A Wake County judge is refusing to lift his order sealing documents in the Kathy Taft murder case, despite an appeal by attorneys representing a consortium of North Carolina media outlets.

“I’m not going to strike my order, vacate my order or modify my order,” said Wake County Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens after listening to arguments that the recording and documents are public records that deserve to be seen.

For investigators, the decision is what they say they need.

“There is still forensics work being done; still detectives visiting the scene making certain they are doing everything we can,” said Raleigh police chief Harry Dolan. “We have a one-time opportunity at that crime scene and we’re making sure everything as thoroughly as we can.”

However, the chief all but admitted his detectives still have no suspects in the case.

“The department is saying that we can not rule out that it’s a random act and know that if I had  further information about any suspect that I was looking for; if I had a sketch, if I had any information I would have already provided it to you.”

For some who live in the neighborhood, the uncertainty about the case is becoming unnerving.

“I hope they figure out what’s going on very soon so we can go back to being a quiet neighborhood and street,” said area resident Gillian Bowling.

It was that kind of concern from the public which was part of the argument media attorneys used unsuccessfully on Judge Stephens; asking that some information from the Taft 911 calls or search warrants be released in a limited fashion to allay the public’s worries.

“Look at the 911 call; look at all the contents. Look at the search warrants, and affidavits and all the contents and parse them to release as much as you can and redact the rest,” said media consortium Attorney Hugh Stevens.

The judge disagreed saying he was going to err on the side of caution and public safety in siding with law enforcement to temporarily seal the material.

But Judge Stephens also said if Wake County District Attorney Colin Willoughby seeks an extension of that request after 30 days, the judge will have "harsh questions" for Willoughby about why that information is still being kept from the public.

Dressed in a blue button down shirt and blue jeans, Clay Aiken sat down for an interview with NBC17 Thursday at the Progress Energy Center.

Aiken announced in February that he will perform a one-night only special event to help kick off the release of his new album "Tried and True" and that this concert will be taped which will air sometime in June on PBS.

Within minutes of tickets going on sale, they sold-out. Many of those tickets were bought by some of Aiken's most loyal fans who said they will travel across the country to see him perform. Something he hasn't done in quite some time.

"It's always a surprise when folks are willing to put so much effort forth," said Aiken.

He was just as much surprised as he was flattered that his fans will travel to see him and is always appreciative for their support.

Among his fans in attendance, Clay said some family and some of his biggest supporters will also be in attendance.

"Quite a few of my teachers are gonna be here, too," he said excitedly.

Aiken said the album and concert are a product of months of preparation and hopes his fans will have a good time. His concert will take place Friday, March 12 at 7 p.m. at the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium.

Click on the video for the raw interview with Clay Aiken. He talks about his views on the Wake County School Board as well as his opinion on gay rights.

The political push is on in Raleigh to sway Congressional votes on health care reform.

Ralliers both for and against the current proposal demonstrated outside U.S. Representative Bob Etheridge's office Thursday afternoon.

Approximately 50 tea partiers organized by the group NC Freedom chanted: "Bob say no!",  "Bob say no!"

Across Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh, slighly more than 200 supporters of President Obama's grassroots organization Organizing For America responded with: "Thank you Bob! , Thank you, Bob."

Congressman Bob Etheridge has voted in favor of reform, but the bill has changed during reconciliation. 

Congressional leaders are awaiting a final cost analysis in the next day or so that will allow them to start counting votes in earnest.

The next step is for the House to approve a Senate-passed bill from last year, despite opposition from House Democrats to several of its provisions.

Passions and opinions are hot on this issue, but the dual rallies turned out peaceful.

Congressman Etheridge released this statement following the rallies outside his office: "I continue to hear from thousands of folks in North Carolina about the future of America's health care system.  We know that middle class families continue to get squeezed by skyrocketing health insurance premiums and without action the situation will only get worse. North Carolina families need a common sense health care system. We need to get costs under control, assure quality of care, prohibit denials for pre-existing conditions and preserve individual choices."

Check out our NBC 17 News story for both sides of the health care reform debate.

State inspectors have made three visits to the Robeson County Animals Shelter since March 1, as thousands of complaints of alleged animal cruelty have been sent to Governor Bev Perdue.

People from all over the country have spoken out on the Governor's Facebook page. Some claim there are videos that show cruel treatment of animals.

See Perdue's response

Jeff Bass, the shelter's director, denies any mistreatment of animals. He says he became the target of criticism for an out-of-state animal rescue group after he wouldn't allow them to adopt animals during the county's mandatory hold period.

Robeson County requires animals to be kept for 120 hours before they can be adopted out or euthanized. The state requires a 72 hour minimum hold.

A random state inspection on March 1 found a dead mouse in the shelter, and that staff members were using a bleach solution for cleaning that created irritating fumes.

Another inspection on March 9 showed that those problems had been corrected. It did note a few other problems-poor lighting in the front of the shelter, cracks in the cement, and damaged food containers that should be replaced.

Read Inspection Reports

Bass said that at one time, the shelter was putting down 90 to 95 percent of the animals that came through its doors because of too little space and too few adoptions.

However, he said things have improved because of the aid of rescue groups in the last year or so.

"We've had a real good week this week in adoptions," Bass said. "I'm quite sure a lot of it has to do with the negative stuff on the internet, bit that's good for the animals."

Army officials honored a North Carolina State University engineer Thursday for research that has helped save hundreds of American soldier's lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Dr. Michael Steer, Lampe Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at NC State, accepted the U.S. Army Commander's Award for Public Service during a ceremony at NC State.

"You could easily get a very big head from an awards ceremony like today," he said. "But when you think back on it if you save one life in your life time, it kind of makes it all worthwhile.

"That's more important than anything else."

Steer developed a way to use sound waves as an advanced radar system to detect things that are underground, including buried cell phones used to detonated roadside bombs.

Through his research, Steer was able learn much about the devices, including information about their components and circuits.

Funded by the Army, Steer's work was eventually extended to applications in electronic warfare and countering improvised explosive devices, commonly referred to as roadside bombs, that have killed U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The work helped the Army learn how these explosive devices worked.

"every now and again a situation comes along where you need a Manhattan style project," Steer said, referring to the code name for the project used to develop the atomic bomb. "You need to take all your knowledge and stop developing new knowledge and apply all you got."

Steer said he was so moved by the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 that between 2002 and 2005, he didn't take a single day off from his work to help the military.

The Army is honoring Steer not only for his research, but also for his efforts communicating the work to Army scientists and engineers and pushing the research results from the laboratory into the battlefield.

His work has also produced more than 100 journal articles and conference papers and provided research funding for 30 faculty members, students and post-doctoral researchers.

"Always choose to do the thing that's uncomfortable," he said. "If you do the thing that's comfortable, you know you're never going to achieve something great.

Steer has previously been honored with NC State's Alcoa Foundation Distinguished Engineering Research Award, the U.S. Army Research Bronze Medallion for Outstanding Scientific Accomplishment, and the Presidential Young Investigator Award.

He received his bachelor's and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, in 1976 and 1983, respectively. He joined the NC State faculty in 1983.

Nearly a week after the attack on State Board of Education Member Kathy Taft, Raleigh Police Chief Harry Dolan addressed the press Thursday about the case.

But Dolan did not have much to say. He could not confirm whether the attack was targeted Taft or random.

"We can't reassure the public with information that we don't have," he said. "We have been very clear in saying that we can't determine if this was -- at this stage in the investigation -- if this was random."

He cautioned residents in the neighborhood to be careful and to secure their homes.

Taft, 62, died Tuesday from her injuries in the attack, which Dolan said took place late Friday or early Saturday. He said police are questioning family and friends and "working around the clock."
A judge agreed to seal of all 911 calls, incident reports and search warrants connected with the murder. Detectives said the immediate disclosure of two 911 calls and the incident report will undermine the investigation and jeopardize the right of the state to discover and prosecute the perpetrator.

Dolan reiterated that Thursday.

"It's for the integrity of the investigation, so that we do the very best job we can for Mrs. Taft and her family," he said. "Trying to find out every particular you can about the case early starts hurting the detective's ability to start solving that very crime."

Wake County property records show the home where Taft was found is owned by John Geil, with whom Taft had a relationship.

The family announced a $25,000 reward for anyone who provides information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible.
Anyone with information is asked to call Raleigh CrimeStoppers at 919-834-HELP.

A Raleigh man is facing fraud charges for his alleged involvement with a foreign currency trading scam.

Dennis Todd Hagemann, 41, was arrested Wednesday on two felony counts of securities fraud and one felony count of obtaining property by false pretense following a state investigation into alleged actions by Hagemann through his currency trading company, Yellowstone Partners, Inc.

"We believe that Mr. Hagemann essentially used a sales pitch on foreign currency trading to get funds from a victim that were then used to pay another debt instead of being invested in such trading,"Secretary of State Elaine F. Marshall said Thursday in a written statement. "This case is still under active investigation by Division of Securities agents who continue to search for and look at additional evidence," Secretary of State Marshall added.

Hagemann is in the  Wake County jail under a $250,000 secured bond.

Two men arrested in North Carolina in a sweep of arrests aimed at the Gambino organized crime family are heading to New York.

Gaetano Napoli Sr. and a son, Gaetano Napoli Jr., both said during a hearing in Raleigh on Thursday they would like to have their detention hearings in New York. They declined a court-appointed attorney before a government lawyer read the list of charges, which range from concealing assets in bankruptcy to obstruction of justice.

Both were taken out of the courtroom in handcuffs and leg shackles, and a judge ordered the U.S. Marshals to take the men to New York. Wiretaps and surveillance showed that the older Napoli had a close relationship with a suspected member of the Sicilian Mafia, Roberto Settineri, who was also arrested Wednesday.

All families who submitted an application during the 2010-11 magnet/application period will receive the results of their application on April 8, 2010, rather than March 18. The deadline to decline the offered seats has been moved to April 28.

The application results notification and decision dates were changed to ensure equitable application opportunities for families affected by the calendar changes approved by the Board of Education on March 2. At that time, the board agreed to change Leesville Road Elementary, Leesville Road Middle and Mills Park Elementary to the traditional calendar and to open the new Mills Park Middle on the traditional calendar.

On April 8, all families who submitted an application will be able to access their application results online using the application confirmation number received upon submission. Families will now have until April 28, instead of the previous deadline of April 9, to decline their offer.

Individuals, who have misplaced their confirmation number, may call Growth and Planning at 919-850-1921 or the Magnet Resource Center at 919-501-7900 for assistance.

Families wishing to request other changes will have the opportunity to do so during the transfer process period scheduled for May 14 - June 1.

The reward to help find a suspect in a Knightdale murder increases.

Governor Bev Perdue donated $5,000 to the reward pot to find out who murdered Kenneth Ring.

Ring was beaten to death at the Dominos on Wide Water Parkway on January 9. With the new funding, the reward is up to $30,000. The family has also held fundraisers but the totals from those events have not been calculated.

Ring's father Dan Ring said the police department has been doing all they can but said the killer must be brought to justice.

"The real frustration is the community. The individuals that are involved with this crime or people who know and are not coming forward," Ring said.

Dan Ring said one good thing that came out of his son's death is that the donation of all Kenneth's organs saved the lives of five people.

North Carolina officials have received applications from about 60 fishermen who want to plant oyster shells to enhance shellfish habitat.

The Daily News of Jacksonville reported Thursday the planting of 41,000 bushels of oyster shells will begin in April in Onslow, Carteret, Hyde and New Hanover counties. The fishermen will be paid about $2 a bushel through a federal economic recovery grant.

During what's known as cultch planting, shells and rock are placed on the bottom of the water to enhance shellfish habitat, especially important during spawning.

The Division of Marine Fisheries is partnering with the North Carolina Coastal Federation on the project. It's one part of a federal economic recovery grant to create jobs and assist the state in oyster rehabilitation.

German conglomerate Siemens plans to expand a North Carolina unit that makes equipment for electric utility plants, adding hundreds of jobs.

A state incentives committee on Thursday approved giving Siemens more than $22 million for its plans to create 825 jobs.

Gov. Beverly Perdue is scheduled to praise the company's plans at Siemens Power Generation operations in Charlotte.

Munich-based Siemens AG had said last spring it would add more than 200 jobs in Charlotte as it increased the energy division's offerings of climate protecting technology for power plants.

The plans included building a 75,000-square-foot office next to its manufacturing facility there.

The U.S. is one of Siemens' largest markets. The company said Siemens-built power plants supply one-third of North America's electricity.

Wake Technical Community College is seeking $2.5 million in funding from the federal government for the next school year.

Whether it's Facebook, YouTube, sports scores or even news, it seems like there is an iPhone application for almost everything.

