The Veterans Affairs department has fired four senior executives, including the VA director of the Central Alabama System, as officials move to crack down on wrongdoing following a nationwide scandal over long wait times for veterans seeking medical care and falsified records covering up the delays. The dismissals are the first since Congress passed a law this summer making it easier for veterans to get care outside VA's nationwide network of hospitals and clinics. Among those recommended for termination are James Talton, the director of the Central Alabama VA, and directors of VA hospitals in Pittsburgh and Dublin, Georgia.
U.S. Supreme Court
Gay and Lesbian couples are getting legally married in the conservative South for the first time. A U.S. Supreme Court decision to turn away five states that wanted to enforce their bans on gay marriage means similar restrictions in other states, including Alabama, also are like to soon fall. Susan Watson is the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Alabama. The justices have left unresolved for now the question of same-sex marriage nationwide.
Montgomery Layoffs
Layoff notices have been sent out to several employees at Montgomery Parks and Recreation. According to city officials, the layoff notices were sent Monday to three employees who have been told their positions will be eliminated by November 1st. Mayor Todd Strange tells the Advertiser newspaper that the city will assist the affected employees find other jobs. The paper said some of the layoffs are connected to a recent decision to privatize management of the Lagoon Park golf courses.
Not Guilty
A Montgomery judge has cleared seven people arrested in a protest over Medicaid expansion at the state Capitol. District Judge Tyrone Means returned not guilty verdicts Monday in the non-jury trial. State police arrested the seven August 28th on second-degree trespassing charges when they refused to leave the Capitol after closing time.
Jury Deliberating
A jury in Opelika is set to begin deliberating in the capital murder trial of a Montgomery man charged with killing three people at a pool party in June 2012. Lee County Circuit Judge Jacob Walker will instruct jurors in the law this morning. That includes possible verdicts on reduced charges other than capital murder. Afterward, the jury will start discussing the fates of 24-year-old Desmonte Leonard. Defense layers have argues their client fired in self-defense. However, prosecutors have said Leonard is guilty of murder.