National group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is urging Louisiana State University to reconsider their decision to bring a live tiger into the stadium for this Saturday’s Alabama football game.
The university (LSU) previously discontinued the practice after the 2016 death of previous mascot Mike VI. Their decision to bring a tiger in this Saturday follows ongoing public advocacy from Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry.
Landry helped facilitate a tiger’s delivery from an out of state refuge to be used for the game while the university’s current eight-year-old mascot, Mike VII, will be kept in his 15,000 square foot habitat across the street from the stadium, according to a report from Louisiana Sports.
“It’s shameful and out of touch with today’s respect for wild species that LSU has bowed to Gov. Landry’s campaign to display a live tiger at its football games to amuse the fans,” reads a statement from PETA Foundation Associate Director of Captive Wildlife Research Klayton Rutherford.
“LSU rightly ended this idiotic, archaic practice nearly a decade ago after recognizing that it was cruel to subject a sensitive big cat to the noise, lights, and crowds in a football stadium.”
“Whether the tiger is confined to campus or shipped in from elsewhere, no reputable facility would subject a tiger to such chaos and stress, and PETA and nearly 50,000 of its supporters have already called on Landry to let up and leave big cats alone—and are now urging LSU to grow a spine and just say no.”
LSU representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Huntsville police announced Thursday that two more suspects have been charged in connection with a shooting last month that left a man dead and another person injured.
After the arrests of Huntsville residents Dion Earl Ernest Roos-VorHauer, 19, and Jordan C Lakes, 20, a total of six suspects have been charged with reckless murder in connection with the fatal Oct. 12 shooting at 3310 Meridian St. that left Damien Obrien Manning, 22, dead.
Roos-VorHauer was booked into the Madison County jail Monday while Lakes was sent to the lockup on Thursday, police said.
More arrests are expected in the ongoing investigation.
Last month, Huntsville police announced that Tyler O’Neal Andrade, 21, of Huntsville, was booked into the Madison County Jail on reckless murder charges.
Police also charged Kennedy Thomas Turner, 20, of Huntsville, on Thursday with reckless murder.
The three were arrested in connection with a shooting at a gas station at 3310 Meridian St. at about 9:50 p.m. Oct 12.
A second victim, whose name had not been released, required hospitalization.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Investigator Matthew Edger at (256) 427-7247. To provide an anonymous tip, call (256) 532-7463 or submit a tip to Crimestoppers at 53-CRIME.
President-elect Donald Trump has named Susie Wiles, the manager of his victorious campaign, as his White House chief of staff, the first woman to hold the influential role.
Wiles is widely credited within and outside Trump’s inner circle for running what was, by far, his most disciplined and well-executed campaign, and was seen as the leading contender for the position. She largely avoided the spotlight, even refusing to take the mic to speak as Trump celebrated his victory early Wednesday morning.
Wiles’ hire is Trump’s first major decision as president-elect and one that could be a defining test of his incoming administration, as he must quickly build the team that will help run the massive federal government. Wiles doesn’t bring government experience to the role, but has a close relationship with the president-elect.
She was able to do what few others have been able to: help control Trump’s impulses — not by chiding him or lecturing, but by earning his respect and showing him that he was better off when he followed her advice than flouting it.
“Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again,” Trump said in a statement. “It is a well deserved honor to have Susie as the first-ever female Chief of Staff in United States history. I have no doubt that she will make our country proud.”
Trump went through four chiefs of staff — including one who served in an acting capacity for a year — during his first administration, part of record-setting personnel churn in his administration.
Successful chiefs of staff serve as the president’s confidant, help execute a president’s agenda and balance competing political and policy priorities. They also tend to serve as a gatekeeper, helping determine whom the president spends his time with and whom he speaks to — an effort Trump chafed under inside the White House.
The chief of staff is “absolutely critical to an effective White House,” said Chris Whipple, whose book “The Gatekeepers” details how the White House chief of staff role shapes and defines a presidency. “At the end of the day the most important thing is telling the president what he doesn’t want to hear.”
“On the plus side, she’s shown that she can manage Trump, that she works with him and can sometimes tell him hard truths, and that’s really important,” said Whipple. “On the minus side, she really has no White House experience and hasn’t really worked in Washington in 40 years. And that’s a real disadvantage.”
