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Alabama Schools Face Closures as Enrollment Falls and Private-School Subsidies Expand
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama public schools could face closures, larger classes and fewer course offerings as enrollment falls by nearly 12,000 students, even as the state expands a taxpayer-funded program that helps families pay for private schools and homeschooling. State Superintendent Eric Mackey has warned that the preliminary enrollment decline could eliminate state funding for…
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Judge Tosses Birmingham Suit Over Water Board Takeover
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A federal judge has dismissed Birmingham’s lawsuit seeking to undo the state-led restructuring of the Birmingham Water Works Board into Central Alabama Water, closing the latest major legal challenge to the 2025 law that stripped the city of majority control over Alabama’s largest water utility. U.S. District Judge Anna M. Manasco dismissed…
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Mobile Man Accused of Chainsaw Killings Is Removed From Court After Remark
MOBILE, Ala. — A 47-year-old Mobile man accused of decapitating his grandmother and aunt with a chainsaw was removed from his initial court appearance Tuesday after making a remark as a judge appointed him a public defender. Thomas Henry Steele is charged with two counts of capital murder in the deaths of Dora Boone, 85,…
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Birmingham Zoo Welcomes Young Male Giraffe From Dallas Zoo
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Birmingham Zoo has added a young male giraffe to its herd, less than a year and a half after the death of its longtime breeding male. Onduli, a 1-year-old giraffe calf, arrived from the Dallas Zoo last week and was formally introduced to visitors Oct. 12 at the zoo’s Kiwanis Giraffe…
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9 Girls Back in Custody After Facility Escapes
OWENS CROSS ROADS, Ala. — All nine teenage girls who escaped from a residential treatment facility in Owens Cross Roads over the weekend have been recovered and returned to the custody of the Alabama Department of Human Resources, according to Owens Cross Roads police and local reports. Police said the girls left Pathway of Madison…
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Ivey Uses Girls in Sports Day to Reinforce Alabama’s Anti-Transgender Message
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Gov. Kay Ivey’s designation of Oct. 10 as Alabama Girls in Sports Day paired a celebration of female athletes with a message rejecting transgender identities, reinforcing her administration’s restrictions on transgender participation in school and college sports. The Republican governor announced the proclamation Oct. 5, choosing a date her office explicitly linked…
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