Disney fans now have reason to rejoice as BaubleBar is offering a vast lineup of super-stylish Minnie Mouse ears headbands that is sure to make heads turn during your next trip to Disney World.
The BaubleBar Minnie Mouse ears headbands come in a total of 33 designs, along with some customizable options. However, those who want to take advantage of the buy one get one free sale can shop 16 different styles which are included in the promotion.
BaubleBar’s Disney Minnie Mouse Ear Headband collection blends nostalgia with high-fashion designs. Each style reimagines the classic Minnie silhouette through the lens of bold color, whimsical embellishments and statement-making materials such as glitter, colorful glass stones, velvet, vegan leather and more.
The BaubleBar Disney collection also features a wide variety of themes to suit any one’s style. Just some of these include vibrant rainbow hues, shimmering rhinestones, iridescent finishes and soft pastel tones. Not to mention the gingham prints and polka dots that offer a vintage feel, while pearl detailing and floral appliqués bring an elegant, feminine flair.
“Add a touch of magic to your look with BaubleBar Disney ears collection! Our Minnie Mouse ears headbands are designed with sparkle and flair, bringing the iconic characters to life,” BaubleBar states.
“Whether you’re looking for the best Disneyland ears to explore the parks in or adding some Disney fun to your everyday outfit, these Mickey ears are a must-have for Disney fans of all ages. Shop now to find your perfect Minnie Mouse headband!”
A Birmingham man has been arrested in an alleged DUI crash that killed a woman who was riding her bicycle on a Fairfield road.
Antonio Tremayne Weldon Jr., 24, is charged with reckless manslaughter in the death of 34-year-old Michelle Lynn Dickerson.
Weldon was booked into the Jefferson County Jail shortly after 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. His bond is set at $30,000.
Michelle Lynn Dickerson was hit by an SUV while riding her bicycle in Fairfield in March 2025. She died at the hospital the following day.(Contributed)
An immigration raid at a high school facility construction site in south Alabama resulted in the detainment of over 30 undocumented individuals, according to the FBI’s Mobile office.
Tommy Loftis, FBI Mobile’s public information officer, confirmed the raid occurred around noon Tuesday at the construction site for a Gulf Shores High School facility.
Loftis said that about 37 people were detained but that number may change as the individuals are processed.
Loftis said the site and other areas are targeted for immigration raids after law enforcement agencies receive tips that undocumented individuals may be working there.
Agencies involved in the operation included the Gulf of America Homeland Security Task Force, Orange Beach Police Department, Gulf Shores Police Department and Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office.
The City of Gulf Shores and Gulf Shores City Schools released a joint statement saying the site is under the complete control of the general contractor.
“The City of Gulf Shores and Gulf Shores City Schools are aware that a federal immigration inspection was conducted at the construction site of the new Gulf Shores High School,” the statement read.
“The construction site is under the complete control of the general contractor, and no city or school employees were present at the time of the inspection. We encourage inquiries for any further information regarding this inspection to be directed to the parties involved.”
The company building the facility, Rabren General Contractors, provided the following statement regarding the raid:
“Rabren General Contractors (RGC) is aware of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid that occurred at the new Gulf Shores High School construction site on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. RGC is fully cooperating with all authorities investigating this matter. We have no further comment at this time.”
Huntsville will pay $15,000 to settle a federal lawsuit filed by the family of a mentally ill man who was stomped by police while being taken into custody in 2021.
U.S. District Court Judge C. Lynwood Smith Jr. approved the settlement last week after ruling that the terms of the proposed settlement between the city and attorneys for Kemontae Hobbs were “fair and reasonable.”
Attorney Martin Weinberg, who represented Hobbs, said he thought all parties were pleased that the case has been resolved.
“We can put this in the rearview mirror,” he said. “There’s a lot of uncertainty in litigation, but now there’s resolution.”
The settlement is in response to an excessive force lawsuit filed after Hobbs was arrested in a Mapco convenience store at University Drive and North Memorial Parkway on May 30, 2021. Mapco previously settled for “a nominal sum,” Weinberg said.
Police were called to the store after an employee complained Hobbs was panhandling and refused to leave, AL.com reported at the time. Court documents say Huntsville police officers including Christopher Glaser and Cameron Beatty subdued Hobbs in an extended melee, during which Hobbs was shocked with a Taser and had his leg stomped on – though documents state it was neither Glaser nor Beatty who stomped him.
