Nwexx

Federal investigators search through bushes outside a house in Rhode Island. Violent crime in the United States fell by an estimated 9.3% in 2025. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) Violent crime in the United States fell by an estimated 9.3% in 2025, marking the largest year-to-year decline in the national violent crime rate since the FBI began estimating crime in 1936, according to new national data . The estimated murder and nonnegligent manslaughter rate also fell 18.1%, to 4.1 killings per 100,000 people — tying the lowest rate recorded since national estimates began. The rate matches those recorded in 1955 and 1956, according to the FBI. The decline across major crime categories was broad. The estimated robbery rate fell 18.5%, aggravated assault fell 7.2% and rape fell 7.6%. Property crime also dropped sharply, declining 12.4% from 2024. Motor vehicle theft fell 22.7%, while burglary declined 15.8%. The FBI’s figures are based on reports of crimes submitted by l...

I was troubled to recently read comments by Alabama U.S. Sens. Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville about Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan, and his supporters. Britt called him a “terrorist sympathizer” and a “jihadist sympathizer” on television. Sen. Tuberville went a step further and posted online that Dr. El-Sayed is a “terrorist” and a “radical Islamist.” These are inflammatory accusations leveled at a physician and public servant who has spent his career trying to make the lives of Americans better. I have been a fan of Dr. El-Sayed for years, reading his books (“Healing Politics” and “Medicare for All”) and listening to his podcast (“America Dissected.”) He is a family man who went into public health after seeing how broken our health care system is. El-Sayed became an avid advocate for better and more affordable access to health care for Americans. His campaign for the U.S. Senate is centered on “Medicare for All” and redu...

A mother and her son hold hands on a swing set. This year, more state and local leaders are pushing to hold parents accountable for their children’s behavior, particularly when it involves serious criminal offenses. (Photo by Troy Bennett/Maine Morning Star) When young children and teenagers get into trouble, the question often comes quickly: Where were their parents? That question is again shaping public policy in communities across the country, as state and local lawmakers and prosecutors increasingly look for ways to respond to concerns about youth crime and public disorder. Some proposals would strengthen enforcement of existing laws that allow parents to be fined or otherwise held responsible for their children’s conduct. Others would impose youth curfews or establish new requirements for parents to perform community service or pay fines — measures considered in places such as Albany County, New York; Chicago; and Columbus, Ohio. But experts note there’s little proof the la...

Jackson Hospital is seen in Montgomery, Alabama on Aug. 17, 2026. Officials with the hospital, which declared bankruptcy in 2025, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama announced an agreement Monday to keep the hospital open. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector) A troubled Montgomery hospital and the state’s largest private health insurance company reached a four-year deal Monday to keep the hospital open after years of financial woes. The deal between Jackson Hospital and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama is contingent on the hospital emerging out of bankruptcy, said John Quinlivan, Jackson Hospital’s president and CEO, at a press conference announcing the deal on Monday afternoon. Jackson Hospital filed for bankruptcy in 2025 and has struggled financially for years.  “The agreement does not give us everything we felt we needed, but combined with the continued support of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, Jackson Investment Group, the city of Montgomery, Montgomery County and the st...

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent watches a crowd of protesters at Delaney Hall in Newark, N.J., on May 25, 2026. The Alabama Department of Corrections last month entered a law enforcement agreement with ICE last month. (Ben Ackman/New Jersey Monitor) The Alabama Department of Corrections signed an agreement in July with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to assist the federal agency to identify and process immigrants with pending or active criminal charges. According to an ICE spreadsheet updated last week on law enforcement agencies that have signed onto a local immigration enforcement program known as the 287(g) program, ADOC and ICE signed a memorandum of understanding on July 22. The agreement was not immediately available on the website; the Alabama Reflector requested a copy of the contract from ICE and ADOC on Monday and sent messages seeking comment. The Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice, which advocates for immigrants in the state, said in a statement...

The Heflin-Torbert Judicial Building in downtown Montgomery, Alabama, seen on January 24, 2023. Justices on Monday extended a briefing deadline for Republican gubernatorial nominee Tommy Tuberville in a case that is challenging his candidacy. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) The Alabama Supreme Court on Monday extended a briefing deadline for Republican gubernatorial nominee Tommy Tuberville’s responses in a lawsuit challenging his ability to run for the office.  The court moved the briefing deadline from Friday to Aug. 27. Earlier this month, plaintiffs in the case also sought and received an extension to file their motions with the state’s high court. In a motion filed on Friday, Tuberville’s lawyers said they are busy with a civil lawsuit against Tuberville in Jefferson County filed by former Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken McFeeters . It is McFeeters’ fourth attempt to remove Tuberville from the ballot in some way. “That case is filed by a different plaintiff, and involv...