Politics

January 23, 2015 - Numerous states are facing likely budget shortfalls, but some of those facing the most serious problems are hamstrung in crafting solutions by political leaders opposed to new taxes and by regressive tax systems that rely on struggling working-class families.

January 16, 2015 - With the fifth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision lifting political spending restrictions coming up on Jan. 21, the Brennan Center for Justice released a report this week looking at outside spending and dark money in last year's U.S. Senate races -- and it paints a frightening for democracy.

January 16, 2015 - Next week the U.S. celebrates the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It also marks the fifth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that ended campaign spending limits -- and the two occasions are more closely linked than many realize.

January 15, 2015 - The Bible instructs us to "love the stranger," but migrants probably won't be feeling much love this year in Mississippi. Gov. Phil Bryant is up for re-election, and he has built his political career in part on demonizing undocumented migrant workers.

January 14, 2015 - With Duke Energy under pressure to move toxic coal ash away from waterways, it's planning to send it to abandoned clay mines in two North Carolina counties. But could scores of mines elsewhere in the state end up being targeted for coal ash dumping, too?

January 8, 2015 - With help from an environmental law firm, a conservation group and a landowner are challenging the constitutionality of the North Carolina commission formed to regulate the controversial gas drilling technique. But fracking's challenges in the state are not only legal -- they're also economic.

January 7, 2015 - With money from corporations like Duke Energy, the Republican Governors Association funded tens of thousands of ads that helped GOP gubernatorial candidates in 2014. But in Florida, where Duke does business, the RGA instead bankrolled the independent political committee of GOP Gov. Rick Scott, a friend of big energy, to the tune of $9 million.