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.
The U.S. Education Department is bringing back hundreds of employees in its Office for Civil Rights who were placed on paid administrative leave earlier this year, according to a Dec. 5 email to those employees obtained by States Newsroom. https://ow.ly/Rg3T50XFZvQ
December 9, 2025 at 12:05 AM
The U.S. Education Department is bringing back hundreds of employees in its Office for Civil Rights who were placed on paid administrative leave earlier this year, according to a Dec. 5 email to those employees obtained by States Newsroom. https://ow.ly/Rg3T50XFZvQ
Via Ashley Murray: The U.S. Supreme Court appeared ready to expand presidential power after hearing a case Monday on whether President Donald Trump can hire and fire members of independent federal agencies without cause.
US Supreme Court seems ready to back Trump in case of fired FTC commissioner | Alabama Reflector
The high court’s decision could heighten presidential influence over agencies created by Congress that oversee monetary policy, nuclear safety, consumer advocacy and trade, among other major policy areas.
alabamareflector.com
December 8, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Via Ashley Murray: The U.S. Supreme Court appeared ready to expand presidential power after hearing a case Monday on whether President Donald Trump can hire and fire members of independent federal agencies without cause.
Via Nada Hassanein: Advanced practice nurses, hospital associations and other health groups say a federal borrowing rule will make it unaffordable for many nurses to advance their careers — disproportionately affecting communities, especially rural ones, that rely on them. https://ow.ly/12GW50XFLSX
December 8, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Via Nada Hassanein: Advanced practice nurses, hospital associations and other health groups say a federal borrowing rule will make it unaffordable for many nurses to advance their careers — disproportionately affecting communities, especially rural ones, that rely on them. https://ow.ly/12GW50XFLSX
Reposted by Alabama Reflector
My column this week. The University of Alabama's decision to shut down two student publications aimed at Black and female students reflects an institution that has gone beyond cowardice to openly embracing the White House's message that minorities do not count in public life.
From cowardice to connivance at the University of Alabama | Alabama Reflector
The university's growing embrace of anti-DEI policies seems less like a surrender to the White House than an embrace of it.
alabamareflector.com
December 8, 2025 at 3:04 PM
My column this week. The University of Alabama's decision to shut down two student publications aimed at Black and female students reflects an institution that has gone beyond cowardice to openly embracing the White House's message that minorities do not count in public life.
Editor Brian Lyman writes that the University of Alabama's cancellation of two student magazines aimed at Black and female students isn't capitulation to federal policies harming minorities on campus. It's an open embrace of them. https://ow.ly/Y7cr50XCQfY
December 8, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Editor Brian Lyman writes that the University of Alabama's cancellation of two student magazines aimed at Black and female students isn't capitulation to federal policies harming minorities on campus. It's an open embrace of them. https://ow.ly/Y7cr50XCQfY
Via Andrea Tinker: An Alabama lawmaker is planning to introduce a bill that in next year’s legislative session would recognize licensed workforce jobs the Trump administration recently excluded as professional degrees. https://ow.ly/pYE150XE6rP
December 8, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Via Andrea Tinker: An Alabama lawmaker is planning to introduce a bill that in next year’s legislative session would recognize licensed workforce jobs the Trump administration recently excluded as professional degrees. https://ow.ly/pYE150XE6rP
Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Amid ongoing federal and state attempts to limit access to vaccines or loosen vaccination requirements, data shows that Alabama has fallen below national averages for children being up to date on some vaccines.
Alabama trails some national vaccination rates amid misinformation, access struggles | Alabama Reflector
Amid ongoing federal and state attempts to limit access to vaccines or loosen vaccination requirements, data shows that Alabama falls below the national average in children up to date in vaccines.
alabamareflector.com
December 8, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Amid ongoing federal and state attempts to limit access to vaccines or loosen vaccination requirements, data shows that Alabama has fallen below national averages for children being up to date on some vaccines.
Via Kelcie Moseley-Morris: The four lawsuits at the center of a GOP-led effort to ensure law enforcement can access reproductive health records are mostly resolved, after attorneys for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton agreed last week to dismiss the last remaining suit. https://ow.ly/oIi550XC95K
December 7, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Via Kelcie Moseley-Morris: The four lawsuits at the center of a GOP-led effort to ensure law enforcement can access reproductive health records are mostly resolved, after attorneys for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton agreed last week to dismiss the last remaining suit. https://ow.ly/oIi550XC95K
Reposted by Alabama Reflector
My column from Monday. Win or lose, Doug Jones’ gubernatorial campaign should give Alabama Democrats some desperately needed pull at the top of the ticket that could give the party a few chances to add seats in the Legislature.
