Alabama News

President Donald Trump on Wednesday vowed to “save” New York City from “communist lunatic” Zohran Mamdani, a day after he threatened to jail the Democratic mayoral nominee.

Mamdani, a Democratic socialist who won last week’s mayoral primary, campaigned on establishing city-run grocery stores, a $30 minimum wage by 2030 and free tuition at city colleges.

Mamdani’s victory over former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo and others thrust Mamdani into the national spotlight. Republicans have portrayed Mamdani as a radical Democrat whose policies will cause New York City to deteriorate.

The New York state assemblyman faces Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, Republican Curtis Sliwa and Cuomo, who will remain on the general ballot, in the November general election.

“As President of the United States, I’m not going to let this Communist Lunatic destroy New York,” Trump posted to his Truth Social account Wednesday morning.

Trump claimed that he will exert his influence over New York City’s direction should Mamdani become mayor.

“Rest assured, I hold all the levers, and have all the cards. I’ll save New York City, and make it ‘Hot’ and ‘Great’ again, just like I did with the Good Ol’ USA!” Trump posted.

The president’s social media post came a day after he threatened to jail Mamdani if the mayoral candidate defies immigration authorities conducting operations in the city.

“[W]e’ll have to arrest him,” Trump told reporters Tuesday while touring the “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention facility in Florida.

“Look, we don’t need a communist in this country,” Trump said of Mamdani, “but if we have one I’m going to be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation.

“We send him money, we send him all the things that he needs to run a government … we’re gonna be watching that very carefully,” Trump said.

Following the Senate’s passage of President Donald Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts bill, Fox News host Todd Piro had a piece of advice for Republicans.

“It’s very difficult to message on Medicaid,” Piro said, referencing the bill’s $1.2 trillion in cuts, largely to Medicaid and food stamps, that would impose work requirements on able-bodied people, including some parents and older Americans, making sign-up eligibility more stringent and changing federal reimbursements to states.

“And that’s why I do have some advice for the Republican party,” Piro continued.

“Send out Katie Britt, the senator from Alabama.”

Piro pointed to Britt’s weekend interview with Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union‚” as an example of how Republicans should disseminate information about the bill’s spending cuts.

“I heard her over the weekend explaining, in a better way than I think many of the-I’m not trying to make this a gender thing- but many of the older male representatives did,” Piro said.

In Sunday’s appearance, Tapper asked Britt to talk about how the bill could impact her constituents in Alabama, while noting that nearly 760,000 people in the state rely on Medicaid and more than 700,000 people (including 330,000 children) rely on food stamps.

“So when you look at Medicaid. Children, obviously, we have the Children’s Health Insurance Program,” replied Britt, noting the program that provides insurance for children up to age 18.

“So, children are absolutely not touched by this.”

“The same thing when it comes to SNAP benefits,” she added.

“What we’re talking about is able-bodied, working-aged Americans without dependents in home. Having them work, train, volunteer, in some capacity 20 hours a week in order to receive those government benefits.”

Piro applauded Britt’s “motherly” response.

“She explained, in a really kind, motherly way, as she is a mother, that look, we’re removing the Medicaid, temporarily, for people who have determined that they do not want to get a job or even engage in the simplest act of trying to get a job,” he said.

But opponents of the bill in Alabama have said these cuts will cause a devastating ripple effect throughout the state that expands even beyond those receiving Medicaid or SNAP benefits.

Rhonda Mann, executive director of VOICES for Alabama’s Children said cuts to Medicaid could close rural hospitals already struggling and cuts to SNAP could drastically impact retailers whose customers buy products with those benefits.

And Rev. Valtoria Jackson of the Alabama Poor People’s Campaign, said at a recent conference that the ramifications of this bill go deeper than the 1s and 0s.

“It is a moral document, “ she said.

“And in its current form, it will deepen poverty, strip vital support from our most vulnerable neighbors, and cost Alabama lives right here in Alabama.”

The bill is currently being debated in the U.S. House of Representatives.

A DeKalb County, Ala. school employee has been arrested in Georgia on charges he made pornographic videos of children using a hidden recording device.

Michael Brown has been charged with six counts of sexual exploitation of a child, six counts of computer pornography, 11 counts of unlawful eavesdropping or surveillance, two counts of possession/sale/distribution of eavesdropping devices, 11 counts of surreptitious recording of intimate parts, and five counts of prohibition on nude or sexual explicit electronic transmissions, according to the Chattooga County (Ga.) Sheriff’s Office website.

WHNT, citing the sheriff’s office, said Brown, 36, of Cloudland, Ga., was arrested Tuesday.

“The investigation revealed that Brown was manufacturing, uploading and sending child pornography online. Brown was utilizing a hidden video recorder to obtain images,” according to authorities.

