Larry Smith had planned on taking a stroll through downtown Monday afternoon after finishing up business at the county courthouse.Instead, Smith found himself surrounded by police officers, military vehicles with machine guns inside and a group of snipers lying on the grass in the new Pack Square Park,

RALEIGH, N.C. — Lists that identify the books, music and movies individual customers bought from online retailer Amazon.com Inc. are protected from North Carolina tax collectors, a federal judge has ruled.