Issues

Corporate America is having a weird tariff summer

Some big companies are reporting real financial pain from tariffs and economic uncertainty — but for others, business is booming.

Has the Billboard Hot 100 caught the Holy Ghost?

Brittany dives into the economy behind Christian contemporary music

Independent grocery stores have had a tough five years. SNAP cuts will make it harder

The bulk of sales for many independent grocers come from SNAP. Cuts to the program could leave some making hard decisions about their future.

Education Department says it’s releasing more than $5 billion in frozen grants

The grants fund a wide range of education programs, including migrant education, services for English language learners and adult education.

Are you a single mom? We want to hear from you about your challenges and life experiences

About 40% of all births in America are to unmarried women according to the U.S. Census. Are there situations and challenges that are unique to single moms? We'd like to hear about them.

What we know about Columbia’s $221 million settlement with the Trump administration

The complex settlement allowed both sides to claim victory. It gives the university access to federal funds that had been frozen, and restores some terminated contracts.

Hit the road, Jack! Lumberjills chip their way into timber sports

'Lumberjills' chip away at Paul Bunyon stereotypes at the 65th annual Lumberjack Championship, with more women than ever before competing in the Hayward, Wisconsin, event.

President Trump takes aim at college sports with a new executive order

The order aims to ban "pay-for-play" NIL deals, mandates scholarships for women's and Olympic sports and threatens to withhold funds from schools who don't comply. But its legality is in question.

Alabama officials worry about life-saving Narcan program’s future as CDC grants stall

OD2A funds helped Alabama make naloxone more widely available last year. Health experts say it's responsible for a promising downturn in overdose deaths.

Trump visits Federal Reserve and tussles with Jerome Powell in extraordinary moment

President Trump visited the Federal Reserve to inspect an ongoing renovation and disagreed with the Fed chair about the project's final cost in an extraordinary moment.

Wrestling legend Hulk Hogan dies at 71

According to the Clearwater Police and Fire departments, Terry Bollea died Thursday morning after a cardiac arrest.

What borrowers should know about student loan changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill

Now that President Trump has signed Republicans' massive overhaul of the federal student loan program, we explain what's set to change.

Meet the team behind the JCC’s witty sign

The sign hosts puns, Judaic references, and pop culture riffs. While the sign is well-known and appreciated among the community, its authors have remained anonymous, until now.

Irondale police deny wrongdoing in death of Alabama man, dispute family’s account

Police employed no excessive force in the events leading up to the August 2024 arrest and death of Phillip Reeder, the City of Irondale and its police department said in a joint statement late Monday.

Alabama’s new utility commission president wants to hear from ‘all sides’

Cynthia Lee Almond spent four years in the Alabama Legislature and 16 years on the Tuscaloosa City Council before being appointed president of the state’s Public Service Commission.

Alabama man’s death is ruled a homicide after police kneeled on his neck

The death of an unarmed 52-year-old man who died after an Alabama police officer kneeled on his neck was ruled a homicide by a county coroner, according to an official autopsy reviewed by The Associated Press. The finding led lawyers representing Phillip Reeder's family on Monday to compare his death to that of George Floyd in 2020.

Ghost tours bring historic places back to life across the South

Lesley Ann Hyde started the Southern Ghost Girls Tours, a group of women using spiritual investigations of historic sites as ways to preserve pieces of Birmingham’s history.

WATCH: SANEs and survivors in the South, a listening session with the Gulf States Newsroom

The Gulf States Newsroom hosted a virtual discussion of Drew Hawkins' reporting on the shortage of sexual assault nurse examiners in the region.

In praise of the humble recorder — a gateway instrument for millions of schoolchildren

The small plastic instrument has long been the go-to instrument in elementary schools. But it is capable of so much more than "Hot Cross Buns."

Americans’ medical debt can stay in credit reports, judge rules. What does that mean?

The judge's decision vacated a rule imposed by the Biden administration earlier this year to keep medical debt from affecting credit scores.

Texas flash flood recovery effort turns its focus to lakes

With 101 people still missing after the July 4 flash flood, the focus turns to local lakes, and what may be buried in them.

Lawyer says an Alabama teen who was killed by police was shot in the back

Authorities have not released police body camera video of the June 23 encounter or disclosed the name of the officer who shot 18-year-old Jabari Peoples in the parking lot of a soccer field in the affluent Birmingham suburb of Homewood. They also haven't released the findings of the county's official autopsy.

The White House took down the nation’s top climate report. You can still find it here

The National Climate Assessment is the most influential source of information about climate change in the United States.

Floods are getting more dangerous around the country

New York, North Carolina, New Mexico and Texas have all suffered serious flooding this month. Climate change is causing even more rain to fall during the heaviest storms.

In Britain, hopes are mounting to finally clean up sewage-polluted waterways

After years of polluting by the water industry, a report planned for release in the coming days could lead to tightened regulation while also prompting an expensive modernization drive.

Inflation heats up in June as President Trump’s tariffs start to bite

Consumer prices were up 2.7% from a year ago — a larger annual increase than the month before.

Inflation heats up as President Trump’s tariffs start to bite

Consumer prices were up 2.7% from a year ago — a larger annual increase than the month before.

Power prices are expected to soar under new tax cut and spending law

In states without policies to drive renewable energy, power prices could surge as federal tax incentives for clean energy disappear, according to Energy Innovation, a think tank.

Why the Federal Reserve’s building renovations are attracting the White House’s ire

The Fed's $2.5 billion headquarters renovation is attracting mounting criticism from the Trump administration, which had been already attacking the central bank for not cutting interest rates.

Supreme Court says Trump’s efforts to close the Education Department can continue

The Trump administration had appealed a decision that had directed it to stop gutting the U.S. Education Department and to reinstate many of the workers the government had laid off.

24 states sue Trump admin to unfreeze more than $6 billion in education grants

The lawsuit comes two weeks after the Trump administration first notified states it was withholding previously approved funds for migrant education, before- and after- school programs and more.

Flood risk is widespread in the U.S. Few people have insurance for it

Climate change is increasing the risk of dangerous floods. But people often balk at the cost of flood insurance, especially since many doubt they need protection.