President Obama

The historic A.G. Gaston Motel comes back to life with a coffee shop and exhibit

The motel opened in 1954 and became one of the city’s main Black establishments. The motel served as a first-class lodging, entertainment and dining hall for traveling Black people who came to Jim Crow Birmingham.

Trump’s EPA Seeks to Remove Much of Nation’s Headwaters and Wetlands From Protection

The action principally would remove oversight for small tributary headwaters that do not flow year-round and for wetlands not clearly connected to flowing streams.

County’s Major Air Polluters Concentrated in Low-Income, Minority Neighborhoods

By Hank Black The Oliver Robinson bribery trial, in which guilty verdicts were issued for officials of Drummond Coal Co. and its law firm, Balch & Bingham, revealed a gritty episode about avoiding environmental cleanup in North Birmingham. But there’s a bigger dirty picture. The vast majority of Jefferson County’s 31 major sources of pollution […]

Birmingham Civil Rights District Named National Monument

Birmingham city leaders announced Thursday evening that the Birmingham Civil Rights District, once a hub of violence and aggression toward African-Americans, is now a national monument. President Obama named it one of three new monuments Thursday, as part of his administration’s commitment to protecting culturally and historically significant places, according to the White House. Mayor William Bell, joined […]

NPR Politics Team Facts Checks President Obama’s Farewell

The NPR Politics team and reporters across the newsroom are live-annotating President Obama’s farewell address in Chicago on Tuesday night, scheduled to begin at 8 pm CT. The team will be adding fact-checks and background to Obama’s comments as he gives them. They’ll be watching in particular for remarks on his legacy, national security, health […]

Alabama Chief Justice Orders Stop to Same-Sex Marriage Licenses

Alabama Chief Justice, Roy Moore, issues an order to all probate judges regarding the state’s law on same-sex marriage, and Alabama lawmakers and community leaders address issues of gun rights in the wake of President Barack Obama’s executive order that expands background checks for gun buyers. More on this from Kyle Whitmire, political columnist for […]