Trace Cyrus apologized, but you can’t help but wonder how much he meant it.
Billy Ray Cyrus’ son took to social media to walk back some comments he made in criticizing Jason Aldean and hit hit song, “Try That In A Small Town,” even if he still isn’t a fan.
“Yo guys, I still hate the (expletive) song, but I want to apologize to Jason Aldean,” Cyrus posted to his Instagram story. “I really am trying to become a better Christian, and a lot of his fans were DM’ing me and I felt bad. So, I’m sorry. God bless you. If you ever want to get in the studio and have me write a song for you, just hit me up.”
On Sunday, Trace Cyrus shredded the country music singer and his song.
“Guys, I was just sitting in my kitchen and this stupid song came on the radio,” Trace said in a video, per PennLive.
“Remember this went viral? And everyone knows, like I’m as patriotic as it gets. I love Trump and American and all that but listen to how stupid this is,” he continued, “Like, this is what’s on the radio, and the bad song that I been talking about all night, like no one is really listening to.”
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.
U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell won’t exactly say she was ghosted.
Or ignored. Or even put on hold.
She’s very diplomatic.
But when the Trump Administration and those DOGE boys began to threaten federal grants to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, she wanted to arm herself with info she’d need to fight for the institution in Congress. UAB is in her district, after all.
And UAB is important to Alabama. It’s the state’s biggest employer, providing direct or indirect jobs to five out of every 100 workers in the state, if you believe those voodoo economists. UAB’s impact adds up to a $12 billion annual boon. That’s about four grand for every working-age human in the state.
So Sewell, a Democrat, made calls to UAB.
And – she is very tight with details here, so bear with me – she waited for a response. I honestly don’t know how long the wait lasted, but it was long enough that people around her started talking. Or in the words of Noah Kahan: You once called me forever, now you still can’t call me back.
Sewell would say only this about that delay:
“While my request to meet directly with UAB researchers was not initially met with the urgency this moment demands, when I was finally granted such a meeting, we had a very illuminating and productive conversation,” she said. “That kind of advocacy is needed now more than ever.”
Finally.
It says a helluva lot about this world that an institution as powerful as UAB, facing tens of millions of annual cuts in federal grant money that already threatens medical and scientific research, is so flustered it hit the can’t-deal-with-you-right-now button on its own congresswoman. Even for a while.
It’s tough out there for powerful institutions, sure. The Trump administration and state laws have them rooting out “wokeness” at every turn. So they all clamor to cut out things they once claimed to value, like diversity and history and integrity, and, well, science.
UAB has been quick to capitulate, proactively dismantled diversity and scholarship programs rather than fight for anything at all in the state that goes on and on about daring to defend its rights. It did not wait to ask how high to jump, it just bought a trampoline.
Sewell said institutions must stand up for themselves.
“History has shown us time and time again that rolling over to appease bullies does not work. We cannot allow the Trump Administration to get away with this culture of fear that silences those who would be hurt most by its actions.”
UAB’s response has been particularly fearful. And disappointing. Maybe because I foolishly expected better.
This is a school that came into its own after the Civil Rights Movement, after the dogs and firehoses and dead little girls, after almost 50 bombings in the city that were never solved. It is built on serving and employing a diverse population, as immortalized in its statement of shared values: “Respect all: Champion diversity and opportunities for all, with civility.”
The UAB Alma Mater also boasts of “rich diversity,” “integrity” and “honor to uphold.” Yet the school has nothing to say. Nothing but Thank you, sir, may I have another?
It has warned faculty and researchers that they, too, need to keep it on the down low. If they want to write op-eds or talk too loudly about threats to research, or medicine or human rights, or the surrounding economy, they can’t be linked to UAB at all. So for the most part dissenters who once proudly boasted of their UAB affiliation now refer to themselves as “public health professionals” or someone who “runs a lab.”
The chill is in effect.
