Pat Duggins

I talked with Alabama's newest member of Congress about the possible future impact on the state from Donald Trump's so called Big, beautiful Bill. Democratic U.S. House member Shomari Figures is the first person elected to Alabama's newly redrawn district two the US Supreme Court ordered the new voting map to better represent African Americans.

Federal judges will weigh a request to bring Alabama back under the pre-clearance requirement of the Voting Rights Act after ruling the state intentionally diluted the voting strength of Black residents when drawing congressional lines. The three judge panel will hear arguments on July 29th over whether any future changes to the state’s voting map should be made under federal review. The current fight resulted in a redrawn District two, now held by Democrat Shomari Figures, will be the subject of tonight’s APR Notebook at 7 p.m. on Alabama Public Radio.

A former Alabama police officer charged with murder for shooting an armed Black man in the man's front yard during a dispute with a tow-truck driver shouldn't be granted immunity before going to trial, the state's attorney general says. In a court brief filed late Tuesday, Attorney General Steve Marshall said a lower court was correct in ruling that former Decatur police officer Mac Marquette, 25, failed to show "a clear legal right to prosecutorial immunity” when he fatally shit Stephen Perkins on Sept. 29, 2023.

Hartford Bakery, Inc. is voluntarily recalling six lots of its “Lewis Bake Shop Artisan Style 1/2 Loaf” as this product may contain undeclared hazelnuts. People with a nut allergy or severe sensitivity to hazelnuts run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reactions if they consume these products. This brand of bread is sold in Alabama.

Parts of Montgomery are looking a little like the Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz today. The Alabama Shakespeare Festival is presenting the musical based on the classic movie starting this week. The R-S-A Tower in downtown Montgomery is being lit green for the occasion.

Alabama's utility regulators can continue to hold closed-door meetings to determine price hikes, in an apparent departure from common practices in neighboring states, a circuit court judge ruled. The decision rejected a lawsuit filed by Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of Energy Alabama, a nonprofit that advocates for renewable energy sources.

The Alabama Public Radio news team is known for its major journalism investigations. We've been doing them for over a decade. Our most recent national award winning effort was an eight month investigation into Alabama's new U.S. House seat in the rural Black Belt region of the state. The new voting map was ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court so Alabama would be more fair to black residents. Now, anybody who follows the news might reasonably be thinking— okay? The same high court that overturned Roe versus Wade and ended affirmative action in the nation's universities told Alabama that they needed to treat black voters better. Even the plaintiffs in the legal case of Allen versus Milligan told APR news they were gobsmacked they won. The goal after that legal victory was to make sure the new minority congressional district works. The point there was to keep conservative opponents from having the excuse to try to flip the voting map back to the GOP. And that's a moving target that could change at any moment, even as we speak. The job of managing all of these issues now falls to Congressman Shomari Figures.

The fourth of July Holiday has come and gone. And, that means Alabama is into the second half of the lucrative summer tourism season. The Gulf Shores and Orange Beach area points to new rental units to judge how much the visitor economy is growing.

Lawyers representing the family of a Black teenager shot and killed by police in an Alabama suburb said the state's refusal to release body-camera video during an investigation is fueling mistrust over the shooting.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey appointed a corrections deputy as head of the state parole board, replacing the outgoing chair who led the board during a period of few releases. Ivey appointed Hal Nash, the chief corrections deputy of the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, as the new chairman of the three-person Board of Pardons and Paroles. He replaces Leigh Gwathney, whose term expired. Nash's appointment is effective immediately.