The Golden State Warriors have signed former Alabama forward Braxton Key to a two-way contract.
The NBA team announced the signing on Tuesday after it converted guard Pat Spencer’s two-way contract to a standard contract.
The Warriors signed Key from the San Diego Clippers of the NBA Gatorade League. The 6-foot-8 Key had been with San Diego since being released by the Los Angeles Clippers at the end of the NBA team’s preseason.
With San Diego, Key averaged 14.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.2 blocked shots in 38 games this season.
Two-way contracts allow an NBA team to carry three players beyond the 15 who are on its regular-season roster on standard contracts. The two-way players can move between the NBA team and its NBA G League affiliate without having to pass through waivers and be exposed to the possibility of being claimed by opposing teams.
Golden State’s G League affiliate is the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Two-way players are eligible to play in as many as 50 games in a season with the NBA team. A two-way contract pays $578,577 during the 2024-25 season, which is half of the rookie minimum.
Key’s most recent NBA appearance came on April 14, 2024, with the Denver Nuggets.
In 34 NBA games with three teams across three seasons, Key has averaged 3.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.8 minutes of playing time.
While trying to find a place in the NBA, Key helped the Delaware Blue Coats win the NBA G League championship for the 2022-23 season.
In two seasons at Alabama, Key averaged 9.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 60 games. The Crimson Tide lost to Richmond in the NIT to end Key’s first season in 2017 and to Villanova in the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2018.
In Key’s first season after transferring to Virginia, the Cavaliers defeated Texas Tech 85-77 in overtime to win the NCAA tournament for the 2019 season. Key led Virginia with 10 rebounds in the title game.
In his second NBA game, Reese made his only shot for the first 3-point basket of his career while playing 4:07 in Philadelphia’s 126-112 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.
BELCOURT, N.D. (AP) — More than 50 years after a shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation landed him in federal prison, Leonard Peltier remains defiant.
Despite being convicted and sentenced to life in prison, he maintains his innocence in the killings of two FBI agents in 1975 and sees his newfound freedom — the result of a commutation from former President Joe Biden — as the beginning of a new phase of his activism.
“I’m going to spend the rest of my life fighting for our people, because we ain’t finished yet. We’re still in danger,” Peltier, now 80, said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press at his new home on the Turtle Mountain Reservation, his tribal homeland in North Dakota, near the Canadian border.
There among the rolling, often snow-covered hills, he will serve out the rest of his sentence on house arrest.
Born into an era of violent hostility between the American government and Indigenous peoples, the former American Indian Movement member has now stepped into another politically volatile moment in the country. He said he understands well the threats the rise of the far right, as well as the federal government, pose to tribal nations and Indigenous peoples. He believes that, like previous administrations, President Donald Trump will come for minerals and oil on tribal lands.
This combination of images provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on June 27, 1975, shows Special Agent Ronald A. Williams, left, and Special Agent Jack R. Coler, right. (Federal Bureau of Investigation via AP)AP
“You don’t have to get violent, you don’t have to do nothing like that. Just get out there and stand up,” he told AP this week, in his first sit-down conversation with a journalist in over 30 years. “We got to resist.”
The FBI and Native American activists: A volatile mix
Peltier was part of a movement in the late 1960s and 1970s that fought for Native American rights and tribal self-determination, sometimes occupying federal and tribal property.
The movement grabbed headlines in 1973 when it took over the village of Wounded Knee on Pine Ridge, leading to a 71-day standoff with federal agents. They also protested at Alcatraz and the Bureau of Indian Affairs headquarters. For many members of the American Indian Movement, or AIM, their activism was part of a legacy of resistance stretching back to the country’s founding.
The day of the shootout came amid heightened tensions on the Pine Ridge reservation, where residents felt the FBI’s heavy presence was a threat to the people’s autonomy. Peltier and other AIM members got into a confrontation with agents Jack Coler and Ron Williams when the agents drove onto a rural property where the AIM members were staying. Both agents were shot and killed, along with Joseph Stuntz, another AIM member.
A “Welcome Home” sign is displayed for Leonard Peltier in Belcourt, N.D, on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)AP
The eyeglasses and watches Leonard Peltier brought home from prison sit on his nightstand in Belcourt, N.D, on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)AP
Leonard Peltier holds a copy of his commutation in Belcourt, N.D, on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)AP
The FBI says Peltier shot the agents at close range. In a letter sent to Biden last year opposing his release, former FBI director Christopher Wray called Peltier a “remorseless killer.”
