General News
Rock guitarist, who has battled cancer for years, issues health update after missing show
Vivian Campbell, the guitarist for Def Leppard, missed the legendary band’s performance of the year after battling cancer for years.
“Thank you for all recent messages and support,” Campbell posted on social media. “As you all may know, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma several years ago. I recently had a bone marrow transplant as part of my treatment plan, and it’s safe to say thus far it’s been a very successful transplant! I just have to keep my head down and my spirits up for the next 100 days of primary recovery.”
Blabbermouth reports Campbell had to sit out the last two Def Leppard concerts due to his health issues. He missed a private show in Nashville in October and a show in León, Mexico last week, per the report. Campbell was replaced by John Zocco, who is the guitar tech for the band’s other guitarist Phil Collen.
Campbell, per Ultimate Classic Rock, is aiming for a late April return. Def Leppard’s upcoming tour kicks off in Puerto Rico on May 15.
LouderSound.com reported that Campbell has been battling Hodgkin lymphoma since 2013.
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.
Read MoreAuburn men’s basketball remains No. 1 after win over Tennessee
Auburn men’s basketball sits atop the AP top 25 for a third straight week.
Duke remains at No. 2 in the AP poll with the Iowa State Cyclones at No. 3.
Alabama is the next highest ranked Southeastern Conference team at No. 4, putting two schools from the state of Alabama inside the top five. The Tigers and Crimson Tide will play each other for the first time on Feb. 15.
Florida sits at No.5 in this week’s poll and will face Auburn inside Neville arena Feb. 8. Ten SEC teams were ranked in this week’s AP top 25, including four in the top 10.
Auburn’s next matchup against LSU is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Wednesday and will be streaming live on the SEC network.
Read MoreM&M’s new Valentine’s Day flavor is inspired by this beloved dessert
M&M’s has released a new limited-edition flavor in celebration of Valentine’s Day.
The candy brand has released M&M’s Strawberries & Creme.
Available for a limited time online and at national retailers, the flavor is a take on a traditional chocolate-covered strawberry with the taste of strawberries and crème-flavored white chocolate covered in pink candy shells, the brand said in a press release
In a statement to Food & Wine, the company described the M&M’s Strawberries & Cream as “bursting with the flavors of creamy white chocolate and a dreamy strawberry twist.”
Mars, M&M’s parent company, is also offering a lineup of limited-edition releases:
- Mars 2025 Valentine’s Bundle: The Mars 2025 Valentine’s Day Bundle includes the limited-edition Strawberries & Creme M&M’S Valentine’s Day flavor, M&M’S Minis in festive packaging, LIFESAVER Wild Berry Gummies X’S & O’S and SKITTLES in heart-shaped boxes.
- M&M’S Valentine’s Day Peanut Butter Mega Tubes: The mega tubes bring together the creamy, comforting indulgence of M&M’S Peanut Butter Mega in festive Valentine’s Day packaging for the ultimate sweet-and-salty delight.
All of the offerings are available on MMS.com starting at $5.99.
Read MoreCountry music icon drops out of new Netflix drama
Tim McGraw has dropped out of a Netflix project due to an upcoming back surgery.
“Deadline” reports the country singer – and actor – the surgery will result in significant recovery time. According to the report, citing sources, McGraw had surgery on both knees in August of 2024 after suffering an injury that forced him to cancel the remaining portion of his 2024 tour.
In May, the country music sensation signed on to take on the role of a professional bull rider.
“Tim McGraw will star in a new drama series set in the fierce, competitive world of bull riding,” Netflix posted at the time on “X,” the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “The series follows a megastar champion (McGraw) facing a life-or-death crossroads when confronted by the arrival of a fearless young rider, whose very existence challenges his ways and unearths secrets that force him to reckon with his past.”
McGraw also posted a photo of a script, and wrote, “This is nothing like I’ve ever done before… So excited for you to see what we’ve been working on!! Coming soon on (Netflix).”
In addition to being a top country musician, McGraw starred in the “Yellowstone” prequel series “1883″ as well as cameo appearances in two episodes of “Yellowstone.”
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.
Read More‘The Fall of Diddy’ limited series: How to watch, where to stream free
The four part TV special The Fall of Diddy is set to premiere on Investigation Discovery Monday, Jan. 27 at 9/8c.
The Fall of Diddy offers personal insights into harrowing allegations of violent behavior and illegal activity that have shadowed the music mogul.
