Gov. Mike Easley's plane just landed in Southport.

After attending an economic summit held by Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama in Chicago this morning, Easley flew back to the Brunswick County airport on a state-owned Cessna Citation Bravo, Ben Niolet reports.

Spokesman Seth Effron said that Easley does not have any public events scheduled "at this time" down East this weekend, so he will reimburse the state for the flight.

"The taxpayers will not pay any expenses related to this travel," he said.

Easley left Raleigh-Durham International airport at 4 p.m. Thursday for Chicago Midway International and landed at 2:25 p.m. today in Brunswick County. 

Gov. Mike Easley's chief legal counsel today declined to comment on the letter he wrote this week saying that "absolutely no evidence" exists to support a former public affairs director's claim that the governor's communications staff directed public information officials in executive branch agencies to destroy e-mails after sending them to the governor's office.

In a brief interview, Chief Legal Counsel Reuben F. Young declined to say whether the governor's press aides had denied telling the agency spokespeople to kill e-mails, or what he meant by saying there was no evidence it happened, reports Dan Kane.

Young repeatedly referred all questions to the governor's communications staff.

"I understand your question and I'm not giving you a hard time here," Young said. "I just want you to understand my response and that is I will refer you to the press office."

More after the jump.

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Eric Montross, left, Montross' son Andrew and Gov. Mike Easley at halftime during the UNC-Virginia Tech basketball game Saturday. (Courtesy of governor's office)

Gov. Mike Easley was called out at the UNC-Virginia Tech basketball game Saturday for not turning it blue.

A camera zoomed in on him, and a message on the arena screen demanded, "Put your shirt on."

Everyone at the game was given a Carolina blue t-shirt and most people in attendance were wearing it.

Easley was not, though, until he saw his face on the big screen. He quickly put on the argyle-patterned t-shirt and flashed a smile to the camera.

Seth Effron, a spokesman for Easley, defended the governor, saying he did not have enough time to put on the shirt before cameras took aim.

Others at the game were also put in the hot seat, and all but two of them threw on the shirt.

Mike Easley did not endorse Hillary Clinton today.

But he did have a slip of the tongue that sure made it sound like he was.

While speaking at an education forum this morning, the governor said that he hopes the next president will do more for education.

"I hope the federal government will play a bigger role as we move into ... into the next presidency ... and I think she will," he said.

There were scattered laughs and even a few groans from the audience, to which Easley responded enigmatically, "You've got to try."

Spokesman Seth Effron said that the pronoun was not an endorsement in the presidential race and that the governor meant to say "he or she" in his remarks but got tongue-tied.

"He's not trying to endorse," he said.

Gov. Mike Easley has to catch up on some summer reading.

Just, say, a few hundred bills. The governor plans to read each piece of legislation the General Assembly sent him before deciding whether to sign it into law, spokesman Seth Effron said.

That included the new 298-page state budget, Matthew Eisley reports.

"He reads the whoooooole thing," Effron said.

And apparently Easley pays close attention, reading like a would-be editor.

"If he had a line-item veto," Effron said, "we'd be here a long time."