Latest Alabama Headlines
All the headlines from our Alabama Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Some Alabama Beach Pool Insurance Rates Going Up July 1
May 29 2009 // Rates for some coastal property owners insured through the residual market insurance organization known as the Alabama Beach Pool are going up July 1. The overall average hike will be 5.5 percent, according to the Alabama...
Louisiana, Alabama, Alaska, Mississippi, Nevada Rank Highest in Gun Death Rates
May 8 2009 // States with higher gun ownership rates and weak gun laws have the highest rates of gun death according to analysis by the Violence Policy Center of just-revealed 2006 national data (the most recent available) from the...
Gulf States Prepare Together for Hurricane Season
Apr 29 2009 // Officials from three states of the Gulf Coast are meeting this week to discuss preparations for hurricane season. The 2009 Gulf States Hurricane Conference is being held Wednesday through Friday at the Coast Coliseum and...
Sailor Sues Owner, Crew Company of U.S. Ship Hijacked By Somali Pirates
Apr 29 2009 // A member of the crew on the U.S.-flagged ship hijacked by African pirates sued the owner and another company, accusing them of knowingly putting sailors in danger. Richard E. Hicks alleges in the suit that owner Maersk...
Alabama Shipper Says Piracy Needs Multinational Fix, Cautions on Firearms
Apr 15 2009 // The president of Mobile-based International Shipholding Corp., which manages the M/V Maersk Alabama for owner Maersk USA, said a multinational coalition must respond to Somali piracy. ISH President Erik L. Johnsen said one...
Disaster Aid Sought for 20 Alabama Counties Damaged by Floods
Apr 13 2009 // Alabama Gov. Bob Riley has asked President Barack Obama to declare a major disaster area for 20 Alabama counties that received damage from recent heavy rain, winds and flooding. Riley said Friday the 20 counties in mostly...
Somali Pirates Hold American Hostage for Third Day
Apr 10 2009 // U.S. warships stalked a drifting lifeboat where Somali pirates were holding their first American hostage on Friday, apparently hoping to win a promise of safe passage in exchange for the captive. Four pirates have been...
Somali Pirates Hijack U.S.- Flagged Container Ship
Apr 9 2009 // Somali pirates hijacked a U.S.-flagged, Danish-owned container ship on Wednesday with 20 American crew on board in a major escalation in attacks off the lawless Horn of Africa nation, officials said. The 17,000-tonne...
Seven Alabama Counties Due Flood Mapping Funds
Apr 7 2009 // Seven Alabama counties will benefit from some $5.8 million in federal money for flood map modernization. Officials say the grant will come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and be routed through the...
Ernst & Young to Pay $109 Million to Settle Alabama Fraud Suit
Mar 27 2009 // Ernst & Young LLP has agreed to pay $109 million to HealthSouth Corp. shareholders who sued the firm for failing to detect an accounting fraud involving more than a dozen executives. According to papers filed in...
Coastal Insurance Legislation Facing Test in Alabama
Mar 12 2009 // Coastal insurance bills face a test in the Alabama Legislature. The House and Senate Banking and Insurance committees met in joint session on Wednesday to take up legislation aimed at providing relief to homeowners along...
Alabama Seeks to Reduce Farm Traffic Collisions
Mar 6 2009 // D.C. Thornton knows that as well as anyone because he has been in the cab during one of those near collisions. “We’ve had instances where people had to slam on the brakes to keep from hitting us while we were...
Alabama House Votes to Add Restrictions to Young Drivers
Feb 26 2009 // The Alabama House has passed a bill that adds additional restrictions for some teenage drivers. The House voted 80-10 for the bill that requires some 16 and 17-year-old drivers to have a restricted license. The bill now...
Alabama House Votes to Ban Texting While Driving
Feb 24 2009 // The Alabama House has passed a bill that would prohibit motorists from sending or reading text messages on a cell phone while driving. The bill by Rep. Jim McClendon of Springville passed the House 92-4. It now goes to the...
Federal Jury Finds Former Alabama Insurance Exec Goff Guilty
Feb 20 2009 // A federal court jury in Montgomery has convicted Montgomery insurance executive John Goff. Jurors returned the verdict Tuesday morning in its second day of deliberations. Goff was found guilty of mail fraud, embezzlement...
Alabama Jury Deliberates Fate of Former Insurance Exec Goff
Feb 17 2009 // Prosecutors told a federal jury Friday that Montgomery insurance executive John Goff stole millions to finance a lavish lifestyle. Defense attorneys said Goff was indicted for what was simply a business dispute with two...
Alabama Justices Order Retrial in $3.9 Million Gas Leak Case
Feb 2 2009 // The Alabama Supreme Court has ordered a new trial in a case where a jury ordered Mobile Gas Service Corp. to pay $3.9 million to the family of an elderly woman who died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. The court...
State Farm Staying in Alabama
Jan 30 2009 // State Farm’s withdrawal from Florida’s property insurance market hasn’t changed its Alabama coastal coverage. State Farm spokesman David Majors said the company will resume offering wind coverage in small...
Alabama Judge Upholds Chemist’s $192 Million Award in Patent Theft Case
Jan 26 2009 // Global chemical giant Ineos Phenol, stung by a $192 million jury verdict, has denied stealing a hazardous waste recycling idea from a Mobile chemist and said it would appeal a judge’s order upholding the...
Flooding After Torrential Rains Remains Problem in West Alabama
Jan 14 2009 // Flood waters are still plaguing the west Alabama city of Demopolis following last week’s torrential rainfall. The Demopolis area and communities in neighboring Greene County have been inundated after the Black...
