Alabama News

A new feature available on the MyAT&T app will protect cell phone users from criminals trying to rack up unauthorized charges on their accounts.

The telecommunications giant rolled out Wireless Account Lock this week. The free feature prevents account changes, including billing updates or wireless number transfers, the company said. You can lock and unlock it at any time and it’s easily accessible via a toggle button on the user’s my AT&T app.

“If you are trying to keep any type of online account safe, here is a key point: Most attacks happen when someone is pretending to be you,” AT&T said on its website. Criminals put a lot of energy into getting your username and password. They send fraudulent emails and text messages asking you for it. They buy ads on search engines that look like links to real webpages – then ask for your password on a fake site.

“Wireless Account Lock can help with this on your wireless account,” it added.

What does the feature do?

The lock aims to thwart criminals by forcing an extra step before important account changes can be made. For example, it prevents someone from using the phone to purchase another device that the victim pays for even as the purchase is shipped elsewhere. It also prevents a SIM swap – moving a phone number to a SIM in a different device.

The lock stops unauthorized upgrades to a device or adding a new line, as well as any changes to billing information, authorized users or phone numbers.

You can turn the feature off with a quick switch, something AT&T said could be necessary in some cases.

“Keep in mind that if you select this extra protection, you may need to be available to temporarily unlock your account for a family member. They may want to buy a new device on the account or make other changes,” the company said.

Similar lock features are also offered to business and prepaid wireless accounts.

No. 8 Iga Swiatek plays against Belinda Bencic in the Wimbledon semifinal today. The match is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. CT on ESPN. Fans can watch this tennis match for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV and Fubo TV. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users.

Swiatek has a 5-0 record at Wimbledon this year, so she will look to remain undefeated this morning. Notably, Swiatek is coming off back-to-back impressive wins.

In her Round of 16 match, Swiatek defeated No. 23 Clara Tauson in two sets. During the victory, Swiatek only lost a total of five games.

In her quarterfinal match, Swiatek was able to sweep No. 19 Liudmila Samsonova. If Swiatek performs similarly today, then she should reach the Wimbledon Final.

Bencic is coming off an impressive victory against No. 7 Mirra Andreeva. During the victory, Bencic had to win both sets via tiebreakers. If she continues to play at a high level today, then Bencic could pull off the upset.

Fans can watch the Wimbledon semifinal for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV and Fubo TV. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users.

Alabama athletics had the least equitable spending between men’s and women’s sports among SEC public schools during the 2024 fiscal year. However, there’s a simple explanation for why the discrepancy was so large: Nick Saban’s retirement.

According to financial reports submitted to the NCAA and obtained by AL.com through a series of open records requests, UA spent $143.5 million on men’s sports from July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024. The Crimson Tide put $29.7 million into women’s programs, just 20.7% of what it shelled out for the men.

That’s the lowest comparative percentage in the league, by a healthy margin. Ole Miss, which put $87 million into men’s programs and $24.3 million into women’s, was second at 27.9%.

Alabama was an outlier in several financial categories for 2024, and the answer always came back to the football coaching transition. The discrepancy between men’s and women’s sports spending was no different, as UA open records and projects specialist Jessica Schingle explained while discussing how the Crimson Tide lost money on athletics during the fiscal year.

“The net loss reported for the year was largely due to one-time expenses associated with the football coaching transition,” Schingle said in an email accompanying Alabama’s financial report.

Overall, UA spent $262.8 million in 2024 including $89.6 million not allocated by gender, up from $212 million in the previous fiscal year. That led the SEC by a healthy margin.

In 2023, when things were a bit more normal in Tuscaloosa, UA spent $28.5 million on women’s sports. That was nearly 26% of the $109.6 million it shelled out for men’s programs.

Back in 2024, Auburn put 35.6% of its men’s program spend into women’s sports, good for 7th among the public SEC schools. Vanderbilt was not included, due to its status as a private university, not subject to open records requests.

South Carolina was the closest to equal spending, with 42.8% of its men’s total going to women’s programs. LSU ran second, at 41.4%.

