General News

General

Archibald: This legendary Birmingham writer has more to say

This is an opinion column.

I was a baby in a booming news business in 1990, when an editorial team at my newspaper – Ron Casey, Harold Jackson and Joey Kennedy, wrote a sweeping indictment of Alabama’s shameful tax system.

The series, “What They Won’t Tell You About Your Taxes,” told of a system that “patted the powerful on the back, as it laid its burdens on the poor.” The series, along with Wayne Flynt’s revelatory book “Poor But Proud,” helped me understand my state’s past and its present in ways I had never before understood.

Surely, I thought, it would change the world.

When Casey, Jackson and Kennedy were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for that work – the first such honor in the century-long history of The Birmingham News – they reflected in another editorial on the past, and the work, and the recognition. All three signed it, proud of the honor, and frustrated that despite the attention, despite the accolades, despite a call from the governor, they still lived in a state with a tax structure “entrenched by a century’s worth of exploitation” that had not budged an inch.

Knowing, they said, it would never budge “until someone in Montgomery seizes the cudgel of leadership and uses it for the benefit of a state full of fine, but long forsaken people.”

I think often about the work of those writers, for it remains true and relevant 3½ decades later. We are not closer to real reform, we are further away. And when the cudgel of leadership is seized in Montgomery these days, it is certain to be used not for Alabama’s long-forsaken people, but against them.

Here’s to those three for trying, for banging their heads until it hurt.

I was reminded recently by Wayne Flynt himself, author, Baptist preacher, historian and patron saint of me, that people such as these can’t be measured by their visible impact alone.

None of us can judge ourselves by the understanding of others, he said. We must simply tell the truth as we understand it, and hope some people will listen, and learn, and be changed.

I heard Flynt, and then I learned Harold Jackson had written a new memoir. It seemed fitting. I knew I would in some small way be changed again, if a better understanding of the world around me amounts to change. I believe it does.

Jackson was a Birmingham kid. He grew up in Loveman’s Village and became a voice of reason for a city and a state that would, if given the chance, use its cudgel against him.

He is still a voice of reason, and he observes the world as he ever did, and responds with compassion over malice, consideration over anger, beauty over the ugliness of life.

“Under the Sun: A Black Journalist’s Journey,” was published last week by the University of Alabama Press. That’s also fitting, really, for someone who fell in love with journalism through a UA program only a few years after George Wallace blocked the doors to people who looked like him.

I won’t presume to tell the stories of Harold Jackson. Not when I can let you read for yourself.

The following is an excerpt from Under the Sun. Read and enjoy.

“Under the Sun: A Black Journalist’s Journey,”Special

By Harold Jackson

Under the Sun: A Black Journalist’s Journey:

Becoming a successful journalist meant learning how to get white people I was interviewing to see past my Blackness and answer my questions. It meant realizing that some situations might require me to adapt not only my natural personality but even my style of clothing. Making those adjustments sometimes reminded me of the sociologist W. E. B. DuBois, who, 150 years ago, said Black people out of necessity live double lives—behaving one way among themselves and quite another around white folks.Of course, it’s not just Black people who choose to live double lives to fit in, to be successful, to make friends, and to be loved.

I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit —Ecclesiastes 1:14

God seems to like catching our attention when we least expect it.

On an otherwise unremarkable summer day in 1996, my phone rang at the Baltimore Sun. I was doing some research to write an editorial about a topic I no longer remember, but I will never forget what happened next.

I answered the phone as I usually did—not by reciting my name or the newspaper’s but by sounding as if I were lounging in a chair at home. “Hello,” I said. “Hello,” a man responded before hurriedly reciting a speech he likely had rehearsed many times before dialing my number. “My name is Ricky Marquis. I’m a friend of your brother Calvin.”

I immediately felt nervous. Calvin lived three thousand miles away in San Francisco, and none of his friends had ever called me. Something must be wrong. Was he in trouble? Was he sick? None of my fears prepared me for Ricky’s next words.

