended his campaign amid allegations of sexual misconduct he called false. Cain threw his primary support to Newt Gingrich.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) The image of slain University of North Carolina Chapel Hill student body president Eve Carson has turned up in an unlikely place: adorning billboards in southern India.

Carson's picture is being used to advertise a company called Jubeerich Consultancy, which offers study opportunities and job placements in Western countries. It's not clear how the company came across the photo of the Athens, Ga. native, who was abducted, robbed and killed March 5, 2008.

Two men — Laurence Lovette Jr. and Demario Atwater — are serving life sentences for Carson's death.

The company did not respond to emails seeking comment, and a woman who answered the phone declined to give her name but said she had not seen the billboards.

SALISBURY, N.C. (AP) Police in Salisbury are looking for the rare thief who's apparently eager to go to prison.  Someone broke into the Piedmont Correctional Institution, stole copper from an air conditioning unit and escaped. The theft was discovered Monday morning.

Salisbury Police Capt. Sheila Lingle says no arrests have been made. Investigators think the thief climbed a fence at the minimum-security prison and dismantled the air conditioner, which is valued at $3,000.

The theft was discovered after authorities found pieces of insulation on both sides of the fence. There's no security camera footage showing that section of fence when the break-in likely took place

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Fans of "The Hunger Games" are already turning up in North Carolina, seeking out places where the movie was shot, from old-growth forests to an abandoned mill town.

And the tourism industry is prepared to cash in on them, with everything from hotel packages and zip lines tours, to re-enactments of scenes from the film and lessons in survival skills.

The movie, which opens this weekend and is expected to be a box office smash, is based on a best-selling book about a post-apocalyptic world where teenagers compete to the death in fighting games.

It was filmed entirely in North Carolina, from the mountains, to Charlotte, to the abandoned Henry River Mill Village.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Opponents of a proposed North Carolina toll road want the project to go back to the drawing board.

They appeared Wednesday before a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond. The coalition of environmental groups claims U.S. District Judge James Dever III erred when he ruled in October that the Monroe Bypass project can go forward.

The $800 million, 20-mile toll road east of Charlotte is intended to ease congestion on U.S. 74.

The plaintiffs contend the project would harm water quality and wildlife habitat in the Yadkin River watershed. They argued that an environmental impact study was faulty and planners ignored other solutions to fixing the traffic problem.

A ruling is expected in a few weeks.

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Police are searching for suspects who vandalized the famous Duke Gardens, breaking dozens of pots and damaging a sculpture.

Authorities in Durham say the vandalism occurred sometime over the weekend, with about 40 terra cotta pots imported from Italy being damaged. A sculpture in one of the park's fountains was also damaged along with a sign.

The Sarah P. Duke Gardens, which dates to the 1930s, is one of the university's most famous features. The 55-acre attraction draws more than 300,000 visitors a year.

William LeFevre says the extent of the damage is still being tallied, but that officials expect it to cost thousands of dollars.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams says his team's "preparation is 100 percent" to play without Kendall Marshall.

The Tar Heels point guard is recovering from Monday's surgery on his broken right wrist and his status remains up in the air for the Midwest Regional semifinal against Ohio on Friday night in St. Louis.

The left-handed sophomore was injured when he was fouled on a drive in the second half of Sunday's tournament victory over Creighton.

The 31-5 Tar Heels are the region's No. 1 seed.

RAEFORD, N.C. (AP) — The Hoke County school system is defending the way it handled a controversy over students' lunches that drew national attention.

The county school board on Monday released documents relating to the incident, including the letter of resignation written by Margaret Maynor, the pre-kindergarten teacher at the center of the dispute.

Three 4-year-olds in Maynor's class got cafeteria meals after the teacher said their homemade lunches failed to meet federal dietary guidelines. Maynor resigned after being suspended.

Hoke education officials say Maynor should have supplemented the children's packed lunches with additional items.

The district's lawyer says she was not suspended for the lunch incident, but because she gave contradictory and inaccurate statements about the situation to administrators.

A call to a telephone listing for Maynor was not immediately returned Tuesday.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The North Carolina Court of Appeals has unanimously upheld a state ban on smoking inside bars and restaurants.

The ruling filed Tuesday strikes down a lower court ruling in which a Pitt County judge agreed with the owners of four Greenville nightclubs that the state's 2009 smoking ban violated the equal protection clause of the United States Constitution because private country clubs were exempted.

Appeals Judge Linda Stephens wrote that the wording of the state ban creates distinct categories of social clubs, providing clear guidance on where indoor smoking is prohibited. The judge said private golf, yachting or racquet clubs can be easily distinguished from bars and restaurants.

Since the three judge appeals panel was unanimous, it is unlikely the state Supreme Court will take up the case.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A leading public employee group in North Carolina will not endorse a candidate for governor in the Democratic primary. The North Carolina Association of Educators officially will stay out of the May primary race. Teachers' group executive director Scott Anderson said the group's reluctance can be attributed to the shorter primary race and the lack of time to complete the endorsement process. Anderson said several Democratic candidates are acceptable to the lobbying group. The group endorsed Gov. Beverly Perdue in the 2008 Democratic primary. She is not seeking re-election. A political committee of the State Employees Association of North Carolina also has not endorsed a primary candidate. Association leader Dana Cope says the panel could do so when it meets March 31.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina county is suing some of the country's biggest banks and a private mortgage registration system to force them to correct shortcuts that could create legal trouble for thousands of homeowners.

Guilford County registrar of deeds Jeff Thigpen said Wednesday the lawsuit aims to force more than two dozen mortgage and financial companies to clean up the problems they created in public property records.

The problem involves several shortcuts known collectively as "robo-signing" of mortgage documents used to prove banks have the right to foreclose if the homeowner isn't making mortgage payments.

Local officials in North Carolina, Massachusetts, Illinois and Michigan said last year they found suspect mortgage documents dating back more than a decade affecting thousands of properties.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Legislature's fiscal watchdog agency says there's still room to pare down the dozens of aircraft in North Carolina's fleet, including a high-end helicopter often used to ferry company executives looking to build in the state.

The Program Evaluation Division released a report Wednesday that recommends the Department of Transportation eliminate a seven-seat Sikorsky helicopter that flew just 66 hours during 2011, for an average cost of $8,500 per hour. The Department of Commerce used the helicopter about half the time for things like business recruitment.

The report authors said the helicopter could be sold and a less expensive aircraft purchased that could be shared with the Highway Patrol and used by the Department of Commerce, too.

The state's aviation fleet has declined by more than 25 percent since 2009.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — An effort to have a bridge named after a fallen Asheville firefighter is gaining support online, where almost 6,000 people have signed a petition in favor of the honor.

The Asheville Fire Fighters Association is sponsoring the drive to name the Smoky Park Bridge after Capt. Jeff Bowen, who died while fighting a fire in an office building in July.

The state Board of Transportation has had a practice of not naming bridges or roads after city or county employees because local governments can honor those workers. Transportation Department spokeswoman Greer Beaty said Wednesday that a board committee will re-examine the practice at the next meeting in April.

She says the committee also will examine an earlier decision to not name the bridge after Bowen.

HOPE MILLS, N.C. (AP) The Army's Special Forces Command is releasing more information about the Green Beret who died trying to save his two daughters from their burning North Carolina home.

The elite military force says 36-year-old Chief Warrant Officer Edward Cantrell was born in Dyersburg, Tenn., and joined the Army in 1994 as a military policeman. He served in South Korea, Bosnia and Italy before earning his Green Beret in 2004 at Fort Bragg and buying his family home in Hope Mills.

An overnight fire Tuesday at the home trapped Cantrell's 6-year-old and 4-year-old daughters. He ran into the burning building in a failed attempt to save his children.

Cantrell's wife survived.

A charity is collecting donations through the Army Special Operations Command's Facebook page.

 ALBEMARLE, N.C. (AP) The North Carolina father who retaliated for his teenage daughter's Facebook outburst by shooting her laptop has a surprise.

Tommy Jordan told 15-year-old Hannah on Wednesday he saved the computer's hard drive where her photos and other data were stored before emptying nine shots into the computer and recording it on video.

Jordan, his wife Amy and their daughter said on NBC's ``Today'' show that the video's 31 million YouTube views has added scrutiny on their lives, a lesson for anyone online.

The Albemarle father and daughter say they both overreacted to family strife by sharing their domestic tit-for-tat online.

Tommy Jordan says despite what he showed the world last month, he has a great daughter who remains grounded and has no a laptop to replace the one he destroyed.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - A former aide to Gov. Beverly Perdue has pleaded not guilty to charges over secret salary payments received while working on the Democrat's campaign.

Juleigh Sitton of Morganton entered a written plea Monday through her lawyer in Wake County Superior Court. She did not appear before the judge.

Sitton is a lawyer who resigned last year as director of the governor's Western Office. She has been a paid fundraiser for Perdue's 2008 campaign.

Sitton was indicted on two felony charges in November, accused of accepting $32,000 in unreported salary payments from illegal campaign donations. Former Perdue fundraising chairman Peter Reichard of Greensboro pleaded guilty in December to funneling the secret payments to Sitton through his company.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The state of North Carolina has paid several times as much on outside attorneys hired by Republican legislative leaders to advise on and defend redistricting maps compared to what was spent on outside counsel in the previous round of redistricting.

The General Assembly released Monday records showing outside legal costs paid so far are $695,000, compared to $131,500 during the last decade. The records were released following public records requests by multiple media outlets.

Redistricting leaders at the Legislature defended the costs in a news release, saying money was well spent because the boundaries have held up so far in court and will be used for this year's elections.

Democratic Party Chairman David Parker said Republicans used taxpayer money excessively to promote an agenda that targets minority voters and women.

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) North Carolina law enforcement agencies are applying a new state law that allows authorities to confiscate vehicles that try to elude officers.

New Hanover County agencies have seized 10 vehicles since the law took effect in December.

The law directs authorities to impound vehicles if a driver is charged with felony fleeing to elude arrest. If the driver is found guilty, the car is auctioned off and the profit goes to the local school system. Vehicles are returned if the suspect is found innocent.

Pender County Sheriff Carson Smith says although the law is new, he hopes it will get the attention of motorists not to flee a flashing police light since high-speed pursuits are very dangerous.

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) -- Fort Bragg officials say a $55 million complex for the Warrior Transition Battalion will be able to provide better care and treatment for physically wounded and mentally impaired soldiers.
      

Fort Bragg commanders led a tour Friday of the Army post's new complex. They then gave an update of an investigation that began last month into the battalion.  The results are expected to be presented to Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, commander of 18th Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, by April 1.
      

The investigation began in mid-February, after an advocacy group told Helmick that some soldiers in the battalion believed they are being overmedicated, poorly treated and unfairly discharged.
      

The complex is scheduled to open by the end of April.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) A North Carolina family is counting their blessings after three children ripped from their beds by a tornado are back home after hospital treatment.

Latonya Stevens says her 7-year-old son Jamal was sucked from his room as a tornado tore apart the family home's second floor where he slept. It was one of nearly 200 homes damaged by the storm in Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties.

A neighbor found Jamal about 100 feet away, tossed to the far side of a fence along Interstate 485.

His 3-year-old sister Amber and 4-year-old Ayanna were released from a hospital on Sunday. Amber was found in her home's yard under some debris. Ayanna landed in a neighbor's yard.

All three children have bruises and scars, but no broken bones.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Organizers hope thousands of veterans and their families will attend an event honoring Vietnam Veterans at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The Vietnam Veterans Homecoming Celebration is being hosted Saturday by the USO of North Carolina and features live entertainment.

Spokeswoman Debby Robinson says organizers have handed out 60,000 free tickets. She says veterans can still get tickets the day of the event.

For ticket information CLICK HERE

Robinson says veteran service organizations will be there to provide assistance to veterans looking for help on a wide range of issues.

Millions of U.S. troops — including 216,000 from North Carolina — served in the Vietnam War. More than 58,000 U.S. soldiers were killed in Vietnam, including 1,600 from North Carolina.

When they returned, soldiers were not honored like the troops in other wars.

HIGH POINT, N.C. — Rich Brenner, a FOX8 sports anchor for nearly 21 years, has died.

Rich, a major part of the FOX8 Family for decades, died of a heart attack Monday night, according to his wife, Judy. He was 65 years old.

Rich was attending the American Red Cross’s second annual “Salute to Heroes” event at the Carolina Theatre in Greensboro when he collapsed. Paramedics at the event were unable to revive Rich, and he was pronounced dead at Moses Cone Hospital.

Rich, who covered everything from NASCAR and the Panthers to the ACC and high school sports, joined FOX8 in 1987. He retired in April 2008.

For more on the story, visit our friends at Fox 8.

check out the burning bus video here...

(AP) — North Carolina school officials are telling all 115 school districts to perform special inspections after a Charlotte school bus burst into flames seconds after children escaped.

The state Department of Public Instruction says an investigation of the fire two weeks ago found that the wires on the bus had worn, possibly causing an electric short-circuit and the fire.

Officials think the problem may exist on other Thomas Built Buses received by schools in 1998 and 1999.

State school officials say while Thomas Built Buses is completing a more detailed report on the Charlotte bus fire, local transportation officials should inspect their school buses delivered about 13 years ago for similar wiring issues.

Nearly 14,000 school buses transport North Carolina’s 1.5 million public school students.

From our friends at the Fayetteville Observer... 

FAYETTEVILLE — A former Fayetteville resident is accused of embezzling meatballs and anchovy dip from his employer.

Anthony Robert McDaniel, 47, of the 5700 block of McDougal Drive, was charged Wednesday with a single count of embezzlement after returning from Texas to voluntarily surrender, according to court documents.

The charges allege that McDaniel did "fraudulently misapply and convert to his own use meatballs, corn on the cob, anchovy dip and trout whiting filet." The total loss was about $208, according to the charges.

The alleged thefts took place between March 25, 2009 and April 24, 2009, when McDaniel was an employee of the Skibo Skillet, a now-defunct eatery at 1992 Skibo Road near Cliffdale Road.

McDaniel was released on $10,000 bail.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) _ State Rep. Larry Womble says he won't run for re-election to the North Carolina General Assembly this year because he's still recovering from a December wreck.

The Forsyth County Democrat made the announcement by telephone Tuesday to a crowd at a news conference at the county's government center.

The 70-year-old Womble has served in the House since 1995. He's known for pushing legislation to help victims of the state-supported forced sterilization of thousands of people in the 20th century and for the 2009 Racial Justice Act.

Womble's friend and fellow Rep. Earline Parmon said Womble has been told he should fully recover from the head-on collision that killed the other driver. No charges have been filed.

Parmon also announced Tuesday she's running for an open state Senate seat.

(AP) North Carolina officials are urging people who have to be out on the road to use caution in advance of some winter weather.

The state Department of Transportation says conditions on Sunday could get tricky, especially in the western and central regions of the state where rain, sleet or snow are possible.

A winter weather advisory is in effect until 9 a.m. Monday. Forecasters say mountain areas could see several inches of accumulation.

Even in areas where temperatures will be too high for that, the weather could be nasty. The National Weather Service says there's a chance of heavy rain and flooding, especially in low-lying and coastal areas.

The U.S. Coast Guard is also warning inexperienced sailors to stay out of the water on Sunday, citing multiple gale warnings.

from our friends at FOX 8...

FOX announced Thursday THE X FACTOR will hold auditions in Greensboro on May 1.

The world’s only $5 million audition will begin online auditions at TheXFactorUSA.com on March 1st. Open call auditions start March 14 in Kansas City.

On March 22, auditions will be held in Austin, Texas. On April 20, auditions will be held in San Francisco. Auditions in Greensboro will be held May 1 at the Greensboro Coliseum.

