north carolina

October 15, 2012 - A study by Duke University researchers has found toxic contamination far exceeding federal standards for safe drinking water and aquatic life in lakes and rivers located near coal ash waste sites at power plants -- including the main drinking water source for Charlotte. The scientists say they hope their findings will spur better regulation.

October 12, 2012 - Voting-rights advocates are challenging North Carolina's new legislative and congressional districts as racially discriminatory.

October 5, 2012 - Though the South is the U.S. region with the greatest concentration of income inequality, its representatives in Washington are doing a poor job of bridging the gap.

October 4, 2012 - Asian Americans have been trending Democratic but remain highly independent, and their numbers are growing in the key Southern swing states of North Carolina and Virginia.

October 3, 2012 - Indiana Republican Steve Buyer, who fought tobacco regulation while in the House, is now representing the North Carolina-based tobacco giant, which has been aggressively marketing smokeless tobacco products in the face of declining U.S. cigarette consumption rates.

October 2, 2012 - Unallowable expenses the utility giant submitted as part of recent North Carolina rate hike cases included lobbying, political junkets and costs related to a criminal investigation in Indiana. A watchdog group calls for an audit and penalties for improper future submissions.

September 28, 2012 - Most of this campaign's rhetoric has focused on creating jobs and helping the middle class. But many of the few jobs being created are low-wage jobs, highlighting that job growth alone will not address the plight of hard-working poor families, who make up a fast-growing portion of the electorate.