Last night, Tuscaloosa Mayor Walter Maddox made his recommendations for how the recent $48 million allocation from HUD for disaster recovery should be spent. Once the action plan is approved by HUD, the City has two years to expend the supplemental appropriation within the Recovery Zone. Find out how the mayor would like the money to be spent here (There's a summary on the final page.): http://www.tuscaloosa.com/Assets/News/Recommendations%20Regarding%20CDBG-DR%20Funding%201.pdf

Today, the Senate Finance and Taxation-Education Committee is scheduled to consider the $5.7 billion budget and 2 percent teacher pay raise approved by the Alabama House.

Lawmakers are trying to figure out how the government tracked suspected Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev when he traveled to Russia last year, a probe which has renewed criticism from after the Sept. 11 attacks that failure to share intelligence may have contributed to last week's deadly assault.

Rumors have emerged that Jennifer Lopez would be replacing Mariah Carey on American Idol mid-season to halt the dip in ratings. However, that plan of action has been abandoned after Carey's legal team threatened action, reports Entertainment Tonight.

Tomorrow morning, Tuscaloosa Police will take part in the law enforcement torch run for the Special Olympics. The run will begin at 9:15, from the parking lot of the Police Department and finish on the track at Central High School.

Hundreds of teachers and business leaders gathered on the state Capitol steps in Montgomery yesterday to show their support for the Common Core standards for public schools. A Senate leader later announced that any bills to repeal Alabama's Common Core standards was dead for this session but may come back again next year.

Today, the U.S. drug czar will outline policy reforms that will emphasize public health to fight addiction, a plan which focuses on putting non-violent drug offenders into treatment instead of prisons.

The Crimson Tide has a strong shot at having at least four opening round picks for the third consecutive year in tomorrow's NFL draft, and might even manage five.

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