north carolina

October 15, 2014 - Baker Mitchell is a politically connected North Carolina businessman who celebrates the power of the free market. Every year, millions of public education dollars flow through Mitchell's chain of four nonprofit charter schools to for-profit companies he controls.

October 10, 2014 - Following the Supreme Court's refusal this week to review several lower-court decisions invalidating same-sex marriage bans, marriage equality is now the law of the land in over half of all states. While some Southern states are embracing equality for lesbian and gay couples, others are resisting.

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 9, 2014 - With judicial public financing gone in North Carolina, would-be judges must chase campaign money -- a process that has some experts calling for reform while leaving voters leery of a politicized judiciary.

October 9, 2014 - The nation's highest court has decided to allow North Carolina's restrictive new election law to take effect this year, reversing a lower court's ruling. In response, voting-rights advocates are carrying on with grassroots voter registration and protection efforts while continuing to challenge the law in the courts.

October 3, 2014 - North Carolina election officials are investigating a mailer sent by a conservative advocacy group funded by Art Pope and the Koch brothers that contained misinformation about voter registration. Facing South has identified at least three other states where people also received inaccurate mailings from the group -- and one of those efforts involved an attempt to strike people from voter rolls.

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.