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NASA is counting down the hours before Monday night’s planned liftoff of an Atlas-V rocket, built in Alabama. The launch vehicle is carrying Boeing’s new Starliner space capsule with two astronauts on board.
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The Alabama Senate this week approved, and then killed, a bill that would give public school teachers eight weeks of paid parental leave. State Senator Vivian Davis Figures said it’s an example of the mostly male Legislature ignoring the concerns of women in the state.
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The Alabama Supreme Court on Friday declined to reconsider a controversial ruling that said frozen embryos are considered children under a state law.
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A proposal to authorize a state lottery and allow casinos with slot machines and video poker, but not table games, at seven sites in the state remains stalled in the Alabama Legislature but could get another vote in the session's final three days.
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The Menlo Park, California-based company Meta says it will open an $800 million data center in Montgomery. The internet giant operates Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp.
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Georgia's Kirby Smart agreed to a contract extension that makes him the highest-paid coach in college football with an annual salary of $13 million. Smart got a bump in salary of $1.75 million annually as part of the deal, which ties him to the Bulldogs through 2033.
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Alabama lawmakers gave final approval to legislation creating a new high school focused on preparing students for careers in healthcare, science and technology. The school will be located in Demopolis but would take in students from around the state.
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Alabama officials approved legislation to ensure President Joe Biden will appear on the state's November ballot, mirroring accommodations the state made four years ago for then-President Donald Trump. The House of Representatives voted 93-0 for the legislation. Republican Governor Kay Ivey signed the bill into law the same day, a spokeswoman said.
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Hot Air Balloons are taking to the skies once again along the Gulf Coast. The annual Gulf Coast Hot Air Balloon Festival is back once again to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The three-day festival is a partnership between the South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce, the OWA Parks and Resort and the City of Foley.
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Alabama has authorized the execution of a second inmate by nitrogen gas, months after the state became the first state to put a person to death with the previously untested method.
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Students on the University of Alabama campus joined nationwide campus protests over Israel and Gaza. Marchers gathered at the plaza near the university's financial building on the Tuscaloosa campus.
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The construction of a new Alabama Statehouse, now underway in Montgomery, and related projects such as a parking deck and new green space has a new price tag. Lawmakers were updated this week.
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The University of Alabama—Birmingham became the first Division I football team to join a fledgling organization that hopes to represent athletes as college sports moves to a more professional model.
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At least five Republican state attorneys general are challenging a new federal regulation that mandates protections for transgender students at schools. The federal rule opposes sweeping policies to allow transgender people from using the school bathrooms that align with their gender. At least eleven states, including Alabama, have such laws in their books already.
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The second of two new nuclear reactors for the Georgia Power Company’s number four unit at Plant Vogtle has entered commercial operation. Utilities in parts of Alabama as well as Jacksonville, Florida, as well as in the Florida Panhandle also have contracted to buy Vogtle's power.
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David Malukas was released by Arrow McLaren without running an IndyCar race for the team. His departure was due to injuries the 22-year-old suffered in an offseason mountain biking crash. Malukas could not compete Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, it was his fourth consecutive missed race and triggered a clause in his contract that allowed McLaren to terminate the deal.
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A statewide nonprofit is calling on Alabamians to lobby for support around a federal program that gives summer financial assistance food-insecure children. This comes after Governor Kay Ivey cited cost concerns for opting out of the Summer EBT initiative.
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The application period for the Alabama State Office's new Advocacy Institute is soon closing. Submissions for the inaugural class are being accepted through Tuesday, April 30.
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The backcountry trails of Alabama’s Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores are being featured at a nine-mile scenic cycling event. The 15th annual Good Life Bicycle Ride taking place Saturday, May 4, Tuesday, May 7, Thursday, May 9 and Saturday, May 11.
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The Pentagon has announced that the U.S. will provide Ukraine additional Patriot missiles for its air defense systems as part of a massive $6 billion additional aid package. President Joe Biden also singled out Javelin anti-tank missiles, built at a Lockheed-Martin factory in Troy as being part of the new U.S. package of aid for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
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It took six rounds and a whole lot of waiting, but former Alabama kicker Will Reichard made Crimson Tide history during the 2024 NFL draft. The Minnesota Vikings picked the one position where former Head Coach Nick Saban saw no players join the NFL during his career at Alabama. Reichard is the first Tide kicker to be drafted since 1966, and reportedly only the third chosen by the Vikings in the last forty five years.
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The United Auto Workers union announced it reached a last-minute tentative agreement with truck and bus manufacturer Daimler Truck, averting a potential strike of more than 7,000 workers. Tuscaloosa's Mercedes Benz plant is within days of its own vote on unionization.
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Two astronauts are waiting for their chance to blastoff aboard Boeing’s new Starliner space capsule. The trip to the International Space Station for NASA veterans Sunita Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore will be powered by an Atlas-V rocket, built by the United Launch Alliance at its factory in Decatur, just south of Huntsville. This is the first Atlas-V launch with people on board, but this model of rocket has boosted a series of unmanned spacecraft to Pluto, Mars, and the asteroid Bennu.
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The historic run on offensive players, especially quarterbacks, in the first round of the NFL draft pushed plenty of talented defenders down the board. It also pushed some first-round worthy defensive players into Round 2 on Friday. Those include Iowa cornerback Cooper DeJean, Texas A&M inside linebacker Edgerrin Cooper and Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry. The former Crimson Tide player was picked by the New Orleans Saints.