Wiles is a longtime Florida-based Republican strategist who ran Trump’s campaigns in the state in 2016 and 2020. Before that, she ran Rick Scott’s 2010 campaign for Florida governor and briefly served as the manager of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman’s 2012 presidential campaign.
Chris LaCivita, who along with Wiles served as a co-manager of the campaign, posted on X, “So Happy and proud of one of the fiercest and most loyal warriors i’ve ever had the pleasure of working with !!!”
Trump often referenced Wiles on the campaign trail, publicly praising her leadership of what he said he was often told was his “best-run campaign.”
“She’s incredible. Incredible,” he said at a Milwaukee rally earlier this month,
At a rally in Pennsylvania where Trump made one of his last appearances before the election, he launched into a profane and conspiracy-laden speech. Wiles was spotted standing offstage and appearing to glare at him.
Later, at a rally in Pittsburgh, Trump seemed to acknowledge his adviser’s’ efforts to keep him on message.
After complaining that men aren’t allowed to call a woman “beautiful” any longer, he asked if he could strike that word from the record. “I’m allowed to do that, aren’t I, Susan Wiles?” he mused.
A 13-year-old boy is facing charges after police say he brought a loaded gun to a middle school Thursday in north Alabama.
Madison police responded to a report Wednesday night of a 13-year-old child who was carrying a pistol at a local apartment complex, the department said.
While police were unable to confirm the child had a gun, the department notified the school resource officers at Liberty Middle School, where the child attends, about the report.
On Thursday, school resource officers made contact with the student and officers and school staff searched the boy
During the search, a loaded 9-millimeter hand gun was found on the student and taken as evidence, police said.
An investigation into the incident was ongoing as of late Thursday afternoon.
The boy, whose name was withheld because of his age, was charged with certain persons forbidden to possess a firearm — a felony under state law.
He was taken to the Neaves-Davis Juvenile Detention Center.
If you need a safe space to process the election results, you’re the reason Democrats got lit up like a Christmas tree in November’s election. For most Americans, reality doesn’t afford time or space to melt down over politics and record it for social media. Liberals blame their electoral failure on racism, misogyny, or climate change. The truth is a bitter pill: Americans prefer offensive Republicans to condescending Democrats.
For the last four years, the American middle class has told politicians they’re concerned about the economy, rampant illegal immigration, and violent crime. Put positively, Americans want stable jobs that put bread on the table in safe communities. That’s not just a MAGA dream; it’s an American one.
Trump’s exaggerations and untruths weren’t the lies that shaped the elections. Democrats said inflation was transitory. It wasn’t. They claimed that the flood of undocumented immigration was part of normal fluctuations. That wasn’t correct. Biological sex is meaningless. Joe Biden’s capacity isn’t diminished. This will be the last American election if Trump wins.
I could go on.
Leftist politicians including Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris begged voters to ignore their own eyes and ears in service to a partisan narrative that didn’t ring true. Then they had the audacity to tell voters that the real problem was the average voters lack of understanding.
Let’s just stipulate that all the horrible things Democrats said about President-elect Donald Trump are accurate, so we don’t have to argue about them. The presidential candidate Democrats called “Hitler” is more preferable to a majority of American voters than having Democrats explain away one critical issue after another.
Over the last several years, I’ve been consistent about my concerns with Trump’s policies and character. I’m a boring Reagan conservative who generally tries to treat people with respect. That led to numerous public and private clashes with my Republican brethren. I’ve taken my lumps and delivered a few as well. Nevertheless, I haven’t lost my seat at the table or been canceled in spite of my conservative perspectives and personal character being occasionally at odds with Trump’s populist majority within the GOP.
Since Trump’s rise in 2016, Democrats have been willing to welcome people like me with open arms. Anyone willing to criticize Trump is a praiseworthy novelty. To many liberal’s, I’m a “reasonable” conservative who doesn’t particularly enjoy performance politics regardless of party. There’s just one problem: I won’t check my conservatism at the door. I actually support life, love Jesus, and refuse to believe that the winners of a popularity contest should dictate my life and opportunities.
When confronted by my political and policy perspectives, one Democrat after another has determined our disagreement is actually due to my lack of information. Rather than fight with me like my Republican friends, they speak slowly and politely explain their point of view to me again and again. It simply doesn’t occur to them that we could possibly disagree given access to the same information.
