FORT PAYNE, Ala. — Renfro Brands’ sock plant closure in Fort Payne eliminated 455 jobs on Dec. 27, 2025, dealing a heavy blow to one of northeast Alabama’s last remaining hosiery hubs. The apparel maker notified the state on Oct. 28 in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, filing that the layoffs would…

EMPIRE, Ala. — A small, itinerant religious group that calls its leader the reincarnation of Jesus Christ has been ordered off a wooded campsite in Walker County after a multi-agency raid that has reignited questions about how Alabama treats nontraditional faiths and people living on the margins. Deputies and federal agents served a search warrant…

WASHINGTON — Sen. Katie Britt is emerging as a leading Republican voice for new federal rules on artificial intelligence and social media, telling national audiences that Congress must “put up guardrails” to protect children from exploitative technology even as her party resists regulation in most other areas of business. The Alabama freshman is backing sweeping…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A 39-year-old Birmingham man is charged with capital murder in the death of Mekayla Rembert, a 32-year-old mother whose body was found in a burned detached garage in southwest Birmingham days before Christmas, authorities said. Birmingham police said Justin Seals was arrested Tuesday and booked into the Jefferson County Jail with no…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama has become the epicenter of a growing national battle over the criminalization of pregnancy, using laws meant to protect children from meth labs and abuse to arrest and imprison hundreds of women for their behavior while pregnant. The issue is back in the spotlight after a Lee County judge vacated the…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A new partnership between an indoor pickleball club in Vestavia Hills and a Major League Pickleball franchise is bringing organized minor-league pickleball teams to the Birmingham area, adding another fast-growing sport to the city’s lineup.[1][2] The Picklr Birmingham, a 10-court indoor facility opening in a converted former Sprouts grocery store at Vestavia…