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.
Fact-check: Who’s right in the Musk-Navarro feud over Tesla?
President Trump's rival advisors Peter Navarro and Elon Musk are in a war of words over whether Tesla relies on imported parts. Musk has the facts on his side.
Judge orders White House to allow AP access to news events
U.S. Judge Trevor N. McFadden rules the White House cannot deny the Associated Press access to news events because the wire service continues to use "Gulf of Mexico" rather than "Gulf of America".
New Social Security rules will create hurdles for millions of seniors, report finds
A new report from a left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities finds that upcoming changes to Social Security will amount to a "45-mile trip for some 6 million seniors."
The IRS finalizes a deal to share tax information with immigration authorities
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Mixed messages on tariffs raises scrutiny on Trump aides
President Trump is boasting about the wheeling and dealing he's doing to cut deals on steep new tariffs. But for weeks, his aides have insisted that tariffs were not a bargaining chip.
Migrants who entered the U.S. via CBP One app should leave ‘immediately,’ DHS says
DHS is telling some migrants who entered the U.S. using the CBP One app to leave immediately, part of a broader push to revoke temporary legal protections known as humanitarian parole.
