SEC Championship

The University of Alabama Systems' chancellor is spearheading a coalition from kindergarten to four-year institution leaders to advocate the state's education system.

The Alabama Unites for Education coalition launched last week to protect the state's education budget. The Tuscaloosa News reports the group includes the leadership of the University of Alabama System, the Alabama Community College System, and the Alabama Department of Education as well as the presidents of UA’s three campuses and Auburn University.

Time is running out if you want to speak out about the settlement from the 2010 Gulf oil spill.

Residents have until the end of the day today to express their concerns over the deal between BP, the Gulf States and the federal government. The goal of the settlement is a dollar for dollar restoration of the damage done by the spill.

Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden says all accounts will be taken into full consideration.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will be in Alabama today to mark the 60th anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Clinton will be speaking at 11 a.m. this morning at the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church in Montgomery. The church was pastored by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during the boycott.

Clinton’s speech falls on the anniversary of Rosa Parks' arrest for refusing to give her bus seat to a white passenger on December 1, 1955. Her arrest sparked a 381-day boycott of Montgomery buses to protest segregated seating.

Attorney General Luther Strange says a phone scam involving jury duty is spreading to more Alabama counties and it often targets the elderly.

The scam involves someone pretending to be with law enforcement or with the local court system. They will call a person and threaten to arrest them for missing jury duty. Then the caller says the matter can be settled without an arrest if the person agrees to purchase a pre-paid credit card and pay an amount over the phone. The attorney general says the court system doesn't work that way. It usually contacts people in writing.

 Democratic state Sen. Quinton Ross of Montgomery is the new minority leader in the Alabama Senate.  The Senate Democratic Caucus announced that it picked Ross to replace Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, who did not seek another term. The caucus said Figures will become the group's treasurer.

Ross is taking over the leadership of a smaller minority. Going into the Nov. 4 election, Democrats held 12 of the 35 seats in the Senate. They now have eight.