north carolina

February 9, 2017 - After a slight increase in 2015, the number of Southern workers in unions dipped last year. But the election of President Trump has created new urgency for labor to organize, including two high-profile campaigns this spring in Mississippi and South Carolina.

February 3, 2017 - EPA civil rights investigators say they're concerned that North Carolina's hog farm regulations are discriminating against communities of color — and they have the attention of the state's new top environmental regulator.

January 27, 2017 - On transgender rights, immigrant protections, minimum wage increases and more, Southern cities are facing escalating efforts by state and federal officials to block local progress.

January 10, 2017 - Last week the Obama administration denied all pending permits to conduct seismic testing for oil and gas reserves in the Atlantic Ocean, but pro-drilling politicians who don't represent directly affected coastal communities say they'll work to reverse the decision under Trump.

January 6, 2017 - This week North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) announced he would take action to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, just months after his Louisiana counterpart did the same. But now congressional Republicans are vowing to repeal the law altogether.

December 22, 2016 - The recent move by North Carolina's GOP-controlled legislature to strip powers from Democratic Gov.-elect Roy Cooper is an example of basic democratic norms being undermined in a radical way, authoritarianism expert Yascha Mounk of Harvard University told an NPR talk show this week.

December 16, 2016 - Opponents of opening the Atlantic coast to oil and gas drilling are pressing President Obama to enact a permanent ban. We look at the legal framework for such an action, and how durable it would be under a Trump administration.

December 9, 2016 - This week the U.S. Supreme Court took up cases involving potentially racially gerrymandered voting districts in North Carolina and Virginia. The rulings are expected to define for the first time what constitutes excessive reliance on race when drawing district lines. 

December 9, 2016 - It's rumored that North Carolina lawmakers will consider a bill during next week's special session to expand the state's high court by two members, giving Republicans control back after they lost it in last month's election. The move would fit a broader national trend of court packing for partisan gain.

December 2, 2016 - The campaign that's been successfully winning minimum wage hikes held nationwide mass protests this week, signaling its intention to put pressure on Republican President-elect Donald Trump, who's made conflicting statements on wage policy.