Gigi Douban has reported for public radio since 2006. She’s filed stories for WBHM, NPR, Studio 360, and Public Radio International’s The World. Most recently, Gigi reported for Marketplace, bringing the country stories about toxic landfills, debtors prisons, and lighter fare, like why urinals are ubiquitous in public bathrooms, but not in homes. She's also written for Bloomberg News and Runner’s World, and on occasion, actually runs.
The U.S. Department of Labor today announced Taziki’s Mediterranean Café will pay $135,844 to employees after an investigation found the company violated overtime rules.
The number of fatal drug overdoses is rising across the U.S. Alabama lawmakers this week considered a bill that would impose stiffer penalties around the deadly opioid fentanyl. Meanwhile, critics say more punishment could strain the state’s overcrowded prisons. Also, a bill on video voyeurism and the proposed education budget.
The flu outbreak is forcing several school systems in the northern part of the state to close for a few days. This comes as high absences are reported in schools across the state and health officers investigate an estimated 87 deaths, potentially related to the flu. The following school systems have confirmed closings for the following […]
This week, the Alabama Senate voted to regulate ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft. And a House committee endorsed legislation sponsored by Rep. Lynn Greer that would allow people at church to defend themselves with guns. Similar bills are advancing in states from Florida to Virginia. Don Dailey, host of Alabama Public Television’s Capitol Journal tells WBHM’s Gigi Douban not all churches are on board.
Construction began Tuesday on a new high-tech cancer treatment facility on the campus of UAB. Proton International at UAB, the product of a partnership between the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Proton International, will be a three-story facility at the intersection of 20th Street South and 4th Avenue South focusing on proton therapy. Proton […]
President Trump is delivering his State of the Union address to Congress, which will be followed by a response from the Democratic Party. Journalists across the NPR newsroom will be annotating those remarks, adding fact-checks and analysis in real time. You can watch the speeches or follow the annotations below. The live stream begins at […]
Car shoppers aren’t the only ones who experience sticker shock. It happens with colleges, too. Birmingham-Southern College has announced that beginning next fall, it’ll slash its $35,000 a year tuition in half. It’s one of several schools around the country cutting tuition in hopes of attracting more students. But there’s more to it than the […]
The Alabama Senate this week took on bills aimed at curbing racial profiling and doing away with marriage licenses.
State Rep. George Bandy, D-Opelika, died Tuesday morning. He was 72.
Bitter cold and ice will make Alabama roads dangerous on Tuesday. State emergency agencies are urging drivers to stay off the roads.
Light to moderate snowfall is expected across most of the state Tuesday, and schools and government offices are closing or dismissing early.
Alabama state lawmakers went back into session this week. Don Dailey tells WBHM's Gigi Douban the latest about state budgets, pay raises, Medicaid and tax cuts.
Mazda and Toyota announced Huntsville as the city of choice for a new manufacturing plant on Wednesday.
Some schools will be delayed this morning due to the potential for winter weather. Those include schools in Anniston, Boaz, Etowah County, Oxford, and others opening three hours late. Gadsden State Community College opens at 10:30. A winter weather advisory is in effect for East Alabama, where a few places could see temperatures of 32 […]
Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill on Thursday certified the election results from the Dec. 12 special U.S. Senate election, naming Democrat Doug Jones the winner over Republican Roy Moore. Jones defeated Moore by more than 21,000 votes, or 1.6 percentage points. Moore had refused to concede. On Wednesday, he sued to block the certification […]
Republican Senate Candidate Roy Moore has filed a lawsuit to block certification of the election in which he narrowly lost earlier this month. Moore says the results shouldn’t be finalized. Instead, potential voting irregularities should be investigated and a new election called. Moore lost the election by about 20,000 votes and says voting anomalies around […]
Target wants in on the same-day delivery business. And last week it announced it’s spending $550 million to buy the Birmingham-based startup, Shipt. The deal could have ripple effects for Birmingham.
In a dramatic and highly contentious race, Alabama voters on Tuesday elected Democrat Doug Jones to the U.S. Senate. Jones will occupy the seat previously held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. This marks the first time in a quarter century an Alabama Democrat won a U.S. Senate seat.
Republicans across Alabama woke up in a state of shock Wednesday morning over Democrat Doug Jones’ stunning defeat of GOP candidate Roy Moore. A strong 40 percent turnout – much higher than state projections – was key to Jones’ victory, Republican strategist Jeff Vreeland said.
Former U.S. Attorney Doug Jones handed Republican Roy Moore a stunning blow in Tuesday's special Senate election for the seat formerly held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The results capped off an intense race defined in recent weeks by allegations of sexual misconduct against Moore from decades ago. Moore did not concede late Monday evening.
Alabama is thawing out today after the state was hit with a winter storm Friday that brought several inches of snow, tens of thousands power outages and hazardous road conditions. About 40,000 homes were still without power this afternoon after a winter storm blanketed the state Friday with snow and ice. Statewide about 85,000 lost power […]
Snowfall early Friday morning sparked a reaction statewide with schools, government, and medical facilities closing and roads deemed unsafe to drive.
BirminghamWatch’s Glenn Stephens took a look at where US Senate candidates Roy Moore and Doug Jones stand on key issues. Here’s their story. Doug Jones and Roy Moore Alabama voters will choose between candidates with contrasting views on topics ranging from health care to abortion, and taxation to immigration when they vote for a new U.S. […]
Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill issued guidance Wednesday on casting a write-in vote in the December 12 special election for U.S. Senate.
A fifth woman came forward Monday with powerful sexual allegations against Republican U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore. Beverly Young Nelson said Moore sexually assaulted her when she was a 16-year-old waitress at a restaurant Moore often frequented. Moore continued to deny the allegations.
The state has 132 thousand miles of streams and rivers. And if your land touches that water, for the most part, you can take all you want. Most states have rules about who gets how much water, and when—not Alabama.
The Washington Post is reporting Republican Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore had a sexual encounter with a 14 year-old girl when he was a 32-year-old assistant district attorney.
Supporters of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Doug Jones in Homewood have taken to social media to complain about a wave of campaign signs stolen from their yards around the city.
The Washington Post on Wednesday published a report revealing that Moore had arranged to receive a salary of $180,000 a year for part-time work at this charity. The report goes on to say Moore collected more than $1 million from 2007 to 2012 -- well beyond what the group disclosed in federal tax filings.
Nate has quickly weakened to a tropical depression. The Birmingham metro area can expect torrential rains and strong winds to continue moving in Sunday. Wind advisories are in effect for all of Central Alabama through 10 pm Sunday.
Hurricane Nate could bring sustained winds up to 100 mph and gusts up to 115 mph when it makes landfall along the Gulf Coast Saturday night. Because of those high winds, the storm's impact on Alabama is expected to be dramatically greater than Irma.
Birmingham voters on Tuesday elected Randall Woodfin the city’s new mayor. Woodfin took 59 percent of the vote to incumbent Mayor William Bell’s 41 percent, according to unofficial results. The two candidates took different approaches as they vied for the mayor’s seat in the weeks after the August municipal election. That race resulted in a runoff. Bell […]
