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Published: Jan. 12, 2026, 5:45 a.m.A bill that’s been pre-filed in the Alabama Legislature would introduce the digital driver license into our state,The measure, from state Rep. Ontario Tillman, a Bessemer Democrat, would give Alabama residents the option to purchase a digital license along with the hard copies for an extra $15.
Around half the states already have the option. The ID information would appear in an app on your device, and the bill calls on the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to “apply reasonable standards of security to protect the integrity of the digital driver license or nondriver identification card and privacy of the licensee.”There already is an option to have a digital version of your hunting and fishing licenses. And digital pay is growing more popular. Now, perhaps this.The good news is that once you stop sitting on your wallet all day your spine might realign and you’ll get that inch back on your right leg.We’re just a few years removed from hearing cries for defunding police, then the backtracking on that phrasing amid shifting politic winds and rising homicide rates in many cities. Here we are in 2026, and one small Alabama city may be about to double its police force if a current spending package makes it past the president’s desk,Congresswoman Terri Sewell, an Alabama 7 Democrat, said there is $750,000 for the City of Brighton’s public safety in appropriations legislation that has passed the U.S. House of Representatives. Brighton Mayor Joseph Edwards said the money would take the police force from five to around a dozen officers.The bills need final approval from the Senate before they go to the White House.That means you’ll need to dial the area code even if you share the same area code as the number you’re calling. You probably already do this if you make all your calls on a cellphone and have phone numbers, with area code, programmed into your phone. But if you still dial one number at a time -- perhaps to set up a date to see a moving picture show -- you’ll need to dial all 10 digits. The reason this transition is coming now is because the 483 area code is being added to the same geographic area as 334. That area covers a big swath of central and southeast Alabama in places such as Selma, Montgomery, Prattville, Pike Road, Tuskegee, Auburn, Opelika, Phenix City, Eufaula, Dothan, Enterprise, Troy and Greenville.Today it’s also been 34 years since Troy State beat DeVry 258-149 in men’s basketball. Examine that. 258-149. The Trojans outscored them by 109 points. It’s the most points ever scored in an NCAA basketball game. It was back in the days when Troy was still Troy State, and it was Division II to DeVry’s NAIA status. Don Maestri’s Trojans employed a running, gunning, full-court pressing strategy that led to a lot of really high-scoring games. But 258-149 was a little ridiculous.AL.com’s Creg Stephenson quoted MaestriThe AP quoted a DeVry captain saying they started out trying to play with TSU but after falling behind they “just decided to have some fun.”Alabama News Quiz answers/resultsOyster harvest 19%Birmingham finished 2025 with its lowest number of homicides in a decade. What year did the city suffer its record number of homicides?Early rock and roll music producer Sam Phillips, who was born in Huntsville 103 years ago this week, was associated with all but which of these musicians?Which of these quarterbacks from Alabama holds the record for the most wins as a starting quarterback during his first two NFL seasons?
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