The North Carolina Department of Transportation reported that the accident happened around 2 p.m. this afternoon.

It is not clear at this time how many cars were involved in the accident, whether or not there are any fatalities, or when the road will be reopened.

Drivers are being urged to avoid the area.

-Nichole Jaworski, CBS Charlotte

(This story is still developing. Stay with CBS Charlotte for updates as they become available.)

Officials say 1st Lt. Paul Demeo of Derry, N.H., died Tuesday at Womack Army Medical Center on base.

Army officials are investigating the circumstances of his death, and aren’t releasing any additional information.

Demeo was a platoon leader assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.

His commander, Lt. Col. J.C. White, says Demeo was a charismatic leader who cared deeply for his fellow soldiers and left a lasting impression on them.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Fisherman found Dorien Jackson’s body in Lake Townsend nearly two months after he was last seen leaving his Greensboro home on his bicycle after getting a message from a friend.

An autopsy report released this week said Jackson died from a gunshot to the back of his neck that injured his spine before exiting from his mouth.

Jackson’s body was so decomposed from being in the water that he had to be identified through fingerprints.

Greensboro police are looking for clues to determine who killed the teen.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Witnesses told police that two men on scooters shot and killed 22-year-old Dantae Stokes on Thursday afternoon.

Officers arrested 22-year-old Byron Smyre on Friday. He is charged with murder. A murder warrant has also been issued for 18-year-old Dewayne Pickett. It wasn’t known if either man had an attorney.

Investigators have released little information on what led to the shooting or whether the victim and suspects knew each other.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

So, what’s my reaction?

Measured excitement.

Like most Charlotte basketball fans, I remember how fun the Hive used to be, how proud we used to be of our basketball team. That feeling faded of over time. It’s impossible to say when. George Shinn had legal problems, pressed for a new stadium and left town. Bob Johnson brought us a new team. He also gave it an unpopular name, was rarely seen around town, insulted our community and failed to assemble a winning organization. In nine seasons, the Bobcats have yet to win a playoff game.

Changing the name will help turn the page on a decade of forgettable basketball – if the product on the floor changes. I happen to believe that General Manager Rich Cho has the organization trending in the right direction, but I also know that several members of the old regime are still a part of the current organization. You know, the regime that drafted Adam Morrison and Alexis Ajinca, the regime that will soon name its fourth head coach since December of 2010.

Still, I’m excited because the rebrand offers an opportunity to erase those bad memories. The organization will have a new head coach and will likely have four first round picks over the next two years. If Cho and company make the right decisions, they could build the winning foundation we’ve been missing over the last decade.

It also brings home a name the community loves, a name that was meant for our community.

I’m glad we can break out the purple and teal.

Here’s to hoping it accompanies a few more wins.

~Lewis Woodard, WFNZ Sports Radio The Fan 610 AM

Find Lewis on Twitter @LewWoodard

The Wake County Sheriff’s Office said 33-year-old Misty Michelle Mullins was shot after breaking into a second home around midday Friday. Deputies responded to a 911 call that a woman had broken into a previous home and threatened the resident with a garden rake.

Three officers say they entered the second house and tried to subdue Mullins with stun guns as she charged at them with a knife or a machete. Authorities say Deputy Gabriel Romero then shot and killed Mullins.

A standing protective order barred Mullins from one of the homes.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

For months insiders have told me that changing the Charlotte Bobcats name to the Charlotte Hornets was inevitable. Will Brinson of CBSSports.com reported on Friday night that those wheels are firmly in motion, as digital assets for the name are being acquired and a new website domain was purchased by the NBA earlier this week.

I prefer Hornets over Bobcats for two major reasons. First, it’s the nickname that put Charlotte on the map nationally in the late 80′s. Greensboro and Greenville are great cities, but without the Hornets coming to town in the late 80′s, Charlotte would feel just like those towns. It wasn’t the city’s decision to abandon the name. It was a shamed owner, George Shinn, that left town with his tail between his legs. The name isn’t synonymous with him, it’s synonymous with Charlotte.

But the other reason might be the biggest. Even though Charlotte should be grateful to Bobcat Johnson for quickly bringing the NBA back to town, the franchise has gotten off to an awful start in its first decade. The name Bobcats is synonymous with losing and one man’s nickname. Quite frankly, Johnson was one of the worst owners in American professional sports history. Changing the name back to Hornets does not make the team any better on the floor, but it does eliminate a name that conjures up thoughts of futility on and off of the floor.

Sure, putting a product on the floor that the community can get excited about is far more important than your nickname. But changing your name to the Charlotte Hornets is a branding move that the community can be proud of, while getting rid of a moniker that only embarrassed them.

It’s time to turn off the lights in Time Warner Cable Arena and watch a caped creature named Hugo fly down from the rafters. Now, on to this winning thing…

Nascar is in town this weekend and while many people will be at the track I will be spending my Saturday at Olde Meck Brewery as a guest judge for the U.S. Open of Homebrewing.   Over 500 entries this year will make for a pretty fun afternoon of trying a few different kinds of libations. Now I didn’t submit one of my brews this year I don’t feel like I have anything that is competition worthy.  Guess I’ll have to step up my game for next year.   If you’re in the area stop by Olde Meck Brewery off Old Pineville rd and say hi.  CHEERS

Tim Duncan had 19 points and six rebounds, Kawhi Leonard scored 16 points and the Spurs won the series in six games.

Tony Parker shook off a poor start to score 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter. Tiago Splitter added a career-playoff high 14 points for San Antonio, which led by 13 late in the third quarter.

Stephen Curry shot 10 of 25 from the floor to score 22 points on a nagging left ankle. Jarrett Jack had 15 points as the injury-saddled Warriors wore down. The Spurs outshot Golden State 45 percent to 39 percent.

Second-seeded San Antonio will open the conference finals at home against Memphis on Sunday. The fifth-seeded Grizzlies eliminated Oklahoma City in five games.

The Spurs became the first team to win consecutive games in the series and hand the Warriors consecutive losses in the playoffs—and they did it at just the right time.

The Spurs quieted a standing-room-only crowd late in the third quarter and seemingly seized control for good. Instead, the Warriors roared back.

Klay Thompson, who had 10 points on 4-for-12 shooting, made a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter that sliced San Antonio’s lead to three. And Curry’s pull-up jumper brought the Warriors within 77-75 with 4:52 to play.

Parker was 1 for 13 before hitting a corner 3-pointer to give San Antonio an 80-75 lead. Leonard followed with two free throws to put the Spurs up seven.

Jack made a jumper and two free throws to bring the Warriors back again. Then Leonard hit another corner 3-pointer for the Spurs to go ahead 85-79.

Curry and Thompson had consecutive 3s rim out on the same possession. Parker hit another 3-pointer to put San Antonio up 88-79 with 1:15 remaining and send some of the yellow-shirted crowd of 19,596 heading to the exits.

Fans serenaded the home team with chants of “Warr-i-ors!” in the final seconds. Curry also grabbed the microphone after the game and thanked fans at half court, breaking the huddle with the crowd, “Just us!”

