Arkansas

October 10, 2014 - The nation's largest electric utility has skewed its political contributions to give anti-regulatory Republicans a better shot at capturing control of the Senate, as has the industry at large. But Duke and other utilities are hedging their bets by backing key incumbent Democrats, including Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.

October 3, 2014 - The Fourth Circuit Court's decision blocking two provisions of the state's restrictive 2013 voting law ahead of the November election is an important victory for voting rights advocates. But North Carolina is now appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has already proven reluctant to allow changes to voting laws so close to the election.

September 19, 2014 - The South is the country's fastest-growing region, and transplants from elsewhere may be changing the region's political leanings.

August 22, 2014 - This week and next, people in 12 states are taking part in a "Moral Week of Action." The event marks the first time the Moral Monday demonstrations that began in North Carolina 16 months ago have been coordinated across multiple states.

July 8, 2014 - A new Census Bureau report finds a dramatic surge in the past decade in the number of Americans living in communities with concentrated poverty, with the greatest increase in North Carolina. Other states that experienced big jumps include Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia and South Carolina.

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.

March 10, 2014 - Record-breaking domestic oil production is likely to swamp any effort to inject climate concerns into 2014 mid-term elections -- and could even cost Democrats the Senate.