An unheralded rookie from the University of West Alabama is the big hero of this year's Super Bowl. New England Patriots safety Malcolm Butler made an interception at the goal line as the Seahawks were one yard away from the go-ahead touchdown. That was all Tom Brady and New England needed to beat Seattle 28-24 Sunday night to win a nip and tuck Super Bowl 49. Butler is the first player from west Alabama to play in a Super Bowl.
Fire Rescue
Montgomery Fire Rescue officials say a 91-year-old woman is hospitalized in Birmingham after her home in east Montgomery caught fire late Saturday night. Firefighters responded to the house fire on Copperfield Drive around 11 p.m. Saturday. The elderly victim suffered smoke inhalation and was flown to UAB Hospital in Birmingham. Fire Department investigators said the blaze was caused by combustibles too close to a space heater.
Same-Sex Weddings
Alabama probate judges are faced with a decision: Whether to continue performing weddings if same-sex marriages become a reality in the state. While judges could be required to issue wedding licenses to gay couples under the law, they have an option of whether to officiate at weddings. Geneva County Probate Judge Fred Hamic says he's a Christian and will quit performing wedding ceremonies rather than wed a same-sex couple. However, Montgomery County Probate Judge Steven Reed says he will allow anyone to get married.
Trial Set
Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard will go to trial in October on ethic charges. State prosecutors and defense lawyers agreed on an October 19th trial date for the high-profile case during a scheduling conference Friday in Opelika. Hubbard has pleaded not guilty.
New Book
A relative of Rosa Parks, whose refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus endures as a key moment in the civil rights movement, is sharing details about her later life in Detroit. The Montgomery Advertiser reports that Parks' seventh niece, Sheila McCauley Keys, chronicles that period of Parks' life in a new book written by her and Eddie B. Allen Jr. Keys plans to read from her book at the Rosa Parks Museum in downtown Montgomery on Wednesday, in celebration of Parks' birthday.