NASA in recent days released the first images from Solar Orbiter to the public, including the closest pictures ever taken of the sun. Solar Orbiter is a joint NASA/European Space Agency (ESA) endeavor. The spacecraft launched atop United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V rocket on February 9. The Atlas V is built at ULA’s world-class […]

Any Alabama voter who wants to elect their chosen candidate for mayor and city councilperson next month can vote absentee if they want to avoid the risk of contracting the coronavirus. The announcement of the new policy was made on Monday by Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill, who employed the same rule during Alabama’s […]

The U.S. Census determines how many electoral college votes and representatives in Congress a state gets, along with how much federal funding it receives. As of today, Alabama lags behind Tennessee and Kentucky in Census participation. The Census is composed of 10 questions and takes less than six minutes to complete. Any citizen who has […]

7. Madison officers to be awarded but not right now On Tuesday, officers with the Madison Police Department that were involved with responding to the Dana Fletcher call in the Planet Fitness parking lot in 2019 were going to be given a Medal of Honor at a private ceremony, but that has been changed because […]

What if I told you that the government could tax you, then shut down your ability to pay the taxes, then provide you the funds to keep operating, but then tax you an extra amount on the funds they sent you. Sounds ridiculous, right? Well, we’re on the brink of finding out whether it will […]

Radio talk show host Dale Jackson and Alabama Democratic Executive Committee member Lisa Handback take you through this week’s biggest political stories, including: — Will Governor Kay Ivey’s mask order have an impact, or are we heading towards another lockdown? — Does former Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville’s big win on Tuesday pretty much signal […]

Harper’s magazine recently posted a letter signed by over 150 leading authors, journalists and public intellectuals calling for greater support for freedom of speech. The letter criticized the intolerance for opposing views frequently exhibited on Twitter and social media. Does the freedom to criticize speech threaten the free exchange of ideas? Signers included David Brooks, […]

In the midst of the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Misty Kerr has found joy by helping to feed hungry kids in her community. “With all the bad news on TV, I had to have something to smile about,” said Kerr, an automotive market specialist at Alabama Power’s Gadsden Office. “When all this is over […]

Saturday, Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth spoke before the monthly gathering of the Madison County Men’s Republican Club, which met virtually because of the threat of COVID-19. He reiterated his opposition to the statewide mask mandate implemented by Gov. Kay Ivey and State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris last week. Ainsworth maintained it was not his […]

The HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology has been awarded a grant for $20,000 from the ALS Association to continue a collaborative clinical research project, Impacting ALS, with Huntsville’s Crestwood Medical Center. The goal of Impacting ALS is to identify genetic variants or changes that contribute to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The progressive neurodegenerative disease affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. […]

Magic City Blight Busters (MCBB), a program developed by Birmingham United Neighborhoods (BUN), hosted a community cleanup July 11 in the Fountain Heights neighborhood. Established in 2018 by representatives from eight Birmingham neighborhoods – Belview Heights, Druid Hills, Fountain Heights, North Titusville, Riley, Rising-West Princeton, South Titusville and West Goldwire – BUN seeks to improve neighborhood health through […]

Inside a high-tech laboratory at Southern Research, a team led by Robert Bostwick, Ph.D., is screening vast numbers of compound samples to identify agents that could become a new treatment for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Bostwick is director of Southern Research’s state-of-the-art High-Throughput Screening (HTS) Center, which features advanced robotic equipment […]

When people in the Mobile area contact the United Way of Southwest Alabama (UWSWA) for income tax assistance, the volunteer who helps them will either be Brad Martin or someone he trained. “We prepare and file federal and state returns for low-income families and individuals, persons with disabilities and persons with limited English-speaking proficiency,” Martin said. “My […]

As I recently wrote about all the ways government agencies are assisting during the current health pandemic, I want to focus on a significant action Alabamians can take now to support our state for years to come. As you know, the U.S. Census Bureau is in the process of conducting the 2020 Census. Several census […]

For decades, the single most powerful entity in Alabama politics was the Alabama Education Association (AEA), which represents teachers’ interests across the state. The organization rose to prominence in the early 1970s under its former head Paul Hubbert. However, the AEA’s influence waned after the 2010 elections, as Republicans took control of the Alabama Legislature […]

Matthew Thornton has been paddling since he was 6 years old. He did his first solo kayak float at age 8. More than 30 years later, he’s still on the water, although these days you’re more likely to find him doing some “whitewater SUPing” – that is, running rapids on a stand-up paddleboard. And his […]

Chef Clayton Sherrod knows that what makes a good jambalaya is the harmonious balance of the various ingredients melding together to make something greater than they make by themselves. Addressing issues like social injustice, political divisions and separations brought on by a global pandemic may not be as simple as following a jambalaya recipe. But […]

Tributes poured in from Alabama elected officials following the Friday death of U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), who was born and grew up in Pike County. “Our country has lost one of its most beloved Civil Rights leaders,” Governor Kay Ivey (R-AL) said in a tweet. “I join my fellow Alabamians & the nation in […]

The University of Alabama at Birmingham has been named one of 2020’s best schools nationally for online learning for public health and nursing by EduMed.org. EduMed.org researched and analyzed more than 7,700 accredited schools using data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and from the schools themselves. Its data science team then ranked all qualifying schools for each health care discipline. […]

When Alabama shut down in April to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, Lorine Askew and her four daughters did their best to keep their two restaurants’ doors open, even though it was a struggle for their families. “Like everybody else, we were affected by the shutdown,” said Askew. “But we never gave up because we […]

AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn will conduct COVID-19 screening tests for all students who will be on campus this fall as part of the university’s comprehensive plans for a safe and healthy semester. Auburn joins the state’s other public higher education institutions as a participant in Gov. Kay Ivey’s “Testing for Alabama” initiative. Testing will be […]

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the State Lands Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) will conduct its hunting lease program without a live auction for 2020. Patti Powell McCurdy, State Lands Director, implemented a program in 2010 that aligned all leases under State Lands’ control to operate on a five-year public […]

U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) passed away at his home on Friday evening at age 80. He was diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer in December. Lewis was born on February 21, 1940, in Troy, Alabama. He grew up in rural Pike County. After seeking to become the first black student in history at then-Troy State University, […]

The United States Department of Agriculture announced Friday that it will be funding the construction of a 9,910-square-foot mental health facility in Greenville, Alabama, as part of a program designed to upgrade facilities in rural America. The total cost of the 16-bed forensic mental health facility will be $2,999,900. The USDA is loaning that amount […]