The main part of the chapel where Jesse Helms' funeral will be held is already full.

The Hayes Barton Baptist Church has opened an overflow room to accommodate the hundreds who have already shown up or are expected at the funeral this afternoon.

Among those who have arrived: U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole and her husband, Bob; Sen. Richard Burr and Sen. Chris Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat.

There are also a number of former Helms' employees, including Bill Berryhill, the first executive director of the Congressional Club and a onetime aide. Also spotted: state Rep. Leo Daughtry and Republican consultant Jack Hawke. 

And there are people with other connections to Helms, such as Bill Eller, a Durham resident whose dad worked as Helms' 1972 Iredell County campaign manager.  

The services begin at 2 p.m. 

Fred Smith held his 89th barbecue Monday night in Smithfield.

The Republican gubernatorial candidate addressed a crowd of more than 380 during the campaign stop in Johnston County, which was catered by White Swan, a local restaurant.

Rudy Renfer, chairman of the Johnston County Republican Party, kicked off the event by urging everyone to vote in the primary on May 6.

Following a prayer, Johnston County Commissioner Cookie Pope led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance. Smith's wife, Ginny, then sang the national anthem.

After the jump, more scenes from the barbecue.

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Fred Smith has received $14,500 from other politician's campaign funds since 2007.

According to his mid-year and year-end campaign finance reports, the Republican gubernatorial candidate received donations from 13 campaigns.

The top contributors were state Rep. Mitch Gillespie, who gave $4,000; Rep. Leo Daughtry, who gave $3,000; and former Senate candidate Todd Siebels, who gave $2,000.

He also received $1,000 each from Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson and Sen. Jim Forrester, $750 each from Sens. Richard Stevens of Cary and Jerry Tillman of Randolph County, and $500 each from Reps. James H. Langdon, Carolyn Justus of Henderson County and Mark Hilton of Catawba County.

He also received donations from Rep. Phillip Frye of Mitchell County, former Rep. Russell Capps of Wake County and Catawba County Sheriff David Huffman.

Fred Smith raised $690,922 by the end of 2007.

The Republican gubernatorial candidate raised $632,984 from larger donors, including state Rep. Carolyn Justice, Raleigh attorney Perry Safran and developer Andy Ammons, according to a campaign finance report filed with the State Board of Elections today.

He raised $28,823 from donors who gave less than $50; $14,500 from political action committees, including Progress Energy, Wachovia and Wal-Mart; and $14,500 from political campaigns, including state Reps. Mitch Gillespie and Leo Daughtry.

In addition, he loaned his campaign $1.9 million.

At the same time, Smith spent $1.5 million on barbecue, renting facilities for campaign events, production of television ads, consultants, signs and bumper stickers.

That left him with $1.1 million in cash on hand at the end of the year.

Fred Smith has given $49,090 to Republican candidates and groups in the past 10 years.

According to a quick review of campaign contributions listed on Open Secrets and Follow the Money, the Republican gubernatorial candidate has been pretty generous.

As with Pat McCrory's donations, the biggest beneficiary was the state party. Between 1999 and 2007, Smith gave the party's executive committee $41,548. He's also donated $1,000 to the Republican National Committee.

The top candidate was Tony Moore, who received $4,000 for a state Senate bid in 2004.

He also gave $1,000 to Patrick Ballantine's unsuccessful bid for governor that year. And in a donation he may have come to regret, he gave $406 to Bob Orr's Supreme Court campaign in 2002.

Orr is now running against Smith for the GOP nomination for governor.

A complete list after the jump.

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Don Beason may still be working, but his Web site isn't.

As of this morning, donbeason.com no longer calls up information about the lobbyist, who was revealed yesterday to have given a $500,000 loan to disgraced former Speaker Jim Black.

The Web site included a brief biography, links to government information and some glowing references from Senate leader Marc Basnight, former speakers Harold Brubaker and Dan Blue, Rep. Leo Daughtry, the president of the N.C. Railroad Company and BellSouth.

Here's Basnight's glowing recommendation: 

"Don respects that we're faced with finding solutions that work for more than just his clients. Don Beason and his approach are always welcome in my office." 

The others are still cached online here.

A House bill would direct the state Sentencing Commision to study outlawing torture.

Rep. Paul Luebke said the study is necessary because of allegations that a Smithfield-based company has sent terrorism suspects overeseas to be interrogated and tortured.

The Durham Democrat said that Attorney General Roy Cooper said that current law does not cover the alleged activities by Aero Contractors at an airport in Kinston.

Rep. Leo Daughtry, a Smithfield Republican, said that the company does "the bidding of the United States government" and should not be prosecuted.

"The state of North Carolina has got no more business investigating the people in Johnston County than they do Fort Bragg," he said.

A decision on the bill was postponed, possibly until later today.

The House passed a second reading of its two-year budget on a 68-51 party-line vote tonight. Here's a quick summary of the arguments for and against the bill. (Not direct quotes.)

Rep. Bill McGee: I don't like the certificates of participation. We have too much debt. What'll happen in the future? Rep. Deborah Ross: That's not a big deal. We have an excellent credit rating. Rep. Bill Owens: Don't vote against the budget just because you don't like two percent of it. Rep. Paul Stam: Yeah, but that two percent caused us to break our word on the "temporary taxes." Rep. Leo Daughtry: We didn't even get a chance to vote on them. Rep. William Wainwright: That money will be well spent on worthwhile programs. And the budget also provides a tax credit for adoption, an Earned Income Tax Credit and tax cuts for small businesses. Rep. Pricey Harrison: And lots of good conservation stuff too. Rep. John Blust: Come on. We would throw a CEO in jail for signing a financial statement this dishonest. Rep. Annie Mobley: Can't we all just get along?