Alabama

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1 Killed, 3 Missing in Coast Guard Chopper Crash

Officials resume search thwarted by fog in Mobile Bay

(Newser) - Rescuers are this morning again attempting to access the wreckage of an MH-65C Coast Guard helicopter that went down in Alabama's Mobile Bay last night, having been thwarted by foggy conditions in the search for three missing crew members. Divers overnight failed to gain entry to the wreckage, which...

Case Dismissed Against Accused Honeymoon Killer

Gabe Watson is free after judge abruptly ends trial

(Newser) - It's normally just a legal routine: After the prosecution rests, the defense stands up and asks the judge to dismiss all charges. Today, though, a judge in Alabama surprised everyone and agreed to do just that. As a result, Gabe Watson, accused of drowning his wife on their honeymoon...

Girl, 9, Dies After Forced 3-Hour Run

Savannah Hardin collapsed after extreme punishment

(Newser) - On Friday, Joyce Hardin Garrard found out her 9-year-old granddaughter Savannah Hardin had eaten a candy bar on the school bus, and allegedly punished her by making her run around the house, without stopping, for three hours. Savannah, who had a bladder condition that could have been aggravated by the...

Alabama to Close Most Mental Hospitals

Move, inspired by budget crunch, might actually help patients

(Newser) - Alabama plans to shut down four of its six mental hospitals, laying off 948 employees in the process, by next year, state officials announced this week. By next May, only two facilities will remain open, one for criminal suspects, and another for geriatrics, the New York Times reports. The move...

Dead Bride Pic Shown in 'Honeymoon Killer' Trial

Shows Tina Watson sinking near her husband

(Newser) - A chilling photo of dead newlywed diver Tina Watson sinking near her apparently unconcerned husband has been entered into evidence in his Alabama murder trial. Prosecutors say expert diver Gabe Watson killed his wife in the waters off Australia during their 2003 honeymoon to collect $130,000 in life insurance...

Anonymous Hits CIA, Alabama Websites

Hackers seek revenge for state's crackdown on immigrants

(Newser) - It's been another busy Friday for the hackers of Anonymous: They're claiming credit for taking down the CIA website (again) and for hacking into police and government websites in Alabama, reports CNN . The hackers say they stole the personal information of 46,000 people, with the city of...

God Doesn't Want Teachers to Be Paid More: State Sen.

Alabama's Shadrack McGill: But lawmakers should definitely get raises

(Newser) - Teacher pay shouldn't be increased, an Alabama lawmaker explained at a prayer breakfast this week, because the Bible says so. "If you double what you're paying education, you know what's going to happen?" asked state Sen. Shadrack McGill. "I've heard the comment many times,...

2 Dead as Storms Slap South, Midwest

2 reported dead in Alabama

(Newser) - Alabama rescuers are going door-to-door seeking trapped Birmingham-area residents following violent storms in the region that have killed two so far. Tornadoes were reported in Arkansas, with warnings in effect in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama, the AP reports. Hail and heavy wind have also slammed Mississippi, Illinois, and Tennessee, where...

Natalee Holloway Declared Dead

Judge makes ruling at father's request

(Newser) - Six years after teenager Natalee Holloway went missing in Aruba, an Alabama judge has declared her dead. The move, announced in court today, follows a September request by Holloway's father; he wants to stop paying for her health insurance and give her college fund money to her brother, the...

Anti-Gay Marriage Politician Donated Sperm to Lesbians

Bill Johnson made donations without wife's knowledge while in New Zealand

(Newser) - In his failed quest to become governor of Alabama, Bill Johnson campaigned against gay marriage in 2009—but he has been secretly donating sperm to lesbian couples in New Zealand since. Johnson headed to the country this year to aid in earthquake recovery; it was his desire to father children...

Ala. County to File Biggest Municipal Bankruptcy

Birmingham's Jefferson County deep in the red

(Newser) - Jefferson County is Alabama's most populous county, the home of Birmingham, and now destined to be the answer to a dubious trivia question: County commissioners today voted to file the biggest municipal bankruptcy in US history, reports the Birmingham News . The $4.1 billion bankruptcy stems from $3.14...

Court Blocks Parts of Alabama Immigration Law

Schools won't have to check legal status of kids

(Newser) - The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction today blocking two key provisions of Alabama’s controversial immigration law : the one requiring immigrants to carry special alien registration cards, and another forcing schools to check the immigration status of enrolling students. The court said the legal challenges against those...

US Asks Court to Block Alabama Immigration Law

Justice Department wants tough new measures stopped

(Newser) - The US government asked an appeals court today to halt the Alabama immigration law considered by many the toughest in the nation, saying it could have dire diplomatic consequences abroad, invites discrimination, and merely forces illegal immigrants into neighboring states. The motion, filed in the 11th US Circuit Court of...

Hispanic Kids Bailing From Alabama Schools

New immigration law scaring away families

(Newser) - Alabama's strict new rules on illegal immigration went into effect this week, and the fallout has been immediate at schools around the state: Hispanic students are staying away in droves, reports the AP . The rules require schools to check incoming students' immigration status. Even though they shouldn't affect...

Obama Goes on Offense Vs. Immigration Laws

Administration may challenge laws in a half dozen states

(Newser) - Even as Alabama’s stringent new immigration law takes effect today , the Obama administration is ramping up efforts to challenge it and other laws like it around the country. The administration has already sued Arizona and Alabama, its lawyers are talking with Utah officials about another suit there, and Georgia,...

Alabama Now Has US' Harshest Immigration Law

Portions of it go into effect today after judge's ruling

(Newser) - Starting today, Alabama police will enforce what many are calling the US’ toughest immigration law. A federal judge upheld key aspects of the law yesterday, including allowing authorities to question and detain suspected illegal immigrants and requiring officials to check public school students’ immigration status. The governor says those portions...

Alabama Town Enacts 'Jesus or Jail' Plan

Misdemeanor offenders can choose between church and jail

(Newser) - Petty offenders can choose between Jesus and jail time in Bay Minette, Alabama. The town kicked off Operation Restore Our Community this week, giving misdemeanor lawbreakers the choice between a year of church-going or fines and jail, Raw Story reports. Pastors invented the program because crime is caused by "...

Tropical Depression to Drench Gulf Coast

Region could see 20 inches of rain

(Newser) - A tropical depression heading toward the Gulf Coast could soak the area in as much as 20 inches of rain, prompting concerns about flash floods in Louisiana, whose governor declared a state of emergency yesterday. What could become Tropical Storm Lee prompted warnings from Mississippi to Texas, the AP reports,...

Feds Sue Alabama Over Immigration Law

Says law oversteps its bounds, interferes with federal policy

(Newser) - In a move that will shock exactly no one, the Department of Justice is treating Alabama’s extraordinarily harsh illegal immigration law the same way it treated Arizona’s: It’s suing. The DOJ is asking for an injunction stopping the law from going into effect on Sept. 1, arguing...

Ala. Judges Override Juries— but Not to Be Merciful

Most of the time power is used, it's to impose the death penalty

(Newser) - It sounds sensible, even merciful: Alabama judges are allowed to override the decisions of capital juries. Justice Thurgood Marshall, a staunch death penalty opponent, was in favor of the system, because it allows "someone who had seen more than one case" to make the ultimate decision, says one retired...

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