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Alabama retailers project about $18.5 billion in holiday spending this year

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Alabama retailers project about .5 billion in holiday spending this year


Alabama’s retailers are expecting a holiday shopping season on par with last year – but that continues a surprising trend stretching back five years.

The Alabama Retail Association expects holiday sales of about $18.5 billion over the final two months of 2024.

What is that based on? Looking at Alabama Revenue Department abstracts, taxed sales in Alabama were down a half percent through the first eight months of 2024. A 1% reduction in the tax rate on food, starting last September, explains the decline in sales tax collections.

The Alabama Retail Association’s holiday spending prediction covers all taxed sales, including those from remote sellers, during the months of November and December.

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How were last year’s sales? According to the ARA, Alabamians spent 2.8% more during last year’s holiday season than they did over those same two months in 2022. For all of 2023, Alabama retail sales grew 3.42%.

Last year, the association projected holiday spending in Alabama near $18.75 billion.

What about the Birmingham metro area? A flat holiday season for spending might actually be a positive. The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Business’ Alabama Business Confidence Index for the fourth quarter saw numbers all over the place among Alabama’s metros. The most pessimistic outlook, according to the survey, was in the Birmingham-Hoover area, which had a mildly negative outlook with regard to hiring, capital spending, and the national outlook. Tuscaloosa and Huntsville were higher.

What about nationally? The National Retail Federation expects winter holiday spending to grow between 2.5% and 3.5% nationally over 2023. That projection leaves out automobile, gasoline and restaurant food sales, while the Alabama Retail Association’s just excludes gasoline sales.

Are there any surprises? For the past five holiday seasons in Alabama, sales have grown an average of 7% each year – that’s despite the economic upheavals of the COVID-19 pandemic and persistent inflation. From 2019 to 2023, sales in the final two months of the year grew almost 40%.

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Key point: The Alabama Retail Association’s #ShopAlabama campaign is encouraging shoppers to look locally to their community retailers.

“The stores down the street or around the corner support your community in big and small ways daily,” Association President Rick Brown said. “By shopping with retailers based in your community or our state, you contribute to the health of your local and state economies.”



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Alabama

Former Alabama WR transfer signs with UNLV, Dan Mullen

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Former Alabama WR transfer signs with UNLV, Dan Mullen


TCU transfer wide receiver JoJo Earle signed with UNLV under new head coach Dan Mullen, On3’s Pete Nakos has learned. He started his career at Alabama before spending two seasons at TCU.

Earle entered the transfer portal earlier this month following his second year with the Horned Frogs. He only appeared in four games in 2024, totaling seven receptions for 37 yards and a touchdown. That came after he played in all 12 games as a junior when he had 16 receptions for 239 yards and two touchdowns after transferring from Alabama.

During his two years at Alabama, Earle appeared in 20 games. He totaled 303 yards and two touchdowns during that time before taking his talents to TCU. He will have one year of eligibility remaining.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire

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The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and X account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

Earle played high school football at Aledo (TX), where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 44 overall player from the 2021 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

JoJo Earle is the latest high-profile transfer to commit to UNLV under Mullen, who is returning to the sidelines as Barry Odom’s replacement. The Rebels have been active in the portal market since the transition, notably making a splash at quarterback.

Former Virginia quarterback Anthony Colandrea is also making his way to Las Vegas next season after announcing his commitment Dec. 21. He arrives as the No. 340 overall player and No. 30-ranked quarterback to enter the portal so far this cycle, according to the On3 Industry Transfer Rankings.

Colandrea played in 11 games last season with Virginia, throwing for 2,125 yards 13 touchdowns, along with 11 interceptions. He chose UNLV over suitors such as Pitt, Syracuse and Ole Miss, which were all in pursuit.

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Mullen is making his return to the sidelines after two years as an ESPN analyst. He previously worked as the head coach at Florida, amassing a 34-15 record, including a 21-14 mark in SEC play. That came after nine seasons as the head coach at Mississippi State, where he went 69-46 and led the Bulldogs to a 10-win season in 2014.





