The Sunrise News Sampler

The Tuscaloosa Police Department is now accepting applications for the 6th class of the Tuscaloosa Citizen's Police Academy, which will run from February 3 through March 24.  There is no charge, but applicants must be at least 21 years of age.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama says it won't reinstate health plans that don't comply with the federal health care law. This comes in response to President Obama's remarks last week that consumers should be allowed to renew individual plans slated to end under the federal law.

Thousands of U.S. troops could be staying in Afghanistan after the NATO combat mission ends in 2014, as both countries have agreed on the language of a bilateral security pact that would have American troops training and assisting Afghan forces after international troops leave the country.

MSN reports that psychic Sylvia Browne, who frequently appeared on the Montel Williams show, died yesterday. The cause of her death is unknown.

Two Birmingham men have been arrested in the shooting that injured another man shortly after the Alabama-LSU game. Both men have been charged with attempted murder and shooting into a vehicle.

Earnie Stokes of Centreville, the former pastor who was convicted of killing his wife Syble Stokes in 2005, went before a parole board yesterday and was denied his request. According to our daily, he is scheduled to be released in February 2027.

Closing arguments will begin today in Jackson, Mississippi for Jesse Mae Pollard, the woman charged with orchestrating the kidnapping of a 6-year-old Mississippi girl from school. Some of the most dramatic testimony in the trial came from Pollard's son, who was a basketball player at the University of Alabama before his arrest in the case.

Florida Congressman Henry "Trey" Radel says he'll enter an in-patient treatment program to overcome his alcoholism and substance abuse.