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A Democratic Republic of Congo soccer fan reacts during the African Cup of Nations quarter final soccer match between Congo and DR Congo in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Day's Best | 01.31.15

See some of the day's best photos from around the world

Cheerleading at Morehead School for the Blind

Listen to Cassidy Hooper, a student at the Governor Morehead School for the Blind, talk about her...

Standing between New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and a fourth Super Bowl ring are the defending champion Seattle Seahawks, the league’s top-ranked defense – and its young quarterback Russell Wilson. Game on.

Local/State News

Henry McCollum and his half brother, Leon Brown, are happy to be out of prison, but the adjustment to life on the outside has been hard.

For Henry McCollum and Leon Brown, freedom has a cost

Months after being exonerated of rape and murder, Henry McCollum and Leon Brown face financial and personal hardships. They await a pardon from the governor and compensation from the state.

Business

After being laid off from her textile factory job in 2008, Lisa Land moved in to offer her father, Ray Land, full-time care.

More people lose out as middle class shrinks further

The middle class that President Barack Obama identified in his State of the Union speech last month as the foundation of the American economy has been shrinking for almost half a century, the main reason being that more people have fallen to the bottom...

Politics

Judith Linder boards a Route 1 Capital Area Transit bus in front of Tarrymore Square shopping center on Capital Boulevard.

Christensen: Raleigh needs buses, not rail

Before Raleigh sinks huge bundles of money into a light-rail system, a stronger case needs to be made, given limited resources. Instead, our bus system should be expanded and more bus shelters erected.

Nation/World News

Maximiano Vazquez-Guevara, left, his wife Ashley Bowen, and their 6-year-old daughter, Nevaeh Vazquez, pose for a photo outside their home Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015, in the northeast Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colo. The presidential executive order that fast-tracked immigration hearings for last summer's flood of Central American migrants may have had unintended consequences in canceling hearings for non-detained immigrants with longstanding cases such as Vazquez-Guevara. Vazquez-Guevarra, 34, recently won his appeal to become a legal permanent resident. But his case still needs to go in front of an immigration judge one last time, and it has been pulled from the docket. Thousands of immigrants seeking legalization through the U.S. court system have had their hearings canceled and are being told by the government that it may be 2019 or later before their futures are resolved.

Immigrants could wait until 2019 to have cases resolved

Thousands of immigrants seeking legalization through the U.S. court system have had their hearings canceled. 1 hour ago

Living

Dr. Steve Loehr, center, is a radiologist whose 14-employee practice includes Diane Stiehle, left, and Sharyne Candler, R.N., right. He says procedures done at his Cary facility, Triangle Vascular Associates, cost less than when he does them at a hospital.

Blue Cross pricing tool could shake up medical industry

A new online database from Blue Cross and Blue Shield provides average reimbursements paid to hundreds of doctors and hospitals across North Carolina. 1 hour ago

Entertainment

Patricia Morton of Charlotte, an arts and civic activist who was recently elected chair of the board of the National Humanities Center, photographed at the Bechtler Museum on Monday, December 15, 2014. Morton sits on the board of directors of the Bechtler Museum, and is founder and CEO of PRM Advisors in Charlotte. In addition to her work with the National Humanities Center, she is a member of the board of directors of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, a trustee of Johnson C. Smith University, and a member of the national advisory boards for Carolina Performing Arts at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University.

National Humanities Center taps former Durham resident Patricia Morton as leader

Longtime Charlotte civic activist Patricia Morton takes her can-do spirit to a national arts organization. Morton, 59, is the first woman to lead the board since the center opened in 1978. The last North Carolina chairman was former UNC system president...