Hobbs, who was 22 at the time, was booked on charges of trespass, obstruction and resisting arrest. He was released shortly after, and in June 2021, Huntsville police acknowledged an unnamed officer “acted outside of applicable HPD policy” during the arrest, AL.com reported.
Hobbs’ mother told AL.com in 2021 that her son had a diagnosed mental illness. He has since been committed to a state mental hospital, according to court documents.
A psychiatrist with the Alabama Department of Mental Health testified that Hobbs suffered from “schizoaffective disorder and unspecified intellectual disability,” the documents state.
Under the terms of the settlement, the city will pay $15,000 to a trust in Hobbs’ name, as well as $2,772.50 to an attorney who will oversee the trust as a court-appointed guardian. The city and all officers involved will be released from any future liability related to the incident.
The men’s and women’s ASISCS Gel-Kayano 31 is on sale at Zappos.com while supplies last.(Canva)
Right now is the perfect time to upgrade your running gear as Zappos is offering a ton of online deals on fan-favorite running shoes this week, including a new discount on the popular ASICS GEL-KAYANO 31 running shoe, however, inventory is selling out quickly.
With this online deal, you can score a pair of men’s or women’s GEL-KAYANO 31 sneakers for just $124.95 instead of its original price of $165. Both of the men’s and women’s running shoes come in a variety of colors/designs, all of which are inlaced in this sale.
ASICS GEL-KAYANO 31
$165 $124.95
The ASICS GEL-KAYANO 31 is now available to purchase at a discount while supplies last.
According to ASICS, the GEL-KAYANO shoe offers the most stable running experience in ASICS’ lineup. It’s designed to control each stride, resist movements that could cause injury and provide soft landings with smooth transitions. Stability technology is especially important for runners who pronate, meaning their feet roll inward or outward with each step
“Move your mind with the GEL-KAYANO 31 shoe’s adaptive stability and premium comfort,” ASICS states. “The 4D GUIDANCE SYSTEM™ helps provide adaptive stability. This helps you experience a more supportive and balanced stride during your distance training. “
“Its midsole implements FF BLAST™ PLUS ECO cushioning and PureGEL™ technology. These features make your distance training feel smooth and comfortable.”
Brandy and Monica have announced their first co-headlining tour, traveling to 24 cities in 2025 and celebrating their 1998 hit, “The Boy Is Mine.”
An Alabama stop is on the agenda for the iconic R&B singers, set for Nov. 15 at the Legacy Arena at the BJCC in Birmingham. Tickets for the 8 p.m. concert go on sale Friday, June 27, at 10 a.m. CT via Ticketmaster.
Pre-sales start at 10 a.m. CT on Wednesday, June 25, and end at 11:59 p.m. CT on Thursday, June 26, according to the Ticketmaster listing. Prices haven’t been announced.
Brandy Norwood, 46, and Monica Arnold, 44, topped Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for 13 weeks in 1998 with their duet on “The Boy Is Mine,” creating a cultural touchstone for ‘90s R&B.
Brandy, left, and Monica on the red carpet at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles Wednesday, Feb. 24, 1999. The two singers won in the category of Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal.(AP Photo/Victoria Arocho)
“The Boy Is Mine” won a Grammy Award in 1999 for both singers, in the category of Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. It also was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Rhythm & Blues Song.
In 2024, Brandy and Monica were featured on a remix of “The Boy Is Mine” by Ariana Grande, earning another Grammy nomination.
“My deepest and sincerest thank you to Brandy and Monica, not only for joining me for this moment, but for your generosity, your kindness, and for the countless ways in which you have inspired me,” Grande said in June 2004, announcing the remix on Instagram. “It is near impossible to say how much this means to me. This is in celebration of you both and the impact that you have had on every vocalist, vocal producer, musician, artist that is creating today.”
Brandy and Monica are stars in their own right, and they’ll perform separately and together on the tour, according to the Black Promoters Collective. This year’s trek, which runs from Oct. 16 through Dec. 7, marks the first time Brandy and Monica have toured together, giving the shows special resonance for fans.
“This really is a full-circle moment,” Brandy said via a news release. “Monica and I coming together again isn’t just about the music — it’s about honoring where we came from and how far we’ve both come. ‘The Boy Is Mine’ was a defining chapter in R&B, and to share the stage all these years later is bigger than a reunion — it’s a celebration of growth, sisterhood, and the love our fans have given us from day one.”
