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Update: Tornado warning anticipated to expire at 5 p.m.

The warning was for Choctaw, Clarke and Washington counties.

“The storm which prompted the warning has weakened below severe limits, and no longer appears capable of producing a tornado. Therefore, the warning will be allowed to expire. A Tornado Watch remains in effect until 10 p.m. for southwestern Alabama,” says the National Weather Service.

Tornado watch vs. Tornado warning: Know the difference

When it comes to tornadoes, understanding the difference between a Tornado watch and a Tornado warning can be a matter of life and death. Let’s break it down:

Tornado watch: Be prepared!

• A Tornado watch serves as an early warning that conditions are conducive to tornado formation.
• It’s your cue to review and discuss your emergency plans, check your supplies, and locate your safe room.
• While it doesn’t mean a tornado is imminent, it’s a heads-up that you should be ready to act quickly if a Tornado warning is issued or if you suspect a tornado is approaching.
• Tornado Watches are issued by the Storm Prediction Center and often encompass a broad area, potentially spanning multiple counties or even states.

Tornado warning: Take action!

• A Tornado warning means a tornado has been spotted or detected by weather radar.
• This is the real deal – there’s an immediate threat to life and property.
• Your response should be quick: seek shelter in an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building, away from windows.
• If you’re in a mobile home, a vehicle, or caught outdoors, find the nearest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris.
• Warnings are issued by your local forecast office and pinpoint a much smaller area, typically the size of a city or a small county, where a tornado has been identified, either by radar or by trained spotters and law enforcement.

Knowing the distinction between these two alerts is paramount for staying safe during tornado season. Stay informed, have a plan, and act promptly when danger looms.

Get ready for tornadoes

Be weather-ready:

Check the forecast regularly to see if you’re at risk for tornadoes. Listen to local news or a NOAA Weather Radio to stay informed about tornado watches and warnings.

Sign up for alerts:

Familiarize yourself with your community’s warning systems. Some places have outdoor sirens, while others rely on media and smartphone alerts for severe storm notifications.

Establish a communication plan:

Have a family plan that includes an emergency meeting place and related information. If you live in a mobile home or home without a basement, identify a nearby safe building you can get to quickly, such as a church or family member.

Choose a secure shelter:

Pick a safe room within your home, such as a basement, storm cellar, or an interior room on the lowest floor without windows.

Establish a communication plan:

Conduct regular family drills for severe thunderstorms so everyone knows what to do when a tornado threat arises. Ensure that all family members are aware of the safe location to seek shelter, and don’t forget about your pets if time permits.

Prepare your home:

Consider having your safe room reinforced. You can find plans for reinforcing an interior room to provide better protection on the Federal Emergency Management Agency website.

Help your neighbor:

Encourage your loved ones to prepare for the possibility of tornadoes. Take CPR training so you can help if someone is hurt.

Tornado safety: What to do when the twister hits

When a tornado strikes, taking swift action is crucial to ensuring your safety and minimizing potential harm. Follow these guidelines from the weather service:

Stay informed:

Remain vigilant and stay updated by listening to local news broadcasts or a NOAA Weather Radio for tornado watches and warnings.

At home:

If you find yourself under a tornado warning, immediately seek refuge in your basement, safe room, or an interior room without windows. If there’s enough time, bring your pets with you.

At work or school:

Follow your tornado drill and proceed to your tornado shelter location quickly and calmly. Stay away from windows and do not go to large open rooms such as cafeterias, gymnasiums, or auditoriums.

Outdoors:

If you’re outdoors and a tornado is approaching, seek immediate shelter inside a sturdy building. Sheds, storage facilities, mobile homes, and tents are not safe. If there’s time, make your way to a secure structure.

In a vehicle:

Being in a vehicle during a tornado is highly unsafe. Your best option is to drive to the nearest shelter. If reaching shelter is not possible, either stay inside your car, covering your head, or abandon the vehicle and seek refuge in a low-lying area like a ditch or ravine.

