Tagged: North Carolina

North Carolina is widely considered one of the more progressive southern states. Acts of violence during the Civil Rights Era were rare, and the state was one of the few south of the Mason-Dixon line that went for President Barack Obama in 2008.

But during the Civil Rights Era, North Carolina had more members of the Ku Klux Klan than all other southern states combined.

Overall crime across the state is down by nearly one percent, according to the latest statistics from the North Carolina Department of Justice. That makes the 2011 crime rate the state's lowest since 1977. It also marks the third consecutive year of decline. It's not all good news, though. Murder is up by almost six percent. Overall crime in some Triangle-area counties, including Chatham and Franklin, appears to be on the rise.

The President's health care law survived a crucial test in the Supreme Court today. But, experts say the political fight isn't finished.

Asma Khalid: The Supreme Court voted 5-to-4 to uphold most of the Affordable Care Act. That surprised Karen Duqette. She works at the Republican-leaning Civitas Institute.

Karen Duqette: I think this decision is going to have a major impact on rallying conservatives.

Jonathan Oberlander agrees. He's a professor of health policy at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill