General News

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Chipotle is giving away free food during the Super Bowl

Chipotle fans are in for some good news. The Tex-Mex chain has announced that it will reward to 50,000 free entrees to fans watching the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 9.

According to the restaurant chain, when “something extra” happens during the game, Chipotle will drop a text-to-claim code via a tweet from @ChipotleTweets on X and a story from @Chipotle on Instagram, reports USA TODAY.

Examples of “extra” events include:

  • The team on offense converts on a fourth down play
  • The team on offense successfully kicks an extra point
  • The team on offense scores a two-point conversion
  • Any other event that takes place during the game which Chipotle determines is an “extra” event

The day after the Super Bowl, Chipotle Rewards members can get a free side of guac and queso blanco with the purchase of any entrée. The deal is available exclusively on the Chipotle app and Chipotle.com with promo code “EXTRA25.

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Family of 14-year-old killed in Alabaster ATV accident seeks help to send his body back to El Salvador

The family of a teen boy killed in a weekend ATV crash is asking for help to return his body to El Salvador.

Anderson Gutierrez, 14, died Sunday in Alabaster. He was a student at Columbiana Middle School.

The wreck happened just before 9:30 a.m. on May View Court. Authorities say the young driver lost control of the ATV.

Alabaster police and medics arrived at the scene to find Anderson unconscious and receiving CPR. He was rushed to Shelby Baptist Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

A second juvenile was taken to the hospital as a precaution.

“Our condolences and prayers are with the family during this time of tragedy,’’ Chief Curtis Rigney said in a prepared statement. “We are also praying for the community, officers, paramedics and others involved in this tragic incident.”

The family has launched a GoFundMe.

“We are the Gutierrez Lopez family, we are living the most difficult tragedy of losing a 14-year-old son, Anderson Gutierrez, in a tragic accident,’’ the fundraising site reads. “We are asking for your help to be able to repatriate the body to El Salvador.”

“We are grateful for the support of so many families who are living with us today in this pain, any help, even the slightest, will be of great help to be able to carry out this painful process for everyone,’’ the GoFundMe says. “God bless you and thank you very much.”

Donations to the GoFundMe can be made here.

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Honda is recalling nearly 295,000 vehicles due to software error

Honda is recalling nearly 295,000 vehicles in the United States due to a software error that may cause the engine to stall or lose power.

The auto manufacturer is recalling certain 2022-2025 Acura MDX Type-S, 2023-2025 Honda Pilot, and 2021-2025 Acura TLX Type-S vehicles. A software error in the fuel injection electronic control unit may cause an engine stall or a loss of power, according to an announcement from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Citing a news release from Honda, USA TODAY reports that due to improper programming of the fuel injection electronic control unit, “sudden changes in the throttle could illuminate the check engine light and cause the engine to lose drive power, hesitate and/or stall,” increasing the risk of a crash or injury.

Honda dealers will reprogram the FI-ECU software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed March 17, 2025. Consumers with questions should contact Honda’s customer service at 1-888-234-2138.

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Sen. Britt’s bill would support rural maternity care: ‘Alabama women deserve access’

U.S. Sen. Katie Britt has reintroduced a bill to improve obstetrics care in rural communities, as part of a bipartisan effort to address a growing crisis.

The Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act would create programs to:

  • Help non-specialists respond to emergencies like labor and delivery
  • Provide federal grants for rural facilities to buy better equipment to train for and handle these emergencies
  • Develop a pilot telehealth program so that a doctor at a rural facility can quickly consult with maternal health care experts

“Alabama women deserve access to high-quality care throughout their pregnancy journeys, no matter their zip code. The Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act would equip rural hospitals with the tools, training, and resources to deliver urgent obstetric care throughout Alabama,” said Britt, Alabama’s junior senator, in a news release.

Over a third of Alabama counties are classified as “maternity care deserts,” according to a 2023 report by March of Dimes. That means women in 23 of Alabama’s 67 counties don’t have access to birthing centers or maternity care providers.

On average, women in Alabama had to travel about 18 miles to the nearest hospital to give birth, the report found.

