Down in Alabama with Ike Morgan
Start your morning with the latest news and stories from Alabama. Then, hear the stories behind the stories as Ike Morgan is joined by voices from the AL.com newsroom and beyond for deep dives on pressing topics, news quizzes and a whole lot of fun.
News in the news: A defamation case and the Gulf of something
A local public-radio official says the station is being coerced to use the phrase "Gulf of America."
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Trump to take election-season Alabama trip
Also: The end of the AISA's role in Alabama high school athletics; more closed desegregation cases.
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Election '26: Let the fur fly; Tuberville-Jones on gas prices
Tommy Tuberville levies a four-legged accusation at airline workers while Doug Jones blames him for high gas prices. Also: Trash Pandas are Southern League champs and the most overlooked town in Alabama is ...
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NASA updates: A new crater and a future academy
What struck the moon? Where will the U.S. Space Academy call home? We'll talk about that and more.
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Ella's still No. 1; 'To the victor belong the spoils'
We go from Ella Langley and the Billboard Hot 100 to the Mobile bridge and bayway project and President Donald Trump's day at the United Nations.
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Alabama and AI regulation so far
More cities have added moratoriums on data centers as candidates for governor stake out their positions and legislators hear from experts.
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Talking Alabama weather
Leigh Morgan rejoins "Down in Alabama" to field a few questions about El Nino, the hot weather we're experiencing now, and life as a weather geek.
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When will electric air taxi service be a reality in Alabama?
It could be here sooner than you think if some have their way. Also, we'll look at the Fed's rate hike and trade deficits: Do they even matter?
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We're back, with Buffett, sports/politics and more
We'll catch up on news -- including multiple Jimmy Buffett-related stories -- and share the Alabama county with the highest divorce rate last year.
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Northport native is acting Army secretary
Today: A note to listeners, Adam Telle's appointment and a Honda expansion.
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Political statements, city spaces
Mobile is likely to end a program over political statements. Also: record high temps, a singer named Pynk Beard, and more Red Lobsters going away.
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Pending residency cases against Wahl, Tuberville
We have a second legal challenge over whether a candidate for statewide office; Musician Jason Isbell is suing an AI platform; the New York Times gets break in damages owed thanks to a state law.
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Ella Langley's 'Choosin' Texas' stands alone
Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas" has officially done what no other hit song has ever done. From any artist, in any genre. We also have an execution scheduled, a spat over a behemoth campaign contribution for ... lieutenant governor? ... Phenix City Little League's homecoming and a dying wish in the ICU that took some Alabama ingenuity to fulfill.
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'Days of Thunder' cultural impact and sequel
Why are analysts saying Regions Bank is ripe for acquisition? Who will be in the "Days of Thunder" sequel?
Those are two very different questions but we'll get to both of them and more.
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Tuberville: No need to debate
We'll talk about Tommy Tuberville's explanation over not debating in the governor's race, get you caught up on the latest prison construction bond issue, and look at which high school team is trying to make it two wins in a row ... after 101 losses in a row.
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Phenix City's incredible season ends
We have a new disaster-alert system, a new hunting-and-fishing licensing system, how Phenix City did in the Little League World Series and what big factory might be built in the state.
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An election results mystery
Why did Bessemer officials fail to release election results last night, then apparently refuse to talk about it?
Also, we're still following one of our Little League teams in Williamsport, and flags in Alabama are lowered for Dolly Parton.
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Canada vs. ... Alabama?
We have the U.S.-Canada spat and the lose-lose trade-war scenario in a few seconds. Also, our Little League representation is still representing, and a popular World War II veteran has passed away.
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Lawmakers might act on Flock cameras
Will the state move against Flock cameras? We'll address that.
We'll also talk about how Trump's ground-beef announcement has landed so far and what UAB is doing about nearsightedness.
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Jury awards millions in NYT case
The New York Times has lost a defamation case in Alabama ... and if it stands it'll mean millions for a former Alabama basketball player.
We also have an alternative name for the future bridge in Mobile and the passing of a big Alabama name in craft beer.
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A rare statewide debate could happen
Political debates seem harder and harder to come by, but we might have us a statewide debate this campaign season. No, not the one you were wondering about.
Also, we have guilty pleas in that Hanceville police corruption case and Clay Travis pulling a familiar sports show into his new media venture.
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Name that I-10 bridge (and should it be for Trump?)
What would you name the I-10 bridge and Bayway project when it's all done? Some want President Trump's name on it.
Today we also have the Mardi Gras Amtrak service turning 1 year old, Auburn University leaning into space and defense, and who the Sporting News ranked as the top college football personalities.
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Which private companies are the best?
Time Magazine ranked the top 100 privately owned companies, not just by size and profit but also by how good an employer and neighbor they are.
Alabama landed four on the list.
We also have how Alabama and Auburn fared in the AP preseason football poll, and we have the death of a man who was in the newspaper business for half a century.
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VA sites studying psilocybin as a depression treatment
Psychedelic help for veterans with depression? It's being studied, and the "magic mushroom" drug is what researchers are looking at.
