Alabama top stories in brief

• The U.S. Department of Justice has joined a lawsuit against Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall over Marshall’s statements that healthcare providers could face felony charges for assisting Alabamians in traveling to other states for abortions. The lawsuit was originally filed in July by the ACLU and ACLU of Alabama on behalf of several medical groups. In their motion, the DOJ argues that the right to travel includes the right to “an individual’s right to engage in conduct that is lawful in other states while in those states, regardless of their home state’s laws.” The DOJ referenced Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson, the case which overturned Roe v. Wade, in which Kavanaugh stated definitely that states cannot prevent organizations or individuals from assisting people in traveling to other states for abortions. 

• A $515,000 bill to Alabama for the work done by the special master team that drew the new congressional map for Alabama was presented in court filings. If the bill is approved by a federal court, then Alabama will have 30 days to pay. The special master was appointed to draw the congressional maps after Alabama’s presented maps failed to fulfill the requirements of the court. 

• The construction process for Alabama’s new statehouse has officially started. While ground has not been broken yet, the designs for the state house have been approved by a subcommittee in the legislature. Legislators have reported that the state house has been deteriorating for years, and this year, Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill that authorized the construction of a new statehouse. Currently, the cost for the new state house has not been determined. A cost estimate will be provided later in the planning process. Currently, some of the detail work for the interior of the state house is still being planned. It is expected that it will take around three years to construct the new statehouse, which will be the first new state house constructed in the U.S. since 1977.

• It’s been nine months since U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville initiated a hold on military nominations because of the Pentagon’s abortion policy. Recently, he announced concessions that he would be willing to make to begin ushering in some of the nominations. One compromise is to shift the burden of spending from taxpayers to private sources for covering abortion procedures. Tuberville also said that he would end his blockade if the National Defense Authorization Act went through the Democratically controlled Senate with the abortion restrictions that are present in the Republican controlled House version. Biden and the Pentagon have not moved in their stance on the abortion policy, and Biden has stated that he would veto the NDAA if the abortion restrictions were to pass. 

• Birmingham-Southern continues to deal with financial struggles, and faces the threat of closing after the State of Alabama declines additional aid. After passing legislation offering $30 million for “distressed” higher education institutions, Birmingham-Southern’s application was denied by the State Treasurer, Young Boozer. Boozer has refused to give any leeway amid students and alumnus making claims to the importance of Birmingham-Southern to them, the community and future students like them. About 50 students went to Montgomery to try to speak to Boozer about the status of Birmingham-Southern, but Boozer did not meet with them, and students instead left letters for him to read. 

Announcements

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Our articles you might have missed

• Gina Yoder is a local artist who specializes in creating items out of upcycled cotton t-shirts. In “Gina Yoder: The art of using what you have,” by our editor in chief, Harrison Neville, Yoder talks about the inspiration for her work, her process and how she uses each part of the t-shirt. 

• In the latest episode of From Dusk to Dawn, Josie and Harrison explain the concept of empathetic journalism. They discuss the role empathy plays in good journalism, the importance of trying to understand those you interview and how empathetic journalism could help improve public trust in journalists.

Events this week

• Alabama Invitational: An exhibition featuring work created by current and former Alabama artists in the mediums of sculpture, glass, photography, painting and textiles produced by artists originally from or currently based in Alabama. View more details on our event calendar. 

• If you’re interested in having your event advertised on our calendar, you can submit events here.