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First Look: Staff Photojournalist Jill Knight's raw edit from the Pieces of Gold dress rehearsal at Memorial Auditorium on Tuesday, March 11, 2014 in Raleigh.

Scenes from Pieces of Gold rehearsals

Explore some of Tuesday's Pieces of Gold dress rehearsals by Wake County students at Memorial...

Buttermilk Cake with Fresh Strawberries and Cream is from "The Foster's Market Cookbook," by Sara Foster with Sarah Belk King.

Find hundreds of great recipes

Find your favorite recipes from The News & Observer in this easy-to-use database.

Sports

Miami's Tonye Jekiri (23) and Rion Brown (15) celebrate their 87-77 victory over North Carolina in the ACC Championship game against Miami on Sunday March 17, 2013 at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C.

DeCock: Saturdays are better days to celebrate ACC title

In the post-expansion era, the ACC tournament means more than it has in a long time. So why not move the title game to Saturday, when the champion wouldn't be quickly eclipsed by the NCAA tournament?

Local/State News

Cory Olson, foreground, and Ben Martin of Raleigh relax in hammocks Tuesday, March 11, 2014, at the Dorothea Dix campus in Raleigh. The state’s new appraisal puts a lower value on the property, paving the way for negotiations to begin with Raleigh on a new deal for the city’s park plan.

Negotiations begin between Raleigh, state for Dorothea Dix property

Armed with new appraisals and environmental studies, Raleigh and state officials are restarting negotiations on an agreement to turn the 325-acre Dorothea Dix property into a park.

Business

Morinaga America Foods finished buying 21 acres of land near Mebane on Monday, closing the deal with Orange County for a new factory. Construction could start within weeks. The factory is expected to begin production by June 2015.

Mebane candy factory construction set to begin

Work on a new factory near Mebane for Japanese candy maker Morinaga & Co. will begin in a few weeks, said Orange County's economic development officer. 1 hour ago

Politics

The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President, N.C. NAACP and architect of the Forward Together Moral Movement, dances and sings with participants in the Rally to Restore the Voting Rights Act to Full Strength on Tuesday, March 11, 2014, outside the N.C. State Capitol building in Raleigh.

Voting Rights Act caravan to DC stops in Raleigh

A caravan of civil rights activists from Alabama stopped in North Carolina's capital to bring attention to efforts to restore portions of the Voting Rights Act to more Southern states.

More than four days after a Malaysian jetliner went missing on route to Beijing, authorities acknowledged Wednesday they didn't know in which direction the plane and its 239 passengers was heading when it disappeared, vastly complicating efforts to... 18 minutes ago

Living

Ribollita, topped with bread and cheese, is a hearty – and healthy – blend of beans, tomatoes and kale.

Make vegetables the star of winter stews

New York Times food writer Mark Bittman offers a healthier take on cooking up a stew. There's more complexity and interest in a stew of vegetables, with or without a little meat, than there is in the typical American version of "beef stew." 3 hours ago