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10-Year-Old Montgomery Girl Killed in Apparent Accidental Shooting |
CBS 8 News was on the scene of an apparent accidental shooting Thursday afternoon that left a 10-year-old Montgomery girl dead.
The shooting happened on Lynwood Drive in the Normandale area around 3:30 p.m.
Police say eyewitnesses told them a 10-year-old boy apparently shot the girl. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The children's names haven't been released. The case is under investigation.
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Police Perform Sting at Montgomery Motel |
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 Montgomery Police performed an undercover sting on a motel early Thursday, catching suspected drug dealers, drug addicts and prostitutes in their sleep.
Officers banged down the doors and smashed out windows of the Peddler Inn on Mobile Highway. Police say the motel is infested with drug activity.
Police arrested three out of five targets and a slew of others with outstanding warrants. It was the climax of a 30-day investigation.
"There are prostitutes out here, people using drugs, selling drugs and we will do everything we can legally to take them off the streets and put them behind bars," Montgomery Police Chief Art Baylor said.
Baylor says numerous complaints from the community, area businesses and even the mayor's office sparked the department's investigation.
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Update: Interstate 65 Construction Moving Along Faster than Scheduled |
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 INTERSTATE 65 CONSTRUCTION UPDATES
This is a CBS 8 News Update -- Construction on Interstate 65 in Montgomery is moving faster than scheduled. That means the three exits on one side of the interstate will re-open sooner.
State transportation officials say the northbound Fairview Ave., Edgemont Ave. and South Blvd. exits will re-open Saturday, July 5, about two weeks ahead of schedule. It had first been throught they would be closed for a month.
The construction is taking place along about four and-a-half miles of I-65 to resurface and rehabilitate the 50-year-old road surface.
The major part of the plan includes shifting traffic into newly-constructed lanes that are divided by barriers.
Once work is finished on the northbound side, the exits will be closed on the southbound side. That could happen around July 25.
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State Supreme Court Reverses Ruling Against Gov. Bob Riley; $63 Million Goes to Gen. Fund |
 The Alabama Supreme Court has closed a $63 million hole in the state General Fund budget.
The state's highest court reversed a judgment that had gone against Gov. Bob Riley. Tuscaloosa businessman Stan Pate had sued the governor, contending he erred when he put $63 million from Exxon Mobil litigation into the state General Fund budget. A Montgomery judge sided with Pate and ordered the money put into a state savings account called the Alabama Trust Fund.
The Alabama Supreme Court reversed the lower court decision Thursday. The justices said Pate didn't have legal standing to sue the governor. (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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State Asking Drug Companies to Settle Lawsuits |
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 After winning three cases against prescription drug companies, the state of Alabama is asking the remaining 69 companies in the lawsuits to settle.
State attorneys say at least five companies have already contacted them to settle their lawsuits.
The state medicaid agency sued 72 drug companies for falsely reporting reimbursement drug prices to the state. Three companies, AstraZeneca, Novartis and GlaxoSmith Kline have been found guilty of fraudulent conduct by Montgomery County juries.
Attorneys from the firm the state hired to take on the drug lawsuits say they are hopeful the remaining companies will settle.
"The tragedy of this entire episode is that the Medicaid program is designed to benefit the elderly, the poor, the disabled and children, and it is mind boggling that these folks could think they could get away with what they've done to the state," attorney Jere Beasley said Thursday.
The remaining drug companies have thirty days to decide if they will settle with the state or the drug cases will go to trial.
GlaxoSmithKline says it will appeal the nearly $81 million verdict in a suit that accused it of overcharging Alabama's Medicaid program. Attorneys for Novartis have said they are considering their options and may appeal.
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Troy Airport Expansion on Track for Jan. 1 Opening |
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 From the CBS 8 Troy Mobile Newsroom -- Work on the new multi-million dollar project at the Troy Regional Airport is on schedule. Mayor Jimmy Lunsford tells CBS 8 News the new airport wing is set to open Jan. 1.
The city is demolishing the fixed base of operations next to the hangar and putting up a new training and operations center. The city is also getting a $2 million grant from the state and will apply for a federal grant to cover the rest of the costs.
The new building will serve as an improved entrance for people flying into Troy.
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Update: Rosa Parks' Personal Items Could Fetch $10 Million |
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 LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ROSA PARKS COLLECTION FOR SALE
This is a CBS 8 News Update -- Officials at an auction house in New York City now say an auction of Rosa Parks' personal items could fetch $10 million. CBS 8 News was the first to report the auction last month.
Civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks was one of the most influential figures of the 20th century and now thousands of her personal items are for sale and could find a home in Alabama, maybe even in Montgomery.
An auction house in New York has put a collection of Parks' items up for sale, which includes letters and awards to the hat she's said to have been wearing on the day in 1955 when she refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery city bus to a white man. That act set off the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the modern civil rights movement. The auction house president told CBS 8 News that they are in talks with several institutions across the U.S. which are interested in the items. Some of those institutions are here in Alabama, including The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery.
Rosa Parks Museum visitors told CBS 8 News that the collection needs to be here.
"It's important to have as much information as possible in one place and perhaps be able to bring that from one place on tour around the world," museum visitor Mary Pickener said.
"For us to have the memorabilia here would be incredible," Dawn Hathcock of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce said. "It goes to her legacy and what she did and because the events took place here in Montgomery, I can't imagine it being anywhere else," she said.
The head of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute told CBS 8 News if they did get the collection they would like to take part of it on tour so people could see it across the nation. He said he might be interested in working with another institution in order to bring the memorabilia to Alabama.
Meanwhile, the auction house is looking for the best match for the archive, but the President is urging institutes to move as quickly as possible.
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Montgomery Police Arrest 15 People in Prostitution Sting |
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 An undercover prostitution sting in Montgomery has put several men and women behind bars.
The special operations division of the Montgomery Police Department arrested seven women for prostitution near Mobile Highway and West Boulevard. One woman was arrested for loitering for immoral purposes, while six men and another woman were arrested for soliciting prostitution.
The operation was a follow-up to numerous complaints from citizens and business owners about prostitution in the area.
Montgomery Police say the following arrests were made for prostitution: Joyce Herrero, Donna Daniels, Dorothy Smith, Lataisha Webster, Latasha Mitchell, Sandra Stewart and Mary Jordan. Police say Lois Hayes was arrested for loitering for immoral purposes.
Police say the following people offered undercover officers (who were posing as prostitutes) money in exchange for sex and were arrested for soliciting prostitution: Ron O. Williams, Louis Dixon, Felicia M. Owens, Raymond Cozart, Freddie Jackson, David L. Semrau and a 17-year-old male.
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Report: Montgomery Mall Sold |
 The Montgomery Mall has apparently been sold.
The Montgomery Advertiser reports Montgomery Mall was sold at public auction for delinquent taxes. Montgomery businessman Richard Hanan paid about $27,000 in back taxes for most of the property.
The property that was once the Parisian department store was not part of the sale.
Hanan says he would like to redevelop the building as an office complex, but mall owner Venture One of Dothan can redeem the property.
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Tallapoosa Co. Investigators Say They've Arrested Main Crack Cocaine Supplier |
A Dadeville man has been arrested on drug charges.
According to authorities, Willie Curry Johnson faces several drug and weapons charges. Investigators say he's believed to be the main supplier of crack cocaine in Tallapoosa County.
Johnson could get life in prison if he is convicted. He could also face a fine of up to $4 million.
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Hyundai Posts Record Sales Month, Despite Poor Car Market |
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 Hyundai Motor Co. says its U.S. sales hit a record in June, despite the bleak auto market that is bringing double-digit drops to many other carmakers.
Robert Burns, the public relations manager for Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama in Montgomery, confirmed to CBS 8 News Tuesday that Hyundai's June sales in the U.S. were 50,033 vehicles. It's the first time Hyundai has sold more than 50,000 cars in a single month in this country.
Hyundai makes the Sonata and Santa Fe models at its assembly plant in Montgomery. The Sonata was Hyundai's top-selling model in June with 16,875 units sold. Hyundai recently introduced a revised 2009 Sonata model.
Overall, Hyundai sales were up 1.3% from a year ago. Many other automakers reporting June sales figures on Tuesday recorded huge drops. Chrysler, Ford and GM reported drops of 36%, 28% and 18.5%, respectively. Falling sales aren't just a problem for U.S. automakers. Toyota reported June sales were 21.4% lower than a year ago.
Honda had sales that were up 11.4%, while Volkswagen, which is considering Alabama for a U.S. plant, says its sales were up .3%.
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Report: Decision on Volkswagen Plant Coming July 8 |
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A report in a German auto magazine says Volkswagen will make a decision on the location of its new U.S. plant on July 8. A location near Huntsville is one of the finalists for the $788 million plant.
