The Federal Aviation Administration says 149 federal contract towers will close beginning April 7th, including at the Coastal Carolina Regional Airport in New Bern and the Kinston Regional Jetport, as part of the agency's sequestration plan.

North Carolina's crippled video sweepstakes industry says it'll keep asking lawmakers and Gov. Pat McCrory to consider legislation to regulate and tax their games despite a gambling scandal in Florida.

House Republicans have passed a budget plan that would bring the federal government's finances into balance in 10 years by sharply cutting safety-net programs for the poor and by clamping down on domestic agencies.

A majority of North Carolina House members agree children under 18 should be barred from using tanning beds in the name of their health.

On the second day of a Mideast tour, U.S. President Barack Obama is set to emphasize the importance of reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, a message underscored when militants in Gaza launched rockets into southern Israel.

The Senate approved legislation Wednesday to lock in $85 billion in widely decried spending cuts aimed at restraining soaring federal deficits - and to avoid a government shutdown just a week away.

Gov. Pat McCrory releases his first two-year state budget proposal Wednesday -- one that his office says focuses on education, the economy and making North Carolina government more efficient.

Pitt County says it needs $2.7 million to meet current goals of education and safety, and county officials say they don't expect to cover the cost by raising taxes.

Governor Pat McCrory has declared another state of emergency for Highway 12 connecting the outer banks to the mainland requiring immediate plans to repair the storm battered highway.

Iraqi officials say a relentless wave of bombings has rumbled across Baghdad and nearby towns, killing at least 56 people and wounding more than 200.

Rowan County commissioners have opened their latest public meeting with a prayer, one week after the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina filed a lawsuit over the practice.

The producers of the cable TV miniseries on the Bible say Internet chatter that their Satan character resembles President Barack Obama is "utter nonsense."

Israel's prime minister says his new government is extending its hand in peace to the Palestinians.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is announcing her support for gay marriage.

A spokesman for Speaker Thom Tillis is confirming that a House bill on voter identification likely will include IDs such as expired drivers' licenses for older people and those that colleges issue for students.

The head of the Republican National Committee says the party will spend $10 million this year to send hundreds of paid staffers into communities to talk with Hispanic, black and Asian voters.

Over dinner at a swank hotel a few blocks from the White House, Republican senators wanted to know if President Barack Obama would support a gradual increase in the age of eligibility for Medicare, set at 65 since the program's inception more than four decades ago.

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper is joining his colleagues in 13 other states in asking Congress to limit what for-profit schools can spend on recruitment, advertising and marketing.

A civil rights group is praising legislation to limit the use of unmanned aircraft by North Carolina people and police and criminalize conduct involving drones that crosses that line.

The head of the Transportation Security Administration told lawmakers Thursday he stands by his plan to allow passengers to carry small knives onto planes despite a growing backlash against the proposal.

Gov. Pat McCrory says he has given to charity campaign cash received from a video poker operator facing racketeering, conspiracy and money laundering charges in Florida.

A state senator is introducing legislation aimed at streamlining the process for executing those sentenced to death.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved an assault weapons ban in a party-line vote that underscores how hard it will be for the measure to survive in the full Senate.

Republican Sen. Richard Burr has filed a bill to make more Marines and their families eligible for health care for illnesses suffered because of toxic drinking water at Camp Lejeune.

North Carolina citizens are trying to persuade House members to their way of thinking on requiring citizens to show photo identification before voting.