Health and Public Safety

January 6, 2014 - The oil and gas industry says fracking does not endanger groundwater supplies. But an Associated Press review of data from several states offers the latest evidence that the industry's claims are not true.

December 17, 2013 - The Civitas Institute, a conservative think tank founded and bankrolled by N.C. budget director Art Pope, sought funding to portray the Medicaid program as "failed" and to urge funding cuts, according to leaked documents obtained by The Guardian. The effort comes as the McCrory administration wants to privatize management of the public health insurance program for the poor and disabled.

December 13, 2013 - This week top U.S. courts heard two cases challenging Environmental Protection Agency rules limiting health-damaging air pollution from power plants -- one related to mercury emissions and the other to cross-state air pollution coming mostly from Southern states and the Rust Belt.

December 10, 2013 - But through federal taxes, their residents will still help pay for the cost of other states' efforts to expand health insurance coverage to more low-income people.

December 3, 2013 - Pollution from waste pits at Duke Energy's Sutton power plant is killing over 900,000 fish and deforming thousands more each year in an eastern North Carolina lake popular for fishing and recreation. The state has known about the problem for years, but it's failed to take initiative to force a cleanup.

November 15, 2013 - Hotter days, rising seas, more diarrhea: An extensive new scientific report released this week outlines what the Southeast can expect over the next century due to climate change.

November 12, 2013 - As part of the Affordable Care Act, the federal government is giving money to nonprofits to help people sign up for insurance. Conservatives accuse the program of collecting sensitive information to benefit the Democratic Party. Is there any substance to the charges?