WEST ALABAMA FRIDAY BRIEFING

It is Friday, July 14, 2023. In France, this is Bastille Day. The day celebrates the start of the French Revolution on July 14, 1789. There will be a grand Bastille Day Parade with 6,500 people marching, 94 planes and helicopters, 219 ground vehicles, 200 horses and 86 dogs. Tonight, the Eiffle Tower will be lit in red, white and blue (France's tricolors) with a massive fireworks display.

Here at home, there are two weather alerts out:

• First, there is a Heat Advisory for all of West Alabama until 9:00 tonight. Heat indices up to 106° is possible. The combination of increasing temperatures and high humidity could produce afternoon heat indices near 105 again on Saturday and Sunday, and also on Tuesday through Thursday.
• There is also a Marginal (1 in 5) Risk for strong to severe thunderstorms this afternoon and evening between 2:00 and 10:00. Some isolated storms may become strong to severe, capable of producing gusty winds, locally heavy rainfall, and frequent lightning. Coverage of thunderstorms is expected to be scattered across the area through early next week.

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Topping the News:

A Special Session of the Alabama Legislature begins Monday to decide on how to create two majority/minority congressional districts in the state. The state has been ordered to redraw the current map because it does not comply with the voting rights law.  West Alabama Democrat Congresswoman Terri Sewell is the only minority member of the Alabama congressional delegation despite blacks being a quarter of the state’s population.

President Biden is calling Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville “irresponsible” and claims Tuberville is jeopardizing national security by blocking military promotions over his objections to the Defense Department's abortion policies. Tuberville tells CBS This Morning that he is willing to sit down with the president to work out an agreement. However, when Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin attempted to set up a meeting with Tuberville, the senator’s office declined the invitation.

24-year-old John Threadgill of Tuscaloosa is in jail after his arrest on charges that he attempted a violent sexual attack on a UA co-ed walking along University Blvd. Wednesday. He had traveled to the Auburn campus where police identified him and made the arrest. Threadgill was out of prison for good time earned for earlier similar crimes.

Whatley Healthcare's long planned center in Pickens County is now open. According to a release, the clinic will offer primary care services such as blood pressure screenings and checkups. The facility will be run by a nurse practitioner and other staff.

The Whatley Center opening comes amid a push by local officials to reopen the emergency department of the Pickens County Medical Center which closed three years ago.

NaTa'sha Black has been promoted to senior project manager of the Modern Manufacturing program at West AlabamaWorks, a program of the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama. Ms. Black has worked for the chamber since 2019.

Residents of the York area of Sumter County are drying out today after between 6 and 8 inches of rainfall is six hours yesterday morning. Streams overflowed their banks damaging storage houses, children's playhouses and eating up at least one roadway. One homeowner reported water in their house. Residents are complaining that much of the residential damage is a result of streams and creeks that have not been kept clear of debris.

Northport attorney Bryan Brinyark is seeking to represent the region in the Alabama House of Representatives. He has declared his candidacy for House District 16, the seat formerly held by Kyle South who resigned to head the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama.

District 16 includes portions of Fayette, Jefferson and Tuscaloosa counties.

Major party candidates have until Tuesday, July 25th, to qualify to run. The general election is in January.

A bouncer accused of leaving a patron at a Ft. Lauderdale, FL nightclub in a coma was captured Tuesday in Tuscaloosa, TPD has confirmed. Stephanie Taylor, a spokesperson for the Tuscaloosa Police Department, said officers assisted U.S. Marshals in arresting 24-year-old Justin Brown Tuesday in the 3300 Block of Westlee Drive in west Tuscaloosa. He will be extradited back to Florida.

12 mass shootings in Mississippi and five in Alabama are among a record number of mass shootings nationwide over the first six months of 2023. From Jan.1 to June 30, the nation recorded 348 mass shootings with 416 killed and 1,387 wounded. According to the National Gun Violence Archive, it is the deadliest six months of mass shootings recorded since at least 2006.

A mass shooting is defined as an occurrence when three or more people are shot, not including the assailant.

In Sports: 

Alabama Head Football Coach Nick Saban is one of 21 coaches named to The Dodd Trophy Coach of the Year Watch List. The award, "...celebrates the head coach of a team who enjoys success on the gridiron, while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity – the three pillars of legendary (Georgia Tech) coach Bobby Dodd's coaching philosophy," wrote the Dodd Award in its official press release.

Former Alabama defensive lineman Quinnen Williams has signed a new deal with the New York Jets. "Jets and Quinnen Williams agreed to a four-year, $96 million deal that includes $66 million guaranteed, per sources," tweeted ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Williams was drafted as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Jets.

Have a great weekend!!