And they aren't the only ones who are concerned -- so are Army officials.

"I do worry slightly about a potential backlash," said General George Casey, the Army chief of staff.

"We don't want people to be afraid of us. We're ordinary people," said Khalilah Sabra of the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation of North Carolina.

Many are afraid that the references to Major Nidal Hasan's Muslim background will create problems for all Muslims in this country.

"Even though we're Muslims, we're Americans too, and we would like to be able to detach Islam from this situation because one has nothing to do with the other," explains Sabra.

Fort Bragg has a large Muslim population of soldiers and their families.

"This incident has affected them as it would any other soldier regardless of the religion," said Ft. Bragg spokesman Tom McCollum.

And Ft. Bragg wants its soldiers to realize there was no religious connection to actions attributed to Major Hasan.

"He happened to be Muslim. He could have been Baptist, Jewish or Catholic. His religion is not the issue," said McCollum.

But some Triangle residents believe media reports have implied that his religion was connected to the shootings.

"I guess it would lead people to believe that had something to do with it, and if it's not the case they should not be saying it," said Scott Loyek of Raleigh.

"I think the media looks for anything these days," said Kelly Reid. "I don't know there's a connection between the incident and his name, but the media sees a candied apple and hands it to their audience."

Reid says her brother is in the Army and ironically left Ft. Hood just six hours before the shootings.

And Reid says the stresses on her brother and other soldiers who've seen combat are difficult for most people to imagine because their lifestyles are so different from what most folks are used to.

Senate President Pro Tempore Marc Basnight wrote a letter Friday to Senate Democrats asking them to support Nesbitt as the next majority leader. The Asheville Citizen-Times obtained a copy of the letter.

A Basnight spokesman didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

The majority leader's job is open because Sen. Tony Rand announced this week he was leaving the Legislature to become head of the state patrol commission.

Basnight said Nesbitt had worked tirelessly during his 30-year legislative career to bring jobs and economic opportunity to the entire state and has done it with "compassion, commitment and integrity."

The state and local tax exempt products-including appliances like washers, freezers, refrigerators, air conditioners, dishwashers, and thermostats-meet federal guidelines for energy efficiency.

Generally, the Energy Star appliances cost more than less efficient models, but they should save money in the long run by trimming utility bills and making owners eligible for tax credits.

Energy Star appliances that are intended to be used for a business or as rentals are not part of the Tax Free Holiday offer.

The holiday runs from 12:01 a.m. on the first Friday in November, through 11:59 the following Sunday.

Click here to learn more.

The state Supreme Court ruled Friday that Philip Morris, Lorillard and R.J. Reynolds tobacco companies could stop making payments to those growers through a 1999 agreement. The agreement says the companies could reduce their payments when Congress agreed to a buyout for quota owners in 2004.

The justices ruled the states entered the agreement knowing the payments would end as a result of a quota buyout.

Maryland's Department of Agriculture says farmers in that state and in Pennsylvania would have received $22 million had a trial court ruling been upheld.

The wreck report states a truck owned by WCA of NC was attempting to make a left turn onto Wake Forest Rd. when the top of the bed made contact with a traffic light. The truck driver admitted that the lift bed was not working properly, but still drove the vehicle.

Police directed cars and small trucks through the intersection and traffic flow was generally being maintained in all directions.

Due to the low-hanging wires, tall vehicles -- such as 18-wheelers -- could not pass through a portion of Wake Forest Road near the intersection for several hours.

As of 4:23 p.m., normal traffic flow had been restored in the area of the accident.

One lane of Kildaire Farm Road will be closed Friday for sewer line work.

The area affected is northbound lanes of the road, between Loch Highlands Drive and Steep Bank Drove.

Crews will shut down the outside lane at 9 a.m. Friday and will remain closed until Saturday night.

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The court reached that conclusion in a 5-2 decision reinstating a $15 million wrongful death lawsuit filed by the father of a 14-year-old North Carolina girl who died in a car crash during a sleepover with a friend in the Richmond area in December 2004.

