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The endorsement of Senator Barack Obama by former Senator John Edwards is a signal, though not an absolutely decisive one, of a shift in the commitment of the Democratic Party's unpledged centre. It is partly a result of sheer momentum - Edwards said as much when he said that the voters had evidently made their choice "and so have I" - but partly also a feeling of alarm at the way in which Mrs Clinton has polarised the campaign, and gone so far as to polarise it along ethnic and racial lines. Edwards himself ran a campaign very much along...

FORT MILL, S.C. -- It's an educational campaign of sorts. The target audience is Charlotte criminals. The York County Sheriff's office wants potential bank robbers, murderers and rapists to know that York County's jail and legal system is not understaffed like the Mecklenburg County system. There's a new billboard flashing on Interstate 77 at the Carowinds exit that says, "Don't cross the line. Some criminals think York County is a nice place to visit, but they wouldn't want to live here." The sign then shows mug shots of Charlotte-area criminals who committed crimes and got caught in South Carolina. The...

A 3-year-old boy died Wednesday after being attacked by a dog at Camp Lejeune, Onslow Memorial Hospital spokesman Tim Strickland confirmed. The dog, a pit bull, attacked the child at Tarawa Terrace I, base spokesman 1st Lt. Craig Thomas said. The dog was captured and is being held at the Camp Lejeune kennel, Thomas said.

NEW ORLEANS (May 14) - A steamship that sank off the Louisiana coast during an 1846 storm has produced a trove of rare gold coins, including some produced at two largely forgotten U.S. Mints in the South, coin experts say. Last year, four Louisiana residents salvaged hundreds of gold coins and thousands of silver coins from the wreckage of the SS New York in about 60 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico, said David Bowers, co-chairman of New York-based Stack's Rare Coins. "Some of these are in uncirculated or mint condition," Bowers said, predicting the best could bring...

Democrat Kay Hagan, a state senator from Greensboro, easily won the Democratic Primary last Tuesday night and starts the general election campaign essentially tied with incumbent Senator Elizabeth Dole. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in North Carolina Hagan attracting 48% of the vote statewide while Dole earns support from 47%. A month ago, Dole led Hagan by thirteen percentage points. Hagan currently leads by three points among women while Dole wins by three among men. Hagan leads among voters under 50 while Dole leads among older voters. Both candidates are popular with the state voters—at least before the campaign...

Kay Hagan has pulled within 5 points of Elizabeth Dole, according to the newest survey by Public Policy Polling. She had trailed by 17 points in PPP's most recent look at the race, taken in February. Dole leads Hagan 48-43. The two candidates are closely matched in every part of the state, except the Mountains and the southeastern area of the state, where Dole has a strong advantage.

The News & Observer filed a motion Monday opposing the Orange County district attorney's request to seal the results of the autopsy of murdered UNC student Eve Carson. Last week, Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour ordered that the results remain under seal to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation into the 22-year-old Athens, Ga., senior's death.

North Carolina's community college system reversed itself Tuesday and said it will no longer admit illegal immigrants until federal officials formally weigh in on whether it is legal.The college system announced last year that all of its 58 campuses would enroll illegal immigrants into degree programs who are at least 18 years old and who have graduated from high school. Previously, under a policy adopted in 2004, that decision was left to the individual campuses.The change was supported by Gov. Mike Easley, but it provoked heavy criticism - especially from the leading candidates running to replace the outgoing governor. That...

Italy's Finmeccanica to buy DRS Technologies for $5.2BBusiness Courier of Cincinnati DRS Technologies Inc., which has several Cincinnati-area operations, is being bought by Finmeccanica SpA, an Italian aerospace and defense supplier, for $5.2 billion. Finmeccanica said the deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter this year, allows the company to enter the U.S. market and enables DRS to better compete in the global military and security market. DRS (NYSE: DRS) will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary, maintaining its current management and headquarters. The company will lead Finmeccanica's defense electronics efforts in the United States and it is expected...

