Feb 12 Federal judge orders Alabama county to issue same-sex marriage licenses By Justin Scuiletti A U.S. District Court judge ordered an Alabama probate court judge on Thursday to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples, the New York Times reported. Continue reading
Feb 09 Watch 4:35 How Alabama politics are motivating a legal showdown over gay marriage By PBS News Hour In 2006, Alabama voters overwhelmingly passed a ban on gay marriage. Last month a federal court lifted that law, but the state’s supreme court chief justice ordered judges to ignore the ruling. The U.S. Supreme Court has refused an appeal… Continue watching
Feb 09 Justice Thomas objects to Supreme Court’s refusal to block gay marriage in Alabama By Mark Sherman, Associated Press Thomas wrote that the court "looks the other way as yet another federal district judge casts aside state laws" and that "this acquiescence may well be seen as a signal of the court's intended resolution of that question."… Continue reading
Feb 09 Same-sex marriages to begin in Alabama after Supreme Court refuses stay By Justin Scuiletti Alabama became the 37th state in the U.S. to allow same-sex marriage on Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court refused a stay on the state's 2006 ban. Continue reading
Feb 03 Harper Lee’s second novel, ‘Go Set a Watchman,’ to be published in July By Joshua Barajas Pulitzer Prize-winning author Harper Lee will finally publish a second book, 55 years after Scout lead Boo Radley home in "To Kill a Mockingbird," her publisher announced Tuesday. Continue reading
Jan 02 Paramount offering free ‘Selma’ screenings for Selma residents By Ruth Tam Two weeks after the film's limited Dec. 25 release, Paramount Pictures is offering free screenings of "Selma" to its namesake's residents. Continue reading
Dec 28 Watch 11:46 Return of the debtors’ prison? Many jailed for inability to pay fines By PBS News Hour Cities across the country are increasingly turning to what are known as private probation companies to collect unpaid fines. But are indigent people ending up in jail because they can't afford to pay? Since NewsHour Weekend's first story on this… Continue watching
Dec 12 Gwen’s Take: Selma — then and now By Gwen Ifill There is a shock of recognition in the scenes that begin and end “Selma,” the elegiac new work by filmmaker Ava DuVernay. Even if you know only a little about your history, the events surrounding the 1965 Selma to Montgomery,… Continue reading
Nov 12 Watch Supreme Court considers line between racial and partisan gerrymandering By PBS News Hour After the 2010 census, the Republican-led Alabama legislature redrew state legislative districts. But their plan was challenged for being a racial gerrymander and violating voting rights. To examine the case's move to the Supreme Court, Marcia Coyle of The National… Continue watching
Oct 03 State investigators dismissed prisoners’ complaints of sexual abuse By Eric Tucker, Associated Press WASHINGTON — When inmates at a notorious Alabama women's prison came forward to complain of sexual abuse and harassment, state investigators time and again classified the complaints as unfounded or unsubstantiated and often recommended that the matters be closed without… Continue reading