His guilt is clear to many, including North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong.
“More than 20 federal judges upheld his conviction, and he was denied parole as recently as last July,” Armstrong said in a statement to the AP. “There was no legal justification for his release. He should still be in prison.”
Peltier was not pardoned; Biden said he was commuting Peltier’s sentence because of his age, his declining health, and the long period he had already been in prison.
Peltier has acknowledged he was at the shootout, but he says he acted in self-defense and wasn’t the one whose bullets killed the agents. He believes the FBI and prosecutors were looking for someone to take the blame, after his two co-defendants were exonerated for self-defense.
FILE – Marchers carry a large painting of jailed Native American activist Leonard Peltier during a march for the National Day of Mourning in Plymouth, Mass., on Nov. 22, 2001. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)AP
Leonard Peltier stands for a portrait in Belcourt, N.D, on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)AP
“They wanted revenge, and they didn’t know who was responsible,” Peltier told the AP from the kitchen table of his new home. “And they said ‘Put the full weight of the American government on Leonard Peltier, we need a conviction.’ And when they say that you don’t have no rights,” he said.
Amnesty International and scores of political leaders around the world called Peltier a political prisoner of the U.S., questioning the fairness of his trial and conviction. James Reynolds, a former U.S. Attorney for Northern Iowa, whose office oversaw post-conviction proceedings, urged clemency in a letter to Biden in 2021. He wrote that prosecutors couldn’t prove Peltier fired the fatal shots and called his imprisonment “unjust”.
Peltier’s grandson, Cyrus Peltier, remembers visiting him every weekend at Leavenworth, a federal prison in Kansas. He didn’t always understand why his grandfather wouldn’t just tell the parole board he was sorry for the crimes, and hopefully win his freedom.
“And he would say ‘Well, that’s just not what I’m fighting for, grandson,’ ” Cyrus Peltier, now 39, recalled from his home in North Dakota this week. ”‘I’m sorry for what happened to those agents, but I’m not going to sit here and admit to something I didn’t do. And if I have to die in here for that, I’m going to.’”
A life behind bars, but always hope for freedom
In prison, Peltier’s fame only grew, as he amassed the support of prominent political leaders around the globe and celebrities in the U.S. and became a symbol of the injustices against Native Americans.
FILE – Native American activist Leonard Peltier sits for a portrait in prison in February 1986. (AP Photo/Cliff Schiappa, File)AP
He said it was all their letters of support and acts of protest for his release that kept him going.
Peltier said there were moments in the last few years where he began to lose hope that he would ever see freedom. His denial of parole in July was another crushing blow.
“They gave me the strength to stay alive and to know what I was in prison for,” he said.
Many Indigenous people, leaders, and organizers lobbied for decades for Peltier’s release.
However, some who believe Peltier was involved in the murder of AIM member Anna Mae Pictou Aquash in 1975 fought against his release. Two other AIM members were convicted of the crime.
“Their ability to say that he is free and he gets to go home negates the whole fact that Anna Mae never got to go home,” said Aquash’s daughter, Denise Pictou Maloney.
In his interview with the AP, Peltier denied having any knowledge of Aquash’s death.
‘I didn’t give my life for nothing’
In the end, Biden listened to the counsel of former Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and the first Native American to lead the Interior Department. Peltier was released on Feb. 18, and returned to North Dakota.
He still often wakes up at night terrified that it is all a dream and that he is still in a cell.
Peltier remains confined to his home and nearby community. But he now has access to routine medical treatment for his many health issues, including an aortic aneurysm. He gets around with the help of a cane or a walker.
He is heartened by the many people who come to visit him and drop off gifts like beaded medallions, letters and artwork, which are piling up in his home.
Peltier wants to make a living selling his paintings, as he did in prison, and he plans to write more books. He also wants to train young activists about the threats they will face.
When he was in prison, lying in his bunk at night, he would often wonder if his protest efforts resulted in any change. Seeing young Native activists today continuing to fight for the same things gives meaning to the 49 years he was incarcerated.
“It makes me feel so good, man, it does,” he said, holding back tears. “I’m thinking, well, I didn’t give my life for nothing.”