In terms of real dollars, Alabama looked much better when it came to women’s sports. The Crimson Tide spent $29.7 million on women’s programs in 2024, eighth among the SEC’s public universities.

UA sat one spot behind South Carolina, which spent $31.3 million on its women’s programs. Texas A&M led the way overall, with $54.2 million in women’s program spending.

The Aggies beat out second-place Tennessee by a significant margin. The Volunteers put $40.1 million into women’s sports, just ahead of third-place Texas, which spent $37.4 million.

Auburn ranked sixth for FY 2024, at $34.6 million. LSU ($35 million) and Oklahoma ($34.6 million) each ranked ahead of AU.

Only three public SEC schools spent less than $25 million on women’s sports in 2024. Ole Miss came in at $24.3 million, and Missouri spent $24 million.

Mississippi State was the lone school spending less than $20 million, bringing up the rear at $19.6 million on women’s sports.

We’re talking about the effects (so far) of Alabama’s new school-choice law as the school year draws closer:

Lulu’s (federal) Law

A federal version of Lulu’s Law has passed the U.S. Senate, reports AL.com’s Heather Gann.

Lulu Gribbin was the Mountain Brook teenager who lost a hand and part of a leg in one of two shark attacks on the same day along the Gulf Coast. Lulu’s Law would “empower authorized local, state, tribal, and federal government authorities to quickly deploy warnings via mobile phone alert messages to the public if a shark has attacked someone or if the conditions enhancing the possibility of a shark attack are present,” according to a release from U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, who introduced the legislation. Alabama’s other senator, Tommy Tuberville, signed on as a co-sponsor.

The state legislature passed its version of the measure during this year’s legislative session.

It passed the Senate unanimously and goes to the House, where Republican Alabama Congressman Gary Palmer has introduced the bill with Democratic Congressman Shomari Figures on as a co-sponsor.

Reported cuts at Marshall

Politico has reported on the Trump administration’s downsizing at NASA. According to documents, 279 senior-level cuts are happening at Marshall Space Flight Center.

A Trump proposal for cuts includes phasing out the Space Launch System and the lunar spacecraft Orion. Both those vehicles are big programs for Marshall.

Still, during Congressional negotiations some money was moved back to Marshall and the Artemis missions, which are supposed to culminate in a return to the moon.

PSC and energy prices

A judge ruled this week that the Alabama Public Service Commission can continue to determine Alabama Power prices without hearing from the public, reports AL.com’s Margaret Kates.

Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Brooke Reid denied an appeal from Energy Alabama asking that public input be a part of the proceedings.

The PSC sets the “rate energy cost recovery” for Alabama Power. That’s part of your bill that’s supposed to help the utility cover its costs, and those costs fluctuate so much that the rate requires occasional adjustments.

Talladega quadruple homicide

Crime Stoppers announced a $5,000 reward for information in a quadruple homicide that happened this past weekend in Talladega, reports AL.com’s Carol Robinson.

Police officers were performing a welfare check on somebody who hadn’t been seen for a couple days when they found three men and a woman dead. All had been shot.

Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact Talladega police or call Crime Stoppers at 334-215-STOP.

In the weeds

Birmingham’s City Council this week passed an ordinance giving the mayor authority to mow and cut weeds on neglected properties, reports AL.com’s Greg Garrison.

As you know, we had a lot of rain last month across Alabama. Anyone with a garden or a flower bed knows that means weeds have been having their way.

But not in Birmingham, by golly. The new budget puts $3 million in weed abatement. There are 18 lawn-service contractors ready to get to work, and this new emergency ordinance is intended to help clear the way.

Said Mayor Randall Woodfin, “We believe we’ll be able to make a significant dent.”

By the Numbers

$16.1 million

That’s the size of the tax package used to lure Germany steel company Butting Global to Loxley.

More Alabama News

Born on This Date

In 1911, jazz and R&B trumpet player Cootie Williams of Mobile.

The podcast

No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka plays against No. 13 Amanda Anisimova in the Wimbledon semifinal today. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. CT on ESPN. Fans can watch this tennis match for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV and Fubo TV. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users.

