JACKSON, Miss. — Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) stood at Donald J. Trump’s side Wednesday night as the Republican presidential nominee made a pitch to black voters, urging them to abandon a Democratic Party that he argues has failed them. “Hillary Clinton is a bigot who sees people of color only as votes, not as people,” […]

Cord Sachs is a Birmingham-based leadership expert and the CEO of FireSeeds, a company that helps companies find and grow great leaders and “the company behind many of Alabama’s fastest growing companies.” Yellowhammer sat down with Mr. Sachs as part of our ongoing leadership series, and he discussed how helping employees to reach their personal […]

MOBILE, Ala. — In what one attendee referred to as “something between a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert and the Daytona 500,” tens of thousands of Donald Trump supporters flocked to Ladd-Peebles Stadium one year ago this week for the largest event of the Republican presidential primary. It was a stunning show of populist might for Mr. […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Seemingly lost in the chaos of a contentious special legislative session and lottery debate is the fact that Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted has dropped to 5.7%, according to the Bentley Administration. That is the lowest unemployment rate the state has enjoyed since 2008. “We continue to see decreases in Alabama’s unemployment rate, […]

Alabama falls in the middle of the pack when it comes to state obesity rankings in the United States, according to a survey by Gallup and Healthways. 28.1% of Alabamians are obese, as computed by respondents’ self-reported height and weight. “The consequences of obesity on health are obvious, but the impacts of the epidemic extend […]

PELHAM, Ala. — Pelham City Council candidate Lucas Burger came up short in his bid to unseat incumbent Council President Rick Hayes on Tuesday, but it is Mr. Burger’s reaction to his loss that is garnering most of the attention. After learning of his candidacy’s fate, Mr. Burger went to the local Hooters, opened up […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Just one day after it appeared there was no way for a lottery vote to take place on the November ballot, pro-lottery lawmakers are now claiming they may have a shot at making it happen after all. The governor and legislative leaders have been operating under the assumption that Wednesday, August 24, […]

Homeschool students in Alabama are for the first time getting their shot to play middle school and high school football, thanks to a newly-implemented rule change by The Alabama High School Athletic Association. The issue of homeschoolers not being allowed to play first came to the forefront as the so called “Tebow Bill” worked its […]

Using data from the 2010 census, Dustin Cable of the University of Virginia has created the definitive map of racial distribution in America. Let’s start with the United States and work our way down to the local level. [Click images to enlarge] United States White: blue dots; Black: green dots; Asian: red; Latino: orange; all […]

Government surveillance garners all the headlines, but Americans are voluntarily turning over more personal information to tech companies than most government agencies could ever hope to obtain. Case in point: Facebook has labeled the political leanings of its users with stunning accuracy by simply gathering information about them on the site. Political campaigns then pay […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Procedural wrangling in the Alabama House of Representatives will keep a statewide lottery constitutional amendment from appearing on the ballot in November. Wednesday, August 24, was the deadline for the legislature to authorize a constitutional amendment to appear on the General Election ballot on November 8th. However, House rules stipulate that committee […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Two senators have resigned from the Senate Republican Caucus in the wake of last week’s vote to approve a statewide lottery, citing policy differences and claiming senate leaders violated their own rules in an effort to muscle the bill through. The bill, which was approved by a margin of 21-12, would send […]

(Video above: Sen. Jeff Sessions interviewed on CNN, August 23, 2016) WASHINGTON — Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) is calling for a special prosecutor to be appointed to investigate whether then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sought to “extort” individuals or obtain “contributions” to the Clinton Foundation in return for access to the highest levels of the […]

MONTGOMERY (Governor’s Office) — Governor Robert Bentley has approved sending an additional Alabama National Guard UH-72 helicopter and pilot to Marana, Arizona to assist with protecting the U.S. border with Mexico. In April, the Governor honored the National Guard Bureau’s first request to send one UH-72 helicopter and three pilots to support the U.S. Customs […]

A black Alabamian is tired of Democratic politicians calling photo voter ID laws “racist,” and has taken to Twitter to declare that “it is racist,” however,” to “assume minorities are too incompetent to get an ID.” The latest Gallup survey caught some Democrats by surprise this week when it revealed that 80 percent of Americans support “requiring […]

“The people want to vote!”–the most oft-repeated catchphrase of the lottery debate. Even politicians who declare themselves personally opposed to a state-run lottery try to justify their support of it because “the people want to vote.” But politicians know full well that they have not been honest with the people when it comes to a […]

SHORTER, Ala. — As the Alabama legislature wrestles with whether to approve a state-sponsored lottery, gambling boss Milton McGregor has announced plans to reopen his VictoryLand electronic bingo operation. VictoryLand was shuttered in 2013 after state law enforcement officials seized the machines and a quarter-million dollars in cash, and has remained closed ever since. But […]

(Video above: Sen. Jeff Sessions appears on CBS’s “Face the Nation”) WASHINGTON — Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) responded to criticism of Donald J. Trump’s call to conduct “extreme vetting” of anyone seeking to gain entry into the United States, insisting that non-U.S. citizens “do not have a constitutional right to demand entry into the country.” […]

RIO DE JANEIRO — Alabama native DeMarcus Cousins helped lead the USA Men’s Basketball Team to Gold in Rio over the weekend, but as soon as he gets back stateside, he better be ready to take out his checkbook because the IRS will be coming his way. Unbeknownst to some of the athletes and most […]

FORT WORTH, Texas — A federal judge has blocked the Obama administration’s directive that public schools around the country must allow students to use the bathroom and locker room facilities that align with their “gender identity,” rather than their biological sex. Alabama and twelve other states had previously sued to block the order, which sought […]

Global consulting firm Ernst & Young says companies from around the world poured more than $5 billion into capital projects in Alabama last year, earning the state a place near the top of its investment rankings. Ernst & Young’s closely watched “US Investment Monitor” ranked Alabama No.5 among the states for mobile capital investment last […]

The latest master plan to expand the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex goes topless, revealing the new direction to focus on adding outdoor sports to the venue. Kansas City-based Populous presented its latest plans to the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Authority board of directors, calling for extensive renovations and expansion of Legacy Arena, modernizing the entire complex’s look […]

(Video above: Terrell Kennedy discusses the prospect of an Alabama lottery.) Terrell Kennedy is the founder of Fit for Life, an after-school tutoring program for adolescent men in Birmingham. Kennedy started Fit for Life in 2005 as a way to give back and bring hope to his community, in contrast to what he believes pro-lottery […]

The University of Alabama last week rolled out a “strategic plan” that will serve as a roadmap going forward for the fastest growing flagship university in America. The strategic plan’s four stated goals focus on “providing a premier undergraduate and graduate education,” bolstering the university’s research and innovation capacity, enriching the work environment on the […]