Governor Kay Ivey on Thursday signed into law State Rep. Matt Fridy’s (R-Montevallo) HB 498, a bill intended to safeguard freedom of speech on public college campuses in Alabama. This came after the legislation received final passage last week. The new law takes effect July 1, 2020. In statements on Thursday, Fridy and Senate Rules […]

The University of South Alabama (USA) has named Nick Lawkis as the university’s executive director of governmental relations. According to a release to Yellowhammer News, Lawkis has been associate director of governmental relations since 2015 and was named interim executive director in February. Prior to his work in the university’s office of governmental relations, he […]

MONTGOMERY — Governor Kay Ivey on Thursday signed into law a bill that is expected to provide much-needed, “long overdue” reform of the “badly broken” Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles. HB 380, sponsored by State Rep. Connie Rowe (R-Jasper), represents a comprehensive overhaul of the Board of Pardons and Paroles. The new law, which […]

Governor Kay Ivey and the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education on Thursday officially announced the locations of 164 new First Class Pre-K classrooms across 38 counties, with more new classrooms still to be announced before the start of the 2019-2020 school year. Alabama’s voluntary First Class Pre-K program has been ranked as the nation’s […]

Two Alabama World War II veterans were among the group of survivors who returned to Normandy for the 75th anniversary of that legendary D-Day invasion on Thursday. George Mills, 98, of Decatur and Sherwin Callander, 99, of Madison were featured on “CBS This Morning” on Wednesday, a day before the historic anniversary. Mills, who arrived […]

It has been three months since two tornadoes struck Lee County, and according to State Sen. Tom Whatley (R-Auburn), there is still work to do. However, those efforts got a big boost when Congress finally passed a $19.1 billion disaster relief package, which will not only help Lee County but other disaster-stricken areas around the […]

The Poarch Band of Creek Indians (PCI) on Wednesday responded to an “unwarranted” lawsuit that was filed by the Oklahoma-based Muscogee (Creek) Nation earlier the same day in which the Muscogee want money for “emotional distress.” The Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s new federal lawsuit is “demanding” that the Poarch Band of Creek Indians “immediately return” the […]

Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) is continuing to be a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, this time slamming the president’s threat to impose tariffs on Mexico if the country does not stem the flow of illegal aliens into the United States. During the same CNN “New Day” interview in which Jones expressed his openness to […]

Congressman Robert Aderholt (AL-04) on Tuesday successfully attached an amendment to Congress’ fiscal year 2020 agriculture spending bill that would bar the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from approving research that involves gene editing of human embryos. Roll Call reported that the move came during a meeting of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, of which […]

In modern outrage culture, we are told that every little controversy is going to upend the 2020 elections and hand the victory to Democrats. This is not just some liberal talking point either. Republicans love to say it as well. We heard it with Roy Moore, and we are hearing it with the Alabama abortion […]

An economic impact study conducted by a prominent national firm has revealed some staggering numbers on how Regions Bank impacts its home state of Alabama. Headquartered in Birmingham, Regions is currently the Yellowhammer State’s only Fortune 500 company. The firm Tripp Umbach recently wrapped up a study of how the bank supports Alabama’s economy, and […]

Capitalizing on his new House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee assignment, Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-05) on Wednesday helped secure two military construction projects important to the Redstone Arsenal defense community. During the subcommittee’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) mark-up, Brooks successfully obtained authorization for $38 million for construction of an aircraft and flight equipment building on […]

Appearing on CNN’s “New Day” on Wednesday, Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) called on the U.S. House of Representatives to start issuing “subpoenas” and “see where that goes.” Host Alisyn Camerota mentioned ongoing efforts by House Democrats to drum up impeachment proceedings and asked Jones if the House should begin formal impeachment hearings. However, the junior […]

Auditions for the upcoming 18th season of “American Idol” will include stops in several Southern cities. The show will hold auditions in Mobile, Alabama, on Aug. 20, the second of 20 stops between New York on July 23 and Detroit on Sept. 10.

Almost every night on either MSNBC or CNN, viewers are exposed to any number of Democratic members of Congress promoting the idea of President Donald Trump’s impeachment. Although the numbers for impeachment are nowhere near the 218 votes required in the U.S. House of Representatives for impeachment proceedings, those voices far outnumber those in Congress […]

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross on Tuesday announced that the department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $2.9 million grant for critical infrastructure that will pave the way for a new regional medical center to open in Thomasville. The project, to be matched with $724,000 in local funds, is expected to help create […]

One of the most vulnerable venues to mass shootings in recent years nationwide has been places of worship, specifically churches. Over the past several years, Rep. Lynn Greer (R-Rogersville) has attempted to push legislation that would allow churches to bolster protection against these threats by giving security personnel protections similar to what’s contained in Alabama’s […]

The fourth annual Sloss Tech, which will take place on August 2 at the historic Lyric Theatre in Birmingham, will feature a world-renowned keynote speaker. Event organizers Telegraph Creative and TechBirmingham on Tuesday announced that Alexis Ohanian, the internationally known presenter, co-founder of Reddit and Initialized Capital and best-selling author, will headline the 2019 event, which […]

Birmingham-based Protective Life Corporation has closed on the acquisition of Colorado’s Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company (GWL&A), a deal representing a capital investment of approximately $1.2 billion and the largest acquisition in company history. The announcement was made on Monday by Protective Life Corporation that its principal subsidiary, Protective Life Insurance Company, and Protective Life […]

Representative Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope) joined Hill.TV on Tuesday where he stated his support for investigations into Russian meddling with United States elections but questioned the investigating of a presidential campaign, which he considers the “next step.” “If they wanted to open an investigation in the summer of 2016 into what the Russians were doing, I’m […]

The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday gave final passage to a $19.1 billion disaster package that is especially considered crucial for the Wiregrass in the wake of Hurricane Michael. The measure previously passed the Senate, with Sens. Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Doug Jones (D-AL) voting in the affirmative. Shelby was the lead negotiator on […]

Alabama’s Dynetics was one of 11 companies selected by NASA last month to participate in the next phase of its lunar lander development program. According to Andy Crocker, director for space strategy and lunar program manager at Dynetics, NASA selected the Huntsville-based company to focus on the descent element of the Artemis Human Landing System […]

The Alabama Ethics Commission is scheduled to meet on Wednesday and deliver, as promised at its last meeting, answers to several questions presented to it by the Birmingham Airport Authority. As the governing body for the state’s largest and busiest airport, the Birmingham Airport Authority serves an important function in the state’s overall economic development […]

The mayor of a small city in Walker County is defending comments he made on Facebook regarding “homosexuals,” “transvestites” and “socialists.” WBRC reported that Carbon Hill Mayor Mark Chambers on Friday posted in all caps on his publicly accessible Facebook page, “We live in a society where homosexuals lecture us on morals, transvestites lecture us […]