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Alabama Department of Public Health holds hearing on marijuana rescheduling

Mock medical cannabis tinctures in a display case at Callie's Apothecary in Montgomery, Alabama, on May 14, 2026. The Alabama Department of Public Health Wednesday heard from members of the public for rescheduling marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector) A group of conservative activists Wednesday registered objections to the federal rescheduling of marijuana with the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH). The ADPH held a public hearing following the April decision by the Trump administration to move marijuana from a Schedule I drug, meaning it has the greatest potential for abuse and least legitimate use, to a Schedule III drug with substances considered to have a low to moderate potential for physical and psychological dependence. Former President Joe Biden planned to have rescheduling occur in 2024, but hearings on the matter were canceled in early 2025 . In May , the governing body of ADPH voted to object to the federal rescheduling ...

ICE arrests reach new high

Investigators work near the Houston location of a fatal ICE shooting July 7. Statistics released July 20 show a record number of immigration arrests in June and an even higher rate in early July. (Photo by Jon Shapley/The Texas Tribune) Immigration arrests reached 1,593 per day in early July in a new push to detain and deport immigrants that has led to deaths in traffic stops. There were more than 43,000 arrests in June, the highest recorded by the Trump administration, according to statistics released Monday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reflecting new bookings into detention facilities. The June monthly total surpassed the 42,000 arrests in December, which included Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis. If the rate for the first 11 days of July continues for a month it could be even higher, about 49,000 arrests. Following fatal shootings, ICE officers ordered to wear body cameras at traffic stops Arrest numbers reached as high as 2,000 per day over a five-day peri...

Private investment in youth sports draws state, federal scrutiny

David Faulk played soccer for his high school, shown here, as well as for club teams before transitioning to football. His family paid thousands each year for his sports, a cost that approached $20,000 during his final years of high school. The money that families pour into youth sports has made it increasingly attractive to private investors, including private equity firms. (Photo courtesy of Tiffany Whitlow) Courtney Hamby and her husband spend close to $6,000 per year for their daughter Ellie’s cheer and tumbling classes, competition fees and uniforms. That doesn’t include their travel expenses for multiple out-of-town competitions, including hotel rooms, gas, meals, and sometimes even flights. “This should be something that everyone gets to play, and it shouldn’t be only the people who can afford it,” said Hamby, who lives in Madison, Alabama. “But if you don’t have money, you’re not doing competitive cheer.” Youth sports is now a $40 billion industry. It’s a sprawling, commerc...

Trump administration ramps up pressure on indefinite immigrant detention

Fomer U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks last year at Louisiana State Penitentiary to announce the opening of Camp 57, a facility at the prison that will house immigrant detainees. An appeals court covering Louisiana and other states with large detention centers is at the center of a court fight over mandatory detention for many immigrants. (Photo by Piper Hutchinson/Louisiana Illuminator) Seeking to stop a “flood” of court cases freeing immigrants from mandatory detention, the Trump administration is asking an appeals court to put three immigrants back in detention. The immigrants were freed by Texas federal judges in February and March in a case that was upheld by an appeals court panel for Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, which found that such immigrants have the right to bond hearings within 90 days of being detained. That decision was reversed by the full 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which will hold a full hearing on the case in September. In court papers filed ear...

Trump administration should preserve Reflecting Pool evidence, judge says

A worker cleans the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on the National Mall on June 25, 2026. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — A D.C. Superior Court judge on Monday encouraged the Trump administration to preserve the sections of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool that it says a Maryland man damaged to ensure the case moves forward. Associate Judge Todd E. Edelman warned during a status hearing in the case against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn that the government may be “operating at its own peril” if it does not preserve the pool for the defense attorneys and their expert to examine and test. Edelman questioned why the Trump administration couldn’t “maintain the status quo” for the rest of the week to ensure access to the evidence doesn’t become an “issue in this trial.” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Reddington said the Interior Department was in the middle of remedial work on the Reflecting Pool after draining it. Reddington said prosecutors “certainl...

FDA: Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce sample produced a false positive for cyclospora

The main entrance of Food and Drug Administration Building 1 on the FDA campus in Silver Spring, Maryland. (Photo by Michael J. Ermarth/FDA) WASHINGTON — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Sunday that the Taylor Farms lettuce sample that tested positive for the parasite cyclospora was actually a false positive. The announcement comes after the FDA previously reported on Saturday that a sample of iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms in central Mexico had tested positive for the parasite. As of Sunday, the FDA said there are no confirmed samples of Taylor Farms lettuce testing positive for cyclospora. The FDA did not cite any other positive tests for the source of the outbreak, which has been linked to severe gastrointestinal illness. As of Monday morning, a banner on an FDA webpage tracking the outbreak still reads: “Do not eat recalled iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico. FDA’s investigation is ongoing.” The FDA also said: “Due to the complexity in detection o...