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Rep. Pricey Harrison has asked for an investigation into Blue Cross and Blue Shield's campaign against the public option health care proposal.

Harrison, a Greensboro Democrat, has asked the Attorney General and N.C. Department of Insurance to look into whether the insurer violated the state's do-not-call registry with a robocall and whether it is proper for the insurer to use premiums to pay for mailers, reports Mark Binker of the Greensboro News & Record.

"We are a fully taxed medical services and hospital corporation," Borman said, adding that the company paid $162 million in federal, state and local taxes last year.

However, the fact the company paid taxes does not make it a for-profit company, said Adam Searing, a health policy expert with liberal-leaning advocacy group The North Carolina Justice Center.

"They are a nonprofit organization," Searing said. "They are organized under a special part of the nonprofit corporation law in North Carolina. They have a nonprofit board."

The N.C. Department of Justice says it will be an ally to northeastern North Carolina in its fight against the U.S. Navy's proposed Outlying Landing Field.

A letter from the Attorney General's office to U.S. Rep. Walter Jones, a Farmville Republican, indicates the department would enforce laws by which the state would retain some jurisdiction over lands seized for an OLF in counties that do not already have military bases. That would allow the counties to enforce noise ordinances, for example, on the Navy.

"Without full jurisdiction over property acquired for an OLF, it appears that the Navy would have difficulty in operating a military base," wrote Chief Deputy Attorney General Grayson Kelley. "The Attorney General's office will therefore continue to carefully monitor all legal issues related to the OLF siting process and be prepared to act as necessary to protect the economy and environment of eastern North Carolina."

The Navy is considering sites in Camden and Gates counties for a nighttime practice landing field for its pilots from Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach. Camden and Gates residents have opposed the Navy's proposals.

There are only a handful of glass ceilings left in North Carolina.

As of this November, women have been successfully elected to nearly all of the statewide positions and have served in a number of appointed posts as well.

But a few glass ceilings remain, mostly in the legislature and in law enforcement.

HOUSE SPEAKER: No woman has served as speaker of the N.C. House of Representatives.

SENATE LEADER: No woman has led the Senate, either when the lieutenant governor had most of the power or more recently when the Senate president pro tem became more powerful. (Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue served as lieutenant governor when that role had fewer responsibilities.)

LEGISLATIVE MAJORITY: Women have never held the majority of seats in either the House or Senate.

ATTORNEY GENERAL: No woman has been elected the state's top cop.

CRIME CONTROL SECRETARY: No woman has overseen the state Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, a member of the governor's Cabinet.

CORRECTION SECRETARY: No woman has been appointed to head the state Department of Correction.

In addition, no woman has served as state insurance commissioner, though that job has been held by Jim Long for decades so few men have had the chance either; or as secretary of Environment and Natural Resources or secretary of Transportation, two appointed positions.

Why does the U.S. attorney's post matter?

As we've written earlier, federal prosecutors in the Eastern District play a key role in corruption investigations because they have investigative powers that state prosecutors do not.

In addition, they are insulated from the local political forces that might hold back the state Attorney General's office or a locally elected prosecutor.

And after the Republican wipeout two weeks ago, the job will be even more important.

Other than prosecutors, the major checks on power in the state are legislators; the state auditor, governor, attorney general and other statewide elected officials; the state Supreme Court; the political parties; investigators for the State Board of Elections and the media.

Consider that Democrats now control both chambers of the legislature, hold eight out of 10 statewide offices including the governor, attorney general and the auditor, and an incoming U.S. senator in the majority party with ties to the state Senate leader.

Republicans have a 4-3 advantage on the state Supreme Court and one U.S. senator in the minority party. The state's party chairwoman is taking some criticism on blogs and may face a challenge next year. The only statewide officials are in labor and agriculture.

That leaves the board of elections, the U.S. attorney's office and the media as the major potential checks on corruption in the state.

Gov. Mike Easley is calling on the state's community colleges to continue admitting illegal immigrants.

Easley issued a statement today in the wake of advice from the state Attorney General's Office, which recommended against allowing illegal immigrants to attend community colleges.

The advisory letter from the Roy Cooper's office appeared to relate to public universities, as well, thought it did not specifically address them.

Federal law on the issue is not settled, Easley noted in the statement. He said he was asking Cooper to seek clarification from federal officials on whether illegal immigrants are eligible to attend community colleges.

"The legislature specifically provided the Community College board the authority to establish admission criteria," Easley said. "In the absence of federal action to the contrary, the Community College board should continue its current policy, which is consistent with other states."

He pointed out that the attorney general's advisory letter acknowledged that the federal government has not specifically prohibited admission of illegal immigrants to community colleges.

