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The hottest campaign in North Carolina this season features a longtime congressman with perfectly coifed hair against an oddball challenger. Think: trash talking, unapologetic pandering and baby kissing.

But sadly, it's just a movie. "The Campaign" featuring actors Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis debuts Friday with more than a few obvious North Carolina connections.

The two actors battle for the state's (fictional) 14th congressional district with scenes from Greensboro and elsewhere. Ferrell, who depicts a candidate with "hair so strong it could lift a car off a baby if it had to," said recently that John Edwards was a model for much of his role. 

Andrew Young, the ex-aide to John Edwards, and his wife will not be prosecuted for criminal contempt for their actions in a civil case brought against them by Edwards' former mistress, the district attorney for Orange and Chatham counties announced Monday.

In June, Superior Court Judge Michael Morgan asked District Attorney Jim Woodall to review whether Young, his wife, Cheri Young, and their two lawyers violated an order sealing evidence in the civil case. The violation allegedly occurred when the Youngs turned over sealed documents in the civil case to federal agents who were investigating Edwards’ campaign finances.

The civil case was brought in 2010 by Edwards' former mistress Rielle Hunter over ownership of a video tape that purportedly showed Edwards and Hunter having sex. The Youngs said they found the tape in a box after Hunter moved out following a stay at their home near Chapel Hill. The case was settled in February with an agreement that the tape and any copies would be destroyed.

A brief detour from the legislative session for some theater news from New York, via our arts critic David Menconi: Onstage, Triangle expatriate Alina Simone has been known to break out the occasional Britney Spears cover. From there, one supposes, it's a short step to performing in the guise of Rielle Hunter -- notorious paramour of North Carolina's former senator/presidential candidate, John Edwards.

Improbably, Simone will don a blonde wig to do just that on Thursday at Brookyn's PowerHouse Arena, playing Hunter in "Edwards! The Musical." A satirical treatment of a pretty tragic series of events, "Edwards!" has been tapped as entertainment at the launch party for "The McSweeney's Book of Politics and Musicals." You can check out the script for "Edwards!" here.

Local elected officials, immigration activists and others had mixed reactions to Monday’s Supreme Court ruling that threw out key provisions of a controversial Arizona immigration law. Read more here.

More political headlines:

--From AP: Rielle Hunter says she and former presidential candidate John Edwards have ended their relationship. Hunter told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday that she and Edwards were still a couple until late last week, as details from Hunter's memoir became public. The breakup was painful, but Hunter said Edwards will still be involved with their daughter, Quinn, who is 4 years old and lives with Hunter.

Rielle Hunter’s newly released tell-all memoir and former aide Andrew Young’s 2010 inside account aren’t the only John Edwards-inspired books on the market. In August, an ex-staffer’s novel will be published.

Bridget Siegel, who was a young finance director for the 2004 John Kerry presidential campaign with VP nominee Edwards, has written “Domestic Affairs.” According to the publisher, Weinstein Books, the novel is “full of all the scandal and back-room dealings that go into raising money for a presidential campaign.

“It also features an affair with a very married Southern candidate.”

Last year the governor and state lawmakers from both parties came together for the first sweeping revision of sentencing laws in North Carolina in nearly two decades, aimed at keeping closer tabs on ex-convicts. But for all the fanfare about the cutting-edge crime-fighting plan, lawmakers left out one key ingredient: money to pay for probation officers to supervise the newly released prisoners. Read more here.

More political headlines:

--John Edwards and Rielle Hunter continue to appear in the headlines. Exclusive photos appearing on a British tabloid’s website Tuesday appear to show John Edwards spending Father’s Day weekend at the beach with Rielle Hunter and their 4-year-old child, Quinn. The Daily Mail Online identified the locale as North Carolina’s Figure Eight Island, where Edwards owns a home. At the same time, Hunter is saying she wasn't Edwards' first mistress.

Former U.S. Attorney George Holding says he has no regrets about prosecuting former Sen. John Edwards, even though the case ultimately was not successful.

“Political corruption cases are the most difficult cases,” Holding told POLITICO, a Washington -based publication. “If we had not taken on these cases, not taken on this case, it would have a dereliction of duty.''

Holding said he was not disappointed with the decision of Justice Department Criminal Division chief Larry Breuer to abandon the prosecution after a mistrial on most of the charges.

“I am not disappointed,'' Holding said. “This is the way our system works and I respect the jury's verdict. I respect Mr. Breuer's decision. He's had the final say on this case from day one. I didn't attend the trial...I'm not in a position to question his opinion.''

He dismissed charges that the prosecution was too expensive, saying that at most times his office had two prosecutors working on the case.

Holding, who successfully sought the GOP nomination for Congress shortly after stepping down as U.S. attorney, also denied any political intent in the prosecution.

“There are always going to be charges this is a political case,” he said. “That just comes with the territory. The defense made a motion that the case was brought for political reason and the judge ruled there was no evidence of that...I feel very comfortable that we did carry out our duties.''

But his Democratic opponent, Charles Malone, said otherwise.

“It is apparent now that Holding, while wanting government to cut to the bone otherwise, was willing to throw millions of the taxpayers' money away to settle old political scores while attempting to enhance his political career.''

The U.S. Justice Department has decided not to retry the case against former presidential candidate John Edwards.

“We knew that this case – like all campaign finance cases – would be
challenging," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer in a statement released Wednesday afternoon. "But it is our duty to bring hard cases when we believe
that the facts and the law support charging a candidate for high
office with a crime.''

"Last month, the government put forward its best
case against Mr. Edwards, and I am proud of the skilled and
professional way in which our prosecutors from the Criminal Division’s
Public Integrity Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the
Eastern District of North Carolina conducted this trial,'' Breuer said. "The jurors
could not reach a unanimous verdict on five of the six counts of the
indictment, however, and we respect their judgment.  In the interest
of justice, we have decided not to retry Mr. Edwards on those counts.”

In case you missed it, John Edwards, the former U.S. Senator and presidential candidate from North Carolina, ranks No. 1 on this year’s list of the Most-Hated People in America, compiled by the New York Post. At the No. 1 spot, he is ranked ahead of such figures as Jerry Sandusky, Casey Anthony and O.J. Simpson.

Full list below.

Well, not everyone thinks John Edwards should permanently retire from public life. Rocky Twyman, a Baltimore activist who has gained headlines in recent years for his “Pray at the Pump Movement” advocacy for lower gas prices, will hold a “vigil of hope” for Edwards on Monday afternoon in front of the White House in Lafayette Park.

“Many of the Pray at the Pump Movement were impressed by John Edwards’ statement of contrition,” Twyman said in a news release sent out over the weekend. “He and his parents all publicly gave thanks to God for the not guilty verdict.”