Michael Tomsic

Governor Pat McCrory released his detailed plan Tuesday for how North Carolina should spend its money the next two years. It's a $20.6 billion budget that does not include a key point from McCrory's campaign – overhauling the state's tax system.

Education takes up 55 percent of McCrory's budget.

He includes funding for an additional 5,000 at-risk children to take part in the state's pre-K program, and he sets aside $43 million to promote technology in classrooms, like reading tablets.

This week we're examining what one pharmacist calls the new normal for hospitals. In the Carolinas and across the country, hospitals are barely maintaining supplies of a wide variety of drugs - some basic, many life-saving. 

This week we're reporting on a serious problem in health care. Hospitals are almost running out of a wide variety of critical drugs, including chemotherapy treatments, anesthetics, and even basic vitamins. There are hundreds of shortages, and hospital pharmacists and doctors say that's making it more difficult to care for patients.

Around this time last year, many hospitals across the country almost ran out of two life-saving cancer drugs. They scraped by with the help of emergency shipments from overseas.

The availability of those two drugs has improved. But they're still in short supply, as are hundreds of others. They include first-choice chemotherapy treatments and anesthetics that are essential for surgery. It's the new normal, as one hospital pharmacist told us.

Hospitals in the Carolinas are dealing with a growing threat from a type of superbug. It's only infected a small percentage of patients. But that percentage is on the rise, and the infections can be deadly.

The superbug is called CRE, and a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control describes it as "nightmare bacteria." 

Dr. Katie Passaretti of Carolinas HealthCare System said it's evolved into something extremely difficult to treat.

Federal spending cuts set to kick in this week would have far-reaching consequences in the Carolinas. That was the message Monday from White House officials warning about the state-by-state impact of the sequester.

In North and South Carolina, about 33,000 Defense Department employees would be furloughed, about 5,000 fewer children would have access to vaccines, and about 520 teachers would lose funding for their jobs.

The North Carolina legislature is poised to pass a temporary fix to prevent more than 1,300 people in group homes from losing their place to live. The legislation allows them to continue receiving Medicaid services in their group homes until July.

This is probably the last temporary fix for people in group homes with a mental illness, developmental disability or Alzheimer's.

In his first State of the State address, Gov. Pat McCrory Monday night pledged to work to lower North Carolina's income tax rates, cut the amount of money the state wastes on Medicaid, and make vocational training a larger part of the state's education system.

Gov. McCrory said his administration will focus on "fixing the economy, transforming education and improving government efficiency." Here's the first step: