Five Ways to Help Lee County Tornado Victims
Twenty-three people lost their lives and dozens more were injured in the powerful tornado that swept through Lee County Sunday. Many lost their homes, loved ones, and pets. Here are five ways to help those affected.
Update — March 22, 2019 – 3:00 p.m.
Donate Supplies or Money
You can donate perishable supplies at Greater Peace Baptist Church. Goree’s Furniture is taking items such as food, diapers and clothing. They’ll pick up the items.
Greater Peace Baptist Church: 650 Jeter Ave, Opelika, AL 36801
Goree’s Furniture: 334-742-0607
Want to give money? The Red Cross of East Alabama and the Salvation Army are accepting donations, and the United Way of Central Alabama created a disaster relief fund.
More options:
Samaritan’s Purse International Relief
Community Foundation of East Alabama Tornado relief
The Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund
Volunteer
Church of the Highlands is organizing volunteers to help those in need and to assist in clean up efforts. Text the word “response” to 74000 to get updates on ways to get involved.
Give Blood
The East Alabama Medical Center has treated more than 40 people after the tornado. You can make a blood donation through LifeSouth. The Opelika location is at 505 E Thomason Circle, 36801.
Help Lost or Displaced Pets
Opelika Animal Hospital is boarding displaced pets for free.
Help with Shelter Needs
Smith Station Fire & Rescue is distributing donations.
You can also follow the Lee County Emergency Management Agency on Twitter for volunteer and donation updates.
Know of more to add to the list? Let us know. Email news@wbhm.org.
Protests erupt in Kenya’s capital over blogger’s death in police custody
Demonstrators take to the streets in Kenya's capitol over the suspicious death of a popular blogger in police custody — a flashpoint of outrage in a country still reeling from last year's deadly crackdown on anti-tax protests.
Denounced by GOP lawmakers, blue state governors defend immigration policies
GOP lawmakers on Thursday blasted Democratic immigration policies as coddling violent criminals. Democrats portrayed Trump's escalating migrant sweeps as a dangerous assault on civil liberties.
A popular climate website will be hobbled, after Trump administration eliminates entire staff
Climate.gov is the main source of timely climate-related information for the public. It will stop publishing new information because the Trump administration laid off everyone who worked on it.
What led the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to crash in India with 242 people aboard?
"It just appears to me that the airplane is unable to climb," former NTSB investigator Jeff Guzzetti tells NPR. Several explanations could account for that, the aviation expert says.
In first-of-its-kind lawsuit, Hollywood giants sue AI firm for copyright infringement
Disney and Universal's 110-page lawsuit against Midjourney claims the AI player stole "countless" copyrighted works to train its software.
Trump’s efforts to defund NPR and PBS playing out in Congress and the courts
Trump and other Republicans want to rescind more than $1 billion in federal funding already approved for NPR and PBS. The president also issued an executive order intended to prevent federal agencies from funding the two public broadcasting networks.