"It wasn't a plan," program developer Rob Terrell said. "I really like it."

When Terrell got his first iPhone, he knew he wanted to run software on it.

He was a programmer already and his family had dealt with computers since the 70's.

When Apple decided to let developers make applications for the iPhone, he dove right in.

"The first app that I made was a game called 'sumo,'" he said. "It was out in the app store the first day that the app store was open and it was a top 25 game for a good long while."

Now, 'Sumo' is on every iPhone that is demonstrated in Apple Stores across the country and the globe.

After that success Terrel founded Touchcentric, a company that makes applications.

"Blackberry has been around for years," he said. "You've been able to make applications for Blackberry for years, but nobody was making any money off of it."

The iPhone has changed all that.

With applications for everything from books, to movies, and an advertising campaign that encouraged users to pay for the additions, new developers like Charles Crossingham are finding space in the business as well.

He developed iGovernment, an app that automatically draws news from every government web site.

After two weeks, it's already hit the top 1 percent of news application downloads from the "App Store."

"No one is taking any classes or receiving college degrees in iPhone applications right now," Crossingham said. "Really if you want to learn how to do it you have to open up a book or use the internet or figure it out on your own."

With so many people able to develop so many different programs, it can be hard to gain exposure.

Also, there are no set rules.

Recently Apple removed a large majority of adult applications almost overnight, but left other ones untouched.

Dawson Roark doesn't develop adult applications, but he said apple should make clear guidelines and give developers time to adjust to changes.

"It'd be great to know what the rules are and have an idea of, 'This is the rule today. Thirty days from now the rules going to change. We're giving you a head's up.'" he said.

Maybe someone out there will make an app for that.

Wake Technical Community College is seeking $2.5 million in funding from the federal government for the next school year.

When you think of a historic area, you probably create an image in your mind of antiques of older buildings with a lot of character and charm. Sharon Tazewell recently ventured to historic downtown Wake Forest and spent time in a unique parlor to the area: Generation INK Tattoo and Piercing.

Seconds after Chile's massive 8.8 earthquake the Saturday before last, the Earth beneath the Triangle shook just a tad.

"Neither people nor animals nor structures would've noticed that this wave came through," said UNC Seismologist Lara Wagner. "But seismic stations will certainly pick up that data."

And it was her seismic station in Chapel Hill that picked up those waves. Wagner said seismic stations around the world can record an earthquake with a magnitude greater than a 6 or 6.5.

"The rocks are moving. The ground beneath our feet did move because of the Chile earthquake...just very, very little," she said.

Wagner said plates shifting are a normal part of the Earth. More than 200 quakes have happened this last week. Most are small and go unnoticed by humans. Click here to see the full list.

Earlier this decade, Wagner spent time doing her graduate work not far from the epicenter of that quake. She wanted to understand why parts of those mountain ranges have volcanoes and some parts don't.

"We learned a lot about this particular subduction zone that is in Chile. Normally in subduction zones - you have one plate that goes down under the other. That's true along the entire South American margin. In Chile, though, it goes down to about 100 kilometers depth and then it goes flat inland and then down. What that results in - is mountains that are further away from the coast," Wagner said. "It's believed that might actually be how we got the Rocky Mountains in the United States. So if you compare South America with North America - South America has a really narrow mountain belt. North America has got this huge wide area of the Rocky Mountains. In Chile - we think we have a mini-version of what we have in the western United States."

Wagner's fascination with the planet and outdoors has taken her from those mountains on the Chilean-Argentinean border to eastern Oregon, Georgia, Peru and to western North Carolina. She said scientists believe the Appalachians could've been as tall as the Himalayans at one point.

"The Appalachians are a particularly old mountain belt so we're interested in learning how long mountains can stand after they stop being a particularly active area," she said. "The east coast has been not tectonically active for a very long time, but we do still have a lot of small earthquakes in the area."

Wagner said the Blue Ridge Mountains will usually get quakes with magnitudes smaller than 4.

"It would be enough where people may hear glasses clinking or feel it move; not enough to take down a building," she said. "We're interested in what's causing those. Because normally the types of things that cause earthquakes are plates moving past each other. You don't have that setting on the east coast."

She said it's what makes central North Carolina a relatively safe place to live when it comes to dangerous earthquakes.

"Most of the earthquakes that happen on the planet are happening right around the edges of plates. We're in the middle of a plate; so we're not close to where two plates are going past each other," Wagner said. "The east coast of the United States is not near a plate boundary. The nearest plate boundary is in the middle of the Atlantic. If you had to pick a spot to live in the United States - you're doing pretty well with North Carolina." 

As detectives look for the killer of state school board member Kathy Taft, some are wondering why there’s such stark silence about the case by police.

“The investigators are just trying to answer the questions they feel are most prominent in the case,” explained retired Raleigh Police investigator Chris Morgan. 

Morgan is a former lieutenant with the Raleigh Police Department and was in charge of the department's major crimes unit.

To help them find the answers to those questions, investigators asked a judge to seal of all 911 calls, incident reports and search warrants connected with the murder.

“You have to evaluate the circumstances and a lot of that plays directly into how much information you release, and what type of information you release,” said Morgan.

In this case, detectives claim and a judge agreed, that the immediate disclosure of two 911 calls and the incident report will undermine the investigation and jeopardize the right of the state to discover and prosecute the perpetrator.

I haven’t heard from any of my constituents who are worried they aren’t getting the information they’d like,” said Raleigh City Councilor Bonner Gaylord.

He represents the neighborhood where the murder happened and tells nbc-17 he’s willing to wait on the timetable imposed by investigators.

“Transparency is important but if that transparency would in any way jeopardize the ability of authorities to conduct the case, people understand that transparency sometimes is not completely possible,” explained Bonner.

So what exactly are detectives doing at this point?  The ex-cop who spent years working cases like the Taft murder tries to shed some light on the process.

Chris Morgan says detectives are examining the people closest to Kathy Taft, including family, friends, known associates and Peripheral associates.

“Once you eliminate the possibility any of those peopled are involved then you’re left with the possibility this was a random attack by an unknown assailant,” he said.

Morgan also says it’s not unusual for a crime scene to be kept active for an extended period explaining Raleigh police once kept a murder scene under police control for a month until they gathered all the evidence they needed.

NBC 17 has made repeated requests to interview Raleigh’s police chief about this case, but those requests have been turned down.

The family announced a $25,000 reward for anyone who provides information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible.

Anyone with information is asked to call Raleigh CrimeStoppers at 919-834-HELP.

Full Coverage: Kathy Taft 

The state's largest school system has a new acting manager after the Wake County School Board placed Dr. Del Burns on adminstrative leave Tuesday night.

Chief Academic Officer Donna Hargens will fill the void until an interim or permanent superintendent can be named.

Today parents who are active in education issues weighed in on the decision to cut ties with Dr. Burns before his June 30th resignation.

"It's really sad Dr. Burns put the board in this position and decided to make this dramatic move," said Sarah Redpath with Wake Schools Community Alliance.

Redpath is referring to Burns media interviews when he said, " I can no longer be a pawn in political gamesmanship."

Burns said he could not in good conscience enact new policies at the board's direction.

"I can understand why if you had a professional who had come out so publicly disagreeing with the direction you were taking, how that would be difficult to continue working with that person," said Redpath.

However, Patty Williams of Great Schools in Wake said to dismiss him in that way was a loss for everyone.

"I think it's another demonstration of the board's willingness to just bulldoze through the issues instead of stopping, reflecting and understanding." Williams continued, "Del Burns brought more than 30 years of experience to our teachers, students and communiity.  He's a great leader." 

Now the board will have to step up its search for a new superintendent.

In the meantime, the groups these women are part of want their ideas about public education discussed among citizens.

For instance, Great Schools in Wake is hosting a forum at NC State University's McKimmon Center focused on a quality education for every child.  The event Saturday, March 20th will run from 9 a.m. into the afternoon.

Registration opens at 8 a.m.

Just a few of the speakers include Dr. Gerald Grant the author of "Hope & Despair in the American City: Why There Are No Bad Schools in Raleigh," Richard Kahlenberg, Century Foundation Senior Fellow, and Caroline Massengill the past president of Magnet Schools of America. 

Wake Schools Community Alliance helped elect the four most recent board members to form a new Conservative majority with Chairman Margiotta.

This group will resume monthly "brown bag" meetings to listen and talk about the school system.  Their next meeting is Wednesday, March 24th at 7 p.m. in the K & S Cafeteria at Raleigh's Tower Shopping Center.

Next month the same group will host a Community Information Panel but the details are still being worked out.

Check out our NBC 17 News story in the video monitor above.

Eight years after Christine Linn met the love of her life Robert McArthur, they finally made their way down the aisle.

"I'm excited! Finally yeah! We made it to the finish line," Linn said.

Chrissy and Bob, as their family calls them, met while working in a restaurant up North. Now, one little boy later and a battle with terminal cancer, they tied the knot.

Everything was donated by the Association of Catering Executives and local businesses.

"This is a dream come true; I couldn't have done this myself. It's so lavish, way over the top," Linn said.

Her new husband Robert McArthur agrees.

"It was such a great experience for us," McArthur said.

The ceremony took place at the Sutherland in Wake Forest, packed with family and friends. They said this wedding means a lot to their six year old son they have together and Chrissy's two older children.

"I think it shows how much we all love each other," Linn said.

Chrissy's mother Sheri Mendelsohn said it gives the kids hope.

"It's a hard for the kids because they know they're mother is sick. This gives them security to know there is a community that loves them and that they have a dad."

After the ceremony, the couple danced the night away. To top it all off, they enjoyed their cake that was shaped like a castle. Chrissy said it was a night fit for a princess.

"Total fairytale...like Cinderella. It's really great," Linn said.

But Chrissy said she has one favorite part of the whole night.

"Finally, I get to be called a McArthur. I waited a long time but it was worth the wait," Linn said.

A Charlotte-based developer wants to re-develop a long-time abandoned industrial area in downtown Raleigh.

FMW Real Estate wants to turn a nearly seven acre plot of land located near the intersection of Hillsborough Street and West Morgan into a mixed-use residential and retail project.

The company wants to build dozens of townhomes on Ashe Street, as well as restaurants, retail, and office space on Wakefield Avenue and Tryon Street.

"We look at it as a very walkable, community-friendly project," said Jim Zanoni, FMW Principal. "Very sensitive to the neighborhood so it fits into it."

Raleigh city council member Bonner Gaylord said he sees it as a positive for the downtown area.

"Mixed use and vertical development is the kind of development we need and to be able to have that in a new area that hasn't seen development in a while is a great thing," said Bonner.

Gaylord said the city as well as the developer will be working with residents in the area to give them plenty of time to get involved in the process as the project moves forward. FMW will first have to get the city to approve to re-zone the area before it can move forward with construction.

The company hopes to break ground in the spring of 2011.

A judge has ordered to seal all documents relating to the investigation into the fatal attack of Kathy Taft on Wednesday.

Taft, 62, was found March 6 at 2710 Cartier Drive with serious injuries from a brutal attack. She died days later at WakeMed Hospital.

Items that were sealed include search warrants and 911 calls. Detailed information about what these warrants and call contained were not released.

Investigators say it is unclear whether the attack was random. They are however looking into a residential burglary attempt in the same neighborhood where Taft was found. Investigators are looking into whether it may be connected to Taft's death.

Taft was a State Board of Education member and represented the first educational district. She lived in Greenville but stayed at the home where she was found when she had meetings in Raleigh, according to neighbors.

Wake County property records show the home where she was found is owned by John Geil. Neighbors told NBC17 that Taft had a relationship with Geil. Officials say Geil was in Florida at the time of the attack and has since flown back to N.C.

The family announced a $25,000 reward for anyone who provides information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible.

Anyone with information is asked to call Raleigh CrimeStoppers at 919-834-HELP.

Full Coverage: Kathy Taft

Researchers at North Carolina State University are trying to make knee, hip, and dental implants safer and more effective for patients.

They're developing a ‘smart coating', that when applied, is meant to help metal implants bond with bones to reduce the chances of them being rejected by the body.

As some of the coating dissolves into the body, it releases calcium and phosphate to encourage bone growth.

The speed that the coating dissolves can be tailored to an individual patient based on how quickly their bones grow.

The coating also contains silver particles, which will help ward off infections. That means that patients might need fewer antibiotics after surgery.

The product has gone through in-vitro testing. When funding becomes available, it will go through animal and clinical testing before researchers can apply for approval by the Food and Drug Administration.

Click here for more information.

The eldest son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said in a North Carolina political appearance he doesn't expect his father to make a run for president in 2012.

George P. Bush made the comments on Wednesday at state Republican Party headquarters in Raleigh while in the state on business. He said his father is enjoying the private sector while staying active in conservative causes and education reform.

