Alabama governor backs shark alert system for Mobile, Baldwin counties
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WKRG) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey declared her support of a House bill that would create a shark alert system for beaches and shorelines in Baldwin and Mobile counties.
Surgery nightmare: Las Vegas hospital admits mistake after failed cancer surgery attempt
House Bill 437 was introduced in response to a shark attack last year that led to Mountain Brook, Ala., teen , the release said.
'The bill … would enable Mobile and Baldwin County Emergency Management Agencies to warn individuals of a shark attack by providing for alerts to be sent to mobile cellular devices in localized areas and to first responders on duty,' the release said.
According to the release, the alert system would be activated when the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources receives a confirmed report of an unprovoked shark attacking a person close to a shoreline or coastline.
Ivey said the alert system would add a layer of safety for visitors to the Gulf Coast.
'Officials in Baldwin and Mobile counties do fantastic work to keep Alabamians and our many visitors safe when they are down enjoying our beautiful beaches,' she said. 'Establishing a shark alert system will be an added tool to keep those enjoying our Gulf of America waters safe.'
Ivey commended Rep. David Faulkner (R-Jefferson County), who introduced the legislation, and Gribbin, who has been advocating for the legislation, the release said.
'I thank Rep. David Faulkner for bringing this legislation forward, and I commend Lulu Gribbin and her family for inspiring positive change in our own state,' Ivey said.
'Lulu is truly an inspiration and awesome example of courage. Let's be Lulu strong and get this bill to my desk so I can sign it into law.'
Mobile teen sentenced to 35 years for 2021 murder of 16-year-old
The bill passed the House Committee Wednesday morning, the release said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Biden decline was so bad he got lost in White House closet, whistleblower tells Senator
As more reports emerge about former President Biden's alleged cognitive decline during his time in office, a Republican senator has made an explosive new claim: that Biden would sometimes get lost in a closet inside the White House while serving as commander-in-chief. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., made the stunning claim on "Hannity" Friday, citing an unnamed Secret Service whistleblower who Hawley said was assigned to Biden. "He [Secret Service member] told me that Biden used to get lost in his closet in the mornings in the White House," Hawley said. "I mean, the guy literally stumbling around in the White House residence couldn't find his way out of his own closet. The president of the United States. I mean, this is outrageous. We were lied to." Biden Family Misled Public, Concealed Details On Son Beau's Cancer Diagnosis, New Book Says Hawley said the claims were made to him while the senator was investigating the attempted assassination of Trump at a presidential campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July. A gunman's bullet grazed the ear of then-candidate Trump while one attendee, Corey Comperatore, was fatally struck. Hawley said the brewing scandal about the Biden administration's use of an autopen to sign executive orders amounts to "one of the worst constitutional crises of our country's history.""We need to find out who actually signed off, so to speak, on all those autopen signatures and all of those pardons and all of those clemencies." Read On The Fox News App Biden Says He Could 'Beat The Hell Out Of' Authors Of New Book Arguing His Cognitive Decline "It's a rogue's gallery of crooks and criminals and terrible people, rapists and others, I mean who actually was doing that, we know it wasn't Biden, he didn't know anything about it. "we've got to figure out who was actually in charge cos it sure as heck wasn't Joe Biden." President Trump on Friday said the autopen is going to become "one of the great scandals of all time" and said he can't' believe that a competent Biden would have ever signed off on many of his executive orders, particularly in terms of the border. House Republicans, led by Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, launched an investigation earlier this month aimed at determining whether Biden, who was in declining health during the final months of his presidency, was mentally fit to authorize the use of the autopen. Comer said this week he was "open" to dragging Biden before the House to answer questions about the matter if need be. Last week, Comer sent out letters to five of the former president's closest confidants, including his former doctor in the White House, seeking further answers about Biden's cognitive health while in office. All five have made contact with the Oversight Committee, but Comer has threatened subpoena power if they refuse to testify. Hawley, meanwhile, also railed against left-wing media for failing to press the president or his office on instances of physical and mental lapses Biden showed while in public. The news comes as a new book by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson details the length at which those closest to Biden apparently went to cover up his limitations while in office. "The press has a huge role in this… They're supposed to report the truth," Hawley said. "It's what you do every night. It is not what the liberal media did though. They sold this country out for years and they did it for power and they need to be held accountable as well." Fox News' Alec Schemmel contributed to this report. Original article source: Biden decline was so bad he got lost in White House closet, whistleblower tells Senator