Raleigh, N.C. — North Carolina's 58 community colleges will no longer allow illegal immigrants to enroll, officials said Tuesday. The move follows an advisory letter issued a week ago by the state Attorney General's Office recommending that community colleges tighten their admissions standards to be more in line with federal laws. “We asked the Attorney General’s Office for clarification of our present policy and will abide by their advice,” Community College System President R. Scott Ralls said in a statement. “Until we receive further clarification, we will no longer admit individuals classified as illegal or undocumented immigrants into curriculum degree...

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in North Carolina found that the race for Governor remains close as neither candidate attracts the 50% level of support following Primary victories last week. Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory (R) has a 45% to 39% edge over Lt. Governor Bev Perdue (D) while Libertarian candidate Michael Munger earns support from 4% of North Carolina voters. In March, Perdue had a three-point lead over the Republican. McCrory is viewed favorably by 56% and unfavorably by 29%. Perdue’s ratings are 50% favorable, 41% unfavorable. Munger is less known, earning favorable ratings from 24%, unfavorable ratings from...

The race for North Carolina remains close as the presumptive nominees from both major political parties begin the general election campaign season. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the Tar Heel State finds John McCain earning 48% of the vote while Barack Obama attracts 45% support. A month ago, before the state’s Democratic Presidential Primary, McCain and Obama were tied at 47% each. Nationally, McCain and Obama are quite competitive in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll. McCain now leads by thirteen percentage points among men but trails by five among women. Obama does well among those who...

No federal law prohibits North Carolina from admitting illegal immigrants to its colleges and universities, officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said today. The statement from federal officials contradicts a letter sent this week by the office of state Attorney General Roy Cooper. The letter from Cooper's office advised the state Community College System that federal law bars the admission of illegal immigrants to public colleges and universities, even if they pay out-of-state tuition. The letter said that the Department of Homeland Security, of which ICE is a part, was responsible for enforcing the law and offered to ask...

The latest outrage is a father's video of a U.S. Army barracks at Fort Bragg, N.C., the home of the 82nd Airborne Division. It shows the quarters where his soldier son and other soldier sons were sent to live upon their return from combat. Mold and mildew and peeling paint are bad enough, but what about a big barracks bathroom ankle-deep in raw sewage? Scandals like this latest one and an earlier eruption of public outrage over the miserably maintained quarters where wounded soldiers were warehoused at Walter Reed Army Hospital are an indictment of the core competency of our...

Collin Finnerty wanted Loyola to win in its NCAA Tournament assignment Saturday afternoon at Duke, where awkward moments could have superseded anything else. The top-seeded Blue Devils defeated Loyola as expected in men's lacrosse, then took aside a former teammate and shared a special moment. Finnerty posed for an impromptu photograph near midfield with his ex-teammates, capping a strange get-together on a splendid, yet windy, Saturday afternoon at nearly full Koskinen Stadium. Duke players say Finnerty remains part of their group even though he wore the opposing uniform during the Blue Devils' 12-7 victory. He was one of the three...

Here’s an interesting thing that John McCain wrote about judges: “In the shorthand of constitutional discourse, these abuses by the courts fall under the heading of ‘judicial activism.’ But real activism in our country is democratic. Real activists seek to make their case democratically — to win hearts, minds and majorities to their cause. Such people throughout our history have often shown great idealism and done great good. By contrast, activist lawyers and activist judges follow a different method. They want to be spared the inconvenience of campaigns, elections, legislative votes and all of that. They don’t seek to win...

CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C., May 9, 2008 – They didn’t have any lines, and if it weren’t for their bright colors against the spartan background of a C-17 Globemaster’s cargo bay, quilts produced by the South Carolina Quilts of Valor troop-support organization might have gone unnoticed. Extras portray wounded soldiers for a scene in an upcoming episode of Lifetime Network’s “Army Wives.” The scene, featuring quilts made by members of South Carolina Quilts of Valor, was filmed on Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., on May 5, 2008. Defense Department photo by Samantha L. Quigley  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution...

