Coronavirus

Could Virus Funds Soon be Used to Build New Prisons in Alabama?

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – Alabama lawmakers have begun reviewing the latest prison construction proposal. Legislators on Wednesday discussed the proposal to build three new prisons and renovate others. The projects would be partly funded with $400 million from American Rescue Plan Act funds. Republican Rep. Steve Clouse, the House budget chairman who helped draft the proposal, said it received a…

UAB ER Nurses Hold Protest Over Pay

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) – Emergency room nurses at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital briefly refused to clock in as part of a protest over pay and working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses told news outlets Sunday that they were fighting for equal compensation and described working through a surge of coronavirus patients while being understaffed. The hospital…

Amid Virus Surge, Rising Vaccination Rates Offer Hope

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama’s improving COVID-19 vaccination rates are offering a glimmer of hope to medical officials as the state continues to see a crush of virus patients in hospitals. But there is also concern about what is coming as the state moves through Labor Day weekend gatherings, the start of football season and other potentially virus-spreading events. State…