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Deer sightings such as these were a rarity during the 2014 season in North Carolina. The harvest dropped about 20 percent.

A down year for deer hunting

For many Tar Heels, deer season was a disappointment. Not only was the harvest down, so were deer...

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.

Our new food site: The Recipe

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

Junior guard Rasheed Sulaimon has been dismissed from the Duke basketball program, coach Mike Krzyzewski announced in a statement Thursday. Krzyzewski said Sulaimon hasn't consistently lived up to the standards to be part of the basketball team. 35 minutes ago

Giglio: ACC football schedules low on appeal, high on win potential 2 hours ago
ACC releases football schedule for 2015 2 hours ago
Duke Now: Physical play takes toll on Okafor, Duke 45 minutes ago
Loss to Clemson a painful learning lesson for Wolfpack 2 hours ago

Local/State News

From right, second graders Natalia Fong, Ahngel Sanders, and Chris Granados read books donated through the WAKE Up and Read book drive at Brentwood Elementary School last summer.

Wake County group hopes to collect 100,000 children’s books

Organizers of a book drive backed by the Wake County school system hope to collect 100,000 books in February that will be distributed to thousands of children who might otherwise lack books at home to read. 13 minutes ago

Business

Detail photo of one of the large Citrix logos on its new Citrix Systems headquarters building Monday, Sept. 15, 2014, in the old Dillon Supply Warehouse expansion. Citrix recently received approval to expand into an unfinished 40,000-square- foot fourth floor addition to house additional new hires.

Citrix Systems to lay off 900 workers

Business software company Citrix Systems is planning to lay off 900 workers company-wide in a move to boost profitability. It's unclear how the layoffs will affect the company's 600-employee Raleigh office, which became an anchor of downtown's burgeoning... 2 hours ago

Politics

General Assembly Democrats held a press conference Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015, anticipating Republican bills that would ramp up regulations on abortion providers in North Carolina.

GOP legislators expected to propose additional abortion restrictions

Abortion rights supporters said Thursday they expect Republican legislators to push additional regulations they say could put many of North Carolina’s abortion clinics out of business. 3 hours ago

NC House won't take votes until McCrory's State of the State speech
Obama to seek to bust spending limits by $74 billion 3 hours ago
Attorney General nominee wins GOP endorsements 39 minutes ago
Senate passes bill approving Keystone XL oil pipeline 39 minutes ago

Nation/World News

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. smiles as he returns to his office on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015, after passing a bipartisan bill approving construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. The 62-36 vote advanced a top priority of the newly empowered GOP, which championed the legislation despite a presidential veto threat. The bill authorizes construction of the nearly 1,200-mile pipeline to carry oil primarily from Canada’s tar sands to Gulf Coast refineries.

Senate approves Keystone pipeline; Obama promises veto

The U.S. Senate passed a bill approving construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline on Thursday, setting up a showdown with President Barack Obama, who has promised to veto the measure. 2 minutes ago