Alabama News

Move over Washington, Chicago and Atlanta. Birmingham is now a burgeoning destination for recent college graduates, according to a new study from payroll services provider ADP.

Details of the study were reported by the Wall Street Journal Friday.

ADP ranked Birmingham along with Austin, Raleigh, Milwaukee and Baltimore among the best “second tier cities” for young professionals. The company looked at cost of living data for more than 5 million workers in their 20s in 55 metro areas. They ranked the cities according to affordability, salaries and hiring.

Birmingham met the criteria to make the top five.

WSJ said that the top-ranking cities tend to have a higher-than-usual concentration of technology, health and financial firms. “Like Birmingham, they are home to research and healthcare institutions that do a lot of hiring themselves,” the article said.

“Birmingham is also winning over young professionals. Companies in healthcare, finance and technology are big employers, as is the University of Alabama at Birmingham and its medical center,” Wall Street Journal reporters Ray A. Smith and Haley Zimmerman wrote.

Raleigh led the list of choicest cities, according to the study. Birmingham rose in its salaries and hiring while falling “just a tad” in affordability, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The article includes comments 22-year-old Aaron Gill, a May graduate from Samford University, who is native to Atlanta. Gill had planned to return to Atlanta before landing a job at Birmingham’s Vulcan Materials. Gill noted Birmingham’s slower pace than Atlanta, but said that, on the other hand, he appreciates the lack of congestion in the Magic City.

Gill also noted that young professionals seem to be moving to the city from around the country, judging by the out-of-state license plates he sees in Vulcan Materials’ parking lot.

“More and more I can see myself living in Birmingham,” Gill said in the article.

Dear Eric: I am recently widowed and have been living in our home in our quiet neighborhood for more than 50 years. My husband and I had a friendship with a female neighbor for five years or so.

When Jack became ill and close to death, Mary became very helpful to me.

We used to email each other every day. I told her I had traded my car for a small luxury SUV. What I got was “well, I hope you feel good about yourself.” The daily emails fell off and I asked why. She said we are from two different worlds and are very different people and then proceeded to evaluate my character.

She said she couldn’t understand why I complained about the workers I had called to the house to do things for me. I didn’t complain about them; I was just surprised by the cost. The man who came and removed furniture for Jack’s hospice had an obnoxious smelling cologne that I mentioned to her, and she reacted by asking how I could think ill of someone who had done something so kind for me.

I told her I was done with this assessment of my character. I feel bad about all this, but I didn’t start it. Mary is in poor financial condition and I’m not, so maybe this is envy of some sort? Though I feel badly, I’m not inclined to fix what I thought was a friendship. Am I wrong?

– Lost Friend

Dear Friend: An unsolicited character critique is not good friend behavior. Now, those who are close to us can sometimes see things about us that we can improve. And, with permission, they can share them. But that’s not what Mary is doing.

It sounds like she’s working through some resentments – perhaps about money, perhaps about class, perhaps about something else entirely. But it’s up to her to be upfront with that, rather than resorting to passive-aggression. If you want to see if there’s something to resurrect in this friendship, you tell her, “something changed in our relationship, and I’d like to talk about why. Are you open to having a conversation about it?” You’ll both want to use “I” statements – she should focus on how she felt rather than what you did wrong in her eyes. And you should do the same. Sometimes, the things that we say can take on different meanings to others because of who they are, where they’re from and what they’re going through. That doesn’t make one person more right or more wrong. But, with conversation and openness, these conflicts can be doorways to empathy and understanding.

Read more Asking Eric and other advice columns.

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.

Dear Eric: I work at a small bank with nine coworkers, including myself. We have a dilemma going on in the office. The president and his assistant are sleeping together. They were caught on video after hours in the office. They also rush a few of us out of the office at the end of the day and stay back to do who knows what.

They have been confronted by one coworker to stop doing their mess in the office and that everyone, with the exception of one person who was just hired, knows what they’re doing. They also take multi-hour lunch breaks every day.

The problem is the other coworkers are salaried, with the exception of one, and some are taking advantage of work hours. They’re always leaving early by one hour or coming in late and the president doesn’t say anything because he’s afraid of them going to HR and letting them know what he has done. This leaves some of the other employees, who don’t abuse their time, reeling and wanting to go to HR, but it would probably shut the whole office down because no one here is capable of taking over.

So, are we just out of luck, or do we say something?

