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UAW versus Mercedes Benz

Alabama Public Radio

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Get ready for plenty of company on Alabama’s roadways. The holiday driving period is expected to drag on until after New Year’s and Triple-A Alabama says this year set a record. Triple-A predicted ninety nine million people nationwide would drive at least fifty miles from home this year. That’s a four percent hike over 2013. AAA spokesman Clay Ingram says the growing number of holiday drivers is part of an ongoing trend…

A Mississippi man could spend twenty years in prison for his part in a scheme to defraud the oil spill recovery effort. The Biloxi Sun Herald reports Shawn Townsel pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges of lying about his past employment to get $25,800 in oil-spill recovery money. Prosecutors say Townsel received the money after claiming he lost work as a first-class painter/blaster with Northrop Grumman/Peyton Sandblasting & Painting in Pascagoula and in Bayou La Batre, Alabama.

This week, two unique sports teams from the University of Alabama are vying for a national championship. They’re the men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams, better known as the Rolling Tide. The university has a number of sports for disabled athletes and between games, these players have to stay in shape.  That’s leading to a partnership between wheelchair athletes and a man known in the world of boxing as “The Bronze Bomber.”

Alabama Public Radio is looking back on the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Mobile Bay. It was on August 5, 1864 when the engagement helped to both seal the fate of the Confederacy, and put Abraham Lincoln into a second term in office. The APR news team is examining Alabama’s role in the Civil War in 1864. For some, the conflict has turned into an expensive hobby that can get pretty loud…

Our pets may not enjoy celebrating the new year as much as we might, what with all the loud fireworks and other noise, but it's a good time to think about ways we can make life better for our best friend with a few resolutions that can benefit both them and us!

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Part One

The University of Alabama is known for its championship athletic teams. Football, gymnastics, softball and so on; but there is another group of athletes on campus who are also champions, although they do not draw crowds like Coach Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide football team. They are the Rolling Tide and they are part of the University of Alabama’s Adapted Athletics program.

Consumers in Alabama still don't have a way to track so called payday loans in our state. A proposed  A database to track payday loans in Alabama remains on hold because of a court fight. The system is aimed at improving enforcement of a $500 limit on the amount of payday loans a person can have. But payday lenders sued Alabama's Banking Department to block creation of the system last year. A judge in Montgomery ruled against the industry in August and the industry appealed. The state Banking Department says it hopes to have a final decision soon.

TUSCALOOSA

SATURDAY...RAIN SHOWERS. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 50S. CHANCE OF RAIN 90 PERCENT.

SATURDAY NIGHT...RAIN SHOWERS. LOWS IN THE LOWER 50S. CHANCE OF RAIN 80 PERCENT.

SELMA .

SATURDAY...RAIN SHOWERS LIKELY IN THE MORNING...THEN RAIN SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 60S.

SATURDAY NIGHT...WARMER. RAIN SHOWERS AND SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. NEAR STEADY TEMPERATURE IN THE UPPER 50S. CHANCE OF RAIN 90 PERCENT.

MOBILE .SATURDAY...RAIN SHOWERS AND CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 60S. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 90 PERCENT.

Tickets to the Alabama Crimson Tide's national semifinal matchup against the Ohio State Buckeye's may not be as high-priced as you think. At the least, the Sugar Bowl's secondary market is friendlier than for Alabama's recent national championship games, suggesting that fans are either tapped out or saving their money for a possible title game appearance on Jan. 12. According to Tiqiq.com, several online brokers have Sugar Bowl tickets available about a quarter to a third below market rates.

Alabama is one of eight states that do not allow charter schools, and some legislators want to change that.

Several Republican lawmakers said they will make another push to establish charter schools in Alabama, at least on a limited basis. Republican Senator Dick Brewbaker of Pike Road said he believes families need more education options for their children.

Charter schools are new publicly funded schools that operate outside the rules and regulations of regular public schools.

Selma--

.CHRISTMAS DAY...SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE MID 50S

.THURSDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS IN THE MID 30S.

.FRIDAY...PARTLY CLOUDY IN THE MORNING THEN BECOMING MOSTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 60S.

.FRIDAY NIGHT...NOT AS COOL. CLOUDY. A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT. LOWS IN THE MID 40S.

Tuscaloosa—

.CHRISTMAS DAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE MID 50S.

.THURSDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS IN THE MID 30S. .FRIDAY...PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 50S.

Record numbers of people are packing their bags for the long holiday weekend. Triple-A Alabama is predicting ninety nine million people nationwide will get in their cars to travel at least fifty miles from home this year. That’s a four percent hike over 2013. It’s a number that even the American Automobile Association describes as through the roof. There’s been speculation that lower gas process and higher airplane ticket prices are driving more people to drive. AAA spokesman Clay Ingram says actually the growing number of holiday drivers is part of an ongoing trend…

The National Weather Service says conditions could get rough starting this afternoon. The forecast is calling for straight line winds and the possibility of isolated tornadoes starting later today and into Wednesday. Today’s outlook calls for a lot of rain in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham and south of those cities. Tomorrow’s forecast includes rain for more southern areas of the state. Forecaster Gary Goggins says the fact that people are travelling for Christmas could complicate things…