For the next month or so, we will be conducting an internal audit of the Alabama Roundup to experiment with different formats, and we want your feedback! You can read more about this week’s changes below.

Alabama top stories in brief

Education

Racist text messages received by Black students at UA

• A number of Black students at the University of Alabama have reported receiving racist text messages.

• The texts, all similar in format, notify the recipient that they have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest cotton plantation.

• Other universities in Alabama and the South, such as Alabama State University and Fisk University in Tennessee, have recorded similar incidents.

• The University of Alabama’s executive director of communications, Deidre Simmons, has reported the text to local authorities. 

Environment

Seven months after deadly home explosion, federal regulators investigate mine at Oak Grove

• In March 2024 a home exploded in Oak Grove due to a buildup of methane gas at a nearby coal mine.

• Lawyers for Crimson Oak Grove Resources, which operates the mine, have denied liability for the explosion, which left two critically injured, one of who eventually died from his wounds.

• Francis Piccoli, chief of communications for the federal agency overseeing the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, wrote in an email that the agency has been “monitoring” the Oak Grove situation and decided to conduct a federal inspection seven-and-a-half months after the explosion.

Government/Politics

Key election results from across the state

• In the presidential race, former president and now president elect Donald Trump won the state for the third consecutive election.

• Democrat Shomari Figures won the U.S. House race for Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, a newly redrawn district, beating out Republican Caroleene Dobson.

• In other U.S. House races, Republican U.S. Rep. Barry Moore won in District 1, Republican U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer was reelected in District 6 and Democrat U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell was reelected in District 7.

• In a state race, Sarah Stewart, a Republican, was elected to be the next state supreme court justice. 

Economy/business

Alabama found to have one of the highest percentages of financial hardship

• New information from the U.S. Census finds that Alabama’s households hold some of the highest rates of financial hardship in the country.

• According to the Household Pulse Survey, which is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, 41% of Alabama households said “they had a somewhat difficult or very difficult time in the week leading up to the survey.”

• A regressive tax system, grocery tax, low-paying wages and rising prices of necessities are credited to exacerbating the issue, according to policymakers and advocates.

Judge rules that Amazon committed violations for previous union vote at Bessemer warehouse

• Both Amazon and the union organizers have said that they will appeal the decision. 

• The union wants the judge to require training for supervisors on labor laws and access to private meetings between company representatives and workers, and believes that without these requirements, Amazon will commit future violations in this next election.

• This will be the third vote in three years to form a union at Amazon, since the National Labor Relations Board found improper interference from the retail company during its first election in 2021, which led to a new vote being taken in 2022.  

Criminal Justice

Alabama inmate’s request to block nitrogen execution denied

• Carey Dale Grayson, an Alabama inmate scheduled to be executed this month by way of nitrogen hypoxia, requested that the method of using nitrogen be blocked; a federal judge denied his request.

• Along with three others, Grayson took part in the kidnapping and murder of Vickie Deblieux, a hitchhiker trying to get to Louisiana, in 1996.

• Grayson cited a violation of his Eighth Amendment rights in his request for stay of execution, particularly stating that the use of nitrogen gas is cruel, unusual and heightens mental suffering.

• U.S. District Court Judge R. Austin denied Grayson’s request, saying, “Other courts have held that psychological pain or mental suffering cannot by itself support an Eighth Amendment claim.”

Our articles you might have missed

• In this month’s edition of The Longleaf Hiker, Xander travels to the hidden gem of Ruffner Mountain. Tucked away in Birmingham, Ruffner offers a wonderful place for local residents to spend time learning about nature, hiking beautiful trails and watching planes depart the Birmingham airport from stunning overlooks. 

Announcements 

• We are testing some changes with the Alabama Roundup in the next few weeks. As you may have noticed, this week we changed the presentation of the Alabama top stories, utilizing section headers and a bullet pointed format to provide briefer overviews of multiple stories. Let us know what you thought about these changes by responding to this short survey here. Survey participants will be entered in the chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card in mid-December, just in time for last minute Christmas shopping! You must provide your email address in order to be a part of the raffle for the gift card. Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and will inform how the Alabama Roundup will look in the future! 

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