Wednesday morning, the State Attorney General, Luther Strange, met with officers in Decatur. "They do it for selfless reasons. The put themselves on the line ever day and we just can't thank them enough. As Attorney General, on behalf of all the citizens, I take every opportunity I can to thank the ones who are doing it every day and to honor the memory of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice," said Strange.

Story and video at WAFF.com.

Attorney General Luther Strange called the final passage of HB 340 “a fitting tribute to the victims who suffered and struggled through the devastating tornadoes that struck Alabama one year ago.” In the wake of the tragic tornadoes of last year, Attorney General Strange advocated this tough law to specifically criminalize looting and provide strong penalties. Attorney General Strange commended the outstanding leadership of Representative John Merrill and Senators Gerald Allen and Cam Ward for moving this through the Legislature. The bill passed both houses of the Legislature with no dissenting votes.

Read the entire story at Fox10TV.com.

A bill sent to Gov. Robert Bentley on Thursday that creates a new crime of looting began with a comment by a high school football coach following last year’s tornado in Tuscaloosa. The House and Senate with no dissenting votes approved a conference committee report of the bill by Rep. John Merrill, R-Tuscaloosa, he sponsored for Attorney General Luther Strange. Merrill said that within a few days of the April 27, 2011, Tuscaloosa tornado, he called on a friend, Northridge High School head football Coach Mike Smith.

Read the entire story at GadsdenTimes.com.

Once signed by Governor Robert Bentley, HB 340 will make it a felony to loot homes during a declared state of emergency. The bill passed through both the House and Senate without a dissenting vote and is being praised by Attorney General Luther strange as a major step towards protecting families and their property following a disaster. Strange calls the final passage of HB 340, “a fitting tribute to the victims who suffered and struggled through the devastating tornadoes that struck Alabama one year ago.” Following the disaster of April 27th, Strange began advocating changes in the law to criminalize looting and provide strong penalties.

Read the entire story at CBS42.com.

BP's motion to delay the start of the civil trial over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill until after final approval of a proposed settlement between BP and private claimants should be denied, and BP should remain a defendant when the trial resumes, Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange argued in a memorandum filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in New Orleans. "BP should be held publicly accountable in 2012," the memorandum says flatly.

The memo goes on to recommend that the first phase of the trial, which will focus on the events leading up to the accident, should begin on July 16 to allow federal, state and local governments to pursue their claims resulting from the spill.

Read the entire story at NoLA.com.

Right now there is no looting law in Alabama. However, Attorney General Luther Strange is pushing two looting bills in the legislature. “It is very important to Alabama because we are subject to hurricanes and tornadoes and if and when it happens again we want to be prepared to go after the bad guys,” Strange argued. If signed into law, a person could be charged with looting in Alabama if they steal from someone else's property during a state of emergency.

Read the entire story at Alabamas13.com.

MONTGOMERY— Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange has urged a Louisiana federal judge to set a trial date to hear claims of lost revenue by Alabama and Louisiana because of the massive BP oil spill.Strange said Friday that setting a trial date would put pressure on BP and other companies responsible for the spill. Strange has said that keeping pressure on BP would encourage the oil company to begin serious discussions toward a settlement.

Read the entire story at MontgomeryAdvertiser.com.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange has spent much of the 15 months he has been in office pursuing efforts to recover losses by Alabama and other states because of the massive BP oil spill. With the second anniversary of the April 20, 2010 Gulf oil spill coming Friday, Strange believes he can see light at the end of the tunnel. Details of a proposed settlement were presented to a federal judge Wednesday in New Orleans in the lawsuit involving private claims. Strange hopes the case involving claims of lost revenue by Alabama and Louisiana will be ready to go to trial this fall or will be settled. Those losses include tax revenue that was lost because of the spill and also money the states spent on the clean-up effort.

Read the entire story at DailyComet.com.