“Calvin doesn’t know I’m calling,” he said, “but there’s something you need to know. Calvin is sick. He’s dying. Of AIDS.”

The rest of that conversation remains lost in fog. I don’t remember how I responded. My cubicle was designed to resemble a small office with just enough room for a desk, file cabinet, and a second chair for visitors, but the partition walls separating it from the other cubicles were paper thin and didn’t extend to the ceiling. Anything I said could be overheard, and I didn’t want anyone to hear me if I started crying.

When Ricky finished, I thanked him, sat at my desk for about an hour, and then went home to tell my wife, Denice, what had happened. I wiped tears from my eyes as I drove, not just because Calvin was dying but because the youngest of Lewis and Janye Jackson’s five sons had tried to keep the truth that he was gay hidden from his family—fearing they would no longer love him.

When I got home from work, I called Calvin, who apparently was sleeping or didn’t want to talk to me. His roommate, Peter, picked up the phone, which in itself was confirmation of their true relationship. He and Calvin had shared an apartment for several years, but I knew little about Peter other than the fact that he was white.

Peter said neither he nor Calvin knew Ricky was going to call me but that he was relieved to no longer be an accomplice to Calvin’s keeping a secret from his family. I said I wanted to come to San Francisco, and Peter said I should but that didn’t need to happen immediately. A few days later I got a letter from Peter that detailed all he had done for my brother.

“I have long been an advocate of Calvin telling you what is going on. But whenever I raise the issue, Calvin has always rejected it outright, saying it would give Janye a heart attack. His doctor did talk to Calvin last week and suggested that now was probably a good time to notify the family and that she would be happy to volunteer if he so desired.

“Calvin was all smiles until she left at which point he got very angry and told me she had overstepped her bounds and who did she think she is. Well, I have not been forcing the issue since I am the one living here. But Rick Marquis took things in his own hands and contacted you, and I am happy that I don’t have to be a guardian of this family secret any longer. I realize that you now have to agonize with this situation, but in the long run it is better that it happen now rather than after the fact.

Peter’s letter didn’t prepare me for how frail Calvin looked when I got to San Francisco about two weeks later. Seeing my little brother in their small apartment, propped up with pillows in a hospital bed, I thanked God that he moved to California after college. I don’t think an AIDS patient in the 1990s would have received the same elevated level of care in Alabama.

I was only going to be in San Francisco a few days, but Calvin insisted that Peter show me some of its fabled tourist sites—the Golden Gate Bridge, the Presidio, Fisherman’s Wharf, and their favorite barbecue joint. No doubt Peter would have preferred to stay by Calvin’s bedside, but he tried to fulfill all my dying brother’s requests. Even without the legal status of a spouse, Peter had maneuvered through California’s health-care system to get Calvin every benefit he qualified for.

I should have spent more time getting to know Peter. Instead, Calvin and I fell into our old habit of revisiting old memories. We both knew he was dying, but neither of us wanted to talk about that. So, we didn’t. When it finally came time to return home, I told Calvin I loved him, hugged him in his bed, and headed out the door to prepare for my flight back to Baltimore. Just like at Daddy’s funeral, I didn’t cry. The Jackson boys aren’t supposed to do that.

Two months later, I got the telephone call from Peter telling me Calvin had died. I began 1996 with four brothers, never thinking for a second that I would end it with two. I wrote about Calvin’s death in a column published a week later in the Baltimore Sun. Headlined “The Secrets That We Keep,” it began with a description of how I received the news:

Awake at 2:30 last Saturday night, I was struck by how well I could see across the length and breadth of my bedroom. A flood of moonlight fil- tered through the blinds, giving every object a shadowy dimension that suggested an attachment to another world.

I put on my glasses, walked barefoot across the cool, hardwood floor and peeked out the window. The sky was actually cloudy save for an occasional break, the largest of which allowed the moon to fully display the illuminating power that according to legend can drive men mad.

The sun would blind us if we similarly looked directly at it. But the moon, in its brilliantly pale fluorescence, demands that we stare it in the face. I opened the blinds wider to get a better look at the glowing disc with dark craters that make it a work of art.

