BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Planned Parenthood is building a new women's clinic in Alabama despite the state's near-total ban on abortions. A spokeswoman says the facility is set to open late this year in Birmingham and plans to offer services including abortion. It would replace an older clinic currently in the state's largest city. But abortion opponents hope the opening is blocked by the new law, state health regulators or public pressure. Planned Parenthood is among the groups that have sued to try to overturn the new law. Spokeswoman Barbara Ann Luttrell says the organization hopes to stop

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Former Alabama Law Enforcement Secretary Spencer Collier was arrested on charges of making a false police report. News outlets report that Collier was arrested in Daphne on allegations that he made a false report regarding fraudulent credit card use. The arrest comes a day after his wife filed a request for a protective order. Melissa Collier stated in the filing that her husband had threatened violence, is in an unstable state of mind and is having trouble with anxiety and depression. A temporary order was issued Friday until a later hearing. Collier disputed the

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — State Sen. Vivian Davis Figures is dropping out of the running to lead the Alabama Democratic Party. Figures announced Friday that that she is no longer running for party chairman. She had been part of a field of candidates seeking to unseat current chairwoman Nancy Worley. Figures says it's important for the state Democratic Party to have a full-time chairman, but felt it was imperative to keep her focus on the Alabama Legislature. The Democratic National Committee ordered the Alabama party to conduct new elections after ruling there were procedural irregularities

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Former Alabama Law Enforcement Secretary Spencer Collier has been arrested on charges of making a false police report. News outlets report that Collier was arrested in Daphne on allegations that he made a false law enforcement report regarding fraudulent use of a credit card. The arrest comes a day after his wife filed a request for a protective order. Melissa Collier stated in the filing that her husband had threatened violence, was having trouble with anxiety and depression and is under extreme pressure. A temporary order was issued Friday until a later hearing

PHENIX CITY, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama woman is accused of fatally shooting her husband, who was a soldier at Fort Benning. News outlets report 27-year-old Brittnay Ryals Paonessa was charged with murder Friday. The Lee County Sheriff's Office says 26-year-old Brandyn Paonessa suffered a shotgun wound to the abdomen Thursday afternoon in the front yard of a home. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene. Court documents say Brandyn Paonessa had filed an emergency protection of abuse order Monday against Brittnay Paonessa. The filing states the soldier was concerned about his wife's mental health

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama man says he has completed his quest to mow lawns for veterans in all 50 states. Rodney Smith Jr. tweeted Friday that he's headed home from Hawaii after cutting grass in Oahu. He got to his last state with help from Delta Air Lines. He says he will now continue providing free lawn care to the elderly, disabled, single mothers and veterans in Alabama. Smith was inspired to begin a free yard mowing service in 2015 after seeing an elderly man cutting his lawn. That morphed into a mission to cut grass for service veterans in every U.S. state. Smith drove

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A judge has ended probation for former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, who went to federal prison in a bribery scheme. WSFA-TV reports that a federal judge this week agreed with an officer's report recommending that probation end for the 73-year-old Democrat. A federal jury convicted Siegelman in 2006. Prosecutors said he gave a seat on a state regulatory board to HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy, and that in exchange Scrushy donated $500,000 to Siegelman's signature political issue, a 1999 campaign to establish a state lottery. Siegelman served about six years in

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama man says he has completed his quest to mow lawns for veterans in all 50 states. Rodney Smith Jr. tweeted Friday that he's headed home from Hawaii after cutting grass in Oahu. He got to his last state with help from Delta Air Lines. He says he will now continue providing free lawn care to the elderly, disabled, single mothers and veterans in Alabama. Smith was inspired to begin a free yard mowing service in 2015 after seeing an elderly man cutting his lawn. That morphed into a mission to cut grass for service veterans in every U.S. state. Smith drove

