National Review has obtained a copy of the internal talking points House Republican leadership plans to use to sell their version of the Senate’s deal to end the government shutdown. NR has obtained the leadership’s new internal talking points http://t.co/0mrTSNgtk5 — Robert Costa (@robertcostaNRO) October 15, 2013 The deal, which is already being panned by […]

(Above: David Smitherman of the Better Business Bureau discusses ObamaCare scams on Fox 6) David Smitherman of the Better Business Bureau told Fox 6’s Janice Rogers last week that ObamaCare scams are already rampant in the Magic City. Scammers look at opportunities where there’s confusion, where people don’t really understand what perhaps the new law […]

Matt Pitt, founder of The Basement student ministry, was back in court this morning for a probation revocation hearing. Judge Dan Reeves decided to revoke Pitt’s probation, meaning he has to serve the remaining 10 months of a 1 year sentence handed down after he pleaded guilty to impersonating a police officer in 2012. Reeves […]

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, over the weekend named Reps. Martha Roby, R-Montgomery, and Mike Rogers, R-Saks, to serve on the conference committee charged with negotiating a final agreement on the Farm Bill. The House and Senate passed different versions of the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act, commonly known as the Farm Bill, […]

Over the weekend, Auburn University’s student body elected Molly Anne Dutton the school’s 100th Miss Homecoming, and boy what a story this young woman has to tell. A couple of decades ago, Dutton’s biological mother, who was living in California at the time, was the victim of a sexual assault that resulted in her becoming […]

When Mark Kennedy resigned as chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party and launched his new group, the Alabama Democratic Majority, he indicated that he’d support Republicans and Independents in races where he didn’t think a Democrat could win. Apparently he’s willing to support socialists too — seriously. On Thursday of this week, Kennedy’s crew will […]

In anticipation of the debt ceiling fight in Congress, NPR created the below graph to illustrate to whom the U.S. government owes its massive $17 trillion debt.   Business Insider added the following observations: 1. We owe most of the money to ourselves. 2. We owe a big chunk of the money — about $5 […]

WASHINGTON – While much of the focus on Capitol Hill has been on the government shutdown and the pending negotiations over raising the federal debt ceiling, Rep. Martha Roby, R-Montgomery, has been working on how to prevent another terrorist attack similar to the September 2012 attack in Benghazi. Roby chairs the House Armed Services Subcommittee on […]

“At the Sochi winter Olympics this February, every word you tweet, text or say on your cell will be monitored by the Russian state,” Cyrus Moussavi of Now This News quips in the video above. Moussavi cites a report by The Guardian which revealed that “athletes and spectators attending the Winter Olympics in Sochi in […]

Byrne: Dad sold trucks and mom was a bookkeeper. We weren’t rich, but we were blessed, and their faith never waivered. Voiceover: Christian. Conservative. Bradley Byrne. Byrne: They believed in education. It took me ten years to pay off my student loans. Alabama’s full of hardworking people — like my folks — who deserve a […]

Karl Rove, former Deputy White House Chief of Staff and current Fox News and Wall St. Journal contributor, said earlier this week that he regrets his previous endorsement of Alabama Public Service Commissioner Terry Dunn. “I regret it because I’m concerned about the relationships he’s building with out-of-the-mainstream, anti-coal environmental groups,” Rove told Yellowhammer. Rove […]

Montgomery – State Rep. DuWayne Bridges, R-Valley, on Thursday announced that when his current legislative term expires, he will retire from the Alabama House District 38 seat that he has held since being first elected in a special election almost 14 years ago. “After much prayerful thought and consideration, I have decided to bring my […]

(Above: David Platt & Francis Chan at the border of North Korea and South Korea) David Platt, pastor of Birmingham’s Church at Brook Hills, visited the North Korean border yesterday with fellow bestselling author Francis Chan. Platt and Chan are currently traversing the world’s largest continent doing a series of events called Multiply Asia. Chan’s […]

(Above: Shaun McCutcheon discusses his Supreme Court case, McCutcheon v. FEC) Birmingham-area conservative activist Shaun McCutcheon takes one more step toward election law immortality today as his challenge to aggregate limits on federal campaign contributions goes before the United States Supreme Court. In September, Yellowhammer wrote extensively about McCutcheon’s bid to “change the world.” Here’s […]

Chip Beeker’s bid to unseat Public Service Commissioner Terry Dunn will get a big boost in a few weeks when former Mississippi Governor and RNC Chairman Haley Barbour headlines a fundraiser for him in Birmingham. A source with knowledge of Beeker’s campaign operation told Yellowhammer Monday morning that Barbour offered to host the fundraiser after […]

There are elected officials and candidates who are respected greatly, even by people who don’t agree with them — leaders with the courage of their convictions, individuals with a backbone. Just look at what Ted Cruz has done in recent months. Even James Carville, the Democrat consultant who led Bill Clinton’s political operation, called him […]

Birmingham News editorial writer Joey Kennedy spent this past weekend the same way he usually does, posting twitter haikus and other über-intelligent, insightful things like this: What Boehner and the Republicans want to do is make everything hostage. After this, it'll be EPA or WIC or Medicaid. Got to stop them now. — Joey Kennedy […]

POLITICO is out this morning with a critique of the AL-01 GOP primary. The D.C.-based media outlet says the race illustrates the “GOP identity crisis” taking place nationally. Some of the key paragraphs from the article are below. A Nov. 5 runoff for the state’s vacant 1st District is emerging as a proxy fight pitting […]

Gov. Bentley announced this week that after years of planning, construction on the first phase of the Northern Beltline is now expected to start in 2014. The governor made the announcement after the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers approved the permit for construction. Gov. Bentley also reported the new website, betterbeltline.org, will be up and […]

Yellowhammer broke the story earlier this week that Dr. Ben Carson was targeted by the Internal Revenue Service after his famed National Prayer Breakfast speech, which launched him into the national spotlight. “I had my first encounter with the IRS this year, unsurprisingly after the Prayer Breakfast,” Carson said Monday night at the Business Council […]

When news anchors for Birmingham’s CBS affiliate started playfully ad libbing a transition during a recent newscast, everything started off fine. But then things suddenly got accidentally — and hilariously — off track. Gina Redmond: Have you ever dressed your dog up? Stephen Hauck: I honestly have not. Gina Redmond: Well, you’ve got a big […]

Hundreds of Alabama business leaders and elected officials packed into the Sheraton Hotel ballroom in downtown Birmingham last night for the annual Business Council of Alabama Chairman’s Dinner featuring keynote speakers Gov. Mike Huckabee and Dr. Ben Carson. Dr. Ben Carson addressing the crowd at the @BCAToday Chairman's Dinner. #alpolitics pic.twitter.com/04kA8fqfcc — Yellowhammer (@YHPolitics) October […]

Congressman Spencer Bachus (AL-6) today announced that his current term in the U.S. House, which runs through December 2014, will be his last. Bachus, the dean of the Alabama House delegation, said he will not seek re-election after serving eleven terms as the representative for the Sixth District. He said he will devote his full […]

Cheryl Ciamarra, one of Alabama’s foremost pro-life advocates, is considering running for the Alabama House District 43 seat, which will be open in 2014 when Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin retires. [READ: Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin retiring, potential successors emerge] Ciamarra held a meeting at her home yesterday with what she dubbed an “exploratory committee” to […]