Alabama Reflector
@alabamareflector.com
The Alabama Reflector is an independent, nonprofit news outlet dedicated to covering state government and politics in the state of Alabama.
Via Anna Barrett: An Alabama lawmaker has pre-filed a bill that would prohibit the use of the term West Bank in all government documents when referring to the Palestinian territory on the Jordan River. https://ow.ly/FgLJ50XMQaH
December 26, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Via Anna Barrett: An Alabama lawmaker has pre-filed a bill that would prohibit the use of the term West Bank in all government documents when referring to the Palestinian territory on the Jordan River. https://ow.ly/FgLJ50XMQaH
An Alabama lawmaker is proposing a bill that would require public high schools that participate in national signing to host signing days for military enlistment and trade schools alongside athletics. https://ow.ly/nAXE50XMO66
December 25, 2025 at 1:05 PM
An Alabama lawmaker is proposing a bill that would require public high schools that participate in national signing to host signing days for military enlistment and trade schools alongside athletics. https://ow.ly/nAXE50XMO66
Via Jennifer Shutt: The man accused of shooting two National Guard members near the White House last month, killing one, was charged in federal court Wednesday, moving the case out of the local court system.
National Guard shooting case moved to federal court as prosecutors weigh death penalty | Alabama Reflector
West Virginia National Guard members Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe were shot while on patrol in Washington, D.C., the day before Thanksgiving.
alabamareflector.com
December 25, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Via Jennifer Shutt: The man accused of shooting two National Guard members near the White House last month, killing one, was charged in federal court Wednesday, moving the case out of the local court system.
Via Jennifer Shutt: Federal prosecutors have sent a million more pages related to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to the Department of Justice, which plans to release them in the coming weeks, officials said Wednesday.
NY federal officials submit 1 million more pages of Epstein files | Alabama Reflector
Justice Department staff wrote in a social media post the documents came from the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and that FBI agents plan to review the information before release “in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, existing statutes, and judicial orders.”
alabamareflector.com
December 24, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Via Jennifer Shutt: Federal prosecutors have sent a million more pages related to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to the Department of Justice, which plans to release them in the coming weeks, officials said Wednesday.
Via @timhenderson.bsky.social and Stateline: GOP reversals in this year’s elections, especially in some urban and immigrant communities, are setting off alarm bells for Republicans using redistricting to try to keep control of Congress in next year’s midterms.
GOP redistricting could backfire as urban, immigrant areas turn back to Democrats | Alabama Reflector
GOP reversals in this year’s elections, especially in some urban and immigrant communities, are setting off alarm bells for Republicans using redistricting to try to keep control of Congress in next year’s midterms.
alabamareflector.com
December 24, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Via @timhenderson.bsky.social and Stateline: GOP reversals in this year’s elections, especially in some urban and immigrant communities, are setting off alarm bells for Republicans using redistricting to try to keep control of Congress in next year’s midterms.
Via Anna Barrett: Alabama Medicaid enrollees led the nation in receiving contraceptives from public health departments in 2023, according to a recent report. https://ow.ly/X6z350XKsfx
December 24, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Via Anna Barrett: Alabama Medicaid enrollees led the nation in receiving contraceptives from public health departments in 2023, according to a recent report. https://ow.ly/X6z350XKsfx
President Donald Trump’s administration will start garnishing the wages of student loan borrowers in default beginning early next year, the U.S. Education Department said Tuesday. https://ow.ly/enU750XNSXe
December 24, 2025 at 12:05 AM
President Donald Trump’s administration will start garnishing the wages of student loan borrowers in default beginning early next year, the U.S. Education Department said Tuesday. https://ow.ly/enU750XNSXe
Via Jacob Fischler: The president is only empowered to federalize National Guard units when the troops are enforcing laws that regular military forces are legally allowed to enforce, the court said in a ruling from its emergency docket that will apply while the merits of the case are argued.
US Supreme Court in defeat for Trump blocks deployment of National Guard in Chicago | Alabama Reflector
The president is only empowered to federalize National Guard units when the troops are enforcing laws that regular military forces are legally allowed to enforce, the court said in a ruling from its emergency docket that will apply while the merits of the case are argued.
alabamareflector.com
December 23, 2025 at 10:56 PM
Via Jacob Fischler: The president is only empowered to federalize National Guard units when the troops are enforcing laws that regular military forces are legally allowed to enforce, the court said in a ruling from its emergency docket that will apply while the merits of the case are argued.
