DMVs: Please Stop Smiling

North Carolina, Virginia key to 2012 strategy

(NEWSER) - It's not just about Ohio and Florida anymore. President Obama heads to North Carolina today then continues on to Virginia, hoping he can once again capture the longtime Republican strongholds in 2012; next week, it's off to the Mountain West, where he'll look for victory in Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada. "As Democrats, we can never go back to the 2000/2004 map," says a strategist. Those years required wins in either Ohio or Florida, but Democrats took neither state, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

Tornadoes, rain, hail pelt the region

(NEWSER) - A devastating storm system ripped its way through the South yesterday, pummeling the region with tornadoes, flash flooding, and hail the size of softballs. The death toll shot up today to at least 47, reports NBC News, with emergency crews searching for more victims in hard-hit areas of Virginia and North Carolina. The latter alone saw 24 fatalities and declared an emergency after it weathered at least 62 tornadoes and the worst storm in 27 years, reports the AP. The death toll is expected to rise. More»

Oh, and he's been unlicensed since 1977. And couldn't keep right

(NEWSER) - So your blood-alcohol content is 3.5 times the limit and you haven't had a driver's license in 33 years—let's go for a drive! And so a tire falls off—let's keep going 11 miles without it! Western New Yorker Duane Bush is charged with doing just that, along with a bunch of pesky felonies, after another driver called cops after the rear right tire fell off his van and he continued on his merry way, reports the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. The responding cops said Bush also had a hard time staying in the right lane. More»

Nevada to decide who'll face Harry Reid

(NEWSER) - Tomorrow's primary races will set the stage for gubernatorial and Senate contests in 11 states. Time reports on the 9 key races—here are 4 of the most important.

1. Nevada, Republican Senate: The state will decide who is to take on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. It's shaping up to be a battle between Sue Lowden, an established Nevada Republican, and Sharron Angle, a Tea Party-endorsed candidate.
2. Arkansas, Democratic Senate Runoff: Incumbent Blanche Lincoln failed to win by a big enough margin last month to secure her candidacy, so now she has to square off with her Lt. Governor, Bill Halter.

(NEWSER) - An annual survey of driver smarts is out, and the coasts fare poorly, the Los Angeles Times reports. Conducted by GMAC, the survey posed questions from US drivers license tests and found that 20% of current drivers would fail a written exam. New York ranked dead last and California 48th, sharing the lower rungs with New Jersey and Hawaii. More»