Alabama

Alabama woman set for a plea hearing months after police say she faked her own kidnapping

Published

2 years ago

March 9, 2024

BESSEMER, Ala. — A new plea hearing has been set for an Alabama woman accused of falsely telling police she was abducted last summer after stopping her car to check on a toddler wandering near a highway.

Carlee Russell’s two-day disappearance, and her story of being abducted, captivated the nation before police called her story a hoax.

Russell was scheduled for trial March 18, but a court document filed Thursday shows a plea hearing is now set for March 21. The document did not specify whether she will plead guilty.

Russell’s attorneys appealed her case to circuit court after a municipal judge, in an October ruling, found Russell guilty of misdemeanor charges of false reporting to law enforcement and falsely reporting an incident. The ruling came after Russell’s attorneys agreed to “stipulate and appeal” — a procedure in which a defendant acknowledges evidence against them, a guilty decision is entered and the case moves up to circuit court.

Russell disappeared July 13 after calling 911 to report a toddler beside a stretch of Interstate 459 in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover. She returned home two days later and told police she had been abducted and forced into a vehicle.

Police quickly cast doubt on Russell’s story. Her attorney issued a statement through police acknowledging there was no kidnapping and that she never saw a toddler. In the statement, Russell apologized to law enforcement and the volunteers who searched for her.

Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis previously said he was frustrated that Russell was only being charged with two misdemeanors despite the panic and disruption she caused. He said the law did not allow for enhanced charges.

Alabama legislators this year are considering a bill that would enhance penalties for falsely reporting crimes.

Source link

Alabama

Alabama football in for some major recruiting news soon

Published

7 hours ago

May 31, 2026

Press Room

Alabama football in for some major recruiting news soon

Alabama football is in a position to hear some positive recruiting news ‘soon,’ Touchdown Alabama has learned.

This news is expected to come from one of the top recruits the Crimson Tide hosted for an official visit this weekend, most likely in the form of a verbal commitment. This decision is coming off an ‘amazing’ official visit. Alabama will work to build its 2027 class over the next several weeks, with a long list of top recruits expected in Tuscaloosa in June.

Monshun Sales (5-Star WR), Hayden Stepp (5-Star CB), Osani Gayles (4-Star WR) , Kenneth Simon (4-Star LB), Avrian Pauley (3-Star DL), Mitchell Turner (4-Star DL), Antwan Jackson (4-Star Edge) and Nigel Newkirk (4-Star RB) were among the top prospects the Tide had on campus for an official visit this weekend.

Alabama currently has commitments from six 2027 prospects. Three of those recruits are offensive prospects, with pledges from Elijah Haven, Trent Seaborn and Oakley Keegan. The defensive side is represented by Avrian Pauley, Kenneth Simon and Stevan Thornton.

Touchdown Alabama will provide updates on the Crimson Tide’s recruiting efforts throughout the next several weeks.

Justin Smith is the Managing Editor and Lead Writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine with over 10 years of writing experience & expertise. Smith has consistently delivered high quality, extensively researched information on the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide football team that fans can trust. Smith is official credentialed media with the University of Alabama under Touchdown Alabama Magazine. He is also the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Enterprises, specializing in scouting and analyzing high school recruits around the nation, specifically focusing on recruits within the state of Alabama.

Source link

Alabama

Tennessee football will be chasing different teams for SEC supremacy | Adams

Published

18 hours ago

May 31, 2026

Press Room

Tennessee football will be chasing different teams for SEC supremacy | Adams

After the SEC added Texas and Oklahoma for the 2024 football season, I split the conference in half for evaluation purposes.

My top half: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Texas A&M.

These teams comprised my bottom half: Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.

Track records and NIL support factored into my rankings. The latter is obviously a challenge, because NIL money isn’t well documented. So, my rankings were an educated guess at best.

I singled out Texas, Texas A&M, and LSU because of their obvious NIL resources. All three are loaded. Tennessee probably has as much NIL power as any other SEC program.

The Vols will play Texas, Texas A&M, and LSU this season. So, they will face a greater challenge than in 2024 and 2025 when the SEC’s interim schedules were in place.

But projecting future success and failure in the NIL era of SEC football is hardly an exact science. And I’m already questioning my preliminary rankings. Four schools stick out: Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Missouri, and Vanderbilt

Oklahoma went 6-7 (2-6 in the SEC) in 2024 but made the College Football Playoff last season, only to lose in the first round to Alabama. That’s not what I expected from one of college football’s most prestigious programs.

Perhaps, the Sooners don’t have as much NIL money as the SEC’s most affluent members. Now, I’m wondering if they even can keep up with in-state rival Oklahoma State, which has been on a spending spree in multiple sports, including football.

