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By MIKE BAKER

March 23, 2009

Poll: Half of N.C. adults oppose marriage amendment

RALEIGH (AP) — About half of North Carolina adults oppose a constitutional amendment that would prohibit same-sex marriage, according to a poll released Monday that suggests state voters may be unwilling to follow their Southern peers in approving s... Read More

Elon poll: Half oppose N.C. gay marriage amendment

March 19, 2009

NC regulators deem Cliffside a 'minor' polluter

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Duke Energy Corp.'s new $2.4 billion coal-fired generator in western North Carolina will be a "minor" source of pollution, North Carolina regulators said Friday, dealing a blow to environmental activists who had tried... Read More

March 18, 2009

Secret to lavish life? Feds say N.C. man used Ponzi scheme

RALEIGH (AP) — Almost every single month for nearly six years, prosecutors say, Bruce Kramer's investments lost money.Court documents, however, reflect that the self-professed expert mathematician told his 79 customers that the $40 million he was tr... Read More

March 13, 2009

Deputies look for suspect in quadruple murder

RALEIGH (AP) — Authorities stopped morning commuters Friday in hopes of getting a better description of a man suspected in the slayings of a mother and her three children in their western North Carolina home.The four victims were shot or stabbed to... Read More

Michelle Obama tours, mingles at Fort Bragg

FORT BRAGG (AP) — The nation owes not only gratitude but tangible assistance to the nation's military and their families, and she'll make that a focus of her time in the White House, first lady Michelle Obama says.Underscoring her commitment to the... Read More

March 10, 2009

Democrats expand their search for Burr challenger

RALEIGH (AP) - Democrats in North Carolina expanded their search for a Senate challenger Tuesday as one prominent party prospect pulled his name from consideration and another pushed back his decision. North Carolina Rep. Heath Shuler said he wanted to sp... Read More

March 9, 2009

Shuler decides not to seek Senate seat in 2010

RALEIGH (AP) - North Carolina Rep. Heath Shuler will not run for Senate in 2010, a spokesman said Monday night, declining a chance to seek a seat in the upper chamber as Democrats plot to expand their majority on Capitol Hill. Spokesman Andrew Whalen made... Read More

February 27, 2009

Poll: N.C. adults support increase in cigarette tax

RALEIGH (AP) - More than 73 percent of North Carolina adults support or strongly support an increase in the state's cigarette tax as a way to close a growing budget shortfall, according to an Elon University poll released Friday. The survey also found sup... Read More

February 25, 2009

FDA didn't inspect syringe plant despite reports

RALEIGH (AP) - A North Carolina syringe factory linked to hundreds of sicknesses and five deaths operated for almost two years without an inspection despite a series of complaints that its needles were dirty or filled with colored particles. Court documen... Read More

February 24, 2009

Update: Prosecutors say company shipped tainted syringes

RALEIGH (AP) — A North Carolina company is accused of bypassing sterilization tests for medical syringes in a cost-cutting move prosecutors say sickened hundreds of patients and led to five deaths. U.S. Attorney George Holding said today that federal au... Read More

February 16, 2009

Gov. Perdue says stimulus isn't all she hoped for

RALEIGH (AP) - Gov. Beverly Perdue said Monday she is preparing to spend North Carolina's slice of an economic stimulus plan quickly, hoping to infuse the cash into projects to get people to work and get the attention of Washington. The Democratic leader... Read More

January 28, 2009

Hagan backs health plan despite tobacco tax jump

RALEIGH (AP) - North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan said Wednesday she favors an expansion of children's health insurance over a cornerstone industry in her home state as Democrats prepared to approve a sharp increase in cigarette taxes. Read More

January 21, 2009

Update: Cold, ice linger in N.C.

RALEIGH (AP) — Police warned drivers to be careful today on icy back roads in North Carolina as temperatures stayed below freezing across the state the day after one driver died after sliding off into a tree. "Secondary roads are the concern," Capt. Eve... Read More

January 20, 2009

Rare Carolinas snowfall prompts emergency in N.C.

RALEIGH (AP) — A rare snowfall powdered the Carolinas on Tuesday, extending the long weekend for some and creating a long commute for others as the flakes piled up over half a foot in parts of a region unaccustomed to such wintry weather. Read More

January 15, 2009

In shift, Hagan supports new bailout dollars

RALEIGH (AP) - North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan supports the release of $350 billion in bailout funds, shifting her position just a few months after opposing a bailout bill that passed while she was running for Congress. Hagan said Thursday that President-el... Read More

December 19, 2008

State's revenues now 6.1 percent below projections

RALEIGH (AP) - North Carolina's budget shortfall has widened amid worsening economic conditions and growing job losses, and a state report released Friday shows that numbers are trending toward the gloomiest side of past projections. Numbers released by G... Read More

December 18, 2008

Panel recomends money for sterilization victims

RALEIGH (AP) - A state House panel has recommended North Carolina provide compensation to victims of the state's forced sterilization program. Lawmakers said Thursday the state should give $20,000 to victims of the program, which sterilized about 7,600 pe... Read More

Homeowner insurance rates to soar along coast

RALEIGH (AP) - Homeowners on the North Carolina coast face drastically higher insurance premiums under an agreement announced Thursday as the state tries to prepare for the cost of a major hurricane. Insurance Commissioner Jim Long said the agreement with... Read More

December 10, 2008

One of Fantasia's N.C. homes is up for auction

RALEIGH (AP) — "American Idol" winner Fantasia Barrino is again finding that, like the title of her autobiography, life is not a fairy tale. Court documents obtained Tuesday show one of Barrino's houses in Charlotte is up for auction after a company sai... Read More

December 4, 2008

Moore vs. Cooper? Dispute hints at politics ahead

RALEIGH (AP) - An ongoing quarrel between Attorney General Roy Cooper and State Treasurer Richard Moore may be more than just two agencies vying for power: It could foreshadow a coming Democratic primary to challenge Republican Sen. Richard Burr. Both Coo... Read More

December 2, 2008

Judge orders full review of Duke's Cliffside unit

RALEIGH (AP) - A federal judge ordered Duke Energy Corp. on Tuesday to undergo a full environmental assessment of a coal-fired generator under construction in western North Carolina, giving the company 60 days to comply with regulations initially ignored... Read More

November 26, 2008

Easley to stimulate economy with building projects

RALEIGH (AP) - Gov. Mike Easley said Wednesday he is fast-tracking more than $700 million in building projects as a way to stimulate North Carolina's economy, changing his strategy in the face of sobering job numbers and increasing financial turmoil. The... Read More

November 25, 2008

State board signs off on election results

RALEIGH (AP) — The State Board of Elections signed off today on North Carolina's election results, approving the numbers in an unusually uneventful canvass that brought no objections. Elections board director Gary Bartlett said in an interview that offi... Read More

November 24, 2008

Biotech firms pressure Perdue for cash

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK (AP) - North Carolina's biotechnology firms pressed governor-elect Bev Perdue on Monday to commit perhaps millions of taxpayer dollars to buoy cash-starved companies that face the prospect of bankruptcy without financing. After a ro... Read More