ALABASTER, Ala. — A female Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent suffered minor injuries during a traffic stop in Alabaster on Monday, in an incident that quickly drew concern from civil liberties advocates about the lack of public information and ICE’s history of secrecy and abuse. Officials said the agent pulled over a van after identifying…

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama lawmakers have advanced a bill to criminalize exposing children to secondhand marijuana smoke, mainly in vehicles, even as recreational pot is legal in nearly half the U.S. states and the Yellowhammer State clings to its federal minimum wage and recreational prohibition. House Bill 72, carried by Rep. Patrick Sellers, D-Pleasant Grove,…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A new Goodwill store and donation center planned for Crestwood Boulevard is poised to tap into Birmingham’s growing community of thrift shoppers, from neighborhood families hunting bargains to younger residents who see secondhand style as part of their identity. Alabama Goodwill Industries is renovating the former Roses Express space at 7517 Crestwood…

Sen. Tommy Tuberville has since reversed course, ultimately voting in favor of the revised government funding package after initially opposing an earlier version alongside a small bloc of hard-right Republicans. His switch spared him from standing as one of the few GOP senators formally recorded against the final deal, even as his earlier objections echoed…

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama House of Representatives has passed a bill that would require protesters wearing medical masks to show a doctor’s note to law enforcement upon request, expanding a decades-old anti-mask provision that traces its roots to efforts to curb Ku Klux Klan activity. House Bill 168, sponsored by Rep. Jamie Kiel, R-Russellville,…

BESSEMER, Ala. — Alabama education officials have suspended the Bessemer City Board of Education from regular meetings and stripped it of governing power, deepening state intervention in a school system based in one of the most crime‑plagued cities in the country. In internal notices sent this month, board members were told they are “suspended for…