Ole Miss has been a surprise in a good way. Former coach Lane Kiffin became the “Portal King” because of his relentless recruiting of highly touted transfers. But he couldn’t accomplish as much just on his track record or name recognition. He needed money.

And the Rebels provided it, which helps explain how they went 34-7 from 2023 through 2025.

Missouri has fared better than expected. The Tigers are 29-10 for the past three seasons. I thought there was a better chance of coach Eli Drinkwitz getting fired than winning 29 of 39 games in three seasons of NIL football.

Vanderbilt’s success has been stunning, though you must wonder whether it’s sustainable. The Commodores’ 10-3 record in 2025 was mainly a testament to the play of quarterback Diego Pavia, who was the Heisman Trophy runner-up to Fernando Mendoza.

Florida and Auburn are wildcards.

The Gators were slow coming out of the NIL gate. They also have a recent history of hiring more bad coaches than good ones.

Maybe, they got it right with Jon Sumrall. And perhaps, Auburn did the same with Alex Golesh. But the Tigers were wrong about their previous two hires, Bryan Harsin and Hugh Freeze.

Texas, LSU and Texas also have missed on coaches. But they have the money to buy their way out of a bad deal.

The Aggies paid Jimbo Fisher a $77 million buyout in November 2023. LSU had to pay Brian Kelly $54 million after firing him in October 2025.

Such spending tells me Tennessee will have more difficulty long-term keeping up with Texas, Texas A&M and LSU than they will with traditional SEC powers like Georgia and Alabama.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com.

Source link

Alabama

Live Game, Weather Updates: Tuscaloosa Baseball Regional, No. 7 Alabama vs. USC Upstate

Published

1 day ago

May 30, 2026

Press Room

Live Game, Weather Updates: Tuscaloosa Baseball Regional, No. 7 Alabama vs. USC Upstate

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – 7-seeded Alabama continues NCAA regional action in the Tuscaloosa Regional on Saturday against USC Upstate. The Crimson Tide is coming off a monstrous offensive effort on Friday that saw the team score the most runs in program NCAA Tournament history with 21. The Spartans scored in each of the first four innings to upset Oklahoma State and advance to Saturday’s winner’s bracket game.

Alabama Baseball Regional Tournament Central: Schedule, How to Watch, Bracket Breakdown

Live Updates (Refresh Your Browser For Latest Updates at the Top)

Pregame

Tonight’s start time has been delayed as we’ve entered a weather delay.

Alabama vs. USC Upstate will have a first pitch time of 6:23 p.m. CT. The grounds crew is currently tending the field in between matchups.

5:13 p.m. CT – Oklahoma State beat Alabama State 8-7 in 11 innings to eliminate the Hornets from the Tuscaloosa Regional. The Cowboys move into tomorrow’s elimination game against the loser of Alabama and USC Upstate on Sunday.

Starting Lineups

USC Upstate

Alabama

How to Watch: 7-Seed Alabama vs. USC Upstate in the Tuscaloosa Regional

Who: 7-seed Alabama (38-19, 18-12 SEC) vs. USC Upstate (34-28, 13-11 Big South Conference)

What: NCAA Regional Game 4

When: Saturday, May 30, 6 p.m. CT

Where: Sewell-Thomas Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

TV: ESPN +

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network. LISTEN LIVE

Series: Alabama and USC Upstate have never played in baseball.

Last Meeting: The Crimson Tide and Spartans have never played in baseball.

Last time out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide used 15 hits, and took advantage of eight walks, four errors, and four wild pitches to beat Alabama State 21-3 in their first NCAA Regional matchup of the weekend. Alabama had four different players hit home runs as the Crimson Tide cruised to an easy win.

Last time out, USC Upstate: The Spartans upset Oklahoma State 8-5 in their first game of the NCAA Regional. USC Upstate struck out 10 batters and scored in each of the first four innings to upset the Cowboys.

Tuscaloosa Regional Information

Alabama, (37-19)
Oklahoma State, (37-20)
USC Upstate, (31-27)
Alabama State, (31-21)

Friday

Game 1 – #2 Oklahoma St. (37-20) vs. #3 USC Upstate (33-28), 1 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Game 2 – #1 Alabama (37-19) vs. #4 Alabama St. (34-21), 6 p.m. CT, SEC Network

Saturday

Game 3 – Oklahoma State vs. Alabama State – 1 p.m. CT
Game 4 – USC Upstate vs. Alabama – 6 p.m. CT

Sunday

Game 5 – Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 – 2 p.m. CT
Game 6 – Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 – 7 p.m. CT

Monday

Game 7 – IF Necessary – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 – TBD

Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Threads, and Blue Sky for the latest news.