Remember, acting swiftly and following safety protocols are essential for your well-being when a tornado is imminent.

Advance Local Weather Alerts is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to compile the latest data from the National Weather Service.

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Alabama faces many problems. Trans people existing isn’t one of them: Guest column

Today, the Alabama legislature did something quite expected if you’ve been paying attention to our state’s prioritization of government issues: it sent a bill to Governor Ivey’s desk that nobody asked for, which sought to address a problem that does not exist.

Yet, here we are and your representatives would have you believe that instead of solving real-world problems such as the rising price of groceries, under-funded education, infant mortality, and the retreat of hospitals from rural areas, that what this state really needs to succeed is another law that bullies trans kids and adults. The question is, why?

Years ago, I drove to Montgomery to have breakfast with a newly-elected House Representative and one of the sponsors of a proposed anti-trans sports bill, in an effort to educated him on the subject he then wanted to regulate. To get an understanding of what he knew, I asked him if he’d met any trans athletes. He hadn’t.

I asked him if he had heard of a trans athlete playing sports within his district? No. What about the state? Not there, either. Had he ever met any trans people? Outside of a someone who worked at an advocacy group, I was the first trans person to be face-to-face with this representative. We talked. He listened. I think he understood the stakes. Still, he pushed the bill and it passed into law.

To give some context to the supposed “problem” of trans participation in sports that the bill sought to address, in December, NCAA President Charlie Baker testified before a U.S. Senate committee that in the 1,100 colleges in all 50 states, which enroll more than 530,000 student-athletes, there were less than 10 transgender athletes.

Like I said. Priorities.

The reality is, there are political points to be scored in championing culture war issues that are carpetbagged into our state by national right-wing lobbying groups. Anti-trans and other culture war issues are clout-generating and helpful for any junior politician trying to make a name for themselves.

There are certain people in politics who gravitate towards that value, regardless of harmful outcomes. And there are harmful outcomes – affecting not just trans people.

In yesterday’s committee hearing in the House, Rep. Susan Dubose revisited the sports bill as she advocated for the latest anti-trans bill, the What is a Woman Act, where she repeated the false urgency of why the bill was even needed at all.

The Senate counterpart, sponsored by Sen. April Weaver had already moved forward, while Gov. Ivey had expressed excitement to sign it in her State of the State Address. In Rep. Dubose’s testimony at the committee hearing, she attempted to argue that the bill’s reason for existence was simple: Women are women, men are men. It’s been that way since the Book of Genesis, she said. It’s all just…common sense.

Well, fine. Let’s use a little common sense. Rep. Dubose says her bill, now passed as SB-39, is merely a definitions bill and doesn’t really do anything beyond defining the sexes as a strict reflection of assignment at birth.

But the bill has a sharp edge.

It gives no room for expression, no room for variance of gender, and works like an anchor, holding to concepts that exist in sex stereotypes. It is within SB-39’s implementation where the opportunity for harm exists. SB-39’s definitions are bound to be used to reinforce rules governing State bathrooms, keeping trans men in the women’s bathrooms, where we should now expect to see guys with full beards and muscles?

It’s absurd.

What strikes me, though, is the cruelty of SB-39. It’s just mean. It has only one real purpose: telling transgender people that we do not have a place among you. That our existence does not merit being defined in the State of Alabama. So, then, who is this for? Honestly?

Right, right. The political value.

Last year, I met with Rep. Dubose to discuss her bill. It was an opportunity for her to learn how a strict sex definitions bill could have negative impacts on ID documents. She listened, as I explained how the safety of trans individuals would be impacted by carrying an ID with a gender marker that did not match who they were and how they presented.

I told her how statistics in employment, healthcare, and housing security, are all negatively affected by such a mis-match. To her credit, she listened and then did something that was somewhat surprising. She recognized the harm that could be done and made an amendment to mitigate it.

