Series

In photos: Flooding in Western Washington state forces thousands to evacuate

Record flooding in Washington state has forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate after torrential rains this week.

In photos: Flooding in Western Washington state forces thousands to evacuate

Record flooding in Washington state has forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate after torrential rains this week.

Author Sophie Kinsella, who penned the ‘Shopaholic’ books, has died at 55

The author, whose real name was Madeleine Sophie Wickham, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer in late 2022.

Raul Malo, lead singer of The Mavericks, has died at 60

The son of Cuban immigrants, Malo and his band blended country, rock and roll, folk, jump blues, Latin music and Cajun rhythms into a distinct sound anchored by his unmistakable voice.

Rafael Ithier, a legend of salsa music, dies at 99

The pianist, composer and arranger spent more than six decades turning El Gran Combo into one of the premier salsa institutions of Latin America and beyond.

Frank Gehry, whose designs defied gravity and convention, dies at 96

Gehry transformed modern architecture with exuberant buildings such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Guggenheim Museum. "I've always been for optimism and architecture not being sad," he said.

Construction on Meta’s largest data center brings 600% crash spike, chaos to rural Louisiana

An investigation from the Gulf States Newsroom found that trucks contracted to work at the Meta facility are causing delays and dangerous roads in Holly Ridge.

Nonprofit erases millions in medical debt across Gulf South, says it’s ‘Band-Aid’ for real issue

Undue Medical Debt has paid off more than $299 million in medical debts in Alabama. Now, the nonprofit warns that the issue could soon get worse.

Huntsville is growing fast. Here’s how it’s stayed affordable

Home prices are rising in Huntsville, but so far, the city’s avoided the skyrocketing costs in other boom towns.

Hyundai still committing billions to Louisiana steel mill after ICE raid in Georgia

The immigration raid last month has analysts questioning whether President Donald Trump’s immigration and manufacturing goals are at odds.

Amid tariff costs, a ‘speed dating’ event helps connect Southern auto suppliers, makers

Manufacturers like Hyundai gathered in Huntsville to hear pitches from U.S. suppliers, as tariffs have prompted them to look for local options.

American chess grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky dies at 29

The Charlotte Chess Center, where Naroditsky trained and worked as a coach, announced his death, calling him "a talented chess player, educator, and beloved member of the chess community."

What we know about the devastating storm in Western Alaska

The remnant of Typhoon Halong slammed the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, an area in Western Alaska hundreds of miles from the U.S. road system. More than a thousand people are displaced.

Katrina changed how jails deal with natural disasters. 20 years later, challenges remain

A survivor tells his experience of being jailed in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, while officials and experts look at jails and natural disasters today.

Former Japanese PM Murayama, known for apology over wartime aggression, dies at 101

Tomiichi Murayama, Japan's prime minister from 1994, was best known for the "Murayama Statement," an apology delivered on the 50th anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender.

Ace Frehley, lead guitarist in Kiss, dies at 74

The co-founding member of the band was known as the Spaceman and had a hit single of his own in "New York Groove."

NPR ‘founding mother’ Susan Stamberg has died

Susan Stamberg, an original National Public Radio staffer who went on to become the first U.S. woman to anchor a nightly national news program, has died.

Alabama ranks near bottom in latest Medicare scorecard; here’s why

A new Commonwealth Fund report paints a stark picture of how Medicare is serving older adults and people with disabilities in the Gulf South.

D’Angelo, R&B’s reluctant icon, has died at 51

The expressive singer made just three albums, including his 1995 debut, Brown Sugar, but retreated from the public after each. He had been battling cancer, according to a statement from his family.

Hollywood’s quirky leading lady, Diane Keaton, dies aged 79

Diane Keaton, who remained one of Hollywood's quirkiest and most beloved actors decades after her Academy Award-winning performance in the movie Annie Hall, has died aged 79.

Diane Keaton, Oscar-winning star of ‘Annie Hall’ and ‘The Godfather,’ dies at 79

The actor, known for her quirky, vibrant manner and depth was 79. Across her decades-long career, she worked with prominent filmmakers including Francis Ford Coppola, Woody Allen and Nancy Meyers.

Drug checking services save lives in the Netherlands. The Gulf South doesn’t have any

Both the U.S. and the Netherlands wrestle with the politics of drug use, but their approaches diverge in key ways that reflect deeper ideological divides.

New billboard draws attention to Anthony Boyd, Alabama’s next nitrogen gas execution

Supporters of Boyd, the chairman of an in-prison anti-death penalty group, put the billboard message up in hopes of garnering more public awareness.

Snowstorm traps hundreds of hikers on Mount Everest during China’s national holiday

Rescue workers were helping hundreds of hikers trapped by heavy snow at tourist campsites on a slope of Mount Everest in Tibet, Chinese state media said late Sunday.

Space Command is moving jobs to Huntsville. Will workers move with it?

An Inspector General’s report last year revealed Space Command leadership worried civilian workers would not relocate to Alabama.

Jane Goodall, legendary primatologist, has died at age 91

Jane Goodall, primatologist who transformed our understanding of the lives of apes, has died, according to an announcement from the Jane Goodall Institute.

George E. Hardy, Tuskegee Airman, dies at 100

George E. Hardy was the youngest Red Tail fighter pilot at 19 years old and completed 21 missions across Europe during World War II.

Southeast U.S. braces for heavy rains from a potential tropical storm

The National Hurricane Center said a tropical depression currently hovering over the Caribbean could intensify as it approaches the East Coast. South Carolina's governor declared a state of emergency.

Assata Shakur, a fugitive Black militant sought by the U.S. since 1979, dies in Cuba

Assata Shakur, a Black liberation activist who was given political asylum in Cuba after her 1979 escape from a U.S. prison, has died. Officials in New Jersey, where Shakur had been arrested, convicted and imprisoned, said she was 78.

Gulf South pharmacies make their own rules amid confusing COVID guidance: ‘It’s clear as mud’

Unclear rules and inconsistent interpretations of federal and state COVID-19 vaccination rules leave families confused and vulnerable patients unprotected.

Alabama executes Geoffrey Todd West for the murder of Margaret Parrish Berry

The execution took place despite Berry's son's opposition to it and was marked by less movement than other nitrogen gas executions.

Typhoon Ragasa batters Hong Kong and southern China

Typhoon Ragasa whipped waves taller than lampposts onto Hong Kong promenades and turned seas rough on the southern Chinese coast after leaving deadly destruction in Taiwan and the Philippines.