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Author Sharon Ewell Foster spent the last five years researching Nat Turner, the slave who led a violent rebellion in Southampton County, VA in 1831. She found that Turner’s ancestors hailed from Ethiopia, that Turner was a man of strong spiritual faith and that there was much to be gained by whites in the Commonwealth of Virginia by painting Turner as a savage villain. Foster’s research led her to create a new series of historical fiction called “The Resurrection of Nat Turner.” The first book in that series, “The Witnesses” (Howard Books/2011), has just been released.

Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands remain cut off from the mainland after Hurricane Irene dumped water and sand on several parts of Highway 12. There are several breaches in the highway just north of Rodanthe. Governor Bev Perdue says officials are doing all they can.

Agriculture officials say most of North Carolina’s biggest and most profitable farming operations are in the state’s coastal region that was hit hard by Hurricane Irene.  

Tobacco was one of the hardest hit crops during Hurricane Irene – a 750-million dollar industry.  Brian Long is with the state Agriculture Department.

Brian Long:  "If you think about how much tobacco was still out there, yet to be harvested, and then, Irene’s wind and rain just did a really big number on that crop."

The first of a series of public information sessions on the proposed Wake Schools student assignment plan will be held tonight. The sessions are designed to update people on the status of a new plan.

The presentations will be held at high schools throughout the county. Members of the student assignment task force will offer some details of the plan and discuss what it may mean for where kids will go to school next year.

Dare County officials are asking residents to conserve power as utilities set up emergency generators on Hatteras Island. Parts of the main highway on the Outer Banks were washed away in four spots near Rodanthe. That left residents who waited out the storm stranded on Hatteras Island. Dare County spokeswoman Cathryn Bryan says emergency crews are taking bare essentials to the hardest hit areas.

The public mea culpa has become akin to performance art in modern times. It seems a month seldom goes by without a celebrity, public figure or politician begging for forgiveness via the mass media. Repentance and forgiveness have not always been such public, interpersonal matters, however. In the days before the Protestant Reformation, forgiveness was up to God and God alone. In her new book, "Shakespeare and the Grammar of Forgiveness" (Cornell University Press/2011), Duke University English Professor Sarah Beckwith traces the roots of our modern understanding of forgiveness to the language of William Shakespeare's later plays. Host Frank Stasio talks with Beckwith about how we say "I'm sorry."

Harry Potter paved the way for many fantasy novels, including one written by Time Magazine book critic Lev Grossman. "The Magicians" (Viking Adult/2009), took an adult look at the mythical world of magic and tackled issues of sex, drugs and existential angst. The sequel, "The Magician King" (Viking Adult/2011), is out now and continues its offbeat examination of the magical life.

Hurricane Irene's flood waters caused some waste water treatment plants to overflow in the eastern part of the state while cutting off power to others. State officials are warning people in flooded areas to avoid contact with contaminated water as they begin the arduous task of clean up. Susan Massengale works for the North Carolina Division of Water Quality.

A health-provider system that has worked well for Medicaid recipients will soon be available for state employees and big business.  It’s called “First in Health.” 

“First in Health” is born out of a Medicaid program that supports a team approach to health care.  It’s where you have specialists, primary care physicians, pharmacists and others coordinating services.  Doctor Allen Dobson is president of Community Care of North Carolina.  He says private employers are now saying – this can work for us.

Hurricane Irene is gone but its effects linger on. The storm couldn't have come at a worse time for an area that relies on its tourism industry. Irene completely washed out a section of Highway 12 just north of Rodanthe. That means the only way to reach Hatteras Island as the important Labor Day Weekend approaches is by boat. Michael Gardener is manager of the Sea Side Inn in Hatteras Village.