Debbie Elliott

Fifty years ago, three civil rights workers were killed by Ku Klux Klan members in Mississippi. Organizers who pushed for justice then are now educating youth so they can continue to call for change.

After decades of trying to ignore the turbulent summer of 1964, when a campaign to register black voters was met with violent resistance, Mississippi is now embracing its history.

In one of the country's most competitive primaries, incumbent Republican Sen. Thad Cochran and Mississippi state Sen. Chris McDaniel appear headed for a runoff.

Tea Party challenger Chris McDaniel is struggling to stay on message after his supporters allegedly exploited longtime GOP Sen. Thad Cochran's bedridden wife.

Minors can't buy cigarettes in the U.S., but they can farm tobacco. A new Human Rights Watch report says the practice is hazardous; cigarette makers say there are some safe roles for kids on farms.

After 41 years in Washington, Sen. Thad Cochran holds clout in Washington — and his name is on buildings across the state. But a Tea Party candidate says the time for that kind of largesse is over.

After days of storms that dropped massive amounts of rain on the South, floods are sweeping across the Florida Panhandle and the Alabama Gulf Coast.

The Supreme Court is upholding a major EPA air pollution rule. The rule seeks to rein in pollution from power plant smoke stacks which can make the air in downwind states unhealthy. R...

Severe storms have hit Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee, killing more than 30 people and leveling buildings throughout the South.

A dispute over a state law requiring abortion providers to have hospital admitting privileges goes before the U.S. Court of Appeals. Critics say such laws create a de facto ban on abortion.

A flood protection authority is suing to try to hold the oil and gas industries responsible for Louisiana's land crisis. But policymakers are trying to stop the lawsuit, saying it's bad for business.

In Alabama, Stephen Black is trying to get college graduates to stay in the state and make life better for Alabamans. His inspiration is his grandfather, the late Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black.

The restaurant at the center of a lawsuit involving celebrity chef Paula Deen has closed. Uncle Bubba's Seafood & Oyster House in Savannah, Ga., surprised employees by handing out fin...

The lives of fishermen in Alaska were forever changed after the Exxon Valdez oil spill more than two decades ago. They're still haunted by litigation, bankruptcy and herring that haven't returned.

The tiny fishing town of Cordova, Alaska, has weathered disruption in every facet of life since an oil tanker ran aground in 1989, spilling millions of gallons of oil into Prince William Sound.

As electronic cigarette companies get bold with advertising, anti-smoking groups fear the ads will lure teens and get them hooked on nicotine.

The towers framing the majestic roof of Centennial Baptist Church reach for the heavens near downtown Helena, Ark. The elaborate red brick church stands out in a neighborhood that's seen better days, given the boarded-up homes and businesses nearby.

But a closer look reveals that the century-old church has seen ...

As we near the end of 2013, NPR is taking a look at the numbers that tell the story of this year. They're numbers that, if you really understand them, give insight into the world we live in.

On a breezy December morning, a work crew is scouring the ...

The state of Louisiana is paying tribute Friday to the Rev. T.J. Jemison, a strong and steady voice against unequal treatment for blacks in the Jim Crow South.

Jemison's body lay in repose at the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge, where Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said he will be ...

Voters in Alabama's 1st congressional district are getting a glimpse of the factions vying for control of the Republican Party as two GOP candidates face off in a special election Tuesday.

Former state Sen. Bradley Byrne, the top vote-getter in a crowded September primary, and grassroots conservative Dean ...