The case now goes back to Henrico County Circuit Court to determine whether Paul and Paula McDonough should be held accountable for the death of Jaimee Elizabeth Kellermann of Wake Forest, N.C.

Mark J. Krudys, attorney for Jaimee's father Michael H. Kellermann, said the Supreme Court "memorialized what most parents already feel: that when they have a young child in their care, they should exercise caution. I would have frankly been very saddened if the court did not find there is such a duty."

Julie Palmer, an attorney for the McDonoughs, said she was disappointed by the ruling. However, she said the lawsuit is in its early stages and the evidence "will be dramatically different" than the allegations. She added that "we are confident the defendants will be fully absolved of any responsibility."

According to the complaint, the McDonoughs asked if Jaimee could spend the night with their daughter Becka. The Kellermanns agreed but said their daughter was not allowed to ride with young drivers -- or, as Michael Kellermann put it: "No boys with cars." Paula McDonough allegedly told Kellermann not to worry, she would take care of Jaimee.

That night, Paula McDonough dropped the girls off at the mall where they met up with another girl and two boys, including 17-year-old Nathan DeFrank. After the group attended a movie, Becka called home and got her mother's permission for DeFrank to drive her and Jaimee home, according to the lawsuit.

Jaimee and the third girl did not want to go with DeFrank but were unable to get another ride. On the way home, according to the complaint, DeFrank drove "wildly" at up to 80 mph on winding two-lane road while Jaimee frantically text-messaged her father and a friend, saying she was afraid.

DeFrank lost control of the car and slammed into a tree. Jaimee died at a hospital the next morning.

Henrico County Circuit Judge Daniel T. Balfour dismissed the Kellermanns' lawsuit, agreeing with the McDonoughs that they had no legal duty to Jaimee.

The Supreme Court said that if it too agreed with the McDonoughs, "such holding would yield absurd results." For example, Chief Justice Leroy R. Hassell Sr. wrote in the majority opinion, an adult who agreed to supervise a group of 4-year-olds could allow them to play on a busy street or play with loaded guns without being subject to liability.

However, Justice Lawrence Koontz wrote in a dissenting opinion that the majority went too far in saying host parents could be held responsible for the criminal acts of a third party. Justice Cynthia Kinser also dissented.

Angelo Womack, of Raleigh, was arrested Oct. 30 at Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School, where he and the victim are both students. The victim was treated and released from WakeMed.

Womack, who remains in jail, allegedly entered a classroom and struck the victim with a hammer.

He was originally charged with assault with a deadly weapon and intent to kill inflicting serious injury. Those charges were upgraded to attempted murder.

The Department of Health and Human Services suspended the license of Judy's Home Care on Laura Duncan Road after finding there was inadequate supervision, soiled diapers on a couch, frayed electrical wires and exposed wood with small nails where a carpet had been ripped out. Those are just four of 17 violations that were found.

But Jackie Quirk with the North Carolina Child Care Health and Safety Resource Center said this is not the norm.

"Child care actually can be a positive environment for many children," Quirk said.

Quirk said there are some quick tips for parents.

"Families should go to the North Carolina Division of child care Web site. They have many resources for parents to choose quality child care. They have programs listed by their star rating and a checklist for families so they know what questions to ask," Quirk said.

She also said families should visit the center before making a decision.

Parent Katherine Gaertner said parents should continue to drop by even once their child is enrolled in the program.

"I would always tell parents -- surprise visits. Safety is definitely number one," Gaertner said.

Quirk agreed that visits are a must.

"An open door policy is required in North Carolina, and it's a good idea," Quirk said.

Both agree that communication about a child's habits -- like sleeping, eating and playing - is the key.

"The more parents and providers can work together, the safer the environment will be for the child," Quirk said.

But Quirk said if a parent feels their child is at risk, they should take them out of the facility immediately and find a new day care provider.

To learn more about child care facilities click here.

At least 33 game development companies have a presence in the Triangle, with many making this area their headquarters.

They cite the proximity of RTP and computer science departments at area universities.

One of those companies has a new twist to a program that could bring people into the industry from around the world.

Epic Games, based in Cary, is famous for titles such as "Gears of War."

