Local News

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — A South Korean company says Alabama is one of five states it is considering for an electric vehicle manufacturing plant that will create 2,600 jobs over the next five years.

BILOXI, Miss. (AP) — Marine biologists are studying how artificial reefs may help restore red snapper numbers. The study is being conducted by Mississippi State University’s Forest and Wildlife Research Center and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — State Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks fashioned a campaign platform for governor that calls for taxes on the gambling industry and the creation of a state lottery to provide tax cuts for Alabama families and college scholarships for their children. At a news conference Thursday, the Democratic candidate said Alabama politicians must quit ignoring the expanding gambling industry in the state and start taxing the games.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama’s maximum weekly unemployment benefit is going up $10 for people who file new claims starting Sunday. State Industrial Relations Director Tom Surtees said the maximum benefit will go from $255 a week to $265 a week. The increase is the second of two that the Legislature approved last year.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An Anniston architect pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of aiding and abetting the obstruction of justice in the two-year colleges corruption case and will spend six months in home confinement.

The two candidates contending to be the next police chief in Valley plan to use their experiences and leadership skills to improve the morale of the police department and repair its tarnished relationship with the community.

More jobs will be coming to Briggs & Stratton’s Auburn location as part of a consolidation of the company’s home power products group, according to a company spokeswoman.

While many Americans will be celebrating the nation’s history this weekend, one auto service is working hard to ensure they do it safely. AAA Alabama is offering free towing over the July Fourth weekend as part of its Tow-for-Life Program aimed at keeping impaired drivers off roadways.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Attorney General Troy King has asked for a copy of an audio tape of a Birmingham Planned Parenthood staffer allegedly saying rules are sometimes bent at the clinic.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Some Democrats are still looking for a gubernatorial candidate who can generate more excitement among voters and someone the party can unite behind after Alabama’s chief justice said Wednesday she will not run. Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb said in a statement that she plans to remain chief justice and that she was honored by people across the state encouraging her to run.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama’s state troopers will be conducting special enforcement operations during the busy Fourth of July weekend. State Public Safety Director Chris Murphy says that includes checkpoints and speeding details.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Briggs & Stratton will eliminate 430 jobs and close its Jefferson (Wis.) facility that makes pressure washers and portable generators by mid next year. Ninety to 100 additional employees, who are salaried, will being offered relocation packages.

When Michael Jackson went into cardiac arrest, rescuers took him to a place known for bringing the dead back to life. A world-renowned surgeon at the UCLA Medical Center has pioneered a way to revive people that most doctors would have long written off, including a woman whose heart had stopped for 2½ hours.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A pack of seven wild dogs that may have killed a 96-year-old man and strewn his remains over property near his home in rural west Alabama was tracked down and destroyed, authorities said Wednesday.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The longest U.S. recession since World War II has caused Alabama’s tax collections to plummet so badly that more than 120,000 taxpayers are having to wait for their state income tax refunds.

While the Independence Day holiday is one many folks hope goes off with a bang, their pets may not share that same sentiment. A dog can hear up to four times the distance a human is capable of, according to the http://www.dogfacts.org Web site.

Area law enforcement have seen an increase in the amount of car burglaries recently. Auburn police Capt. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrested four Phenix City men June 24 for more than 100 car burglaries and thefts from vehicles in the past two months. Chief Investigator Capt. Van Jackson said all the cars burglarized by the group were unlocked in residential areas.

A 33-year-old Opelika man was arrested Wednesday after investigators with the LaFayette Police Department determined he had falsely reported an armed robbery at the Kentucky Fried Chicken in LaFayette earlier this month.

The longest U.S. recession since World War II has caused Alabama’s tax collections to plummet so badly that more than 120,000 taxpayers are having to wait for their state income tax refunds.

Another former HealthSouth executive is going to prison for his role in a huge financial fraud at the Birmingham-based rehabilitation company