Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s study commission on criminal justice policy will make recommendations that could include sentencing changes and expanding the use of pretrial diversion programs. The panel met for the final time Tuesday and will submit recommendations ahead of the legislative session that begins Feb. 5.

A judge later this month will sentence a former Alabama police officer who was found guilty of manslaughter for the fatal shooting of an unarmed man. Circuit Judge P.B. McLauchlin set a Jan. 29 sentencing date for former Montgomery police officer Aaron Cody Smith.

Golden eagles are back from Canada, spending the winter in the eastern U.S. Researcher Trish Miller says that when she and her husband began studying golden eagles east of the Mississippi River, scientists had not realized how many there were — particularly in Alabama.

The mayor of the South Alabama city of Mobile said a police officer’s social media post appearing to ridicule homeless people was inappropriate and said the city is taking corrective steps. Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson wrote on social media Tuesday that the post reflected poorly on the city.

A prosecutor in Alabama says authorities were able to trace a stolen gaming console to two suspects accused of shooting an Alabama college professor to death last month. A Mobile County Assistant District Attorney said during a bond hearing Monday that a Nintendo Switch system belonging to University of South Alabama Professor Matthew Wiser was […]

Two Alabama prison officers are on leave as the department probes the use of force in the death of a state inmate. The Alabama Department of Corrections said it is investigating the alleged use of force that resulted in the death of an inmate at Ventress Correctional Facility inmate.

A college town in Alabama has proposed temporarily halting construction on any new student housing developments amid concerns the number of existing facilities exceeds the amount of students in the city. Auburn Mayor Ron Anders proposed an ordinance at last week’s city council meeting that would stop new student housing developments for about 90 days […]

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Alabama researchers are studying new ways to recycle plastics. Troy University says its recently established Center for Material and Manufacturing Sciences has received a $2.7 million grant to look at new methods of recycling plastic waste.

Researchers are once again trying to determine whether Alabama’s Black Belt region has a problem with intestinal parasites called hookworm. A study led by University of Alabama at Birmingham is recruiting participants for a program that will screen hundreds of children in Wilcox and Perry counties for signs of hookworm.

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A national nonprofit group says grant money will help provide loans to increase the amount of safe drinking water that’s available in 10 Alabama counties. The North Carolina-based Water Well Trust says it has received a $300,000 federal Agriculture Department grant that will fund new and improved wells for rural households.

A Texas-based nonprofit that works to find missing people is resuming its search for the missing stepdaughter of UFC heavyweight Walt Harris. Destinie Duvall with Texas EquuSearch told the Opelika-Auburn News that Aniah Blanchard is “tugging at our hearts, so it’s tough to sit still and wait.” The horse-mounted search group headed home last week […]

Hundreds of fish have been added to an Alabama creek as part of an ongoing effort to boost tourism. Black Creek was restocked Tuesday with about 1,100 pounds of trout above Noccalula Falls by the Rainbow Fly Fishing Club, The Gadsden Times reported.

The National Weather Service says a cold snap has set new records in the Deep South. The overnight temperature dropped to 18 degrees (-8 Celsius) in Birmingham, Alabama, early Wednesday, breaking the previous low record of 22 degrees (-6 Celsius) set in 1911.

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Authorities have arrested the man wanted in the disappearance of UFC heavyweight Walt Harris’ stepdaughter. Jail records show Ibraheem Yazeed was arrested in Florida and booked into the Escambia County Jail early Friday.

The South Alabama courthouse linked to Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” is receiving a preservation grant. The program Partners in Preservation says the old Monroe County Courthouse in Monroeville is receiving $125,000 to repair serious structural problems in a wall.

An event that bills itself as the world’s largest celebration of the peanut is under way in Alabama. The National Peanut Festival opened Friday in Dothan and continues through next Saturday with rides, exhibits, music and agricultural competitions.

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Insurgents seeking new leadership for Alabama Democrats argued with the party’s old-line officers in court Thursday over a lawsuit to block a potential revamping of the party in a deeply Republican state. Circuit Judge Greg Griffin gave lawyers time to submit additional documents, but issued no immediate decision on the suit, filed Wednesday by longtime […]

Replicas of Christopher Columbus’ ships are coming back to northern Alabama. WAAY-TV reports the Nina and Pinta will open to the public at Joe Wheeler State Park Marina on Thursday.

Flounder fishing in state waters will be halted in November to protect migrating fish. The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is reminding anglers that commercial and recreational fishing for flounder is prohibited from Nov. 1 through Nov. 30.