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Actors and actresses of the day were a popular subject for cigarette cards.

Past Times: Kids collected cigarette trading cards in late 1800s

The collecting of trading cards goes back much further than Pokemon or even baseball cards. In 1949...

A screenshot from the new website, The Recipe, that is dedicated to recipes, food photography and how-tos based on the work of News & Observer food writer Andrea Weigl and photographer Juli Leonard.

N&O launches new The Recipe website

The News & Observer has a new cooking website featuring favorite recipes, hunger-inducing photos...

Sports

Duke guard Quinn Cook (2) throws up a three-pointer in the second half as St. John's guard D'Angelo Harrison (11) attempts to draw a foul on Duke forward Justise Winslow (12) in the second half.

Quinn Cook’s 3-point shooting key for Duke at Notre Dame

Most teams have been double-teaming Jahlil Okafor in the post. When he passes out, teammates need to hit shots. Quinn Cook did that Sunday to help give Coach K his 1,000th victory.

Local/State News

Parents and kids come and go from the split at the Oak-Rock and Pott’s Branch trailheads at Umstead State Park on a cold, clear Thursday morning.

NC state parks attendance set attendance record

A record 15.6 million people attended North Carolina's state parks and recreation areas last year, 10 percent more than in 2013, the state announced Wednesday. 12 minutes ago

Business

IBM’s Business Continuity and Resiliency Service center, a business disaster recovery hub, occupies 72,000 square feet at the IBM main campus in Research Triangle Park.

IBM layoffs hit RTP, other U.S. sites

A widely expected new round of layoffs has begun at IBM sites across the country, including its sprawling campus in Research Triangle Park. 1 hour ago

Politics

The Rev. William Barber, head of the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP, right, calls his attorney after being confronted and stopped by Lt. Martin Brock, left, with the General Assembly Police at the N.C. Legislature on Jan. 28, 2015. Barber wanted to lead his group of protesters on a walk around the rotunda on the second floor of the Legislative Building; Brock informed him he could not, citing that it would block the entrance doors to the House and Senate chambers. The Rev. Sheldon Shipman from Charlotte looks on, center. Barber's group is protesting the Republican-led lawmakers policies.

NAACP returns to Raleigh with goals, concerns for NC legislators

NAACP protesters returned to Raleigh on Wednesday hoping to visit with legislators about their concerns and goals for this General Assembly session, and they clashed with police outside the entrance doors to the North Carolina legislative chambers. 12 minutes ago

Nation/World News

Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015, before the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on her nomination.

Attorney general nominee Lynch holds her own in Senate hearing

Attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch maneuvered deftly through her confirmation hearing Wednesday, pledging to retain her independence and restore some frayed relations on Capitol Hill. 35 minutes ago

Living

Risotto with wild mushrooms always tastes luxurious, even when you buy cultivated “wild” varieties such as maitakes, enokis, shiitakes and oyster mushrooms at the supermarket.

Try this delicious risotto with wild mushrooms and peas

This luxurious risotto is perfect for an impromptu dinner party, especially if you are feeding vegetarians.

Entertainment

FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2012 file photo, Andressa Urach competes in the Miss Bumbum Brazil contest in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The 27-year-old Urach, arguably Brazil’s most outspoken advocate of advancement through cosmetic surgery, went into septic shock on Dec. 1, 2014 and was placed on life support after a botched operation to augment her thighs, sparking a debate about the risks Brazilian women will take for beauty at a moment when the nation has surpassed the U.S. as the world’s plastic surgery capital.

TV star's plastic surgery disaster tests Brazil

Andressa Urach went from being a single teenage mom nicknamed "Beanpole" to a reality TV bombshell in Brazil thanks to silicone implants, anabolic steroids, a nose job, and gel and botox injections, a fact she wasn't ashamed to share with fans. 2 minutes ago

Opinion

Patrons congregate outside Foundation cocktail bar on Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh. Some have complained that the revived area is becoming too loud.

Lower the volume on Raleigh's boom

Raleigh should heed downtown developer Greg Hatem on noise complaints.

Financial