I don’t know what has changed for her since then. I don’t understand how she could see the harm that her bill would cause last year but ignore it today.

Like bathrooms, the bill does not explicitly target driver’s licenses, though it leaves the door open to be interpreted and implemented in such a way that it affects both.

Her amending language to exclude ID documents, however, is gone. As is, presumably, any consideration for trans people’s safety.

Maybe scoring these political points are, in her mind, worth making our lives worse in Alabama. We are such a small part of the population, after all.

What I do know is this: these efforts to regulate trans existence are not without precedent. As we look back throughout history, there are countless horrible measures of humanity that begin with legislation restricting the lives of marginalized communities. Nothing good comes from these efforts.

There are glaring issues this state is facing that affect the daily lives of people. Trans people existing is not one of them.

Trans people belong. Even in Alabama. Regardless of legislative efforts to say otherwise.

Sydney Duncan currently serves as Senior Counsel at Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE), where she is engaged in various impact litigation matters affecting the trans community. Prior to her time at A4TE, she was the Attorney Director of the Magic City Legal Center, a pro bono LGBTQ legal program at Birmingham AIDS Outreach in Alabama. Her advocacy work has been featured in Rolling Stone, LGBTQ Nation, NBC News, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Huffington Post, and she has appeared on PBS Newshour. She lives in Mountain Brook, Alabama with her wife and two children.

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Workers who move to Alabama could receive up to $30,000 in tax credit under proposed law: How it works

State Rep. Ben Robbins, R-Sylacauga, has filed a bill that would establish a state income tax credit for recruited workers and remote workers that move to certain counties in Alabama.

Under HB259, remote workers and teachers, nurses, or law enforcement officers who have lived in a county with a population of less than 100,000, or any of Alabama’s opportunity zones, for at least six months of the filing year are eligible to claim up to $30,000 in tax credits, according to its text.

This covers the majority of the state, as less than a quarter of its counties have populations over 100,000, according to the most recent Census.

To be eligible, an individual must have also lived outside of the state for the entire calendar year prior to the first tax year in which a credit is claimed.

“It is the intent of the Legislature to increase the number of employed individuals in certain counties in the state by incentivizing the recruitment and retention of certain job types through tax policy,” the bill states.

The amount of tax credit people would be eligible for each year is divided by the bill into three tiers based on population.

They are:

Tier 1 County- $30,000 tax credit

Any Alabama county that has a population of less than 25,000.

Tier 2 County-$20,000 tax credit

Any Alabama county that has a population of more than 25,000 but less than 50,000.

Tier 3 County-$10,000 tax credit

Any Alabama county that has a population of more than 50,000 but less than 100,000.

Opportunity zone residents who meet all of the bill’s criteria are eligible for a $5,000 tax credit each year, according to its text.

Remote workers must report a taxable income of at least $55,000 a year to qualify under HB259.

And the tax credits are only available for up to three years, the bill states.

If passed, the bill would go into effect on January 1, 2026, for the 2026 tax year, and would last through the 2030 tax year, unless continued by an act of the legislature, according to its text.

HB259 is currently pending action in the House Committee on Ways and Means Education.

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2 children sleeping in van in Detroit freeze to death: ‘Everybody now wants to help,’ mother says

The mother of two children who authorities believe died of hypothermia after spending the night in a van in a Detroit casino parking structure is speaking out, saying “everybody now wants to help” but she tried in multiple ways to get assistance before Monday’s tragedy.

Tateona Williams gave interviews Tuesday to multiple outlets, describing how she’s been homeless for about three months, but her children had everything “except a house.” She described realizing her 9-year-old son wasn’t breathing on Monday when she tried to wake him for school and frantically doing CPR before rushing him to the hospital.

“My son wasn’t moving. I kept saying, ‘Get up. Please get up. Don’t do this to me,’” she told WXYZ.

