West Alabama Thursday Briefing

Good morning West Alabama! It is Thursday, January 2, 2025.

Thursday Morning Observations:

Events in the wee hours of the first day of 2025 remind us that we cannot let our guard down anytime. There are people inside and outside our country that want to do us harm. Yet another senseless terror attack, this time in New Orleans, should prompt each of us to not complain when security at large scale events or airports slow things down. It is for our protection.

The early New Year's morning attack hit home as word came from the University of Alabama that one of their students, freshman Kareen Badawi, was one of the victims of a soulless individual who drove around police car barricades, onto a sidewalk, and then into a crowd of revelers. At least 15 have died so far and medical personnel report there are others being treated with life-threatening injuries.

Kareen was from Baton Rouge, LA, enrolled at UA and pledged to the Iota Iota Chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He had gone to New Orleans with a high school friend to celebrate the new year.

I'm not going to mention the perpetrator in this column, he doesn't deserve recognition. But authorities are investigating the attack under the impression that the Texas man flying an ISIS flag on the back of his pickup truck had help from others.

Now is the time to focus our attention on the suffering families and friends of Badawi and the other victims. May God give them comfort and allow them to feel His peace and strength at this difficult time.

(Opinions expressed in Morning Briefing are those of the author and are not necessarily those of the ownership, management, staff or sponsors of Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa.)

Weather:

Don't let the sunny skies mislead you today. Temperatures will only climb into the low 50s and then plunge to the low to mid 30s tonight. Tomorrow will feel colder than the lower 50s due to breezy conditions created by a cold front.

The Storm Prediction Center has highlighted extreme Western Alabama for a Slight (2 in 5) Risk for potential strong to severe thunderstorms Sunday night Then the weather becomes iffier as some computer models predict a winter weather event with potential snow late next week. It is still way too earlier to predict accumulation, if any.

The Forecast:

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Bibb County Traffic Crash Kills Two, Injuries Two Children

ALEA has identified 31-year-old Jedarius K. Chancey, of Huntsville, and 27-year-old Jasmine S. McGary as the two people killed in a single car crash on Alabama 139 in Bibb County New Year’s Eve. 2- and 6-year-old children are being treated for injuries suffered in the crash.

The Choose Act Effective Today in Alabama

The Choose Act is now in effect in Alabama. It will help Alabama families pay for private school tuition, home schooling costs, and other education expenses next school year.

Parents can go to the Choose Act website to complete an application for the 2025-2026 school year. They will have until April 7 to fill out an application and potentially qualify for state funding.

Alabama lawmakers approved the program in March with the support of Governor Ivey. Opponents fear the funds will hurt public education.

Gas Buddy expects the national average for regular gas to fall to $3.22 per gallon in 2025. That’s about 10 cents less than in 2024 and would be the lowest annual average since 2021.

The national average is expected to stay below $3.50 per gallon each month of 2025, even during the peak driving season of late spring and early summer.

The average in Alabama is $2.72 a gallon. Thats is down 7 cents from a year ago.

In West Alabama, Bibb County has the lowest current gas price at $2.62 with Perry County posting the highest per gallon at $3.06.