WUNC News

The three young poets we're following this summer left Egypt this week. Will McInerney, Mohammad Moussa, Kane Smego and photographer Sameer Abdel-khalek are moving on to Tunisia as a part of the project Poetic Portraits of a Revolution. Before moving out of their apartment in Cairo, they sent us this poetic reflection on their final days in Egypt.

EPA officials are working to clean up tractor trailers containing barrels filled with chemicals on a residential property in Rocky Mount. The owner of the property said the trailers had been there since he inherited the land from his father. When crews arrived on-site they reported strong chemical odors and a trailer was leaking black material. Kenneth Rhame of the EPA says they have determined the air around the site is not contaminated, but soil contamination is still a worry.

The Arab Spring that erupted in North Africa has turned to summer. The revolution is still being sorted out in the streets of Cairo. In the days leading up the the Fourth of July here in the states, the poets we've been following Fridays on Morning Edition witnessed a demonstration turned riot in Tahrir Square. Kane Smego, Will McInerney, Mohammad Moussa and Sameer Abdel-khalek sent us this Poetic Portrait of a Revolution.

Two Pint-sized former patients cut the ribbon on a new unit in the Newborn Critical Care Center at The North Carolina Children's Hospital in Chapel Hill today. A crowd of parents, children and staff were present for the opening of 'Pod G.' It adds 10 beds and brings the center's capacity to 58 beds. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Chapel Hill admits premature and ill babies from other hospitals in the state which are not equipped to deal with them. Chief of Pediatrics Dr. Alan Stiles says the addition will take pressure off the unit.

Researchers are surveying protected marine species along the east coast. They're documenting the birds, fish, and mammals that live in and around the ocean. The survey is entering its second year and will not be completed until 2014. Shelley Dawicki of The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution says very little is known about the distribution and density of marine life deep in the ocean.

This summer on Morning Edition, we're keeping tabs on three young poets and a photographer as they travel through North Africa. Kane Smego, Mohammad Moussa and Will McInerney are in their early 20's and are from the Triangle. Right now, they're in Cairo. During the day, they're out taking pictures and talking to people, trying to get a sense of the revolution that's still settling in Egypt. At night, they write as a part of a summer-long project they're calling Poetic Portraits of a Revolution.

Fayetteville barbers have joined with health officials to inform their customers about the risks of prostate cancer. Cumberland County is one of seven counties in North Carolina with a prostate cancer rate higher than the national average. Barber shops serve as a social hub for many minority communities. Officials hope a barber's suggestion will motivate customers to get a prostate-cancer test. Douglas Dolberry of the Konnecte Kut Barber shop in Fayetteville, says the response so far has been great.

Three young poets from Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill landed in Cairo a few days ago. They're travelling in Egypt and Tunisia with a photographer friend for a project they're calling Poetic Portraits of a Revolution. With borrowed microphones and money donated by friends, family and community groups they set out to see and hear for themselves what a revolution looks like. Along the way, they promised to send back short poetic reflections on their experience.  Kane Smego, Will McInerney and Mohammad Moussa present this first installment of Poetic Portraits of a Revolution from their journey to North Africa.

North Carolina's unemployment rate held steady at 9-point-7 percent in May. The rate has been constant for the last three months. The state unemployment figure is more than half a percent higher than the national rate. Larry Parker with the state Employment Security Commission says these numbers are indicative of the sluggish economy.

Larry Parker: "I think what we're seeing is what we've seen over the last six or seven or eight months. the economy is very static right now. there have not been major gains in the job force it is just a very very slow recovery."

Unseasonably hot temperatures last week exacerbated drought conditions along the coast of North Carolina. Eight new eastern counties have been added to the severe drought list. Most of central North Carolina is experiencing abnormal to moderate drought conditions. State Climatologist Ryan Boyles says the drought has been worsening for a while.