Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 11h

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: The Montgomery Police Department said Friday that they arrested a suspect in connection with the Saturday shooting that left two dead and 12 people injured.

Montgomery police make arrest in connection with mass shooting | Alabama Reflector

Police say the suspect, a juvenile, has been charged with one count of capital murder; nine counts of first-degree assault and three counts of second-degree assault.

alabamareflector.com

2 2

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 11h

Via Jennifer Shutt: The Trump administration announced Friday it had begun mass layoffs of federal employees, a step not taken during previous government shutdowns and one that could significantly reshape the size and scope of the government.

‘Substantial’ layoffs of federal workers launched by Trump administration amid shutdown | Alabama Reflector

Labor unions that represent federal workers indicated they plan to let the judicial system determine whether the layoffs are legal.

alabamareflector.com

4 7 6

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 14h

Via @timhenderson.bsky.social and Stateline: The telehealth and in-home hospital care programs allowed doctors and hospitals to bill Medicare for telehealth appointments and in-home visits from nurses to provide care that is generally only available in hospitals.

Shutdown forces Medicare patients off popular telehealth and hospital-at-home programs | Alabama Reflector

More than 4 million Medicare beneficiaries used telehealth services in the first half of the year, according to Brown University’s Center for Advancing Health Policy through Research.

alabamareflector.com

10 9

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 18h

Commentary by Katie Owens-Murphy: "(Alabama) should no longer claim to speak on behalf of survivors if it only acknowledges pain that can be harnessed for vengeance. It does not know what to do with survivors like Will Berry who insist on restorative justice." https://ow.ly/E4qE50X9ijW

7 15

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 19h

Via Andrea Tinker: Alabama State Schools Superintendent Eric Mackey said Thursday that numbers expected to be released next week could show the largest decline in K-12 enrollment in the state in 40 years. https://ow.ly/5zBB50X9uTx

1 4 10

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 20h

Via Jacob Fischler: Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall signed a brief from Republican AGs arguing their states are harmed by the protests in Chicago and other cities that impede federal ICE officers from doing their jobs. https://ow.ly/Z68r50X9uxq

7 8 7

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 1d

President Donald Trump said Thursday he’s prepared to cancel funding approved by Congress that he believes is going toward programs supported by Democrats, though he didn’t share any additional details during a Cabinet meeting. https://ow.ly/svFf50X9oje

7 5 8

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 1d

Via Stateline: States are usually reimbursed for federal costs once federal spending impasses are resolved. But the Trump administration’s record of pulling funding and targeting Democratic-led states has some officials worried about what comes after the shutdown. https://ow.ly/O3Hb50X9bWL

2

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 1d

Via Louisiana Illuminator: The lawsuit calls on the FDA to reverse regulatory action it took in 2023 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing doctors to prescribe mifepristone through remote patients visits or – as the lawsuit claims – without any interaction with a medical professional.

Louisiana sues Food & Drug Administration to stop mailing of abortion medication | Alabama Reflector

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed a lawsuit this week that calls on the federal government to strike down rules that allow the distribution of abortion drugs without an in-person doctor’s visit.

ow.ly

5 9

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 1d

Via Anna Barrett: The Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Commission (ACVCC) has received one application from a victim of the Montgomery mass shooting on Saturday. https://ow.ly/6YMt50X9jua

Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Commission gets application from Montgomery shooting | Alabama Reflector

Everette Johnson said after the commission’s meeting Thursday that it came for one of the deceased victims. Two people died in the shooting.

ow.ly

3 4

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 1d

Via Jennifer Shutt: A majority of Americans disapprove of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s job performance and the federal government’s evolving vaccine policy, according to a poll released Thursday by the nonpartisan health organization KFF. https://ow.ly/ATtF50X9bgv

4 2

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 1d

Via Andrea Tinker: Alabama’s community colleges are continuing to see enrollment rise, according to data presented to the Alabama College Community System (ACCS) Board of Trustees on Wednesday. https://ow.ly/EUuF50X8T98

2 2 6

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 1d

Via Sarah Jane Tribble & KFF Health News : A 91-year-old learns to check health portals; a 7-year-old finally can do homework. They were among rural residents helped by a digital navigator, until President Trump abruptly canceled the Digital Equity Act’s dollars. https://ow.ly/TAp450X8KR7

