The number of charter schools in the Charlotte area is about to jump. The state's charter advisory council recommended approving seven new schools in the area for the fall of 2013. The state board of education is likely to give those schools the green light.

Charter schools get tax money, but don't answer to public school districts. The Charlotte area already has more than fifteen, serving upwards of 10,000 kids.

Four new charter schools proposed for Mecklenburg County would focus on serving at-risk students, mainly in west Charlotte.

Ousted CEO Bill Johnson says Duke Energy leaders had "buyer's remorse" about the merger with Progress Energy and that's what led to his abrupt firing.

Johnson gave state utility regulators a version of events that differed starkly from testimony given by Duke CEO Jim Rogers last week

Johnson got a new tie for his first day as CEO of the nation's largest utility company.

"My wife rarely buys me a new tie - this was a special day," Johnson told North Carolina Utilities Commissioners in a day-long hearing. "It ended in a way that was a surprise."

Despite another serious regulatory blow, state transportation officials continue to push ahead with planning for the Monroe Bypass.

The Federal Highway Administration this week took back their approval of the $700 million toll road designed to ease heavy traffic on Highway 74.

North Carolina Department of Transportation spokeswoman Greer Beaty says the state hopes to regain federal approval by fixing problems in the environmental study prepared for the road rather than redoing it entirely.

A judge earlier this year ruled that study was not done correctly.

A judge has dismissed Belmont Abbey College's lawsuit against the Obama administration regarding birth control.

The Catholic college in Gaston County objects to the Affordable Care Act's mandate that employers cover contraception for female workers. The school says the law violates its religious freedoms.

But the judge dismissed the case, because he says it is too early to know if Belmont Abbey will really be hurt.

Gary Johnson.

Charlotte-area voters are already being inundated by presidential campaign ads from the Democratic and Republican parties. But there's a third name on the ballot this fall that few people have heard of. WFAE's Marshall Terry reports on the first North Carolina visit of Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson.

Friday was Duke Energy's turn back in the hot seat as state utility regulators continue their investigation into the sudden ouster of former Progress CEO Bill Johnson.

Duke Energy board members testified they never doubted a merger with Progress would be good for customers and - contrary to Johnson's allegations - they never wanted out of the deal. But they also say they never liked Johnson much from the start.

Lead Duke Energy director Ann Gray referenced Johnson's comments at the first of only a few times he met with the Duke Energy board.

Actress Ashley Judd visited the city Sunday to drum up support for President Obama. But she was also there to speak about issues such as health care and education and how they relate to women.

"And when we can empower and educate women, let them plan and space the births of their children, access the health care that they need, particularly preventatively, their children are healthier."

Judd helped host Charlotte's stop on the Women Vote 2012 Summit Tour, a national series sponsored by the Obama campaign.

Democratic Convention organizers want to use city buses to transport delegates in September. They'd hoped to round up enough private charter buses to do the job, but that hasn't panned out.

More than 6,000 delegates will be staying in hotels all over the Charlotte region and they need some way to get back and forth to the convention Uptown. In March, the DNCC hired three companies to deliver over 250 charter buses for delegate transportation. But now it seems those buses don't have enough room for the wheelchair-bound delegates expected at the convention.

The long-vacant Eastland Mall could soon belong to Charlotte taxpayers. The city council will vote tonight on buying the 80-acre development for $13 million.

Doing something about Eastland Mall has been Councilman John Autry's top priority since he was elected to represent east Charlotte last year, "because it sits right in the middle of the district."

"It's such an obvious symbol of demise, a touchstone of defeatedness," says Autry.

A processional will be held in downtown Mooresville tomorrow afternoon to remember a well-known football coach who died last week. Joe Popp's career spanned the high school, college, and professional levels.

Even long after Joe Popp retired, you could find him at the Mooresville high football field on Fridays just before game time, talking shop.