CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In a mostly blue city in a mostly red state, a crowd of several hundred filled a theater for a community conversation called “Voices in the Gun Debate.” It was cordial, which is more than you can say for much of the national dialogue that has NRA leadership and gun control advocates giving little ground in language or policy. But at evening’s end, there weren’t many conversions, either.
Why Obama always returns to North Carolina
President Obama just can’t stay away from North Carolina, though after giving him hope and a victory in 2008, the fickle state cozied back up to the GOP in 2012. Being wooed with a national convention and a stream of visits from surrogates wasn’t quite enough to stem a statewide swing from blue to red. Yet there the president was on Wednesday, the day after his State of the Union speech, selling his ideas on manufacturing and the economy at the Linamar engine factory near Asheville, N.C.
Playing hard to get is irresistible.
Feb152013
Will the next pope in a new world change the Catholic Church?
The world and the Catholic Church have changed, or maybe they’ve just become more honest. In the pews of Roman Catholic churches around the world — less crowded than they used to be — there is devotion, but also doubt. Now there is also confusion about what kind of leader the next pope will be.
Feb132013
Strom Thurmond’s black daughter: a symbol of America’s complicated racial history
Thurmond’s daughter was for years kept on the outside looking in, a pattern that mirrors the lives of African Americans, integral to the life blood of the country’s progress and promise, yet not always invited to sit at the family table.
Feb052013
How will the Violence Against Women Act fare in Congress?
A bill reauthorized twice since its inception in 1994 stalled last year. Will a new version gain bipartisan support?
Feb052013
More housework means less sex for hubby, says study. What’s that, again?
As women’s roles in everything from combat to the office are being debated, research says ‘looking under the hood’ not only sounds sexier than washing dishes, it is sexier.
Jan312013
N.C. Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan has a task ahead in 2014 reelection campaign
In a state where Republicans did well in 2012 and have high hopes for the next election, she carves out her own path on issues from guns to energy.
Jan252013
