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Carolina Panthers' Josh Thomas, left, reaches out to hug his son, Dallas, 2, right, after an NFL football practice at their training camp in Spartanburg, S.C., Tuesday, July 29, 2014.

The Day's Best | 07.29.14

See some of the best photographs from around the world

An Apple employee holds up the new iPad Air on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013, in San Francisco. Apple unveiled a new, thinner, lighter tablet called the "iPad Air" along with a slew of new Macs Tuesday at an event in San Francisco. The iPad Air weighs just 1 pound, compared with 1.4 pounds for the previous version. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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Sports

Kinston's Brandon Ingram drives to the basket during a game against Jacksonville Northside in the Men's 2A NCHSAA Regional earlier this year.

UNC basketball recruiting: Names to know in the 2015 and 2016 classes

UNC is targeting top prospects Ivan Rabb and Stephen Zimmerman in the 2015 class, and Harry Giles, a top in-state prospect, remains an important target in the class of 2016.

Canes’ Staal has minor surgery
NCAA settles head-injury suit, will change rules 27 minutes ago
LaRose signs AHL contract with Checkers
ESPN suspends Smith for comments on abuse 27 minutes ago

Local/State News

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer Patti Melchione motions a man through the metal detector in the TSA Pre-Check lane at Raleigh-Durham International Airport Tuesday, July 29, 2014. The TSA has opened an application center in Raleigh for its TSA Pre-Check program. TSA is a program that allows low-risk travelers to experience expedited security screening at participating U.S. airports including RDU. TSA Pre-Check is a component of TSA’s intelligence-driven, risk-based security approach used to provide the most effective security in the most efficient manner.

More RDU travelers take the TSA Pre-Check fast lane

The Transportation Security Administration has opened an office in North Raleigh to take applications for the TSA Pre-Check expedited screening program.

Gym shirts made of Kevlar. Underpants featuring “anti-odor technology.” No-sweat briefs. Lycra made of corn. And exercise shorts designed with Cordura, a rugged material most often associated with things like car seats and luggage.

Politics

Same-sex couple Jane Blackburn and Lyn McCoy explain why they would like to be able to get married in North Carolina. A U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Monday declared that Virginia's ban on marriage for same-sex couples is unconstitutional. North Carolina has a similar law.

ACLU plans to move quickly in NC to invalidate same-sex marriage ban

With the new federal appeals court ruling striking Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage, civil rights attorneys from the ACLU said Tuesday that they plan to return to court in North Carolina within the next week to push ahead with legal challenges ...

Nation/World News

Water is cleared from the floor of Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles after a water main broke on Tuesday, July 29, 2014.

Broken water main floods UCLA; 5 people rescued

A broken water main near the UCLA campus Tuesday sent a geyser of water some 30 feet into the air, trapping people in underground parking garages and covering some of the best-known parts of campus in water, including the school's famed basketball... 22 minutes ago