The Spurs showed incredible ball movement all game and had the Warriors playing from behind most of the way. San Antonio’s first 10 field goals came on an assist, going ahead by 10 points twice in the second quarter and maintaining that cushion until late.

Golden State stayed close despite more injury setbacks in a season full of them. Andrew Bogut walked gingerly to the locker room with 8:31 remaining in the second quarter to get his troublesome left ankle re-tapped. Upstart rookie Harrison Barnes fell awkwardly while leaping to contest a layup in the second quarter from Boris Diaw.

Barnes hit the court hard and his teammates immediately called for the training staff to attend to him as the arena fell silent. He received six stitches above his right eye at halftime and ran on the court late to start the third quarter, bringing fans to their feet roaring once more.

At least for a moment.

Barnes left the game in the fourth quarter because of a headache, the team said. He finished with nine points and four rebounds in 31 minutes.

The steady Spurs kept making the Warriors work for every shot and grinding out points on the other end. San Antonio took a 61-48 lead late in the third quarter before Golden State started its final surge.

The Spurs made sure it wasn’t enough.

NOTES: NBA Commissioner David Stern, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and prospective Kings owner Vivek Ranadive attended the game. … The Spurs are 10-1 in closeout games since the start of the 2007 playoffs. … Parker’s worst shooting performance in the playoffs with more than five shot attempts came when he was 1 of 12 against New Jersey in the 2003 NBA Finals won by the Spurs. … The Warriors fell to 4-1 after a loss in the playoffs.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

By Peter Russell

Reviewed by Farah Ahmed, MD

Miami survived a feisty Chicago Bulls team in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Friday night. Chicago was missing its top three players, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, and Derrick Rose, and still took Miami to the final buzzer in Game 5.

While Miami had a commanding 3-1 lead heading into Game 5, Heat fans were concerned with the condition of guard Dwyane Wade’s right knee. Wade has battled a knee problem throughout the playoffs and at times it’s forced him to completely change his game, but never to the detriment of the team.

During Game 5, Wade went into the locker room to have his knee re-wrapped heading into the fourth quarter. When he re-entered the game, he helped the Heat push ahead of the Bulls for the rest of the game.

Wade scored six points in the fourth quarter and in 45 seconds had a blocked shot, defensive rebound, offensive rebound, and a massive putback dunk that had the crowd of the AmericanAirlines Arena rocking.

“Dwyane is uncanny,” Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “When the competition is at its highest, and its fiercest, he finds a way.”

“I’ll go on and on about how great he is,” Heat superstar LeBron James said. “I really don’t care for the trash talk that he receives.”

The Heat shut down center Joakim Noah in Game 5, limiting him to three points and nine rebounds. But, the Bulls did manage to get Carlos Boozer free for 26 points and 14 rebounds and Nate Robinson had 21 points, but needed 15 shots to get there.

Miami had another solid effort from the entire roster with LeBron, Udonis Haslem, Wade, and Chris Bosh all scoring in double-figures. Mario Chalmers added six points while Shane Battier added 9 points and Chris Andersen had six points in the victory.

Through nine playoff games, Miami is tops in points allowed per game at just 84.7. The Heat’s defense is only allowing teams to hit 29.8 percent of its three-point shots and just 40.9 percent of their overall shots, both of which are best in the league. Miami is also forcing 16 turnovers per game.

On the flip side, Miami is leading the league in field goal percentage at 49.1 percent in the playoffs and is sixth overall during the playoffs in points per game at 98.6.

Miami will open the East finals at home next week. If Indiana beats New York on Thursday — the Pacers lead that series 3-1 — then the Heat and Pacers will meet in Game 1 in Miami on Monday. If the Knicks extend the Pacers to at least six games, then the East finals open Wednesday, regardless of opponent.

“It only gets more difficult and more challenging,” Spoelstra said.

Miami has just one victory over each team this season and lost the season series to both the Knicks and the Pacers. But, that was outside of the playoffs and Miami will be able to rest Wade’s knee until Monday at the earliest.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

By Bara Vaida

Reviewed by Lisa Zamosky

By Kathleen Doheny

Reviewed by Michael W. Smith, MD

The defenses in this series are too good, so the difference is something else.

“It’s just a matter of who wants it more,” Anthony said.

On Thursday night, that was the Knicks.

Anthony scored 28 points and New York avoided elimination in the Eastern Conference semifinals with an 85-75 victory over Indiana in Game 5.

“I was totally impressed because we met the challenge,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. “I think as a coach you come into games like this and you want to see who’s going to step up and make plays, and I thought we did that tonight. We were the better team in terms of doing that.”

Reserves J.R. Smith and Chris Copeland each had 13 points for the Knicks, who trail 3-2 and will need a victory Saturday in Indiana to force a seventh game back here Monday. They are trying to become the ninth NBA team to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a series.

“It’s a blessing. I’m extremely excited that I could have some kind of impact on the game,” said Copeland. “I’m going to stay aggressive, my teammates and coaching staff want me to stay aggressive. … And I’m going to keep shooting.”

Anthony, who didn’t make a basket in the fourth quarter of either game in Indiana, made a jumper midway through the fourth quarter after Indiana closed within four points. He followed with two free throws, Raymond Felton made a layup, and the Knicks were never in jeopardy again.

Paul George had 23 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Pacers. They played without point guard George Hill because of a concussion and committed 19 turnovers.

“We’ve just got to play more solid. There’s no other way to put it,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said.

George battled foul trouble and couldn’t contain Anthony quite as well as he had while the Pacers easily won the previous two games.

Anthony made his first two shots as New York raced to a 7-0 lead in a game in which it never trailed. He finished only 12 of 28, but got plenty of bench help.

“We didn’t shoot the ball very well, but we made shots at the crucial time,” Anthony said.

David West had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who were trying to reach the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2004.

“We didn’t play well. It was a bad game for us and we were still there,” George said.

The winner will face the defending NBA champion Miami Heat in a series that will start Wednesday.

New York didn’t really shake its scoring slump, shooting only 41 percent from the field, but put together a few runs during the game to open just enough space against a Pacers team that shot 36 percent and was a dismal 19 of 33 at the free throw line.

They clearly missed Hill after learning about four hours before the game they would be without him.

Vogel said Hill was hurt after a collision with Knicks center Tyson Chandler during the first half of Indiana’s 93-82 victory on Tuesday. Hill finished the game and scored 26 points, but experienced some headaches and showed concussion symptoms since and wasn’t able to pass the league’s concussion tests so he could play Thursday night.

The Knicks went back to their regular lineup, reinserting Pablo Prigioni, after going with a bigger group in Game 4 in a futile effort to match Indiana on the boards. The smaller group did a better job, getting outrebounded only 43-40.

“We’re not going to go out without fighting,” Chandler said.

The Knicks finally opened it up midway through the third quarter with a 12-4 run, started by Smith’s bank shot and featuring a 3-pointer and follow shot from Copeland, who got more playing time while Woodson gave little to veterans Amare Stoudemire and the slumping Jason Kidd, who missed his only shot and remains scoreless in the series.

“Coaching is a feel. It’s not always what players want at the end of the day, it’s about winning,” Woodson said. “That’s all I’m in it for.”

