• Alabama Noncitizen Voting Case Undercuts MAGA Claims of Widespread Fraud

    Alabama Noncitizen Voting Case Undercuts MAGA Claims of Widespread Fraud

    MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama officials have ordered 186 noncitizens removed from the state’s voter rolls and identified 25 who appear to have cast ballots illegally, a narrow case that voting rights advocates say highlights how rare such violations are even as Republican leaders invoke “election integrity” to justify aggressive voter purges. The removals grew out…

  • Editorial: Tuberville’s Candidacy Promises More Stagnation, Not Change

    Editorial: Tuberville’s Candidacy Promises More Stagnation, Not Change

    by the Birmingham Free Press Editorial Staff Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s announcement that he will run for governor of Alabama brings little surprise and even less promise. With Donald Trump now restored to the presidency, Tuberville’s candidacy reads more like a pledge of deeper allegiance to Washington’s politics of loyalty than a vision for Alabama’s future.…

  • Teen Charged in Birmingham’s First Homicide of 2026

    Teen Charged in Birmingham’s First Homicide of 2026

    BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A 15-year-old boy is charged with capital murder in Birmingham’s first homicide of 2026 after a 33-year-old father was found shot to death in a car in the East Lake community, a killing that comes even as the city celebrates its steepest drop in homicides in a decade. Police said officers were…

  • Fort Payne’s Sock Legacy Shredded as Renfro Plant Cuts 455 Workers Loose

    Fort Payne’s Sock Legacy Shredded as Renfro Plant Cuts 455 Workers Loose

    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…

  • Religious Encampment in Walker County Tests Alabama’s Tolerance for Fringe Faiths

    Religious Encampment in Walker County Tests Alabama’s Tolerance for Fringe Faiths

    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…

  • Britt’s Big Tech Crackdown on Kids: Protection or Partisan Pivot?

    Britt’s Big Tech Crackdown on Kids: Protection or Partisan Pivot?

    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…