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16-year-old 'Baby Driver' actor dies after fall from moving vehicle in Alabama

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16-year-old 'Baby Driver' actor dies after fall from moving vehicle in Alabama


(From L) US actor Clayton Royal Johnson, US producer Christa Boarini, US director Todd Wiseman Jr., US actors Kue Miller Lawrence, Hudson Meek, US actress Christina Brucato, US actor Michael Sean Tighe and US model singer and photograph Eugenie Bondu

Hudson Meek, a rising teen actor best known for his role as “Young Baby” in the 2017 Atlanta-filmed blockbuster Baby Driver, has tragically passed away at the age of 16.

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Meek died on Saturday from injuries sustained after falling from a moving vehicle in his hometown of Vestavia Hills, Alabama, according to multiple sources. The Jefferson County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that he suffered blunt force injuries in the incident, which occurred last Thursday on the 1900 block of Canyon Road. The circumstances surrounding the accident remain under investigation by the Vestavia Hills Police Department.

Meek’s family shared the heartbreaking news on his Instagram account, writing, “Our hearts are broken to share that Hudson Meek went home to be with Jesus tonight.”

Hudson Meek was a graduate of Vestavia Hills High School and had a blossoming career in the entertainment industry. In Baby Driver, filmed and set in Atlanta, he portrayed the younger version of Ansel Elgort’s main character in the Edgar Wright-directed action film. His talents extended to appearances in NBC’s Found, the MacGyver reboot, and voice acting roles. Alongside his brother, Tucker Meek, he also appeared in the 2014 Lifetime movie The Santa Con.

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Meek’s obituary highlighted his passion for acting and his love for working on set, saying, “He absolutely loved spending time on set and having the chance to learn the names and stories of every member of the cast and crew.” Several of his projects are set to be released in 2025.

READ THE OBIT

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J Pervis Talent Agency, which represented Meek, paid tribute on Instagram: “Hudson was an extraordinary young talent, whose dedication, passion, and promise shone brightly within our industry. Over the past 10 years, he contributed so much to the spirit of our agency, and his loss leaves a void that will be deeply felt by all of us.”

Baby Driver (2017) is a stylish action-crime film directed by Edgar Wright. The movie revolves around Baby, a young and talented getaway driver with a passion for music. Played by Ansel Elgort, Baby uses his carefully curated playlists to drown out the tinnitus he developed from a childhood car accident and to synchronize his driving, making him one of the best in the business.

Baby works for Doc, a mysterious crime boss played by Kevin Spacey, who organizes heists with rotating crews of criminals. Baby is reluctantly tied to Doc due to a debt, but he dreams of leaving the criminal world behind. His plans are further solidified when he meets Debora, a kind-hearted waitress played by Lily James, and the two begin to imagine a future free from crime.

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However, Baby’s path to freedom is complicated by a dangerous heist crew and escalating tensions with volatile criminals like Bats (Jamie Foxx) and Buddy (Jon Hamm). As the stakes rise, Baby must use his driving skills, quick thinking, and determination to protect Debora and escape the life of crime once and for all.

EntertainmentNewsAtlanta



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Alabama quadruplets out of NICU and home for Christmas

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Alabama quadruplets out of NICU and home for Christmas


AUBURN, Ala. (WSFA) – When Becca Bryant found out she was pregnant, she was excited to add a fourth child to her family. What the family didn’t expect is it wouldn’t just be adding a fourth kid, but also a fifth, sixth and seventh.

The quadruplets – Kali, Koen, Laney and Lennon – were born premature at 23 weeks and four days.

Because of their early birth, they had to spend five to six months in the neonatal intensive care unit. The last one was brought home on Dec. 10, just weeks before Christmas.

“We get closer to Christmas and our last one’s still in the NICU, and I’m like come on, come on, come on, let’s go home, let’s go home,” Bryant said. “So now that we’re all here, I’m so excited. I cannot wait to get all of them in front of the tree and take a picture.”

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Having three more kids than you’re expecting is sure to put a financial strain on any family, but the community has made sure the Bryant family has all of its needs covered.

“We are very blessed to say that we have not bought a single diaper yet, and we’ve had people send gift cards, and we’ve had people send cash,” she said. “We wouldn’t make it without that.”

The parents are also getting much-needed help from their older kids.

“Once they started trickling home, they were all excited, and they just couldn’t wait. They wanted to hold them, they wanted to help, they wanted to get their clothes, they wanted to do their bottles, and they still want to do all that stuff,” said Bryant.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 148 sets of quadruplets or higher-order births in 2023. That’s the lowest number since it started collecting data in 1998.

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