The first episode set to premiere Monday night called “The Making of a Mogul” dives into Sean Combs’ rise to power which transforms American culture. Though his empire seems untouchable, a reexamination of this iconic music mogul’s early rise reveals signs of trouble, and by 2001, he faces his most perilous test yet.
Episodes 2 and 3 will premiere Tuesday night and episode four will premiere the following Friday.
Where can I watch The Fall of Diddy?
Those without basic cable can still watch the premiere of The Fall of Diddy live this week with Philo, Sling or DirecTV Stream.
Philo and DirecTV Stream both offer free trials for new subscribers who can watch the miniseries for free before paying for a subscription. However, Philo is the cheapest live streaming option at $28 a month after its 7-day free trial.
What is Philo?
Philois considered one of the cheaper live streaming services available as it allows users to stream over 70 live TV channels for just $28 a month after itsfree trial.
Other thanLifetime, popular channels offered with Philoinclude the Hallmark Channel, MTV, AMC, HGTV, History Channel, Discovery Channel, CMT, TLC, BET and more.
Philo also offers unlimited DVR along with various movies and TV shows users can watch on-demand.
What is Sling?
Sling is also one of the cheaper live streaming services available and currently offers new subscribers half off their first month.
It offers three different channel packages, Sling Blue and Sling Orange that are each $40 a month and Sling Orange + Blue that is just the first two channel packages combined for $55 a month.
The Investigation Discovery channel comes with all three Sling streaming packages.
What is DirecTV Stream?
DirecTV Stream is also alternative to regular cable, but with more exclusive channel options that Philo does not offer. These channels include ABC, NBC, ESPN, CBS and many more.
At $101.98 a month after its free trial, its base package comes with a little over 75 live channels.
Those interested can check out all of DirecTV Stream’s channel packages here.
Read MoreTrey Amos on transferring twice: ‘I wanted to put myself in a better position’
Trey Amos is the epitome of what it means to be a star athlete in the age of the transfer portal.
He grew up in New Iberia, La., just 21 miles from the campus where he would begin his college career with the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns. After three successful years in the Sun Belt Conference, he jumped at a chance to test himself against the best competition while playing for Nick Saban at Alabama.
But when Saban retired a year later, Amos was on the move again, joining the Ole Miss Rebels for his final college season.
Amos is in Mobile this week competing in the Reese’s Senior Bowl, which takes place Saturday at Hancock Whitney Stadium. And, while he’s proud to be representing the Rebels, he still feels a strong connection to his previous teams.
“Honestly, it’s all love. I didn’t see any beef,” Amos said of his departure from Louisiana then Alabama. “People knew I wanted to put myself in a better position. At the end of the day there’s no bad blood, it’s all love from both schools.”
When Amos began considering a move to Ole Miss, he had many players to turn to for input. That included two players who had followed a similar path.
“Once I hit the portal, Jaxson Dart hit me up and I got to talk to J.J. Pegues,” Amos said. “They were all great guys who brought me in. We all just trusted the process. We knew what we wanted to do.”
Both Dart (the quarterback who originally played for Southern Cal) and Pegues (a former Auburn defensive lineman/tight end/fullback) began their college careers at major programs before landing in Oxford.
That kind of movement is becoming increasingly common in college sports.
“I just feel like you have to put yourself in the best situation you can find,” Amos said. “As a person and as a player as well I showed that I want to become better. I felt that I could play at Alabama. Obviously, it took a lot of hard work and it was a big transition going from the Sun Belt to Alabama, but I made the most of it. I went to Ole Miss after gaining so much knowledge at Bama and added even more knowledge. So, I felt like I got the best out of all three schools that made me grow up.
“When I went to Bama, I felt like I needed to show my talents in the SEC. That showed again this year at Ole Miss. Now I’m going to try to build on that.”
Amos played in 34 games over three years at Louisiana, recording 59 tackles and one interception. At Alabama in 2023, he made 12 tackles while playing in 14 games with one start. He had a breakout year for Ole Miss last season.
He led the Rebels with 13 pass breakups, tied for the team lead with three interceptions and made 50 total tackles. He was first-team All-SEC as voted by the league coaches.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t make the 12-team playoff, but we finished strong,” Amos said. “It was a great season. We had a lot of ups and downs but that didn’t define us. That’s why we went out in that last game with a bang.”
After that 52-20 blowout of Duke in the Gator Bowl, Amos is now ready to begin another transition to the NFL. The journey begins in the Senior Bowl.
