The Sunrise News Sampler

Tuscaloosa Police are investigating fraudulent telephone calls in which the caller says he works for the police department and is calling about unpaid tickets. Residents should NOT give out any card information over the phone, as the Tuscaloosa Police Department will never ask for an over-the-phone-payment.

The Alabama House has voted to make it a misdemeanor crime for state or local tax officials to audit an individual or group because of their political views, although that hasn't been a problem in Alabama. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

A winter storm has dumped a foot or more of snow, and temperatures have dropped, pushing wind chills below zero  in some places. The blowing snow is causing problems for drivers and stranded airline passengers.

The Winter Olymics will be held in Russia next month, but security concerns has at least one American competitor urging his family to stay home. Tucker Fredricks wants to focus on his skating rather than his family's safety.

Yesterday, E-911 Director Rod Coleman told the Tuscaloosa City Council that a site off 70th Avenue in Northport has been chosen for a new consolidated 911 center. Funding for the new center will come from the surcharge on all land line and cellphones imposed on phone customers statewide.

Georgia-based Rural Sourcing of Atlanta says it's opening a new software development center in Mobile, which will add 100 jobs on the Alabama coast.

The government wants to upgrade the standards for child safety seats; and today, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will propose that child car seats for the first time would have to protect children from death and injury in side impact crashes.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says none of the 12 subcompact minicars tested got a good rating in crash tests. Only the Chevy Spark earned the second-highest rating of "acceptable," and half received the lowest rate of "poor."

According to those who witnessed the arresting of Alabama cornerback Tony Brown, their recollection of what happened is different from what has been released. Brown is said to have threatened police officers who were responding to a noise complaint at a party. Police say they told him to leave the parking lot, which Brown refused.

BP has asked the full 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review a ruling that upheld a judge's approval of a multibillion-dollar settlement for compensating victims of the company's 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, arguing that a panel made a mistake in affirming the approval of the company's settlement with a team of private plaintiff's lawyers.

Police in Indiana say they don't know why 23-year-old Cody Cousins opened fire, killing fellow senior engineering student 21-year-old Andrew Bolt at Purdue University yesterday. Cousins has been charged with murder.

Two sisters in Houston now have their second winds after both receiving lung transplants from the same donor.