The Pentagon says it will be forced to furlough about 15,000 military school teachers and staff around the world because of the automatic budget cuts that took effect last Friday.

A White House official says President Barack Obama on Monday will appoint a new energy secretary and new head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

The North Carolina Education Lottery sold its first tickets seven years ago this month.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell lambasted a liberal group on Saturday for criticizing the Asian heritage of his wife, former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, calling its Twitter messages "racial slurs" and "the ultimate outrage."

The Homeland Security Department released from its jails more than 2,000 illegal immigrants facing deportation in recent weeks due to looming budget cuts and planned to release 3,000 more during March, The Associated Press has learned.

President Barack Obama has signed an order authorizing the government to begin cutting $85 billion from federal accounts, officially enacting across-the-board reductions that he opposed but failed to avert.

Republicans passed a photo ID requirement in 2011 but it was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue. New GOP Gov. Pat McCrory supports voter ID requirements.

Gov. Pat McCrory visited with the Rev. Billy Graham during a trip to the North Carolina mountains.

President Barack Obama says there was no way he could avoid urging the Supreme Court to overturn California's ban on gay marriage.

President Obama and Republicans are playing the blame game when it comes to automatic spending cuts that are due to kick in later in the day.

Onlsow County broke ground Thursday on a one stop government service center.

Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune says civilian workers could be furloughed due to sequestration federal budget cuts, and they will be notified at least 30 days in advance.

New Bern Mayor Lee Bettis tells WITN he will not run for re-election later this year.

North Carolina farmers want state legislators to lobby Congress to pass an immigration law overhaul so they can hire more people to work in fields and the state's agriculture industry can meet increasing food demands worldwide.

The White House is threatening a presidential veto of a Senate Republican measure that would give President Barack Obama more authority and flexibility to find $85 billion in spending cuts this year.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says the Obama administration will provide the Syrian opposition with an additional $60 million in assistance and will for the first time provide non-lethal aid like food and medical supplies to rebels fighting to oust President Bashar Assad.

Legislation setting a potential March 2015 starting date when North Carolina regulators could begin issuing permits for underground natural gas drilling such as fracking now goes to the House.

A U.S. Senate hopeful kicked off his campaign early in Greenville Wednesday as the election is 20 months away.

The General Assembly has finalized a temporary solution designed to ensure thousands of North Carolina residents living in group homes and special dementia units get aid while losing certain Medicaid services.

Iranian diplomats say talks with world powers in Kazakhstan on how to curb Tehran's nuclear program have reached "turning point" for the better.

A member of Greenville City Council says she's not going to stop expressing her Christian faith at meetings.

The Senate late this afternoon voted to confirm Chuck Hagel as the nation's next defense secretary.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pushed Tuesday for a free-trade agreement between the United States and Europe, saying it is a priority for President Barack Obama's second term that would help create jobs and growth on both sides of the Atlantic.

North Carolina lawmakers are set to approve a measure barring the state from expanding Medicaid under the federal health care overhaul.

The Republican-backed measure had been scheduled for a vote Tuesday in the House.