“I want to prove I can do it all,” Amos said. “Man coverage. Zone coverage. Come up and tackle. I want to show that I can fly around and be accountable. I’m just a technician and I want to get better at everything, just like I have every step of my career.”
Senior Bowl practices take place Tuesday-Thursday from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. at Hancock Whitney Stadium. Practices are free and open to the public.
Kickoff for the 2025 Senior Bowl is at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, with television coverage on NFL Network. A limited number of tickets for the game remain available, and can be purchased at seniorbowl.com/tickets.
Senior Bowl 2025 game week schedule
Monday, Jan. 27
Fellowship of Christian Athletes Rally, Cottage Hill Baptist Church, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 28
Senior Bowl practices (open to public)
National team, Hancock Whitney Stadium, 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
American team, Hancock Whitney Stadium, noon-2 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 29
Senior Bowl practices (open to public)
National team, Hancock Whitney Stadium, 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
American team, Hancock Whitney Stadium, noon-2 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 30
Senior Bowl practices (open to public)
National team, Hancock Whitney Stadium, 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
American team, Hancock Whitney Stadium, noon-2 p.m.
USA Health Doc Rock, Soul Kitchen, 6:30 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 31
Saints Cheer Krewe clinic, Jaguar Training Center, noon-3 p.m.
— open to high school-aged cheerleaders and dancers
— cost, $75
Friday Night Street Party (Downtown Mobile)
— Player parade, 6 p.m.
— Free concert featuring Eli Young Band & Sammy Kershaw, Cathedral Square, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 1
Senior Bowl Fan Fest (free), South Lawn of Hancock Whitney Stadium, 10:30 a.m.
Legacy Tailgate HBCU Experience (free), South end of Jaguar Training Center, 10:30 a.m.
Path to the Draft players walk, outside Hancock Whitney Stadium, 11 a.m.
Senior Bowl game, Hancock Whitney Stadium, 1:30 p.m.
— performances by Jaguar Marching Band & Saints Cheer Krewe
Read MoreFlorida’s Todd Golden cleared after Title IX investigation finds ‘no evidence’ of wrongdoing
Florida men’s basketball coach Todd Golden has been cleared after a four-month Title IX investigation by the school into allegations of sexual exploitation, sexual harassment and stalking.
Golden had continued to coach during the investigation, news of which broke in November following a report by the school’s student newspaper. University spokesman Steve Orlando issued the following statement on Monday:
“The University of Florida takes these matters seriously and works deliberately to ensure that due process is upheld for everyone. After a thorough investigation that included dozens of interviews over the past months, the University of Florida has found no evidence that Todd Golden violated Title IX. The Title IX office has closed its investigation.”
According to a report by the Independent Alligator, the 39-year-old Golden — who is married — was the subject of a Title IX complaint filed Sept. 27 by an “undefined” number of women. Among other things, Golden was alleged to have sent photos and videos of his genitalia to women, making unwanted sexual advances via Instagram, requesting sexual favors, taking photos of women without their consent and then sending the pictures to them, and “showing up to locations where he knew the women would be.”
The university cited federal law in declining to comment previously on the investigation, while Golden acknowledged its existence and indicated he might be seeking legal action. On Monday, Golden’s attorney, William Shepherd of the West Palm Beach firm of Holland & Knight, released a more extensive statement.
“The University’s conclusion proved that the complaint was meritless,” Shepherd wrote in part. … “Coach Golden appreciates the support he and his program have received from so many at the University and from around the country Now that this is concluded, Coach can continue to focus on the basketball season and consider his legal option in the offseason — but now it’s time to move forward.”
Florida is enjoying its best season in a decade, currently 18-2 and ranked No. 5 nationally heading into Saturday’s game at No. 6 Tennessee.
Read MoreTuberville blames school shootings on attention deficit drugs: ‘We are so chemically dependent’
U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R. Ala.. says mental health disorders and the over prescription of medications to treat them are to blame for the drastic increase in school shootings over the last thirty years.
But mental health researchers argue that other factors like gun access are more responsible for these crimes.
“I have seen kids’ attitudes change,” Tuberville said in a recent interview with Nicole Shanahan.
“I dealt with 120 a year for 35 years, and it was just devastating to watch it creep and then just run into our system in terms of kids that were having problems.”
Tuberville said that during his time as a football coach, he began to notice more students coming in each year that were being treated for ADD or ADHD.
“We are so chemically dependent, and it’s now starting with our younger kids,” he said.