“The love that ‘The Boy Is Mine’ continues to receive means everything to me,” Monica said in the release. “This tour is a celebration of our history, our impact, and the fans who have grown with us. Brandy and I have been on our own unique journeys, and coming back together in this way is a reminder of the power of respect, strength, and real music. We’re giving the people what they’ve been asking for, and doing it with grace, love, and purpose. God’s timing perfectly aligned us.”
A video to promote the tour was released on Tuesday, featuring both artists breaking out of a “music prison” that prevents them from singing together. Watch it below.
Brandy, a Mississippi native, has eight studio albums to her credit, and hits such as “Baby,” “I Wanna Be Down,” “Sittin’ Up in My Room,” “What About Us?” and “Have You Ever.”
Monica, a Georgia native, has released eight studio albums and hits such as “For You I Will,” “The First Night,” “Angel of Mine,” “So Gone” and “Don’t Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days).”
Both stars released “The Boy as Mine” as the lead single of their 1998 albums, titled “Never Say Never” for Brandy and “The Boy Is Mine” for Monica.
Birmingham’s Diversified Energy is partnering with a global investment firm that promises an exceptional infusion of cash.
Diversified, a natural gas and liquids production company, announced Monday an agreement with Carlyle to invest up to $2 billion in natural gas and oil assets across the U.S.
The assets are what is known as proved developed producing, or PDP. This means that the assets are being actively extracted and sold, have existing infrastructure, and are economically viable under current economic conditions.
This deal “enhances Diversified’s access to capital in an attractive acquisition market,” the company said in a statement.
Rusty Hutson, Jr., CEO of Diversified Energy, said the partnership “significantly enhances our ability to pursue and scale strategic acquisitions in what we believe is a highly compelling environment for PDP asset consolidation”
Under the terms of the agreement, Diversified will serve as the operator and servicer of newly acquired assets.
As investments occur, Carlyle intends to pursue opportunities to securitize the assets, seeking to unlock long-term, resilient financing, the company said.
“We continue to see a robust pipeline of opportunities and the growing need for operational scale and efficiency,” Hutson said. “With Carlyle’s support, we are well-positioned to capitalize on these trends while aiming to generate sustainable cash flow and value for our shareholders.”
Carlyle Asset-Backed Finance focuses on private fixed income and asset-backed investments. Carlyle ABF has deployed approximately $8 billion since 2021 and has approximately $9 billion in assets under management as of the first quarter of this year.
“Diversified is a leading operator of long-life energy assets and a pioneer in bringing PDP securitizations to institutional markets,” said Akhil Bansal, head of asset-backed finance at Carlyle. “We are excited to bring institutional capital to high-quality, cash-yielding energy assets that are core to U.S. domestic energy production and energy security.”
On a late October night, two years ago inside Jordan-Hare Stadium. No. 11 Ole Miss led Auburn football 14-7 at halftime of a week 7 conference showdown.
As both teams headed to the locker rooms, the stage was set for Auburn’s Marching Band to perform a musical selection like they do on a weekly basis.
However, this was no ordinary performance.
Auburn’s Band put on its Metallica show, performing hit songs from the iconic heavy metal band.
The cinematic performance touched rock and roll fans all across Jordan-Hare that night. But what followed afterwards changed Auburn’s band forever, winning the 2023 Metallica Marching Band contest.
“Metallica advertised a marching band a marching band contest in the summer of 2023. I saw the advertisement and talked to some our student leaders about the potential of our band entering the contest,” Auburn band Director Dr. Corey Spurlin told AL.com Tuesday.
“We felt like we had really good music arrangers and a lighting system that our students built,” Dr. Spurlin added. “That is really unique because no other band in the country has a system that has the capability of ours. Combining the lighting effects with precision drill and great music we had a chance to win.”
Dr. Spurlin spoke about watching a number of Metallica concerts leading up to the Ole Miss game when crafting Auburn’s show.
“Knowing that we had a lighting system we’re known for using we wanted to incorporate lighting effects into the show,” Dr. Spurlin said. “We looked at a few of the effects Metallica created in their actual concerts and how we can bring those same effects to life on the marching band field. We were able to incorporate that with the things we came up with as a band.”
Auburn’s Metallica show reached EA sports president of music Steve Schneider and offered Auburn to record the video game’s theme song.
