Author: Tom Roberts

Talladega County – According to a press release from the Talladega County Commission, the local county has joined Alabama’s 66 other counties in making significant investments in public safety during fiscal year 2026, with revenue from the state’s Simplified Sellers Use Tax (SSUT) serving as an important funding source amid rising operational costs.

Since 2015, SSUT requires eligible out-of-state sellers to collect and remit use tax on purchases made by Alabama consumers. The revenue is distributed among state, county and municipal governments and has become an important funding source for essential county services, especially law enforcement.

Talladega County officials highlighted how important online sales tax revenue have been to funding deputies, jail operations and other public safety needs. The Association of County Commissions of Alabama points out that revenue from SSUT is the only growing source of revenue, as well as the fact that law enforcement and the operation of the county jail is the single largest expenditure in every county.

ALPINE, Ala. – Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whomever is responsible for the February shooting death of in Alpine.

Early on February 23rd, Talladega County sheriff’s deputies initially responded around 1:40 a.m. to a report of a single-vehicle crash in the 2000 block of Grist Mill Road. 51-year-old LaDale U. Garrett was found suffering from an apparent gunshot wound inside his truck on Grist Mill Road near Reynolds Mill Road.

Garrett was taken to Citizens Baptist Medical Center before being transferred to UAB Hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 5:40 a.m. Garrett’s family said he had been on his way to work. The Talladega County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the incident.

Birmingham – Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the most remarkable and most dangerous technological inventions in history. It accelerates data analysis, automates repetitive and time-consuming tasks and is always available. At the same time, it can displace jobs, is expensive, is not always correct, and can be used for fraud and scams. The latter has the FBI on alert.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and local law enforcement agencies urge us all to remain aware that eEveryone is a potential target, especially senior citizens, and even the tech-savvy young and professionals. The FBI says that Alabama has seen an explosion of AI fraud recently. Data security and personal privacy alerts are high as scams are rising with the increasing use of AI by criminals.

The FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report shows cyber-enabled crimes defrauded Americans of nearly $21 billion, with cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence-related complaints among the costliest. AI scammers are even making use of the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) to ask for personal information in fraudulent investigations.