Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools has won the Broad Prize for Urban Education for the district's efforts to improve students' learning. The award comes with $550,000 in scholarships for needy students who have made substantial academic gains.

During the ceremony, U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan said CMS stands out.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol will not be hiring troopers any time soon because it can't afford to train them. A seven month course that costs $100,000 per cadet is a requirement for becoming a trooper.

State lawmakers cut $8 million from the department's budget this year.

Last week, 38 cadets graduated from the program. Highway patrol spokesman Jeff Gordon says that still leaves the department with 102 trooper vacancies.

Mecklenburg County commission meetings can last a long time, often four or five hours. And some commissioners think their fellow board members are needlessly prolonging them. They're trying to stop that by making it harder to put items on the agenda.

If you're a commissioner and you want to bring something up at a board meeting, all you need to do is let the clerk know seven days ahead of time. Commissioner Harold Cogdell says that's way too easy.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools has won the Broad Prize for Urban Education for the district's efforts to improve students' learning. The award comes with $550,000 in scholarships for needy students who have made substantial academic gains.

During the ceremony, U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan said CMS stands out.

Shareholders easily approved a proposed merger between Duke Energy and Progress Energy. Now, it's up to regulators. The merger would create the country's largest utility company.

The North Carolina Utilities Commission is holding hearings this week. It was standing-room only Tuesday morning in the hearing room in Raleigh, the News & Observer reports, and most speakers were concerned about the merger. Many asked for conditions to be placed on the merger:

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley wants to eliminate the board that prioritizes major road projects for the state's Department of Transportation. She says the job should be left the go the transportation secretary, whom the governor appoints, according to The State newspaper.

"What I want him to do is prioritize for the people of the state. You know, let him decide which roads and bridges and all that need to be taken care of and hold him accountable and ultimately hold me accountable," Haley said.