A coalition of 15 states and several major cities is opposing a lawsuit by the state of Alabama that would have the U.S. Census count only U.S. citizens and other legal residents in totals that play a key role in congressional representation and the distribution of federal funding. New York, California, Virginia, other states, the […]

A Mexican national who was convicted of reckless murder and possession of alcohol as a minor has been sentenced to 99 years and three months in an Alabama prison. The Montgomery Advertiser reports Jorge Ruiz was sentenced Wednesday to the maximum penalty in the October death of 29-year-old Marlena Hayes.

Tyson Foods is blaming temporary piping installed by a contractor for pollution that killed tens of thousands of fish in a north Alabama river. An open letter posted by an arm of the agricultural company says about 220,000 gallons of partially treated wastewater was released from a River Valley Ingredients plant at Hanceville on June […]

A former Alabama state representative was shot several times inside his car but didn’t report the shooting. WSFA-TV reports former Rep. James Thomas was wounded last week on Aug. 5 and has since recovered.

The state of Alabama is getting $6.3 million in federal funding to help fight opioid addiction. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced grants last week to help fund community health centers and rural groups combatting the sometimes-deadly painkillers.

Prosecutors are charging an Alabama man with illegal gun sales in a case that involves weapons advertised online at Armslist.com and shipped to buyers in Mexico, New York and California, court records show. In a newly unsealed affidavit, a federal agent says Arkeuntrez Kenyez Lareco Washington told him that he’s sold guns to out-of-state buyers […]

Sears is closing its last full-size store in Alabama. The company announced Tuesday it will shut down 26 full-size Sears stores and Kmart locations nationwide in late October. That includes the Sears at the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover, which is Alabama’s largest shopping mall.

The Tennessee Valley Authority says it’s completed a $475 million upgrade at its oldest nuclear power plant in a move that helped boost the amount of electricity it produces without carbon emissions. The Times Free Press reports modifications to reactors at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Alabama added power and expanded service to almost 300,000 […]

More than 150 previously unlicensed daycares in Alabama have gotten licensed by the state in order to continue receiving childcare subsidies. A 2018 state law required centers to get licensed by Aug. 1 to continue receiving the payments that help low and moderate-income families pay for childcare.

Tobacco shops in Alabama are no longer being able to advertise vaping as a healthy alternative to smoking. A wide-ranging law regulating vaping that passed the legislature earlier this year went into effect Thursday.

Yellowhammer Multimedia announced today that the company has promoted Sean Ross to the position of editor for the company’s flagship site. Ross previously served as a staff writer. Yellowhammer Multimedia owner Tim Howe believes Ross’ skill set will allow Yellowhammer to continue elevating its position in the market.

Southeastern Conference media days begins at the event’s longtime home. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey kicks the four-day event off Monday with his annual media address about the state of the league and college football.

Alabama cotton farmers will face threats to their crops this year in the form of a new virus with no known cure. WSFA-TV reports cotton leafroll dwarf virus is a new strain of cotton blue disease.

The federal government is offering assistance to businesses in southeast Alabama that were affected by Hurricane Michael last October. A statement by the Small Business Administration says disaster loans are available to small businesses, agricultural cooperatives, aquaculture businesses and nonprofits that were hit by the Category 5 storm.

An attorney for a teenager charged in the traffic deaths of Auburn University’s sports announcer and his wife denied that any crime occurred, calling the crash a “terrible tragedy” instead. Tommy Spina, a lawyer for 16-year-old Johnston Edward Taylor, told AL.com his client simply fell asleep at the wheel and was not impaired before the […]

Alabama education officials are trying to combat what they say is a growing problem of sexual relationships between teachers and students. The state Department of Education has released a training program that officials in Montgomery are urging local school systems to use in teaching educators about avoiding inappropriate encounters.

An Alabama district attorney said Wednesday she is dropping the manslaughter charge against a woman who lost her fetus when she was shot during a fight. Marshae Jones was arrested last week after a grand jury concluded she intentionally caused the death of her fetus by initiating a fight, knowing she was pregnant.

Alabama police said the parents of a two-year-old boy were under the influence of marijuana when the toddler left the house, got trapped inside a hot vehicle and died. News outlets report Melinda and Robert King were arrested Tuesday on charges of manslaughter and first-degree marijuana possession.

Lawyers for former Auburn University assistant basketball coach Chuck Person said Tuesday the 13-year NBA veteran was broke and financially desperate when he joined a bribery conspiracy that cheated young athletes by steering them toward bribe-paying advisers and managers. They asked a judge in papers filed in Manhattan federal court to spare him from prison […]

A north Alabama judge says a current sheriff should get disputed jail food funds, not his predecessor. WHNT-TV reports Marshall County Circuit Judge Chris Abel ruled that current Marshall County Sheriff Phil Sims should get the nearly $24,000.

The Mobile City Council is delaying a proposal that endorsed the return of passenger rail service to the Gulf Coast through Mobile. City officials recently delayed a resolution that would have asked Gov. Kay Ivey to commit state funds necessary to return Amtrak service to the region, AL.com reported.

A Connecticut-based electrical and electronic product manufacturer is closing two plants resulting in the loss of nearly 200 jobs. The Hartford Courant reports that Hubbell Inc. will shut down plants in Newtown and Bethel by the end of the year as it shifts work to factories in other parts of the country.

An Alabama man who denied feeding methamphetamine to a so-called “attack squirrel” he considered a pet has been arrested. The Limestone County Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter that 35-year-old Mickey Paulk was caught Thursday night following a chase in which he rammed an investigator’s vehicle.

Several federal appeals court judges appeared skeptical Tuesday of a lawsuit by fast-food workers and civil rights groups accusing Alabama lawmakers of racial discrimination for blocking a minimum-wage hike in the city of Birmingham. The plaintiffs accused the legislature of targeting a mostly African-American city in a way that disproportionately harms black workers.