The state has also lost nearly a quarter of its birthing hospitals in the last few years. In the fall of 2023, three Alabama hospitals announced closures of their labor and delivery departments, leaving both Shelby and Monroe counties without labor and delivery services. Last year, one of the last remaining birthing units in southern Alabama at Grove Hill Memorial Hospital closed.

The lack of access to maternal health care in the state has had devastating impacts for both mothers and their children.

Alabama has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the nation at 38.6 deaths per 100,000 births. The national average is 22.3 per 100,000. In 2023, Alabama’s infant mortality rate reached the highest it’s been since 2016.

Of the nearly 58,000 babies born last year, 449 did not reach 1 year old, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health. That’s a rate of 7.8 deaths for every 1,000 births and a big spike from 2022.

State Health Officer Scott Harris said in response to the infant mortality rate that “a possible reason is limited access to prenatal care and the proximity of hospitals to where these mothers live.”

According to her Senate office, Britt has previously helped secure funding for rural hospitals throughout the state, including $2.6 million for Helen Keller Hospital to replace generators, $3.9 million for the City of Talladega to support rural emergency services, $2 million for medical equipment at Atmore Community Hospital and $2.5 million for the Huntsville Hospital Health System to purchase additional ambulances to serve counties across north Alabama.

Britt is sponsoring the Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act alongside Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.). The legislation was first introduced in April 2024 but it did not receive a vote and gained little traction after it was referred to a Senate committee.

Britt said in a statement that the bill is “critical, bipartisan legislation to support moms and families across our nation.”

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Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts: ‘My father always told me I had this it factor’

The ocean of media members at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans for Super Bowl Opening Night swelled around the podium of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts as he sat for one hour fielding questions on Monday.

Some asked him about the Kansas City Chiefs defense and the importance of establishing the running game in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday.

Others wanted to know Hurts’ favorite Bible verse (John 13:7), his top cereal (Fruit Loops and Apple Jacks as a child) and how many Krabby Patties he could eat (one).

But for those seeking to discover the secret of the former Alabama standout’s success as he approaches his second Super Bowl start in his fourth season as an NFL QB 1, the bottom-line answer might have been: his parents.

“I think it’s just the determination, the will to work, the will to win,” Hurts said. “It’s something that’s been a constant throughout my journey, and I think that’s something my parents instilled into me. When I put my eyes on something, I’m not stopping until I get it. It takes great perseverance, it takes a mentality and it takes a person who has high values and high character. But all of it has to come together.

“And so I’ve been able to learn from all my experiences. Being a coach’s kid, watching that whole experience from a child’s point of view and then growing into a teen and growing into a young man, going to Alabama and being at the University of Alabama and just the whole transition to where I am now, I’ve learned so much, I’ve experienced so much, and I always try to take away as much as I can so I can grow. It’s all about growing.”

Hurts was raised by his parents, Pamela and Averion Hurts, a pair of educators, in Channelview, Texas.

“They rooted me to work, to persevere, to have integrity and to be dedicated,” Hurts said. “Those are all characteristics that they’ve always displayed, and it’s been easy to follow them in their footsteps in that regard, so very blessed for them – both of them – and, obviously, very blessed to have this opportunity again.”

Hurts was coached by his father when he played on the Channelview High School football team.

“It’s underrated the role a father can play in your life,” Hurts said on Monday night. “My father always told me I was different. My father always told me I had this ‘it’ factor. And he coaches so many kids and virtually raised so many kids being a head football coach in Houston, he’d seen it, and he always told me, ‘I don’t know what it is, as they say, but you got it.’

“But he never let it get to my head. He encouraged me and he forced me to work, to put the extra work in, to put the extra time in and just having that mentality. And so I say that from the standpoint that the parents I have, the father I have, the mother I have, they instilled that into me, and they made me believe it.”

A standard question for players enduring Super Bowl Opening Night is: Who is your hero?

“I have a ton of heroes,” Hurts said, “and it starts with my parents.”