THE X FACTOR is expanding its audition process to reach more singers than any talent show ever before in its search to find the best new solo artists and vocal groups in America. In addition and new for Season Two, artists with pre-existing management contracts can now audition (subject to limited restrictions).

The X FACTOR season two winner will receive a $5 million recording contract with Sony Music.

Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid will return as judges to THE X FACTOR this fall on FOX.  Additional judges to be announced.

“We wanted to change a few things this year, so starting with the auditions, we’ve torn up the rulebook again. Even if you have management you can still enter, and we are making it easier by extending the online auditions and taking the MyStudio booths to even more cities. You can enter as many times as you want and come to any of the cities, too. We’re here to discover stars from all music styles including groups.  I really believe a group can win this show!” – Simon Cowell, judge and mentor, THE X FACTOR.

He's a former Wake Forest Demon Deacon.. a former West Forsyth High School Grad... and he's an NBA standout. But why is Chris Paul grinning ear-to-ear right now? He's a part of this year's edition of Sports Illustrated's annual swimsuit issue. Paul strikes a pose with one-time cover girl Bar Rafaeli...

See the photos here.

View more videos at: http://nbcdfw.com.

The family of a Hoke County four-year-old is upset.  The child's grandmother says the girl had a turkey sandwich, a banana, potato chips, and apple juice packed for lunch at school. 

At state official inspected the food and insisted that the four-year-old needed chicken nuggets to add nutritional value... which the girl was then charged for. 

The Carolina Journal reports the decision was made in accordance with regulations that require pre-kindergarteners to have lunches that meed USDA guidelines. 

"After 20 years of service on the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, I am announcing that I will not seek re-election in 2012. It has been my privilege and honor to represent the residents of District 8 and serve the citizens of Guilford County since 1992.

As a Commissioner, I have been committed to promoting diverse and inclusive government in all areas of Guilford County and I truly believe I have made a difference in those areas. I want to thank the staff and my colleagues for their dedication to the betterment of this County.

It was the trust and confidence of my fellow Commissioners that allowed me to proudly serve as the first African-American Chairman of the Board of Commissioners in 2002 and serve four additional terms as Chairman.

As Chairman, I reached across party lines to bring greater civility to the Board to move this County forward. I am confident Guilford County will continue to be progressive and provide our citizens efficient, effective service.

In the future, I plan to continue to work to promote Guilford County and look forward to serving my community in other capacities."

Ray Stagic with the Weather Channel says it's a possibility, and it could make your drive into work or school tomorrow morning a little slippery.  But temperatures will rise into the 50's tomorrow, so there's no possibility of any kind of accumulation.

Stay with Rush Radio 94-5 for real-time updates if the weather causes any problems tomorrow.

The North Carolina Supreme Court is set to hear the case of a Charlotte man who is fighting a $14,000 hospital bill he calls inflated.

The high court will hear Robert Talford's argument Monday that a hospital should have to prove at a trial that it is reasonable to charge up to 24 times more than a local pharmacy for medications.

The North Carolina Hospital Association and big hospital groups based in Durham, Asheville, Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Raleigh want the court to rule against Talford and let them collect without a trial.

Lawyers for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority say comparing the cost of drugs is like complaining that bottled water costs $6 at a Carolina Panthers football game and 99 cents at a grocery store.

(AP) Some residents in Burlington are complaining to the city about what they say is a church making some not-so-joyful noise.

Neighbors of the Faith Builders International Church brought their complaints to the city council this week.

They say the noise of singing and musical instruments happens four to seven days a week, sometimes as late as 11:30 p.m.

Burlington Police Capt. Eric Kerns says police have responded to 43 noise complaints about the church since October. Some residents told council members they're moving to quieter neighborhoods.

The church's pastor could not be immediately reached for comment. But Kerns says the church has built a noise-reducing partition around its drum set in hopes of making worship services quieter.

(AP) Freshman Austin Rivers buried a 3-pointer at the horn to give No. 10 Duke an 85-84 win over No. 5 North Carolina on Wednesday night.

Rivers scored a season-high 29 points and hit six 3s, though the last will certainly live on in the lore on the fierce rivalry.

With the Blue Devils (20-4, 7-2) trailing by two, Rivers launched a 3 over 7-footer Tyler Zeller from the right wing. The ball swished through the net, sending Rivers running down the court in celebration while the rest of his teammates gave chase before mobbing him in front of a stunned UNC crowd.

Rivers' 3 capped a wild rally for the Blue Devils, who trailed by 10 points with about 2 minutes left.

Harrison Barnes scored 25 points for the Tar Heels (20-4, 7-2), while Zeller finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds. But Zeller missed a free throw with 13.9 seconds left, setting up Rivers' winning shot.

A new Public Policy Poll shows more North Carolina voters cheering for the Tar Heels during tonight's UNC-Duke basketball game. The poll found that 41 percent looking for a UNC win Wednesday, while only 31 percent will be pulling for Duke.

To see the entire poll results, click here.

(AP) Kendall Marshall has made himself fifth-ranked North Carolina's most irreplaceable player.

The sophomore point guard is second nationally in assists, averaging 9.8 assists per game. He's been the perfect floor leader for coach Roy Williams' fast-paced attack, leading the Tar Heels in transition with his see-everything court vision and precise passing.

He'll need to be on his game for the Tar Heels heading into Wednesday's rivalry game with No. 10 Duke.

It was about this time a year ago that Marshall took over as the starter. The Tar Heels have gone 37-6 with him since, though they have little depth behind him after losing junior Dexter Strickland to a season-ending knee injury last month.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski says Marshall ``orchestrates'' the Tar Heels' offense very well, particularly in transition.

(AP) The North Carolina Court of Appeals has upheld a judge's ruling that ordered a state trooper who was fired for kicking his dog to be reinstated with back pay.

The court ruled Tuesday that Wake County Superior Court Judge James Hardin was correct when he determined two years ago that the Highway Patrol improperly fired Sgt. Charles Jones.

Jones was dismissed in 2007 on the orders of then-Gov. Mike Easley after video clips surfaced showing the trooper hoisting his canine partner off the ground and kicking him five times.

Hardin ruled that Jones' actions were no worse than the Highway Patrol's accepted methods of training dogs for police service.

Officials at the state Department of Crime Control and Public Safety did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(AP)  A Belmont man has been arrested and charged with stabbing his girlfriend over the taste of a steak dinner.

37-year-old Michael William Nivens of Belmont was charged Monday with assault with a deadly weapon. He's being held in the county jail without bond.

It couldn't be immediately determined early Tuesday if he has a lawyer.

Investigators say Nivens woke his girlfriend after she went to bed Monday and told her the steak he had eaten for dinner earlier tasted different from hers. They say Nivens then stabbed her in the forehead, sliced her neck and slashed two of her fingers.

Police say Nivens called them and told them he had assaulted his girlfriend.

She was treated and released from a local hospital.

If you've been looking for a way to help out your community, Second Harvest Food Bank in Winston-Salem is looking for volunteers. The call for more food donations was answered, so the shelves are full of canned goods ready to be distributed. 

But now the organization needs people to help fill the bags.  You can volunteer for a whole day, or for an hour.. it doesn't matter.. the organization needs whatever help you can give them. Call Second Harvest at (336) 784-5770. 

(AP) North Carolina now offers a phone application that allows people to find out if sex offenders live near them and their children.

The Department of Justice on Monday released a free mobile application that utilizes the GPS mapping feature built into the Apple iPhone and iPad to show the names, photos and homes of registered sex offenders living nearby.

Users can search for offenders within a 1, 3 or 5-mile radius of their present location and receive alerts whenever a registered offender moves in nearby.

The state's sex offender registry is already available on-line, but Attorney General Roy Cooper said the new app will provide critical safety information to families on the go. There was no word on whether a similar app will be released for Android users.

You can download the app through iTunes® or go download it here.

from the Winston-Salem Journal

A popular East Forsyth High School coach and a school police officer were recorded confronting a 15-year-old student in a profanity-laden tirade that included threats to financially ruin the boy's family because he questioned how many texts the men sent to a 16-year-old female student.

The coach, Mike Muse, says in the Jan. 19 recording that he texted the girl only because he was concerned about her grades. In the recording, Kernersville Police Officer James Deeney warns the boy that a student who accused another popular East Forsyth teacher of sexual misconduct couldn't return to campus because other students would beat him up.

Muse told the Winston-Salem Journal on Wednesday that he spoke in anger and has apologized and been disciplined. Deeney declined to comment.

Read the rest of the details on this story at the Winston-Salem Journal.

Officials in Lexington are putting the "hog" in Groundhog Day. A pot-bellied pig named "Miss Charlotte" takes on the challenge of forecasting the weather when the city celebrates "Groundhawg's Day" Lexington is famous for its pigs, usually in the form of pork barbecue soaked in a tomato-based sauce.

(AP) Detectives in Cumberland County have charged a Greensboro doctor with seeking sex from someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl.

Vijaya-Prakash Boggala is charged with felony solicitation of a child by computer to commit unlawful sex acts.

A spokeswoman for the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office says the 31-year-old doctor was wearing hospital scrubs when he was arrested Tuesday in Fayetteville parking lot where he had arranged to meet an underage girl.  Authorities say that person was an undercover sheriff's deputy whom he met on Internet.

Boggala is a resident in internal medicine at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro. 

Boggala was taken to the Cumberland County jail, where he was being held under a $75,000 secured bond. Authorities say he doesn't have an attorney yet.

Cone Health today confirmed that a third-year medical resident, Vijaya-Prakash Boggala, has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of charges placed against him by the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office. Boggala sees adults in the Internal Medicine residency program at Moses Cone Hospital. Boggala has been charged with solicitation of a child by computer to commit unlawful sex acts.

Cone Health is unable to comment further on pending legal action.

IT TOOK ALMOST AN ENTIRE DAY, BUT GREENSBORO POLICE HAVE JIMMY BURLESON IN CUSTODY.

Burleson kept police at bay after exchanging gunfire with an officer around 5 o'clock yesterday morning. After several attempts to negotiate, police sent a K-9 after him. After a short struggle in his house, Burleson was taken into custody shortly after 730pm. He is charged with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon.

According to various reports, Burleson is a well-known chiropractor, who neighbors said recently lost his job and had been acting irractically for at least a week before this incident. 

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) _ Pat McCrory vows that North Carolina voters ``won't be fooled again'' in rejecting a Republican governor like they did four years ago.

McCrory formally began his second campaign for governor Tuesday evening with several hundred supporters in Guilford County, where he spent much of his childhood.

The former Charlotte mayor narrowly lost to Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue in 2008. He told the energized crowd it was time to fix the state's broken government and broken economy.

It appeared for the past year McCrory and Perdue were headed for a rematch, but Perdue announced last week she wouldn't seek re-election. Two Democrats have already jumped into their party's race, and more are possible. McCrory called these candidates ``retreads'' who want to prop up Democratic control of the executive branch.

Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines released the following statement:

(AP) A judge has delayed a hearing on whether a former aide to John Edwards should be held in criminal contempt.

Andrew Young, his wife and their lawyers could face jail time after providing confidential documents from a state civil case to federal officials prosecuting the two-time presidential candidate.

Former Edwards mistress Rielle Hunter sued the Youngs last year to recover personal items that include a purported sex tape she recorded with Edwards as he sought the White House.

Judge Michael Morgan postponed today's hearing to a date to be determined so a new prosecutor can be assigned to the case.

The Youngs' lawyers have said they were complying with a secret federal subpoena when they turned over sealed evidence that included a deposition from Edwards.

(AP)  Asheboro police say a man has been charged with murder 17 years after a man was found shot to death in an Asheboro home.

Records show 38-year-old Sergio Pelayo Rios was being held Sunday at the Randolph County jail.

The Courier-Tribune of Asheboro reports that police found the body of Jacinto L. Zarate in 1994. He had been shot with an AK-47 rifle.

Witnesses said they saw three men including Rios flee the scene. Two of the men were arrested, but Rios was never found.

Last week, Asheboro police say they learned that Rios was living in Columbus County. He was on probation for a DWI charge when his probation officer saw similarities between his name and the 1994 warrant.

It wasn't known if Rios had an attorney.

(AP)  The audience cheered when North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue gave a rousing speech this weekend a state Democratic Party dinner in Greensboro, but Democrats also are expressing relief and uncertainty on her sudden departure from the campaign trail.

She announced Thursday she wouldn't seek re-election, saying she didn't want her sales tax increase proposal for education to become overly politicized in a re-election campaign.

Perdue would have faced a tough road to victory. She hadn't been able to shrug off low approval numbers, a high unemployment rate and a pending investigation of her campaign committee.

Democratic Rep. Mickey Michaux of Durham said she probably made the right decision to step aside because many were worried she could drag down other candidates.

(AP) A new North Carolina lawmaker has suggested that public hangings should resume in response to a death-row prisoner's description of living the high life while incarcerated.

N.C. Rep. Larry Pittman, R-Cabarrus, was responding to a letter recently sent to The Gaston Gazette by Central Prison inmate Danny Hembree, who wrote of watching TV and taking naps while awaiting execution for the murder of Heather Catterton, 17.

"Kill me if you can, suckers," Hembree wrote in the letter.

Pittman, who was appointed to the House in October, told WRAL-TV he got a little carried away while expressing frustration and anger about Hembree.

"If murderers (and I would include abortionists, rapists, and kidnappers, as well) are actually executed, it will at least have the deterrent effect upon them," Pittman wrote Wednesday, adding, "for my money, we should go back to public hangings, which would be more of a deterrent to others, as well."

He did not immediately return a phone call or email Friday from the Associated Press.

Pittman was responding to an email from Rep. Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, who pointed out to colleagues a news report on the letter. In the email, Moore said it was proof that death penalty laws need to be fixed to carry out executions and asked for comments.

"I felt a need to 'vent' some of these feelings and intended to do so to him alone," Pittman told WRAL-TV "In the process, I got a bit carried away and overstated my case. I am sure I am not the only one who has ever done that."

Pittman said he regretted that a "personal note" to another House member took the focus off the victim, her family and the need to provide them with justice.

Pittman says he hit "reply all" in the email and it went out to every state lawmaker.

(AP) For the first time since joining the league in 1995, the Panthers have changed their logo. According to a press release Sunday night, the logo has been designed to provide a ``more aggressive, contemporary look to the logo while making it more three-dimensional for ever-increasing digital use.''

The Panthers will transition to the refined logo throughout 2012.

The primary tweaks made by the creative department of the National Football League are primarily in the features in the eye and mouth.

Team president Danny Morrison says ``we have one of the finest and most recognizable logos in the NFL and wanted to make it as modern as possible without losing the dramatic essence of the mark.''

The team will also change the primary logotype.

US Representative Howard Coble to announce his plans for his political career today at a news conference this afternoon.  The conference will be at his campaign headquarters at 338 N. Elm St., Suite 204-A.

The 80-year-old Republican spent  two weeks in hospitals in Washington and Greensboro in December, where he was treated for an upper respiratory illness.

Billy Yow has already announced he will run again for the 6th District Seat no matter what Coble's decision will be.

Two sources close to the Governor's campaign say Beverly Perdue will not seek a second term. The Governor is expected to make the announcement later this afternoon.. This sets the stage for a scramble for a democratic candidate less than 15 weeks before the May primary.

One possible candidate, according to political blogs around the state, would be State Rep Bill Faison, who is an Orange County Democrat. Faison says he'll make an announcement next week about his possible run.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)  U.S. Rep. Brad Miller says he will not seek re-election this year to the 13th Congressional District seat he's held since 2002.

