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Alabama NAACP decries Supreme Court granting presidents legal immunity

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Alabama NAACP decries Supreme Court granting presidents legal immunity


The NAACP Alabama State Conference issued a statement on Tuesday saying the organization was “devastated by the high court ruling in [the] Trump immunity case.”

Benard Simelton, the organization’s president, said that “the Highest Court in the land has failed to protect its citizens from the most dangerous threat to our society, and this ruling, coming from the United States Supreme Court, violates the trust put in it by its citizens.”

Released on Monday, the Supreme Court’s decision on Trump v. United States stated that presidents have “presumptive immunity” for all official acts and “absolute immunity” for all official acts covered by presidents’ “exclusive authority.”

All six justices that signed onto the majority opinion in Trump v. United States were appointed by Republican presidents, with three appointed by Trump himself. Simelton told APR the NAACP wasn’t expecting the ruling because they “thought [the Supreme Court] would put their partisan views and ideology aside and rule based on the court of law.”

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Alabama Republicans were quick to publicly support the ruling. On a Tuesday radio show, Congressman Jerry Carl said America was “really, really, really close to becoming a third-world country” before the Supreme Court gave presidents legal immunity.

However, liberal politicians and many legal experts have called the ruling both anti-democratic and potentially dangerous. Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies, wrote that the ruling “is not what the Framers wanted” and “not what we should want either.”

“The NAACP does not support this decision,” Simelton said. “We think that presidents should be held accountable for their actions when they violate the law, when they’re in office and certainly when they’re out of office.”

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NAACP president Derrick Johnson called the decision “a danger to not only the African American community, but a danger to our society as a whole.”

Simelton explained to APR that he personally feels “this ruling will determine how our democracy will move forward.”

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“If we determine that the president of the United States is above the law then everything that we work for in a democracy will be undermined and essentially done away with,” he noted.

Simelton said he believes Americans need to elect both a president who respects everyone’s rights and the limits of their office and members of Congress who can keep an eye on the president and on the Supreme Court.

Pointing to the 22nd Amendment, which formalized the two term limit for the presidency, Simelton stated that America “didn’t want a person becoming an office and staying there forever” and it’s “the same thing with the Supreme Court.”

“I think it’s time to start looking at term limits for the Supreme Court,” he proffered.

Simelton is not the only person to call for more checks on the Supreme Court in the aftermath of its recent controversial rulings.

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Senator Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, called it “disgraceful that Justices Thomas and Alito brazenly refused to recuse themselves from [Trump v. United States]” and said he’ll continue pushing for the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act.

Senators Tina Smith, D-Minnesota, and Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, were just two of the elected officials to call to expand the Supreme Court as Congress did in the 1860s and FDR threatened to in the 1930s.

If the Supreme Court is not expanded, the composition of the court will only change as justices retire or die while in office. Whichever presidential candidate is elected in November, in addition to their newfound immunity, will likely appoint one or more people to the Supreme Court to either weaken or entrench the current majority.



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Alabama

Missing metro Atlanta man found dead in Alabama; family searching for answers

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Missing metro Atlanta man found dead in Alabama; family searching for answers


ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – The search for a person of interest is ongoing after the death of a metro Atlanta man in Alabama. Deundray Cottrell, 31, was last seen alive while visiting family in Birmingham on the Fourth of July.

Birmingham police found his body in that same neighborhood Saturday. They said 31-year-old Julian Morris was with him and went missing at the same time.

Police want to bring him in for questioning, believing he may have been the last person to see or hear from Cottrell. Meanwhile, family and friends are expressing how tremendous the loss is for them.

Death of Deundray Cottrell ruled as a homicide, BPD searching for person of interest

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“He was the embodiment of the word ‘love,’” said Angelica Harris, Cottrell’s sister, who lives in Birmingham. “We cry as we’re supposed to, but because he was filled with so much joy and we had so many great times and because he lived such an outstanding life, we always come back up for air and end up laughing and hugging.”

Police have ruled Cottrell’s death a homicide, but have not said exactly how he died.

Harris said her brother was pursuing a Ph.D. and moved to Atlanta to chase his dreams.



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Alabama residents invited to comment on master plan for statewide trail system

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Alabama residents invited to comment on master plan for statewide trail system


Alabama residents are invited to help shape the future of the state’s trail systems through public comments on the Sweet Trails Alabama statewide master plan. This plan aims to expand Alabama’s network of trails to promote outdoor recreation, tourism, health and economic development. The Sweet Trails Alabama master



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2024-2025 College Football odds: Alabama preseason title odds lowest since 2008

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2024-2025 College Football odds: Alabama preseason title odds lowest since 2008


Things are going to look very different in Tuscaloosa this upcoming season. 

For the first time since 2007, legendary head coach Nick Saban will not be at the helm for the Alabama Crimson Tide. 

During his 17 seasons at Alabama, Saban went 206-29, winning over 87% of his games. He won six National Championships during that span. 

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Now, Kalen DeBoer will take over for the Tide. 

Coach DeBoer had tremendous success in his two seasons with the Washington Huskies. 

He inherited a Washington team that in 2021 finished 4-8. He then led the Huskies to 11-2 and 14–1 records in 2022 and 2023, respectively, including a College Football Playoff win over Texas last season. 

Despite DeBoer’s previous success, filling Saban’s shoes figures to be a tall task, and sportsbooks are not as bullish as in years past about the Crimson Tide’s chances of winning a title. 

Bama is currently 14-1 to win the Natty, which is its worst preseason National Championship odds since 2008, Saban’s second season (60-1). 

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Still, while there will be a major change at head coach, Jalen Milroe will return as the starting quarterback for the Tide. 

Last season, Milroe took a huge leap forward. The dual-threat QB threw for 2,834 yards and 23 touchdowns while rushing for 531 yards and 12 touchdowns. He had a 172.2 QB rating, a massive jump from his 125.4 rating back in 2022. 

Milroe is currently +1400 to win the Heisman, trailing only Carson Beck (+800), Quinn Ewers (+900) and Dillon Gabriel (+1000). 

Alabama will have a challenging schedule next season, with road games against Wisconsin, Tennesse, LSU and Oklahoma, and a home contest against Georgia. 

Follow along with FOX Sports for the latest news on college football and other sports.

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