Brown is listed on the DeKalb County Schools website as a computer technician.

In a statement posted to social media, the school system said it was aware of the arrest and that he had been “removed from all duties pending the outcome of the investigation.”

“At this time, we can confirm that the charges are not connected to our students, and did not occur on our campuses, however, due to the serious nature of the allegations, DeKalb County Schools in conjunction with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office has launched an investigation to ensure that the privacy, safety, and well-being of our students have not been compromised in any way,” the system said in the statement.

“We ask for the public’s patience as this investigation continues and assure our community that we are committed to transparency, accountability, and the highest standards of student protection.”

Dozens of Smokey Bones restaurants could be converted into Twin Peaks Restaurants.

USA TODAY reports that FAT Brands Inc., the global franchising company that acquired Smokey Bones in 2023, plans to shift its business model for the barbecue chain.

FAT Brands plans to close several underperforming Smokey Bones locations. The global franchiser plans to convert several remaining restaurants to Twin Peaks, a sports bar chain known for lodge theme and “Twin Peaks Girls” waitresses.

“Converting Smokey Bones locations to Twin Peaks provides a significant return on investment as altering a standing restaurant with similar square footage and real estate draw like Smokey Bones cuts out about a year and a half of construction time,” Ken Kuick, FAT Brands co-CEO and chief financial officer, said in a statement, according to USA TODAY. “Twin Peaks is our fastest-growing concept, producing strong and growing average-unit volumes.”

FAT Brands announced in March nine underperforming Smokey Bones locations would close. Those locations have not been announced.

For more than 50 years, residents of Birmingham and across Alabama were treated to the joys of the Cascade Plunge and Pavilion.

When it opened in 1923 at 6815 2nd Avenue South in East Lake, it was far more than a typical community swimming pool. In fact, one article referred to it as a “Pleasure Resort.”

Click through the gallery at the top of the story to see photos of the Plunge through the years.

Construction began in 1922 and the pool closed in 1970s. By that time, it was more of a community pool than a resort.

When the privately owned Cascade Plunge opened on June 7, 1923, it included an array of luxury features. The 80-by 220-foot pool was the largest of its kind in the South and could accommodate 3,000 swimmers at a time, according to an article in The Birmingham News.

The pool area was flanked by covered grandstands where visitors could watch a variety of water and diving shows or parents could oversee children while sitting in the shade.

In addition, the Plunge featured a pavilion with 2,000 steel lockers for men and 1,000 private dressing rooms for women. The women’s dressing area was “equipped with individual showers, with beauty parlors, hair dressing rooms, hot air hair drying process, electric method and all other conveniences to make the place up to date,” according to a 1922 article in The Birmingham News. The men’s locker room had a barber.

The resort also had a ballroom that was later renamed the Cloud Room. It hosted dances and live entertainment. The banquet room and dance floor covered 80-by-125 feet.

The Plunge also offered a variety of water shows to entertain guests. Shortly after it opened, it featured shows by Lottie Mayer and her troop of diving girls.

Admission in 1941 was 35 cents for adults and 20 cents for children, according to ads from the time. It was a stop on the streetcar line so it stayed busy during World War II when gas was rationed.

In the early 1950s the park hosted a “Miss Cascade Plunge” beauty contest, with winners going on to compete in the “Miss Dixie Queen of the South” pageant in Daytona Beach, Florida.

As swimming and water sports became more popular, the Plunge was host to numerous team swim and dive competitions.

For a time after the pool closed, it was used as a spring-fed fishing lake stocked with bream and catfish, according to Bham Wiki.

New Jersey-based Gaiser’s European Style Provisions Inc. is recalling approximately 143,416 pounds of ready-to-eat bologna due to a misbranding error.

According to an announcement from the USDA, the affected bologna products contain meat or poultry source materials that are not declared on the product labels.

The recalled bologna products were produced between March 20 and June 20.

The following bologna products are part of the recall:

• Vacuum-packed packages of “Family Tree Bologna Veal” containing undeclared pork.
• Plastic-wrapped packages of “Babushka’s Recipe Chicken Bologna” containing undeclared pork.
• Plastic-wrapped packages of “Fancy Bologna” labeled with pork as an ingredient but containing undeclared beef and chicken.
• Vacuum-packed packages of “Gaisers Russian Brand Doktorskaya Bologna” containing undeclared beef.
• Plastic-wrapped packages of “Gaisers Bologna Veal” containing undeclared chicken and pork.
• Plastic-wrapped packages of “Gaisers Turkey Bologna” containing undeclared chicken and pork.
• Plastic-wrapped packages of “Chicken Bologna Kypoyka Paba” containing undeclared pork

The USDA is concerned that consumers may still have the bologna products in their freezers. The agency is urging customers who have purchased the bologna not to eat it. The agency is also urging restaurants not to serve the bologna.

