The champion of the NFL’s 105th season will kick off the league’s 106th season with a Thursday night rivalry game.
The Philadelphia Eagles will square off against the Dallas Cowboys to open the NFL’s 2025 campaign, the league announced on Monday. The NFC East rivals will meet at 7:20 p.m. CDT Sept. 4 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
The Eagles have eight former Crimson Tide players on their offseason roster, and both teams drafted Alabama players in the first round on April 24. The Cowboys selected guard Tyler Booker with the 12th choice, and the Eagles picked linebacker Jihaad Campbell with the 31st choice. The players from Alabama high schools and colleges on the rosters of the two teams include:
Philadelphia Eagles
Reed Blankenship, safety, West Limestone
Jihaad Campbell, linebacker, Alabama
Landon Dickerson, guard, Alabama
Bryce Huff, defensive end, St. Paul’s Episcopal
Jalen Hurts, quarterback, Alabama
Cameron Latu, tight end, Alabama
Mac McWilliams, cornerback, UAB
Eli Ricks, cornerback, Alabama
DeVonta Smith, wide receiver, Alabama
Tyler Steen, guard, Alabama
Byron Young, defensive tackle, Alabama
Dallas Cowboys
Tyler Booker, guard, Alabama
Trevon Diggs, cornerback, Alabama
Rivaldo Fairweather, tight end, Auburn
Shemar James, linebacker, Faith Academy
George Pickens, wide receiver, Hoover
Justin Rogers, defensive tackle, Auburn
Jalen Tolbert, wide receiver, McGill-Toolen, South Alabama
Sam Williams, defensive end, Lee-Montgomery
The NFL picked the Cowboys from eight choices for a season-opener in Philadelphia. Also in play were the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants and Washington Commanders.
Two more county judges have ruled against United Methodist motions to dismiss cases by breakaway churches in rural south Alabama.
The churches, Elba Methodist in Coffee County and Crawford Methodist in Russell County, will be allowed to go forward with their lawsuits seeking clear title for their church properties.
The Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church had filed requests for dismissal of the lawsuits, arguing it owns the properties based on the denomination’s trust clause that says it holds “in trust” all properties churches in the denomination.
Coffee County Judge Henry T. Reagan II ruled in favor of Elba Methodist on May 6, keeping alive the church’s request for a clear deed to the property.
Russell County Circuit Judge Zack Collins ruled in favor of Crawford Methodist on May 5, also keeping alive that congregation’s request for a clear title to its property.
Those two rulings came after three similar rulings earlier this month.
On May 1, Dale County Circuit Judge William H. Filmore denied the denomination’s request to dismiss two lawsuits against the conference, one by the Westview Heights congregation and one by Daleville First Methodist Church.
On May 2, Coffee County Circuit Judge Shannon R. Clark denied the denomination’s request to dismiss a lawsuit by Ham Chapel Methodist Church in Elba seeking clear title to its property.
The continuing legal battles come after 44 churches had previously sued the conference as a group in an effort to force the conference to allow them to disaffiliate.
A round of lawsuits by individual churches were filed on Oct. 31 in seven different counties. Breakaway churches are seeking title to their property in more than a dozen ongoing lawsuits against the Alabama-West Florida Conference. In Mobile County, Theodore and Trinity churches sued. In Conecuh County, Baggett Chapel sued. In Clarke County, Coffeeville Church sued. In Coffee County, Elba Methodist Church sued. In Dale County, Pleasant Hill and Westview Heights churches sued. In Houston County, Highland Park Church of Dothan sued. In Lee County, Gold Hill Church sued.
They are making a similar argument, that the congregations own their own property, rather than the conference, which claims to hold it in trust.
The churches say property disputes are subject to civil court jurisdiction.
United Methodist leaders in Alabama say that insurance will cover most of the cost of legal battles that the denomination is involved with, as the Alabama-West Florida Conference resists efforts of churches hoping to leave the denomination and take their property with them.
“We are saddened by churches who seek legal action against the conference,” the conference said in an earlier statement about the ongoing legal action. “We are praying for all involved.”
While the conference is a defendant in many cases, it has also initiated lawsuits in cases where churches left without permission, such as Perdido Bay Methodist.
Waldo’s Chicken & Beer, a growing fast-casual restaurant chain with locations in eight states, opens its second Birmingham-area restaurant today on Montgomery Highway in Vestavia Hills.
Alabama native Mark Waldo, who grew up in Homewood and graduated from the University of Alabama, is the founder and CEO of Waldo’s, which, since its founding in Nashville in 2019, has grown to 25 locations.