Tornado blows vehicles off highway in N. Carolina, kills 1 By JAY REEVES – 3 hours ago A damaged vehicle sits in the Mississippi Department of Transportation parking lot surrounded by twisted metal after a line of sever weather moved through the area Thursday, May 8, 2008, in Tupelo Miss. A number of northeast Mississippi counties and portions of northwest Alabama were under tornado watches or warnings until midafternoon Thursday. (AP Photo/Ryan Moore) Mississippi Department of Transportation road crews work to clear downed trees and power lines from streets in Tupelo Miss. after a line of sever weather moved through...

North Carolina voting breakdown: It seems that the risk of Democrat voters coming to their senses has passed. As shown above via CNN, in last night's North Carolina Democratic primary, Barack Obama beat Hillary Clinton by more than 13 to 1 among black voters, and Clinton beat Obama by nearly 2 to 1 among white voters. In other words, instead of unifying the races in North Carolina, Obama is polarizing and alienating them, and trading on that division to win the nomination. Black turnout surged and carried Obama to victory by a wide margin. In North Carolina's Forsyth County, for...

Public colleges in North Carolina should not admit illegal immigrants as students, the state Attorney General's Office advised in a letter released Wednesday. If followed, the advice would reverse policies at the state's 58 community colleges and at the 16 four-year institutions in the University of North Carolina system, which allow illegal immigrants to attend. It also damages a movement to grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrant teenagers who have attended North Carolina high schools. "It really closes the door of opportunity for a lot of kids," said Andrea Bazan, president of the Triangle Community Foundation, a philanthropic organization, and...

Irina "Ira" Yarmolenko had a sunny spirit, a quick smile and friends everywhere she went. She wasn't supposed to die at age 20, friends and family said. The UNC Charlotte sophomore was found Monday next to her car on the banks of the Catawba River in Mount Holly. On Wednesday evening, police still did not know how Yarmolenko died and how she ended up so far from campus. Tonight, her friends will honor her with a candlelight vigil. Yarmolenko was born in the Ukraine but grew up in Chapel Hill. Her brother, Pavel Yarmolenko, 25, said their family moved to...

According to the Martin County Sheriffs Office, just about everyone wants a gun, and some gun dealers in the east agree. The reason why may surprise you. One dealer says it has to do with who may win the presidency. "That's my 2nd Amendment right. I should be able to have a handgun permit,” said gun owner Dallas Barber. “That's my 2nd Amendment right." And apparently in Martin County many others feel that way. The Sheriff tells us since January 180 people have applied for a permit. Like dozens of others Dallas Barber was denied a handgun carry permit. In...

Rush Limbaugh's “Operation Chaos,” the effort to urge conservatives and Republicans to vote for Hillary Clinton in order to prolong the Democratic nomination battle, certainly annoys MSNBC's Chris Matthews who, during primary coverage Tuesday night, denounced the “mischief-making” by “a talk jock.” In the 11:30 PM EDT half hour, Matthews offered a “Keith [Olbermann]-style special comment” about how “anyone who voted to screw up the political system of this country with the purpose of mischief should carry that with them the rest their lives.” He called it “a ridiculous way to use the vote for which people fought and died,”...

David Plouffe and a series of big gun endorsers are holding a conference call to stress the scale of last night's victory. "He clearly did more than he had to and she did not achieve what she had to," said Senator John Kerry. Both Plouffe and Kerry stressed the importance of the Limbaugh Effect. "Rush Limbaugh was tampering with the primary," Kerry said "If it was not for Republicans taking Democratic ballots, he would have won," he said of Obama. (I'm not sure that's true. The margin was about 18,500; Clinton only got 54% of the Republican votes, which made...