Miller's office issued a statement Thursday morning saying he wants to avoid running against fellow Democrat David Price in a primary after the Republican-controlled Legislature drew them into the same district.

Miller says he does not have an agreement with Price to step down and run again in two years when Price is expected to retire.

Miller says he will continue to press hard for reform of the banking industry. He says he's also hopeful of getting legislation approved to provide compensation for victims of contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune.

Make a note, when someone breaks into your home, grab your bedpost and use it as a weapon. That's what one woman did when Lucio Medina Miranda broke into her RALEIGH home. The woman was home with two small children when the break-in happened. The woman, armed with a bedpost hit Miranda several times with the bedpost before calling 9-11.  Miranda remains in jail pending an investigation into his immigration status.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Supporters of a constitutional question on May's ballot in North Carolina say the amendment is needed to protect traditional marriage from those who want to expand what is legal in the state.

The group "Vote FOR Marriage NC" kicked off its campaign Monday. They want voters to approve a constitutional amendment to make clear marriage is only between a man and a woman.

State law already makes that distinction, but coalition chairwoman Tami Fitzgerald says an amendment would protect marriage from activist judges and lawmakers who want to allow gay marriage.

The amendment also would prevent the state from sanctioning civil unions or domestic partnerships.

Vote FOR Marriage NC said it would work on support in churches.

Amendment opponents kicked off their campaign last week.

It looks like Cam Newton is headed to Hawaii after all...

With Eli Manning and the New York Giants heading to the Super Bowl, Newton is expected to take Manning's spot on the NFC team in the Pro Bowl on Jan. 29 in Honolulu. Newton was the NFC's first alternate at quarterback behind Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ North Carolina's chief health official recently received good news about cost savings for the state Medicaid program. A health care initiative has saved nearly $1 billion over a four-year period.

But Lanier Cansler is still worried about the long-term fiscal future of Medicaid, the federal-state health program for 1.5 million state residents. Cansler is leaving his job this month as health and human services secretary.

He said it goes beyond a projected $150 million shortfall this fiscal year that has brought conflict between the Republican-led Legislature and Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue.

The state Medicaid program could see its rolls increase by about 500,000 people in 2014 because of the federal health care overhaul law.

Cansler will lead a panel commissioned by Perdue to recommend how to make health care affordable.

But on the eve on his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, 'ol DW has no idea what he's going to say in Friday night's ceremony.

"I've written 10 speeches and after the 10th one, I threw it away, and said 'I can't write a speech,'" Waltrip said. "I'm pretty spontaneous, so I'm just going to get up and say what I think and hope it's the right thing."

Waltrip hasn't always said the right thing in a career that dates back to his 1972 debut in NASCAR's top series. He angered his rivals as a driver, and his strong opinions as an analyst for both Fox Sports and Speed have made him one of the more polarizing commentators in NASCAR.

Some might even think it cost him a shot in last year's voting, when despite three championships and 84 victories, Waltrip was shut out of the second Hall of Fame class. Waltrip had signed on with Speed as an analyst for voting day, and from his perch on the stage at the back of the Great Hall, his face couldn't hide his heartbreak over not making the second class.

He tried not to get his hopes up this time around, but everybody knew how badly Waltrip wanted to be included in the third class. Brian France called his name last June, Waltrip rushed onto the podium and kissed the NASCAR chairman.

Waltrip goes into the Hall of Fame with three-time champion Cale Yarborough, NASCAR modified great Richie Evans, innovative crew chief Dale Inman and Glen Wood, one of NASCAR's original team owners.

The show will belong to Waltrip, though, who knew as a child he wanted to be an entertainer and found a way to incorporate his desire to perform into his NASCAR career. He was brash and bold and loved being in front of the cameras.

His style, his showmanship, was like nothing NASCAR had ever seen before and paved the way for more personality from the drivers.

"I always thought it would be fun to be an actor, or a comedian, but I guess race car driving suited me," he said. "I like to make people laugh, which is better than making them cry, right? Some people take the path of least of resistance, but I take the path I couldn't resist. I looked at everything I did, what if I did everything that everybody else is doing as they go down that path.

I figured there's a lot more room going in this other direction then there is in that direction with all the other guys who chewed Skoal and wore belt buckles and cowboy hats. I'm not making fun of them, I just chose not to go down that route, to be more upscale, in a class by myself. I was a Penske guy living in an Earnhardt world."

He will be again on Friday night when his larger-than-life personality is sure to outshine Yarborough, Inman and Wood. Evans, winner of nine NASCAR national modified championships over a 13-year span, was killed in a 1985 accident at Martinsville Speedway. He was 44.

Yarborough from 1976-78 became the first driver in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships, a record that stood until Jimmie Johnson's run of five-straight titles. He finished second in the standings another three times, and ended his career with 83 victories — sixth on the all-time list.

Yarborough was a four-time Daytona 500 winner, but decided in 1980 to run only partial schedules for the final nine years of his career.

"I realized I had three daughters growing up and I was away from them all the time," he said. "Even though racing was very important in my life, I felt like they were a little more important so I was going to spend some more time with them and be with them in their growing-up years. There's no telling how many wins I left on the table, but I definitely made the right decision."

Inman led his cousin, Hall of Famer Richard Petty, to a record seven championships. The crew chief won an eighth title with Terry Labonte. From 1958 to 1992, he led drivers to 193 wins and 129 poles.

His standout year was 1967 when he guided Petty to a NASCAR-record, 27 races — including 10-straight — in a single car built a year earlier.

"Dale was a racing benchmark," Petty said. "He was the sport's first official crew chief and people modeled themselves after him. He knew what, when and where — and when he made a mistake he wasn't afraid to admit it. Everyone respected him for that. Nobody even comes close to the number of wins that Dale has recorded."

Wood, at 86 the oldest member of this incoming class, formed a race team that still competes today in Stuart, Va., with his four brothers. Trevor Bayne won the Daytona 500 last year for the Wood Brothers, giving the team its 98th victory spanning seven different decades. Bayne's win was the team's fifth Daytona 500 victory, and the Wood Brothers also won the 1965 Indianapolis 500 with Jim Clark.

Wood's brother, Leonard, choreographer of the modern pit stop, is a NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee.

"It's such a long trip from 1950 to now. It's sort of hard to believe," Wood said. "It's one of the biggest honors you could have. I didn't come here alone; I had a lot of help. There's five of us brothers. All of those helped at one time or another."

Copyright © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners over the mostly Christian prayers offered at the beginning of its public meetings. The justices today left in place a federal appeals court ruling that held that the predominantly Christian prayers at the start of county commission meetings violated the First Amendment's prohibition on government endorsement of a particular religion. The commission said its doors have long been open to religious leaders of many faiths. But the appeals court in Richmond, Va., found that more than three-quarters of the 33 invocations given before meetings between May 2007 and December 2008 referred to "Jesus," ''Jesus Christ," ''Christ" or "Savior."

We could know more details later Tuesday morning about Friday's deadly shooting rampage in Star. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Department plans to hold a news conference at 10 o'clock.. In the meantime, the owner of Mcbride Lumber Company says it's going to be difficult to start a new work week today..

Police believe Ronnie Davis shot and killed 3 co-workers, then took his own life. A 4th co-worker reamins in stable condition..

Monday, Jan. 19

Memorial Breakfast, 7:30 a.m., Koury Convention Center, High Point Road at I-40, Greensboro. Presented by the Greensboro Human Relations Commission. $20. 373-2038.

Unity Breakfast, 7:45 a.m., Zion Baptist Church, 807 Piedmont St., Reidsville. Presented by Reidsville Chamber of Commerce. Keynote speaker is Marisol Jimenez McGee, instructor at N.C. State. Tickets $8, available only in advance. 349-8481.

MLK Day of Service, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., hosted by Greensboro College and Bennett College. Commemorative breakfast, Fowler Dining Hall, Greensboro College, 8:30-9:30 a.m.; "Servicing the Dream Throughout Greensboro," Community Service Projects, throughout Greensboro, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; Peace March, from the Martin Luther King Jr. statue in downtown Greensboro to the Annie M. Pfeiffer Chapel at Bennett College, 3;30 p.m.; Reflection Service, Annie M. Pfeiffer Chapel, Bennett College, 4 p.m.; reception, light refreshments will be served after the reflection service, Bennett College. 272-7102, extension 644, or www.mlkdaytriadnc.org

Worship service, 11 a.m., Hayworth Chapel, High Point University, 833 Montlieu Ave, High Point. Featuring Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Free. Web streaming at www.highpoint.edu/chapel/services

North Carolina Scholastic Classic, 11:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Greensboro Coliseum, 1921 W. Lee St., Greensboro. High school basketball tournament. $10. www.ticketmaster.com or (800) 653-8000.

Celebration Service, Noon, Saint James Presbyterian Church, 820 Ross Ave., Greensboro. Music, dance, drama and guest speaker Diane Moffett. 273-6658.

Unity March, 2:30-6 p.m., Martin Luther King Jr. monument, downtown Greensboro. Presented by Guilford, Greensboro and Bennett colleges. 316-2473.

Celebration, 7 p.m., Kenneth R. Williams Auditorium, Winston-Salem State, 601 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Winston-Salem. Actress Ruby Dee is the guest speaker. Free. 758-5864.

(updated at 11:45am)

Authorities say three people are dead and two injured, including the gunman, after a shooting at a lumber company in Montgomery County.

Sheriff Dempsey Owens says four people were shot early Friday in the McBride Lumber Co. just north of Star. Owens says three people were killed, and one was flown to a hospital.

He says the gunman, Ronnie Davis, shot himself at his home and was taken to a hospital. Authorities haven't released the names of the victims.

Owens says the shooter left a note, but he didn't give details of the content. He said witnesses reported the gunman was a disgruntled employee.

By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press; ROBERT BURNS, Associated Press

Video courtesy of the Winston-Salem Journal.  See the complete story here

written by Hans Nichols

President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign is considering moving the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Bank of America Stadium to sell more skyboxes to wealthy donors, according to three Democrats involved in the fundraising.

The almost 74,000-seat home of the Carolina Panthers professional football team would also have room for the convention to sell more floor passes close to the stage. Planners for the event are struggling to meet a $36.6 million fundraising goal, according to the Democrats, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter.

Obama’s advisers are aware of the political downside of the president delivering his nationally televised acceptance in a stadium named for a bank that considered imposing a fee that he said would have “mistreated” customers, they said.

That would be outweighed by the chance to lure more big- dollar contributors, including corporate foundations, to cover the convention’s costs, the three Democrats said. The rest of the convention, scheduled to begin Sept. 3, will be conducted at the Time Warner Cable Arena.

Joanne Peters, press secretary for the Charlotte convention, said, “We plan to hold the convention at the Time Warner Cable Arena.”

Read more on this story:  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-10/obama-may-move-convention-speech-to-bank-of-america-stadium.html

BURLINGTON, N.C. (AP)  North Carolina is set to unveil one of its first electric vehicle charging stations at a state rest area.

The state Department of Transportation is scheduled to hold a ribbon-cutting Wednesday at the Alamance County rest area on Interstate 40/85 near Burlington. One also will be located near Benson at the junction of Interstates 95 and 40.

Raleigh-based Praxis Technologies Inc. provided the stations through a grant from the state Commerce Department. Praxis will host the event, which will include speakers from the transportation and commerce departments.

The North Carolina Department of Public Safety looking for help locating an inmate who failed to return from community leave in the Asheville area. Genenne Davis is missing from the Swannanoa Correctional Center for Women. Authorities believe Davis may travel to Eden or Kernersville where she has friends and family. If you see this woman, call local law enforcement.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) _ The former R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. headquarters in Winston-Salem that inspired the later Empire State Building could be converted into an upscale hotel.

The cigarette maker is giving a Greensboro developer most of this year to study the feasibility of renovating the 22-story building. The company moved its headquarters to another downtown Winston-Salem building in 2009 after 80 years.

Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants and Hotels says it's looking at converting the building into a hotel with 120 to 180 rooms plus restaurant, bar and event space.

Chief executive Dennis Quaintance says the hotel could open in about two years. He says the building doesn't smell like smoke thanks to a ventilation unit installed in the 1950s that drew all the air from outside.

Charlotte Motor Speedway is giving racing fans the chance to be in an ad with drivers Carl Edwards, Mark Martin and Junior Johnson. Fans must "like" the track on Facebook by Jan 13th to be eligible. The winner will be featured in a commercial with the drivers to advertise the 2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and will get two tickets, two pre-race pit passes and a VIP parking spot for the May 19 race.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) _ The Winston-Salem man killed in a wreck that seriously a state legislator had a blood alcohol content that was more than three times the legal limit for driving in North Carolina.

Winston-Salem police said in a report updated Wednesday that 54-year-old David Carmichael had a blood alcohol content of 0.29 percent when he was killed in the wreck Dec 2.

State Rep. Larry Womble remains in serious condition at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Police said he had no alcohol in his system.

Police said previously that the 70-year-old Womble crossed the center line of a street and collided head-on with Carmichael's vehicle.

Womble is a Democrat serving his ninth term representing Forsyth County.

By GARY D. ROBERTSON, Associated Press

Winston Salem Police say results from a toxicology report on Forsyth County Rep Larry Womble could be released as early as today. It's been about a month since Womble was injured in a crash when he swearved into the path of an oncoming car. The driver was killed... Womble remains in serious condition at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

SYLVA, N.C. (AP) - A Western Carolina University student will spend at least 10 months in prison for robbing a credit union with a toy gun.

Twenty-one-year-old Brian Anthony Edwards pleaded guilty to common law robbery Tuesday and was sentenced to between 10 and 21 months in jail. District Attorney Michael Bonfoey says the junior from Hendersonville majoring in computer information systems confessed to the holdup.

Law officers locked down the campus in Cullowhee three weeks ago after the robbery at a State Employees Credit Union branch across from the school.

Jackson County Sheriff's deputies found a black plastic gun under the front passenger seat of Edwards' car hours after the robbery. Deputies also found a mask in the car and money under a bathroom sink in his apartment.

MIDLAND, Texas (AP) _ Investigators say a soldier accused of bringing explosives into an airport in his carry-on bag may have flown halfway across the country with them the week before.

A U.S. attorney's spokesman says Trey Scott Atwater of Hope Mills, N.C., waived his initial appearance in federal court in Midland, Texas, on Tuesday. According to court documents, the 30-year-old soldier was arrested after he was stopped Saturday at a security checkpoint at Midland International Airport with the powerful explosive C-4.

The Fort Bragg-based soldier has been charged with trying to bring explosives onto an airplane, which carries a maximum 10-year federal prison sentence.

According to court documents, Atwater was detained at the Fayetteville, N.C., airport on Christmas Eve when security agents found a military smoke grenade in his carry-on bag. The documents say officials ``admonished'' Atwater after confiscating the grenade, then allowed him to continue on to Texas.

He was stopped at the Midland airport Saturday as he and his family headed home. A TSA agent spotted a suspicious item in Atwater's carry-on bag during screening, and a police bomb squad identified that as C-4.

The FBI didn't find out about the grenade incident until being informed by the TSA after Atwater's arrest in Midland. The court documents don't say if officials now suspect C-4 to have been in his bag when he was stopped in North Carolina but was missed during additional screening.

CHARLOTTE (AP) — Jacksonville has contacted the Panthers for permission to interview Carolina offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski for the Jaguars' vacant head coaching job, a person familiar with the negotiations said Monday.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because neither team had publicly announced Jacksonville's request.

Chudzinski's future is the biggest issue facing the upstart Panthers (6-10) as they enter the offseason.

With 20 of 22 projected starters and 57 players in all under contract next season, the Panthers have very few key personnel issues to iron out. But losing Chudzinski could be a huge loss given the team's impressive turnaround on offense.