Krispy Kreme is giving out free doughnuts for Independence Day.

On July 4 only, guests who wear red, white and blue to participating Krispy Kreme shops can enjoy a free Original Glazed doughnut. The doughnut chain is limiting one sweet treat one per customer.

Last month, Krispy Kreme released its Stars, Stripes & Sweetness Collection featuring three festive doughnuts:

• Freedom Ring Doughnut – An Original Glazed doughnut dipped in white icing, blue sprinkles and white stars, piped with red icing stripes.
• USA Party Doughnut – An Original Glazed doughnut piped with white buttercreme, sprinkled with USA party sprinkle blend, and topped with a USA sugar piece.
• Vanilla Cookies & Kreme Liberty Crunch Doughnut – An unglazed shell doughnut filled with vanilla cookies & Kreme filling, dipped in white icing and topped with vanilla cookies, patriotic sprinkles and white icing drizzle.

“Whether you’re headed to parades, parties or pools for the holiday, our Stars, Stripes & Sweetness Collection is the perfect addition to sweeten your Fourth of July celebrations and make the day a blast,” said Dave Skena, Krispy Kreme Chief Growth Officer, in a press release.

As Immigration and Customs enforcement agents ramp up deportation efforts under the order of President Donald Trump, one man has created an app that allows people to warn their communities ahead of time.

The app, ICEBlock, allows users to report sightings of ICE activity.

“When I read Project 2025, listened to Trump on the campaign trail and then saw his administration putting policies into place to achieve those goals, I knew something had to be done to help the people,” creator Joshua Aaron recently told Newsweek.

Several members of the administration have come out against the app, with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has calling it an “obstruction of justice” in a post to X this week.

“If you obstruct or assault our law enforcement, we will hunt you down and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Noem wrote.

But Aaron maintains that the app is not intended to target ICE agents.

“I have continually made it clear, both via wording in the app and through media, that this is an early warning system,” he told Newsweek.

“In no way are we encouraging ICEBlock users to interfere with law enforcement.”

As ICE detention centers continue to fill rapidly as the Trump administration stresses daily arrest totals, advocates in Alabama and across the nation remain concerned about overcrowding and inhumane conditions.

“When we see ICE agents outside of elementary schools, disappearing college students for their political beliefs or ripping babies from their mother’s arms as they scream for their children, we all know their rhetoric of ‘getting rid of the worst of the worst’ is a lie,” Aaron told Newsweek.

“As I often say, if you ever wondered what you would’ve done if you lived in Germany during Hitler’s rise to power, wonder no more because you’re doing it right now.”

“Developing ICEBlock was my way of joining the fight and giving people a chance to help protect themselves and their communities,” he continued.

Last week, Mobile and Baldwin Sheriffs joined the 287G program that empowers local law enforcement to carry out the duties of federal immigration agents.

Deputies in the program will now be able to ask and identify whether people are here legally or not, according to Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch.

Colbert, Cherokee, Crenshaw, Elmore, Etowah, Franklin, Henry, Houston, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Marion and Pike counties and the Level Plains Police Department have also joined the program this year.

As of Friday, 737 such agreements existed across 40 states.

Challen Stephens, who led the AL.com newsroom to three Pulitzer Prizes in the last five years, has been named vice president of content and editor in chief of Alabama Media Group, the company announced Wednesday.

Natalie Pruitt, the president of Alabama Media Group, informed AL.com staffers of Stephens’ promotion on Wednesday morning.

“Challen’s leadership has helped define a new era of journalism in Alabama. His commitment to fearless reporting and his ability to guide teams through complex, high-impact investigations have earned national recognition and deep trust from our readers,” Pruitt said. “Just as important, he brings a sharp strategic mind and a deep understanding of our business, making him the right person to lead us forward. I’m proud to see him step into this role.”

A native of Pennsylvania, Stephens has worked for Advance Local in Alabama for 30 years, starting at The Huntsville Times in 1995. He spent decades covering education, criminal justice and politics in Alabama. A graduate of Dartmouth College, he spent a year as a Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan and earned a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.

Stephens’ reporting on police and schools won numerous honors over the years, including awards from Investigative Reporters and Editors, Education Writers Association, and the White House Correspondents Association. In 2021, Stephens was a lead reporter on the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting for examining the severity of widespread injuries from police K9s. He was the editor on two year-long projects for AL.com that each earned a Pulitzer Prize in 2023, one for local reporting and another for commentary. One exposed a corrupt police department and another examined how Alabama’s legacy on race affects the state today.

Stephens has served as acting editor in chief since March. Stephens replaces Hollis Towns, who left earlier this year to pursue other opportunities.

His first official day in the new role will be today.

