HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Alabama officials say a gun maker is losing $3 million in incentives from the state.

State Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield told AL.com in an email Tuesday that Remington Arms has failed to meet hiring and payroll targets at its Huntsville plant, costing it $3 million in incentives.

Alabama Public Radio is tipping off its spring fund drive and there are some things we want our listeners to know!

We will be pitching on air for 10 hours a day. This will be the time when we ask for donations, however big or small, from new listeners as well as returning members. You can donate by calling (855)353-6644 or clicking the button at the top of our website. 

OZARK, Ala. (AP) — Officers found a pipe bomb inside an Alabama sheriff's office while going through some evidence that had not been searched.

The device didn't go off and no one was hurt in the incident, which occurred Tuesday night at the Dale County Sheriff's Office in south Alabama.

Sheriff Wally Olson tells news outlets that officers found a duffel bag while conducting a search and brought it to the sheriff's department in Ozark without opening it.

FAIRFIELD, Ala. (AP) — Some residents have sued to challenge the removal of the mayor of a small city in Alabama last month.

Al.com reported the Fairfield Citizen Coalition sued, seeking to remove former city council president Eddie Penny from the mayor's office. The lawsuit seeks to restore Edward May II as the mayor of the city of about 11,000 people about 7 miles southwest of Birmingham.

ATLANTA (AP) — A federal appeals court sided with news media organizations Monday in ruling that Alabama can't keep its lethal injection protocol secret from the public.

A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta rejected Alabama's argument that its execution method is not a court record and thus should remain secret.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The National Weather Service has confirmed a 16th tornado from an outbreak that left damage across Alabama last week.

Forecasters say a small twister with winds of up to 65 mph (105 kph) was on the ground for a little more than 1 mile (1 kilometer) near Ohatchee in Calhoun County. One home had minor damage, and the winds uprooted and snapped off trees.

Survey teams previously confirmed 14 other tornadoes in central Alabama last Thursday, and one more hit Cullman County in north Alabama.

ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — Less than a week after an Alabama inmate ended a hunger strike to protest the use of solitary confinement, eight more prisoners have begun hunger strikes of their own.

The Montgomery Advertiser cites a release from a prison advocacy group that says the Alabama Department of Corrections told eight inmates that they were placed in solitary at Holman Correctional Facility as a "preventative measure," unrelated to disciplinary action. Attorney Donna Smalley says the eight are "recognized peacekeepers."

DOTHAN, Ala. (AP) — A DNA match found through a genealogy website has led to an arrest in the killings of two teen girls nearly 20 years ago, Alabama authorities said.

Coley McCraney, 45, of Dothan, was arrested Saturday on rape and capital murder charges in the 1999 deaths of 17-year-olds Tracie Hawlett and J.B. Beasley, according to Dale County jail records.

The girls left Dothan the night of July 3, 1999, to attend a party, but never arrived. They were found the next day in the trunk of Beasley's car alongside a road in Ozark, each with a gunshot wound to the head.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A state inmate has been stabbed to death in the second fatal assault at an Alabama prison within one week.

The Alabama Department of Corrections said in a news release that 56-year-old Ray Anthony Little was killed after being assaulted on Friday at the Bibb County Correctional Facility in Brent.

Authorities said that 30-year-old Devarrieo Montez Shepherd has been identified as a suspect in the stabbing. It was not immediately clear if Shepherd has an attorney.

The county with Alabama's lowest unemployment rate is in need of more workers. 

WBRC-TV reports that employers in Shelby County just south of Birmingham are having trouble filling some jobs.

The county of more than 210,000 people has the lowest jobless rate in the state at 3.2 percent, and "help wanted" signs are a frequent site outside some businesses.

The Shelby County Chamber of Commerce says employers are constantly looking for qualified welders, forklift operators, and information technology assistants.