The Panthers went from last in the league in total offense in 2010 to being ranked in the top five for almost the entire year. They finished seventh overall after a poor showing in the season finale against the Saints, but still set a franchise record with 6,237 yards. The Panthers scored 47 touchdowns this year on offense this year — up from 16 last season — after selecting quarterback Cam Newton with the No. 1 pick.

The Jaguars fired Jack Del Rio earlier this season and replaced him with interim coach Mel Tucker but are considering outside candidates.

SEVEN children at B Evertt Jordan Elementary School in Alamance County have now been diagnosed with WHOOPING COUGH or Pertussis... nine are suspected of having the infection.  County officials say it's not because the students haven't been immunized.  100% of the students at the school have been vaccinated, however, the vaccine is only 88% effective.  It will decrease the effects the infection does have on the children..

If you believe your child has been exposed to pertussis, contact them at (336) 516-7715 in Alamance County.

Pertussis is a bacterial infection that usually starts with cold-like symptoms before turning into prolonged bursts of coughing in one-to-two weeks.  Health officials are saying that parents should not be alarmed since it RARELY turns into a serious disease that requires hospitalization.

(AP) Hoke County deputies spent the day at a farm that raises turkeys for Butterball LLC after an animal rights group said it captured undercover video that shows animal cruelty.

Investigators looked through the two barns and the roughly 2,000 turkeys inside Thursday at the farm in Shannon.

No arrests for cruelty have been made, and deputies say it could be weeks before the investigation is finished.

Deputies came to the farm after Chicago-based Mercy for Animals sent prosecutors three weeks of undercover footage by a member of the group who worked at the farm. The group says the videos show workers throwing, kicking, dragging and beating turkeys.

Butterball issued a statement Thursday saying it has zero tolerance for abusing animals and is working with deputies.

Sears is closing four of it's North Carolina stores, including one in Guilford County.  The store at Oak Hollow Mall in High Point will be closing, though a time has not been announced yet. 

According to the company website, a normal Sears store employs anywhere from 40-80 people, which means even at a minimum more than 100 people could be out of a job in North Carolina.

The other stores are located in Morehead City, Statesville, and Rocky Mount.  The company plans to close 120 stores nationwide.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Members of a traveling Occupy protest that started in Washington, D.C., are talking in Greensboro about their plans for next year. The group plans to hold a news conference today at the International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro. It is expected to announce plans for mass action in the spring.

Three children at B Evertt Jordan Elementary School in Alamance County have been diagnosed with WHOOPING COUGH or Pertussis... the school gave medication to all its students to prevent the spread... the Alamance County Health Department says if you believe your child has been exposed to pertussis, contact them at (336) 516-7715.

Pertussis is a bacterial infection that usually starts with cold-like symptoms before turning into prolonged bursts of coughing in one-to-two weeks.  Health officials are saying that parents should not be alarmed since it RARELY turns into a serious disease that requires hospitalization.

Residents in a Fort Wayne, Indiana community still reeling after a 39-year-old man admitted to murdering the nine-year old he was babysitting.  Mike Plumadore tells police he killed Aliahna Lemmon with a brick and dismembered her.  He originally said on Friday she disappeared, before confessing to the crime on Monday.

Plumadore's Facebook page reveals he attended high school in Gastonia... Hunter Huss High School.. while records show he has been convicted of assault in this state in the past.  Florida also shows the same type of conviction there.

... that is certain to be one of the questions US Congressman Howard Coble will answer today at a press conference.  Coble was released from a Greensboro Hospital yesterday after battling a respiratory illness for weeks.  He was originally admitted to a DC Hospital before he was transported to Moses Cone Hospital for treatment. 

Video shot by the photographers at FOX 8 news...

The Carolina Journal is reporting that staffers in the Governor's office have been getting advance word on monthly unemployment statistics from the US Dept of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statitistics. Why is this a big deal? It violates federal law which carrys penalties of up to five years...

Here is the article from the Carolina Journal.

A local marine who died from his wounds that he received in Afghanistan is finally home. The body of Lance Cpl Christopher Jacob Levy arrived at PTI airport on Saturday. An open visitation will be at Pleasant Garden Baptist Church, from 6 to 9p.m. tonight (Monday)... and a private funeral service on Tuesday afternoon...

Pleasant Garden Baptist Church is the location for the visitation.  It's located at 1415 Neelley Road in Asheboro.   

(ap) Alamance County deputies say they arrested a 60-year-old Mebane man after he sold undercover agents some moonshine. The undercover agents visited Larry Anderson earlier this month after getting an anonymous tip he was selling liquor without a license. The agents say they Anderson took them to a locked building on his property after they asked to buy moonshine and gave them a sample. Investigators say the men then bought two jugs of liquor for $70. Deputies say they returned to Anderson's land after getting a search warrant and found 19 plastic jugs they say contained moonshine. Anderson was charged with five misdemeanors. It wasn't clear if he had an attorney..

(AP) The conclusion is near in the trial of a man accused of murdering University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student body president Eve Carson.

Prosecutors rested their case Thursday after calling dozens of witnesses over seven days.

Lawyers for Laurence Lovette offered no defense witnesses, and Judge Allen Baddour scheduled closing arguments for Monday.

Lovette is accused of teaming with DeMario Atwater in abducting Athens, Ga. native Carson in March 2008. Investigators say the duo forced her to withdraw $1,400 from automated teller machines in Chapel Hill and Durham before shooting her to death.

Lovette has pleaded not guilty.

Last year, Atwater pleaded guilty in the case and was sentenced to life in prison.

Todd Poole, who is the chief of staff for US Rep Virginia Foxx has been convicted of driving while impaired.  This comes from the Winston-Salem Journal who reports that Poole's records of his blood alcohol level have been permanently surpressed by a judge. 

Poole had been driving on NC 105 in Watauga County and failed to yield to oncoming traffic.  When stopped, Poole was arrested for DWI, resisting an officer, and failure to yield.  The latter two charges were dropped. 

Rep Foxx issued a statement saying that although she is very disappointed, but Poole has taken responsibility for his actions and will use this experience to help others avoid similar mistakes. 

"He should have not been out on the streets and he should have ideally been extradited to North Carolina, but that didn't happen," said NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly ... and now Peter Figoski, a 22-year decorated veteran of the NYPD, is dead. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says accused shooter, Greensboro's Lamant Pride and Figoski should have never crossed paths.. but because a warrant for Pride's arrest in NC could only be executed IN NC, NYC Police had to let him go in September.. The Greensboro Police Department is under fire for their extradition practices.

President Barack Obama is marking the coming end to the Iraq war with a tribute to the troops who fought and died in a conflict he opposed from the start. Accompanied by first lady Michelle Obama, the president travels today to Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

GREENSBORO IS LAUNCHING A NEW PROGRAM FOR YOUR "E" GARBAGE...

A state law prohibits electronic items to be disposed in landfills.. so the city of Greensboro says they'll pick up your old electronics.  All you have to do is call and schedule curbside service. 373-CITY is the number..

Here's a list of the "E" things you can take to your curb

• Computers

• Monitors

• Laptops

• Televisions

• VCRs

• Stereos

• Copiers

• Fax machines

• Microwaves

If you want, you can still take items yourself to the Hazardous Waste Collection Center at 2750 Patterson St.; Guilford County Scrap Tire & White Goods Recycling Center at 2138 Bishop Road; or the Guilford County Prison Farm at 7315 Howerton Road in Gibsonville. 

The Winston Salem / Forsyth County School Board considering letting students opt out of saying the Pledge of Allegiance.. they're already allowed to sit down for religious reasons, but now the board will decide whether to let the students opt out for ANY reason.  The discussion takes place tonight at six..with a possible final vote in January. 

The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Board meets at its headquarters located at 4801 Bethania Station Road, Winston-Salem.

A former North Carolina legislator who resigned after smelling of alcohol and who some lawmakers thought behaved inappropriately toward a House page has died at the age of 64.

Former Rep. Cary Allred died early Saturday at Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital in Greensboro following a brief illness. Rich and Thompson Funeral Home in Burlington is handling the arrangements, which were incomplete Sunday afternoon.

Allred resigned from the N.C. House on June 1, 2009, following an investigation into allegations he drank before showing up at the Legislature and improperly embraced a female page. He was convicted in June of driving while impaired.

Story by Tom Embrey of The Pilot Newspaper, Southern Pines, NC

Sunday, December 11, 2011

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Lowe's home improvement stores are pulling ads from a reality TV show about American Muslims following protests from an evangelical Christian group, prompting talk of a boycott against the chain.

The retail giant stopped advertising on TLC's ``All-American Muslim'' after the Florida Family Association complained it was propaganda that hides Islam's ``clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values.''

Suehaila Amen, whose family is featured on ``All-American Muslim,'' said she was disappointed Lowe's ``would succumb to bigots ... ``

Lowe's issued a statement Sunday apologizing for having ``managed to make some people very unhappy.'' It didn't say whether it would reinstate the advertising.

California state Sen. Ted Lieu says he's considering a boycott of the chain and legislative action if the company doesn't reverse its decision.

VASS, N.C. (AP) _ A Moore County deputy with more than 37 years in law enforcement was shot and killed Wednesday as he tried to arrest an Iraqi war veteran with an outstanding arrest warrant for not paying child support, Sheriff Lane Carter said.

Deputy Richard Rhyne, 58, spoke to the suspect before he was killed and was trying to arrest him when the shooting took place around noon outside an abandoned home near Vass.

Rhyne went to the home after deputies received a trespassing complaint. The deputy found 33-year-old Martin Poynter and his brother and had time to check their names before he was killed. Poynter then turned the same gun on himself and also died, the sheriff said.

The brother witnessed both shootings. Carter said he was not involved in the killing of his deputy and was not arrested.

Poynter didn't have a criminal record, but he was taken into custody for a mental evaluation after being involved in a domestic dispute following his return from military service in Iraq a few years ago, Carter said.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue is opening up the doors to her official home so people can enjoy how the Executive Mansion is decorated for the holiday.

The Holiday Open House at the mansion will resume at 10 a.m. Friday and run through 5 p.m. The mansion will also be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Perdue says she wants everyone in North Carolina to see the beautiful decorations at the Executive Mansion and enjoy holiday entertainment.

Perdue opened the mansion for eight hours on Thursday to coincide with the Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony.

Emily Sykes of Mebane was arrested and charged with sex offenses involving a minor.  Sykes is reported to be more than six years older than the victim.. and she's being held on a $75,000 secured bond. 

(AP) The principal of a Gaston County school where a 9-year-old boy was suspended for sexual harassment has submitted his resignation.

School officials on Tuesday offered an apology to the boy and his mother after the boy was accused of calling a teacher ``cute.'' A statement from the system said it was determined that the fourth grader at Brookside Elementary School didn't engage in sexual harassment.

Jerry Bostic told The Gaston Gazette that he made a mistake but added that he wasn't given a chance to apologize.

Superintendent Reeves McGlohon would only say that Bostic submitted his resignation. McGlohon had no further comment.

The school system said the suspension won't count against the student, and there will be additional instructional assistance provided to the student for the classroom time missed.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP)  A person familiar with the situation says North Carolina is in talks with Southern Mississippi coach Larry Fedora to take the same job with the Tar Heels.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday night on condition of anonymity because the school isn't commenting publicly on its search.

Fedora has guided the 22nd-ranked Golden Eagles to a school-record 11 wins and the Conference USA championship. Southern Miss faces Nevada in the Hawaii Bowl on Dec. 24.

North Carolina (7-5) plays Missouri in the Independence Bowl two days later.

The Tar Heels are looking for a permanent coach to replace Butch Davis, who was fired shortly before training camp amid an NCAA investigation into the program.

A senior wrestler from Alleghany High school is paralyzed from the neck down after breaking his neck during a wrestling tournament in Lenoir. Luke Hampton, reportedly was charging his opponent when he hit the wall with his head. .. The impact broke his neck in two places. Hampton was transported to a local hospital and was later flown to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Family members are hopeful that Hampton will fight through the injuries.. 

In a post found on the North Carolina Wrestling Forum , Hampton's coach said Hampton has no feeling or movement from the chest down. His coach wrote that Hampton suffered severe damage to his spinal cord and has not been able to breathe on his own.

(By Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM) When it comes to finding an unusual Christmas gift for the discriminating NASCAR fan on your shopping list, what about the car that Clint Bowyer flipped on the last lap of the 2007 Daytona 500?

On Tuesday morning at its Welcome, N.C., shop, Richard Childress Racing will be auctioning off Bowyer's wreck -- along with items ranging from pole- and race-winning banners up to and including racing chassis and a transporter. Most of the items are new or slightly used surplus racing parts that RCR doesn't need or can't use anymore, but may find a good home somewhere else.

In addition to what's left of Bowyer's 2007 Daytona 500 ride, the RCR auction features several race-ready Cup chassis formerly driven by Bowyer, Jeff Burton and Robby Gordon , plus race-ready vehicles that meet ARCA and late model stock car specifications. The team is also auctioning off three Chevrolet crew cab dual-wheeled pickups and three show car haulers.

The auction is being conducted by Iron Horse Auction Company of Rockingham, with live and Internet bidding beginning at 10 a.m. ET. Registration at the team's shop begins at 8 a.m. ET. Iron Horse has extensive experience in NASCAR-related equipment auctions over the past three decades, having held similar events for such teams as DiGard, Blue Max, Black Diamond and Holman Moody.

Penske Racing has elected not to bring Kurt Busch back to drive the No. 22 car next season...

The decision comes following an obscene tirade during the finale of the Nascar Sprint Cup Series at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Busch verbally berated ESPN racing commentator Dr. Jerry Punch after making obscene gestures at him. It was all captured on video and posted online, resulting in a fine for Busch and a written apology from Penske Racing

According to Jim Utter of ThatsRacin.com an official announcement on Busch’s fate is expected on later today...

For more information, check out the article in the Charlotte Observer.

A bell ringer for The Salvation Army of Davidson County says she tried to stop a shoplifter outside a Big Lots.  26-year-old Holly Rouse was manning a kettle Thursday morning when she noticed a man who didn't go through checkout putting items in his back pocket. She says when she told him to go back inside and pay, he pushed her.

She says she tackled him, but he got away, though she took down the license plate number of the vehicle he got into.

Salvation Army corps administrator Les Ashby praises Rouse's efforts. He says Big Lots wants her outside the store for the rest of the season.

But he advised other bell ringers to just report crimes to store

Shortly after 630am on Saturday, Charlotte CBS Affiliate WBTV reported that Billy Graham had died.  One problem with that story.  He wasn't dead.  The news was especially significant since Graham was born in Charlotte.  A producer apparantly thought she had heard a report from a CBS news network feed and relayed the information to a WBTV anchor... who then reported the news on the air. Then.. the producer called the hospital to confirm, and was told that Graham was very much alive. Ten minutes later, the station corrected the report.  An apology was posted on the station's website. 

State Rep. Larry Womble remains in critical but stable condition at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center following a head-on collision in Winston-Salem near his home that killed another driver.

Family spokeswoman Tanya Wiley says doctors are pleased that the 70-year-old Womble was resting well Sunday.

Police say 54-year-old David Allen Carmichael of Winston-Salem died at the scene Friday night when his 1996 Chrysler convertible collided with Womble's 2010 Acura sedan. The police investigation into the crash continues.

Womble, D-Forsyth, has been in the House since 1995.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Rep. Larry Womble is in critical condition following a head-on collision in Winston-Salem that killed another driver.

The 70-year-old Forsyth Democrat remained hospitalized Saturday. Womble has been in the House since 1995.

