Government
The 2023 Alabama legislative session starts Tuesday. Here’s your preview
Lawmakers return to Montgomery at a time when money is flush thanks to federal COVID funds. Education is among the top issues expected to generate discussion.
‘It’s a fight for freedom.’ Ukraine backers call for continued arms support 1 year into war
A group of supporters gathered at Railroad Park in Birmingham to draw attention to human rights violations in the country and call for continued arms support from the U.S.
Alabama governor says state will resume executions
The governor in November directed the state prison system to undertake a “top-to-bottom” review of death penalty procedures after the state was forced to cancel three lethal injections because of problems with intravenous lines.
JeffCo Commission agrees to support Magic City Classic for 1 year, will consider longer contract later
The annual football game between Alabama State and Alabama A&M Universities has been played 80 times at Birmingham’s Legion Field.
Alabama prison chief says lack of staffing remains top issue
Commissioner John Hamm said the department is looking to a combination of outsourcing, pay raises and benefit changes to increase the number of workers.
Commission considering funding to keep Magic City Classic in Birmingham
The Jefferson County Commission is deciding on a resolution about the level of support the county will provide to the annual football game.
Alabama ‘close’ to finishing nitrogen execution protocol
Alabama has authorized the use of nitrogen hypoxia, but it has never been used to carry out a death sentence.
Alabama prison staff shortage worsens despite court order
U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson said Friday the state can not continue with what he called horrendous staff levels.
Advocates criticize state environmental commission about response to Moody landfill fire
Speakers at the meeting argued the Alabama Department of Environmental Management took too long to act on the fire and that steps must be taken to regulate these types of landfills.
Jefferson County approves $5 million toward construction of amphitheater
The appropriation is a key step in making the $50 million amphitheater development on the campus of the former Carraway Hospital a reality.
Who would put out a landfill fire near Moody? That question consumed officials for weeks
A private landfill near Moody smoldered for almost two months, inundating residents miles around with noxious smoke, before the EPA stepped in.
Birmingham-Southern president says he’ll do everything possible to keep the college open
Birmingham-Southern College, a private institution, is asking the state to help bail it out after financial troubles. School President Daniel Coleman shared with WBHM what he sees as the path ahead for the college.
Alabama extends time for executions, ends automatic review
The Alabama Supreme Court abolished the one-day time frame for executions. Instead, the governor will set a window of time. The court also eliminated an automatic “plain error review” of death penalty cases.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey sworn in for her 2nd full term
In a wide-ranging speech, the Republican governor thanked supporters, promised a focus on education, broadband expansion and regulation cuts for businesses but also nodded to GOP hot-button issues.
Birmingham wants to try micro shelters again. Here’s how they’ll be different this time
The pilot program centers around micro shelters from Pallet Shelters, which has built shelter villages for people experiencing homelessness across the country. This is the first program of its kind in Alabama.
Gov. Ivey announces rules for prison ‘good time’ incentives
Ivey's executive order categorizes offenses and outlines how much “good time” will be forfeited.
Alabama woman who joined IS hopes to return from Syria camp
Hoda Muthana was born in New Jersey to Yemeni immigrants and was raised in a conservative Muslim household in Hoover, Alabama, just outside Birmingham. In 2014, she flew to Turkey and crossed into Syria.
St. Clair County declares emergency in response to landfill fire
The declaration means the county can ask the state for funding and resources. But residents are left with unanswered questions about the fire's affect on the local air and water quality.
Officials see hurdles to putting out landfill fire near Moody as neighbors suffer
Residents near landfill fire say the smoke is affecting their health, but officials are still trying to figure out how to put out the blaze — and who will pay for it.
She was an ABC News producer. She also was a corporate operative
An ABC News freelance producer confronted critics of a consulting firm's powerful clients. Her actions confirm people's worst suspicions about the news media, says a former network news president.
Denial, detention and deportation threats: The uphill battle for Cameroonian asylum seekers in Louisiana and Mississippi
A Gulf States Newsroom investigation digs into the Deep South’s thorny regional immigration system and the obstacles and steep odds at every turn.
In the Southeast, power company money flows to news sites that attack their critics
A consulting firm hired by Alabama and Florida power companies paid six news outlets to publish stories in their favor.
Shelby ending career as Alabama’s longest-serving senator
Money for universities, the Interstate 22 highway connecting Memphis and Birmingham and the development of the FBI's second campus in Huntsville are a few of the projects that will be associated with Shelby's legacy.
Alabama has a trash fee exemption. Why didn’t the elderly people of Valley know about it?
In Alabama, elderly residents have been arrested, handcuffed, and taken to jail for unpaid trash bills. However, a little-known state law could allow free trash pickup for some residents.
Gov. Kay Ivey wants to give the state more time to carry out executions
Under Ivey’s proposal, the state corrections commissioner could immediately designate a new execution date if a delay prevents the state from carrying out an execution on the original date listed on the death warrant.
Smart homes made affordable for Birmingham residents
According to Alabama Power, smart homes are 35% more efficient than standard Alabama homes being built today.
Recorded state government meetings available through new League of Women Voters channel
The Alabama Channel will capture and save live video recordings of legislative meetings and make them available to the public online and on demand.
Old Carraway complex to be demolished all at once under new deal with city
The former hospital site will be turned into a mixed-use development, Star at Uptown, which is to include residential, retail and dining spaces, as well as an amphitheater.
Attorney General says the execution review should happen quickly, that there is ‘no moratorium’
Last month, Gov. Kay Ivey asked Attorney General Steve Marshall not to seek additional execution dates for any other death row inmates until a review is complete.
Cameras, iPads part of plan to improve garbage collection
The City Council approved a software that they say will streamline garbage routes and and improve accountability.
Alabama ‘execution survivor’ reaches settlement with state
Any future effort to execute Alan Eugene Miller will be done by nitrogen hypoxia, an execution method authorized in Alabama but that has never been used to carry out a death sentence in the U.S.
Attorneys: ‘Botched’ execution caused pain and torture
Kenneth Eugene Smith’s attorneys say he was “subjected to ever-escalating levels of pain and torture” on the night of the failed execution.
