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At the county's latest clinic Saturday, it took less than 30 minutes.

"Actually it was pretty fast," Raleigh resident Yesenia Lopez said. "I thought it would be a long line or whatever with it being the H1N1 shot."

Lopez came to the county sponsored swine flu clinic to get her and her children vaccinated.

"I'm pregnant," she said. "So I've heard there's a lot of people needing the shot due to that."

Lopez and all three of her children were through the line and vaccinated in less than thirty minutes.

Wake county has held 12 H1N1 clinics and organizers said more clinics have helped them become more efficient.

In addition, officials said the supply of the vaccine is increasing.

"There has been a slow process coming out from the manufacturers," Wake County Community Health Director Sue Lynn Ledford said. "That is beginning to pick up."

The county has already vaccinated more than 20,000 people, but health officials still are reserving the vaccine for those in high risk groups like pregnant women and people 24-years-old or younger.

There've been 10 flu deaths in the past two weeks alone.

In North Carolina, 48 people have died from swine flu since the end of September.

"We are well beneath where we feel we should be to hit that priority group of children, pregnant women and the others that are on the list," Ledford said.

County officials said they will continue the clinics as long as they get the vaccine.

They are urging people to check with their primary doctor before coming to a clinic to see if they have the vaccine.

The county sent vaccine supplies to more than 270 private practice doctors.

Meanwhile, Lopez is just glad she was able to get the shot.

"It's very important to get up to date with all the shots and to get vaccinated for our sake and for the sake of our children," Lopez said.

Wake County GOP Chairman Claude Pope filed a complaint Friday challenging whether the former "American Idol" runner-up can vote lawfully in the county.

Records show Aiken voted last month using the address of his mother's home in Raleigh, where he once lived. He now has a house in nearby Chatham County.

Aiken blogged last week that candidates who won Wake County school board elections are "selfish idiots" who may ruin the school system.

Pope said the challenge isn't about Aiken's words but making sure people are lawfully registered.

An Aiken publicist didn't return a phone call seeking comment.

Army officials selected Athens Drive Senior Robert Crisp to play in the 2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Only 90 student athletes from across the country are selected to play in the game in San Antonio, Texas.

Crisp says the honor is extra special because he hasn't been playing football very long.

"I was actually a basketball player before any of this ever started," he said. "I've been working pretty hard for the past two years."

It's the 10th Anniversary of the bowl.

You can see the game live on NBC-17 on January 9th.

Kick off is at 1pm.

After Darren and Lori West were laid off from their construction jobs, they immediately began looking for other sources of income.

"We were sitting around looking for work and discovered this hot dog cart making business on the Food Network channel," Lori said.

Lori is from 40 miles outside Chicago and she wanted to bring the Midwest taste to the South.

Now on the corner of Fayetteville and Hargett streets, starting at $2.50 you can get a fully-loaded, Chicago style hot dog complete with mustard, onions, relish, a pickle, tomatoes, and a pepper.

They even take credit cards

"We tried to include everybody because we feel not a lot of people are walking around with cash these days," Darren said.

The dogs are hit with transplants from the windy city and first-time Chicago dog eaters alike.

"To get right here it's 112 miles from my house and i come down here three or four times a week," Customer Ricky Conner said after trying a hot dog. "I'm gonna stop down here and get me one of these bad boys every time i come."

The West's have only been operating the hot dog stand for about a week, but they said business is going so well that they are already looking at buying another cart.

Inmate Kayin Whitfield was found unresponsive and not breathing during a regular 9:30 p.m. check. The DOC reported that medical staff performed CPR and took Whitfield to the Central Prison emergency room. He was pronounced dead at 10:20 p.m.

Whitfield's body was taken to the state medical examiner's office. Preliminary findings indicate that the death was of natural causes. An investigation and review is underway.

Whitfield had been serving a five-month sentence on for driving with a license revoked, assault on an officer and damage to property.

Williams is wanted for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution on attempted murder charges. Detectives said Williams is wanted in a shooting of a woman at an ATM on Maynard Road in Cary in June 2007.

