Just days before he's to face a jury on federal corruption charges, Victoryland owner Milton McGregor's attorneys are filing a motion to dismiss all charges based on instructions provided to the grand jury.

McGregor's attorneys say they recognize that courts don't often dismiss cases "based on flaws in the legal instructions given to the grand jury," but contend their client's case "presents an unusual and important situation."

The grand jury, according to the filing, was not instructed on the required element of "quid pro quo" and "explicit quid pro quo" relating to charges based on campaign contributions the prosecution calls bribes.

[Read the motion to dismiss - (.pdf)]

There are a lot of bodies of water in South Alabama, and a lot of bridges to cross them.  One such bridge crosses Pigeon Creek in Covington County.  It's almost 100 years old and showing its age.

"We keep maintaining it, keep it in a safe condition for what it's posted for, but eventually it's going to deteriorate to the point where it's not worth it to try and repair,"  said Darren Capps, the Covington County Engineer.

It's one of the 1,302 bridges in the state that are considered structurally deficient.  That's the same designation of the bridge in Minneapolis that collapsed in 2007, killing 13 people.  Many structurally deficient bridges are considered safe - as long no vehicles over the weight limit drive over them.

The weight limit on this bridge is 3 tons - basically the weight of a car or light truck.

Alabama's April unemployment rate has increased to 9.3 percent from the previous month. The jobless figures, which do not factor in employment losses due to the April tornadoes, are "up slightly" according to Department of Industrial Relations Director Tom Surtees. The previous month saw a rate of 9.2 percent. The state sat at 9.8 percent at the same point in 2010.

Surtees says the jobless numbers relating to the April 27 tornadoes will be reflected in the June report.

"It appears that Alabama followed the national trend this month," Surtees said. The nation as a whole saw unemployment increase from 8.8 percent to 9 percent.

HOW IS YOUR COUNTY DOING?