Eventually, though, without slippers or robe, I started to get cold. And was reluctantly reminded of what woke me up in the first place. A call informing me that my younger brother had died.

Calvin’s story wasn’t unique. An estimated nine hundred thousand people in the United States were HIV-positive when he died in 1996. More than thirty-one thousand of those patients died that year, which was 50 percent less than the year before. That’s thanks to previously unavailable antiviral drug therapies. Many who died didn’t know they were sick until it was too late. Others kept their diagnosis to themselves, hoping for a miracle cure.

There’s still no cure for AIDS, but drug therapies still in their development stage when Calvin died are keeping people alive now by dramatically reducing the amount of virus in their blood. Such drugs not only are more affordable; they are also being sold by pharmaceutical companies in TV ads featuring obviously gay couples.

So much has changed. I can’t help thinking that were Calvin still alive, he would be healthier and happier. He no longer would feel the need to keep his truth a secret.

Read More
General

Prepare for strong thunderstorms in Cullman County Tuesday morning – gusts to hit 40 mph

A report was issued from the National Weather Service on Tuesday at 6:52 a.m. for strong thunderstorms until 7:30 a.m. for Cullman County.

Residents can be ready for wind gusts of up to 40 mph.

“At 6:52 a.m., Doppler radar tracked a strong thunderstorm over Arley, moving east at 20 mph,” states the weather service. “Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects.”

Locations impacted by the alert include Wilburn, Good Hope, Baldwin, Crane Hill, Smith Lake, Logan, Bremen, Dodge City, Jones Chapel and Vinemont.

The weather service adds, “If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm. Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe shelter inside a building or vehicle.”

When lightning looms: Expert safety tips for thunderstorms

Lightning strikes the United States approximately 25 million times each year, with the bulk of these electrical discharges occurring during the summer months. Tragically, lightning claims the lives of about 20 individuals annually, as reported by the weather service. The risk of lightning-related incidents escalates as thunderstorms draw near, reaching its peak when the storm directly looms overhead. However, it gradually recedes as the tempest moves away.

To ensure your safety during a thunderstorm, consider the following recommendations:

Lightning safety plan:

  • When venturing outdoors, it’s vital to establish a clear plan for seeking shelter in case of lightning.
  • Monitor the sky for threatening signs and listen for the sound of thunder. If thunder is audible, it’s an indication that lightning is nearby.
  • Seek a safe place to shelter, preferably indoors.

Indoors safety measures:

  • Once you’re indoors, avoid using corded phones, electrical devices, plumbing fixtures, and stay away from windows and doors.
  • Lightning can follow conductive pathways, and these precautions reduce the risk of electrical surges.

Wait for the all-clear:

  • After the last lightning strike or thunderclap, wait at least 30 minutes before resuming outdoor activities.
  • It’s important to remember that lightning can strike even when a storm seems to have passed, so exercise caution.

When indoor shelter isn’t available:

If you find yourself outdoors with no access to indoor shelter during a thunderstorm, take these steps to maximize your safety:

  • Avoid open fields, hilltops, or ridge crests, which expose you to greater lightning risk.
  • Steer clear of tall, isolated trees and other prominent objects. In wooded areas, stay close to lower stands of trees.
  • If you’re in a group, ensure that individuals are spaced out to prevent lightning current from transferring between people.
  • Camping in an open setting during a thunderstorm is strongly discouraged. If you have no alternative, set up camp in a valley, ravine, or other low-lying areas. It’s crucial to note that a tent provides no protection against lightning.
  • Do not approach water bodies, wet objects, or metal items. Although water and metal do not attract lightning, they conduct electricity effectively and can pose significant risks.

In summary, when facing the threat of lightning, vigilance and preparedness are your best allies. By following these guidelines, you can significantly reduce the chances of lightning-related accidents and prioritize your safety.

