Aug 08, 2024

If you're one of the people who take our weekly news quiz, here's a chance to come on the podcast this afternoon and make it an oral exam.

We do a Friday news review quiz that regular readers are familiar with. And we've also been doing it over on the podcast by putting reporters and editors on the hot seat.

I'd like to open that up to readers of this newsletter.

If you're interested, have some time late in the workday today (we'll record it for Friday's show) and will have access to a computer with a good internet connection, reply to this email and let us know. We'll randomly select someone to come on the show and take it.

Not sure how smoothly this might go, but we'd like to give it a shot.

Thanks for reading. The daily report follows.

Ike Morgan

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A helicopter instructor died and a student pilot was injured Wednesday after an AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed at Fort Novosel, reports AL.com's Howard Koplowitz.

WTVY reported that the Dale County coroner identified the instructor as retired Army Chief Warrant Officer Daniel Munger of Enterprise. He was working as a contractor.

The student's injuries were minor, and the crash was still under investigation.

A bill could be taken up by the United States Senate that would target illegal red snapper fishing by Mexican fishing boats in U.S. Gulf waters, reports AL.com's Lawrence Specker.

The bill is from three Republican senators: Texas' Ted Cruz and Alabama's Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville. The bill's backers say that illegal fishing boats from Mexico are catching red snapper that end up back in U.S. markets. They also allege that the boats are used to smuggle drugs and people and support the cartels, something that is suspected among Texas fishermen and law enforcement.

The bill would call for the development of technology and methodology to create field-test kits for red snapper that would determine the country of origin for the fish based on a chemical analysis. That testing would then be used to stop red snapper from being caught in U.S. waters, sold in Mexico, then imported back into U.S. markets.

The senators say they hope success with red snapper could lead to identifying the source of other fish and products.

Birmingham-area political force Hezekiah Jackson IV has passed away, reports AL.com's Joseph D. Bryant.

Jackson was the longtime president of the Metro Birmingham Branch of the NAACP. The national NAACP suspended his leadership role after he was accused of working with conspirators who were convicted on charges related to convincing north Birmingham residents to refuse to let the EPA test their potentially toxic soil. Jackson, however, was never charged with anything.

He's credited with helping and training many community leaders and local politicians, and Joseph writes that many political hopefuls would make sure they visited Jackson early during their campaigns.

Hezekiah Jackson was 65 years old.

“Our lighthouse in the center of the stage has left, physically. And so we had to dig deep into this music to keep us tethered.”

Coral Reefer Band bassist Jim Mayer, on playing Jimmy Buffett music without Jimmy Buffett.

In 1953, current U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin of Mobile.

In 1967, former NFL tight end and broadcaster Howard Cross of Huntsville

Reporter Williesha Morris joins us to talk about some of the trends in what students can and can't wear in some Alabama schools. Also, some changes to the ACT.

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