“All the attention deficit drugs. Anything that our parents used to handle without drugs, we’ve gotten away from that.”
“Everything is drug dependency, and we can’t stay down this path. Because who knows what these drugs are going to do to you.”
Shanahan said this drug dependency was the cause of school shootings in America, which have increased by more than twelve times in the last 50 years, according to the American College of Surgeons.
“The school shooters … if you just take a random sampling, almost all of them are on prescription medications,” she said.
“These individuals are being led to do such an egregious act against humanity, the most innocent amongst us, children in a school setting.”
“These school shootings, they are not because of issues around the Second Amendment at all. They’re issues around how we medicate young people in our country.”
Tuberville agreed.
“It’s not a Second Amendment problem whatsoever. It is a mental health problem … that nobody wants to address.” “They want more and more drugs put in these kids instead of finding out what in the world is going on.”
Viral posts claiming that “psych meds are linked to 90% of school shootings” were debunked by multiple researchers in 2023.
“Available studies suggest a minority of school shooters were prescribed medication prior to committing their crimes,” reads a previous article from USA TODAY.
A 2022 study conducted by Columbia University’s Department of Psychiatry found that there’s no evidence of a link between medication and shootings.
“SSRIs, and psych meds in general, are not responsible for mass shootings or violence in any way,” Dr. Ragy Girgis, who led the study, wrote in a 2023 email to USA TODAY.
“Not only are a small minority of mass shooters … taking therapeutic doses of these medications at the time of the mass shootings, but these psych meds have specific anti-violence properties.”
Girgis continued, “what that means is that, if a mass murderer happens to be taking a psychiatric medication, the medication was probably incidental, as is nearly all mental illness when present among mass murderers.”
James Densley, the co-founder of the Violence Project, which tracks mass shootings in the U.S., said in the same article “All because someone was prescribed an SSRI doesn’t mean (a) they were taking it and (b) the SSRIs caused them to perpetrate their crime.”
“This is a case of correlation, not causation, and one factor of many in the life histories of mass shooters,” he said.
Columbia’s study also adds that mental illness in general, medicated or not, accounts for “a very small proportion of perpetrators of mass shootings in the U.S.”
“First, understand that mental illness as the primary cause of any mass murder, especially mass shooting, is uncommon,” reads a 2022 interview with Girgis on the Columbia website.
“Half of all mass shootings are associated with no red flags—no diagnosed mental illness, no substance use, no history of criminality, nothing.”
“They’re generally committed by middle-aged men who are responding to a severe and acute stressor, so they’re not planned, which makes them very difficult to prevent,” Girgis continued. “So, we must look much further upstream.”
“This is why it is important to consider ways to manage gun availability, for example.”
And while the Child Mind Institute and the National Institutes of Health have stated that it becomes more difficult to gather data on the long-term effects of ADHD medications after two years, several researchers have published studies investigating the question.
Rachel Klein, PhD, a professor of psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine, and a group of colleagues did a two-year controlled study of more than 100 school-aged kids back in the late 1970s and then followed up with them repeatedly over 33 years, according to an article published by the Child Mind Institute.
Most are now 41 years old, and those who took ADHD medication showed no negative effects, in terms of medical health or other functioning, compared to those who didn’t.
“Dr. Klein notes that we don’t know for sure what the long-term effects of this medication on the brain might be, because of the great difficulty of treating patients a scientifically systematic way for a long time, and of measuring the results,” the article reads.
“But she adds that parents have to weigh the unknowns of long-term use against the known risks of not treating ADHD in children: a higher rate of school failure, conflict with parents and authorities, and dangerous behaviors.”
Read MoreCountry music singer cuts performance short, asks for forgiveness
Parker McCollum tried his best to get through his performance Saturday at State College, Pa., on Saturday, but, in the end, he called it.
The country music singer, in the middle of his 2025 What Kinda Man Tour, cut his performance short after fighting through an illness.
“I’m going to call the show,” he said during the concert, per Taste of Country. “I’ll give each and every single one of y’all your money back.
“It is from the deepest part of my heart that I apologize for having to do this. I’ve never done this in all the years that I’ve been singing country music. I hope you guys will forgive us.”
McCollum also took to social media to express his disappointment.
“I was getting pretty sick before the show and tried to make it through,” McCollum explained on Instagram. “Sadly, I couldn’t make it happen. Definitely not how we wanted the show to go, but we are going to make it up to you very soon.”
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.
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