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FILE - In this Nov. 25, 2011, file photo, charity workers dressed as Santa Claus walk up Fifth Avenue in New York during the Volunteers of America annual Sidewalk Santa Parade to raise money for holiday food for needy residents. Volunteers of America-Greater New York says the parade and its Sidewalk Santa fundraising efforts have been retired, and the organization is using other more effective ways to raise money for its "Hope and Hearth" food voucher program. The parade traditionally took place the Friday after Thanksgiving to kick off the organization's program that would have Santas trying to get donations from people passing by their sidewalk locations.

Strange but true

News that's a little off the beaten path.

Photos from the 20th Annual Jingle Ball hosted by the Capital City Clauses at Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh.

Photos: Jingle Ball in Raleigh

See photos from the Jingle Ball at Marbles Kids Museum.

Brendan Sonnone, who covers Florida State for the Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel, discusses Saturday's ACC Championship Game between FSU and Duke from the perspective of the Sunshine State. 4 minutes ago

Local/State News

A sign cautions visitors outside a "pump and treat" facility on the Marine base at Camp Lejeune, N.C., on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. The sprawling installation is the site of one of the worst drinking water contaminations in U.S. history.

CDC: Water at Marine base linked to birth defects

A long-awaited study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a link between tainted tap water at a U.S. Marine Corps base in North Carolina and increased risk of serious birth defects and childhood cancers. 11 minutes ago

Business

A new home on the corner of Bennettwood Ct.. and W. Millbrook Rd. in the Bennett Place subdivision in NW Raleigh is worked on Oct. 1, 2013. New single-family building permits were up 35 percent in Wake County through the first eight months of the year, according to data compiled by the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County.

Triangle jobless rate flat in October as region added 6,000 jobs

The Triangle's jobless rate was flat in October even as the region added 6,000 jobs in a range of sectors. The single biggest monthly jobs gain this year, it puts the Triangle on track to add a respectable 25,000 jobs this year. 1 minute ago

Politics

Stacks of paperwork await members of the House Agriculture Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 15, 2013, as it meets to consider proposals to the 2013 Farm Bill, including small cuts to the $80 billion-a-year food stamp program in an effort to appease conservatives who say the food aid has become too expensive. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

U.S. farm bill has big impact in NC

North Carolina has a lot riding on the outcome of a closed-door drama now playing out in Washington as Congress works against a deadline this month to hammer out divisions in a new five-year farm bill. 3 hours ago

Nation/World News

Dec. 7, 2005-former South African President Nelson Mandela, 87, is in a jovial mood at the Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg, where he met with the winner and runner-up of the local "Idols" competition.

Nelson Mandela, 20th century colossus, dies at 95

Nelson Mandela, who became one of the world's most beloved statesmen and a colossus of the 20th century when he emerged from 27 years in prison to negotiate an end to white minority rule in South Africa, has died. He was 95. 1 minute ago