Associated Press




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College sports reform could advance in GOP-controlled Congress

Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican who is set to take over as chair of the powerful Commerce Committee, said recently that a college sports bill will be a top priority, accusing Democrats of dragging their feet on needed reforms.

Bill Battle, former Alabama AD who founded licensing company, dies

Bill Battle, who was athletic director at his alma mater, Alabama, where he played for Paul “Bear” Bryant's first national championship team, has died. He was 82.

Gunshots at Tuskegee University sent terrified students running for their lives

The shooting left one man dead and injured at least 16 other people early Sunday, a dozen of them by gunfire, authorities said. An arrest was announced hours later. Many of the injured were students.

Racist text messages referencing slavery raise alarms in Alabama and prompt investigations

The messages, sent anonymously, were reported in several states, including Alabama. They generally used a similar tone but varied in wording.

Amazon workers in Alabama will have third labor union vote after judge finds illegal influence

Administrative law judge Michael Silverstein on Tuesday ordered the third vote for Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer, Alabama after determining that Amazon committed six violations leading up to the second election in March 2022.

Birmingham police chief announces plans to retire

Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond announced at a press conference that he will step down at the end of November, two years into his tenure as the historic city's top cop.

A federal judge halts an Alabama program that purged thousands of legal voters

U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco ruled in favor of the Department of Justice and civil rights groups and issued a preliminary injunction against a voter purging program launched by the Republican Secretary of State Wes Allen in August.

Lilly Ledbetter, an icon of the fight for equal pay, has died at 86

Ledbetter had worked a Goodyear Tire & Rubber plant in Gadsden, Alabama, for 19 years when she received an anonymous note saying she was being paid significantly less than three male colleagues.

For small cities across Alabama with Haitian populations, Springfield is a cautionary tale

Amid mounting tension, a bipartisan group of local religious leaders, law enforcement officials and residents across Alabama sees the fallout in Springfield as a cautionary tale. They've been taking steps to help integrate the state's Haitian population in the small cities where they live.

Lawsuit says Alabama voter purge targets naturalized citizens

Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen announced last month that 3,251 people who had been previously issued noncitizen identification numbers will have their voter registration status made inactive and flagged for possible removal from the voter rolls.

Jill Biden and Lloyd Austin visit an Alabama base to tout expanded military benefits

Biden and Austin visited a pre-kindergarten program the first lady has championed that funds universal preschool for children aged 3 and 4. The administration plans to expand it beyond military facilities and into education systems nationwide.

Alabama anti-DEI law shuts Black Student Union office, queer resource center at flagship university

Under the bill signed by Gov. Kay Ivey in March, DEI is defined as classes, training, programs and events where attendance is based on a person’s race, sex, gender identity, ethnicity, national origin or sexual orientation.

Alabama says law cannot block people with certain felony convictions from voting in 2024 election

The Alabama attorney general office wrote in a Friday court filing that the new law, which has a Oct. 1 effective date, cannot be used to block people from voting in the upcoming election, because the Alabama Constitution prohibits new election laws from taking effect within six months of the general election.

Heart disease is rampant in parts of the rural South. Researchers are hitting the road to learn why

Public health experts from some of the nation’s leading research institutions have deployed a massive medical trailer to rural parts of the South to test and survey thousands of local residents. The goal: to understand why the rates of heart and lung disease are dramatically higher there than in other parts of the U.S.

Alabama election officials make voter registration inactive for thousands of potential noncitizens

Secretary of State Wes Allen announced on Tuesday that 3,251 people will receive letters notifying them that their voter registration status has been made inactive.

Conservationists try to protect ecologically rich Alabama delta from development, climate change

Residents, scientists and environmentalists are working to protect the entire Alabama ecosystem considered crucial to the survival of species and the health of the delta and, ultimately, the Gulf of Mexico. They’re acquiring property to prevent development and logging that chips away at forests, worsens flooding and threatens species — and as a buffer against climate change.