Anthony made a jumper and a 3-pointer on his first two shots, and Iman Shumpert followed with another jumper for a 7-0 start. Smith got a big ovation when he checked in, which grew much louder when he made his first shot, dribbling back behind the arc for a 3-pointer that made it 17-12 with 2:56 left in the opening quarter.

Smith has endured a miserable stretch since elbowing Boston’s Jason Terry in the fourth quarter of Game 3 in the first round. Suspended for Game 4, he hasn’t relocated his shot since, hitting 28 percent in the first four games and has been criticized for not being focused after he was seen out a nightclub with singer Rihanna the night before Game 1 — a day game.

He was only 4 of 11, but hit the jumper that started the Knicks’ run in the third quarter.

“Still didn’t shoot the best but it always helps coming home and playing in front of these fans,” Smith said. “Hopefully the little bit of rhythm that I did get carries me over.”

The Knicks extended their 19-15 lead after one to 32-23 on Copeland’s 3-pointer with 7:06 remaining in the second. The Pacers chipped away for most of the half, but couldn’t take the lead in part because of their sloppy free throw shooting, going 8 of 16 in the half that agonizingly wouldn’t end when both Chandler and the Pacers’ Sam Young committed fouls more than 30 feet from the basket in the final 2.4 seconds.

NOTES: Kidd is 0 for 8 in the series, part of a 0-for-17 skid that began with Game 3 against Boston in the first round. The 40-year-old point guard, surely headed for the Hall of Fame, is 3 of 25 in the postseason and hasn’t scored since hitting a 3-pointer against the Celtics in Game 2 on April 23. He played 5 minutes and Stoudemire played 6½. … The Phoenix Suns are the last team to win a series after trailing 3-1, beating the Los Angeles Lakers in 2006. The Brooklyn Nets forced Chicago to a seventh game in the first round, but dropped Game 7 on their home floor. … West was 5 of 13 in the first half. The other four Indiana starters were 5 for 23.

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(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

CHICAGO (AP) — Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane has a habit of attracting attention.

Maybe you recall the former No. 1 overall pick hitting the Internet last season, when photos show him partying in Madison, Wis. Or the 2009 arrest in his hometown of Buffalo, N.Y., after an altercation with a cab driver.

All that seems so long ago for Kane, who on Thursday was named one of the finalists for the Lady Byng trophy given to the NHL player who exhibits the best sportsmanship and “gentlemanly conduct” along with top skills on the ice.

That shouldn’t be a surprise given Kane’s dazzling talent. He stepped right into the Blackhawks lineup and won the Calder Trophy as the league’s rookie of the year. He scored 30 goals and 88 points in the 2009-10 regular season, then added 10 goals and 18 assists in the playoffs as the Blackhawks won their first Stanley Cup championship in 49 years.

Then came this lockout-shortened season and the 24-year-old Kane has had the most effective season of his six-year career, according to coach Joel Quenneville, whose team holds a leads 1-0 in its Western Conference seminal series against Detroit. Game 2 will be played in Chicago on Saturday.

“I thought Kaner really progressed in his game this year,” Quenneville said. “Offensively he had the puck more than he ever did. I thought he had more speed, more pace to his game. He seemed to be more aware positionally and technically. He definitely improved his play in his own end. It thought his overall game was to a new level this year.

Kane led Chicago this season with 55 points, on 23 goals and 32 assists. More than his passing and playmaking — including a handful of jaw-dropping 360-degree pirouettes — have improved.

“I though each and every year Kaner has gotten better as a player in all aspect of his game,” Quenneville said. “He’s gotten stronger, he’s gotten better and he’s growing up as well.”

Kane, who has never taken a fighting major in the NHL, has been smarter, too. His penalty minute total has dropped from 52 as a rookie to just eight last season.

“I thought maybe I’d have a chance at this one (award) and I think it kind of speaks volumes for where my game has gone since my rookie season,” Kane said. “I remember I used to take a lot of penalties that were kind of unnecessary. I kind have got that out of my game a little bit. I’m definitely happy about it. It’s an honor.”

Kane has yet to score in six playoff games this season. But he has been visible on the ice, with six assists and a plus-4 rating.

“I just play my game and if the pass is there I’ll try to make the pass,” he said. “If it’s a shot, then I’ll shoot. That’s the thing with our team. If one or two guys aren’t scoring, then other guys are stepping up. That’s the way it’s been all year. Whoever it might be, that’s why we’ve been so successful.”

The Blackhawks anticipate a stiffer challenge from the Red Wings in Game 2. After Chicago defeated Detroit 4-1 on Wednesday night, coach Mike Babcock said his team was tired, coming off a seven-game upset of Anaheim in the opening round.

“I expect them to be better for sure,” Quenneville said. “Those Western trips back-and-forth add up.”

Babcock, who gave his team a day off Thursday, predicted the Red Wings will be re-energized on Saturday

“We have no reason not to be very good in the next game,” he said. “We got to get back at her and playing at a high tempo because obviously they were playing at a level (in Game 1) that we weren’t playing at.”

Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall added: “We know we’re better than this.”

Kane will be ready. As for the Lady Byng award, seven Blackhawks have won it but none since Stan Mikita in 1968.

“It’s an award that definitely a great honor,” he said. “I think it’s got a little different view now from players. Like it says in the (description), it’s skill and sportsmanship put together.”

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin played the last two games of the Washington Capitals’ season with what the team says is a hairline fracture in his left foot.

Capitals spokesman Sergey Kocharov writes in an email to The Associated Press on Thursday that Ovechkin’s foot was hurt during Game 6 of Washington’s first-round playoff series against the New York Rangers.

Washington lost that game 1-0 Sunday, and then lost 5-0 Monday in Game 7.

Ovechkin, who led the NHL with 32 goals during the regular season, scored only once against the Rangers, in Game 1.

He played Thursday for Russia in an 8-3 loss to the United States in the world championships in Finland.

Ovechkin’s injury was first reported by The Washington Post’s website.

Related:Jason La Canfora Says Ted Leonsis is Delusional

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(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Marchand scored the game-winner for Boston 15:40 into overtime on Thursday night, giving Boston a 3-2 OT win and a 1-0 series lead over the Rangers.

For Marchand, it was all about turning the page from a goal-less series and focusing on the new task at hand.

“It’s a whole new series and we’re happy to play the Rangers,” Marchand said after the game. “They’re a very good team and a very good battle. It’s nice to finally get one there and get the monkey off the back, and hopefully they keep coming.”

Hurley: B’s Capitalize On OT Power-Play, Ride Momentum To Win

The Rangers had the upper hand during regulation, but the Bruins dominated in overtime — putting 16 shots on net. The Rangers managed just five shots, but the B’s were still worried that even though they were dictating the action, one of those silly playoff goals could do them in.

“That’s usually how it goes in the playoffs. One team does very well in overtime and then the other team gets a lucky one. We hit so many posts and had so many very good opportunities. They were bound to get one,” said Marchand. “We’re happy that we’re able to capitalize in these overtime games. They’re very tough games to be in, but we’re happy with the win tonight.”

