1 of 5 | The decommissioned luxury liner SS United States, dating back to 1952, completed its long journey Monday from South Philadelphia to Alabama, where it will undergo preparations before it is sunk in the waters off Florida’s Gulf Coast to become the world’s largest artificial reef. Photo courtesy of Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department
March 3 (UPI) — The decommissioned luxury liner SS United States, dating back to 1952, completed its final journey Monday from South Philadelphia to Alabama, where it will undergo preparations before it is sunk in the waters off Florida’s Gulf Coast to become the world’s largest artificial reef.
The massive 72-year-old ship, which was retired in 1969, will be submerged after more than six months of work in Mobile to insure that the vessel is environmentally safe, Okaloosa County wrote in an email to UPI. The work will include removing old fuel, paint and wiring and will be done in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Environmental Protection.
The ship, which is made entirely of metal, is expected to be submerged about 20 nautical miles south of Destin-Fort Walton Beach in Florida.
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“We are proud to continue the story of this historic vessel as an artificial reef along with the land-based museum,” Okaloosa County Board Chairman Paul Mixon said Monday. “I applaud the Destin-Fort Walton Beach team in their efforts to succeed in this important next step and look forward to the immense impact she will continue to have on the lives of those who appreciate her history.”
The SS United States, which remains the largest passenger ship ever built in the United States with the capacity to hold 1,984 passengers, will provide a “much-needed habitat for a variety of marine species like grouper, snapper, mackerel and tuna.” The plan is to cut holes throughout the ship to make sure it lands upright and to provide openings for marine life. It will also become a “worldwide hub for divers.”
The luxury liner, which measures 990 feet long, will provide diving opportunities for both beginners and technical drivers. The depth of the reef is expected to be 180 feet to the bottom and about 55 feet to the upper deck.
“As the World’s Largest Artificial Reef, the story of the SSUS will be told to thousands of divers from around the world as they explore her unique design and features,” the Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department said in a news release last month. “She will also benefit her surrounding ecosystem and become home to countless marine species that will thrive from the presence of her structure.”
The SS United States, which once held the transatlantic speed record between the United States and Europe at an average speed of more than 41 mph, departed South Philadelphia nearly two weeks ago and was towed by several tugs along the Atlantic Coast and around the southern tip of Florida to Alabama. Its journey was delayed last year after Coast Guard officials questioned its seaworthiness amid storm activity.
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Among its esteemed passengers during its 17-year run, were comedian Bob Hope, actor John Wayne, Princess Grace of Monaco, artist Salvadore Dali, actress Rita Hayworth and former President Harry Truman. The ship had spent the last 29 years docked on the Delaware River in Philadelphia after falling into disrepair.
The SS United States’ two smoke stacks remain the world’s tallest at 65 feet each, which is about the size of a six-story building. The two funnels will be removed before its sinking and will be placed in an onshore museum, which will also house other artifacts from the ship.
The entire project — which includes acquiring the luxury liner, getting it ready to be submerged and building the museum — is expected to cost $10.1 million.
SELMA, Ala. — Sixty-one years after state troopers attacked Civil Rights marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, thousands are gathering in the Alabama city this weekend, amid new concerns about the future of the Voting Rights Act.
The March 7, 1965, violence that became known as Bloody Sunday shocked the nation and helped spur passage of the landmark legislation that dismantled barriers to voting for Black Americans in the Jim Crow South.
But this year’s anniversary celebrations – events run all weekend and end with a commemorative march across the bridge Sunday – come as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case that could limit a provision of the Voting Rights Act that has helped ensure some congressional and local districts are drawn so minority voters have a chance to elect their candidate of choice.
“I’m concerned that all of the advances that we made for the last 61 years are going to be eradicated,” said Charles Mauldin, 78, one of the marchers who was beaten that day.
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FILE – State troopers hit protesters with billy clubs to break up a civil rights voting march in Selma, Ala., on Sunday, March 7, 1965.
AP Photo/File
Justices are expected to rule soon on a Louisiana case regarding the role of race in drawing congressional districts. A ruling prohibiting or limiting that role could have sweeping consequences, potentially opening the door for Republican-controlled states to redistrict and roll back majority Black and Latino districts that tend to favor Democrats.
Democratic officeholders, civil rights leaders and others have descended on the southern city to pay homage to the pivotal moment of the Civil Rights Movement and to issue calls to action. Like the marchers on Bloody Sunday, they must keep pressing forward, organizers said.
Former state Sen. Hank Sanders, who helped start the annual commemoration, said the 1965 events in Selma marked a turning point in the nation and helped push the United States closer to becoming a true democracy.
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“The feeling is a profound fear that we will be taken back – a greater fear than at any time since 1965,” Sanders said.
Tear gas fills the air as state troopers, ordered by Gov. George Wallace, break up a march at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., on Sunday, March 7, 1965.
