60 In his first public appearance in North Carolina in the general election, John McCain cast himself as the fighter America needs to face its enemies abroad and to restore the economy at home. www.newsobserver.com/1254236 It was a first night for black, all right: The first black mark on the Carolina Hurricanes' record. www.newsobserver.com/1254209 The state Division of Public Health is partnering with Latino community leaders and other organizations to offer HIV testing in Raleigh and elsewhere in the state Wednesday. www.newsobserver.com/1254408 Army officials are investigating the second death of a soldier since summer on Fort Bragg. www.newsobserver.com/1254332 The latest issue in North Carolina's governor's race is garbage. www.newsobserver.com/1253854 The Dow Jones industrial average jumped more than 300 points in early trading today on top of yesterday's historic 936-point gain. Wall Street surged again today as investors reacted enthusiastically to the U.S. government's plans to spend $250 billion to buy stock in private banks. www.newsobserver.com/1254329 Wake County school board members will find out today which construction projects might have to be delayed due to the troubled economy. www.newsobserver.com/1254347 A North Carolina prosecutor says that an extradition fight waged by a Marine who fled to Mexico shortly before he was charged with killing a pregnant comrade could delay or endanger the chances of him going to trial in the U.S. www.newsobserver.com/1253803 College students communicate with text messages clicked out on cell phones. They take class notes on their laptops. Yet, when they take an American history exam, they do what students a generation earlier did: They scribble in a blue book. www.newsobserver.com/1254226 A month later, Hurricane Ike is a distant memory -- except at Triangle gas pumps. Gas prices are higher in the Triangle than anywhere else in North Carolina, according to the Oil Price Information Service. www.newsobserver.com/1254220