The Sunrise News Sampler

A top al-Qaida leader is blaming President Obama for the raid in which an American and a South African hostage were killed.  Nasr bin Ali al-Ansi says he warned the U.S. after a first rescue operation in November failed, and that the president showed carelessness for the life of an American citizen.

The FDA has approved a study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, regarding the use of a marijuana derivative to treat seizures. A university review board will meet next month to discuss modifications requested by the FDA.

Ricky J. McKinney has been unanimously selected as the new municipal court judge for the City of Tuscaloosa. McKinney, who has worked with the Tuscaloosa city attorney's office, county public defenders and in private practice, assumes the bench on Jan. 1.

43-year-old Timothy Pool won $3 million from a Florida lottery.  Might not be a big deal if he wasn't a sex offender, arrested in 2001 on charges of sexual battery on a female victim under 12.