By Anna Barrett | Staff Writer

If you live in the southern half of the state, there is an election today. There are special primary elections in the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th Congressional Districts. Check out Andrea Tinker’s voter guide and our coverage from the last month for more information on the candidates.

Plaintiffs who argue U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville is ineligible for the governor's office asked the Alabama Supreme Court on Monday to reverse a lower court's dismissal of the case. (Photo by Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector)

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

By Anna Barrett

In a 45-page brief filed in the Alabama Supreme Court, plaintiffs argued that Alabama’s judicial branch has sole jurisdiction to decide if Republican gubernatorial nominee U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville meets the state constitution’s residency requirements for the executive office. His lawyers argued in June that authority lies with the Alabama Republican Party and the Alabama Legislature.

President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he arrives with his then-personal attorney Todd Blanche in court for opening statements in his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on April 22, 2024, in New York City. (Photo by Yuki Iwamura-Pool/Getty Images)

D.C. BUREAU

By Sam Gauntt

Todd Blanche took the oath of office as U.S. attorney general at a brief ceremony in the Oval Office Monday, following the Senate’s 50-49 weekend vote to approve his nomination as the nation’s top law enforcement official. Blanche’s nomination drew widespread concern and scrutiny from congressional Democrats, and some Republicans, over actions such as his role in establishing Trump’s “anti-weaponization fund.”

McKenna Melby of the North Dakota State College of Science speaks with a job fair attendee in Fargo, North Dakota, on July 28, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor)

ECONOMY

By Tim Henderson

U.S. employers shed 23,000 jobs in July, and the employment count for earlier months was revised downward by 103,000 jobs as labor shortages begin to weigh on hiring, according to new statistics released Friday by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jobs in almost every field declined. Healthcare jobs grew in July by 22,000, but that is less than the monthly average gain of 36,000 over the last year.

ICYMI

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