Government
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.
Advocates hope Alabama’s execution moratorium leads to change but say the blame is misplaced
Equal Justice Initiative Director Bryan Stevenson says Alabama’s failed executions were “shocking, torturous conduct that provided justice to no one.”
Birmingham Xpress extends free period through the end of 2022
the Birmingham Xpress bus line will offer free rides until the end of 2022 to increase ridership.
Alabama pausing executions after 3rd failed lethal injection
The move follows the uncompleted execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith, which was the state's second instance of being unable to put an inmate to death in the past two months and its third since 2018.
Alabama calls off execution after difficulties inserting IV
This is the second execution since September the state has cancelled because of IV difficulties.
New bike- and scooter-sharing service approved in Birmingham
Lime received unanimous approval from the Birmingham City Council, though council members had concerns about misplaced bikes and scooters becoming a nuisance.
Party chair says Democrats have work to do after election showing
Democratic candidates in statewide races were held to about 30% of the vote on Tuesday, about 10 percentage points lower than four years ago, in an election noted for low voter turnout and a lack of competitive races at the top of the ticket.
City officials want parents to combat gun violence. Community leaders say it’s not that simple
Officials point to parents and the need for strong community networks to stop gun violence in Birmingham. They say it takes a village. But it’s not just the people in charge saying that, it’s also kids, activists, and the parents themselves.
Election analysis: Women spearhead Republican dominance in Alabama
Republicans continued their stronghold at the state level with Gov. Kay Ivey claiming a second full term and Katie Britt winning election to the U.S. Senate.
Republican Katie Britt wins US Senate race in Alabama
Britt will fill the seat held by Richard Shelby, her one-time boss who is retiring after 35 years in the Senate.
Republican Kay Ivey wins 2nd full term as Alabama governor
Ivey easily won Tuesday's election turning away challenges from Democrat Yolanda Flowers and Libertarian Jimmy Blake.
Birmingham hopes City Walk will bridge a divide between neighborhoods
Birmingham's City Walk is a linear, urban park that opened about five months ago under the Interstate 20/59 bridges. City officials say it's an attempt to reconnect downtown to the northern neighborhoods.
Outgoing Senator Shelby backs US recognition for state tribe
The MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians are still seeking federal recognition, and they're one of two state-recognized tribes hoping Congress will right what they see as wrongs of the past with the help of two influential U.S. senators who are retiring.
Tuberville: US has too many ‘takers’ who don’t want to work
Tuberville made the remarks, suggesting that many in younger generations — including people in their 40s — don't understand they need to work, while discussing the national worker shortage during a speech to business groups in south Alabama.
Fed up with Jackson’s water system, this Mississippi suburb wants to create its own
Experts say merging water systems can help with the high cost of maintenance. But Byam, Mississippi — fed up with Jackson’s water crisis — wants to go it alone.
Childhood literacy program to expand after Birmingham approves funding
The $1 million will help Birmingham Talks, more than triple its reach to 3,500 students across all 99 neighborhoods over the next three years.
Racist wording is still in the Alabama Constitution. Voters can erase it
The Alabama Constitution of 1901 contains racist language regarding slavery, poll taxes, and school segregation. If approved by voters, a recompilation measure on the November 8, 2022 ballot will remove that language, as well as reorganize the constitution.
Here are the 10 statewide amendments voters will see on the ballot in November
From "Aniah's Law to economic development, the November 8 ballot will give Alabamians the opportunity to vote for 10 statewide amendments.
Slavery is on the ballot in Alabama and 4 other states
More than 150 years after slaves were freed in the U.S., voters in five states, including Alabama, will soon decide whether to close loopholes that led to the proliferation of a different form of slavery — forced labor by people convicted of certain crimes.
Judge dismisses lawsuit over upcoming lethal injection in Alabama
The judge on Sunday granted Alabama's request to dismiss the lawsuit brought by Kenneth Eugene Smith, agreeing that Smith waited too long to file the challenge. But the judge also warned Alabama's prison commissioner to strictly follow established protocol when officials attempt to put Smith to death next month.
Black leaders rebuke Tuberville stance on reparations, crime
Tuberville told people Saturday at an election rally in Nevada that Democrats support reparations for the descendants of enslaved people because “they think the people that do the crime are owed that.”
