ATF: AL concealed-carry permits no longer acceptable in place of background checks
CULLMAN, Ala. - The U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on Monday issued an advisory to all Alabama federal firearms licensees (FFLs) saying, in part, "In the interest of public safety, and effective immediately, FFLs in Alabama may...
Attorney General Steve Marshall announces court win against Biden administration that lifts ban on new oil and gas drilling on federal lands
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that in response to a lawsuit filed by Alabama and 12 other states, a U.S. District Court in Louisiana has ordered the Biden administration to lift its ban on all new oil and gas leasing and...
Cullman native Jack St. John appointed General Services Administration general counsel
Jack St. John (Courtesy of www.gsa.gov)
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) today announced the appointment of Jack St. John as general counsel. St. John will oversee the Office of General Counsel, which consists of more than 130 attorneys nationwide, and serve...
Roy Moore: ‘I don’t even know the woman’
Roy Moore addresses the media Monday evening. Photo credit: ABC 33/40
CULLMAN - A fifth accuser came forward on Monday, alleging that Judge Roy Moore, Alabama candidate for U.S. Senate, sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager. In a press conference Monday afternoon, Attorney...
Dept. of Homeland Security issues National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday issued a National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Bulletin due to a “heightened threat environment across the United States that is likely to persist over the coming weeks.”
The bulletin is set to expire...
Donald Trump elected president
WASHINGTON (AP) - 2:29 a.m. Donald Trump has been elected president of the United States.
The Republican nominee won Wednesday after capturing Wisconsin's 10 electoral votes, putting him over the 270 threshold.
Voters eager to shake up the nation's political establishment picked the celebrity businessman to...
Cullman EMA’s Little wins prestigious 2018 IAEM-USA Clayton R. Christopher Memorial Award
Left to right: Commissioner Kerry Watson, Cullman County EMA Director Phyllis Little, Commissioner Garry Marchman and Commission Chairman Kenneth Walker pose for a photo in July, when Little was awarded the Pat Neuhauser Spirit of Emergency Management Award. On Oct. 24, Little was awarded...
Peace Corps celebrating 60th anniversary in March
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On March 1, the Peace Corps celebrates 60 years since President John F. Kennedy established the agency in 1961. The anniversary of the Peace Corps commemorates international peace and friendship, volunteerism and service. In that time, Alabama has produced 1,254 Peace...
Attorney General Steve Marshall warns President Biden to drop illegal vaccine mandate or face lawsuit
MONTGOMERY, Ala. —Attorney General Steve Marshall warned President Joe Biden that he will face a lawsuit if his administration proceeds with his mandate that private-sector employees either get a COVID-19 shot, submit to weekly testing or be fired. Attorney General Marshall joined a coalition...
Local officials meet with British MP David Duguid during stop in Cullman
CULLMAN – Mr. David Duguid, of the Scottish Conservative Party and a Member of British Parliament (MP) for Banff and Buchan since June 2017, recently visited Cullman with U.S. Congressman Robert Aderholt. Mr. Duguid is a participant in the 41st Annual British-American Parliamentary Group...
Moore responds again to allegations of sexual misconduct
(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
MONTGOMERY - Judge Roy Moore responded again today to allegations that surfaced Thursday morning in a report from The Washington Post that Moore initiated a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl when he was 32, and an assistant district attorney, in...
Trump administration removes more abortion protections; Ivey responds
Gov. Kay Ivey, seen here on Monday, Jan.15, 2018 in Montgomery, on Friday voiced her support of President Donald Trump's actions on abortion. / Photo: Governor's Office, Hal Yeager
MONTGOMERY - The Trump administration on Friday further solidified its stance on fighting abortion, announcing two...
Census Bureau ramps up hiring efforts for 2020 Census
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Census Bureau is ramping up its national recruiting efforts to hire up to 500,000 temporary, part-time census takers for the 2020 Census in communities across the country to reach its goal of more than 2 million applicants.
