Posted: 8:48 PM Former North Carolina Lt. Gov. Jim Gardner has returned to a state government post, this time as the state ABC board chief.

Updated: 8:49 PM Many cities have ordinances banning topless women but Asheville does not.

Posted: 6:54 AM The Senate is poised today to allow the government to borrow hundreds of billions of dollars more to meet its obligations, putting off one Washington showdown even as others loom in coming weeks.

Updated: 11:46 PM Gov. Pat McCrory has appointed three new members to the State Board of Education, including the operator of Eastern Carolina tutor centers.

Posted: 7:45 PM Several bills were filed at the North Carolina General Assembly on Wednesday, the first work day for the 2013 session:

Posted: 8:01 AM Legislative leaders say they want to improve public education, scale back regulations and overhaul the tax system in part through lower income tax rates.

Updated: 3:39 AM Some grass-roots supporters of outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have formed a super PAC to help a potential Clinton presidential campaign in 2016 — even though Clinton says she hasn't decided her plans.

Posted: 7:37 PM The governor's office provided this week a list of 38 people working there since McCrory was sworn in Jan. 5. A McCrory spokeswoman says the figures show he's on track to spend less than Democratic predecessor Beverly Perdue.

Posted: 2:09 PM The leader of the North Carolina House says focusing on government efficiencies and fixing the state's indebted unemployment insurance system will free up money so businesses can create jobs and vulnerable citizens are cared for.

Updated: 1:57 PM Israel became the first nation to skip a U.N. review of its human rights record without giving a reason, leaving diplomats scrambling to figure out how to respond Tuesday.

Updated: 7:50 PM The vote Tuesday was 94-3. One senator - Kerry - voted present and accepted congratulations from colleagues on the Senate floor. The roll call came just hours after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approved the man who has led the panel for the past four years.

Updated: 11:40 PM Governor Pat McCrory has appointed Kimberly Robb as District Attorney for Pitt County to take over for the retiring Clark Everett.

Posted: 8:29 PM A Washington-based conservative-leaning think tank is providing options to North Carolina elected officials on how to overhaul the tax system so that it says the state's tax climate would improve significantly.

Posted: 8:25 PM Three months after Superstorm Sandy ravaged coastal areas in much of the Northeast, Congress on Monday sent a $50.5 billion emergency relief measure for storm victims to President Barack Obama for his signature.

Updated: 4:33 PM Holocaust survivors, politicians, religious leaders and others have marked the International Holocaust Remembrance Day with solemn prayers and warnings to never let such horrors happen again.

Posted: 8:22 AM In an earlier era, a move like the one engineered by House GOP leaders to pass a "no budget, no pay" measure probably would have been stopped in its tracks.

Posted: 10:31 PM The United States has decided to provide additional support to the French military in its war against Islamic militants in Mali by conducting aerial refueling missions.

Posted: 10:04 PM Representative Paul Ryan has a message for fellow Republicans: Let's stick together and carefully pick our fights with President Barack Obama.

Posted: 10:48 AM Republican Gov. Pat McCrory's arrival and expanded party majorities in the two chambers open the door for the GOP to refashion state government more than any other time in memory.

Posted: 8:31 PM Congressional Democrats unveiled legislation Thursday to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines like those used in the school massacre at Newtown, Conn., even as they acknowledged an uphill battle getting the measures through a divided Congress.

Updated: 8:18 PM Millions of smokers could be priced out of health insurance because of tobacco penalties in President Barack Obama's health care law, according to experts who are just now teasing out the potential impact of a little-noted provision in the massive legislation.

Updated: 7:52 PM Some people across NC who rely on food stamps are running into a little problem this month.

Posted: 2:47 PM President Barack Obama's nominee for secretary of state says it's imperative for the United States get its fiscal house in order to lead worldwide.

Posted: 2:39 PM A U.N. expert is launching a special investigation into the drone warfare and targeted killings that the United States uses as front-line weapons in its global war against al-Qaida.

Posted: 11:22 AM Former North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue will spend her first few months out of office at Harvard University.