July 12, 2016 -
The Baton Rouge Police Department, under fire for a militarized response to protests over last week's police shooting of Alton Sterling, is among the Louisiana law enforcement agencies that got surplus military gear through the Defense Department's 1033 program.
July 8, 2016 -
With federal officials saying they've found nothing to prove the 2014 hanging death of the 17-year-old North Carolina youth was not self-inflicted, his death joins a list of other hangings of black men that have been ruled suicides despite suspicions of foul play. Another happened just this week in Atlanta.
July 8, 2016 -
A charitable nonprofit is paying for TV and web ads that urge Attorney General Roy Cooper — a Democrat challenging incumbent Republican Pat McCrory for governor — to defend the state's controversial HB2, which he's called unconstitutional. How does a charity get away with what looks like political advertising?
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 7, 2016 -
The utility initially requested a $50 million bond from two climate watchdog groups challenging the planned construction of a $1 billion gas plant near Asheville. Now Duke is asking for almost triple that amount in a move with serious implications for democracy.
July 1, 2016 -
As the U.S. celebrates its 240th Independence Day, Frederick Douglass' 1852 speech "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July" serves as a reminder that there are still those who are excluded from the American dream.
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.
