What's the South thinking about global warming, President Obama and the public option? Read our latest poll roundup and find out. Plus: Deeds done in Virginia? More...

Environmental leaders representing more than a dozen polluted communities across the South called on federal officials to take action to protect low-income communities and people of color from toxic contamination. More...

State hearings into the campaign finances of former N.C. Gov. Mike Easley reveal that GOP gubernatorial candidates failed to disclose dozens -- perhaps hundreds -- of campaign flights in 2004 and 2008, the same charge which launched the Easley investigation. More...

Joseph Pizarchik is a Pennsylvania mining official whose appointment to a key Interior Department post sparked opposition from coalfield residents -- and now a mystery senator has placed a hold on his nomination. More...

In the current recession job creation is to be welcomed -- but Phil Mattera of Dirt Diggers Digest says it would be a shame if recovery dollars were used in ways that do little more than shift work from the public to the private sector. More...

With the 2010 Census less than six months away, two senate Republicans are still pushing a measure that would require forms to be rewritten to ask about a person's citizenship. The labor union SEIU argues the move would be costly and unconstitutional. More...

The latest circulation figures show all but one of the country's top 25 newspapers unable to slow plummeting circulation numbers -- and the short-term fixes might only make the problem worse. More...

The H1N1 virus sickening and killing people worldwide began in a hog -- yet hog farmers are still not a priority in the U.S. pandemic vaccine program. Are we putting public health at risk? More...

13 states clustered in or near the South have accounted for 66% of child deaths from flu this season, according to government officials. More...

The insurance giant -- which controls 96.8% of North Carolina's market for individual health insurance -- is using its customers to lobby against competition. More...

Is New Orleans' housing crisis a human rights violation? United Nations Special Rapporteur on Housing Raquel Rolnik will be in New Orleans this week gathering evidence. More...

Last winter, a remote Texas prison convulsed in a cry of outrage, voicing the desperation of the immigration system's silenced captives. Michelle Chen reports. More...

Documents obtained by a watchdog group show a severe breakdown in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers management of its contractors tasked with clean-up projects in southern Mississippi in the aftermath of Katrina. More...

The Republican from South Carolina raised $2.7 million in the latest quarter, with the race between him and his Democratic opponent on track to be one of the country's most expensive. More...

Massey Energy has begun mountaintop removal mining operations atop Coal River Mountain, where environmental advocates have been promoting alternative plans for utility-scale wind power. More...

The Senate has confirmed President Obama's choice of Joe Main to head the Mine Safety and Health Administration. He's the former director of occupational health and safety for the United Mine Workers of America. More...

Economists are saying that many of the 7.2 million jobs lost during the recession won't return -- a worrisome message for states, including many in the South, that have been uniquely hard-hit by high unemployment. More...

What's being billed as the largest day of political action in the planet's history aims to draw attention to solutions to the climate crisis. More...

While the Department of Defense targets a community group that does no business with the Pentagon, actual corporate crooks go un-confronted and continue to rake in $ billions in contracts, reports Jeremy Scahill. More...

In a landmark vote, the Senate approved legislation Thursday that would expand the federal hate crimes law to include sexual orientation. It's an important piece of legislation for many Southern states that do not have comprehensive hate-crime laws. More...

This week the Galveston Housing Authority finally announced plans to rebuild 569 housing units of public housing. But the decision has met controversy from all sides, with the most recent public meeting on the rebuilding plan ending in a yelling match. More...

This month marks the 150th anniversary of John Brown's uprising at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia; an effort to spark a slave revolt across the South. Best-selling author Terry Bisson reflects on Brown's actions and legacy. More...

The EPA has promised to more strictly regulate toxic coal ash -- so is it really such a good idea to still be pushing its use on agricultural crops? More...

A federal appeals court in New Orleans has ruled that a class-action lawsuit brought against greenhouse gas polluters by Mississippi property owners who suffered severe damage in Hurricane Katrina may go forward. More...

After nearly 20 years of a protracted legal battle, four construction unions have finally reached a settlement with Texas-based Fluor Daniel, Inc. over its practice of discriminating against union organizers who apply for work. More...

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is introducing legislation to remove the disparity between crack and powdered cocaine possession, a drug policy that had a large impact on the South over the past two decades. But the bill does not make the sentencing change retroactive, writes Earl Ofari Hutchinson. More...

