Raleigh-Durham News (BETA)

A judge's ruling Friday intended to settle a long-running debate about who is in charge of running North Carolina's public schools may instead set the stage for even more players to enter the fray.

As one of the main illustrators for the summer film "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," Cary graphic artist Josh Nizzi helped reinvent the machines he loved as a child.

Figures released Friday showed a slight improvement in the state's unemployment, but the dip does not accurately reflect the pain that persists in the labor market.

If you find yourself in a grocery aisle this fall, torn between Brawny and Bounty, don't be surprised if you get a tap on the shoulder offering you free, fresh ale.

Wake sheriff's deputies have said little about the slaying of a 60-year-old Apex man Thursday since charging his wife with first-degree murder.

Family members and friends of several women at the center of a murder investigation say authorities aren't doing enough to solve the cases.

Former House Speaker Jim Black has been reunited with a former colleague and fellow felon.

The DOT is demanding that a Moore County businessman either pay the state $163,125 or start replanting trees along a stretch of U.S. 1 that he illegally clear-cut.

Police continue to be tight-lipped about the slaying of a retired counselor last weekend, a man friends said was a tireless volunteer.

Durham police are looking for a convicted felon they say used a stolen car to intentionally ram a police cruiser Thursday to avoid arrest on 19 charges.

Wake County Superior Court Judge Robert Hobgood ruled today that DPI Superintendent June Atkinson –and NOT Perdue-appointed CEO Bill Harrison – is the leader of the NC Dept. of Public Instruction.

Superior Court Judge Robert Hobgood will announce his decision Friday at noon in the Atkinson lawsuit. Schools chief June Atkinson is suing the state over Governor Bev Perdue’s decision to give day-to-day oversight of the schools to “CEO” and State Ed Board Chair Bill Harrison.

State lawmakers gave final approval this week to a measure that would help people protect themselves from credit fraud. It would let consumers put a security freeze on their credit for free, and would require credit bureaus to streamline the process through a centralized website.

It’s been a little more than a month since James Oblinger resigned as chancellor at NC State University. The controversy surrounding the hiring of former first lady Mary Easley continues. A federal grand jury is investigating the circumstances of her employment.

A Wake County judge will rule Friday at noon on state Schools Superintendent June Atkinson's lawsuit against the state.

A Smart Start director has submitted her name for consideration by the Wake County Board of Education as the representative for District 4. The post was vacated in June after longtime school board member and chair Rosa Gill resigned after her appointment to the N.C. House of Representatives. Lynette Aytch has a doctorate in school psychology and has served on the faculties at UNC Chapel Hill and ...

A $50 million condominium and mixed use development in Chapel Hill celebrated the topping of the 10th floor Friday. The Greenbridge development is slated to be a sustainable, environmentally-friendly project. It has 98 condo's randing from a quarter of a million to more than a million dollars.  There will also be 35,000 square feet of office and retail. "The businesses in this building and the ...

Durham's once decapitated dino has become a celebrity on the Internet, in a way. There are now three pages devoted to the brontosaurus in Northgate Park that lost its head because of vandals in June. "There are a lot of long-term memories but I think there's a lot of people who just moved to the area recently and they've just gotten caught up in it," said Nancy Rizzo, who is Chairperson of the ...

Overall, the H-1 N-1 flu virus appears more mild than the seasonal flu, but health officials are preparing for the worst. "Immunilogically, our bodies have never seen it before," said Julie Casani, Director of Public Health Prepardness Response for the Divions of Public Health. "So there is no defense for it." In preparation for a second wave of the swine flu virus state officials told the State ...

An Apex man died of blunt force trauma, according to preliminary information from the state medical examiner's office. Meanwhile, the Wake County Sheriff's Department continues to investigate a death in Apex that was first thought to be due to natural causes. Later, the victim's wife was charged with murder. Jolene Hardy, 55, has been charged with death of her 60-year-old husband Gerald Douglas ...

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Rules she cannot appoint a CEO for schools

Officials warn H1N1 could strike again in September

Woman barricaded herself inside home

A free clinic is just her latest contribution to her community

A Raleigh man is in jail facing more than a dozen drug related charges. 

Walter Cronkite, the premier TV anchorman of the networks’ golden age who reported a tumultuous time with reassuring authority and came to be called “the most trusted man in America,” died Friday. He was 92.

A CBS executive says retired CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite, “the most trusted man in America,” has died at his home in New York. He was 92.

At least one confirmed case and several other suspected cases of Influenza A have been reported among high school youth participating in the Renaissance Upward Bound Camp on North Carolina Central University’s campus this week. 

A Smart Start director has submitted her name for consideration by the Wake County Board of Education as the representative for District 4.  The post was vacated in June after longtime school board member and chair Rosa Gill resigned after her appointment to the N.C. House of Representatives.

Durham vaccine developer AlphaVax is preparing materials for a clinical trial of its H1N1 flu vaccine after receiving positive results from early studies, the company announced Friday.

Housing woes cut into second quarter 2009 earnings for BB&T Corp., which said Friday that net income dropped 71.7 percent for the three months ended June 30. (BBT)

Hit by higher FDIC insurance premium assessments, Raleigh-based North State Bank reported a 23 percent, or $150,000, dip in second quarter profit compared to the same period in 2008. For six months ending June 30, net income at the $711 million total asset lender increased by 4.2 percent, to $1.3 million, when compared to the prior year.

Bank of America Corp. on Friday reported net income of $2.42 billion, or 33 cents per diluted share, in the second quarter – down from $3.22 billion, or 72 cents per diluted share, during the same quarter a year earlier. (BAC)

Duke Energy Carolinas and Progress Energy Carolinas are two of the best three large Southern utilities for residential customer satisfaction, according to a report released Thursday by J.D. Power and Associates. (DUK) (PGN)

Todd Glover thinks his tobacco crop looks "average" this year. "The crop's a little dry but I think it looks average," said Glover, who grows tobacco in both Nash and Wilson counties. "It would hel ...

Five more candidates filed for seats on the Wilson City Council Friday, bringing the total to 16 candidates vying for four open seats on the board. Four of the five - George Pope, Brenda Avery, Log ...

Rhonda Felton put her trust in someone to manage her rental property and was disappointed when she felt that trust was violated. On May 29, Geoffery Bryan Wilson, 36, manager and president of Regency ...

Brothers of a man killed in a hit-and-run accident want closure in their loved one's death. Juan Carlos Blanco-Hernandez of 304 Pine St., Apt. B, was killed while walking along U.S. 301 around 3:20 a ...

Hagan votes for business development U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan voted this week to extend two programs that allow small businesses to participate in federal research and development. The U.S. Senate unanim ...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — PlayMakers Repertory Company in Chapel Hill has been awarded a national arts grant for its production of "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby."

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WASHINGTON — Regulators on Friday shut two banks in California and two smaller banks in Georgia and South Dakota, boosting to 57 the number of federally insured banks to fail this year.

More than 70 people have filed to run for municipal offices in Nash and Edgecombe counties, setting the stage for one four-way race and one three-way race for Rocky Mount City Council seats.

PINETOPS — Job losses and spending cuts are the highlights of North Carolina’s pending budget, according to one state legislator.