Thursday, they announced that the same programming that created that game is being made available to everyone at no charge, under the Unreal Development Kit banner.

"It's free for non-commercial use, so anybody can pick it up, learn how to create a game," said Mark Rein, vice president of Epic. "They can create something they can give away for free."

This same kind of programming has been around for a while, but only to people who bought certain Epic games; this new free-for-all distribution means a lot more of it will start showing up in places like the classroom.

"That now sort of de-couples the relationship between the process of development and buying the game and having to have the particular game to run the things that you produce," said Michael Young, associate professor of Computer Science at North Carolina State University.

Young said he has been using Unreal programming for a while, but this is a unique change.

Epic makes no bones about it: they're hoping to attract young talent with the announcement.

"They download it for free and start building a resume, a real resume that shows us what they can really do," said Rein.

Epic is tripling in size, by adding more than 100,000 square feet to its Cary headquarters. More importantly, it's recruiting in a time when many businesses have been scaling back.

At any given time, they may have 10 to 12 openings.

Experts say that's a testament to the strength of the game development industry in the area.

"Even in a challenging economic environment, we still see people coming into the Triangle, bringing their studios or locating headquarters here," said Young.

Young says it's something he's seeing in the computer science program, too, where next year they're set to graduate the first students from NC State's popular new game development degree.

Wider access to the Unreal Development Kit, though, means more developers vying for those jobs.

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Keep up with the stories Chris Cowperthwaite is working on every day: http://twitter.com/CCowperthwaite.

Contact him at ccowperthwaite@wncn.com.

This latest threat comes from a Raleigh-based company called Eco Venture Group.

Customers sign up to receive materials that will show them how to work at home.

After customers provide their credit card numbers to cover shipping costs, they're billed much more than they agreed to.

Sometimes they receive fraudulent charges from Web sites they never visited.

BBB experts said usually that money is gone for good.

"Of course the better business bureau can't work with the company to seek a resolution if they're not answering the complaints," Beverly Baskin, President of the Eastern North Carolina BBB, said. "The likelihood of consumers getting their money back is not very good."

Baskin suggests consumers who pay with a credit card call their credit company to try and get some of the charges reversed.

Experts also said consumers should research a company before entering into an agreement.

You can find tips about dealing with the work-at-home scams from the North Carolina Attorney General.

The U.S. Congress approved a bill Thursday that would extend jobless benefits another 14 weeks in all states and an extra six weeks in states where unemployment is above 8.5 percent. North Carolina is one of those states, with a jobless rate of 10.8 percent, meaning people who are eligible would get a 20-week extension.

This extension, on top of previous federal and state extensions, means eligible North Carolinians could receive a total of 98 weeks of unemployment benefits.

The latest numbers from the state show 13,055 North Carolinians were expected to lose their benefits between Oct. 20 and Dec. 19 of this year. For some the extension is the difference between staying afloat and being forced deeper into the hole of unemployment.

A graphic designer, Sarah Hanley has some big name clients in her portfolio. But despite her success, she's been out of work for more than a year. Her unemployment benefits expire in 11 weeks and she's worried.

"Yeah, and I'm desperately trying to find something; it's just not out there," Hanley said.

It's down to two weeks for Sherry Branch.

"It's coming down to the wire and I am scared to death," Branch said. "I would lose my place to stay, car, the whole nine. I mean everything would fall apart without my benefits."

And with the state's unemployment rate hovering at 10.8 percent and the holidays around the corner, Deputy Chairman of the North Carolina Employment Security Commission David Clegg said a 20-week extension could come just in time.

"Clearly there's a great need in the community for this," Clegg said.

Clegg explained the U.S. Department of Labor will have to write the guidelines first.

"I would expect that to take several weeks," Clegg said.

People who lose their unemployment benefits in the next week or two, like Sherry Branch, will have to wait.

"They may have to hang tight for a couple of weeks and not because we're not implementing -- it's because we have not been given the authorization to implement by the United States Department of Labor," Clegg said.

Still, with jobs few and far between, its money people like Sherry Branch can't do without.

