(Above: Sen. Jeff Sessions questions EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy) Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Mobile, just wanted EPA Head Gina McCarthy to answer a simple question for the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “Ms. McCarthy,” Sessions began, “the president has said repeatedly — at least three times — that ‘the temperature around the globe is […]

The New York Times undertook a project recently called “Mapping Poverty in America.” The Times used data from the U.S. Census Bureau to create an interactive map that allows us to see what percentage of people live below the poverty line in different areas of the country — even down to the neighborhood level. I […]

State Rep. Paul DeMarco, R-Homewood, will report raising $360,730 for his AL-06 Congressional bid in the first fundraising period when he files his financial report. “We are extremely pleased with the strong support shown by people throughout the counties that make up the sixth congressional district,” DeMarco said in a release. “I am humbled by […]

Rep. Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, has introduced a bill that would render null and void certain provisions of ObamaCare and prevent Alabama state employees and agencies from implementing portions of the law that exceed the powers granted to the federal government in the U.S. Constitution. “I refuse to sit idly by and watch Obamacare destroy our […]

Negotiators on Capitol Hill unveiled a giant 1,582 page, $1.1 trillion government funding bill this week, which would fund the government for the remainder of the current fiscal year and put an end to all the government shutdown talk. The House of Representatives passed the bill today by a vote of 359-67. Both Republicans and […]

It was officially known at the time (1967) as the AFL-NFL World Championship, but would later be called Super Bowl I — the first time the AFL and NFL came together for a single championship game. The Green Bay Packers, led by former University of Alabama quarterback Bart Starr, defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 […]

New national “Common Core” education standards have been a hot button issue in recent months, stirring up tremendous debate in the education community and sparking outrage among grassroots conservatives who see it as an ill-advised national approach to education. “Little of the debate, however, has centered on what Common Core will mean to students,” Alabama […]

Americans United for Life, a national pro-life organization, yesterday released a report ranking the most pro-life and pro-abortion states in the country when it comes to passing pro-life legislation. For the fifth year in a row, Louisiana tops the list of most pro-life states, followed by Oklahoma, Arkansas, Arizona and Pennsylvania. The least pro-life states […]

(Above: Gov. Bentley receives a standing ovation before delivering the 2014 State of the State address) Thinking back over the last couple of years, I’d guess I’ve seen Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley deliver somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 speeches to large crowds — from Chambers of Commerce to College Republicans, Rotary Clubs to ALGOP […]

Mayors from Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery and Tuscaloosa completed a two-day retreat yesterday in Clarke County that was designed to strengthen ties between Alabama’s five major cities. Participants included Mayor William Bell of Birmingham, Mayor Tommy Battle of Huntsville, Mayor Sandy Stimpson of Mobile, Mayor Todd Strange of Montgomery and Mayor Walt Maddox of Tuscaloosa. […]

Washington, DC (January 14, 2014) – GOPAC, a D.C.-based organization that prides itself on training up the conservative “farm team” around the country, today announced that Alabama State Rep. Jack Williams, R-Vestavia Hills, has joined its Legislative Leaders Advisory Board. “Each member of our 2014 Legislative Leaders Advisory Board has a distinguished record of success […]

Winning three out of four BCS National Championships is already a distant memory in the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately atmosphere that surrounds University of Alabama football. Complacency has been the Alabama coaching staff’s biggest concern going into the last several seasons. But thanks to a two-game loosing streak at the end of the 2013 campaign, Coach Saban will […]

Birmingham, Ala. is the fifth most budget-friendly metro in the country, according to a recent study conducted by RedShift Research on behalf of Apartment Guide. “To determine the ‘Top 10 Most Budget-Friendy Metros,’ Apartment Guide looked at their internal listing data to determine metros with the lowest average rent as well as metros with the […]

National education group StudentsFirst this morning published its 2014 State Policy Report Card. Instead of ranking states based on current student achievement levels, the report card evaluates whether states have created policy environments that are likely to raise academic levels from where they currently stand. Alabama jumped four spots this year, improving its ranking to […]

The New York Times over the weekend published an in-depth report on the coordinated campaign that delivered unprecedented control to Republicans in state governments around the country in 2010. Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard was one of the focuses of the report, which touted the Alabama Republican Party’s success during Hubbard’s tenure as state party […]

“Winning here is a conscious decision. Make up your mind whether you want to pass — or choose to fail.” … “Just prove to your bodies through your mind that you can push yourself further than you thought possible.” … “Whatever you have to do — just find an excuse to win. Keep going.” And […]

Agenda Bills Coming First Out of the Gate Republicans are going to come right out of the gate this week with bills from their “Commonsense Conservative” agenda specifically related to tax relief. Rep. Barry Moore’s Tax Relief Act and Rep. Jim Patterson’s Tax Elimination Act will likely move very early in the session, as will […]

Well, this will raise some eyebrows. Republican Sixth Congressional District candidate Dr. Chad Mathis will announce this morning that he raised over $350,000 in the first fundraising period, which concluded Dec. 31. Here are some key takeaways the Mathis campaign gleaned from their report and shared exclusively with Yellowhammer News: • The Mathis campaign raised […]

Seven months after former Alabama Gov. Bob Riley left office in 2011, he launched Bob Riley & Associates and registered as a lobbyist, along with his daughter, Minda. “I want to… do everything we can do to continue to improve education, economic development, all the things that we’ve been doing for the last 14 years,” […]

By: Bradley Byrne Last month, the voters of Alabama’s First Congressional District entrusted me with a solemn responsibility: to be their voice in the United States House of Representatives in a time of bloated budgets, sluggish economic growth, and continued encroachment on personal liberties from Washington. This week, my staff and I wasted no time […]

An appeals court ruled today that Alabama’s property tax system, which was passed in the 1970s, was not created in an effort to hinder school desegregation, but rather to ease concerns about potential spikes in property taxes. Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange said the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit […]

Alabama’s 2014 legislative session begins next week. Most insiders are predicting a fairly noncontroversial session. Legislators are anxious to avoid contentious issues in an election year and would like to get back to their districts as soon as possible. House Republicans last year plowed through their aptly named “We Dare Defend Our Rights” agenda, which […]

Alabama’s three auto assembly plants combined to break a production record in 2013, surpassing the previous year’s total by 4 percent and stoking optimism that output can continue to rise. The Alabama assembly plants of Honda, Hyundai and Mercedes-Benz produced a total vehicle count of at least 915,000 last year, beating the 880,114 figure set […]

By Cameron Smith & Terry Bowman Since 1993, Alabama has become a powerhouse of automotive manufacturing.  With a strong market in the U.S., Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, and Honda continue to show signs of increased production.  That is great news for Alabama’s workforce and state economy. The good news does not stop there. Because of Alabama’s legislative […]