Winston-Salem police say 54-year-old David Allen Carmichael of Winston-Salem died at the scene about 11 p.m. Friday when his car collided with Womble's. Police say the investigation into the accident continues.

Womble has advocated for compensation for North Carolinians forced to undergo sterilizations under the state's eugenics program, which shuttered in the 1970s.

The former teacher and assistant principal was the main sponsor of the 2009 Racial Justice Act, which allowed death row inmates to use racial statistics to show bias in sentencing. The state Senate voted last week to repeal that law.

DO YOU HAVE A HANKERING FOR HOT FUDGE CAKE?? SHONEYS ON REGIONAL ROAD IN GREENSBORO IS GIVING AWAY HOT FUDGE CAKES ALL DAY TODAY.. WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. ALL THEY ASK IN RETURN IS THAT YOU LIKE THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE AND SHARE SOME FEEDBACK.

Here's the link.. 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP)  A spokesman for the Rev. Billy Graham says the famous evangelist has been taken to a hospital near his home in North Carolina for treatment of his lungs.

Spokesman A. Larry Ross says Graham was admitted Wednesday to Mission Hospital in Asheville with congestion, a cough and slight fever.

A pulmonologist at the hospital said in a news release that Graham is being tested for possible pneumonia. The release said Graham was alert, smiling and waving to staff.

The 93-year-old served as an adviser to presidents and toured the world for his famous crusades. He now spends much of his time at home near Asheville and occasionally meets with Christian leaders and old friends.

He was last hospitalized in May for five days with pneumonia.

(AP)  A 15-year-old from South Carolina with a medical condition who disappeared from his home on Thanksgiving has been found safe in Asheville.

City police say the boy was found Tuesday with protesters at the local Occupy encampment.

Asheville police say the teen has Asperger's Syndrome, and that his family had been looking for him since Thanksgiving. Because he likes art and is sympathetic toward homeless people, some of his relatives traveled to Asheville to hand out flyers with his picture on it.

A security officer at city hall had one of the flyers and spotted the boy with the protesters. Police arrived and reunited the teen with his aunt and uncle, who plan to take him home to Simpsonville, South Carolina.

(AP) A North Carolina economic development panel has approved a $22 million incentives deal to bring the global headquarters of banana giant Chiquita Brands International from Cincinnati to Charlotte.

The state Economic Investment Committee voted Tuesday to approve the deal, which includes more than $20 million in state incentives and more than $2 million from local government.

The panel says the move of Chiquita's headquarters, along with research and development laboratories, will bring about 375 jobs to the state by 2014. The jobs are supposed to pay an average of about $107,000.

Committee members say the incentives were needed to give Charlotte an edge over Ohio, Florida and Louisiana.

(AP) A Wake County grand jury has indicted former campaign workers and a donor of North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue as part of an investigation into previously undisclosed flights leading up to her 2008 election victory.

Grand jurors handed up indictments Monday in state court against Trawick H. ``Buzzy'' Stubbs Jr., Peter Reichard (from Greensboro) and Juleigh Sitton.

The charges come more than a year after Wake County prosecutor Colon Willoughby said he would investigate payments of air travel for the campaign following a State Board of Elections probe of Perdue's campaign committee. The State Board of Elections fined her committee $30,000.

Perdue is seeking re-election in 2012.

A grand jury in February charged a Morganton man over allegations he deceived Perdue's campaign by hiding the source of money used for a flight.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) The North Carolina Senate has voted to repeal a landmark state law allowing death row inmates to appeal their sentences by using statistical evidence to show the influence of racial bias.

The Monday night vote means the repeal measure now heads to the desk of Gov. Beverly Perdue, who signed the 2009 Racial Justice Act into law.

A Perdue spokesman said the governor will review the bill before making a decision.

The largely Republican supporters of the measure said the Racial Justice Act, in its current form, will clog up the courts with appeals from scores of death row inmates. They say the law amounts to an unofficial death penalty moratorium.

But supporters say the law helps ensure fairness in how capital punishment is administered.

(AP)  A federal judge is putting a temporary halt to North Carolina's plans to allow people to purchase anti-abortion license plates.

U.S. District Judge James Fox on Monday issued an oral order blocking the state's Division of Motor Vehicles from issuing the license plates, which say ``Choose Life.''

The case will go forward in federal court with both sides presenting evidence and seeking a final judgment.

The state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is suing to block the plates from being issued, saying they violate the First Amendment because state legislators blocked a corresponding specialty plate for supporters of abortion rights.

Twenty-nine states either already make ``Choose Life'' plates available or have approved such plates but have not manufactured them.

(AP) _ North Carolina utilities regulators are opening hearings into whether Duke Energy should be allowed to raise electricity rates by more than 7 percent.

The North Carolina Utilities Commission begins hearings Monday on Duke Energy's request for a 7.2 percent rate increase.

The higher rates are expected to take effect in February if regulators agree.

The increase is less than half of Duke Energy's original request of 15 percent on average across residential, industrial and commercial customers.

The proposed rate increase cleared a major hurdle last week with the endorsement of the commission's Public Staff, which represents consumers.

Duke has nearly 2 million customers in North Carolina.

(AP) The leader of the North Carolina House says fellow Republicans must decide whether to seek changes to the gasoline tax during the Legislature's scheduled three-day work session this week in Raleigh. Speaker Thom Tillis of Cornelius said Sunday night House GOP members will discuss whether to propose changing the tax.

Arrangements are being made for the final resting place of teh five children who were shot over a week ago in Greensboro.  Rick Noah of Forbis & Dick Funeral Services says a public viewing and service will be held at some point later this week at the Pleasant Garden Baptist Church.  Noah also says a separate service will be held for Mary Ann Holder, the accust shooter.

GARNER. N.C. (AP) _ An animal-rights group is campaigning to save some turkeys from the dinner table on Thanksgiving Day.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reports that Mercy for Animals is behind a billboard urging drivers to ``spare a turkey'' and ``choose vegetarian.'' The billboard is in Garner, which is home to turkey giant Butterball.

Campaign coordinator Eddie Garza said the group put up the same sign in Chicago and Detroit last Thanksgiving season. He says it makes sense to come to North Carolina to urge residents to give turkeys something to be thankful for.

Mercy for Animals conducts undercover investigations of farms; including one that led McDonalds and Target to drop their ties with a major egg supplier after a video showed animal cruelty at facilities in Iowa, Minnesota and Colorado.

A fourth victim in Sunday's shooting spree has died. 14-year-old Zachary Lee Smith, the youngest son of Mary Ann Holder, died last night at approx 7:45pm from gunshot wounds to his head. No further details at this time.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) _ A student at Wake Forest University has been named a Rhodes Scholar for his work studying the molecular structure of proteins. Brandon Turner, of Fontana, Calif., is Wake Forest's 12th Rhodes Scholar in the past 25 years. The research could lead to the discovery of new drugs to combat chronic diseases.

*Keep checking back for updates*

Guilford County Sherrif BJ Barnes says, an affair gone wrong is part of the reason why Mary Ann Holder, shot herself, her former lover, three of her children, and two other relatives on Sunday.  In a note discovered by deputies, Barnes said Holder took responsibility for what she had done, but left little explanation as to why...  Barnes says there had been court action taken in the alledged affair in the past weeks, but no one could have expected things to get this out-of-hand. 

Sherrif Barnes also released the names of the everyone involved in Sunday's shooting spree: 

Mary Ann Holder - 36 years old - deceased

Robert Dylan Smith - 17 years old - deceased (Holder's son)

Zachary Smith - 14 years old  - critical condition

Richard Suttles - 17 years old - critical condition

Hannah Lee Suttles - 8 years old - critical condition

Makayla Woods - 15 years old- critical condition

Randy Lamb (Holder's alledged former lover) - 40 years old *Lamb was shot in the shoulder.

With the exception of Lamb, all victims were shot in the head.

* Keep checking back, as this information will continue to change *

THOMASVILLE—The N.C. Baptist Men are helping storm victims in Davidson County who need help clearing debris from their property. Organizers said anyone who needs help or wants to volunteer, should come by Liberty Baptist Church on Liberty Lane in Thomasville.

Red Cross Volunteers are standing by to help. Donate online here or Text "RedCross" to 90999

Red Cross - High Point / Davidson County - (336) 885-9121
Red Cross - Greensboro - (336) 333-2111

You can donate through the Salvation Army here or call (704) 522-4970

LEXINGTON, N.C. (AP) _ Two people have been killed and at least 10 others injured after severe weather ripped through southern portions of Davidson County. The emergency services director says authorities have confirmed the deaths of one adult and one child in yesterday's storm.

WASHINGTON (AP) _ President Barack Obama has tough words for cigarette makers. In a White House web video, the ex-smoker says some tobacco companies are fighting new cigarette warning labels because they don't want to be honest about the consequences. Today's the 36th ``Great American Smokeout'' by the American Cancer Society.

(AP) _ A three-hour lockdown at East Carolina University was triggered when a man carrying a golf umbrella was mistaken for a gunman. A Greenville Police spokesman says emergency dispatchers received two 911 calls yesterday of a man walking along a street near campus purportedly carrying an assault rifle.

WAS IT A TORNADO LAST NIGHT? NO ONE KNOWS OFFICIALLY YET, BUT THERE'S LOTS OF DAMAGE TO SEE.. AS THE SUN COMES UP THIS MORNING IN DAVIDSON & RANDOLPH COUNTIES.  ONE PERSON IS DEAD, ALTHOUGH NO ONE IS CONFIRMING WHETHER IT WAS STORM RELATED.   THE EMS OFFICE IN DAVIDSON COUNTY HAS SCHEDULED A NEWS CONFERENCE LATER THIS MORNING... AND THE SCHOOLS THERE ARE DELAYED BY AT LEAST TWO HOURS

If you have any pictures you'd like to share of the damage, send them to news@rushradio945.com

FORMER UNC FOOTBALL COACH BUTCH DAVIS BREAKING HIS SILENCE TUESDAY BY RELEASING A YOU TUBE VIDEO. IN ADDITION TO DEFENDING HIS REPUTATION, DAVIS ALSO PRAISED UNC. UNC CHANCELLOR HOLDEN THORP FIRED DAVIS FOLLOWING AN NCAA INVESTIGATION INTO IMPROPER BENEFITS FOR PLAYERS AND SUSPECTED ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT.

To see the entire video, click here. 

Today would have ben Zahara Baker's 12th birthday, so Leaders in Hickory are breaking ground on a playground being built in her memory. Zahra was reported missing in October 2010. Parts of the girl's body were found weeks later. Her mother Elisa Baker was sentenced to 15 to 18 years in prison in September after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and other charges.

Army Specialist David Hickman, a popular Northeast Guilford High School graduate, has been killed in Iraq. Hickman's mom said two soldiers came to her door to deliver the bad news around 11:30pm on Monday.  Hickman was a 2006 graduate of Northeast Guilford High School where he played outside linebacker for the football team, was team captain and All-Conference.  A special candlelight vigil is planned for Sunday at the high school.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ A North Carolina appeals court says a Guilford County school's state basketball championship will not be restored after players and coaches sued.

The state Court of Appeals ruled unanimously Tuesday that the coaches and players at Northern Guilford High School lacked the legal standing to challenge the decision of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association to vacate the 3-A men's basketball title in 2009.

The association stripped the title from the school after a school board investigation found at least two players lived outside the school's residency zone.

The judges said the school is an association member, not the people who sued. The court also said lawyers for the players and coaches failed to show any actual loss they suffered because of the association's decision.

A 9-year-old North Carolina girl pinned in a wrecked car for almost two days ate Pop-Tarts and Gatorade to help her survive the single-car crash that killed her father, police and relatives said on Monday. Jordan Landon of Cove City was airlifted to a hospital Sunday night after rescue teams cut her out of the 1995 Chevrolet Monte Carlo that had been upside down in a culvert since Friday night

Authorities in Chapel Hill are being criticized over how they handled the arrests of eight demonstrators who had occupied a vacant building, and for the treatment of journalists on hand to cover the event. In fact, a press conference by Chapel Hill Police turned into a verbal confrontation between town officials, trying to explain their actions... and protesters. Eight people were arrested but others, including two journalists, say they were handcuffed and forced to lie face down on the ground.

(AP) A soldier from North Carolina has died after an IED attack in Afghanistan. Spc. Calvin M. Pereda, 21, of Fayetteville, died in Kandahar province Saturday. Department of Defense officials said Pereda died from injuries after encountering an IED while on dismounted patrol. Pereda was based out of Fort Wainwright, Alaska. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division

Mike Krzyzewski is on the verge of becoming the winningest men's coach in Division I history.  Coach K's first attempt at victory No. 903 comes tonight when the Blue Devils play Michigan State in the Champions Challenge at New York's Madison Square Garden.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina state attorneys have asked a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by doctors and other abortion-rights advocates who have already persuaded the court to block enforcement of a portion of new abortion restrictions.

The state Attorney General's Office formally responded Wednesday to the lawsuit filed in September seeking to have portions of the new law overturned as an unconstitutional attack on free speech rights.

Two weeks ago, Judge Catherine Eagles blocked for now a provision that would place new ultrasound requirements upon medical professionals when seeing pregnant women seeking an abortion.

The abortion-rights supporters also filed a motion Thursday asking Eagles to adjust her preliminary injunction for a portion of the law about who must provide information to a woman 24 hours before an abortion.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — More than two dozen groups want to open new charter schools in North Carolina next fall.

The state Department of Public Instruction got 27 applications by Thursday's deadline for fast-track approval. The applicants will go through a review that includes financial checks and personal interviews. Groups will have to demonstrate they can successfully operate a charter school by next August.

DPI charter schools director Joel Medley said some of the groups seeking a state charter to run one of the alternative public schools have previously gone through the approval process but were blocked by a statewide cap.

The statewide limit of 100 charter schools was removed in June.

The state school board is expected to consider the new applications for charter schools in February.

CORONADO, Calif. (AP) — Even if it's windy on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson this afternoon, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo says the Carrier Classic between the Spartans and No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels will be a "memory-maker."

After all, Izzo says, no one has played a college hoops game aboard an active flat top before.

President Barack Obama is scheduled to attend, and Magic Johnson and James Worthy will be honorary captains for their alma maters. Most of the approximately 7,000 tickets will go to military personnel.

Based on the latest weather forecast, organizer Mike Whalen says the game will be played on the flight deck. Had the threat of rain been greater, the game would have been moved below to the hangar deck.

The Carl Vinson conducted Osama bin Laden's burial at sea after he was killed by Navy SEALs in a raid ordered by Obama.

See the edited time lapse of USS Carl Vinson's flight deck during the erection of bleachers and construction of a hardwood basketball court MC1 Whitman NPASE West aboard USS Carl Vinson:

Sunny skies and highs in the lower 50s. Clear tonight with lows around 30. And on Saturday, mostly sunny, highs in the low 60s.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Political observers are sizing up whether this year's local elections are a sign of things to come in 2012, when voters decide a proposed state gay marriage ban and a presidential election.

Republican political consultant Carter Wrenn says that if Tuesday's elections in a decisive Wake County school board race and elsewhere offered any signs, it may be that the Tea Party-powered Republican wave may not pack the same punch as 2010.

The consultant for Republican Sen. Jesse Helms says this week's results may indicate that neither party has the benefit of a tide of discontented voters next year.

North Carolina Republican Party spokesman Rob Lockwood says the elections signaled that President Barack Obama's campaign organization is already at work in North Carolina and organizing precinct by precinct for 2012.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Some doctors, crisis pregnancy centers and women who say they've had abortions want to help defend a new North Carolina law that would set more ultrasound requirements before an abortion.

