A nonpartisan state council is in the process of finding a special prosecutor to take on the last remaining criminal case against President Donald Trump. Story by @alander.bsky.social.

“Who’s going to train the next generation of scientists and engineers in these areas? You need funding to do that, and that is gone,” said Geza Kogler, a now-retired Kennesaw State University professor who lost his National Institutes of Health training grant. Story by @alander.bsky.social.

New from @alander.bsky.social: Resigned CDC officials say erosion of agency mission, staffing is akin to ‘death by a thousand cuts’

Update: The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn’t appear inclined to leave her post, despite the Trump administration announcing Wednesday that she’s no longer running one of the country’s top public health agencies.

First byline (as a staff writer) for @georgiarecorder.com. Lawmakers are considering eliminating the state's income tax to be more competitive with states like Florida and Tennessee. Income taxes currently account for over 50% of Georgia's total state revenue. georgiarecorder.com/2025/08/19/g...

Canceled pride graduation celebrations. Eliminated resource centers for LGBTQ students. Tighter rules for using a preferred name on class rosters and student IDs. These are some of the casualties on Georgia college campuses as a national push to erase DEI initiatives and programs takes hold.

We're thrilled to welcome @alander.bsky.social to our staff. He's done great work at our sister newsroom in Alabama (@alabamareflector.com), including an impressive job chasing down the large amounts of First Liberty money that ended up with Alabama politicians. We're fortunate to have him join us.

Today is my last day with the @alabamareflector.com. Starting Monday, I will be joining the team at the @georgiarecorder.com. I'll have more to share about my new role next week. For now, I'm feeling incredibly thankful for my time in Alabama.

Breaking via @alander.bsky.social: A federal judge Wednesday refused to issue an injunction against Alabama's anti-DEI law in a lawsuit brought by University of Alabama System professors and students.

Via @alander.bsky.social: U.S. Rep. Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, entered the race for Alabama’s soon-to-be open U.S. Senate seat on Tuesday, positioning himself as a conservative and a voice for Donald Trump.

Via @alander.bsky.social: Attorneys for UA plaintiffs challenging Alabama's anti-DEI law wrote that it was “undisputed” that Black Student Union and Safe Zone spaces were open to all students and “did not limit use based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic.”

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: What does state intervention in Sumter County’s public schools look like? In the rural west Alabama county, facing significant population decline, it’s led to concentrating elementary schools at a high school campus, new construction, and school closings.

Fridays are never dull in the news industry

Via @alander.bsky.social: A Montgomery judge Monday dismissed a lawsuit from parents of children who are potentially eligible to receive medical cannabis who wanted to force the state to create a patient registry.

Via @alander.bsky.social: The executive committee of the Local Government Health Insurance Program (LGHIP) will recommend a 4.75% rate increase for 2026 premiums, a proposal that will be presented to the full board next week.

Via @alander.bsky.social: Alabama officials have returned at least $58,800 of contributions stemming from an alleged Georgia-based Ponzi scheme, according to campaign finance records.

Via @alander.bsky.social: The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday ordered the parties in a Louisiana redistricting case to brief them on whether majority-minority districts were constitutional. That could have major implications for Alabama’s current redistricting fight.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: The Alabama Republican Party Saturday approved a new rule that would allow the party to disqualify an elected GOP official if they appoint a Democrat to a position during their term.

Via @alander.bsky.social: The U.S. Supreme Court in 2008 declared a Louisiana law imposing the death penalty for child sexual assault unconstitutional in part due to fears from social workers that it would suppress reporting of abuse and expose victims to new danger.

Via @alander.bsky.social: The statues of Rosa Parks and Helen Keller — the first to depict Alabama women at the State Capitol — are scheduled to be dedicated on October 24.

Via @alander.bsky.social: A panel of federal judges seemed split Tuesday on whether Alabama’s past resistance to a congressional map giving Black voters a better chance of electing their preferred leaders should subject the state to judicial review of future maps.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Behind Alabama's intervention in Dallas County Schools are financial issues caused by poverty and population loss. The rural county lost 12% of its population between 2010 and 2020; public school enrollment fell by a third between 2014 and 2024. Part 2 of a series.

Via @alander.bsky.social: U.S. Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama is asking the White House to speed up the release of appropriated funds for the National Institutes of Health, a major source of funding for the University of Alabama Birmingham.

Via @alander.bsky.social: Federal cuts could raise the cost of Alabama’s SNAP program by $39 million in 2027 — and that number could go even higher in 2028.

Via @alander.bsky.social: After winning a federal court case against Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall earlier this year, reproductive health groups have resumed helping Alabamians obtain out-of-state abortions. But financial and logistical obstacles remain.

