Transfer portal gossip is nothing new, and the buzz continues to surround Alabama basketball after a fourth consecutive Sweet 16 run.

Earlier this week, an incoming Crimson Tide forward became the latest subject of that speculation, and he didn’t wait long to respond.

After spending his freshman year at Mississippi State, Jamarion Davis-Fleming will join the Crimson Tide’s roster for the 2026-27 season. Days ago, though, rumors circulated that he had not signed with Alabama and was considering a return to Starkville.

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On Friday, May 1, Davis-Fleming put any doubt that he was going to play for anyone other than coach Nate Oats to rest.

“Stop with the false rumors, I’m Locked in with The Tide,” Davis-Fleming wrote.

With the Bulldogs, Davis-Fleming averaged 3.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while shooting 67.6% across 32 games.

Davis-Fleming is the brother of former Crimson Tide forward Javian Davis, who played under Oats during his first season at the helm of Alabama.

Three other transfer commits are expected to join Davis-Fleming next season, including Brandon Garrison (Kentucky), Cole Cloer (NC State) and Drew Fielder (Boise State). Per 247Sports, the Crimson Tide’s transfer ranking is 19th in the nation.

Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for The Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@usatodayco.com.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday announced the Republican-controlled state legislature will hold a special session next week to pave the way for redistricting – becoming the second state to take action following the Supreme Court’s decision further weakening the Voting Rights Act.

Lawmakers will meet starting Monday to establish a special primary election for both US House and state Senate districts “whose boundary lines are altered by court action,” Ivey, a Republican, said in her proclamation.

The state’s primary election is slated for May 19.

In the immediate aftermath of the high court’s Wednesday ruling striking down a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana, Ivey indicated that her state would not attempt to redraw its lines. Alabama currently is under a court order prohibiting the state from redistricting until after the 2030 census.

But Ivey and other officials have faced intense pressure to act. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall on Thursday filed motions asking the high court to move quickly to lift the injunctions so Alabama can proceed with redistricting.

State efforts to redraw their lines ahead of November’s midterm elections carry high stakes for both political parties. Republicans currently hold a paper-thin majority in the House, and both parties have waged a coast-to-coast mid-decade redistricting war for months, seeking to eke out a partisan advantage.

Redistricting typically occurs once a decade, after the census.

This week’s ruling from the Supreme Court – which makes it significantly harder to challenge redistricting plans as discriminatory – has set off a fresh redistricting scramble.

In a statement, Ivey said she is calling the special session in the hopes that the state will prevail in court. Alabama is currently represented in the US House by five Republicans and two Democrats, after courts ordered the creation of a second congressional district with a sizable Black population.

Ivey’s action comes a day after Republican officials in Louisiana announced that they were delaying the state’s primary elections for US House, although overseas ballots have already been mailed. Louisiana officials say they will not count votes cast in the May 16 election for US House seats, as the legislature looks to draw a new map.

Voters, civil rights organizations and other groups have filed legal challenges, seeking to block the Louisiana plan.

CNN’s John Fritze contributed to this report.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) – Alabama’s new grocery tax holiday starts May 1 and runs through the end of June.

For the first time since sales tax was created in 1939, shoppers in the state will not pay state tax on groceries.

House Bill 527 became law in early April. For the next three years, Alabamians will get two months without the 2 percent grocery tax.

State representative Mike Shaw added the holiday to the bill that Huntsville representative James Lomax sponsored.

According to the USDA, the average family of four spends around $1,000 a month on groceries. Without the 2 percent tax, that family would save around $40 by the end of the two-month holiday.

“One thing I hear from my constituents all the time is, when are we going to get rid of the grocery tax?” Shaw said. “Because we’re doing it in an incremental way, every step doesn’t sound like a lot. But when you add the 2 percent, we’ve already cut and the 2 percent of the grocery tax holiday, it’s going to be a significant chunk of cash in people’s pockets over time.”

The grocery tax has already been slashed in half since 2023.

Shopper Kelli Taylor said any break helps.

“Last month I could fill my vehicle up for 60 bucks. Last week, it was 93 dollars, so everything’s going up,” Taylor said. “So, to me, any break is a welcomed break, and 2 percent is a lot more than 0 percent, so I’ll take it,” Taylor said.

Alabama is one of only eight states that still has a grocery tax. Shaw said lawmakers will keep pushing toward eliminating it entirely.

An important part is making sure the Education Trust Fund (ETF) can handle it, which has lost millions of dollars of grocery tax funding since the cuts.

The holiday only applies to the state tax. Local city and county sales taxes on food remain in effect.

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