News
Q&A: Is an innocent man on Alabama death row? Here’s the latest on Toforest Johnson’s case
Reporter Beth Shelburne talks with the Gulf States Newsroom about how Johnson's case has progressed a year after the release of her podcast, "Earwitness."
Death penalty opponents speak out as Alabama preps for next nitrogen gas execution
Despite criticism, state officials have defended the use of “nitrogen hypoxia” ahead of Alan Eugene Miller’s scheduled execution this week.
Birmingham leaders plead for information on mass shooting and announce reward money
Authorities have still made no arrests after Saturday’s shooting killed four people and left 17 others injured. Police described it as a targeted “hit” on someone by multiple shooters who opened fire on a crowd waiting in line outside a nightspot in Birmingham’s bustling Five Points South district.
How Alabama food banks are keeping rural communities fed
As the November election approaches, food insecurity is one issue that’s top of mind for residents in Alabama’s newly redrawn District 2.
Birmingham Police: Five Points South mass shooting may have been murder-for-hire; 4 dead, 17 injured
Police say one person was the target of late Saturday's mass shooting, with bystanders caught in the crossfire. More than 100 shell casings were at the scene.
Lawsuit says Alabama voter purge targets naturalized citizens
Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen announced last month that 3,251 people who had been previously issued noncitizen identification numbers will have their voter registration status made inactive and flagged for possible removal from the voter rolls.
Jill Biden and Lloyd Austin visit an Alabama base to tout expanded military benefits
Biden and Austin visited a pre-kindergarten program the first lady has championed that funds universal preschool for children aged 3 and 4. The administration plans to expand it beyond military facilities and into education systems nationwide.
Homewood votes this month to change its form of government. Why is the issue so controversial?
A move by Homewood to change to a council-manager form of government began with little fanfare. But as the September 24th vote has grown closer, the relatively quiet, special election has spun into a controversial issue.
The first general election ballots are going in the mail as the presidential contest nears
While the ballot milestone is relatively quiet and comes in a state that is not a political battleground, it is a sign of how quickly Election Day is approaching after this summer's party conventions and Tuesday's first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump.
Jefferson County released from sewer consent decree
A federal judge on Thursday released Jefferson County from a decades-long consent decree ordering rehabilitation of its sewer system. As part of the agreement, the county committed to completing several additional capital improvement projects by early 2027 that are planned and funded to further reduce sewer overflows.
Deceptive drug tests ensnare new parents and babies
Imagine giving birth and then testing positive for a drug. Except you didn't take any drugs. Still the state Department of Human Resources opens an investigation based on that erroneous test.
Bill Greason, the oldest-living Negro Leaguer, takes another trip around the bases at 100
Greason, a former pitcher for the Birmingham Black Barons, was honored for his contributions to baseball, his community and his country at a recent celebration.
‘A dream come true’: Alabama ‘grandfamilies’ are set to receive opioid settlement funds
The new state program— the first of its kind in the U.S. — will give $280,000 from opioid settlement funding to grandparents raising their grandchildren.
An art exhibit reckons with Alabama’s death penalty toll
The traveling exhibit includes artwork, letters and audio from people incarcerated on Alabama’s death row.
Alabama anti-DEI law shuts Black Student Union office, queer resource center at flagship university
Under the bill signed by Gov. Kay Ivey in March, DEI is defined as classes, training, programs and events where attendance is based on a person’s race, sex, gender identity, ethnicity, national origin or sexual orientation.
11th Circuit allows Alabama to enforce its ban on gender-affirming care for minors
In a decision released Wednesday night, a majority of judges on the 11th U.S. Court of Appeals declined a request by families with transgender children for the full court to reconsider a three-judge panel’s decision to let the law go into effect.
High school football is back. How are Gulf South schools keeping players safe from the heat?
Student-athletes may not be too concerned about playing in extreme heat, but parents, coaches and trainers are taking plenty of precautions to keep them safe.
Why some Paralympians’ journeys run through Birmingham
As the Paralympic Games get underway in Paris this week, the Lakeshore Foundation's presence in Birmingham means Alabama has a small part in the events overseas.
Judge limits scope of lawsuit challenging Alabama restrictions on help for absentee ballot applications
Chief U.S. District Judge David Proctor ruled Wednesday that civic groups can pursue just one of their claims: that the law’s ban on gifts or payment for application assistance violates the Voting Rights Act’s assurances that blind, disabled or low-literacy voters can get help from a person of their choice. The judge granted the state’s request to dismiss the other claims raised in the lawsuit.
One woman is walking from Chicago to Montgomery to speak out about racial injustice
Besides walking, Rachelle Zola performs her one-woman show, Late: A Love Story. In the show, Zola shares her journey of learning about racial inequality.
These 3 farms are an example of Mississippi’s growing network of sustainable agriculture
A group of Mississippi farmers is taking advantage of more federal support for climate-smart agriculture, with plans to grow membership and train others.
Alabama says law cannot block people with certain felony convictions from voting in 2024 election
The Alabama attorney general office wrote in a Friday court filing that the new law, which has a Oct. 1 effective date, cannot be used to block people from voting in the upcoming election, because the Alabama Constitution prohibits new election laws from taking effect within six months of the general election.
Heart disease is rampant in parts of the rural South. Researchers are hitting the road to learn why
Public health experts from some of the nation’s leading research institutions have deployed a massive medical trailer to rural parts of the South to test and survey thousands of local residents. The goal: to understand why the rates of heart and lung disease are dramatically higher there than in other parts of the U.S.
Alabama election officials make voter registration inactive for thousands of potential noncitizens
Secretary of State Wes Allen announced on Tuesday that 3,251 people will receive letters notifying them that their voter registration status has been made inactive.
A plan to fix Jackson’s water system could cost all of Mississippi its food stamps
The DOJ and USDA said using a SNAP recipient’s information to distribute JXN Water’s roughly $30 discount to low-income customers would violate privacy.
Q&A: A New Orleans Dollar General employee discusses $12M settlement, store closures, more
Dollar General stocker and advocate David Williams hopes the complaint and settlement will lead to positive changes for employees.
Keeping the Coosa safe one bag of river water at a time
Each summer, Coosa Riverkeeper publishes a virtual guide that shows the levels of contaminants at around fifty popular swimming holes on the Coosa River every week.
Meet the people working to protect Southern protesters’ civil rights
Legal observers are trained to painstakingly document everything that happens at a protest. They've become more crucial as demonstrations have ramped up.
Alabama approved a medical marijuana program in 2021. Patients are still waiting for it
In 2021 Alabama overcame years of resistance in the Deep South and approved a medical cannabis program. But three years later, medical marijuana remains unavailable in Alabama because of an ongoing legal fight over some of the licenses to grow and sell the products.
A new EPA grant is sending millions to the Alabama Black Belt to solve sanitation issues
The team that received the $14 million grant is also partnering with others to help fully address the Black Belt's sanitation issues.
Nissan workers in Mississippi consider another union campaign: VW ‘proved it can be done’
Pro-union workers at the Canton, Mississippi, plant say Volkswagen proved the UAW can win in the South, but other factors are in play — like the 2024 election.
Alabama to move forward with nitrogen gas execution in September after lawsuit settlement
Alabama and attorneys for Alan Miller, who was convicted of killing three men, reached a “confidential settlement agreement” to end litigation filed by Miller, according to a court document filed Monday.
