Challenges to forced prison labor gain steam, have resonance in the Gulf South

A lawsuit objecting to conditions on the Louisiana State Penitentiary's "farm line" is among at least three legal challenges percolating in the Gulf South.


Figures wins Alabama’s redrawn 2nd Congressional District

Figures, a Democrat, defeated Republican Caroleene Dobson to win the open seat, flipping the district that had been a GOP stronghold until it was redrawn last year.

Live: 2024 Election Updates And Results

November 5th was the final voting day of the 2024 election. The presidency as well as several key Senate, House and gubernatorial races were on the line. Follow NPR’s coverage and results.

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Figures and Dobson are in a heated battle for a redrawn Alabama House district

Democrat Shomari Figures, a former top aide to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, faces Republican Caroleene Dobson, an attorney and political newcomer, in the race for Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District.

Birmingham’s newest voters: how the latest generation is approaching politics

While Alabama is not a swing state, these students represent an up and coming generation whose voices have not yet been heard in the political world. And this demographic of voters has already proven that they can make an impact. 

‘Where’s Jeff?’: Unhoused and struggling with opioid addiction in Birmingham

As Alabama decides how to spend its opioid settlement funds, a good Samaritan spends her free time helping “her people” who struggle with addiction.


What is Amendment One?

This year, there’s just one statewide constitutional amendment on the ballot for Alabama voters. But it affects only two counties.

16th Street Baptist Church wins national historic stewardship award 

The 16th Street Baptist Church received national recognition on Monday for its historic site stewardship from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. This comes after years of church staff and community members working hard to restore and preserve the structure as it looked in 1963. 

Alabama’s 2nd nitrogen gas execution raises questions about method’s future use

As Alabama sets the course for the controversial execution method's future, activists and legal scholars say eyewitness accounts could halt widespread adoption.

Alabama mine expansion could test Biden policy

The project’s fate has become a litmus test for the Biden administration, which has moved to phase out mining of federal coal in the Powder River Basin of Montana and Wyoming.

The anatomy of a rumor about migrants in Sylacauga

This fall, Sylacauga, Alabama, found itself in an uproar. The city gained national attention for what was characterized by some as an invasion of Haitian migrants. But the reality was much more benign, with only a few dozen migrants actually in the city. The Atlantic staff writer, Elaina Plott Calabro, reported on the incident. 

In coastal Louisiana, a sacred mound is returned to the Native American tribe who built it

The Atakapa-Ishak/Chawasha tribe views the land’s rematriation as a joyous occasion — even though it’s disappearing due to coastal land loss.