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Obama to Stephanopoulos: Palin more Bush-Cheney than McCain Email Share September 06, 2008 5:09 PM ABC News' George Stephanopoulos Reports: Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is a "skilled politician," but the country doesn't know much about her yet, said Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., in an interview that will air tomorrow exclusively on "This Week." But Obama refused to say Palin is qualified to be president, and claimed that picking Palin brings Republican presidential nominee John McCain closer to President Bush. "He chose somebody who may be even more aligned with George Bush – or Dick Cheney, or the politics...

A Clayton man convicted of lying to the government about his military service and submitting more than $18,000 in false disability claims was sentenced to 3 years in prison in a federal court in Virginia this afternoon. Randall A. Moneymaker will also serve 36 months of supervised release after his prison term and must pay $18,449 in restitution and a “special assessment” of $600 to the court. Moneymaker was convicted in March in Roanoke, Va., where he has also said he lives. Prosecutors refuted Moneymaker’s claims that he had seen combat in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Panama and Grenada by producing...

The Henry County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a man who attempted to rob Harder’s Pharmacy in Bassett on Saturday morning. A white male, with his face partially covered, entered the store on Fairystone Park Highway at about 10 a.m. and demanded that the pharmacist give him all the OxyContin and pain pills in the store, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. The pharmacist pulled a handgun and the would-be robber ran out of the store and got into the passenger seat of a vehicle parked across the street, authorities said. The driver then pulled out and...

A northwest Charlotte homeowner shot and killed an intruder in his home Tuesday afternoon, police said. Officers said the man arrived at his Toddville Road home and saw a strange car in the driveway. He found the door kicked in and shot the burglar inside, police said. The suspected burglar died and the homeowner is currently being interviewed by police.

For the third time in five months, the Charlotte Observer, amid a slumping economy and changing media landscape, is cutting jobs through voluntary buyouts – and layoffs, if necessary. Publisher Ann Caulkins said the Carolinas' largest newspaper aims to eliminate more than 9 percent of its workforce, roughly 75 positions, with a nearly companywide buyout offer. The reductions are to be completed Oct. 3. “The economy is really, really tough,” Caulkins told the newsroom this morning. In June, the paper announced plans to eliminate 123 positions, about 11 percent of its workforce, as part of sweeping cuts across its parent...

RALEIGH - The News & Observer this morning offered voluntary buyouts to about 320 employees -- including all full-timers in the newsroom -- as the newspaper continues to contend with slumping advertising. The number of people affected represents roughly 40 percent of workers at The News & Observer Publishing Co., which also owns community publications such as The Herald in Smithfield and The Cary News. Publisher Orage Quarles III said the company expects "a relatively small percentage" of those offered buyouts to actually apply for them. The company might limit the number of applications accepted, he said, though he did...

RALEIGH - It's not easy getting college students out of bed on a holiday for a political rally -- but a celebrity, food and music helps. Roughly 100 N.C. State University students chomped on free pizza and watched actor Kal Penn campaign for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama on Monday at Harris Field. The students were motivated by politics -- and an interest in seeing the star of the "Harold and Kumar" movies and the television show "House." "If it wasn't for Kal Penn, I don't know if I'd be here," said Hamish Patel, 19, a sophomore at NCSU from...

In a scorching ruling today, the state Court of Appeals threw out the conviction of a man serving more than 60 years in prison on burglary, robbery and sexual assault charges, saying the Durham District Attorney's Office unfairly delayed his trial for nearly five years. The ruling could lead to freedom for Frankie Delano Washington, 47, an auto mechanic who was convicted of multiple charges last year in a 2002 invasion of a family's home in Trinity Park in Durham. Because the opinion was unanimous, the state has no automatic right to take the appeal further. The delay cost Washington...

And right now, Perdue and McCrory are in a statistical dead heat, according to a poll taken by SurveyUSA. The poll, released on Aug. 12, said Perdue was leading 47 percent to McCrory’s 43, but there is a 4 percent margin of error. The same poll said Libertarian candidate Mike Munger, a political science professor at Duke University, is polling at 5 percent, complicating the race for governor.

DENVER — North Carolina Democrats are cautiously optimistic that Barack Obama can break a long losing streak for the party in November. The state hasn't voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter in 1976, but long-time political observers said they believe the dynamics of this year's election give Obama a chance to outdistance Republican John McCain at the polls. "When I say the state's in play, I mean I think he can win it, and I think he can," Gov. Mike Easley said. Easley cited the strong Obama organization on the ground in North Carolina and a renewed...