Jeb Bush left his job as Florida governor in 2007 and has been among a handful of GOP notables mentioned as possible presidential candidates. His son said politics is sometimes all about timing and doesn't think 2012 will be the year.

Jeb Bush's father is former President George H.W. Bush and brother is former President George W. Bush.

Children's advocates are fighting to shield students with disabilities from corporal punishment in schools.

Representatives from Action for Children North Carolina and the North Carolina Association of Educators urged lawmakers to ban the practice at Wednesday's Education Legislative Oversight Committee.

"If there's even one child being hit, then we believe it's inappropriate, but particularly inappropriate for our exceptional children population," said Sheri Strickland, president of NCAE.

Action For Children released a report showing that spanking was used about 1,400 times in 26 North Carolina public school districts in the 2008-2009 school year. Click here to read the full report.

Their data shows that between Oct. 2009 and Jan. 2010, more than half of the corporal punishment in the state took place in Burke, Nash-Rocky Mount, and Robeson school districts.

Some lawmakers said they would need more information before they could support a ban. The state does not collect data on the administration of corporal punishment.

"Fourteen hundred times that a paddle was administered, you don't know if they were special ed or not special ed, what precipitated it," said Rep. Curtis Blackwood, a Union County Republican.

In 2009, a bill that would have allowed parents to opt-out of corporal punishment failed in the Senate.

Due to the North Carolina Turnpike Authority's construction of the Western Wake Freeway segment of the Triangle Expressway project, the Town of Cary will be temporarily closing the central section of White Oak Creek Greenway effective March 15, 2010. This 450-foot section of trail is in the middle of the recently completed 2-mile stretch of the White Oak Creek Greenway between NC Highway 55 and Green Level Church Road. It is anticipated to reopen in January 2012. While the trail is closed, there will be no detours or alternate connections between the two ends of the trail. All other parts of the White Oak Creek Greenway will remain open.

"Citizens using White Oak Creek Greenway should be advised that it does extend under Highway 55 via a pedestrian tunnel and continue east for another 1.8 miles, connecting to White Oak Park and Davis Drive Park," said Doug McRainey, Town of Cary Parks Planning Manager. "In addition, we are also proud to offer citizens 23 public parks and 50 miles of other greenways and trails to enjoy while this part of White Oak Creek Greenway is closed."

The White Oak Creek Greenway originates in Bond Park and will eventually connect to the American Tobacco Trail. The 2.2-mile section west of Highway 55 to Green Level Church Road was completed in 2008. The crossing for the White Oak Creek Greenway is one of five crossings included in the construction of the Triangle Expressway. Other greenways that will safely cross the Expressway in the future include: Batchelor Branch, Panther Creek, Morris Brant and Nancy Branch Greenways.

A section of Aversboro Road between 5th and 7th avenues in Garner is closed to allow City of Raleigh crews to repair a water main.

Asphalt repairs will follow the water main repairs. The road is expected to reopen to traffic at 4 p.m. today.

A detour has been established to route traffic around the site. Traffic heading south on Aversboro Road is being directed right to 5th Avenue, left on Vandora Springs Road and then left on 7th Avenue back to Aversboro Road. The route is reversed for traffic heading north on Aversboro Road.

When a massive earthquake devastated Haiti, Kyle Lowrie, a residence life director at Saint Augustine's College, immediately began to think about what he could do to help. He knew a charity basketball game would be a good way to support the relief efforts.

"The best way to have an effect is to do something you're good at," Lowrie said.

Saint Augustine's College's offices of First Year Experience and Residential Life will host a the game from 8 to 10 p.m. Friday, March 12, in Emery Gymnasium to raise money for Haiti relief efforts.

Admission to the game is $3.

In the game, Saint Augustine's College faculty, staff and students will face off against K97.5 disc jockey Brian Dawson and his team. This isn't the first time Lowrie has faced Dawson on the basketball court; it is a much-awaited rematch.

Two years ago, while he was a student at Shaw University, Lowrie collaborated with Brian Dawson to host another charity basketball game. Lowrie's team featured former Saint Augustine's College standouts Will Gill and Wakeem White. They were the only team to take Dawson's undefeated squad to overtime.

Market officials are reacting to the Cisco router announcement.

A Wake County neighborhood that may have tainted water could soon get help from Johnston County.

The day started with happy tears as Christine Linn and her family pulled up to the Sutherland wedding venue where she will marry the man she loved for more than eight years.

Then, she says, the real fun began.

"It's exciting having my mom, daughter, niece and aunt getting pampered -- it's girl bonding time," Linn said.

"I'm not used to getting pampered," Linn said while having her makeup done.

Then she put on her Vera Wang gown, but said it's her daughter's excitement that touches her heart.

"I feel more proud about her participation in this," Linn said.

And everything including her 14-year-old daughter Hannah's designer dress was donated by the National Association of Catering Executives and local businesses after they found out about Linn's battle with terminal cancer.

Linn said the day is bitter sweet.

"I'm just not confident about the way I look. I never thought at my wedding I'd have no hair," Linn said.

But Linn said she's not letting her hair or her headache from the cancer stand in the way at least for today. Her mom Sheri Mendelsohn agrees.

"Never expected that it would turn into her absolute dream and mine too...especially at a time when things haven't been so happy lately," Mendelsohn said.

Linn's daughter Hannah Terrell said it's all about her mom.

"It's going to be fun, and as long as my mom is happy, that's what I want," Terrell said.

And through happy and sad tears Linn said she's ready to get married with her family and friends by her side.

The Wake County Board of Education placed Superintendent Del Burns on administrative leave Tuesday night after discussing Burns in a closed-door session.

"After careful consideration and discussion, the board has decided to place Dr. Burns on administrative leave," Board Chairman Ron Margiotta said.

The Board entered the closed-door session Tuesday to discuss Burns, who announced his resignation as school superintendent effective June 30.

It took three seperate closed-door meeting and a total of more than four hours of debate to suspend Burns. The debate began after Burns expressed his view of the current state of the Wake County School Board to several local media outlets.

"I'm an educator, not a politician," Burns said in a Feb. 18 interview. "And what I've observed is something I've not seen before: partisan politics at the board table."

Margiotta explained Tuesday that Burns' "choice to conduct these interviews was a poor decision and totally inappropriate in the opinion of this body."

The leave is effective immediately. Chief Academic Officer Donna Hargens will take over as acting superintendent.

Board member Carolyn Morrison has known Burns for 33 years and said she wanted him to remain superintendent until June 30 to complete the school year.

"It is very difficult ... knowing how the end of the year goes down anyway; and under these conditions, I'm very disappointed" Morrison said.

The Great Schools In Wake Coalition also expressed its displeasure with the board's decision, explaining that Burns should have been allowed to carry out his duties through June 30.

"I don't think this needed to happen," Patty Williams with the Great Schools in Wake Coalition said. "I'm disappointed in the board majority's poor judgement with Dr. Burns suspension. He should have been allowed to carry out his administrative duties until his resignation June 30."

Supporters of of the new majority, however, said Burns' behavior "has helped create division in our community rather than help heal it."

"While tonight's decision was difficult, the elected school board was left no other choice," supporters said in a statement.

Burns will remain on the county's payroll, however he will no longer man the day to day operations.

Friends and family State Board of Education member Kathy Taft are reacting to her death Tuesday afternoon from injuries sustained in a Saturday attack.

According to a statement, the 62-year old Taft was surrounded by her family and Episcopal Priest when she passed away shortly after 12 p.m. at WakeMed.

Taft was found early Saturday at 2710 Cartier Drive with serious head injuries. Investigators say it is still unclear whether the attack was random.

However, detectives are now investigating the crime as a homicide.

Police remained outside the house where Taft was killed Tuesday evening, still maintaining a crime scene; still executing search warrants for evidence that may lead them to a killer.

“They've not been able to answer every question that we've asked but they've said that the information is forthcoming,” said neighbor Frank Whitley.

While neighbors and family wait for police to release more information, the loss of Kathy Taft is being felt from Raleigh east to her hometown of Greenville.

“If i could say anything to her, now,  it would be thank you for everything you have done for your state your community, education to your family to your friends,” said her Greenville neighbor Harvey Wooten.

Family, and others close to Kathy were at her bedside at Wake Med in Raleigh when she died Tuesday afternoon.

“Kathy’s daughters asked if I wanted to spend some personal time with her  at her bedside,” said Father Bob Hudak, her pastor. “It gave me a chance just to have a quiet moment to offer some personal prayers before leading the family in prayer.”

And as remembrances for Kathy occupy the thoughts of many some who knew her bristle at the way she perished.

“It just seems so senseless and brutal and you just can't imagine that there is a person out there who could be so cruel,” said Greenville neighbor and friend Mary McConnell.

Taft represented the 1st Educational District and lived in Greenville. She had been part of the State Board of Education since 1995. Her term was set to expire in March 2011.

"She's a lifelong person dedicated to education, to improving education opportunities for students in North Carolina," said Department of Public Instruction spokeswoman Vanessa Jeter.

Wake County property records show the home where she was found is owned by John Geil. Neighbors told NBC17 that Taft had a relationship with Geil.

The statement by Taft's family says they "embrace and support" Geil, who was away in Florida at the time of the attack.

North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue issued the following statement:
"I have known Kathy Taft as a dear friend for more than 25 years. The kindness she showed me, as a fellow woman from down east working to make a difference, is something I will never forget. Her passion for education and for finding every opportunity to better serve North Carolina's children has clearly made this state a better place to live and raise a family. For that, we all owe Kathy a debt of gratitude. I will miss her terribly."

The family also announced a $25,000 reward for anyone who provides information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible.

Anyone with information is asked to call Raleigh CrimeStoppers at 919-834-HELP.

Stay with NBC17 and MyNC.com for updates on this story.

Sign Guest Book for Kathy Taft 

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Police Remain Tight-Lipped About Brutal Attack On Kathy Taft

It was annouced at 9:00pm tonight that Del Burns will be placed on administrative leave by the Wake County Board of Education

The Board entered a closed-door session Tuesday to discuss Burns, who announced his resignation as school superintendent effective June 30.

The leave is effective immediatly. Chief Academic Officer, Donna Hargens will take over as Acting Superintendent.

A Superior Court Judge is giving Andrew Young a few more days to provide information about a sex tape allegedly showing John Edwards and his mistress, Rielle Hunter.

Superior Court Judge Abraham Jones initially told Andrew Young Tuesday afternoon that he was going to send him to jail because he did not believe Young had turned several items including another copy of the sex tape as well as some pictures.

"I find it difficult to accept at face value what's been said to me," said Judge Jones. "You push me to the point where I don't have another choice."

Late Tuesday evening, however, Judge Jones decided he would not send Young to jail and is giving him until Friday to turn over photos that depict John Edwards and the baby he fathered by Hunter, as well as a copy of the sex tape Hunter's attorneys claim is still out there. Young has contended there are no other copies of the tape. The Youngs have already turned over a DVD copy of the sex tape which is in custody of the US Attorney as well as a VHS copy and the original which are in possession of the court.

"And there are no other copies anywhere," said Young's attorney.

Hunter's attorneys, however, argued that Young has not complied with the court orders on multiple occassions and should be sent to jail. They said Young lied to the courts saying there were no additional copies of the sex tape even though Young said he had made other copies and said he destroyed them.

"You know they have not told you the truth repeatedly," said Hunter's attorney to Judge Abraham Jones. "They (Young's) completely burned the trust of the court. They said there are no other copies anywhere of the private and personal tape and yet we still don't have details of the copies that were destroyed or where they were disposed of."

Tuesday's  hearing was scheduled as a continuation of a previous hearing earlier this month when a judge ordered Young, Edwards' former top aide, to submit a complete affidavit that accounts for his handling of the tape and other materials. Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter, is suing Young for invasion of privacy and sought return of the videotape. Young recently wrote a book, "The Politician", in which he details his time as Edwards' top aide as well as his version of Edwards' affair with Hunter and how it unfolded. Edwards recently admitted, after denying it, he is the father of Hunter's child.

Young also turned over several other items to the court that were owned by Hunter while she lived with the Youngs in their Chapel Hill home, including a stack of National Enquirer newspapers with Hunter's name on them, a notebook of Hunter's receipts and bills, a notebook full of credit card statements, as well as early drafts of Young's book.

Judge Abraham Jones had placed Andrew Young and his wife, Cheri, under contempt of court in January for not complying with the courts initial order to turn over the video tape. Young's attorneys argued in court Tuesday their clients have purged themselves of the contempt of court charge.

"They've turned over everything and given all things they have and put the contempt issue to rest," said the Young's attorney.

