News
Potential Cuts to EPA Funding Threaten Alabama’s Natural Resources
President Donald Trump’s proposed budget calls for huge cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency. The Trump administration wants to reduce EPA funding from about $8 billion to about $5 billion. The budget would also slash the agency’s workforce by about 20 percent.
The Truth About Cats and Dogs from Allison Black Cornelius
Allison Black Cornelius has been helping others her entire adult life. She spearheaded the passage of Megan’s Law, the country’s first sex offender registry. She later founded a consulting company that helps non-profits. Now she heads the Greater Birmingham Humane Society.
Political Shock Waves Still Reverberate a Year into the Bentley Scandal
Alabama Media Group columnist John Archibald discusses the year since accusations Governor Robert Bentley had an affair became public.
Live Coverage of Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings on Judge Gorsuch
NPR Politics team will live-blog the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearings on the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court. The live blog will include streaming video, with posts featuring highlights, context, and analysis from NPR reporters and correspondents.
Live Coverage of National Security Hearings
The NPR Two-Way blog will provide live coverage of the House Intelligence Committee’s public hearing on the investigations into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. The live blog will include streaming video of the proceedings, with posts featuring highlights, context, and analysis from NPR reporters and correspondents.
Why the Design-build Concept Could Boost Birmingham’s Construction Industry
Some new thinking on how architecture and construction firms are organized could make Birmingham an even bigger hub for the construction industry.
Bills on Prisons, the Budget, and Driver’s License Offices Move Ahead
It was a busy week in Montgomery. The Senate passed a bill on driver’s license offices, and a prisons bill. The House debated church daycare licensing. And House representatives passed a general fund budget that level funded most agencies except one: Medicaid. It got a small increase, though there’s still concern among lawmakers, and some […]
Attorney Advertising is Big Business in Alabama
It seems you can’t turn a corner in Alabama without seeing a billboard advertising for a personal injury lawyer. The practice has proven to be a lucrative business builder, but it also carries a professional stigma.
Birmingham Water Works Pension Loses Millions in Fraud Scheme
The Birmingham Water Works pension fund lost more than $4 million in what’s described as a “Ponzi-style” scheme. The scheme spans from New York financial types to an Indian tribe in South Dakota to the Cayman Islands.
Suspected Bird Flu Poses No Risk to Food Supply, Officials Say
The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries Department issued a stop movement order on select poultry after three suspected cases of bird flu were discovered recently.
Who Benefits in Repealing Sales Tax on Groceries?
Proponents says exempting groceries from state sales tax would help low-income families and spur the economy. Those predictions could be optimistic.
Momentum Helps Women Overcome Tough Work Issues
It’s Women’s History Month, and we thought we’d bring you some voices of Alabama women who are shaking things up. Momentum is a women’s leadership program in Birmingham. WBHM’s Gigi Douban spoke with Joy Carter of Momentum and communications manager at Alabama Cast Iron Pipe Company. They chat about the things working women struggle with most. […]
Where Alabama’s Members Of Congress Stand On The New Health Care Bill
To help Americans understand where Congress stands on the debate over this legislation, NPR and Member stations around the country have compiled a database of Congressional members’ positions on the bill.
Regions Part of an Industry Rethink of the Bank Branch
Online banking haven't made the bank branch obsolete, but banks are rethinking how they use their brick-and-mortar locations.
ACLU Files Ethics Complaint Against Sessions
The American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday filed a complaint with the Alabama State Bar against U.S. Attorney General and former Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions. It alleges he made false statements under oath, violating professional standards.
Are Alabama Prisoners Getting the Mental Health Care They Need?
At the heart of the recent federal trial under way is a question, “Are prisoners getting the mental health care they need? Mental health advocates insist they are not.
Lawmakers Consider a Slimmer Prisons Bill and Monument Preservation
The Senate this week passed a monuments bill, and a committee passed a scaled down version of Gov. Robert Bentley’s prisons bill. The prisons plan price tag went from $800 million to $775 million. Don Dailey, host of Alabama Public Television’s Capitol Journal tells WBHM’s Gigi Douban the revamped plan would build three large prisons, rather than […]
Jefferson County School Leaders Relieved After School Taxes Renewed
Education officials in Jefferson County are breathing a sigh of relief after voters approved the renewal of a property tax Tuesday that will provide about $100 million dollars for the county’s 12 public education systems.
