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UPDATED: TODAY AT THE STATEHOUSE: The House and Senate convene this evening in the old legislative chambers at the Capitol to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the recovering of the N.C. Bill of Rights after a Union soldier took it during the Civil War. Gov. Pat McCrory will attend a reception for the event earlier in the day.

McCRORY DISTANCES HIMSELF FROM TAINTED BURNS MONEY:From AP: North Carolina's governor says he had no contact with a campaign contributor who faces racketeering charges in Florida over illegal gambling. Gov. Pat McCrory said Friday he had never heard of Chase Egan Burns, the Oklahoma man accused this week of owning gambling parlors operated by Allied Veterans of the World. Prosecutors say the purported charity earned about $300 million from illegal gambling, with only about 2 percent actually going to veterans. McCrory's campaign has purged itself Wednesday of $8,000 in contributions made in October by Burns and his wife, sending the money to a Durham charity. "I wouldn't know him if I saw him," said McCrory, a Republican. "I think we got it (the checks) through the mail."

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Gov. Pat McCrory returned to Charlotte Friday to help House Speaker Thom Tillis raise campaign cash. For what campaign isn't clear.

McCrory was Tillis's guest at the Myers Park Country Club fundraiser that attracted some blue chip Charlotte hosts, including Tim Belk, Smokey Bissell, Tom Nelson, Allen Tate and Ed McMahan.

Tillis, holding himself to self-imposed term limits, has said he's in his last term in the House. He could choose to use the money on other House candidates next year. But he's also on the list of possible Republican candidates to challenger Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan in 2014.

One sponsor of Friday's fundraiser was Ned Curran, president of Bissell Companies. He said he was supporting Tillis for whatever he needed. Said Curran: "I think it's part of him having resources for himself or for others to be effective at what he does." --Jim Morrill, Observer staff writer

N.C. AS A MODEL FOR THE NATIONAL GOP? For most Republicans, November was grim. But in North Carolina it was a happier story. “North Carolina could be a model for ‘red state’ resurgence,” says Marc Rotterman, a GOP strategist from Raleigh.

North Carolina Republicans will showcase their performance this week to the Republican National Committee, which starts its three-day winter meeting Wednesday at the Westin in uptown. A presentation scheduled for Thursday is called “Success in N.C.: A Blueprint for the Future.” But how much of that blueprint can be replicated is debatable.

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State Treasurer Janet Cowell is coming under fire from state employees and retirees who are raising questions about the pension fund’s management after it invested in Facebook – which saw its value tank after its stock market debut. Cowell, a Democrat, did not respond to questions about the Facebook deal, but a spokeswoman downplayed the loss and defended the investment firm.

The law firm chosen to represent the state in its lawsuit against Facebook is also generating questions. Bernstein Litowitz Berger and Grossmann gave Cowell’s campaign more than $75,000 since her 2008 election to the post, according to state records. Read more here.

Political headlines:

--Could Tropical Storm Isaac soak the Democratic convention, too?

--American Atheists and Adams Outdoor Advertising are removing two Charlotte billboards slamming Christianity and Mormonism after the national atheists’ group said it received an outpouring of public anger and threats.

--Gary Pearce and Carter Wrenn, well known Tar Heel political strategists, map out the Obama path to victory for NPR.

One of the most passionately fought campaigns of this year’s primary season is the slugfest between former federal prosecutor George Holding and Wake County Commissioner Paul Coble, who are vying for a seat in Congress.

The race has produced North Carolina's first super PAC. It ranks No. 9 as the most active super PAC playing in a congressional race in the nation. And like other super PACs in this new world, how The American Foundations Committee is permitted to operate is somewhat controversial and sometimes unclear. Click here to read more, see a list of donors and get a primer on super PAC rules.

To get your political fill, here are more big headlines from this weekend:

--Newt Gingrich tries to keep GOP race alive. In stumping across the state, Gingrich mainly ignored Romney, but stepped up his criticism of Obama, describing him as "a Chicago-machine politician dedicated to Saul Alinsky’s radicalism." Here's a dispatch from his statewide tour, including stops at a tea party rally in Greensboro and Raleigh. He also visited the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will speak in Charlotte.

The one-time Republican presidential candidate will hold events to benefit a conservative advocacy group he runs, the Vertical Politics Institute, and his political action committee, Huck PAC.

The first event will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 11, at the Charlotte City Club. The cost for the private roundtable discussion is $500 per person and comes with a photograph with Huckabee.

He'll also be the guest of a private reception immediately afterward.

