N.C. State Fires Former Governor's Wife

RALEIGH, N.C. (Fox 8 News) - North Carolina State University axed former first lady Mary Easley's $170,000-a-year job Monday as newly released documents indicated her husband was involved in her hiring.

The termination of Easley's contract capped months of questions about the job, including some raised by federal investigators, and came after resignations of top university officials. Earlier Monday, Chancellor James Oblinger announced he was stepping down.

University of North Carolina system president Erskine Bowles said the decision was vital to the school.