Passenger’s suspicious claim diverts jet to Maine

The Associated Press | May 22, 2012 - 8:31pm

BANGOR, Maine – A US Airways jet traveling from Paris to North Carolina was diverted to Maine on Tuesday after a French passenger handed a note to a flight attendant mentioning that she had a surgically implanted device, raising fears of a terror scenario that security officials had warned about.

N.C. pastor: Lock up gays, let them die out

The Associated Press | May 22, 2012 - 8:31pm

MAIDEN – A Catawba County pastor is drawing national headlines, and ire, for a sermon where he advocates corralling gays and lesbians behind an electric fence as a way to exterminate homosexuality.

Perdue, Cherokee chief sign amended gambling pact

The Associated Press | May 22, 2012 - 8:30pm

RALEIGH – Gov. Bev Perdue and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians signed Tuesday an updated edition to its new agreement to allow live dealer games at the tribe’s western North Carolina casino, a move designed to ease concerns of more state lawmakers.

Politicians talk remedies for N.C.’s business health

The Associated Press | May 22, 2012 - 8:30pm

RALEIGH – The major party candidates for governor and leaders in the General Assembly offered their prescriptions for improving North Carolina’s business health Tuesday, with both sides pushing the need to improve education and reducing regulatory burdens.

Law to tie corporate tax break, private tuition

The Associated Press | May 22, 2012 - 8:30pm

RALEIGH – North Carolina lawmakers this week will introduce legislation that would let corporations send up to $40 million of their state taxes next year to a program that would give low-income children up to $4,000 to attend private or religious schools.

Jury at Edwards trial ends third day of deliberation

The Associated Press | May 22, 2012 - 8:29pm

GREENSBORO – The jury deciding the fate of former presidential candidate John Edwards has finished a third day of deliberations without reaching a verdict.

N.C. woman charged in wreck that killed two in S.C.

May 22, 2012 - 11:34am

CHESNEE, S.C. — A North Carolina woman faces charges after troopers say she left an accident that killed two South Carolina residents.

Annexation bills clear N.C. Senate, head to House

The Associated Press | May 21, 2012 - 10:21pm

RALEIGH — The N.C. Senate has given its final approval to bills altering recently approved laws on forced annexation that have been challenged in court.

Jury at Edwards trial ends second day of deliberations

The Associated Press | May 21, 2012 - 8:33pm

GREENSBORO – The jury deciding the fate of John Edwards in North Carolina has finished a second day of deliberations without reaching a verdict.

Perdue issues order to develop fracking rules

The Associated Press | May 21, 2012 - 8:31pm

RALEIGH – Governor Bev Perdue sought Monday to set the table for how North Carolina would seek to permit shale gas exploration and production with an executive order directing a workgroup to make regulatory recommendations.

Man with innocence case released from prison

The Associated Press | May 21, 2012 - 8:31pm

RALEIGH – A North Carolina man whose innocence claim on a rape conviction will be heard later this year was released from prison Monday on parole after serving almost 24 years of his life sentence.

Teacher suspended after yelling at Obama critic

The Associated Press | May 21, 2012 - 8:31pm

SPENCER – A North Carolina high school teacher has been suspended following the release of a YouTube video in which she is heard yelling at a student in class and telling him it’s wrong to criticize President Barack Obama.

KKK fliers promote cross burning in Reidsville

May 21, 2012 - 11:08am

REIDSVILLE — Police in Reidsville are investigating some fliers that invite people to a cross-burning.

Tropical Storm Alberto hovers off S.C. coast

May 20, 2012 - 9:09pm

COLUMBIA, S.C.  — Tropical Storm Alberto hovered off the South Carolina and Georgia coasts on Sunday, canceling tourist cruises, producing showers along the coast and serving as a reminder that the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season is just around the corner.

For gay marriage opponents, moments shape minds

May 20, 2012 - 8:29pm

When President Obama announced his support for gay marriage, supporters and pundits declared it symbolic of a historic shift in American attitudes.

Effort on juvenile court age still lacks unity

The Associated Press | May 20, 2012 - 8:28pm

RALEIGH – N.C. General Assembly members learned last year they could undertake a dramatic overhaul to North Carolina’s criminal justice system without being labeled soft on crime by political opponents.

Salmonella cases from meat substitute top 80

The Associated Press | May 20, 2012 - 8:28pm

ASHEVILLE – Health officials say the number of people sickened by salmonella from a soy product often used as a meat substitute has topped 80.83 cases of salmonella can be traced to a culture starter for tempeh sold to Smiling Hara Tempeh, which made the bean product in Candler.

Pilot, passenger survive Pitt County plane crash

The Associated Press | May 20, 2012 - 8:28pm

WINTERVILLE – Authorities said the pilot and his passenger have survived a small plane crash in Pitt County.

Hospital warns 10 patients of infection risk

May 19, 2012 - 7:50pm

ASHEVILLE — An Asheville hospital is urging 10 patients to be tested for potentially serious viral infections following word that a scope was not properly sterilized in the endoscopy unit.

81-year-old man keeps fighting fires

The Associated Press | May 19, 2012 - 6:35pm

When the fire bell rings in Garysburg, Lester Greenwood Jr. answers it – every time.

Man visits elephant he helped get for N.C. Zoo

The Associated Press | May 19, 2012 - 6:25pm

ASHEBORO — Decades after he helped bring an elephant to the North Carolina Zoo, a Charlotte man has had a brief reunion with the pachyderm that was no bigger than a pony when they first became acquainted.

State asked to support black Revolutionary War vets

The Associated Press | May 19, 2012 - 6:24pm

RALEIGH – A Virginia man who wants the U.S. government to build a monument to blacks who fought in the Revolutionary War is asking North Carolina counties and towns to approve a resolution in support of the effort.

Former UNC president upgraded to serious condition

The Associated Press | May 19, 2012 - 6:23pm

CHAPEL HILL – University of North Carolina President Emeritus William Friday has been upgraded to serious condition at UNC Hospitals, two days after receiving a permanent pacemaker.

Authorities accuse N.C. man of abusing 3-year-old

May 19, 2012 - 2:59pm

INDIAN TRAIL — Authorities have charged a Union County man with felony child abuse after his 3-year-old stepdaughter was left in a coma with serious injuries.

Jennifer Aniston to make movie in Wilmington

May 18, 2012 - 8:40pm

WILMINGTON — A company producing a new Jennifer Anniston movie has opened offices in Wilmington.