Raleigh
alcoholic energy drinks targeted
Gov. Beverly Perdue wants energy drinks containing alcohol to be pulled from North Carolina store shelves.
In a statement Friday, Perdue asked manufacturers of the beverages to pull their products from North Carolina until they're shown to be safe.
The state ABC Commission, which regulates alcohol sales, will take up the question of restricting the drinks at a meeting onNov. 18.
Michigan, Utah, Oklahoma and Washington state have issued short-term emergency bans on such products. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is currently reviewing their safety.
Officials say the combination of alcohol and stimulants like caffeine can be dangerous in large quantities. Last month, nine college students in Washington state were hospitalized after a drinking binge that included alcoholic energy drinks.
Raleigh
official may oversee fannie, freddie
North Carolina's banking commissioner has been nominated by President Barack Obama to lead the federal agency that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The White House on Friday announced Joseph Smith Jr. is the president's choice as director for the Federal Housing Finance Agency, subject to Senate confirmation. Smith would replace acting director Edward DeMarco.
Winston-Salem
sheriff asks for ticket for his crash
Forsyth County Sheriff Bill Schatzman wants to show that no one is above the law.
Schatzman has asked city police to issue him a citation for a fender bender he caused by running a red light Tuesday.
Schatzman's county car and two other vehicles were damaged. Winston-Salem police decided not to give the sheriff a ticket although he admitted fault.
Raleigh
Ex-speaker can go back to work
Former North Carolina House Speaker Jim Black can resume work as an eye doctor after leaving a federal prison where he served time for government corruption.
A North Carolina optometry board attorney said Friday the panel voted to restore Black's license to practice optometry Thursday once paperwork is finalized and he pays a fee.
Black pleaded guilty in 2007 to taking cash from chiropractors while pushing their legislative agenda. Black also accepted punishment on state charges.
Greensboro
Tuition going up at UNC-Greensboro
A trustee committee of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro has approved a tuition increase for undergraduate students next year.
The plan endorsed Thursday afternoon would increase tuition by $211.
A second committee approved a fee increase of $309 for the 2011-12 academic year. That would bring the total proposed tuition and fees to nearly $5,500.
Charlotte
Groups wantto protect trees
Two environmental groups are trying to block a ruling that would allow Charlotte-based Duke Energy to burn trees to generate electricity.
The Southern Environmental Defense Center and the Environmental Defense Fund have filed an appeal of a state utilities commission order.
Raleigh
police honortrio of students
Three North Carolina State University students who used CPR to save a fellow student's life are being honored.
The N.C. State Police Department honored the students at a ceremony Friday afternoon in the Talley Student Center at the university's Raleigh campus.
Robert Olson, Matthew Cross and Jonathan Smetana saw a jogger collapse on campus on Sept 2. They noticed the jogger wasn't breathing and administered CPR until emergency medical workers arrived. The jogger, also an N.C. State student, survived.
Raleigh
Conservatives seek gay-marriage ban
The economy dominated the fall campaign, but leaders among North Carolina's social conservatives believe the Republican sweep at the state legislature should finally permit a vote on a state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.
North Carolina is the only state in the Southeast that hasn't approved an amendment restricting marriage to one man and one woman.
Raleigh
Facebook to build $450M data center
The social networking powerhouse Facebook joins a growing list of companies bringing data centers to North Carolina, with a Thursday announcement that it will spend $450 million to build a facility in Rutherford County.
The data center -- the second in the United States to be built by Facebook -- will take about 18 months to build, with construction set to begin Friday, according to Tom Furlong, Facebook's director of site operations .
The company expects the construction process to create up to 250 jobs during that time, while the data center will have between35 and 45 full-time employees.
Mount Olive
five deaths linked to shared needle
The owner of a Wayne County nursing home where five residents have died from hepatitis B says public health investigators are examining whether a shared blood testing needlemay have spread the disease.
Glenn Kornegay, owner of GlenCare of Mount Olive, said Thursday that state Division of Public Health investigators told his staff five medical technicians had reused diabetes pens when checking patients' blood sugar levels.
Eight patients at Mount Olive have contracted the disease, and five of them have died. Hepatitis B is a blood-borne disease typically transmitted by exposure to blood or body fluids.
Raleigh
case over base'swater can continue
A federal judge has again refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by an Iowa woman who claims contaminated water at Camp Lejeune contributed to her cancer.
U.S. District Judge Terence Boyle last week denied the federal government's motion to end the litigation filed by Laura Jones.
Jones used contaminated water during the 1980s while her husband was stationed at the Marine Corps base. She was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2003.
Wilmington
2 coastal bridges are nearly ready
Two new bridges are ready to open on the North Carolina coast.
The Sunset Beach bridge was scheduled to open Friday . A new Oak Island bridge could open this weekend.
