According to reports, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani fled his country on Sunday following the arrival of Taliban forces to the nation’s capital, Kabul, on the heels of the U.S. military’s withdrawal from the nation. Last month, President Joe Biden boasted of the Afghan military’s strength and dismissed claims that the fall of the Ghani government […]

In a party-line vote last week, the Alabama state school board voted to prohibit the teaching of so-called Critical Race Theory in public schools. State Sen. Sam Givhan (R-Huntsville) says to expect more action from the Alabama Legislature to shore up that ban and put it into statute. During an appearance on Huntsville radio Newstalk […]

The last two education trust fund budgets passed by the state legislature set records for public education spending in Alabama. While some metrics show Alabama lagging behind other states on education, State Rep. Danny Garrett (R-Trussville), who was recently named the chairman of the House Ways and Means Education Budget Committee, expects those public investments […]

For better or worse, politics has made its way into how policymakers respond to the COVID-19 pandemic nationally. According to Katie Britt, a candidate for U.S. Senate in Alabama, those politics are for the worse given the double standards and fear applied to those discussions. During an appearance on Mobile talk radio’s FM Talk 106.5, […]

Earlier this week, Attorney General Steve Marshall announced he was partnering with Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry to address censorship on social media platforms. During an appearance on Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5’s “Midday Mobile,” Marshall explained why he saw the Alabama Attorney General’s office as having justification for an effort that involved questioning actions […]

With the school year in Alabama now underway, some are concerned as to how the Delta variant could impact the coming school-going population that is not eligible for the COVID-19 vaccines offered to the public. During an appearance on APTV’s “Capitol Journal” on Friday, Dr. Don Williamson, the head of the Alabama Hospital Association, noted […]

Some public school parents have objected to masking requirements of schools throughout Alabama mandated in the name of mitigating the threat of COVID-19. Such measures have even led to legislation proposed that would forbid such requirements. However, State Superintendent of Education Eric Mackey says currently, such requirements are permissible in Alabama’s public schools. During an […]

Last month, Birmingham-Southern College reportedly determined it would charge unvaccinated students a $500 fee “to offset continual weekly antigen testing and quarantining.” The call by the private four-year college was criticized by lawmakers, who saw it as a violation of Alabama’s vaccine passport prohibition passed by the legislature and signed into law by Gov. Kay […]

Along U.S. Highway 80 between Montgomery and Selma in rural Lowndes County’s White Hall are two of Alabama’s gambling facilities that are often overlooked in discussions about a so-called comprehensive gaming bill that would once and for all settle the legality of the issue. Gaming facilities, which currently include White Hall Entertainment and Southern Star […]

Birmingham-Southern College’s decision to charge unvaccinated students a $500 fee “to offset continual weekly antigen testing and quarantining” was seen by some as a violation of Alabama’s vaccine passport prohibition passed by the Alabama Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey earlier this year. The move by Birmingham-Southern has drawn the attention of […]

Earlier this week, AL(dot)com’s Kyle Whitmire took exception to State Sen. Arthur Orr’s (R-Decatur) suggestion that a Birmingham-Southern College $500 fee on the unvaccinated could be a “constructive denial” and a possible violation of state law, passed by the legislature and signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey earlier this year. In a column, Whitmire […]

Finding a solution to the long-standing traffic woes tied to crossing the Intracoastal Waterway to arrive to and depart from Baldwin County’s beaches is uncertain as a disagreement between Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon and Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft seems to have gotten personal. Since 1972, the Alabama Highway 59 via the W.C. Holmes […]

With the Delta variant of COVID-19 on the rise, public and private institutions are considering putting in place any number of protocols to mitigate the spread of the virus, including reinstating mask and social distancing requirements. Among those institutions are public schools, some of which are going with a mask requirement, and State Rep. Andrew […]

According to U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn), the Biden administration is allowing an astonishing number of illegal immigrants into the United States under their new border policies. Tuberville, a guest on Newsmax TV’s “Spicer & Co.” on Wednesday, said that amount was equivalent to the population of Birmingham, which is Alabama’s largest city. “[I]t’s just […]

Last week, State Rep. Chris England (D-Tuscaloosa) took to social media to call for new leadership at the top of the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) and the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles. England, who also chairs the Alabama Democratic Party, called on ADOC commissioner Jeff Dunn to be fired from his job and […]

In the 2016 presidential election, Cullman County went for 88% for Donald Trump and 10% for Hillary Clinton. In the 2020 presidential election, Trump matched that same margin in Cullman County against Joe Biden. Both of those elections put Cullman County in the category of the most pro-Trump counties in the country, with Cullman County […]

SPANISH FORT — State Auditor Jim Zeigler sounds more and more like he will give a gubernatorial bid a go in 2022. The two-term state auditor laid out how he would fulfill his potential higher-office ambitions before a crowd gathered for a Common Sense Campaign meeting at the Original Oyster House on the Mobile Bay […]

Later this month, former President Donald Trump will return to Alabama for another high-profile event. According to an announcement from the Alabama Republican Party, Trump will be in Cullman at York Family Farms on August 21. Gates will open at 2 p.m. with the event beginning at 5 p.m., and Trump is expected to take […]

Since the Alabama Legislature adjourned sine die back in May, members of the legislature have been conducting meetings with Gov. Kay Ivey on how to proceed with improving Alabama’s beleaguered prison system. The state is facing scrutiny from the federal government. Earlier this year, the Biden Justice Department filed a lawsuit alleging the state is […]

The Alabama Department of Education is leaving it up to local school boards to determine whether or not masking will be required at public schools in the upcoming school year. It is a decision that Alabama State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris said he agreed with and acknowledged mandating masking was not feasible. However, he […]

On Thursday, reports surfaced that Birmingham-Southern College students were told that if they were not vaccinated, they could be forced to pay a $500 fee “to offset continual weekly antigen testing and quarantining.” Some argued the $500 requirement was in defiance of a so-called vaccine passport ban passed by the Alabama Legislature and signed by […]

Earlier this summer, NCAA rules changes and state laws went into effect that changed college athletes’ ability to sell the rights to their names, images and likenesses. However, different states have different rules, which could inevitably create problems for the NCAA’s ability to maintain some semblance of a level playing field for college athletics. During […]

Front and center, both as a political matter and as a policy matter, is what approach should government at all levels take to combat the reported rise in coronavirus cases because of the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus. In Alabama, measures have been instituted to protect a laissez-faire system that leaves much of the […]

With 37 days to go until Auburn and Alabama both kick off the 2021 football season, COVID-19 is creeping back into the picture of everyday American life. However, State Sen. Tom Whatley (R-Auburn), whose district includes Auburn University and an economy that relies in some part on the annual football season, said he was not […]