Witnesses reported seeing Williams leaving with two other men in a burgundy Buick with a New York license tag. The other two suspects have been arrested.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Charlotte office of the FBI at 704-377-9200.

The state's Employment Security Commission on Friday reported the jobless rate continued to hover around 11 percent, as it has for nearly all of this year. September's rate was 10.8 percent.

The state's unemployment rate in October 2008 was 7 percent.

North Carolina's unemployment rate has been worse than the national average for more than a year and that continued in October, when the U.S. figure was 10.2 percent.

Construction suffered the greatest losses, shedding about 6,600 North Carolina jobs in October. Education, health services and government jobs saw the greatest employment growth.

The Smiths are each making about $7.50 an hour. Captain Greg Davis with the Salvation Army said this is the organizations way of getting more bell ringers out in the community after doubling the number of kettle locations in the area.

"Last year, we raised $175,000 and this year our goal is $350,000," Davis said.

And in order to do this, the organization is also going cashless in some locations.

"You can swipe your card to be able to give," Davis said.

Throughout the year, they have been serving more people, and this holiday season is no exception.

The Salvation Army has seen a 19 percent increase in the number of children that will benefit from the holiday program.

"This year we're already taken applications for 5,330 children. That's 1,000 more kids than last year," Davis said.

The Smiths said the most important part of the program is helping others.

"To make a lot of families happy, especially children," Smith said.

But it also helps them make ends meet.

The credit card donations will be available at four locations; the Wal-Mart in Cary at 2010 Kildaire Farm Road and in Raleigh at 6600 Glenwood Avenue. Also, at the Triangle Town Center and the Cameron Village Harris Teeter.

The cashless donations will begin the day after Thanksgiving.

"We can't go back to schools, we're doing it within Central Services," said Burns. "The impact in Central Services will ultimately reach the classroom."

Central Services is the business side of the school system and includes functions like accounts payable, computer support, maintenance of school facilities and the school system's communications department.

Changes the school system must prepare for include:
• $8 million in discretionary cuts in state funding as part of the second year of the biennial budget;
• Anticipated increase of $6 million in employee retirement, hospitalization, dental insurance and local salary supplements;
• A reduction of $3 million available from system reserves to balance the budget
• And unknown expenses associated with growth and new schools.

During the recent school board campaign, several candidates complained about Central Services' funding and called for cuts.

"I respect his decision to make all these cuts in Central Services and to protect our teachers," said newly-elected board member John Tedesco. "This is what we've been asking for and I respect his willingness to work with us in this manner."

Burns cautioned that the cuts were not a "silver bullet" that will solve problems for the long term.

"This is a fiscal response to a very challenging budget year coming up," he said. "What we're trying to do is be very proactive, to get out early so that we can make the best decisions possible."

He expects to have an estimate of recommended cuts from his staff within four to six weeks. The final budget will be presented to the Board of Education in early March.

The school board will work through the recommendations and submit their request to the Wake County Board of Commissioners by May 15.

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Officials say if the sign isn't removed by midnight Friday morning, they will start enforcing the town's sign ordinance. 

They're threatening to charge him $100 Friday, then $250 if it's not down after a three-day waiting period and eventually $500 every day after that.

Bowden said he has no intention of removing the sign until Cary agrees to buy his house.  He contends that roadwork along Maynard Road has ruined the building, and that the town should be held responsible.

"I couldn't get the Town of Cary's attention until I put the sign up. If I take the sign down, the attention's gone," said Bowden.  "All they want to do is get the sign down; they're not worried about my house."

Instead, Bowden and the American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit Thursday.

The lawsuit asks the Court to declare the Cary sign ordinance unconstitutional and to issue a temporary restraining order and an injunction against the Town, preventing the ordinance from being enforced against Bowden.

The suit claims the town is trying to silence free speech.

Town officials say the size and color of the sign -- not the message itself -- is what they have a problem with.

Firefighters were called to the two-story home located at 311 Colleton Road around 12:30 p.m.

An NBC17 crew on scene said the home appears to suffered major damage inside.

Officials continue to investigate the cause of the fire.