Kalman: Chara Once Again Bruins’ Blue-Line Workhorse

Hopefully this is the start of something good for the slumping Marchand, who led Boston with 18 goals in the regular season but hadn’t scored in his last 11 games. Marchand became a hero for Boston during their Stanley Cup run in 2011, scoring 11 goals to set a new Bruins record, and he received a message from his then-linemate Mark Recchi prior to Thursday night with a few words of encouragement.

“He just texted me and told me to play my game and not to worry about anything else,” said Marchand. “The goals and stuff will come. It’s nice to hear from him. He’s obviously a guy that I went through a lot when I played with him, and it was good to hear from him again.”

Maybe Recchi should shoot Marchand a text before every game. And on that note, maybe Marchand should get morning skates off as well.

There was a scare early Thursday when Marchand appeared to leave the ice in pain during the Bruins’ morning skate. But head coach Claude Julien quickly dismissed it as anything serious, and now he’s wondering if he should let Marchand leave practice early from now on.

“I think that’s what he needed to do, get off the ice early so he could score that winning goal. Whatever works is good for us,” Julien joked after the win. “I thought Brad, personally, I thought that was one of his better games so far in the playoffs. He skated well, made some great plays, he took pucks to the net and that’s the Brad Marchand that we know. It was nice to see him really bring his A-game to the table.”

“Claude knows I hate morning skates,” said Marchand. “He used to yell at me when we won the Cup there because I wouldn’t even take a stride. I just wanted to get off early.”

Marchand wasn’t the only player on the Bruins second line to struggle during the series against the Leafs, which prompted Julien to swap out Tyler Seguin with Jaromir Jagr. No one was sure how the Marchand-Jagr-Patrice Bergeron line would pan out, but the Bruins head coach said over the last two games, the line has shown a lot of promise.

“We put them together; we weren’t quite sure how it would turn out, but the first game, which was Game Seven, as the game went on, they got a little bit better, but I thought tonight, again, they took another step in the right direction,” said Julien. “They did a great job of cycling the puck down low in the offensive zone, and hanging on to it. That was a good line for us, and we’re going to need that because we don’t want to just rely on the [David] Krejci line to produce, but we want a little bit more out of our other lines.”

After barely making a whisper last series, the Bruins’ second line is starting to make some noise. And it should come as no surprise that Marchand is the one to get that noise started.

Tune in to every Bruins playoff game on 98.5 The Sports Hub — the flagship station of the Boston Bruins. Pregame coverage begins 30 minutes before every game!

The most passionate critics and supporters of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, often describe the process in extremes, suggesting it is either inherently dangerous for the environment or that it poses virtually no risk at all. But Avner Vengosh, a Duke University professor of geochemistry and water quality, said making generalizations about fracking in Arkansas, Pennsylvania and Colorado doesn’t make scientific sense.

“Each basin will have its own dynamics and its own rules,” he said of the possibility of contamination, adding that differences in well construction and regulations play a role, too.

Members of the U.S. Geological Survey were also part of the study, which examined 127 drinking water wells for evidence of pollution from methane gas or chemicals.

The study published Wednesday looked at an area of heavy drilling in north-central Arkansas known as the Fayetteville Shale. More than 4,000 new wells have been drilled there since 2004. The researchers did multiple tests to looks for the presence of contamination from drilling, or from naturally occurring gas or ultra-salty liquids that seep up through pre-existing faults.

“Our results show no discernible impairment of groundwater quality in areas associated with natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing in this region,” Vengosh said in a statement.

Arkansas homeowners “typically had good water quality, regardless of whether they were near shale gas development,” said Robert Jackson, a professor of environmental sciences at Duke.

Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality spokeswoman Katherine Benenati declined to comment on the study.

In the contentious debate over fracking the Duke team has shown a willingness to report both positive and negative studies. In 2011 Duke researchers found higher concentrations of methane gas near drilling sites in Pennsylvania, and state regulators denounced the findings even as environmental groups cheered them.

During fracking, large volumes of water, along with sand and hazardous chemicals, are injected into the ground to break rock apart and free the oil and gas trapped inside. In some areas fracking has been blamed for air pollution and gas leaks that have ruined well water, but the Obama administration and many state regulators say the practice is safe when done properly.

Deb Nardone, a spokeswoman for the Sierra Club, agreed that there “are going to be geological differences” in different areas. But she said what that means is that research should be done in each area before drilling begins, to identify possible problems. Nardone also questioned whether over time the Arkansas water wells might start to show pollution from drilling. “It would be interesting to come back at this after five years,” she said of the study.

One representative from industry agreed with some aspects of the Arkansas study, but questioned others.

“It does clearly speak to the need to think about these things from a regional and local perspective,” said Andrew Place, the interim director of the Center for Sustainable Shale Development, a Pittsburgh-based partnership between industry, environmental groups, and philanthropies that is promoting higher standards for drilling in the Marcellus Shale, which covers Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and New York.

Place questioned the suggestion that the Marcellus Shale is uniquely different from the Fayetteville Shale, noting that Marcellus wells are typically two or three times the depth of those in Arkansas. Place said there are 6,000 feet or more of different rock layers between Marcellus gas wells and surface aquifers, and suggested that makes a “pretty compelling” case that pollution doesn’t migrate unless wells are improperly constructed.

“Well casing can be done right,” Place said.

Vengosh said the Arkansas findings don’t mean that contamination can’t happen, since faulty well construction or areas with different geology could cause different results.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

With three minutes left, the San Jose Sharks appeared to be cruising toward a well-deserved win over Los Angeles. After two penalties and two dynamic power-play goals, the Kings were halfway to the Western Conference finals.

And even the Kings weren’t quite sure how they got there.

Brown tied it with 1:43 left and Trevor Lewis scored the tiebreaking power-play goal 22 seconds later, propelling the defending Stanley Cup champions to a 4-3 victory Thursday night and a 2-0 series lead.

“It’s huge, I guess,” Brown said. “Two minutes left, down one, it’s about capitalizing. The power play is about scoring big goals, and we found a way to do that. We’re happy with the result, but we have to play better. We can’t let it get to that situation every night.”

Brown scored during a 5-on-3 advantage and Lewis provided the winner on a loose puck with 1:21 left, sending Staples Center into shocked celebration. The Kings won their 12th straight home game since March and their sixth straight postseason game, but only after getting outplayed for long stretches and needing late-game magic to thrive.

“It’s a roller coaster, but when you go through the experience of everything we did last year, you keep your emotions in check,” Brown said. “Even when that happens, you know there’s a lot of work still to do.”

Game 3 is Saturday night at the Shark Tank.

Jeff Carter scored on the Kings’ first shot and added an assist on Brown’s goal. Drew Doughty scored an early power-play goal for Los Angeles, which didn’t really get rolling until the third period — and with two late goals, the Kings landed one of the most amazing victories in their relatively thin playoff history.

“We found a way,” Los Angeles coach Darryl Sutter said. “You know what? The power play was on. We’ve been talking about it. We’ve been getting good looks and good opportunities and not finishing, and we got it from different guys.”

