Republican Circuit Clerk Candidate Staying in the Race
A Republican candidate for Jefferson County Circuit Clerk says he will remain in the race despite a recent court ruling against him in a church dispute over money.
A jury ruled against Phillip Brown, who was sued by the Sandusky Church of Christ and its pastor James Willcutt. They say Brown moved money from a church bank account without authorization.
Brown, who faces Democrat Jacqueline Smith in the November midterms, was ordered to pay $230,000. That’s the amount the church pastor says he removed from the church’s account.
A lawyer in the Alabama Secretary of State’s office said because the case was civil and not criminal, the ruling does not disqualify Brown from running for political office.
Brown, a church trustee when the dispute started five years ago, says he moved the funds to prevent the pastor from spending the church’s money at will.
“No money was taken at all,” Brown says. “The money is back. The pastor was angry and came after me.”
Attempts to reach a spokesman for the church were unsuccessful.
The Sandusky Church of Christ is a small congregation in west Jefferson County. Brown says he has left that church and worships with a congregation in Bessemer.
Chilean Smiljan Radić Clarke wins architecture’s highest honor
The Pritzker Prize was awarded Thursday. "In every work, he is able to answer with radical originality, making the unobvious obvious," said fellow Chilean architect and prize chair Alejandro Aravena.
El Niño is set to take hold this summer, driving up global temperatures
A potentially strong El Niño weather pattern will likely emerge this summer and persist through the rest of the year. The hottest years on record generally occur in years when El Niño is active.
‘Songs from the Hole’: The story behind JJ’88’s documentary and visual album
The visual album and documentary Songs from the Hole tells the story of James Jacobs, the hip-hop artist JJ'88, as he reflects on his coming-of-age within California's state prison system.
Oil price surges as Iran steps up attacks on ships in the Persian Gulf
Markets seesawed on Day 13 of the war in the Middle East, as two oil tankers were struck by projectiles near Iraq's southern ports and attacks between Israel and Hezbollah intensified.
Easy-to-use solar panels are coming, but utilities are trying to delay them
Utilities are convincing lawmakers around the U.S. to delay bills that would allow people to buy solar panels, plug them into an outlet and begin generating electricity.
Trump’s war with Iran is angering some swing voters who want money spent at home
Swing voters who helped reelect President Trump in 2024 don't support his decision to go to war in Iran and instead want to see U.S. tax dollars spent tackling economic pressures facing Americans.
