* Ted Kennedy and Jesse Helms were the polar opposites of American politics — the very mention of their names caused neck veins to bulge, voices to crank up a few decibels and spittle to form upon lips.

The two men served together 30 years in the U.S. Senate, and they died almost within a year of one another.

Though Kennedy and Helms were usually courteous, their feud was real. Most often it was Helms who played the aggressor, portraying Kennedy as a liberal bogeyman to help build the conservative movement and to win votes in North Carolina. (N&O)

* In response to complaints from Charlotte area pharmacists and patients, U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell, a Biscoe Democrat, has asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate reports of anti-competitive and deceptive practices by CVS/Caremark.

Kissell's request comes more than three months after Charlotte pharmacist Jesse Pike and two of his customers testified before FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz about the chain pharmacy's unfair prescription drug pricing and referral patterns.

Kissell asked the FTC to review its decision to allow the 2006 merger of CVS, the largest retail pharmacy chain, and Caremark, the largest pharmacy benefits manager.

"We cannot allow a company to manipulate patients and drive local pharmacies out of business," Kissell said in a statement released Wednesday. (Char-O)

* It was Republican Sen. Richard Burr versus the Democratic congressman Tuesday night as they fielded questions on North Carolina television in a lively discussion about national health care.

Burr, though agreeing that the current health-care system is "unsustainable," said the proposals by President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats would cost too much, raise too many taxes and impose too many regulations.

"I don't want the government handling any more," Burr said in agreeing with one caller who said the federal government had mismanaged too many programs in the past.

But Burr of Winston-Salem was a lonely voice on the one-hour program broadcast on UNC-TV, as Democratic congressmen David Price of Chapel Hill, Brad Miller of Raleigh, Bob Etheridge of Lillington and Mel Watt of Charlotte voiced strong support for bills in Congress to make health insurance more affordable to more people.

After one caller said health changes were being pushed down the throats of an unwilling public, Watt remarked: "If he thinks the majority of the public doesn't support some kind of health reform, I don't know what nation he is living in."

The UNC-TV broadcast was the last of a busy day of health-care events in North Carolina on Tuesday. At lunchtime in Cary, the John Locke Foundation, a Raleigh-based conservative think tank, held a health-care discussion -- one in a series across the state.

Conservatives at the session suggested that the nation explore alternatives to fixing the health-care system, such as expanding health savings accounts.

Later Tuesday, about 200 people gathered in Raleigh for a rally against Obama's health-reform efforts, billed as a "Constitutional Town Hall" meeting. The event featured impersonators of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine and cardboard cutouts of leading North Carolina elected officials who were invited but did not attend. (N&O)

* Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, the last surviving brother in a political dynasty and one of the most influential senators in history, died Tuesday night at his home on Cape Cod after a year-long struggle with brain cancer. He was 77. (AP)