BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama lawmakers have passed a bill granting the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board sweeping authority over the sale and regulation of consumable hemp products, marking one of the most significant shifts in drug policy in recent years. The measure, House Bill 445, cleared the state Senate on Monday in a 19-13 vote…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — At first glance, the Asian needle ant seems unremarkable-small, dark, and easy to overlook as it scurries beneath logs or leaf litter. But this invasive species, first recorded in Alabama as far back as 1939, is quietly making a comeback, raising new concerns for residents and scientists alike. Native to East Asia,…

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s lawsuit against TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, claims the social media giant is fueling a youth mental health crisis by addicting children to harmful content and misleading parents about safety features. But for many, the move feels less like a defense of kids and more like…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An adventurous kangaroo named Sheila turned heads and halted traffic after escaping onto Interstate 85 in Macon County on Tuesday, causing a two-vehicle crash and prompting a temporary shutdown of the busy Alabama highway. The marsupial, owned by Patrick Starr of Lee County, reportedly slipped out of her enclosure late Tuesday morning…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of Alabama at Birmingham has discontinued a scholarship program for Black medical students after the Trump administration launched a discrimination investigation. The Herschell Lee Hamilton, M.D., Endowed Scholarship in Medicine, established in 2013, was designed to provide tuition support for Black medical students who maintained a 3.0 GPA and demonstrated…

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama lawmakers have approved a bill that would ban classroom instruction and discussion related to gender identity and sexual orientation for all public school students from prekindergarten through twelfth grade, expanding the state’s existing restrictions to cover every grade level. House Bill 244, sponsored by Rep. Mack Butler, R-Rainbow City, also prohibits…