___
Associated Press writer Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota, contributed to this report.
Garrett Whitlock hasn’t pitched in a spring-training game yet, made his last appearance in a Major League contest on April 16 and had elbow surgery on May 30.
But Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said on Sunday that he’s “100 percent” sure the former UAB standout will be with the American League team when it heads north for the 2025 season.
Whitlock had made four starts and posted a 1-0 record with a 1.96 earned-run average when he went down last season with damage to the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow.
Rather than Tommy John surgery, Whitlock underwent an internal brace procedure, which can cut a couple of months off the recovery time. And about a week after Boston’s pitchers and catchers reported for spring training in Fort Myers, Florida, Cora named Whitlock as the player who had caught his eye in the early going.
“The other day, the way he threw the ball,” Cora said. “It’s very similar to who he was in ’21 with more (velocity). I know he has been in the big leagues, and he has been hurt, but I truly believe we have to keep an eye on him because if he keeps going this way, he’s going to have a great season.”
In 2021, Whitlock was a Rule 5 acquisition coming off Tommy John surgery when he compiled an 8-4 record and a 1.96 ERA in 73.1 innings out of the Boston bullpen.
After that showing, the Red Sox signed Whitlock to a four-year contract extension meant to keep the right-hander with Boston through the 2026 season, with team options for the 2027 and 2028 campaigns.
In the past three seasons, Whitlock had a 10-7 record with a 4.01 ERA in 168.1 innings across 57 games. Elbow issues sent him to the injured list twice during that time before finally sending him to surgery.
Whitlock started 23 of those games, but he’ll be strictly a reliever in 2025, Cora said.
“We’re not going to play with the Whitlock thing,” Cora said. “He’s going to be a reliever.”
The Red Sox revamped their relievers during the offseason after 36-year-old Kenley Jansen led Boston with 27 saves in its 81-81 2024 showing.
The Red Sox are counting on a comeback by three-time All-Star and former American League saves leader Liam Hendricks, who hasn’t pitched in a Major League game since June 9, 2023, after Tommy John surgery.
Boston also signed Aroldis Chapman after the seven-time All-Star struck out 98 in 61.2 innings and saved 14 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates last season.
The Red Sox open the 2025 season against the Texas Rangers on March 27.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.
The 2024-25 season hasn’t been kind to the Philadelphia 76ers, who are more than likely headed towards missing the playoffs. There’s still a bright future ahead, especially with rookie Jared McCain.
McCain unfortunately suffered a meniscus tear in December and hasn’t played since, adding to the dreadful year for the Sixers. Philly fans can stop the pain with a little retail therapy, as one of McCain’s jerseys is available for an insane steal on Dick’s Sporting Goods right now.
Jared McCain’s Sixers jersey on sale for a steal on Dick’s Sporting Goods
Texas A&M might have knocked off No.1 Auburn, but the Aggies’ students managed to lose all respect in the game’s final seconds.
They were going to storm the court, but then got scared. Really, Texas A&M?
No one told me the Aggies were so soft.
Isn’t it a military school or something?
They couldn’t keep Texas A&M off of Kyle Field after that victory against Alabama football, but the soul of the SEC is changing and not for the best. Something isn’t healthy about any of this, and it’s growing like a problematic rash.
Auburn is back in action on Saturday for the final game of its SEC victory tour. Something tells me Johni Broome and Co. will be a little more enthusiastic for rival Alabama. Against Texas A&M, they looked like a team resting up for the postseason.
Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said the scouting report is out on the Tigers, but I’m not so convinced. Perhaps Pearl is already preparing for the postseason instead of worrying about game’s that don’t matter to the Tigers.
Auburn trailed by 11 with under a minute to play. That’s when Texas A&M’s students began to crowd the court at the Cox-McFerrin Center. It wasn’t a big game for Auburn, but for Texas A&M it was a chance to make a little history.
The fans wanted to rush the court after knocking off a No.1-ranked team for the first time on campus. They should have done it, too, but then something unexpected happened. Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams prevented the party by motioning to the students to remain in the stands.
And the students complied with the directive. Weak stuff.
Give Williams no credit, and award him no points. He ruined once-in-a-lifetime memories for the students of his university, right?
I mean, why even spend all that money on tuition if you’re not going to storm the court against the No.1-ranked team in the country?