Waldo’s serves fried and rotisserie chicken — from tenders and wings to sandwiches and salads – as well as a selection of made-from-scratch sides and a variety of craft beers and cocktails.
Before you go, here are a few things to know about Waldo’s founder and CEO and the brand that, somewhat reluctantly, bears his name.
Mark Waldo, a Homewood native and University of Alabama graduate, is the CEO of Waldo’s Chicken & Beer.(Photo courtesy of Waldo’s Chicken & Beer; used with permission)
Growing up in Homewood
The son of a pediatrician and a dentist, Mark Waldo got his first paying job at 14, tuning concertinas for musician Bob Tedrow at Homewood Musical Instruments.
“I used to ride my bike to Homewood Musical Instruments,” Waldo remembers. “The concept of having a job, working with Bob, and going home with a lot of cash in my hand was like really cool. It immediately resonated.”
Later, he got his first taste of the restaurant business busing tables, washing dishes and sweeping floors at various Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q locations around Birmingham.
After earning his business degree from the University of Alabama in 2008, Waldo helped a friend build, open and manage The Bear Trap, a bar and grill on the Strip in Tuscaloosa.
“I ran that for about two years and then realized that I didn’t need to be in the bar business for the rest of my life,” he says.
From Tuscaloosa, Waldo moved to New Orleans, where he worked for the Hillstone Restaurant Group at a Houston’s restaurant in the Crescent City.
“Those guys were the most organized group of restaurant operators I’ve ever worked with in my life — the attention to detail, organization, commitment to excellence,” Waldo says. “I really learned a lot from those guys about what the most important things in the hospitality industry are.”
Waldo later left the restaurant business, though, to sell medical devices for a New Orleans start-up company, a job that led him to Nashville, where he started his own business selling medical equipment.
The Waldo’s Chicken & Beer menu includes hand-breaded chicken tenders and hand-cut fries served with house-made dipping sauces.(Photo courtesy of Waldo’s Chicken & Beer; used with permission)
“I drove from Nashville, went to Eva, saw what was going on, and it was chaotic, without a doubt,” he recalls. “But I really saw a great opportunity, and more importantly, I really liked the guys that owned it and the hospitality group behind it.
“I said, ‘Look, if I gotta start working with these guys chasing pigs around in the middle of the morning in Eva, Ala., so be it.’”
In 2017, Fresh Hospitality later sent Waldo to Morgantown, W. Va., to open and manage a fast-casual chicken restaurant concept they called Two Birds in the student union building on the West Virginia University campus.
“That was the first iteration of what is now Waldo’s,” he says. “The two birds were fried chicken and rotisserie chicken. We went into that little food court, and the kids immediately resonated with it.”
The Aramark food service company later bought the food court, and Waldo returned to Nashville with the thought of opening a Two Birds in the Music City.
Waldo’s Chicken & Beer founder Mark Waldo reluctantly agreed to use his last name on the restaurant’s brand.(Image courtesy of Waldo’s Chicken & Beer; used with permission)
Coming up with the name
After receiving a cease-and-desist order from a California restaurant company that had trademarked the name Two Birds, Waldo had to come up with a new name for his chicken business.
His partners at Fresh Hospitality suggested Waldo’s.
“I really didn’t want a namesake brand because this is not my brand,” Waldo says. “It’s our brand, right? It’s my partners’ brand. It’s my investors’ brand, our employees’ brand.
“I did think it was a catchy name, and I did think it was memorable,” he adds. “So, I relented.
“But what we’re not going to do is have my bust up on the wall and have a picture of me with flour all over my apron on the home screen of the web page because that’s not who I am.”
The Chicken Scratch Salad at Waldo’s includes fresh garden greens, a choice of fried or slow-roasted chicken, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, bacon, toasted almonds and house-made croutons with buttermilk ranch.(Photo courtesy of Waldo’s Chicken & Beer; used with permission)
The tornado tore a hole in the restaurant’s roof, but two days later, Waldo’s reopened.
“Our parking lot was taped off with caution tape because the building next door was a collapse hazard,” Waldo remembers. “But we really wanted to be open because a whole community was hurting.”
Then came the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Once again, we really learned a lot about who our team was and who we were as a business and what it was like to deal with adversity,” Waldo says.