“It’s a privilege to lead the largest newsroom in this state,” Stephens said. “Alabama is a unique place, where deep reporting can really make a difference. And this is a talented group, a group that knows how to report on Alabama in a way that makes sense to Alabamians. We’ll keep doing that.”

“We’ll also find the fun stories that people can’t help but talk about, and as always we’ll be fast, and we’ll go wherever the news take us in our state.”

Most recently Stephens was senior news director and investigative editor for AL.com – leading one of the largest teams of investigative journalists in the southeast. He also has had a national role as director of investigations for news outlets across Advance Local.

Alabama Media Group, which publishes AL.com, has more than 100 Alabama-based journalists located throughout the state. Besides AL.com — the state’s largest digital news site — AMG also produces This is Alabama, It’s a Southern Thing, the Alabama Ed Lab and the digital editions of the Birmingham News, Huntsville Times and Mobile Press-Register.

Sean “Diddy” Combs was convicted of a prostitution-related offense but acquitted Wednesday of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put one of hip-hop’s most celebrated figures behind bars for life.

The mixed result came on the third day of deliberations. It could still send Combs, 55, to prison for as long as a decade, and is likely to end his career as a hitmaking music executive, fashion entrepreneur, brand ambassador and reality TV star.

The foreperson confirmed the verdict reached was unanimous.

After they read the verdict, Combs held his hands up in a prayer motion, looking at jury and hugged his defense lawyer Teny Geragos.

Combs was convicted of flying people around the country, including his girlfriends and paid male sex workers, to engage in sexual encounters, a felony violation of the federal Mann Act.

But the jury of eight men and four women acquitted Combs of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges, related to allegations that he used his money, power and frightening physical force to manipulate his girlfriends into hundreds of drug-fueled sex marathons with the men.

Combs and his defense team argued that the women were willing participants and that none of his violence justified the severity of the charges.

After the verdict was read, the judge gave the jury guidance on speaking about the case to the media, to the public, and more.

Combs continuing to pump his right fist subtly, seemingly satisfied that he was acquitted on the most serious charges.

Combs seemed buoyant arriving in the courtroom earlier Wednesday morning, a contrast to his mood a day earlier after he learned that the jury at his sex trafficking trial had reached a yet-to-be-disclosed verdict on all but one of the five charges the hip-hop mogul faces.

Combs smiled and clasped his hands together in the air toward his family and supporters before hugging several of his lawyers and sitting down to await the outcome of the jury’s third day of deliberations.

A short while later, Combs, his head bowed, stood several feet from his family for less than a minute as they sat with their heads bowed in prayer. As they did on Monday, Combs and family members then applauded before he was led from the courtroom by U.S. marshals. The family later got in a van and left the courthouse.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian ordered the jury to continue its closed-door discussions for a third day after the panel of eight men and four women said it was unable to reach consensus on the top count: racketeering conspiracy.

The judge agreed with prosecutors and Combs’ defense team that less than 13 hours of deliberations was too soon to give up on reaching a verdict on all counts.

The jury’s decision on the other charges — two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution — remains under wraps for now.

In a note to the court late Tuesday, the jury said “unpersuadable opinions on both sides” among some jurors had prevented the group from reaching a unanimous verdict on the racketeering conspiracy charge.

Racketeering conspiracy is the most complicated charge in the trial and carries a potential maximum sentence of life in prison.

The sex trafficking charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life. Transportation to engage in prostitution carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The disclosure of the jury note about the partial verdict seemed to put defense attorneys and their client in a dour mood even before it was read in open court by the judge.

Eight defense lawyers formed a half-circle behind Combs as the smiles and lighthearted mood that accompanied the arrival of other jury notes over two days seemed absent as the attorneys contemplated the possibility that jurors had reached agreement on counts that carry the heaviest sentencing penalties.

Combs appeared morose as his lawyers spoke with him. At one point, the hip-hop mogul solemnly read a piece of paper that attorney Marc Agnifilo handed to him.

After the jury came in for instructions and then exited the room, a subdued Combs sat in his chair for a few minutes. As he stood to leave, he faced his relatives and supporters in the audience, blew a kiss and tapped his heart, as he frequently has done at the start and end of each day.

Then he paused before his mother and exchanged a few words, telling her, “Love you” and “I’ll be all right.”

Marshals then led him from the room.

Earlier in their deliberations the jury asked to review testimony from Cassie, the R&B singer who was Diddy’s former longtime girlfriend, as well as from Daniel Phillip, a male stripper Diddy is accused of paying to have sex with Cassie.

Prosecutors say Combs coerced two girlfriends into drug-fueled sex marathons with male sex workers.

Lawyers for the Bad Boy Records founder contend prosecutors are trying to criminalize Combs’ swinger lifestyle. They say his conduct, if anything, amounted to domestic violence, not federal felonies.

Combs, who chose not to testify.