As it turns out, many Democrats can stomach just about every kind of diversity that isn’t ideological. You can be a man dressed as a woman identifying as the ghost of Harambe the gorilla, and Democrats will applaud you finding your truth. Argue that diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in the workplace harm merit-based professional advancement, and Democrats will cast you out like yesterday’s garbage.
Against the backdrop of the Democratic echo-chamber, those of us who disagree are indeed unwashed deplorables in need of perpetual education. If we resist, we’re a threat to democracy itself. Those are the only options.
The problem for Democrats isn’t that America needs more or better partisan explanations; it’s that voters don’t like what they’re hearing. Even in the face of electoral defeat, Democrats remain stubbornly focused on protecting the institutions, bureaucrats, and democratic norms just rejected by voters who really only want a fair shake at the American dream.
Americans will take an offensive punch to the nose much easier than a condescending civil lecture from partisans who aren’t paying attention. Democrats must confront that reality before they’ll understand why they lost.
Smith is a recovering political attorney with four boys, two dogs, a bearded dragon, and an extremely patient wife. He’s a partner in a media company, a business strategy wonk, and a regular on talk radio. Please direct outrage or agreement to [email protected] or @DCameronSmith on X or @davidcameronsmith on Threads.
A growing number of Alabama Republicans say that early voting needs to be explored by lawmakers after an Election Day that saw long lines outside polling places throughout the state and record-setting numbers of people voting early throughout the country.
Alabama does allow for absentee voting if an excuse is provided.
“We’ve always been for election on Election Day,” said State Rep. Mark Shirey, R-Mobile, and a member of the Alabama State House Constitution, Campaign and Elections Committee that is assigned to taking up election reform measures.
“But I think this election has shown it can be beneficial,” he said. “If it contributes to more people contributing to the election process, I’m all for it as long as we can do it right.”
Rep. Bob Fincher, R-Woodland, the committee chair, said he’s willing to give an early voting initiative “a look,” even if he is not a personal fan of it.
The comments come after Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, told media outlets on Wednesday that early voting needs to be explored, something which has previously only been an issue embraced by Alabama Democrats.
Clouse further reiterated his interest in exploring early voting on Thursday, saying that lawmakers need to find out what the costs would be in doing so.
“I think we need to see what other states are doing,” said Clouse, a former General Fund chairman in the Alabama House, advocating for a study or an analysis of how much early voting costs elsewhere.
Leaders remain opposed
John Wahl, chairman of the Alabama State Republican Party, speaks during a luncheon hosted by the Eastern Shore Republican Women on Thursday, September 14, 2023, at the Fairhope Yacht Club in Fairhope, Ala. (John Sharp/[email protected]).
But despite the growing interest among rank-and-file GOP lawmakers, Republican leaders in the state are not pushing for it.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s spokesperson Gina Maiola said the governor is “proud of how Alabama administers elections, keeping them free and fair,” and has not had “serious discussions” about early voting, though understands there is “certainly a renewed conversation around the practice” and deferred further comments to the Secretary of State’s Office.
Republican Secretary of State Wes Allen and Alabama state GOP chairman John Wahl remain somewhat adamant in their opposition toward early voting. Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainville, is also reluctant to change the status quo.
“Since before I was elected as Secretary of State, I have been clear that I believe in Election Day, not election month,” said Allen, a former Republican state lawmaker from Troy. “Alabamians deserve a fair, secure, and transparent election. Initiatives like no excuse absentee voting, unsolicited mass mail voting, curbside ballot drop boxes, and same-day voter registration can lead to chaos and confusion, like we have seen in other states.”
Ledbetter said the state’s elections are working good as is and without any problems that might warrant reform.
“Election security will always be priority number one, and I believe the presidential election shows Alabama is on the right track,” he said. “I’m grateful to the poll workers, election officials and volunteers who worked diligently to ensure every vote was cast securely and counted accurately.”
Shirey said the issue might surface for consideration during the Alabama House Republican Caucus meeting next week, or perhaps ahead of the spring legislative session.
“I’m all for it as long as we can do it right,” he said.
Wahl said there is no need to even consider it.
“The Alabama Republican Party sees no need for early voting in our state,” he said. “Alabama had its election results well before other states, which proves our system works. There are still states that have not reported their results, and they had early voting.”
People leave after voting in the Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs, Ga., on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, the first day of early in-person voting in Georgia. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)AP
The effort was driven partly by Republicans, who cast early ballots at a higher rate than in recent previous elections after a push by President-elect Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee to counter the Democrats’ longstanding advantage in the early vote.