In Georgia, a full count of undocumented immigrants and their families brings economic benefits to local communities that no one can afford to miss, writes Afton Branche. More...

A group of Filipino teachers recruited for Louisiana schools was coerced into contracts that amounted to "virtual servitude," according to a complaint filed by the Louisiana Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers. More...

In Texas and areas throughout the Southwest, Mexican American farmers have waged a decade-long battle seeking redress for years of USDA discrimination in its farm loan programs. More...

As Florida gears up for a major debate over offshore oil drilling in 2010, energy interests are pouring big money into party coffers -- foreshadowing a battle poised to consume many Southern coastal states. More...

Obama's quick trip to New Orleans won't end questions about his administration's commitment to post-Katrina recovery -- but he can silence the critics by supporting several practical proposals for Gulf Coast renewal. More...

The 2010 Census, just a mere six months away, is facing a number of challenges that could have a lasting impact on already struggling communities. More...

The federal government Thursday released the first batch of reports detailing how recipients are spending the stimulus money. More...

Here in New Orleans, residents and community leaders -- including many who worked tirelessly for his campaign -- are waiting for Obama to signal he has a real plan for post-Katrina recovery. More...

In a letter released to coincide with Obama's visit to New Orleans today, more than 50 leading religious leaders and faith-based groups have asked the president to take action to address challenges still remaining along the Gulf Coast. More...

In response to a call from MSNBC News anchor Keith Olbermann, plans are underway to hold a big free health clinic in Arkansas or Louisiana -- states that are home to large numbers of uninsured people as well as key political leaders reluctant to support a public health insurance option. More...

After two years of delay, farmworkers in Florida will finally start getting a penny more per pound for tomatoes they pick. More...

President Barack Obama arrives in New Orleans today for his first visit to the city and region since his presidential campaign. But some local lawmakers and community leaders criticize the short visit and the lack of attention paid to the still struggling region. More...

Coal industry supporters turned out in big numbers for public hearings held yesterday in the Appalachian coalfields -- and their behavior had some environmentalists crying foul. More...

A public school student who does not own any girls' clothing chose to wear a formal man's suit in her senior photo -- and is consequently cut from the yearbook. The ACLU is reportedly getting involved. More...

On Thursday, the Obama administration will release the most extensive list to date of who has received money from the $787 billion stimulus act, how much they've spent, and on what. Find out what your community received. More...

A company wants to place coal ash from the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston power plant into an old mine atop a nearby mountain. But environmentalists and local residents oppose the plan, citing potential health problems. More...

Kim Yaman -- a woman with a brain tumor who can't afford needed care despite the fact that she's insured -- held the event outside the office of Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) to draw attention to the problems with the U.S. health insurance system. More...

Two weeks ago, a federal judge partially granted class certification in a lawsuit seeking to hold the Gretna Police Department and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office accountable for their actions in the aftermath of Katrina. More...

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is proposing buffer areas to protect national marine sanctuaries, vulnerable habitat, fisheries and coastal communities dependent upon the tourism industry. More...

In closing its doors, Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, leaves the city without a hospital to treat low-income, poor and undocumented people who need dialysis. More...

New reports show that rural Americans are more likely to be uninsured or underinsured than their urban counterparts, making health care reform a critical issue in large parts of the South even as some Southern politicians fight efforts at reform. More...

Wake Up America, a conservative political advocacy group based in North Carolina, posted to its website today a call for the impeachment of President Obama -- and to illustrate the story it used a bizarre illustration showing the president as a dictator standing behind the Star of David. More...

The Louisiana State Supreme Court Friday denied an appeal from Herman Wallace, who has been held in solitary confinement at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola for more than 37 years. More...

The State of Alabama's unemployment insurance trust fund is the latest to collapse under the weight of the Great Recession. More...

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will hold public hearings this week in West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania on the particularly destructive form of strip mining. The hearings come as the Obama administration and others are taking a hard look at the practice. More...

A groundbreaking government report shows that few Americans are eating enough fruits and vegetables -- and the situation is especially dire in the Southern states. Are policy makers doing all they can to encourage a healthy diet, especially for children? More...

