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“Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home.”

Chew On This: A quicker path to homemade ice cream

Food writer Andrea Weigl finds ice cream inspiration from Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream cookbooks.

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.

Local/State News

NC House Speaker Thom Tillis, left, and NC Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger added their comments about the cooperation between the NC Legislature and the Governor's office at Ragsdale High School Monday morning, Feb. 10, 2014 in securing raises for beginning teachers and also for thousands of state employees during the 2014-15 year.

NC GOP legislative leaders roll out compromise budget

House and Senate leaders outlined an agreement Tuesday that boosts teacher pay an average 7 percent. With the agreement, lawmakers are now on a path toward adjournment after a month-long stalemate. 2 hours ago

Business

Spools of Lycra fibers in the making lab at the INVISTA Applied Research Centre in Newark, Del., July 22, 2014. As outfits based around yoga pants have become increasingly popular as streetwear, the sale of athletic apparel has exploded. Retailers and brands, still struggling with a cautious consumer climate, are desperately in search of the next hot item. (Jessica Kourkounis/The New York Times)

Novel fabrics help sell workout clothing

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

Attorney Steve Berman speaks at a news conference Tuesday, July 29, 2014, in Chicago after the NCAA agreed Tuesday to settle a class-action head-injury lawsuit by creating a $70 million fund to diagnose thousands of current and former college athletes to determine if they suffered brain trauma playing football, hockey, soccer and other contact sports.

NCAA settles head-injury suit, will change rules

The NCAA agreed on Tuesday to help athletes with head injuries in a proposed settlement of a class-action lawsuit that college sports' governing body touted as a major step forward but that critics say doesn't go nearly far enough. 2 hours ago

Nation/World News

A Palestinian firefighter on the scene of a fire at the main power plant, which was reportedly hit by shelling overnight, in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, July 29, 2014. Israeli airstrikes flattened the vacant four-story home of Hamas's top political leader in the Gaza Strip and destroyed offices of the organization's radio and television station early Tuesday, broadening Israel's targets as diplomacy toward a cease-fire sputtered in confusion on the battle's 22nd day.

Shelling of UN school kills 15 as Gaza war rages

Israeli tank shells slammed into a crowded U.N. school Wednesday sheltering Gazans displaced by fighting, killing 15 and wounding 90 after tearing through the walls of two classrooms, a spokesman for a U.N. aid agency and a health official said. 13 minutes ago

Living

Many chefs and cooks have their own way of cooking rice, making it difficult to pin down the perfect method.

Fluffy, tasty, tricky: The secrets to perfect rice

Of the many ways I can be humbled in the kitchen, rice is at the top of the list. I’m not a bad cook but, oh, the pots of rice I have driven to a gummy, scorched grave.

Entertainment

Employees of a rat extermination company check out for rats in The Tuileries gardens of the Louvre Muesum in Paris, France, Tuesday, July 29, 2014. Rats have been on the rampage on the grass in broad daylight, defying death threats from sanitation workers.

Elegant Louvre Garden in Paris infested with rats

Rats are on the rampage in the elegant garden of the Louvre Museum, so bold they romp on the grass in broad daylight, defying death threats from sanitation workers and scaring tourists.

Opinion

Roy Cooper rightly suspends defense of same-sex marriage ban

The US Supreme Court ultimately will decide gay marriage legality, and North Carolina should not engage in a costly fight for a law that's unlikely to survive. 3 hours ago

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