R. Neal

November 20, 2007 - The U.S. Supreme Court is halting executions by lethal injection until deciding whether the practice is cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by the 8th Amendment. Executions in Kentucky, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas are effectively on hold until a Kentucky case is decided.

November 15, 2007 - University of Tennessee Women's Basketball coach Pat Summitt joins other notables such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael J. Fox, and Nancy Pelosi as one of U.S. News and World Report's America's Best Leaders for 2007.

November 13, 2007 - Following up on our previous report about drought conditions around the South and particularly the Atlanta area which now has only an estimated 80 day supply of water left, Florida has backed out of an agreement that would have let Georgia reduce discharges from Lake Lanier to increase Georgia's water supply.

November 8, 2007 - Kentucky ousts one-term Republican Gov. Fletcher, elects Democrat Steve Beshear: Fletcher was the first Republican elected Governor of Kentucky since 1967. Fletcher's term was plagued by scandal, racking up nearly 30 indictments including his own on a misdemeanor.

November 6, 2007 - Gulf Watch: FEMA begins closing Katrina trailer parks while affordable housing fight drags on There are reports of confusion and anger at FEMA trailer parks today over the agency's unclear policy on the parks' future.

November 1, 2007 - The National Woman's Law Center has released the 2007 National Report Card on Women's Health, the fourth in its series of annual reports on women's health issues.

September 25, 2007 - UPDATE: In a major new development, the Associated Press reports that the U.S. Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of execution by lethal injection in the case of two Kentucky inmates. A Federal judge has ruled that the state of Tennessee's lethal injection method of execution is unconstitutional: