Alabama Reflector

11/14/2025

Voters in east Alabama will choose between two Republican candidates in a special primary runoff election Tuesday in House District 38. https://ow.ly/tMyG50XrcGo

11/14/2025

Alabama public school made improvements on the state's annual report card, released on Thursday, boosted in part by gains in English Language Arts and math proficiency. https://ow.ly/F2MS50XrqnK

11/14/2025

As the government began to reopen Thursday, officials were working to untangle those issues and others. But in some areas, the processes for getting things back to normal after such a lengthy shutdown will also take time. https://ow.ly/U2tU50XrpZv

11/14/2025

Congress has roughly two months to find bipartisan agreement to curb rising health insurance costs if lawmakers want to avoid another government shutdown. https://ow.ly/G07P50XrmjF

11/13/2025

Via Stateline: Homicide rates among pregnant women increase with the rate of firearm ownership, according to a state-by-state study published this week in the medical journal JAMA Network Open.

Homicide rates among pregnant women increase with the rate of firearm ownership, according to a state-by-state study published this week in the medical journal JAMA Network Open. Researchers found the firearm homicide rate for pregnant women was 37% higher than the rate for nonpregnant women. Suspec...

11/13/2025

Alabama's infant mortality rate dropped from 7.8 deaths per 1,000 births in 2023 to 7.1 deaths per 1,000 births in 2024. But the overall rate remains higher than the nation's, and the Black infant mortality rate is more than double the white infant mortality rate.

Dr. Scott Harris said Thursday that the state's infant mortality rate was 7.1 babies per 1,000 live births in 2024, a drop from 2023.

11/13/2025

Alabama State Schools Superintendent Eric Mackey said the department "had a lot of questions that came in from board members right at the last minute."

Alabama State Board of Education members did not vote on social studies or arts education textbooks Thursday as originally intended.

11/13/2025

A state board Wednesday approved grants for 50 hospitals around the state, aimed at helping alleviate funding crisis for many rural health centers. The grants cannot address deeper funding issues with the hospitals. https://ow.ly/VLaP50XqQex

11/13/2025

The Alabama Community College System will seek pay raises for instructors for the fiscal year 2027, citing a growing gap between community college and K-12 pay and the need to retain instructors. https://ow.ly/YhbI50XqQaE

11/13/2025

Via Stateline: Families of Black homicide victims in the United States are more likely than any other group to seek financial assistance through state victim compensation programs — and they are the most likely to be denied, according to a new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Race and Justice. https://ow.ly/7Uvi50XqzMB

11/12/2025

House Republican leaders need nearly all of their members to back the deal after the balance of power in the House shifted to 219-214 once Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., swore in Arizona Democratic Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva.

Democrats are expected to oppose the package en masse, though a few centrists may vote for it, despite party leaders whipping against the measure.

11/12/2025

The chairs of the Alabama Legislature’s education budget committees are drafting legislation that could change the funding mechanisms for higher education, potentially tying some funding to educational outcomes, like workforce placement.

The bill provides additional funding to colleges and universities should they meet specific benchmarks tied to outcomes decided by lawmakers.