– Helpless

Dear Helpless: You have to say something to HR. This is a mess and the mess – not the whistleblowing – is endangering your job and your customer’s well-being. Human Resources is not going to shut down your office. However, it may become necessary for the president to be replaced. If that’s the case, there are people who are trained as interim or crisis leaders who can step in and help right the ship.

Being a part of a small office can sometimes make it harder to call out bad behavior because there’s a fear of being labeled “not a team player” or creating huge waves in a small pond. But the waves are already there. The workplace is toxic. The president of your bank is clearly not exercising good judgment. What you need is someone or something that will calm the seas. That’s where HR can step in.

Read more Asking Eric and other advice columns.

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.

Dear Annie: My husband and I finalized our divorce in April after nearly a year of separation. I’m at a loss as to what to do now when it comes to my ex’s birthday and Father’s Day. We share an 8-year-old son who is severely autistic, so when it comes to holidays and whatnot, everything is my doing with only a little assistance from our boy.

In the past, I always made sure to mark these occasions. But for context, I initiated the divorce because I felt like a married but single mom and couldn’t take it anymore, feeling like I had two “kids.”

On my recent birthday, my ex took our son on a weekend trip. I asked if they could stop and pick me up something at one of my favorite shops while they were out of town. Instead, I got something that clearly came from a gas station, likely on the way home. Last year, I got gray hand towels. For Mother’s Day, I received nothing except the card our son made at school.

If I say anything about my disappointment, I know I’ll just be told these gifts are what our son picked out, which is probably only half-true at best. After this past Mother’s Day, I did tell my ex that if he expected recognition from us on Father’s Day, it must go both ways. I got a meek apology from him, but I’m not hopeful of any real change.

I don’t want to do nothing for him, but I also don’t want to keep rewarding his behavior and keep feeling like the only one trying. Any advice on how I should handle these events now and in the future as we adjust to our new normal? — Tired of Doing It All

Dear Tired of Doing It All: It sounds like you’ve carried the bulk of the load for your family for a long time, so your resentment makes perfect sense. The fact that you still want to show your ex grace and respect, mostly for your son’s sake, speaks volumes about the kind of mother you are.

Now that he’s no longer your husband, you’re not obligated to keep showing up in the same ways you always have. When it comes to gifts like these, it really is the thought that counts. Helping your son pick out or make a card for his dad is more than enough and a heartfelt way to support your son’s relationship with his father without overextending yourself.

As for your ex, it’s time to adjust your expectations. He’s shown you repeatedly, both during your marriage and now in divorce, where his priorities lie — it’s largely what led you to leave him. From here on out, focus on what you can control. It’s a losing battle to dwell on what you hope he’ll eventually do or wish he’d done all along.

Read more Dear Annie and other advice columns.

“How Can I Forgive My Cheating Partner?” is out now! Annie Lane’s second anthology — featuring favorite columns on marriage, infidelity, communication and reconciliation — is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit Creators Publishing for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to [email protected].

We all carry an invisible burden of “to-do’s” — “I should clean out the garage,” or, “I need to read that book everyone’s talking about” — that clutter our internal worlds. The weight isn’t just from the task itself; it’s from the self-judgment and energy leakage tied to not doing it. Use this, the weekend of this solar season, as a permission slip to simply let it go.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). You were once someone people could rely on to behave, but now you might be someone they have to relearn. The next chapter holds more risk, more authenticity, more artistry, more you.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Projection is part of bonding. Someone is drawn to you. They see what they want to see and unconsciously fill in the blanks with their own hopes and needs. Stay grounded in your actual self.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You’re not obligated to live up to someone’s fantasy. You’re allowed to evolve, contradict their assumptions or simply not fit. Don’t over-explain your existence. If someone feels let down by your authenticity, that’s their disappointment to process — not your job to fix.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). You recognize what matters to you. Sure, it feels good to be praised and rewarded, but that’s about what matters to them, not necessarily what matters to you. You’re after fulfillment. You’re developing taste, depth and originality — by asking: Is this true for me?

