August 6 Morning Newscast
Former Jefferson County Commissioner John Katopodis has been transferred from a New Jersey federal prison to a community corrections program in Philadelphia. The Birmingham News reports Katopodis was transferred in the last few days. His release date is November 2. Many inmates are placed in halfway houses or home detention as they near release, but a federal prisons spokesman says they don’t give information about whether an inmate is at a specific facility or on home detention. Katopodis was convicted of fraud in 2009 for using money earmarked for a children’s charity to take trips to casinos and pay off personal credit card debt.
A new study finds Alabama’s retirement plan for county circuit clerks is underfunded and doesn’t function like a normal pension plan.
The study by Cavanaugh Macdonald Consulting of Kennesaw, Ga., says the fund for circuit clerks has nearly $11 million in assets, but that is only 15% of what it needs to meet its future liabilities. The actuaries say the state court system provides the bulk of the money each year to pay benefits, and that the retirement program operates primarily as a pay-as-you-go system rather than working off investments. State pension chief David Bronner, who helps administer the fund, is recommending the Alabama legislature fold circuit clerks into the retirement program for public employees.
The director of the Cullman County Emergency Management Agency has been elected president of the Alabama Association of Emergency Managers. Phyllis Little has served in her current job in Cullman for nine years. She is the past president of the North Alabama Emergency Management Mutual Assistance Association. Little will take over as association president at its annual conference next summer.
Baldwin County officials are still working to hire teachers and education workers ahead of the start of the school year.
The Board of Education will meet Monday to hire additional teachers and other employees before classes begin on August 20.
School system spokesman Terry Wilhite tells The Mobile Press-Register enrollment has increased roughly 2 percent. While most teachers are in place, Wilhite said the meeting will allow the Board of Education to fill the last few remaining slots.
Almost 200,000 Palestinians displaced by latest Israeli military offensive
Israel has ordered tens of thousand of Gazans to move to zone in the south
Susan Brownmiller, whose landmark book changed attitudes on rape, dies at 90
In 1975, Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape explored pernicious cultural and legal attitudes about rape and helped debunk the long-held view that victims were partly to blame.
A video of the French president’s wife shoving him went viral. Here’s why it matters
Macron said that the video depicts the couple "joking" and dismissed it as part of a disinformation campaign. Experts say Russian accounts are trying to undermine his image as a strong advocate for the West.
US Sen. Tommy Tuberville announces 2026 bid for Alabama governor
His announcement on the Will Cain Show on Fox News followed weeks of speculation, and associates saying Tuberville planned to enter the race. The former coach is expected to be a formidable entry in the governor’s race.
55-year-old Kami Rita Sherpa breaks his own record: climbing Mount Everest 31 times
Lumping his 31 feats together, Kami Rita Sherpa has climbed nearly 90,000 feet above sea level on the famous peak. He first climbed to the top of the world's highest mountain in 1994.
Elon Musk’s Starship rocket will try to launch again tonight
After two spectacular failures, SpaceX is hoping this test flight will go more smoothly for the behemoth rocket.
