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Stephen Perkins update

A former Decatur police officer has been arrested and charged in the killing of Stephen Perkins, reports AL.com’s Kayode Crown.

23-year-old Bailey Marquette was fired in early December. He was charged with murder in the shooting, which occurred Sept. 29 in Perkins’ front yard.

Police have said that Perkins had a gun and threatened a tow-truck driver who was trying to repo Perkin’s vehicle. They also said the tow-truck driver left and returned with police. Perkins was shot during the confrontation and died.

His death has been followed by months of protest in Morgan County.

Three other officers were fired or suspended and are named in a federal lawsuit, but they were not indicted by the grand jury.

Lifetime achievement A-W-A-R-D

Alabama native Tammy Wynette will posthumously receive a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Recording Academy during Grammys Week on Feb. 3, reports AL.com’s Mary Colurso.

The First Lady of Country Music, as she was known, was born Virginia Wynette Pugh in a Red Bay doctor’s office in 1942. She grew up across the state line in Mississippi but later worked as a hairdresser in Midfield and appeared on the Country Boy Eddie Show in the early 60s.

During her career, Wynette won two Grammys and three CMA Female Vocalist of the Year awards. She’s in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Alabama Music Hall of Fame, this list could go on and on.

Lloyd Austin hospitalized. Who knew?

It took a little while for word to get out that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (a Mobile native) had been hospitalized several days last week after experiencing complications from a minor medical procedure, reports The Associated Press.

Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Friday that Austin was “recovering well.”

The Pentagon Press Association sent a letter of protest to Ryder and Chris Meagher, the assistant defense secretary for public affairs:

“The fact that he has been at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for four days and the Pentagon is only now alerting the public late on a Friday evening is an outrage. At a time when there are growing threats to U.S. military service members in the Middle East and the U.S. is playing key national security roles in the wars in Israel and Ukraine, it is particularly critical for the American public to be informed about the health status and decision-making ability of its top defense leader.”

More Alabama news

Born on this date

In 1977, actress Amber Benson of Birmingham.

On the calendar

Today is National Clean Off Your Desk Day. Yeah, that’s really a thing, and a great excuse to chuck all those Post-it notes from 2023.

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