Politics

August 14, 2015 - An alliance of pro-drilling coastal state governors and the energy industry is pressing the Obama administration to open the Atlantic to oil and gas development. But a growing grassroots movement is fighting the plan, arguing that the environmental and economic risks are too great.

August 14, 2015 - Southern governors, working in concert with energy industry lobbyists, are pressing the Obama administration to open ocean waters off the East Coast from Virginia to Georgia to oil and gas development. But a burgeoning grassroots movement bringing together environmentalists, business leaders and coastal residents is gaining momentum as it fights to block drilling in the Atlantic.

August 13, 2015 - After a stint as North Carolina's budget director, discount retail magnate and Republican kingmaker Art Pope is back to spending money on electoral politics.

August 5, 2015 - On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a federal appeals court handed down a decision against Texas voter ID requirements that shows why the landmark civil rights law is still needed.

August 4, 2015 - More than 100 companies have severed ties with the controversial American Legislative Exchange Council, but documents show 54 companies still sponsoring the conservative policy group's annual meeting this summer, including top energy companies and businesses in the South.

July 24, 2015 - This week during the federal trial over North Carolina's restrictive voting law, the state elections chief testified that more than 96,000 citizens would have been blocked from voting in 2012 if the law had been in place then. Meanwhile, another expert testified that there had been a total of two cases of voter fraud in the state from 2000 to 2014.