Best colleges

With a tweaked formula, U.S. News & World Report released its annual rankings of best colleges with Auburn University just a little higher on the list, reports AL.com’s Savannah Tryens-Fernandes.

A notable change to the rankings was removal of some criteria such as alumni giving and high school class standing to try to weigh the rankings a little more toward social mobility and outcomes for graduates.

Theoretically, the changes could make for it less of a slam-dunk for elite schools. Still, Princeton University repeated as No. 1.

The highest-ranked school in Alabama was Auburn, which was tied for 93rd place, up four places. The University of Alabama at Huntsville also seemed to benefit from the changes, rising 35 spots to 227th

Most other schools in the state slipped. Here are the schools making the Top 500: UAB landed at No. 142, the University of Alabama at No. 170, Samford at No. 185, South Florida at No. 382 and Alabama State University in a group between 394th and 435th.

New way to update voter lists

Alabama is putting into use a new system for cleaning voter rolls after withdrawing from the old system that cleaned voter rolls, reports AL.com’s Mike Cason.

Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen, a Republican, campaigned on a promise to break from the states sharing voter information through the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC. Several states have turned on ERIC as rumors spread after the 2020 election that it was a left-wing organization funded by George Soros. Allen has claimed there are ties between ERIC and Soros, and once in office he followed through on removing Alabama from the program.

Outgoing Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill, also a Republican, said before the election and has said since that there is no evidence to the conspiracy theories concerning ERIC and that it’s worked well for years.

Regardless, we’re moving on to the Alabama Voter Integrity Database, or AVID. Under AVID there will be four ways to identify Alabama voters who have moved out of state or died — through out-of-state driver license acquisition, the National Change of Address file, voter-list sharing with at least five other states, and the Social Security Death Index.

NYE shooter’s gun charges

The man who opened fire at the downtown Mobile New Year’s Eve celebration, killing one person and injuring nine others, has been sentenced to prison for 10 years just on gun-possession charges, reports AL.com’s William Thornton.

Keep in mind, Thomas Earl Thomas Jr. will be tried in Mobile County District Court on charges of intentional murder, first-degree assault and shooting into occupied and unoccupied buildings and vehicles.

The 10-year sentence came from federal court, where he pled guilty to possessing a pistol with an extended magazine and a Glock switch, which converts the pistol into an automatic weapon.

It’s the maximum sentence for the charge and it comes with three years of supervised release. Thomas will be treated in prison for substance abuse and mental health.

Quoting

“The objective is not only to seek damages for the pain and suffering endured by the band director but also to shed light on the systemic issues within law enforcement and advocate for change.”

Juandalynn Givan, a state representative and lawyer for Minor High School band director Johnny Mims, who was tased and arrested after an incident with police after last week’s football game.

Click here to see police body-cam footage of the event.

More Alabama news

Born on this date

In 1926, Lurleen Burns Wallace, who served as governor of Alabama from 1967 until her death around 16 months later, and also is the namesake of the junior college in Andalusia.

Quiz results

Here’s how readers performed on yesterday’s week-in-review quiz:

Talladega City Schools Superintendent Quentin J. Lee recently won $15,000 in cash on “Wheel of Fortune.” Previously, as a principal in Childersburg, he won social-media fame performing in a COVID-related video satire of what hit song?

• “U Can’t Touch This” (CORRECT) … 61%
• “Behind the Mask” … 19%
• “From a Distance” … 12%
• “Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)” … 9%

What musician was married this month?

• Hank Williams Jr. (CORRECT) … 77%
• Jason Isbell … 14%
• Tommy Shaw … 5%
• Lionel Richie … 5%

According to recent data, what’s the most common form of cancer in Alabama?

• Prostate (CORRECT) … 42%
• Breast … 26%
• Lung … 16%
• Colon … 16%

On Sept. 12 of what year did Hurricane Frederic make landfall at Dauphin Island?

• 1979 (CORRECT)… 54%
• 1981 … 20%
• 1977 … 14%
• 1975 … 12%

What animal was spread into the Southeast (and beyond) by Hurricane Idalia?

• Flamingos (CORRECT) … 70%
• Burmese pythons … 15%
• Iguanas … 8%
• Blacktip sharks … 7%

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