• Condolences poured in Sunday after the fatal shooting of Lowndes County Sheriff John Williams, known locally as “Big John.”
• Law enforcement agencies in Alabama and beyond posted tributes on social media offering prayers and support.
• “We in Alabama’s law enforcement community mourn the loss of a dedicated brother,” Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Secretary Hal Taylor said in a statement. “Not only was Lowndes County Sheriff ‘Big John’ Williams a committed man of the law, but he was kind and loved by many.”
• Residents of Hayneville gathered for a vigil and prayer service near the gas station where Williams was shot.
• The Montgomery Advertiser reports that witnesses saw a driver shoot Williams at a gas pump after the sheriff approached a truck to ask about loud music.
• The suspect was identified as 18-year-old William Chase Johnson, who is being held in an Elmore County jail. CNN reports that Johnson is the son of a deputy from a neighboring county’s sheriff’s department.
• Read all that and more HERE.

• Negotiations on a package of spending bills to fund the federal government have produced a key breakthrough, though considerably more work is needed to wrap up the long-delayed measures.
• Top lawmakers of the House and Senate Appropriations committees on Saturday confirmed agreement on allocations for each of the 12 spending bills, a step that allows negotiations on the $1.4 trillion budget bundle to begin in earnest to try to pass the measures by a Dec. 20 deadline.
• Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., announced the agreement on Saturday through aides.
• Lawmakers passed a stopgap measure last week to fund the government through Dec. 20. This pact opens the door to a final agreement by that date, though the spending bundling is likely to spill over into next year.
• Full story HERE.

Study to look for signs of hookworm in Alabama’s Black Belt

• BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Researchers are once again trying to determine whether Alabama’s Black Belt region has a problem with intestinal parasites called hookworm.
• A study led by University of Alabama at Birmingham is recruiting participants for a program that will screen hundreds of children in Wilcox and Perry counties for signs of hookworm.
• State health officials took issue with a previous study involving Baylor University that found evidence of hookworm. The parasite was once widespread in the United States and is now a problem mainly in underdeveloped counties.
• Health officials say poor waste disposal systems and environmental conditions in rural west Alabama put the area at risk for the problem.
• UAB announced the new program in a statement this week. The work is being funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Story link.

4 hurt, 1 dead in drive-by shooting after bar fight

• BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Police say a group of patrons that were kicked out of a bar returned in a car and shot five people standing outside, killing one.
• Birmingham police Sgt. Johnny Williams said officers responded to a west Birmingham sports bar early Sunday morning where they found four people wounded, including one man in critical condition. The seriously injured victim, 25-year-old Fredrick Asher, died at a hospital. Al.com reports a fifth victim also later arrived at a hospital for treatment of wounds that weren’t life-threatening.
• Williams said the suspects were asked to leave the club after a fight, then returned in a dark vehicle and shot from it. He says those suspects haven’t been identified.

Alabama communities receive nearly $19M in federal grants

• MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Almost $19 million in federal money is going to dozens of communities around Alabama to help with everything from sewers to removing old buildings.
• The grants announced this week by the governor’s office are from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which provides block grants to help cities and counties.
• A statement says $18.7 million is going to 58 communities in amounts ranging from about $120,000 to $450,000.
• Cullman and Brewton are among the cities getting the maximum amount. Both towns plan work including sewer improvements.
• Tallassee and Scottsboro are getting more than $200,000 each to demolish dilapidated structures.
• Local communities apply for the grants, which the state administers for the federal agency.

2 inmates found dead in Alabama prisons

• MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Prison officials say they are investigating the deaths of two Alabama inmates.
• The Department of Corrections says 65-year-old Earl Hogan passed out Nov. 20 while working in the garage at Staton Correctional Facility.
• The agency says officers and medical staff performed CPR, but Hogan could not be revived. The cause of death is pending autopsy results.
• Hogan was serving a life sentence out of Elmore County for a murder conviction.
• Sixty-three-year-old Charles Brookshire was found unresponsive on Nov. 20 in the hospital ward of Limestone Correction Facility. Brookshire was admitted to the hospital ward last month because of a cancer diagnosis.
• Brookshire was serving a five-year sentence out of Dekalb County for an obstruction of justice conviction. The final cause of death is pending autopsy results.

Burnett named president of the University of Mobile

• MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — The interim president of the University of Mobile is taking over the position on a permanent basis.
• The school issued a statement Friday saying Lonnie A. Burnett has been named to the position after serving six months in the job on an interim basis.
• Burnett is a 1979 graduate of the school who previously served as executive dean for arts and sciences. He’s also served in other positions including president of the Faculty Council.
• The small liberal arts college is affiliated with the Alabama Baptist State Convention.