Alabama Republican Sen. Richard Shelby is on the brink of becoming the new chairman of the Appropriations Committee, a post with great influence over more than $1 trillion in annual spending. Shelby was confirmed by panel members to lead the committee and is sure to be ratified by the full Senate soon.

A judge is considering whether to lower the bond for an Alabama man charged with murder in the death of his wife, a suburban mom and exhibitionist who posted racy photographs of herself online. Shelby County Circuit Judge William Bostick scheduled a hearing Monday afternoon for 45-year-old William Jeffrey West, who’s charged in the January […]

Alabama colleges are luring more Illinois high school seniors away from in-state universities partly through financial perks. The Chicago Tribune reports that more than 1,600 Illinois students enrolled at the University of Alabama last fall, up from about 150 students a decade ago.

Funeral services to honor the life of civil rights icon Frederick D. Reese have been set for Thursday and Friday. Reese, who was known as F.D., was an early leader in the civil rights movement and invited Martin Luther King Jr. to work in Selma. Reese died on April 5 at the age of 88. […]

An aviation company will create at least 200 new jobs through an expansion in central Alabama. Al.com reports that Stewart Industries International has leased the former Kaiser Aircraft facility adjacent to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. The company said this week they expect to provide maintenance support to the east coast-based aviation industry.

Birmingham’s public transit system is getting $3.6 million in federal grant money for new buses. The U.S. Department of Transportation says the funding will go for the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority to replace old buses that have outlived their usefulness. An announcement from the agency says the new vehicles will reduce maintenance and other costs […]

Google is marking the start of construction at its $600 million data center in northeastern Alabama. The tech giant plans to hold a groundbreaking ceremony Monday at the 350-acre plant site along the Tennessee River in Bridgeport.

Praising it as a job-recruitment tool, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday signed into law a bill that will exempt economic developers from the state ethics law. Ivey’s office announced that she signed the bill approved by lawmakers this session after sometimes-contentious debate over whether it was a job-recruitment necessity or a gaping new hole […]

A central Alabama farm dating back to the 1800s is being honored as the state’s 2018 Farm of Distinction. The Shelby County row-crop operation run by John and Kate DeLoach received the honor during a luncheon in Birmingham on Thursday.

A historic building in a downtown Alabama city will be sold for more than $2 million. The Montgomery Water Works and Sanitation Board will pull in the funds for the historic Murphy House, which was built in 1851, the Montgomery Advertiser reported. The city council board plans to use the funds to move into a […]

A court is allowing antitrust litigation against health insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield to proceed. U.S. District Judge David Proctor of Birmingham, Alabama, in a ruling late Thursday refused to accept the insurer’s claim that it’s a single entity operating across the nation. Instead, Proctor agreed to let plaintiff lawyers move ahead with allegations that […]

The state is trying to get Alabama’s religious communities more involved in fighting crime and drugs. Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office says it will stage a series of “faith forums” in Alabama’s four largest cities this month and next.

Police say a man was shot and killed in Alabama. Bessemer police Lt. Christian Clemons tells news outlets 20-year-old Vincent Webster Cole, aka Vincent Cortez Webster, was shot Wednesday afternoon and pronounced dead at the scene. Clemons says the shooter fled in a dark-colored Chevrolet Trailblazer and there may be more than one suspect. (Associated […]

A 71-year-old man who volunteered with a kindergarten program in north Alabama is charged with inappropriately touching and exposing himself to children. Authorities say James Lamar Horton of Red Bay faces multiple counts of sex-related crimes following an indictment by grand jurors in Franklin County.

An apartment fire in the northeast Alabama city of Scottsboro has killed three people. Firefighters found an apartment building filled with thick smoke after receiving a call Thursday night. Flames were coming from one unit and shooting through part of the roof.

Collin Sexton, Alabama’s dynamic freshman point guard, is heading to the NBA. Sexton announced his decision on Friday and said he plans to hire an agent. A projected lottery pick, he led Alabama to its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2012, thanks partly to a personal hot streak in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. “It was […]

Facebook’s acknowledgement that most of its 2.2 billion members have probably had their personal data scraped by “malicious actors” is the latest example of the social network’s failure to protect its users’ data. Not to mention its apparent inability to even identify the problem until the company was already embroiled in scandal. CEO Mark Zuckerberg […]

Ford is recalling about 350,000 trucks and SUVs in the U.S., Canada and Mexico because they might be in a different gear than the one shown on the shift indicator. The recall covers the 2018 F-150 pickup and Expedition large SUV with 10-speed automatic transmissions. Also covered are 2018 F-650 and F-750 trucks with six-speed […]

A man has been sentenced to life nearly a decade after his stepfather was gunned down outside of his Huntsville home. Clarence Fearn maintained his innocence when he was sentenced Thursday, looking George Woodard’s family in the eyes as he said, “I did not shoot Mr. Woodard.” AL.com reports prosecutors have said Fearn felt disrespected […]

Searchers have located the body of a 4-year-old boy who was missing for more than a week in the Chattahoochee River at Columbus, Georgia. Area media report that the child’s remains were found Friday morning on the ninth day of a search. Authorities planned a news conference to discuss the case.

Frederick D. Reese, an early leader in the civil rights movement who invited Martin Luther King Jr. to work in Selma, died Thursday at age 88. James Perkins, pastor of Selma’s Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church where Reese served as pastor of for 50 years, confirmed Reese’s death.

A Tennessee teacher who set off a nationwide manhunt last year after he fled with a 15-year-old student broke down in court after pleading guilty to crossing state lines to have sex with a minor. Former forensics teacher Tad Cummins, 51, also pleaded guilty Thursday to obstruction of justice before U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger […]

Police say a man has been charged in the killing of another man who was shot several times in Alabama. AL.com reports the man who Birmingham police found March 23 with multiple gunshot wounds behind an apartment building was a father of four daughters and a local rapper. Police spokesman Lt. Pete Williston says 29-year-old […]

The owners of the dogs that mauled a woman whose death prompted legislation have been charged. AL.com reports that 43-year-old Brian Keith Graden and 45-year-old Melody Ann Grader were booked Tuesday on charges of criminally negligent homicide and failure to immunize a pet for rabies. The Gradens owned the five dogs that fatally attacked 24-year-old […]