The cost of that event is $250 per person or $500 per couple.

Huckabee's last major appearance was at a get-out-the-vote rally in Raleigh and Charlotte in October. He was a speaker at last year's state Republican Party convention, where he notably helped save former state Sen. Robert Pittenger from choking.

Correction: The two events were incorrectly described in a previous version of this post.

Joe Biden will be in Charlotte Sunday.

The Democratic vice presidential nominee will be in a town hall meeting Sunday, the first time any of the major national party candidates will be in town since the conventions, Jim Morrill reports.

Biden is scheduled to appear at a 4 p.m. fundraiser at the South Charlotte home of Crandall Bowles, wife of UNC system president Erskine Bowles.

Bowles was a strong supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton during the primary. Another co-chair of the event is Charlotte Mayor Pro Tem Susan Burgess, who also supported Clinton.

Supporters will pay $1,000 to $15,000 to attend the fundraiser.

Update: Biden will speak at the Phillip O. Berry Academy in Charlotte at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets will be distributed at the Obama campaign offices in Charlotte and Gastonia on Saturday from noon to 9 p.m.

A Charlotte strip club owner has given to Pat McCrory before.

Sammy Tillman, owner of the Paper Doll Lounge (NSFW), has given a total of $2,200 to the Republican gubernatorial nominee's campaigns for local office in the past 15 years.

The donations were all between $200 and $400, beginning in July of 1993 when McCrory ran for a third term on the Charlotte City Council, according to campaign finance reports.

That year, Tillman gave a total of $600. In 1995, he gave McCrory's mayoral bid a total of $700. In 1999, he contributed $400 to his re-election bids; in 2001, $250; and in 2003, another $250.

As noted previously, Tillman also gave $200 to McCrory's gubernatorial campaign this year.

Campaign Manager Richard Hudson said that he was not aware of the earlier donations.

The campaign declined to comment further.

A Gaston County strip club owner gave Pat McCrory's campaign $200.

Sammy Tillman, owner of the Paper Doll Lounge (NSFW) in Charlotte, made the donation on Feb. 2, according to the Republican gubernatorial nominee's first-quarter campaign finance report. 

Billed as an "upscale gentleman's club," the Paper Doll claims to be the "grand daddy" of Charlotte clubs on its Web site, while a theme song claims to serve "cowboy playboys."

Consultant Jack Hawke said that the campaign did not realize Tillman's occupation, noting that its accountants also referred to former U.S. Sen. Jim Broyhill as a state legislator.

"They don't always catch who everybody is," he said. "It's a $200 contribution. We've accepted it, and I think that's basically the end of the story."

Hawke also joked about the size of the donation.

"I can tell you this, Pat McCrory's not going to take his pants off for $200," he said. When asked if that meant he would do so for more, he demurred. 

"I don't know what the amount is," he said, laughing. 

Today is not the first time Bill Clinton has come to North Carolina.

Dome researcher Becky Ogburn has compiled this quick list of other visits by the former president:

Sept. 5, 2007: Appears at a fund-raiser for Hillary in Charlotte at the City Club.

Dec. 6, 2002: Appears at fund-raisers in Raleigh in support of church efforts to replace housing destroyed during Hurricane Floyd.

Sept. 20, 1999: Visits Tarboro and tours the area hit hard by Hurricane Floyd.

July 30, 1998: Visits Western North Carolina, designating the New River an American Heritage River. Campaigns for Democratic Senate candidate John Edwards at the Kerr Scott Building on the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh.

March 13, 1997: Becomes the first president to address the N.C. General Assembly while in office.

Sept. 14, 1996: Makes a brief stop in Raleigh after viewing Hurricane Fran damage from a helicopter.

Oct. 12, 1993: Receives an honorary law degree at UNC-Chapel Hill's 200th birthday bash at Kenan Stadium.

Oct. 26, 1992: Cmes through the Triangle on bus tour, stops in Kinston, at N.C. Central in Durham and the state capitol.

Oct. 10, 1992: Holds a get-out-the-vote rally at Marshall Park in Charlotte.

Oct. 4, 1992: Campaigns at Grainger Stadium in Kinston. Speaks to an invitation-only audience in Stewart Theater at N.C. State. Gives a speech to 9,000 people in Reynolds Coliseum.

Sept. 1, 1992: Campaigns in Greensboro.

April 30, 1992: Campaigns with Hillary, participating in a video teleconference for public school teachers, university students and faculty and business executives at the School of Education at UNC-Chapel Hill.