Birmingham City Budget
The budget includes $1 million in appropriations for a study into the feasibility of a streetcar system in downtown and another $1 million in funds to help restore Bethel Baptist Church, an instrumental civil rights meeting place.
Councilors have been critical of the mayor for not providing a formal capital projects budget. William Bell says the mayor is in violation of the Mayor-Council Act for not doing so. Royal says there could be fear of reprisal in the city’s legal department if something is said about it.
WBHM’s Steve Chiotakis spoke with Councilor Roderick Royal about the budget process, some of the things he approves or rejects and what to expect in the ultimate vote.
Alabama board seeks to ban books that ‘positively’ depict trans themes from library youth sections
The Alabama Public Library Service Board of Directors is considering a proposed rule change that expands the existing requirement for youth sections to be free of “material deemed inappropriate for children.” The new proposal said that includes any material that “positively depicts transgender procedures, gender ideology, or the concept of more than two biological genders.”
Greetings from an Indian Railways coach, with spectacular views from Mumbai to Goa
Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world.
Alabama inmate asks to meet with governor ahead of execution
Anthony Boyd is scheduled to be executed Thursday evening by nitrogen gas at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility. A jury convicted Boyd of capital murder for the 1993 burning death of Gregory Huguley in Talladega County.
Hyundai still committing billions to Louisiana steel mill after ICE raid in Georgia
The immigration raid last month has analysts questioning whether President Donald Trump’s immigration and manufacturing goals are at odds.
Mental exercise can reverse a brain change linked to aging, study finds
Scientists have found the first compelling evidence that cognitive training can boost levels of a brain chemical that typically declines as people age.
The federal government is still shut down. Here’s what that means across the country
The federal government remains shut down. The NPR Network is following the ways the shutdown is affecting services across the country.