Mastering wet roads: Safety tips for heavy rainfall

When heavy rain pours, the risk of flooding and treacherous roads rises. Here’s your guide from the weather service to staying safe during downpours:

Beware of swollen waterways:

Avoid parking or walking in close proximity to culverts or drainage ditches, as the swiftly moving water during heavy rain can potentially carry you away.

Maintain safe driving distances:

Use the two-second rule to maintain a safe distance from the car in front of you and allow an extra two seconds in heavy rain.

Slow down and drive with care:

On wet roads, reducing your speed is crucial. Ease off the gas pedal gradually and avoid abrupt braking to prevent skidding.

Choose your lane wisely:

Stay toward the middle lanes – water tends to pool in the outside lanes.

Visibility matters:

Enhance your visibility in heavy rain by activating your headlights. Be particularly vigilant for vehicles in blind spots, as rain-smeared windows can obscure them.

Watch out for slippery roads:

The first half-hour of rain is when roads are slickest due to a mix of rain, grime, and oil. Exercise heightened caution during this period.

Keep a safe distance from large vehicles:

Don’t follow large trucks or buses too closely. The spray created by their large tires reduces your vision. Take care when passing them as well; if you must pass, do so quickly and safely.

Mind your windshield wipers:

Overloaded wiper blades can hinder visibility. If rain severely limits your sight, pull over and wait for conditions to improve. Seek refuge at rest areas or protected spots.

When stopping by the roadside is your only option, position your vehicle as far off the road as possible, ideally beyond guardrails. Keep your headlights on and activate emergency flashers to alert other drivers of your position.

By following these safety measures, you can significantly reduce risks and ensure your well-being when heavy rain pours down. Stay informed about weather conditions and heed advice from local authorities to make your journey safe and sound.

Advance Local Weather Alerts is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to compile the latest data from the National Weather Service.

Read More
General

A few strong storms possible today in Alabama: What to expect from this week’s weather

Rain and storms are expected to hang around parts of Alabama today, and a few of them could be on the strong side.

NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center has added a Level 1 out of 5 risk for severe weather for parts of south and west Alabama today (Tuesday).

A Level 1 risk (or marginal risk) means that isolated severe storms will be possible.

The strongest storms could have damaging winds and hail. The tornado risk is low to zero.

The National Weather Service expects a stalled out frontal boundary to linger across parts of north and central Alabama today.

That boundary had spawned a lot of rain and some storms over that region as of Tuesday morning.

Additional storms could form in the heat of the day today in parts of west Alabama, and there’s a chance one or two of those could reach severe limits.

That frontal boundary is expected to fall apart by Wednesday, but the weather service expects rain chances to linger into Wednesday and Thursday.

No severe weather is in the forecast (at least so far) for the next few days.

Rain chances each day will resemble a summertime pattern and peak in the afternoon hours.

Those in north and central Alabama should expect daily chances for afternoon showers and storms through Saturday, when rain chances are expected to drop.

South Alabama will see rain chances decrease starting on Thursday and through the weekend, according to the weather service.

Read More
General

JD Crowe: Pope Francis was a breath of fresh air

This is an opinion cartoon.

Pope Francis practiced what he preached and lived a life of humble service to the Lord. He reminds me of my dad.

I’m not Catholic. I have no papal dog in the fight for whoever might be next in line to replace Pope Francis. I love the drama of the mysterious black smoke, white smoke election process. But I doubt this pope can ever really be replaced.

Pope Francis was a breath of fresh air.

I’m just a back-pew riding son of a Primitive Baptist preacher, a man who was the best guy and most humble servant of the Lord I’ve ever known. There was a place in my dad’s heart and prayers for all. Especially the poor, elderly and sick.

My dad was a no-script, no-notes, in-the-moment storytellin’ spirit preacher. He didn’t always know where he was going but the Lord always got him there. He didn’t wear fancy robes. Or pointy hats. He was real good at preaching. But he woud have been terrible at poping.

But I gotta say, Pope Francis is the closest true humble servant-of-the-Lord and people type feller I’ve never known besides my dad.