Williams said it was at the hospital that she realized her two-year-old also wasn’t breathing.

“They brought her in right after they pronounced him dead,” she said through tears.

“And they said she wasn’t breathing. And they pronounced her dead too. I asked everybody for help. I called out of state. I called cities I didn’t know.”

Williams spoke to the media outlets just hours after Detroit officials held a press conference, acknowledging that her family had reached out to the city’s homeless services department at least three times before Monday’s deaths, the most recent contact being in late November 2024.

At the time, Williams was not homeless but told officials she’d been staying with family who told her she needed to find somewhere else to live. City officials have not released Williams’ name. Her case was not deemed an emergency and no outreach workers connected with her.

Duggan has called for a city review of what happened, the city’s homeless services and its help line. The city has a help line for those facing homelessness but it only operates during business hours during the week and from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturdays.

“We have to make sure that we do everything possible to make sure that this doesn’t happen again,” said Duggan. “I’m not trying to talk about an individual employee. I’m talking about the system as a whole. Are we doing everything to make sure people in the city know how to access this critical care?”

Williams said everybody now wants to help “after I lost two kids.”

“I’ve been asking for help,” she said. “I feel like it wasn’t their time. I did everything I was supposed to do.”

During the press conference Tuesday, Duggan said he’s heard others who’ve used the city’s help line for those facing homelessness say that they walked away “confused.”

“I want to make sure that when people call they get very clear options when that phone call is made,” Duggan said. “And I’m asking them to put a policy in place that any time minors are involved, experiencing homelessness, that our outreach workers automatically do a site visit.”

According to authorities, Williams parked on the ninth floor of the Hollywood Casino parking structure in Greektown around 1 a.m. Monday. At some point during the night, she ran out of gas or her car had a mechanical failure, said Interim Police Chief Todd Bettison. Temperatures were below freezing on Monday.

Detroit has outreach workers who help those facing homelessness in the city. Two are employed by the and 36 work for other agencies such as Cass Community Social Services and Neighborhood Services Organization.

The Rev. Faith Fowler, executive director of Cass Community Social Services, which has five outreach workers, said she’s wondered this week whether street outreach workers would have found the family in during their regular rounds. She worries they would not have, since they were in an enclosed garage rather than parked out in an open area.

“They certainly wouldn’t have found her in a parking garage for one of the casinos, because I don’t think they drive through them,” Fowler said. “They they probably would have found her if she was parked on Belle Isle or parked somewhere else stationary, they would have found her and engaged her.”

Williams told media outlets that she wouldn’t wish what happened to her on anyone.

“I don’t wish this on nobody,” she said. “And if you can get, please, go get help because I don’t want nobody to go through what I’m feeling. Wherever you can get help from… just go. You don’t have to suffer.”

©2025 The Detroit News. Visit detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Target is offering $100 off Bose QuietComfort headphones this week

Target just dropped a limited-time deal on the popular Bose QuietComfort wireless headphones, but select colors have already sold out.

With this deal, Target customers can get a pair of Bose QuietComfort headphones for $249 instead of the normal pice of $349.

RELATED: The new Target-exclusive Owala 40-ounce FreeSip tumbler just dropped

Bose QuietComfort headphones are known for their effective noise-canceling technology, comfort and audio quality, making them a popular choice for both casual listeners and frequent travelers.

The QuietComfort headphones available at Target come in seven colors, with only five still available for purchase. These include black, white, chilled lilac, blue dusk and green.

“Block everything out but the beat with Bose QuietComfort® noise cancelling headphones. Get full noise cancellation with Quiet Mode or still hear what’s going on around you with Aware Mode. New custom modes on these Bluetooth headphones let you adjust noise cancellation to your liking and turning on Wind Block tunes out breezy environments,” Target’s product details state.

“Enjoy premium materials for comfort, on-ear toggles for ease, an iconic, bold design and a battery life of up to 24 hours with the Bose QuietComfort® Wireless Bluetooth Noise-Cancelling Headphones.”

