• This year's National Truck Driver Appreciation Week takes on a special significance considering the crucial role truck drivers have played during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Professional truck drivers haul more than 10 billion tons of freight every year, which accounts for 70 percent of total U.S. freight tonnage, and more than 80 percent of U.S. communities rely exclusively on trucks to deliver their freight.

• In Alabama, trucking accounts for 1 in 14 jobs in the state employing more than 111,000 Alabamians.

• Read more from Alabama Trucking Association President Mark Colson about the many contributions of Alabama’s professional truck drivers.

• PINCKARD, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama substitute teacher was arrested and accused of sending inappropriate messages to students, authorities said. 
• Darius Salter, 21, was charged Monday with two counts of possession of obscene matter, news outlets reported. 
• Dale County Chief Deputy Mason Bynum said Salter worked at South Dale Middle School and Dale County High School.
• Bynum said investigators were contacted by the Dale County Board of Education and told of a possible inappropriate relationship between a student and a substitute teacher.
• School administrators immediately removed Salter from the classroom. Investigators found multiple victims. 
• Bynum said all inappropriate communication between Salter and the victims were done electronically. 
• "We do not believe any sexual contact was made between the victims and the suspect. As the investigation continues, we anticipate additional charges to be filed," Bynum said. 
• It's unclear whether Salter had an attorney who could comment on his behalf. 

• BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Birmingham police say they've made an arrest in the shooting death of a 71-year-old woman who was killed less than two months after her grandson was slain.
• Javanna "Midge" Cotton Owens was walking on a street late Sunday when she approached a vehicle as if she knew the occupants, Sgt. Rod Mauldin told AL.com. She was struck by a single shot from the vehicle.
• License plate readers helped police locate the vehicle, and they made an arrest. Mauldin, however, said the suspect's name was being withheld pending charges.
• Owen's daughter, Vekimba Owens Carter, said she does not know why anyone would hurt her mother. Carter's son, 27-year-old Marquette Carter, was shot and killed Aug. 1 during a dice game. Police have not announced any arrests.
• "It's senseless killing," Vekimba Carter said. "I just want justice."

• SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Deadly West Coast wildfires are dividing President Donald Trump and the states’ Democratic leaders over how to prevent blazes from becoming more frequent and destructive, but scientists and others on the front lines say it’s not as simple as blaming either climate change or the way land is managed.
• The governors of California, Oregon and Washington have all said global warming is priming forests for wildfires as they become hotter and drier. But during a visit Monday to California, Trump pointed to how states manage forests and said, “It will start getting cooler, just you watch.”
• Scientists say wildfires are all but inevitable, and the main drivers are plants and trees drying out due to climate change and more people living closer to areas that burn. And while forest thinning and controlled burns are solutions, they have proven challenging to implement on the scale needed to combat those threats.
• As crews battled wildfires that have killed at least 36 people, destroyed neighborhoods and enveloped the West Coast in smoke, Trump contended that the states are to blame for failing to rake leaves and clear dead timber from forest floors.
• Read more HERE.

• This Thursday, AlabamaWorks! is hosting its Virtual Workforce Conference.

• It will feature experts from industry and education to identify challenges and focus on solutions to develop a more dynamic workforce.

• Hear new and innovative approaches to workforce practices, education initiatives to grow the workforce pipeline, and strategies to increase collaboration.

• See the lineup and register HERE.