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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama's chief justice, who famously refused to remove a Ten Commandments monument from a state judicial building, has urged probate judges to refuse marriage licenses to gay couples even though a federal judge ruled the state's same-sex marriage ban. Roy Moore sent a letter to Alabama probate judges on Tuesday saying they are not bound by the ruling because they were not defendants in the lawsuit and have not been directly ordered to issue the licenses. He said the federal court did not have the authority to allow same-sex marriages. No federal judge, or court, should...

In a recent meeting of the Board of Education in the city of Artichoke, Alabama, it was decided to ban the reading of Homer's Illiad and Odyssey in the classroom. The grounds given for the exclusion of these towering masterpieces of ancient literature is that reading them in a public school violated the first amendment's guarantee of the separation of church and state. Wallace Nobrainer, the attorney for the Artichoke school system, explained that "the Homeric texts are obviously designed to promote the polytheistic view of the Greeks," and hence they should be looked upon in the same light as...

Montgomery, AL – Proving that participation in abortion is a bad career move, two Alabama abortionists have quit their jobs at abortion facilities in Alabama and turned to more reputable work. Elizabeth Kemp, who was formerly employed with Reproductive Health Services of Montgomery, left her job as an abortionist soon after she was listed on AbortionDocs.org, a website managed by Operation Rescue that lists every abortion facility in the U.S. and all known abortion providers along with documents related to them and their practices. Kemp’s Alabama medical license status is listed as “inactive.” “So often, we find that abortion providers...

TUSCALOOSA, AL (AP) - Alabama authorities say a tractor-trailer crashed on Interstate 20 because the driver lost control while he was pulling one of his teeth. The Alabama Highway Patrol says the truck driver told troopers he had taken his hands off the wheel to pull a loose tooth when he wrecked near Tuscaloosa. The crash report states: "He had the tooth in his shirt pocket as proof."

It’s Roy Moore, who’s already nationally famous for his willingness to defy federal courts. He got elected chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court in 2001, had a monument to the Ten Commandments installed on the courthouse grounds, then was tossed off the bench for refusing to comply when a federal judge ordered him to remove the monument to prevent a violation of the Establishment Clause. He got reelected chief justice a few years ago and now he’s going to defy the federal judiciary on another hot-button “values” issue, namely, last week’s ruling that the part of the Alabama...

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has released a letter to Gov. Robert Bentley saying that he intends to continue to recognize the state's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and urging the governor to do so. Moore's office released the three-page letter that was delivered to the governor this morning in response to a federal judge's ruling Friday striking down the ban. "As Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, I will continue to recognize the Alabama Constitution and the will of the people overwhelmingly expressed in the Sanctity of Marriage Amendment," Moore wrote.

MONTGOMERY – State Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, says she is considering bringing back this year legislation that says an abortion can’t be performed if a fetal heartbeat can be heard. The legislation makes it unlawful for a physician to perform an abortion if a heartbeat has been detected. Medical experts say a heartbeat can be detected around six to eight weeks. The restrictive and controversial legislation has been tied up in legal fights other states, but Collins said this week she is looking for another angle, with new and different language. “We’re trying to see what the courts have said...

Alabama's first openly gay state lawmaker threatened to "out" fellow elected officials engaged in extramarital affairs, especially those that champion family values and traditional marriage. State Rep. Patricia Todd's (D-Birmingham) ire came to a boil after several state officials reacted negatively to a recent federal ruling that declared Alabama's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard called the ruling "outrageous" and said that the will of 80% of Alabama citizens who voted in 2006 to define marriage as between a man and a woman has been overturned by the act of "a single unelected and unaccountable federal...

Alabama's first openly gay state legislator fired back on Facebook over the weekend, including a threat to expose the affairs of state officials, to comments made by Republican Party officials in the wake of a federal judge declaring the state ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. State Rep. Patricia Todd, D-Birmingham, said she was elated and in "shock" when the judge issued the order overturning Alabama's same-sex marriage ban. But after seeing comments by Republican officials, particularly from Alabama Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard, and seeing Attorney General Luther Strange's efforts to get a stay of the judge's orders, Todd...

Reddit users were asked “What’s the laziest thing you’ve ever done?” And one former sailor’s response is so incredible we had to share it. We usually only write about Alabama-related things, so let’s just assume this took place aboard one of the Alabama-built Littoral Combat Ships. I was once on a US military ship, having breakfast in the wardroom (officers lounge) when the Operations Officer (OPS) walks in. This guy was the definition of NOT a morning person; he’s still half asleep, bleary eyed… basically a zombie with a bagel. He sits down across from me to eat his bagel...

Ahead of the Martin Luther King holiday, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) compared the fight for amnesty for illegal immigrants to the march for voting rights in Selma, Alabama during a New Jersey stop on his nationwide executive amnesty tour.

