Raleigh News and Observer

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Thirteen people who were sterilized in a state-sponsored program shared their stories Wednesday with a governor-appointed task force that will recommend ways to compensate them.

Although 65 years have passed since Jack Johnson died, the best boxer of his time remains a person of much social and political dialogue.

The first African-American heavyweight world champion was 68 when he was pronounced dead in St. Agnes Hospital on June 10, 1946, following a car crash about 20 miles north of Raleigh.

For young people in North Carolina, getting that bronzed summer glow could become more complicated and costly.

The Youth Skin Cancer Prevention Act, a bill sponsored by three senators who also are doctors, would require people younger than 18 to have a physician's prescription to tan indoors.

Opponents say the legislation encroaches on parental rights and goes too far in regulating an industry that already faces many restrictions. Those in favor say it would help to reduce melanoma, one of the most common and dangerous forms of skin cancer for adolescents and young adults, significantly cutting treatment costs.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Researchers have found that young adults may be much more likely to have high blood pressure -- traditionally a problem for older people -- than previously thought.

The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill researchers think the growing national problems with diet, obesity and sedentary lifestyles are largely to blame for the increase.

Talk all you want about the value of social media and the role it plays in our lives and businesses. But in the end, for some, Twitter is just a way to insert foot into mouth with breathtaking new speed.

The world of sports has always harbored its own strain of homophobia, but two incidents last week showed how Twitter has changed the way people respond.

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- Gunfire on a distant range and the roar of cargo planes overhead are the sounds usually associated with paratroopers in training. Now add to those the halting conversation between American soldiers practicing Dari.

"Nice to meet you," reads the English translation of a phrase written in the Perso-Arabic script taped to a wall.

"What is your name?"

"I am from America."

Since January, 64 paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team have spent their days learning to read, write and speak basic Dari, the most common language among the people of Afghanistan, and delving into the country's culture and history.

The Army has taught the same 16-week course at Fort Drum in New York, Fort Polk in Louisiana and Fort Campbell in Kentucky. Marine Corps base Camp Lejeune will graduate its first class this summer from a 52-week course in Dari, Pashtu and Urdu, two other languages of the region.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- You don't get to 900 wins without knowing the X's and O's of basketball, without recruiting, without leading and without all the other attributes that go into coaching.

College basketball at its highest level is a complicated and many-faceted game, full of variations in both strategy and tactics from program to program, game to game and possession to possession.

Once in a while, when two evenly matched teams meet, part of the margin between winning and losing can come down to simple motivation. Mike Krzyzewski went back to basics in that department Sunday to get his 900th win.