Hurts said his parents were his heroes because of “the things that they’ve been able to instill in me. I’m fortunate to have had the childhood that I had to have these opportunities, to have these moments. It’s been a long journey, a long journey of mentorship, a long journey of learning, and you get to that point where you’re kind of – you’re a boy and you become a man and you’re kind of on your own, and I think my parents have done a great job of that.”

Philadelphia and Kansas City will square off in Super Bowl LIX at 5:30 p.m. CST Sunday at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. FOX will televise the game.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.

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Avian flu has been contained to one north Alabama county, state veterinarian says

A commercial broiler farm in Cullman County is expected to soon restart operations after two months of containment and surveillance efforts following an Avian flu outbreak, according to State Veterinarian Dr. Tony Frazier.

“We’ve been on site at that farm every day in Cullman County, it has gone well there,” Frazier told WBRC this week.

“There has been, no what we call ‘lateral spread movement’ of the virus from that farm to neighboring or nearby farms.”

In December more than 100,000 birds were killed at the Cullman County farm and a backyard flock in Pickens County after highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was confirmed at the two sites.

Both sites were quarantined and all birds at those locations — about 116,000 broiler chickens in Cullman and 70 guineafowl, ducks, turkeys and chickens in Pickens — were killed to prevent spread of the disease, according to the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries.

All poultry within a 6.2-mile radius of the broiler farm was then tested and monitored for HPAI.

“Those guys at that diagnostic lab were the heroes, because… they were running these samples seven days a week,” said Frazier told WBRC.

He told the station that the Cullman farm is undergoing final testing this week.

Efforts to reach Frazier for comment were not immediately successful.

While cases in Alabama have been contained for the time being, bird flu is continuing to spread rapidly across the U.S.

Over the last three years, 145 million chickens, ducks, turkeys and other fowl have been killed to stop the spread across, according to a report from USA Today.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 67 people have also been infected within the last year.

One person infected with the bird flu died in Louisiana on Jan. 6, USA Today reports.

The patient was over 65 and became ill after contact with a combination of a backyard flock and wild birds, according to the Louisiana Department of Public Health.

Bird flu is typically considered a low risk to human health, according to the CDC.

But the disease is highly contagious to birds, including commercial and backyard poultry flocks.

Symptoms of HPAI include:

  • Sudden increase in bird deaths in your flock
  • Sneezing, gasping for air, coughing and nasal discharge
  • Watery and green diarrhea
  • Lack of energy and poor appetite
  • Drop in egg production or soft or thin-shelled, misshaped eggs
  • Swelling of the head, eyelids, comb, wattles and hocks
  • Purple discoloration of the wattles, comb and legs
  • Ruffled feathers, listlessness and lethargy

The Agriculture Department has urged the commercial poultry industry and backyard flock owners in the state to increase biosecurity measures to protect their operations from HPAI.

Those measures include:

  • Cleaning vehicles and equipment
  • Limiting unnecessary visitors
  • Sanitizing shoes in clean foot baths
  • Changing clothes upon contact with birds and more.

People should avoid contact with sick or dead poultry or wildlife.

If contact occurs, wash your hands and change clothing before having any contact with poultry and wild birds.

More information on biosecurity measures can be found here: http://healthybirds.aphis.usda.gov.

Sick or dead wild birds should be reported to the Alabama Department of Natural Resources and Conservation at 334-242-3469.

Sick or dead domestic birds should be reported to the Agriculture Department’s Poultry Unit at 334-240-6584.

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61-year-old man hit by two vehicles, killed while walking on east Alabama road

A 61-year-old east Alabama man died after he was hit by two vehicles while walking on a Calhoun County road.

Alabama State Troopers identified the victim as Herbert M. Blair. He lived in Oxford.

The wreck happened at 6 p.m. Monday on Alabama 202, about three miles west of Anniston.

Senior Trooper Vu Quang said Blair was walking in the roadway when he was hit by a Nissan Maxima driven by 37-year-old Norma Herrera. After the initial collision, Blair was then struck by a Honda HR-V driven by Michelle Gamble, 34.