What Doug Jones can do for Alabama Democrats, win or lose | Alabama Reflector
The former U.S. senator is a longshot for victory. But a statewide campaign could boost Democrats in other ways.
alabamareflector.com
December 6, 2025 at 2:06 PM
My column from Monday. Win or lose, Doug Jones’ gubernatorial campaign should give Alabama Democrats some desperately needed pull at the top of the ticket that could give the party a few chances to add seats in the Legislature.
Via Stateline: The minimum wage for workers will increase in 19 states and 49 cities and counties next month, with the wage floor reaching $15 per hour in dozens of localities, a new report found. https://ow.ly/XztI50XC8IQ
December 6, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Via Stateline: The minimum wage for workers will increase in 19 states and 49 cities and counties next month, with the wage floor reaching $15 per hour in dozens of localities, a new report found. https://ow.ly/XztI50XC8IQ
Via Stateline: As the housing shortage pushes more Americans into homelessness, the Trump administration wants to focus federal housing aid on mental health treatment and law enforcement, rather than on finding people permanent homes as quickly as possible. https://ow.ly/1LjG50XCRgL
December 5, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Via Stateline: As the housing shortage pushes more Americans into homelessness, the Trump administration wants to focus federal housing aid on mental health treatment and law enforcement, rather than on finding people permanent homes as quickly as possible. https://ow.ly/1LjG50XCRgL
Via Jacob Fischler: While a schedule for arguments has not yet been released by the court, it’s likely the case would be heard sometime in early 2026.
Trump order ending birthright citizenship to be argued at US Supreme Court | Alabama Reflector
The court agreed to hear a case, before it is decided in a lower court, that deals with the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which grants citizenship to almost everyone born in the United States.
alabamareflector.com
December 5, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Via Jacob Fischler: While a schedule for arguments has not yet been released by the court, it’s likely the case would be heard sometime in early 2026.
Via Stateline: Texas recently became the first state to make a major investment in cryptocurrency with the purchase of about $5 million worth of bitcoin, following passage of bipartisan legislation this year creating a state cryptocurrency investment fund. https://ow.ly/ArjA50XCPYM
December 5, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Via Stateline: Texas recently became the first state to make a major investment in cryptocurrency with the purchase of about $5 million worth of bitcoin, following passage of bipartisan legislation this year creating a state cryptocurrency investment fund. https://ow.ly/ArjA50XCPYM
Via Ralph Chapoco: A joint legislative committee Thursday temporarily blocked four legal contracts after a senator on the committee raised objections to a lawsuit over the distribution of proceeds to cities from the state’s internet sales tax. https://ow.ly/99yF50XCcCX
December 5, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Via Ralph Chapoco: A joint legislative committee Thursday temporarily blocked four legal contracts after a senator on the committee raised objections to a lawsuit over the distribution of proceeds to cities from the state’s internet sales tax. https://ow.ly/99yF50XCcCX
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official policy when he used the publicly available Signal app to message about military plans from his personal cell phone, including imminent bombings in Yemen, according to a watchdog report released Thursday by the Pentagon. https://ow.ly/oI2F50XC8nA
December 5, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official policy when he used the publicly available Signal app to message about military plans from his personal cell phone, including imminent bombings in Yemen, according to a watchdog report released Thursday by the Pentagon. https://ow.ly/oI2F50XC8nA
Via Ashley Murray: FBI agents took Brian J. Cole Jr., 30, into custody “safely and successfully,” in Woodbridge, Virginia, Attorney General Pam Bondi said at an afternoon press conference at DOJ headquarters in Washington, D.C. https://ow.ly/bx9V50XC0n4
December 4, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Via Ashley Murray: FBI agents took Brian J. Cole Jr., 30, into custody “safely and successfully,” in Woodbridge, Virginia, Attorney General Pam Bondi said at an afternoon press conference at DOJ headquarters in Washington, D.C. https://ow.ly/bx9V50XC0n4
Via Jennifer Shutt: The U.S. Senate will vote next week on a Democratic bill to extend enhanced tax credits for three years for people who purchase their health insurance from the Affordable Care Act marketplace, though the plan seems unlikely to get the bipartisan support needed to advance.
Health subsidies would continue for 3 years under Dem bill to be voted on in US Senate | Alabama Reflector
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., agreed that Democrats could bring up a health care bill of their choosing in exchange for voting to end the government shutdown.
ow.ly
December 4, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Via Jennifer Shutt: The U.S. Senate will vote next week on a Democratic bill to extend enhanced tax credits for three years for people who purchase their health insurance from the Affordable Care Act marketplace, though the plan seems unlikely to get the bipartisan support needed to advance.
