(Above: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says “extreme conservatives” have no place in his state) New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told WCNY radio host Susan Arbetter over the weekend that “extreme conservatives” who are “right-to-life, pro-assault-weapon, anti-gay,” have “no place in the state of New York.” Cuomo was commenting on the difference between what he […]

Kevin McLaughlin of Orrville, Ala. walked in the Dollar General in his hometown around 12:45 p.m. last Thursday, pulled out a pistol and forced the cashier and a customer to start making their way toward the break room. Unfortunately for the would-be hostage taker, Marlo Ellis, also from Orrville, was the customer. As Ellis was […]

Late Friday afternoon, a U.S. District Court ruled against Black Warrior Riverkeeper Inc., a local Alabama environmental group, in their request to block the start of construction for the Northern Beltline. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved the permit for the first phase of construction on the beltline in September of last year. Less […]

Since 1986, military personnel and American citizens living overseas have been guaranteed the right to vote by absentee ballot in all U.S. federal elections. In 2009, Congress passed the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE Act), which requires States to transmit absentee ballots to overseas voters at least 45 days before an election for […]

Demopolis city attorney Bill Poole was shot Friday morning in his office, according to Demopolis Police Chief Tommie Reese. Poole is the father of Alabama House Education Budget Chairman Bill Poole, R-Tuscaloosa. Demopolis Police and Fire & Rescue responded to a call early that a shooting had taken place at the city attorney’s office. Mr. […]

A proposal passed Thursday by the Alabama Senate seeks to save taxpayer resources by allowing government bodies to meet remotely by means of telephone or video conference. Senate Bill 58, sponsored by Senator Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, aligns Alabama with 38 other states and the District of Columbia in providing for some form of remote participation […]

Ken Johnson, R-Moulton, this week introduced a resolution in the Alabama House of Representatives calling for a Convention of the States in an effort to check federal government spending and mandates and calling for term limits on certain federal elected officials. In December of last year, Alabama state senators Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, and Trip Pittman, […]

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Saks, announced today he will embark on a “jobs tour” next week in an effort to focus on job creation across Alabama’s Third Congressional District. Rogers will be visiting small businesses in the area, including companies like Buckner Barrel in Springville, Ford Meter Box Company in Pell City and KwangSung Corporation in […]

The Alabama legislature got off to a slow start on Tuesday, with Democrats in the Senate beginning their filibustering literally five minutes into the session. But by Thursday, Republicans — especially in the House — had achieved their goal of passing multiple bills offering relief to Alabama taxpayers. Here’s a quick rundown of the tax […]

(Above: Sen. Jeff Sessions questions EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy) Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Mobile, just wanted EPA Head Gina McCarthy to answer a simple question for the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “Ms. McCarthy,” Sessions began, “the president has said repeatedly — at least three times — that ‘the temperature around the globe is […]

The New York Times undertook a project recently called “Mapping Poverty in America.” The Times used data from the U.S. Census Bureau to create an interactive map that allows us to see what percentage of people live below the poverty line in different areas of the country — even down to the neighborhood level. I […]

State Rep. Paul DeMarco, R-Homewood, will report raising $360,730 for his AL-06 Congressional bid in the first fundraising period when he files his financial report. “We are extremely pleased with the strong support shown by people throughout the counties that make up the sixth congressional district,” DeMarco said in a release. “I am humbled by […]

Rep. Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, has introduced a bill that would render null and void certain provisions of ObamaCare and prevent Alabama state employees and agencies from implementing portions of the law that exceed the powers granted to the federal government in the U.S. Constitution. “I refuse to sit idly by and watch Obamacare destroy our […]

Negotiators on Capitol Hill unveiled a giant 1,582 page, $1.1 trillion government funding bill this week, which would fund the government for the remainder of the current fiscal year and put an end to all the government shutdown talk. The House of Representatives passed the bill today by a vote of 359-67. Both Republicans and […]

It was officially known at the time (1967) as the AFL-NFL World Championship, but would later be called Super Bowl I — the first time the AFL and NFL came together for a single championship game. The Green Bay Packers, led by former University of Alabama quarterback Bart Starr, defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 […]

New national “Common Core” education standards have been a hot button issue in recent months, stirring up tremendous debate in the education community and sparking outrage among grassroots conservatives who see it as an ill-advised national approach to education. “Little of the debate, however, has centered on what Common Core will mean to students,” Alabama […]

Americans United for Life, a national pro-life organization, yesterday released a report ranking the most pro-life and pro-abortion states in the country when it comes to passing pro-life legislation. For the fifth year in a row, Louisiana tops the list of most pro-life states, followed by Oklahoma, Arkansas, Arizona and Pennsylvania. The least pro-life states […]

(Above: Gov. Bentley receives a standing ovation before delivering the 2014 State of the State address) Thinking back over the last couple of years, I’d guess I’ve seen Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley deliver somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 speeches to large crowds — from Chambers of Commerce to College Republicans, Rotary Clubs to ALGOP […]

Mayors from Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery and Tuscaloosa completed a two-day retreat yesterday in Clarke County that was designed to strengthen ties between Alabama’s five major cities. Participants included Mayor William Bell of Birmingham, Mayor Tommy Battle of Huntsville, Mayor Sandy Stimpson of Mobile, Mayor Todd Strange of Montgomery and Mayor Walt Maddox of Tuscaloosa. […]

Washington, DC (January 14, 2014) – GOPAC, a D.C.-based organization that prides itself on training up the conservative “farm team” around the country, today announced that Alabama State Rep. Jack Williams, R-Vestavia Hills, has joined its Legislative Leaders Advisory Board. “Each member of our 2014 Legislative Leaders Advisory Board has a distinguished record of success […]

Winning three out of four BCS National Championships is already a distant memory in the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately atmosphere that surrounds University of Alabama football. Complacency has been the Alabama coaching staff’s biggest concern going into the last several seasons. But thanks to a two-game loosing streak at the end of the 2013 campaign, Coach Saban will […]

Birmingham, Ala. is the fifth most budget-friendly metro in the country, according to a recent study conducted by RedShift Research on behalf of Apartment Guide. “To determine the ‘Top 10 Most Budget-Friendy Metros,’ Apartment Guide looked at their internal listing data to determine metros with the lowest average rent as well as metros with the […]

National education group StudentsFirst this morning published its 2014 State Policy Report Card. Instead of ranking states based on current student achievement levels, the report card evaluates whether states have created policy environments that are likely to raise academic levels from where they currently stand. Alabama jumped four spots this year, improving its ranking to […]

The New York Times over the weekend published an in-depth report on the coordinated campaign that delivered unprecedented control to Republicans in state governments around the country in 2010. Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard was one of the focuses of the report, which touted the Alabama Republican Party’s success during Hubbard’s tenure as state party […]