The Tigers will be the first school to have its marching band featured in the EA Sports College Football video game. The musical selection will be displayed on the opening screen of the game.
“We were super excited to record that video game theme. The recording took place in early December which was our last week of classes,” Dr. Spurlin said.
“It gave us something to work towards kind of like a final project and last performance for the 2024 season.”
EA Sports brought in all of its musical personnel to Auburn to help in the recording process. Dr. Spurlin emphasized how the band stepped up to the plate when surrounded by some of the biggest music professionals in the business.
“I could tell how excited they were by the effort and energy through the rehearsals, and I thought they played great,” Dr. Spurlin said. “It was fun having all the various of entities from EA Sports music in town. Experiencing a professional recording environment, the recording engineers that came in were some of the best and we had them here recording our band.”
“Our band was also able to speak and interact with the producer of the game and ask questions about the game, and how it’s made.”
EA College Football 26 is scheduled to release July 10th on all gaming platforms.
With Auburn already changing the marching band landscape with its lighting system, Dr. Spurlin believes being a part of something as big as EA sports will only add to the greatness of Auburn’s marching band.
“I feel like we were sort of pioneers in that area in a lot of ways and now this add something else that we are doing,” Dr. Spurlin added.
“It’s kind of first for collegiate marching bands and something others can look towards. I’m really proud of our students for rising to a level that would pique the interest of a company as big as EA and certainly the trust they put into us. I mean, this is a major game, one of the top selling video games of all time. And for us that’s major. As they say you know, we’re in the game!”
A State Department spokeswoman is taking heat from MAGA, including some calling for her firing, after she told an Israeli television station that the United States is the “greatest country on Earth next to Israel.”
Tammy Bruce’s interview with Israeli station i24 News occurred last month, but she’s facing criticism after social media influencer Ken Klippenstein over the weekend posted a snippet of Bruce’s appearance.
“The pride of being able to be here [in the State Department] and do the work that facilitates making things better for people, and in the greatest country on Earth, next to Israel,” she said.
“It’s an honor to be able to make a difference and be able to speak in this regard with an administration that I love so much and that I feel genuinely represented by — it’s a real honor.”
MAGA’s knives came out for Bruce.
“She should be fired immediately,” one X user responded to Klippenstein’s post.
Gunther Eagleman, a right-wing social media influencer account on X, said: “America is the best country. Point blank. I’d tag Tammy Bruce but she has me blocked.”
“Next to Israel”? Did I miss the part where Americans voted to be second place in our own country?” tweeted Jane Adams. “Embarrassing.”
Bruce told Newsweek that her remark was being misinterpreted.
“My work obviously speaks for itself, which is a reflection of my love for the United States, as I said in that interview, the greatest country on Earth,” she told the outlet in a statement.
“The assertion by certain anonymous users online is a typically out-of-context and absurd effort to create fake news for clicks and to smear.”
The deadline to qualify to run in a municipal election is today – June 24 at 5 p.m., but with Alabama’s municipal elections approaching, there are several key dates to keep in mind.
In the upcoming general municipal elections, community members will head to the polls to elect their next mayor, council members and other local representatives in just a couple of months.
On Aug. 26, 2024, exactly a year before the municipal election, candidates began receiving campaign contributions and campaigning for office.
Feb 26 was the last day for the sitting council to change the salaries for officials who will be elected in August.
March 31 was the last day for councils elected at large to number the places. Some municipalities, like Hoover, are not split into districts, so the city council is elected at large, which means all council members represent the entirety of the city.
May 26 was the last day for the council to change its district lines and location of designated voting places or add an additional voting place.
On June 10 candidates began qualifying, with that window closing June 24 at 5 p.m.
Aug. 11 is the last day to register to vote in the municipal election.
Aug. 25 is the last day for a voter to apply for an emergency absentee ballot.
The municipal elections will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 26. All polling places will be open for voting from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. An absentee ballot returned by mail must be received by noon on the day of the election.
If no candidate receives a majority of votes, runoff elections will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 23.
Elected candidates will officially take office on Monday, Nov. 3.
Not all municipalities follow the same election cycle. Tuscaloosa held its elections on March 4 with a runoff on April 1. Huntsville and Scottsboro conducted their municipal elections on Aug. 27, 2024, according to published reports.
Check your city’s website for more information regarding your local elections, including candidates, polling locations and what issues will be on the ballot.
