With Earth Day being observed today, several cities across Alabama, including Birmingham, Montgomery and Huntsville, are taking part in events that focus on the environment and how to protect it.

Donald Trump says he’s coming to Tuscaloosa, again. The President announced on his social media site that he’ll be delivering the commencement address at the University of Alabama in early May, as well as at West Point.

Drivers licenses from out of state may be rendered invalid in Alabama, if they’re held by illegal immigrants. In addition to Wyoming and Tennessee, at least a half-dozen other Republican-led states have considered legislation this year to invalidate certain types of out-of-state driver's licenses issued to immigrants illegally in the U.S.

Budget cuts in Washington are raising concerns for beach safety along the Alabama Gulf coast. The Associated Press is reported staff vacancies as bad as twenty percent at some National Weather Service offices. These are the people who provide forecasts, including beach safety information for both Alabama beach goers and lifeguards.

The Blount County Extension is holding an educational session focusing a specific audience in agriculture. The 2025 Women in AG workshop will include speakers on handling cattle, estate planning, and driving a tractor aimed at female farmers working in the state.

Fifteen years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster off the Gulf Coast, the effects of the largest oil spill in U.S. history are still being felt. Oil company BP has paid billions of dollars in damages, propelling ambitious coastal restoration projects. APR news was recognized with a national Sigma Delta Chi award from the Society of Professional Journalists for our documentary on the tenth anniversary of the Gulf oil spill.

Alabama lawmakers advanced legislation that would allow local law enforcement to enforce immigration law, as conservative legislators push for increased alignment with the federal government's crackdown on immigration. The bill was dubbed "Laken Riley Act," named after the 22-year-old Augusta University student who was killed last year in Georgia by an undocumented immigrant.

School material could look very different if two bills before the Alabama legislature become law. One measure would mandate the displaying of the Ten Commandments in an expansion of Christian texts in public schools, while deleting references to drag shows and the displaying of pride flags. Another bill would require schools to change their maps and materials to say “Gulf of America.”

Alabamians may find themselves quoting Longfellow today. Governor Key Ivey says the state will join the nation in a commemoration known as “two lights for the future.” The day remembers the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Paul Revere’s famous midnight ride during the Revolutionary War.

The Alabama legislature is working to make Hollywood feel more at home in our state. A bill is making its way through the Senate in Montgomery to add incentives for people who make movies or commercials here in Alabama. APR student reporter Barry Carmichael spoke to one Mobile resident whose movie making experience including meeting the actor who played Luke Skywalker.

A growing number of conservative leaders are pushing states to upend the long-standing U.S. constitutional right to free public education for children, regardless of immigration status. Alabama tried to enforce a state law to keep undocumented migrant children from public schooling, but agreed to a legal settlement on the matter and the law was blocked.

The Trump administration is expected to reverse a controversial 2023 decision on the permanent location of U.S. Space Command, perhap as soon as month’s end. Alabama is watching what happens since Huntsville is one possible landing spot.