Sabalenka enters this match with a 5-0 record at Wimbledon, so she will look to continue her success this morning.

Sabalenka swept each of her first four opponents at the tournament, but she had to overcome a 1-0 set deficit in her last match. The top seed was able to bounce back and defeat Laura Siegemund to reach the semifinal round.

Anisimova also enters this matchup with a 5-0 record at Wimbledon, and she is coming off an impressive victory against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarterfinal round. Anisimova dominated the first set 6-1, and she was able to win the second set via tiebreakers.

If Anisimova continues to play well today, then she could pull off the upset.

Fans can watch the Wimbledon semifinal for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV and Fubo TV. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users.

In the 1800s, builders in the United States began putting roofs on bridges to protect the wooden floors and trusses from the elements. It was easier and less expensive to maintain the covers than the bridge spans.

The location of Alabama’s first covered bridge is disputed. Townspeople say the bridge over Buzzard Roost Creek in Colbert County was built circa 1820, but the National Park Service estimated its origins in 1860. The Buzzard Roost bridge, a 94-foot span, was damaged by a flood in 1965 and restored by the county. It was later moved to the Natchez Trace Parkway and destroyed by arson in 1972.

Click through the photo gallery at the top of this story to see vintage photos of Alabama’s bridges.

Alabama’s covered bridges are reminiscent of a more romantic time, when people rode in horse-drawn buggies and couples stole kisses beneath their roofs.

But they are also keepers of history, places built by formerly enslaved people, or where Civil War soldiers trod and, according to legend, outlaws were hanged.

A 1936 Associated Press article described Alabama’s love affair with covered bridges: “Alabamians began building covered bridges almost as soon as they began building Baptist and Methodist churches and one-room school houses. A bridge without a roof was not a thing for a county to be proud of and, besides, when a shower came what were travelers in open buggies to do for shelter? And day and night, wasn’t a covered bridge a rendezvous for lovers while youngsters concealed themselves among the rafters to listen in?”

Historians estimate there were once as many as 14,000 wooden covered bridges in the United States. Of those, about 880 remain, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Covered Bridge Manual.

The state’s oldest covered bridge still standing today was built before 1850, possibly as early as 1839. The 60-foot Coldwater Creek bridge is located in Calhoun County. It was moved to Oxford Lake Park in 1990 and is maintained by the City of Oxford. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

MORE: Take a road trip to North Alabama’s picturesque covered bridges

A 1969 article in The Times Daily in Florence reported that by 1958, 46 covered bridges remained in 13 Alabama counties. From 1958 to 1968, the state lost three bridges per year to neglect, floods, fires, vandalism and demolition, the article stated. Since then new bridges have been built and a few others have been lost.

Click here for a list of existing covered bridges that are more than 50 years old.

Here is a list of some of the bridges we’ve lost in Alabama. The date of destruction was not known in many of the cases. If you have information on any of these bridges, please email me at [email protected].

READ: Take a road trip to South Alabama’s picturesque covered bridges

Autauga Creek Covered Bridge

This covered bridge was located over Autauga Creek in Autauga County. Dates built and demolished unknown.

Big Bear Creek Covered Bridge

Big Bear Creek Covered Bridge in Allsboro in Colbert County. Dates built and demolished unknown.

Brookwood Covered Bridge

Brookwood Covered Bridge over Hurricane Creek in Tuscaloosa County burned in the 1960s. Date built is unknown.

Buzzard Roost Covered Bridge

This 94-foot-long span southwest of Cherokee in Colbert County was built circa 1860, according to the National Park Service. Some locals claimed it was built in 1820. The bridge was destroyed by arson July 15, 1972.

Chattahoochee Covered Bridge

This bridge was built near Eufaula over the Chattahoochee by famed bridge builder Horace King, who was once enslaved, in 1833. It was torn down in 1924.

Cofer Covered Bridge

The location of Cofer Covered Bridge was not listed by the Alabama Department of Archives and History. Dates built and demolished unknown.

