* Duke law professor Christopher Schroeder is the leading candidate to head a U.S. Justice Department office on legal policy.

* WUNC's Laura Leslie highlights an interesting floor speech during the sex ed debate from Rep. Arthur Williams, whose wife is a nurse.

* Asheville Citizen-Times' Jordan Schrader highlights a few other moments from the "For Mature Audiences" discussion on the House floor.

* A spokesman for U.S. Sen. Richard Burr re-opens a fight with liberal talk show host Rachel Maddow over the banking and veterans stories.

BURR BURNED: U.S. Sen. Richard Burr doesn't have a Democratic opponent yet — unless you count left-leaning commentators. After the Winston-Salem Republican said he told his wife to take money out of the ATM during last fall's banking crisis, he was criticized by liberal talk show hosts Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann and took heat from the Huffington Post.

BUDGET SIMMERS: The U.S. Senate was once described as the saucer used to cool hot bills from the House. It's apparently the other way in the state legislature, where chief budget writer Rep. Mickey Michaux said he'll take his time going over the budget bill rushed over from the Senate last week. Check back next week.

TAX DAY: Thousands of protesters gathered across North Carolina on Wednesday to protest the bank bailouts and the size of the federal budget. The so-called Tea Party protests were tied to the date federal income taxes are due. Meantime, the state Department of Revenue said it was running a few weeks behind in sending out tax refunds.

IN OTHER NEWS: A group of Republicans started Carolina Strategy Group to poll voters on state issues and work with business clients. ... Former Congressman and illegal immigration opponent Tom Tancredo was driven out of UNC-Chapel Hill by angry protesters. ... The state House narrowly approved a bill adding a comprehensive sex education option to public schools and passed a major fix to the State Health Plan that will reduce benefits for state workers.

A liberal talk show host took aim at Sen. Richard Burr last night.

The Winston-Salem Republican was once again harshly criticized by MSNBC liberal talk host Rachel Maddow — a sign of his increased visibility as he runs for re-election.

Maddow, who previously criticized the senator for holding up President Obama's veterans appointee, called him "bank-run Burr" for having told his wife to take money out of an ATM during the banking crisis last fall.

Her guest, N.C. Democratic Party chairman David Young, said Burr "helped frame our case" for the 2010 Senate race, which has no announced Democratic candidate yet.

"I was shocked ... at the selfishness of somebody who would use insider information ... that he got in Washington ... to enrich himself," he told the host.

If Burr wasn't on notice before yesterday, he is now.

The 2010 Senate race is heating up.

Drawing on recent remarks made by Sen. Richard Burr, the left-leaning Web site Huffington Post has posted a banner headline on its home page: "The senator who wants a run on banks."

It also features a less-than-complimentary photo of Burr, though it does not mention his name, party affiliation or state.

Update: N.C. Democratic Party chairman David Young will appear on "The Rachel Maddow Show," a liberal talk show on MSNBC, to talk about the flap.

Producers had also tried to book former Gov. Mike Easley.