The Sunrise News Sampler

Tonight is Mayor's Night out for District 1 in the City of Tuscaloosa.  The meeting will begin at Oakdale Elementary with a meet and greet opportunity from 5:30 to 6:00, followed by an overview of the latest happenings throughout the city and then a question-and-answer session.

This evening, the League of Women Voters of Greater Tuscaloosa will host a "Meet Your Legislators Night" in the Rotary room of the Tuscaloosa Public Library from 6:30 until 8:00. Each legislator will have a chance to present what he thinks key issues will be for the upcoming legislative session, and audience questions will be addressed as time allows.

West Alabama Narcotics Task Force Agents have arrested 27-year-old Joseph Anthony Harris of Brookwood and 29-year-old William Ryan Spencer of Duncanville, following a month long investigation. Powder cocaine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and multiple firearms were recovered at the time of arrest. Both men were placed in the Tuscaloosa County Jail with a $260,000 bond pending for Harris, and a $521,000 bond pending for Spencer.

Attorney General Luther Strange says one of his goals this legislative session is to shorten the appeal time in death penalty cases, as going through a capital murder trial and all the appeals can take nearly twenty years.

President Obama is said to be nearing a decision on changes to U.S. surveillance programs. It is expected for restrictions to be tightened on U.S. spying on foreign leaders.

Today, President Obama will unveil the first five areas in the country where the government will help tackle poverty with tax incentives and grants. He will also talk about "Promise Zones" this month in his State of the Union address.

Dennis Rodman has apologized for his comments about captive American missionary Kenneth Bae during a CNN interview. Rodman says it had been a very stressful day, and he'd been drinking.