Isaac-Davy Aronson

In Tampa, Republicans are eagerly awaiting Mitt Romney's big speech tonight. Attendees at the Republican National Convention were enthused by Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan's speech last night and North Carolina's delegates were no exception. Helen Eckman from Beaufort County says she likes Ryan's promise that if he and Mitt Romney are elected, they'll limit federal spending.  She wants Romney to adopt much of the budget Ryan proposed in the U.S. House.

Doctors and nurses from Duke University are training medical professionals in Rwanda, and helping the African nation build a sustainable health care system. Duke is among several American academic institutions participating in the U.S.-government-funded program.

Catherine Gilliss is Dean of Duke's Nursing School. She says the objective is to train nurses in Rwanda to deliver more sophisticated care.

One year ago Hurricane Irene made landfall near Cape Lookout. The Category 1 storm was slow moving and lingered along the North Carolina coast, killing seven people and causing $1.2 billion in damage. Julia Jerema works for North Carolina Emergency Management. She says recovery efforts are not quite complete.

The town of Chapel Hill will appeal a judge's rulings that struck down new towing and cell phone ordinances.

A North Carolina Yellow Pages publisher is continuing its transition into digital marketing through a merger with a Texas rival. Cary-based Dex One and Dallas-based SuperMedia have both emerged from bankruptcy in recent years, as the market has moved from print phone books to the Internet.

SuperMedia chief Peter McDonald says the marketing needs of small businesses today go far beyond an ad in the Yellow Pages.

The Appalachian Trail turns 75 this week. The nearly 2,200-mile route runs from Georgia to Maine.

Steve Paradis is the Chief Operating Officer of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. He says the trail serves much the same purpose today as it did when it was completed in 1937.

Steve Paradis: It was proposed as a footpath that would connect small working communities and provide an opportunity for people to essentially escape the, if you will, the rat race along the east coast and to rejuvenate their spirit and refresh their souls.

North Carolina is hoping to find better uses for discarded food. A new study from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources finds that residents and businesses generate over a million tons of food waste a year. Scott Mouw is director of the state recycling program.

Scott Mouw: We now should turn our attention to diverting that material from landfills and to other kinds of uses, whether it's using the food for donation to food banks, or to composting, or to other uses that may eventually turn into energy like in anaerobic digestion.

More than 150 Parent Teacher Association leaders from across the country have gathered at the White House. They're being recognized for their work, and getting the chance to hear from and question federal education officials. Debra Saunders-White, a former vice chancellor at UNC-Wilmington, is with the Department of Education's Office of Post-secondary Education. Speaking at today's event, she stressed the importance of Pell grants.

A conference on North Carolina shale is underway in Raleigh. Scientists, government officials, environmentalists, and industry representatives will consider the potential and pitfalls of natural gas drilling in the state.

North Carolina's top apple-producing county is experiencing its worst crop in decades. That's according to growers and agriculture officials who say this year's unusual weather has devastated many of Henderson County's orchards.

Adam Pryor is a farmer and President of the Blue Ridge Apple Growers Association. He says the crop was hit hard in April by an overnight frost, after unusually warm weather had caused the trees to start blooming.