Alabama News

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Walmart is offering a $100 discount on the Frigidaire Sphere Ice Maker

Walmart is offering major online deals during Super Savings Week, including a rare discount on the highly sought-after Frigidaire Gallery Artisanal Clear Sphere Ice Maker.

With this deal, Walmart customers can get the Frigidaire Gallery Artisanal Clear Sphere Ice Maker for $248 instead of the normal retail price of $349.99, a $101 discount overall.

While the Frigidaire Gallery Artisanal Clear Sphere Ice Maker typically comes in a variety of colors, Walmart’s ice maker on sale is only available in the color grey.

RELATED: Walmart is offering a $300 Michael Kors crossbody for just $64 this week

Sphere ice is perfect for a variety of beverages, however, it is ideal for low-ball whiskey drinks.

“Experience the luxury of savoring every sip of your favorite drinks for longer without dilution. Our slow-melting ice spheres are designed to preserve the flavors and aromas, ensuring that your beverages remain as perfect as the moment they were poured‚” the Frigidaire Gallery product details state.

“Our ice maker is built for efficiency, producing two spheres every 30 minutes. With a total daily output of 82 beautifully crafted ice spheres, you’ll never run out of ice for your drinks, even during the most extended gatherings.”

Those interested in this deal can checkout the full listing on Walmart‘s website here. You can also browse all Walmart Super Savings Week deals here.

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AG Steve Marshall announces restraining order against Alabama company for ‘deceptive acts’

A temporary restraining order has been filed against a Baldwin County company for alleged deceptive acts, according to Attorney General Steve Marshall.

A release from the attorney general’s office alleged that AKME Gardens lied to customers by falsely claiming that it was certified to sell nursery products and seeds in Alabama.

Also, the attorney general’s office said that several consumer complaints have been filed against the company dating back to 2021.

Efforts to reach the company or identify an attorney representing the company were not immediately successful.

The complaints allege the company scammed customers by taking payments without providing products.

“Making false claims to trick buyers into spending large sums of money without delivering a product is not only unfair but illegal under Alabama’s consumer protection laws,” Marshall said.

“In this case, by falsely claiming to be an Alabama-certified nursery, this business also puts our entire agriculture industry at risk by opening the door to harmful plant pests that could cost farmers and consumers. These actions are a serious threat to our community,” said Attorney General Marshall.

“We urge any consumers who have been affected by this company to immediately contact the office.

Due to the alleged actions by AKME Gardens the company faces 37 violations of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, a statute protecting consumers from dishonest business practices.

According to court records, the case has been deemed confidential.

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Lauren Boebert confuses Hollywood legend for longtime Trump supporter at JFK assassination hearing

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., confused an Oscar-winning director with one of President Donald Trump’s closest supporters during a House hearing Thursday on records connecting to the John F. Kennedy assassination.

“JFK” director Oliver Stone testified before the House Oversight Committee’s Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets when Boebert mixed him up with Roger Stone, the former lobbyist and member of Trump’s inner circle.

“Mr. Stone, you wrote a book accusing LBJ [President Lyndon B. Johnson] of being involved in the killing of President Kennedy,” Boebert asked the director.

“Do these recent releases confirm or negate your initial charge? Being involved in the assassination of President Kennedy?”

Apparently confused, Stone then consulted with Jefferson Morley, author of “CIA & JFK: The Secret Assassination Files,” who also testified at Tuesday’s hearing.

“No, I didn’t — If you look closely at the film,” Stone said, “it accuses President Johnson of being part of and complicit in a coverup of the case but not in the assassination itself, which I don’t know.”

Stone then went on to detail why he believed Johnson covered up who was responsible for the assassination as Morley figured out why Boebert asked Stone that question.

“I think you’re confusing Mr. Oliver Stone with Mr. Roger Stone,” Morley told the congresswoman. “It’s Roger Stone who implicated LBJ in the assassination. It’s not my friend, Oliver Stone.”

“I may have misinterpreted that,” Boebert responded, “and I apologize for that.”

As part of his testimony, Oliver Stone urged Congress to reopen the investigation into Kennedy’s assassination.

Stone’s “JFK” was nominated for eight Oscars, including best picture, and won two. It grossed more than $200 million but was also dogged by questions about its factuality.

The last formal congressional investigation of Kennedy’s assassination ended in 1978, when a House committee issued a report concluding that the Soviet Union, Cuba, organized crime, the CIA and the FBI weren’t involved, but Kennedy “probably was assassinated as a result of a conspiracy.”

In 1976, a Senate committee said it had not uncovered enough evidence “to justify a conclusion that there was a conspiracy.”

