COROLLA, N.C. Small waves lapped over Nathan Henry's rubber boots as the underwater archaeologist stood among the stubby hull timbers of what could be the oldest shipwreck on the North Carolina coast. // It was low tide and the surf was receding in Corolla. A cold north wind penetrated even a hoodie pulled over a knit cap.

RALEIGH, N.C. Three men have pleaded guilty to making false distress calls to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard said in a news release Saturday that 25-year-old Jeremy Fisher of Holly Ridge made at least 22 fake calls to the Coast Guard in 2007 and 2008.

By Gary D. Robertson

RALEIGH, N.C. Stubbornly weak tax collections and double-digit unemployment rates mean more spending cuts are looming for North Carolina's public agencies and nonprofit groups that depend on state funds.

PASQUOTANK COUNTY, N.C.  Pasquotank County paramedic Jack Boyce slipped a manufactured tourniquet on his arm, pulled the strap tight and twisted the plastic crank until blood vessels bulged from his wrist. The demonstration was done in seconds. Shunned in the past, the mechanical tourniquets proved to be life savers with few side effects after the Sept. 11 attacks and in the Iraq war.

CURRITUCK COUNTY, N.C. Currituck Beach Lighthouse owners have taken on an old adversary by opposing Currituck County's plans to build public restrooms at a nearby ocean access.

By Shelley Smith, Salisbury Post SALISBURY, N.C. When Rob Fisher lost his job last year as a result of NASCAR mergers, he decided to turn one of his lifetime goals into a reality. "There are only two ways I can think clearly," he said. "Either sitting in a tree stand or sitting in a boat."

OREGON INLET, N.C.  A federal official said he's preparing to fine the owner of a trawler for illegally catching nearly 3,000 pounds of striped bass. The penalty is likely to be the first - and largest - in a series of recent violations against fisherme n for catching stripers in protected federal waters off North Carolina and Virginia coasts.

By Doug Doughty GREENSBORO, N.C. Virginia didn't end the basketball season with 10 consecutive losses. That was the Cavaliers' primary objective going to the Greensboro Coliseum for the ACC tournament. However, they did miss their last 10 shots Friday, assuring that their winning streak would not grow to a second game.

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. City police arrested 22 suspects charged with 72 felony crimes, including five recent shootings, as part of a three-month long investigation that ended Friday.

PITTSBORO, N.C.  A former aide to past presidential candidate John Edwards is returning to court just three days after a North Carolina judge nearly sent him to jail for contempt.