Blair was pronounced dead on the scene.

The investigation is ongoing by troopers.

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Mobile utility permanently closes Big Creek Lake over invasive species concerns

Mobile Area Water and Sewer Service, the utility providing drinking water for most Mobile County residents, is closing Big Creek Lake to recreational boating and fishing, effective immediately.

“Protecting our drinking water supply is our top priority,” Bud McCrory, director of MAWSS, said in a news release. “While we recognize the impact this may have on recreational users, the closure is necessary to mitigate risks posed by invasive species and to ensure that Big Creek Lake remains a safe and reliable source of drinking water for generations to come.”

Big Creek Lake is the source of drinking water for MAWSS customers. The utility has struggled to protect the lake from invasive species in the past, primarily Giant Salvinia, a floating fern that creates mats on the surface of the water, blocking sunlight for other aquatic plants and disrupting the water quality.

For nearly a year from 2021 to 2022, MAWSS closed Big Creek Lake to recreational use while the utility tried to combat Giant Salvinia in the lake.

When the lake re-opened to recreation, MAWSS took steps to prevent another salvinia outbreak, including requiring users to wash their boats before entering the lake and limiting the hours the lake was open.

“Despite these efforts, the closure is now viewed as the most effective and sustainable solution to protect the lake and the drinking water supply,” the news release said.

A mat of Giant Salvinia covering the surface water. The fern blocks sunlight from reaching aquatic plants under water. (Photo courtesy Laura Frost)Laura Frost

Big Creek Lake provides around 41 million gallons of drinking water per day. Around 70% of Mobile County residents are served by the lake.

There are other threats to Big Creek Lake as well. Last year, the MAWSS board of directors passed a resolution allowing the city of Mobile to annex the lake and “the area surrounding Big Creek Lake.” Candace Cooksey, a spokesperson for Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, said at the time annexing the lake and surrounding watershed would be to bring it under the city’s zoning regulations to protect from any future industrial development.

But those efforts stalled following pushback from nearby residents, who were afraid any annexation would lead to their property being annexed as well. And Cooksey said the city did not have a pathway to annex the lake yet.

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Blue Origin rocket flies 30 payloads into space — and back

Blue Origin’s suborbital rocket took a 10-minute flight into space and back Tuesday with science experiments on board to support NASA’s new moon program.

The company’s New Shepard rocket lifted off from a west Texas launch pad just after 10 a.m. Central. The crew capsule separated from the booster about 2 minutes later, and the latter soon made a powered touchdown at a nearby landing pad.

The capsule, carrying 30 science payloads, landed in the desert 10 minutes after liftoff, slowed by parachutes and a final nudge from its retrorockets. Blue Origin builds and tests its rocket engines in Huntsville. Some of its engines are also used on United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rockets.

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Mountain Brook’s Anna Claire Howland: ‘Cruel Kids Table’ article ‘a total dishonest report’

Mountain Brook’s Anna Claire Howland has taken to TikTok to share her perspective after gaining national attention on the cover of a New York Magazine edition titled “The Cruel Kids’ Table” with her sister, mother, and other Donald Trump inauguration partygoers.

“It’s a total dishonest report of the inauguration party I was at,” Howland said.

The cover became a source of controversy among conservatives after the event’s host, former University of Alabama student CJ Pearson, said the publication cropped black people out of the photo “to push the media narrative that diverse Republicans don’t exist.”

Elon Musk posted to X with a similar opinion.

Howland said in her TikTok that Pearson had “done a great job debunking” the article.

She added that she was “flattered by all the support” she has received on social media in recent weeks for her appearance on the cover, which started getting attention on X after Barstool’s Jack Mac posted that the image of Howland was his “Roman empire.”

A senior at Southern Methodist University in Texas, Howland said she plans to pursue a law career after college and “eventually live in D.C.”

“So being in D.C. for the inauguration weekend was incredible, and I’ll be back at the end of February for CJ’s next event,” she said.

She encouraged people with questions to reach out to her on social media.

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