The Warren Commission, appointed by Kennedy’s successor, President Lyndon B. Johnson, concluded that Oswald fired on Kennedy’s motorcade from a sniper’s perch on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository, where Oswald worked.

Police arrested Oswald within 90 minutes, and two days later, Jack Ruby, a nightclub owner, shot Oswald during a jail transfer broadcast on live television.

For Tuesday’s hearing, the task force also invited Morley and James DiEugenio, who both have written books arguing for conspiracies behind the assassination.

Morley is editor of the JFK Facts blog and vice president of the Mary Ferrell Foundation, a repository for files related to the assassination.

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2 Alabama actors featured in new Kevin Bacon TV series

Kevin Bacon is starring alongside two Alabamians in his new Amazon Prime horror-comedy series called “The Bondsman.” Gadsden, Ala., native Beth Grant, a prolific character actor, and Huntsville native Bill Billions have roles in the show about a resurrected bounty hunter tasked with tracking demons.

“The Bondsman” premieres April 3, 2025. Watch the trailer below.

In a recent interview, Billions described the show: “Kevin Bacon plays Hub Halloran, a man who is sent back from the dead as a bounty hunter for the devil to recapture escaped demons. While back, he has the opportunity to reconnect with his ex-wife, develop a relationship with his son, and try to resurrect his music career.”

The show, produced by Blumhouse, also stars singer-songwriter Jennifer Nettles and Dam Herriman.

Billions, who teaches acting at The Bill Billions Studios at Hollywood Huntsville, said he enjoyed working with Bacon. “Kevin is an actor’s actor. He loves the craft, he shows up to work and he does his job,” Billions said. “He is a great listener and a supportive collaborator.”

Billions portrays a character called Grizzly Terral in episode seven of “The Bondsman.” Terral is “either a man or a demon posing as a man … or something,” Billions said cryptically. “My character looks and behaves in an unusual manner. You have never seen anything like him. It was a joy to play the role.”

Audiences will enjoy the escapades, he said. “The writers did a great job with it, and the director and crew were excited about it,” Billions said. “I was also excited. You are all going to love it.”

Billions has appeared in numerous projects, including the Tom Cruise film “American Made,” and TV shows such as “Castle Falls” and “The Haves and the Have Nots.”

Grant stars as Kevin Bacon’s character’s mother, Kitty, despite the fact that she’s only nine years older. Grant has more than 243 acting credits listed on her IMDb page, including the films “A Time to Kill,” “Speed” and “No Country for Old Men,” and TV shows like “Dexter,” “Justified” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” Most recently Grant portrayed Charlotte Mayfair on the TV series “Mayfair Witches”

“The Bondsman” was filmed in Atlanta and Grantville, Ga., IMDb says.

Billions said that during filming he got to interact with Grant, a fellow Alabamian, and with Jennifer Nettles, a singer-songwriter. “Beth Grant is a terrific storyteller,” he said. “She has great stories about her experiences in the movie business. Jennifer Nettles is a sweetheart, as well as a strong actor (and of course an amazing singer). She was great to work with.”

Nettles and Bacon, also a musician, collaborated on an album for the show called “Hell and Back.” Bacon wrote in a Facebook post: “We made this album for our upcoming show The Bondsman, writing songs together to bring the world of The Bondsman to life through music.” Bacon shared a pre-save link to the album (find it here), which drops April 4, the day after the show.

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What Hugh Freeze wants to see from Auburn football in the final two weeks of spring practice

Auburn football is having a uniquely short and late spring practice window in 2025.

The Tigers started practice on March 25 and will wrap up with A-Day on April 12, meaning spring ball will only last around three weeks. The reasoning is partly due to head coach Hugh Freeze’s wishes to get rid of spring practice altogether, preferring an NFL-like OTA period in the summer.

This year’s spring practice period isn’t quite that, but it’s the closest thing to the NFL model Auburn was able to have. The Tigers have already completed one full week of practice, meaning two weeks remain before the team puts the pads down until fall camp.

Freeze met with reporters during Tuesday morning’s practice, reflecting on the first week while also explaining what he still wants to see from his team before A-Day.

Auburn had its first scrimmage of spring practice last Saturday and Freeze said he was “really encouraged by the competitiveness of both sides.” The team will scrimmage again this Saturday, according to Freeze.

“I thought there were some good things. And obviously, when one side does some good things, there’s some bad things that are happening on the other that you’ve got to get corrected,” Freeze said. “But I really thought it went back-and-forth, and the competitiveness was really good to see on Saturday.”

Freeze also added that the team will finish installing this week, meaning the remainder of spring practice will be running through and maintaining what has already been put in.

