texas
July 15, 2016 -
Last week's shooting deaths of five police officers at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Dallas have led to calls for new state and federal hate-crime legislation stiffening penalties for attacks on police officers. But critics of such laws contend they could deter efforts to protect against identity-based crimes and stifle calls for police accountability.
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.
July 8, 2016 -
Since the U.S. Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013, states have made a slew of changes to election laws. A new report documents how these changes could impede Latino voters' access to the polls in a critical presidential election year.
July 1, 2016 -
This week the U.S. Supreme Court struck down two Texas laws that created significant barriers to women's reproductive freedom. The ruling immediately resulted in similar laws being scrapped in other states including Alabama and Mississippi, and more could fall.
May 19, 2016 -
The creation of manufacturing jobs has been touted as a solution to the country's economic woes, but a new report finds that a surprisingly large number of manufacturing production workers' families rely on public safety-net programs to make ends meet — especially in Southern states.
April 29, 2016 -
More than two decades ago, Louisiana created a tax exemption for horizontally drilled oil and gas wells that's still in place — and it's costing the cash-strapped state billions in revenues.
April 21, 2016 -
This week the Supreme Court heard arguments in a lawsuit challenging President Obama's deportation relief programs for undocumented immigrants. Most Southern states are plaintiffs in the case — even though the programs would benefit many immigrants in the region.