The Sunrise News Sampler

The American Idol Audition Bus arrived in Tuscaloosa yesterday evening, preparing for today's hopefuls. Auditions will be held until around 4pm, but late registrants may not have the opportunity to perform.

Tuscaloosa City Schools has announced open house dates for each city school on the following dates: August 29 for Tuscaloosa Career and Technology Academy, September 5 for Middle Schools, September 10 for Elementary Schools, September 12  for High Schools and Oak Hill and September 19 for Magnet School Elementary and Middle. The start time for each open house is 6pm.

People living near the site of last week's cargo jet crash at Birmingham's airport say they're worried about safety and live in fear of another crash.

A man who traded fire with police at an Atlanta-area elementary school yesterday is facing several charges, including aggravated assault on a police officer and terroristic threats. The incident prompted the evacuation of more than 800 students. No one was injured.

Al Jazeera America is suing AT&T for dropping its new news channel, saying the company is in violation of its agreement to broadcast the channel.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the state, Rev. Terry Greer, who has been indicted in the gunshot killing of his wife and the wounding of his daughter remains an ordained United Methodist minister, seven months after his arrest. However, a lawyer for the church says Greer can no longer preach or perform services as a United Methodist pastor.

The testing company ACT says only about 25 percent of the high school graduates taking its tests this year have the reading, math, English, and science skills to succeed in college or a career.

Escaped Iowa convict Rodney long was shot dead by a 71-year-old homeowner yesterday after a four-hour hostage ordeal.

LeBron James may have caused trouble for police who escorted him to the Jay Z/Justin Timberlake concert in Miami last week after his bragging on Instagram provided proof of an unscheduled escort, which was in violation of departmental policy.