August 20 Morning Newscast
August 20, 2012, Morning Newscast
Republicans and Democrats from across the country will start streaming into the south later this week for their national presidential conventions. The Republican Convention gets underway a week from today in Tampa. The Democratic Convention follows on its heels in Charlotte. Used to be the “Solid South” was a political fact, benefiting Democrats for generations and then Republicans, with Bible Belt and racial politics ruling the day. But demographic changes and recent election results reveal a more nuanced landscape now. Barack Obama won both Florida, North Carolina and Virginia four years ago – propelled by young voters, non-whites and suburban independents. Each state is in play again, with Republican Mitt Romney needing to reclaim Florida and at least one of the others to reach the White House.
Alabama Public Television has a new executive director. The Alabama Educational Television Commission has voted to hire broadcast veteran Roy Clem (pictured above). Clem is the former general manager of ABC 33/40 and currently manages WVUA/WUOA at the University of Alabama. He’s expected to start his new job in early September. Clem replaces Allan Pizzato, who was fired in June in what the commissioners describe as a change in direction for the network. Pizzato is suing saying the commission violated the state’s open meetings law when it met to discuss his job. Pizzato and some commissioners were at odds over a push for Christian-themed programs on the public network..
It’s alligator hunting season on the Mobile-Tensaw Delta and hunters bagged 17 gators in the opening night. The Mobile Press-Register reports that Chris Williams of Hoover checked in the first gator. Williams told the paper it’s the first time he’s hunted alligators. Seven of the alligators that were caught were longer than 11 feet. One was longer than 12 feet, and another was over 13 feet.
Supreme Court appears likely to uphold state bans on transgender athletes
To date, 27 states have enacted laws barring transgender participation in sports.
Scott Adams, the controversial cartoonist behind ‘Dilbert,’ dies at 68
Adams announced in May that he was dying of metastatic prostate cancer. Thousands of newspapers carried his strip satirizing office culture from the '90s until a controversy in 2023.
As Iran’s protests continue, Israelis and Palestinians watch closely
There is broad support for the protests among Israeli officials, but Palestinians say they hope the Iranian regime stays in place and the protests die down soon.
The EPA is changing how it considers the costs and benefits of air pollution rules
The EPA won't consider the economic costs of harms to human health, at least for now. Legal and health experts are concerned that the change could make it easier for the agency to roll back rules.
California fire victims say fighting with insurance companies has delayed rebuilding
Wildfires last January destroyed communities around Los Angeles. Homeowners say recovery has been slowed by fights with insurers to get their claims paid.
‘Fly, Wild Swans’ is Jung Chang’s painfully personal tribute to her mother
A historian of modern China, Jung Chang turns the lens back on herself in her newest book to understand how she sees the world and why she writes about China today.