The positions offer...
Huntsville man pleads guilty to attempting to provide material support to ISIS
Aziz Ihab Sayyed / Madison County
HUNTSVILLE - Earlier this week, a one-count information was filed charging Aziz Ihab Sayyed, 23, of Huntsville, Alabama, with attempting to provide services and personnel, namely himself, to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign...
AG Marshall joins 13-state coalition in suit to stop Biden’s ban on new oil and gas drilling on federal lands
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Attorney General Steve Marshall joined 12 other state attorneys general in filing suit Wednesday to block the Biden administration's ban on all future oil and gas leasing and drilling permits on federal lands.
“Seven days after President Biden was sworn into office,...
FEMA to reimburse families for funerals of loved ones who died from COVID-19
WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Monday FEMA announced it is setting up a program to help reimburse families funeral costs of loved who died from COVID-19.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought overwhelming grief to many families. At FEMA, our mission is to help people before, during...
Convicted murderer Charles Manson dead at 83
LOS ANGELES - Cult leader and murder mastermind Charles Manson, whose name became synonymous with horrific crime in 1969, has died, according to a media release from the California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation.
Below is the media release, in full:
Inmate Charles Manson, 83, died...
USDA seeks applications for Rural Energy for America Program
WASHINGTON, D.C. - United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Bette Brand recently invited applications for loan guarantees and grants for renewable energy systems and to make energy efficiency improvements, conduct energy audits and provide development assistance.
The funding is...
NASA, SpaceX sign joint spaceflight safety agreement
WASHINGTON, D.C. - NASA and SpaceX have signed a joint agreement to formalize both parties’ strong interest in the sharing of information to maintain and improve space safety. This agreement enables a deeper level of coordination, cooperation and data sharing, and defines the arrangement,...
USPS to raise shipping rates, stamps rising in cost by July 10, 2022
WASHINGTON, DC — On Wednesday, the United States Postal Service filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) of price changes to take effect July 10, 2022.
According to information released on July 6 state, “The new prices, if favorably reviewed, include a two-cent increase...
NASA statement on National Aerospace Week
WASHINGTON D.C. - The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on National Aerospace Week, hosted by Aerospace Industries Sept. 13-17. This week recognizes innovations from aerospace manufacturers, suppliers and workforce.
“As we mark the 11th anniversary of National Aerospace Week, the Biden-Harris...
Jones, Shelby on Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to Supreme Court
CULLMAN, Ala. - Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed to the United States Supreme Court Monday night, filling the vacancy left by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The United States Senate confirmed Barrett by a vote of 52-48.
Here's what Alabama's two senators, Democrat Doug...
Attorney General Steve Marshall defends free speech and religious rights of embattled cakebaker Jack Phillips
MONTGOMERY, Ala.—Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has filed an amicus brief supporting the free speech right of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Colorado to decline to create a custom cake celebrating a gender transition.
Jack Phillips is a devout Christian who makes custom cakes at his family-owned...
Go, Dragon, go! First crewed space launch from American soil since 2011
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Private spaceflight developer SpaceX and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on Saturday afternoon launched two astronauts on a test flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon space vehicle lifted by a SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket, the first time since the...
Return to the Great Smoky Mountains: Gatlinburg
New attractions like the “tree-based” family adventure park Anakeesta are appearing along Gatlinburg’s main thoroughfares. / W.C. Mann
GATLINBURG - Right in the heart of Gatlinburg’s tourist district the main road forks, and in the fork sits the iconic (at least to us hill country...
Opioid crisis: national public health leaders offer advice to local communities
BALTIMORE - At “America’s Opioid Epidemic: From Evidence to Impact,” a national summit conference at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health on Monday, Oct. 30, public health leaders and political leaders who have been involved in confronting drug abuse through their...
Recent drop in lumber prices doesn’t tell full story
AUBURN UNIVERSITY, Ala. – After a year of record-high lumber prices, headlines across the country are reporting a 40% plunge in prices since May. However, this staggering statistic doesn’t tell the full story. The bottom line? Lumber prices are still immensely higher than before...
