August 13 Morning Newscast
August 13, 2012, Morning Newscast
A majority of the Jefferson County Commission is set to vote tomorrow to close inpatient care at Cooper Green Mercy Hospital by Oct. 1. The Birmingham News reports that no plans are in place for how the sick or poor will get care or how hospitals that treat them will get reimbursed.Business groups, medical professionals, state lawmakers and community activists are calling on the County Commission to rethink whether to end inpatient care at Cooper Green Mercy Hospital. On Friday, the city of Birmingham filed a lawsuit to prevent closure of the inpatient care unit. The Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) urged the commission to avoid a quick decision that would create a climate of confusion, distrust and anxiety. Friday, The BBA called on the County Commission to define and articulate a clear plan for indigent care before voting to end inpatient services.
Alabama lags in incentives for solar power. The Birmingham News reports that across the country, solar energy is spreading, spurred by falling prices for equipment, environmental sensitivity and generous incentives from governments and utilities. Tennessee, Florida and Georgia all have solar power arrays running and future projects are in the works. Alabama, on the other hand, finishes at or near the bottom in solar surveys. Traditionally, there hasn’t been much interest in solar power in Alabama because it was an expensive technology, the state was relatively poor and power was cheap. However, in more recent years, some other states have created a variety of tax incentives to encourage the installation of solar, in addition to those offered by the federal government. But Alabama is not one of those states. Currently there are only 27 residential customers of Alabama Power selling solar electricity back to the grid.
SELMA, Ala. (AP) — A new monument being built to honor Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest is stirring up controversy in Selma. Todd Kiscaden with Friends of Forrest tells WAKA-TV the group decided to make improvements to the monument after a bust of Forrest disappeared from the monument in March. But state Sen. Hank Sanders, a Democrat from Selma, says Forrest was the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, and he wants construction stopped. Kiscaden says Forrest was a Confederate hero who led the efforts to defend Selma against Union troops during the Civil War and should be honored. The theft of the bust earlier this year wasn’t the first time the monument has been damaged. It was vandalized soon after it was dedicated in October 2000.
Alabama Black Belt’s sewer crisis a tougher fix for residents in manufactured homes
Poor sanitation has long plagued residents in Alabama’s Black Belt. For people with manufactured houses, finding a solution has been more challenging.
In Birmingham, Black men’s groups work to save young men from the cycle of gun violence
As the city inches closer to its homicide record, community members are trying to address a sense of fatalism and lack of opportunity felt by some young men.
Former Brazilian president indicted over alleged coup plot
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro and several others have been charged with attempting to overthrow incoming government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who took aim at crypto industry, to step down in January
Gensler said he would step down on Jan. 20, when Donald Trump will inaugurated as the next president. Gensler took big enforcement actions against the crypto industry.
Russia launched an experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, the U.S. says
Ukraine raised alarm suggesting Russia may have used an intercontinental ballistic missile to hit the city of Dnipro, but the U.S. National Security Council does not believe it was an ICBM.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdraws as Trump’s attorney general nominee
Allegations of sex trafficking and drug use had stirred controversy over Matt Gaetz's nomination as attorney general.
