Two men were killed in a helicopter crash yesterday morning in northern Tuscaloosa County. 51-year-old Matthew Wallace and 63-year-old David Carson were working to maintain a high-voltage power line.

Disaster relief funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development were redirected by the Tuscaloosa City Council with $400,000 to go toward comprehensive planning for projects that will be funded with the $43.9 million allocation from HUD last year, and the remaining money to go toward planning for projects that will be paid for with the $16.6 million in disaster relief funds appropriated by HUD in 2012.

Former interim superintendent of Tuscaloosa City Schools and assistant superintendent of general administration Dorothy Richardson is coming out of retirement to serve as acting principal of Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, a position left vacant when Janet Sherrod was promoted to director of student services. Richardson's contract will end in December.

The Tuscaloosa County Board of Education is working on developing a plan for the new Holt High School, including where the school should be located as well as the possibility of a new career technical education center.

Researchers at the University of Alabama's Center of Business and Economic Research say the state's growth will gradually improve over the rest of the year.

American journalist James Foley, who was kidnapped in Syria in November 2012, has been beheaded by militants with the Islamic State extremist group. The militants say his killing is in retaliation for U.S. airstrikes in Iraq.

Attorney General Eric Holder is calling for an end to the act of violence in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, where he is traveling to meet with authorities taking part in a federal investigation into the death of Michael Brown.

Two adults and two children are being held hostage by two armed men in a Harvey, Illinois home. The men were suspected of breaking into a home, fled from police following an exchange of gunfire in which two officers were wounded, and ran into the house where the occupants are currently being held.

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