Politics & Government

Staff members from President Barak Obama’s re-election campaign are in Durham today. They’re meeting with hundreds of students for a national summit at North Carolina Central University.

Leoneda Inge:  The “Greater Together” National HBCU Student Summit will kick-off like a pep rally. But it will soon get down to business.

The Wake County Board of Commissioners voted to endorse the upcoming statewide ballot measure to ban gay marriage. Dave DeWitt reports that the vote was along party lines.

Dave DeWitt: Board Chair Paul Coble spearheaded the Wake Commissioners’ effort to support the amendment that would ban gay marriage. Three of his Republican colleagues also voted yes. The three democrats voted no.

About 20 people spoke out before the vote was taken, just one was in favor of the ban. The majority of speakers called it heavy-handed and an intrusion of privacy.

A Triangle non-profit is being honored at the White House today.  MCNC has been named a “Champion of Change” for its work in providing broadband to rural North Carolina.  Joe Freddoso is the President and CEO of MCNC.  He says the first of their two major projects is almost complete.

Former Senate leader Marc Basnight has been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease.

Jessica Jones: 64-year-old Marc Basnight stepped down after 26 years of service as a state senator last January, citing health reasons. At the time he said doctors hadn't figured out why he was having speech and balance problems. Basnight acknowledged the diagnosis in an interview with the North Carolina Coastal Federation. Manteo mayor Jamie Daniels says it's heartbreaking to know the former Democratic Senate leader has the neuromuscular disease.

It was feared there would be a dramatic rise in home-grown terrorism in the United States post 9-11.   But a North Carolina-based report shows that didn’t happen.