7. A Jackson County judge dismissed the murder charge against Jerry Carl Hicks after a “Stand Your Ground” hearing determined he was justified in using deadly force against Aaron Morris Nix during an altercation in April 2023. During the October 2023 hearing, Hicks testified that Nix had yelled about a child in the bathroom and later approached Hicks’s vehicle, leading to an altercation where Nix shoved and hit him multiple times. Hicks stated he warned Nix he had a gun, and when Nix reached into his waistband and stepped toward him, Hicks shot him in self-defense before calling 911.
6. Gun bills will die in 2025 as Alabama Democrats plan to introduce several gun control bills, including one that makes it a felony to give or sell an assault-style weapon to someone under 18, following renewed concerns after a school shooting in Georgia. But despite Republican opposition, some proposals, like a ban on devices turning handguns into automatic weapons, may have a chance of passing due to bipartisan support.
5. Another Pride event targets children and people in Daleville, Ala., are raising concerns ahead of the 2nd annual South Alabama Pride Festival, fearing it targets children and may encourage life-altering decisions because these groups REFUSE to leave children out of the conversations. Critics, including former Alabama State Board of Education member Betty Peters, argue the event and its sponsors are promoting inappropriate content for children, while organizers describe it as a family friendly celebration of LGBTQ+ lives.
4. An investigation has been launched after a video showed a Hueytown police officer punching a man at a gas station during an arrest AFTER the man pulled back from an attempted arrest. The officer involved is on paid leave while the incident, which did not involve firearms, is being investigated, according to Hueytown Police Chief Mike Yarbrough. But aldotcom headlined the story as “Hueytown police caught on video punching man at gas station sparks investigation,” implying the act is nefarious and left the race out of the story (the “victim” is white).
3. Republican U.S. Sen. from Ohio and vice presidential candidate JD Vance echoed concerns heard in Alabama and over the United States about our flawed asylum process, accurately citing reports of animals being eaten, despite the mainstream media’s insistence that this is all fake news and that anyone complaining is cruel and hateful. The facts are simple, the incidents about pets have been reported at a Springfield City Council meeting and the Haitian population in the U.S. is growing and in this town in Ohio has seen a community health clinic reported a 13-fold increase in Haitian patients from 115 in 2021 to 1,500 in 2023, overwhelming staff and budget, while school enrollment and affordable housing demand have also surged.
