An Orlando man who robbed a Pine Hills GameStop store four times at gunpoint was convicted in federal court today and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

During the third robbery at the store on Hiawassee Road in 2009, Kenneth Harris shot a clerk in the leg after he was told the safe had a 10-minute delay, prosecutors said.

Harris, 41, has a long criminal history that includes five other armed-robbery convictions, authorities said. Read all post…

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Former U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge starts out the Democratic primary with the lead in what looks like a wide open field, according to a new survey.

Etheridge has the support of 21 percent of North Carolina Democrats, followed by 13 percent who prefer state Sen. Dan Blue, 10 percent for Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, 8 percent for U.S. Rep. Brad Miller, 7 percent for former state Treasurer Richard Moore, 6 percent for U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre and 2 percent for state Rep. Bill Faison.

One-third of the Democrats are not sure, according to the survey taken by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-leaning firm based in Raleigh. It was the first poll taken since Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue’s surprise announcement that she would not seek re-election.

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Rep. Nancy Pelosi needs a gain of 25 House seats.

Pelosi, 71, needs a net gain of 25 Democrats nationwide, a goal she calls her “Drive for 25.” She has predicted gains as large as 35, produced in part by a Democratic romp through California, where the redrawing of legislative districts by a nonpartisan citizens commission promises the biggest shakeup in the state’s congressional delegation in two decades, along with gains in Texas, New York, Illinois and Florida.

Independent analysts said Pelosi is dreaming.

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Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said the number of crimes dropped 7.1 percent last year, a development that Chief Rodney Monroe credited largely to officers keeping a close eye on potential criminals before they struck.

The 2011 statistics were released in a late-morning news conference Tuesday at the headquarters of CMPD’s Providence Division, which registered the biggest decrease in crimes among the department’s 13 divisions: 18 percent. Monroe said the results show that hard work by police and cooperation with the district attorney’s office and the community is paying off.

“Knowing who offenders are and paying close attention to them has paid off,” Monroe said, citing CMPD’s strategy to focus on repeat offenders.

CMPD reported decreases in homicides, armed robberies, rapes, residential burglaries, vehicle thefts, larceny and arson.

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Photo Courtesy of Flickr

Finding employment in the oil industry is a game of chance. At one point, a company could go into a hiring spree where they are looking to employ thousands of people, and in the next, go through a hiring freeze where the only people who are being hired are those that are considered critical to the oil company’s operation.

Whether an oil company, like those of the bakken companies, is going through a hiring spree or a hiring freeze will depend upon a number of different factors. P Read all post…

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