What's going on in Alabama
Good to have y'all back. Today we'll lead with a couple of crime stories, one the sentencing of the North Alabama teenager who was convicted of killing five members of his family. Ike Morgan |
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The Elkmont teenager who killed five family members has been sentenced to life in prison without parole, reports AL.com's Howard Koplowitz. Mason Sisk was only 14 years old in 2019 when he shot and killed his father John Sisk, stepmother Mary Sisk and three siblings -- 6-year-old Kane, 4-year-old Rorrie and 6-month-old Colson. The charges were capital murder, but Sisk did not qualify for the death penalty because he was a minor. |
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According to the Cullman County Sheriff's Office, one of its deputies shot and killed a dispatcher and then killed himself while the two were on vacation together, reports AL.com's Warren Kulo. The Office said that Deputy Kenneth Booth Jr. and Alexis White had been dating and that an argument between the two in Orange Beach led to Booth drawing a weapon. Note that Orange Beach police are still investigating the crime. Alexis White was only 23 years old. Sheriff Matt Gentry said she had worked at the Sheriff's Office since she was 16, joining a newly formed youth leadership academy. Sheriff Gentry said, “I am literally heartbroken. I feel like Lexi is one of my own kids.” |
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Auburn is playing at Cal and Texas is playing at Alabama on Saturday, and the current dispute between Disney and Charter Communications has Spectrum viewers still caught in between. The companies are fussing about distribution fees as more and more customers cut cable, and it's resulted in Disney pulling its networks from Spectrum. That includes ESPN, which is airing both Auburn and Alabama games on Saturday. You may have gone through this last weekend, but if you have Internet then streaming options are available to get you through. FuboTV and DirecTV Stream were two that had the options to do a free trial. |
The salamander with the metal name |
(Photo courtesy of Jim Godwin, Alabama Natural Heritage Program) The eastern hellbender -- that's a salamander, not a heavy metal band -- might get federal protection after a judge ordered a new look at the species, reports AL.com's Dennis Pillion. Back in 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service passed on protecting the hellbender. But several environmental groups challenged that decision, and a District Court judge ruled it was arbitrary and capricious. The argument is that the previous decision had relied on unproven re-population efforts to claim the salamander was safe from extinction. The eastern hellbender is aquatic. In Alabama they're mostly found in the Tennessee River system. They're also huge for a salamander, sometimes growing longer than two feet over their 25-30-year lifespans. |
“We got people doing poems on aircraft carriers over a loudspeaker. It is absolutely insane the direction we are headed in our military -- and we’re headed downhill, not uphill." |
In 1900, Claude Pepper of Dudleyville, longtime U.S. Senator and Congressman representing Florida. In 1940, Willie Tyler of Red Level, I believe the first ventriloquist we've mentioned in this birthdate section. In 1946, Dean Daughtry of Kinston, keyboardist for Atlanta Rhythm Section. In 1992, Za'Darius Smith of Montgomery, currently a defensive end with the Cleveland Browns. |
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