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Scientists say ‘sound science’ bills set ‘insurmountable burden of proof’ for regulations

Sen. Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva, speaking to a colleague on the floor of the Alabama Senate on Feb. 26, 2026, in Montgomery, Alabama. Chesteen sponsored SB 71, one of several "sound science" bills moving through state legislatures that make it harder for environmental agencies to approve new regulations. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector) This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News , a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here . A series of Republican state legislatures are advancing, or have already passed, laws severely limiting the ability of state agencies to set environmental regulations, despite warnings from the scientific community that such measures could increase risk of serious health problems, including cancers. Versions of a “Sound Science” bill, proffered by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and supported by other business trade groups, have been signed into law in Alab...

Trump sends mixed signals on Iran war end, pushes election overhaul bill

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters during a news conference in Doral, Florida, on March 9, 2026. Trump spoke about his administration's strikes on Iran. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images) President Donald Trump on Monday told House Republicans, who were gathered in Florida for a policy retreat, that he expects the war in Iran will wrap up “quickly,” though he didn’t give a specific date or detail exactly what he wants to do before ending the hostilities. “We took a little excursion because we felt we had to do that to get rid of some evil,” he said. “And I think you’ll see it’s going to be a short-term excursion.” Trump added later in his speech that the U.S. military “will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated.” During a press conference afterward, Trump said the U.S. military had struck 5,000 locations inside Iran but that he was holding off on bombing some of the country’s larger targets to see if its leaders would allow ships ...

Gas prices spike across US amid Iran war

An Iranian flag is planted in the rubble of a police station, damaged in airstrikes on March 3, 2026, in Tehran. The United States and Israel have continued the joint attack on Iran that began on Feb. 28. Iran retaliated by firing waves of missiles and drones at Israel, and targeting U.S. allies in the region. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — Americans are paying more for gas Monday as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran chokes off a significant route for roughly one-fifth of the world’s petroleum products. Global prices for Brent crude oil, the international standard, climbed over $100 a barrel. Prices were just above $70 a barrel in the days before the U.S. and Israel launched a surprise Feb. 28 attack on Iran, killing the regime’s top leader and other powerful government figures. The spike, which peaked at $119.50 per barrel early Monday, caused ricochets throughout markets, with major stock indexes falling worldwide. Oil prices have not reached costs above $100 p...

Temporarily banning data centers draws more interest from state, local officials

An Amazon Web Services data center is shown situated near single-family homes. Some local and state officials across the country want to halt development of the facilities. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images) As communities’ concerns grow over rising electricity prices and the environmental effects of data centers, some local and state officials want to halt development of the facilities. Lawmakers in at least 11 states — Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin — have introduced legislation this session that would temporarily ban data centers, according to Good Jobs First , a watchdog group that focuses on economic development incentives. While some of the measures would establish an indefinite moratorium, others would ban new data centers for several years. The Vermont measure , for example, would ban new data center projects through July 2030. The New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma a...

There’s a mundane reason for Alabama’s high power bills. Our leaders don’t want to hear it.

Senate President Pro Tempore Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, adjusts his glasses at a lectern in the Alabama Senate on May 6, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. Gudger claimed after a bill ending PSC elections was withdrawn that financier George Soros had helped elect Democrats to Georgia's Public Service Commission. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) There’s a saying astronomers use when we get reports hinting at that ever-elusive first contact or close encounter. It’s never aliens . In other words, don’t get ahead of the evidence. You say there could be life in the Venusian clouds or massive constructions around a faraway star? Amazing, if true. But don’t dismiss that “if.” Mundane explanations are common; exciting ones are rare. And in both those cases , the less-dramatic answers prevailed. The scope of the universe is long, and it tends toward banality. Alabama politics are often metaphysical , but rarely cosmic, even if we tend to crater on ...

Voting rights, Supreme Court lead concerns amid Bloody Sunday commemoration

The Rev. Al Sharpton poses for a photo with a group after crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge with marchers on the 61st anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Ala. Rep. Phillip Ensler, D-Montgomery, walks across the Edmund Pettus Bridge with marchers on the 61st anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Ala. (Estela Munoz for Alabama Reflector) SELMA — Brown Chapel A.M.E Church reopened Sunday after a five-year closure due to renovations. But for many speakers commemorating the 61st anniversary of Bloody Sunday, many of the issues of civil rights and voting access remained as timely — and dire — as they were in 2020, and even 1965. “The problem isn’t Trump, the problem is us,” Rev. Al Sharpton said in a speech in the church on Sunday. “If we could beat Bull Connor, if we can beat George Wallace, if we can beat Lester Maddox, then why are we acting like we don’t have the blood of the soldiers and the warriors?” GET THE MORNING HEADLINES. SUBSCRIBE T he ceremony was...