Was no one other than me curious to see what happened when Texas A&M’s student body had a chance to welcome Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara to College Station?
What’s college basketball without a little March madness before the conference tournaments? It’s a world none of us want to imagine.
Let the itchy students have their fun.
Not at Texas A&M. Not this time, and perhaps never again.
Auburn has been ranked No.1 for eight straight weeks. If not now, Texas A&M, then when?
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey will claim victory, but that’s a loss for everyone else.
The broadcasters calling the game for ESPN speculated that Texas A&M’s coach didn’t want to pay the $100,000 fine for students pouring onto the field. Is Texas A&M suddenly too poor to pay its fines?
Storming the court should be the new status symbol in the SEC. In this age of NIL, only the richest schools can afford to waste money on the students.
The students were ready, but then Williams walked over to Auburn’s Pearl with about 45 seconds left in the game and asked Auburn’s coach to let the clock run out. Pearl went along with the directive.
In an effort to keep Texas A&M’s students off the court, Auburn’s coach told his players to stop fouling.
But why?
Storming the court used to be a rite of passage for undergrads. What changed? Why did Texas A&M’s coach want to keep his students off the court?
Perhaps he did it in the name of public health.
Was Williams worried that Texas A&M’s students might give his players the measles?
I’m told that no one takes vaccines in Texas anymore. If that’s the case, and I’m just speculating here, then maybe Williams is a hero for preventing the spread of infectious diseases.
Take 100 percent of your shots, kids, and I don’t mean the ones from beyond the 3-point line.
*** This public service announcement was in no way endorsed by the current government of the United States of America.
BE HEARD
Got a question for Joe? Want to get something off your chest? Send Joe an email about what’s on your mind. Let your voice be heard. Ask him anything.
“Rêve means ‘dream’ in French, and the name holds deep personal significance,” Stull, the restaurant’s owner and executive chef, says. “It’s always been my dream to transform this idea of a tasting menu into a permanent restaurant.”
A native of Maryland, Stull worked in restaurants on the East Coast and New Orleans (including the revered French Quarter restaurant Brennan’s) before he moved to Birmingham in 2018 and became the opening chef de cuisine at the former Whistling Table in Forest Park.
He later served as the opening executive chef at the French-inspired brasserie Forté and the rooftop bar Roll Call in the Nick Saban-backed downtown Tuscaloosa luxury hotel The Alamite.
“The good thing about the pop-ups was we were able to test the market and see if Birmingham was ready for something like this,” Stull says. “And after six, seven months of doing pop-ups, we made the decision that they were.”
Rêve will seat 78 guests, including tables and booths in the main dining room, seats at the chef’s bar and a private dining space that fronts Second Avenue North. (Photo by Mason David Erwin; used with permission)
‘Parisian meets kind of edgy Brooklyn’
Stull found a permanent home for Rêve in the former SOCU Southern Kitchen & Oyster Bar space in the Pizitz Food Hall, which he moved into in December. He has spent the past three months transforming the space into his vision for Rêve.
The 3,000-square-foot, 78-seat restaurant anchors the northwest corner of the food hall, opening onto the courtyard and including an entrance near The Standard food stall. Rêve is the only full-service restaurant in the Pizitz.
In addition to tables and booths in the main dining room, the space includes a chef’s bar that offers guests front-row seats to the action in the exposed kitchen, a private dining room that faces Second Avenue North, and outdoor seating that is available on the patio when weather permits.
The interior features preserved tile floors and century-old heart pine that goes back to the early days of the Pizitz building, as well as cold-rolled steel countertops that pay homage to Birmingham’s industrial roots.
“The goal was to make it Parisian meets kind of edgy Brooklyn, where it’s not too stuffy,” Stull says. “And there’s a lot of history in this building, which is fun for us.”
One of her paintings includes the French translation of a quote from famed chef and cookbook author James Beard: “Food is our common ground, a universal experience.”
“Jacob sent me musical playlists that he listens to, so I listened to a lot of his French playlists while I made these pieces,” Maples says. “I layered the pieces with quotes and writings about his journey, so they’re really kind of a portrait of Jacob.”