Via Kelcie Moseley-Morris: The DOJ opinion is written by Joshua Craddock, who joined the DOJ in July after years of writing about his views that life begins at fertilization and there should be legal protections beginning from that stage of life. His views include opposition to traditional IVF.
Trump administration officially ends veteran abortion access | Alabama Reflector
The DOJ opinion was written by Joshua Craddock, whose views include opposition to traditional in vitro fertilization and calls for the use of the 1873 Comstock Act to prohibit the mailing of medication abortion.
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December 23, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Via Kelcie Moseley-Morris: The DOJ opinion is written by Joshua Craddock, who joined the DOJ in July after years of writing about his views that life begins at fertilization and there should be legal protections beginning from that stage of life. His views include opposition to traditional IVF.
The Justice Department has faced heat for opting to release the files in batches instead of adhering to the congressionally mandated full release of the files by mid-December.
Trump appears in several files of latest Epstein release | Alabama Reflector
The U.S. Department of Justice has faced backlash for its piecemeal rollout of the files beginning Dec. 19, despite a legal mandate to release the full set on that date.
alabamareflector.com
December 23, 2025 at 8:24 PM
The Justice Department has faced heat for opting to release the files in batches instead of adhering to the congressionally mandated full release of the files by mid-December.
Via Stateline: New research suggests the country is missing its biggest opportunity to prevent youth homelessness — by intervening well before a young person reaches a shelter and years before they are chronically homeless. https://ow.ly/l42c50XNJ8f
December 23, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Via Stateline: New research suggests the country is missing its biggest opportunity to prevent youth homelessness — by intervening well before a young person reaches a shelter and years before they are chronically homeless. https://ow.ly/l42c50XNJ8f
Via Andrea Tinker: A new report suggests changes in federal student reporting may affect the reported number of Hispanic students in Alabama schools, a change which also led to an increase in students who identify as “two or more races.” https://ow.ly/jmUq50XNrYJ
December 23, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Via Andrea Tinker: A new report suggests changes in federal student reporting may affect the reported number of Hispanic students in Alabama schools, a change which also led to an increase in students who identify as “two or more races.” https://ow.ly/jmUq50XNrYJ
The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals Friday upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit that alleged that inmates were being forced to labor in involuntary servitude in violation of the state constitution. https://ow.ly/aC8J50XNp5b
December 23, 2025 at 1:05 PM
The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals Friday upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit that alleged that inmates were being forced to labor in involuntary servitude in violation of the state constitution. https://ow.ly/aC8J50XNp5b
Via Julie O'Donoghue and Louisiana Illuminator: President Donald Trump announced Sunday night that Gov. Jeff Landry would serve as his special envoy to Greenland. https://ow.ly/snpi50XNtcW
December 23, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Via Julie O'Donoghue and Louisiana Illuminator: President Donald Trump announced Sunday night that Gov. Jeff Landry would serve as his special envoy to Greenland. https://ow.ly/snpi50XNtcW
Via Ashley Murray and Jacob Fischler: U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis will retain an order keeping the wrongly deported El Salvador national Kilmar Abrego Garcia out of federal custody for the rest of the year, the judge said at a Monday hearing. https://ow.ly/psln50XNt6o
December 23, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Via Ashley Murray and Jacob Fischler: U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis will retain an order keeping the wrongly deported El Salvador national Kilmar Abrego Garcia out of federal custody for the rest of the year, the judge said at a Monday hearing. https://ow.ly/psln50XNt6o
The Department of the Interior claimed that reports have "long found that the movement of massive turbine blades and the highly reflective towers create radar interference,” which poses a national security risk, according to a department release.
Trump administration pauses major East Coast offshore wind projects | Alabama Reflector
The Department of the Interior claimed that reports have "long found that the movement of massive turbine blades and the highly reflective towers create radar interference,” which poses a national security risk, according to a department release.
alabamareflector.com
December 22, 2025 at 9:17 PM
The Department of the Interior claimed that reports have "long found that the movement of massive turbine blades and the highly reflective towers create radar interference,” which poses a national security risk, according to a department release.
