Politics

March 9, 2018 - Conceived by a group of high-tech moguls and investors and championed by Republican U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, a new program that offers capital gains tax breaks for investing in poor neighborhoods could end up displacing long-term residents.

March 7, 2018 - The Court's ruling in the Janus case could financially hurt public-sector unions, but it could also lead to broader First Amendment rights for those unions in the South and across the country.

February 27, 2018 - While the NRA's contributions to Congress members have been in the spotlight since the Florida school massacre, the group also spends big at the state level — and it's not the only pro-gun group doing so. But the gun lobby doesn't always get what it wants, and pro-gun control interests have dramatically stepped up spending in recent years.

February 22, 2018 - As civil rights groups challenge racially discriminatory judicial elections under the Voting Rights Act, North Carolina legislators are moving forward with a judicial gerrymandering plan that could lead to less racial diversity on the bench.

February 16, 2018 - People who have not been convicted of any crime languish in jails simply because they can't afford to post bail. To address the injustice, several Southern cities have reformed their bail policies — and organizers in one North Carolina community are trying to make their city next.

February 14, 2018 - The news that North Carolina Lt. Gov. Dan Forest solicited millions of dollars from a Durham businessman for supposedly "independent" political groups highlights loopholes in state campaign finance law that need to be closed.

February 12, 2018 - Eight years since the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision lifting limits on political spending, wealthy interests have gained even more influence over elections while transparency has suffered. But grassroots efforts are underway to shift power back to ordinary citizens.