Demonstrators emptied liquor bottles outside the Alabama Capitol to protest the closing of driver's license offices in Black Belt counties.
Selma state senator Hank Sanders told the Montgomery Advertiser that state agencies are leaving money-losing liquor stores open in the impoverished areas while closing rural driver's license offices.
The crowd chanted "Give us the ballot, not just the bottle" during the Monday protest.
The event was one of several demonstrations over the closures.
In September, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency announced it was closing 31 part-time driver's license bureaus. After a national backlash, the department said it would open the offices for one day each month.
Event organizers say that’s not enough.
Jennifer Ardis, a spokeswoman for Gov. Robert Bentley, said ALEA is working under the budget approved by lawmakers.
A new survey shows the majority of U.S. military veterans aren’t happy with the treatment they get after their service.
The Disabled Veterans Pulse Survey found that only 1 in 5 veterans think the government treats them well. Less than half believe they receive the benefits and support they were promised.
Dan Clare is the National Director of Communications for the group Disabled American Veterans. He says most veterans would repeat their service if they could go back and choose.
“I know some veterans in Alabama who have kind of gone through this transition too. I think overall the people we asked 79% said they would, if given the choice, repeat their military service. But if you were to talk to a veteran in your community you’d probably find, and we found, that at just 22%, just one in four barely would think that the government treats veterans well.”
For information on how to help Disabled Veterans, visit DAV.org.
#2 Alabama is gearing up to play in one of college football’s most renowned rivalries this Saturday, the Iron Bowl.
10-1 Alabama faces up against 6-5 Auburn this weekend at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Crimson Tide outlasted Auburn in last year’s matchup 55-44 in the highest-scoring Iron Bowl of all time.
Head coach Nick Saban says this week’s game will be exciting and special to the players on both teams.
“This is an opportunity you really appreciate as a competitor; I know our players get excited about playing this game, as all the participants in this game do. A lot of them know each other and played against each other in the past.”
The game will kick off at 2:30pm on CBS.
The Alabama Supreme Court has set a Jan. 21 execution date for a man convicted of raping and murdering a woman more than 20 years ago.
If carried out, the death sentence against Christopher Brooks would mark Alabama's first execution in more than two years.
Justices handed down the order setting the execution date yesterday. A federal judge also allowed Brooks to join a lawsuit filed by death row inmates challenging the state's new lethal injection drug combination as cruel and unusual punishment.
U.S. District Judge Keith Watkins says Brooks has until Dec. 4 to file for a stay of execution.
Brooks was convicted for the 1993 murder and rape of Deann Campbell of Homewood.