Via Jonathan Shorman and Stateline: Nationwide, state judges are poised to play a pivotal role in adjudicating legal challenges to congressional maps, as the U.S. Supreme Court has all but taken federal courts out of the business of reviewing redrawn maps this year. https://ow.ly/WlIT50XNeae
December 22, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Via Jonathan Shorman and Stateline: Nationwide, state judges are poised to play a pivotal role in adjudicating legal challenges to congressional maps, as the U.S. Supreme Court has all but taken federal courts out of the business of reviewing redrawn maps this year. https://ow.ly/WlIT50XNeae
Reposted by Alabama Reflector
My column this week. Alabamians often dismiss the bile that comes out of some of our leaders' mouths as performative, or grimly funny. Don't do that with Tommy Tuberville's recent threats against Muslims. He's already signaled that he views many Alabamians as dangers, simply for who they are.
Don't ignore the threat that is Tommy Tuberville | Alabama Reflector
Don't dismiss the senator's escalating attacks on Muslims as performative. Tuberville has already shown contempt for vast swathes of Alabama.
alabamareflector.com
December 22, 2025 at 3:08 PM
My column this week. Alabamians often dismiss the bile that comes out of some of our leaders' mouths as performative, or grimly funny. Don't do that with Tommy Tuberville's recent threats against Muslims. He's already signaled that he views many Alabamians as dangers, simply for who they are.
Editor Brian Lyman writes that no one should be dismissive of Tommy Tuberville's recent threats against Muslims in Alabama, as he has made it clear he views many people living here as threats simply because of who they are. https://ow.ly/smLj50XMOls
December 22, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Editor Brian Lyman writes that no one should be dismissive of Tommy Tuberville's recent threats against Muslims in Alabama, as he has made it clear he views many people living here as threats simply because of who they are. https://ow.ly/smLj50XMOls
A state lawmaker has prefiled two bills for the 2026 session of the Alabama Legislature that would reduce the number of people on death row and end the practice altogether in the state. https://ow.ly/IJkF50XLxzg
December 22, 2025 at 1:05 PM
A state lawmaker has prefiled two bills for the 2026 session of the Alabama Legislature that would reduce the number of people on death row and end the practice altogether in the state. https://ow.ly/IJkF50XLxzg
Via Anna Barrett: Phillip Ensler is running for Alabama lieutenant governor in part because Doug Jones is running for Alabama governor. https://ow.ly/GoF050XMKYz
December 22, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Via Anna Barrett: Phillip Ensler is running for Alabama lieutenant governor in part because Doug Jones is running for Alabama governor. https://ow.ly/GoF050XMKYz
Via Jonathan Shorman and Stateline: A confidential agreement between DOJ and more than a dozen states would hand the federal government a major role in election administration, a responsibility that belongs to the states under the U.S. Constitution. https://ow.ly/4ue950XMwS6
December 21, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Via Jonathan Shorman and Stateline: A confidential agreement between DOJ and more than a dozen states would hand the federal government a major role in election administration, a responsibility that belongs to the states under the U.S. Constitution. https://ow.ly/4ue950XMwS6
Reposted by Alabama Reflector
My column from Monday. On Tommy Tuberville; the Alabama State Board of Education's struggle to adopt a new social studies textbook, and the difference between loving one's country and demanding unquestioning pride in it.
The past keeps seeping into Alabama's present. No wonder leaders fear it | Alabama Reflector
And that fear means we're seeing terrible things from Alabama's past start to repeat themselves. Particularly with minorities.
alabamareflector.com
December 20, 2025 at 2:31 PM
My column from Monday. On Tommy Tuberville; the Alabama State Board of Education's struggle to adopt a new social studies textbook, and the difference between loving one's country and demanding unquestioning pride in it.
Via Amanda Watford and Stateline: Even in prisons and jails where menstrual products are available, limited supplies, low-quality products, strict disciplinary rules and delays in medical care can result in incarcerated people facing health issues or disciplinary write-ups. https://ow.ly/aXl150XMwnb
December 20, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Via Amanda Watford and Stateline: Even in prisons and jails where menstrual products are available, limited supplies, low-quality products, strict disciplinary rules and delays in medical care can result in incarcerated people facing health issues or disciplinary write-ups. https://ow.ly/aXl150XMwnb
Via Jacob Fischler: The U.S. House on Thursday passed, 211-204, a bill to remove Endangered Species Act protections for the gray wolf outside Alaska.
US House passes bill to remove gray wolf from Endangered Species Act list | Alabama Reflector
The bill would direct the Interior secretary to reissue a 2020 rule removing ESA protections that delisted wolves other than the Mexican wolf in the lower 48 states, while stipulating it could not be challenged in court.
alabamareflector.com
December 19, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Via Jacob Fischler: The U.S. House on Thursday passed, 211-204, a bill to remove Endangered Species Act protections for the gray wolf outside Alaska.