CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Two years after nearby Kannapolis was the epicenter of the largest mass layoff in North Carolina history, hope may rise from the rubble of a massive demolished plant. California billionaire David Murdock will come to town Monday to unveil plans for a biotechnology complex on the former site of Pillowtex Corp.…

For the past 10 years, the call of the clans to come gather in Middle Tennessee has gone out. As the fall colors creep over the Cumberland Plateau, you will hear the sounds of bagpipes coming through the early morning mist and see kilt-clad folk scurry to put the final touches on the clan display…

BALTIMORE (AP) — Girls who regularly ate breakfast, particularly one that includes cereal, were slimmer than those who skipped the morning meal, according to a study that tracked nearly 2,400 girls for 10 years. Girls who ate breakfast of any type had a lower average body mass index, a common obesity gauge, than those who…

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Sex is for sale in the state capital, and police here say there’s little they can do about it. Although soliciting sexual favors on the street is illegal in Rhode Island, authorities say a loophole in state law allows prostitution behind closed doors — including in storefronts that advertise as massage…

DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — A local black church quickly raises an average of $85 from each of its 70 members to feed hungry hurricane evacuees. Across town, a black church pastor takes 10 families into his home. Another black church turns its sanctuary into a warehouse packed with donated clothes, toiletries and hope. Black churches…

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The crew in white jumpsuits and blue gloves carried a body bag out of the empty senior center. Then another bag, then another, eight in all. There was no one left alive at Bethany Home, a century-old brick building fronted by white columns. A piercing siren wailed through the building’s open…

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A hurricane watch was posted Saturday for the Southeast coast as Ophelia strengthened into a hurricane once again, and meteorologists said its meandering course could take a sharp turn toward land. A hurricane watch was posted along a 300-mile stretch from the Georgia-South Carolina line to North Carolina’s Cape Lookout, meaning…

WASHINGTON (AP) — A beleaguered Michael Brown said Friday he doesn’t know why he was removed from his onsite command of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, but he does know the first thing he’ll do when he returns to Washington. “I’m going to go home and walk my dog and hug my wife, and maybe get…

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Authorities said the first street-by-street sweep of this swamped city revealed far fewer corpses than originally feared, a glimmer of encouraging news amid the toxic floodwaters. The mayor and others had predicted up to 10,000 deaths, but that number appeared less likely after Friday’s count, said retired Marine Col. Terry Ebbert,…

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Over 120 Gulf of Mexico oil and gas platforms were still shut down Saturday and nearly 60 percent of the gulf’s normal daily oil production remained blocked from the market because of evacuations due to Hurricane Katrina, a federal agency said. Following a survey of 56 energy companies, the Minerals Management…