Chapter 2: Ledecka wins gold again, this time on a snowboard

U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has changed a proposed overhaul of his department with a new organizational map that more closely follows state lines instead of the natural boundaries he initially proposed. . A booking photo provided by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department shows Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018.

Alabama postpones execution of inmate with damaged veins

Alabama officials on Thursday postponed a scheduled lethal injection of an inmate who had argued that his veins were severely compromised by illness, saying there was not enough time to prepare the inmate before the death warrant expired at midnight. The Department of Corrections announced at 11:35 p.m. that the execution of Doyle Lee Hamm, 61, would not proceed, despite an earlier green light from the U.S. Supreme Court.

Alabama Legislature pitches election reform measures following Senate election stunner

Democrat Doug Jones celebrates his Election Night victory on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017, during Alabama's special U.S. Senate contest. It could be the last time a special Senate election can occur in Alabama if legislation to do away with them becomes law.

Death row inmate with dementia gets stay of execution

This undated file photo provided by the Alabama Department of Corrections shows a police mug shot of Vernon Madison, who is scheduled to be executed for the 1985 murder of Mobile police officer Julius Schulte on Thursday. Alabama is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to let it proceed with this week's scheduled execution of the 67-year-old inmate whose lawyers say can no longer remember his crime.

Court halts execution of Alabama inmate with dementia

This undated file photo provided by the Alabama Department of Corrections shows a police mug shot of Vernon Madison, who is scheduled to be executed for the 1985 murder of Mobile police officer Julius Schulte on Thursday. Alabama is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to let it proceed with this week's scheduled execution of the 67-year-old inmate whose lawyers say can no longer remember his crime.

Contributing Op-Ed Writer: Two Ways of Looking at Gerrymandering

Even though Doug Jones won a famous statewide victory in last month's Alabama Senate race, he actually lost - less famously - to Roy Moore in six of the state's seven congressional districts. That's right: He carried only the heavily black Seventh Congressional District, into which the Alabama Legislature has jammed almost a third of the state's African-American population while making sure that the rest of the districts remain safely white and Republican.

Improving state’s image is a worthwhile goal

Alabamians are hopeful the ringing in of a new year brings a measure of sanity to politics in the Heart of Dixie. The waning hours of 2017 offered a touch of closure to another year of embarrassing shenanigans that kept the state under the glare of the national limelight.

The Real Message Sent By Alabama Is That The State Is Deeply Divided. And That’s All

"Alabama sends a message" declared a Wall Street Journal editorial the morning after last week's special election for United States Senator from Alabama. What message did Alabama send? For the Journal editorial board it seems the message is that morally flawed candidates are likely to lose because voters "will only accept so much misbehavior in a politician, no matter the policy stakes."

Black Alabamians carried Doug Jones to victory – and it should be a warning to Democrats for 2018

Black voters deserve much of the credit for Democrat Doug Jones's stunning victory in the Alabama Senate special election on Tuesday. "It's time for them to get off their ass and start making life better for black folks and people who are poor," said Alabama native and retired NBA star Charles Barkley.

Black voters won Alabama for the Dems. Here’s what they need…

As a scholar of African-American and Southern politics for the last 25 years, I've witnessed a lot of election upsets and surprises. None has been more interesting than the Democrat Doug Jones' election to the U.S. Senate in a Dec. 12 special election against Republican Roy Moore.