Julie Rose

When the summer sun sets in Charlotte, N.C., urban fishers make for the manmade pond in Freedom Park. They often bring their kids and grandkids for a taste of the country life they knew when Charlotte was a sleepier town.

With the national convention just three months away, state Democrats are reeling from a series of setbacks, including passage of a gay marriage ban and a sex scandal within the organization. But party leaders say they're committed to making the convention a success and keeping the state "blue" in November.

A violin maker in Israel has spent more than two decades painstakingly amassing a tragic collection: instruments played by Jews during the Holocaust. He calls them "Violins of Hope," and they will be displayed for the first time in the United States, and featured in a series of upcoming concerts.

The Charlotte area straddles North and South Carolina. Republicans who live just steps inside the North Carolina line can only watch longingly as their southern neighbors narrow the field of candidates. By the time North Carolinians get a crack at the Republican field in May, the decisions will already be made.

In North Carolina Tuesday, a state eugenics task force has recommended paying $50,000 to people the state sterilized against their will. It's not as much money as the victims had hoped, but it's one of the first times a state has offered any money.

South Carolina's Republican governor paints an optimistic picture of the state's economy. But with a higher-than-average unemployment rate, voters are focused on economic issues when it comes to the 2012 presidential election.

One county sterilized more people than any other, partially because the head of welfare believed it was a good option for women at a time when abortion was illegal and the birth control pill didn't yet exist. But in the context of an ugly eugenics campaign, serious questions remain over whether consent was forced.

Every family seems to have a holiday food tradition. Occasionally, it's a dish unusual enough to make guests at the table recoil in disgust. That's the first response reporter Julie Rose gets when she tells people she can't wait to eat sauerkraut — a nod to her Czech heritage — with her turkey.

Unionized businesses in Charlotte, N.C., have traditionally had to keep a low profile in this right-to-work state. But with the Democratic National Convention headed to town in 2012, having union ties could now be something to flaunt — and cash in on.

The president won the state by a narrow margin in 2008. His fall in support among independents in North Carolina means Obama now faces a struggle to stay competitive for 2012. His problem in the state is the same one he faces everywhere: unemployment.