The potential defendants filed a motion Tuesday in Greensboro federal court with the help of legal groups opposed to abortion. They want to intervene in the case to present evidence on why the law should be enforced in its entirety.

A judge last month blocked a portion of the law from taking effect that would require a medical worker to put the electronic image of the fetus in front of a pregnant woman, describe what can be viewed and offer her the chance to listen to the fetal heart beat. Abortion rights activists called the requirement an illegal government intrusion.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Prosecutors in the first case being heard under a North Carolina law that allows death row prisoners to challenge their sentences on the grounds of racial bias are asking that the black judge hearing the case be removed.

Cumberland County prosecutors want Superior Court Judge Greg Weeks removed because he may be called as a witness in the case of Marcus Robinson. Their motion, filed Tuesday, doesn't mention the judge's race. Weeks' attorney is Fred Webb of Sanford, and he says he believes the issue is about being able to subpoena judges as witnesses, not about race.

Weeks presided over cases that were included in a study of race and the death penalty in North Carolina.

Robinson's attorneys are challenging his death sentence under the state's Racial Justice Act.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — One of North Carolina's largest school districts is making changes for Latino students and parents after resolving a complaint filed by a national civil rights advocacy group.

Documents obtained by The Associated Press show that Durham public schools are in the process of strengthening anti-discrimination policies and reaching out to Spanish-speaking families following a complaint this year by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The agreement was reached with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.

The law center had said Durham schools were failing to provide Latino families with adequate resources, including translated materials for parents and interpreters.

Jerri Katzerman, the group's deputy legal director, says the agreement will help students participate fully in their schools.

Messages left with a Durham schools spokesman were not immediately returned Wednesday.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The ACC has announced that its football championship slated for Dec. 3 in Charlotte is a sellout.

It's the earliest the game has ever sold out.

The only tickets remaining are the 10,000 that will be made available to each participating institution once the Atlantic and Coastal divisional championships are determined. At this point the divisional champions have not been determined, although Clemson can clinch the Atlantic title with a win Saturday over Wake Forest.

ACC Commissioner John Swofford says "we continue to be encouraged by the enthusiasm that ACC fans have for Charlotte as the host venue."

The winner of the ACC Championship earns a bid to play in the Discover Orange Bowl, if not selected for the BCS National Championship.

Panthers DE Johnson living up to big contract

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Charles Johnson arrived at training camp in late July with a nickname befitting his new enormous contract.

The talented defensive end whom teammates promptly dubbed "Big Money" after inking a $76.5 million contract is paying huge dividends this season for the Carolina Panthers.

Johnson, in his fifth season, is tied for sixth in the league with seven sacks, which gives him 15 over his last 15 games. Although the Panthers are just 2-6, Johnson has been a steadying presence on an otherwise injury-depleted defense.

Coach Ron Rivera says Johnson has "played extremely well and we're getting our money's worth."

Johnson looks to continue his torrid play Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. But it won't be easy as the Titans have allowed only 12 sacks this year, fourth-fewest in the NFL.

Veteran safety practices for 1st time since injury

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee veteran safety Chris Hope has returned to practice for the first time since breaking his left forearm Oct. 2.

Returning to the starting spot he's held since being signed as a free agent in 2006 may take a little longer.

Coach Mike Munchak said Wednesday that they must see how Hope responds to practice over the next couple days. That will determine how much Hope is able to play Sunday when the Titans (4-4) visit Carolina (2-6), and Munchak says he expects the veteran to rotate with Jordan Babineaux.

Hope went straight from practice to treatment to a meeting and was not available to talk in the locker room. The 10-year veteran has started 77 straight games for Tennessee.

Power medically cleared to get back in IndyCar

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Will Power has received medical clearance to get back in a race car and will test the new IndyCar next week.

He will drive for two days at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.

Power has been sidelined since breaking a vertebra in the 15-car accident that killed two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon in the Oct. 16 IndyCar season finale.

It's the second time Power has broken his back in an IndyCar accident, and the Penske Racing driver has grown increasingly vocal about safety improvements.

He wrote in a column for AutoWeek that pack racing it "just too dangerous" in IndyCar. He also called his accident at Las Vegas "frightening" because his car went airborne and toward the catchfence.

Power also wrote he was eager to get back to racing.

Cloudy skies with a chance of a few showers, our highs in the mid-50s. Cloudy tonight giving way to mostly clear skies overnight with lows in the lower 30s. And on Friday, sunny skies and highs in the low 50s.

UPDATED 2:44pm

BUIES CREEK, NC (AP) — Campbell University officials have asked students and faculty to stay indoors due to a standoff on the campus.

University spokesman Britt Davis said the incident began shortly before 2 p.m. when Harnett County deputies attempted to serve a warrant on a student who lives on a house on Dr. McCoy Road, which is on the north side of the campus.

The student, whose name has not been released, locked himself in the house. Davis said there is no indication that the student is armed and that the campus lockdown is simply a precaution.

Davis said the university-owned house is surrounded and that the situation appears contained to that location.

ARDEN, N.C. (AP) _ Authorities say a 13-year-old was at the wheel in a crash in Arden that killed a 15-year-old friend.

Tyler Ashby is 13 years old. He was treated at Mission Hospital and released.

Killed in the wreck was 15-year-old Zion Joyce. Both teens lived in Arden.

Ashby is an eighth-grader at Cane Creek Middle School and Joyce is a former student there.

State Highway Patrol Sgt. Pat Staggs says the teens were in a 2004 Toyota truck when the wreck occurred early Monday morning. Staggs says the truck belonged to one of the teens' relatives and was taken without the owner's knowledge.

Staggs says authorities are discussing possible legal consequences for Ashby.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - Some doctors, crisis pregnancy centers and women who say they've had abortions want to help defend a new North Carolina law that would set more ultrasound requirements before an abortion.

The potential defendants filed a motion Tuesday in Greensboro federal court with the help of legal groups opposed to abortion.

They want to intervene in the case to present evidence on why the law should be enforced in its entirety.

A judge last month blocked a portion of the law from taking effect that would require a medical worker to put the electronic image of the fetus in front of a pregnant woman, describe what can be viewed and offer her the chance to listen to the fetal heart beat. Abortion rights activists called the requirement an illegal government intrusion.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Political observers are sizing up whether this year's local elections are a sign of things to come in 2012, when voters decide a proposed state gay marriage ban and a presidential election.

Republican political consultant Carter Wrenn said Wednesday if Tuesday's elections in a decisive Wake County school board race and elsewhere offered any signs, it may be that the Tea Party-powered Republican wave may not pack the same punch as 2010.

The consultant for Republican Sen. Jesse Helms says this week's results may indicate that neither party has the benefit of a tide of discontented voters next year.

North Carolina Republican Party spokesman Rob Lockwood says the elections signaled that President Barack Obama's campaign organization is already at work in North Carolina and organizing precinct by precinct for 2012.

GREENSBORO, NC - Greensboro will have a new mayor.

After all the votes have been counted, Robbie Perkins has defeated Mayor Bill Knight, and is the new mayor-elect of the Gate City.

Unofficial results show Perkins winning by a 57-43% margin, after more than 36,000 people cast their ballots.

In Greensboro's city council at-large race, Yvonne Johnson, incumbent Nancy Vaughan, and newcomer Marikay Abuzuaiter won the three seats.

In District 4, Nancy Hoffman beat incumbent Mary Rakestraw by just 350 votes. All other council incumbents won their races.

Elsewhere around the Piedmont, Clemmons had a night of write-in candidates. Norm Denny and Mike Rogers earned seats on the village council, thanks to being written in. Nick Nelson also won a seat.

Clemmons Mayor John Bost narrowly defeated a write-in candidate in Jim Hayes, by just 121 votes out of 2,400.

Clemmons also voted down a $6 million street and sidewalk bond by an 81-19% margin.

A few municipalities voted on mixed drink sales. In Elon voters approved the measure by a 3-1 margin. Boonville also passed both a beer sale referendum and a mixed drink referendum.

NEWTON, N.C. (AP) — The father of a 10-year-old disabled murder victim wants his trial on charges unrelated to the girl's death moved from Catawba County.

A lawyer for Adam Baker filed the motion requesting a change of venue last week, saying his client can't get a fair trial because of publicity surrounding the death of Zahra Baker.

Adam Baker faces charges of identity theft and obtaining property by false pretenses.

The girl's stepmother, Elisa Baker, pleaded guilty in September to second-degree murder in Zahra's death and was sentenced to 15 to 18 years in prison. Prosecutors have said they don't believe Adam Baker was involved in his daughter's murder.

But in his motion, attorney Mark Killian says his client has been unfairly linked in the public mind to the murder of Zahra.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A Republican budget writer has told Governor Beverly Perdue's administration to avoid broad provider rate cuts and eliminating medical services not required by the federal government to close a projected $139 million shortfall in North Carolina's Medicaid program.

Representative Nelson Dollar of Cary gave Health and Human Services Secretary Lanier Cansler the advice at Tuesday's legislative oversight committee of Cansler's agency. Dollar said Cansler and lawmakers should work together to find other ways to cut spending through next summer. Dollar said cash reserves also could be used.

Perdue's office has blamed the Republican spending plan for demanding unobtainable reductions within Medicaid, the government health program for 1.5 million North Carolina residents. Republicans argue the problem rests with financial errors during then-Governor Mike Easley's administration.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — The state Transportation Department is testing eight electronic signs on interstates in Greensboro to make sure they work correctly.

The News & Record of Greensboro reports that DOT is testing the signs for 30 days on interstate 40, 85 and 40/85.

Starting Monday, the new signs repeated the same wording: "Call 511 for general travel info." The number refers to state DOT's mobile-phone network for travel updates.

The $875,000 project replaces seven existing electronic boards with larger, more technologically advanced signs near seven major interchanges and an eighth message board in a new location — on I-40 West.

The major benefit of the new message boards is a larger surface so DOT officials can convey longer messages that are easier for motorists to understand.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Confidence is still high at Wake Forest.

The Demon Deacons are shrugging off last week's loss to Notre Dame, and they aren't dwelling on their current slide of three losses in four games.

That's because they're still in the hunt to play in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game — if they beat No. 9 Clemson this week.

Wake Forest (5-4, 4-2) is tied for second place in the Atlantic Division with Florida State. Both are one game behind the Tigers.

Wins against Clemson and struggling Maryland would send the Demon Deacons to Charlotte for the ACC title game.

A win over the Tigers also would make the Demon Deacons bowl eligible and would end a five-game losing streak at Clemson's "Death Valley."

Motivated Barnes ready to be leader for Tar Heels

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina sophomore Harrison Barnes knows the Tar Heels accomplished a lot last season with their late-season surge. The preseason All-American says he's driven to accomplish the goals that were unmet during his first year in college.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Barnes says falling short of goals such as winning a national championship "gives me a lot of motivation for this year."

The 19-year-old seems far more at ease now than a year ago, when expectations dogged the 6-foot-8 forward before he even played a game. He's bulked up in the weight room and doesn't sound like he will struggle being considered the top player on the No. 1 team in the country.

The top-ranked Tar Heels face Michigan State on Friday in the Carrier Classic.

Study of FBS schools shows lack of diversity

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A new study says that the racial and gender composition of people in key leadership positions at schools that compete in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision remains decisively white and male.

The report by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida released on Tuesday shows that 90 percent of FBS presidents are white, along with 88 percent of athletic directors. Men comprise 81 and 95 percent of those positions, respectively.

Diversity also is severely lacking among the leadership at the various FBS conferences, where 100 percent of conference commissioners are both white and male.

The biggest strides show up on the sidelines of the playing field. There are an all-time high of 19 head coaches of color, including 17 African-Americans.

Panthers add two to 53-man roster

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Panthers practice squad linebacker Lawrence Wilson has been released from the team after being cited for speeding and marijuana possession during Carolina's bye week.

The team also added rookie cornerback Brandon Hogan to the 53-man roster from the physically unable to perform list Tuesday and signed rookie defensive end Thomas Keiser. To make room on the roster, the Panthers placed linebacker Thomas Williams on injured reserve because of a neck injury and released veteran defensive tackle Ron Fields.

Linebacker Phillip Dillard and defensive tackle Jason Shirley were added to the practice squad.

As for Wilson's release, general manager Marty Hurney said, "It's clear how we feel about the behavior and the light it sheds on the organization."

Sunny with a few afternoon clouds, our highs will be near 70. Cloudy tonight with a slight chance of rain, overnight lows around 50. And on Thursday, a chance of a morning shower with highs around 60.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The General Assembly wasted no time restoring omissions to North Carolina's new redistricting laws that were blamed on a computer code error.

The House and Senate both voted largely along party lines Monday to add census block data that got left out of the laws when they were approved in July. The legislators were expected to go home in the evening and return in a few weeks.

Republicans downplayed the omissions problem that failed to identify more than 200 sections of the state across three maps, calling them technical in nature.

Democrats opposed to the original maps in July used the error said the Republicans' excessive use of split voting precincts in drawing boundaries made the problem worse. They also said it's unconstitutional to fix problems with another bill.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Wall Street demonstrators in Raleigh concerned about high unemployment, state education cuts, foreclosures and health care access are talking to North Carolina state legislators.

Participants in the Occupy Raleigh movement spoke to members of the House Democrats' Business Caucus on Monday. They've been picketing on or near the grounds of the old Capitol building for the past month against what they call disproportionate power by corporations and economic inequalities.

Kurt Zehnder said the opportunity was a good first step toward improving dialogue between the movement and elected officials.

Caucus chairman Rep. Bill Faison of Orange County has pushed a proposal that would restore most of a penny sales tax increase that expired in July. The revenue would be used to restore government jobs and create small business tax incentives.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina's attorney general says 3.5 million doses of potentially dangerous prescription drugs were collected in a single day of events statewide late last month.

Attorney General Roy Cooper's office said Monday 20 percent of the more than 8,000 pounds of drugs collected on Oct. 29 were controlled substances like hydrocodone and methadone.

Local police worked with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the State Bureau of Investigation at more than 150 locations to collect medications residents wanted to drop off.

Cooper's office says Jacksonville police collected 158,000 doses, the Moore County Sheriff's Office collected 190,000 doses, and Greensboro police collected 419,000 doses.

The drugs were safely destroyed at an incinerator in Burlington.

MANNS HARBOR, N.C. (AP) — A new ferry boat making the daily run across Pamlico Sound between the mainland and the Outer Banks is now on duty for North Carolina motorists.

The state Ferry Division held a naming ceremony Monday for the Motor Vessel Swan Quarter at the state shipyard in Manns Harbor.

The 220-foot-long boat can carry 50 vehicles and 300 passengers. It will be used on the routes from Swan Quarter to Ocracoke and Cedar Island to Ocracoke.

The ferry is the first of two vessels being built by Orange, Tex.-based Orange Shipbuilding Co.

It joins the current fleet of four ferries on the Pamlico Sound routes.

PHOTO CREDIT: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN DIEGO, CA (AP) — North Carolina and Michigan State's unique season opener will be particularly special for Spartan guard Austin Thornton.

The Spartans face top-ranked North Carolina on Friday in the Carrier Classic, a much-anticipated basketball game on the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier. Thornton's older brother Thomas, a 2nd Lieutenant in the Marine Corps, is expected to be there. He's been stationed at Camp Pendleton recently.

The carrier will be at its berth at North Island Naval Air Station in the San Diego area. President Obama is expected to attend the game.

The USS Carl Vinson is the aircraft carrier from which Osama bin Laden was buried at sea.

Rivera: 4-win season would be disappointing

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers are on pace to win four games this season, which would double last season's output.

First-year coach Ron Rivera doesn't feel that is an acceptable scenario.

