Alabama top stories in brief

• Casey McWhorter was executed last Thursday by Alabama for the 1993 murder of Edward Lee Williams. It was the second execution performed by Alabama this year. The execution for another prisoner on death row, Kenneth Eugene Smith, was set earlier this month by Gov. Kay Ivey to occur between 12 am Jan. 25, 2024 and 6 am on Jan. 26, 2024. 

• Four U.S. Republican Senators held the senate floor for hours early Thursday morning to attempt to convince Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville to end his block on military promotions. The senators, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Todd Young of Indiana, Joni Ernst of Iowa and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina held the senate floor until almost 4 a.m. speaking about the problems they said Tuberville’s block has caused. Usually, the Senate confirms military promotions en masse via unanimous consent. Without unanimous consent, each promotion must be handled individually. Since early 2023, Tuberville has prevented this from occurring as a response to the Department of Defense’s policy announced in February providing assistance to service members seeking an abortion who are stationed in a state that does not allow abortion. While Tuberville’s colleagues agreed with his stance on the Pentagon’s new policy, they said that the block, which has affected over 350 service members so far and is expected to impact hundreds more if it continues, is actively harming American military preparedness and hurting service members. Now, Democrats on the Rules Committee have put a rule change up for vote that would allow the Senate to vote in mass on promotions. If approved, the rule change would only stay in effect through the end of this congressional season. 

• The Alabama Public Library Service Board voted to table a motion to leave the American Library Association until March, when the current membership will expire. Members of the board said they wanted more time to gather information and determine the impact leaving would have on the APLS. Both Gov. Kay Ivey and members of the Alabama Legislature have recently been pushing for the APLS to end its relationship with the ALA. Prior to the meeting, APLS Director Nancy Pack released a memo stating she recommended that the board end its relationship with ALA. 

• Avian influenza, also known as bird flu, has quickly become a topic of urgent concern within Alabama. Since 2022, there have been 49 million documented cases in the United States, per the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Bird flu is especially threatening in Alabama as poultry is the second-largest industry in the state. Within Alabama, there have been two outbreaks in the past month. The outbreaks have led to more than 300,000 affected poultry.  In an Alabama State Board of Agriculture meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 15, Tony Frazier, the state veterinarian stated that if need be, Gov. Kay Ivey may be asked to call upon the National Guard for assistance. 

• In September, Alabama cut the state grocery tax from 4% to 3%. It is the first reduction made by the state government since 1939. Groups in Alabama have supported the tax as they’ve claimed the previous full tax on groceries disproportionately affected low income Alabamians through food security. An Alabama Joint Study commission, however, has looked at the effects of the tax cut, and the potential effects towards a slower education budget growth. The Educational Trust Fund specifically relies on the grocery tax. The ETF is approximately $75 million lower than it was at the same time last year. One suggestion to increase revenue for the ETF was to pass a state service tax. However it was brought up that it could also be seen as a regressive tax. The commission will continue to research the grocery tax and possible additional revenue sources until a final report in 2026. 

Announcements

• If you didn’t see it in our October wrap-up, we have a fall feedback survey that we’d love for you to take. We want to make sure that we are providing the best possible news service that we can, so hearing your opinion matters. 

Our articles you might have missed

• 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.

• 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. 

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.