Nov 27, 2024

Keep an eye on the weather today and into tomorrow, especially if you're traveling for Thanksgiving. Storms are possible in the state.

Today's report follows. Thanks for reading,

Ike

Looking for the podcast? Click here or check other options below.

A Fairfield 22-year-old is being accused by law enforcement of killing 11 people and wounding 29 others from July through September, reports AL.com's Carol Robinson.

Damien Laron McDaniel III was charged in the September killings of four people outside the hookah bar Hush in Birmingham. Last week authorities indicted him in a July 13 drive-by-shooting that resulted in four deaths at an adult birthday party. He's also charged in a burglary and homicide on Aug. 13, the killing of a woman police said was an innocent bystander inside a bar on Sept. 19, and a robbery shooting death of a man less than 24 hours after that Sept. 21 mass shooting outside Hush.

Jefferson County DA Danny Carr claimed that McDaniel and the others who've been charged in the string of killings accounted for around 30% of the county's homicides from July until September.

Some of the pro-life activists in the state would like to see the state legislature tighten up IVF regulations as a next step after a law giving immunity to clinics. That law was quickly passed in March after IVF clinics were put into legal peril by a court ruling that gave frozen embryos the legal status of unborn children, reports AL.com's Mike Cason.

Alabama Pro-Life Coalition President Eric Johnston said the immunity law was a stop-gap measure, and that pro-life Alabamians aren't opposed to IVF but would like to see regulations considered, such as limits on the number of embryos created and/or a ban on using human embryos for research.

Christian Coalition of Alabama President Dr. Randy Brinson said he believes the Alabama Supreme Court decision was sound and that the immunity law conflicts with that ruling.

On the opposite end of the issue are many Democrats. State Rep. Anthony Daniels, a Huntsville Democrat and the party's leader in the House, also said a next step needs to be taken. He said he'll be sponsoring a bill that would specifically say that embryos in storage are not unborn children.

Daniels said the immunity law hasn't been effective and that he's heard from people considering leaving the state over uncertainty over the future of IVF.

Don't hold your breath for the state to go all the way in either of these directions, at least right away. IVF services are available in Alabama, and although some clinics hit pause on those services with the court ruling, the services went back online after the immunity law was passed.

The Republican leadership in Montgomery hasn't indicated it will move on the issue this coming session. Many in the party on the national level, including President-elect Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama, have emphatically voiced support for the availability of IVF services.

This past summer's drought had a significant impact on parts of Alabama.

AL.com's Heather Gann reports that three Alabama counties -- Dallas, Perry and Wilcox -- have been designated primary natural disaster areas by the USDA.

That means emergency loans are being made available for farmers in those counties as well as nearby Autauga, Bibb, Butler, Chilton, Clark, Hale, Lowndes, Marengo and Monroe. Farmers have until May to apply.

In 1941, Olympic gold-medal-winning sprinter and NFL safety Henry Carr of Montgomery. His family moved to Detroit when he was still a child.

If you miss that feeling of sitting down with in-depth, local reporting, consider subscribing to the Huntsville Times, Birmingham News, or Mobile Press-Register.

By subscribing, you’ll get a new daily digital edition in an email link, or you can use an app to download the new edition every day on your smartphone or tablet. You also get exclusive access to stories written for our subscribers.

“Down in Alabama” listeners get your first month free by going to al.com/digitalsubscription/exclusive and enter the promo code DIA24.

You can find “Down in Alabama” wherever you get your podcasts, including these places:

We appreciate you for taking the time to read today. Hope you're able to check back soon. Meantime, reply to this email with any suggestions you might have.

If you're so inclined, we'd love it if you'd forward to friends who might be interested in reading. (And if you're someone who's been forwarded this newsletter, we encourage you to subscribe and get this in your inbox every day.)