Dr. Jesse Lewis, a legendary Birmingham businessman and founder of The Birmingham Times, turns 100 today.

In today’s report, we have a couple items that might fit into our “You Ain’t From Around Here Are You Son” news category. Particularly one about the baffling crime of shooting a bald eagle — one of the worst cost/benefit decisions a lawbreaker can make this side of stealing a police car.

Let’s get to it. Thanks for reading,

Ike

Animals you absolutely don’t mess with

Of course, it’s an obvious responsibility on each of us to know the laws regarding any species of animal that we use, feed, trap, keep or, especially, shoot. And while it’s wrong to abuse any animal, the killing or abuse of certain animals will draw particular societal outrage.

There are cultural indicators as to which animals we’re talking about. Here’s a test to help:

• If people make the conservation of a species part of their own personal identity through license plates, bumper stickers and t-shirts, it’s a terrible idea to mistreat the species. I’m thinking of nesting sea turtles and manatees.
• If an animal is considered by American culture as a close friend, sometimes closer than other humans, and rarely as food, then people will lose their minds with outrage if you mistreat it. I’m thinking of horses and domesticated dogs.
• If a species has its image featured on numerous kinds of currency, patriotic symbolism, government art, stationery, seals and flags, corporate logos, condensed-milk branding, biker jackets and more tattoos than the word “Mom,” then put your gun down, walk away, and schedule a session with a counselor specializing in self-destructive tendencies.

So, from our “You Ain’t From Around Here Are You Son” news category, AL.com’s Howard Koplowitz reports that an American bald eagle was fatally shot nearly a month ago in Lawrence County. And the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a $2,500 reward for tips that lead to a conviction in the case. Anyone with information on the investigation was asked to call U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Brad Rabalais at 601-331-0292 or the Alabama Game Watch Hotline at 1-800-272-4263.

The eagle was found Dec. 8 near Mt. Hope. The big birds are protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. If you violate that act, you can get up to a $100,000 fine and/or up to a year in prison. But, as Drew says on showcase showdown, that’s not all: Eagles are also protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and violating that can get you up to a $15,000 fine and/or up to a year in prison.

Finally our national bird

Also, while we’re on bald eagles, do you know how long the bald eagle has been our national bird?

The answer to that is 10 days.

That may surprise you if you weren’t around the news on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

The Associated Press reported that on Dec. 24, President Biden signed into law legislation that officially, finally, made the bald eagle our national bird. It’s been our national SYMBOL since 1782, when a very young Congress designated it as such, along with the finalizing of our Great Seal with the “E Pluribus Unum” motto.

Incidentally, our other national animal is the American bison, which became the national mammal in 2016 (which is pretty good respect considering that we are mammals).

More from the ‘You Ain’t Around Here Are You Son’ news files

The U-Haul migration measure has already been released for 2024, reports AL.com’s William Thornton.

We reported on this last year as well. U-Haul keeps a “growth index” to track where people are moving in the U.S. according to one-way U-Haul truck, trailer and U-Box rentals.

Alabama has now experienced a net gain for five of the past six years, including 2024. We placed 16th among the 50 states — six spots higher than we did in 2023 — with arrivals falling 1% but departures falling 2%.

South Carolina topped the rankings, followed by Texas, North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee.

The five states with the highest net loss of movers were California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Do you reckon at least some of them might share with us the wisdom behind how they did things up north?

Another New Orleans victim

A second Alabama victim has surfaced in the New Year’s Day terror attack where a man drove a truck with an ISIS flag drove into a crowd in New Orleans.

AL.com’s Carol Robinson reports that Drew Dauphin was among the 15 killed.

Dauphin graduated from Alabama Christian Academy in Montgomery in 2016 and from Auburn University in 2023. His family said he loved days on Lake Martin, and his LinkedIn profile said he worked for Honda after graduating.

He was 26 years old.

More Alabama News

Born on This Date

In 1924, businessman, founder of The Birmingham Times and member of numerous halls of fame Dr. Jesse Lewis of Birmingham.

In 1959, gospel and country singer-songwriter Rusty Golden of Brewton. He just passed away last year. He was the son of William Lee Golden of the Oak Ridge Boys.

The podcast