Sewell said she was proud that one of her alma maters, Harvard, has taken a stand to protect higher education and research.
“Alabama’s research institutions would do well to follow their lead,” she said. “It’s essential that the leaders of our institutions speak up and use their voices. Without them, we as lawmakers cannot effectively advocate on their behalf.”
Intelligent people can debate whether the strategy of rolling over to play dead is hypocritical or simply the safe bet. But know this: It’s the same strategy used to rationalize slavery and Jim Crow and the kind of violent segregation that not so long ago denied the pursuit of happiness to whole groups of people. Silence is dangerous now, too, for intellectual freedom, truth, and a whole lot of people.
Not to mention the honor and integrity of schools that claim those things as virtues.
When what you have to lose is more important than what you stand for, you’ve already lost. A coward with a good excuse is still just a coward.
–
PS. I’ve taken the liberty of rewriting UAB’s alma mater, thus saving the institution $1 million in consulting fees ($40 million by economic voodoo math), three ad hoc committees, one permanent committee and forced admission of its own hypocrisy.
UAB ALMA MATER (revised)
Here in Alabama, a place of rich diversity SUCH TIMIDITY
stands our Alma Mater. We cherish her integrity
QUAILS OUR ALMA MATER. TO PERISH IN FRAGILITY
May each loyal son and daughter wear
proudly the colors green and gold.
Praise to thee, our UAB. Her honor we uphold.
TO REPRESENT THAT CASH AND COIN THAT HAS US BOUGHT AND SOLD.
Yearning minds of age and youth
live and love her noble truth.
LIVE TO MOURN HER NAKED TRUTH.
Moving ahead with blazing speed
t’wards knowledge to empow’r,
In the heart of Birmingham our UAB stands proud
LEST WE LOSE OUR TREASURE TROVE, WE WILL EVER COWER
John Archibald is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
A tentative truce faltered Tuesday when Israel accused Iran of launching missiles into its airspace after the ceasefire was supposed to take effect and vowed to retaliate.
Iran’s military denied firing on Israel, state media reported — but explosions boomed and sirens sounded across northern Israel midmorning, and an Israeli military official said two Iranian missiles were intercepted.
U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House before departing for the NATO summit at The Hague that in his view, both sides had violated the nascent agreement he had announced earlier.
“They violated it but Israel violated it too,” Trump said. ”I’m not happy with Israel.”
On social media, he called on Israel to stop dropping bombs and bring its pilots home.
The conflict, now in its 12th day, began with Israel targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites, saying it could not allow Tehran to develop atomic weapons — and that it feared the Islamic Republic was close. Iran has long maintained that its program is peaceful.
Many worried the war might widen after the U.S. joined the attacks by dropping bunker-buster bombs over the weekend and Israel expanded the kinds of targets it was hitting.
Both sides accepted the agreement, but it is now unclear if it will hold.
“Tehran will tremble,” Israeli Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich warned on X, raising the specter that the war might continue.
Israel accuses Iran of violating the truce. Iran denies that
An Israeli military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military regulations said Iran launched two missiles at Israel hours into the tenuous ceasefire. Both were intercepted, the official said.
Iranian state television reported that the military denied firing missiles after the start of the ceasefire — while accusing Israel of conducting strikes. It offered no evidence to support the claim of Israeli fire, with the last reports of such attacks coming before dawn.
Part of the difficulty in sorting out the competing claims was that Trump’s social media post announcing the ceasefire said Iran would begin holding its fire hours earlier than Israel. He later, however, announced that the ceasefire was in effect, even though the window he initially gave for Israel had not yet closed.
After accusing Iran of violating the ceasefire, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed Israel’s military to resume “the intense operations to attack Tehran and to destroy targets of the regime and terror infrastructure.”
Breakthrough declared by Trump wobbles in initial hours
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had agreed to a bilateral ceasefire with Iran in coordination with Trump, while pledging to respond to any subsequent violation.