Nation mourns the loss of 13 United States service members in Thursday’s bombing in Kabul
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - The 13 United States service members killed last Thursday by an Isis-K suicide bomber at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware Sunday. President Joe Biden met with the family members of the 11...
Attorney General Steve Marshall leads 17 states in Supreme Court brief supporting religious charity’s right to hire people who share its faith
MONTGOMERY, Ala.—Attorney General Steve Marshall led a coalition of 17 states in filing a brief Thursday before the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the religious liberty of Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission. The Mission is seeking Supreme Court review of a recent ruling by...
Biden administration drops Critical Race Theory from education program
MONTGOMERY, Ala.—Attorney General Steve Marshall said the Biden administration decision to back away from mandating Critical Race Theory in a public school history grant program is the result of strong opposition from the American people to the controversial and misguided race-based doctrine being injected...
Attorney General Steve Marshall leads 17 states in Supreme Court brief supporting religious charity’s right to hire people who share its faith
MONTGOMERY, Ala.—Attorney General Steve Marshall led a coalition of 17 states in filing a brief Thursday before the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the religious liberty of Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission. The Mission is seeking Supreme Court review of a recent ruling by...
NASA to conduct 2nd hot fire test of rocket for Artemis moon missions
BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. - NASA is planning the final test in the Green Run testing series for the core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will launch the agency’s Artemis I mission.
The team is targeting Thursday, Feb. 25 for the...
FBI warns: scams on the rise during COVID-19 pandemic; IRS advice on stimulus payments
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is warning people that the rise in fear due from the COVID-19 pandemic is also giving rise to increased efforts on the part of scammers to steal your money through fraudulent donations or schemes to...
Shipping deadlines to meet while online Christmas shopping
CULLMAN, Ala. - In order for your holiday packages to arrive by Dec. 24, frequently used shipping services have provided their recommended last days to ship by.
The last day to ship with UPS Ground varies depending on the cities being shipped from and to,...
(UPDATED) No end in sight for national baby formula shortage
CULLMAN, Ala. - The nationwide baby formula shortage is the latest product shortage over the past two years. Following limited supplies of toilet paper and disinfectants, formula availability has been reduced by up to 30-40%.
A trip down the aisles of local retailers tells the...
Biden takes office
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States Wednesday, inheriting what the Associated Press referred to as “a confluence of crises arguably greater than any faced by his predecessors.”
“Amid a devastating pandemic and the threat of...
Identity of five US Navy sailors killed in San Diego helicopter crash released
WASHINGTON D.C. - The United States Navy released the identities of the five sailors who were killed when their helicopter crashed off the coast of San Diego on August 31. The MH-60S was operating from the USS Abraham Lincoln. One sailor survived the crash...
Jeff Sessions confirmed as attorney general
Jeff Sessions testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Source: AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
(RNN) - The Senate has confirmed Sen. Jeff Sessions as U.S. Attorney General.
Sessions was confirmed by a vote of 52-47. He needed...
NASA names headquarters after ‘Hidden Figure’ Mary W. Jackson
WASHINGTON, D.C. - NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced this week the agency’s headquarters building in Washington, D.C. will be named after Mary W. Jackson, the first African American female engineer at NASA. The naming was official Friday.
Jackson started her NASA career in the segregated...
Return to the Great Smoky Mountains: Pigeon Forge
A panoramic view of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park along the south side of Gatlinburg shows evidence of substantial recovery in both the natural and man-made categories. / W.C. Mann
PIGEON FORGE - On Nov. 23, 2016, a fire started in the Great Smoky...
NASA, SpaceX to launch 2nd Commercial Crew rotation mission to International Space Station
WASHINGTON, D.C. - NASA and SpaceX are continuing a regular cadence of missions with astronauts launching on an American rocket from American soil to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 is the second crew rotation mission with four astronauts...