Jonathan Quick made 28 saves for the Kings, tying Kelly Hrudey’s franchise record with his 26th career playoff victory. Antti Niemi stopped 27 shots for the Sharks, but was powerless to stop the Kings’ power play.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored his first career playoff goal with 11:04 to play for the Sharks, who were doomed by their late penalties after rallying from an early two-goal deficit. Coach Todd McLellan left his team alone in the dressing room afterward.

“I liked our game,” McLellan said. “We’ll meet (Friday) at the rink, and I’ll tell our team that. The thing I like about our team, maybe in the past, this would have bothered our team more, but with the group of guys we have, I think we can recover from this.”

Patrick Marleau and Brad Stuart scored second-period goals for the Sharks, who largely dominated the first two periods with another barrage of superior speed and skill. None of it mattered when the Kings charged ahead.

“We’ve got to put it behind us,” said Stuart, who had a goal and an assist. “There’s two ways for us to respond. We can either fold up and say, ‘Oh, at least we tried,’ or we can say, ‘You know what? We can win.’

“I think 5-on-5, we were the better team. We keep doing those kinds of things, we’ll get our wins. That’s what we have to do. We have to respond in that way. We’re being tested, and it’s about how we’re going to respond. The key for us is to come out and do a lot of the same things we were doing tonight.”

After Vlasic’s score on a rebound of Stuart’s shot off the end boards, the Sharks seemed to be cruising to a win — until Stuart was whistled for tripping with 2:41 to play. Just 22 seconds later, Vlasic joined him in the box when he shot the puck over the glass, although Vlasic claimed the puck had deflected off Carter.

The Kings scored 36 seconds later, with Brown pounding home his second goal of the postseason. Lewis got the winner shortly after the ensuing faceoff, finding a loose puck on the back side of a scrum in front of Niemi after a shot by rookie Tyler Toffoli.

Lewis hadn’t scored in the postseason, but the depth forward scored two goals in the Kings’ Cup-clinching win over New Jersey last June.

“Power play got it done in the end when we needed it most,” Lewis said. “We’ve got some work to do to clean things up, but it’s a big win for us.”

The Kings played without veteran center Jarret Stoll, who didn’t return to Game 1 after a hit from San Jose’s Raffi Torres late in the second period. Torres was suspended for the rest of the series Thursday by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for his illegal check to the head after a hearing in New York.

Brad Richardson contributed a key power-play assist while filling in for Stoll.

Los Angeles has won six straight home playoff games dating to last season’s Stanley Cup clincher, but none was more surprising than this victory. The Sharks appeared to be sure Quick couldn’t steal another win after the Kings took the opener despite getting outshot 35-20.

Quick’s streak of more than 125 minutes of shutout hockey ended in the second period with two quick San Jose goals. Vlasic then gave San Jose its first lead with a rebound goal on Stuart’s shot off the end boards midway through the period, capping a lengthy scramble near Quick’s net. Vlasic didn’t score a goal in his first 73 career playoff games.

The Kings were forced to make several changes in the absence of Stoll, the third-line center and faceoff specialist who excels on special teams. Stoll was replaced by Richardson, who played 13 postseason games during the Kings’ championship run last summer.

The Sharks replaced Torres by juggling their lineup, promoting Joe Pavelski to the second line and using several new combinations. Tim Kennedy was in uniform for just his second game of the postseason for San Jose, which also played without injured forward Marty Havlat.

NOTES: Sharks F Adam Burish sat out his second straight game after playing in all four games against Vancouver. He was replaced again by Bracken Kearns. Havlat hasn’t played since the playoff opener in Vancouver while nursing a lower-body injury. … Richardson hadn’t played since the Kings’ playoff opener against St. Louis on April 30. He appeared in just 16 regular-season games. … Quick hadn’t allowed a goal since early in the second period of the Kings’ series-clinching win over St. Louis six days earlier.

The NHL announced the suspension a few hours before the Kings hosted the Sharks in Game 2. Stoll wasn’t expected to play for the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Stoll didn’t return to Game 1 after Torres hit him late in the second period of the Kings’ 2-0 victory. Torres got only a minor penalty for charging on the hit, and coach Todd McLellan and captain Joe Thornton echoed Torres’ belief that the hit was completely legal.

The NHL’s Department of Player Safety sharply disagreed while handing down a fourth suspension for Torres, considered a repeat offender in dangerous hits under the league’s collective bargaining agreement. Torres flew to New York for an in-person hearing Thursday.

While playing for Phoenix last season, Torres received a 21-game suspension — initially 25 games — for a high hit on Chicago star Marian Hossa in the first round of the playoffs. Torres was suspended for two games in January 2012 for charging Minnesota defenseman Nate Prosser, and he sat out four games in April 2011 for a hit to the head of Edmonton’s Jordan Eberle while playing for Vancouver.

Stoll was bent forward while trying to play a bouncing puck when Torres approached him from the side for a violent hit. Stoll’s head snapped back violently before he fell forward onto the ice.

In an explanatory video released by Brendan Shanahan, the NHL’s senior vice president of player safety, he said Stoll’s head was “the principal point of contact” in the hit, creating grounds for suspension. Although Torres initially made contact with Stoll’s right shoulder, Shanahan ruled that the shoulder hit was only a glancing blow, as evidenced by the direction both players traveled after the contact.

Torres claimed he had changed his ways during a largely incident-free season with Phoenix and San Jose, his sixth team in six seasons. He has been a dependable depth forward this season for the Sharks and Coyotes, scoring 18 points with just 17 penalty minutes in 39 games.

The Kings lose much more in the absence of Stoll, their veteran third-line center. Stoll is a faceoff specialist and a top penalty-killer with a strong two-way game.

Brad Richardson, who played 13 playoff games during the Kings’ championship run last year, is expected to take Stoll’s spot in the lineup.

Los Angeles hasn’t disclosed the nature of Stoll’s injury or a timetable for his recovery.

Torres, Thornton and McLellan all claimed the hit was completely legal, while Kings coach Darryl Sutter called it “careless.” Torres and Stoll are friends after three seasons as teammates in Edmonton from 2005-08.

“We were kind of shocked to hear he has to fly to New York for the hearing, because we didn’t see anything wrong on the play,” Thornton said Wednesday. “It’s unfortunate that Raffi has to go through this again.”

McLellan prepared for Torres’ likely absence by moving Joe Pavelski onto the Sharks’ second line on the left wing with Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau. Scott Gomez moved into Pavelski’s spot on the third line, and Tim Kennedy is likely to suit up on the fourth line.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Correct me if I am wrong, but when was the last time that you heard someone say :let’s go see Greg Gibson umpire 3rd base tonight or cool, Sam Holbrook is behind the plate tonight in Atlanta are there any tickets left? More and More, some umps go onto the field looking for a reason to make a name for themselves whether it’s following a batter back towards the dugout after a questionable 3rd strike or more than willing to go toe to toe with a manager or player on any other call of question.

Just in the last few days, we saw crew chief Angel Hernandez and his crew completely botch a HR call in Cleveland. Replay clearly showed a HR but even after a second look, Hernandez and his guys stood by their call. A’s manager Bob Melvin came out to argue only to be tossed by Hernandez who as he has many times before, seemed to take pleasure in running a manager or player.

