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Yahoo
8 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Black Bear spotted around Huntsville, officials provide tips on what to do if you spot one
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — This week, Huntsville residents have reported seeing a black bear roaming around the area. One sighting was reported near the Marina Park neighborhood in Huntsville. Another location where a black bear was seen was at Redstone Arsenal. News 19 reached out to Alabama Wildlife & Freshwater Fisheries Division to get more information surrounding public interaction with black bears. Bears can be seen anywhere in Alabama – especially this time of year. It is normal and expected to have bear sightings. Black bears are There is no reason to capture the bears, they are a natural part of Alabama's wildlife landscape. There have not been any reports of public safety concerns. A bear that is behaving normally is not a threat to public safety. Alabama Wildlife & Freshwater Fisheries Division However, the division did inform News 19 of some things landowners can do to prevent conflicts with black bears and ensure that they don't linger around. According to the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, black bears have some sort of routine in the month of June: Cubs will leave their mom and search for food Cubs will shelter in a place of their own Adult males travel to look for mates Nursing moms travel farther away from their home base to find food Cubs keep growing and developing Officials say never feed or approach a bear and make sure to secure outside items like food or garbage that might attract a bear. To see a list of tips on how to handle black bear sightings, click here. The Huntsville Police Department told News 19 that their department has also received calls for the reported bear sightings. However authorities are re-directing all questions to the Alabama Department of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Independent
11-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Dan Bongino wants to move FBI training program from iconic Quantico HQ to Alabama: report
Leaders in the FBI are reportedly pushing to move one of the bureau's training programs from its headquarters in Quantico, Virginia, to Huntsville, Alabama, as part of President Donald Trump's desire to move federal agencies out of the Washington D.C. area. Dan Bongino, the FBI deputy director, has preliminarily proposed moving the FBI National Academy, a 10-week training academy for 250 domestic and international law enforcement officers, to Huntsville, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. The FBI's training program for new bureau hires and other parts of its facilities, including the laboratory division, would remain at Quantico, people familiar with the discussion told The Post. While the proposal is still in preliminary stages, it aligns with Trump's April deadline asking agencies to create plans to move their headquarters from Washington D.C., to separate areas of the country to ' be where the people are.' However, the push to move to Huntsville, the most populous city in Alabama, has drawn criticism from some personnel who believe the move could be unjustifiably costly, The Post reported. While the FBI has operated at Redstone Arsenal, a U.S. Army base near downtown Huntsville, for decades, some expressed concern that sending hundreds of staff and agents to set up the training facility would require upgrades. 'If you look at FBI field offices, for example, you'll see many that are not located in downtown areas given the highly specialized nature of these facilities and their security requirements,' Norman Dong, the former Public Buildings Service commissioner under the Obama administration, told Federal News Network in April. 'In places like Atlanta or Sacramento, these FBI offices are located far outside of the central city,' Dong added. The FBI Academy is currently located in Quantico, a town in Prince William County, Virginia, which is approximately 35 miles outside of D.C. A spokesperson for the FBI said that any relocation options were being evaluated to determine if it could save the bureau money while also serving as a sufficient facility. Since Trump took office in January, the bureau has undergone significant changes, beginning with its leadership. Trump nominated Kash Patel to serve as FBI director despite Patel having a history of taking controversial pro-Trump stances. The president then tapped Bongino, a former Secret Service agent who became a popular right-wing podcaster, as deputy director. After Patel was sworn in, he said he would relocate roughly 1,000 staff and agents out of the D.C. office and said he'd move 500 people to the Huntsville facility so the FBI could have more of a presence in other cities. Trump proposed moving federal buildings and agencies outside of D.C. during his first administration, but the plan did not have immense success, in part due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Trump moved the Bureau of Land Management's headquarters from D.C. to Grand Junction, Colorado in 2019 so it could be closer to the land it manages. However, a review by the Biden administration found that the move caused more than 80 percent of the agency's employees to leave. Eventually, the headquarters were restored back to Washington D.C.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Lauderdale County Detention Center adds two additions to jail to enhance safety for officers and inmates
LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — The Lauderdale County Detention Center recently added a new lock system to jail cell doors and a new system called 'Guardian' to keep track of inmates. Locked in and no way out, a new state-of-the-art lock system is on every jail cell door inside the Lauderdale County Detention Center. Gold Star families honored on Redstone Arsenal Sheriff Joe Hamilton said the original locks had been used since the 1960s, so it was time to upgrade. 'We had a problem with some of the locks being popped inside of the jail, so we have come in and placed a more secure locking system inside the hallways where the cells are,' Hamilton said. The Lauderdale County Detention Center recently got the guardian system, which helps corrections officers keep track of over 300 inmates. Director of Corrections Matt Burbank said the Guardian system allows officers to stay on top of their responsibilities for inmates. Alabama DCNR euthanizes alligator acting 'abnormally' in South Huntsville neighborhood 'It's designed to make sure everybody gets what they're supposed to get, making sure everyone is getting their proper food with the calorie intake, make sure they're getting medicine, their commissary if they want it, all that is now digitally logged,' Burbank said. This is how it works, each inmate wears a wristband, that wristband is then used by the system to monitor where they go and what they do inside the jail. Burbank said with the new system, they can make sure each inmate in the cell receives their meal each day. Sheriff Hamilton said it also tracks when an inmate needs their medication or treatment. 'If someone is in a cell that may have a medical condition that may be on an elevated risk level the device will alert the corrections officer to check, even if they're busy, they'll get that alert that it's been 15 minutes to go check on this person then they'll scan and load it into the system,' Hamilton said. Burbank said after Vicky White helped Casey White escape from the jail back in 2022, they continue to take new steps to crack down on security. 'It was very unsafe for the officers for other inmates because inmates have a lot of time to study stuff, and these locks were built in the 90s, so the new engineering just makes it safer for the inmates and my staff,' Burbank said. Burbank also mentioned that more additions to the jail are in the works to continue the safety and wellbeing of staff and inmates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama congressional delegation on proposed federal workforce cuts
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — President Donald Trump this week signed an executive order that directs the new Department of Government Efficiency to start preparing for large-scale reductions in the federal workforce. Redstone Arsenal has an estimated 45,000 workers – including 27,000 civilian employees and more than 17,000 contractors. 8th grader detained as school officials, police investigate possible threat at Austin Junior High The executive order says it does not apply to military personnel and that agency heads can exempt personnel they deem necessary for national security, homeland security or public safety. Beyond that, few details have emerged on the size and location of the cuts. Alabama U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville told News 19 this week he thinks future cuts will 'affect a lot of people in the federal government.' Tuberville also said he expects future military spending cuts. 'The one thing that's going to happen in our state is we're a military state. We do it a lot of things military-wise from the federal government that will be assessed. Pete Hegseth, the new Secretary of Defense, has said he wants those to come in and look at the spending that we have, where it's going, who is going to? 'Are we getting our money's worth? And we have to do that. We cannot continue to spend and let money go out the door like it's going right now are we will not have a country.' HPD opens fraud investigation into Huntsville College Preparatory School Alabama U.S. Sen. Katie Britt's provided a statement Thursday evening. Britt said Trump is seeking to root out waste and fraud. 'In my meetings with members of President Trump's team, from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to FBI Director nominee Kash Patel, I have touted Alabama's second-to-none capabilities that are instrumental to combatting the threats of the future,' Britt said. 'From Marshall Space Flight Center to FBI's operations on Redstone Arsenal, I will continue to highlight how Alabamians will play a strategic role in our national security and defense long into the future.' News 19 reached out to North Alabama Congressmen Dale Strong and Robert Aderholt. U.S. Rep. Strong, R-5th District, did not reply to News 19's requests for comment on the proposed federal workforce cuts. A spokesman for Aderholt, R-4th District, responded Thursday afternoon. 'As we previously said, we don't expect North Alabama to be impacted to any large degree by cuts or buyouts. President Trump's primary focus is on the large bureaucracy that exits in the Washington, D.C. area.' News 19 asked if they had any estimates on likely reductions. Aderholt's office said they haven't received any information on that. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
