Apr. 18, 2025

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Republicans in the state Senate played a little hardball Thursday to push through base-pleasing measures without giving Democrats a chance to slow things down.

AL.com's Mike Cason reports that the GOP supermajority stopped debate on bills, an uncommon step, and passed bills requiring activation of porn filters on internet devices, requiring age verification for app stores, proposing a constitutional amendment to require public schools to play the National Anthem at least once a week, changing appointments to the board of the Department of Archives and History, changing state law on the system to maintain voter rolls, and prohibiting the use of foreign national driver licenses as voter IDs.

In the Senate, 21 votes are needed to cut off debate on a bill, and the GOP holds 27 of the 34 seats. Plus, Republican Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth presides over Senate debate.

Even so, Republicans rarely go there. But with seven working days left in the legislative session, they stepped on the gas.

Meanwhile, Minority Leader Bobby Singleton called the slate of bills a "red meat package" and said he was more worried about what the Republicans were passing than how they were passing it.

A jury has awarded a woman $10 million for injuries she suffered at work when she was 17 years old, reports AL.com's Patrick Darrington.

Destiny Longs, when she was a junior at Spain Park High School, was working at a facility owned and operated by Comfort Systems USA and H&M Mechanical. She had been assigned to work on a coil-line machine to fabricate ductwork for HVAC systems.

According to the complaint, she was placed on the machine without proper safety training. Her arms were pulled into the machine's rollers, trapping her in the machine. Birmingham Fire and Rescue had to take the machine apart, and Longs went to UAB Hospital with her right arm still wrapped around a spindle shaft.

The $10 million was awarded on April 11.

Time Magazine has named former Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World, reports AL.com's William Thornton.

It's incredible to think we can say that about a quarterback. Keep in mind that the world contains, for example, 50 governors in the U.S., 32 NATO heads of state, Elon Musk, 7 members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Lionel Richie, more than 3,000 billionaires and Terry Saban. Yet Jalen Hurts is in Time's Top 100 Most Influential.

Hurts is the reigning Super Bowl MVP and was recognized as the 2024 Philadelphia Citizen of the Year. That wasn't just for his work on the ballfield: He launched the Jalen Hurts Foundation and donated money to the "Keep it Cool" program to put air conditioners into Philadelphia schools.

We have an update out of the latest Tarrant story: A defamation charge was dropped against activist and Tarrant Crime Commission member Chuck Winborn, reports AL.com's Joseph D. Bryant.

Winborn was arrested after he made Facebook posts that a police officer claimed were defamatory. The posts included a video of the officer going into the empty office of suspended Tarrant Police Chief Wendell Major in 2023.

The officer, Sgt. Derrick Williamson, claimed the posts intended to accuse him of breaking into the office. The Jefferson County District Attorney's office had requested the charge be dropped.

Review some news through this week's quick, five-question multiple-choice quiz.

$750,000

That's the amount of money that Thompson High School's Cameron Pritchett reportedly turned down (from out of state) to stay and finish up with the Warriors.

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