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Alabama Supreme Court extends Tommy Tuberville’s briefing schedule in residency suit

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...

Jacksonville State University Board of Trustees dissolves faculty senate, staff council

Don Killingsworth, president of Jacksonville State University, speaks at a campus event in 2022. The Jacksonville State University Board of Trustees last week voted to dissolve the university's faculty senate and staff council to be in compliance with HB 580, sponsored by Rep. Troy Stubbs, R-Wetumpka, and signed by Gov. Kay Ivey in April. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector) The Jacksonville State University Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to dissolve its faculty senate and staff council, the latest school to do so after passage of a state law this spring. In a statement Tuesday, Randall Jones, the chair of the board, said it had “a responsibility to ensure Jacksonville State University complies with Alabama law while providing sound governance, accountability, and responsible stewardship of the public resources entrusted to the university.” “Today’s action fulfills that responsibility while beginning the important work of developing board-approved policies that refle...

No more ‘hypothetical situations’: States move to fortify elections against Trump

Georgia residents line up to vote in 2024. State Democratic officials nationwide are bracing for potential federal interference during November’s midterm elections. (Photo by Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder) State Democratic officials are preparing for chaos at the polls this November, as President Donald Trump casts doubt on election security and pushes for more federal involvement in local voting. “We’re no longer talking about hypothetical situations,” said Nick Brown, Washington state’s Democratic attorney general, noting the president’s push to nationalize election administration and to question the integrity of upcoming elections. Brown is among the many Democratic state officials raising alarms over how Trump may seek to interfere with or challenge the results of November’s midterms. At stake is not only whether Republicans will maintain their grip on Congress, but also the control of state legislatures across the country. Democratic gains at either the state or national...

DNC approves 2028 presidential nominating cycle starting in South Carolina, Nevada

The South Carolina delegation's sign is seen as former President Barack Obama speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 2024. (Photo by Shaun Griswold / Source New Mexico) The Democratic National Committee on Saturday approved by voice vote its lineup of six early primaries for the 2028 election cycle, kicking off with South Carolina and Nevada. DNC Chair Ken Martin said during Saturday’s meeting that the early lineup reflects the diversity of the party’s electorate. “Our 2028 nominee, whoever they are, will have to earn the support across the full breadth of America — every region, every demographic, every generation, every economic station in life,” he said. “No shortcuts. No coronation. You want to lead this party? You go earn it.” Saturday’s vote ratified the DNC’s rules and bylaws committee vote in late July to recommend the lineup for approval by the full party. Throughout the meeting, speakers and party officials from each of the six states...

The data center industry’s PR blitz is backfiring

An Amazon data center is under construction in rural Hamlet, N.C. (Courtesy of Larry Baldwin/NC Environmental Advocacy Corps) 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 . HENDERSON, N.C.—On a recent summer evening Mitzi Parrott, who lives in Vance County, saw a television commercial on the evening news that gave her pause. Kathie Hamm and Bobbie Lequire, also of Vance County, saw it, too, streaming on Sling and posted on Nextdoor. The ad extolled the purported economic benefits of data centers, including the claim that these enormous power-hungry facilities pay their own energy costs so “North Carolina families don’t have to.” “I knew it wasn’t true, and it concerned me that other people wouldn’t know the other side,” said Parrott, whose land could back up to a proposed data center. “I figured somebody in the data center industry had to be be...

Flock Safety tightens safeguards as states, cities question surveillance network

Flock Safety license plate readers are typically mounted on tall poles, with a camera and solar panel on top. The company says its technology is used in more than 6,000 communities across 49 states in partnership with thousands of law enforcement agencies nationwide. (Photo courtesy of Flock Safety) Flock Safety is tightening privacy and oversight controls for its nationwide network of automated license plate readers as more communities pull back from the technology and lawmakers across the political spectrum push for new restrictions. The company announced Thursday that it will recommend that police agencies retain license plate reader data for seven days, down from 30, while adding tools to restrict data sharing between agencies and detect potentially abusive searches. Flock also plans to require law enforcement users to associate searches with case codes and automatically suspend users whose activity is flagged as abnormal. The changes come amid growing scrutiny of a surveillance...