Those interested in this limited-time deal can checkout the full listing on Target’s website here.

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The retro Nike Blazer Low ’77 Jumbo is on sale for only $60 this week

Nike is offering select styles at a discount this week, including a major markdown on the stylish Nike Blazer Low ’77 Jumbo.

The women’s Nike Blazer Low ’77 Jumbo, which normally sells for $100, can be purchased this week for just $60, a 39% discount overall.

RELATED: You can get Crocs fuzzy lined clogs for as low as $27 with promo code

The Nike Blazer Low ’77 Jumbo is a sister shoe to its classic predecessors, the Nike Blazer Low ’77 and the Nike Blazer Mid ’77.

“‘Don’t fix what works.’ We say, ‘Perfect it,’” Nike states. “This streetwear superstar gets revamped with jumbo-sized details. Harnessing the old-school look you love, the Nike Blazer Low ’77 Jumbo features an oversized Swoosh design, extra-wide laces and thicker stitching.”

Those interested in this deal can checkout the full listing here. You can also browse all deals Nike is offering this week here.

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Birmingham mayor among those speaking out against governor, AG appointing interim police chiefs

Alabama legislation that would give the governor and attorney general authority to make interim police chief appointments moved one step closer to passage on Wednesday.

The legislation, HB14, requires approval from both the attorney general and governor on an interim appointment that would last for six months.

The legislation allows the two state constitutional officers the ability to make the police chief appointments for a city in which they determine there is an ongoing threat to public safety, or where staffing levels drop significantly below their averages.

The bill is widely seen as targeting Birmingham and Montgomery, two cities struggling with staffing shortages and high crime rates.

“We need to hold these cities accountable,” said Rep. Reed Ingram, R-Pike Road, the bill’s House sponsor and chair of the House County and Municipal Government Committee. The committee approved the legislation. It now heads to the full House floor for consideration.

The bill is an amended version from an original proposal that allowed the attorney general or the governor to make the appointment.

Ingram said that requiring the two constitutional officers to both agree before an interim chief is appointed will help make it a more unified decision.

The legislation also now caps the interim chief to a six-month appointment. The previous bill did not have a timeframe in which the interim chief could serve.

Ingram stated that interim chiefs would provide assistance to the municipality before stepping down, even if they are volunteering.

The legislation was introduced last summer when Montgomery was plagued by gun violence, including a triple homicide at a Hispanic grocery store on June 4. Montgomery police chief Darryl Albert resigned last April, and the city began operating with an acting police chief.

The bill says the governor and attorney general may intervene and appoint an interim police chief if staffing within the police department must be 30% off the average staffing levels during the prior 10 year. The legislation also requires consultation with the district attorney and sheriff.

But according to reports, the city experienced saw a 19% decline in homicides and a 13% decline in non-fatal shootings. A new permanent police chief has since been hired, and thousands of illegal firearms have been removed from the streets.

The legislation is opposed by the mayors of some of the state’s largest cities, which call themselves the “Big 10” mayors.

“Mayors are charged with the responsibility of maintaining public safety in their communities and are ultimately accountable to their constituents for these operations,” Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle said in a statement. “I believe that with this great responsibility comes the authority to determine who will manage and lead public safety units.”

It also has raised concerns from the Alabama League of Municipalities, which is worried about its “unintended consequences.”

According to Greg Cochran, the league’s executive director, their legal staff is concerned the legislation could be interpreted by a judge “to expand liability exposure of the officer and municipality that they serve.”

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin traveled to Montgomery to attend Gov. Kay Ivey’s news conference on her public safety bills, but he stated that HB14 does not have widespread support.

“We continue to share our collective opposition against such a bill,” Woodfin said.

Democratic lawmakers on the committee also expressed concerns about the bill. Rep. Kelvin Datcher, D-Birmingham, said he felt concerned that the legislation could create “political and arbitrary” scenarios of having the governor and the attorney general intervene to replace police chiefs in certain cities while ignoring problematic crime in other areas.