Umpires are not perfect, I get that. But there does not seem to be a system in place to curtail those who are intent on being THE SHOW. I don’t get that.

Yarbs

The Ann Arbor-based Ecology Center says it tested 21 garden hoses from Lowe’s, Home Depot, Wal-mart, Target and Kmart. The hoses were left sitting in the sun for two days, and water was run through the hoses, collected and tested.

Levels of the toxic chemical BPA was found in the water at levels of 0.34 to 0.91 parts per million, a level that is three to nine times federal safe water drinking standards. Also, the phthalate DEHP was found at concentrations of 0.017 to 0.011 ppm in the hose water, two times higher than federal drinking water standards.

The study is a follow-up to a 2012 study that tested 90 garden water hoses. This year, 21 garden hoses were tested for lead, cadmium, bromine (associated with brominated flame retardants), chlorine (indicating the presence of polyvinyl chloride or PVC), phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA). These chemicals have been linked to birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity, premature births and early puberty in laboratory animals, among other serious health problems.

Results were released at www.healthystuff.org.

Of the 21 garden hoses tested, 33 percent contained high levels of one or more chemicals of concern, 67 percent were made of PVC, 4.5 percent contained brominated flame retardants, 29 percent contained organic tin stabilizers and 52 percent contained antimony.

Five hoses were tested for phthalate content, and the results ranged from 11 to 18 percent by weight. Phthalates are not chemically bound to the material and can be released to the air and water.

All of the PVC hoses tested contained one or more of the phthalates banned by Consumer Product Safety Commission for use in children’s products.

The percentage of hoses with greater than 100 ppm lead declined from 50 percent in 2012 to 14 percent in 2013.

According to the CDC, the figures from their tests of polls conducted during last summer’s swim season showed about 58 percent of the samples tested positive for E. coli and bacteria typically found in human feces.

However, while fecal matter was present in the majority of samples, none of the water tested contained the specific E. coli strain that causes illness.

The CDC said their findings indicate swimmers are contaminating the water either through “fecal incidents” in the pool, or because they haven’t showered properly before entering the pool.

The study also showed 59 percent of pools testing positive for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which can cause skin rashes and ear infections.

The entire CDC report is available here.

The federal government now wants stronger warnings on indoor tanning beds as more young people develop a deadly form of skin cancer.

The FDA wants more oversight of indoor tanning beds. They also urged people under 18 not to use them, which would help reduce cases of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, in young people.

“So many people are coming in with skin cancers, and it’s just way too young to have them,” said dermatologist Dr. Joyce Fox.

An estimated 2.3 million teenagers tan indoors each year. Studies suggest their risk of melanoma is 75 percent higher than those who don’t use sunlamps.

“Every additional dose of what we consider a carcinogen — ultraviolet light — is another nail in the coffin,” said Dr. Fox.

The proposal also calls for tanning beds to be labeled as “Moderate Risk” devices; they already carry warning stickers.

If the FDA proposal is approved, it would require tanning beds to have new labels aiming at those under 18. It would have to include warnings to young people about the risks of using the sunlamps and that frequent users should be regularly screened for skin cancer.

“We embrace any changes that enhance our customer’s safety,” a spokesman for the indoor tanning industry said. “These changes will place unnecessary burdens and governmental costs on these businesses in an already difficult economic climate.”

Any new federal regulations won’t be announced for at least 90 days.

Honestly, how much sleep do you get a night? Missing out on those precious hours can take a toll on your productivity and your health. Here are some eye-opening statistics about the sleep you’re not getting.

You’ve heard your mother say you need more sleep, and many people have listened, but many others haven’t. According to a new survey, Americans, even the ones who are most sleep-deprived, aren’t doing anything about it. The Centers for Disease Control is calling not getting enough sleep “a public health epidemic.”

The survey shows those who don’t sleep enough are more likely to be depressed, overweight and less productive, and many simply don’t look as good when they’re not getting enough sleep. Officials with the Better Sleep Council said nearly half the people in America said they’re not getting enough sleep, but fewer than half of them take specific action to get that needed rest.

Officials said that could be because many people simply don’t believe a lack of sleep is that bad for you. About 45 percent of men, for example, said that people can learn to live with less sleep. The Better Sleep Council said that’s a myth. About 80 percent of Americans said they get stressed or have trouble concentrating when they’re sleepy, but fewer than half of them believe a lack of sleep can contribute to memory problems, heart problems or diabetes.

So how much sleep do we actually need?

Officials said for children, it’s about 10 to 11 hours per night. Teenagers should aim for at least eight hours per night, and adults should try to get between seven and nine hours.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the promotion of regular sleep is known as sleep hygiene. Here’s a few tips to help you improve your sleep:

• Keep a routine: Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
• Make sure your bedroom is a quiet, dark and relaxing environment that isn’t too hot or cold.
• Use your bed for sleeping and not for activities like reading, watching television or listening to music.
• Remove all televisions, computers and other gadgets from the bedroom.
• And avoid large meals before bedtime.

The state’s unemployment rate was 9.2 percent in March.

The state Commerce Department said Friday the number of people unemployed fell by 15,000 between March and April. On the downside, nearly 4,200 fewer people held jobs than in March.

Leisure and hospitality service was the industry with the largest monthly increase, adding 6,100 jobs. It was followed by financial activities with 2,000 jobs, and the government with 1,300.

January 2009 is the last time the state’s unemployment rate was at 8.9

The unemployment picture is improving on the national level. The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.5 percent in April from 7.6 percent the previous month.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

The new average age of retirement was revealed in Gallup’s annual Economy and Personal Finance survey.

Several factors, such as a weakened economy, recovery from the recession, demanding jobs, previous unemployment, and a decrease in pension plans/benefits, all play a role in Americans remaining in the workforce past the “expected” age of retirement.

During the survey, more than 2,000 working adults in the United States were asked when they plan to retire or when they retired.

More than half of workers surveyed who were between the ages or 58 – 64, plan to retire after they turn 65 — a trend that may increase the average age of retirement in upcoming years.

-Nichole Jaworski, CBS Charlotte

1) All Star Race- No points.  Up to $2 million on the line. This is a checkers or wreckers type event.  One of the best night’s of the year in NASCAR Racing.  I would expect Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch to be mighty strong.  This will be good whether you are at Charlotte Motor Speedway or home on the couch.

2) Preakess- Many horse racing insiders think Orb is Triple Crown material. His next test is Saturday at Pimlico.  And, from what I understand, it’s a pretty weak field that is attempting to challenge the Derby winner.

3) Knicks-Pacers game 6- Saturday night is a big one in this series.  Pacers PG George Hill could be out again.  If the Knicks can get this one in Indiana, then it’s back to MSG for game 7.   Why do I feel the Heat would gladly play the Kicks as opposed to the rugged Pacers?

The Department of Employment and Workforce said Friday that the state’s jobless rate fell to 8 percent in April.

That’s the lowest that unemployment in South Carolina has been since October 2008. The workforce agency says the drop from 8.4 percent in March represents the state’s largest month-to-month decrease since May 1987.

Jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector grew by 8,700 as the state continued to prepare for its busy summer tourist season. The state agency said most of those new hires were in accommodation and food services.

