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Legislators get back to making laws Wednesday with a running start on some of the state’s most controversial issues.

House budget writers are preparing to present their spending plans to the public after weeks of behind-the-scenes work. Onshore drilling for natural gas will move quickly off the blocks and will face votes over the first few weeks. A plan to close a Medicaid budget shortfall also will see early action. A Senate committee on Wednesday will debate a bill allowing live poker, blackjack and other table games at the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ casino. Get a legislative preview here.

More political headlines:

--The end of the John Edwards trial came into view Tuesday as his defense team told the judge that only three potential defense witnesses remain — the defendant, his daughter, Cate, and his former mistress, Rielle Hunter. Defense Attorney Abbe Lowell announced the list while informing Judge Catherine Eagles at the end of Tuesday’s proceedings that the defense may rest on Wednesday or Thursday.

--Republicans launched the first television commercial Tuesday in the November governor’s race, an attack ad that tries to link Democratic nominee Walter Dalton to the unpopular Gov. Bev Perdue. But the 30-second spot’s major points don’t fully meet the truth test. Here’s a claim-by-claim fact check.

UPDATED: So news broke this afternoon that Gov. Bev Perdue issued an apology to Mississippi's governor for a comment she made last week that drew rebuke. Perdue told a TV reporter that the passage of the constitutional amendment on marriage makes North Carolina "look like Mississippi."

Huffington Post broke a story Monday about the apology citing Twitter -- the account of @GovBevPerdue. The problem? The account is a parody, a spoof, one of the many that ridicule politicians on the social media network.

Fake Perdue wrote this: "Called the Mississippi governor today and apologized for my remarks. Offered to send him some Bojangles Bo-Berry biscuits to make amends."

A spokesman for the real Perdue (@ncgovoffice on Twitter) said Perdue did speak with Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant Monday but she didn't apologize. The spokesman didn't elaborate but said "they had a very good discussion."

The Huffington Post later owned the mistake, admitting they fell for the fake, saying its "story embarrassingly took Bev Perdue's spoof Twitter account at face value." And it turns out that CNN also fell for the spoof. More on the debacle here.

Gov. Bev Perdue is reacting to the about-fact at the N.C. Democratic Party on Saturday after Chairman David Parker resigned but then triumphantly reclaimed his post.

Perdue essentially puts the mess in Democratic gubernatorial nominee Walter Dalton's lap now. “I’m focused on investing in education and passing my other budget priorities," she said in a statement. "Walter Dalton is the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, and I’ll support him in however he wants to handle the matter."

President Barack Obama's campaign has not yet responded to Parker's reign.

The North Carolina governor’s race between Democrat Walter Dalton and Republican Pat McCrory is likely to be a money magnet for outside groups who see it as the GOP’s best chance to pick up a governorship this year.

Both national parties, conservative super PACs, anti-tax groups and labor unions are likely to pour money into North Carolina, the largest state holding a governor’s race in 2012. Some campaign strategists estimate at least $20 million will be spent between now and November. Read the full analysis of the race here.

More political headlines:

--Scandal-stained David Parker burst from behind the curtain, strutting on stage to reclaim the chairmanship of the troubled N.C. Democratic Party in grand fashion Saturday with some saying the wizard orchestrated the dramatic party convention to his favor. To get a glimpse of how the event hurts Democrats broadly, take a look at this headline.

--In his column, Rob Christensen discusses how religion courses through the state's politics, helping to explain Tuesday's vote on the constitutional marriage amendment.

The insulted Mississippi Lt. Governor lashed back at N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue after she told a television reporter Friday that the constitutional amendment on marriage makes North Carolina "look like Mississippi."

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, criticized Perdue's policies and the Tarheel state's higher unemployment rate. Reeves even made a pitch to N.C. businesses to come to Mississippi if they wanted to work in a “lower-taxed, less regulated state.”

“Governor Perdue should know that her administration has a lot of work to do to make her state’s business climate ‘look like Mississippi,’ ” Reeves said in a statement. 

