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March is Women's History Month!

Dozens Participate in Montgomery Rally

A rally protesting the closure of driver's license offices around Alabama drew just over 30 people Monday on the steps of the State Capitol.  Protestors claim the state is doing more to ensure ABC stores stay open than it is to keep driver's license offices up and running.  Martha Jordan of Talladega County says she is outraged.  Democratic State Senator Hank Sanders of Selma was also on hand.  He called on Governor Robert Bentley to re-open the 31 driver's license offices that were closed back in September.  He says the governor's plan to open them once a month is not enough.  

Felony Charge Change

Alabama Health Care Improvement Task Force members are crafting recommendations to change a state law that has led to pregnant drug users facing felony charges and more.  The Decatur Daily reported Sunday that a committee member represented a recommendation to make sure the law is applied to prevent children from being exposed to meth labs and paraphernalia instead of leading to criminal charges for pregnant women.  The law imposes felony charges for knowingly, recklessly or intentionally exposing children to controlled substances, chemical substances or drug paraphernalia.  The law has come under some scrutiny after Al.com and ProPublica reported that 479 new and expecting Alabama mothers have been charged between 2006 and 2015.  

Thanksgiving Meal

Montgomery Parks and Recreation Department, Alabama State University and city and county officials joined forces Monday to help feed dozens of senior citizens.  The seventh annual Thanksgiving dinner featured giveaways and prizes with extra food sent to homebound residents; Greg Crawford is the community center director of Goodwyn and McIntyre.  The guests of honor were served by students and faculty from Alabama State University's Health Physical Education and Recreation Department.  

Fraudulent Tax Returns

Federal prosecutors say a woman who helped file for more than $20 million in fraudulent tax returns has been sentenced to prison.  Officials say 24-year-old Talashia Hinton was sentenced to 94 months in prison and is ordered to pay more than $7 million in restitution.  Authorities say Hinton worked with several others to gather personal information and file more than 8,000 fraudulent federal tax returns for 2012 and 2013.  One of the women involved in the scheme reportedly stole personal information from a state of Alabama database.  Prosecutors say Hinton asked the IRS to pay the refunds by issuing U.S. Treasury checks or making direct deposits onto prepaid debit cards.  Hinton's three co-conspirators have already been sentenced to between 87 months and 15 years in prison.