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You’re cultivating a social atmosphere where kindness isn’t just offered; it multiplies. People feel better in your company — warmer, safer, freer to be real. That’s the structure you’re building: an invisible architecture of ease.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You don’t owe anyone their illusion of you. Relationships will be clarified in a moment when someone stops seeing you in a role and starts to understand you — the “actor” playing the role. Real closeness begins when the projection drops — and someone chooses to keep knowing you.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). “Autopilot” mode isn’t the most exciting or involved way to do a job, but it definitely conserves energy. You’re in it for the long haul, so you need to pace yourself. Sometimes it’s just about showing up.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). The aesthetics of an experience will matter to you more than they seem to matter to others. Because of this, there is beauty around you. You’ll be strategic in your placement of things and in your embodiment of beauty and order. Surprise is an essential element in your choices.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Don’t wait for a title to confirm your worth; build a life that reflects your values, and let the titles follow (or not). Purpose, joy and freedom are states, not positions. They’re flexible. They can live in many containers.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Why do ghosts haunt? Unfinished business. You’ll return to the places and people in your mind and in any way you can because you want to understand what happened back there. You’re hoping to learn something new to shed light on the history.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You’ll crave knowledge, especially the kind that few would care to wonder about. You’ll prize understanding the internal logic of things. You’ll notice where the atmosphere doesn’t match the architecture — when the structure of a thing fails to reflect its soul.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). The conventional thought: Healing must include forgiveness. In reality, forgiveness is a personal and complex process — sometimes essential, sometimes irrelevant, sometimes premature. Consider it optional. There are many ways to move on.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (July 19). You use your talent, take your prize, and when pressure is on, you level up. Then life rewards you with tickets to Levity Town; fabulous luck and stellar attitudes abound. Abundant opportunities are just one of the many perks to being you this year. You’ll laugh more than you thought possible. More highlights: upgrades at home, you’ll charm someone who intimidates everyone else and be given the keys to a kingdom. Gemini and Sagittarius adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 1, 8, 18, 40 and 16.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: Sir Brian May made a triumphant return at Coachella 2025 alongside Benson Boone, showcasing resilience and loyalty to his craft. He continues crafting new Queen music, promoting astrophysics and leading with the heartful, visionary spirit classic to his Cancer sun sign. As Queen’s iconic guitarist — creator of the legendary “Red Special” — he channels emotional depth into soaring riffs and heartfelt ballads, passionate advocacy for animal welfare, conservation and scientific outreach.

Holiday Mathis’ debut novel, “How To Fail Epically in Hollywood,” is out now! This fast-paced romp about achieving Hollywood stardom is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit creatorspublishing.com for more information. Write Holiday Mathis at HolidayMathis.com.

On Friday evening, Xavier Edwards stood in Academy Sports + Outdoors on Airport Boulevard in Mobile trying to make up his mind. The two footballs were staying in the shopping cart, but he had some other decisions that were “really hard.”

A 9-year-old who’ll be in the fourth grade at Dixon Elementary School in Irvington this year, Edwards had to figure out how to spend $250 before he left Academy.

On Friday, Edwards had been looking forward to attending AJ McCarron’s free football camp on Saturday at Mobile Christian School. Although the camp will be McCarron’s 10th annual event, Edwards would be attending for the first time.

The trip to Academy on Friday? “I didn’t even know why I was coming here,” Edwards said.

The youngster found out he was there with 19 others registered for Saturday’s camp who had been chosen to receive a $250 gift card to spend in the fifth year that Academy and McCarron have partnered for the giveaway.

“I’m like, ‘Free stuff?’” Edwards said of his reaction.

The gift card gave the young lineman a jump on his preparations for his season with the Bayou La Batre-based Bayou Seahawks.

“It truly is a blessing to be able to give back to the city of Mobile and the kids here in our community,” McCarron said. “It’s our youth. Some of these kids might not have any hope, and it gives them real hope. Being able to be picked and randomly selected and have the opportunity to do something that might not be an everyday thing for them, that’s the blessing behind it all, and I’m just super thankful for Academy to be sponsored by them for a fifth year and for them to be a part of this. The kids having $250 to get whatever they want for that, it’s just awesome to be a part of.”

McCarron was an All-State football and baseball player at St. Paul’s Episcopal School in Mobile. He went on to help Alabama win the BCS national championships for the 2011 and 2012 seasons as the Crimson Tide’s starting quarterback. McCarron won the Maxwell Award as the outstanding college player of the 2013 season, when he also was the runner-up in the balloting for the Heisman Trophy.

McCarron has had a nine-season NFL career and played two seasons with the St. Louis Battlehawks in the XFL and the UFL. But his most recent game came on June 9, 2024, and a hallmark of McCarron’s camp has been his determination to complete a pass to every camper. With more than 400 youngsters registered for Saturday’s event, that will be a lot of passes.

