Politics

July 26, 2012 - Big spending by super PACs in federal races has grabbed headlines, but outside money can have an even bigger influence in state-level politics. Enter FollowNCMoney.org, a landmark project to track the deluge of independent spending in the battleground state of North Carolina.

July 25, 2012 - State Rep. Mike Hager (R-Rutherford) says he called for a vote to override Gov. Beverly Perdue's veto of a bill to move forward with fracking after seeing a Democratic colleague opposed to the override leave the floor for a moment -- even though that lawmaker's district has a considerable stake in the matter.

July 24, 2012 - More than 30 states have enacted some version of voter ID law in recent years. How much do these laws change voting rules and what impact could they have on the general election?

July 24, 2012 - As Green, Libertarian and other third-party presidential candidates struggle to overcome restrictive ballot access laws, will they have any impact on the outcome of this year's presidential election, as Green Party candidate Ralph Nader was accused of doing in Florida in 2000?

July 20, 2012 - The "Peace Boat" exposes the barriers between affluent white Cuba and its largely non-white and impoverished population -- but also between generations of Cuban Americans.

July 20, 2012 - This week Senate Republicans killed the DISCLOSE Act, which would have expanded transparency requirements for political money. We take a by-the-numbers look at the bill's failure -- and why it matters.

July 17, 2012 - A new report finds that more than 4 million Southern citizens are blocked from voting by laws that deny citizenship to those with a felony on their record. In a state like Florida, it could tip the election.