Noth Carolina Rep. Robin Hayes is predicting that Sen. John McCain will pick Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia as his running mate. “It sure looks like a great possibility to me,” Hayes said. “Eric is a tremendous friend, incredibly bright young man. He has wonderful credentials, and I think would be a very good, complementary candidate to John McCain.” Hayes made his comments during and after a meeting with educators at Jack Britt High School. Rumors about Cantor have been spreading in recent weeks and began to grow stronger on Tuesday, Hayes said. Several media outlets are reporting that Cantor...

For months, the United Way of Central Carolinas board said Gloria Pace King was worth every penny of her controversial $1.2 million pay package. Tuesday, 37 of those board members unanimously called on their longtime CEO to resign or be fired. King's fall was breathtakingly quick, but not clean. Critical questions remain. How the board handles them will affect 91 nonprofit agencies and the thousands in need that they serve. Can the board regain enough public trust to rescue its ongoing fundraising campaign? How will it settle accounts with King, even as it pays her interim replacement $20,000 a month?...

An Iranian-born former student has been sentenced to up to 33 years in prison for plowing his SUV into a crowd at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

John Edwards' sins aren't the only headline boosting North Carolina into the national spotlight. Barack Obama is angling to win this perennially red state, along with a number of others once thought securely Republican. Why's that significant? Because a victory here would break the GOP's monopoly on the Southeast, causing a rift in the Electoral College that McCain would be hard pressed to overcome. That possibility is too tempting for Obama to resist. He's setting up shop in North Carolina -- nearly two-dozen shops....

CHARLOTTE (MCT) — The host of a Charlotte FM radio station that sent a staff member aboard a Charlotte-Mecklenburg school bus as part of a prank Monday said this morning that the incident was never meant to be malicious. "We thought it was pretty entertaining," said Brotha' Fred, host of the Morning Mayhem on WIBT (96.1 FM). "We try to entertain in a way that some people will think was funny and some won't." "But we had no malicious intent." A staff member from the show, Jase Edward "Cubby" Squires, 26, was charged with causing a disturbance on a school...

Two weeks after a devastating revelation sent her husband into political exile, Elizabeth Edwards isn't getting the steady sympathy usually afforded to a woman scorned. Instead, she's faced criticism from dedicated Democrats who think she was too willing to keep the affair a secret to help John Edwards' political ambitions, as well as her own.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Two weeks after a devastating revelation sent her husband into political exile, Elizabeth Edwards isn't getting the steady sympathy usually afforded to a woman scorned. Instead, she's faced criticism from dedicated Democrats who think she was too willing to keep the affair a secret to help John Edwards' political ambitions, as well as her own. At a time when she was expected to hold a prominent role in pushing an agenda of improved health care for Americans, she stands silent. While fellow Democrats converge in Denver to nominate Barack Obama for president, Edwards remains in seclusion in...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2008 – Because they are military veterans and have a unique understanding of the sacrifices servicemembers make, some of the top leaders of the law firm Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge and Rice have created a military-friendly work environment that supports not only veterans, but also employees who serve in the National Guard or Reserve. The law firm has many policies and programs in place to support its employees who serve part-time in the military, and for its efforts in this area, it is receiving the 2008 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge and...

DENVER - John Edwards is burning up the phone lines, begging former aides and backers to forgive him for lying about his affair - but hearing their rage instead. As Democrats kick off their convention Monday, the onetime presidential contender is a man without a party - or a political future - trying to rebuild bridges through dozens of remorseful phone calls. It's proving a hard sell with onetime true believers. Many are bitter and disillusioned after swallowing his lies about his affair with a campaign staffer and vouching for his credibility with friends and journalists. Some ignore his plaintive...

A lawyer for the state today defended the firing of a state Highway Patrol trooper who was caught on video repeatedly kicking his police dog. Charlie Jones, a sergeant and 12-year veteran of the agency, has said that he was simply training his canine partner, Ricoh, after the dog failed to release a piece of fire hose. Jones is trying to get his job back. But Assistant Attorney General Ashby Ray today urged the state Personnel Commission to watch the videotape before making a decision. The tape, shot with a cell phone camera by another trooper, shows that the dog...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2008 – More than 100 runners are expected to participate in a 99-mile run Aug. 23-24 hosted by a Greenville, N.C.-based care package group in honor of the 117 North Carolinians who have lost their lives serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Barbara Whitehead, director of the North Carolina branch of Give2theTroops, said the group’s run is scheduled to coincide with the last two days of the national “Run for the Fallen.” The national event will cover more than 4,000 miles, one mile for each servicemember killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, by the time it ends at...