The first Birmingham-area location of Waldo’s Chicken & Beer opened in Cahaba Heights in 2022.(Bob Carlton/[email protected])
Coming home to Alabama
Later, after Waldo’s opened a second location in the Nashville suburb of Cool Springs, a young man walked into the restaurant, introduced himself to Waldo and told him he was going to be the operating partner of the first Waldo’s in Birmingham.
It was Casey Atherton, who grew up in Hoover and, after working as a director of operations for a Chick-fil-A franchise in Nashville, was looking for an opportunity to move back home.
“He just walked in my dining room one day and said, ‘I’m gonna be your new operating partner in Birmingham, Ala,’” Waldo remembers. “I said, ‘I got bad news for you. You’ve got a six-month job interview because we’re about to open a store in Franklin. I’m gonna make you run it, and we’ll see what you’re made of.’”
Atherton aced his audition and moved back to Birmingham, opening the Cahaba Heights Waldo’s in August 2022.
“I love somebody that likes to point their own compass,” Waldo says of his Birmingham operating partner. “I had a good feeling immediately that he was the right guy.”
In addition to its two metro Birmingham locations, Waldo’s also has restaurants in Auburn and Dothan. The Pelham location should open sometime this summer.
The chicken tender sandwich with a side of collard greens at Waldo’s Chicken & Beer.(Photo courtesy of Waldo’s Chicken & Beer; used with permission)
About that chicken and beer
The Waldo’s menu features chicken just about any way a guest might want it – from wings to tenders, on sandwiches and in salads, fried and slow-roasted, by the plate or by the bucket – as well as a selection of scratch-made sides that include collard greens, mac and cheese, tomato-cucumber salad, coleslaw and french fries.
“There are a lot of folks out there doing chicken, and there are new ones joining every single day,” Waldo says. “In my mind, there are a lot of things that set us apart. We make everything from scratch every day. The only things we don’t make in-house are the ketchup and the mayonnaise. . . .
“We call ourselves full-service chicken in a fast-casual setting,” he adds. “So, we’ve got wings. We’ve got bone-in. We’ve got rotisserie chicken. We’ve got fried tenders and fried sandwiches. We also have rotisserie sandwiches. We’ve got salads.”
The second half of Waldo’s name is “Beer,” and the selection of about 20 local and regional beers – including brews from Birmingham’s Good People Brewing Company, Cahaba Brewing Company and Avondale Brewing Company, among others – changes weekly.
In addition to beer, Waldo’s offers wine and a cocktail menu that includes everything from a Bloody Mary to a Tennessee Mule, margaritas to mimosas, as well as Waldo’s signature Spiked Slushies.
This humorous riff on the classic Paul “Bear” Bryant Time magazine cover greets guests as they walk into the new Waldo’s Chicken & Beer in Vestavia Hills.(Bob Carlton/[email protected])
Art with a sense of humor
While they come for the chicken and beer, guests at Waldo’s enjoy gazing at the playful pop art that decorates the restaurant walls.
And there’s another that plays off that classic Paul “Bear” Bryant photo that appeared on the cover of Time magazine, but instead of designing plays on a chalkboard, Bryant is drawing chickens.
Other pieces feature scenes from “The Godfather,” “Pulp Fiction” and “The Dark Knight,” as well as such musicians as Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix, Michael Jackson and Willie Nelson – all of which are infused with a little chicken humor.
The art is the clever work of Waldo’s college buddy, Will Denniston.
“He’s an old friend of mine, and he’s a really talented painter,” Waldo says. “When we started opening restaurants, I called him and said, ‘Hey, man, I need some artwork.’’’
And, of course, there’s a “Where’s Waldo?”-inspired piece of art, too.
Waldo’s Chicken & Beer opens today at 1463 Montgomery Highway in Vestavia Hills. The phone is 205-947-1252. For more information, go here.
Waldo’s Chicken & Beer has another location at 3009 Pump House Road, Suite 110, in Cahaba Heights. The phone is 205-635-0002. For more information,go here.
The FBI is warning owners of some internet routers their devices could leave them vulnerable to cyber attacks.
The new bulletin from the FBI’s Cyber Division said some old routers – known as End-of-Life routers or EOLs – have known vulnerabilities that can make them easy to infiltrate and install malware. Then, the routers can be used to “launch coordinated attacks or sell access to the devices as proxy services,” the bulletin noted.
Routers that were made years ago are not supported by vendors with software updates or patches to fix known vulnerabilities. Scammers, aware of this lack of protection, can hijack the routers and then sell off the access.
List of vulnerable devices
If you own one of these devices, the FBI has some advice: get a new one.