He said that Israel had achieved all of its war goals, including removing the threat of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
An announcement on Iranian state TV later said the ceasefire was in effect. So did Trump, who posted: “THE CEASEFIRE IS NOW IN EFFECT. PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT!”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that his country would not fire at Israel if it was not fired upon, but that a “final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later.”
To secure the ceasefire, Trump had communicated directly with Netanyahu, according to a senior White House official who insisted on anonymity to discuss the Monday talks. Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff communicated with the Iranians through direct and indirect channels.
The White House has maintained that the U.S. bombing helped get the Israelis to agree to the ceasefire and that the Qatari government helped to broker the deal.
It’s unclear what role Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s leader, played in the talks. He said earlier on social media that he would not surrender.
Deal announced after hostilities spread
The shaky ceasefire came after hostilities spread further across the region.
Israel’s military said Iran launched 20 missiles toward Israel before the ceasefire began on Tuesday morning. Police said they damaged at least three densely packed residential buildings in the city of Beersheba. First responders said they retrieved four bodies from one building and were searching for more. Earlier, the Fire and Rescue service said five bodies were found before revising the number downward. At least 20 people were injured.
Outside, the shells of burned out cars littered the streets. Broken glass and rubble covered the area. Police said some people were injured while inside their apartments’ reinforced safe rooms, which are meant to withstand rockets but not direct hits from ballistic missiles.
Iran launched a limited missile attack Monday on a U.S. military base in Qatar, retaliating for earlier American bombing of its nuclear sites. The U.S. was warned by Iran in advance, and there were no casualties.
Drones attacked military bases in Iraq overnight, including some housing U.S. troops, the Iraqi army and a US military official said Tuesday.
A senior U.S. military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said U.S. forces had shot down drones attacking Ain al-Assad in the desert in western Iraq and at a base next to the Baghdad airport, while another one crashed.
No casualties were reported and no group claimed responsibility for the attacks in Iraq. Some Iran-backed Iraqi militias had previously threatened to target U.S. bases if the U.S. attacked Iran.
Conflict has killed hundreds
In Israel, at least 28 people have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded in the war. Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 974 people and wounded 3,458 others, according to the Washington-based group Human Rights Activists.
The group, which has provided detailed casualty figures from Iranian unrest, said of those killed, it identified 387 civilians and 268 security force personnel.
The U.S. has evacuated some 250 American citizens and their immediate family members from Israel by government, military and charter flights that began over the weekend, a State Department official said.
There are roughly 700,000 American citizens, most of them dual U.S.-Israeli citizens, believed to be in Israel.
Sunday was a big night in Birmingham, as the $46 million Coca-Cola Amphitheater opened its gates to the public for the very first show.
Matt Rife was the headliner at the 9,300-capacity amphitheater, touted by organizers as a “fan-first, artist-ready, state-of-the-art” outdoor venue. Rife’s fans turned out in force on a hot summer evening, ready to hear the viral comedian tell jokes, interact with the crowd and flash an impish grin.
Of course, some concertgoers might have preferred to see a high-profile music act with Alabama ties on opening night — someone like Jason Isbell, who’s set to perform at the amp on June 28 — but Rife is a huge celebrity in the comedy world. He turned out to be a worthy kick-off artist for the new venue, which is owned by the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex and managed by Live Nation.
Comedian Matt Rife was the opening performer at the Coca-Cola Amphitheater in Birmingham, Alabama. Here, Rife speaks to the crowd at Gulf Coast Jam on May 31, 2025, in Panama City Beach, Florida.(Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images)
“Oh, my God, Bama never disappoints,” Rife said during his 8:30 p.m. set, marveling at the enthusiastic (and sometimes wacky) fan participation. Although the place wasn’t sold out — a few empty seats could be spotted here and there — it was clear that ticketholders enjoyed Rife’s brand of comedy and came primed for his ribald sense of humor.