Via Anna Claire Vollers and Stateline: A Medicare pilot program will allow private companies to use artificial intelligence to review older Americans’ requests for certain medical care — and will reward the companies when they deny it. https://ow.ly/P4GV50XBPak
December 4, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Via Anna Claire Vollers and Stateline: A Medicare pilot program will allow private companies to use artificial intelligence to review older Americans’ requests for certain medical care — and will reward the companies when they deny it. https://ow.ly/P4GV50XBPak
Via @fischler.bsky.social: Members of the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee decried violence against law enforcement, but seemed to make little headway in identifying how to address the issue during a Wednesday hearing that often saw each party harshly blame the other.
High tensions around law enforcement, ICE tactics on display in heated US House hearing | Alabama Reflector
Democrats strongly criticized some tactics used by federal law enforcement officers under President Donald Trump and Republicans denounced such criticism as fueling violence against police.
alabamareflector.com
December 4, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Via @fischler.bsky.social: Members of the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee decried violence against law enforcement, but seemed to make little headway in identifying how to address the issue during a Wednesday hearing that often saw each party harshly blame the other.
Via Andrea Tinker: The University of Alabama’s decision to suspend two student magazines has sparked criticism and outrage on the campus. https://ow.ly/kENO50XBByp
December 4, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Via Andrea Tinker: The University of Alabama’s decision to suspend two student magazines has sparked criticism and outrage on the campus. https://ow.ly/kENO50XBByp
Via Jennifer Shutt: Americans who purchase their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace are bracing for a steep rise in costs next year that many say they will not be able to afford, according to a poll released Thursday by the nonpartisan health organization KFF.
Most ACA marketplace users can’t afford potential increases, poll shows | Alabama Reflector
Nearly 60% of enrollees surveyed could not cover the costs of a $300 annual increase in their premiums, while an additional 20% said they couldn’t afford a $1,000 jump in prices per year.
alabamareflector.com
December 4, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Via Jennifer Shutt: Americans who purchase their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace are bracing for a steep rise in costs next year that many say they will not be able to afford, according to a poll released Thursday by the nonpartisan health organization KFF.
Via Ashley Murray: A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is pressing Attorney General Pam Bondi for a briefing this week to review the contents of the Epstein files ahead of the Justice Department’s legally binding public release date later this month. https://ow.ly/In3p50XBCbI
December 4, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Via Ashley Murray: A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is pressing Attorney General Pam Bondi for a briefing this week to review the contents of the Epstein files ahead of the Justice Department’s legally binding public release date later this month. https://ow.ly/In3p50XBCbI
Via Jonathan Shorman and Stateline: The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday expanded its legal campaign to force states to turn over voter lists containing sensitive personal information, suing six more states that have refused to provide the data. https://ow.ly/rYRJ50XBsgC
December 3, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Via Jonathan Shorman and Stateline: The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday expanded its legal campaign to force states to turn over voter lists containing sensitive personal information, suing six more states that have refused to provide the data. https://ow.ly/rYRJ50XBsgC
Via Ariana Figueroa: The Trump administration late Tuesday paused all immigration applications from 19 countries the president earlier had listed for restricted travel into the United States, a move that freezes processing for green card holders and citizenship applications.
Trump administration puts a hold on immigration applications from 19 nations | Alabama Reflector
After two West Virginia National Guard members were shot in the District of Columbia by an Afghan national who was granted asylum, the Trump administration has moved to halt and reexamine all forms of legal immigration, which is handled by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
alabamareflector.com
December 3, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Via Ariana Figueroa: The Trump administration late Tuesday paused all immigration applications from 19 countries the president earlier had listed for restricted travel into the United States, a move that freezes processing for green card holders and citizenship applications.
Via Ariana Figueroa: A federal judge late Tuesday barred federal agents from carrying out warrantless arrests in the District of Columbia unless they can demonstrate probable cause, after immigration advocates sued.
Federal judge blocks sweeping immigration arrests in D.C. without warrants | Alabama Reflector
Advocates who brought the suit had said they believed Latinos were being targeted for arrests in the district, even those with legal status.
alabamareflector.com
December 3, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Via Ariana Figueroa: A federal judge late Tuesday barred federal agents from carrying out warrantless arrests in the District of Columbia unless they can demonstrate probable cause, after immigration advocates sued.