In a written statement, Kris Charles, spokesperson for the Kellogg Company says it has begun a program called K-LEAN or Kellogg's Lean, Efficient, Agile Network. In the process of becoming more efficient at the Cary bakery, some jobs were impacted.

Charles could not disclose how many employees work at that location or how many were affected by the decision.

"I can assure you that we're taking a fair and thoughtful approach and we are supporting impacted employees through transitions," stated Charles.

The clinics will be held on Saturday, Nov. 21 at Sunnybrook Building in Raleigh, the Northern Regional Center in Wake Forest, and Apex High School in Apex. Clinics will be open from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and will offer both the nasal and injectable forms of the vaccine.

"The last several times we have opened H1N1 vaccination clinics, we have seen long lines throughout the day," said Wake County Community Health Director Sue Lynn Ledford. "People who plan to attend the Saturday clinics should be prepared to be waiting inside and outside the clinic buildings. For some people this may include bringing water to drink, chairs to sit in and having plans in place to keep children occupied."

For more information about the clinics, or to download required paper work, click here.

"The seizures are crippling. Your muscles are tight, your head and legs hurt and you sleep for 2-3 days," White said.

But now he's learning that man's best friend can be so much more.

"I feel with the service dog. It will allow me to go on walks again, ride my bicycle again even go and get coffee again," White said.

A German Shepherd named "Ultra" is being trained by a man in New York to sense when White is going to have an episode.

"It sniffs out seizures. When it smells something it makes you sit down," White said.

White's mother Deborah said she hopes to see her son gain some freedom.

"Even if Josh is only able to walk to Starbucks by himself it's more than he can do now," Deborah White said.

To earn the $15,000 to buy the dog, White is holding fundraisers selling purple ribbons signifying November as Epilepsy Awareness Month.

White said this will not only change his life but also his parent's lives.

"I've always been in Josh's corner and I will continue to but maybe, if nothing else, mom can go out for 30 minutes a day alone," Deborah said.

White and his family said they are looking for some normalcy in their home that they hope Ultra can bring.

According to the trainer, the dog is taught to sense a seizure by learning behaviors before an episode. He also said the dog can smell the chemical reaction in the person's body before a seizure.

Click here to learn more and visit White's blog.

During the State Employees 2009 Health and Wellness Expo at the North Carolina Fairgrounds Wednesday, among the most crowded booths -- weight loss plans, fitness memberships and healthy eating options.

State workers and those covered under the State Health Plan will pay higher premiums next July if they don't kick the habit.

Then the following year, July 2011, those deemed overweight will pay more too.

Molly Taylor who helped organize the expo said weight loss is all the talk when she's working in the state auditor's office.

"We have some wives who are helping their husbands loose weight cause they didn't do it for any other reason, but now that it's going to cost them money the husbands will loose the weight," said Taylor.

Gov. Bev Perdue spoke to the crowd and encouraged them all to become role models.

She told the crowd she lost nearly 100 pounds in the 1990s, she gave up smoking in 2003, and now she exercises everyday and must manage her high blood pressure.

"I just decided I could control my own destiny.  If state employees want to do that, I'm here to cheer them on. But again, this is personal, nobobdy can make you do it. It's something you have to decide to do," said Perdue.

But what about those who are not as motivated? Eventually they'll be paying more for their health coverage. Lawmakers approved changes to the plan during the budget session.

"The health plan is done by the General Assembly and someday I'm hopeful to have that changed. I've never been a fan of how decisions are made for premium changes," said Perdue.

The health plan covers 667,000 state employees and teachers.

Lawmakers will consider a renewal in 2011.

To hear more about this story, click on the video monitor above.

Auctioneers sold property from the home and office of William Wise, a banker who police say defrauded investors out of $80 million in an elaborate Caribbean-based scheme.

A court seized Wise's property and ordered the auction to pay-back investors.

The sale included luxury cars, high-end wine, hundreds of women's designer accessories and a 7-carat diamond ring valued at $300,000.

"Because the auction is happening so close to the holidays, people are doing some holiday shopping, gift-giving and so theres some really great deals," Jessica Magee, a lawyer who helped organize the auction, said. "We've found that the bidding is strong."

Auctioneers hoped to raise more than $400,000 from the sale.