Rivera says the Panthers (2-6) are more talented than their record indicates, and wants his players to attack the second half of the season with a new sense of vigor and focus.

That's one of the reasons he held a full-padded practice Monday after the players returned from a four-day vacation, a decision players loathed before heading out to the field but felt good about afterward.

The coach says he will be "disappointed if we don't win more than four." Rivera says have that kind of ability and potential, adding, "maybe I'm pie in the sky."

Carolina hosts Tennessee on Sunday.

Busch fined $50,000, warned after Hornaday wreck

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR has fined Kyle Busch $50,000 and placed him on probation through the end of the year for wrecking Ron Hornaday at Texas.

NASCAR also warned Busch that he will be suspended indefinitely for any further incidents it considers "disruptive to the orderly conduct of an event."

NASCAR suspended Busch for Saturday and Sunday's races at Texas Motor Speedway as punishment for his actions in Friday night's Truck Series race. Busch wrecked Hornaday under caution and admitted after the accident he lost his temper.

Busch then watched Michael McDowell race his No. 18 in the Sprint Cup Series race Sunday while sitting atop the Joe Gibbs Racing pit box.

Rick Hendrick released from Charlotte hospital

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick has been released from the hospital, a week after he was injured when his private plane ran off the runway during a landing.

Hendrick was released Monday afternoon.

An evaluation in Charlotte last Tuesday showed Hendrick had four broken ribs and a broken shoulder. He was admitted to the hospital to better manage his pain.

Hendrick, his wife and two pilots were on the Gulfstream G150 that had brake issues upon landing Monday night at Key West International Airport. The plane was co-owned by Jimmie Johnson and normally shuttled the five-time defending NASCAR champion and his family to and from races.

Linda Hendrick sustained minor cuts and bruises. The two pilots were not injured.

PHOTO CREDIT: US NAVY

Mostly sunny skies today with highs near 70. Clear tonight with lows around 40. And on Wednesday, sunny with a few afternoon clouds. Highs will be in the mid-60s.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina lawmakers are returning to Raleigh on Monday for some work after all.

Leaders said recently they didn't expect to take up substantive legislation during a scheduled return to the Capitol. Now they're planning to stay for a day or two to fix what's called a computer code error. The error left out more than 200 portions of the state from redistricting laws approved in July.

The omissions didn't change the maps or likely the outcome of the vote in favor of the Republican plans. Democrats say they still intend to protest the plans because they argue the mistake was exacerbated by GOP mapmakers illegally splitting so many voting precincts.

Republican leaders are debating internally about whether they'll take up any other legislation before going home.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — As he approaches his 93rd birthday, America's most famous Christian evangelist is frankly reflecting on his mortality and offering perspective for the country's aging population.

The Rev. Billy Graham plans to mark his birthday Monday at home in North Carolina. The date comes just as Graham has published his 30th book, "Nearing Home," which contains reflections on life, no-nonsense advice about the need for financial planning as people age and the Christian view of death.

Graham has stepped away from active public ministry in recent years, but the former confidante to presidents remains tremendously popular.

Grant Wacker, a professor at Duke Divinity School, says Graham remains popular both with evangelical Christians and the broader public partly because of his ability to grow and address new questions throughout life.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina officials have tracked down less than four dozen of the thousands of residents forced to undergo sterilizations between 1929 and 1974.

The Charlotte Observer reports Sunday (http://bit.ly/vV7RJ3) that only 44 files have been matched to living survivors or descendants of the dead. State officials believe at least 1,500 of the 7,600 people sterilized under the state program are still alive.

Survivor Janice Black was 18 in 1971 when her stepmother took her to Charlotte Memorial Hospital. She says she didn't know why and didn't understand the consent form she signed.

North Carolina officials are considering compensating survivors. A task force is supposed to figure out possible cash payments.

The Eugenics Board approved sterilizations for people who suffered from mental illness, epilepsy and those with low intelligence.

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Tony Stewart won another round in the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, edging points leader Carl Edwards on Sunday in the "Texas Title Fight" to close the gap with two races left.

Stewart raced to his second straight victory, and fourth in the eight Chase races, finishing just ahead of Edwards at the 1½-mile, high-banked track. Stewart cut his points deficit from eight to three with a winning margin of 1.092 seconds.

The series returns next week to Phoenix, where the track has been reconfigured and resurfaced since Stewart was seventh and Edwards was 28th there in February in the second race of the season, and then to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the finale. Edwards won both races at the end of last season.

Benn scores twice to help Stars top Hurricanes 5-2

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jamie Benn scored twice, including a shorthanded goal, to lead the Dallas Stars to a 5-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.

Michael Ryder added a goal and an assist, and Erik Nystrom and Stephane Robidas also scored for Dallas, which is off to a 10-3-0 start. Loui Eriksson had three assists for the Stars, two of them on Benn's goals.

Chad LaRose and Tuomo Ruutu scored power-play goals for Carolina, which dropped its second straight in the only meeting between these teams this season.

Kari Lehtonen had 30 saves for Dallas to improve to 10-1-0.

Carolina starter Cam Ward stopped 10 of 14 shots before being pulled for Brian Boucher at 3:48 of the second with the Stars up 4-1.

LSU, Oklahoma State take lead in BCS race

UNDATED (AP) — LSU and Oklahoma State took control of the race to the BCS championship game — but don't count out Alabama yet.

The day after the Tigers and Cowboys stayed unbeaten with their most difficult victories of the season, they also took the top two spots in the BCS standings.

First-place LSU beat Alabama 9-6 in overtime Saturday night in Tuscaloosa, Ala., right about the time second-place Oklahoma State held off Kansas State 52-45 in Stillwater, Okla.

The Crimson Tide only slipped one spot to third.

Wake Forest plays No. 9 Clemson on Saturday.

If LSU (9-0) and Cowboys (9-0) remain unbeaten, they should meet in the New Orleans on Jan. 9.

If either slip up, Alabama or fourth-place Stanford are in position to reach the title game as long as they keep winning.

PGA Tour happy with 2 events in Asia

SHANGHAI (AP) — The PGA Tour no longer is looking for new tournaments in Asia as it considers revamping the schedule so that a new season would start in the fall after the FedEx Cup is over.

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said Sunday that if players approve the idea of a fall start to the season, then it would be easy to give the HSBC Champions equal status as the other three World Golf Championships. That would include making prize money official.

That would give the PGA Tour two Asia stops — the Asia Pacific Classic in Malaysia and the HSBC Champions — which Finchem feels is adequate combined with the domestic tournaments.

The earliest a fall start could happen is 2013, and Finchem said much of that depends on a player meeting in January at Torrey Pines and the next policy board meeting in March.

PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES

Patchy fog early, some clouds this morning giving way to mostly sunny skies this afternoon. Highs will be in the mid-60s. Clear to partly cloudy tonight with lows in the mid-30s. And on Tuesday, mostly sunny with highs again in the mid-60s.

CANTON, N.C. (AP) — A sewer system worker in western North Carolina lifted an iron lid and came face-to-face with a 7-foot python.

The Asheville Citizen-Times reported Saturday (http://avlne.ws/rv3T0y) that Canton sewer department employee David Matteson found the snake late last month coiled on the top step of a ladder into a pump station.

Matteson and co-worker Richard Hodge recovered from the initial shock and used shovels to coax the snake to uncoil, stuffed it in a burlap bag, and called Haywood County Animal Services.

Matteson said there was no way of knowing how long the snake had been in the sewer system or how it got there, but it looked healthy.

Animal services field supervisor Chad Stockton said it's illegal to own a constrictor snake such as a python in Haywood County.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) North Carolina consumers who buy energy-saving appliances this weekend won't have to pay sales tax.

The state holds the tax holiday for the fourth year beginning Friday and continuing through Sunday.

The savings applies to qualified products that meet Energy Star efficiency guidelines set by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy. Qualified products feature the Energy Star label.

Tax-exempt products include qualified clothes washers, freezers, refrigerators, central air conditioners, room air conditioners, air-source heat pumps, ceiling fans, dehumidifiers and programmable thermostats.

Purchases by businesses are not tax-free.

The cost of the products don't affect whether they qualify. Purchases must be for immediate delivery to qualify.

LENIOR, N.C. (AP) A hearing has been delayed on a variety of charges for the father of a 10-year-old girl who was killed in North Carolina last year.

Adam Baker had been scheduled for trial in Caldwell County on Thursday on four misdemeanor charges.

The case has been delayed until Jan. 5.

Baker is charged with two counts of communicating threats, assault with a deadly weapon and failure to return rental property.

Baker's charges are not related to the disappearance and death of his daughter, Zahra. The disabled girl was found dismembered in two locations in Caldwell County last fall.

Her stepmother, Elisa Baker, pleaded guilty in the girl's death in September and was sentenced to between 14 years and 18 years in prison.

LEXINGTON, N.C. (AP)  A 20-year-old man has surrendered to authorities in a hit-and-run death of a disabled man on a bicycle.

Kenneth Reece Wright Jr., of Thomasville is charged with felony hit and run resulting in serious injury or death. Wright also is charged with failure to display a license plate, driving without an inspection, operating a vehicle without insurance and failure to report an accident.

He is in the Davidson County jail awaiting a Nov. 30 hearing. It was unclear if he has a lawyer.

Forty-five-year-old Richard Clay Wise of Davidson County was hit Tuesday night as he rode on Old N.C. Highway 109. He died at Thomasville Medical Center.

Trooper T.L. Gillispie says Wright turned himself in about two hours after his vehicle was found by authorities Wednesday afternoon.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Six decades' worth of messages from America's most famous evangelist are now available in a searchable online database.

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association said Wednesday that visitors to www.billygraham.org can find nearly 1,700 audio files from the North Carolina-born religious leader taken from his six decades of public ministry.

The files range from sermons at Graham's famous crusades to radio broadcasts to remarks the reverend made at the funeral of President Lyndon Johnson.

The Billy Graham Audio Archives can be searched by location, date and topic, with topics ranging from divorce to Christians' relationship with the world.

The association says the archive is unique in sharing, making such a large amount of data public in a single location.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The cost of a constant police presence at protests in some North Carolina cities inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement is starting to worry some officials, but protesters say the round-the-clock monitoring isn't necessary.

Raleigh police estimate they've spent roughly $1,500 a day in overtime costs since the middle of October monitoring the protesters' camp at the old state Capitol building. Charlotte police estimate the cost of a round-the-clock presence at the protest in the Queen City to be over $105,000 since October 1st.

But Occupy Raleigh demonstrator Joseph Huberman says most people who pass by the demonstrators are friendly, and that there's been no serious trouble.

Other cities with protester encampments, like Chapel Hill, don't have 24-hour police presence at their demonstrations.

PHOTO CREDIT: DIGTRIAD.COM

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration is planning to spend $600 million over five years to educate the public about the dangers of tobacco use.

Lawrence Deyton, head of the Center for Tobacco Products, told The Associated Press that the multimedia educational campaigns are aimed at reducing the death and disease caused by tobacco. The first campaign will target youth, minorities and other groups include the gay community.

The FDA says about 3,450 kids in the U.S. try their first cigarette every day and 850 become daily smokers.

The campaigns are in partnership with other public health efforts including new graphic warning labels set to appear on cigarette packs late next year.

Tobacco companies will foot the bill through fees charged by the FDA under a 2009 law.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Thomas Davis loves football so much he isn't about to let three knee injuries force him out of the game.

The often-injured Carolina Panthers linebacker refuses to put his shoulder pads on the shelf and plans to keep playing despite tearing the ACL in his right knee three times in the last two years.

Davis' latest knee injury came in Week 2 against Green Bay and he's been on injured reserve since. But the seven-year NFL veteran hasn't given up the dream of playing again.

Davis says he has some good years left and will do anything to play again — even if that means volunteering to restructure his contract and take a pay cut.

Panthers CB Butler back after daughter's surgery

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Carolina Panthers cornerback Darius Butler was back at practice Wednesday after missing last week's game to be with his 3-month-old daughter Milan, who underwent successful open heart surgery.

The baby was found to have heart complications last week after a routine checkup and was quickly admitted to the emergency room. Butler immediately left the team and returned home to Hollywood, Fla., upon hearing the news.

She had surgery the following day.

He says his daughter will remain in the intensive care unit at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital for at least two more weeks, but is expected to make a full recovery. Butler said he planned to return home Wednesday night to be with his family.

No. 6 Duke claims 80-66 exhibition win over Shaw

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Ryan Kelly scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half, and No. 6 Duke beat Shaw 80-66 in an exhibition game Wednesday night.

Mason Plumlee added 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting and freshman Austin Rivers had 12 for the Blue Devils. They shot 53 percent, never trailed and gradually built their lead throughout the game.

Shaw didn't get closer than 11 in the second half, and Rivers scored six points during the 13-4 spurt that made it a 20-point game for the first time. Plumlee capped it with a layup that made it 71-51 with 7½ minutes left.

Andre Dawkins had all 12 of his points on four first-half 3-pointers, and Seth Curry also finished with 12 points.

Tony Smith, Mohammed Abdur-Rahim and former Binghamton player Malik Alvin each scored 13 points for Shaw.

Hendrick hospitalized to manage pain from crash

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick has been hospitalized to treat injuries he suffered when his private plane ran off the runway during a landing.

Hendrick Motorsports says an evaluation Tuesday in Charlotte showed Hendrick has four broken ribs and a broken shoulder. He was admitted to a local hospital to better manage his pain, and is expected to be released by the end of the week.

Hendrick, his wife and two pilots were on the Gulfstream G150 that had brake issues upon landing Monday night at Key West International Airport. The plane is co-owned by Jimmie Johnson and normally shuttles the five-time defending NASCAR champion and his family to and from races.

Linda Hendrick sustained minor cuts and bruises. The two pilots were not injured.

The plane apparently skidded off the 4,800-foot runway and came to a stop along a 600-foot unpaved safety area that had been added in May.

PHOTO CREDIT: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Lots of sunshine today with highs in the mid-60s. But rain early tonight, evolving to a more steady shower overnight with lows around 50. And on Friday, rain early, cloudy in the afternoon with highs around 60.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina's redistricting maps have hit a snag that may require the Legislature to return to work and restore sections left out by mistakes in the laws that created the boundaries in July.

A document by General Assembly staff presented to legislative leaders and obtained by The Associated Press indicates the laws creating the new maps for Congress and the General Assembly failed to identify more than 200 small sections of the state. The missing areas affect dozens of districts and could force lawmakers to fix the problems to ensure the boundaries meet redistricting rules.

The Legislature is already scheduled to reconvene Monday.

The disclosure comes on what was supposed to be the day federal lawyers could sign off on boundaries after they were reviewed for possible racial discrimination.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — When the new prime minister of Libya was chosen this week, the name was a familiar one for some people in North Carolina.

Abdurrahim el-Keib earned a doctorate from North Carolina State University in electrical engineering in 1984 before going on to teach at the University of Alabama.

Emeritus professor John Grainger was a mentor to el-Keib, and remembers him as a devout Muslim with a good sense of humor.

Grainger said el-Keib never spoke much about politics, but was afraid to return to his native Libya during his time in Raleigh. Grainger says el-Keib would travel to Morocco and meet family members there instead.

El-Keib was elected prime minister on Monday by Libya's National Transitional Council following the overthrow and death of former dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina judge is refusing to reduce the bond required to free Duke lacrosse accuser Crystal Mangum, who is accused of stabbing her boyfriend to death.

WTVD reported Tuesday that the judge said he'll revisit later whether to lower Mangum's $200,000 bond.

The 32-year-old Mangum asked for a reduced bond so she can spend time with her children. Her attorney told the judge her children are not allowed to visit her in jail.

