Alabama

August 15, 2014 - A federal program to transfer Defense Department gear to local law enforcement has led to police even in small communities looking like an occupying military force. It's now under scrutiny because of shocking scenes of police violence that unfolded this week in Missouri following an officer's deadly shooting of an unarmed black teen -- and it's also caused problems across the South.

July 28, 2014 - After losing a union election at the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant, the UAW has formed a local there that it say has an informal "consensus" with the company to deal with it as a members' union when it signs up a "meaningful" share of the workforce. What does that mean, exactly?

July 15, 2014 - In a scathing ruling issued last month, a federal judge in Alabama said she could not "conclusively" determine that the Huntsville City School District wasn't still operating an unconstitutionally segregated system -- so she refused to approve a student assignment plan that had been proposed by the school board.

June 23, 2014 - A new report looks at industrial pollution releases into the nation's rivers and finds that waterways across the South face especially toxic contamination -- and would benefit from efforts to strengthen the Clean Water Act.

June 20, 2014 - Income inequality in the U.S. began growing dramatically around the time unionization rates began plummeting. Can the current push to organize the South reverse the trend?

June 13, 2014 - A recent study looked at the costs associated with corrupt government, showing that corruption is taking a heavy toll on taxpayers in Southern states -- an average of $1,308 annually per capita in the most corrupt states, which are concentrated in the region.

May 15, 2014 - I'm 40 years old and work at a McDonald's in Alabama, making the bare minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. It's nearly impossible to support my family on that wage, which is why I'm joining the May 15 fast-food workers strike.