Alabama News

General News

General

Christmas Eve double shooting leaves 2 women dead in Lee County; suspect in custody

Two women are dead following a double shooting on Christmas Eve in Lee County.

Lee County sheriff’s deputies responded to the shooting Monday on Highway 29 North near Lee County Road 2113 in Beulah, WTVM reported.

Efforts by AL.com to reach the sheriff’s office were unsuccessful.

As of 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, the Lee County Coroner’s Office said they had not been dispatched to a death investigation.

Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones told WTVM that the suspected shooter is in custody.

Further information was unavailable.

General

Former South Alabama running back Fluff Bothwell headed to SEC school

Fluff Bothwell is headed to the SEC.

The former South Alabama running back has committed to Mississippi State, he announced on Tuesday. Bothwell rushed for 832 yards and 13 touchdowns in 12 games as a true freshman in 2024, and has three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Bothwell made the announcement via Instagram:

The 5-foot-10, 219-pound Bothwell split time in the South Alabama backfield with junior Kentrel Bullock, but still led the Sun Belt Conference in rushing touchdowns and finished seventh in yards. He had four 100-yard games and five multi-touchdown games, earning second-team All-Sun Belt honors.

Bothwell is the third former South Alabama player in this cycle to announce he’s transferring to a Power 4 conference program, along with kicker Laith Marjan (Kansas) and defensive back Jordan Scruggs (West Virginia). Running back Braylon McReynolds, defensive end Jordan Norman and defensive backs Brian Dillard, Amarion Fortenberry and Rickey Hyatt have also entered the portal, but have not yet announced their destinations.

A two-time all-state pick at Oneonta High School, Bothwell rushed for 5,145 yards and 72 touchdowns over his final two prep seasons. Despite that production, his only FBS offers out of high school were South Alabama, Jacksonville State, Navy and Eastern Michigan.

Bothwell joins a Mississippi State team that finished 2-10 overall and 0-8 in the SEC in 2024 under first-year coach Jeff Lebby. Davon Booth, the Bulldogs’ leading rusher with 759 yards and five touchdowns this past season, was a senior.

South Alabama finished 7-6 in 2024, beating Western Michigan 30-23 in the Salute to Veterans Bowl in Montgomery on Dec. 14.

General

Morgan County sheriff no longer says man with fake gun killed by deputies fired at them

The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office is no longer maintaining that a suspect killed by deputies fired at the officers after the investigation revealed that the man was holding a fake gun when he was fatally shot.

The suspect, identified Tuesday by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s State Bureau of Investigation as 41-year-old Decatur resident Drew Patterson Banks, was shot dead by deputies following a vehicle chase.

Priceville officers tried to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle Banks was driving, which was reported stolen, according to the SBI.

The driver refused to stop and a chase ensued with Morgan County sheriff’s deputies assisting the Priceville officers.

The pursuit ended at Thompson Road and Byrd Road in Morgan County, when Banks allegedly exited the vehicle “with what appeared to be a handgun,” according to the SBI.

“Upon further investigation, it was determined that the firearm was a full-sized replica of a Sig Sauer 1911 semiautomatic handgun,” the agency said.

Banks was then fatally shot.

No officers were injured.

In a Facebook post, the sheriff’s office initially said Monday that “the subject shot at deputies, who returned fire.”

On Tuesday, the office edited its post to say “the subject pointed a firearm, later determined by ALEA Investigators to be a replica handgun, at Deputies and Officers, who returned fire.”

The post no longer makes any mention of Banks firing at officers.

General

Is Starbucks open Christmas Day? Store hours for Dec. 25

Starbucks lovers will tell you that nothing -not even a busy Christmas morning – will get in the way of them getting their coffee.

If you’re one of those who needs a jolt of caffeine – or maybe just need to grab a last-minute gift card- select Starbucks locations will be open Christmas day. Hours will vary with some stores opening at 7:30 a.m. while others will be earlier. Starbucks locations inside Target and Kroger stores will be closed.

You can search individual Starbucks hours here.

Starbucks holiday menu will be a popular choice.

You can opt for:

Three new Refreshers, a cold drink option, are on the holiday menu. The lineup includes the Cran-Merry Orange Refresher with sweet orange, tart cranberry and warm spices with notes of cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg, shaken with ice, water and real cranberries.

The Cran-Merry Orange Lemonade Refresher combines all the elements of the Cran-Merry Orange Refresher and shakes it with ice, lemonade and real cranberries.
The Cran-Merry Drink features the Cran-Merry Refresher with the addition of creamy coconut milk poured over ice with real cranberries.
All of the Cran-Merry Orange Refreshers are infused with green coffee extract from unroasted arabica coffee beans.

Peppermint Mocha

A favorite for more than 20 years, the iconic Peppermint Mocha is back on the menu with Starbucks Signature Espresso combined with steamed milk, mocha sauce and peppermint flavored syrup topped with whipped cream and dark chocolate curls. It’s available hot, iced or as a Frappuccino blended beverage.

