N.C. Senate majority leader to quit

RALEIGH (The News & Observer) - Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, one of North Carolina's most powerful and colorful lawmakers, announced Wednesday that he is resigning from the legislature.

The surprise move will end an unprecedented stretch in which the team of Rand and Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight ran the state Senate and, some would argue, the state itself. Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat, had a hand in virtually every major piece of legislation that passed during the past decade, from the establishment of a state lottery to the flow of money to the state's highways and universities.

Rand, a lawyer, accepted Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue's appointment as chairman of the state parole board. He said his resignation would take effect by the end of the year, but did not set a date.