Auburn added three new things before Tuesday’s practice, according to Freeze, and he thought the execution was “so-so” when the team ran through it at the beginning of the day.

“There will still be some ups and downs like there was in Tiger Ball today,” Freeze said. “That was probably as dirty as it’s been. We have really been clean in that.”

Auburn will practice four more times after it finishes installing this week, per Freeze. He explained Tuesday that the thing he’s most concerned with once that gets done is how the players are able to retain what they’ve learned and execute it in the final few practices.

“We’ll see if they can retain it and hopefully execute at a high level where your decision-making as a quarterback or a receiver with route-running or an o-lineman assignment-wise, you hope those assignments grade out high the last four times,” Freeze said. “Yes, you’ll get beat in some one-on-ones sometimes, but man, ‘he was in the right place and understood what he’s doing.’ That’s what I would love to see the last four practices. When you call something, they had a complete understanding of it.”

This year’s A-Day also won’t be the same as in years past. Rather than having a traditional spring game, Auburn will have a practice open to fans inside Jordan Hare Stadium on April 12, followed by an autograph session on the field with Freeze and Auburn’s players.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m

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Alabama’s latest lottery, gambling proposal still under wraps as lawmaker rallies support

A proposal for an Alabama lottery, legal sports betting, and other regulated gambling remains stalled in the state Senate.

Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, has said for several weeks he is trying to round up the 21 votes needed in the 34-member Senate before introducing his bill.

Legislators returned today from taking a week off for spring break, and Albritton said the situation has not changed.

He said he is still short of the 21 votes and won’t introduce the bill today.

Lottery and gambling bills are perennial issues in the Alabama Legislature.

Alabama is surrounded by states that use funds from lotteries to help support education and state services.

Sports betting is legal in 38 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The Alabama Constitution prohibits lotteries and gambling. That means the Legislature would have to pass a proposed constitutional amendment to submit to voters, who would have the final say.

The last time a proposal went to the ballot was in 1999, when voters rejected Gov. Don Siegelman’s lottery plan.

A comprehensive gambling bill that started in the Alabama House last year was scaled back and eventually died by a single vote in the Senate.

It included a lottery, casinos, sports betting, a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, and a commission to regulate gambling statewide.

Albritton’s new bill includes most of the elements of last year’s comprehensive plan but would not allow full-scale casinos with table games.

Lawmakers still have time to pass a bill this year if Albritton can find enough votes.

Fourteen meeting days remain in the annual session, which can last until May.

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Mark Cuban issues dire prediction amid Elon Musk’s DOGE cuts: ‘Red Rural Recession’

Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban predicted economic disaster for Alabama and other southern states if the Department of Government Efficiency continues on its trajectory of slashing federal workers and cutting spending that bleeds into the private sector.

“I think there is going to be a Red Rural Recession and soon if all the cuts continue as is,” Cuban posted to the Bluesky social media platform on Wednesday.

“All the firings, cancelling of grants and contracts with companies, the closing of offices, disproportionately impact small towns, cities and states,” Cuban continued. “Their finances will be turned upside.”

Cuban’s prediction was issued as several reports of Donald Trump voters impacted by the DOGE cuts began telling their stories.

Among them was Jennifer Piggott, a self-described “MAGA Junkie” from West Virginia who was fired from her Treasury Department job.

“To cut the knees off the working class Americans, it doesn’t make sense to me,” she told CNN in a video posted Thursday.

Piggott, who said she was harassed and had eggs thrown at her home, said she regretted her vote.

Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of Tesla, is the head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, where he has gained access to sensitive data and shuttered entire agencies as he attempts to slash government spending.

DOGE’s cuts fueled protests at Tesla dealerships across the country and beyond.

Violent incidents were also reported, including fires set at car dealerships.

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Madison County Sheriff’s deputies shot at while responding to call; suspect in custody

Madison County Sheriff’s deputies were shot at while responding to a call Tuesday morning.

No one was injured as the deputies responded to calls of hearing multiple gunshots in the 100 block of Misty Hollow Way the sheriff’s department said.

Deputies took Royden Warren Vickers, 48 of Madison County, into custody and charged him with two counts of attempted murder and one count of discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling. He is being held in the Madison County Jail.

“This is a prime example of the dangers that our deputies face daily while they strive to protect the community,” Sheriff Kevin Turner said in a news release. “I commend our deputies for their actions, and I ask everyone to thank a deputy when you see them for the selfless actions they take every day.”

Deputies were dispatched to the call on Misty Hollow Way shortly after 6 a.m. The 911 calls reported hearing multiple gunshots being fired in the area of the cul-de-sac.