Paintings from Birmingham artist Mandy Maples on the far wall of the restaurant help tell the story of Rêve chef Jacob Stull’s culinary journey. (Photo by Mason David Erwin; used with permission)
‘A journey of gastronomy’
While other chefs around the city have hosted tasting-menu pop-up dinners — which feature small portions of multiple, chef-selected dishes — Rêve is believed to be the first tasting-menu-centric restaurant to open in Birmingham.
“Opening a concept like this is daunting because we’re the first ones to do the brick-and-mortar,” Stull says. “But what’s fun about it is we get to see how people react to the food and the story that goes with it.
“When you’re doing a six- or 10-course tasting menu, it truly is a journey of gastronomy,” he adds. “For me, it’s fun — especially in an open kitchen because I get to see everyone’s reaction.”
For the opening week, Stull will start with a six-course menu that is priced at $150 per person. Reservations are required 24 hours in advance.
The six courses, according to a media release, include:
Canapés, with house-made bread and fried truffle beignets dusted with charcoal powder.
La Gargouillou, an iconic dish from French chef Michel Bras that features spring vegetables from local farms and is complemented by Benton’s country jamón broth, molasses yolk, jamón consommé and mirepoix — all poured tableside.
Pho Au Bœuf, a French-infused take on Vietnamese pho, showcasing seared veal cheek and consommé served in a crystal wine glass adorned with chili oil and garnished with Thai basil.
Canard et Mélasse, featuring sustainably sourced Hudson Valley duck, dry-aged and served with confit legs, root beer and molasses glaze, beet, oxalis, sorghum and cherries.
Lait etMiel, a pre-dessert, New Orleans-inspired honey snow cone made with kombucha honey and topped with caramelized Foxhound Bee Company honey and crème fraîche.
L Vallée de la Forêt-Noire, a traditional German Black Forest torte made with Cacao Noel, glazed with candied griotte cherries from France and finished with an orange bitters sorbet.
“Obviously, a tasting menu is smaller portions,” Stull says, “but I promise you, you’re not going to leave hungry.”
Beginning Friday, March 14, Stull will add a 10-course tasting menu, and later in March, Rêve will offer a brasserie-style à la carte menu that will include steak au poivre, steak tartar, coq au vin and a chocolate soufflé.
“Theà la carte menu is like my greatest brasserie hits of things of mine that people have enjoyed in the past,” Stull says. “It’s a little more casual – still really nice (and) high-end, but more casual than a tasting menu.”
The Rêve team includes, from left, dining room manager Blake Boyd, sous chef John Smith, executive chef and owner Jacob Stull, pastry chef Caitlyn “Cate” Cole and beverage director Chelsea Cheyenne.(Photo by Mason David Erwin; used with permission)
‘A city of camaraderie’
Stull didn’t have to look far to assemble his support staff at Rêve.
Sous chef John Smith and pastry chef Caitlyn “Cate” Cole both worked with him at Forté in Tuscaloosa and followed him to Birmingham.
“Those guys have been with me since Forté,” he says. “After we all left Forté, they decided, ‘Look, if you’re doing Rêve, I’m coming.’”
Blake Boyd, who helped with the Rêve pop-up dinners, is the dining room manager, and Chelsea Cheyenne, who comes from Luca Lagotto, oversees the beverage program at Rêve.
“We’re just super-excited to be able to be part of Birmingham and have a brick-and-mortar (restaurant),” Stull says. “It’s been a dream of mine since I came to the city, and everyone in this city has been nothing but awesome.
“It’s a city of camaraderie,” he adds. “I just can’t wait to be a part of that tapestry of restaurants in Birmingham.”
Rêve is in the Pizitz Food Hall at 1821 Second Ave. North in Birmingham, Ala. The phone is 205-593-4154. Hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. For reservations and more information, go here.
Storms had cleared out of Alabama on Wednesday morning, and now it’s time to clear the mess they left behind.
The National Weather Service received a ton of reports of downed trees and power lines on Tuesday. Many of those trees were toppled by high winds that affected the state long before the storms arrived.
Those gradient winds were caused by the pressure difference between two weather systems, not severe weather.
But the storms themselves were potent and blamed for many reports of tree damage as well.
If you have any storm damage the weather service would like to know about it:
Gusty winds will still be possible today, according to forecasters.
The entire state remains under wind advisories until this afternoon. The weather service said sustained winds could be 15-25 mph with gusts as high as 30-40 mph.