Terry Turner, an African-American woman, is dealing with intense acts of racism in her community in Limestone, Alabama. According to WHNT 19-News, one of her white neighbors hurled large rocks into her home, breaking several of her windows. And most disturbing, the hooligans viciously scrawled racist graffiti on her beautiful home with spray paint, including the N-word. As of this date, the case has received very little media attention nationally. The incident happened on the night of New Year’s Eve, while Terry Turner was enjoying a night of celebration with her granddaughter. What should have been a celebratory experience...

A Dothan woman facing eight felony absentee ballot fraud charges pleaded guilty Tuesday afternoon to reduced misdemeanor charges. Janice Lee Hart, 64, pleaded guilty about midway through the prosecution’s evidence to eight misdemeanor counts of attempted absentee ballot fraud. Circuit Court Judge Brad Mendheim sentenced Hart to 12 months in the Houston County Jail for each charge, which he suspended in favor of two years probation for each charge. Mendheim ordered Hart to pay a $200 fine, a $25 victim’s compensation fee and court costs for each of the eight misdemeanor convictions. “You may not have any invovlment with any...

Cork Gaines January 13, 2015Ohio State won its eighth national championship in division 1-A/Football Bowl Subdivision history with their win over Oregon in the inaugural college football playoff championship. That win moves Ohio State into a tie with Notre Dame for the most championships during the poll era (1936-present), the most commonly used cut-off for counting titles. Ohio State is also now just two behind Alabama.(snip)(snip)

This school encourages food fights. An Alabama middle school asked students to bring canned goods to school so they can throw them at potential gunman. W.F. Burns Middle School in Valley, Ala., said the tactic is part of the ALICE method, which stands for alert, lockdown, inform, counter, evacuate, and teaches students what to do during a shooting. Principal Priscella Holley sent a note home to parents Friday asking them to send their students back to class with an eight-ounce can of beans, corn, soup or any other food. Arming kids with cans that can be used as weapons gives...

n the just-completed 2024 presidential election, the Republican Party has won the White House for a third consecutive time—only the third instance in a century that the GOP has managed this feat. So it’s worth pausing over the origins and causes of this political achievement—this Republican “triple play.” In particular, we might ask: What additional political force has given the GOP this newfound political muscle? After all, from 1992 to 2012, the GOP had lost four of six presidential elections—and five of six in the popular vote. And yet the Republican presidential victories of 2016, 2020, and 2024 cannot be...

~~snip~~ Voting against Boehner (10) Gohmert* Yoho* Rep. Steve King (Iowa) Rep. Jim Bridenstine (Okla.)* Rep. Dave Brat (Va.) (freshman) Rep. Walter Jones (N.C.)* Rep. Gary Palmer (Ala.) (freshman) Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.)* Rep. Paul Gosar (Ariz.) Rep. Marlin Stutzman (Ind.) Said prior to 2014 election that they would vote against Boehner (2) Rep. Jody Hice (Ga.) (freshman) Rep. John Ratfliffe (Tex.) (freshman) Voted against Boehner in 2013/haven't weighed in (2) Rep. Steve Pearce (N.M.) (spokesman says he's "undecided") Rep. Justin Amash (Mich.) Voted against Boehner in 2013/will support him (3) Rep. Mick Mulvaney (S.C.) Rep. Raul Labrador (Idaho) Rep....

With less than two minutes left in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday night, Ohio State, ahead by 7 points and having just recovered an onside kick by Alabama, tried a deep pass along the left sideline — Ohio State’s sideline. Standing near the bench, Jim Delany, the commissioner of the Big Ten Conference for 26 years, sprinted a few steps toward the field to catch a glimpse of the ball as it hurtled through the air. The pass fell incomplete, but his actions were a sign of the investment that not only Buckeyes fans, but fans of all Big Ten...

An atheist activist group is demanding an apology from a university chancellor over the contents of a video that he reportedly recently shared with students and staff members. American Atheists president David Silverman wrote a letter to Dr. Jack Hawkins, chancellor of Troy University in Troy, Alabama, on December 31, on behalf of a concerned student at the school who took issue with the video, which was reportedly included in the chancellor’s end-of-year email to students. The short clip featured comments from Clay Christensen, a noted professor at Harvard Business School, who discussed his views on religion and morality in American society. Christensen, a Mormon, said...

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Charges have been filed in the brutal beating death of Domino's pizza deliveryman Najeh Masaeid. Birmingham police today announced charges against the young suspect who lives at the apartment complex where the 63-year-old Masaeid was slain. The killing happened Dec. 21 at District at the Summit apartments off of U.S. 280 behind the shopping mall. Corey Arrington Jr., 17, is charged with capital murder during a robbery and robbery, said Birmingham homicide Sgt. John Tanks. Arrington is charged in the death of Masaeid and the November robbery of a Papa John's deliveryman. BPD's Crime Reduction Team took...