money in politics
May 23, 2019 -
Political watchdogs have unearthed new details about the funding of the shadowy secret-money group that promoted Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whose confirmation is the reason so many Republican-controlled state legislatures are rushing to pass abortion bans. The group is also spending big to move state courts to the right.
May 9, 2019 -
The nation's largest investor-owned utility was recently named the worst for the environment. But changes recently proposed for the utility regulatory commission by the governor in the company's home state of North Carolina could push Duke in a more environmentally sustainable direction.
April 26, 2019 -
In a year of harsh anti-abortion bills, one introduced in Texas went furthest of all by allowing women who end a pregnancy to be put to death. The bill's sponsor — a quadruple divorcee whose first wife sought a restraining order against him — is a major recipient of contributions from a fracking services billionaire and religious sect leader who's become a leading funder of radical anti-abortion groups and candidates.
March 8, 2019 -
With a growing number of banks refusing its business amid pressure from human rights activists, the U.S. private prison industry has been ramping up spending on lobbying and campaign contributions. Tennessee-based private prison giant CoreCivic just added to its powerhouse lobbying roster another influential firm for help on banking issues.
February 28, 2019 -
A bill in the Georgia legislature would overturn local reforms across the state that keep people from being locked up just because they can't afford bail. The bail bonds industry lobbied for the bill, which would reverse recent bipartisan reforms, and contributed to the campaigns of lawmakers who back it.
February 15, 2019 -
Groups funded by Big Oil and other special interests are reviving a scheme — refined by a Koch brothers associate in the 1990s — to evaluate judges in Louisiana and Mississippi based on whether they rule in favor of corporations. It's the latest effort to stack the judiciary.
December 14, 2018 -
The trade associations representing seismic testing firms have doubled their lobbying expenditures since 2016. The move appears to have paid off — but lawsuits filed this week show the fight to block the permits is not over yet.
