Weather
BC-AL--Alabama News Digest. (AP) — EDITORS: The day editor is Errin Haines. If you wish to contribute stories of statewide interest or breaking news, please send by electronic carbon, e-mail to moge(at)ap.org, or fax to (334) 265-7177, or call the Montgomery AP at 1-800-821-3737. Birmingham Correspondent Jay Reeves can be reached at (205) 251-4221. AP stories, along with the photos that accompany them, can be obtained from http://www.apexchange.com. Technical problems may be reported to (800) 535-4195. For repeats call AP Service Desk 1-877-836-9477. The AP's general Web site is http://www.ap.org. The Alabama AP's Web site is http://www.ap.org/Alabama/ TOP STORIES: AMENDMENT-BUDGET MONTGOMERY, Ala. — We will take a look at a proposed constitutional amendment that would use nearly $146 million from a state savings account to help fund the General Fund budget. Tapping the savings account is a crucial element of the budget, which lawmakers passed Wednesday night. Gov. Robert Bentley has said he will have to cut the budget across the board if voters reject the proposal at the polls in September. By Andy Brownfield. OUT OF THE SHADOWS She was tiny and trembling and looked so very vulnerable. Barely 15, having already experienced a lifetime of hardships since losing her mother at 5 and crossing the desert with her father, she clutched a microphone before a crowd in New York's Union Square. "My name is Diana," she said. "I am undocumented and unafraid." From California to Georgia to New York, children of families who live here illegally are "coming out" — marching behind banners that say "undocumented and unafraid," staging sit-ins in federal offices, and getting arrested in the most defiant ways — in front of the Alabama Capitol, outside federal immigration courts and detention centers, in Maricopa County, Ariz., home of the sworn enemy of illegal immigrants, Sheriff Joe Arpaio. In "outing" their families as well as themselves, they know they risk being deported. But as states pass ever more stringent anti-illegal immigration laws — and critics denounce their parents. By AP Special Correspondent Helen O'Neill. Eds: Moved previously in advance. AP Photos. MEMBER EXCHANGE: WOMAN BURNED-RECOVERY MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The past few months have shown Jessie Crumpton West the strength she has on the inside. The strength to overcome the amputation of her legs and right arm after she said her uncle threw boiling water on her when he showed up angry at her Montgomery home. And the strength to persevere through 900 staples, 2,000 stitches and 21 prescriptions during the physical healing process. The mother of three would do anything to have it all back — to be able to run with her children, to reach out and touch their hair as they pass her in her wheelchair. To again be "tea mom" on her son's T-ball team, and "room mom" in the classroom. And to sit in direct sunlight. Still, today, she maintains an unwavering and fulfilling spirit, and an unending appreciation for being alive. By Kym Klass. The Montgomery Advertiser. AP Photos GANDHI-BIRMINGHAM AUTHOR BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — After his successful book on the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Birmingham author Jim Douglass tackled a biographical account of another martyr — the Hindu statesman Mohandas Gandhi. By Greg Garrison. The Birmingham News AP Photos ALSO: — FERAL CATS — Residents, shelters try to deal with feral cat population overrunning downtown Tuscaloosa. — SCHOOL TESTING — Testing, data helping students, teachers in struggling districts improve. — HEROIN DEATHS — Jefferson County sees spike in heroin-related deaths; 23 deaths logged in April. — EDUCATION CONFERENCE — University of Ala. hosts national conference of science education. The AP |
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled.
Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.
What's onFull ScheduleCW Link |
