Stanley has officially introduced an all new line of Quencher H2.0 FlowState Tumblers called the Stanley Fluted Tumbler.
The Stanley Quencher H2.0 Fluted 40-ounce Tumbler is a line of metallic, gloss and matte Stanley cups with new ribbed designs. The collection features seven earth-toned designs including: Cream Gloss, Gunmetal Shine, Wisteria Shine, Marina Shine, Ash Gloss, Black and Twilight Gloss.
Stanley Quencher H2.0 Fluted 40-ounce Tumbler – $50
The Stanley Quencher H2.0 Fluted 40-ounce Tumbler is available in seven total designs.
“Bring a new, dynamic look to any hydration routine with the Quencher® H2.0 Fluted Tumbler. Carefully crafted with a faceted texture in refined, neutral tones and metallic details. Topped with a tinted lid and straw, this is love at first touch,” Stanley states.
Like all of its tumblers, Stanley’s 40-ounce Fluted Quencher keeps drinks cold for hours thanks to its double-wall vacuum insulation. Meanwhile, the versatile FlowState™ 3-position lid has three sip settings: one for the reusable straw, one without and the option to rotate the silicone cover shut. It also fits right in one’s car cupholder while on the go.
South Alabama has picked up a transfer portal commitment from offensive lineman Jaylen Booker, who spent last season on the FCS level at Bethune-Cookman.
The 6-foot-5, 300-pound Booker did not see action for the Wildcats in 2024. A native of Jacksonville, Fla., he has four years of eligibility remaining.
Booker announced his commitment via social media:
Booker joins a South Alabama program that lost both starting tackles — Malachi Carney and Jordan Davis — to the transfer portal. Among those players set to return at the position in 2025 are senior Daniel Foster-Allen and sophomores Adrian Griffin and Ethan Hubbard.
Booker is South Alabama’s fourth portal signee during the current cycle, along with quarterback Zach Pyron (Minnesota), cornerback Nehemiah Chandler (Georgia Tech) and defensive tackle Stephen Johnson (McNeese). The Jaguars are expected to add a half-dozen or more transfers before summer workouts begin at the end of May.
South Alabama finished 7-6 in 2024, its third consecutive winning season.
Move over, beads and king cake — Mardi Gras is hitting the rails.
The long-standing Gulf Coast rivalry between Mobile and New Orleans over who threw the first Mardi Gras party now has a new twist: both cities will soon be bookending a brand-new Amtrak line named in honor of the raucous pre-Lenten celebration.
Amtrak announced Thursday that its upcoming twice-daily service between Mobile and New Orleans — with four stops in coastal Mississippi — will be dubbed the “Mardi Gras Service.”
Amtrak President Roger Harris called the name a “natural choice” that captures the region’s “distinctive culture.”
“Travel should be about more than just getting somewhere,” Harris said. “Our goal is to have some of that festive Mardi Gras feeling on every trip, sharing the culture of the Gulf Coast region while connecting with the rest of the Amtrak network.”
Arriving soon
An Amtrak passenger train rolls up to the site in downtown Mobile, Ala., where a future train platform will be built to service Gulf Coast service. The train served as a backdrop to a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, to commence the work needed before Amtrak service can restart sometime in early 2025, between Mobile to New Orleans with four stops in coastal Mississippi.John Sharp
“Mobile and New Orleans have always shared a rich cultural heritage and renewing Amtrak service will strengthen our ties to the Crescent City and the Mississippi Gulf Coast,” Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson said. “We are so excited to welcome new visitors from those communities when the Amtrak Mardi Gras Service launches later this year. It will be an asset to our citizens and another enhancement to Mobile’s growing downtown waterfront.”
Public officials say the naming goes beyond a “shared cultural heritage,” by claiming it will bolster the economies in both cities and along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
“This new service strengthens our city’s ties with our neighbors across the Gulf while creating jobs and expanding opportunity throughout the district and the State of Alabama,” said U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Mobile.
The map for the Amtrak Mardi Gras Service.submitted by Amtrak
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said route’s name also “represents renewed investment in our infrastructure, our tourism industry, and the everyday mobility of our residents.”
