HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Huntsville’s MidCity District, built on the site of the former Madison Square Mall, is planning a $300 million expansion that would add new music venues, hotels and tech space to one of the Southeast’s largest entertainment districts. The project, called MidCity Arts + Innovation, covers 12 acres over three city blocks along…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The famed Michelin restaurant guide has officially arrived in Alabama, and Birmingham is leading the way with 11 restaurants recognized in the first-ever MICHELIN Guide American South. The debut selection marks the first time the international dining guide has covered Alabama and affirms Birmingham’s growing reputation as one of the South’s premier…

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An Alabama lawmaker has prefiled a bill that would ban state and local government entities from using the term “West Bank” in official documents, the latest in a series of culture war fights that critics say signal politicians believe open bigotry is a winning strategy. House Bill 81, sponsored by Rep. Mark…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Sen. Tommy Tuberville has become the first sitting U.S. senator to be labeled an “anti-Muslim extremist” by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which cited a string of public comments the Alabama Republican made attacking Islam as a “cult” and calling for Muslims to be deported. The designation, announced Dec. 15, comes after…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An Alabama appeals court last week upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit by incarcerated workers who alleged the state punishes them for refusing forced labor, dealing a setback to efforts to enforce a 2022 constitutional amendment banning slavery and involuntary servitude in all forms. The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals ruled Dec.…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — As Alabama lawmakers and voters debate marijuana reforms amid President Donald Trump’s push to reclassify the drug, the Alabama Policy Institute has emerged as a leading conservative voice urging the state to keep cannabis illegal. The Birmingham-based nonprofit, founded in 1989, routinely lobbies against medical expansion and recreational measures, calling them gateways…