U.S. Congress

After one of the most chaotic and least productive U.S. House sessions in modern history, voters made a surprising choice in elections — they overwhelmingly stuck with the status quo. Republicans will hold onto a thin majority in the House. Democrat Shomari Figures win in Alabama’s new District 2 in the state’s black belt, and a new minority majority seat in Louisiana may help keep the balance of power tighter.

Sen. John Thune has won an internal election among U.S. GOP senators to become the chamber’s next majority leader. It makes the South Dakota Republican a key partner on Capitol Hill to President-elect Donald Trump. Thune beat out two other competitors, including Sen. John Cornyn. That's along with Rick Scott, backed by Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.

Republican senators, including Tommy Tuberville of Alabama are gathering behind closed doors to decide who will replace longtime Senate leader Mitch McConnell and lead their new majority next year — a decision that could shape the future of the Senate, and the party, as Donald Trump reclaims the presidency.

This story isn’t part of Alabama Public Radio’s investigative series on the newly redrawn Congressional seat in District 2—But it could provide an interesting perspective—from the view from the former Soviet nation of Belarus.

Black and other minority farmers are set to receive more than $2 billion in federal aid in response to decades of discrimination by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Most payments will go to farmers in Alabama and Mississippi.

Senate Republicans in Washington have blocked legislation that would make it a right nationwide for women to access in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments. The action follows February’s ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that frozen embryos are considered “children.”

Senate Democrats are seeking to highlight Republicans' resistance to legislation that would make it a right nationwide for women to access to invitro fertilization and other fertility treatments, holding a vote on the matter Thursday as part of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's effort to drive an election-year contrast on reproductive care. The action follows February’s Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are “children.”

On Friday, April 26, Montgomery Mayor Steven L. Reed will be sworn in as president of the African American Mayors Association (AAMA), the nation’s only organization exclusively representing Black mayors in the United States. Reed, who is currently the organization’s 1st Vice President, will lead the organization through the 2024 presidential elections and the start of the 119th Congress.

The leader of Legal Services Alabama (LSA) is advocating for constituent access to the legal system access across the Yellowhammer State on issues like fair housing, veterans’ benefits, domestic violence and medical debt.

Former Alabama Republican U.S. Rep. Robert Terry Everett has died. He was 87. Gov. Kay Ivey's office says he died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Rehobeth on Tuesday. Everett represented the state’s 2nd District from 1993 to 2009.