The Pizitz Then and Now
In its prime, you would run into almost anyone from any side of town in Pizitz. The same was true of my lunchtime stroll – then and now, a place to be.
Transcript Puts Indicted JeffCo District Attorney in a Tight Spot
Alabama Media Group columnist John Archibald discusses a transcript from the case that led to a perjury charge against Jefferson County's suspended district attorney Charles Todd Henderson.
Jefferson County Voters Approve Tax Renewal For 12 School Systems
Voters approved the renewal of property taxes supporting all 12 school systems in Jefferson County in a Tuesday election. While only 6 percent of voters went to the polls, education leaders say the election win shows that people in Jefferson County support public schools. Larry Contri, interim superintendent of Birmingham schools, says he wanted to […]
Business Groups Oppose Alabama’s Bathroom Bill
Alabama business groups are concerned if a so-called bathroom bill passes in Alabama, the state could suffer the same economic hit as North Carolina. That state suffered boycotts and major sporting events left after a similar bill was enacted there.
Trump Supporters Rally in Hoover
Backers of President Donald Trump gathered in Hoover Saturday, part of a day of marches and rallies across the country to express public support for the president.
Legislature Weighs Removing Gun Permit Requirement
A gun bill sponsored by Sen. Gerald Allen moved ahead in the legislature this week. Allen’s legislation would repeal the permit requirement on concealed pistols. And the Senate Judiciary Committee held a public hearing on Gov. Bentley’s $800 million prison construction bill. Lawmakers can expect to see a downsized version of the plan amid questions around […]
A TV Meteorologist Like No Other
Weld reporter Cody Owens discusses his story on Birmingham TV meteorologist James Spann. Spann has amassed a notable social media presence and personal brand turning him into something of a celebrity.
Giving Juries The Last Word On The Death Sentence
In Alabama, nearly 1 in 5 people on death row were sentenced to death through judicial override, according to the Equal Justice Initiative. Judicial override allows judges to impose the death penalty after a jury returns a life verdict, and Alabama is the last state to allow it. Critics have called override unreliable and arbitrary. Now there's a bipartisan effort in the legislature that could abolish the procedure.
Winning For Wenonah High Basketball Coach Means Triumph On and Off the Court
The Lady Dragons of Birmingham’s Wenonah High School are chasing a fourth girls’ state basketball championship today the at the BJCC. But while these players are looking to triumph with the full court press and clutch shots, their longtime coach, Emanuel “Tubb” Bell is fighting a different battle. Bell has stage 4 lung cancer, but you wouldn’t […]
Steve Beshear Delivers the Democratic Response to President Trump’s Address
Former Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear will deliver the Democratic Response to President Trump’s address. Beshear was chosen by Democratic Party leaders for his record, expanding affordable health care. NPR will have a transcript of Beshear’s remarks and journalists across the NPR newsroom will also be annotating his remarks. Loading…
President Trump Addresses Joint Session of Congress, Annotated
President Trump will address a joint session of Congress for the first time on Tuesday evening at the Capitol, around 8 p.m., Central time. House Speaker Paul Ryan, following tradition, invited the president to make the speech to lay out his agenda in the early days of his new administration.
Talladega College President Addressing Republican Leaders At HBCU Meeting
Hawkins has returned to D.C. this week to talk about improving funding for black colleges, an issue he discussed following his January trip.
One African-American’s Mission to Preserve His Family’s Rural History
Albert “Peter” Datcher Jr. has been tracing his family history -- from slavery to farming -- in a small, rural, predominately white town in Shelby County, Alabama for the past 15 years. He wants to be sure people recognize African-American contributions to the region.
Life After Hate: Leaving the White Supremacist Movement
Angela King was a neo-Nazi in her home state of Florida for eight years. After the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995, King started to question how far she was willing to go for her white supremacist beliefs. She tried to leave the group, but failed.