“The return of intercity Amtrak service between New Orleans and Mobile is a monumental win for our region,” she said. “This is how we move our city and our region forward – together.”
In Mississippi, Mardi Gras doesn’t produce nearly the same Carnival season festivities and traditions as the holiday does in New Orleans and Mobile. But officials in Mississippi recognized that the holiday represents a closely shared connection along the Gulf Coast.
The route includes stops in Pascagoula, Biloxi, Gulfport and Bay St. Louis.
“Though the Mississippi Gulf Coast is heavily influence by neighboring Mobile and New Orleans, each of Mississippi’s coastal cities has its own unique charm and traditions, especially when it comes to our two great passions – festivities and food,” said Charles Busby, Mississippi Transportation Commissioner for the Southern Transportation District.
The route ends at Union Station in New Orleans, where Amtrak passengers can continue with same-day connections in both directions aboard the City of New Orleans trains between New Orleans and Chicago via Memphis. Amtrak Mardi Gras Service guests will also be able to make next-day connections in New Orleans to Amtrak Crescent trains to and from New York via Atlanta, and Amtrak Sunset Limited trains to and from Los Angeles via Tucson, San Antonio and Houston.
Long-time coming
The Excelsior Band plays as Mobile, Ala., residents welcome the Amtrak inspection train as it travels from New Orleans, La., to Bay St. Louis and eventually on to Florida on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016. (file photo)
Amtrak’s Mardi Gras Service is a revival, of sorts, of the Gulf Coast passenger rail connection that existed with the long-distance Sunset Limited. Amtrak service has been suspended along the Gulf Coast since Hurricane Katrina damaged much of the line nearly 20 years ago.
The storm destroyed a former train station that serviced the Amtrak service in downtown Mobile. Work crews are currently on the scene at the same spot adjacent to Cooper Riverside Park, building the train stop that will service passengers in Mobile.
The path to getting the train officially named has been a long and often arduous one for passenger rail supporters who have spent years getting support from state governments, freight rail operators and the Alabama State Port Authority.
A much-celebrated inspection train ran between New Orleans and Mobile back in 2016, more than nine years ago.
Disputes involving Amtrak and a host of entities led to a stalling of the project, and a legal proceeding before the U.S. Surface Transportation Board.
That dispute pitted Amtrak against the freight operators along the line – CSX, Norfolk Southern — and the Alabama State Port Authority, which expressed concerns over the impact of additional passenger trains to their operations north of downtown Mobile. But an agreement involving all the sides in the case was reached in November 2022, enabling the process to begin toward getting the service started.
Also slowing the process down was gathering the financial support from the three states connected to the route — Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. In Alabama, unlike in Mississippi and Louisiana, much of that support came from the Mobile City Council, which voted in August to provide an operational subsidy for three years.
“This is a step forward in the restoration process of Gulf Coast rail,” said U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican who has been the biggest champion for the project in Congress. “I am grateful to Amtrak for helping restore this line after nearly two decades of no service.”
Knox Ross, chairman of the Southern Rail Commission, a passenger rail advocacy group that has played a critical role in getting the project to move forward, said he’s ready to see the route become a reality.
“It’s incredibly exciting to announce the name for this new service that will have such a positive impact in our three states,” he said.
After a three-year partnership with Peacock, one of the most popular streaming services on the market, Hallmark is removing its content from the streaming platform and saying goodbye on Thursday, May 1.
Though the partnership end date is fast approaching, there’s still time to binge your favorite Hallmark original TV series and movies before its content leaves the platform.
For those who have yet to stream Hallmark’s content through Peacock, fan-favorite series such as When Calls the Heart, The Way Home, The Chicken Sisters and more are available for streaming. Those who gravitate to Hallmark’s beloved movies can stream new releases on-demand for 72 hours after its initial release and are available at additional times when airing on Hallmark Channels.
Though Hallmark may be bowing out of Peacock’s impressive lineup of networks, there are still a ton of popular networks still available for streaming on the platform including NBC, Bravo, MSNBC and more. Whether you’re searching for news, sports, or true crime, Peacock offers plenty of networks to enjoy.
