Breaking News } Flash Flood Watch for Johnston county.

Commentary:  The provocative Time magazine cover asks “Are you mom enough?” I say enough of pitting mother against mother.

On Sunday, Sandra Brooks will greet Mother’s Day the same way she has begun every morning since the gray November day that her son, Jordan Hamilton, left to train for his deployment to Afghanistan: praying for strength.

During Veronica Armstrong’s childhood, her small shoulders carried large burdens into chaotic houses all over Wake and Johnston counties and in and out of two group homes and two foster homes.

Commentary:  Reining in government budgets is all the more difficult when it results in disrupting the lives of the disabled.

The Capital Area Teen Court, which offers a second chance to youth, received much-needed help from recent fund-raisers.

I’m happy that Burgetta Eplin Wheeler (April 13 column) draws inspiration from words intended to be inspiring and that her son tries to contribute to those who need. Those of us who have followed the exploits of Newt Gingrich have long known he is a good speaker, capable of spouting inspiring cliches to any audience.

Regarding Burgetta Eplin Wheeler’s praise of Newt Gingrich (April 13 column) for what she called wisdom and lessons to teach children.

As the presidential candidate shares his principles for a successful life, I find myself wishing people would listen to others — even politicians they disagree with.

Every afternoon, an automatic phone call from the sheriff’s office rings in homes of Wake’s shut-ins and elderly singles. If the first call isn’t answered, a second goes out. Let a second call go unanswered, and a deputy is on the way to make sure everything is OK.

Melinda Schmitt shares kindness and gratitude with a question: “May I hug you?”

Wheeler:  I kept going back to that beautiful smile accentuated by those bright, brown eyes - and then picturing Michelle Young's perfect teeth knocked out of her mouth.

Wheeler:  Pitiful. Disturbing. Confusing and upsetting. That's how three 30-year Wake County real estate veterans describe the new school assignment plan that forces them - and those selling their homes - to answer prospective buyers with "I have no idea" when the all-important question "Where will my child go to school?" comes up.

Wheeler:  Assess risks. Shore up weaknesses. Weigh consequences. Tally costs. We seem to have skipped a few of those steps on our way to implementing the nearly incomprehensible Wake County schools assignment plan.

Wheeler:  We know how to fix failing families. We just don't have the willpower.

Wheeler:  An astonishing 41 percent of all births in the United States these days are to unmarried women, and demographic trends show that number is going nowhere but up. Mitch Silver, Raleigh's planning director, tracks such data so that the city will not be caught in a crisis.

Wheeler:  Any hardworking, caring parent who has fought the urge to knock teeth down a rebellious teenage throat through which ungratefulness is spewing understands why Tommy Jordan shot his daughter's laptop computer.

Wheeler:  Average yearly cost of providing More at Four services to help an at-risk 4-year-old be ready for school in North Carolina: $5,031. Average yearly cost of housing a convict in a North Carolina prison: $27,000.