"It means everything to me, it gives me a little more time to keep looking you know without having to panic about where I'm going to live," Branch said.

Several Senate Democrats said Thursday that Sen. Martin Nesbitt of Buncombe County and allies have called asking for support to elect Nesbitt the next majority leader.

Sen. Doug Berger of Franklin County said Thursday he supports Nesbitt because he feels Nesbitt would best represent urban and rural interests. There's no timetable for a vote by the Senate Democratic Caucus.

Fayetteville attorney David Boliek Jr. also has announced he's seeking the Democratic nomination for the 19th Senate District seat Rand will vacate. Local Democrats will choose someone to fill Rand's seat through 2010.

"I'm humbled to be here," he told the crowd. "I don't deserve it."

The event was to celebrate Hendley being a top ten finalist for CNN's 2009 Heroes Award. Hendley, a 2004 NC State graduate, is the founder of the non-profit "Wine to Water", an organization he started in 2004 after he learned about the water crisis.

"Water killing more people than AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and what was shocking is I didn't know anybody knew that," said Hendley.

That's when getting clean water to other countries became his passion. Then a bartender, Hendley held several wine events around Raleigh to raise money for the cause.  Since then, the organization has taken off. Hendley and has non-profit have traveled around the world digging, repairing, and sanitizing drinking wells for 25,000 people in seven different countries.

"You can live years with different diseases, you can live months without food, but you can't live three days without water," said Hendley.

It is certainly an extraordinary effort, but Hendley impressed an important message to those in the crowd.

"There is absolutely nothing special about me," said Hendley. "I'm a very average individual that has a huge heart for helping people get through the water crisis."

If you'd like to help Hendley and his organization win the award, click here for a link to his website where you can vote. Voting ends on November 18th and the winner will be announced on CNN on Thanksgiving Day.

The winner will receive $100,000 which Hendley said will help them drill more than 100 wells and save 6,000 lives.

NCDOT advises motorists to check real-time travel information online at http://www.ncdot.gov/traffictravel or by calling 511 to receive the same information via voice prompts. Motorists can also sign up to receive traffic alerts via Twitter by visiting www.ncdot.gov/travel/twitter/.

On November 9, clinics in Raleigh, Fuquay-Varina, Wake Forest and Zebulon will open at 9 a.m. They Cary clinic will open at 10 a.m. Clinic information is available below.

Clinics will offer both the nasal mist and inject able forms of the vaccine. Clinics will close when the vaccine is no longer available.

The groups recommended to receive the H1N1 vaccine include:
Pregnant Women
Household contacts and caregivers for children younger than 6 months
Healthcare and emergency medical services personnel
Children ages 6 months to 24 years
Persons ages 25 to 64 with underlying health issues

Raleigh
Public Health Center - G35
10 Sunnybrook Road, Raleigh
Opens at 9 a.m.

Fuquay-Varina
Southern Regional Center
130 N. Judd Parkway, Fuquay-Varina
Opens at 9 a.m.

Wake Forest
Northern Regional Center
350 East Holding Ave., Wake Forest
Opens at 9 a.m.

Zebulon
Eastern Regional Center
1002 Dogwood Drive, Zebulon
Opens at 9 a.m.

Cary
Colonial Baptist Church
6051 Tryon Road, Cary
Opens at 10 a.m.

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The sales-tax holiday on so-called Energy Star appliances like clothes washers, freezers and air conditioners will be held Friday, Saturday and Sunday statewide.

The holiday was first held last November when the sales tax rate consumers paid on merchandise was 6.75 percent in most counties. Now, it's 7.75 percent.

Fran Preston with the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association says retailers are planning special sales on the products to coincide with the holiday.

Other Energy Star items that qualify for the sales tax exemption include refrigerators, some heat pumps, ceiling fans, dehumidifiers and programmable thermostats.

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The test is conducted in cooperation with the emergency planning offices of the State of North Carolina and Chatham, Harnett, Lee and Wake counties. Questions about the tests may be directed to county or state emergency management agencies or to Progress Energy at (919) 362-3261.