Rocky Mount Telegram

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina labor officials say a South Carolina fireworks company let its employees keep a cigarette pack and lighter right by a truck full of fireworks that exploded, killing four workers on Ocracoke Island. Full Story »

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady is back on the practice field. The New England Patriots quarterback returned to practice on Friday after missing the previous two sessions with right finger, right shoulder and rib injuries. Full Story »

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kyle Busch is entering team ownership with two entries next season in NASCAR's Camping World Truck Series. Full Story »

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Moments before Rick Pitino addressed reporters on Friday, guard Preston Knowles walked in and placed a large gold Christmas tree ornament on a table. Full Story »

SAN ANTONIO — Some women with very advanced breast cancer may have a new treatment option. A combination of two drugs that more precisely target tumors significantly extended the lives of women who had stopped responding to other medicines, doctors reported Friday. Full Story »

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It's been the year of the gun in Tennessee. In a flurry of legislative action, handgun owners won the right to take their weapons onto sports fields and playgrounds and, at least briefly, into bars. Full Story »

RALEIGH, N.C. — Attorneys for the state distanced themselves Friday from Gov. Beverly Perdue's initial public comments about freeing prison inmates, arguing that a press release from North Carolina's chief executive should not be considered legal precedent. Full Story »

RALEIGH, N.C. — Asheville City Councilman Cecil Bothwell believes in ending the death penalty, conserving water and reforming government — but he doesn't believe in God. His political opponents say that's a sin that makes him unworthy of serving in office, and they've got the North Carolina Constitution on their side. Full Story »

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WASHINGTON — The House broke Friday from a divisive debate on banking laws to applaud a military unit visiting the Capitol. Full Story »

DURHAM, N.C. — She looked like a good bet to beat the odds, but her first try at college, nearly 20 years ago, came up short. Full Story »

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte dry cleaning operator and real estate developer who got into North Carolina's U.S. Senate race this fall is ending his bid and endorsing fellow Democrat Elaine Marshall. Full Story »

RALEIGH, N.C. — Attorneys for the state are distancing themselves from initial comments made by North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue that triggered outrage about the fate of some two dozen inmates sentenced to life. Full Story »

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The 24-year-old quarterback beamed from the podium as the crowd cheered and confetti fluttered. He clutched the top of his head with both hands and shook it from side to side, as if in disbelief. Full Story »

RALEIGH, N.C. — A divided North Carolina Supreme Court has ruled a seventh-grader's statements taken while he was in school about robberies that happened away from campus are admissible in court. Full Story »

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville coach Rick Pitino expects guards Preston Knowles and Peyton Siva to be in action on Saturday when the Cardinals host Western Carolina. Full Story »

DURHAM, N.C. — There's no such thing as a typical college student these days. Nearly a third of undergraduate college students are 25 or older. Full Story »

SAN ANTONIO — Women with very advanced breast cancer may have a new treatment option. A combination of two drugs that more precisely target tumors significantly extended the lives of women who had stopped responding to other treatments, doctors reported Friday. Full Story »

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Matt Moore will make his second straight start for the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at New England after Jake Delhomme was declared out for the game. Full Story »

RALEIGH, N.C. — A judge has declined to dismiss a lawsuit filed by media groups accusing former North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley and his administration of violating public records law by deleting e-mails. Full Story »

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The head executive at a struggling North Carolina charter airline and jet maintenance company accused of stopping payment on his employees' group health insurance can go home to Missouri for the holidays. Full Story »

A 22-year-old Rocky Mount man was shot this morning on his front porch on the 700 block of Clark Street, police said. Full Story »

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Trustees for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte have announced plans to move forward with a football team, starting in the 2013 season. Full Story »

RALEIGH, N.C. — An attorney for a North Carolina inmate given a "life" sentence defined as only 80 years long says the woman's sentence has expired. Full Story »

HOPE MILLS, N.C. — Authorities say a baby and two adults have died in a four-vehicle wreck in North Carolina. Full Story »