In addition, Hunter's attorneys presented an affidavit from Robert Draper, a freelance journalist who writes under contract for several national magazines. In the document, Draper said he met the Youngs in 2002 while working on a project for Edwards and often stayed at the Young's home while he was in North Carolina working on the project. Draper said in March 2009, Young offered to show him the sex tape.

"My impression was that Andrew Young sought to paint a picture of John Edwards and Rielle Hunter, who is the woman he said was in the video, as despicable individuals and that he thought the pregnancy angle was important to his depiction," Draper said in the affidavit. "Andrew Young offered very casually to show the sex tape to me. I did not have any sense that he was showing it for the first time or that I was the first person to whom he had shown the recording."

During his testimony, Andrew Young said in response to Draper's allegations, "I'm not denying I may have done it (shown the tape), but I don't recall doing it."

Young has said he never had any intention of doing anything malicious with the tape and was holding onto it to corroborate his version of the John Edwards scandal story.

The next hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Friday.

Related: Andrew Young Talks about Life in Chapel Hill

A 2-year-old boy has been transported to the hospital after falling from a second story apartment complex.

According to Cary Police, emergency crews were called to the Village Greenway Apartments around 5 p.m. after receiving reports that the boy fell out of a window.

Detectives tell NBC17 that the toddler and another child were playing on a couch in front of the window of the apartment when he leaned against the window screen and fell out. The boy hit the front of his head on the cement below.

The boy was taken to WakeMed hospital in Raleigh with a skull fracture and his injuries appear to be non-life threatening.

At this time, officials believe it was an accident and say the toddler's mom and aunt were in the apartment at the time.

A Superior Court Judge has ordered Andrew Young to be arrested for contempt if he fails to provide information about a sex tape allegedly showing John Edwards and his mistress. Attorneys for Young say all tapes have been turned over to authorities.

Superior Court Judge Abraham Jones has given Young until Friday to account for how he handled the items sought by Rielle Hunter.

Hunter's attorneys said the Youngs should be put in jail for not being honest about what materials they possessed.

"I don't want to lock them up," said Judge Abraham Jones. "I want every thread of evidence that relates to this case and that's all I want."

The hearing was scheduled as a continuation of a previous hearing earlier this month when a judge ordered Young, Edwards' former top aide, to submit a complete affidavit that accounts for his handling of the tape and other materials. Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter, is suing Young for invasion of privacy and sought return of the videotape. Young recently wrote a book, "The Politician", in which he details his time as Edwards' top aide as well as his version of Edwards' affair with Hunter and how it unfolded. Edwards recently admitted, after denying it, he is the father of Hunter's child.

Young's attorneys said in court a DVD copy of the "private and personal" videotape is in possession of the US Attorney, and a VHS copy and the original are in possession of the court.

"And other than that, there are no other copies anywhere," said Young's attorney.

Young also turned over several other items to the court that were owned by Hunter while she lived with the Youngs in their Chapel Hill home, including a stack of National Enquirer newspapers with Hunter's name on them, a notebook of Hunter's receipts and bills, a notebook full of credit card statements, as well as early drafts of Young's book.

Judge Abraham Jones had placed Andrew Young and his wife, Cheri, under contempt of court in January for not complying with the courts initial order to turn over the video tape. Young's attorneys argued in court Tuesday their clients have purged themselves of the contempt of court charge.

"They've turned over everything and given all things they have and put the contempt issue to rest," said the Young's attorney.

Hunter's attorneys, however, argued that Young has not complied with the court orders. They said Young lied to the courts on multiple occassions, saying there were no additional copies of the sex tape even though Young said he had made other copies and said he destroyed them.

"You know they have not told you the truth repeatedly," said Hunter's attorney to Judge Abraham Jones. "They (Young's) completely burned the trust of the court. They said there are no other copies anywhere of the private and personal tape and yet we still don't have details of the copies that were destroyed or where they were disposed of."

In addition, Hunter's attorneys presented an affidavit from Robert Draper, a freelance journalist who writes under contract for several national magazines. In the document, Draper said he met the Youngs in 2002 while working on a project for Edwards and often stayed at the Young's home while he was in North Carolina working on the project. Draper said in March 2009, Young offered to show him the sex tape.

"My impression was that Andrew Young sought to paint a picture of John Edwards and Rielle Hunter, who is the woman he said was in the video, as despicable individuals and that he thought the pregnancy angle was important to his depiction," Draper said in the affidavit. "Andrew Young offered very casually to show the sex tape to me. I did not have any sense that he was showing it for the first time or that I was the first person to whom he had shown the recording."

Young has said he never had any intention of doing anything malicious with the tape and was holding onto it to corroborate his version of the John Edwards scandal story.

The Young's attorneys are also asking the court to allow them to view the tape, but Hunter's attorneys have argued there's no need for that and the more people who see the tape, the more Hunter's privacy is violated.

Related: Andrew Young Talks about Life in Chapel Hill

Local churches are planning a job fair for ConAgra workers and others looking for work.

Job counselors will offer information about how to prepare a resume and find job listings.

The fair is being organized by Community Anchors Limited Inc., Mount Vernon Christian Church, Juniper Level Missionary Baptist Church, and Capital Area Workforce Development Board.

It will be held on March 20 at two locations: Mount Vernon Christian Church at 300 N. Lombard Street in Clayton from 9:00a.m. to noon and Juniper Level Missionary Baptist Church at 9104 Sauls Road in Raleigh from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For more information contact Dr. Terence Leathers, pastor of Mount Vernon Christian Church, at 919-553-8539 or Rev. Alexander Herring, pastor of Juniper Level Missionary Baptist Church, at 919-779-6401.

A superior court judge has ordered Andrew Young and his wife to be arrested after failing to produce a sex tape which reportedly portrays John Edwards and his mistress. Attorneys for Young say all tapes have been turned over to authorities.

Rielle Hunter's attorneys said the Youngs should be put in jail for not being honest about what materials they possessed.

"I don't want to lock them up," said Judge Abraham Jones. "I want every thread of evidence that relates to this case and that's all I want."

The hearing was scheduled as a continuation of a previous hearing earlier this month when a judge ordered Young, Edwards' former top aide, to submit a complete affidavit that accounts for his handling of the tape and other materials. Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter, is suing Young for invasion of privacy and sought return of the videotape. Young recently wrote a book, "The Politician", in which he details his time as Edwards' top aide as well as his version of Edwards' affair with Hunter and how it unfolded. Edwards recently admitted, after denying it, he is the father of Hunter's child.

Young's attorneys said in court a DVD copy of the "private and personal" videotape is in possession of the US Attorney, and a VHS copy and the original are in possession of the court.

"And other than that, there are no other copies anywhere," said Young's attorney.

Young also turned over several other items to the court that were owned by Hunter while she lived with the Youngs in their Chapel Hill home, including a stack of National Enquirer newspapers with Hunter's name on them, a notebook of Hunter's receipts and bills, a notebook full of credit card statements, as well as early drafts of Young's book.

Judge Abraham Jones had placed Andrew Young and his wife, Cheri, under contempt of court in January for not complying with the courts initial order to turn over the video tape. Young's attorneys argued in court Tuesday their clients have purged themselves of the contempt of court charge.

"They've turned over everything and given all things they have and put the contempt issue to rest," said the Young's attorney.

Hunter's attorneys, however, argued that Young has not complied with the court orders. They said Young lied to the courts on multiple occassions, saying there were no additional copies of the sex tape even though Young said he had made other copies and said he destroyed them.

"You know they have not told you the truth repeatedly," said Hunter's attorney to Judge Abraham Jones. "They (Young's) completely burned the trust of the court. They said there are no other copies anywhere of the private and personal tape and yet we still don't have details of the copies that were destroyed or where they were disposed of."

In addition, Hunter's attorneys presented an affidavit from Robert Draper, a freelance journalist who writes under contract for several national magazines. In the document, Draper said he met the Youngs in 2002 while working on a project for Edwards and often stayed at the Young's home while he was in North Carolina working on the project. Draper said in March 2009, Young offered to show him the sex tape.

"My impression was that Andrew Young sought to paint a picture of John Edwards and Rielle Hunter, who is the woman he said was in the video, as despicable individuals and that he thought the pregnancy angle was important to his depiction," Draper said in the affidavit. "Andrew Young offered very casually to show the sex tape to me. I did not have any sense that he was showing it for the first time or that I was the first person to whom he had shown the recording."

Young has said he never had any intention of doing anything malicious with the tape and was holding onto it to corroborate his version of the John Edwards scandal story.

Judge Jones said he will put the Andrew and Cheri Young under oath on Tuesday before he makes his decision and ask them if they have turned everything over.

The Young's attorneys are also asking the court to allow them to view the tape, but Hunter's attorneys have argued there's no need for that and the more people who see the tape, the more Hunter's privacy is violated.

Related: Andrew Young Talks about Life in Chapel Hill

Federal prosecutors say a former aide to ex-North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley should go on trial this spring because Ruffin Poole and his attorney have had enough time and help to prepare.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Bruce and Dennis Duffy this week filed a response to a request by Poole's lawyer to delay his corruption trial from April 26 to August.

Defense attorney Joe Zeszotarski said he has to go through 36,000 pages of documents and scores of boxes, folders and grand jury transcripts.

Judge Terrence Boyle will decide whether to delay the trial.

Firefighters were on scene of a brush fire Tuesday morning in Knightdale near Robertson and Fayetteville roads.

The fire apparently started when an active power line was knocked down. The spark ignited nearby brush causing it to spread for several hundred yards.

No injuries were reported in the fire.

The Town of Cary's now has a new way to reserve a picnic shelter -- online.

From the Town's EZ Reg Web section, search facilities by date, location or amenities and book with your Client code or Family Account Pin along with a MasterCard or Visa.

Cary residents can make a reservation up to six months in advance; non-Cary residents may book up to five months prior.

At this time, a limited number of facilities are included in the online reservation system.

For more information, visit Rentals and Reservations at http://www.townofcary.org or call (919) 460-4956.

Crews installed a 6-foot-5-inch cast of Auguste Rodin's 'The Thinker' on the grounds of the North Carolina Museum of Art Tuesday.

The 1,500 pound sculpture will be on display for two years. The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation loaned or donated thirty Rodin sculptures to the musem.

The museum is preparing for its grand re-opening April 24 and 25. It has been closed for a renovation and expansion since September 2009. 

The family of State Board of Education member Kathy Taft has released a statement saying their beloved one died Tuesday from injuries sustained in Saturday's attack.

According to family, Taft, 62, was surrounded by her family and Episcopal Priest when she passed away shortly after 12 p.m. at WakeMed.

Taft was found early Saturday at 2710 Cartier Drive with serious head injuries. Investigators say it is still unclear whether the attack was random.

Taft represents the 1st Educational District and lived in Greenville. She had been part of the State Board of Education since 1995. Her term was set to expire in March 2011.

"She's a lifelong person dedicated to education, to improving education opportunities for students in North Carolina," said Department of Public Instruction spokeswoman Vanessa Jeter.

Wake County property records show the home where she was found is owned by John Geil. Neighbors told NBC17 that Taft had a relationship with Geil, who they believe was not home at the time.

North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue issued the following statement:
"I have known Kathy Taft as a dear friend for more than 25 years. The kindness she showed me, as a fellow woman from down east working to make a difference, is something I will never forget. Her passion for education and for finding every opportunity to better serve North Carolina's children has clearly made this state a better place to live and raise a family. For that, we all owe Kathy a debt of gratitude. I will miss her terribly."

Raleigh Police are now investigating the case as a homicide and the family has announced a $25,000 reward for anyone who provides information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible.

Anyone with information is asked to call Raleigh CrimeStoppers at 919-834-HELP.

Stay with NBC17 and MyNC.com for updates on this story.

 Read Previous:
Police Remain Tight-Lipped About Brutal Attack On Kathy Taft

In a court hearing Tuesday morning, attorneys for Andrew Young said all copies of a sex tape reportedly showing former presidential candidate John Edwards having sex have been turned over to the court.

The hearing was scheduled as a continuation of a previous hearing earlier this month when a judge ordered Young, Edwards' former top aide, to submit a complete affidavit that accounts for his handling of the tape and other materials. Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter, is suing Young for invasion of privacy and sought return of the videotape. Young recently wrote a book, "The Politician", in which he details his time as Edwards' top aide as well as his version of Edwards' affair with Hunter and how it unfolded. Edwards recently admitted, after denying it, he is the father of Hunter's child.

Young's attorneys said in court a DVD copy of the "private and personal" videotape is in possession of the US Attorney, and a VHS copy and the original are in possession of the court.

"And other than that, there are no other copies anywhere," said Young's attorney.