“We all hear the cities being called out, Birmingham and Bessemer,” Datcher said.

“But the county adjacent to my county, in 2010, was the epicenter of the methamphetamine crisis. You had another that was Ground Zero for opioids. No one talked about them.”

Rep. Adline Clarke, D-Mobile, read off several recent headlines in cities like Montgomery and Birmingham, illustrating the creation of criminal task forces and the removal of thousands of illegal firearms from city streets.

Clarke stated that recent actions suggest progress in addressing crime.

“It sounds like something is happening here,” she said.

Ingram acknowledged that the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency cannot address high-crime areas in every county with a task force.

“This is just a temporary fix,” he said.

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Update: Thunderstorms with damaging winds in Washington County Wednesday

On Wednesday at 3:46 p.m. the National Weather Service issued an updated severe thunderstorm warning in effect until 4 p.m. for Washington County.

Residents should be prepared for wind gusts of up to 60 mph.

“At 3:46 p.m., a severe thunderstorm was located 4 miles northeast of Buckatunna, or 13 miles southeast of Waynesboro, moving northeast at 35 mph,” states the weather service. “Expect damage to roofs, siding, and trees.”

The warning is for Buckatunna.

According to the weather service, “A Tornado Watch remains in effect until 10 p.m. for southwestern Alabama and southeastern Mississippi. Remain alert for a possible tornado! Tornadoes can develop quickly from severe thunderstorms. If you spot a tornado go at once into the basement or small central room in a sturdy structure. For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building.”

Shielding yourself from approaching lightning: Expert safety guidelines

Each year, lightning strikes the United States approximately 25 million times, with the majority of these electrifying events occurring during the summer months. Unfortunately, lightning is responsible for claiming the lives of approximately 20 people annually, as reported by the weather service. The threat of lightning becomes more pronounced as thunderstorms draw nearer, peaking when the storm is directly overhead and gradually waning as it moves away.

To ensure your safety during a thunderstorm, consider the following recommendations:

Lightning safety plan:

• When venturing outdoors, it’s vital to establish a clear plan for seeking shelter in case of lightning.
• Stay vigilant by monitoring the sky for ominous signs and listening for the telltale sound of thunder. If thunder is audible, it’s a clear indication of nearby lightning.
• Seek a safe place to shelter, preferably indoors.

Indoors safety measures:

• Once you’re indoors, avoid using corded phones, electrical devices, plumbing fixtures, and stay away from windows and doors.
• Lightning can follow conductive pathways, and these precautions reduce the risk of electrical surges.

Wait for the all-clear:

• After the last lightning strike or thunderclap, wait at least 30 minutes before resuming outdoor activities.
• It’s important to remember that lightning can strike even when a storm seems to have passed, so exercise caution.

When indoor shelter isn’t available:

If you find yourself outdoors with no access to indoor shelter during a thunderstorm, take these steps to maximize your safety:

• Avoid open fields, hilltops, or ridge crests, which expose you to greater lightning risk.
• Steer clear of tall, isolated trees and other prominent objects. In forested areas, stay close to lower stands of trees.
• If you’re in a group, ensure that individuals are spaced out to prevent lightning current from transferring between people.
• Camping in an open setting during a thunderstorm is strongly discouraged. If you have no alternative, set up camp in a valley, ravine, or other low-lying areas. It’s crucial to note that a tent provides no protection against lightning.
• Do not approach water bodies, wet objects, or metal items. Although water and metal do not attract lightning, they conduct electricity effectively and can pose significant risks.

In summary, when facing the threat of lightning, vigilance and preparedness are your best allies. By following these guidelines, you can significantly reduce the chances of lightning-related accidents and prioritize your safety.

