MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Senate on Tuesday passed a resolution expressing its intention to not expand Medicaid, and urged Gov. Robert Bentley to refrain from pushing for such an expansion. “The state should pursue reforms based on reducing Medicaid dependence, rather than increasing dependence,” the resolution states. “Expansion of Medicaid would further strain the […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A state senator is accusing the Bentley administration of using state employees to spread fear among elderly Alabamians by telling them their services are in imminent danger of being cut unless legislators support the governor’s tax increase proposals. The governor’s office says the calls are not scare tactics, but rather an attempt […]

StudentUniverse, a website that “empowers students and youth to travel” by offering them “exclusive discounts,” recently released a new travel blog running down the “sexiest colleges in the nation.” “We can all agree that someone’s sex appeal goes beyond a flat 1-10 rating,” explained StudentUniverse’s Danielle Millerick. “There are a number of factors that determine […]

According to an in-depth Buzzfeed News report, a 20-year-old Alabama college student from Hoover was radicalized through social media and ultimately abandoned her family to join the so called Islamic State. The student, who Buzzfeed identifies as “Hoda,” now resides in an ISIS-controlled area of Syria, leaving her family in Birmingham to wonder exactly how […]

On Friday, conservative talk radio icon Rush Limbaugh praised Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) for being one of the leading opponents of Loretta Lynch, President Obama’s nominee to succeed Eric Holder as U.S. Attorney General, declaring that Sessions is “the one who’s making the most sense about this.” During one of Lynch’s confirmation hearings earlier this […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — With Alabama’s General Fund Budget facing an estimated $270 million shortfall, one Republican lawmaker wants to incentivize state government employees to find ways to slash spending. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) plans to introduce a bill next week that would give the department heads of government agencies a bonus tied to what percentage […]

ALBERTVILLE, Ala. – Duty wouldn’t allow James Drain to attend prom when he was 18. He had a country to serve. While other students were enjoying the traditional rite of passage as high school seniors, he was far away from his Alabama home fighting in the Korean War. But this past weekend, over 60 years […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Senate on Tuesday passed the Stolen Valor Act by Representative Steve Clouse (R-Ozark) and Senator Bill Holtzclaw (R-Madison), a retired Marine. The bill imposes a minimum fine of $5,000 and makes it a Class A misdemeanor for a person to falsely represent themselves as a recipient of a military decoration […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A debate over future control of Alabama’s water supply will be front and center at the Alabama State House Tuesday as environmental groups plan to make their presence felt during a meeting of the Legislative Committee on Water Policy & Management. The environmental groups have dubbed Tuesday “Rivers of Alabama Day,” according […]

Imagine all the blinds closed on the windows of a dimly lit room. Twenty leaders from different churches in the area sat in a circle on the floor with their Bibles open. Some of them had sweat on their foreheads after walking for miles to get there. Others were dirty from the dust in the […]

According to Alabama Department of Finance data curated by the Birmingham Business Journal, the top 25 highest paid Alabama state employees made an average of $246,311 in 2014, a 3 percent bump from the year before. The most recent data available pegs Alabama’s median household income at $42,849, meaning the top 25 state employees make […]

(Video above: Tate Cockrell, Pastor of Member Care at the Church at Brook Hills, preaches on March 29, 2015) The prevailing wisdom in education circles for decades has been that boosting students’ self-esteem will ultimately boost academic achievement. But in spite of the non-stop awards ceremonies and never ending stream of participation certificates, there is […]

Alabama native and former NBA star Charles Barkley told CNN late last week that where he’s from, the “religious nuts” and “rednecks” have a tendency to “hide behind the Bible” to justify their bigotry. The outspoken sports commentator’s remarks came in response to the controversy surrounding Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which LGBT activists […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama Senate on Thursday passed legislation to alleviate overcrowding in state prisons and possibly even fend off an eminent federal takeover of the system. Senate Bill 67 by Sen. Cam Ward (R-Alabaster), part of senate Republican’s “Paving a Path for the Future” agenda, addresses the state’s failing prison system through reformed […]

(Video Above: Bo Jackson mic’d up at White Sox camp) Bo Jackson is mic’d up during this year’s Chicago White Sox camp, and on Thursday he was captured on camera patiently laying out his credentials to a teenage boy, who happens to be the son of White Sox first baseman Adam LaRoche. In 2013, ESPN […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — In what can only be described as a stunning turn of events, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley on Wednesday announced that he is officially becoming a Democrat just over 3 months after winning a second term as governor. “I have done a lot of soul searching over the last few months and have […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Lawyers for Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard on Monday asked a judge to dismiss the 23 felony charges against him, alleging misconduct by the State’s prosecution team. “The prosecution, investigation, and Special Grand Jury have been tainted,” Hubbard’s defense team wrote in their motion to dismiss. Their misconduct allegations center around two […]

WASHINGTON — The Senate Immigration Subcommittee led by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) has launched an investigation into whether the Obama administration’s Department of Homeland security retaliated against immigration officers for simply doing their jobs and enforcing the law. In February of this year, President Obama said during a televised town hall meeting that there could […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — For decades in Alabama, if you were a patron of a video rental store (remember those?), you were charged an additional “rental tax” for each transaction. But with those stores going the way of the Dodo, the state government has seen its video rental revenue drastically decline. As a result, the Alabama […]

When Kyesha Smith Wood dropped her kids off at a suburban Birmingham movie theater on Saturday night to see Cinderella, she had no idea she’d be a viral Internet parenting hero less than 24 hours later, but that’s exactly what happened. It started with a desperate Mrs. Wood posting on the McAdory-McCalla Community News Facebook […]

MANCHESTER, UK — Alabama congresswoman Martha Roby is currently with eight of her colleagues, including House Speaker John Boehner, on a CODEL (congressional delegation trip) reinforcing the need for strong American leadership in the world, including in the fight to defeat ISIS. The CODEL began with British allies in Manchester, U.K., where more than 70 […]

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Gov. Robert Bentley on Thursday took his first trip to the Huntsville area since he put roughly $100 million in local road projects on hold as retaliation for a north Alabama senator not supporting his tax hike. In remarks to local business and political leaders, the governor reiterated that taxpayers whose representatives […]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — President Barack Obama spoke to a raucous crowd in the Lawson State Community College gym in Birmingham on Thursday, drawing deafening cheers from students and faculty members as he came to the stage to deliver his remarks. The president started by issuing rare praise to Congress, commending House Speaker John Boehner and […]

MONTGOMERY — Two former Bentley Administration staffers have launched a new tax-exempt group with the goal of helping the governor win public support for his agenda, including his recent $541 million tax increase proposal and future reforms to the state’s healthcare system. Alabama Council for Excellent Government — which they have nicknamed ACEGov — was […]