The UNC-Chapel Hill student became famous in October when staffers for Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards tried to kill a broadcast piece she produced for Carolina Week.

The Edwards crew saw the piece because she posted it on YouTube before it aired in order to qualify for an MTV "Choose or Lose" campaign.

MTV announced last week that it had chosen Babb to be one of 51 "citizen journalists" to cover the presidential and congressional races next year.

"We hope to find out whether or not our most important political event -- the election of a president -- matters to young people and whether or not it matters more when it comes to them through the lens of their issues and the screen of their cell phone," said Eric Newton, vice president of journalism at the Knight Foundation, which is co-sponsoring the coverage.

Ad mimics movie promo

One of Edwards' latest ads is a spoof of movie trailers.

It even comes with its own MPAA rating: CG, for Caucus Going Audiences.

But the tone of the ad -- "In a world where corn grows tall, and hope grows taller" -- is so close to the usual over-the-top campaign fodder that it has left some wondering whether it's a spoof.

On Halloween, the Edwards camp put out a similarly spoofy mock front page of a newspaper.

How dare they

Officials with the Edwards campaign complained last week about an "underhanded trick" by allies of his rival, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The Edwards campaign was upset by a direct-mail piece attacking the health-care plan of Sen. Barack Obama that they said made it appear that the criticism was coming from Edwards.

"There have been a lot of misleading tactics and tricks in the last few weeks, but we've never seen anything like this before," said Jen O'Malley Dillon, Edwards' Iowa director.

The flier was put out by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

"For those without insurance Barack Obama's band-aid solution is no change at all," said the flier.

Although AFSCME is backing Clinton, it made no mention of Clinton. But it did include a quote from Edwards criticizing Obama's plan.

Auditor's new site

The Office of State Auditor has redesigned its Web site.

The site has a service that allows the public to receive by e-mail all audits, reviews and releases produced by the office. The site is also easier to search for specific audits or reports, officials said in a news release.

The auditor's office "has been a leader in applying technology to the auditing process and our redesigned website compliments this work by increasing the public's ability to find the audits and reports we publish," said State Auditor Les Merritt.

Visitors can also use the site, www.ncauditor.net/pub2, to submit a tip to the auditor's hot line.

A legislative hall of shame

If Democratic Rep. Thomas Wright of Wilmington is expelled from the state House next year as the result of recent criminal indictments that he defrauded banks, corporations and political donors, he can take solace in the fact that he is not alone.

Between 1757 and 1880, at least 13 politicians were kicked out of the legislature for crimes as diverse as war profiteering, fraud, libel and blasphemy.

All this week, Under the Dome will take a closer look at The Expelled.

Today's installment:

WILLIAM GILBERT

EXPELLED: 1779

REASON: War Profiteering

Born in Ireland, William Gilbert became a rich man in North Carolina.

As the largest landowner in Tryon (now Rutherford) County, he owned a home that did double-duty as a tavern and the county seat. In 1779, he was elected to the state House.

That year, he was expelled for allegedly duplicating his vouchers while working as a commissary of the county militia.

Undaunted, Gilbert ran again and was re-elected, serving until 1783.

During that time, the Rutherford County court heard testimony on the fraud charges and issued an opinion that Gilbert "never plundered, nor was guilty of plundering, to our knowledge."

At the time, he was in charge of the court, though, so the value of that decision is questionable.

As one historian noted, the truth "in all likelihood will never be known."

"THE DICTIONARY OF NORTH CAROLINA BIOGRAPHY," EDITED BY WILLIAM S. POWELL; "THE HISTORY OF TRYON AND RUTHERFORD COUNTIES," BY CLARENCE GRIFFIN