Posts by Will Blakely

Jefferson County Commission President Jimmie Stephens told 1819 News on Friday that the commission is “completely against” the Birmingham Police Department housing those they arrest on misdemeanor charges in the county jail.

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) has high hopes for the bill he introduced last month to prevent the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs from using government resources to take care of illegal immigrants.

The Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office obtained a warrant on Tuesday for a Birmingham woman whose 3-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed himself before Christmas.

U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) said Harvard president Claudine Gay should’ve resigned “weeks ago” after the Ivy League executive received backlash from plagiarism allegations and comments made last year about antisemitism.

Per Jefferson County Sheriff Mark Pettway, the City of Birmingham will now house those arrested on misdemeanor charges in the county jail.

After one of the most violent years since the 1990s in 2022, Birmingham saw a decrease in homicides in 2023, but violent crime still rose slightly overall.

Since November 2022, over 500 congregations have disaffiliated from the two United Methodist Church conferences in Alabama — the Alabama-West Flordia Conference and the North Alabama Conference — as traditional churches pursued disaffiliation. 

Though Birmingham is no longer Alabama’s largest city, the Birmingham area remains the largest metropolitan region in the state. In 2023, the City of Birmingham faced several problems, from a wave of violent crime that continued into 2023 from 2022 to a severe truancy problem in its public school system that drew the ire of Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin.

A new report from the Manhattan Institute details state-level programs that it suggests violate the freedom of religion guaranteed under the First Amendment and named a handful of programs in Alabama.

After a weekend ransomware attack at the Cullman County Revenue Commissioner’s office, U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville) said he is looking to see if there is anything he can do on the federal level.

Earlier this year, the Alabama Legislature passed the Transparency in Incentives Act, which requires the Alabama Department of Commerce to publish certain information about incentives through the Alabama Jobs Act.

In an interview with 1819 News, Elon Musk's artificial intelligence (AI) Grok, the chatbot said Michigan would defeat Alabama in the Rose Bowl on January 1.

Birmingham nonprofit Kings Kids Outreach is fighting to get students to show up for class in Birmingham City Schools (BCS).

Though Christmas has been celebrated by Christians on December 25 since at least the 4th century, it did not become a federal holiday in the United States until President Ulysses S. Grant signed it into law in 1870.

The attorney representing a Tuscaloosa woman who claims she was raped and filmed five years ago as a minor spoke to 1819 News on Thursday about the lawsuit against PornHub parent company Aylo that alleges the pornography company profited from sex trafficking.

For 52 years, the Kentuck Arts Center has held its annual festival North of the Black Warrior River in Northport’s Kentuck Park. Now, it’s coming to Tuscaloosa, but not without a series of controversies. 

An Alabama lawyer and economist said that a recent lawsuit from the state of Tennessee against the financial titan BlackRock, Inc. over its environmental, social, governance (ESG) investment strategy could shed light on the massive asset management corporation. 

After the Alabama State Department of Education released its annual report card last week, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin shared his take on how Birmingham City Schools performed in the 2022-2023 school year.

After a spree of fatal shootings over the weekend in Birmingham, one city councilwoman released a statement asking Birmingham citizens to “stand up and do something” when they see something suspicious.

A spokesman for Troy University requested a change to an online news article on Monday that claims the school could potentially close one of its three satellite campuses.

U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) called President Joe Biden a “Scrooge” on Monday after a survey revealed that 42% of business owners who normally award Christmas bonuses to their employees can’t afford to do so this year.

Three separate deadly shootings on Saturday brought Birmingham’s homicide investigation total in 2023 to over 120 as the year nears its end.

According to new statistics from the Alabama State Department of Education, 23.25% of Birmingham City Schools students are chronically absent, and some schools have chronic absenteeism rates above 50%.

The Alabama State Department of Education received an 83% on its annual report card for the second year in a row, yet the graduate rate decreased by almost 9%. 

A billboard on Interstate 20 near the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport is encouraging pregnant women to travel to other states for abortions.

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) introduced the No VA Resources for Illegal Aliens Act on Wednesday to prevent the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs from using government resources to take care of illegal immigrants. 

Florida’s Attorney General Ashley Moody launched an investigation into the College Football Playoff Selection Committee on Tuesday after the one-loss Crimson Tide made it into the four-team playoff over the undefeated Florida State.