Federal student loan repayment pause extended through August 2022
WASHINGTON D.C. - Earlier this month, the Biden administration and U.S. Department of Education announced they were extending the current pause of federal student loans along with interest and collections. The extension will run through August 31, 2022.
With many borrowers still feeling the negative...
Kremlin announces refusal to honor Geneva Convention with two Alabamian detainees
Two Alabamian veteran volunteers in the Ukrainian war, Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, of Hartselle, and Alexander John Robert Drueke, of Tuscaloosa, were taken by the Russian forces near Kharkiv, approximately 25 miles from the border with Russia.
Huynh, 27, a Marine veteran, and Drueke, 39,...
Conservative leaders react to death of Rush Limbaugh
PALM BEACH, Fla. - Conservative radio host, author, political commentator and giant in American media, Rush Hudson Limbaugh III, died Wednesday at the age of 70 after battling lung cancer. Limbaugh announced last year that his cancer was terminal.
Limbaugh, wrote USA Today, was a...
NASA TV to air first US commercial crew port relocation on Space Station
HOUSTON, TX. - NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts aboard the International Space Station will mark another first for commercial spaceflight Monday, April 5, when the four astronauts will relocate the Crew Dragon spacecraft to prepare for the arrival of new crew members in late April and the...
ALGOP statement on Sen. Jeff Sessions’ nomination for U.S. attorney general
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama
MONTGOMERY - On Friday morning, President-elect Donald Trump announced that U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama will serve in his cabinet as U.S. Attorney General. Alabama Republican Party Chairman Terry Lathan issued the following statement on the nomination:
"The Alabama Republican Party is...
NASA to air briefing, spacewalks to upgrade space station
WASHINGTON D.C. - Crew members from International Space Station Expedition 66 will conduct two spacewalks Tuesday, March 15, and Wednesday, March 23, to continue upgrades to the orbiting laboratory.
NASA will discuss the upcoming spacewalks during a news conference at 2:00 p.m. EDT Monday, March...
Trump impeached for 2nd time
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time following the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by what authorities are calling a mob of Trump loyalists.
Trump faces a single charge of...
‘Find a way to serve’
COLUMBIA FALLS, ME — Each year, millions of Americans come together to REMEMBER the fallen, HONOR those that serve and their families and TEACH the next generation about the value of freedom. This gathering of volunteers and patriots takes place in local and national...
Aderholt: Bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act will be released within 10 days
U.S. Rep Robert Aderholt, R-Alabama
CULLMAN - Alabama State Treasurer Young Boozer may have been the featured guest speaker at Saturday’s Cullman County Republican meeting, but it was U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt, R- Alabama who stole the show. All eyes were fixed on Aderholt as...
Lawmakers, leaders react to Bentley’s resignation, Ivey as new governor
ALABAMA - Reactions from lawmakers and leaders around the state are pouring in following the resignation of Alabama's 53rd governor, Robert Julian Bentley. Bentley resigned amidst allegations he covered up an affair with an aide and plead guilty to misdemeanor charges in relation to...
Alabama AG Strange seeks to replace Sessions in Senate
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange says he will seek the U.S. Senate seat left open if incumbent Jeff Sessions is confirmed to be attorney general under president-elect Donald Trump.
Gov. Robert Bentley would appoint Sessions' interim replacement until there's an election...
‘To prevent and deter’: Trump’s statement on Syria strike
By The Associated Press
Text of President Donald Trump's statement on Thursday night's cruise missile strike on Syria, as provided by the White House:
___
My fellow Americans:
On Tuesday, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad launched a horrible chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians. Using a deadly nerve agent,...
Aderholt issues statement on Sessions
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Alabama today released the following statement regarding allegations of improper meetings between then Sen. Jeff Sessions and Russian diplomats.
“The unsubstantiated allegations about Russian coordination are becoming almost like the ‘birther’ issue of the Democratic party,” said Robert...