Caramel Brulee Latte

The Caramel Brulee Latte combined Starbucks Signature Espresso with steamed milk and a rich caramel brulee sauce topped off with whipped cream and a caramel brulee topping. It’s available hot, iced and as a Frappuccino blended beverage.

Chestnut Praline Latte

Chestnut Praline Latte features Starbucks Signature Espresso, steamed milk and flavors of caramelized chestnuts and spices, topped with whipped cream and spiced praline crumbs.

Iced Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte

Iced Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte combined sugar cookie flavored syrup combined with Starbucks Blonde Espresso, ice and almond milk topped with red and green sprinkles.

Iced Gingerbread Oatmilk Chai

The Iced Gingerbread Oatmilk Chai combines warm chai spices, creamy oatmilk and ice. It’s topped with nondairy gingerbread-flavored cold foam and a spice topping.

Holiday Cold Foams

Starbucks has brought back its holiday cold foams that you can add to a cold brew or iced coffee. There are five different flavors: Gingerbread Cream Cold Foam, Peppermint Chocolate Cream Cold Foam, Sugar Cookie Cream Cold Foam, Chestnut Praline Cream Cold Foam and Caramel Brulee Cream Cold Foam.

Holiday food

Turkey Sage Danish is a flaky savory pastry filled with turkey sausage and creamy bechamel sauce.
New to the menu is the Dark Toffee Bundt. It’s a personal-sized bundt cake with toffee flavors.
The new Penguin Cookie is a buttery shortbread cookie with a penguin design.
The Snowman Cake Pop, a new addition to the menu, is made of vanilla cake mixed with buttercream and dipped in a white chocolaty icing.
Sugar Plus Cheese Danish is a traditional cream-cheese filled Danish topped with a spiced sugar plum spread.
Cranberry Bliss Bar is a blondie cake with dried cranberries, finished with a layer of cream-cheese icing flecked with orange zest and a sprinkle of dried cranberries.

General

Veteran Auburn cornerback enters transfer portal, reports say

Auburn football lost another play to the transfer portal on Tuesday, albeit a player it already expected to lose.

Keionte Scott entered the transfer portal, taking advantage of the blanket waiver granting an additional year of eligibility for current NCAA Division I senior athletes who previously spent one season in junior college or at an NAIA school.

The news of Scott’s entrance into the portal was first reported by Christian Clemente of 247Sports.

While Scott hasn’t officially announced it himself, he made a post on X (formerly Twitter) after the reports surfaced that read, “It’s all love.”

Scott played three seasons at Auburn following a two-year stint at Snow College in Utah. He was a consistent starter in both the 2022 and 2023 seasons, but lost his starting spot a few games into the 2024 campaign.

Scott played mostly as a nickel and return specialist, totaling 115 tackles, six tackles for loss, one interception and one punt return touchdown during his time at Auburn.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m

General

Patients victimized by Ascension ransomware attack that hit St. Vincent’s, other Alabama hospitals to be notified

Patients whose financial, medical and other personal information were involved in the May ransomware attack that hit the Ascension Health system, which included hospitals in Birmingham and Mobile, will be notified after the health system completed its review of the incident earlier this month.

These patients, the system said, will be offered free credit monitoring and identity theft prevention services, and will receive letters notifying them that their information was involved in the attack.

Ascension said Dec. 19 that it completed its review into the attack, which the health system said was caused by a worker who downloaded a “malicious file.”

The health system said the data involved “varies,” but may include: medical information such as medical record numbers and lab tests; payment information, such as credit card and bank account numbers; insurance information, such as Medicaid and Medicare IDs, policies numbers or insurance claims; government identification, such as Social Security numbers, tax ID numbers, driver’s license numbers and passports numbers; and other personal information, such as dates of birth or addresses.

“Although patient data was involved, importantly, there remains no evidence that data was taken from our Electronic Health Records (EHR) and other clinical systems, where our full patient records are securely stored,” Ascension said in its Dec. 19 update on the attack.

Letters notifying impacted patients would be sent out over the next one to two weeks, the health system said.

The attack, which was discovered May 8, paralyzed the St. Louis-based health system’s computers and led Ascension to remove its hospitals’ access to electronic patient records. Ascension announced in June that access was restored at its Alabama facilities.

Ascension Health operated five hospitals in the Birmingham metropolitan area, including St. Vincent’s Hospital, at the time of the attack.

The hospitals were since acquired by UAB Hospital.

Providence Hospital in Mobile, which had been owned by Ascension before it sold the facility to the University of South Alabama last year, was also impacted because it remained on some of Ascension’s IT systems.

General

Men arrested near Alabama prison with backpack full of drugs, cell phones on Christmas Eve

Two men were arrested on drugs and other charges after they were found on Christmas Eve near a state prison with a backpack containing drugs and cell phones, according to the Alabama Department of Corrections.

Agents with the ADOC’s Law Enforcement Services Division and the agency’s K9 Bureau with help from Atmore Police and the Poarch Creek Police Department responded to reports Tuesday of possible trespassers near Fountain Correctional Facility in Atmore, authorities said.

