Federal policy helped widen rural America’s fresh food gap, but a 90-year-old law could help close it

A food systems researcher shows how trucking deregulation and lax antitrust enforcement let big grocery chains grow as rural distribution thinned.

Former school administrator challenges think tank founder for SC superintendent

Massachusetts sued over its rental assistance program's paused 3rd year, Atrium, N.C. State Health Plan strike a deal after public fight, After 65 years, Freedom Riders finally complete their journey to New Orleans

Why your vote for local chief prosecutor will matter on Election Day

For over a decade, progressive prosecutors have offered voters various options to tackling crime that veer from traditional ‘tough on crime’ tactics focused on heavy prison time for offenders.

Voces de Charlotte brings local community together after Charlotte’s Web

Journalists, community members and experts convened at Voces de Charlotte to share stories of resilience and explore the lasting impacts of Operation Charlotte's Web on the local Latino community.

Asheville City Council to appoint new city clerk

Down Ballot Staff Reports Asheville City Council will hold a special, in-person meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 4:30 pm to appoint a new city clerk effective on Nov. 1, 2026. The regular council meeting will follow at 5 pm.

Va. Sen. Louise Lucas, one of the Old Dominion's most powerful Democrats, was one of six indicted in federal corruption case

512 Flock cameras boost Coastal Georgia’s growing surveillance network, The Brutal Commute of New Yorkers Priced Out to the Poconos, Medi-Cal cuts could push seniors and people with disabilities off of coverage

COMMENTARY: Tennessee’s botched execution of Christa Pike raises tough questions

By Mark Harmon (Tennessee Lookout) Published: October 15, 2026 Editor’s note: This commentary includes descriptions of botched executions. Tennessee’s botched execution of convicted murderer Christa Pike has left behind some lingering and disturbing questions. As for Pike, she was hospitalized with serious injuries, now is in a prison

Changes possible with Charlotte, Triangle hospitals

New mobile grocery expands healthy food options for seniors living in New Orleans, Some Rural Libraries Are Letting Their Users Visit During Unstaffed Hours

Aging workforce, immigration crackdown are depleting skilled workers

By Tim Henderson (Stateline) Published: October 8, 2026 A perfect storm of harsh immigration enforcement, aging journeymen and a building boom for data centers is wreaking havoc on the nation’s supply of skilled trade workers. Automakers and construction contractors say they need more access to workers through accelerated training,

NJ data center emitted high amounts of air pollution for nearly a year

Faith leaders hold vigil for forthcoming family and children detention facility in Louisiana; Depression, Anxiety Plague Black Women a Year After Being Fired by DOGE, Asylum win caps immigrant’s two-year detention as courts weigh third-country deportations

Up-and-down progress of voting rights in America has been shaped by these 10 key moments

Published: October 1, 2026 By Gibbs Knotts, Coastal Carolina University and Christopher A. Cooper, Western Carolina University, The Conversation As the 2026 midterm elections approach, the U.S. Supreme Court has been busy with voting rights cases. In mid-September, the court barred the Trump administration from carrying out its

Western Kentucky utility projects keeping its existing fossil fuel-fired power plants beyond 2050

By Liam Niemeyer (Kentucky Lantern) Published: October 1, 2026 An electric utility serving Western Kentucky counties is telling the state regulator it anticipates keeping its existing coal-fired and natural gas-fired power plants open beyond 2050, a projection amid state and federal efforts seeking to boost fossil fuel-fired