Professional and business services and construction jobs went up by 4,000. Trade, transportation and utilities jobs grew by 2,300.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

He places the cigarette through a hole he carved in his helmet for a quick toke and exhales.

The green flag hits and out the window goes the cigarette butt and back to racing goes Trickle.

“Dick always had a cigarette lighter in his car,” said fellow NASCAR driver Geoff Bodine.

Trickle was a unique driver with a unique name who found cult-like status before his death Thursday.

Trickle, whose larger-than-life personality and penchant for fun won him legions of fans despite a lack of success beyond the nation’s small tracks, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said. He was 71.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said authorities received a call believed to be from Trickle, who said “there would be a dead body and it would be his.” Authorities tried to call the number back, but no one answered.

Trickle’s body was found near his pickup truck at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Boger City, N.C., about 40 miles northwest of Charlotte. Sheriff’s Lieutenant Tim Johnson said foul play was not suspected.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Dick Trickle on his passing today,” NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France said. “Dick was a legend in the short-track racing community, particularly in his home state of Wisconsin, and he was a true fan favorite. Personalities like Dick Trickle helped shape our sport. He will be missed.”

Trickle earned his reputation as a successful short track driver before joining the Winston Cup series and earning rookie of the year in 1989 at age 48.

He competed in more than 300 Cup races. Although he never won a Cup race and won only two Busch Series races, Trickle earned cult status in the 1990s.

Former ESPN anchor Keith Olbermann would regularly mention where Trickle finished after talking about each NASCAR race. It caught on and drew snickers from race fans around the country.

Bodine said there was only one way to describe Trickle, a native of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.

“Fun,” Bodine said. “Just plain fun.”

Trickle was never one to be told how to live his life.

“It’s all just sad,” Bodine said in a telephone interview. “We don’t understand why he would do this. Hopefully we will all learn why he would do that. There was something that triggered him to take his own life. We are all really saddened by this in the racing community.”

NASCAR does not keep track of short-track records, but according to the (Milwaukee) Journal-Sentinel, Trickle won more than 1,000 short-track races throughout the country during his prime. He was a seven-time winner in the regional ARTGO Challenge Series in the late 1970s and mid ’80s. Trickle also captured the ASA AC-Delco Challenge Series in back-to-back years in 1984-85 before turning to Cup racing.

“Dick Trickle was one of the best race drivers of the ’80s, no one knew how many races he won,” said Humpy Wheeler, the former president of Charlotte Motor Speedway. “He was right there with Red Farmer and other short track drivers — the wins kind of got so big that they blended into each other. He was a product of the rich Wisconsin soil, where they race eight races a week in the season, and he could win all of them.”

Wheeler said he asked Trickle to try NASCAR in the 1980s, but Trickle initially declined because he was so successful on the short track circuit.

“He could not make enough money then as he could on those Midwest tracks, so he deferred,” Wheeler recalled. “For a guy who really won at least 700 races, I could see why. In those days, unless you were a top Cup driver, you couldn’t win enough money to overcompensate for that.”

Trickle eventually did move to NASCAR, settling into Iron Station, N.C., where he lived for more than 20 years. Bodine said Trickle was full of stories and popular because of it.

“People everywhere knew his name,” Bodine said. “That’s why they used his likeness in that movie ‘Days of Thunder.’ He was such a character.”

The main character in that popular niche racing movie, played by Tom Cruise, was named Cole Trickle.

Bodine said that a few years ago he had to back out of a celebrity cruise for patients who were on kidney dialysis. He asked Trickle to fill in.

“He made such an impression on people on that ship that everyone wanted to know when Dick was coming back,” Bodine said. “They loved him. They tell me he was the last man to leave most of the bars on the ship and I believe it.”

Bodine also recalled inviting Trickle to compete in one of his bobsled events in 2004 at Lake Placid, N.Y.

He said Trickle went down the first time and crashed. After being cleared by doctors to continue, Trickle tried again and crashed in the same place.

“They were doing interviews with him on TV and he was like, ‘I don’t know what happened, I did the exact same thing I did the first time,’” Bodine said. “And we’re all looking at him like, ‘Hey Dick, maybe that was the problem.’”

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Police found 22-year-old Dantae Laquan Stokes when they arrived Thursday afternoon. Stokes was taken to Iredell Memorial Hospital where he died.

Police have obtained a murder warrant against 22-year-old Byron Lee Smyre. No arrest had been reported Friday morning.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

The House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to permit budget director Art Pope to use unspent funds, cost savings and surplus tax collections to cover a projected $283 million shortfall in Medicaid spending this fiscal year. Rep. Nelson Dollar says there’s also $118 million to pay off a rebate liability budget-writers shifted previously as a cost-saving measure.

Gov. Pat McCrory’s administration announced recently the Medicaid shortfall had more than doubled due to a forecasting error.

Thursday’s debate turned into a partisan discussion of who was to blame for repeated shortfalls. The bill now goes to the Senate.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Autopsy details were released Thursday by the state chief medical examiner’s office.

The autopsy showed 62-year-old Carolyn Ann Watkins suffered blunt force injuries to the head and neck, and that injuries to her spinal cord likely would have impaired her ability to breathe and led to her rapid death.

Watkins was reported missing three days after her car was discovered in a ditch near Smithfield on March 29. At the time, a state Highway Patrol trooper wrote in a report that there was no driver at the scene of the collision.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Distracted driving by novice drivers may indicate cell phone use while operating a vehicle, but for mature drivers the evidence points to a different matter, that of a canine kind: their dogs.

Distracted While Driving

The University of Alabama at Birmingham published a study in May 2013 that looked at the driving habits of 2,000 licensed drivers aged 70 and older. The study, conducted in the Clinical Research Unit at the university’s Department of Ophthalmology, found that those who always drove with their pets were twice as likely to be distracted while driving than those who never drove with one.

The university sample of 2,000 elderly drivers surveyed people that live at home, not drivers residing in nursing homes or assisted-care facilities. Of the individuals surveyed, 691 reported owning pets.

“Adding another distracting element, especially an active, potentially moving animal, provides more opportunity for an older driver to respond to a driving situation in a less than satisfactory way. Regulations in this area might be warranted, particularly if our findings are replicated by others.” - Gerald McGwin, Ph.D., professor in the Departments of Epidemiology, Ophthalmology and Surgery and senior author of the study

The researchers then asked survey participants about driving frequency with their pets, pinpointing those that said their pet always rode with them. All survey participants were subjected to visual sensory and higher-order visual processing testing.

Gerald McGwin, Ph.D., a professor in the Departments of Epidemiology, Ophthalmology and Surgery and senior author of the study noted, “this was the first study to evaluate the presence of pets in a vehicle as a potential internal distraction for elderly drivers.” Elderly drivers, when faced with “increased cognitive or physical workload while driving,” have demonstrated slower response times when compared to drivers in other age groups.

With a pet always present, the researchers found that senior drivers are twice as likely to be distracted while driving than those who drove with a pet on occasion or not at all. McGwin noted that the university’s first-of-a-kind findings, if replicated elsewhere, might lead policy makers to pass legislation to control this behavior.

