Birmingham Council President Racks Up $18,000 in Cell Phone Fees

| December 24, 2015 

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2015/12/e036b2092cf31c3e81584d04ee44408be273e7d510b715429df0_640_smart-phone.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:640;s:6:"height";i:425;s:4:"file";s:80:"2015/12/e036b2092cf31c3e81584d04ee44408be273e7d510b715429df0_640_smart-phone.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:10:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:80:"e036b2092cf31c3e81584d04ee44408be273e7d510b715429df0_640_smart-phone-336x223.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:223;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:80:"e036b2092cf31c3e81584d04ee44408be273e7d510b715429df0_640_smart-phone-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:78:"e036b2092cf31c3e81584d04ee44408be273e7d510b715429df0_640_smart-phone-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:80:"e036b2092cf31c3e81584d04ee44408be273e7d510b715429df0_640_smart-phone-600x338.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:80:"e036b2092cf31c3e81584d04ee44408be273e7d510b715429df0_640_smart-phone-600x425.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:425;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:80:"e036b2092cf31c3e81584d04ee44408be273e7d510b715429df0_640_smart-phone-468x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:468;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:80:"e036b2092cf31c3e81584d04ee44408be273e7d510b715429df0_640_smart-phone-399x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:399;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:28:"ab-block-post-grid-landscape";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:80:"e036b2092cf31c3e81584d04ee44408be273e7d510b715429df0_640_smart-phone-600x400.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:400;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:25:"ab-block-post-grid-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:80:"e036b2092cf31c3e81584d04ee44408be273e7d510b715429df0_640_smart-phone-600x425.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:425;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:80:"e036b2092cf31c3e81584d04ee44408be273e7d510b715429df0_640_smart-phone-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_imagify_optimization_level] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:0;s:14:"optimized_size";i:0;s:7:"percent";i:0;}s:5:"sizes";a:1:{s:4:"full";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}}}
        )

    [_imagify_status] => Array
        (
            [0] => already_optimized
        )

)
1662436558 
1450942897

Birmingham City Council President Johnathan Austin has taken many trips to conventions and meetings on the taxpayers’ dime, but city coffers haven’t just paid for his hotel rooms.  Austin has racked up more than $18,000 in international roaming fees on his cell phone and other electronic devices.  Alabama Media Group columnist John Archibald talks about the situation.

 

 

Anthropic settles with authors in first-of-its-kind AI copyright infringement lawsuit

A U.S. district court is scheduled to consider whether to approve the settlement next week, in a case that marked the first substantive decision on how fair use applies to generative AI systems.

Under Trump, the Federal Trade Commission is abandoning its ban on noncompetes

Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson has called his agency's rule banning noncompetes unconstitutional. Still, he says protecting workers against noncompetes remains a priority.

Anthropic to pay authors $1.5B to settle lawsuit over pirated chatbot training material

The artificial intelligence company Anthropic has agreed to pay authors $3,000 per book in a landmark settlement over pirated chatbot training material.

You can trust the jobs report, Labor Department workers urge public

A strongly-worded statement from Bureau of Labor Statistics workers comes a month after President Trump attacked the integrity of the jobs numbers they release monthly.

Headed to the FBI, Missouri’s Andrew Bailey opposed abortion, backed Trump

Andrew Bailey rose quickly to be state attorney general of Missouri where he built a record for fighting abortion and defending Donald Trump. Now he's a co-deputy director of the FBI.

How Chicago, Baltimore and New Orleans are reacting to Trump’s National Guard threats

Even after a federal court ruled his use of the National Guard in LA was illegal, the president has weighed sending troops to Chicago, Baltimore and New Orleans. Here's where things stand in those cities.

More Front Page Coverage