BOWLED OVER: UNC system President Erskine Bowles says the system's top board members first supported, then flip-flopped on a deal to pay a healthy severance to outgoing N.C. State University Chancellor James Oblinger. Bowles made that revelation in a visit to The News & Observer’s editorial board. Bowles also said former Gov. Mike Easley wasn’t bothered by the newspaper "picking on" him, but had a real problem with the paper picking on his wife. What really got Dome’s attention was that apparently, the most powerful man in state higher education, eats Chick-Fil-A twice a day. No word on whether he prefers Barbecue or Polynesian sauce.

IN A PERFECT WORLD: The state School Board did some dreaming at its retreat this week. Dome expects an army of four-foot high protesters, armed with spitballs, to protest the board's pipe dream of lengthening the school year.

LOST IN TRANSLATION: Gov. Beverly Perdue is headed to China and Japan to drum up business for the state. Let’s all give a collective cross of the fingers that a mis-translated malaprop won’t accidentally lead to an international incident. Sure would love to see some video of the governor performing at a Karaoke bar, though.

IN OTHER NEWS: Bill Hefner, the one-time dean of the state’s Congressional delegation, died this week. U.S. Sens. John McCain and Mitch McConnell joined Sen. Richard Burr for a health care forum at an invitation-only event. District Attorney Rex Gore has recused himself from deciding whether to prosecute state Sen. R.C. Soles in an incident in which Soles shot a would-be intruder.

* The District Attorney overseeing two investigations of state Sen. R.C. Soles has recused himself from the cases.

Rex Gore said Wednesday he still sees no conflict of interest but didn’t want the focus of the case to be on him.

"I don’t think the focus of any decision that is made in this case or any other case should be anything but the evidence and the laws applied to that evidence," he said. "I’m as confident in the attorney general’s office in making the right decision as I am in my office making the right decision."

Soles is under two investigations. In the first, a Columbus County man accused Soles of fondling him when the man was a teenager. The accuser then recanted his allegation. In the second case, Soles shot one of two would-be intruders.

Gore has long-standing ties to Soles including allegations in a 1983 corruption case in which Soles was accused of trying to buy votes for Gore against Mike Easley in the Democratic primary for District Attorney. The charge against Soles was thrown out and Gore was not accused of any wrong-doing. (WS-N)

* President Barack Obama plans to address a joint session of Congress next week in an effort to rally support for health-care legislation. At the same time, White House officials are looking for ways to simplify and scale back the major Democratic bills, lower the cost and drop contentious elements. (NYT)

* Joseph Abbitt walked free Wednesday after 14 years in prison when DNA testing proved that he was innocent of charges that he raped two Winston-Salem teenage sisters. District Attorney Tom Keith, troubled by an earlier case in which DNA exonerated a convicted man, offered the tests to people prosecuted by his office. (N&O)

The federal government's 1983 corrpution case against Sen. R.C. Soles included an allegation that Soles tried to buy votes for Rex Gore, a candidate for district attorney in Columbus County.

Gore is now responsible for deciding whether any charges will be filed in Soles' shooting of a would-be intruder in his home Sunday.

In 1983, a judge threw out the charge and two others and a jury acquitted Soles on a third charge. But a witness in the trial testified that Soles gave him several thousand dollars to swing support toward Soles' preferred candidates, including Gore.

Gore said he didn't believe there was a conflict of interest.

"I lost that election. ... In a small district you're going to be prosecuting people you know, your friends, your neighbors and other folks," Gore said. "We have traditionally always tried not to farm those cases out but make the hard decisions about what to do. As it relates to a conflict of interest, there is, in my opinion, no conflict of interest. We're going to do the right thing in this case, just as we have tried to do the right thing in every single case we've had over the last 20 years."

Gore's opponent in the Democratic primary was Mike Easley who went on to win the election for district attorney.

N.C. Sen. R.C. Soles apparently shot one of two would-be intruders at his home just outside Tabor City around 5 p.m. Sunday evening.

The victim, Kyle Blackburn, was transported to a South Carolina hospital, but the injuries were not reported to be life threatening, according to Rex Gore, district attorney for Columbus, Bladen and Brunswick counties.

The State Bureau of Investigation and Columbus County Sheriff’s Department are investigating the shooting.

Soles, who was not arrested, declined to discuss the incident when reached Sunday evening.

"I am not in a position to talk to you,” Soles, 74, said by telephone Sunday night. “I'm right in the middle of an investigation.”

Soles, a top-ranking Democrat and longest-serving member of the legislature, already was the subject of an SBI investigation over a sexual misconduct allegation – later recanted – by a former client.