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The legislature is moving quickly with session expected to finish by the end of the month -- if not sooner. Get the full stories here:

A fracking bill is on the fast-track even though new federal estimates reveal a far smaller amount of natural gas than previously thought in North Carolina. Gov. Bev Perdue signed the Cherokee gaming bill minutes after Senate approval, as the tribe aims for July 4th gaming at its casino. A House committee approved a restricted Racial Justice Act and the controversial bill is likely to emerge on the full House floor next week. And a divided House panel approved a measure to prohibit death row inmates from watching TVs, despite concerns that it would lead to increased violence and bad behavior.

More political headlines below.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush praised North Carolina legislators for advancing "bold, student-centered measures" to improve education in the state.

The Seante this week approved a package of education changes similar to a program Florida started about 15 years ago. Among tthe most significant is preventing most third graders who cannot read at grade level from advancing to fourth grade.

The N.C. Court of Appeals will hear arguments Tuesday in a case that could shape the future of the state’s pre-kindergarten education for poor children. In the latest chapter of a long-running school quality lawsuit, the Attorney General’s Office will square off against lawyers representing five poor counties on whether last year’s legislative changes to the state’s prekindergarten program violate the constitutional right to a sound, basic education for all North Carolina schoolchildren. Read more here.

More political headlines:

--Republican lawmakers are renewing a push for a compromise measure that would require voters to show identification at the polls, conceding that voiding a veto of a tougher bill is unlikely. In a briefing at the state GOP convention, House Speaker Thom Tillis also offered a roadmap to the legislative session.

The Senate gave final approval Monday to a sweeping education reform plan pushed by President Pro Tem Phil Berger.

The Democrats mounted an effort to amend the bill on third reading in a evening debate, but the Republican dominated body killed the effort. With the 31-17 vote the bill now moves to the House, where it's fate is uncertain.

The scandal of John Edwards hiding his pregnant mistress while running for president brought a common refrain of “What was he thinking?” And on Thursday, the trial that grew out of that tawdry scenario ended with a jury largely unable to agree on an answer. The jurors announced after nine days of deliberations that they were hopelessly divided on five of the six charges against Edwards, but in unanimous agreement that he was not guilty on one count.

Get full coverage here: columnist Rob Christensen describes the parable of John Edwards; how the Edwards case may affect campaign finance law; courtroom observers say prosecution's case was doomed from the start; in his statement after the trial Edwards says "I don't think God's through with me"; a timeline of Edwards' rise and fall; more reaction from political sphere; and a photo gallery from outside the courtroom. Also: three jurors tell NBC's Today show they thought Edwards was guilty.

Many more political headlines -- including General Assembly action -- below.

UPDATED: Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, the Democratic nominee for governor, says the Republican-crafted budget doesn't do enough to restore education money cut from last year's spending plan.

"I'm happy to see they are making attempts to avoid the cuts scheduled to come in this year to education," he said in an interview Thursday. "But as I understand it, it really does nothing to repair the $700-800 million cut out of public education last year. So I still think they need to buttress public education more than in this budget."

At the same time, Dalton isn't sounding off on the GOP budget as fervently as Democrats in the House, who spent about nine hours debating the bill. Dalton didn't object to other parts but said he is still reviewing the full plan.

The mostly GOP-authored budget does not do enough for public education, House Democrats said at a news conference Wednesday

Democrats made their budget critique a few hours before the full House was scheduled to vote on the $20.3 billion plan. Republicans scraped together about $330 million to put toward K-12 education next year, enough to maintain the financial status quo.

But House Democrats said the budget continues to shortchange K-12 schools, community colleges, and universities. Democrats stopped short, however, of recommending a tax increase to raise more money. "It's up to them to find the money to meet the needs of this state," said House Minority Leader Joe Hackney, an Orange County Democrat.

The jury enters Day 8 of deliberations in the John Edwards trial. The judge will add 30 minutes to the day to help speed the process. But how long is too long as speculation grows about a possible deadlock?

More political headlines:

--The state House unveiled a $20.3 billion budget Tuesday that includes $50 million to address housing for mentally ill and elderly residents and $250 one-time bonuses for state employees and teachers. The budget won approval from the main budget committee Tuesday over the objections of some Democrats that the GOP-authored budget should have given more money to local schools and state universities.

A plan to overhaul teacher tenure, the school calendar and school assessment continues to evolve in the Senate as more questions and potential pitfalls emerge upon examination.

Senate leader Phil Berger presented the newest version of his legislation Tuesday in the Senate Education Committee, which approved it by voice vote roughly along party lines. The amended language retreats on the elimination of teacher tenure by allowing school systems to give educators with more than three years experience a contract up to four years. The measure -- Senate bill 795 -- also adds five days to the school calendar but a change gives districts the flexibility to meet a minimum number of hours (1,025) instead of days (185).

Teacher groups applauded the first change but still spoke against the broader measure. The latter alteration involving the calendar, however, sparked considerable concerns from Democrats and education groups who did the math: with longer school days, it's possible for districts to reduce the school year to 160 days.

Former state Sen. Howard Lee has started a nonprofit institute named after himself that focuses on erasing the achievement gap and improving academic performance for minority males.

Lee is a former State Board of Education chairman and a former Utilities Commission member. He ran Gov. Bev Perdue's education cabinet.

The Howard N. Lee Institute will focus on community engagement and a minority male initiative offering academic support for boys starting in third grade. High school students -  Lee Scholars - would have mentors, internships, academic tutoring and help developing a life plan.

Lee is out raising money for the effort.