North Carolina saw an equal 33%-33% split between Democrats and Republicans who declared for an early voting ballot. Another 34% were described as “other.” The state also saw a record-breaking 4.7 million early votes.
Republicans also outvoted their Democratic counterparts in early voting in Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee, Texas, West Viriginia, and in swing-state Arizona. More than 60% of Florida voters cast an early vote. In Michigan, an equal number of the Republicans and Democrats were among the 3.3 million early voters in that state.
Jon Gray, a longtime Republican Party strategist based in Mobile, said early voting is working in other states and is popular among Republicans, and was touted by Trump during the campaign. He also said that Alabama already has a strong election system in place.
“I understand the historical reluctance here, but we are missing the opportunity for the low-propensity white votes,” Gray said. “There is no Democratic operation in Alabama. We have voter ID in Alabama. We have ballot security. I just don’t understand what we’re missing here. How will we walk in more illegal voters if we require identification?”
Gary said the successes of early voting this election cycle simply showed that the system “worked.”
“Just like the lottery, Alabama is behind the times,” Gray said, referring to the lack of a statewide lottery in Alabama. The state is only one of five without lottery. Mississippi and New Hampshire are the only two states aside from Alabama without any early, in-person voting option.
“You have 75 percent who support it, and you have 25 percent of the bunch of mouth-breathers, heads-in-the-sand (people) who are sitting around saying, ‘well, we just aren’t there yet.’”
Long lines
Alabamians line up to vote on Election Day, November 5, 2024, in Bluff Park in Hoover, Alabama, around 8 a.m. (Ruth Serven/ Al.com)AL.com
Wahl and Allen did acknowledge that the long lines at some of the polling places need to be addressed. People took to social media to post pictures of the long lines with some voters expressing complaints they had to wait for an hour or longer to vote.
That included Brandon Aldridge, a voter in Jefferson County who waited 1-1/2 hour to vote at the Center Point Senior Center on Polly Reed Road.
“It wasn’t too bad, but it was just too long,” said Aldridge. “Much rather vote early.”
Said Wahl, “We do support addressing some concerns with longer lines. This can be accomplished by splitting precincts.”
Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen delivers his inaugural speech during inaugural ceremonies, Monday, Jan. 16, 2023 in Montgomery, Ala. (Photo/Stew Milne) Stew Milne
Allen said that county officials have the option to appoint more poll workers and add more polling locations within their precincts to address the elections that draw big crowds, primarily the presidential contests.
“I would encourage Alabama voters who experienced long wait times on Election Day to contact their county probate judges and county commissioners and encourage them to consider these solutions,” Allen said, adding that his office will assist county officials in recruiting more poll workers through groups like Lawyers for Liberty and Heroes at the Polls.
Rep. Adline Clarke, D-Mobile, and a longtime advocate for early voting, said it was “bittersweet” to see the long lines at the polls. She said the “sweet” part had to do with “so many people participating in the election process,” while it was still concerning to witness too many people standing in line during a weekday.
“Some voters had been in line an hour or longer before the polls opened at 7 a.m. to ensure they could vote before going to work,” Clarke said. “There’s absolutely a better way. Hopefully, the Alabama Legislature will join the 47 other states that have some form of early voting and will pass early voting legislation in 2025. It’s time.”
Argentina’s public prosecutor announced in a statement Thursday that three people were charged in connection to the death of Liam Payne.
According to NBC News, the prosecutor’s statement “illicit conduct was discovered from which three people were charged with the crimes of abandonment of a person followed by death, supply and facilitation of narcotics.”
The former One Direction member fell from the balcony of a Buenos Aires hotel on Oct. 16.
Per the report, a person who was with Payne on daily in Buenos Aires was charged with abandoning a person following death.
A hotel employee is accused of supplying Payne with cocaine twice while he stayed at the hotel, and a third person is accused of supplying drugs to the singer twice during his stay on Oct. 14.
They are both charged with two acts of supplying narcotics.
Toxicology reports indicated Payne had alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant drug in his system.
There was no reference to “pink cocaine,” which ABC News reported Payne had in his system.
