bob mcdonnell

September 17, 2021 - Though a lawsuit seeking to restore the voting rights of North Carolinians on probation or parole suffered setbacks in recent court rulings, the broader movement to re-enfranchise people with felony convictions has made gains in Southern states in recent years.

November 25, 2015 - Outgoing Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D) signed an executive order this week to automatically restore voting rights to certain felons. The state is among several in the South with harsh felony disenfranchisement laws that disproportionately deprive African-American citizens of access to the ballot.

July 17, 2015 - A new report examines the well-being of state democracies and finds that seven of the nation's 10 least healthy are in the South. We take a look at barriers to voting across the region.

May 28, 2015 - North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory has become a leading national advocate for expanded offshore drilling — a role that builds on almost three decades of his close personal, economic and political ties to the energy industry.

April 30, 2015 - Five years after the BP disaster, a group of governors led by North Carolina's Pat McCrory is pushing for drilling in the Atlantic. The group has close ties to a secret-money nonprofit and energy lobbyists, a relationship that raises questions about transparency, ethics and the blurring of public and private interests.

August 21, 2013 - A new report documents the extensive pollution released in Louisiana last year during Hurricane Isaac, a relatively mild Category 1 storm. It serves as a warning for storm-vulnerable states like Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina now considering opening up their coasts to energy exploration.

July 29, 2013 - A bill that would have allowed North Carolina to issue fracking permits before all of the regulations were in place failed to pass, but lawmakers approved a measure that requires the state to join with Virginia and South Carolina to promote offshore energy development.