WEST ALABAMA FRIDAY BRIEFING

Its Friday, June 23, 2023. The weekend is almost here. Today will set the stage with fair skies and a high in the mid to upper 80s. Fair skies tonight will bring a low in the lower to mid 60s. Saturday should be near perfect with the day being mostly sunny, with a high near 91. A 40% chance of rain returns Sunday and Sunday night with a high near 91 and a low around 74.

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Topping the News:

A report of 5 shots fired outside DCH Regional Medical Center prompted a large law enforcement response this morning. The medical center issued a Code White indicating a violent person on the property The incident was found to be a false alarm and the alert was cancelled at 6:15.

A 24-year-old pedestrian was found to have been struck by two vehicles at Hackberry Lane and Black Bear's Way in central Tuscaloosa late Thursday night. The young man is being treated for critical injuries at DCH. TPD Spokesperson Stephanie Taylor said two drivers both called TPD to report they accidentally struck the man while they were driving on Hackberry Lane.

A week after powerful 70 to 80mph hurricane force type winds toppled thousands of trees across West Alabama, Perry Soloman of Black Warrior EMC tells us power has been restored to all but a handful of customers in the southwest Tuscaloosa County Community of Ralph. Church groups will fan out across Ralph today and tomorrow to remove debris from private property and place it on the Right of Way for the county to pick up.

Lawyers for former Alabama Basketball star Darius Miles are requesting a pre-trail immunity hearing in the capital murder of 23yo Birmingham mother Jamea Harris. Miles defense attorney Mary Turner filed the motion believing evidence may prove Miles didn’t not have prior knowledge that his friend Michael Davis would use his handgun to fire the shots that killed Harris on the Strip in January.

The 277 residents of Louin MS, 20 miles SW of Laurel, are picking up the pieces of their lives after a tornado killed one person and injured more than a dozen last week. The town is depending on volunteers to help them as they begin the recovery process. Former Northport Mayor Bobby Herndon is one of those volunteers, but he says it’s the Northport community that makes the difference. Herndon is taking a truck load of supplies the Jasper County town today and will assess if there is a need to collect more supplies net week. This is Herndon’s 21st trip to take supplies to communities across the south suffering after a disaster.

Crews at several sites across Tuscaloosa and UA communities are rushing to complete several construction projects before Alabama’s 1^st home football game on September 2^nd. Construction has begun on a new ramp at Tuscaloosa National Airport, several UA road and building projects are underway and the playing surface at Bryant-Denny Stadium is being totally replaced for the 1^st time in 31 years, to include a new drainage system.

Not enough students applied for a one semester Perkins Scholarship at Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa. So, the school is reopening the application process. You can check the SSCC website for more information.

A federal civil complaint filed against the Walker County Sheriff's Office will move forward after a motion to delay the civil case was denied yesterday. The case is related to the investigation into the death of Tony Mitchell while he was an inmate in the Walker County jail. A motion was made by two jail nurses for a partial stay in the case while the criminal investigation is still ongoing. The nurses argued their depositions in the civil case could be used against them in the criminal case. A judge disagreed.

In Sports:

Former Crimson Tide Basketball players Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney, as expected, we both 1^st round draft picks in last night’s NBA Draft. Miller was the #2 pick by Charlotte and Clowney the 21^st pick by the NY Nets.

LSU’s Tommy White blasted a walk-off 11^th inning long-ball over the left field wall to eliminate Wake Forest and set up an all-Southeastern Conference College World Series Baseball Championship round beginning tomorrow in Omaha.

Former Alabama men's basketball guard Ronald Steele has been named the next principal at John Carroll Catholic High School in Birmingham, Ala.

Have a wonderful weekend and click on TuscaloosaThread.com to keep up with the latest breaking news, sports and weather.