louisiana

July 21, 2016 - The Missouri man who killed three law enforcement officers and injured three others in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, this week was an adherent of a violent, extremist, anti-government ideology rooted in white supremacy but that in recent years has spawned a black nationalist strain that's attracting African Americans.

July 15, 2016 - Last week's shooting deaths of five police officers at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Dallas have led to calls for new state and federal hate-crime legislation stiffening penalties for attacks on police officers. But critics of such laws contend they could deter efforts to protect against identity-based crimes and stifle calls for police accountability.

July 15, 2016 - In different ways, members of the South's small but fast-growing Asian-American community are demonstrating unity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

July 15, 2016 - This week North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed a bill that blocks public access to footage from body cameras worn by police. The state joins others across the South that have taken similar action.

July 14, 2016 - Alton Sterling was shot to death by police outside a Baton Rouge convenience store while selling CDs to get by. With a felony conviction on his record, Sterling faced significant employment barriers — but efforts are underway in Louisiana and elsewhere to dismantle at least some of them through so-called "ban the box" laws.

July 12, 2016 - The Baton Rouge Police Department, under fire for a militarized response to protests over last week's police shooting of Alton Sterling, is among the Louisiana law enforcement agencies that got surplus military gear through the Defense Department's 1033 program.

July 1, 2016 - This week the U.S. Supreme Court struck down two Texas laws that created significant barriers to women's reproductive freedom. The ruling immediately resulted in similar laws being scrapped in other states including Alabama and Mississippi, and more could fall.