Obama Says He'll 'Need to Win' North CarolinaLast Edited: Tuesday, 19 Aug 2008, 10:02 PM EDT By MIKE BAKER Associated Press Writer RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Democrat Barack Obama said Tuesday he will "need to win" in North Carolina in November, asking supporters to fight for the White House as both presidential candidates continue to open their wallets to compete in the state. Obama and Republican rival John McCain have both been expanding staffs in North Carolina, underscoring the precariousness of polls in a state that hasn't voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in more than three decades. "We've got...

Report: Hospital Patient Died After Being Left in Chair for 22 Hours Tuesday, August 19, 2008 E-Mail Print Share: RALEIGH, N.C. — Investigators say a North Carolina mental patient died after nurses at a state mental hospital left him in a chair for 22 hours and failed to feed him or help him to the bathroom, a newspaper reported Tuesday. Security video showed Steven H. Sabock, 50, as he died in April after he choked on medication at Cherry Hospital in Goldsboro and a nurse stood nearby without helping, The News & Observer of Raleigh reported. The newspaper said the...

"Among the prizes he's won playing "Guitar Hero" tournaments: gift certificates, gaming equipment and chicken sandwiches." ""It's pretty sick," says Andrew Gambling, 27, who describes himself as a casual player. "He's talented." Blake is appreciative of the applause and grins shyly when it is mentioned to him. But he's not very happy with his score." "Blake is so dedicated to gaming that his parents let him quit school so he can better concentrate on it. They pay for home tutors instead. Mom and Dad do this, even though there are very few people in this country who make their living...

To require the Department of Defense to grant access to accredited members of the media at military commemoration ceremonies and memorial services for members of the Armed Forces who have died on active duty and when the remains of members of the Armed Forces arrive at military installations in the United States. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the `Fallen Hero Commemoration Act’. SEC. 2. MEDIA ACCESS TO MILITARY COMMEMORATION CEREMONIES, MEMORIAL SERVICES, AND ARRIVAL CEREMONIES FOR...

Democrat Barack Obama will have to overcome tepid support from white voters and their high regard for Republican John McCain as an honest and principled leader if he intends to win North Carolina in the presidential election. Obama has said he can bring traditionally Republican states into play, particularly in the South. He launched his general election campaign in Raleigh, has aired TV ads in North Carolina and has opened more than a dozen campaign offices across the state. But a new poll from The Charlotte Observer and NewsChannel 36 shows that North Carolinians believe McCain would be a better...

Not Green: NBC Beijing Olympic Set Air Conditioned -- Outdoors 'Green is Universal' network that dimmed set to push eco-programming gives cold shoulder to Chinese weather. By Jeff Poor Business & Media Institute 8/15/2008 11:39:54 PM The NBC family of networks has no problem showing viewers how to save the planet. But if it is a muggy, smoggy 85 degrees, as is the forecast for Beijing this week, consider looking elsewhere for eco-inspiration. WTHR, the NBC affiliate for Indianapolis, reported from Beijing and described the NBC set used for the network's two highest rated news broadcasts, “NBC Nightly News” and...

Democratic Leaders Congressional Leaders Speaker of the House: Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) Nancy Pelosi made history this year, breaking the marble ceiling to become the first woman to serve as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. With Democrats returning to the majority for the first time in 12 years, Speaker Pelosi and her leadership team are addressing the challenging issues facing the American people after years of inaction. Under her leadership, the 110th Congress is working to make America safer, to restore the American Dream and to restore accountability to government. http://www.speaker.gov/ Senate Majority Leader: Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)...

GRAHAM - The arrest of five men for fishing without a license has many people in Graham talking. And while these types of arrests are not common in Alamance County, N.C. Wildlife Commission officers say they are not all that unusual. According to court documents, Juan Carlos Arias, 23; Jose Ernesto, 21; Javier Jimenez, 30; Edwin Alexander Marquez Rosa, 26; and Antonio Ordaz, 34, all of Kernersville, were arrested Aug. 6 at around 8:30 p.m. by N.C. Wildlife Resources officer J.R. Brown and charged with fishing without a license and a wildlife violation (taking non-game fish by an authorized method)....

