Alabama
Alabama man charged with threatening synagogues, mosques
A Needham, Alabama man has been charged by federal prosecutors with making threats to rabbis and imams across the South.
Jeremy Wayne Shoemaker faces a charge of an interstate communications threat after investigators say he made multiple threatening calls and messages to Jewish and Muslim religious leaders.
The threats were made to rabbis in Alabama and Louisiana, an imam in Georgia, a church in North Carolina and more.
According to court documents, agents discovered multiple firearms in Shoemaker’s home as well as a suitcase containing ammunition and papers listing the names, addresses and phone numbers of religious leaders and other prominent figures.
Shoemaker told agents he did not intend to carry out an attack, but engage in “psychological warfare.”
An FBI agent attested that Shoemaker came to the department’s attention after making a series of threats including to a Mountain Brook rabbi earlier this month.
“I want you to die because you want the death of us,” Shoemaker said during one call. “You want the West to die off.”
The FBI agent also noted a 2024 threat from Shoemaker to an Islamic center in Louisiana, and a threatening message to a Georgia imam earlier this year.
U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama — and frontrunner for Alabama’s next governor — has recently drawn attention to the Muslim community, calling “radical Islam and Sharia Law … the greatest national security threat facing the United States.”
He also called Islam “fundamentally incompatible with our Western values.”
“So, wake up America. The Quran instructs Islamists to fight Jews and Christians, along with anyone else who doesn’t believe in Allah,” Tuberville said. “Simply put, Radical Islam teaches that it is righteous to kill Christians—[that] it’s righteous. There is no peaceful coexistence with this type of people. None.”
Alabama
Alabama named in Paul Finebaum’s head-turning CFP prediction
The Alabama Crimson Tide had a lot of nerves awaiting the committee’s decision on their College Football Playoff fate, but they ended up getting into the field as the No. 9 seed and will face off against No. 8 Oklahoma.
Kalen DeBoer and company did not have a good showing against the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC championship game. They lost that matchup by a final score of 28-7. However, they’ll have a chance to prove that they belong.
While many have already written Alabama off as a potential national championship contender, there is one notable analyst who believes that the Crimson Tide still have a path to winning it all.
Read more: Texas, Arch Manning Dealt More Bad News After Missing CFP
Paul Finebaum still believes that there’s a chance Alabama could make a stunning run to a title.
During an appearance on “Get Up” on Monday morning, Finebaum revealed the pathway that he sees for Alabama to win a championship.
“The pairings could have been a lot worse. I, frankly, think if Alabama can get past Oklahoma, at least on paper, they have a path. It may not be that great for anybody who watched Indiana play on Saturday night,” Finebaum said. “But I think a lot of Alabama people would feel pretty good about it.”
Beating Oklahoma will be no easy task. The Sooners have had an up-and-down season at times, but they are loaded with talent on both sides of the football. Should the Crimson Tide pull off a win over Oklahoma, a much tougher test would await.
As Finebaum mentioned, Alabama would then have to take on the No. 1-seeded Indiana Hoosiers. Led by head coach Curt Cignetti, Indiana is fresh off of beating the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten championship game by a score of 13-10. They’re legit and they have arguably the best quarterback in the nation with Fernando Mendoza.
No one can count out any top-tier team at this point in time. There is a chance that the Crimson Tide could make a shocking run to a national championship win. That being said, DeBoer and company will have to fix a lot of weaknesses to do that.
Read more: Ohio State’s Ryan Day Sends Warning Ahead of College Football Playoff
One weakness that Finebaum sees has been the recent play of quarterback Ty Simpson and Alabama’s running game.
“Anything I say about Ty Simpson, it will be articulated 1000 times more,” Finebaum said. “But something is wrong. Is it the lack of running game? Is it problems up front? But he just doesn’t seem to be the same quarterback he was eight weeks ago. I think that has to be a major concern going into Norman.”
The Crimson Tide will face off against the Sooners on December 19. Fans can only wait and hope that the team can fix the issues that were clearly present against Georgia.
For more on the Alabama Crimson Tide and college football news, head to Newsweek Sports.
Alabama
University of Alabama alumni launch fundraiser to save student magazines
University of Alabama alumni have launched a fundraising campaign for two print magazines that were shut down.
Masthead, a nonprofit dedicated to “diverse, anti-racist and equitable student media at the University of Alabama,” opened a $25,000 fundraising campaign for Alice and Nineteen Fifty-Six, two student-led print magazines focused on women’s lifestyle and Black culture.
The university shuttered the magazines after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives may violate federal anti-discrimination laws.
The alumni group said it doesn’t think the magazines violated federal regulations.
“Even if their subject matter is specific, Alice and Nineteen Fifty-Six have always been by anyone, for everyone,” Masthead said in a news release. “The editors-in-chief of both magazines said their staff are ready to continue their work, with or without UA.”
The nonprofit the university’s decision silences viewpoints “disfavored by the government because they dared to write about those topics at all.”
The fundraiser will go towards printing costs, equipment and student salaries. Masthead president Victor Luckerson told AL.com it costs about $7,500 to print 1,000 copies.
“This fundraising drive is the first step in ensuring the staff at Alice and Nineteen Fifty-Six receive the mentorship, advice and support they need during this tumultuous time,” Masthead said.
Masthead will post updates about the campaign in their newsletter.
“Even if the university says that Nineteen Fifty-Six is suspended, this proves that there is no suspension of the stories that we’re going to tell,” Nineteen Fifty-Six editor-in-chief Kendal Wright said. “It takes away a space for us to be able to tell our own stories and for everyone to read our stories. But I think this experience has taught our community and our staff that there is always another way. We will always have a space to tell our stories, and we will always make one. We cannot be silenced.”
The University of Alabama has not responded to requests for comment.
Alabama
College Football Playoff committee absolutely blew it
College football lost on Sunday.
It lost because a team, Notre Dame, capable of winning a national championship was left out.
It lost because the College Football Playoff selection committee ignored the downward spiral of another team, Alabama.
It lost because of the committee’s inconsistencies in the ranking process, dropping one team (BYU) that was crushed in its conference tournament, but not treating the Crimson Tide the same way even though they performed in the exact same manner on Saturday night in a 28-7 drilling at the hands of Georgia. It lost because the committee ranked Notre Dame ahead of Miami all year, then flipped the two based on a head-to-head Week 1 result after ignoring the matchup in the previous five editions of the rankings.
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