Politics
August 1, 2014 -
Republican governors' and legislatures' refusal to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act is leading to hospital closures, job losses and even deaths -- especially in rural Southern communities. But some conservative individuals and groups are calling on GOP leaders to reconsider their stance.
July 29, 2014 -
U.S. Senate candidate Michelle Nunn and gubernatorial hopeful Jason Carter -- daughter of Senator Sam and grandson of President Jimmy -- are Georgia Democrats taking the middle path on a road destined to veer left.
July 28, 2014 -
Most North Carolinians think the state legislature has not done enough to address Duke Energy's recent coal ash spill into the Dan River. Their dissatisfaction crosses party lines -- and could affect the outcome of a key U.S. Senate race.
July 25, 2014 -
The deal joining North Carolina-based tobacco giants Reynolds American and Lorillard also unites two of the state's biggest corporate political contributors. Besides donating directly to candidates and committees, the companies have also been funneling money into outside spending groups active in the state's politics.
July 25, 2014 -
Duke Energy contractors have finished cleaning up as much coal ash as they intend to from the Dan River -- leaving behind about 90 percent of the toxic waste left by the February spill. Meanwhile, state politicians continue to hammer out details of legislation that leaves ratepayers on the hook for addressing the company's coal ash woes.
July 24, 2014 -
State Senator Chris McDaniel's still-contested narrow loss to incumbent U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran in Mississippi's Republican runoff last month exposed a divide with the Republican Party possibly as wide as the divide that ultimately split the one-party Democratic South in the 1890s between the "Bourbon" establishment and the rebellious "Populists."
July 23, 2014 -
Environmentalists and others have condemned the Obama administration's decision to open up the Atlantic to seismic testing for oil and gas reserves, blaming political pressure from deep-pocketed oil and gas interests. Just how much is the industry spending to influence federal policy?