Roy Cooper says public colleges in North Carolina should not admit illegal immigrants.

In an advisory letter released Wednesday, the attorney general's office advised the state's 58 community colleges and 16 four-year institutions in the University of North Carolina system to reverse their current policies of allowing illegal immigrants to attend.

It is also a setback to a movement to grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants who attended high school here.

"It really closes the door of opportunity for a lot of kids," said Andrea Bazan, president of the Triangle Community Foundation.

The state could pass a law allowing students to attend, the letter says, otherwise a policy of prohibiting them would "more likely withstand judicial scrutiny."

The state's universities have admitted illegal immigrants since 2004. (N&O)

A new grant will allow consumers to access prescription information online.

Attorney General Roy Cooper said today that a settlement with the world's largest pharmaceutical company will fund the Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs program and Web site. The grant is the 29th in a series that attorney generals from across the country have made to give consumers balanced information about drugs.

The Web site will allow consumers to compare prices and safety ratings for drugs used to treat dozens of medical conditions.

"People need to know a lot more about prescription drugs than what TV ads tell them," Cooper said in a statement. "This will be a source for consumers to get drug information they can discuss with their doctor."

The state Attorney General's Office will represent Treasurer Richard Moore in a public records lawsuit filed against him by a state employees group.

In a letter sent to the treasurer's office today, Joyce Rutledge, a special deputy attorney general, informed Moore's office that the attorney general would take the case.

The State Employees Association of North Carolina (SEANC) sued Moore a week ago, saying that the treasurer's office had failed to adequately respond to public records requests that began in March.

Attorney General Roy Cooper and the Department of Justice provide legal representation and advice to all state government departments, agencies and commissions. Rutledge wrote in her letter that she believes Moore's office has a strong case.

"We have concluded that SEANC's allegations of the Department's failure to provide it with the public records it had requested are unsupported and unfounded," Rutledge wrote.

Tom Harris, chief of staff and general counsel for the association, said he had not seen the letter.

"SEANC would not have brought the lawsuit if we didn't think we had a meritorious case," Harris said. "A judge will decide this." 

So what’s next for John Edwards?

Edwards has given no indication of his plans, but that hasn’t stopped the speculation. Rob Christensen offers his take on some of the more widely discussed possibilities:

Could Edwards be a vice presidential candidate again? Most political observers think it’s unlikely.

There is little evidence that Edwards helped as Sen. John Kerry’s running mate on the national ticket in 2004. Kerry has said he regretted choosing Edwards, according to political consultant Bob Shrum. Kerry gave credence to that view when he endorsed Sen. Barack Obama in South Carolina, a move that seemed designed to hurt Edwards when he was most vulnerable.

Finally, it’s not clear that Edwards would be interested in a vice presidential slot - been there, done that.

Who might Edwards endorse? The most likely candidate is Obama.

Edwards and Obama shared many of the same supporters, and both portrayed themselves as change agents, while depicting Clinton as the politics of the past. Many of Edwards’ supporters might see an endorsement of Clinton as a betrayal. The gossip is that Clinton and Edwards aren’t particularly fond of each other, although they were observed chatting amicably in the holding room after the recent Democratic debate in Myrtle Beach.

“It’s unlikely that Edwards would cut a deal with Clinton if there is going to be an endorsement or Cabinet post,” said Peter Francia, a political science professor at East Carolina University. “It would come in an Obama administration with an Obama endorsement.”

Could Edwards be part of a Democratic administration? Edwards could end up as a Cabinet secretary, especially if his endorsement helps a candidate.

Speculative gossip -- and that is all it is -- has centered on the Department of Justice, where he could be a crusading attorney general and bring anti-trust suits against corporations, and the Department of Labor, where he could champion the conditions of working people.

Edwards would be a high-profile appointment that would be welcomed by certain segments of the party, including trial lawyers, organized labor and anti-poverty groups. But Edwards would be an independent power base within the administration -- something that a Democratic president may not want.

Whether Edwards would be interested in a Washington job is another question. But a Cabinet post would allow Edwards to remain a player in big-time politics.

“Cabinet posts are often a polyglot of various sentiments of the party, often quite small,” said David Rohde, a Duke University political science professor who has written extensively about presidential politics. “He has spoken for and received support of a significant portion of the Democratic voters - considerably more than a bunch of others who would be considered for a Cabinet post. I could imagine him being invited to be in the Cabinet.”

Would he make a bid to return to the U.S. Senate? Edwards did not seek re-election to his Senate seat in 2004. There is little indication that Edwards was enamored with the working of the Senate during his one term. He has also moved sharply to his political left while running for president, making it more difficult to win a Senate race in North Carolina.