North Carolina voters on Tuesday approved an amendment that bans same-sex marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships by a margin of 61 percent to 39 percent.

Perdue had told a reporter at WITN television that the vote sent the wrong message about North Carolina.

“People around the country are watching us and they’re really confused to have been such a progressive, forward-thinking, economically driven state that invested in education and that stood up for the civil rights of people including the civil rights marches back in the ‘50s and ’60s and ’70s," she said. "Folks are saying, what in the world is going in North Carolina? We look like Mississippi.”

A top Democratic donor to Gov. Bev Perdue facing trial for felony charges is a “scapegoat” for the campaign’s failure to properly disclose campaign flights, his defense attorney said Friday.

In a lengthy court hearing, attorney David Rudolf put the blame on the Perdue campaign in an attempt to absolve his client, Trawick “Buzzy” Stubbs, on felony charges of obstruction of justice and causing the filing of false campaign reports.

Attorneys for Stubbs and Julia Leigh Sitton, a former Perdue aide who faces the same charges in a separate scheme, are asking a Wake County judge to dismiss the cases.

A Wake County judge is expected to hear arguments Friday morning in the criminal cases against two former campaign associates of Gov. Bev Perdue.

Attorneys for Trawick "Buzzy" Stubbs and Julia Leigh Sitton are asking the judge to dismiss charges of obstruction of justice and causing the filing of false reports stemming from an campaign finance investigation into the Perdue's 2008 campaign.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is making his second visit to Charlotte in less than a month as he ramps up operations in what's expected to be a battleground state this fall. Get a preview of his visit here.

More political headlines:

--The government rested its case against John Edwards on Thursday by showing a videotape of the one-time Democratic presidential hopeful telling a now infamous lie – that he was not the father of Rielle Hunter’s child. Get a recap from Day 14 here.

--Surprise. Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue and Republican legislators agree on something. House Republicans said last week they want to cap the state gas tax. Gov. Bev Perdue said Thursday she wants to do the same. The tax rate is expected to fall July 1 from 38.9 cents to about 37.7 cents, because part of the tax is tied to wholesale fuel prices and fluctuates as they do. More on the governor's budget proposal here.

Gov. Bev Perdue issued her proposed budget Thursday and Republican legislative leaders soon issued statements essentially dismissing the document as a doorstop.

Republicans' problem: Perdue's budget is built on a 3/4-cent sales tax hike, making much of it unusable in their minds. 

Senate leader Phil Berger: "We must break state government’s habit of throwing money at problems and adopt innovative solutions and meaningful reforms.  The cycle of irresponsible taxing, borrowing, and spending must stop.” 

House Speaker Thom Tillis: “Gov. Perdue’s budget proposal is, disappointingly, more of the same failed approach that led to the fiscal mess the Republican legislative majority inherited. ... It is time we budget responsibly without demanding more from the pockets of our citizens.”

The attention shifts toward the legislative session starting next week and away from the election as Gov. Bev Perdue releases here budget proposal this morning. Perdue will ask legislators to spend an additional $562 million on K-12 schools and increase the state sales tax in the $20.9 billion budget.

Republican lawmakers on Wednesday made it clear they weren’t interested, setting up a rematch of last year’s budget battles between the Democratic governor and the GOP-led legislature. Get more details here.

But before Jones Street consumes the news, here's more from Tuesday's election:

--Angry and frustrated, organizers of the opposition campaign vowed to use the momentum to continue to push for legal protection. Activists in Durham and Wilson kicked off a seven-day protest across the state by sending gay couples to apply for marriage licenses. All the while, amendment opponents are refusing to accept that the 61-39 percent loss reflects how people in North Carolina feel about the issue.

--More amendment news: President Barack Obama shifts his stance on gay marriage, a day after the vote. North Carolina is ridiculed in social networking and online sites for its vote. A move to uproot the Democratic convention from Charlotte because of the amendment won't happen. And columnist Barry Saunders asks who the amendment backers will target next.