Gurnal Scott

Governor Pat McCrory has introduced a new initiative to improve school security.  He has created the North Carolina Center for Safer Schools within the state Department of Public Safety.  McCrory says the center will work with school administrators, law enforcement and state mental health experts to minimize serious threats in and around schools.

North Carolina A&T has its first ever NCAA Tournament victory.  The Aggies narrowly defeated Liberty University, 73-72, last night to advance.  A last-second shot by Liberty missed as time expired to preserve the A&T win. 

Before last night, the Aggies had never won in nine trips to the tournament.  Head coach Cy Alexander said his team didn't fold under pressure.

"I thought our young men showed a lot of resilience because Liberty didn't back down and we would go up a little bit and they would keep coming back," Alexander said.

Orange County leaders may be forced to change how its recycling program is paid for.  The county says its recycling efforts have reduced trash in landfills by nearly 60 percent.  The county has been charging fees on property tax bills for the last decade to help pay for the program.  But the fee was never approved by the General Assembly.  The county manager's suggestion to privatize recycling pickup was resisted by some county commissioners. 

Former lieutenant governor Walter Dalton waits for approval from the state Board of Community Colleges to become a community college president.  The members of the Isothermal Community College Board of Trustees chose Dalton last week to be the school's fifth president.  Dalton would succeed Myra Johnson who has been president of ICC for the past six years.  Dalton was one of a half-dozen finalists for the position.  School spokesman Mike Gavin says Dalton's history with the college could have been a factor in his selection.

The White House is continuing to take its effort to raise the nation's minimum wage on the road.  The proposed change was part of President Obama's message during his stop at an Asheville plant in February. He said it's time for an increase in the minimum wage "because if you work full time, you shouldn't be in poverty."

Two North Carolina congressmen are working together to push a bill that will reward ingenuity in the textile industry.  Republican Howard Coble and Democrat David Price say the act would allow companies and universities to compete for $5 million in Commerce Department grants.  Congressman Price feels innovators from North Carolina can be in that mix.

Governor Pat McCrory took on a major state issue following a meeting Tuesday with several North Carolina mayors.   McCrory's meeting with members of the Metro Mayors Coalition addressed issues that are critical to cities and towns trying to cope with sequestration, transportation issues and taxation.  The Governor also answered questions on a hot legislative issue.  He disagrees with immigrants' advocates who say pink driver's licenses are no more than a scarlet letter.

Some state House Democrats are speaking out against a move to create pink driver's licenses to identify young immigrants.  House Bill 184 would prohibit the state Department of Motor Vehicles from issuing the licenses to young people who are legally in this country under the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.  The proposed licenses would have a pink strip at the top and the phras

A research firm says the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences was the most visited of the state’s museums and historic attractions last year.   It’s the first time in nine years that Biltmore Estate has not topped the list.  Mathews-based Carolina Publishing Associates compiled the numbers.  The firm says 1,220,814 people visited the museum in 2012.  Biltmore attracted 1,123,144 visitors.

White House officials are warning each state that spending cuts due to take effect this Friday will have a significant impact.  Military personnel in North Carolina are bracing for the worst.  Army leaders face more than $136 million in base operations cuts.  Jason Furman is a deputy director of the President's National Economic Council.  He says it's uncertain how those cuts will play out.

"It is pretty much a department-by-department thing," Furman says.