Alabama

SELMA, Ala. (AP) — A massive storm system whipping up severe winds and spawning tornadoes cut a path across the U.S. South, killing at least seven people in Georgia and Alabama, where a twister damaged buildings and tossed cars in the streets of historic downtown Selma.

Authorities said a clearer picture of the extent of the damage and a search for additional victims would come Friday, when conditions were expected to clear. After the storm began easing Thursday night, tens of thousands of customers were without power across the two states.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The invisible line dividing two of Alabama’s congressional districts slices through Montgomery, near iconic sites from the civil rights movement as well as ones more personal to Evan Milligan.

There’s the house where his grandfather loaded people into his station wagon and drove them to their jobs during the Montgomery Bus Boycott as Black residents spurned city buses to protest segregation. It’s the same home where his mother lived as a child, just yards from a whites-only park and zoo she was not allowed to enter.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Two U.S. military veterans who disappeared while fighting Russia with Ukrainian forces have been released after about three months in captivity, relatives said Wednesday.

Alex Drueke, 39, and Andy Huynh, 27, went missing in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine near the Russian border June 9. Both had traveled to Ukraine on their own and became friends because both are from Alabama.

The families announced their release in a joint statement from Dianna Shaw, an aunt of Drueke.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Standing in the sweltering summer heat on the steps of the Alabama Capitol earlier this month, Republican Senate candidate Mo Brooks was hailed by organizers of the Jan. 6, 2021, rally in Washington for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and keep former President Donald Trump in power.

“I was proud to stand with Mo Brooks on that stage that day,” said Amy Kremer, chair of Women for America First. “Mo has the truth on his side.”

VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. (AP) — A gunman opened fire inside a suburban Alabama church, killing two people and wounding a third at a small group meeting before being taken into custody Thursday, authorities said.

The attack occurred at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church in the Birmingham suburb of Vestavia Hills, said Police Capt. Shane Ware. He said emergency dispatchers got a call at around 6:20 p.m. reporting an active shooter at the church.

June 15 (Reuters) - Two U.S. citizens who traveled to Ukraine as volunteer fighters against Russian forces have been missing for a week and are feared captured, family members said on Wednesday.

Alexander Drueke, 39, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Andy Huynh, 27, of Hartselle, Alabama, were last in contact with their families on June 8 and did not return from a mission around the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine.

Reports that the two had been taken prisoners of war by Russia are unconfirmed, the families and a U.S. State Department spokesperson said.

THOMASVILLE, Ala. (AP) — A whole town celebrated in 2020 when, early in the coronavirus pandemic, Thomasville Regional Medical Center opened, offering state-of-the-art medicine that was previously unavailable in a poor, isolated part of Alabama. The timing for the ribbon-cutting seemed perfect: New treatment options would be available in an underserved area just as a global health crisis was unfolding.

In the end, that same timing may be the reason for the hospital’s undoing.

(AP) --- The murder suspect and his jailer who evaded authorities for more than a week after walking out of an Alabama lockup were carrying $29,000 in cash, four handguns and an AR-15 rifle and were prepared for a shootout when they were captured, an Indiana sheriff said Tuesday.

FLORENCE, Ala. (AP) — A prison official from Alabama is missing after escorting an inmate to a courthouse for a hearing.

The Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post Saturday that Assistant Director of Corrections Vicky White disappeared while escorting an inmate being held on capital murder charges. The inmate is also missing.

On Saturday morning, Sheriff Rick Singleton confirmed the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, FBI, and U.S. Marshals are assisting in the investigation.

Selma (Alabama), Mar 7 (AP) Vice President Kamala Harris has visited Selma, Alabama to commemorate a defining moment in the fight for the right to vote, making her trip as congressional efforts to restore the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act have faltered.

Under a blazing blue sky, Harris on Sunday took the stage at the foot of the bridge where in 1965 white state troopers attacked Black voting rights marchers attempting to cross.