SUMMARY: A 25% tariff on foreign cars and auto parts is set to take effect at midnight, potentially raising prices for consumers. While current inventory and cars already at U.S. ports will remain at existing prices, future pricing remains uncertain. Dealerships in North Alabama say it’s too early to know the full impact, but warn that repair costs may also rise due to higher parts prices. Some manufacturers may absorb part of the tariff, while others could pass the full cost to buyers—raising a $30,000 car to nearly $40,000. Dealerships report a recent surge in buyers trying to purchase before prices rise.

A 25% tariff on any foreign cars or auto parts will go into effect in a couple of hours.

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SUMMARY: Meteorologist Brylee Brown explains why thunderstorms are more common in summer than winter in her “Weather Fun 1-on-1” segment. Joined by Aidan, they conduct an experiment using two bowls of air at different temperatures. The warm air inflates a balloon, demonstrating that warm air is less dense and rises, while cold air causes the balloon to deflate. This principle helps explain why summer afternoons often bring air mass thunderstorms, as humid, warm air is abundant. In winter, less warm air means these storms are rare. For more weather science resources, viewers can scan a QR code or visit the website.

Weather Fun 1on1: Brylee explains why thunderstorms occur more often in the summer than in the winter

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by Anna Barrett, Alabama Reflector
April 2, 2025

A bill that would require local school boards to adopt policies on extending academic credit for “religious instruction” outside the classroom failed an Alabama House committee on Wednesday.

The House Education Policy Committee rejected HB 342, sponsored by Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, on a 4-9 vote despite significant amendments to the bill that gave local school boards more flexibility with the policy. 

Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, the chair of the committee, said she supported the amendments but said the pushback from both sides was stronger than she expected.

“I had every superintendent around me actually reach out and ask not to,” Collins said in an interview about her vote. “There was just a lot of passion. The amount of people pushing both ways was extreme, more so than I thought, and that makes me hesitant.”

State law currently allows boards of education to extend that credit, but does not mandate released time religious instruction (RTRI), the subject of DuBose’s bill, in which students can take time out of the school day for religious instruction.

The ministry teaches students about the Christian Standard Bible “with a focus on head, heart and hands,” according to its website. In a sample curriculum, it alters the language and organization of Bible lessons so that children can understand it easily. 

Rep. Alan Baker, R-Brewton, also voted against the bill, saying schools can already create religious release time policies. The Legislature passed a law allowing school boards to create a policy in 2019.

“I think the local authorities need to make that decision,” Baker said in an interview. “If they want that there in their system, then they can handle it.”

Collins said she wanted to see more results of the current law. 

“My thought is, we passed it several years ago as a ‘may.’ I would like to see how that works a little bit longer,” she said. 

Rep. Tashina Morris, D-Montgomery, said the program would take away needed instructional time.

“The school hours haven’t changed, but we keep sticking things into the class time,” she said.

DuBose said the bill may come back next year, but start in the Senate.

“People had a difference of opinion. And that happens all the time,” DuBose said in an interview. “I don’t think anything went wrong.”

SB 278, sponsored by Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, is identical to DuBose’s bill with the amendments. It was filed Tuesday and is in the Senate Education Policy Committee.

Alabama Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com.

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