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama man says he has completed his quest to mow lawns for veterans in all 50 states. Rodney Smith Jr. tweeted Friday that he's headed home from Hawaii after cutting grass in Oahu. He got to his last state with help from Delta Air Lines. He says he will now continue providing free lawn care to the elderly, disabled, single mothers and veterans in Alabama. Smith was inspired to begin a free yard mowing service in 2015 after seeing an elderly man cutting his lawn. That morphed into a mission to cut grass for service veterans in every U.S. state. Smith drove

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A judge has ended probation for former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, who went to federal prison in a bribery scheme. WSFA-TV reports that a federal judge this week agreed with an officer's report recommending that probation end for the 73-year-old Democrat. A federal jury convicted Siegelman in 2006. Prosecutors said he gave a seat on a state regulatory board to HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy, and that in exchange Scrushy donated $500,000 to Siegelman's signature political issue, a 1999 campaign to establish a state lottery. Siegelman served about six years in

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The director of the Centers for Disease Control says he's impressed by a Montgomery-based HIV/AIDS clinic and its commitment to providing health services to rural communities. Director Robert Redfield toured the Medical Advocacy & Outreach clinic Friday as part of a visit to Alabama to discuss strategies to end the HIV epidemic in the state. The federal government is targeting Alabama and six other states as part of an initiative to reduce new HIV infections by 75 percent in five years and at least 90 percent in 10 years. President Donald Trump first announced the

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama sheriff is charged with scamming a food bank and his own church to pocket thousands under a law that let state sheriffs profit from feeding prisoners. Court records show Pickens County Sheriff David Abston was arrested Friday, and he is pleading guilty to fraud and filing a false tax return. A statement by prosecutors says Abston got his own church involved in the West Alabama Food Bank. Authorities say Abston then wrote checks to purchase cut-rate food that was meant for the poor and used it to feed prisoners. A Depression-era law changed by lawmakers

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — An investment firm has purchased a majority stake in Whataburger as the Texas-based fast-food company seeks to expand in an increasingly competitive market. Whataburger announced Friday that the purchase by Chicago-based BDT Capital Partners should be finalized by the end of the summer and will be subject to regulatory overview. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. BDT will provide long-term capital and guidance as Whataburger, which has its headquarters in San Antonio, competes at a time when convenience stores are offering more food options and eating into market share.

CULLMAN, Ala. (AP) — In a story June 13 about a waste water spill in Alabama, The Associated Press reported erroneously the name of the company responsible for the spill. The company is Tyson Foods, not Tyson Farms. A corrected version of the story is below: Tyson Foods spill spreads E. coli, kills fish in Alabama Alabama environmental officials say waste water spilled from a Tyson Foods plant, killing hundreds of fish in the Black Warrior River CULLMAN, Ala. (AP) — Alabama environmental officials say another waste water spill from a Tyson Foods plant has contaminated rivers with E. coli

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama sheriff has resigned amid federal charges of wire fraud and filing false tax returns. U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town says an indictment unsealed Friday against Pickens County Sheriff David Abston, of Gordo, accuses him of a scheme that defrauded a food bank and church for his personal gain. In it he's accused of seven counts of wire fraud and two involving the tax returns. Abston also filed a plea agreement in federal court linked to the case. According to that agreement, Abston has agreed to plead guilty to one count each of wire fraud and filing a false tax

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Authorities say at least 279 dolphins have stranded across the U.S. Gulf Coast since Feb. 1, triple the usual number. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists say 98% died. They said during a teleconference Friday that they're investigating whether lingering effects from the 2010 oil spill and low salinity from high rivers and a Louisiana spillway opening contributed. One said more than one-fifth of the dolphins stranded from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle had sores consistent with freshwater exposure. NOAA's website says such lesions are common in

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Authorities say more than 260 dolphins have stranded across the U.S. Gulf Coast since Feb. 1, triple the usual number. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists say it's too early to know the cause. But they're investigating whether lingering effects from the 2010 oil spill and salinity changes from high rivers and a Louisiana spillway opening contributed. NOAA says on its website that a number of the dolphins stranded from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle had sores consistent with freshwater exposure, but those are common in the spring. A Mississippi