Rest in peace, Pope Francis. You too, Pop. I think you guys will get along just fine.

Check out more cartoons and stuff by JD Crowe

JD Crowe is the cartoonist for AL.com. He won the RFK Human Rights Award for Editorial Cartoons in 2020. In 2018, he was awarded the Rex Babin Memorial Award by the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. Follow JD on Facebook, Twitter @Crowejam and Instagram @JDCrowepix. Give him a holler at [email protected].

Read More
General

Funeral plans for Pope Francis revealed: When will conclave begin?

Pope Francis will be laid to rest Saturday after lying in state for three days in St. Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff.

The cardinals met Tuesday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10.

The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. U.S. President Donald Trump said he and first lady Melania Trump plan to attend, and Argentine President Javier Milei is also expected.

The Argentine pope died Monday at age 88 after a stroke put him in a coma and led his heart to fail. He had been recovering in his apartment after being hospitalized for five weeks with pneumonia. He made his last public appearance Sunday, delivering an Easter blessing and greeting followers from his popemobile, looping around St. Peter’s Square.

His Easter appearance from the same loggia where he was introduced to the world as the first pope from the Americas on March 13, 2013, was a fitting bookend to a 12-year papacy that sought to shake up the church and return it to its Gospel-mandated mission of caring for the poorest.

Vatican officials remember Francis

“He truly gave everything he had, up to the end,” said Sister Nathalie Becquart, one of the highest-ranking women at the Vatican.

While the ordinary faithful will have an opportunity to pay their respects beginning Wednesday, Vatican officials were allowed to say their goodbyes starting Monday evening. Speaking to reporters after she paid her respects, Becquart marveled at Francis’ final Easter salute to his flock. “He really walked with his people,” she said.

Italian Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi said it was specifically Francis’ effort to promote the role of women in the church that will be one of his greatest legacies. Ravasi noted that Francis chose to be buried near his favorite icon of the Madonna, in a basilica across town, and not in the grottoes underneath St. Peter’s, as is typical for popes.

“He wanted to be buried under the shadow of a woman, in this case Maria,” said Ravasi, the Vatican’s former culture minister as he arrived for Tuesday’s first meeting of cardinals. “That is significant, his desire for the church to do more for women.”

The first images of Francis’ body were released Tuesday, showing him in red vestments and his bishop’s miter in a wooden casket, with the Vatican secretary of state praying over him in the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta hotel where he lived and died.

In his final will, Francis said he wanted to be buried at St. Mary Major Basilica, which is home to the Salus Populi Romani icon of Mary. Before and after every foreign trip, Francis would go to the basilica to pray before the Byzantine-style painting that features an image of Mary, draped in a blue robe, holding the infant Jesus, who in turn holds a jeweled golden book.

Francis stopped by the basilica on his way home from the Gemelli hospital on March 23, after his 38-day stay, to deliver flowers to be placed before the icon. He returned April 12 to pray before it one last time.

The world reacts

Bells tolled in chapels, churches and cathedrals around the world and flags flew at half-staff in Italy, India, Taiwan and the U.S. after Francis’ death was announced by the camerlengo, who takes charge of the Vatican after a pope’s death. Soccer matches in Italy and Argentina were suspended in honor of the pope who was a lifelong fan of the San Lorenzo soccer club.

World leaders praised Francis for his moral leadership and compassion, while ordinary faithful remembered his simplicity and humanity.

“Like every Argentine, I think he was a rebel,” said 23-year-old Catalina Favaro, who had come to pay her respects in the Buenos Aires church where Francis discovered his priestly vocation. “He may have been contradictory, but that was nice, too.”

In East Timor, where Francis’ final outdoor Mass drew nearly half of the population last September, President Jose Ramos-Horta praised Francis’ courage. “Pope Francis was a brave man who was not afraid to speak out against the rulers of the world who seek war, but do not want to seek peace,” Ramos-Horta said.

