7. Some residents are asking if recycling is even happening when they separate their garbage and aldotcom is tracking RePower South’s promise to sort and recycle waste from Birmingham suburbs at its Montgomery facility. However,  the experiment showed that items from Homewood and Vestavia Hills consistently landed at Big Sky Environmental landfill, not Montgomery, even after the facility reopened post-fire. Resident Bill Dawson and researcher Leah Nelson express skepticism about the recycling process, noting RePower South’s operational struggles, including a fire and minimal activity observed during visits; but the company claims recycling is happening.

6. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memo ordering the U.S. military to adopt uniform combat arms standards for men and women. He criticized past administrations for letting standards slip, stating, “All entry-level and sustained physical fitness requirements within combat arms positions must be sex-neutral, based solely on the operational demands of the occupation and the readiness needed to confront any adversary.” The Pentagon memo, published March 31, requires military branches to distinguish combat from non-combat roles and establish sex-neutral fitness benchmarks within 60 days, emphasizing operational demands over gender standards to ensure top-tier leadership and readiness. He said this is all part of the premise that the military doesn’t train to kill and break stuff anymore and instead focuses on “woke” and recruiting may be increasing because of the new standards.

5. Morgan County Circuit Judge Charles Elliott ruled that Decatur police officer Mac Marquette failed to prove he acted in self-defense when he fatally shot Steve Perkins, firing 18 rounds less than two seconds after identifying himself. The judge found Marquette was not authorized to assist in the repossession and was therefore trespassing, raising questions about whether he was acting within his duties as a police officer. A jury will now determine if Marquette was legally justified in using deadly force, with a trial set for June unless the defense successfully appeals, the case will hinge on whether or not Perkins was aiming a gun at officer Marquette when he was shot and killed, which he clearly was.

4. 45 illegal immigrants, about 4% of Madison County Jail’s 1,200 inmates, are on ICE holds, charged with crimes ranging from murder and assault to drug and human trafficking. Local authorities stress the lawful processing, with the current administration ramping up ICE actions. The process ensuring all detainees are targeted for deportation post-bond or sentence, unlike the previous administration’s limited approach of letting these animals back into the community under the guise of being welcoming.

3. In a move that will surprise no one, the University of Alabama College Democrats, and Planned Parenthood, for some reason, have announced a rally to back Alireza Doroudi, a mechanical engineering Ph.D. student detained by ICE last week, as part of a never-ending of protests and tantrums on college campuses. The Department of Homeland Security justified the arrest citing “significant national security concerns,” without specifics, linked to the State Department’s revocation of Doroudi’s student visa and hundreds of others’ visas.

2. A post on a popular parenting website that allegedly claims that Auburn High School administrators encouraged students to pick up ribbons for Transgender Day of Visibility prompted parental backlash over what they see as politics entering into the educational process. Donna Skipper of the Republican Women of East Alabama spoke out about the issue and the message has parents questioning the school’s focus. They suspect influence from a vocal transgender student’s parent, with no official response from the school to clarify its intent even though voters and lawmakers have made their intent clear.

1. As another judge steps in and protects a large number of Venezuelans from deportation after they were let in by former President Joe Biden, the media and their Democrats rage over gangbangers and other illegal immigrants being sent to El Salvador, the Trump administration moved 17 more alleged Tren de Aragua from Guantanamo Bay to El Salvador. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump, seemingly undeterred by judicial pushback to deport illegal criminals, touted the move to sidestep a federal judge’s block on the Alien Enemies Act by using Title 8 authority. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele confirmed the group, comprising murderers and rapists, was now in the notorious CECOT prison. 

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Dale Jackson is a thought leader for Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 5-9 a.m. weekdays on WVNN.