rick scott

February 14, 2018 - The news that North Carolina Lt. Gov. Dan Forest solicited millions of dollars from a Durham businessman for supposedly "independent" political groups highlights loopholes in state campaign finance law that need to be closed.

January 5, 2018 - The Trump administration announced an aggressive proposal to bring offshore drilling to Southern states where governors oppose it, despite a federal law that says their wishes should be considered. Governors, both Democrat and Republican, say they plan to fight it.

October 13, 2017 - Driven by economic pain, an exodus was already underway from Puerto Rico to the U.S. mainland before Hurricane Maria, which has intensified the out-migration. Where are Puerto Ricans heading, and how are they changing the political landscape there?

March 24, 2017 - Florida has the harshest felon disenfranchisement law in the country, but it's now being challenged by a ballot initiative campaign led by a former felon as well as by a class-action lawsuit.

March 24, 2017 - Though death sentences and executions have decreased nationally in recent years, the South continues to execute people at a disproportionate rate — but the movement to end the death penalty is picking up momentum there.

October 21, 2016 - The deadly storm caused widespread flooding, displacing entire communities as voter registration deadlines loomed. In one Southern state, the governor voluntarily extended the deadline. But in three others — all competitive in the presidential election — Democrats and voting rights groups had to sue to win only modest extensions.

July 15, 2016 - This week North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed a bill that blocks public access to footage from body cameras worn by police. The state joins others across the South that have taken similar action.