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue has won the Democratic nomination for governor, and will face Charlotte Mayor and GOP nominee Pat McCrory in November. Perdue had 55 percent of the vote with a little over half of precincts reporting Tuesday night. She beat State Treasurer Richard Moore, who had 41 percent in unofficial returns. McCrory collected 47 percent of the vote against state Sen. Fred Smith, who conceded the race to McCrory shortly before 10 p.m. Smith had 37 percent of the vote.

What kind of night is one on which Hillary Clinton, in the eyes of many, lost her shot at the nomination? "A great night"—according to Diane Sawyer. Sawyer made her remark at the opening of today's GMA. She started with some shtick with co-anchor Robin Roberts, displaying a series of cards explaining she was losing her voice, then managed to get out these words: DIANE SAWYER: It was a great night last night. What a night, huh? Any ambiguity as to what made last night "great" was resolved when the duo immediately moved to a discussion of last night's primary...

Those tables in between my position and the rally you saw on TV are about a quarter full of milling, bored, tired reporters. The rally took up maybe a quarter of the floor space in the arena. Part of running a decent campaign is knowing how big a crowd you might have and planning accordingly so as not to embarrass yourselves with a woefully understuffed venue. I realize it's standard practice to rope off an area of a venue for crowd-wrangling and appearances, but this is a little drastic. McCain's event at the Wait Chapel at Wake Forest today was...

U.S. Senate candidate Kay Hagan easily humbled four Democratic primary opponents Tuesday but didn’t savor the victory. She immediately turned her attention to the more daunting challenge she faces in November. Hagan, a state senator from Greensboro, used her victory speech to critique incumbent Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole, a national political figure with strong name recognition and a multimillion-dollar campaign fund. “Tonight was another symbol that Washington is broken and that North Carolina families are ready for a change,” Hagan said shortly after she won the race Tuesday night. Hagan has said she needs about 10 million to unseat Dole...

McCain 342,959 74% 0 Huckabee 56,641 12% 0 Paul 34,152 7% 0 No Preference 17,996 4% 0 Keyes 12,388 3%

RALEIGH, N.C. — All four members of North Carolina's House delegation challenged in Tuesday's primary breezed to easy victories.... Asheville City Councilman Carl Mumpower won a race between three Republicans in the 11th District, and will face Rep. Heath Shuler as the GOP tries to unseat the only freshman in the state's delegation to the U.S. House. Mumpower narrowly defeated former Henderson County GOP chairman Spence Campbell, 48 percent to 42 percent with all precincts reporting. Highlands attorney John Armor had 10 percent.

BARACK Obama has conceded defeat to Hillary Clinton in today's Democratic White House primary in Indiana but, on the back of a win in North Carolina, offered himself up as the only candidate who could truly unite American voters. "I want to start by congratulating Senator Clinton on what appears to be her victory in the great state of Indiana," Senator Obama told a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina - even amid uncertainty over who had actually won. CBS News called Indiana for Senator Clinton, but others were more hesitant and, several hours after polls closed, NBC News and Fox...

Will Indiana and North Carolina decide anything? In all likelihood, no. If Barack Obama were to cream Hillary Clinton in both states, there would be more pressure on Clinton to quit. But (a) that electoral prospect does not seem likely, given the direction of the recent polls in each state and (b) Clinton would still not leave the race. She would keep on going, hoping for another Reverend Wright-like development that would cripple Obama. And if Clinton manages to win each primary--and a victory for her in North Carolina is way against the odds--there's no way Obama, who will maintain...

Fox News Channel projects Sen. Barack Obama the winner in Tuesday's North Carolina Democrat primary election.

CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C., May 6, 2008 – Drama can occasionally creep into the lives of military families, but since last season, it’s been a sure thing for the military families portrayed on Lifetime Network’s top-rated show. Natalie McQueen and her daughter, MacKenzie, 5, holding a "Welcome Home" sign, were extras during filming for "Army Wives" on May 5, 2008, at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C. The Lifetime Network show, which normally films on a former military installation in the area, was filming the fourth episode of its second season on the base. Defense Department photo by Samantha...