Cowickie Creek Covered Bridge

This covered bridge spanned Cowickie Creek in Eufaula. It was demolished in 1913.

Cripple Deer Creek Covered Bridge

This bridge spanned Choccolocco Creek in Eastaboga in Talladega County.

Dillingham Street Covered Bridge

This bridge was built in 1870 by formerly enslaved bridge builder Horace King. It spanned the Chattahoochee River between Columbus, Ga., and Girard (now Phenix City), Ala. It was dismantled in 1924.

Duck Springs Covered Bridge

Built in 1879, this 119-foot bridge spanned Big Wills Creek between Duck Springs and Keener in Etowah County. It was destroyed by arson July 7, 1972.

Garden City Covered Bridge

Garden City Covered Bridge spanned the Mulberry Fork of Black Warrior River in Cullman County, Ala. Dates built and demolished unknown.

Golden’s Mill Covered Bridge

This bridge spanned Sougahatchee Creek on Alabama Highway 49 in Tallapoosa County. Dates built and demolished unknown.

Hillabee Creek Covered Bridge

This bridge was located in Tallapoosa County. Dates built and demolished unknown.

Liddy’s Bridge

This 50-foot span was built in 1926 over Big Branch in Blount County, about three miles from the Cullman County line. In 1958 when a new road was built, Liddy Walker purchased the bridge for $50 and moved it to Liddy’s Lake, according to the Alabama Department of Archives and History. What happened to it is unknown.

Meadows Mill Covered Bridge

Built in 1902 by W.W. King, son of famed bridge builder Horace King, this 140-foot-long Meadows Mill Bridge was destroyed by arson Oct. 4, 1973. Dates built and location unknown.

Miller Covered Bridge

Miller Covered Bridge collapsed in July 1963. Dates built and location unknown.

Norman’s Covered Bridge

This bridge over Catoma Creek was built by Job Norman, who settled on land near the present-day intersection of East South Boulevard and South Court Street in Montgomery, according to the Alabama Department of Archives and History. “He constructed the bridge to facilitate visits with friends who had settled in southern Montgomery County,” the ADAH said. Dates built and demolished unknown.

Pea Ridge Covered Bridge

This bridge was located about three miles from U.S. Highway 280, south of Opelika. Pea Ridge Covered Bridge was constructed with wooden pegs over Wacoochee Creek. Dates built and demolished unknown.

Pintlala Creek Covered Bridge

This bridge was located on Old Selma Road in Montgomery County. Dates built and demolished unknown.

Standridge Covered Bridge

This 432-foot-covered bridge over the Locust Fork of Black Warrior River was located near Hayden in Blount County. Built in 1934, it was destroyed by arson on the night of Nov. 18, 1967, according to the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

Talladega Covered Bridge

This span in the Talladega National Forest near Oxford, Ala., was located in Calhoun County. Dates built and demolished unknown.

Tallushatchee Creek Covered Bridge

This covered bridge was located in Jacksonville, Ala. Dates built and demolished unknown.

Wasden Road Covered Bridge

This bridge over Pintlala Creek was unusual because it had a flat roof. Dates built and demolished unknown.

In Alabama, there are about two fatal motorcycle crashes in an average week, according to a database maintained by the University of Alabama.

AL.com reviewed five years of data on bike crashes collated by the institution’s Center for Advanced Public Safety—from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2025. It shows approximately 30 crashes per week.

The data conveys how many crashes are fatal but no information about the number of people who died in each.

These are what the data shows:

• May has the highest number of crashes.
• September has the most fatalities.
• April has the highest fatality rate from crashes.
• May has the lowest fatality rate from crashes, despite having the highest number of crashes.
• Most of the 7,777 collisions and 457 fatal crashes occurred on Saturday.
• Tuesday records the lowest number of crashes.
• Wednesday has the lowest crash fatality rate.
• Though Monday recorded a comparatively low number of crashes, more of them were fatal than on other days.

Two in three motorcycle crashes result in fatalities or injuries, compared to one in nine for all crash types.