The story in Auto Motor und Sport says the Volkswagen board will vote on whether to approve the management decision on July 15 in Wolfsberg, Germany.
The site near Huntsville is just off Interstate 65 in Limestone County, west of Huntsville's airport. Another finalist is Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the site of the former Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant, near Interstate 75. A site in Michigan had originally been announced as a possibility, but it appears the state is no longer in the running.
If Volkswagen chooses Alabama, it would be the fourth carmaker to locate here. Hyundai has an assembly plant in Montgomery that opened in 2005 and makes the Sonata and Santa Fe models. Mercedes has a plant near Tuscaloosa, while Honda has a plant in Lincoln, near Talladega. In addition, Toyota has an engine plant in Huntsville. Kia is building an assembly plant in West Point, Georgia, just a few miles from the Alabama state line just off Interstate 85.
Count on CBS 8 News for updates on Volkswagen's decision.
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Update: Parole Denied for Man Convicted in 1964 Murder |
 This is a CBS 8 News Update -- The state parole board has again denied an early release for Johnnie Daniel Beecher, a black man who was convicted in the 1964 rape and murder of a pregnant white woman in north Alabama.
The three-member board turned down Beecher's bid for parole Tuesday in Montgomery.
Beecher, now 75, was a fugitive from a chain gang in Jackson Co. when he was accused of abducting and killing 21-year-old Martha Jane Chisenhall at Stevenson. The racially charged crime brought out a huge posse of angry white men and law officers.
A forced confession by Beecher when caught in Tennessee led to three reversals of his convictions. He eventually pleaded guilty to murder and has now been denied parole seven times. (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Body of Tuskegee Airman Laid to Rest |
Friends and family will bid farewell on Tuesday to Lt. Col. Charles "Chuck" Dryden, one of the first of the pioneering black World War II pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen.
Dryden died last week at age 87 of natural causes. A memorial service will be held at Cascade United Methodist Church in southwest Atlanta. Former Atlanta mayor and U.N. ambassador the Rev. Andrew Young will deliver the eulogy.
Dryden was a member of the famed 99th Pursuit Squadron and later the 332nd Fighter Group, which served in North Africa and Italy.
Last year, President George W. Bush and Congress awarded the Tuskegee Airmen the Congressional Gold Medal. Some 300 surviving airmen - including Dryden - gathered in Washington for the ceremony in March 2007. (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Update: Jury Deliberating in State's Lawsuit Against Two Drug Companies |
 Jury deliberations are continuing in Montgomery in the trial of a lawsuit filed by the state of Alabama seeking as much as $800 million from two drug companies accused of fraud in Medicaid drug pricing.
Jurors deliberated for about an hour Monday after hearing closing arguments and instructions from the judge.
The state claims the fraud lasted from 1991 to 2005. Attorneys for GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis say the prices were proper.
The trial is the second of more than 70 lawsuits filed by the state accusing drug companies of overcharging the state for prescription drugs for Medicaid patients. (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Huge Docket Leads to Long Lines at Montgomery Municipal Court |
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 A backed-up court docket at Montgomery Municipal Court on Monday left people waiting for hours to complete their court business. Outside, parking places were nearly impossible to find.
As the number of Montgomery Police officers grow, so do citations, which means it could take much longer for you to pay those traffic fines.
"I've been here for almost two hours waiting to pay a freaking ticket," Barry Chriestenson told CBS 8 News Monday.
He's just one of hundreds of people who expected to be in and out of the municipal court in minutes, only to get an unwelcome surprise.
"Everyone that walked in behind me was like, 'Oh my gosh,'" he said. "It was packed, it was slammed. It was unpredictable," he said.
Maybe unpredictable for citizens, but court workers say they saw this day coming and tried to ease some of the pain.
"We make sure we get started on time and then put an extra person in the courtroom to handle paperwork and we have four pay windows," deputy court administrator Kenneth Nixon said.
On a normal day, the municipal court docket holds about 800 cases but on Monday, it was page after page, totaling more than 1,200 cases.
Nixon attributes the increase to the city's police work.
"We have had a substantial increase in the workload since January since we went to precinct system," he said.
Court officials say the busiest days at municipal court are Mondays and Wednesdays. So if you're in a time crunch, you may want to avoid those days if possible.
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Montgomery Police Search for Escapee |
Montgomery Police are searching for a man who escaped their custody Monday morning. Police say 24-year-old Jacob Farrior slipped out of his handcuffs and left the building while waiting to be booked into the city jail.