Via @alander.bsky.social: Alabama Democrats say they now have chairs in all 67 counties in the state, a milestone for a party that has struggled with disorganization in recent years.

Via @alander.bsky.social: A Georgia man accused of running a $140 million Ponzi scheme contributed a total of $132,000 to three elected Alabama GOP officials or their PACs, according to finance records. A PAC run by one of the recipients later made a $29,000 loan to one of the man's businesses.

Alabama folks! I'm back at work @alabamareflector.com after taking a two-week hiatus, and I'm looking forward to getting back in the swing of things. What do you feel I should be following up on? DM me or feel free to email me at [email protected].

Via @alander.bsky.social: State officials and some medical cannabis producers are optimistic about getting medical cannabis in the state after a recent series of court decisions. But legal obstacles still remain.

Via @alander.bsky.social: Professors and students at the University of Alabama said in federal court Thursday that a 2024 state law banning DEI and so-called “divisive concepts” had chilled academic freedom and thrown funding for student organizations into uncertainty.

Via @alander.bsky.social: A University of Alabama professor and administrator Wednesday accused a member of the Alabama House of Representatives of threatening a fellowship program’s budget if its curriculum was not changed to comply with a state law banning DEI and so-called “divisive concepts.”

Via @alander.bsky.social: Rep. Matt Woods, R-Jasper, won election to the Alabama Senate in a special election Tuesday night, defeating Democratic nominee Ryan Cagle.

Via @alander.bsky.social: “I hope we ruin (Trump's) parade. I hope we piss him off, and I hope we show other people in Alabama about how passionate we are about protecting the Constitution,” said Debora Summerlin, an Elmore County resident.

The latest from reporters on the ground across the country today as crowds swell at No Kings demonstrations denouncing Trump's actions: www.newsfromthestates.com/live-feed/li...

At the "No Kings" protest in Montgomery. Michael Brown said he's here because he wants to show there's a different side to Alabama. "We were brought up to love and treat everyone with respect and kindness and dignity. I don't think people are getting that from the current Administration," he said.

Via @alander.bsky.social: At least 14 "No Kings" protests are planned across Alabama on Saturday. Here's where they're scheduled to take place.

Via @alander.bsky.social: Dr. Scott Harris Thursday told the State Committee of Public Health that the suspected case was in a child just under 12 months old who was not yet eligible for the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. The child tested negative for measles on Wednesday.

Via @alander.bsky.social: The Attorney General's Office and plaintiffs who successfully challenged an earlier map as racially discriminatory said in a filing Monday they could not reach an agreement in the case, which has opened the possibility of future federal oversight of state redistricting.

Via @alander.bsky.social: Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Jay Mitchell announced Monday he is campaigning for the Alabama Attorney General’s Office. alabamareflector.com/briefs/forme...

Via @alander.bsky.social: A budget bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives could impose significant financial and social challenges in Alabama. alabamareflector.com/2025/06/02/f...

Via @alander.bsky.social: The Alabama Attorney General’s Office said Wednesday the state may forgo drawing new congressional district maps before 2030 to prevent federal oversight of future redistricting.

“(These) agreements basically give police the capability to do ICE’s job, ICE’s work, and the way the community sees it is police are now immigration officers. That’s the way it translates over to the community,” said Celsa Stallworth, a community organizer with the ACLU of Alabama.

Even as the prison population has declined, use of force incidents in Alabama’s prisons soared, and corrections officers involved have not only held onto jobs, but been promoted. Part 2 of Blood Money, from Beth Shelburne:

Via @alander.bsky.social: A bill that would have made it easier for parents to exempt their children from vaccine requirements failed to advance out of the Alabama Legislature this year. But a House member says he will bring it back in 2026.

"Forty-five percent of complainants said officers beat them while they were handcuffed, and 27% alleged the excessive use of chemical spray, two factors cited in the DOJ’s findings."

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social and @alander.bsky.social: Here are the bills that passed the Alabama Legislature on Wednesday, the final day of the 2025 regular session.

Via @alander.bsky.social and @rchapoco.bsky.social: The Alabama Department of Archives and History has been under attack from Republicans in the Legislature since it hosted a program on LGBTQ history in Alabama in 2023.

Via @alander.bsky.social: The legislation drew criticism from the hemp industry, who said it overregulated hemp products, and the conservative Alabama Policy Institute, which said it didn't regulate them enough.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: The Alabama House gives The Shroud Award each year to the "deadest bill of the session." Democrats and Republicans both opposed HB 18, sponsored by Rep. Ron Bolton, R-Northport, and some joked it would prevent shorter members from driving to the House.

Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bill this morning. Story coming shortly.