The weather service said today’s winds will be caused by a low pressure system passing through. That system could also generate some light rain in parts of the state today.
No storms are expected, however. In fact, no severe weather is expected through the end of the week.
Today and Thursday will be cooler, however. Highs today could be around 20 degrees cooler in some areas, according to forecasters.
Here are Wednesday’s forecast high temperatures.NWS
North Alabama is expected to have highs in the low to mid-50s today. Highs in central Alabama will range from the mid- to upper 50s. Highs in south Alabama will reach the low to mid-60s. Expect similar highs on Friday.
It will get chilly tonight. Temperatures are forecast to fall into the low 30s in north Alabama overnight, according to the weather service. Central Alabama will have lows ranging from the low to mid-30s. Temperatures in south Alabama will even be chilly, with lows in the mid- to upper 30s expected.
Here are tonight’s low temperatures.NWS
Low temperatures on Saturday night will be a few degrees warmer but still in the 30s for much of the state. South Alabama will be in the 40s for lows.
The weather service expects temperatures to warm up some over the weekend. The next chance for rain will arrive likely on Saturday night and last into Sunday, though there are low chances on Friday night as well.
Here is more on today’s wind advisories from the weather service:
Elon Musk amplified controversial podcaster Ben Shapiro’s plea for President Donald Trump to pardon former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the 2020 murder of George Floyd.
“The inciting event for the BLM riots that caused $2 billion in property damage in the United States and set America’s race relations on their worst footing in my lifetime was, in fact, the railroading of Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd,” Shapiro claimed.
“Make no mistake — the Derek Chauvin conviction represents the defining achievement of the Woke movement in American politics,” Shapiro said. “The country cannot turn the page on that dark, divisive and racist era without righting this terrible wrong.”
“Something to think about,” Musk said on X, while retweeting a clip from Shapiro’s show.
Floyd died on May 25, 2020 after Chauvin forced his knee into the man’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds, all while Floyd was face down, begging for help and telling officers he couldn’t breathe. Chauvin’s actions were documented on video.
The three officers who acted alongside Chauvin — Tou Thao, J. Alexander Keung and Thomas Lane — were also handed concurrent sentences on state and federal charges. Lane was released in 2024 and Keung was released in January, while Thao remains at a facility in Kentucky, according to Bureau of Prisons records. He could be released this year, too.
But even if Trump were to pardon Chauvin, it would not affect his conviction on state charges, meaning the disgraced cop would remain behind bars despite having his federal record expunged.
In November 2023, Chauvin survived 22 stab wounds in an attack by another inmate at a federal prison in Arizona. The inmate allegedly told investigators at the time that chose the date of the attack — Black Friday — as a nod to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy wants President Trump’s pardon czar, Alice Marie Johnson, to review what he says was a “politically motivated prosecution” that led to a 2007 conviction and a stint in federal prison.
Scrushy and his attorneys are planning a press conference in Montgomery today.
Scrushy wants “the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington D.C., investigate corruption, widespread fraud, and weaponization of the DOJ in the middle district of Alabama” in his conviction, an announcement of the press conference states.
Prosecutors said Scrushy directed high-level employees to falsify the books for Birmingham’s HealthSouth when its earnings didn’t meet Wall Street expectations. About $2.7 billion was at issue, overstated in financial reports from 1996 through 2002.
Scrushy was again tried in federal court – this time for bribery involving ex-Gov. Don Siegelman. Scrushy was accused of bribing Siegelman with $500,000 in exchange for a seat on the Certificate of Need Review Board, the state agency with oversight over HealthSouth.
Siegelman, the last Democrat to serve as governor, who was out on appeal for some time after his conviction, was released from prison in 2017. He unsuccessfully sought pardons from Obama and Biden.
Scrushy says his lawyers “uncovered and continue to uncover clear and convincing evidence that he was wrongly convicted and incarcerated for five years.”
“The public will be shocked at the diabolical ploy and actions of the officials within the Middle District Department of Justice that destroyed the lives of Richard Scrushy and his family who were prominent Alabamians,” said attorney Tommy Gallion.
“Federal prosecutors knowingly and wrongly sought to destroy Scrushy and his family’s lives by their actions.”
Scrushy says the U.S. Attorney General should vacate or reverse his conviction and he should be considered for a presidential pardon.
