Posts by Will Blakely

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) addressed the media on Wednesday to discuss two public health oversight bills that he signed last week.

U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) shared federal estimates about the fentanyl crisis on the southern border on Wednesday and said the amount of fentanyl seized has jumped ninefold since 2018.

Alabama lawmakers are trying to figure out what to do about the rocket at the Alabama Rest Stop off of I-65 in Ardmore and how they can pay for renovating or replacing it. One lawmaker even suggested using COVID-19 relief money.

The Birmingham City Council unanimously approved several measures on Tuesday morning to spend what Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said is a budget surplus of over $80 million.

School principals in Jefferson County now know how to administer a drug that reverses the effect of opioid overdoses.

In 2022, Birmingham experienced one of its most violent years in modern history, totaling at least 144 homicides. Several of the homicides involved firearms, many of which were drive-by-shootings. 

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin and Birmingham Police Department (BPD) Chief Scott Thurmond both weighed in on the killing of Tyre Nichols by several police officers in Memphis on January 7.

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin joined "Alabama’s Morning News with JT" on Thursday to discuss controversial comedians Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle, who performed at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center on Wednesday night.

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) took to Twitter on Friday morning to address the recent undercover video from Project Veritas in which an alleged Pfizer employee discusses the possibility of the pharmaceutical company mutating the COVID-19 virus to create new vaccines.

Former NFL quarterback and 1997 Heisman Trophy finalist Ryan Leaf spoke at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Mountain Brook on Thursday about his struggle with opioid addiction. 

As a result of the settlements, Alabama has been rewarded $276 million. 

Birmingham has a new resource for people who have lost their ability to taste and smell. University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) Medicine launched its first-of-its-kind Comprehensive Smell and Taste Clinic on Monday to treat patients who haven’t been able to taste or smell since they became infected with COVID-19.

The city will pay $275,000 for the non-profit to compile criminal justice-related statistics from neighborhoods in Birmingham and Jefferson County.

Jefferson County School System administrators canceled school on Wednesday after a teacher died on a high school campus early Wednesday morning. 

Violent crime isn’t the only thing taking lives in Jefferson County. According to a new report from WBHM, overdose deaths exceeded homicides and vehicle-related deaths in Jefferson County in 2022 and Jefferson County Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates said that he doesn’t see it slowing down.

Left-leaning media outlet Politico criticized Alabama’s new Secretary of State Wes Allen for pulling out of the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), which it called “a genuine bipartisan success story.”

A federal court ruled in favor of Alabama in a dispute against the U.S. Department of Treasury over a provision in the Biden Administration’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARP) that would have punished states for cutting taxes.

Experts predicted this past summer's World Games in Birmingham to have an economic impact of $256.5 million. However, according to a new study, the actual impact was much lower than expected.

Left-wing national media outlet Vice released a story on Thursday morning that cited staunch critics of liberal Democrat and Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin’s new “micro-shelter” program, which he suggests will help solve the homelessness problem in the city. 

Alabama native, Auburn University graduate and award-winning actress Octavia Spencer said that she’s experienced more racism in Los Angeles than she did growing up in the South.

U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Saks) wants President Joe Biden to send more weapons to Ukraine, including a missile system that happens to be manufactured by his largest campaign contributor. 

Law enforcement finally identified the remains of a little girl whose body was found at a trailer park in 2012 and made two arrests related to the case.

State officials in Alabama rejected parole for 90% of eligible inmates last fiscal year, according to reports released by the Alabama Bureau of Pardons & Paroles (ABPP).

The Center for Law and Liberty is teaming up with the conservative legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom to battle a free speech policy at the University of Alabama Huntsville that some have deemed a violation of the Alabama Constitution.

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin addressed his city’s crime problem in his “State of the City Address” at the Kiwanis Club luncheon at the Harbet Center on Tuesday morning.

Computer modeling developed by one University of Alabama (UA) research team to combat sex trafficking has led to more than 100 arrests in West Alabama over the last year.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall joined a group of 22 attorneys general in a letter to the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to condemn its recent decision to abandon restrictions surrounding certain pills used in abortions.