U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., on panel that oversees federal agency - TVA has approved a water-access deal for a development group whose investors include U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., who sits on a committee that exercises oversight of the federal utility. On June 3, TVA CEO Tom Kilgore approved a transaction that provides 145 feet of water-access rights along the shoreline of Watts Bar Reservoir in Roane County to an entity called The Cove at Blackberry Ridge LLC. In exchange, The Cove agreed to relinquish 150 feet of water-access rights in Rhea County and also provide approximately $15,000 for...

The state community college system will discuss at its monthly meetings this week whether to allow illegal immigrants into degree programs. The decision to revisit the contentious issue comes after federal Homeland Security officials told the state Attorney General’s Office in July that no federal law bars illegal immigrants from pursuing degrees. The discussions will be held during the Thursday and Friday sessions of the community colleges’ board in Raleigh, spokeswoman Audrey Bailey said. Tony Asion, director of the Raleigh-based Hispanic advocacy group El Pueblo, expressed excitement over the decision to reopen discussion on the issue. “This is good for...

Today we update North Carolina where there's a bit of a surprise. * North Carolina: Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole's leads Democratic challenger Kay Hagan 46 percent to 41 percent with Libertarian Chris Cole drawing 7 percent and 5 percent undecided in a SurveyUSA poll conducted Aug. 9-11. This is the first time SurveyUSA included Cole in its poll, and it observed: "Hagan is flat, Dole is down. Cole gets 11% of male votes today, siphoning key votes Dole needs to win. Cole gets 12% of young votes today, siphoning key votes Hagan needs to win. Cole gets 9% of the...

Chapel Hill, N.C. — Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards likely won't be returning to the poverty center at the University of North Carolina that he helped launch three years ago. Following his defeat in the 2004 election, Edwards was named the founding director of the UNC Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity, giving him a platform to continue discussing poverty issues in America. Edwards left the center in late 2006 to make a second run at the White House, and Katie Bowler, assistant dean for communications at the UNC School of Law, said other people have assumed leadership responsibilities...

Survey USA seems to be getting back into the state polling game. Yesterday it was Virginia and earlier today was Kentucky. Now they have released a new poll from North Carolina that shows John McCain slipping slightly and sees his lead falling to 4%. PRESIDENT - NORTH CAROLINA (Survey USA) John McCain (R) 49% Barack Obama (D) 45% In the race for US Senate, Elizabeth holds a 5% lead over Democratic challenger Kay Hagan. US SENATE - NORTH CAROLINA (Survey USA) Elizabeth Dole (R-inc) 46% Kay Hagan (D) 41% And in the race for Governor, Democrat Bev Perdue holds a...

Two New Polls: FL(InAv) McCain 48% Obama 44% NC(SVUSA) McCain 49% Obama 45%

Hillsborough, N.C. — Many of Mohammed Taheri-azar's victims have recovered from their injuries, but they are still dealing with emotional problems more than two years after he drove a rented SUV into a UNC-Chapel Hill gathering place. The frightening sights and sounds of the March 2006 attack have not left Julian Wooten. He was in The Pit at the time. At the time of the attack, he told police he wanted to kill people in response to the U.S. government's treatment of Muslims abroad. He also told police he expected to die as a result of his actions – either...

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 11, 2008 – The Baghdad Zoo officially welcomed two Siberian-Bengal tigers, Riley and Hope, to its animal kingdom Aug. 8. Riley and Hope, male and female respectively, were donated by the Conservators' Center in North Carolina. "This is a very important step to improve relationships [between] the zoo and the people of Iraq, and it is proof that the security situation in Iraq is getting better," said Adel Salman Mousa, the Baghdad Zoo director. "They're a real signature species; people really identify with the beauty of the tigers," said Lt. Col. Robert Sindler, the Multi-National Coalition -...

The rise and fall of John Edwards Political stardom to public apology By Jim Morrill jmorrill@charlotteobserver.com Posted: Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008 When veteran Democratic strategist Bob Shrum first met John Edwards in 1997, he saw in the accomplished trial lawyer a raw political talent. “I called my partners and said. ‘I think I just met a future president of the United States,'” Shrum recalls. A year later, at 45, Edwards was elected to the U.S. Senate, launching a trajectory that in 2000 put him on the short list of Al Gore's vice presidential candidates. By 2001, he'd begun planning what...