Scrushy said he would reveal details of his “blatantly unconstitutional and criminal” prosecution today.
Johnson, who was previously incarcerated in Alabama’s Aliceville Federal Correctional Institution, has worked with Trump since her life sentence for drug offenses was commuted by the president after Kim Kardashian pleaded her case.
The beginning of March signals the return of warmer weather and the arrival of spring break activities.
For those with plans to attend beaches or beach towns along the Gulf Coast, understanding the rules and regulations for each location may help the ensure the experience is enjoyable.
For example, while Miami has been a premier destination for spring breakers, city officials instituted several measures in 2024 to address disorderly crowds and violence. The city intends to implement similar measures in 2025 to, “reinforce the message that the city is not interested in being a spring break party destination.”
Here are the rules/regulations for several spring break destinations on the Gulf Coast:
Gulf Shores
Pets are not allowed on any of the sand beaches in Gulf Shores. Pets are welcome at Gulf Place, but they may not travel on the sand beaches.
No glass or breakable containers
No alcoholic beverages on public beaches in Gulf Shores from March 1 until April 17.
No tents / canopies larger than 7 feet by 7 feet by 4 feet unless they are placed in a designated tent area
No fishing at Gulf Place
No tobacco and e-cigarettes
Motorized vehicles are prohibited
Holes can only be dug up to 12 inches. Those who dig are asked to cover holes for the safety of residents and visitors.
Fires, grills or cooking devices are prohibited
No fireworks, sky lanterns, sparklers
No drone operation
No solicitation
No walking or standing on sand dunes. Use beach walkovers and boardwalks where provided. Staying off the dunes will help us to preserve our dune system and the habitat it provides.
No entering the Gulf while double red flags are flying.
Beachgoers are advised not to leave any structures or equipment on the beach after leaving. Any structures or equipment left on the beach an hour after sunset until sunrise will be removed and disposed of by beach patrol except permitted beach services.
Orange Beach
Alcohol is allowed on the beach but glass containersare prohibited.
Dogs and bonfires are prohibited.
Fishing is allowed but chumming is prohibited.
Drones are prohibited unless a proper permit is provided.
No personal vehicles are allowed on the beach.
Camping is prohibited on any public beach.
Panama City Beach
Alcohol consumption and possession are prohibited on the beach during March.
Alcohol sales will not be allowed after 2 a.m. and until 7 a.m.
Alcohol is prohibited in parking lots or vehicles.
Riding on the exterior of vehicles, including sitting on windowsills, or standing through sunroofs, is strictly prohibited.
Loud music that disturbs the peace, or music heard more than 25 feet away, is illegal.
Loitering in vacant parking lots, in parking lots after a business closes, or on the shoulder of the road is prohibited.
Climbing, jumping from, or throwing objects from balconies is strictly prohibited.
No metal shovels are allowed on the beach.
Holes cannot be dug deeper than 2 feet. Beachgoers are asked to fill all holes after use for the safety of others.
Miami Beach
Consumption of alcohol in public is illegal.
It is illegal to smoke on beaches or in parks.
A curfew is expected to be released for 2025. In 2024, a curfew was implemented during March beginning at midnight until 6 a.m.
Narcotics and marijuana are illegal.
Driving under the influence is against the law.
It is illegal to drive a scooter or vehicle irresponsibly
No cigarettes.
Coolers, inflatable devices, tents or tables are prohibited
Loud music is not allowed.
Glass containers are prohibited
Styrofoam, plastic straws and balloons are prohibited.
Parking rates, such as $100 for non-residents, will be increased at certain locations throughout March.
The non-resident towing rate will be at least $530.
A DUI sobriety checkpointwill be in place along the 400 block of 5 Street starting at 7 p.m. between March 14-15 and March 21-22.
Destin
Alcohol is allowed on beaches but not public parks.
No curfew for adults, only for minors.
No pets are allowed
No fires or bonfires
No fireworks
No glass or glass containers are allowed
Littering and vehicles are prohibited on the beaches.
Fort Walton Beach
Glass containers are prohibited.
Alcohol is allowed but cannot come in glass containers.
No fires or bonfires are allowed.
Driving on the beach is not allowed.
Tents larger than 10 feet by 10 feet are not allowed.
Holes are prohibited from being larger than 3 feet by 3 feet and no deeper than 2 feet.