Young also turned over several other items to the court that were owned by Hunter while she lived with the Youngs in their Chapel Hill home, including a stack of National Enquirer newspapers with Hunter's name on them, a notebook of Hunter's receipts and bills, a notebook full of credit card statements, as well as early drafts of Young's book.

Judge Abraham Jones had placed Andrew Young and his wife, Cheri, under contempt of court in January for not complying with the courts initial order to turn over the video tape. Young's attorneys argued in court Tuesday their clients have purged themselves of the contempt of court charge.

"They've turned over everything and given all things they have and put the contempt issue to rest," said the Young's attorney.

Hunter's attorneys, however, argued that Young has not complied with the court orders. They said Young lied to the courts on multiple occassions, saying there were no additional copies of the sex tape even though Young said he had made other copies and said he destroyed them.

"You know they have not told you the truth repeatedly," said Hunter's attorney to Judge Abraham Jones. "They (Young's) completely burned the trust of the court. They said there are no other copies anywhere of the private and personal tape and yet we still don't have details of the copies that were destroyed or where they were disposed of."

Young has said he never had any intention of doing anything malicious with the tape and was holding onto it to corroborate his version of the John Edwards scandal story.

The Young's attorneys are also asking the court to allow them to view the tape, but Hunter's attorneys have argued there's no need for that and the more people who see the tape, the more Hunter's privacy is violated.

Related: Andrew Young Talks about Life in Chapel Hill

Clay Aiken fans, if you thought you were out of luck when tickets to his one-night only show sold-out, think again. A limited number of tickets will be released starting at Noon Tuesday, March 9.

Full Story

Cisco has announced a "major" announcement set for 10 a.m. today. Watch it by clicking here.

As many college students are packing their bags for the beach, some will spend their spring break volunteering.

Hundreds of North Carolina State University students are participating in alternative spring break trips this year, but despite the desperate need for help, experts are advising them not to go to Haiti to help with the ongoing earthquake relief.

"Shortly after a disaster, the people that are needed are medical personnel, folks that have disaster training," said Mike Giancola, director of the Center for Student Leadership, Ethics, and Public Service at NC State.

Even students with the best of intentions could put further strain on Haiti's limited resources.

"Our focus when we travel with students is to meet real needs, and if we're not able to do that, we have no business being there," Giancola said. "So we won't be traveling to Haiti with students at this time."

Sixteen teams of students will be heading to locations all over the world for spring break-including Belize, Italy, and Louisiana.

Last year Nadeem Elborno went to New Mexico to work with the Navajo community. This year the junior is a co-leader of a group heading to Hoonah, Alaska, to help tutor Native American children.

"I can honestly say when I went on my trip last year, it changed my life," Elborno said. "It teaches you to see the world through the eyes of the people you're serving."

He says there are opportunities to serve anywhere-even in your own community.

"There are locations all over the world that are struggling with issues-education issues, hunger issues, homelessness issues," he said. "So the work is never done."

Attorneys are returning to court in an ongoing dispute over a tape purportedly showing two-time presidential candidate John Edwards in a sexual encounter.

Superior Court Judge Abraham Penn Jones has scheduled a hearing for 10 a.m. on Tuesday. He has kept former Edwards aide Andrew Young under a contempt order and asked during a court hearing two weeks ago for Young to submit a complete affidavit that accounts for his handling of the tape and other materials.

Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter, has sued Young for invasion of privacy and sought the return of the videotape. That video has been turned over to the court and placed under seal.

Neighbors who live on the street where State Board of Education member Kathy Taft was found attacked are frustrated and puzzled by the extended police presence in their neighborhood.

Up till late Monday afternoon, you couldn’t even drive down the street containing the home where she was found

By early Monday evening, the road was re-opened but the police presence remained outside the home marked with crime scene tape.

“I stopped and spoke to a police officer asking him what was going on,” said neighbor Matt Rever.  “He said we think it’s an isolated incident, yet we hear on the news they had k-9 teams out, they’re canvassing the neighborhood; which almost tells us they don’t have a suspect or a lead to go on as far as a suspect is concerned,” he said.

For some living in the neighborhood, the biggest frustration for them is: not knowing anything, even after several days of police presence.

“It’s kind of a surreal feeling,” said neighbor Craig Thompson. “We don’t really know what’s going on and we have all these police officers here, fire trucks now and then and caution tape. It’s a strange feeling.

Police blocked off the entire road early Saturday after Taft was found at 2710 Cartier Drive with serious  head injuries.

Investigators said Sunday night that it's still unclear whether the attack was random and they are stepping up patrols in the area.

Since that time, detectives have not released any details regarding the circumstances surrounding the attack.

Officers canvassed the area surrounding the home on Sunday, hoping to find anyone who may have seen anything suspicious.

Taft represents the 1st Educational District and lives in Greenville. She has been part of the State Board of Education since 1995.  Her current term expires in March 2011.

"She's a lifelong person dedicated to education, to improving education opportunities for students in North Carolina," said Department of Public Instruction spokeswoman Vanessa Jeter.

Wake County property records show the home where she was found is owned by John Geil. Neighbors told NBC17 that Taft had a relationship with Geil, who they believe was not home at the time.

Taft remains at Wake Med where friends say she underrwent brain surgery on Saturday.

Anyone with information that may help detectives in this case is asked to call Raleigh Crimestoppers at (919) 834-HELP (4357). 

Stay with NBC 17 and MyNC.com for updates to this story.

Authorities believe a fire that was left unattended at a homeless camp is to blame for a brush fire that scorched 10 acres at Maynard Road and Cary Towne Blvd.

Morrisville Fire, Swift Creek, Western Wake, Fairview and Forestry Services all responded to the blaze, which quickly spread Monday due to wind.

A homeless shelter was involved in the fire, though there are no threats to any other structures.

Two firefighters were taken by EMS to area hospitals for treatment of minor injuries. All firefighters on the scene are being rotated out of the area for rehabilitation due to exhaustion.

Traffic was temporarily reduced to one lane along Cary Towne Blvd. as fire crews contained the fire. Cary Police directed traffic around the area because of heavy smoke.

The new direction towards community based assignments in Wake County public schools could start as early as next week with the first Student Assignment Committee meeting.

Committee chairman John Tedesco wants to meet March 16th, but he is awaiting one board member's appointee.

Board members Dr. Carolyn Morrison and Chris Malone are part of the group along with one appointee from each board member.

Over the next 9 to 15 months this group will define a community schools model.

Tedesco said that community based zones do not necessarily mean a neighborhood school you can walk to, but rather a larger geographic region that includes a mix of traditional and year-round schools along with magnet options.

Higher density zones like Garner may be smaller 6-to 7 mile zones, but more rural areas like Zebulon could incorporate a larger 10-mile area.

Currrently Wake County school facilities has the county broken into 15 zones for transportation.

Tedesco says he envisions 15 to 20 zones, but how those lines are drawn will spark much debate.

Municipal planning and zoning officials as well as state transportation members will be invited to meetings as well as the public.

Much of the debate has focused on diversity on the board doing away with assignments based on income to balance school enrollment.

See our story in the video monitor above for more information as well as a portion of Tedesco's explanation on the new model as well as high poverty schools statisitcs. 

Christine Linn said she found the perfect dress and incredible shoes.

"I never felt so special in my life."

But more importantly, the 35-year-old said she found a great man.

Her fiancé Robert McArthur is a postal worker originally from Western New York. The couple has been together for eight years and they have a 6-year-old son. Linn also has two older children from a previous marriage.

"I've been waiting to marry him forever," Linn explained.

Now, it's almost time for the big day, but Linn said it hasn't been easy getting to this point. She began planning her wedding in August; a month later Linn was diagnosed with breast cancer and it quickly spread.

"I've got five tumors in my brain. One of them is inoperable," Linn said.

And her prognosis isn't good.

"My neurosurgeon said three to five months," Linn said.

But through it all, they continued planning. Then last month the place where she was having her wedding in Garner went out of business.

That's when McArthur said the National Association of Catering Executives and some generous local businesses stepped in to donate the entire event.

"It's given her a very special moment that she really deserves," McArthur said.

Linn said the wedding is bitter sweet for her entire family.

"It means a lot to my kids to see us together; it makes me sad because I might not see my daughter get married," Linn said.

But she wants to stay optimistic -- trying on her dress with the help of her mother Sheri Mendelsohn helped make that happen. Both agree the Vera Wang gown was just what the doctor ordered.

Ever since she was diagnosed, the wedding means more," Mendelsohn said.

Linn said it's like a fairytale.

"I feel like Cinderella getting ready for Prince Charming."

And she said this dream wedding will keep her mind on what matters most, the life she still has to live with her family.

One-time Raleigh singer-songwriter Mark Linkous died Saturday after shooting himself in the chest in Tennessee.

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Construction of the Triangle's first toll road is on schedule and on budget.

Officials broke ground on the 18-mile Triangle Expressway last September.

The expressway will connect western Wake County to Research Triangle Park. It's being built in stages. A 3.5 mile section called the Triangle Parkway should open by December 2011. Another section, the 12.5 mile Western Wake Freeway, should open by the end of 2012.

Contractors are working Saturdays and some Sundays to stay on schedule after losing some days to snow.

"It's been wet and cold this winter. A little more than what we're used to. However we haven't experienced anything that we can't make up just yet," said Jason Peterson, the project manager for the North Carolina Turnpike Authority.

The total project will cost about one billion dollars.

Authorities believe a fire that was left unattended at a homeless camp is to blame for a brush fire that scorched 10 acres at Maynard Road and Cary Towne Blvd.

Morrisville Fire, Swift Creek, Western Wake, Fairview and Forestry Services are all responding to the blaze, which quickly spread Monday due to wind.

A homeless shelter was involved in the fire, though there are no threats to any other structures.

Traffic is temporarily reduced to one lane along Cary Towne Blvd. as fire crews contain the fire. Cary Police is directing traffic around the area because of heavy smoke, though the smoke has significantly decreased and is now more of an odor complaint.

Stay with NBC17 and MyNC.com as this story develops.

Prozac, a Sanford dog, has been nominated for the United States Humane Society "Dog Of Valor" award for his awakening of a family during a fire.

Visit this link to read about the program and vote for Prozac.

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is speaking to students in North Carolina.

O'Connor is scheduled to speak Monday afternoon at Elon University School of Law in Greensboro. She was the first woman on the Supreme Court and spent 25 years there before retiring in 2006. She dedicated Elon's law school when it opened that year.

O'Connor will speak earlier in the day at an annual luncheon for the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro.

Comedian Gabriel Iglesias had audiences rolling at the Progress Energy Center in Raleigh Sunday night as part of his 50-date North American tour.

The self-proclaimed "fluffy comedian" has earned national crossover appeal blending story telling, sound effects and personal issues for a clean and animated show. Here is one of the few comedy shows that you can go see with your friends, even your grandma, and not be embarrassed by what he said.

"Sometimes you get guys that get political or they get in your face and they try to be preachy," said Iglesias. "I just go out there, tell my stories that people can relate to."

Iglesias was originally scheduled to perform one show, but due to overwhelming demand, a second show was added, much to the delight of fans. Many of them from the first show stuck around until the 9:30 p.m. show was over just to take a picture with the comedian. Iglesias makes it a point to meet each and every one of his fans after the show, up until the last one leaves.

The comedian says besides the national tour, which runs until May, he has a lot on his plate (no pun intended). He's got a clothing line, a production company and a few movies in the works. Check out the interview below to hear what he's got coming up. And if you missed the two shows in Raleigh, he will be in Charlotte on March 18.

Tom Rhodes, the minister of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Church of Raleigh, used his pulpit Sunday morning to criticize the Wake County school board's attempt to create neighborhood schools.

The new majority on the Wake County school board voted last week for a resolution in support of community-zoned schools. The resolution must be finalized on second reading at the board's next meeting. But the board could end the policy of busing students to schools for the sake of socioeconomic diversity.

Rhodes believes the policy change could lead to segregated schools.

"If Jesus is right, then our neighborhood schools should include students and teachers from all walks of life," he said. "I believe it is a moral issue and a religious issue as well."

Much of his congregation supports his views. People stood and applauded at the end of his sermon.

"It is about how we treat our neighbors and our communities and how we look at our communities. Our communities are not just the neighborhood that I live in. But our community is much broader than that," said church member Todd Miller.

Rhodes wants the school board to drop the proposed resolution until it studies all the possible consequences.

School board member John Tedesco said that's why the proposal includes a nine to 15 month planning period. And Tedesco said the district's current policies have failed to create socioeconomic diversity at dozens of the county's schools.

The incident that left State Board of Education member Kathy A. Taft seriously injured is now being investigated as an assault.

A Raleigh Police spokesperson says Kathy A. Taft, 62 was transported to WakeMed Saturday morning, after an incident inside a home in the 2700 block of Cartier Drive.  Police have not released any further details as to the circumstances surrounding the attack.

