“Sin taxes,” which are taxes levied on items considered undesirable or harmful, are a favorite tool of lawmakers trying to balance the budget without cutting government services. They get the revenue they want while avoiding a tax hike on income, property or other areas that could elicit an immediate negative response from the majority of […]

This week, AJ and the Alabama Eats crew are at John’s City Diner, a restaurant that has been a staple in downtown Birmingham for more than seven decades. “A 70-year-old institution — John’s Diner — 10 years ago was kind of transformed by us into a more modern take on some Southern favorites,” said John’s […]

(Above: PHOTOX’s YouTube ad) Filters for online photographs have become all the rage since Instagram burst onto the scene. Want your picture to look like it was taken on an old — excuse me — vintage camera? No problem. Need to lighten or darken it up? That’s easy. Those changes are made with a single […]

Is having a Republican governor better for a state’s economy? According to a report by financial analysis website Market Watch, the answer appears to be “yes.” “Nine of the 10 fastest growing U.S. states in the fourth quarter of 2013 were controlled by Republicans governors, according to the most recently available data from the Bureau […]

Every Alabama taxpayer’s financial burden for the state’s debt is $14,000, according to a new analysis by Truth in Accounting, a non-profit government watchdog group. That’s the 17th highest financial burden per state taxpayer in the nation. According to The Daily Signal, a conservative blog backed by The Heritage Foundation, “Taxpayer burden is calculated by determining each taxpayer’s […]

When Inc. Magazine released its annual list of the fastest growing private companies in America last week, it was chock-full of firms operating in the high growth, high margin sectors of the economy that you would expect — investments, technology, financial services and pharmaceuticals, to name a few. But of the 57 Alabama companies that […]

The Daily Beast just released its latest list of the best high schools in the South, and two of Alabama’s premier secondary schools made the cut. Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School (JCIB) in Irondale came in at number 8, followed by the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science (ASMS) in Mobile at number 20. “We […]

30 local school superintendents from around Alabama have joined a lawsuit claiming the Alabama Accountability Act (AAA), a school choice bill passed by the Alabama Legislature in 2013, is unconstitutional, according to a report by al.com. The group of superintendents, who represent about 22 percent of Alabama’s 136 school districts, filed a brief asking the […]

Wisconsin congressman and former Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan just released his latest book, “The Way Forward: Renewing the American Idea,” and made an appearance on the Alabama-based, nationally syndicated Rick & Bubba show Wednesday morning to promote it. “We’re fired up about this book,” said co-host Rick Burgess. “I’ve heard your passion, I’ve […]

Carly Chandler has had a significant impact on the State of Alabama in her short, 3-plus years on Earth. Carly’s Law, a bill legalizing a new treatment method for children with serious neurological and epileptic disorders, unanimously passed the Alabama Legislature earlier this year in a rare moment of bipartisan unity. RELATED: This 3-year-old is […]

The Alabama Tourism department decided in July to trade in the “Alabama the Beautiful” signs that have welcomed travelers to the state since 2003, and replace them with signs that say “Welcome to Sweet Home Alabama,” the state’s official marketing slogan. However, that doesn’t mean that Alabamians and out-of-staters alike aren’t still enjoying the incredible […]

Burger King, which has over 120 Alabama locations, is getting grilled this week by critics who say the company should not have made the decision to move its corporate headquarters out of the country after buying Canadian coffee and doughnut chain Tim Hortons in a deal worth over $11 billion. The combined company’s move to […]

Clint Eastwood’s upcoming film “American Sniper” is said to be “an awards season contender” and is set for an “Oscar-qualifying run on Christmas Day 2014, before it goes wide on January 16th in 2015,” according to ScreenRant.com. The movie is based off of the autobiography of Chris Kyle, who is commonly referred to as “the […]

Dr. David Platt, the 35-year old pastor of Birmingham’s Church at Brook Hills and New York Times bestselling author, has been tapped to serve as the next president of the International Mission Board (IMB). The IMB is the missionary-sending organization affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. It was initially established in 1845 as the Board […]

Safe Choice Security News, a home security blog, recently ranked Alabama’s safest and most dangerous cities based on data gleaned from the 2012 FBI Crime Statistics report. “After comparing FBI statistics on violent crime rates in cities around Alabama,” Safe Choice calculated each city’s “crime index.” The higher the score, the safer a city is. […]

You don’t have to be in Tuscaloosa, the state of Alabama, or even America, for that matter, to be among fans of the Alabama Crimson Tide. As a matter of fact, if you find yourself in Afghanistan — you know, for a weekend getaway, or something — just look up into the skies and there’s […]

Kevin Trudeau, who is known to many as the “infomercial king,” but to a federal judge as “deceitful to the core,” is now serving a 10-year sentence in Federal Prison Camp in Montgomery, Ala. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ruled that Trudeau had made false health and diet claims in his book, “The Weight Loss […]

5 of Alabama’s top 10 most stolen vehicles in 2013 were pickup trucks, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, including the 1997 Chevrolet full-size pickup, which tops the list. The rest of the top 10 can be found below. And here are top 10 most stolen vehicles nationally: 1. Honda Accord – 53,995 thefts […]

“Coffee Shop,” a romantic comedy shot in Old Town Helena and on the Alabama Gulf Coast shores of Fairhope, will be shown for the first time tonight, Friday, Aug. 22, 2014, at the Carmike Summit 16 in Birmingham and the Patton Creek 15 in Hoover. A red carpet premier will also take place the following […]

Alabama is the most honest state in the country according to a study by Honest Tea, a beverage company who recently conducted their second annual nationwide experiment on honesty. But whereas Alabama topped the rankings by itself in 2013, the Yellowhammer State is sharing the honor this year with Alaska and Hawaii. Honest Tea set […]

FITZPATRICK, Ala. — Peggy Sutton’s business may have started out as a hobby in this rural Alabama hamlet, but today her fast-growing To Your Health Sprouted Flour Co. sells its whole grain products to big-name food industry players and health-conscious customers around the world. In a Bullock County base just off U.S. Highway 82, the […]

Foreign immigration is a hot topic in American right now. However, individuals immigrating from state to state may actually have a more significant impact on the country’s culture, economy and politics. America experienced significant changes during periods of rapid migration, as seen during the country’s westward expansion, the movement of blacks from the South to […]

This weekend, country music megastar Kenny Chesney will perform his first and only show of 2014. But it won’t be at an arena, amphitheater or stadium, like most of his concerts. Instead, he’ll be performing at the Flora-Bama Lounge & Package, an iconic roadhouse planted, as its name suggests, right on the Florida-Alabama line. The […]

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, U.S. citizens work almost 1,800 hours each year, which is over 35 hours per week. That’s a lot compared to citizens of European nations like France, where the average person works under 1,500 hour per year, less around 29 hours per week. That kind of work […]