[tps_header]The Yellowhammer Power of Service Event May 28th, 2015[/tps_header]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama health insurance providers who offer plans on the ObamaCare exchange are seeking significant price increases this year, after healthcare costs took a sharp upward turn. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama is reportedly requesting an average of a 28 percent increase for its individual plans, as well as a 73 percent […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Yellowhammer learned Tuesday morning that the Alabama Education Association (AEA), whose precipitous fall from power over the last few years has shocked many longtime observers of Alabama politics, has been placed under trusteeship by the teachers’ union’s national umbrella organization. After spending roughly $20 million in the 2014 election cycle with little […]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House passed Tuesday reforms to the Magnuson-Stevens Act, including the Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act sponsored by Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-AL1). Among the changes proposed by Rep. Byrne, provisions included in the bill would repeal the inflexible quotas for the Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper fishery, […]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Last week, business website Market Watch ranked the country’s 100 largest cities in order of their business friendliness, and Birmingham didn’t fare so well. Coming in at No. 75, The Magic City received a score of 986 out of 2,350 possible points. Based off of Market Watch’s scoring criteria, here are a […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Federal District Judge Mark fuller, who was accused of domestic abuse last fall, delivered his resignation letter to President Obama Friday, effective August 1st. A report by Atlanta-based legal blog The Daily Report surfaced shortly thereafter indicating that Fuller’s resignation may have been an effort to avoid impeachment from the 11th Circuit […]

(Video Above: SECPrimary.com’s hype video for the upcoming presidential primary) MONTGOMERY, Ala. — After Alabama passed its bill moving primaries up to March 1st last week, joining Arkansas and four other Southern states, the “SEC Primary,” appears to be ready to make waves during the 2016 presidential race. The Yellowhammer State will join Arkansas, Georgia, […]

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — A new ranking by USA Today of the South’s best fine dining restaurants boasts 3 Alabama joints in the top 10, including Huntsville’s Cotton Row coming in at No. 1. “Under the direction of Chef James Boyce, Cotton Row Restaurant in Huntsville, Ala. features an ever-changing menu of inventive modern American dishes,” […]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A new study by researchers at the University of Maryland has found that Alabama is the second most “uptight” state in the country, ranking behind only Mississippi. Predictably, the most “uptight” states tend to be conservative states, while “looser” states are more liberal places like California, Oregon, and Washington. Here are the […]

Deontay Wilder from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo. (Video Above: Deontay Wilder prepares for the June 13th fight against Texan Eric Molina) BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — “You talk about Alabama power? That’s Deontay Wilder; he’s got real Alabama power.” Tuscaloosa native and current WBC Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder will defend his title for the first time June […]

WASHINGTON — Congressman Gary Palmer spoke out this week against the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) latest major regulation, which opponents say is a significant overreach of the bureaucracy’s power. Along with the Army Corps of Engineers, the EPA is seeking to redefine “Waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act to include small […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama House on Thursday unanimously passed major reforms to the state’s Medicaid program that are estimated to save the state $1.5 billion over the next 10 years. The bill now goes to the governor’s desk to be signed into law. Medicaid currently comprises 37 percent of the state’s ailing general fund […]

FAYETTE, Ala. — The former manager of the Fayette water board was reportedly indicted by a grand jury this week for allegedly spending $25,000 in city funds on strip clubs, dating websites, and lingerie. Scotty Allen Moore, 54, retired from his position at the Fayette water board in March 2014, after 17 years of employment […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama legislature gave final passage Thursday to the “Gabe’s Right to Try” law, inspired by 10-year-old Gabe Griffin, an Alabama boy with Duchenne’s muscle-wasting disease. The right to try legislation will allow new medications already in the human trial portion of FDA approval to be tried by patients with terminal, life-threatening […]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Meteorologist James Spann’s no-nonsense, yet enthusiastic approach to making sure Alabamians know the latest weather information in our severe-weather prone state has made him quite the pop culture favorite, especially on social media. Every day, Spann retweets and comments on his fan’s social media interactions, sharing pictures of gorgeous sunsets from across […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — During a radio interview last week with Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore called on U.S. Supreme Court justices who have performed same-sex marriages and not recused themselves from the impending gay marriage decision to be impeached. Federal judge Callie “Ginny” Granade, who made the […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Tuesday evening both the Alabama House and Senate voted to override a gubernatorial veto on HB89, a bill which would allow Calhoun County to collect a 5 percent tax on wine and liquor. Governor Robert Bentley vetoed the local tax increase over fears that it was in conflict with existing state law. […]

CLEMSON, South Carolina — The top Democrat in the South Carolina House has called on Alabama native and current Clemson University head football coach Dabo Swinney to cancel his appearance at a fundraiser for the Palmetto Family Council, because the 501c3 non-profit opposes same-sex marriage and abortion. “I find it highly inappropriate that Coach Swinney […]

COLBERT COUNTY, Ala. — 88 percent of voters in Colbert County, Alabama, rejected a proposed tax increase Tuesday, in an astounding outcome some are calling more evidence of the state’s strong distaste for tax increases. The 3-mill property tax increase was slated to be spent on the Colbert County school system. Historically, taxes for education […]

HOOVER, Ala. — Niche.com, a site that seeks to “make choosing a neighborhood, college, or K-12 school a more transparent process” by “providing reviews and insight from everyday experts,” on Tuesday released its annual list of the best towns (pop. under 100k) to raise a family in Alabama. Niche compiled the ranking by weighing each […]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Conservative activist Alveda King, a Birmingham native and niece of civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr., sent Alabama lawmakers a letter last week asking them to come up with “more creative solutions than what is offered in the one size fits all Common Core curriculum.” The letter, distributed through conservative group […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama State Senator Paul Sanford (R-Huntsville) is offering his own solution to the general fund budget crisis, presenting the situation through an allegory, calling on Alabamians to have “a kitchen table conversation about your daily struggles and our state’s funding.” Sanford asks Alabamians to imagine the following scene: It is Sunday afternoon. […]

WSFA.com Montgomery Alabama news. (Above: WSFA’s video of the press conference announcing the arrest of Stephen Howard for trafficking the date rape drug GHB on Auburn University property) AUBURN, Ala. — An employee at Auburn University was arrested Friday for allegedly trafficking 2-3 gallons of the date rape drug GHB, U.S. Attorney George Beck announced […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A new report card from education news website EdWeek.org shows that Alabama still has a long way to go in improving its public school system. Earning an overall score of 67.7 for a D+, Alabama ranked No. 45, coming in ahead only of Mississippi (64.2), Nevada (65.0), New Mexico (65.5), Oklahoma (67.6), […]