Taft remains hospitalized today, though WakeMed is not releasing any details on her injury.

Anyone with information that may help detectives in this case is asked to call Raleigh Crimestoppers at (919) 834-HELP (4357).

Taft represents the 1st Educational District and lives in Greenville. She has been part of the State Board of Education since 1995.  Her current term expires in March 2011.

Stay with NBC 17 and MyNC.com for updates to this story throughout the day.

An investigation is underway into an incident in Raleigh that ended with a State Board of Education member in the hospital.

A Raleigh Police spokesperson says Kathy A. Taft, 62 was transported to WakeMed Saturday morning, after an incident inside a home in the 2700 block of Cartier Drive.  Police so far are not elaborating on what that incident was, or if any criminal charges are pending.

WakeMed is not releasing any details on her injury.

Taft represents the 1st Educational District and lives in Greenville. She has been part of the State Board of Education since 1995.  Her current term expires in March 2011.

Stay with NBC 17 and MyNC.com for updates to this story throughout the day.

Like generals preparing for battle, Yevonne Brannon gathered with some parents around maps of Wake County in the basement of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh.

"The feelings are raging really throughout the community," she said.

Brannon's Great Schools In Wake Coalition hosted a forum Saturday to discuss the school board's Tuesday decision to end busing as a way to balance school enrollment.

It is the first step to eliminate a controversial reassignment plan in favor of community-based schools, a move Brannon does not support

"It is something that can change the entire fabric -- social, cultural and economic -- of our community," she said.

A second vote on the issue is scheduled for later this month.

If the board does vote to end the busing policy, it would be the start of "community assignment zones" or neighborhood schools.

The "zone-based" assignments would be developed over the next 9 to 15 months.

For weeks, community leaders and parents have voiced their support or opposition to the proposed change to community schools through forums and protests.

Assignment in school districts is complicated enough, but Brannon said there is more to it than a few lines on a map.

"This is an issue that is very emotional to a lot of people," she said. "A lot of parents, a lot of citizens, a lot of businessmen and women are really upset about this change."

Upset or not, some parents said they are tired of the controversy.

"Stop the yelling," Wake Schools Community Alliance Leader Joe Ciulla said. "Stop the arguing and just act like adults again."

Ciulla firmly believes in community schools, but he said both sides just want to give children the best education possible.

"As long as we have the same end goal, then we should be able to have a polite and civil discussion," he said.

North Carolina's attorney general on Friday ordered an independent review of the state's crime lab following revelations about practices that led to a groundbreaking exoneration of a man wrongly accused of murder.

Attorney General Roy Cooper told The Associated Press that two former assistant directors of the Federal Bureau of Investigation will review the practices of the lab, managed by the State Bureau of Investigation. The review of cases dating to the 1990s will begin in about a week, he said.

"An outside review is important for the integrity of the process and public confidence in the work of the SBI lab," Cooper said Friday in an interview.

The lab's practices were a critical issue in the case of Greg Taylor, who served more than 16 years behind bars for the murder of a prostitute in Raleigh before he was exonerated last month.

Also Friday, Taylor filed a request for a pardon with Gov. Beverly Perdue. He's eligible for $750,000 in compensation if she grants a pardon based on innocence.

"I perceive it more as a formality," Taylor said. "I'd like the governor to acknowledge my innocence and have something to put on my wall."

Perdue said she would "aggressively pursue" Taylor's request.

"If I had been in the state prison system for the last 17 years of my life, I'd be very angry," she said "Whatever the state is supposed to pay him, I wouldn't take that for 17 weeks of my life."

Taylor said the outside review is necessary.

"I believe that if people are calling that crime lab into question then there is a need to have an audit of those records then it should be done independently," Taylor said. "I would hope that the problem is not as big as maybe it possibly could be, but I think it's important to find out how big it is."

The independent investigators will review SBI crime lab cases and practices from the early 1990s and current methods, Cooper said.

"Clearly, I was concerned about what I heard and if there were any deficiencies, in the crime lab, then or now, then they have to be fixed," Cooper said.

Perdue said she supported the review, adding that Taylor is not the first North Carolina prisoner to be wrongly convicted. "I applaud the general's decision," she said. "A lot of us think this should have happened after the first case."

The two who will review the lab are Mike Wolf, who led an inspection team that fixed problems at the FBI crime lab in 1998 and 1999, and Chris Swecker, who was in charge of nine FBI divisions, including the science and forensic lab divisions. Swecker, an attorney, also is a former FBI special agent in charge for North Carolina.

During Taylor's innocence hearing, an SBI agent testified that agents were told to write in lab reports that evidence gave chemical indications for the presence of blood when the first test for blood came back positive. Agent Duane Deaver said agents were told to use that language even when a follow-up test was negative.

The information about a negative follow-up test would be part of an agent's notes, but wasn't included in the lab reports routinely provided to courts, Deaver said.

SBI Director Robin Pendergraft later confirmed the testimony.

One of Taylor's attorneys praised Cooper's decision.

"An independent review is the only type of review that can give the public confidence," said Chris Mumma, executive director of the N.C. Center on Actual Innocence.

Defense attorney David Rudolf of Charlotte, who tangled with Deaver when he cross-examined the agent during the murder trial of Durham novelist Michael Peterson, said, "What needs to happen here is a full-scale audit of the crime lab. And that's going to take some resources and some funding. And I'm hoping that it's important enough to Attorney General Cooper to provide the resources that will be necessary to do an appropriate job and Mr. Swecker and Mr. Wolf will feel sufficiently independent that they'll let the chips fall where they may."

The outside review will run concurrently with an internal review that Cooper ordered last week. Cooper said he will make the results public.

___
Associated Press writer Gary D. Robertson contributed to this story.

Raleigh Police is reporting an accident on I-40 East near Rock Quarry Road that has reduced traffic to one lane.

No other details about the accident are known at this time. The N.C. Highway Patrol is investigating the wreck.

Motorists are advised to expect delays during the afternoon commute. Alternative routes should be selected, if possible.

Raleigh Police says a portion of Millbrook Road in Raleigh is closed in both directions near the intersection of Millbrook and Sweetbriar Drive.

The break has caused flooding on Millbrook between Auburn Road and Ivy Lane.

Detours are being established. However, motorists are advised to avoid the area if possible.

A second incident on Millbrook Road, this one sink hole, was reported near the road's intersection with Six Forks Road. Raleigh Communications confirmed the sink hold and water main break are related.

Raleigh Police says a Capital Area Transit bus was stuck in the sink hole. The bus was removed and there are no reports of any injuries related with the accident.

Stay with NBC-17 and MyNC.com as this story develops.

More than 50 Raleigh firefighters responded to a windwsept blaze that left seven families homeless.

Raleigh Firefighters responded to a call of the fire just after 3 p.m. on Friday at an apartment complex at 4309 Arcadian Court.

Firefighters say they had difficulty stopping the flames that were burning through the roof of the two-story complex when they arrived.

"It is a little unusual to see a fire this magnitude at this time of day," Raleigh Fire Department Assistant Chief Rusty Styons said. "Typically we'd be here within four minutes, so it's obvious the fire had quite a bit of head start -- more than you would anticipate."

All eight of the apartment units are completely destroyed, and the fire has displaced seven families. The eighth unit was unoccupied.

Fire crews were pulled out of the building and told to only fight the blaze from outside due to the intensity of the flames.

Firefighters say the wind pushed the fire quickly through the structure, threatening other buildings in the complex before they were able to douse the flames.

Stay with NBC-17 and MyNC.com as this story develops.

Raleigh Police say a portion of Millbrook Road in Raleigh is closed in both directions near the intersection of Millbrook and Sweetbriar Drive.

The break has caused flooding on Millbrook between Auburn Road and Ivy Lane.

Detours are being established. However, motorists are advised to avoid the area if possible.

A second incident on Millbrook Road, this one sink hole, was reported near the road's intersection with Six Forks Road. Raleigh Communications confirmed the sink hold and water main break are related.

Raleigh Police say a city bus is stuck in the sink hole.

Stay with NBC-17 and MyNC.com as this story develops.

North Carolina's attorney general on Friday ordered an independent review of the state's crime lab following revelations about practices that led to a groundbreaking exoneration of a man wrongly accused of murder.

Attorney General Roy Cooper told The Associated Press that two former assistant directors of the Federal Bureau of Investigation will review the practices of the lab, managed by the State Bureau of Investigation. The review of cases dating to the 1990s will begin in about a week, he said.

"An outside review is important for the integrity of the process and public confidence in the work of the SBI lab," Cooper said Friday in an interview.

The lab's practices were a critical issue in the case of Greg Taylor, who served more than 16 years behind bars for the murder of a prostitute in Raleigh before he was exonerated last month.

Also Friday, Taylor filed a request for a pardon with Gov. Beverly Perdue. He's eligible for $750,000 in compensation if she grants a pardon based on innocence.

"I perceive it more as a formality," Taylor said. "I'd like the governor to acknowledge my innocence and have something to put on my wall."

The outside review is necessary, he said.

"I believe that if people are calling that crime lab into question then there is a need to have an audit of those records then it should be done independently," Taylor said. "I would hope that the problem is not as big as maybe it possibly could be, but I think it's important to find out how big it is."

The independent investigators will review SBI crime lab cases and practices from the early 1990s and current methods, Cooper said.

"Clearly, I was concerned about what I heard and if there were any deficiencies, in the crime lab, then or now, then they have to be fixed," Cooper said.

The two who will review the lab are Mike Wolf, who led an inspection team that fixed problems at the FBI crime lab in 1998 and 1999, and Chris Swecker, who was in charge of nine FBI divisions, including the science and forensic lab divisions. Swecker, an attorney, also is a former FBI special agent in charge for North Carolina.

During Taylor's innocence hearing, an SBI agent testified that agents were told to write in lab reports that evidence gave chemical indications for the presence of blood when the first test for blood came back positive. Agent Duane Deaver said agents were told to use that language even when a follow-up test was negative.

The information about a negative follow-up test would be part of an agent's notes, but wasn't included in the lab reports routinely provided to courts, Deaver said.

SBI Director Robin Pendergraft later confirmed the testimony.

One of Taylor's attorneys praised Cooper's decision.

"An independent review is the only type of review that can give the public confidence," said Chris Mumma, executive director of the N.C. Center on Actual Innocence.

Defense attorney David Rudolf of Charlotte, who tangled with Deaver when he cross-examined the agent during the murder trial of Durham novelist Michael Peterson, said, "What needs to happen here is a full-scale audit of the crime lab. And that's going to take some resources and some funding. And I'm hoping that it's important enough to Attorney General Cooper to provide the resources that will be necessary to do an appropriate job and Mr. Swecker and Mr. Wolf will feel sufficiently independent that they'll let the chips fall where they may."

The outside review will run concurrently with an internal review that Cooper ordered last week. Cooper said he will make the results public.

___
Associated Press writer Gary D. Robertson contributed to this story.

Raleigh Firefighters are responding to a working fire that broke out just after 3 p.m. on Friday at 4910 Arcadian Court.

Reports indicate that the fire is showing through the roof of the two-story complex.

Stay with NBC-17 and MyNC.com as this story develops.

The NAACP is up in arms following a remark Wake County School Board Chairman Ron Margiotta made at Tuesday night's school board meeting.

Officials with the North Carolina NAACP filed a complaint Friday against the Wake County school board, arguing that the comment indicated that the board has "racist attitudes."

At the March 2 meeting, Margiotta commented, "Here come the animals, out of the cages," after witnessing the crowd's reaction to congressional candidate Bill Randall's remarks to the Board.

An NAACP attorney questioned the board chairman's educational background and referred to the members halting the diversity policy as "clowns."

"Any public official referring to those with opposing viewpoints, engaged in the democratic process as animals is unacceptable," NAACP Executive Director Amina Turner said.

Randall's comments were in regard to the Board's proposed student assignment policy, which would establish a neighborhood schools system in Wake County. The NAACP says the new policy would re-segregate Wake County Schools as well as create high poverty schools.

Board member John Tedesco co-wrote with Deborah Goldman the resolution that directs administrative staff to research new community-zones for student assignment.

"Ron Margiotta is not only leading the implementation of a racially discriminatory policy that will produce racially identifiable and high poverty schools, and destroy a nationally recognized student assignment plan that supported diversity in Wake's public schools, he has now been caught on tape calling those with divergent opinions 'animals,'" State NAACP President Rev. Dr. William J. Barber said in a statement.

Margiotta has said his "animals" comment was out of line but not racial. He is part of a new board majority looking to roll back a school busing policy in favor of focusing on neighborhood schools.