(See photos from opening night at the Coca-Cola Amphitheater in the gallery at the top of this post.)
Rife’s performance included stand-up segments that found the star talking about sex, sleep problems, gender identity, “Pet Sematary,” a trip to Amsterdam’s red-light district and more. The comedian, 29, can get pretty raunchy in these routines — too raunchy for us to be more specific here — but Rife’s admirers expect and relish that.
“We could be the show that gets this place torn down,” Rife warned from the stage, christening the amphitheater yet promising a no-holds-barred show.
Fans enter the new Coca-Cola Amphitheater in Birmingham, Alabama. The 9,300-capacity venue opened on June 22, 2025, with a show by comedian Matt Rife.(Mary Colurso | [email protected])
Fans were ready to let it rip, as well, especially when Rife began his trademark crowd work, chatting with audience members eager for a moment in the spotlight. Concertgoers could be heard yelling comments from the second and third tiers of the amphitheater, but Rife focused on the folks down front, asking about their lives and riffing on the responses.
One crowd-work highlight: A gray-haired woman gave Rife a handmade quilt, plied him with candy and showed off a few leg kicks. (Not too high, but A for effort.) Meanwhile, a bearded guy demonstrated his skill at “kip ups,” plopping onto the floor and kicking up to a standing position. (Jackie Chan has nothing to worry about, but it was mission accomplished, more or less.)
“What the (expletive) is this ‘Alabama’s Got Talent’ kind of show?” Rife said, prompting a wave of laughter. He hugged the quilt woman and offered to buy the “kip-up” guy a beer, but drew the line when another woman tried to show him her splits.
Two sign-language interpreters were drawn into action, as Rife asked them to teach him the signs for sex acts, body parts and “Roll Tide.” The interpreters cracked up and complied, causing the audience to roar with delight.
Lisa Kennedy of Tennessee shows off her Matt Rife tattoo at the Coca-Cola Amphitheater in Birmingham, Alabama. The 9,300-capacity venue opened on June 22, 2025, with a show by Rife, a popular comedian. Kennedy is an avid fan of Rife’s and has seen him in concert several times.(Mary Colurso | [email protected])
Rife clearly did a bit of homework before the show, saying the amphitheater must be haunted because it was built on the former campus of Carraway Hospital. (“Somebody died right there,” he said.) Rife also took a few shots at Hoover and name-checked Jim ‘N Nicks’ Bar-B-Q as the site of, um, some awkward dating fumbles.
Mostly, though, Rife was engaged in a mutual lovefest with the audience, basking in applause and praising the crowd here as “some of the best people in the (expletive) country.”
It’s unclear if Sunday’s show will provide fodder for Rife’s social media, where he has nearly 43 million followers across five platforms. Still, a video vignette from the Coca-Cola Amphitheater would be a coup for the venue and a clear sign of approval from Rife, who keeps a tight grip on footage from his performances. (The use of cell phones, cameras, video gear and other recording equipment was verboten during the show.)
Rife has performed in Alabama before, appearing in 2024 at the Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville and selling out two shows in 2023 at the BJCC Concert Hall in Birmingham. But Sunday’s show was something of a milestone in the Magic City, as the highly anticipated amphitheater made its debut at 2350 15th Ave. North.
Fans in an outdoor seating area at the new Coca-Cola Amphitheater in Birmingham, Alabama. The 9,300-capacity venue opened on June 22, 2025, with a show by comedian Matt Rife.(Mary Colurso | [email protected])
Overall, the Coca-Cola Amphitheater proved to be a congenial spot for concertgoers, with its roomy plaza, modern decor, comfy-enough seating, clear sight lines and amenities such as concession stands, bars, merchandise booths and more.