When deputies arrived, they could hear gunshots and while attempting to locate the suspect at least two deputies were shot at. The deputies were able to take cover and quickly locate the suspect.

At that point Vickers surrendered to deputies and was taken into custody without further incident. Once taken into custody deputies secured the .223 rifle that he used to shoot at them. He had four guns – a rifle, a semi-auto handgun and two revolvers.

During the follow-up investigation it was discovered that at bullet from at least one of the shots he had fired struck a neighboring house with the residents inside. No one was struck.

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Popular retailer is closing a ‘significant number’ of stores

GameStop closed over 1,000 locations in 2023 and plans to close even more in the future.

The specialty gaming and electronics retailer revealed that it expects to close a “significant number” of shops, according to a report from CNN.

While Gamestop hasn’t identified the locations on the chopping block, it has announced plans for its next chapter.

The company says it plans to make a significant investment into bitcoin.

Axios reports GameStop currently has more than 3,000 locations, including 2,325 in the U.S. GameStop has more than 15 locations in Alabama, including retailers in Tuscaloosa, Cullman, and the Birmingham metro area.

What other retailers are closing locations?

JOANN Fabrics, which filed for bankruptcy in February, is closing 500 of its 800 stores. Forever 21’s US retail operator has filed for bankruptcy twice and will close all of its stores in the United States. Kohl’s is closing 27 underperforming stores in over a dozen states.

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How to watch new episodes of Tyler Perry’s ‘Assisted Living’ and ‘House of Payne’ tonight for free

Both Tyler Perry’s House of Payne and Assisted Living have new episodes premiering Tuesday, April 1 on BET.

First on the schedule, Tyler Perry’s House of Payne premieres with an all new episode titled “Love At First Swipe” at 9/8c. Assisted Living will immediately follow with a new episode titled “Failure 2 Launch” at 9:30/8:30c.

On this week’s new episode of House of Payne, C.J. and Janine receive marital advice from an unlikely source, and Peanut seeks help with his newfound online lover.

The brand new episode of Assisted Living follows Jeremy and Leah as they visit a doctor to get tested for fertility issues. When the tests come back that both Leah and Jeremy have fertility issues, the couple has a big decision to make.

Where can I stream Tyler Perry’s House of Payne and Assisted Living?

Those interested in making it a night full of Tyler Perry can stream both popular BET shows for free through Philo, Fubo or DirecTV Steam. Though all three options offer free trials to new subscribers, Philo is the cheapest option at just $28 a month after its free trial concludes.

Both shows are also available for streaming through Sling, too. Although Sling doesn’t offer a free trial at the moment, new subscribers receive half off their first month once they commit to a paid subscription.

What is Philo?

Philo is one of the cheapest basic cable alternatives currently on the market. Users can access over 70 live TV channels for just $28 a month after its 7-day free trial.

Some of the most popular channels available through Philo include MTV, AMC, HGTV, Discovery Channel, CMT, TLC, BET and more. Users can stream these channels and various movies/TV shows on-demand.

Philo subscribers can take advantage of useful features such as the unlimited DVR option which makes recording favorite content simple.

What is Fubo?

Fubo is much like any other streaming service, but instead of simply offering on-demand streaming, it offers a plethora of live TV channels such as ESPN, ABC, NBC, CBS, TLC, MTV and more.

Fubo considers itself a sports-focused live streaming service but also offers over 100 live TV channels through its basic package at just $84.99 a month following its free trial.

Users can stream a variety of shows and movies on-demand and even have the option to record favorite shows and movies through Fubo’s unlimited DVR feature.

What is DirecTV Stream?

Much like Fubo, DirecTV Stream offers subscribers with an abundance of live TV channels and helpful features, too. The Entertainment package starts at just $86.99 a month after its 5-day free trial and includes popular TV channels such as HGTV, ESPN, Bravo, CMT, CNBC, BET, CNN and more.

Two other DirecTV Stream packages are the Choice package (original price $114.99) and the Ultimate package (original price $129.99), both of which are part of an ongoing promotion that offers new subscribers $25 off the original price for the first three months of their subscription.

Those interested in comparing all DirecTV Stream’s channel packages can check them out here.

What is Sling?

Sling is another streaming service to consider if you want to stream live TV channels like BET. Though no free trial is available to new subscribers, those who commit to a paid plan get half off the first month.

Both the Sling Orange plan and the Sling Blue plan are normally $45.99 a month, but with the current promotion, Sling users will pay just $23 a month for the first month.

For those who wish to access channels from both the Sling Blue and Sling Orange plans can do so by signing up for the Orange + Blue plan, which combines the best of both plans for just $60.99 a month ($30.50 for the first month).

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