Receive the morning news briefs delivered to your email inbox every morning. Click here to sign-up.
Guilford County Prepares For Election Day
Election Day is Tuesday for many local cities and towns.
Fewer than 10 percent of eligible voters showed up for the October primary, giving those who did an oversized voice in determining who's on the ballot on Election Day.
For Greensboro mayor, the field was whittled down to the incumbent Nancy Vaughan - who earned more than 60 percent of the vote - and challenger, Diane Moffett, who's making her first run for office.
In High Point it was much closer. Fewer than 100 votes separated top vote-getter Jay W. Wagner from second-place finisher Bruce Davis.
More than 7,000 people in Guilford County have already cast their ballots through early voting, according to statistics from the county Board of Elections. Polls are open Tuesday from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
NC's 2 Largest Cities Poised For Big Mayoral Votes
North Carolina's largest city and its capital are preparing for mayoral elections. Whoever is elected will most likely have to wrestle with the sensitive issue of gay and transgender rights.
Charlotte will elect Tuesday a new mayor to replace Jennifer Roberts. She lost the Democratic primary last month after becoming embroiled in a fight for LGBT rights.
Two city council members, Democrat Vi Lyles and Republican Kenny Smith, are squaring off to replace her.
In Raleigh, Democratic candidate Charles Francis issued a statement saying he supports the gay and transgender community, days after he lost an endorsement from a key interest group questioning his credentials on gay rights.
Francis is challenging unaffiliated incumbent Nancy McFarlane, who still has the endorsement of Equality North Carolina's political action committee.
UNC-Chapel Hill Athletics Head Gets Pay Boost After Scandal
Three weeks after North Carolina's flagship public university escaped NCAA penalties and closed an academic fraud case, the school's athletic director is getting a $1 million compensation boost.
The News & Observer of Raleigh reports the university system's governing board approved the deferred-compensation deal for Bubba Cunningham, the athletic director at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The agreement approved Friday calls for Cunningham to receive tax-advantaged retirement contributions of $200,000 a year over the next five years. The money will come from athletic department funds, not state appropriations.
UNC-Pembroke Gets $7 Million, Largest Gift In Its History
One of North Carolina's smallest public universities will receive the largest gift in its history ahead of plans for a new business school building.
The Fayetteville Observer reports Pembroke native Jim Thomas and his wife, Sally, have pledged $7 million to the University of North Carolina school in his former hometown. Thomas is a Los Angeles real estate developer and one-time owner of the NBA's Sacramento Kings.
The couple is giving $4 million as a challenge gift requiring the university to raise an equal amount. Another $3 million from the couple's estate will be used to maintain the eventual School of Business building and promote its work.
Concession Speech Ex-US Sen. Helms Never Gave Made Public
The concession speech Jesse Helms never had to give after his first election to the U.S. Senate is being shared after 45 years.
The Charlotte Observer reports the Jesse Helms Center in Wingate is releasing copies of the speech the North Carolina Republican handed to a young assistant for safekeeping. Helms wrote the speech in case he lost on Nov. 7, 1972.
Purrfect: North Carolina's 1st Cat Cafe Opens Its Doors
North Carolina cat lovers now have a place to wet their whiskers at the state's first cat cafe.
Crooked Tail Cat Café opened Friday in downtown Greensboro.
Owner Karen Stratman describes Crooked Tail as a place where cats and humans can enjoy each other. For $10, visitors can spend an hour in the Kitty Lounge, where nine cats play among sofas, tables and cat perches.
There's also a separate, cat-free coffee bar at the rear of the lounge. All of the cats at Crooked Tail are available for adoption.