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Celebratory gunfire

If you were out and about on New Year’s Eve, and right about midnight you saw police officers hanging out under a viaduct or other bridge or structure, they weren’t just laying low to get the drop on traffic violators.

AL.com’s Carol Robinson reports that Birmingham Police try to take shelter during the peak of the celebration to stay clear of falling bullets.

We’ve reported this phenomenon before, but it’s not a bad idea to remind ourselves occasionally that there are people around us who either don’t have or don’t use good sense when it comes to handling the firearms they purchased or otherwise obtained.

Birmingham police did reports on two people who were injured by what they believe was celebratory gunfire. Neither victim had life-threatening injuries. They have yet to release a Spot-Shotter count of gunfire from Sunday night but previous totals have topped 1,200 shots.

And it’s not just Birmingham where this is an issue. Mobile police say they received 223 reports of shots fired on New Year’s Eve. Note that those are reports called in, so some could’ve been fireworks mistaken for gunfire.

Tax cut for OT pay

Another brand-new state law that went into effect with the new year is the one that cut state income taxes from overtime pay, reports AL.com’s Leada Gore.

Full-time hourly workers now pay no state income tax on their overtime pay or any pay they earn by working more than 40 hours a week. We’ve been paying 5%.

Note that this does not affect your federal or local income taxes. Employers now won’t have to report individual overtime figures to the Alabama Department of Revenue; instead, each month or quarter they’ll report the aggregate amount of OT paid and the number of employees who received it.

The law will expire in June 2025 unless it’s extended by the Legislature.

Car/house crash

A Mountain Brook family was rudely awakened at 2:25 Monday morning when a Tesla came barreling into the house, reports AL.com’s Carol Robinson.

At least the engine was quiet.

Fortunately, the bedrooms were located on the other side of the house and nobody was injured, although the house was pretty tore up. The driver was taken to UAB Hospital but his injuries were not life-threatening.

Mountain Brook police are investigating.

Answers and results of Tuesday’s quiz

Last year the Alabama Legislature passed a bill to expand manslaughter charges to include people who provide drugs containing fentanyl to someone who dies from using them. It isn’t yet law because:

• Gov. Kay Ivey signed the wrong version of the bill. (CORRECT) 85%
• it’s being held up in the courts. 12%
• Gov. Kay Ivey vetoed the bill. 3%
• an investigation found that the bill’s sponsors actually lived in Iowa. 0%

According to the Birmingham Area Humane Society, the following is contributing to shelters being overcrowded with dogs:

• The trend of new dog owners buying from breeders online. (CORRECT) 73%
• A growing number of unspayed, unneutered strays. 20%
• Generation Z’s emergence as heavily pro-cat. 6%
• Frequent raiding of the state’s dog-fighting rings. 2%

Former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder was handed his third loss in four fights in a match against:

• Oleksandr Usyk 29%
• Tyson Fury 28%
• Damian Anderson 25%
• Joseph Parker (CORRECT) 17%

According to a recent poll, 47 percent of the voters in Alabama’s redrawn Second Congressional District:

• Did not realize they live in Alabama’s Second Congressional District. 42%
• Say they will vote Democratic. 27%
• Say they are undecided. (CORRECT) 25%
• Say they will vote Republican. 7%

Some members of the Alabama and Michigan delegations made a fun bet on the Rose bowl, with Michigan putting up Detroit-style pizza against Alabama’s:

• Dreamland Bar-B-Que (CORRECT) 94%
• Champy’s Famous Fried Chicken 3%
• Fried green tomatoes from the Irondale Cafe 3%
• Jack’s Hamburgers 0%

More Alabama news

Born on this date

In 1924, opera singer Nell Rankin of Montgomery.

On the calendar

Jan. 13: The Krewe de la Dauphine rolls on Dauphin Island as the Mobile-area Mardi Gras festivities get underway.

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