Politics

February 22, 2021 - The eight-year-old Fight for $15 movement is as close as it's ever been to winning the minimum wage law it's seeking, but barriers remain — including opposition from two Senate Democrats, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Here's who would benefit from raising the minimum wage to $15, and a look at the strong public support for the move.

February 12, 2021 - How could such an extremist end up in Congress? Consider Georgia's congressional district map, which like all state congressional and legislative maps is set to be redrawn later this year. A new report out this week finds that Georgia and a handful of other Southern states remain at risk for more extreme partisan gerrymandering.

February 12, 2021 - After massive turnout in last year's election, GOP state lawmakers across the South are introducing bills that would erect barriers to voter participation.

February 11, 2021 - Republican lawmakers in states across the South are rushing to introduce anti-abortion bills with an eye to challenging Roe v. Wade in the U.S. Supreme Court, where the conservative majority has been bolstered by three Trump appointees.

February 3, 2021 - Right-wing extremists who believe the fall of American society has begun and should be hastened through racial polarization and violence played a key role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Documents filed as part of recent criminal prosecutions of accelerationists, many active in the South, reveal disturbing trends, including ties to foreign intelligence services and penetration of the U.S. military.

January 29, 2021 - Following the riot at the U.S. Capitol, the president has ordered a threat assessment on domestic terrorism, and his defense secretary has promised to purge the military of extremists. Experts who monitor hate groups say it's also critical for political leaders across the ideological spectrum to speak out against colleagues who spread falsehoods.

January 29, 2021 - Biden has pledged to be the country's "most pro-union president." But will he and congressional Democrats succeed in passing sweeping reforms that could dismantle the barriers to labor organizing in the South?

January 29, 2021 - Tied for the hottest year on record globally, 2020 also brought the most $1 billion disasters ever in the U.S., and they took a disproportionate toll on the South's most vulnerable communities. With most states in the region controlled by a party whose platform downplays climate change, environmental advocates are looking to the new president for help. Here's what the Biden administration has done so far.

January 29, 2021 - Now in control of the U.S. Senate, Democrats motivated by the Jan. 6 extremist attack on the U.S. Capitol are determined to pass legislation that will combat the current threats to U.S. democracy and fortify election systems that have been undermined by voter suppression and misleading claims of election fraud.