News
Q&A: Author of ‘Rocket Men’ details how Black quarterbacks helped move the NFL forward
John Eisenberg talks with the Gulf States Newsroom about the Black quarterbacks who helped change the NFL, as well as the players who never got the chance.
Q&A: Why New Orleans’ unhoused people face increased danger from relentless heat
Delaney Nolan discusses her report for The Guardian that revealed a spike in heat-related illness calls among New Orleans’ unhoused people this summer.
How a rural Alabama school system outdid the country with gains in math
Piedmont City schools notched significant improvement in math, landing in the top spot among school districts across the country in a comparison of scores from before and during the pandemic. Nationwide, students on average fell half a year behind in math, researchers say.
Protecting Margaritaville: Jimmy Buffett, Bama and the Fight to Save the Manatee
The singer, who died Sept. 1, grew up in Mobile and had a huge following in Alabama, even if many of his devotees in the state were less than thrilled by his liberal politics.
With spread of fentanyl, opioids kill record number of Black men in Birmingham
The number of opioid overdose deaths among Black men in Jefferson County has quadrupled since 2019, sparking action from residents and health experts.
Birmingham residents reflect on 60th anniversary of church bombing
We spoke with several residents on Friday, asking for their reflections on the 60th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.
Jackson says we must own hardest chapters of US history during 1963 church bombing remembrance
Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court, spoke at the 60th anniversary of the Sept. 15, 1963 bombing at 16th Street Baptist Church. She said the country should celebrate the great strides that have been made since 1963 but that there is still work to do.
Birmingham students take trip back in time for lesson on 16th Street Baptist Church bombing
The event, which centered around Christopher Paul Curtis’ novel “The Watsons Go to Birmingham,” was held to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the attack.
Birmingham marks the 60th anniversary of the 1963 church bombing that killed four Black girls
On the morning of Sept. 15, 1963, dynamite planted by Ku Klux Klan members exploded at the church, killing the girls and shocking the nation. The large, prominent church was targeted because it was a center of the African American community and the site of mass meetings during the Civil Rights Movement.
On 60th anniversary of church bombing, victim’s sister, suspect’s daughter urge people to stop hate
Lisa McNair's sister Denise was one of the girls who lost their lives. Tammie Fields’ father was questioned as a possible suspect in the church bombing but never charged. Decades after the bombing, the two women met at a Black History Month event and forged a seemingly unlikely connection and friendship.
Birmingham Council Amends Laws Affecting Predatory Towing
Among the concrete changes made by the council, it is requiring companies that run private parking lots to post signs within 60 days that clearly state parking rates and give clear information about what to do and whom to contact if your car is booted or towed.
A ‘catastrophic’ loss: Severe heat puts a heavy strain on rural farmers in the Gulf South
For one family of farmers in Louisiana, this year’s record-breaking extreme heat is taking a toll on both their crops and their health.
Alabama asks US Supreme Court again to intervene in redistricting case
Despite losing at the Supreme Court earlier this year in the long-running redistricting case, Alabama is pursuing another appeal, hoping for a different result with the most recent GOP version of the map.
In fight to remove divisive New Orleans highway, activists turn to new strategy — an EPA study
The Claiborne Avenue Alliance hopes a study on the health impacts caused by the expressway will support efforts to remediate and potentially remove the highway.
Hundreds of military promotions are on hold as a Tuberville demands end to abortion policy
Top defense officials are accusing Republican Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville of jeopardizing America's national security with his hold on roughly 300 military promotions, raising the stakes in a clash over abortion policy that shows no signs of easing. Tuberville brushed off the criticism, vowing he will not give in.
She looked for help after her power bill doubled. But aid for utilities often falls short
Dolabriel Curry-Hurst’s January power bill in Alabama jumped above $700 — more than twice of what she owed the previous year.
Gulf South’s ‘Hot Labor Summer’ is heating up heading into the fall
The seven strikes in the region signify a slow-growing labor movement that gained momentum in 2021.
Birmingham City Council OKs $4.5 million more for Rickwood Field improvements
Major League Baseball chose Rickwood Field, the country’s oldest surviving baseball field, to host its “2024 MLB at Rickwood Field, A Tribute to the Negro Leagues” game next June.
Judges reject Alabama’s congressional lines, will draw new districts to increase Black voting power
The three-judge panel blocked use of the state's newly drawn congressional map in next year's elections. A special master will be tapped to draw new districts for the state, the judges said. Alabama is expected to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Parents, students deal with record-breaking heat at the start of football season
This has been a record-breaking summer across the country and particularly in the Gulf South in August. Several cities between Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama shattered their all-time high temperature records.
Alabama’s John Christy may be the country’s best known and most criticized climate change skeptic
Alabama’s State Climatologist John Christy is no stranger to controversy and doesn’t shy away from the spotlight. His critics say his work has been plagued by errors and many of his conclusions dismissed.
Alabama lawmaker resigns and agrees to plead guilty to voter fraud
Republican Rep. David Cole, of Huntsville, resigned from the Alabama House of Representatives on Thursday. He will plead guilty to a charge of voting in an unauthorized location, according to a plea agreement filed in state court.
The connection is growing between climate change and big storms
The connection between climate change, hurricanes and tornadoes is not so clear. But data is beginning to show some relationship. That's the topic of the latest story in our series "Alabama's Hot Topic: What Climate Change Could Bring."
From drought to heavy rain, climate change means more of both
Climate change is spurring more big rain events, when several inches fall in a short amount of time. Meanwhile, climate change also makes droughts more frequent, longer, and severe. There's more the latest installment of our series “Alabama’s Hot Topic: What Climate Change Could Bring.”
Alabama describes proposed nitrogen gas execution
The state described the procedures for the proposed new execution method in a redacted court filing. Alabama is seeking to become the first state to execute a prisoner using nitrogen.
Heat is the top weather-related killer. In Alabama, it may just be getting started
Heat kills more people than any other type of weather. Human-caused climate change stands to make that worse. Alabama is one of the few places where temperatures have not increased. But that appears to be changing. It's the latest in our series, “Alabama’s Hot Topic: What Climate Change Could Bring.”
Nature-based education on the rise in Alabama
At least three forest schools have opened across Alabama in recent years. It's part of a nationwide movement to teach kids in nature.
Few bid after U.S. opens first-ever offshore wind leases in the Gulf of Mexico
The entire Gulf of Mexico wind lease sale has the potential to produce 3.7 gigawatts of renewable energy, enough to power 1.3 million homes.
Meet the Alabama scientists connecting soaring global temperatures to carbon dioxide
Two Alabama researchers study ice cores and fossil records from Antarctica, helping connect an alarming increase in the earth’s temperature to rising levels of carbon dioxide.
A campaign aims to bridge the breastfeeding gap for Black mothers in the Gulf South
Despite its well-documented advantages, many regions in the US — especially in the South — continue to grapple with low breastfeeding rates. States like Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana have some of the the lowest rates in the country.
Alabama has escaped the worst of climate change. Is our luck about to run out?
This summer, headlines have screamed climate change. Globally, July was the hottest month on record. Smoke from forest fires choked many parts of the U.S., and the Gulf of Mexico hit a record high for average weekly sea surface temperatures. Here in Alabama, we’ve been spared many of the effects of climate change, but that appears to be changing. We take a look in a new series on climate change called “ Alabama's Hot Topic.”
New mapping tool gives county-by-county breakdown of air pollution
Earlier this month, a researcher debuted a new tool that maps pollution in Mississippi and Louisiana. Some environmental groups are already using it.