“The arm’s great,” McCarron said. “I’ve been throwing a baseball all summer, so I’m oiled up and ready to go. …

“It’s always a blessing to give back to the city that helped raise me and to help the youth find their way along the process, so it’s been a blessing. I’m just excited for this camp. It’s going to be a hot one tomorrow, but it’ll be fun to see the kids out there having fun and learning something about the game of football.”

Assisting the youngsters with their shopping on Friday were members of the Mobile Police Department. Last year at the shopping spree, the officers helped 15 youngsters spend $200 apiece.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.

The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9 to win the championship of the NFL’s 2024 season.

The team had planned to present championship rings to its players, coaches and staff on June 6 during the team’s offseason program. But the rings weren’t ready.

The ring ceremony finally took place on Friday night, four days before the Eagles are scheduled to report for training camp to prepare for the 2025 season.

The rings are personalized with each player’s name and number. The ring for quarterback Jalen Hurts also carries the notation “MVP.” The former Alabama standout won the Most Valuable Player award for Super Bowl LIX.

The rings feature a pair of wings that can be extended from the body of the jewelry to reveal a favorite phrase of Hurts and coach Nick Sirianni: “You can’t be great without the greatness of others.”

The scores of each of Philadelphia’s postseason victories are engraved on the inside of the ring, along with another pet saying of Sirianni: “Tough Detailed Together.”

That all appears under a flag of Brazil, because the Eagles started their 2024 season by winning the first NFL game played in that country in Sao Paulo.

Philadelphia’s Super Bowl LIX roster included 13 players from Alabama high schools and colleges. In addition to Hurts, the championship players were:

• Reed Blankenship (West Limestone) started at safety.
• Fullback Khari Blasingame (Buckhorn) played reserve and special-teams roles.
• Defensive back James Bradberry (Pleasant Grove, Samford) was on injured reserve.
• Landon Dickerson (Alabama) started at left guard.
• Offensive lineman Jack Driscoll (Auburn) was on injured reserve.
• Defensive end Bryce Huff (St. Paul’s Episcopal) was designated as a game-day inactive.
• Linebacker Nicholas Morrow (Huntsville) played on special teams.
• Cornerback Eli Ricks (Alabama) was designated as a game-day inactive.
• DeVonta Smith (Alabama) started at wide receiver and became the first Crimson Tide alumnus to catch a touchdown pass in the Super Bowl.
• Offensive lineman Tyler Steen (Alabama) played reserve and special-teams roles.
• Tight end C.J. Uzomah (Auburn) was on injured reserve.
• Defensive tackle Byron Young (Alabama) was on injured reserve.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.

A 22-year-old is in jail, accused in a Montgomery double homicide.

Dontrez Taylor is charged with capital murder and murder in the July 12 killings of Malik Benson, 27, and Dekeith Whatley,26. The victims were killed in separate, but linked, shootings six days ago.

Taylor was taken into custody Friday, said Montgomery police Sgt. Tina McGriff.

First responders were dispatched at 3:55 p.m. that Saturday to a report of people shot in the 400 block of North California Street and the 2700 block of Upper Wetumpka Road.

Officers were told the shootings were likely related.

Officers found Benson dead on California Street.

The second victim -Whatley – was found wounded on Upper Wetumpka Road. He, too, was pronounced dead.

Circumstances surrounding the deadly shooting have not been released.

Taylor is being held without bond in the Montgomery County Detention Facility.

Former Hewitt-Trussville star Steele Hall is officially a major league baseball player.

The Cincinnati Reds announced Friday they had signed the No. 9 overall pick. He signed for $5.75 million, according to MLB.com.

Hall, who started his high school career at Daphne before transferring to Hewitt-Trussville prior to his sophomore season, was named Alabama’s Mr. Baseball in June by the Alabama Sports Writers Association.

The Class 7A Player of the Year hit .484 for the Huskies this spring with eight home runs, 14 doubles, 35 RBIs and 46 runs scored. He also was the MaxPreps Alabama Player of the Year.

Hall is the earliest pick straight from an Alabama high school since pitcher Braxton Garrett from Florence to the Miami Marlins at No. 7 in 2016. The only other higher picks straight from an Alabama high school in the main summer draft are shortstop Condredge Holloway from Lee-Huntsville to the Montreal Expos at No. 4 in 1971 and pitcher Rick James from Coffee-Florence to the Chicago Cubs at No. 6 in 1965.

Hall, who reclassified, is still only 17