North Carolina lawmakers have finalized new redistricting maps for the state senate and for 13 congressional districts. Jessica Jones reports the new boundaries are expected to benefit Republicans.

The GOP-drawn maps for the state House, state Senate and the U.S. Congress are now law. It's estimated the newly drawn Congressional map could get several more Republicans elected to Congress.

Many Democrats are opposed to the newly drawn boundaries, saying they crowd African-American voters into special districts so their vote won't have as much influence.

Butch Davis has been fired as the head football coach at North Carolina. Chancellor Holden Thorp made the announcement Wednesday after meeting with the Board of Trustees.

The decision comes just one week before the Tar Heels are scheduled to start fall practice – and two days after Davis met with reporters at the ACC’s annual media day.

The state Department of Transportation has awarded a contract for what it says is the most cost-effective plan to build a new Bonner Bridge. The existing bridge that connects Hatteras Island to the northern Outer Banks is nearly 50 years old and cost the DOT more than $26 million to repair over the last decade. The contract awarded to PCL Civil Constructors and HDR Engineering is the cheapest of the three proposals at $216 million, but also got the lowest technical score from state officials.

Josh Ritter’s popular Americana music is the product of his childhood spent in the small western town of Moscow, Idaho and his years as a student of American History and Scottish folk traditions. His strength as a narrator and balladeer has drawn comparisons to Bob Dylan and acclaim from both the mainstream press and indie music magazines. He’s released close to a dozen albums and EPs and played at Radio City Music Hall. So what does a guy in his 30s with that much success do for an encore? He writes a novel of course. Ritter’s debut work of fiction is called “Bright’s Passage” (Random House, 2011). It’s the story of a World War I veteran and his talking horse. Ritter calls it a comedy but reviewers have called it “tender, touching, moving and genuine.” He joins guest host Isaac-Davy Aronson in the studio today to talk about writing fiction and to perform a live preview of his concert tonight at Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro.

Ron Liberti's screen-printed posters for music shows have been integral to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro scene since Liberti moved here in the 1990s. A musician as well as a visual artist, Liberti has performed with seminal '90s band Pipe and The Ghosts of Rock and designed posters for everyone from Southern Culture on the Skids to Tift Merritt. His work has been shown around the world and is collected in the University of North Carolina's Southern Folklife Collection in the Wilson Library.

Wake Tech and Duke University are two of the best higher education institutions at which to work. The national survey was conducted by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Both schools are no strangers to being recognized as great places to work. Duke is making its fourth straight appearance on the annual list; Wake Tech is making its third.

State lawmakers in the House have overturned the governor's veto of a bill that would place additional restrictions on abortions.

Legislators voted 72 to 47 yesterday to resurrect the bill. It would require women to receive state counseling and an ultrasound before undergoing the procedure. Republican representative Ruth Samuelson is one of the bill's sponsors. She says the measure will help women make better decisions.

Cumberland County is in danger of losing its only rape crisis center. Rape Crisis Volunteers of Cumberland County Director Deanne Hardin, says they didn't get an expected $35,000 private grant. She says their board of directors informed her last week there wouldn't be money to pay the staff's three employees.

When organizers of North Carolina's public Governor's School summer enrichment program learned that the state General Assembly had cut their funding, they went to work raising money. So far, the group has secured more than $100,000 in hopes of keeping the program afloat, but not every public educational program at risk has the ability to keep itself funded. What problems arise when we rely too heavily on private donations to pay for public school programs?

Fiscal policy experts and money managers came together today at UNC-Chapel Hill to debate the country’s impending debt crisis. 

U.S. Senator Kay Hagan told the crowd – it’s time for shared sacrifices as the country gets close to hitting its 14-point-3 trillion dollar debt ceiling.

Kay Hagan:  "And I think that’s where the public is going to have to get involved and say, you know, Washington, it’s time to put those partisanship battles aside, this is serious stuff."