Investigators said that there were no signs of anyone else being involved in his death, citing a lack of defensive wounds on Payne’s body that also indicates he did not try to protect himself from the fall. The prosecutor’s report said Payne could have fallen into a state of semi-consciousness or unconsciousness.
Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.
Jefferson County and state officials Thursday enjoyed a very sweet treat in McCalla Thursday as J.M. Smucker opened its mammoth $1.1 billion manufacturing plant dedicated to making its Uncrustables brand frozen sandwich treat.
The 900,000-square-foot factory, located on PB&J Way, is the food company’s third attempt nationally at building a plant big enough to satisfy the escalating demands – and the company’s ambitions – for the product. Smucker’s hopes to make Uncrustables a billion-dollar brand by the end of 2026.
A state prison corrections supervisor is accused of coercing an inmate to perform oral sex on him by threatening to keep her from being released.
Alabama Department of Corrections Sgt. Laquentin Brantley, 34, was taken into custody Thursday morning by prison investigators with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service.
He is charged with custodial sexual contact and first-degree sodomy.
He works at Julia Tutwiler Prison for women.
Brantley is being held without bond in the Elmore County Jail pending an Aniah’s Law hearing.
Charging documents against Brantley state the alleged crime happened Oct. 18 at the prison.
A female inmate told investigators that Brantley coerced her into perform oral sex on him by threats of “writing her up” for disciplinaries “any time he felt like it” to keep her from getting out of prison and going home to see her kids.
The first incident allegedly happened at 11:50 a.m. that Friday.
The inmate said she was wearing a tank top with no bra and Brantley told her, “Let me see ‘em.”
She said she was confused and asked if she meant her breasts, and said Brantley replied, “Yes, let me see them or you’ll never go home.”
The inmate complied with the sergeant’s command.
She said he also touched her breast and genitals.
About 1 a.m. the following day, the inmate reported, Brantley returned and forced her to perform oral sex on him.
ADOC officials said Brantley has been placed on administrative leave.
The Northeast YMCA is planning a $15.3 million redevelopment on its 8-acre Roebuck campus that will include 22 Habitat for Humanity homes and a renovated community resource center.
“It’s not a fitness center, which is oftentimes what we’re known for,” said Dan Pile, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Birmingham.
The project addresses health disparities and inequities in early learning, affordable housing, pediatric care, mental health and affordable nutrition, Pile said.
“How do we address all those issues?” Pile said. “We recognize we can’t do all of it ourselves. We gathered together like-minded partners to address these inequities that no one can handle themselves.”
Christ Health Center will run an attached pediatric health clinic and Impact Family Counseling will run a counseling center for families. The well-lit walkable neighborhood will include a community garden and playgrounds.
“Habitat will fund their own housing developments,” Pile said. “We’re creating building-ready pads for Habitat, and they’ll come in and build the homes. Christ Health Center will be responsible for the infrastructure of the shell we’re going to build; the same with Impact Family Counseling. With all us partnering together, it’s over $15 million collectively.”
The city of Birmingham this week approved a $1 million contribution to the Northeast YMCA’s renovation and new campus plan taking shape at 628 Red Lane Road.
“This is huge and will be life-changing for the people of East Birmingham and the surrounding communities,” said Birmingham Mayor Randall L. Woodfin. “This new, innovative campus concept will be a national model for YMCAs across the country.”
Jefferson County is contributing $1.9 million towards the project, and about $9.5 million in private donations has been raised to help fund the project, Pile said.
Although no homes have been built yet, construction is underway on streets, curbs and sidewalks for a neighborhood that will adjoin the renovated YMCA.
“We’re also renovating the interior of the building to modernize and upgrade all our youth development programs, our First Class Pre-K classrooms, all of our youth and teen work, putting in a commercial kitchen to support our food distribution and Meals on Wheels partnership with United Way.”
The new Northeast Y should be open and running by mid-spring 2025, Pile said. It won’t resemble other YMCA’s that have gyms, tracks and weightlifting equipment.
The project includes major renovations to the current 18,000-square-foot facility and a new 8,000-square-foot addition will include the health clinic, counseling center and resource center.
“This is totally a human service community center,” he said. “There will be a small exercise area for seniors, to keep them active and mobile and counter falls.”
Besides Habitat for Humanity, Christ Health Center, Impact Family Counseling, United Way of Central Alabama/Meals on Wheels, and Alabama First Class Pre-K, Community Food Bank of Central Alabama, is a partner in the project.