The five years of data recorded 720,030 crashes from all causes, of which 564,713 had only property damage reported, or four in every five crashes.

The pattern flipped for motorcycle crashes, where there are more injuries than not. Out of 7,777 crashes, there are 2,127 property-damage-only incidents, or about one in every four.

While one in 17 motorbike crashes end in death, it’s 1 in 163 for all road crashes. Motorcycle crashes are, therefore, 864%, or 9.6 times, more likely to result in death.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: What is the proper way to exit a church at the end of a service? My boyfriend thinks that you must let everyone in the adjacent pew (the one closer to the doors) exit before you do. I view it more like a street intersection, but less formal, where groups of people take turns exiting. In my view, you should not try to rush, bump or push people out of the way, but you should also go with the flow and not hold people up.

My boyfriend thought I was very rude, and berated me in the parking lot, because I did not let all of the people in the next pew exit first. Instead, I followed the woman in front of me. She had invited the people in the other pew to go first, but they said no, waving her ahead. I followed her out without stopping to invite the same people to exit first.

Was I rude?

GENTLE READER: Miss Manners agrees that if someone asks people to go ahead, then the request should be obeyed, as it may mask a need for more time to disembark. You would hardly want to get into a pushing match in church with an elderly couple by insisting that you are not going anywhere until they get a move on.

Why you would want a boyfriend who berates you is another question.

Please send your questions to Miss Manners at missmanners.com, by email to [email protected], or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

Dear Eric: I am the youngest of three sons, and both of my brothers passed away suddenly, with the latest one just three years ago. Now I find myself thrust into the role of executor for my parents who are both about to turn 90. I have conducted significant research on what is needed to be in place both legally and financially and have consulted with friends who also have aging parents.

However, my parents don’t want to talk about these issues, and I am really in the dark on what they have in place. My father handled most of the issues, but now suffers from dementia, so there are a lot of unknowns. Recently I sent them a list of items we should look into – power of attorney, living will, health care proxy, etc.

My mother is overwhelmed with taking care of my father, so I have offered to speak directly with their lawyer and financial planner to lessen her burden, but while they initially seemed receptive, there has been little movement on these tasks.

I don’t want to pressure them, but I am really anxious about this and want to deal with these important decisions while they are still in good health.

– Treading Lightly

Dear Treading: I’m sorry for the losses you’ve experienced and for the complication of this grief-laden moment. Planning for later life with parents is rarely easy, but you’ve taken excellent proactive steps.

To help lessen the overwhelm you and your parents are feeling, tackle one small task at a time. I’d suggest you start with power of attorney. As you may already be aware, it can be a relatively simple process for which you can tackle most of the paperwork. With their blessing and their signatures, you’ll then be allowed to talk to their lawyer and financial planner, and this will give you a clearer picture of what they’ve already put into place.

Be clear with them about the concerns you have, the questions you need answered and the guidance you’re seeking. They can help you think through next steps for your parents and, hopefully, also take some things off of your plate.

You don’t have to take care of everything, and you don’t have to do everything right now. It’s not going to be perfect; nothing ever is. Don’t listen to any internal voice that says if you miss a to-do item, you’re failing your parents or creating a problem for yourself.

Read more Asking Eric and other advice columns.

Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at [email protected] or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Follow him on Instagram and sign up for his weekly newsletter at rericthomas.com.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Every day until Aug. 29, Creg Stephenson is counting down significant numbers in Alabama football history, both in the lead-up to the 2025 football season and in commemoration of the Crimson Tide’s first national championship 100 years ago. The number could be attached to a year, a uniform number or even a football-specific statistic. We hope you enjoy.

Long-snappers rarely get mentioned unless they make a mistake, so we must first point out that Carson Tinker was nearly perfect during his four years at Alabama.

Tinker, the Crimson Tide’s starting snapper on punts and place kicks from 2010-12, is credited with executing 133 of 135 snap attempts during his career. The latter two of those seasons ended in national championships, giving Tinker — who wore No. 51 at Alabama — a third ring after the one he received as a redshirt freshman in 2009.

