RALEIGH -Mary Penny Thompson has been named as the chief deputy secretary of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources and will begin her duties May 1.   Thompson will succeed Manly Wilder, who has served in that capacity since 2009, and who will retire effective April 30.   Since 2009, Thompson has served a dual role at DENR, as assistant secretary for information technology and…

State Rep. Larry Womble announced Tuesday he will not run for re-election in District 32 in his first public comment since he was seriously injured in a car accident in December.

FAYETTEVILLE, (AP) - North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper's office says Fayetteville city officials cannot stop police from acting on a hunch and asking motorists if it is OK to search their vehicle.

RALEIGH, (AP) - Newspaper owner Ken Fortenberry of Lincoln County filed his candidacy paperwork Tuesday, setting up a primary with Republican U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry in the 10th District. McHenry is seeking his fifth term in the House. Democratic Marcus Williams of Lumberton also filed Tuesday and will challenge Rep. Larry Kissell in the 8th District primary. Kissell and McHenry filed Monday on…

DURHAM -  Richard B. Hays has been appointed to a full term as dean of Duke Divinity School. Hays, the George Washington Ivey Professor of New Testament, is a scholar of the letters of Paul and on New Testament ethics. His work has bridged the disciplines of biblical criticism and literary studies, exploring the innovative ways in which early Christian writers interpreted Israel's Scripture.