The Sunrise News Sampler

At 9:00 this morning, Westlawn Middle School will host the 2014 Martin Luther King, Jr Honors Convocation. Stillman College's Assistant Vice-President and Director of Development for Institutional Advancement Adrian Scott will the speaker, with entertainment provided by the school's concert band and concert choirs. The event is open to the public.

The Alabama House of Representatives has approved a slate of tax bills, one of which would create an independent body to oversee taxpayer disputes in a system critics say gives the Department of Revenue too much power currently.

A senior administration official says President Obama will call for stripping the NSA's ability to store phone data from millions of Americans. The president will hold a news conference later this morning to talk about changes to government surveillance programs.

One Nevada man has been convicted of 4 counts after opening fire during a confrontation with the crew of the reality show "Repo Games" outside his home three years ago.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary, has been removed from list of failing schools as defined by the Alabama Accountability Act of 2013. Central High School and Westlawn Middle School remain.

Circuit Judge Houston Brown ruled Wednesday that the attorney general may not keep the nearly $94,000 in cash and 376 gambling machines seized in a raid at Greentrack in 2011, as the state waited too long to file correct paperwork.

Medicare's chief cybersecurity official says the Obama administration's health care website recently passed full security tests, easing her earlier concerns about vulnerabilities.

President and First Lady Obama will be greeting leaders from more than 100 colleges and universities in a White House auditorium, with the price of admission being a promise to take action to help more low-income students attend college.