In addition to access to networks like those mentioned above, Peacock is known for producing incredible Peacock Originals such as Long Bright River, TheTraitors, Poker Face, and, recently, has become the home of the hit Law & Order spinoff series Law & Order: Organized Crime, marking the first time a Law & Order series has been exclusive to a streaming service.
Despite the upcoming loss of the Hallmark network and its content, Peacock is still considered a strong and capable alternative to traditional cable service problems. New and exciting content arrives each month, both from cherished networks and from the streaming service itself.
Peacock’s plans and pricing
One of the qualities that makes Peacock stand out against other streaming platforms is its plans and its pricing. Peacock subscribers can enjoy a world of entertainment including hit movies and TV shows, while also exploring the platform’s extensive collection of originals.
Currently, Peacock offers two plans to choose from including their premium plan for $7.99 a month and their premium plus plan for $13.99 a month.
The premium plan is the most popular package and offers subscribers access to live sporting events, new and hit TVB shows and movies, Peacock Originals and more.
The premium plus plan comes with everything included in the premium plan along with the ability to download and watch select titles offline. Through this plan, subscribers can also stream local NBC channels live at any time. Unlike the premium plan, this plan does not support ads.
Work is expected to begin this summer on a $32.7 million project at Pryor Field Regional Airport in Tanner on an aircraft maintenance hangar.
The project is expected to create 50 aviation-related jobs in three years, organizers say.
Alaska-based Aleut Real Estate has secured a ground lease at the airport in Limestone County for the hangar, in a project with Strata-G Solutions, a Huntsville design engineering firm.
The development is expected to follow an 18-month timeline, with hangar completion anticipated in early 2027.
Aleut is working with Fite Building Company as the design-build contractor to lead the project.
Once completed the hangar will support maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for U.S. Defense Department and commercial aviation clients.
This is Aleut Real Estate’s first development project in the state of Alabama.
“With growing demand for aviation and defense support infrastructure in the Huntsville area, Pryor Field is a strategic starting point,” Michael Jenks of Aleut Real Estate said. “We’re especially proud to be working alongside Limestone County and Strata-G to shape a facility that meets both regional needs and operational goals.”
Both ARE and Strata-G were granted tax abatements by Limestone County to assist with project startup costs.
The project also aligns with the airport’s southwest expansion plan. Limestone County and the State of Alabama provided support for the project.
It’s been an up and down journey full of twists and turns, but former Alabama linebacker Quandarrius “Que” Robinson is one the verge of what he hopes will be a long career in professional football.
Robinson was one of the top special-teams performers in the SEC during his time in Tuscaloosa, with none less than Nick Saban once saying he was one of the best he’d ever coached in the kicking game. In the latest edition of AL.com’s award-winning “Road to the Pros” video series, Robinson talks in-depth about his Alabama career, life growing up in the Pratt City area of Birmingham and his NFL dreams, to which he knows special teams hold the key.
“I’m really hungry and eager to get to … whatever team I get to, and work my butt off to the best of my ability,” Robinson said. “And that’s gonna start with special teams. …There have been so many games won or lost based on special teams.”
Robinson also talks about the “tough love” he received from his mother and two younger sisters, first committing to Auburn before signing with Alabama, the 2021 DUI arrest that he said helped turn his career around and his decision not to transfer following Saban’s retirement. He also discusses his tumultuous 2024 season, in which he finally broke into the starting lineup but also dealt with the death of his father and a season-ending elbow injury in November.
Hit the link above to watch the entire video, directed by AL.com’s Laura Goldman.
NASA scientists were recently able to alert emergency services in Castleberry to a 120-acre field fire after they spotted it on a large imaging spectrometer.
The sensor—AVIRIS-3—was flying on board a research plane three miles east of Castleberry on March 19, when it picked up the unnoticed fire, according to a report from Newsweek.
“A scientist on board analyzed the data and was able to map out where the blaze was burning most intensely—in this case, the northeastern edge—and the information was immediately sent to emergency workers on the ground who set off to contain the fire,” the report reads.
