Alabama environmental groups secure rare win in fight to update water toxicity standards
The new standards will reduce amounts of 12 toxic or cancer-linked pollutants in Alabama waterways, according to clean water advocacy groups that petitioned for the changes.
Bessemer recommends changing its laws to accommodate one of the country’s largest proposed data centers
Despite overwhelming public opposition, officials in Bessemer voted to recommend changes to city zoning ordinances to allow the massive development. Its operation could strain the state’s water and power supplies and leave an already imperiled fish species at risk of extinction.
The darter fish and the data center
A newly identified species is already in danger of extinction. A proposed massive data center in Bessemer would “nuke” its habitat, scientists say.
In one of the nation’s most polluted communities, Trump terminates funding for air monitoring
Residents in majority-Black north Birmingham have long been subjected to industrial pollution. The new administration has cut funding for a program aimed at measuring the impact.
Canceled climate grants would have cut pollution while boosting production, jobs at two Alabama ironworks
The U.S. Department of Energy rescinded $3.7 billion in clean energy grants last month, saying the projects selected would not generate a positive return on investment.
A Song for the Cahaba River
As the Cahaba’s “charismatic” namesake lily blooms, an old festival and a new musical tribute celebrate Alabama’s longest free-flowing river.
What’s Possible — AI in Alabama
Every so often, a new technology arises that transforms everything it touches. It fundamentally alters how we relate to each other and the world around us. Right now, the technology with that potential is artificial intelligence. On "What’s Possible – AI in Alabama," a locally-produced special by WBHM, we dive into a conversation about what AI means for the state.
Is AI coming for your job? Maybe. Here’s what to expect and how to prepare
Artificial intelligence is already transforming workplaces in Alabama. And the pace of the AI revolution is about to accelerate.
Alabama Power threatened with lawsuit for contaminating groundwater with coal ash
Nine years after the Gadsden Steam Plant stopped burning coal, its unlined coal ash pond is still polluting Alabama groundwater, records show.
WBHM to welcome Report for America corps member
WBHM is excited to welcome Vahini Shori to its newsroom through a partnership with Report for America. Shori will join the station in July.
Bessemer residents want answers about a four-million-square-foot data center coming to their backyards
Residents in and around Bessemer are furious over Project Marvel, a plan to build a 4.5-million-square-foot data processing facility on 700 acres of wooded land. Public officials have been sworn to silence.
WBHM seeks an All Things Considered host/reporter
Come be the newest afternoon host at WBHM, with a newsroom that has won multiple national Murrow Awards in recent years. The afternoon host is the local voice in Birmingham […]
Trump aims to fast track Alabama coal build-out, citing US need. Nearly all the coal is bound for export
A Trump effort to streamline the project would benefit the overseas steelmaking industry while putting Alabamians and the environment at risk.
As Pynk Beard, Grammy-winning songwriter Sebastian Kole turns the page
Grammy-winning songwriter Sebastian Kole has accomplished a great deal in his career. As his alter ego Pynk Beard, though, he could achieve much more. The Birmingham native is stepping out from behind the scenes and into the spotlight to bring his brand of country music to the masses.
For Homewood’s spotted salamanders, a win and a warning
A grassroots effort successfully pushed back on a development in that would have destroyed a critical salamander habitat. Still, amphibians face constant risks.
The long road to answers for some chronic illnesses
Growing costs, research cuts, and staffing shortages are health care issues that are top of mind for many in the country right now, especially for the millions of people who deal with chronic illness. Some of those people don’t even know what to call their illness.
Birmingham legend Odetta to be celebrated in tribute concert
Gina Coleman and her band Misty Blues will bring Odetta back home, performing a live tribute to the Birmingham legend at the historic Carver Theatre on Saturday, April 19.
Why is Alabama’s workforce participation rate so low? And what’s being done to improve it?
While Alabama boasts an unemployment rate that is among the lowest in the country, its workforce participation rate consistently lags the national average, meaning a large portion of Alabamians are neither employed nor actively seeking work. This has raised concerns both about barriers to employment for individuals and about the state’s economic future.
In Homewood, a fight for the spotted salamander
As a Samford University expands its footprint and threatens the amphibian’s habitat, residents are voicing their opposition and searching for another way forward.
WBHM wins 3 ABBY Awards
WBHM 90.3 FM won 3 ABBY Awards for 2025 – a prestigious honor given annually by the Alabama Broadcasters Association. The ABA presented the awards Saturday, April 5 in Birmingham.
For the first time, Alabama says methane ‘likely’ caused fatal home explosion above coal mine
State officials have ordered tighter monitoring of methane gas above coal mines in the state after a slap on the wrist from federal officials. Will it be enough to mitigate the risks?
Something in the river: in search of the Muscle Shoals Sound
The Muscle Shoals area has given life to some of music’s most enduring hits, producing a sound that musicians far and wide have sought for decades. Part soul, gospel, country and rock, it’s something that transcends any one genre, ultimately getting chalked up to the “Muscle Shoals Sound.”
Alabama’s celebrity weatherman pleads for the National Weather Service
With the life-saving Weather Service in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump and chainsaw-wielding billionaire Elon Musk, weather forecasters like James Spann are speaking out to defend the agency that provides the backbone for their work.
What’s Causing Birmingham’s Code Red Air Quality Alert?
A prescribed burn is harming air quality. Here's what Jefferson and Shelby County residents should do to protect their health.
Woodfin to run for a third term as mayor
Woodfin was widely expected to make another run following electoral victories in 2017 and 2021. This year’s contest will take place August 26.
Living HealthSmart in Alabama is getting easier thanks to a growing UAB initiative
The Live HealthSmart Alabama initiative, which the University of Alabama at Birmingham launched in 2019, has a goal of pulling Alabama out of the bottom 10 states in terms of negative health indicators by removing systemic barriers. Pilot projects in four Birmingham neighborhoods wrapped up this year, and organizers hope their success can be replicated throughout the state.
Federal regulators say an Alabama coal mine’s plans may violate law, leaving citizens at risk
A “ten-day notice” issued to Alabama officials aims to mitigate risks to citizens living above Oak Grove Mine. It comes after months of state inaction and community outrage.
Remembering Gip’s Place and the Bessemer bluesman who started it all
The unassuming juke joint operated in the backyard of longtime Bessemer resident Henry “Gip” Gipson. Gipson died five years ago this fall.
War on eagles? In Auburn, federal officials investigate the taking of a bald eagles’ nest they permitted
Hughston Homes, a land developer, displaced the eagles, Jim and Pam, cutting down the tree where their nest had been built. Auburn residents have united in their outrage, demanding answers and accountability.
Who pays for Alabama’s $5 billion ‘zombie’ highway project? Not Alabama
Alabama is poised to use 100% federal funding to build an interstate that won’t alleviate any of the state’s largest traffic gridlocks and is promoted as an economic development plan rather than a transportation necessity.
Bobby Allison, NASCAR Hall of Famer and 3-time Daytona 500 winner, dies at 86
Allison’s family that said he died at home in Mooresville, North Carolina. A cause of death wasn’t given, but Allison had been in declining health for years.
Federal regulators waited 7 months to investigate a deadly home explosion above a gassy coal mine
Coalfield residents across the country feel ignored as their homes sink and flammable gas rises from underground mining. In Alabama, U.S. regulators dragged their feet until a former top official called them out for failure to protect the public.