5 6

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 1d

Via Jacob Fischler: The Federal Aviation Administration reported no travel delays due to staffing levels at U.S. air traffic control facilities Wednesday, following a day of some delays related to above-average absences at a handful of facilities. https://ow.ly/ZxPe50X8JtJ

1 2 4

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 2d

Via Jennifer Shutt: Both sides in the federal government shutdown remained dug in Wednesday, as the Senate failed to pass Republicans’ short-term government funding bill for the sixth time and Democrats could not get the support needed to advance their counterproposal. https://ow.ly/u9ek50X8J3S

4 2 5

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 2d

Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Arizona, led efforts to gain recognition to get U.S. Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva sworn in Wednesday. GOP Rep. Russ Fulcher of Idaho, presiding over the House during its pro forma session, quickly gaveled out and did not recognize the Democrats. https://ow.ly/M4Kq50X8SQ6

US House GOP delays seating Rep.-elect Grijalva, potential deciding vote on Epstein petition | Alabama Reflector

Grijalva has vowed to be the 218th and final signature needed on a bipartisan petition to force a vote on the measure.

ow.ly

2 21 21

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 2d

Via Julie O'Donoghue & Louisiana Illuminator: Medicaid enrollees can struggle to find doctors because of low reimbursement rates. The Louisiana Department of Health said Tuesday it raised rates to incentivize more medical professionals to see people with Medicaid coverage. https://ow.ly/XlZ850X8AaN

4 6

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 2d

Via Nada Hassanein and Stateline: With hotter temperatures come more heat-related workplace injuries — about 28,000 injuries each year, according to a new study published Monday in the journal Environmental Health. https://ow.ly/6byI50X8v2w

4 1

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 2d

Via Ashley Murray: Former FBI Director James Comey pleaded not guilty to two felony charges Wednesday in federal court in Virginia, in response to an indictment that followed an extraordinary pressure campaign from President Donald Trump.

Former FBI Director Comey pleads not guilty to criminal charges demanded by Trump | Alabama Reflector

President Donald Trump has long targeted Comey for his role leading the FBI during an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

alabamareflector.com

2 1 8

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 2d

Via Andrea Tinker: HB 44, sponsored by Rep. Donna Givens, R-Loxley, would direct the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) to request a waiver from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to allow recipients of SNAP benefits to buy hot rotisserie chickens. https://ow.ly/N9ct50X8oKg

1 5 13

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 2d

Via Anna Barrett: Montgomery police said Tuesday they have not yet made arrests in connection with a Saturday shooting that left two dead and 12 injured. https://ow.ly/zz0g50X83BY

2 3

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 3d

Via Amanda Hernández and Stateline: The nation’s prison population grew for the second consecutive year in 2023, reversing more than a decade of steady decline. But even with recent increases, the prison population in 2023 was still about 20% below the 2013 level. https://ow.ly/Vnq950X7Qrm

1 4 3

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 3d

Via Ashley Murray: U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi aimed heated rhetoric at Democratic senators on Capitol Hill Tuesday as she faced questions over the administration’s surge of federal agents to blue cities, as well as a litany of controversial issues surrounding the Department of Justice.

A combative AG Pam Bondi confronts US Senate Judiciary over Trump crackdown | Alabama Reflector

“Madam Attorney General, it’s my job to grill you,” said U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, during one fervid exchange.

alabamareflector.com

8 8 9

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 3d

Via Jennifer Shutt: The Trump administration may try to interpret a law enacted during his first term in office differently than it did following the last government shutdown, potentially denying back pay to hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal workers. https://ow.ly/uiaY50X7Uw5

2 4 4

Reposted by Alabama Reflector

Alex Baumhardt @alexbaumhardt.bsky.social · 4d

Oregon, Portland, troops in ‘wait mode’ for federal challenge to temporary order blocking National Guard deployment via @oregoncapitalchronicle.com oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2025/10/06/o...

Oregon, Portland, troops in ‘wait mode’ for federal challenge to temporary order • Oregon Capital Chronicle

The Trump administration on Sunday was blocked by a federal judge from activating National Guard troops from any state and D.C. to Portland.

oregoncapitalchronicle.com

3 7 16