Rife didn’t have much of a stage set — just a stool, a microphone stand and some pyro for his entrance and exit — so it’ll be interesting to see how the amphitheater functions during a full-on concert extravaganza. Def Leppard and Pantera are on the agenda this summer, along with Phish, Dave Matthews Band, Rod Stewart, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan and Twenty One Pilots.
Some music lovers in the Birmingham area have bemoaned the loss of Oak Mountain Amphitheatre, a longtime concert venue in Pelham that was closed by Live Nation in 2024, making way for the downtown amphitheater. Plenty of memories were made at Oak Mountain, it’s true, during performances by major stars that ranged from from Jimmy Buffett and Lynyrd Skynyrd to Foo Fighters and Nine Inch Nails.
But the Coca-Cola Amphitheater deserves its chance to shine and become a point of pride on the city’s entertainment scene. Sunday’s show by Matt Rife was a promising start. Now, as far as we’re concerned, Birmingham’s brand-spanking new concert venue is ready to rock.
Next up: What did you think of the first concert at Coca-Cola Amp? Email comments and reactions to [email protected], for possible use in a future story.
Seth Rogen recently quipped on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” that he might lose his acting career if his early aughts audition for Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez’s “Gigli” was ever to be made public.
“The Studio” star and creator was asked by Kimmel if he still has to audition for parts, which prompted Rogen to walk down bad memory lane.
“It has been a long time,” Rogen said.
“And thank god it was mostly physical VHS tapes and stuff like that that was being used when I was auditioning for things, because the things I auditioned for, in retrospect, if they were out there in the world, they would end my career very, very fast, I believe.”
Rogen “auditioned for this boy with a cognitive disability” in “Gigli,” a role that would ultimately go to Justin Bartha. “And I don’t think the script was written in what, by today’s standards, would be the most sensitive portrayal of a boy with a cognitive disability.”
“I don’t think I wore a helmet in to the audition itself, but it was at play,” Rogen said.
“And I’m tempted to do an impression of what I did, but I can’t even do it. I can’t. That’s how bad it was. It’s so bad. I dare not even portray what I did in this audition. Because I went for it. I saw myself at the Oscars… Truthfully, if that tape was out [in] the world today, this would be the last interview you ever saw me do. Other than, like, my apology tour. Please, if you have it, burn it. Please sell it to me. I will buy it.”
“Gigli,” directed by “Beverly Hills Cop” and “Midnight Run” filmmaker Martin Brest, stars Ben Affleck as a low-ranking mobster who is tasked with kidnapping the younger brother of a federal prosecutor. The brother has an intellectual disability.
Rogen was coming off short-lived TV comedies such as “Freaks & Geeks” and “Undeclared” at the time of his “Gigli” audition. The movie was an infamous box office flop, grossing just $7.2 million worldwide.
“The truth about that movie and what it taught me was how much everything around a movie sort of dictates the way people see it,” Affleck told Entertainment Weekly in 2022, noting the film remains one of his most well-known disasters because of all the tabloid fodder that surrounded him and Lopez’s romantic relationship at the time.
“It’s just that it became a story in and of itself. The funny name, the Jennifer Lopez romance and overexposure of that, it was kind of a perfect storm,” Affleck said.
“And I remember talking to [the director] the Friday it came out and I was like it’s just spectacular, it’s a tsunami, it couldn’t be worse. This is as bad as it gets.”
Lionel Duke, the drummer for the Christians, collapsed on stage from cardiac arrest Sunday, forcing the end of the Liverpool show.
The band confirmed the news on social media that Duke, 58, had been hospitalized, and asked fans to “please send positive vibes his way.”
“Thank you so much to all the many many messages regarding our drummer Lionel Duke who suffered a cardiac arrest while performing at tonights amazing concert ahead of Sting,” the Christians posted. “We are awaiting news from the Heart and Chest hospital at Broad Green and thank the phenomenal team of medics present from On The Waterfront Liverpool team who stepped in so swiftly to help our poor Lionel.”