“He challenged the powerful to act with justice, called nations to welcome the stranger, and reminded us that our common home — this Earth — is a gift we must protect for future generations,” said Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who is Muslim. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and has around 30 million Catholics, representing about 14% of the population.

Viewing the pope’s coffin

The pope’s formal apartments in the Apostolic Palace and in the Santa Marta hotel were sealed Monday evening, following a centuries-old ritual. Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who as camerlengo had the task of announcing the death and confirming it once the cause was determined, presided over the rituals.

Francis chose not to live in the palace, but in a two-room suite in Santa Marta on the other side of Vatican City. He died there and his body was transferred to the hotel chapel in the lobby, where the private viewing was underway Tuesday for Vatican officials and members of the pontifical household.

In changes made by Francis last year, his body was not placed in three wooden coffins, as it had been for previous popes. Rather, Francis was placed in a simplified wooden coffin with a zinc coffin inside.

Once in St. Peter’s, his casket will not be put on an elevated bier — as was the case with past popes — but will just be be placed simply facing the pews, with the Paschal candle nearby.

“He was a pope who didn’t change his path when it came to getting (his hands) dirty,” Francis’ vicar for Rome, Cardinal Baldassarre Reina, said in a Mass in his honor. “For him, poor people and migrants were the sacrament of Jesus.”

Choosing the next pope

After the funeral, there are nine days of official mourning, known as the “novendiali.” During this period, cardinals arrive in Rome and meet privately before the conclave.

To give everyone time to assemble, the conclave must begin 15 to 20 days after the “sede vacante” — the “vacant See” — is declared, although it can start sooner if the cardinals agree.

Once the conclave begins, cardinals vote in secret sessions in the Sistine Chapel. After voting sessions, the ballots are burned in a special stove. Black smoke indicates that no pope has been elected, while white smoke indicates that the cardinals have chosen the next head of the Catholic Church.

The one who has secured two-thirds of the votes wins. If he accepts, his election is announced by a cardinal from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica who tells the world: “Habemus Papam” — Latin for “We have a pope.”

Read More
General

Jalen Milroe can make history in NFL Draft 2025 for Alabama. Here’s how

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe has a chance to make the Crimson Tide the definitive “QBU” this week in the SEC.

If Milroe is selected in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, he will become the seventh Alabama quarterback drafted in the first round. That would be a definitive record for all 16 SEC teams in the history of NFL Drafts, according to AL.com research using Pro Football Reference data.

Right now Alabama is, sort of, tied with LSU and Florida for the most first-round quarterbacks in the NFL Draft. Essentially, it’s an asterisk three-way tie.

LSU also has six, if you count Y.A. Tittle twice. The LSU quarterback was drafted in the first round in 1948 and 1951 because he first chose to play in the All-America Football Conference instead of the NFL. Then his team in that league folded, so he could re-enter the NFL Draft again in 1951.

Florida has six first-round quarterbacks, if you want to count Wayne Peace. He was selected in the first round of the NFL’s supplemental draft in 1984.

So, depending on how you want to account for those two asterisks, Alabama might already be the definitive leader in first-round quarterbacks. But Milroe becoming a first-round draft pick would make Alabama the leader, without argument. It’s far from a given Milroe will hear his name Thursday, though. NFL mock drafts have him going everywhere from the first round to the third round.

Just know that SEC history hangs in the balance Thursday night when the draft starts in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Alabama first-round quarterbacks: Bryce Young, Mac Jones, Tua Tagovailoa, Richard Todd, Joe Namath and Harry Gilmer.

LSU first-round quarterbacks: Jayden Daniels, Joe Burrow, JaMarcus Russell, Bert Jones, Y.A. Tittle, Y.A. Tittle*

Florida first-round quarterbacks: Anthony Richardson, Tim Tebow, Rex Grossman, Wayne Peace*, John Reaves, Steve Spurrier.

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.

Read More
General

Where experts project Alabama’s Jihaad Campbell will go in 2025 NFL Draft

The 2025 NFL Draft is less than a week away, and Alabama football linebacker Jihaad Campbell could potentially go in the first round, according to recent expert mock drafts. Campbell will be in attendance in Green Bay for the event.

