The Alabama House has re-elected indicted Rep. Mike Hubbard as speaker. The newly-elected Alabama Legislature convened Tuesday in Montgomery for its organizational session. Hubbard has pleaded not guilty to 23 ethics charges and is awaiting trial. Senator Del Marsh was re-elected as Senate President Pro Tem. The organizational session can last up to 10 days. The regular session of the Legislature begins in March.
ASU MLK Convocation
Dr. Walter Kimbrough, president of Dillard University, visited the campus of Alabama State Tuesday to serve as keynote speaker for the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation. Referred to as the Hip-Hop President, Kimbrough is known for using social media to engage with his students. He says King's Drum Major Instinct sermon has never been more present than in today's society. Kimbrough says social media also gives people an outlet to pledge mass support for issues but lacks any real opportunity for those same people to act on those issues.
UAB Mentorship
A new mentoring program is being offered to students at Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery. Under a partnership with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, students interested in the medical field will participate in various activities through the university's Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Division. Lanier Principal Antonio Williams says several students expressed interest in the medical profession but didn't have an opportunity to be mentored until now. UAB's Chief Thoracic Surgeon, Dr. Robert Cerfolio is the program's lead mentor; others will include UAB faculty, staff and students.
Gambling Operations
Lawyers for the State of Alabama and a casino-operating Indian tribe sparred before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals over whether the state can take the tribe to court over its gambling operations. A three-judge panel heard arguments in Alabama's appeal Tuesday after a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. The state attorney general's office says the tribe is operating illegal slot machines, which are not allowed without a compact with the state.