The band’s manager, Emma Roberts, said Duke had been put in an induced coma after an operation, per the BBC.
The Christians were opening for Sting when Duke collapsed after two songs. According to the report, lead singer Garry Christian called for medical help, and Duke was taken away in an ambulance.
Roberts appeared on stage to give an update to the crowd, announcing that Duke “didn’t have a pulse” but “he’s got one now, we think,” after “four rounds of CPR,” according to theLiverpool Echo.
“We’re really hoping he is going to make it.”
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.
Alabama football isn’t like most other schools in the SEC. There’s two uniform options: Home crimsons and road whites– no alternate jerseys, strange helmets, or shades of gray that the school insists on calling “anthracite.”
During an exclusive interview with AL.com, Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer was asked to choose. Which of the two uniform options was his favorite?
DeBoer linked the answer to his love for Bryant-Denny Stadium.
“Man, there’s something about home games,” DeBoer said. “And I think a lot of it is what I’ve seen over the years myself, watching Alabama football, going back decades. And so, there’s something about the crimson, and it’s pretty special. The helmets, and just the consistency of what it’s looked like over so many years, it’s amazing. So it’s a blessing to be wearing it.”
DeBoer made one small alteration to the Crimson Tide’s look during his first season in charge. Alabama captains wore a “C” on their chests, a difference both in appearance and philosophy, as DeBoer named his permanent captains before the year began, something Nick Saban did after the season.
Alabama has worn different helmets in the past. The Tide had white lids throughout its history, most recently during the Ray Perkins era, over 40 years ago.
DeBoer was asked during the 2025 season if he could ever see a possible helmet change for his UA teams. The head coach said he’d never thought about it.
“There’s just a lot of pride in who we are and I’m sure that somewhere in the history, you can point to different-colored helmets being worn and maybe someone is for that,” DeBoer said on the SEC coaches’ teleconference. “But right now, we’re just keeping the focus on the main thing and that’s our play on the field and representing the crimson helmet the way we can, in the best way possible.”
Alabama is scheduled to begin DeBoer’s second season in charge, likely donning the road white jerseys for an Aug. 30 trip to Florida State.
Two days after Mardi Gras in 2013, national media descended on the Alabama Cruise Terminal, awaiting the nighttime arrival of a crippled cruise liner carrying 4,229 weary passengers.
Hundreds of miles away in the Gulf of Mexico, what began as a dream voyage to a Mexican paradise had turned into a nightmare. The Carnival Triumph, stranded after an engine fire on February 10, was adrift without power, air conditioning, or functioning toilets. Passengers used blankets to shield themselves from the sun while seeking refuge on the open deck. Food ran scarce as passengers told stories about eating tomato-and-onion sandwiches.
Red biohazard bags were handed out for defecation—a grim image that earned the vessel its infamous nickname: the “poop cruise.”
For Mobile, the spectacle became an unexpected stage. As the world watched, the city stepped in with calm and coordination, offering Carnival a safe harbor—and showcasing its readiness to reclaim a cruise industry that had walked away two years earlier.
“They said that Mobile is the closest port they could get into,” recalled State Rep. Sam Jones, Mobile’s mayor at the time. “At that time, we didn’t have a cruise ship. We were trying to recruit one back to Mobile.”
Documentary reactions
More than a decade later, the crisis and the ship that stayed a memorable 82 days in Mobile is back in the spotlight Tuesday in Netflix’s documentary, Trainwreck: Poop Cruise, which revisits the chaotic voyage through the eyes of some of those who were on board.
It’s unclear if anyone from Mobile was included in the 55-minute documentary. Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson’s office, through a spokesperson, declined comment.
“We thought, more than anything else, it was a humanitarian crisis,” Jones said. “It got national attention when the ship was starting to have issues. People felt they were going to be stranded on the ship.”
Carnival Cruise Line, appreciative of the role Mobile played in assisting the Miami-based company during the crisis, noted the incident occurred over 12 years ago and was a “teachable moment for the entire cruise industry.”