Mangum was indicted in April for killing 46-year-old Reginald Daye, who died from a single stab wound that an autopsy determined punctured his left lung and other organs. Mangum's attorney said she stabbed Daye to keep him from beating her.

She falsely accused Duke University lacrosse players of rape in 2006.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina appeals court says stun guns can be considered deadly weapons depending on how they're used.

The state Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld a decision that Reynarldo Rafael Rivera was guilty of robbery with a dangerous weapon. He used a stun gun on a bank clerk outside a Wake County Walmart in 2008.

The court said state judges previously determined that a deadly weapon can include regular household objects even if they don't cause life-threatening injury. The court cited previous cases that gasoline can be a dangerous weapon when a book of matches is nearby and a pellet gun aimed at a vital organ but not fired meets the definition.

The judges say possession of the electric shock weapons is illegal in seven states.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jeff Skinner and Chad LaRose had two goals each, lifting the Carolina Hurricanes to a 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night.

Skinner, last season's NHL rookie of the year, has six goals and 12 points in 12 games this season.

Carolina improved to 1-2-1 against Southeast Division rivals. The Lightning opened the season with a 5-1 road victory over the Hurricanes on Oct. 7. Tampa Bay had won three straight against Carolina in Raleigh by a combined score of 15-5.

Carolina's Cam Ward (5-2-2) made 27 saves. Tampa Bay counterpart Dwayne Roloson (2-3-1) stopped 26 shots.

Panthers' Clausen biding his time as third-team QB

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Jimmy Clausen doesn't need a bye week.

He hasn't played enough this season for the Carolina Panthers to warrant such a break.

One year after being selected in the second round and starting 10 games as a rookie, Clausen has become an afterthought in Carolina's high-powered offense.

He's third on the depth chart at quarterback behind rookie sensation and No. 1 overall pick Cam Newton and veteran backup Derek Anderson. The Panthers only dress two quarterbacks on game day, so Clausen has been inactive for all eight games.

It all leaves Clausen's future with the Panthers a little cloudy.

But the former Notre Dame product isn't interested in politicking for a trade. He is just bidding his time and says he's just trying to get better.

Krzyzewski on verge of historic 903rd career win

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — The always-busy Mike Krzyzewski has a lot on his plate — even for him.

He's trying to lead a young Duke team to a fourth consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference title, attempting to lead the USA to back-to-back Olympic gold medals and is on the verge of becoming the winningest men's basketball coach in Division I history.

And the record is all anyone wants to talk about — except Krzyzewski.

The longtime Duke coach is about to pass Bob Knight. Krzyzewski, who played for Knight at Army in the 1960s, says it's "cool" that a former player and his former coach are the first to reach 900 victories. But Krzyzewski feels the mark says more about the coach than the former player.

Krzyzewski is 900-284, two victories shy of Knight.

Hendrick returns to N. Carolina after plane crash

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick returned home Tuesday, a day after he suffered minor injuries when his plane ran off the runway in Key West, Fla.

Hendrick Motorsports says the team owner suffered a broken rib and a broken shoulder when the brakes failed upon landing the Gulfstream G150 at Key West International Airport on Monday night.

Hendrick, his wife, Linda, and the two pilots all were released from Lower Keys Medical Center on Tuesday morning and returned to Charlotte. Linda Hendrick suffered minor cuts and bruises, and the two pilots were not injured.

Hendrick fields cars for five-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson, four-time champion Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin.

The plane is joint-owned by Hendrick Motorsports and Jimmie Johnson Racing. It is still in Key West.

Sunny skies today with highs in the mid-60s. Mostly clear tonight with lows around 40. And on Thursday, mostly sunny, highs again in the mid-60s.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) State health officials say the North Carolina State Fair is the focus of the investigation of an E. coli outbreak that has made at least nine people sick.

Fifteen other cases are under investigation.

State epidemiologist Dr. Megan Davies says while all two dozen people affected so far were at the fair, officials have not determined whether the cases are linked to food vendors, an animal exhibit or the petting zoo.

Davies thinks there would have been more cases if there were a contaminated food or water source.

Officials are questioning both those became sick and a random sample of those who attended the fair and did not become ill.

Four children and one adult are still hospitalized.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina state senator who led the effort to secure next year's statewide referendum on whether to prohibit gay marriage has died. He was 74.

Mary Paige Forrester says her father, Sen. Jim Forrester, died Monday at CaroMont Health hospital in Gastonia after he was taken off life support. Forrester had multiple health problems and took a turn for the worse over the weekend.

Forrester was in the Senate for 20 years and this year became deputy Senate leader when Republicans took over the chamber for the first time in more than a century.

The family physician and retired Air Force general had tried for several years to get a referendum on constitutionally banning gay marriage. The Legislature approved the question in September. Voters will decide in May.

SMITHFIELD, N.C. (AP) — Police in Smithfield say they may have to stop investigating misdemeanors and ignore some 911 calls if town leaders don't provide more gas money.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reports that Police Chief Michael Scott will make the proposals Tuesday to the town council.

Town leaders asked Scott to find an alternative to shifting $30,000 from the supply budget to paying for gas.

That alternative involves having detectives only investigate felonies and having police ignore calls from hotels and pay phones when callers hang up. They also would stop responding to burglar alarms and would cut patrols in parts of town with few reports of violent crimes.

Councilman Perry Harris says Smithfield leaders won't let that happen. He wants the department to consider other cost-saving measures.

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A man who had his eyes on some cars in a Fayetteville parking lot missed the two he should've seen -- the two from the Fayetteville Police Department.

The Fayetteville Observer reports that 35-year-old Kendrick Dion McArthur was arrested and charged after two uniformed officers recovering a stolen car watched him break into another vehicle in a Walmart parking lot.

Police spokesman Gavin MacRoberts said the officers saw a man fidgeting with keys near a sport utility vehicle. MacRoberts said the man then opened the door to a silver car next to the SUV and took several items out of it. One officer walked over to the man, took the property and handcuffed him.

Bail for McArthur was set at $10,000. It wasn't known if McArthur has an attorney.

KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — Officials say a small jet carrying the owner of NASCAR's top team and his wife lost its brakes and crash landed at a Key West, Fla., airport Monday evening, and the couple suffered minor injuries.

The Gulfstream 150 aircraft ran off the runway at the Key West International Airport Monday at 7:45 p.m. Rick and Linda Hendrick, a pilot and co-pilot were all taken to Lower Keys Medical Centers. The Hendricks had minor injuries and the pilot and co-pilot were taken in as a precaution, said county airport director Peter Horton.

The plane is registered to Jimmie Johnson Racing II Incorporated in Charlotte, N.C. Johnson is a five-time defending NASCAR champion and drives for Hendrick Motorsports, which Rick Hendrick owns.

Frustrated Panthers enter the bye week at 2-6

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — After everyone else had cleared out of the Carolina Panthers locker room Sunday, coach Ron Rivera walked through with his arm around Olindo Mare's shoulder.

Rivera was trying to console his kicker who'd just blown a potential game-tying chip shot field goal with 26 seconds left in a costly 24-21 defeat to the Minnesota Vikings.

It probably shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Mare missed a 31-yard field goal, a relative gimme by NFL standard. That's pretty much how the Panthers season has gone.

Sunday's disappointing loss marked the fifth time this season the Panthers (2-6) lost a game in which they either led or were tied in the fourth quarter.

The Panthers have two weeks to dwell on this one. They play Tennessee on Nov. 13.

Tar Heels aim to snap skid against rival Wolfpack

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — For North Carolina, the rivalry game with North Carolina State has been a big disappointment in recent years.

The Tar Heels (6-3, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) have lost four straight to the Wolfpack (4-4, 1-3). The last win came when former coach John Bunting led the Tar Heels past ex-Wolfpack coach Chuck Amato in 2006.

N.C. State is looking to win five straight in the series for the first time since 1988-92 when the teams meet Saturday in Raleigh.

North Carolina interim football coach Everett Withers said Monday he doesn't remember any UNC-N.C. State rivalry games that "didn't involve Carolina winning." The Charlotte native hasn't made a secret of how much he wants to beat the Wolfpack.

Pirates playing for 1st in C-USA East Division

GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) — East Carolina has rebounded from a bumpy start to the season and enters November chasing a Conference USA crown.

The Pirates (4-4, 3-1) meet Southern Mississippi (7-1, 3-1) on Saturday with the winner taking sole possession of first place in the league's East Division standings. They've won three straight games after a 1-4 start to the season, which included losses to South Carolina and Virginia Tech as well as a 56-3 loss at Houston.

Coach Ruffin McNeill says he wants his players focused on continuing to play like they have for the past three games instead of the shot at the division lead.

East Carolina will be without starting tailback Reggie Bullock due to a thigh injury, while second-leading receiver Justin Hardy is questionable with a knee injury.

PHOTO CREDIT: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Lots of sunshine and a bit warmer today with highs in the low 60s. Mostly clear tonight with lows in the upper 30s. And on Wednesday, a carbon copy of today with highs in the lower 60s.

LUMBERTON, N.C. (AP) — State House Speaker Thom Tillis says it wasn't the ownership of a Brunswick County property that sunk a deal to bring a major employer to North Carolina.

The Robesonian of Lumberton reports that the speaker told a Lumberton audience that it was policymakers' inability to agree on incentives for the Continental tire plant that doomed the project.

This month, the German manufacturer announced it will bring a $500 million plant and 1,600 jobs to Sumter County, South Carolina.

Republican Senate leaders blamed the fact that the prospective North Carolina site is owned by politically-connected Democratic donors and a state senator.

But Tillis, also a Republican, says the real problem was Continental's demand for $45 million up front. The state wanted to spread that over 15 years.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Two Democrats in North Carolina's congressional delegation could be heading toward an uncomfortable primary next spring.

U.S. Reps. Brad Miller of Raleigh and David Price of Chapel Hill were drawn together into a reconfigured 4th District. It covered all or parts of four Triangle counties for the past decade. Republican mapmakers extended the district into Alamance County and to Fayetteville in the latest round of redistricting.

Miller and Price didn't budge in recent interviews from the notion of running in the new 4th. Miller currently represents the 13th District, which has more desirable boundaries for a Republican candidate. Price is the current 4th District incumbent.

The boundaries could still be reworked. U.S. Justice Department attorneys could tell state officials this week whether the map complies with the Voting Rights Act.

GASTONIA, N.C. (AP) — Gaston County is allowing people with concealed weapons permits to bring their guns to public parks, but leaders say the state law that prompted the change will likely end up in court.

The Gaston Gazette reports that county commissioners will allow the change in Gaston's 20 public parks, and that other counties with gun prohibitions will likely have to follow.

This year, the General Assembly passed a law preventing local governments from banning concealed weapons in public parks.

But the law allows bans on handguns in recreational spots like swimming pools and athletic fields. Gaston County director of parks and recreation Cathy Hart says the law is vague on the definition of such spots, especially if they're part of public parks.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Ryan Longwell kicked a 31-yard field goal with 2:43 left in the game to lift the Minnesota Vikings to a 24-21 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

Cam Newton put the Panthers (2-6) in position to tie the game in the final two minutes. He completed a 44-yard pass to Brandon LaFell on fourth-and-15, but Olindo Mare was wide left with a 31-yard field goal attempt with 26 seconds left.

Adrian Peterson had 162 yards from scrimmage and scored two touchdowns as the Vikings (2-6) snapped a two-game losing streak.

Christian Ponder won the battle of rookie quarterbacks, completing 18 of 28 passes for 236 yards and one touchdown.

Newton threw a season-best three touchdown passes, but had two costly fumbles on blindside hits that led to a pair of Minnesota touchdowns in the first half. Carolina's offense sputtered throughout most of the second half, going three-and-out three times.

Cam's Panthers fall to Vikings 24-21

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Cam Newton is still struggling to figure out how to handle losing.

The rookie threw for 290 yards and had three touchdown passes for the first time, but the Carolina Panthers ended up with another close loss when Olindo Mare missed a 31-yard field goal in the final minute against the Minnesota Vikings to fall 24-21.

Newton after the game said he didn't classify the Panthers as a good team because of their 2-6 record. However, they head into the bye week with five losses by seven points or less.

While Newton had a good statistical day, he also lost a pair of fumbles on blindside sacks that each led to short touchdown drives for Minnesota.

Stewart wins at Martinsville; closes in on Edwards

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) — Tony Stewart passed Jimmie Johnson on a restart with three laps to go Sunday and surged into contention for his third NASCAR Sprint Cup championship with three races left.

The victory was the third for Stewart in the first seven races of the 10-race playoffs.

Stewart moved from 19 points behind leader Carl Edwards and in fourth place to just eight points behind in second as several contenders got caught up in a season-high 18 caution flags.

Edwards struggled all day, but rallied to finish ninth and held on to a lead that he seemed likely to lose.

Others weren't as lucky, chief among them Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski, who had late problems and were both passed by Stewart in the points race.

PHOTO CREDIT: CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

Partly cloudy skies today but cool with highs in the upper 50s. A few clouds tonight, giving way to mostly clear skies overnight with lows in the upper 30s. And on Tuesday, a mix of couds and sun with highs again around 60.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina officials are investigating up to 21 possible cases of E. coli affecting people in six counties, with four children still hospitalized because of the ailment.

State Epidemiologist Megan Davies said Thursday that nine cases have been confirmed, and 12 more are being evaluated.

Most of the cases come from Wake County, which has seven confirmed and four suspected. Sampson County has six, and there are one each in Durham, Johnston, Franklin and Cleveland counties.

Eight of the nine confirmed cases occurred in people who attended the N.C. State Fair, but Davies says investigators don't know yet how many of the suspected cases were at the event.

Davies says it's not clear yet what else the confirmed cases had in common besides attending the fair in its early days.

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — The next installment in the Iron Man superhero film franchise will blast off from a North Carolina soundstage.

Gov. Beverly Perdue and EUE/Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington said Thursday that Marvel Studios will film "Iron Man 3" in the coastal North Carolina city.

The movie starring Robert Downey Jr. is expected to start pre-production in Wilmington soon, creating 550 crew jobs and more than 1,000 spots for actors and other talent.

Marvel Studios Co-President Louis D'Esposito said the region's unique filming opportunities will benefit the film's look.

EUE/Screen Gems says motion picture executives at Marvel considered locations in Los Angeles, Michigan and New Mexico before deciding Wilmington had the right mix of space, talent, and taxpayer incentives.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Gov. Beverly Perdue's administration is now moving forward with a study mandated by the North Carolina Legislature months ago to examine options to pay $2.5 billion owed to the federal government for unemployment benefits.

Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco told a legislative oversight committee Thursday the formal bid request for the outside examination has been posted.

Crisco suggested two weeks ago to a state senator that three reports from investment firms would suffice for the study. The senator, Bob Rucho of Mecklenburg County, said those reports wouldn't cut it and criticized state officials for failing to expedite the study. Lawmakers approved the study idea this past March.

Crisco says study recommendations should be available in February. Higher unemployment insurance taxes for businesses are on the horizon to pay off the debt.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A Republican budget-writer says he doesn't envision large reimbursement rate cuts for doctors or eliminating optional medical services for North Carolina Medicaid patients to help close a projected $140 million shortfall this year.

Rep. Nelson Dollar of Cary said Thursday the gap between Medicaid revenues and expenditures really isn't that large when compared to a program that receives $12 billion in federal and state funds.

Dollar said much of the shortfall can be attributed to payments that weren't requested by Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue in her budget bill for lawmakers to pay. Perdue's administration has said lawmakers were aware of the expected payments but didn't provide money for them.

An oversight committee meeting Thursday discussed the Medicaid shortfall.