At Tuesday's meeting, Margiotta dismissed the segregation claims made by the NAACP and the Great Schools in Wake coalition.

"We have laws, court rooms, morality," Margiotta said. "That's something this board would never tolerate."

The NAACP will address Margiotta's comments in a press conference Friday morning at the NAACP State Office in Durham.

North Carolina's attorney general on Friday ordered an independent review of the state's crime lab following revelations about practices that led to a groundbreaking exoneration of a man wrongly accused of murder.

Attorney General Roy Cooper told The Associated Press that two former assistant directors of the Federal Bureau of Investigation will review the practices of the lab, managed by the State Bureau of Investigation. The review of cases dating to the 1990s will begin in about a week, he said.

"An outside review is important for the integrity of the process and public confidence in the work of the SBI lab," Cooper said in an interview.

The lab's practices were a critical issue in the case of Greg Taylor, who served more than 16 years behind bars for the murder of a prostitute in Raleigh before he was exonerated last month.

The outside review will involve SBI crime lab cases and practices from the early 1990s and current methods, Cooper said.

"Clearly, I was concerned about what I heard and if there were any deficiencies, in the crime lab, then or now, then they have to be fixed," Cooper said.

The two who will review the lab are Mike Wolf, who led an inspection team that fixed problems at the FBI crime lab in 1998 and 1999, and Chris Swecker, who was in charge of nine FBI divisions, including the science and forensic lab divisions.

During Taylor's innocence hearing, an SBI agent testified that agents were told to write in lab reports that evidence gave chemical indications for the presence of blood when the first test for blood came back positive. Agent Duane Deaver said agents were told to use that language even when a follow-up test was negative.

The information about a negative follow-up test would be part of an agent's notes, but wasn't included in the lab reports routinely provided to courts, Deaver said.

SBI Director Robin Pendergraft later confirmed the testimony.

One of Taylor's attorneys praised Cooper's decision.

"An independent review is the only type of review that can give the public confidence," said Chris Mumma, executive director of the N.C. Center on Actual Innocence.

The outside review will run concurrently with an internal review that Cooper ordered last week. Cooper said he will make the results public.

North Carolina's attorney general has ordered an independent review of the state's crime lab following revelations about practices there that led to a groundbreaking exoneration of a man wrongly accused of murder.

Attorney General Roy Cooper told The Associated Press on Friday that two former assistant directors of the Federal Bureau of Investigation will review the lab's practices. Cooper says the review of cases dating to the 1990s will begin in about a week.

State Bureau of Investigation Director Robin Pendergraft told the AP last month the lab had a now-defunct policy of not automatically providing complete notes on blood test results for trials.

The practices became known last month during a hearing that freed Greg Taylor after more than 16 years in prison.

Gov. Beverly Perdue says a new initiative will help more North Carolina firms win federal small business loans and get banks more involved in such borrowing programs.

Perdue announced her new efforts Friday in Winston-Salem.

The two-pronged effort will include providing advice to small businesses so they can write stronger loan applications and teaching North Carolina banks how to take advantage of U.S. Small Business Administration loans.

The plan includes what Perdue's office calls "banker boot camps" to educate loan officers and community banks.

Perdue says community banks think they're over-regulated by Washington and are hesitant to lend, preventing small businesses from growing and creating jobs. She wants Congress and President Obama to find ways ease credit markets.

North Carolina's attorney general has ordered an independent review of the state's crime lab following revelations about practices there that led to a groundbreaking exoneration of a man wrongly accused of murder.

Attorney General Roy Cooper told The Associated Press on Friday that two former assistant directors of the Federal Bureau of Investigation will review the lab's practices. Cooper says the review of cases dating to the 1990s will begin in about a week.

State Bureau of Investigation Director Robin Pendergraft told the AP last month the lab had a now-defunct policy of not automatically providing complete notes on blood test results for trials.

The practices became known last month during a hearing that freed Greg Taylor after more than 16 years in prison.

Students at Cary Academy are taking an unconventional approach to learning by trading in their textbooks for whiteboards and bowling balls.

And you won't see a teacher rattling off physics formulas at the head of the class. Instead Cary Academy students learn from each other.

The unconventional teaching method is called "modeling," and Physics teacher Dr. Matt Greenwolfe says the method's making the grade.

"I don't lecture at all. Instead I create experiences for the students, either in the lab or puzzles and problems for them to solve and it's up to them to try to figure that out," said Dr. Greenwolfe.

Here's how it works: students work in groups and use whiteboards to figure out things like how long it would take a bottle dropped from a plane to fall to the ground.

"I'm a more visual person so actually seeing something helps me understand a lot better instead of having someone say, 'This happens because of this reason,'" said senior Aaron Harrington.

Dr. Greenwolfe says relating physics to real life gets through to students more than just memorizing formulas.

Hands-on experiments are just part of the modeling teaching method. So for example, the students may do an experiment with a bowling ball learning something about force and then they'll take that experience and bring it back to the classroom.

Nikki Randall, a senior at Cary Academy, says sometimes another student's input can really drive a point home.

"We were talking about parallel circuits actually this morning and talking about how currents that run in the same direction attract and it's kind of like how two rivers merge together and one of my classmates actually came up with that," said Randall.

Greenwolfe says "modeling" is paying off.

He says Advanced Placement exam scores of his students, prior to modeling compared with after, are up from threes to the highest score of fives in some cases.

NC State offers a summer workshop for North Carolina teachers interested in "modeling." It's a three week course offered in July on campus.

For any comedy performer, landing a gig on Saturday Night Live is gold. North Carolina native Zach Galifianakis has reached that pot of gold, hosting the late night comedy sketch show this Saturday.

Galifianakis has starred in a variety of movies, but recently sky-rocketed to fame for his role in the movie "The Hangover" which also stars Ed Helms of NBC's "The Office" and Bradley Cooper.

He got his start doing stand-up comedy, so I'm sure this week's show is going to be funny. Whether or not the writers of the show give him some good skits, Galifianakis' comedy timing and skills would help push the show along and will garner a lot of laughs.

Judging by the promos posted on SNL's website, it looks like it will fun to watch. Even if you want to tune in just to support the former NC State student.

Be sure to catch this week's episode of SNL which airs right after NBC17 News at 11 p.m. This week's musical guest is Vampire Weekend.

Let me know how you think the show will go and if you plan to watch. Share your thoughts by posting a comment below.

Greg Taylor is expected to file for an official pardon from Governor Perdue Friday morning.

Taylor was released from prison last month after a three-judge panel found him innocent in the 1991 murder of Jacquetta Thomas.

If they pardon is approved, Taylor will get up to $750,000 from the state for being wrongly imprisoned.

The NAACP is up in arms following a remark Wake County School Board Chairman Ron Margiotta made at Tuesday night's school board meeting.

At the March 2 meeting, Margiotta commented, "Here come the animals, out of the cages," after witnessing the crowd's reaction to congressional candidate Bill Randall's remarks to the Board.

"Any public official referring to those with opposing viewpoints, engaged in the democratic process as animals is unacceptable," NAACP Executive Director Amina Turner said.

Randall's comments were in regard to the Board's proposed student assignment policy, which would establish a neighborhood schools system in Wake County. The NAACP says the new policy would re-segregate Wake County Schools as well as create high poverty schools.

Board member John Tedesco co-wrote with Deborah Goldman the resolution that directs administrative staff to research new community-zones for student assignment.

"Ron Margiotta is not only leading the implementation of a racially discriminatory policy that will produce racially identifiable and high poverty schools, and destroy a nationally recognized student assignment plan that supported diversity in Wake's public schools, he has now been caught on tape calling those with divergent opinions 'animals,'" State NAACP President Rev. Dr. William J. Barber said in a statement.

At Tuesday's meeting, Margiotta dismissed the segregation claims made by the NAACP and the Great Schools in Wake coalition.

"We have laws, court rooms, morality," Margiotta said. "That's something this board would never tolerate."

The NAACP will address Margiotta's comments in a press conference Friday morning at the NAACP State Office in Durham.

NBC-17 tried to reach Ron Margiotta for a comment, but the chairman has not returned any calls.

Garner's officials are optimistic about the town's future, a day after ConAgra officials announced that they're shutting down the Slim Jim plant in town.

More than 400 people will lose their jobs at ConAgra. But Tony Beasley, Garner's economic development director, says many more jobs could be created after ConAgra's departure.

ConAgra plans to shut down its Garner plant in 15 to 18 months, giving the town plenty of time to plan for the future.

"ConAgra has placed us in a wonderful position to have this long of a timeframe to figure out what to do before their plant is vacated and that's really unheard of," Beasley said.

ConAgra also plans to give the town the plant and about 100 acres of prime real estate near I-40. Beasley says that is an unusual step for a corporation, and it creates a big opportunity for Garner.

"We're going to plan big. That's our goal," Beasley said.

The site could become an industrial office hub or a complex with more than one company, which Beasley says would create more jobs than ConAgra has provided.

"It's a large track. And right now there's just one use on that track," he said.

Beasley has already gotten calls from people interested in the property. He hopes another company will be ready to open by the time ConAgra shuts down.

A Red Cross volunteer returns from helping with the relief effort in Haiti aboard the USNS Comfort.

On the ship, Alex Alexis worked as a translator. He also has a background in nursing which he used to help the wounded.

Although Alexis said he saw a lot of gruesome injuries, he does see the light at the end of the tunnel for the Haitian people.

"By the end of the trip there have been many accomplishments because seeing people coming at first in their condition, then seeing their condition when we left you know there's hope," Alexis said.

Alexis is a native of Port-au-Prince and has been volunteering with the Red Cross since he was a teenager.

He said he wants to return to Haiti as soon as he can.

N.C. State's College of Veterinary Medicine and other vet schools around the country are trying to combat a shortage of veterinarians who care for large animals.

Experts blame the shortage on many factors including population shifts from rural to urban settings, as well as the demands of the job.

"They might have to go out 25 miles over the mountains to one case, to one cow. Can you just imagine the cost of that?" asked N.C. State professor Malcolm Roberts.

Acting Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine David Bristol said they are also seeing fewer applicants coming from rural backgrounds.

"Those are the type of individuals who typically would go back into agricultural practice in the past," he said.

Bristol also said while the large animal field typically attracts more men than women, fewer men are applying to vet schools.

Bristol said the shortage is not unique to North Carolina, but is a worldwide issue.

He said another issue is maintaining a healthy food supply. Veterinarians are often the first line of defense in catching animal diseases, and if humans eat sick animals, they can be put at risk.

"If there are fewer vets who are out there who catch, say, a foreign animal disease that hits our shores, or some new disease, it puts all our food supplies at risk," Bristol said.

The college has a special Food Animal Scholars Program to attract students into the field. Bristol said he's also working with his departments on ways to increase class sizes given limited space and funding.

He said there are also state and federal financial incentives for those getting into the field.

A power outage has been reported at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport, according to Progress Energy officials.

According to Progress Energy, the feeder that provides service to the airport terminals is down.

Mindy Hamlin, spokeswoman for RDU, says the outage has affected all their buildings, but they are equipped with back-up generators. Hamlin said the power outage is affecting passenger processing, which may in turn slow down some flights.

Officials don't know what caused the outage and hope to have service back up soon.

A public hearing will be held Thursday night in Garner to discuss the possible closing of a local library.

Budget cuts in Wake County could force the Southeast Regional Library to close its doors. Officials say the library is one of the busiest in the area.

Residents will have a chance to share their thoughts at the meeting which will take place at 7:30 p.m. at the Garner Historic Auditorium.

County Commissioner Lindy Brown and County Manager David Cook are expected to be at the meeting.

Many people find themselves relocating to areas they never expected; maybe for a new job or to be closer to family. Often times there isn't much time to explore their new surroundings prior to their move.

Sharon Tazewell got the chance to meet the ladies of New Neighbor Welcome Services who help make sure newcomers feel comfortable in their new neighborhood. 

The winter weather may be fun for some, but business owners in Apex said they've had enough.

"It has a really devastating effect on businesses that count on a particular flow," Steve Adams, owner of Peak City Grill and Ocean Grill, said.

Adams said he lost about $20,000 during the first big storm at the end of January.

"I think it was severe enough that it made people nervous," Adams said. "So when snow was predicted, all anyone had to say was snow and people would clench and not come out."

Since then, Adams and the owner of the Salem Street Pub, Jennifer Duckart, said they struggle when bad weather or even anticipated bad weather comes their way.

"I'm 30 percent lower than normal for the weekends that forecast snow," Duckart explained.

Business owners say it's not only the snow that's causing problems. The cold itself has also brought challenges.

"My utility bills have been 50 percent higher than previous years because there's been so much cold for so long," Adams said.

Duckart said ice hurt her business.

