MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) officials said on Tuesday that two-thirds of the state’s law enforcement officers have been trained in how to respond to active-shooter situations, according to a report by the Decatur Daily. The total number of officers who have been trained is roughly 10,600, almost double the number […]

The United Auto Workers union won a small but important victory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, last week, as skilled-trades workers at Volkswagen’s only U.S. factory voted 108-44 to grant the UAW the right to collectively bargain on their behalf. VW contends the vote should not have been allowed because the plant’s full staff of 1,400 should […]

WalletHub, a company that describes itself as a “one-stop destination for all the tools and information consumers and small business owners need to make better financial decisions and save money,” has released a study ranking the top college towns in America, and Tuscaloosa has laid claim to the title in the Yellowhammer State. Here’s how […]

By Matt Windsor The longest-lived human on record didn’t make it much past 120 years. That’s nothing compared to the ocean quahog, a fist-sized clam found off the coast of Maine. “They can live 500 years or longer,” says Steven Austad, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Biology in the UAB College of Arts and […]

Hoover City Police officers Eric Myers and Mike Davis were having breakfast Friday morning and got a pleasant surprise when they asked the waiter for the check. “We were at The Egg and I in Hoover off of Montgomery Highway,” Myers told Yellowhammer. “When we completed our breakfast the waiter walked over to the table. […]

(Video above: Basim Ismail dons a blindfold and asks Auburn students for hugs.) The Auburn Muslim Students Association (MSA) blindfolded one of its members in the middle of campus and stood him next to a sign that said, “I am Muslim and I trust you. Do you trust me enough for a hug?” 90 minutes […]

Geotagging is an optional feature on Instagram that allows users to share the location from which their photos are being taken. The location data then gives Instagram the ability to create an interactive world map on which each user’s images are plotted. It’s a novel feature, but it has also raised some privacy concerns, and […]

By Doug Segrest Wedged between two teammates in the dugout, Nate Stevens sheepishly peered toward the Regions Field scoreboard. As his name and picture flashed on the screen, the 8-year-old’s apprehensions melted into a big grin. Welcome to the big leagues. Thanks to Make-A-Wish, the Birmingham Barons and Regions Bank, Nate Stevens became a Birmingham […]

The perpetually-offended, Wisconsin-based atheist group known as the Freedom for Religion Foundation (FFRF) has an extensive history of targeting small Alabama towns that display any faith-based reference, and at least one community has had enough. Rainbow City, Alabama unexpectedly found itself in the FFRF’s crosshairs last year because a Nativity scene had been erected at […]

The Business Council of Alabama has expanded its “Small Business Game Changer” contest to include two tickets for Saturday’s SEC Championship Game in Atlanta. One small business entrant that completes all requirements for the 2016 BCA Small Business Game Changer promotion, including a paid BCA small business membership by 12 p.m. CST Thursday, December 3, […]

(Video above: “Science fiction no more.” Jeremy Clarkson explains Amazon Prime Air) Amazon, the world’s largest retailer, raised some eyebrows earlier this week when it released a video declaring its drone delivery service “science fiction no more.” “We’re excited about Prime Air — a future delivery system from Amazon designed to safely get packages to […]

According to a newly released study by George Washington University (GW), an Alabama college student who abandoned her family to join the so called Islamic State is now among the terrorist group’s most active recruiters in the United States, as a result of her active social media presence. The report, ISIS in America: From Retweets […]

By Michael Sznajderman It’s quiet inside the steel and brick building that houses Plant Gorgas Units 6-7 in Walker County. Except for the low buzz of a few light fixtures, the once-familiar roar of the turbines and the rumble of coal pulverizers have ceased – and won’t be heard again. The same is true at […]

By Bryan Davis There are many cities in America where the median annual salaries are higher than Birmingham, but often the cost of living in those cities exceeds the benefits of a higher paycheck. According to a recent report from Forbes, Birmingham’s lower cost of living allows annual income to go further, despite often being […]

(Video above: Shades Mountain Baptist Church a cappella group sings “Mary Did You Know?”) In what worship pastor Michael Adler called “some back hallway practice time,” a group from Shades Mountain Baptist Church in Birmingham put together a stirring arrangement of “Mary Did You Know?” that will immediately get even the biggest Scrooge into the […]

(Video above: Christy Swaid discusses HEAL, the non-profit she founded that is tackling childhood obesity in Alabama) By Karim Shamsi-Basha With tearful eyes, Christy Swaid shows a “thank you” note from a student in Alabama’s Black Belt region. Among a few lines highlighted in yellow, one said, “HEAL has changed my life.” That pretty much […]

(Video above: Sherry Hartley, co-owner of Alabama Goods, shows some of the store’s state-made items.) By: Michael Tomberlin National retailers are touting their deals for Black Friday, but small, local companies believe they are the real deal when it comes to Small Business Saturday. Since American Express started promoting local businesses as a holiday shopping […]

1. College football The traditions. The rivalries. The memories. When aliens stumble upon our ancient, 21st century Alabama civilization 10,000 years from now, they’ll probably assume The Iron Bowl was a yearly mass celebration of a primitive people’s religion. Belting out “Dixieland Delight” during the second half of an Alabama football game (RIP?) is the […]

(Video above: The historic Avondale Mills smokestack comes down) Words like “trust me,” “light this fuse,” and “watch this” are typically indicators that it might be worth turning on a camera just in case something goes wrong, but a guy in an excavator trying to knock down a smokestack that’s, like, 160 feet tall is […]

By: Michael Tomberlin The SEUS Japan 38 conference may have ended nearly a week ago, but economic development officials believe it will have lasting effects for Birmingham and the state. The 38th joint meeting of the Southeast U.S./Japan and the Japan-U.S Southeast Associations was held in Birmingham last week. Seven southeastern states had their own […]

(Video above: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) discusses his faith during the q&a portion of a campaign event) The Internet is simultaneously the only way I can get anything done and the biggest reason I don’t get as much done as I should. On Monday night, it was the latter as I got scrolled through various […]

Niche, a site that seeks to “make choosing a neighborhood, college, or K-12 school a more transparent process” by “providing reviews and insight from everyday experts,” is out with a new list of the top elementary schools in Alabama, and it looks like a handful of communities are dominating. Multiple schools in Mountain Brook, Homewood, […]

Niche, a site that seeks to “make choosing a neighborhood, college, or K-12 school a more transparent process” by “providing reviews and insight from everyday experts,” is out with its annual list of the top high schools in the nation, and Alabama is well represented with 7 schools in the top 500 (out of 23,861). […]

According to American Express, nearly 75 million people are playing fantasy sports this year in the United States, spending a jaw-dropping $4.6 billion in the process. Season-long fantasy leagues often consist of groups of friends who play for free on websites like ESPN and Yahoo. Daily and weekly fantasy games, however, begin by team managers […]