The draft is scheduled to begin on Thursday, with the second and third rounds Friday, and rest on Saturday. Before the event, here’s where Campbell is showing up in mock drafts.

ESPN– No. 32 overall, Philadelphia Eagles

Mel Kiper Jr. has Campbell as the first Crimson Tide player off the board in the draft, ahead of Tyler Booker. He sent the linebacker to the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles, who have done well with SEC talent, including plenty of Alabama players, in recent seasons.

ESPN– No. 19 overall, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Jordan Reid has Campbell even higher in the first round than his ESPN colleague. He sent Campbell to a building he’s familiar with, as Alabama played at Raymond James Stadium in both 2023 and 2024.

Pro Football Focus– No. 14 overall, Indianapolis Colts

One of the highest mock draft projections for Campbell. PFF notes that the linebacker class is fairly thin, and Indianapolis has a need at the spot, which could lead the Colts to take Campbell at the 14th pick.

CBS– No. 17 overall, Cincinnati Bengals

Josh Edwards sends Campbell to the AFC North midway through the first round. It’s a spot where NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said earlier this week that he thinks Campbell would be a solid fit.

NFL.com– No. 16 overall, Atlanta Falcons

Chad Reuter keeps Campbell in the south, projecting he could be taken by the Falcons. He noted Campbell’s versatility as a natural fit for a defense that will try and be more multiple during the 2025 season.

NFL.com– No. 19, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Eric Edholm, NFL.com’s lead draft writer, has Campbell off the board at a popular spot. He sends the linebacker to Tampa Bay, just one spot after he projected Booker will be selected by the Seattle Seahawks.

Read More
General

Classic rock trio returns to Alabama, ready to play beloved ‘party anthems’

ZZ Top has added some dates to its 2025 “Elevation” tour, including a show in Alabama.

The classic rock band — known for catchy singles such as “Tush,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Tube Snake Boogie,” “Legs” and more — is scheduled to perform on Sept. 7 at the Mercedes-Benz Amphitheater, 2710 Jack Warner Parkway in Tuscaloosa. Black Stone Cherry is set to open the 7 p.m. show.

Tickets go on sale Friday, April 25, at 10 a.m. CT via Ticketmaster, after a round of pre-sales. Prices haven’t been announced. Pre-sales start on Wednesday, April 23, at 10 a.m. CT and end on Thursday, April 24 at 10 p.m. CT, according to the Ticketmaster listing.

ZZ Top, a hard-driving trio from Houston, was founded in 1969. The band made its fame with a signature sound that combines boogie, blues and rock music. Frontman Billy Gibbons, an iconic singer and guitarist, has been with ZZ Top from the get-go, along with drummer Frank Beard.

Gibbons, 75, will be on stage at the show in Tuscaloosa, but it’s unclear if Beard will perform that evening. ZZ Top’s management announced in March that Beard, 75, was taking a leave of absence from the “Elevation” tour because of an unspecified health issue. John Douglas, a drummer and member of the band’s tech crew, is filling in for Beard during his absence.

ZZ Top’s touring ensemble also includes bassist Elwood Francis. He replaced another member of the core trio, Dusty Hill, who died in 2021 after more than 50 years with the group.

Billy Gibbons performed with ZZ Top on Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, at Musikfest in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Donna Fisher | lehighvalleylive.com contributor

ZZ Top has 15 studio albums to its credit, 1971-present, and a history of platinum or multi-platinum records such as “Eliminator” (1983), “Afterburner” (1985), “Recycler” (1990) and “Antenna” (1994).

The band’s hits and signature songs include “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sleeping Bag,” “Cheap Sunglasses,” “La Grange,” “Rough Boy” and “Velcro Fly.” ZZ Top’s irreverent music videos were in heavy rotation on MTV during the ’80s, giving the trio a strong foothold in pop culture.

(Watch ZZ Top’s 1984 video for “Legs” below. It won an MTV Video Music Award that year for Best Group Video.)

ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, with Keith Richards doing the honors at the ceremony. Richards praised the band for its consistency and longevity, and said, “These cats are steeped in the blues.”

(Watch Richards’ induction speech in the video below.)

“The rough and gruff Texan band had a reverence for their roots, but never took themselves too seriously,” the Rock Hall website says. “ZZ Top charmed millions with their party anthems and brash music videos. Their mammoth tours solidified a nationwide following and featured everything from Texas-shaped stages to live rattlesnakes.”

ZZ Top has a history of performances in Alabama, most recently playing three March shows in the state — in Mobile, Montgomery and Dothan. Over the years, the band also has appeared at venues such as Oak Mountain Amphitheatre in Pelham, the Von Braun Center in Huntsville and Boutwell Auditorium in Birmingham.

ZZ Top’s agenda for 2025 includes spring concerts in Australia and New Zealand, followed by summer and fall shows in Canada and the United States. (See the band’s full tour schedule here.)

Read More
General

Iconic rock legend back with original band for first album in more than 50 years

The “Alice Cooper Band” is back for its first new album in more than 50 years.

Billboard reports the band will release “The Revenge of Alice Cooper” on July 25. The album is the first since 1973’s “Muscle of Love.”

“It was very much like this was our next album after ‘Muscle of Love,’” Cooper told Billboard. “Just like, ‘OK, this is the next album.’ Isn’t that funny after 50 years? All of a sudden it just falls into place.”

The album will feature the surviving members of the Alice Cooper Group, including guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith.

“None of them has changed much as a person,” producer Bob Ezrin told Billboard. “Obviously everyone’s older and more mature and more settled, but when we all get together and I watch the interplay between them, it’s like they just walked out of high school and were hanging out in the local cafe. They just revert to type. They revert to who they were as kids when the first got together… and make music together like they did 50-some years ago.”

The album, per the report, consists of 14 tracks and is dedicated “to our brother Glen Buxton.”

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.

Read More
General

Dense fog advisory affecting Southeast Alabama until Tuesday morning, limited visibility

A dense fog advisory was released by the National Weather Service on Tuesday at 5:59 a.m. in effect until 9 a.m. for Coffee, Dale, Henry, Geneva and Houston counties.

The weather service states to prepare for, “Visibility one quarter mile or less in dense fog.”

“Low visibility could make driving conditions hazardous,” describes the weather service. “If driving, slow down, use your headlights, and leave plenty of distance ahead of you.”

Fog safety: Tips from the weather service for safe travels

If a dense fog advisory is issued for your area, it means that widespread dense fog has developed and visibility often drops to just a quarter-mile or less. These conditions can make driving challenging, so exercise extreme caution on the road, and if possible, consider delaying your trip.

If you must drive in foggy conditions, keep the following safety tips in mind:

Reduce speed:

Slow down and allocate extra travel time to reach your destination safely.

Visibility priority:

Ensure your vehicle is visible to others by using low-beam headlights, which also activate your taillights. If available, employ your fog lights.

Avoid high-beams:

Refrain from using high-beam headlights, as they create glare that impairs your visibility on the road.

Keep your distance:

Keep a considerable following distance to account for sudden stops or shifts in traffic patterns.

Stay in your lane:

Use the road’s lane markings as a guide to remaining in the correct lane.

Zero visibility strategy:

In cases of near-zero visibility due to dense fog, initiate your hazard lights and locate a secure spot, such as a nearby business parking area, to pull over and come to a halt.

No parking options:

If no designated parking area is available, pull your vehicle as far off the road as possible. Once stationary, deactivate all lights except the hazard flashers, engage the emergency brake, and release the brake pedal to ensure your tail lights remain unlit, minimizing the chance of other drivers colliding with your stationary vehicle.

By adhering to these recommendations from the weather service, you can navigate foggy conditions more safely, reducing the risk of accidents and ensuring your well-being.

Advance Local Weather Alerts is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to compile the latest data from the National Weather Service.

Read More