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Trump 2.0: The Reckoning
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Lee Hedgepeth

Lee Hedgepeth

Reporter, Alabama

Lee Hedgepeth is Inside Climate News’ Alabama reporter. Raised in Grand Bay, Alabama, a small town on the Gulf Coast, Lee holds master’s degrees in community journalism and political development from the University of Alabama and Tulane University. Lee is the founder of Tread, a newsletter of Southern journalism, and has also worked for news outlets across Alabama, including CBS 42, Alabama Political Reporter and the Anniston Star. His reporting has focused on issues impacting members of marginalized groups, including homelessness, poverty, and the death penalty. His award-winning journalism has appeared in publications across the country and has been cited by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, among others.

  • @lee_hedgepeth
  • [email protected]
Hundreds of Alabamians flock to the Cahaba River each year during peak blooming season. Credit: Lee Hedgepeth/Inside Climate News

A Song for the Cahaba River

By Lee Hedgepeth

Twinkle Cavanaugh was recently appointed as the State Director for Rural Development in Alabama under the Trump administration. Credit: Twinkle Cavanaugh Campaign

A Twinkle in Trump’s Eye: A Shakeup at Alabama’s Top Utility Regulator

By Lee Hedgepeth

New cars sit parked at a Tesla dealership in Corte Madera, Calif. Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Tax Increase Tucked Into Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

By Lee Hedgepeth, Marianne Lavelle

A covered coal ash pond sits adjacent to the Coosa River in Gadsden, Ala. Credit: Courtesy of Coosa Riverkeeper

Alabama Power Threatened With Lawsuit for Contaminating Groundwater With Coal Ash

By Dennis Pillion, Lee Hedgepeth

Alabamians Want Answers About a Four-Million-Square-Foot Data Center Coming to Their Backyards

By Lee Hedgepeth, Lanier Isom

Warrior Met’s Blue Creek mine expansion is set to be one of the largest coal infrastructure buildouts in Alabama history. Credit: Lee Hedgepeth/Inside Climate News

Trump Aims to Fast Track Alabama Coal Build-Out, Citing US Need. Nearly All the Coal Is Bound for Export

By Lee Hedgepeth

Ruby Banta (center) and friends Nova Russell (left) and Colette Duvall (right) held a yard sale to benefit the spotted salamander via a local nonprofit, Friends of Shades Creek. Credit: Courtesy of the Banta family

For Alabama’s Spotted Salamanders, a Win and a Warning

By Lee Hedgepeth

President Donald Trump listens to reporters’ questions in the Oval Office at the White House on Thursday. Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Trump May Target Environmental Nonprofits in Executive Orders

By Marianne Lavelle, Lee Hedgepeth

Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous (center, in white) poses with Dr. Robert Bullard (to his left, in yellow), Pastor Timothy Williams and other members of the Shiloh community in south Alabama. Credit: Courtesy of Living on Earth

A Father of Environmental Justice Rebukes Sierra Club, Ben Jealous Over Treatment of Black Alabamians

By Lee Hedgepeth

An aerial view of Warrior Met's Blue Creek Mine No. 1 construction site. Credit: Lee Hedgepeth/Inside Climate News

Trump Official Visits, Touts Alabama Coal Mine With Thousands of Federal Safety Violations

By Lee Hedgepeth

U.S. President Joe Biden and Catherine Coleman Flowers, founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice, arrive for an event at the White House on April 21, 2023. Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Trump Announces ‘Termination’ of ‘Illegal DEI’ Settlement Over Raw Sewage in Poor, Majority-Black Alabama Communities

By Lee Hedgepeth, Dennis Pillion

Kathy Love, the Alabama Surface Mining Commission director, speaks at the agency’s meeting on Thursday in Jasper, Ala. Photo credit: Lee Hedgepeth/Inside Climate News

A Year After a Fatal Explosion, Alabama Extends Deadline for Coal Companies to Monitor Methane Gas Above Mines

By Lee Hedgepeth

Spotted salamanders have long fallen victim to unbridled residential and commercial development that has threatened or destroyed their habitats. Credit: Lee Hedgepeth/Inside Climate News

In Alabama, a Fight for the Spotted Salamander

By Lee Hedgepeth

The view shows the tops of trees and other plants

Should Oil and Gas Drilling Expand in This Biodiverse National Forest? The Public Overwhelmingly Says No 

By Lee Hedgepeth

President Donald Trump fired TVA board member Michelle Moore in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

Trump Fires Clean Energy Leader From TVA Board Without Publicly Providing a Reason

By Lee Hedgepeth

For the First Time, Alabama Says Methane ‘Likely’ Caused Fatal Home Explosion Above Coal Mine

By Lee Hedgepeth

A school bus was thrown onto the roof of the former Winterboro High School building in Talladega County, Ala. during this weekend's severe weather. Credit: Courtesy of NWS Birmingham

Severe Weather Warnings Persist After a Deadly Weekend of Tornadoes, Dust Storms and Fires

By Keerti Gopal, Lee Hedgepeth

Prescribed burns are commonly used to limit fuel availability and reduce the number of wildfires. Research suggests the blazes also cause excess premature deaths due to particulate pollution. Credit: Lee Hedgepeth/Inside Climate News

What’s Causing Birmingham’s Code Red Air Quality Alert?

By Lee Hedgepeth

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