Politics
February 28, 2019 -
A bill in the Georgia legislature would overturn local reforms across the state that keep people from being locked up just because they can't afford bail. The bail bonds industry lobbied for the bill, which would reverse recent bipartisan reforms, and contributed to the campaigns of lawmakers who back it.
February 25, 2019 -
House Democrats are traveling around the country to investigate discriminatory election practices and document the need to restore the Voting Rights Act. Events have already been held in Texas and Georgia, with the next set for North Carolina.
February 21, 2019 -
Cheri Beasley will soon be sworn in as chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, becoming the first black woman to lead the court. She brings much-needed diversity to the South's appellate courts, which are overwhelmingly white and male.
February 15, 2019 -
Groups funded by Big Oil and other special interests are reviving a scheme — refined by a Koch brothers associate in the 1990s — to evaluate judges in Louisiana and Mississippi based on whether they rule in favor of corporations. It's the latest effort to stack the judiciary.
February 15, 2019 -
Southern states are projected to gain up to four congressional seats and Electoral College votes after next year's census. But some Southern states are at risk of losing representation, and census undercounts could dilute the power of African-American and Latino communities.
February 8, 2019 -
Energy efficiency is the lowest-cost way to meet people's energy needs, yet utilities in the Southeast lag behind the rest of the nation in efficiency performance. The federal Green New Deal plan released this week could change that, with its call to upgrade all existing buildings to meet efficiency standards.
February 1, 2019 -
The movement to oust Confederate symbols from public property has made gains in 2019, even while the continuing uproar over the toppled Confederate statue at UNC-Chapel Hill led to this week's forced resignation of Chancellor Carol Folt.