Driving through downpours: Safety guidelines for wet roads

When heavy rain sets in, the risk of flooding and hazardous driving conditions rises. Whether it’s prolonged rainfall or rapid runoff, being prepared is essential. Here are some valuable safety tips from the weather service to ensure you stay safe in heavy rain:

Beware of swollen waterways:

In heavy rain, refrain from parking or walking near culverts or drainage ditches, where swift-moving water can pose a grave danger.

Maintain safe driving distances:

The two-second rule for following distance is your ally in heavy rain. Extend it to four seconds to ensure safe spacing in adverse conditions.

Slow down and drive with care:

On wet roads, reducing your speed is crucial. Ease off the gas pedal gradually and avoid abrupt braking to prevent skidding.

Choose your lane wisely:

Stick to the middle lanes on multi-lane roads to minimize the risk of hydroplaning, as water tends to accumulate in outer lanes.

Prioritize visibility

Enhance your visibility in heavy rain by activating your headlights. Be particularly vigilant for vehicles in blind spots, as rain-smeared windows can obscure them.

Watch out for slippery roads:

Be extra careful during the first half hour after rain begins. Grime and oil on the road surface mix with water to make the road slippery.

Keep a safe distance from large vehicles:

Don’t follow large trucks or buses too closely. The spray created by their large tires reduces your vision. Take care when passing them as well; if you must pass, do so quickly and safely.

Mind your windshield wipers:

Overloaded wiper blades can hinder visibility. If rain severely impairs your vision, pull over and wait for conditions to improve. Seek refuge at rest areas or sheltered spots.

When stopping by the roadside is your only option, position your vehicle as far off the road as possible, ideally beyond guardrails. Keep your headlights on and activate emergency flashers to alert other drivers of your position.

In the face of heavy rain, these precautions can make a significant difference in ensuring your safety on the road. Remember to stay informed about weather conditions and heed guidance from local authorities for a secure journey.

Advance Local Weather Alerts is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to compile the latest data from the National Weather Service.

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Alabama lawmakers question borrowing an additional $500 million for prisons

An Alabama Senate committee on Tuesday approved a bill that would authorize an additional $500 million in borrowing for state prison construction.

The Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund committee unanimously approved the legislation, which increases the state’s borrowing authority for prison projects to approximately $1.28 billion.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, said the measure is necessary to complete the construction of two new state prisons amid escalating costs and increasing inmate populations.

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“It is likely that we will not have to borrow that full $500 million, but it will give us that opportunity so that we can move smoothly and as quickly as construction will allow to build and have both those facilities up and operational,” Albritton said.

Lawmakers in 2021 approved $1.3 billion to build two 4,000-bed men’s prisons in Elmore and Escambia counties, hoping to alleviate prison overcrowding; create safer environments for inmates and staff and increase space for rehabilitative programs.

But cost overruns have raised the price tag of the Elmore facility alone to over $1 billion.

Some lawmakers expressed concerns over the state’s growing debt obligations.

“I guess my question about taking on additional debt is, what are the plans to repay it?” said Sen. Larry Stutts, R-Tuscumbia.

Albritton said that the state has already paid off previous debts and has the borrowing capacity to keep paying the additional costs.

“We’re doing the same thing, and so we are comfortable, and particularly with where we are budget-wise and also indebtedness-wise, that we can handle this issue,” Albritton said after the meeting.

The Alabama Department of Corrections has been under scrutiny for prison conditions, staffing shortages and rising inmate populations.

The U.S. Department of Justice sued Alabama in 2020, alleging unconstitutional conditions in state prisons.

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NE Regional Girls: Piedmont holds off fourth-quarter comeback bid by Whitesburg Christian

Some late-game dramatics and an attempt at a comeback couldn’t deter a Piedmont squad looking to make history.

The Bulldogs ground out a 49-41 win over Whitesburg Christian in the Northeast Regional semifinals on Wednesday, punching their first ticket to the Northeast Regional final since the 2008 season.

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