The company was not a participant in the Netflix episode.
“A thorough investigation following the incident revealed a design vulnerability which was corrected and led Carnival Cruise Line to invest more than $500 million across our entire fleet in comprehensive fire prevention and suppression, improved redundancy, and enhanced management systems, all in support of our commitment to robust safety standards,” the company’s statement said. “This is in addition to our vigorous Health, Environmental, Safety and Security (HESS) protocols that guide the entire Carnival Corporation fleet as we maintain our commitment to industry leadership in this area. We are proud of the fact that since 2013 over 53 million guests have enjoyed safe and memorable vacations with us, and we will continue to operate to these high standards.”
Mobile’s moment
Passengers from the crippled Carnival Triumph, stranded at sea by an engine room fire on Feb. 10, wait to board buses Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013, at the Alabama Cruise Terminal on the Mobile River in Mobile, Ala. (file photo)MO
Mobile was the chosen site for the Carnival Cruise Line to tow the Triumph, even if the city’s downtown terminal had been mostly dormant since 2011, the last time a cruise ship had sailed from Alabama.
Jones said proximity was the reason why Carnival Cruise Line reached out to the City of Mobile and asked for assistance. The cruise terminal, which opened in 2004, is a city-owned facility.
The ship had been drifting for over four days when it was towed into Mobile. The engine fire occurred on the third day after the cruise ship had departed Galveston, as it sailed to Cozumel.
For several days, the ship and the conditions on board it became part of a media sensation. CNN led the way in the coverage with anchor Erin Burnett reporting from Mobile to lead its wall-to-wall focus of the cruise ship. Other stations were also in Mobile, including Telemundo, Fox, MSNBC, among others.
As the ship arrived, passengers stood outside on balconies screaming, “Thank you, Alabama.” As the thousands departed, a few stuck around to be interviewed by the media throng. Approximately 100 buses were parked nearby, ready to take passengers to New Orleans where they would be able to catch a flight to Houston, and back to the cruise terminal in Galveston.
Problematic stay
Tugboats move the disabled Carnival Triumph from the Alabama Cruise Terminal to BAE Systems for repair Friday morning, Feb. 15, 2013, in Mobile, Ala. (File)File
After the frenzy, the ship remained in Mobile.
But more problems loomed.
On April 3, with wind gusts reaching 66 mph, the ship broke its moorings at BAE Systems, where it had been docked for initial repairs.
The nearly 900-foot cruise ship then floated uncontrolled across the river toward Mobile where it slammed into a pier and sent two shipyard workers plunging into the river. One of those workers, John R. “Buster” Johnson, died from the incident.
The Triumph then floated across the river and into the side of a marine vessel owned by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which was being repaired at Signal Ship Repair. The incident left visible damage to the Triumph’s right stern.
The ship was then docked at the cruise terminal for the remainder of its stay in Mobile.
Finally, after 82 days, the ship departed Mobile on May 8. It sailed to the Bahamas for its final repairs before it was returned to service later that summer. In 2019, the Carnival Triumph underwent around $200 million in upgrades and was renamed the Carnival Sunrise. It currently sails from Miami toward Caribbean destinations.
Positive impact
The crippled Carnival Triumph, stranded at sea by an engine room fire on Feb. 10, 2013, arrives under tow at the Alabama Cruise Terminal on the Mobile River in Mobile, Ala. (file photo)File
During its stay in Mobile, the city generated over $350,000 for the vessel’s docking in Mobile, a hefty amount that helped provide a rare boost of revenue from the mostly abandoned cruise terminal.
Jones said the city’s performance in assisting the cruise company during the Triumph crisis had a “positive effect” on the industry returning to Mobile.
