Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Enjoy the Cape Fear Blues Festival and Halfway Jam this weekend, or visit the ongoing Appalachian Summer Festival, Brevard Music Festival, FolkmootUSA and Wintergreen Summer Music Festival.
Now on to the news:
The South Faces HIV/AIDS Crisis
Wildfire Forces Evacuation of Arkansas Town
Beer Truck Flips on Maryland Interstate
Florida Gun Shops Witness Sales Spike
Maryland Set to Relax Concealed Carry Rules
4-Year-Old Virginian Shoots, Kills Self
Civil Rights Pioneer, Professor Dies at 96
SPLC Threatens Lawsuit if Mississippi Museum Refuses to End Gay Ceremony Ban
Equality Florida Launches National Online Petition Seeking Lt. Governor’s Apology
Tennessee Police Sue over Pay Disparity
9-year-old Alabama Girl Drowns Saving Younger Brother
Gardener, Bee Lover Launches Virginia’s ‘Protect Pollinator’ License Plate
Missouri Woman Must Deport Herself
EDUCATION (TOP)
Voucher Schools Face Louisiana Teachers’ Union Lawsuit Threat
States Seek to Improve Education Without NCLB
Poll: Georgians Support Casino Gambling to Fund Education
North Carolina Adds CPR to Graduation Requirements
Plans Would Make High School Second-Largest in Alabama
HIGHER ED (TOP)
Dear Aurora, Tragedy Won’t Define You. — Virginia Tech
Kentucky Student Arrested for Emailing Picture of The Joker
Louisiana College President Will Not Follow Federal Birth-Control Provision
Mississippi College Faces Lawsuit over Alleged Inadequate Training
Georgia Tech Builds State’s First Carbon-Neutral Laboratory
DEFENSE (TOP)
Returning Virginia Soldier Surprises Daughter
Two Central Florida Soldiers Die in Afghanistan
Missouri Honors First Female Soldier Killed in Iraq
Soldier Endured Slur from Sergeant Charged in Death
Hearing Sets Schedule in Virginia Veterans’ Hospital Murder Case
ENVIRONMENT/OUTDOORS (TOP)
Mercury Emissions Drop in North Carolina
Emerald Ash Borer Threatens Missouri Trees
Coalition Recommends Conservation Land Purchases for Gulf Restoration
Lionfish Invasion Could Threaten Gulf Ecology
Hog Farm Restitution Payments Benefits North Carolina Wetlands Reserve
Mississippi River Leaving Memphis Sandbars
HEALTH (TOP)
Planned Parenthood’s Federal Grant More Than Triples Denied North Carolina Funds
Georgia Southern to Host Fall Conference on Rural HIV
Accused Hepatitis-C Transmitter Worked in Maryland
Kentucky Group Wants to Outlaw Smoking in Businesses
North Carolina Embarks on Adult Care Home Plan
SCIENCE/TECH (TOP)
Despite Resident Concerns, Key West Board May Release Genetically Modified Mosquitos
How to Rebuild the Mississippi Delta
3 Mississippi Universities Land Energy-Efficiency Grants
NASA’s Space-Launch System Passes Review, Design Next
Google Launches Fiber Net, Fiber TV in Kansas City
ECONOMY (TOP)
Louisiana Lands $550 Million Methanol Plant, 130 Jobs
Business Rebounds at Virginia Ports
Work-force Trainees Face West Virginian Drug Tests
Defense Cuts Could Cost North Alabama Jobs
Laid-off Kentucky Workers Study Benefit Fairs
POLITICS For additional regional political coverage, visit our sister site: The Locust Fork News-Journal (TOP)
States Ask Congress to Allow Internet Sales Tax Increase
Maryland House Speaker Expects Special Session for Gambling
Gaming Executive Alleges ‘Sleazy’ Process in Maryland
Justice Rejects Deal to become Louisiana Supreme Court Chief in Five Years
Village Offers Free Water to Fight Missouri Grass Fires
State Financial Crisis ‘Battle Is Not Over’ — Alabama Chief Justice
Virginia’s Pension Bomb Keeps Ticking
One Week Til Louisiana Allows Benefit Corporations
ELECTIONS (TOP)
Missouri Candidate Raffles Assault Rifle in Fundraiser
Election Technology Helps Florida — When Its Used
Report: Flaws Found in South Carolina Voting Systems
Officials Claim National Report Overlooks Louisiana’s Election Safeguards
Voter Participation Center Fights Virginia Suppression Efforts
Illegal Immigration Referendum in Maryland Makes Strange Bedfellows
NAACP Joins Tea Party in Opposition to Atlanta Sales Tax Boost
PUBLIC SAFETY (TOP)
Florida Prison Vendor Agrees to Hefty Pennsylvania Fine
Maryland Receives Grant to Help Monitor Sex Offenders
Alabama Gambling Trial Judge Wants Bribery Clarity
Woman Pleads Guilty to Stealing from Louisiana Nonprofit
Former Tennessee Trooper Pleads Guilty in Sex Case
Missouri Man Made Previous Threats Prior to Wife’s Disappearance
9-year-old Boy Beats Infants at Vicksburg Day Care
Teen Accused in Jonesboro Fatal Shooting