Four years on, the federal investigation into the actions of New Orleans police officers in the days following Hurricane Katrina seem to finally be under way. More...

Local communities are increasingly rejecting punitive anti-immigrant law enforcement policies such as 287g from the previous administration. More...

The Mine Safety and Health Administration recently sent warning letters to 10 mine operators with serious recurrent safety and health violations. Most of the operations are coal mines in West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky. More...

New Jersey and Virginia have critical and likely close elections for governor coming up in November and voter registration deadlines are quickly approaching. Yet both states, according to the most recent census, have huge numbers of unregistered Hispanic and Asian citizens. More...

A group of 1,000 legislators from all 50 states -- including more than 100 from the South -- have signed letters to Congress supporting meaningful health reform that includes a public option. More...

The decline of newspapers and traditional media -- and the challenge of training a new generation of journalists to fill the vacuum -- inspired the Institute to take a chapter from the civil rights movement and launch a program to create a community of "freedom journalists" across the South. More...

African Americans and Latinos are traditionally undercounted, and Census officials and advocacy groups are trying to figure out ways to tackle the problem. But as Erik Fowle reports, some community members are not sure everyone's on the same page. More...

The Senate passed an amendment Tuesday prohibiting the Defense Department from contracting with companies like Halliburton if they don't allow employees who have been victims of sexual assault the right to take their claims to court. More...

A new analysis of self-reported data from power companies finds that pollution is seeping into the groundwater from 13 coal ash ponds located across the state -- in some cases at levels 380 times state standards. More...

The Biloxi-Chitimacha tribe announced that rising seas would force it to leave the Louisiana island that's been home for generations -- the latest indigenous community uprooted by climate disruption. Is the U.S. really doing all it can to honor its obligation under international human rights standards to protect against such displacement? More...

Contamination seeping from an SCE&G coal-fired power plant imperils area residents' wells and a nearby national ecological treasure -- and it's expected to come up in a court case set to begin today over whether the company should be allowed to build another ash dump at the plant. More...

Texas Governor Rick Perry is being accused of trying to cover up a possible wrongful execution. If an unbiased review of the case of Cameron Todd Willingham occurs, it could result in the unprecedented recognition by lawmakers that an innocent person was executed in the United States. More...

The assault on the community group ACORN is a larger attack on community organizing and threatens all communities, reports Rinku Sen. More...

A recent study by staff with the Nature Conservancy purports to show that renewable energy sources like wind turbines use up more land than coal mining -- a conclusion debunked by Dr. Matt Wasson of Appalachian Voices. More...

You can help us launch an exciting new project to train an army of 50 new media muckrakers across the South -- become a Charter Member of the Freedom Journalism School today! More...

The U.S. Census Bureau and Latino advocacy groups have launched a campaign to heighten Latino participation in the 2010 census and to tackle current Census fears. More...

Despite the assertion of one Republican leader that it's as unpopular as a "garlic milkshake," the public health insurance option is in fact embraced by the majority of the American people and American doctors. A look at that support by the numbers. More...

A new report projects that over the next 10 years health care costs could skyrocket, going up by more than 35 percent without comprehensive health care reform. More...

Citizens for Coal founder Roger Horton of West Virginia made the remark in a radio interview. It comes in response to the Obama's administration's announcement that it would take a closer look at the proposed mining operations, which it says raise water quality and environmental concerns. More...

Wendell Potter, the former communications chief for CIGNA who's now an advocate for health reform, shared his insider's view of the industry's deceptive and harmful efforts to block change at a talk this week sponsored by NC Policy Watch. We have the video. More...

Crystal Lee Sutton, the real "Norma Rae," just died after struggling with her insurer to pay for medical coverage. Linda Meric explains how health care reform responds to Sutton's death and passing the Employee Free Choice Act will honor her life's work. More...

Census employee Bill Sparkman's asphyxiated body was found last month hanging from a tree in rural Kentucky with hands and feet duct-taped, mouth gagged and the word "Fed" scrawled on his chest in red felt-tip pen -- and some observers are wondering why investigators still haven't definitively ruled the death a homicide. More...

The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington says the Louisiana lawmaker's criticism of ACORN after employees were videotaped giving advice to a fake prostitution ring reminded it that he still has not faced an investigation for his own admitted involvement in a real prostitution ring. More...