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Alabama attorney general announces civil probe of Southern Poverty Law Center

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama’s attorney general announced a civil investigation Monday into the Southern Poverty Law Center’s fundraising practices in the wake of a federal indictment against the organization.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said he has sent a subpoena to the center seeking information about its donations and payments to informants. He said he is seeking to determine if the organization violated state laws related to charitable organizations or deceptive trade practices.

“We look forward to learning more about the inner workings of an organization that we have long believed was rotten, but until recently, has been impervious,” Marshall said in a news release.

The SPLC gave a brief response Monday. “We have received notice of a subpoena and are currently reviewing,” a spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement.

The state investigation comes after the U.S. Department of Justice announced a criminal indictment against the organization, accusing it of fraud by using funds to pay informants inside extremist groups. Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, accused the group of “manufacturing racism to justify its existence.”

The SPLC has called the accusation “provably wrong” and said the informant program gathered intelligence to help stop attacks and dismantle the efforts of hate groups. The organization said federal officials have long known about the program and that information has been shared with law enforcement.

The organization, best known for investigating hate groups, has often clashed in legal cases with conservative groups, President Donald Trump’s administration and Marshall’s office. The center has been a frequent critic of Trump administration policies.

Inside Obama’s presidential museum opening this month: The cost, the books and a beehive

CHICAGO (AP) — The Obama Presidential Center will open June 19 more than a decade after the former president chose his hometown of Chicago for the project. The museum displays campaign memorabilia and presidential artifacts, while its campus showcases a new community basketball court, public library and playground. A look at the numbers behind the former President Barack Obama's presidential museum. $850 million The approximate cost to build the 225-foot museum tower and nearly 20-acre campus, which the Obama Foundation is paying for with private donations. The cost ballooned from the initial estimates of $350 million.
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