Health

Ventress Correctional Facility worker tests positive for COVID-19

A worker at the Ventress Correctional Facility has tested positive for COVID-19, the Alabama Department of Corrections said Friday. The worker is the ninth state prison employee to have contracted coronavirus. Two of the workers have recovered and have been medically cleared to return to work, ADOC said in a statement Friday. The latest employee … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

April 24, 2020

Jones calls for investigation into cattle market’s price fixing

In a letter to U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Thursday, U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama, and three other senators called for an investigation into price-fixing in the cattle market in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lawmakers wrote that the Federal government must act on this issue soon or “America’s cow calf operators, as … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

April 24, 2020

Sen. Vivian Figures urges Alabama Senate leadership not to continue with session

Sen. Vivian Figures, a leading Democrat in the Alabama State Senate, is urging the Senate’s leadership not to resume the 2020 Legislative Session on May 4 as planned because of concerns over the health and safety of the senators and their staffs. Figures represents a district in Mobile County, where the number of COVID-19 cases … Continued

Chip Brownlee

April 24, 2020

Jones asks for more aid to cattlemen, dairy producers and farmers amid COVID-19

U.S. Senator Doug Jones, D-Alabama, and a bipartisan group of senators asked President Donald Trump to do away with limits on financial aid for livestock, dairy and specialty crop producers hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis. Jones and the other senators in a letter to Trump wrote that caps in the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

April 24, 2020

UAB Medicine says it’s projected to lose $70 million a month

UAB Medicine, Alabama’s largest hospital, said Friday that is could feel a financial loss of $230 million by the end of the fiscal year, which ends September 30, if current circumstances continue. “We’re currently losing about 70 million a month,” said UAB Health System CEO Will Ferniany in a video update Friday. “When the COVID … Continued

Chip Brownlee

April 24, 2020

Alabama’s student government presidents join to drive blood donations

Thousands of planned blood drives across the country were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, so a group in Alabama is working to help people safely donate to save lives. Higher Education Partnership, a Montgomery-based nonprofit that advocates for state universities, partnered with student government association presidents from Alabama’s 14 public universities in an effort … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

April 24, 2020

Sewell says testing, contact tracing must increase before reopening Alabama’s economy

U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, believes that to reopen Alabama’s economy fully COVID-19 testing and contact tracing must increase statewide, and especially among minorities, the elderly and those living in rural areas. Sewell released her report Wednesday on recommendations for safely reopening. The report came at the request of Gov. Kay Ivey, who asked that … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

April 24, 2020

Appeals court refuses to lift injunction prohibiting Alabama from banning abortions

A federal appeals court Thursday refused to lift a preliminary injunction prohibiting Alabama from banning abortions during the COVID-19 epidemic. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday issued a ruling that denied the state of Alabama’s request to stay a preliminary injunction issued by federal district court Judge Myron Thompson. The decision ensures that … Continued

Chip Brownlee

April 24, 2020

Former U.S. surgeon general: Opening too soon is like walking into the eye of a hurricane

Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin said Thursday that attempts to lift stay-at-home restrictions prematurely and without the appropriate level of testing and contact tracing could be like walking out into the eye of a hurricane before the storm has truly passed. “We have no idea what we’re dealing with because this a new … Continued

Chip Brownlee

April 23, 2020

Alabama Legislature will return to session May 4

The Alabama Legislature plans to return to its regular session beginning May 4 after postponing the session in March amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Alabama House Speaker Mac McCutcheon and Senate President Pro Tempore Del Marsh said Thursday that the Legislature will resume meetings on May 4, and will likely continue meeting until May 18, the … Continued

Chip Brownlee

April 23, 2020