Will Michaels

The Carolina Hurricanes remain winless after their home opener.  The 'Canes fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Raleigh Tuesday night, 4-1.  Jeff Skinner scored the only goal for Carolina during a power play in the second period.  But Tampa Bay put the game away in the third with two goals on Cam Ward.  The 'Canes goalie has allowed nine goals in his first two games this season.  Coach Kirk Muller says the team is still working on its chemistry.

Dare County brought in a record amount of occupancy taxes in 2012 while a record number of sea turtles nested on Cape Hatteras National Seashore.  Numbers from the Outer Banks Visitors' Bureau show Dare County collected $382 million in occupancy taxes through November of 2012 compared to $367 million during the same period the year before.  The county levies the tax on hotels, motels and beach houses.  At the same time, park rangers reported a record 222 sea turtle nests in 2012. 

Residents across North Carolina observe the Martin Luther King Junior holiday with calls to service and celebrations.  In Greensboro, city officials host a breakfast today ahead of other holiday events.  Greensboro human relations spokesman Robert Nunn says the breakfast helps residents remember the city was in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement in the early 1960s:

An N.C. State student is a local celebrity after he stormed the basketball court in his wheelchair when the Wolfpack beat top-ranked Duke last weekend.  Senior Will Privette was one of the first students on the court Saturday.  Privette says he was thrown to the ground when the crowd converged.  But he continued celebrating after Wolfpack forward C.J. Leslie cleared the crowd and picked him up.  Leslie joined Privette on NBC's "Today" show Tuesday morning.

The UNC School of Medicine has a new laboratory designed to prepare students and faculty to perform eye surgery. The university received a donation of one-million dollars from a company based in Winston-Salem called the North Carolina Eye Bank. The organization harvests and distributes eye tissue for surgery. The new lab has 19 stations that simulate cornea transplants and other procedures. Doctor Don Budenz is the chair of UNC's ophthalmology department.

Two same-sex couples are submitting applications for marriage licenses today, knowing they will be turned down. The couples are heading to courthouses in Wilson and Winston-Salem as part of a movement called "We Do" from the group Campaign for Southern Equality. The organization hosted a similar event last week in Asheville as a protest of North Carolina's constitutional ban of gay marriage. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara is the group's executive director and an openly gay minister in the United Church of Christ.

The North Carolina Ferry Division says service remains spotty between Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands. State transportation officials have been suspending service on a daily basis since a series of storms in November. Ferry Division spokeswoman Lucy Wallace says the channel routinely experiences shallow waters after high winds and heavy rain:

Boat builders on the Outer Banks say they're losing millions of dollars worth of business as the Oregon Inlet remains closed. The water there has been too shallow to allow vessels through since November. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it can not afford the $17 million it needs to dredge the inlet. Some business owners told Dare County Commissioners this week they might relocate if the inlet remains impassible. John Bayliss owns a boat building company in Wanchese.

Three Marines at Camp Lejeune have been awarded the Air Medal for successfully carrying out a rescue mission in Libya. Military officials awarded the distinguished medals yesterday to Capt. Erik Kolle, Staff Sgt. David Potter, and Sgt. Daniel Howington. The three men rescued a downed pilot near Benghazi during the Libyan civil war in March of 2011. First Lieutenant Robert Martins says the crew traveled 150 miles in less than an hour to rendezvous with the pilot.

Monday is the final day for victims of Hurricane Sandy on the Outer Banks to apply for disaster loans. The Small Business Administration is accepting damage claims until the end of the day from Dare, Currituck, Tyrrell and Hyde Counties. Business and home owners are eligible for up to $200,000 to replace damaged real estate or $40,000 for personal property. Dare County Emergency Management Director Nathaniel Sanderson says the Outer Banks avoided the kind of damage the storm brought to the Northeast in October.