The last known intact US slave ship is too ‘broken’ and should stay underwater, a report recommends

The task force headed by the Alabama Historical Commission said Thursday that the Clotilda, the last ship known to transport enslaved Africans to the United States, had been broken in half by a large vessel and severely eroded by bacteria. The 500-page report says that the “responsible” way to memorialize the ship is to protect it under the water where it was discovered six years ago.

Former Alabama legislator sentenced to 13 months in federal prison for kickback scheme

John Rogers was charged as part of a kickback scheme that diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars from a fund intended to pay for community projects in Jefferson County.

Alabama prison chief responds to families’ criticism

The department said that a number of changes have been made since Corrections Commissioner John Q. Hamm was appointed in 2022. The department said hiring has increased, and there are ongoing efforts to curb the flow of contraband and improve communications with families.

Alabama birthing units are closing to save money

One of the last remaining birthing units in southern Alabama will close next month to qualify for federal funding that will save the hospital’s emergency services, but doctors warn the move may cost newborns and pregnant women essential access to obstetric care.

Biden drops out of 2024 race after disastrous debate inflamed age concerns. VP Harris gets his nod

The decision comes after escalating pressure from Biden’s Democratic allies to step aside following the June 27 debate, in which the 81-year-old president trailed off, often gave nonsensical answers and failed to call out the former president’s many falsehoods.

2 shootings in Birmingham kill 7 people, including young child, Alabama police say

Four people died in a shooting at a Birmingham nightclub late Saturday, while an earlier shooting outside a home in the city killed three people, including a young child, authorities in Alabama said.

Shooting at Trump rally is being investigated as assassination attempt, AP sources say

Donald Trump appeared to be the target of an assassination attempt as he spoke during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, law enforcement officials said. The former president, his ear covered in blood from what he said was a gunshot, was quickly pulled away by Secret Service agents and his campaign said he was “fine.”

Rickwood Field, a time capsule of opportunity and oppression, welcomes MLB for Negro Leagues tribute

Rickwood Field, the oldest professional ballpark in the U.S. and former home to baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays and the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues, will host an MLB game between the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants on Thursday.

Alabama native Willie Mays, Giants’ electrifying ‘Say Hey Kid’ has died at 93

Mays' family and the San Francisco Giants jointly announced Tuesday night he had died earlier in the afternoon in the Bay Area.

Hall of Famer Willie Mays will not be in attendance for Negro League tribute game at Rickwood Field

Mays, who began his career in Alabama with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues and played for the Giants from 1951-72, told the San Francisco Chronicle that he will enjoy the game at home.

A court ruled embryos are children. These Christian couples agree yet wrestle with IVF choices

How do you build a family in a way that conforms with your beliefs? Is IVF an ethical option, especially if it creates more embryos than a couple can use? The dilemma reflects the age-old friction between faith and science at the heart of the recent IVF controversy in Alabama, where the state Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos have the legal status of children.

Birmingham-Southern’s magical postseason ends with 11-10 loss in D-3 World Series

It’s a painful finish for a never-say-die team that had brought so much joy to the school’s tight-knit community while captivating the hearts of American sports fans who could relate to the Panthers’ story mixed with loss and pride.

Birmingham-Southern keeps inspiring, magical season alive with walk-off win at D-3 World Series

Now playing for a school that technically no longer exists, the Panthers kept their hopes of winning a national championship alive on Saturday with a thrilling 9-7 comeback win over Randolph-Macon in the Division III World Series.

After decisive loss at Alabama Mercedes plants, powerful auto union vows to return and win

Newly elected UAW President Shawn Fain said the union will return to Mercedes and will press on with efforts to organize about 150,000 workers at more than a dozen auto factories across the nation.

Workers at Alabama’s Mercedes plants vote against joining a union

The workers voted 56% against the union, according to tallies released by the National Labor Relations Board, which ran the election.

The United Auto Workers faces a key test in the South with upcoming vote at Alabama Mercedes plant

The United Auto Workers is aiming for a key victory at Mercedes-Benz in Alabama. More than 5,000 workers at the facility in Vance and nearby battery plant will vote this week on whether to join the UAW.