Senator cites business dealings, Sago mine disaster in ‘no’ vote for commerce secretary Wilbur Ross
The U.S. Senate confirmed Wilbur Ross to serve as President Trump’s Secretary of Commerce on a 72-27 vote Monday night — with U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, of West Virginia, voting against the billionaire businessman, citing Ross’ business dealings in the […]
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The miner and the matriarch: Coal mining women of West Virginia
Violet Gathalee Pavkovich stands on the small back porch of her powder blue, turn-of-the-century farmhouse, an orange cat meandering around her legs. White wicker furniture contrasts the rusty railroad tracks that border her back yard. “Trains hauling coal come through […]
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‘There’s a reason we’re baptized in water’
There’s no doubt our water is in the news. President Trump recently reversed a stream protection rule. Municipalities around the nation struggle with aging water systems. And according to preliminary totals from the Beverage Marketing Corporation, the U.S. drank more bottled […]
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DEA agent: ‘We had no leadership’ in West Virginia amid flood of pain pills
During the years drug firms poured millions of highly addictive pain pills into West Virginia amid a rise of overdose deaths, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration had a shortage of leadership in the state, according to a DEA official. “We […]
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The Pendulum Effect: The science that took us from Obama to Trump
I first developed the concept of the Pendulum Effect Theory of Race Relations in 1999, when I made a conceptual connection between the physics formula which states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, and the […]
Read More100 Days in Appalachia
Latest News
Officials: Storm Damage, Misinformation Threaten North Carolina’s Election Integrity
Appalachian communities are still reeling from the damage wrought by Hurricane Helene. More than 230 people have died. Homes have […]
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Front Porch Politics: One survivor recounts his harrowing escape from Impact Plastics
The morning of Friday, September 27 was “a normal day.” But by that afternoon, six of Robert Jarvis’ coworkers were dead.
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Across Appalachia, Photo ID Requirements Complicate Voting
ID requirements are deeply intertwined with other legislation, lawsuits, and logistical barriers that restrict who can vote and how.
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North Carolina Evacuees Take Refuge in Fletcher Ag Center-Turned-Shelter
The emergency shelter has taken in 300 evacuees from areas hard-hit by Hurricane Helene’s flooding.
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In Appalachia’s Battleground States, Election Officials Worry About Cyber Security, Physical Threats and Misinformation
“Everything is a concern” when it comes to election security, according to the elections director in North Carolina.
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On “Making It” in Appalachia
Poet Torli Bush reflects on how his journey runs counter to the narrative pushed by JD Vance’s memoir, that you have to leave the region to be successful.
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