State Policy

October 23, 2014 - Over the past 15 years, North Carolina's high court has sided against the environment in every major environmental law case it's considered, a new study finds. And with the court's three Democrats facing tough re-election challenges, the odds could become even more stacked.

October 17, 2014 - The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide whether a strict voter ID law that opponents say is racially discriminatory will be enforced during this year's election in Texas.

October 17, 2014 - In the first election since the end of North Carolina's judicial public financing program, Supreme Court and Court of Appeals candidates have raised nearly three times the amount of individual contributions as they had in recent elections -- and much of that money is coming from those with matters before the courts.

October 16, 2014 - The North Carolina Mining and Energy Commission will consider an environmental group's petition to craft rules protecting people from toxic air emissions from fracking operations, a growing concern among public health experts.

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 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.