kentucky

September 16, 2013 - A new report documents an overall rise in homicides in states that have passed versions of the controversial self-defense law. The increase in "justifiable" homicides has been especially dramatic in some Southern states, and African Americans have borne the brunt of the increase in deadly violence.

September 5, 2013 - An official state study group is recommending that North Carolina be given the power to compel non-consenting landowners into fracking leases. The N.C. Mining and Energy Commission is set to review those recommendations this week before they're passed along to the legislature.

August 2, 2013 - In legislatures from North Carolina to Texas, lawmakers are targeting women's constitutional right to end unwanted pregnancies.

July 25, 2013 - A new report from environmental groups documents widespread disregard for the Clean Water Act by electric utilities -- and an effort by the White House Office of Management and Budget to dilute proposed EPA rules trying to curb the industry's water pollution problem.

June 24, 2013 - An annual report that measures the well-being of U.S. children finds improvements among some Southern states -- and slippage among others. Where does your state stand?

May 31, 2013 - Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell unveiled a plan this week to automatically restore voting rights to nonviolent felons in a state where one in five African-American adults is disenfranchised due to an unusually harsh law. Civil rights advocates praised the move, but some say the governor should go further.

May 10, 2013 - Activists hauled polluted water from Appalachia to Washington, D.C. this week to draw attention to the plight of communities affected by mountaintop removal coal mining. The action comes as legislation was reintroduced in Congress to protect coalfield waterways.

May 8, 2013 - A bill to end North Carolina's renewable energy program was passed out of a Senate committee last week even though it didn't have the votes it needed. What's happening in the state is part of a broader national effort to revamp renewable energy laws.

April 16, 2013 - President Obama's latest budget proposes privatizing the Tennessee Valley Authority, which has been criticized as a socialist enterprise, yet Southern Republicans are opposing the plan. What's going on here?

January 18, 2013 - Southern states with weak gun laws are a major source of weapons used to commit crimes in other states -- but some of the region's political leaders say they plan to resist new federal initiatives to curb gun violence.