Arts & Culture

Raleigh native Tift Merritt has been releasing albums for a decade now. In that time her songs have caught the ear of fellow musicians like EmmyLou Harris who says Tift stands out 'like a diamond in a coal patch'. She's spent time in Paris and New York City, where she lives now, but enjoys returning to the Triangle --a place she still calls home. It was here where the U-N-C creative writing student got her start singing with John Howie, Jr. and the Two-Dollar Pistols in the late 90s.

A cannon that saw service in Wilmington during the Civil War will now mark the plaza in front of the North Carolina Museum of History. The Raleigh museum is unveiling the artifact later this morning, adding to its exhibits marking the sesquicentennial of the conflict.

Raleigh is holding a day of volunteering and "doing good" to mark the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. Isaac-Davy Aronson reports, the city is hoping it will become a new annual tradition.