NASA told the publication that the process—from detection to alerting firefighters—only took a few minutes due to Airborne satellite internet connectivity.
“Fire moves a lot faster than a bulldozer, so we have to try to get around it before it overtakes us,” Ethan Barrett, fire analyst for the Forest Protection Division of the Alabama Forestry Commission, told Newsweek.
“These maps show us the hot spots.”
“When I get out of the truck, I can say, ‘OK, here’s the perimeter,’” he continued.
“That puts me light-years ahead.”
AVIRIS-3 uses three types of maps: one showing burned areas and smoke, another looking for spots burning particularly hot, including perimeters of ongoing blazes, and another to identify the intensity of the burning, according to the NASA website.
Last month the AVIRIS team used the sensor to map at least 13 wildfires in real time, according to comments from Robert Green, the AVIRIS program’s principal investigator and senior research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The city of Huntsville is moving forward with plans to expand the U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum at John Hunt Park.
The Huntsville Planning Commission approved the location, character and extent of the expansion at its meeting on Tuesday. The city intends to bid the project within 90 days, with an anticipated 16-month construction timeline. The museum is a component of the John Hunt Park master plan.
The expansion will increase the capacity of the museum from about 12,000 square feet to about 25,700 square feet, according to Jason Phillips of J.M. Phillips Engineering, which is involved with the project.
The expansion will include a new building north of the existing building. A parking area and an outdoor exhibit space for some of the military vehicles are also included in the project, as is lighting for the museum displays. The expansion includes space to host outdoor events.
The majority of the area in the new building will be exhibit space, but there will also be an administrative office area and conference rooms. The new facility will have roll-up doors.
“Some of the vehicles on display are brought out for parades and other events,” Phillips said. “This will have capabilities to bring them in and out of the building.”
The museum opened two months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. It exists to honor all who have served and to support veterans activities, events and organizations, Randy Withrow, museum director said on the city website. “The museum has thousands of artifacts, all serving as tributes to those who have served honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces.”
Artifacts mostly date from World War I to now, but the museum also includes items dating back to the Revolutionary War. Original French Charleville and British “Brown Bess” muskets are on display, while another exhibit features weapons from the Civil War.
Other collections include individual medals, military vehicles and aircraft. Visitors can even “go aboard” Alabama’s “40&8” World War I French military boxcar, a gift to Alabama from France.
For military vehicle enthusiasts, the museum features the oldest ancestor of the vehicle that became known as the jeep – the 1940 Ford “Pygmy” pilot model. The museum’s military jeep collection is without equal, featuring everything from prototypes up to the Humvee. If aircraft is more your speed, the museum has a MASH Korean War helicopter as well as a Vietnam-era Huey chopper.
The museum acquires its artifacts from a range of sources, including private collections, donations and loans from the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. Most museum patrons are from the U.S., but Withrow said it has welcomed international visitors.
Other John Hunt Park projects
The museum expansion is one of the growing number of projects at John Hunt Park.
The city is spending $2.5 million on upgrades to the pavilion at the sand volleyball complex at John Hunt Park. The work will include adding a second floor to the existing open-air pavilion and other improvements to the facility. The project will be completed in two phases, with construction beginning this spring and finishing by fall 2026.
The city broke ground last fall on a 60,580-square-foot recreation center that will include four full-size gyms with regulation basketball courts that can be configured into as many as eight regulation volleyball courts. The main building will house a fitness room and multipurpose activity rooms.
The recreation center is rising on about 8.5 acres north of Joe Davis Stadium. Fite Building Company of Decatur is the general contractor on the $18.5 million facility, with William M. Boehme & Associates handling architectural work. Construction is expected to last until December.
The tennis center at the park is also being expanded. The expansion will include building 10 hard courts with lighting and converting six existing hard courts to clay courts. The project also includes a small restroom pavilion to support the courts, additional parking, sidewalks, landscaping, and irrigation.
The city council approved a $4.6 million construction contract with Chorba Contracting Corporation for the project last June.
Construction is expected to take about 16 months. When complete, the Tennis Center will offer 36 soft courts and 10 hard courts for local and tournament play.
