The nation's largest civil rights organization has announced plans to hold a march from Selma to Washington, D.C. The NAACP said state chapters across the U.S. will participate in the six-week long march, called "America's Journey for Justice" to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. The 800 plus mile journey will begin August 1st and end on September 15th with a rally at the Lincoln Memorial.
EPA Lawsuit
They beat the EPA on coal and now a group of state attorneys general, including Alabama's Luther Strange, are hoping to score a similar court victory on farming. Attorneys General from nine states have sued the Environmental Protection Agency over a new rule they say gives the federal government much more power to regular farms and streams. Strange in a statement, said if a property owner fails to comply with the new rule they would be hit with a fine of up to $37,000 a day. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, comes one day after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked an EPA rule for coal-fired power plants. A spokeswoman for EPA said the rule is designed to protect people from unsafe drinking water.
House Fires
Someone is setting fire to vacant houses in the Centennial Hill neighborhood. Tuesday morning, Montgomery firefighters responded to two house fires, a vacant residence on Grove Street and another on Hutchinson Street went up in flames within minutes of each other. Montgomery Fire-Rescue officials say arson is suspected in both blazes. Investigate say at least six vacant houses have sustained fire damage in the past two months. No arrests have been made.
No Licenses
Pike County Probate Judge Wes Allen says he will not issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples, despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that marriage is a constitutional right equally held by all Americans. Allen claims he's within his legal rights to deny the licenses, because he has decided to issue no license at all, even to heterosexual couples. Allen cites Alabama law, which says marriage licenses "may" be issued by probate judges, not that they must issue them.