Gov. Mike Easley is going to endorse U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, according to Tom Hendrickson, a former state Democratic Party chairman who is a key Clinton supporter in North Carolina.

Easley agreed to the endorsement after returning from an economic development trip to Italy. Clinton will fly to Raleigh today for an early morning news conference with Easley at N.C. State's Bio-manufacturing Training and Education Center.

The event is not open to the public.

"We are excited about this opportunity," Hendrickson said.

Easley's office declined to comment.

An Easley endorsement would be the first endorsement for Clinton from a major North Carolina political figure.

Three members of North Carolina's congressional delegation have endorsed Sen. Barack Obama.

Easley does not have the sort of political machine that Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania used to help deliver votes for Clinton in that state.

But Easley is popular with rural, white, blue-collar Democrats, the sort of voters that Clinton has successfully targeted in wins in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

The Clintons have been quietly courting Easley, who is also a Democratic superdelegate, for months. Former President Clinton has had numerous telephone conversations with Easley.

Obama forms 'truth squad'

They are the N.C. Truth Squad.

Their mission? To "make sure that the truth is shared with North Carolinians."

Their outfits? Capes, with a large purple "T" and a lightning bolt.

Okay, we made up that last one.

But it is true that Obama announced Monday the creation of an N.C. Truth Squad, the job of which, according to Obama state director Craig Schirmer, is to "make sure that the truth is shared with North Carolinians."

Of course, that would be the truth as seen from the Obama camp.

The squad is supposed to set the record straight on the candidate's records and, according to Schirmer, respond to "misleading messages from any corner -- especially those that the Clinton campaign has tried here in North Carolina and in other states."

So, who are the members of the N.C. Truth Squad?

They are U.S. Reps. David Price, Mel Watt and G.K. Butterfield, former state House Speaker Dan Blue, and state Reps. Pricey Harrison and Ty Harrell.

Poll finds Perdue ahead

Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue has the biggest lead over Treasurer Richard Moore that Public Policy Polling has seen since March in the Democratic primary for governor, according to PPP's newest poll in the Democratic race for governor.

Perdue was the choice of 47 percent of those surveyed. Moore was the choice of 33 percent.

PPP surveyed 1,121 likely Democratic primary voters on April 26-27. The survey's margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.

Cheney was here, then gone

Vice President Dick Cheney arrived in the Triangle on Monday afternoon, went to a private residence in Raleigh for a fundraiser and left Monday evening.

There were no public events.

The fundraiser was for voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts for the state Republican party.

Calls raise concern

State elections officials are asking for the public's help in identifying the source of misleading and potentially illegal robocalls.

In at least one version of the call, a man says that voter registration packets must be returned before a person can vote. The State Board of Elections released a transcript of the call: "Hello, this is Lamont Williams. In the next few days, you will receive a voter registration packet in the mail. All you need to do is sign it, date it and return your application. Then you will be able to vote and make your voice heard. Please return the voter registration form when it arrives. Thank you."

Bob Hall, executive director of Democracy North Carolina, said in a news release that the calls were being made to African-American households. The good government watchdog posted audio of the call.

"This is another in a long line of deceptive practices used in North Carolina and elsewhere that particularly target African-American voters," Hall said. "In our view, this phone message plainly violates North Carolina law. We ask the attorney general, State Bureau of Investigation, and the State Board of Elections to investigate, expose, and prosecute the sponsors of these calls."

Hall said that in North Carolina, it is a Class I felony for any person "to misrepresent the law to the public through mass mailing or any other means of communication where the intent and the effect is to intimidate or discourage potential voters from exercising their lawful right to vote."

The state board is asking anyone with information about the source of the calls to contact the State Board of Elections at 733-7173 or (866) 522-4723.