By Brian Lyman | Editor
“Two per county would be the ultimate goal. Let’s say 67 counties, at least one. If we reach 67, and we have got coverage throughout the state, that is the ultimate goal.” - Jason Smith, founder, S.A.F.E.R. Together, on program to prevent veteran suicide
Supporters plant 150 flags in honor of veterans who died by suicide in 2024 at an event in Montgomery, Alabama on Sept. 9, 2026. (Ralph Chapoco/Alabama Reflector)
HEALTHCARE
By Ralph Chapoco
Veterans have higher suicide rates than the general population, and advocates seeking to prevent it are turning to a 2025 Alabama law that allows gun owners who fear they may harm themselves to surrender their guns to a firearm retailer. A nonprofit has gotten 14 retailers to sign up for the program and is installing gun safes in those stores. About 73% of suicides in Alabama in 2024 involved a firearm, and 48% of firearm deaths were suicides.
Members of the Alabama Community College System Board of Trustees as seen on Aug. 12, 2026. (Andrea Tinker/Alabama Reflector)
EDUCATION
By Anna Barrett
Enrollment in Alabama’s community college was over 99,000 as of Tuesday, and Alabama Community College System officials told ACCS trustees Wednesday that they think it’s possible it will go over 100,000 as registration remains open. Overall enrollment in the state’s community colleges is up nearly 2% over last year, a slower increase than recent years which officials attributed to new identification software tied to federal financial aid.
A group of hemlock trees in the woods near the Flight 93 crash site in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, seen in 2006. They were marked with spray-paint by searchers in the days and weeks after the crash in 2001. (Courtesy of Tim Lambert)
COMMENTARY
By Tim Lambert, Pennsylvania Capital-Star
The Flight 93 crash site included land owned by the family of Pennsylvania Capital-Star Editor Tim Lambert. In this column, Lambert writes about meeting family members of the Flight 93 passengers, his efforts to tell the stories of their loved ones and of the land before the September 11 attacks, and what his experiences taught him.
ICYMI
At midterm convention, Trump pledges cash to voters if Republicans hold Congress | Ashley Murray, DC Bureau
Salvadorans await word on protected status as midnight deadline approaches | Ariana Figueroa, DC Bureau
Trump’s Canadian trade war stirs up trouble for Republican candidates | Kevin Hardy, Stateline
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