North Carolina Senate Bill 514, more commonly referred to as Amendment 1, is far from unique on the surface: Twenty-nine other states already have constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage, including all Southeastern states. But because of North Carolina's unique place in the 2012 presidential elections — a likely battleground state, which will also play host to the Democratic National Committee — the amendment has raised eyebrows.

The U.S. House and Senate are in recess for the next two weeks, but recess doesn't necessarily mean relaxation. With the budget crisis still looming, the break may give Congressmembers the opportunity to do some politicking as they gear up for a the next round of battles over the deficit. But while Washington is gridlocked over future budget proposals, the rest of America will receive some economic indicators this week — including a report on previously owned homes by the National Association of Realtors. And locally, North Carolina's budget may take its own hit this week after a series of powerful tornadoes swept through Raleigh this weekend.

In other political news, President Obama is back on the campaign trail and he gears up for 2012 elections. This week he'll make stops in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

We get a preview of the week ahead with Kai Wright, editor of the news blog, Colorlines and Charlie Herman, economics editor for The Takeaway and WNYC Radio.

For years, people have claimed a racial bias in our country’s death penalty system, based on the statistics of who winds up on death row. But, now, a law in North Carolina aims to do something to address such bias when it comes to capital prosecution.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release a new jobs report this morning. Since the start of the economic downturn, the dire unemployment situation has been described in grim and abstract numbers: unemployment is at 9.5 percent; one in six Americans are receiving government assistance; and an estimated 8.5 million factory jobs have been lost since November 2007.

But behind the numbers are the human costs of unemployment. In a new book, “Closing: The Life and Death of an American Factory,” photographer Bill Bamberger and author Cathy N. Davidson capture the faces and stories behind the workers in Mebane, North Carolina, who lost their jobs when White Furniture Company closed its doors in 1993. The book and its gripping photos show tell the stories of personal loss and struggle for workers whose entire lives were turned upside down.

The Wake County school board in Raleigh, North Carolina, voted in March to end its policy of busing students for socioeconomic diversity: a decision that has led to considerable controversy. Protesters claim that ending busing will lead to more segregation in the schools.

Now, the divided board is seeking to find a middle ground on the issue through an assignment approach called "controlled choice," which would allow parents to choose schools for their children as long as they are within a certain "zone." However, not all citizens are happy with the proposed plan and 19 protesters were arrested at a board meeting just last Tuesday. 

A dispute over school bus assignments has sparked a racial, economic and class debate in Wake County, N.C. Back in 2000, the district adopted a policy to bus students to outside neighborhoods based on the students' socio-economic backgrounds. But, last night, the school board abandoned the policy.