Tinker — who finished high school in Tennessee but spent much of his childhood in Alabama — later spent 11 years in the NFL, primarily with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He won a Super Bowl ring with the Los Angeles Rams at the end of the 2021 season.

But it is for the events of April 27, 2011, and their aftermath that Tinker is most widely known. A massive EF4 tornado ravaged Tuscaloosa, severely injured Tinker and killed his girlfriend, fellow Alabama student Ashley Harrison.

Tinker’s home on 25th Street in Tuscaloosa took a direct hit from the storm, literally ripping Harrison from Tinker’s arms. Tinker was thrown more than 50 yards, and woke up in at DCH Regional Medical Center with a broken wrist, an injured ankle, cuts on his head and a concussion.

In addition, he learned that Harrison, who was 22, had been killed. She was among 348 people — 53 in Tuscaloosa and six of them University of Alabama students — who died as a result of the massive storm system that tore across Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi that day.

“They both got thrown from the house,” Alabama teammate Colin Peek told reporters soon after. “He didn’t understand what happened. He had a concussion and got knocked out before he was taken away. She died instantly. Luckily she didn’t suffer.”

Tinker recovered from his injuries in time to run out of the tunnel with his teammates and play in the Sept. 3, 2011 season-opener vs. Kent State. He didn’t miss a game in either of the next two seasons, as Alabama went a combined 25-2 and won back-to-back national championships.

Tinker also poured himself into helping the Tuscaloosa community recover from the storms, working alongside numerous Alabama teammates with Coach Nick Saban’s Nick’s Kids Foundation and other organizations to raise money, clear debris, distribute relief supplies and rebuild housing and local businesses. He also visited with a 10-year-old Tuscaloosa boy who had lost his sister and both parents during the storm.

That December, he accepted a Disney Spirit Award on the team’s behalf at ESPN’s College Football Awards Show.

“It really is inspiring to see the impact I can have on people outside football,” Tinker said in 2012. “I’ve said this a long time ago and it’s been my mantra: to be a blessing to people. That’s something I try to do every day.”

Prior to his senior season at Alabama, Tinker was awarded a scholarship by Saban. It was a relief for Tinker, who had bet on himself after turning down scholarship offers from smaller programs out of high school in order to walk on with the Crimson Tide.

“We’re very excited that we’re able to award a guy that has been such a positive influence in so many ways,” Saban said at the time. “Personally, academically and athletically in our program.”

Added Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron, “Carson has been through a lot and he’s bounced back really well from everything he’s been through and all that life’s thrown at him, all the adversity. He’s done a great job of handling everything.”

Tinker’s college career ended in triumph, a 42-14 rout of Notre Dame in the 2013 College Football Playoff National Championship Game in Miami Gardens, Fla. A little more than a year later, he published a book (written with Tommy Ford and featuring a foreword by Saban) about his experiences playing football at Alabama and with the tornado titled A Season to Remember: Faith in the Midst of the Storm.

“Kind of the whole theme for me was, you either live in vision or you live in circumstance,” Tinker told AL.com in 2014. “For me, this is part of my vision. I wanted to help people and in the process of writing the book, I actually learned a lot more of the little details that I missed at first glance. It was a blessing to me to even go back and have a little bit more of a realization of what went on.”

And he didn’t shy away from writing extensively about his Harrison’s death.

“I went through every detail in the book,” Tinker said. “I really want the book to be a positive thing, but I felt like in order to do that, I had to go through the little details of exactly what happened on the day of the tornado, talking about my injuries and my loss.

“I feel like only the wounded have the power to heal and I wanted people to be to see what I think is the worst in my life and how God took that and used it for good. In order to do that, people had to see how I really was struggling.”

Tinker retired from football in August 2024, and has regularly made public-speaking appearances and worked with various charities and youth groups over the years. He married the former Annie Bates in 2015.

Coming Friday: Our countdown to kickoff continues with No. 50, an Alabama quarterback who piled up touchdowns on the way to a Heisman Trophy.