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
Okaloosa County deputies still searching for answers in 30 year old cold case
OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) — Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office deputies are continuing to search for answers in a 30-year-old cold case. UPDATE: Federal Bureau of Prisons responds to Todd Chrisley's allegations about FPC Pensacola According to Emerald Coast Crime Stoppers and OCSO, Edward Deresky was shot in what officials believed to be an attempted drug transaction while driving near Shirley Drive and Marler Street in Fort Walton Beach. The incident happened just after 9 p.m. on May 29, 1995, according to officials. Deresky attempted to leave the area but crashed on Lovejoy Road and later died at the hospital. Pensacola woman accused of using stolen identity to buy Chevrolet Silverado, deputies say Anyone with information is asked to contact ECCS at 863-TIPS. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
Illinois criminal justice advocates tout ‘Clean Slate' legislation as ‘economic boon'
SPRINGFIELD — Criminal justice reform advocates say legislation to seal criminal records for certain nonviolent crimes, which passed Friday in the House, would unlock economic opportunity for thousands of Illinoisans. The so-called Clean Slate Act has failed twice before, but activists see renewed fiscal messaging as the key to reinvigorating the campaign. This time, the bill's sponsor points to a 'diverse coalition of stakeholders' and backing from business groups as signs Illinois could become the 13th state to enact similar legislation. 'This is something I've worked on for six long years, and now we have law enforcement and the business community — folks like the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, the Illinois Manufacturers Association — all on board,' Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria, said in an interview. 'Not as a neutral party, but they are proponents. They want to see this bill passed.' Like earlier proposals, Senate Bill 1784 would require law enforcement agencies to automatically seal records for nonviolent criminal convictions twice a year — Jan. 1 and July 1. The records would no longer be public, although law enforcement and state's attorneys would retain access. Gordon-Booth has sponsored Clean Slate legislation twice before — once in 2021 and again in 2023 — but neither bill progressed past committee. Just a few days before the 2025 legislative session concluded, she filed it again. Within two days, it passed the House mostly along partisan lines, and is headed for debate on the Senate floor. The session ends at midnight Saturday, although the bill could still pass after that deadline. People convicted of certain violent offenses — including sex crimes against minors, DUI, reckless driving and violent offenses that require sex offender registration — would be ineligible to have their records sealed. 'I want to make this very, very clear: Serious criminal records are not eligible for automated sealing,' Gordon-Booth said during floor debate. Gordon-Booth argued that conviction records trap formerly incarcerated individuals in a state of perpetual punishment, eclipsing access to employment, housing and educational opportunities. She said Clean Slate would remove these barriers, helping system-impacted people reintegrate into society instead of recidivating. Paul Rothschild, managing director of operations for the Illinois Coalition to End Permanent Punishment — a group that advocates for the rights of people with criminal records — said he agrees. He said the justice system fails to follow through on its own promise: Once someone has served their time, they are entitled to a second chance. 