Also, we have an unsurprising weather update and a town in the running to host a Hallmark Christmas movie.
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A (relatively) speedy execution
Alabama put a convicted child killer to death yesterday, and there wasn't much debate about this one, even from the condemned man himself.
We'll also update you on one of the troubled school systems the state took over a couple years ago. And we might as well do something on gas prices to put you in a really good weekend mood.
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John Rich joins an Alabama dispute
Why is John Rich jumping into an Alabama debate? We'll let you know. We'll also talk about the broadening of an indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center and the passing a physician who probably met some of y'all when you were too young to know which end was up.
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A rare feat for 12-year-olds
A former major leaguer's daughter pitched an Alabama team into the Little League World Series.
In just a minute we'll talk about which Alabama team's going this year, which Alabama Little Leagues have ever sent a team to Williamsport, and which one actually won it all.
We'll also go over yesterday's election unofficial results, then talk deer hunting and an invasive species and how those two things are overlapping in parts of the country.
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Congressional primaries, Take 2
We'll finish previewing today's (Aug. 11, 2026) special primary election, tell you why Fox Weather is coming to Gulf Shores, then have updates on a former batting champion's retirement and a youth baseball team that's close to reaching the Little League World Series.
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Will the Alabama Democrats rebuild?
Is it a new day for Alabama Democrats? Well, it's a day with a new state party chair, at least. We'll tell you who that is on today's episode.
We also have another city throwing up a stop sign for data centers, how Alabama's U.S. senators voted on Attorney General Todd Blanche, and a special primary election on Tuesday.
But, really, aren't all our elections special in their own way?
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ICE's Alabama partners
How many law-enforcement agencies in Alabama are partnering with ICE, what are they getting out of it, and why did at least one quickly pull out of the deal?
We'll also talk about Tommy Tuberville's limits on data centers and his call for a utility-rate freeze extension.
The Space and Missile Defense Symposium is returning to Huntsville.
And I had low-level economics stuff on my brain to share with anyone who thinks inflation has or is going to reverse itself. I mean, maybe $20 college-cafeteria burritos could fall.
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Montgomery data center: Fueling a behemoth
To support the energy needs of a big ol' data center there are big ol' solar farms, and a contract has been approved to build another one to support the coming Meta facility in Montgomery.
We also have a poll on the governor's race and a legal update on Dog the Bounty Hunter's son.
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Real challenges at virtual schools
Alabama's virtual-school students are not where you'd hope they would be, particularly in math. We'll talk about what some virtual schools face and what some plan to do about it.
We also have news out of this past weekend's state GOP Executive Committee summer session and some local TV station shakeup.
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Who should make data-center policy?
I'm going to talk a little PSC/data-center politics. That's two of Alabama's biggest political flashpoints of 2026 wrapped into one.
We also have Gee's Bend quilts making a splash in the fashion world and a high school football rivalry already heating up -- over which day of the week the teams will play in October.
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Did a botched FBI sting operation in the Natalee Holloway case lead to another death?
Did a botched sting operation of Natalee Holloway's killer lead him to commit another murder five years after her death? Today on Down in Alabama, we're discussing a trove of new documents released by journalist Greta Van Susteren, the fate of the Birmingham Stallions, and a new law that may delay some Alabama teenagers from getting their driver's licenses.
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Tommy Tuberville wants Dr. Fauci on trial in Alabama, claims he 'killed millions of people'
Sen. Tommy Tuberville said that if he's elected governor, he'll put Dr. Anthony Fauci on trial because he "killed millions of people."
Today we’re gonna unpack those claims with AL.com senior political reporter Ruth Serven Smith. And we’ll also look at the economic impact of music in Huntsville, as well as a strange new creature lurking in the waters in North Alabama.
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Kay Ivey's $1.25 billion megaprison is running behind schedule
Today on Down in Alabama, we’re covering the mounting frustration over a massive new data center in Mobile County, delays at the $1.25 billion megaprison complex in Elmore County, plus the future of Gulf Shores’ longtime Mardi Gras parade and the condition of Birmingham’s civil rights signage. We also hear from AL.com columnist John Archibald on why preserving that history matters.
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Is Tommy Tuberville planning DOGE style cuts for Alabama?
Today we’re talking about Tuberville’s “Golden Action Team,” a fancy new school in Madison County rumors that the state’s largest water utility may be leaving Birmingham, and a false allegation against a prominent politico made by an Alabama woman.
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Will Data Centers decide the midterms?
In the future, everyone will live 15 minutes from a data center. Or however that saying goes.
Today on down in Alabama, we're covering the politics of data centers, graphite mines, golf and crude jokes at the White House Correspondents Dinner.
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Could China-blocking bill affect Alabama?
Today we'll talk about the Connected Vehicle Security Act, Tutwiler prison's finally being compliant, and a measles case.
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Alabama considers AI, social-media regulation
We have a story today on a fake Randy Owen. Also, the state's considering ways to regulate AI and social-media to help keep kids safe, and a police chief is facing charges.
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