The Huffington Post's sources are checking in faster than mine. They say the early exits show Obama winning North Carolina by 12, Hillary winning Indiana by 7. Last time, the early numbers from my sources in the chain of data were way, way, off, so as usual take these numbers with as many grains of salt as you deem necessary. UPDATE: Then they change to Obama by 14, Hill by 5. Grains of salt, people. Grains of salt. ANOTHER UPDATE: The suspiciously-rapidly-changing numbers from Huff. Indiana Obama: 50.5% Clinton: 49.5% North Carolina Obama: 60% Clinton: 38% My sources are not...

Looks like a bit of vote suppression by some of Clinton’s well-wishers in North Carolina. An outfit called Women’s Voices, Women Vote is calling black people in North Carolina with messages that appear designed to sow confusion about registration procedures and deadlines. The organization claims it’s an innocent mistake, and perhaps it was, except that they’ve apparently been caught up in similar controversies in 10 other states. Each time, the response is, “oopsie!” The non-profit’s board members include Clinton supporters such as Joe Goode, a pollster for Bill’s 1992 campaign and John Podesta, former Clinton White House chief of staff....

Throughout the earliest months of his amazing rise as a presidential candidate, Barack Obama showcased an uncanny ability to turn an attack against the attacker. His pre-primary wonkiness last summer became his post-partisan problem-solving by mid-autumn. His inexperience ahead of Iowa became his newcomer's agency for change after his victory there. The question of race in South Carolina soon became a chance for the whole country to rise above it. And after a while, Obama's knack for rebounding created a magical aura around his campaign: the more he did it, the more he seemed to have that indefinable ability to...

The official discussion thread for North Carolina's big day - the first time in twenty years NC has mattered in a Presidential primary. Also, several other hotly contested primary races, determining who will face off in November to replace term limited Governor Mike Easley; and some very interesting Congressional races, among them the three-way 11th district race that includes Free Republic's own John Armor. Races are held under run-off rules; if the top vote-getter doesn't reach 40%, the top two vote-getters will face off in June. North Carolinians, let us know what you see/hear at the polls today. Contested primaries:...

Obama's big disconnect By Salena Zito TRIBUNE-REVIEW For Barack Obama, closing the deal with Democrat voters has become like herding cats: He just can't get them all lined up and coordinated on his side. This nation has a history of looking closely at its candidates and taking their measure before they vote for them. It is a process that Obama shuns and rival Hillary Clinton thrives on -- and therein lies the problem for Democrats. Obama, who leads both in pledged delegates and in the popular vote, cannot close the gap with lunch-pail Democrats, older voters and (for lack of...

Edwards, the former presidential candidate and North Carolina senator, has virtually no political clout in his home state, political observers say. The Politico reported Sunday that after serving one term in the U.S. Senate and running for president, Edwards has largely exited public life. "The guy is truly an exceptional story, but for someone who is so well-known nationally, he has very little standing in the party in this state," says John Davis, president of the North Carolina Forum for Research and Economic Education, a business-backed organization that conducts political research. "You simply do not hear his name associated with...

I don’t have to remind my readers that I spend a good bit of my time disagreeing with campus leftists. Nor do I need to remind them that most of these disagreements are with leftist professors. But, until now, I haven’t written about one of the subjects upon which we frequently disagree. That is the subject of whether deterrence theory “works.” Conservatives and leftists (I have a hard time calling them liberals because of their fascistic tendencies) have a fundamentally different view of human nature. Leftists see humans as innately good. That is why they think rehabilitation works. It is...

