Asheville

A day after vowing to ignite America's economic engine, President Barack Obama hit the factory floor Wednesday, to promise a rebound in job-creating manufacturing industry.

A couple claims they were beaten in Asheville, North Carolina because they are gay. A couple claims they were beaten in Asheville, North Carolina because they are gay. Mark Little and Dustin Martin of Charlotte told local CBS affiliate WBTV that they were verbally harassed by people inside a passing car as they walked down a street in Asheville, considered one of the state's most gay friendly cities. When the couple asked the people to stop, one of the passengers got out of the car and attacked the men, beating them on the street. Little said he questioned whether police officers responding to their call took the crime seriously. ?I feel like that when the cop first came on the scene he just felt like it was just an ordinary crime,? he said. ?But what had happened is we were hit just because we were gay.? (A video report is embedded on this page. Visit our video library for more videos.) The perpetrators face a simple assault charge since North Carolina does not have a hate crimes law,

US presidential hopeful Mitt Romney met with Reverend Billy Graham on Thursday and asked the world-renowned evangelist to pray for him in the final weeks of the campaign.

Lesbian couple arrested protesting North Carolina's gay marriage ban, Amendment One, found not guilty. A lesbian couple arrested on trespassing charges in Asheville for protesting Amendment One, North Carolina's gay marriage ban, has been found not guilty. Laura Blackley and Cindy Jordan were arrested on May 11 at the Buncombe County Register of Deeds office along with six other protesters. The couple, who were legally married in California and are raising their 3-year-old daughter Mavis, refused to leave the government office after they were denied a marriage license. The pair, along with another activist, Craig White, were found not guilty of second-degree trespassing on Wednesday, the Asheville Citizen-Times reported. The three were among eight people arrested during the act of civil disobedience. The other five were awaiting court dates. The protest, part of the WE DO Campaign, took place just days after voters approved Amendment One and was organized by the Campaign for Southern E

Famed US evangelist Billy Graham was released from hospital Tuesday, "feeling much better" after less than a week of treatment for a bronchial infection, his organization said.

A lesbian was arrested Thursday in Winston-Salem for protesting North Carolina's gay marriage ban, Amendment One. A lesbian was arrested Thursday in Winston-Salem for protesting North Carolina's gay marriage ban, Amendment One. Mary Jamis, 52, of Mocksville refused to leave a government office after she was denied a marriage license with her partner. Jamis and Mary Lea Bradford, a gay rights ally, were carted away after they blocked the entrance to the marriage license office and refused to leave. The act of civil disobedience was part of the Campaign for Southern Equality's We Do campaign. The event included nine gay and lesbian couples who each requested a marriage license but were refused because North Carolina law prohibits gay couples from marrying. Amendment One, which was approved by voters on Tuesday, strengthens the law by defining marriage as a heterosexual union in the North Carolina Constitution. ?We cannot issue you a marriage license because it is not allowed under North

On the day after voters in North Carolina decide on Amendment One, gay couples will protest the state's gay marriage ban. On the day after voters in North Carolina decide on Amendment One, gay couples will protest the state's gay marriage ban. Voters will decide on Amendment One during North Carolina's May 8 primary. The constitutional amendment would bar the state from recognizing the relationships of gay and lesbian couples with marriage, civil unions and possibly domestic partnerships. But even if defeated that won't mean that gay couples can marry because the state currently bans such unions by law. On May 9, Southern Equality will take its WE DO campaign first launched last year to Wilson and Durham, where gay couples will ask state officials for marriage licenses. Two days later the campaign will move to the cities of Bakersville, Marshall and Asheville. WE DO first launched last October in Asheville, considered one of North Carolina's most progressive cities. During that protest

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - The privately owned historic plantations that dot South Carolina's low country don't switch hands often, but a tough economy and generational changes in family ownership have resulted in a crowded market for the rare properties.

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - The privately owned historic plantations that dot South Carolina's low country don't switch hands often, but a tough economy and generational changes in family ownership have resulted in a crowded market for the rare properties.

Three gay couples in South Carolina will protest the state's ban on gay marriage by asking for marriage licenses. Three gay couples in South Carolina will protest the state's ban on gay marriage by asking for marriage licenses, CBS affiliate WSPA reported. The protest is part of the WE DO Campaign by the gay rights group Campaign for Southern Equality. ?There are 1200 rights that come along with marriage that we're not privileged to,? said Ivy Hill, who wants to marry her girlfriend Misha Gibson. Added Gibson: ?Growing up thinking about the person you're going to marry, and then you meet that person, and realize that you can't here in the state we call home. That's disheartening.? A larger demonstration last year in Asheville, North Carolina included 20 gay and lesbian couples requesting marriage licenses at the Buncombe County Register of Deeds Office. At least one couple, Elizabeth Eve and the Rev. Kathryn Catledge, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, were arrested w

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Time share mogul David Siegel welcomed a filmmaker's proposal in 2007 to document his construction of what was to be the nation's largest family home -- an opulent 90,000-square-foot mansion named "Versailles" after the French palace and conceived during a housing boom.

US mayors sounded an alarm Thursday over deepening economic woes after a survey of 29 cities from Los Angeles to Washington showed worrying rises in homelessness and poverty-related food aid.

(Reuters) - Evangelist Billy Graham, who is battling pneumonia for the second time this year, is showing improvement at a North Carolina hospital, his doctor said on Friday.

(Reuters) - Evangelist Billy Graham has been diagnosed with pneumonia for the second time this year, officials at the hospital treating him said on Thursday.

(Reuters) - Billy Graham, one of America's best-known evangelists, is in a North Carolina hospital with possible pneumonia, and is listed in stable condition, officials with the facility said on Wednesday.

US Reverend Billy Graham was hospitalized Wednesday for possible pneumonia, the facility treating the 93-year-old internationally renowned evangelist said.

(Reuters) - Billy Graham, one of America's best-known evangelists, is in a North Carolina hospital with possible pneumonia, and is listed in stable condition, officials with the facility said on Wednesday.

(Reuters) - Billy Graham, one of America's best-known evangelists, is in a North Carolina hospital with possible pneumonia, and is listed in stable condition, officials with the facility said on Wednesday.

(Reuters) - Evangelist Billy Graham has been admitted to a North Carolina hospital for possible pneumonia, and is listed in stable condition, officials with the medical facility said on Wednesday.

US crowds scrambled for deals, one Wal-Mart customer even using pepper spray to disable rival shoppers, in an annual Black Friday sales ritual closely watched for signs of national economic recovery.