'We believe that people should be accountable for the crimes that they commit. But we also believe there is an implied covenant that when they finish, they're supposed to be returned to the world made whole, and that covenant is not being kept by society. They're being forever subjugated in that lower caste, that lower class,' Rothschild said. More than 3 million Illinoisans have arrest or conviction records, and an estimated 921,000 people are eligible for 'sealing relief' — but only about 10% actually petition to have their records cleared, according to statistics from Live Free Illinois, a grassroots organization aimed at reforming the state criminal justice system and part of the Clean Slate Illinois steering committee, which coordinates the campaign's messaging and advocacy efforts. The bill would automate the process for individuals with nonviolent convictions to have their records sealed once they have served their sentences, completed probation, and remained crime-free. Many eligible individuals are deterred by steep fines, complex paperwork and long waiting periods, Gordon-Booth said. The 'burdensome' process has contributed to massive court backlogs, according to Clean Slate Illinois. 'It's going to automate the process, so this way we don't have to go through that whole trying to get the paperwork, trying to go through all the rigmarole,' said Chauncy Stockdale, who was formerly incarcerated and is now a member of the Live Free Illinois Fellowship, a reentry program that supports returning citizens. The measure passed the House 81-28, with five Republicans joining Democrats in support of the measure. No Democrats voted against the bill. During debate on the House floor, Minority Floor Leader Rep. Patrick Windhorst, R-Metropolis, voiced concerns about the tentative $18 million price tag, and whether the state is capable of fully funding the policy in the years ahead, leaving counties to cover the cost. 'If this isn't funded, we're either going to be sending a large unfunded mandate to our counties, or we're making a promise to 2.1 million people that will not be fulfilled without any funding,' he said. Gordon-Booth detailed a three year 'implementation ramp,' which would give the state time to identify funding sources for the local circuit clerks. She also said the Illinois State Police would absorb the initial costs and emphasized the state's commitment to supporting circuit clerks in the rollout phase. 'It is our full intention to provide clerks with all that they need to implement this,' she said. 'We are not going to send an unfunded mandate to our local governments.' On April 10, nearly 300 members, supporters and advocates from Live Free Illinois chapters gathered in front of the Abraham Lincoln monument in Springfield for Advocacy Day, calling on lawmakers to introduce the Clean Slate Act. Live Free Illinois — a faith-based nonprofit focused on ending gun violence and mass incarceration — organizes Black congregations to push for systemic change. The organization is involved in the broad-based Clean Slate steering committee, which also includes the Fully Free Campaign, the Illinois Coalition to End Permanent Punishments, and Impact for Equity. The day before, Muslim leaders also advocated for Clean Slate legislation at Illinois Muslim Action Day. Beyond criminal justice reform, advocates pushed a new messaging angle this year to usher the legislation across the finish line: Clean Slate could boost Illinois' economy. As of April, Illinois has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, at 4.8% — above the national average of 4.2%, according to the data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jerika Richardson, senior vice president for equitable justice and strategic initiatives at the National Urban League, said the act would open doors for thousands of people who have been barred from work because of background checks. 'There are so many employers and businesses across this country who are struggling to find the workers that they need, and part of the reason is because these records are barriers,' Richardson said. 'If Illinois passes the Clean Slate Act, you won't have to worry about businesses going to another state or leaving the country.' An amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act, signed by Gov. JB Pritzker in 2021, expanded legal protections for state workers by prohibiting discrimination based on criminal convictions, in addition to arrest records. Yet many say they continue to face employment hurdles despite the law. People with conviction histories earn an average of 25% less than those with clean records — a gap the National Urban League says costs the state billions of dollars in lost wages. According to a news release from the National Urban League, the Clean Slate Act could generate more than $4.7 billion in lost wages for Illinois, easing economic disparities and addressing labor shortages. Gordon-Booth echoed Richardson's point, adding that her office frequently hears from constituents who are missing out on life-changing chances. 'I get calls from people saying, 'I had an opportunity to get my dream job, and it fell through because of something that I did when I was 18 or 19.' And we're talking about folks that are in their 30s,' Gordon-Booth said. 'They have not gone through the process of hiring a lawyer, going through the court-mandated process, and folks are losing out.' Reilly Cook is a graduate student in journalism with Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, and a fellow in its Medill Illinois News Bureau working in partnership with Capitol News Illinois. Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
