The Sunrise News Sampler

The Tuscaloosa County Civic Hall of Fame is currently accepting nominations for the 2013 class of honorees, with the deadline being Friday, August 2. To honor an area resident who has made significant, long-term contributions to Tuscaloosa County, contact the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama.

According to our daily, nearly 100 people attending a community meeting on how the Alabama Accountability Act of 2013 affects the three Tuscaloosa city schools on the "failing" list. The meeting turned into an open forum on education with a variety of topics.

A federal judge has blocked enforcement of Alabama's new abortion clinic law until August 15 to allow time for both sides to file more legal arguments.

The U.S. Department of Treasury has released a new report showing that Alabama-based Small Business Lending Fund participants have increased their small business lending by nearly $720.6 million.

The judge in the George Zimmerman murder trial says she'll issue a ruling today on whether the defense can present Trayvon Martin's text messages dealing with fighting. Zimmerman's lawyers say they want to prove the teen had an interest in fighting while prosecutors argued the texts would be misleading.

Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will appear in a federal courtroom today for the first time since he was captured. He will be arraigned for allegedly using a weapon of mass destruction in the April 15 attack that killed three people and wounded more than 260.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck is leaving "The View" to replace Gretchen Carlson as co-host of "Fox and Friends." This leaves the show to find two new co-hosts as Joy Behar will also not be returning this fall.

Acceptance Insurance Holdings is suing Lance Armstrong for about $3 million in bonuses it paid the cyclist, claiming he earned the money fraudulently.