Each year, on August 10th, we celebrate the birthday of the man who loved poetry, dogs and fishing (not necessarily in that order). We have a fun-filled author event, live musical entertainment, Happy Birthday Herbie cakes, our world-famous "Herbert Sherbert" punch, Herbie trivia contest (all the answers are available in the Herbert Hoover fun facts posted throughout the bookshop on his birthday) and our own Herbie shrine loaded with Herbert Hoover memorabilia and our private collection of Hoover books for guests to peruse.

There’s a state which, over the past year, has seen job growth of 245,000, more than half of the jobs created in America during the past 12 months. This is Texas. Texas also has the second lowest tax burden of all 50 states, and even “conservative estimates have projected a $10 billion surplus for the next biennium,” says Rep. Myra Crownover, who represents District 64 in the Texas House of Representatives and chairs Budget and Oversight for the Texas Energy Resources Committee, in an article in The New York Sun. Texas, she adds, also leads the nation in energy production...

Home-school enrollment increased by about 4 percent this past school year, according to figures released today by the state Division of Non-Public Education. State officials are estimating that 71,566 students were home-schooled for the 2007-08 school year, up from 68,707 students the prior year. The number of children being schooled at home is likely higher because parents don’t have to register with the state unless their children are at least 7-year-old. There were 38,367 registered home-schools in 2007-08, a 6 percent increase from the prior school year. The number of families choosing to educate their students at home has been...

Political experts suggest Edwards' once likely candidacy for a post in an Obama administration, no longer exists. "He can go back to Chapel Hill and work in his institute, and probably got back to private practice. But I think his political career is pretty much done at this point," said Michael Bitzer, PhD, professor of politics at Catawba College. Bitzer said Friday’s news was a blow not only for Edwards’ supporters, but to the Obama campaign in North Carolina, where Obama could use Edwards’ help. "He had the potential to go out and really be a surrogate for Senator Obama....

Dallas lawyer Fred Baron told The Dallas Morning News today that he made regular payments to the woman that former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards has confessed to having an affair with. Mr. Baron, who was chairman of Mr. Edwards’ presidential campaign finance committee, said he paid money to Rielle Hunter to move from North Carolina to another location. He said she and another campaign aide, Andrew Young, who claimed paternity of Ms. Hunter’s child, were being dogged by tabloid reporters who believed she had an affair with Mr. Edwards and fathered his child. Mr. Baron would not say how...

Former U.S. senator and Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards admitted to an extramarital affair in an interview with ABC News, the network reported Friday. He denied being the father of the woman's child, as had been alleged in tabloid reports.

John Edwards repeatedly lied during his Presidential campaign about an extra-marital affair with a novice film-maker, the former Senator admitted to ABC News today. In an interview for broadcast tonight on Nightline, Edwards told ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff he did have an affair with 42-year old Rielle Hunter, but said that he did not love her. Edwards also denied he was the father of Hunter's baby girl, Frances Quinn, although the one-time Democratic Presidential candidate said he has not taken a paternity test. Edwards said he knew he was not the father based on timing of the baby's birth...

ABC Radio news just announced Sen. John Edwards will admit to the affair with Rielle Hunter in an interview with the network, but insists the child is not his. We return you to your regularly-scheduled FReeping.

Is an area high school haunted? Asheville is abuzz after video was captured by a motion-activated camera at Asheville High school at 2:51 a.m. Friday, August 1. In the video, a dark image –some say looks like the silhouette of a child- appears by an elevator. The image advances forward and is again captured in the hallway. It’s something, so far, the Asheville School District says can’t be explained. Charlie Glazener, Executive Director of Public Relations for the District says, “I’m a logical person, and I wanted to be able to explain to these folks, or anybody, this is what...

he National Enquirer's purported photo of former Sen. John Edwards and a child it says he fathered out of wedlock is merely making things blurrier. Two weeks after it ran an anonymously sourced story asserting that its reporters caught Edwards visiting a former campaign worker and the baby he fathered with her, the Enquirer posted the photo on its Web site to bolster its reporting of the story. The picture -- tagged with a "SPY PHOTO" label -- was out of focus enough to prompt a round of wisecracks from a variety of critics online. Beside the photo is a...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), the largest U.S. retail bank, said on Thursday it received subpoenas and requests for information relating to auction-rate securities from federal and state government agencies. Separately, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank said Countrywide Financial Corp, the mortgage lending giant it bought last month, has responded to subpoenas from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and faces a formal investigation by that agency. In addition, Bank of America said it received subpoenas, interrogatories or civil investigative demands from a number of state attorneys general regarding municipal derivatives transactions from 1992 to the...