Author: WAKA Action 8 News

FEBRUARY ’21: Autauga County Family Support Center

“Helping Families Help Themselves”

The Family Support Center was founded in 1997 with a mission to improve the quality of life in children and families through education, advocacy and employment. The Center is funded through state, federal and local grants, as well as, donations from individuals, business and civic organizations. This funding allows the Center to offer FREE programs and services to the public…

Wetumpka Legislator Sponsoring Bill to Protect Confederate Monuments

A state legislator is sponsoring a bill to protect historical monuments. State Rep. Mike Holmes (R – Wetumpka) announced he is sponsoring to further strengthen the current Alabama Memorial Preservation Act. The Act protects  monuments, markers, and other historical remembrances from removal, relocation, and destruction. State Rep. Mike Holmes (R – Wetumpka) Holmes says today’s ‘cancel culture’ is erasing any…

Biden to Meet with GOP Lawmakers to Discuss Virus Relief

Snow falls on the North Lawn of the White House, Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden is set to meet Monday with a group of 10 Republican senators who have proposed spending about one-third of what he is seeking in coronavirus aid. White House press secretary Jen Psaki says that Biden…

Children’s Book By Alabama Authors Receives Caldecott Honor

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A children’s book written by two Alabama authors is being recognized as a Caldecott Honor Book. The American Library Association announced the award last week for “The Cat Man of Aleppo,” which was co-authored by Alabama writers Karim Shamshi-Basha and Irene Latham. Yuko Shimizu illustrated the book, which was published last year by G. P. Putnam’s…

Trump Names 2 Lawyers to Impeachment Defense Team

FILE – In this Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, file photo, Donald Trump waves as he boards Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, in Washington, en route to his Mar-a-Lago Florida Resort. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump has named two lawyers to his impeachment defense team, one day after it was revealed that…

Uproar: Alabama Governor to Lease Prisons, Despite Criticism

FILE – (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt, File) MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Gov. Kay Ivey said she plans to sign agreements Monday for two privately built prisons, despite lawmakers’ complaints about the price tag and lack of public transparency and warnings from advocacy groups that such prisons won’t address chronic violence and severe staffing woes. Ivey spokeswoman Gina Maiola said the governor…

Lottery, Virus Liability, Prisons Before Lawmakers in 2021

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers return to Montgomery on Tuesday for the 2021 regular session that will be conducted differently because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Access to certain areas of the statehouse is limited and Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey will give a televised State of the State address instead of appearing before lawmakers. Legislators plan to meet for two…

Report: Hate Groups in Decline, Migrate to Online Networks

In this Sept. 26, 2020, file photo, member of the Proud Boys, right, stands in front of a counter protester as members of the Proud Boys and other right-wing demonstrators rally, in Portland. (AP Photo/John Locher, File) The Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama-based organization that tracks racism and xenophobia, says it identified 838 active hate groups operating across the…

Vaccine Skepticism lurks in Tuskegee 40 Years After the Infamous Syphilis Study

TUSKEGEE, Ala. (AP) — The coronavirus immunization campaign is off to a shaky start in Tuskegee, Alabama. Area leaders point to a lingering distrust of medicine that is linked to a 40-year government study here that used unknowing Black men as guinea pigs to study syphilis. Several people in the mostly Black city are trying to set an example by…

Cold and Blustery Start to Week

WINTER IS BACK: A cold front moved through Alabama late Sunday, and in its wake, we start the week off cloudy, breezy, and cold, due to the northerly flow off of the backside of the departing low. Temperatures will hold in the mid-40s all day and with winds sustained at 15-25 mph, wind chills will be down in the 30s…