The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.—Archilochus (7th-century BC) Mark Penn might not be appearing before the cameras on Hillary's behalf nowadays, but bet that he is beavering away behind the scenes on his polling. And judging from Hillary's dogged [to mix an animal metaphor] performance on this morning's Today, it's obvious that Penn's turned up one big thing: Dem primary voters hate oil companies. Meredith Vieira gamely tried to get Clinton onto other subjects during her interview. But no matter the question, the answer was almost invariably the same: I Hate Big Oil. Since...

RALEIGH, N.C. — Sen. Barack Obama will win the Indiana and North Carolina primaries tomorrow, a top supporter and former Hillary Rodham Clinton backer declared yesterday, prompting the former first lady's campaign to crow that if he doesn't, she deserves to be the nominee. Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Joe Andrew of Indiana, who switched his support in the Democratic presidential race from Mrs. Clinton to Mr. Obama last week, said on "Fox News Sunday" that his candidate faces "tough races," but will win. "You're going to see him coming back," Mr. Andrew said. "I think he's going to win...

Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama pushed their final appeals on Sunday before the Indiana and North Carolina primaries, with Mrs. Clinton sounding like a full-throated populist in highlighting her stance on the gasoline tax and Mr. Obama seizing on the issue to cast his opponent as a political opportunist. The two Democratic candidates used dueling appearances on the Sunday morning news shows, campaign stops across Indiana, conference calls with reporters and an onslaught of television and radio commercials to square off over pocketbook concerns of voters, especially the high price of gasoline, which has become a defining issue...

Elite Democrats Lose By Salena Zito When it comes to racial issues, the 2008 Democrat primary has been lowered to the most politically correct campaign in history. So low that it has smudged the lens in the way we look at both of the Democrats' candidates. Political correctness or "PC" -- a clothesline tool typically used as a wedge issue against Republicans -- has backfired. To steal a phrase from the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, PC is "coming home to roost" for Democrats.

John Armor is a student of history. He knows where the country has been and where he would like to take it in the future. As a Republican candidate for the 11th Congressional District, Armor has the chance to make an impact. Armor is running against Asheville City Councilman Carl Mumpower and former Henderson County Republican Party Chairman Spence Campbell in the Republican primary. Raised in the Baltimore area, Armor attended Yale University, where he earned degrees in political science and English. He took a job at an advertising agency shortly after graduation but wanted a new challenge. He enrolled...

For all the speculation surrounding John Edwards’ conspicuous silence on the eve of his home state’s primary, one important fact has been overlooked: According to North Carolina’s political class, the former Democratic presidential contender has virtually no clout at all in his home state. (snip) “The guy is truly an exceptional story, but for someone who is so well-known nationally, he has very little standing in the party in this state,” says John Davis, president of the North Carolina Forum for Research and Economic Education (NCFREE), a business-backed organization that conducts political research. “You simply do not hear his name...

WASHINGTON -- Federal prosecutors are investigating Wachovia Corp. as part of a broad probe of alleged laundering of drug proceeds by Mexican and Colombian money-transfer companies, according to people familiar with the matter. Wachovia is one of several large U.S. banks that have come under scrutiny for their relationships with such companies. It is in discussions with the Justice Department about reforms in its compliance system and faces a possible deferred-prosecution agreement that would require extensive federal oversight. An official of Wachovia said it is cooperating in the probe. Wachovia, based in Charlotte, N.C., and some other U.S. banks severed...

WASHINGTON (CNN) –- Former President Bill Clinton will attend Sunday church services with North Carolina Congressman and uncommitted Democratic superdelegate Heath Shuler in his district, CNN has learned.

RALEIGH, N.C., May 2 (UPI) -- Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has been avoiding stops in black communities in his quest to become the first black major party nominee for the U.S. presidency. Isaac Onah, a political science professor at the University of North Carolina, told the Boston Globe that black voters appear to understand Obama's campaign strategy. They also understand why Obama had to repudiate his longtime pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Onah said. "I think black voters are saying to themselves, 'Why isn't Rev. Wright shutting up?'" Onah said. Obama hopes for a strong victory in North Carolina, similar...