Issues
An Alabama woman is doing well after the latest experimental pig kidney transplant
Towana Looney is the fifth American given a gene-edited pig organ — and notably, she isn’t as sick as prior recipients who died within two months of receiving a pig kidney or heart.
Remembering Gip’s Place and the Bessemer bluesman who started it all
The unassuming juke joint operated in the backyard of longtime Bessemer resident Henry “Gip” Gipson. Gipson died five years ago this fall.
Girls Rock Birmingham gives future artists the spotlight
Picture a rock band and chances are it’s a bunch of men. But Girls Rock Birmingham, a local youth organization, is fixing that spotlight on girls by giving them the chance to take the stage to rock out.
Alabama lawmakers eye change to school funding formula
Lawmakers have no plans to increase taxes but are looking to revamp the formula that divvies out state funds.
What is your favorite holiday scent and memory?
The holidays are rife with tradition and memories, with more than a few seasonal cookies, coffees and festivities sprinkled in between. So we asked visitors to our recent News and Brews community pop-up in Trussville: what is your favorite holiday scent and memory?
Alabama leads US in ‘pregnancy criminalization’ cases following Dobbs decision: report
The report’s findings help shed light on the use of criminal laws informed by the idea of fetal personhood, a legal premise gaining traction in the South.
One-day strikes are in: Why unions are keeping it short on the picket line
Strikes can be a double-edged sword. Keeping them short can help workers gain leverage while minimizing the pain for those who don’t have it.
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.
Medicaid coverage is expanding into prisons in 2025, starting with children
New federal policies extend Medicaid to incarcerated youth and open the door for adult inmates to get coverage before they’re released.
Alabama man charged in September mass shooting faces more murder charges in July quadruple homicide
Damien McDaniel has been arrested and charged with capital murder in connection with the July 13 mass shooting outside of a nightclub in Birmingham that left four people dead and 10 others wounded.
In the Marble Bowl, the heated rivalry between Alabama and Auburn is getting ‘wilder’
The Marble Bowl is a competition that pits fans of the University of Alabama against Auburn University. No tight ends or cornerbacks, quarterbacks or linebackers are needed, although they can play, too.
‘Iced Cherries’: Joe D. Nelson’s take on modern folk and age old tropes
It may be unusual for a musician to refer to his own music as a trope. But that’s what Birmingham singer-songwriter Joe D. Nelson does with his latest album Iced Cherries.
Alabama carries out nation’s third nitrogen gas execution on a man for a hitchhiker’s killing
Carey Dale Grayson was executed at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in southern Alabama. He was one of four teenagers convicted of killing Vickie DeBlieux as she hitchhiked through the state on the way to her mother’s home in Louisiana.
Alabama Black Belt’s sewer crisis a tougher fix for residents in manufactured homes
Poor sanitation has long plagued residents in Alabama’s Black Belt. For people with manufactured houses, finding a solution has been more challenging.
In Birmingham, Black men’s groups work to save young men from the cycle of gun violence
As the city inches closer to its homicide record, community members are trying to address a sense of fatalism and lack of opportunity felt by some young men.
War on eagles? In Auburn, federal officials investigate the taking of a bald eagles’ nest they permitted
Hughston Homes, a land developer, displaced the eagles, Jim and Pam, cutting down the tree where their nest had been built. Auburn residents have united in their outrage, demanding answers and accountability.
Federal appeals court won’t block upcoming nitrogen gas execution in Alabama
The 11th U.S. Court of Appeals swiftly affirmed a lower court's decision to let Carey Dale Grayson's execution proceed. Grayson had sought a preliminary injunction to block the execution. The three-judge panel wrote that evidence “did not show that nitrogen hypoxia creates a substantial risk of conscious suffocation."
Who pays for Alabama’s $5 billion ‘zombie’ highway project? Not Alabama
Alabama is poised to use 100% federal funding to build an interstate that won’t alleviate any of the state’s largest traffic gridlocks and is promoted as an economic development plan rather than a transportation necessity.
Alabama’s presidential results shift right — but not because of new GOP voters
Unofficial returns show a nearly 10% drop in Democratic votes between 2020 and 2024 as Trump support remained steady.
Why this winter could bring more tornadoes to Alabama
Scientists are finding the tornado map of the United States is changing. In recent years, the Tornado Alley of the Great Plains has twisted into the southeast, a region known as Dixie Alley.
Here are 3 questions to ask before panic buying during a supply chain breakdown
The dock worker strike in October led to some shoppers panic buying the wrong items. Here are tips for how to prep the right way, according to experts.
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.
Bobby Allison, NASCAR Hall of Famer and 3-time Daytona 500 winner, dies at 86
Allison’s family that said he died at home in Mooresville, North Carolina. A cause of death wasn’t given, but Allison had been in declining health for years.
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.
It’s Peanut Butter Jelly Time in McCalla: Smuckers opens biggest Uncrustables factory in the country
The facility represents a more than $1 billion capital investment from Smuckers and is predicted to bring in 750 jobs to the community.
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.
Federal regulators waited 7 months to investigate a deadly home explosion above a gassy coal mine
Coalfield residents across the country feel ignored as their homes sink and flammable gas rises from underground mining. In Alabama, U.S. regulators dragged their feet until a former top official called them out for failure to protect the public.
Challenges to forced prison labor gain steam, have resonance in the Gulf South
A lawsuit objecting to conditions on the Louisiana State Penitentiary's "farm line" is among at least three legal challenges percolating in the Gulf South.
Figures wins Alabama’s redrawn 2nd Congressional District
Figures, a Democrat, defeated Republican Caroleene Dobson to win the open seat, flipping the district that had been a GOP stronghold until it was redrawn last year.
Birmingham’s newest voters: how the latest generation is approaching politics
While Alabama is not a swing state, these students represent an up and coming generation whose voices have not yet been heard in the political world. And this demographic of voters has already proven that they can make an impact.
‘Where’s Jeff?’: Unhoused and struggling with opioid addiction in Birmingham
As Alabama decides how to spend its opioid settlement funds, a good Samaritan spends her free time helping “her people” who struggle with addiction.
