Jerry Meek, chairman of the N.C. Democratic Party, used it to raise some money.

And the folks at the N.C. Republican Party, who set the political pot to boiling with its new ad linking Democratic gubernatorial candidates Richard Moore and Beverly Perdue to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, were wondering what all the fuss is about.

The ad, which the state party says it plans to start airing next week, has prompted condemnations from Republicans and Democrats. McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, has called on state GOP officials to pull the ad.

Officials at WRAL-TV said Thursday that they would not air the ad.

"I think it is inflammatory," said Jim Hefner, vice president and general manager at WRAL. "If that spot was about Senator Obama, that would be one thing. What do Perdue and Moore have to do with Barack Obama's minister?"

Unlike with ads sponsored by political candidates, the station is under no legal obligation to run an issue ad sponsored by a political party, Hefner said.

Brent Woodcox, a spokesman for the state Republican party, said he didn't understand why a television station would refuse to air the ad. He said the party has received a lot of support, much of it financial, from people in North Carolina and across the country.

"We have certainly seen an increase in fundraising," Woodcox said. "They're rolling in so fast we can't possibly keep up with them."

Meek also tried to use the ad to do some fundraising. He sent a letter to North Carolina Democrats saying the ad shows "just how out of touch North Carolina Republicans truly are."

"This much is clear: North Carolina Republicans will say anything and do anything to win," Meek wrote.

So, Meek asked Democrats to contribute $15, $25 or $50 to "prepare us for the challenges ahead."

Meanwhile, Dean said Thursday that McCain should lead his party in protesting the ad. In e-mail to supporters, Dean said that if McCain is serious about making sure the ad never runs, he should have no problem making it happen.

"This is a test of leadership for John McCain," Dean said. "If he can't pick up the phone and make members of his own party stop airing a television ad he claims to oppose, how can he lead our country through an economic crisis or the war in Iraq?"

Lumbee recognition

The Senate Indian Affairs committee has approved a bill to give the Lumbee tribe of Robeson County federal recognition.

This is as close as the tribe, estimated to be more than 40,000 members strong, has come to federal recognition. A bill passed the U.S. House last year.

The recognition gives tribal members access to federal benefits for housing, health care and education.

It also would normally allow the tribe to open casinos, but the Lumbee bill has a caveat: The tribe may not get into the gambling business.

Most federally recognized tribes have been allowed to open casinos, a business that has reaped strong financial benefits for the groups. But other tribes and some members of Congress were concerned about the Lumbee opening a casino on Interstate 95 in Robeson County.

The Senate bill, co-sponsored by Sens. Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr, now goes to the full Senate for a vote. It must be voted on by the end of the session this year and signed by President Bush in order to become law, but under Senate rules a single senator can block a full floor vote.

That could happen, because other tribes have opposed Lumbee recognition. Many worry that adding tens of thousands of new American Indians to the federal tribal rolls will stretch already limited funds.

Checking medicine

A new grant will allow consumers to access prescription information online.

Attorney General Roy Cooper said today that a settlement with the world's largest pharmaceutical company will fund the Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs program and Web site. The grant is the 29th in a series that attorneys general from across the country have made to give consumers balanced information about drugs.

The Web site will allow consumers to compare prices and safety ratings for drugs used to treat dozens of medical conditions.

"People need to know a lot more about prescription drugs than what TV ads tell them," Cooper said in a statement.

(Correspondent Emily Stephenson and David Ingram of The Charlotte Observer contributed to this report.)