Police say Farrior was brought in on felony marijuana charges just before 9 a.m. He was last seen wearing a red shirt and cut-off blue jeans. If you see him, call Montgomery Police at (334) 241-2651.
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Gas Prices Remain Steady in Alabama |
 Gasoline prices are holding steady in Alabama, near the $4 mark. Monday's statewide average for regular was almost $3.94 per gallon, up about three-tenths of a penny from Sunday, according to AAA Alabama.
The nationwide average price of a gallon of regular gasoline was $4.09.
Last year at this time, Alabamians were paying an average $2.84 for regular.
Analysts expect gasoline prices will rise further, to keep pace with soaring oil prices. The cost of crude jumped above $143 a barrel for the first time in commodities trading on Monday. (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Jim Byard to Seek Third Term as Prattville Mayor |
 From the CBS 8 Autauga Co. Mobile Newsroom -- Prattville Mayor Jim Byard says he will seek re-election to a third term in office. Byard has served as mayor since 1999. During his administration, he says several major national retailers have come to Prattville, including Target and Bass Pro Shops.
He says since 2004, there has been more than $195 million in private capital investment to the city -- the most in Prattville's history.
The city election is August 26.
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Update: Auburn University Students Will Pay 12% More |
 This is a CBS 8 News Update -- Auburn University students will be paying more for their education next school year because trustees have approved a 12 percent tuition increase.
The school's board of trustees voted for the hike Friday and it will be applied to the main campus as well as Auburn Montgomery. The increase is part of the university's attempt to offset a $60 million budget deficit to the AU System.
Tuition for Alabama students will go from $2,917 to $3,250 and rates for out-of-state students will be increased from $8,167 to $9,130. (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Parents Warned of Drug Dangers of Popular Flowering Plant |
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Parents may be shocked to know a flowering plant easily found at nuseries is being used by some teenagers to get high. The plant, called salvia, is sometimes called the "new pot."
When smoked, the plant's leaves can have a hallucinogenic effect, compared to LSD which can be deadly. Experts say the plant is actually stronger than marijuana and can easily be overdosed.
"Young people are beginning to experiment with this because they say, 'well, it's legal,'" Graham Champion, a lobbyist against salvia, told CBS 8 News. "But it's dangerous anytime you use a mind-altering substance. You get into a state where you really don't know what your doing," he said.
Some Alabama lawmakers want to crack down on salvia sales to those under 21. Their bill died in the last legislative session, but they plan to bring it up again next year.
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Update: More Signs of Recovery for Pastor's Daughter-In-Law |
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WATCH THIS STORY
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT KATHERINE'S RECOVERY GET UPDATES FROM FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
This is a CBS 8 News Update -- There are new hopeful signs in the recovey of Katherine Wolf. She is the daughter-in-law of Montgomery's First Baptist Church Pastor Jay Wolf. She has started regaining her speech and can use her hands more. She can even move around in a wheelchair.
Thousands of people have been offering prayers for Katherine Wolf after she suffered a brain hemmorage April 21st.
Wolf is just 26 years old and is a wife and new mother.
"They've just had this magic romance, they have a six-month-old son named James and seem to have the perfect life -- three weeks away from graduating from Pepperdine Law School and everything has shattered," Rev. Jay Wolf, pastor at First Baptist, told CBS 8 News.
For more than 15 years, Rev. Wolf has guided his congregation of thousands. While he's helped share his faith with others, now he is relying on it.
"I believe that life is a short journey that it is an obstacle course that constantly challenges my capacity to trust Him, but I'm trusting Him," he said.
"He has shouldered this with all the grace and love for the Lord that I've always seen him have for everybody," church member Jennifer Gwyn said. "He's been very solid, a strong rock and has never once wavered," she said.
On April 21st, Rev. Wolf's daughter-in-law Katherine's legs went numb, she instantly fell to the floor and was then rushed to the emergency room.
"They immediately went into a 13-hour surgery. She brushed death numbers of times," he said. In the process, she lost 32 units of blood.
"The doctor said it was the worst of this type of surgery that he had ever done in his career. He said the prognosis is extremely bleak that she would wake up, there would be many deficiencies, there would be a great chance she's paralyzed and perhaps brain dead," he said.
Just hours after the surgery, Katherine gave her family a hopeful sign. She was able to move all of her toes on command. The family says they feel like they are sitting in the front row of miracle.
Count on CBS 8 News for updates on Katherine's recovery.
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Breaking stories from CBS News
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© 2008 WAKA. All rights reserved.