"There was water all over the kitchen because a pipe bursts," Duckart said.

At the Common Grounds Café, business has also been slow, owner Mark Porcelli said.

"It's the cold weather overall that's keeping people in."

Brad Hipps with Tobacco Road Outdoors admits the winter was brutal for North Carolina but said things are not all that bad at least for him.

"It's definitely prolonged our winter buying season, people are still calling and looking for winter jackets," Hipps said.

Now, business owners say they are just waiting for spring.

Election regulators will examine how North Carolina's Realtors funded efforts to oppose local tax increases on land sales and whether it was legal to use mandatory member dues to pay for the undertaking.

The State Board of Elections plans to meet Thursday to discuss a 2008 complaint against the North Carolina Association of Realtors by Wake County real estate agent Becky Harper.

Harper said the association shouldn't require a one-time $70 fee that she said paid for political campaigns such as opposing land transfer tax increases. Association leaders said all the money didn't go toward fighting issues.

An election board investigation found no campaign finance laws were broken. But board executive director Gary Bartlett said additional questions were raised.

Wake County's student assignment policy may go from the board room potentially to the court room.

The North Carolina NAACP Chapter sent board Chairman Ron Margiotta a letter indicating "all legal options are on the table" as the organization watches the board move toward community based assignments.

"This policy is going to create high poverty schools in violation of our federal and state Constitution," said the NAACP's Rev. William Barber.

The state NAACP chapter is seeking guidance from it's national chapter attorneys based in Baltimore and New York as to what direction to take.

The NAACP is part of a coalition called "Great Schools in Wake." That group also promised to keep a close eye on the board in committee and full board meetings as the neighborhood schools model is developed over the next 15 months.

"We need to do everything we can to safeguard our school system," said coalition member Yevonne Brannon who said she'll work even harder now that the board's resolution passed Tuesday night five to four.

Margiotta dismissed the segregation claims made by both groups.

"We have laws, court rooms, morality. That's something this board would never tolerate," said Margiotta. 

 Supporters at the meeting like Allison Backhouse reminded board members to move towards school choice.

"Our students have sacrificed three schools in three years because diversity matters, unmangeable schedules for families because diversity matters, a 52.4% graduation rate of economically disadvantaged children because diversity matters," said Backhouse. 

Board member John Tedesco co-wrote with Deborah Goldman the resolution that directs administrative staff to research new community-zones for student assignment. The research and planning should happen over the next nine to 15 months and the current three-year student assignment plan remains in place.

As for the racial tension in last night's board meeting, "it's gotten more sensational than what it's about. Let's start helping kids out of poverty," said Tedesco.

ConAgra says it is going to shut its Slim Jim manufacturing plant in Garner with-in 15 to 18 months.

The company says it will cost too much to rebuild the portion of plant damaged in last June’s explosion; compared to what it costs to make Slim Jims in Troy, Ohio.

“Our facility in Troy is larger, more modern and is more conducive to the expansion we need for this product line,” said ConAgra’s Greg Smith.

Before the plant closes, the company says it will do what it can to help it’s 400 or so employees find work at other ConAgra facilities or elsewhere.

In addition, it will give the town $3-Million dollars to help build a community center, and donate both its manufacturing plant and land to the town so that it may use it to attract a new business.

 “When they leave, what we will have is an excellent shell facility that can be easily adapted for other businesses,” said Garner Economic Development Director Tony Beasley.

Officials say not only will the facility be tenant ready; but it will offer other advantages to a potential employer.

“The facility has a pre-treatment plant on-site that will be a part of the facility when ConAgra vacates,” said Ken Atkins, who is the Executive Director of Economic Development fort Wake County.

“That’s very attractive to companies that use those processes such as biotechnology or pharmaceutical or a foods related company,’’ claims Atkins.

Raleigh Police are now using cameras in public to keep watch over crime in some parts of southeast Raleigh.

Police said they are using cameras for the first time as part of a pilot program in the College Park-Idlewild area, after citizens there requested the cameras as part of a broader effort to reduce crime.

One of the cameras is next to the Tarboro Road Community Center, and police said there are a few others in that area.

"I think it provides a certain level of security for the community," said Capt. Stacy Deans, Southeast District Commander with the Raleigh Police Department.

Deans said the department will soon evaluate the effectiveness of the cameras and could add more of them.

Police said they want to keep confidential who watches the cameras and when.

Community activists who pushed for the cameras said there's no "big brother," aspect to the cameras, saying that they are simply a deterrent for criminals.

"It will issue a warning: don't do it," said Octavia Rainey, chair of the North Central Citizens Advisory Council.

"I think it's a pretty good idea," said southeast Raleigh resident Tommy Smith. "Maybe it'll help cut down on some of the activity that goes on in the neighborhood."

The ACLU of North Carolina said while they've voiced privacy concerns about similar cameras elsewhere, they did not have enough information on Raleigh's cameras to make any comment.

Raleigh Police said the camera pilot programs costs $50,000 and is being funded through a grant.

Residents said they've noticed a reduction in crime since police have targeted this area since last year through other methods like increased patrols and officers walking the streets.

Police said violent crime in the College Park-Idlewild area dropped 34 percent from 2008 to 2009.

Earthlings beware, Raleigh's own sons of Venus have launched a custom shoe with skateboarding company Globe International.

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Wake County's student assignment policy may go from the board room potentially to the court room.

The North Carolina NAACP Chapter sent board Chairman Ron Margiotta a letter indicating "all legal options are on the table" as the organization watches the board move toward community based assignments.

"This policy is going to create high poverty schools in violation of our federal and state Constitution," said the NAACP's Rev. William Barber.

The state NAACP chapter is seeking guidance from it's national chapter attorneys based in Baltimore and New York as to what direction to take.

The NAACP is part of a coalition called "Great Schools in Wake."  That group also promised to keep a close eye on the board in committee and full board meetings as the neighborhood schools model is developed over the next 15 months.

"We need to do everything we can to safeguard our school system," said coalition member Yevonne Brannon who said she'll work even harder now that the board's resolution passed Tuesday night 5 to 4.

Margiotta dismissed the segregation claims made by both groups.

"We have laws, court rooms, morality.  That's something this board would never tolerate," said Margiotta. 

 Supporters at the meeting like Allison Backhouse reminded board members to move towards school choice.

"Our students have sacrificed three schools in three years because diversity matters, unmangeable schedules for families because diversity matters, a 52.4% graduation rate of economically disadvantaged children because diversity matters," said Backhouse. 

Board member John Tedesco co-wrote with Deborah Goldman the resolution that directs administrative staff to research new community-zones for student assignment.  The research and planning should happen over the next 9-to-15 months and the current 3-year student assignment plan remains in place.

As for the racial tension in last night's board meeting, "it's gotten more sensational than what it's about.  Let's start helping kids out of poverty," said Tedesco.

For even more reaction, watch our NBC 17 News story in the monitor above.

The Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce is trying to find out how local businesses feel about the direction the Wake County School System is taking.

A survey was sent out to chamber members on Monday asking how they feel about everything from the diversity policy and year-round schools to transparency.

The school board's move away from the diversity policy is making national headlines. It's painting an image, and local parents like James Hunt said perception matters.

"I think it's very important to parents in particular, I've got a 5-year-old son and that was one of the big considerations for living in Wake County," Hunt said.

Joe Gilroy has a baby on the way and said he doesn't like what he sees.

"The baby's not here, yet I know we're not going to send him to Wake County schools because it just seems to be in such disarray," Gilroy said.

The answers to the survey will help the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce learn how the business community feels. The chamber is not going to release the results of its survey but CEO Harvey Schmitt said it will take into account the opinions of members and use that for future conversations with the school board.

"What we're trying to do is find where the spaces are of common interest and ways in which we can work effectively with the new board," Schmitt said.

Critical, Schmitt explained, because education attracts jobs.

"Our ability to attract both talent and hold talent in the community -- which has been an under-riding element of our economic success -- has a lot to do with how people feel they can get their kids into a good strong public school system," Schmitt said.

The CEO of Coldwell Banker Commercial Trademark Properties, Billie Redmond, said people are paying attention.

"Perception is reality, and people will form their opinions and often base their actions on their perceptions," Redmond said.

Redmond, who participated in the survey, said no matter if you agree with the new board majority, the attention on the school system might mean businesses considering moving here might start asking more questions about education.

"We should be very concerned and very involved and very engaged in the discussion," Redmond said

Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger has flown his final flight.

The pilot who landed a US Airways plane safely on the Hudson River last January said Wednesday he is retiring after 30 years and plans to spend some of his time pressing for more flight safety.

The Carolina Hurricanes traded five veteran players and stockpiled draft picks in a flurry of deals before the NHL deadline.

General manager Jim Rutherford says the Hurricanes dealt defenseman Joe Corvo to the Washington Capitals, forwards Stephane Yelle and prospect Harrison Reed to the Colorado Avalanche and defenseman Andrew Alberts to the Vancouver Canucks.

Carolina received defenseman Brian Pothier, left winger Oskar Osala and a second-round pick in 2011 from Washington; landed prospect Cedric Lalonde-McNicoll and a sixth-round draft choice from Colorado; and acquired Vancouver's third-round pick for Alberts.

Those moves came after they sent defenseman Aaron Ward to the Anaheim Ducks for a minor league goalie and a draft choice, then traded forward Scott Walker to Washington for another pick.

A wintry mix of rain and snow began falling in central North Carolina Tuesday afternoon, but by Tuesday night it was all snow. A Winter Weather Warning which was expected to expire at noon Wednesday has been cancelled. Wake County school officials say they will proceed with their regularly scheduled early dismisal today.

Heavier amounts of snow fell just south of Raleigh in the Lee, Harnett and Johnston County area. Lee County schools and Harnett County schools have announced they are closed on Wednesday.

Meanwhile there were also reports of accidents in Johnston County along side roads and on Interstate 95 and North Carolina Highway 96. The North Carolina Highway Patrol reported 187 accidents since midnight in the Troop C Area, which mvers the majority of the Triangle and points south and east.

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Snow accumulations averaged about one to four inches in the areas south of the Triangle, with some isolated areas receiving as much as five inches such as parts of Lee County. The Raleigh area had only about an inch or less of snow.

Low pressure intensifed off the North Carolina coast overnight Tuesday and allowed the atmosphere to cool and change the rain to snow. The area of low pressure also helped to usher in colder air and wind, the combination of which will only make it feel like the 30s Wednesday.

Snow accumulation was mainly on grassy and elevated surfaces and the recent mild temperatures should keep the roads from becoming a problem. Some slush occured on roads with a slight chance of icy spots Wednesday morning mainly on bridges and overpasses.

Once Thursday rolls around, a warming trend should start for the area.

Get the full NBC17 Precision Forecast here.

The family of a North Carolina teenager who went missing in San Francisco nearly 13 years ago has taken out billboards for clues about her possible whereabouts.

Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who was hailed a hero after piloting the US Airways flight that landed on the Hudson River in January of last year, is retiring.

The Carolina Hurricanes have traded Aaron Ward to the Anaheim Ducks and Scott Walker to the Washington Capitals.

Right Wing Scott Walker, 36, has played with the Canes since July 2006. Ward, 37, came to the Hurricanes from the Boston Bruins.

Click the clips below to hear audio reaction:

Listen: Aaron Walker's comments

Listen: Scott Walker's comments

Listen: Paul Maurice's comments

A wintry mix of rain and snow began falling in central North Carolina Tuesday afternoon, but by Tuesday night it was all snow. A Winter Weather Warning which was expected to expire at noon Wednesday has been cancelled. Wake County school officials say they will proceed with their regularly scheduled early dismisal today.

Heavier amounts of snow fell just south of Raleigh in the Lee, Harnett and Johnston County area. Lee County schools and Harnett County schools have announced they are closed on Wednesday.

Meanwhile there were also reports of accidents in Johnston County along side roads and on Interstate 95 and North Carolina Highway 96. The North Carolina Highway Patrol reported 187 accidents since midnight in the Troop C Area, which mvers the majority of the Triangle and points south and east.

Send Us Your Weather Photos

Snow accumulations averaged about one to four inches in the areas south of the Triangle, with some isolated areas receiving as much as five inches such as parts of Lee County. The Raleigh area had only about an inch or less of snow.

Low pressure intensifed off the North Carolina coast overnight Tuesday and allowed the atmosphere to cool and change the rain to snow. The area of low pressure also helped to usher in colder air and wind, the combination of which will only make it feel like the 30s Wednesday.

Snow accumulation was mainly on grassy and elevated surfaces and the recent mild temperatures should keep the roads from becoming a problem. Some slush occured on roads with a slight chance of icy spots Wednesday morning mainly on bridges and overpasses.

Once Thursday rolls around, a warming trend should start for the area.