By Bob Lewis RICHMOND A White House mandate that could force Catholic organizations' insurance plans to cover their employees' birth control costs tugs former Gov. Tim Kaine between his Roman Catholic faith and his Democratic ally, President Barack Obama.

By Gary D. Robertson RALEIGH, N.C. If a leading candidate fails to get more than 40 percent of the vote in a North Carolina primary election race this May, when is the runoff?

It depends.

RALEIGH, N.C.

More than half of the candidates expected on North Carolina's presidential primary ballots in May come from the Libertarian Party.

The three parties recognized by the state had until Tuesday to file letters with the State Board of Elections to identify their candidates for the May 8 presidential preference primary.

RALEIGH, N.C.

Scores of county election board members want Republican legislative leaders to appropriate more money so the North Carolina State Board of Elections can tap into several times the amount for things such as more early voting sites and voting machine maintenance.

RICHMOND

The lawsuit by four Republican presidential candidates challenging Virginia's ballot access law is now dead.

A federal judge in Richmond granted Newt Gingrich's request to drop him from the case Monday. Gingrich was the last remaining plaintiff after the judge previously granted requests to drop Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman from the case.

SUFFOLK The U.S. Department of Justice has delayed approval of the city's new voting districts, saying its request was "insufficient" to establish whether the plan satisfies provisions of the Voting Rights Act.

WASHINGTON

The governors of Maryland and Virginia disagreed on issues ranging from the economy to the presidential race, religion and health care during a nationally televised talk show.

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell appeared Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" program.

Virginia's congressional primaries, imperiled because of the General Assembly's failure to meet its redistricting deadlines, are on their way to being postponed from June until August.

By Gary D. Robertson  RALEIGH, N.C.  Erskine Bowles announced Thursday that he won't run for North Carolina governor, but that decision didn't stir any immediate action by other prominent Democrats considering a run after Gov. Beverly Perdue bowed out last week.

By Gary D. Robertson RALEIGH, N.C. Erskine Bowles served as chief of staff in Bill Clinton's White House, led the prestigious University of North Carolina system and headed a bipartisan commission that recommended tough choices to reduce the U.S. deficit.