AP Photo/File
U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures won election in 2024 to an Alabama district that was redrawn by the federal court. He said what happened in Selma and the subsequent passage of the Voting Rights Act “was monumental in shaping what America looks like and how America is represented in Congress.”
“I think coming to Selma is a refreshing reminder every single year that the progress that we got from the Civil Rights Movement is not perpetual. It’s been under consistent attacks almost since we’ve gotten those rights,” Figures said.
In 1965, the Bloody Sunday marchers led by John Lewis and Hosea Williams walked in pairs across the Selma bridge headed toward Montgomery. Mauldin, then 17, was part of the third pair behind Williams and Lewis.
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At the apex of the bridge, they could see the sea of law enforcement officers, including some on horseback, waiting for them. But they kept going. “Being fearful was not an option. And it wasn’t that we didn’t have fear, it’s that we chose courage over fear,” Mauldin recalled in a telephone interview.
“We were all hit. We were trampled. We were tear-gassed. And we were brutalized by the state of Alabama,” Mauldin said.
No. 15 Alabama men’s golf closed the opening round of The Hayt with a team score of 9-under par 279 and enter Sunday’s second round in a tie for third overall. The Crimson Tide trails leaders LSU by five strokes.
The Crimson Tide saw two competitors land in the individual top 10 as Nick Gross is tied for second at 5-under par 67 and Brycen Jones is in seventh overall at 4-under 68. Gross finished the day with three consecutive birdies. Jonathan Griz and Jack Mitchell finished the first round even on the scorecard and tied for 35th while William Jennings shot 4-over par.
Crimson Tide Roll Call: Sunday, March 8, 2026
Alabama Crimson Tide Saturday results:
Baseball: Alabama 9, North Florida 3
Soccer: Alabama 5, UAB 1
Men’s Golf: Tied for 3rd after the first round at the Hayt Tournament
Women’s Tennis: Texas A&M 4, Alabama 1
Men’s Basketball: Alabama 96, Auburn 84
Alabama Crimson Tide Sunday schedule:
Men’s Golf: The Hayt Tournament Round 1, North Florida, Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Softball: Alabama at Ole Miss, Oxford, Miss., 1 p.m., SEC Network+, 100.1 FM
Men’s Tennis:Alabama at Auburn, Auburn, Ala., 1 p.m., WATCH
Baseball:Alabama vs North Florida, 1 p.m., Tuscaloosa, Ala., SEC Network +
Gymnastics: Alabama at Illinois, Champagne, Ill., 2 p.m. BIG10+
Countdown to Alabama Football’s 2026 season opener
181 days
On this date in Alabama Crimson Tide history:
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March 8, 1982: More than 1,000 people, including a throng of Paul W. “Bear” Bryant’s former players, paid $125 a plate at a black-tie dinner at the Sheraton Hotel in Washington, D.C. honoring the fabled coach. In a telephone call, President Ronald Reagan told Bryant: “The real contribution you have made are the differences you have made in the lives of so many young people.”
Alabama Crimson Tide Quote of the Day:
“If wanting to win is a fault, as some of my critics seem to insist, then I plead guilty. I like to win. I know no other way. It’s in my blood.”
Paul W. “Bear” Bryant
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We’ll leave you with this…
The Alabama football team had representatives on hand during the Alabama-Auburn basketball game to accept The Foy-ODK Sportsmanship Trophy. The trophy is awarded to the winner of the football game at said university’s home turn of the basketball series.
INDIANAPOLIS – Ahead of the 88th National Invitation Tournament, South Alabama has been named as the field’s first team.
The automatic berth for South Alabama is based on a prior agreement made between the NIT Board of Managers and the university following the 2025 selection process that resulted in the Jaguars not being included in the NIT field.
The agreement included minimum requirements for South Alabama’s regular season results. The Jaguars surpassed the requirements with ease, finishing with a 21-10 regular season record. At 11-7 in Sun Belt Conference play, South Alabama tied for second in the league.
Regular season champions that do not make the NCAA Tournament either as an automatic qualifier or as an at-large team automatically get a bid to the NIT if they have an average ranking of 125 or better across the seven metrics that appear on team sheets.
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A full overview of selection principles and procedures is available here.
The NIT semifinals and finals will take place in Indianapolis as part of a five-day celebration of basketball during which the NIT and NCAA Divisions I, II and III champions will be crowned. The semifinals will be played April 2 at Hinkle Fieldhouse at 7 and 9:30 p.m. on ESPN. The championship game on April 5 will tip at approximately 8 p.m. on ESPN2 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse following the conclusion of the Division II and III national championship games. The Men’s Final Four will be on TBS and takes place Saturday, April 4 and Monday, April 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium. For tickets, visit www.ncaa.com/mbbtickets.
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Connecticut’s men’s and women’s teams continue their unmatched run of excellence, combining for decades of titles and another season where both programs look poised for deep success in March.
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