“The FBI recommends users replace compromised devices with newer models or prevent infection by disabling remote administration and rebooting the router,” it warned.
Vulnerable devices include:
• E1200
• E2500
• E1000
• E4200
• E1500
• E300
• E3200
• WRT320N
• E1550
• WRT610N
• E100
• M10
• WRT310N
What about password protection?
Password protection won’t be enough to solve the problem, the FBI warned.
“The malware is distributed by targeting vulnerable devices connected to the internet with remote administration turned on,” the notice said. “Even with the remote administration password protected, the threat actors are able to bypass this authentication and gain shell access to the routers.”
Chinese cyber criminals are among those targeting the EOL devices, the FBI said, and could potentially use them to hack into critical infrastructure.
“Well, it really happened,” he said, per PEOPLE. “That’s all I can say. That’s all I’m gonna say. It happened.”
According to the report, Judd explained in a voiceover of her 1993 memoir “Love Can Build a Bridge” she recalled a woman calling their home in Nashville in the 1980s, saying how much “she loved and missed” Strickland.
Judd tore up photos threw his belongings into the yard.
Strickland, per the report, rewatched a scene from the docuseries in which the shooting took place before confirming it happened.
The couple, who married in 1989, stayed together until Judd took her own life in 2022.
“It was a very chaotic, hectic time,” Strickland told PEOPLE of his wife’s last days. “It was extremely hard. She had several therapists that she was seeing, and her energy level had gotten really low.”
Strickland said his wife had gotten “really week” battling depression and anxiety before her death.
“I handled her medications and had to make sure she had what she needed,” he said. “I was trying every way I could.
“If I would have known where she was, I would’ve been much softer on her.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
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.
Social Security recipients will get their benefits payments later than usual in May.
Distribution dates for some 7.4 million people who receive Social Security benefits are later in May than any other month in 2025. The change has to do with a quirk in the calendar.
Typically, Social Security benefits are paid on the second, third and fourth Wednesday of the month based on when you were born. People born on the 1st – 10th of the month are paid on the second Wednesday; 11th-20th paid on the third Wednesday; and 21st-31st on the fourth Wednesday.
In May, the first of the month fell on a Thursday and the first Wednesday of the month on the 7th, pushing the second Wednesday back to the 14th. Other benefits will follow on the 21st and 28th.
People who receive Supplemental Social Security payments – benefits for low-income elderly or people with disabilities – will also see a change this month. SSI is paid on the first of the month and the May benefits went out on schedule May 1. June’s benefits will also be paid in May, arriving on May 30, because June 1 falls on a Sunday.
That means SSI recipients will get two payments in May and none in June.
Beneficiaries who received Social Security before May 1997 or receive both Social Security and SSI have a different schedule. Their SSI is paid on the 1st of the month but their Social Security benefits arrive on the third Wednesday, no matter when their birth date falls.
When it comes to the top baby names, four names reign supreme.
Social Security Administration data shows Olivia and Liam remain the most popular names for girls and boys, respectively, for 2024. Those are followed by Emma for girls and Noah for boys. It’s the sixth year that names have laid claim to the top four positions.
The top 10 girls names in 2024 were:
1. Olivia
2. Emma
3. Amelia
4. Charlotte
5. Mia
6. Sophia
7. Isabella
8. Evelyn
9. Ava
10. Sofia
Mia made a move into the top five, bumping down Sophia, which had been the No. 1 name for girls from 2011-2013. Luna dropped from the top 10 and was replaced by Sofia, which entered at number 10 for the first time.
Top 10 names for boys were:
1. Liam
2. Noah
3. Oliver
4. Theodore
5. James
6. Henry
7. Mateo
8. Elijah
9. Lucas
10. William
Liam has been the top boys name since 2017, falling to number two for three years behind Noah before reclaiming the No. 1 spot.
Social Security began compiling its baby name list in 1997 with names dating back to 1880. Most parents apply for their child’s Social Security number at birth, supplying the child’s name to the agency.
Names increasing most the in popularity
While the top 10 list shows the names that are used the most often, the Social Security Agency also tracks the monikers that are rising in popularity the quickest.
The top 5 girls names that increased the most in popularity in 2024 were:
1. Ailany
2. Aylani
3. Marjorie
4. Scottie
5. Analeia
The top 5 boys names that increased the most in popularity in 2024 were:
An argument between two men in a Mulga neighborhood left one of them dead and the other injured.
Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched just before 5 p.m. Sunday to a report of a person down in the 600 block of Third Avenue. Minor Fire Department and Regional Paramedical Services also responded.
They arrived to find a 40-year-old man injured. He was taken to UAB Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Sheriff’s spokesman Henry Irby said deputies began to search for the suspect. That search ended nearby when they found the 31-year-old man on the ground, also wounded.
The suspect, Irby said, was pronounced dead on the scene.
Irby said the preliminary investigation showed the suspect went to the victim’s home. The two became involved in a verbal altercation that led to shots being fired.
The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 205-325-1450 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
Isolated severe storms will again be possible in part of Alabama on Monday as an unsettled, soggy stretch of days continues.
The National Weather Service reports things may begin to dry out on Wednesday, but forecasters will be on the lookout in case severe weather becomes a possibility again this weekend.
Today, NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center is forecasting a Level 1 out of 5 (marginal) risk for severe weather for roughly the eastern half of the state (shown in dark green in the map above).
A Level 1 risk means that isolated severe storms will be possible.
The weather service thinks damaging wind gusts up to 60 mph and hail up to the size of quarters will be the main concerns with any stronger storm that develops.
Rain and storms will again be possible throughout the day today, but the best chances for stronger storms will be this afternoon (from about 1 p.m. until 4 p.m.) through tonight.
Heavy rain will again be possible, and a flood watch will remain in effect for parts of central Alabama through 7 p.m. today.
Up to 1.5 inches of additional rain will be possible in the areas under the watch today.
The Alabama counties in green will be under a flood watch through 7 p.m. today.NWS
The weather service is expecting one more rainy day after today before drier conditions take over.
Tuesday will also have rain at times, but so far there is no risk for severe weather in the Storm Prediction Center’s forecast.
Here is the probability of precipitation forecast for Alabama from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Tuesday:
Rain chances will be lowest in southwest Alabama on Tuesday. This forecast covers from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Tuesday.NWS
The weather service said it could get hot by midweek with temps in the high 80s to low 90s Wednesday through Friday.
Forecasters will also be monitoring the weekend (Friday – Sunday) for possible severe weather.
As of Monday morning the Storm Prediction Center has not put severe weather in the forecast for Alabama this weekend, but that could change so keep an eye on the forecast through the week.
University of Miami freshman linebacker Adarius Hayes was behind the wheel Saturday afternoon when his Dodge SUV crashed into a woman driving a Kia SUV near the Tampa area — killing her and two children, police said Sunday.
Gail Price, 78, Jabari Elijah Solomon, 10, and Charlie Herbert Solomon Riveria, 4, were killed in the 1:45 p.m. crash at the intersection of Orangeview Drive and Ridge Road in Largo, Hayes’ hometown. The fourth passenger in the Kia Soul, Herbert Rivera, 58, is hospitalized with serious injuries, police said.
Hayes was taken to a hospital with what were described as non-life-threatening injuries.
While police said Sunday “there were no signs of impairment with either driver” and no criminal charges were pending as of Sunday, detectives were still figuring out certain aspects of the crash, including the respective speeds.
What police say they’ve figured out so far: Hayes was driving south on Ridge Road in a Dodge Durango and Price was making a left turn in her Kia Soul when Hayes hit Price.
Hayes behind the wheel
A check of Pinellas County, Miami-Dade and Broward counties court records show Hayes had his license suspended for a short time after one ticket in 2023.
March 1, 2025:Hayes was ticketed as going 84 mph in a 55 mph zone in Clearwater. He paid a fine of $249.50, which was reduced by $31.50 after he chose to take a driving course.
Nov. 12, 2024: Hayes paid a $166 fine after being cited for an improper lane change, “pulling out in front of a vehicle going the same direction,” in Miramar.
Nov. 20, 2023:Hayes paid a $166 fine after being ticketed for an improper lane change, “pulling out in front of a vehicle” in Largo.
Feb. 7, 2023: Hayes was ticketed for failure to use care in Largo. The ticket says he “operated the vehicle inattentively and unaware of surroundings, collided into (a) vehicle.” When he didn’t complete the driving school in March, his license was suspended May 12, 2023. It was eventually reinstated May 26, 2023 after Hayes paid a total of $207.
On the field for University of Miami
In his first season with the Hurricanes as a four-star recruit out of Largo High, Hayes got into 11 games, mostly as a special teams player. He had an interception in a win against Florida A&M.
UM got Hayes, a four-star recruit out of Largo High, to come to Coral Gables though he had offers from Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame and several others.