K9 handlers found the suspects, Derrick Bean and Keith Davis, in a wooded area near the prison and a backpack with about 448 grams of marijuana, 28 grams of methamphetamine, eight grams of cocaine, fentanyl, various cell phones and charging blocks, according to the ADOC.

The suspects were taken to the Escambia County jail on charges of three counts of attempting to commit a controlled substance crime, prohibited activities, possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute and possession of marijuana, the agency said.

Bean was also charged separately with third-degree possession of a controlled substance and second-degree promoting prison contraband.

The investigation remained ongoing Tuesday afternoon and further charges may be pending, the ADOC said.

General

New country music festival coming to Birmingham next year

A new country music festival is coming to Birmingham in October.

“Iron Hills” will “bringing the heart and soul of country” on Oct. 11-12 at Sloss Furnaces, according the the event’s official announcement.

The festival was announced today via Facebook, along with a ticket giveaway for the event.

The lineup hasn’t been announced yet, but the festival promises “incredible performances” for fans of “classic country or the latest hits” according to the announcement on Facebook.

For more information on the event, visit the festival’s Facebook or Instagram.

General

In-state, blue-chip 2026 DB commits to Alabama football

Alabama football received an early recruiting gift on Christmas Eve, when in-state cornerback Zyan Gibson committed to the Crimson Tide. Gibson, who plays his high school football at Gadsden City, announced he’ll be joining the 2026 class on Tuesday.

During the ceremony announcing the signing, Gibson first donned the Alabama hat, then removed it and placed a Tennessee cap on his head. Then, he opened a box to the side the stage, which released UA-branded balloons, before returning to the stage and putting the Alabama hat back on.

“Roll Tide,” Gibson said to close the ceremony.

The 247Sports composite rankings tab Gibson as a four-star prospect. The ratings place him as the No. 7 cornerback in the 2026 class, No. 72 overall player and the No. 4 prospect in Alabama.

With Vodney Cleveland decommitting earlier in December, Gibson became the lone player committed to Alabama for the 2026 class. He chose the Crimson Tide over a final four that also included Auburn, Tennessee and Miami.

The 6-foot-1, 174-pound Gibson was high school teammates with current Alabama defensive back Dre Kirkpatrick Jr., whose father, Dre Kirkpatrick Sr., played in the NFL after his own Crimson Tide career. Gibson and the Titans finished the 2024 season 6-4, and fell to Clay-Chalkville in the playoffs.

Alabama just wrapped up its 2025 recruiting class, Kalen DeBoer’s first full cycle as the Crimson Tide’s head coach. DeBoer’s initial effort was fairly successful, ranking as the No. 2 class nationally, beyond only Texas according to the 247 composite.

Some of the players from that class will join the Tide for practices leading up to UA’s final game of the 2024 season. Alabama is set to play in the Dec. 31 ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa.

The matchup with Michigan is scheduled to kick off at 11 a.m. CT that day, at Raymond James Stadium. It will be aired on ESPN.

General

Starbucks, Amazon picket lines showing up in north Alabama

Some workers in Alabama are taking part in national strikes targeting two retailers during the holiday season.

The unions of the North Alabama Area Labor Council (NAALC) are taking part in actions against Starbucks and Amazon in parts of north Alabama.

Starbucks workers in Scottsboro joined a national strike today, according to the NAALC. The Scottsboro Starbucks has seen union activity over the last two years. The action comes after the Teamsters staged a picket line last week at Amazon’s Huntsville facility on Greenbrier Road.

NAALC President Jacob Morrison said he was part of both demonstrations.

“Without our labor, these corporations would be nothing. The sooner that all workers – not just at Starbucks and Amazon, but everywhere – realize our power, the sooner we will be able to build a better Alabama, and a better country, where all working class people can live a dignified life, with high wages, decent healthcare, and a secure retirement,” Morrison said.

The Amazon picket line took place last Thursday and Friday. Morrison said as many as 18 Teamsters took part in the picket. By extending the picket line, the Teamsters invited unionized drivers to honor the picket line rather than make deliveries.

An Amazon spokesperson said the Teamsters action was not joined by any Amazon employee and did not affect deliveries at the company’s fulfillment center.

“For more than a year now, the Teamsters have continued to intentionally mislead the public – claiming that they represent ‘thousands of Amazon employees and drivers.’ They don’t, and this is another attempt to push a false narrative. The truth is that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce Amazon employees and third-party drivers to join them, which is illegal and is the subject of multiple pending unfair labor practice charges against the union,” Amazon said in a statement.

According to Forbes, nearly 10,000 employees began a strike last Thursday at Amazon facilities in several cities. The Teamsters issued a statement through general president Sean O’Brien, attributing potential holiday delivery delays to what he deemed Amazon’s “insatiable greed.”

At the same time, Starbucks is experiencing a five-day strike with Starbucks Workers United, which represents baristas at 525 locations.

Attempts to contact Starbucks for comment were not immediately successful.