SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN)

"Extreme heat in Mexico, Central America and parts of the U.S. South has left millions of people in sweltering temperatures, strained energy grids and resulted in iconic Howler monkeys in Mexico dropping dead from trees."

"On the worst days, when the backyard would flood and the toilet would gurgle and the smell of sewage hung thick in the air, Monica Arenas would flee to her mother-in-law’s home to use the bathroom or wash laundry."

"Several meteorological ingredients, including record-warm land and ocean temperatures from the Florida Keys to Mexico, helped fuel the destructive storms."

"Florida will eliminate climate change as a priority in making energy policy decisions, despite the threats it faces from powerful hurricanes, extreme heat and worsening toxic algae blooms."

"An industry-backed bill to regulate how data from community air monitors is used was given final legislative approval Monday over objections from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and activists seeking to reduce pollution."

"Their land is bound forever. The deeds of three homeowners—Pastor Timothy Williams, Aretha Wright and Page Jones—all living in the historically Black Shiloh community of south Alabama, tell the tale. Restrictive covenants attached to their deeds limit the ability of current and future residents to file actions against the state."

"Republican legislators have blunted the impact of citizen-led air monitoring, which is set to receive millions from the feds."

"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) closed its civil rights probes into the water crisis in Jackson, Miss., saying there was “insufficient evidence” to say that the state discriminated against residents on the basis of race."

"The nation’s largest public utility is moving ahead with a plan for a new natural gas plant in Tennessee despite warnings that its environmental review of the project doesn’t comply with federal law."

"Last month, one of the nation’s top Republican donors became a flashpoint in a debate over the outsized power coal has in the state of Kentucky."