A state ban on a commonly used abortion procedure is a step closer to reality. The Alabama Senate voted thirty to two to ban what’s known as dilation and evacuation. Critics call the procedure “heinous" and "barbaric." The bill would allow the procedure in the event of a "serious health risk to the mother." Mississippi Governor. Phil Bryant signed a similar bill into law earlier this month. Similar bans in Kansas and Oklahoma have been struck down by state courts.
It was on this date five years ago when a super tornado outbreak hit parts of west and west-central Alabama in 2011. Over fifty people were killed in the city of Tuscaloosa and twelve percent of the town was destroyed. Alabama Public Radio will look back on the disaster during our special report titled Legacy of the Storm. Tuscaloosa’s Acting Planning Director Phillip O’Leary spent the first hours after the tornado in his office. When he finally visited the damage zone, one thing stuck with him…
“I remember standing beside by where Krispy Kreme stood, and I could smell the donuts, but the building was rubble. And, I can still remember that smell today, and I still have that feeling.”
Join the APR news team tonight at seven p.m. for our special presentation, Legacy of the Storm. You can also go to apr.org to hear Alabama Public Radio’s eight part series on the fifth anniversary of the tornado outbreak.
As Alabama observes the fifth anniversary of the 2011 tornado super outbreak, there’s a weather alert. Forecasters say powerful thunderstorms are expected over the nation's midsection which could drop heavy rains in western Alabama and parts of the deep South. Forecasters say storms are expected to move into northwest Louisiana in the early morning hours today with up to three inches of rain in some spots. Alabama’s threat comes tonight.
Volunteers are gathering this week to clean up Smith Lake northwest of Birmingham. The effort is in coordination with the Renew Our Rivers campaign. It’s one of the Southeast’s largest river cleanup projects. Volunteers have collected more than fourteen million pounds of trash and debris since 2000. Jim Eason is the president of the Western County Smith Lake Advocacy. He says that water and trash travels easier than we think because it travels downhill.
“Everything that’s thrown on the highways, off of bridges or anything of that nature will eventually, if it floats, will make it into the lake. And it’s bad that people think that the lake is a garbage can and they throw all the stuff out or allow it to wash into the lake and dirty up the shoreline.”
The cleanup will be happening this week from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Clear Creek Recreation Area. Volunteers are asked to wear comfortable clothes and closed-toe shoes.
