BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A federal jury has awarded Birmingham-based Drummond Co. $256 million in a long-running defamation and racketeering case over allegations that the coal company backed violent paramilitary groups in Colombia and was tied to killings and human rights abuses there, claims the company has repeatedly denied. Jurors in the U.S. District Court for…

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An Alabama senator has filed a bill to create a state minimum wage of $10 an hour for many workers, marking one of the most aggressive pushes in years to lift pay in a state that has long defaulted to the federal wage floor. Sen. Robert Stewart, D-Selma, introduced Senate Bill 171…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Former Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Jude Washington has filed a lawsuit accusing Sheriff Mark Pettway and other top officials of retaliation, wrongful termination and civil rights violations after he reported alleged misconduct inside the department. Washington, a longtime narcotics investigator whose career with the sheriff’s office spans more than two decades,…

BESSEMER, Ala. — A barrage of gunfire erupted outside Amazon’s massive BHM1 fulfillment center in Bessemer late Sunday, leaving one person dead in the latest high-profile shooting linked to the retail giant’s warehouses nationwide. The victim’s identity, the exact number of rounds fired and whether any arrests have been made had not been publicly released…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Two women are dead and four juveniles are recovering after a minivan they were riding in was struck by a freight train in the 1000 block of 24th Street Southwest when investigators say the driver went around a lowered crossing arm early Friday morning. The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office identified the women…

ELMORE, Ala. — Two incarcerated men were killed Thursday during a fight involving a weapon at Elmore Correctional Facility, deepening alarm over an Alabama prison system that federal officials say is unconstitutionally violent and advocates describe as among the deadliest in the nation. The Alabama Department of Corrections said Damon Lamar Calhoun, 35, and Londell…