Alabama top stories in brief

This past weekend, parts of Alabama witnessed a once in a generation astronomical event. Due to a geomagnetic storm, rated a G5, the first since 2003, Alabamians could see the northern lights across the state. With the storm already over, people have been sharing their photos of the pink and green skies all over social media. The origin of the storm is a cluster of sunspots on the sun producing large solar flares that eventually reach Earth. The particles and radiation from the flares are what we see when we view the aurora borealis.

The National Labor Relations Board is investigating the Vance Mercedes-Benz plant for six unfair labor practice charges. The charges, made by United Auto Workers, allege that Mercedes-Benz has deliberately interfered as union elections quickly approach at the plant. The charges also allege that the Vance plant has disciplined employees for talking about unions at work, restricted union materials, surveilled and monitored employees, removed union supporting employees, forced employees in captive audience meetings and made anti-union statements. Mercedes-Benz has stated they have not interfered with any of the union processes or employees who support unionization. Similar charges have been brought against Hyundai’s Montgomery plant but have not been made official. Both plants are witnessing unionization efforts and will be voting on unionization with the UAW in the upcoming weeks.

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson denied a request by Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall to dismiss lawsuits filed against his office over comments made by Marshall suggesting that his office could prosecute those who assist women in traveling to other states for abortions. The organizations who filed the suits are seeking a ruling clarifying that the state is not able to prosecute individuals for that assistance. While Thompson has not yet issued an official ruling, he has agreed with the plaintiffs that the attorney general is unable to “prosecute people for acts taken within the State meant to facilitate lawful out of state conduct, including obtaining an abortion.”

Last week, Alabama A&M University offered $52 million to purchase Birmingham-Southern College. The offer was not just for the campus, but would also retain the school’s faculty and staff, and operate it as a standalone campus that falls under AAUM’s umbrella. If BSC agrees to the offer, AAUM says they can have around 1,000 students on the campus by fall 2025.

A lawsuit alleging that recent policies adopted by the Autauga-Prattville Library violated the first and fourteenth amendment was filed last week. The policies adopted by the library board require the removal of books from the children and teen’s section that involve sex, obscenity, sexual orientation and gender identity. Additionally, books that fall into those categories will not be allowed to be checked out by anyone under 17, and the new policy calls for all books to have labels marking them as including those issues. The lawsuit alleges that the policy is too broad and violates the first amendment by discriminating on the basis of content and the fourteenth amendment’s due process requirement by not providing clear guidelines regarding what is prohibited. The Autauga-Prattville library has been the focal point for much of the debate in Alabama regarding rules for public libraries.

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The Alabama legislative session officially ended last week. This means that all bills that will be sent to Gov. Kay Ivey by the legislature have been sent, but it does not necessarily guarantee they will all pass, since Ivey has the ability to veto them. By early next week, we will know for sure exactly which bills have passed.

Xander Swain

Xander Swain helps write the Alabama Roundup and writes The Longleaf Hiker. He has a BS in political science, environmental studies and sociology and is excited to help out with Alabama Roundup. In his free time, Xander enjoys hiking around Alabama and cooking for his friends and family.
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Harrison Neville | Editor in chief

Harrison Neville is the editor in chief for The Sunrise News. He graduated the University of Montevallo with a BA in English and a minor in game studies and design. While at UM he worked for four years at the university’s collegiate newspaper, The Alabamian, and served as editor in chief his senior year. He is an avid outdoorsman who loves to spend time backpacking and hiking. He also has been a soccer referee for over 8 years. When he’s not on the trail or the field, you can probably find him reading books, writing or playing games with friends.
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