Politics

December 15, 2020 - Employees at one of the fast-food giant's outlets in Durham, North Carolina, say they were not notified when a coworker tested positive for COVID-19, putting their health at risk. They recently went on strike to demand better safety protections — as well as higher wages. 

December 14, 2020 - The Jan. 5 runoff elections for two U.S. Senate seats in Georgia will determine which party controls the Senate — and that will be a critical factor for whether the Biden administration will be able to advance its ambitious policy goals and cut greenhouse gas emissions to a level that gives the international community a chance at staving off even more devastating climate disruption.

December 4, 2020 - North Carolina pharmaceutical entrepreneur Fred Eshelman gave $2.5 million to the Houston-based group to pursue claims of fraud in the presidential election, which he says they failed to take adequate action to substantiate. It's not the first time Eshelman, a big political spender who gives most of his money to outside groups, has been involved in funding ethically questionable efforts.

December 4, 2020 - Conspiracy theories and false allegations about the presidential election are flying around in the Peach State, with all eyes on the two January runoffs that will decide control of the Senate. Here are some of the important recent developments.

December 4, 2020 - Victoria Bowden, 25, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, shares her and other young people's difficult experiences trying to get by during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now a graduate student intern with the Southern Economic Advancement Project, she offers practical ideas for fixing the systems that put young Southerners at risk of heavy debt, poverty, homelessness, and mental illness.

December 3, 2020 - Partly in response to the acclaim for Nikole Hannah-Jones's The 1619 Project on slavery's legacy in the U.S., President Trump recently signed an executive order that seeks to stifle federal agencies, contractors, and grant recipients from talking about systemic racism and sexism. Refusing to be silenced, the African American Policy Forum has launched an effort to overturn it.

December 3, 2020 - First-time voters including young people, former felons, and newly naturalized citizens proved to be a crucial voting bloc in many races nationwide including in Georgia, which a Democratic presidential candidate hadn't won in 28 years. Experts predict that these first-time voters will continue to play an important role in shaping Southern and national politics.