William Barber II, president of the state's NAACP chapter, said Monday he has news of a "major" development in the case of James Johnson, a Wilson man who was jailed for three years for a murder he says he did not commit.

Barber refused to provide details, but is holding a press conference at the Durham office of the NAACP at 11 a.m. today.

Johnson was charged with rape and murder in 2004 after the death of Brittany Willis, a Wilson teenager who was carjacked at a shopping center. Another man is serving a life sentence for the crime. He originally implicated Johnson, then recanted.

Recently, the NAACP has been encouraging U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield to find out who is handling the review of Johnson's case. Johnson was released from jail in September after a judge reduced his bond from $1 million to $60,000 and granted a request for an outside review of the case. Supporters of Johnson, who is black, have accused Assistant District Attorney Bill Wolfe, who is white, of pursuing the prosecution because of race. No physical evidence links Johnson to the murder of the white teenager.

Butterfield, a Wilson Democrat, wrote to the Administrative Office of the Courts requesting information about who was handling the case and how it was being handled. The administrative office confirmed that Forsyth Assistant District Attorney Belinda Foster, a prosecutor in Winston-Salem, has been reviewing the case. It remains under review.

Johnson's supporters, including the NAACP, have become increasingly concerned about the review process of the case.

Education on lottery

The lottery wants more people to know where the money went.

Since the first tickets went on sale in March 2006, the N.C. Education Lottery has raised $455 million for education programs.

Lottery officials recently mailed a brochure listing where the money went, county by county.

The brochure was first mailed to all state legislators. Next, officials plan to send it to school superintendents and county boards of commissioners.

Lottery cash, 35 percent of every ticket sold in fiscal 2007, was divided among More at Four, class- size reduction, school construction and college scholarships.

Lottery director Tom Shaheen said he doesn't think enough people remember that the lottery is simply a fundraising mechanism for education.

"I don't think that the education factor has caught on here," Shaheen said.

Edwards endorsed

Iowa's Democratic governor, Chet Culver, is not endorsing a presidential candidate.

But his wife, Mari Culver, endorsed John Edwards on Monday.

Mari Culver, a lawyer, told The Des Moines Register that she first met Edwards at a conference in 2001. She told the paper she thinks Edwards is the Democrats' best chance to win in November.

"He's been tested," she told the newspaper. "He's been on the national ticket before. The national polls show him beating all Republicans in the general elections. He inspires me. I think he inspires other Iowans, and I think he can really rally Americans in the fall."

The Edwards campaign touted the news as a "major Iowa endorsement."

Graham hires manager

Bill Graham has named Marty Ryall as his campaign manager.

The Republican gubernatorial candidate announced today that he hired the former adviser to Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's 1993 campaign for lieutenant governor.

In a statement, Huckabee, now a presidential candidate, praised Ryall.

"I've tried twice to hire him for my presidential campaign and both times, someone has beaten me to it," he said. "They are smart to get him, and I wish I'd called sooner!"

Ryall also managed the campaigns of the late U.S. Sen. Paul Coverdell of Georgia and Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher and served as a member of the Bush-Cheney Florida recount team in 2000.

He headed the Arkansas Republican Party from 2002 to 2003.