The last time Alabama experienced job growth like it did this September was in 2006, before the Great Recession brought on years of high unemployment and anemic economic growth across the country. Alabama’s seasonally adjusted September unemployment rate dropped to 6.6%, down from 6.9% in August. There were still 140,674 unemployed Alabamians last month, compared […]

A while back, we posted a review of Lars Anderson’s “The Storm and the Tide,” which covers the April 27, 2011 Tuscaloosa tornado and the subsequent national championships won by Alabama. It is a great book, which we highly suggest buying and reading. It isn’t an easy read, though, so you might want to grab a […]

Another health care worker in Dallas tested positive for Ebola this week. That marks the second case of Ebola contracted in the United States. While there have not been any cases of Ebola in Alabama (although there have been some scares), Gov. Bentley held a press conference last week explaining what protocols were put in […]

(Video Above: Yellowhammer takes you behind the scenes at Redemptive Cycles) Redemptive Cycles in Birmingham, Ala., isn’t your typical bike shop. It’s more like a community. Actually, it’s more like a family — a really big family — one that includes hundreds of individuals from every imaginable background. Marcus Fetch and his small team at […]

Generally speaking, laws are a good thing. They keep us safe. They give order to society. But it seems like these days legislators are getting carried away and trying to control people’s lives a little too much. However, that’s not exactly a new phenomenon. Check out these 13 laws that either have been or still […]

Birmingham has a long, messy history of being a city divided. Last year, Business Insider released data showing that Birmingham is one of the top 10 most segregated cities in the country. Professors at Florida State University analyzed 2010 census data and determined what percentage of one people group would have to move neighborhoods in […]

Alabama’s First Lady Dianne Bentley is generally soft-spoken, but when it comes to the issue of domestic violence, her voice is starting to ring out across the entire country. It all started when Mrs. Bentley got to know some of the women inmates who were working at the governor’s mansion on a work release program. […]

Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala., is at the center of a messy controversy that has received attention worldwide. If you’re unfamiliar with the situation, here’s a brief explanation: Pastor Juan McFarland, who has been Shiloh’s minister for more than two decades, recently confessed that he had sex with parishioners on church property. He […]

This is it, y’all. We’re in the final round of voting for the greatest song ever written about Alabama. Before the championship showdown, let’s take a look back on round 2. Round 2 Recap: “My Home’s in Alabama” by Alabama vs. “Stars Fell on Alabama” by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Winner: “My Home’s in […]

During an appearance on the Matt Murphy Show Monday morning, Alabama governor Robert Bentley said that the attempted unionization of non-union manufacturing plants in Alabama hurts his ability to recruit companies to locate in the state and threatens to damage Alabama’s budding relationship with Asian companies looking to locate in the U.S. The United Auto […]

Some mornings the coffee just isn’t strong enough. Have you ever noticed yourself yawning throughout the day? Do your coworkers get sick of hearing about how late you stayed up or how little you slept last night? Have you ever considered selling your soul to the Devil for just one more glorious hour of sleep? […]

There may be no resource more valuable to a college student than ratemyprofessors.com. Rate My Professors allows students to anonymously grade professors on four criteria: difficulty, hotness, clarity and helpfulness. I never registered for a class without checking a professor’s rating first. As you can imagine, some of the comments are genuinely kind and helpful, […]

We’re one step closer to naming the greatest song ever written about Alabama. Before we move on to the final four, let’s take a moment to look back on Round 1. Round 1 Recap: “My Home’s in Alabama” by Alabama vs. “Old Alabama” by Brad Paisley Winner: “My Home’s in Alabama” with 91.7% of the […]

Business Insider recently named the most famous movie set in each state, and it probably comes as no surprise that “Forrest Gump” was the definitive choice for Alabama. “In order to pick, we evaluated the state’s prominence in the movie and leaned toward movies that were filmed in that location, as well,” writes Business Insider’s […]

The Clint Eastwood-directed American Sniper is set to hit theaters late this year, and if the film’s first trailer is any indication, it’s going to be intense. (see trailer above) The movie will focus on the life of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, commonly referred to as “the most lethal sniper in American military history” with […]

Half of the pregnancies among American women are unintended, and about four in 10 of these are terminated by abortion. From 1973 to 2011, nearly 53 million legal abortions were performed in America. Forty-five percent of all abortions since 1973 have been for women who were not married at the time of the procedure. According […]

Mike Rowe of “Dirty Jobs” has made a habit of going viral on the Internet by responding to fan questions, like the time a fan told him to prove he was the real-deal and wasn’t living a posh celebrity lifestyle and Rowe responded by giving a photo-tour of his apartment. On Tuesday it was Stephen […]

I have a confession: I’m not an Alabamian. While I’ve lived in several states, I consider myself a Tennessean—a Memphian, to be more precise. Before moving here in September, everything I knew about this state came from either “Fried Green Tomatoes” or one of the many songs about Alabama. Now that the Yellowhammer State is […]

The proliferation and improvement of fiber optics networks over the past 5 years has led to a drastic increase in broadband Internet speeds across the country, including right here in the Yellowhammer State. According to Blue Fire Broadband, the average Internet download rate in Alabama in 2009 was 9.41 megabits per second (Mbps). This year […]

With October fast approaching, it’s time to think about which autumnal activities and traditions you want to cross off your list this year. We’ve put together some of our favorite fall past times to help you make the most of the season before winter sets in. 1. Go leaf peeping (via http://abcnews.go.com) Leaf peeping is a […]

Japanese companies are pouring resources into Alabama at a stunning rate in recent years, accelerating their growth, branching into new sectors of the economy and employing thousands of Alabamians along the way. According to several government officials Yellowhammer spoke with on Monday, that’s no accident, but is a direct result of Alabama’s right-to-work laws and […]

Andy McWhorter of the Crimson White, the University of Alabama’s student newspaper, published a fascinating article on Monday about a new reality at UA’s Tuscaloosa campus — Alabamians are in the minority for the first time. Out-of-state students made up 4,279, or about 62 percent, of this year’s 6,865-person freshman class, according to the Office […]

Even as an Alabama grad, I’ve got to tip my hat to Auburn sometimes. For starters, as a conservative living in the Yellowhammer State, it warmed my heart to see that The Princeton Review named Auburn’s student body the most conservative in the nation. Then Money Magazine rated Auburn “the best college for the money” […]

John Croyle and his wife, Tee, have seen their dream of building the best children’s home in America grow into three separate facilities in Northeast Alabama: Big Oak Boys’ Ranch in Gadsden, Big Oak Girls’ Ranch in Springville, and Westbrook Christian School, Inc. in Rainbow City. Their mission has been simple: “A hundred years from […]