Three years later, Carnival Cruise Line resumed regular cruising out of Mobile. The activity then halted in 2020, during the pandemic. Three years after that, in May 2023, the Carnival Spirit began seasonal excursions from Mobile. Starting in 2027, cruising through Carnival Cruise Line will return to a year-round schedule with a yet-to-be-named ship.
Stewart Chiron, a longtime cruise industry analyst who goes by the name, “The Cruise Guy,” said he doesn’t believe the city’s handling of the Carnival Triumph crisis resulted in the cruise industry resuming in Mobile. However, he said that both Jones and Stimpson have, over the years, “fought very hard” to ensure there was a cruise ship sailing from the city’s cruise terminal.
“Does it get the highest revenue? No,” Chiron said about cruising from Mobile, something that he has long commented about. “The highest rates? The ship could do better and probably could increase occupancy and have higher rates in another city. Yet, (Carnival Cruise Line) continues to utilize Mobile which has a lot to do with the local support and the hospitality that is offered and continues to be shown.”
He added, “Mobile has shown, time and again, that it’s a great friend of the industry.”
Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer has been living in the south for over a year. After a season on the job, any culture shock he might have felt following a move from Seattle is now in the past.
Though, some things remain difficult.
“I think it’s probably like everyone would probably say, the heat with the humidity,” DeBoer told AL.com in an exclusive interview. “I’ve been where there’s hot. I’ve been where there’s humid. But probably heat with humidity, that’s probably the biggest one.”
DeBoer hasn’t had a problem recruiting since arriving in the SEC, as some predicted when he succeeded the retired Nick Saban. His first class at Alabama, while relying on more nationwide talent, was ranked No. 3 in the nation according to 247Sports’ composite rankings.
The Crimson Tide’s head coach has also taken to some southern culinary specialties. He shared his favorite southern food during the interview.
“I’ve gotten into the seafood a lot more here,” DeBoer said. “Just seems like the places we as a team, I guess especially recruiting events, just seems like there’s a lot of great seafood, So I’d say that’s been awesome here.”
DeBoer has been asked ad nauseum about his experience moving to the south, since he took over the Alabama job in January of 2024. When asked at SEC spring meetings in May about what surprised him the most, he said it was largely how similar things were to other places.
“I think when you move around– I’m from the Midwest. I think there’s a lot more Midwest in the South than people probably realize,” DeBoer said. “Yeah, there’s different levels of heat because there’s hot and humid, that whole thing. That’s the question I get asked the most is, ‘how do you handle the weather?’ But I think when it comes to people, I think there’s just great people everywhere.
“I’ve lived in different parts of the country, not necessarily the East Coast, but from Michigan and Indiana on over to the West Coast, you find that there are more similarities than there are differences.”
DeBoer and Alabama are set to begin his second round of preseason camp in early August. The Crimson Tide is scheduled to open the 2025 season with an Aug. 30 trip to face Florida State in Tallahassee.
Dear Eric: I was very friendly with a neighbor and asked if she and her husband would like to go out to dinner with us. She seemed enthusiastic and we set a date. Then she said they would be out of town, could we change the date. We did. The day before, she texted that she was too sick to go. I just responded “Sorry.”
Haven’t heard anything else. My question is: Should I contact her? My husband says I am being “mean.” Advise.
– Dinner Date
Dear Dinner: Mean? I’m not so sure. The “Sorry” may have come across as abrupt or churlish. And maybe you meant it that way. But it’s hard to read tone over text. You could have also simply been confirming the cancellation. I’d think it would be on your neighbor to reach out about rescheduling once she was feeling better.
However, if you’d still like to cultivate this relationship – and since you described it as “very friendly,” I suspect you might – I’d reach out again. Perhaps by telling her that you hope she’s feeling better, and you’d like to set another date, if she’s open to it. This gives her an out to decline if she is not interested, for whatever reason. If she cancels again, however, I’d leave it be.
Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at [email protected] or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Follow him on Instagram and sign up for his weekly newsletter at rericthomas.com.
