Snowfall Brings Hazardous Conditions
Snowfall early Friday morning sparked a reaction statewide with schools, government, and medical facilities closing and roads deemed unsafe to drive.
In a statement from Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, the Warming Station at the BJCC South Hall re-opened early — at 12 p.m. instead of 5 p.m. Requests are also being made for meal deliveries from individuals and businesses in the Downtown area to the BJCC until 2 p.m.
All city streets in Oxford are closed; state and federal roads there remain open. Roads in Vestavia Hills became extremely hazardous but are open. In Pelham there’ve been many reports of downed power lines and power outages, according to the police department. Traffic was moving Friday morning at a crawl along I-65 south near the Shelby County airport. Birmingham City Hall is closed and UAB canceled classes and non-clinical operations; the hospital is open.
According to a tweet from Alabama Power, around 40,000 power outages have been reported state-wide, and crews are already at work trying to restore power:
- 20,000 in the metro Birmingham area
- 13,000 in eastern Alabama counties
- 4,200 in western Alabama counties
- 3,400 in south-central Alabama counties
Government and healthcare facility closures:
- UAB announced the early closure of UAB clinics. UAB Hospital will remain open.
- Cooper Green Mercy Health Services’ clinics, Urgent Care, and Pharmacy have closed.
- Birmingham City Hall and Jefferson County offices will be closed for the day.
Alabama approves regulations on pharmacy benefit managers in order to help small pharmacies
The Alabama House backed the proposal that will require pharmacy benefit managers to reimburse independent pharmacists at least at the state Medicaid rate for prescription drugs. The bill now goes to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey.
20 musicians who should get to go to space before Katy Perry
On April 14, Blue Origin plans to launch a space flight with a crew that includes the singer behind the 2010 hit "Firework." But we can think of many other artists who deserve to be among the stars.
Appeals court rules Trump can fire probationary federal workers once again
The decision from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals further clears the way for the Trump administration to re-fire, for now, thousands of probationary federal employees.
Trump says he will pause tariffs for 90 days, but not for China
The president announced he would be hiking tariffs on China to 125% "effective immediately," but said he was pausing them on other U.S. trading partners to allow time for trade negotiations.
House GOP leaders prepare budget vote, daring dissenters to oppose Trump
House GOP leaders are moving ahead with a budget plan that is meant to pave the way for future votes on President Trump's domestic agenda, but members within their own party oppose the bill. Some dissenters have remained opposed to the bill, despite pressure from leaders and Trump himself.
This former influencer gave up her smartphone. She says you should, too
August Lamm became an accidental influencer by posting pictures of her art online – until she reached a breaking point and got rid of her smartphone. Now, she's advocating for others to do the same.