Current Driving Legislation

Hawaii is currently the only state that expressly prohibits drivers from holding a pet on their lap reports USA Today. In New Jersey, NJSPCA officers can stop a driver for improperly transporting an animal. In California, a bill that would have fined drivers $35 for sharing a seat with a pet was vetoed by then governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2008.

A study conducted by AAA noted that a 10-pound dog riding unrestrained would yield 500 pounds of pressure in a 50 mile per hour crash. For an 80-pound dog, 2,400 pounds of pressure would be felt in a 30 mph crash.

Distracted driving is recognized as a significant contributor in crashes including fatal accidents. With the Federal Highway Administration this month offering a preliminary report estimating a 5.3 increase in traffic deaths in 2012 — reversing a trend of steady year-over-year decreases — policymakers might consider legislation requiring pets to ride tethered in passenger vehicles.

It is a state-by-state matter, however, something the federal government can recommend as part of its overall effort to reduce distracted driving.

Resources:

Driving with the dog not a good idea for seniors – University of Alabama at Birmingham

Author Information Matt Keegan owns the online Auto Trends Magazine, a website covering new models, industry trends and news. He is also the automotive category expert writer for Answers.com.

The two-time presidential candidate and former North Carolina senator is scheduled to appear June 6 at a private retreat in Orlando, Fla., for lawyer clients of the marketing firm PMP.

A records check with the N.C. State Bar shows Edwards has also reactivated his license to practice law, which had been inactive for more than a decade. The contact number listed for Edwards rings at his old Raleigh firm, where a receptionist said Edwards has not worked for many years.

Edwards has remained largely out of public view since his May 2012 acquittal on one charge of campaign finance fraud. A federal judge declared a mistrial on five other criminal counts after jurors couldn’t agree if Edwards illegally used campaign money to hide his pregnant mistress as he ran for president in 2008.

An itinerary for the Florida event says Edwards will speak for about 45 minutes as part of a program entitled, “Historic Trials of the Century.” Edwards earned millions as a personal injury lawyer before entering politics.

Messages left at PMP seeking comment about the firm’s booking of Edwards received no response. A woman who answered the phone said the June event would be closed to the media.

Efforts to reach Edwards on Thursday were also unsuccessful.

Edwards said after his trial last year that he hoped to someday open an advocacy law firm to serve indigent clients and find a way to positively contribute to society.

Wade Smith, a Raleigh defense lawyer who served as Edwards’ mentor early in his legal career, said he saw Edwards recently and that he looked “so much better, more relaxed.”

Smith said Edwards hadn’t told him he had reactivated his law license, but he was not surprised.

“He’s got so much ability and talent,” Smith said of Edwards, the 2004 Democratic vice-presidential nominee. “Lawyers who saw him in front of a jury will tell you they never saw anything like him, his ability to connect. That talent is still in there and I think he will find a space to use it.”

Since his highly publicized trial, Edwards has shunned public attention and lived quietly at his North Carolina home, a sprawling gated estate outside Chapel Hill that he shares with his two school-age children.

If he finds a way to successfully reenter public life, Edwards will follow other high-flying politicians whose careers were derailed by sex scandals only to make a comeback, including former New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer and former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford. Spitzer has worked as a political commentator, and Sanford was recently elected in a special election for a congressional seat in his home state.

After his trial ended last year, Edwards stood on the steps of the federal courthouse in Greensboro and made an emotional public apology.

“While I do not believe I did anything illegal, or ever thought I was doing anything illegal, I did an awful, awful lot that was wrong and there is no one else responsible for my sins,” Edwards said.

The six-week-long trial recounted the most intimate details of Edwards’ affair with former campaign videographer Rielle Hunter, with whom the then-married presidential candidate fathered a daughter. At the time, Edwards’ wife Elizabeth was batting cancer; she died in late 2010.

At issue in the criminal case was about $1 million in unreported funds secretly provided by two wealthy campaign donors used to care for Hunter during her pregnancy, moving her quietly across the country on private jets between a series of luxury resorts and homes.

Edwards, who turns 60 next month, said last year he looked forward to making a positive contribution again.

“I don’t think God’s through with me,” Edwards said. “I really believe he thinks there’s still some good things I can do.”

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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Freewheeling? No.

Artistic? No.

High scoring? Definitely not.

Compelling and can’t miss? Without a doubt.

There’s something magical about the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers facing off in a playoff series. A four-decade absence in playoff competition will do that.

Forget the nostalgia. These are two teams that will mirror each other in approach and intensity every night.

LISTEN: BRUINS’ CAMPBELL ON 98.5 THE SPORTS HUB

The television broadcasts will be compelling. However, the in-person thumping that will take place at the two gardens — TD and Madison Square — will be thunderous.

It seems likely that the team that survives will be huge underdogs against the Pittsburgh Penguins (assuming they dispose of the pesky Ottawa Senators) in the Eastern Conference finals. However, that survivor will be battle-tested and somewhat vicious once the current series is over.

LUNDQVIST, SHOT-BLOCKING RANGERS READY TO DROP THE PUCK IN BOSTON

The Rangers have the advantage at the start of the series. The Bruins’ defense is awfully depleted, and it’s not likely that defensemen Dennis Seidenberg, Andrew Ference and Wade Redden will play in the opener.

Zdeno Chara is usually the Boston defenseman who gets the most attention, but Seidenberg is clearly the second best of the group. He is a big thumper himself and can carry the puck out of trouble. Ference is a smart and underrated player who can step up into the attack.

Rangers fans certainly know Redden. John Tortorella banished him when he didn’t fit the coach’s eye, and he was a trade-deadline pickup for the Bruins. Redden has been well worth the sixth-round draft pick that he cost them.

HARTNETT: BLUESHIRTS IN 6

The Bruins will use youngsters Dougie Hamilton, Matt Bartkowski and Torey Krug in their place if the veteran trio can’t play. Hamilton is a future star, but he is mistake-prone at this point. So are the other two, but that didn’t stop Bartkowski from playing a strong Game 7 against Toronto.

The Rangers are going to have to attack the Bruins with their strong forechecking game. That’s the way both teams play on a regular basis, but with three young defensemen in the lineup, it will almost certainly pay huge dividends for the Rangers.

There’s bound to be some nervousness, and mistakes are likely. The Rangers must be like piranhas after the first hint of blood in the water.

Henrik Lundqvist will get tested at some point in the series, but if there’s one game in which the Rangers should leave him to his own devices and go into a full-fledged attack mode, it’s this one.

The Bruins are going to be using young defensemen who will likely make mistakes. Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask may be left hung out to dry on several occasions if the Rangers attack with ferocity.

CBS BOSTON’S BRUINS-RANGERS PREVIEW

If the Rangers give up a breakaway or two, it’s no big deal. They have Lundqvist in the net.

Do you think he’s going to give up more than one goal? Not the way he’s been playing.

The Rangers have an opportunity in Game 1 to set the tone of the series. The Bruins are still in the clouds after their seventh-game miracle comeback vs. Toronto.

They will eventually focus, but it won’t be in the first game.

It is the Rangers’ game for the taking.