Alabama
Alabama’s Black Belt Birding Festival kicks off August 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Happening Aug. 2 to 4, the fourth annual Black Belt Birding Festival will take wing throughout Alabama.
Highlighting the birds, history and heritage of Alabama’s Black Belt region, the festival offers many opportunities to birdwatch with others and enjoy the natural environment.
In total, 18 different events are planned within the three-day event. Scheduled plans may be changed or canceled in the case of inclement weather. Attendees must fill out a registration and liability waiver before an event, which can be found by clicking here.
EVENTS
KICK-OFF PARTY AND VENDOR EXPO
Aug. 2, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Happening at Greensboro’s Project Horseshoe Farm, a free kick-off party will be held to celebrate the start of the festival featuring live Blues music by artists, archivists and founders of the Alabama Blues Project and a vendor expo.
MORNING EVENTS
- PERRY LAKES PARK, MARION
- Aug. 3, 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Cost: $30
- PAYNE LAKE RECREATION AREA, MOUNDVILLE
- Aug. 3, 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Cost: $30
- OLD CAHAWBA ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK, ORRVILLE
- Aug. 3, 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Cost: $35
- M. BARNETT LAWLEY FOREVER WILD FIELD TRIAL AREA, GREENSBORO
- Aug. 3, 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Cost: $30
- SELMA: BIRD WALK ON THE HISTORIC EDMUND PETTUS BRIDGE
- Aug. 3, 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. Cost: $30
- SUMTER FARM MORNING BIRDING TOUR, GEIGER
- Aug. 3, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Cost: $30
- DRIVING TOUR: SIGNATURE BLACK BELT BIRDS (Greensboro Opera House)
- Aug. 3, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Cost: $30
- SELMA: BIRD WALK IN HISTORIC OLD LIVE OAK CEMETERY
- Aug. 3, 8:15 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. Cost $30
- THE JOE FARM, NEWBERN
- Aug. 3, 10 a.m. to noon. Cost: $40
- SUMTER FARM BIRDS AND WILDFLOWERS WALL, GEIGER
- Aug. 4, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Cost: $30
AFTERNOON EVENTS
- BIRDS OF PREY WITH ALABAMA WILDLIFE CENTER (Alabama Audubon’s Greensboro office)
- Aug. 3, 1:30 p.m. to 2:20 p.m.
- KEYNOTE ADDRESS: DR. DWAYNE ESTES (Greensboro Opera House)
- Aug. 3, 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Cost: $15
EVENING EVENTS
- PRAIRIE RESTORATION AT CONTENTMENT, GREENSBORO
- Aug. 3, 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. Cost: $30
- BARTON’S BEACH AND ENDANGERED SPECIES TOUR, MARION
- Aug. 3, 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Cost: $30
- RED-COCKADED WOODPECKERS & LONGLEAF PINE FIRE ECOLOGY, MOUNDVILLE
- Aug. 3, 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Cost: $30
- SUMTER FARM PRAIRIE RESTORATION TOUR, GEIGER
- Aug. 3, 4:45 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Cost: $30
- OWL PROWL AT SUMTER FARM, GEIGER
- Aug. 3, 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Cost: $30
For more information, click here to visit the full schedule on the Alabama Audubon’s website.
Alabama
Lawrence County crash kills mother and 2 children, injures 2
Lawrence County crash kills mother and 2 children, injures 2
TEACH OTHERS THESE SAME SKILLS. IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY OUT AT REGIONS FIELD, THE SKIES ARE BLUE. IT LOOKS LIKE THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE OUT THERE ON THE FIELD, AND JUST A GREAT DAY TO SOAK UP THE SUN 84 DEGREES RIGHT NOW IN BIRMINGHAM AND ACROSS THE MAP. WE ARE IN THE MID TO LOW 80S FROM 84 IN WINFIELD JASPER ALABASTER. SAME THING IN PELL CITY AND ANNISTON. THE WARMEST SPOT ON THE MAP 85 THE COOLER SPOT IN THE MAP UP IN COLEMAN AT 82 AND 82 DEGREES UP THERE IN ALBERTVILLE TOO. RADAR IS DRY. HAS BEEN FOR THE PAST 6 TO 7 DAYS, AND THE REST OF THIS EVENING WILL REMAIN DRY. WILL DROP TO THE 80S LOW 80S BY 7:00, MID 70S BY 9:00, AND THEN OVERNIGHT WILL DROP TO THE 60S AND WILL WAKE UP TOMORROW MORNING IN THE MID TO UPPER 50S. SO MAYBE A LITTLE BIT CHILLY FOR SOME, BUT OTHERWISE WARM AND WARMER THAN WE SHOULD BE FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR, NOT ONLY IN THE MORNING, BUT IN THE AFTERNOON. TOMORROW TOO. WE’RE BACK IN THE MID 80S, SIMILAR TO WHAT WE WERE TODAY, WITH JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE HUMIDITY. NOW WE HAVE NOT SEEN THAT MUCH RAINFALL SO FAR THIS ENTIRE MONTH. THIS IS MONTH TO DATE. AS YOU CAN SEE, TODAY IS THE 12TH. WE HAVE UP TO 11. AND ANYWHERE YOU SEE THAT ORANGE COLOR, THAT’S WHERE WE’VE SEEN NO RAIN. THE BEST RAINFALL WE GOT WAS LAST WEEKEND, MAINLY ON SATURDAY WITH JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. NOW THIS IS JUST FOR BIRMINGHAM AND IT REPRESENTS A DROUGHT. AND THAT’S NOT JUST THE CASE FOR BIRMINGHAM. IT’S THE CASE FOR MOST OF ALABAMA. THIS RED AND THE DARK RED COLORS REPRESENT ANYWHERE BETWEEN ONE AND UP TO THREE, IF NOT FOUR INCHES OF A 30 DAY RAINFALL DEFICIT, MEANING WE NEED MORE RAIN THAN WE’VE GOTTEN IN THE PAST 30 DAYS. AND THAT LACK OF RAIN PULLING A LOT OF MOISTURE OUT OF THE GROUND DUE TO THAT DROUGHT IS WHY THERE’S A RED FLAG WARNING IN PLACE FOR BOTH NORTH AND PARTS OF CENTRAL ALABAMA. FROM FLORENCE ALL THE WAY DOWN LINEVILLE CLAY COUNTY, TALLADEGA. SHELBY. JEFFERSON. JEFFERSON WALKER ALL THE WAY UP TO MARION COUNTY’S. JUST MEANS THAT THERE IS A HIGHER FIRE DANGER. SO DON’T BE BURNING ANYTHING OUTSIDE TODAY, EVEN THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS, BECAUSE FIRE RISK IS HIGH AS THE DROUGHT CONTINUES. HERE’S A FORECAST MODEL SHOWING WHERE WE COULD SEE THE MOST RAINFALL OVER THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, ALABAMA, GEORGIA, FLORIDA, NOT MUCH. NORTHWEST ALABAMA COULD SEE A TRACE OF SHOWERS AS THESE TINY ISOLATED SHOWERS POP UP MONDAY EVENING ACROSS MARION FRANKLIN LAUDERDALE COUNTY BUT EVEN THAT CLEARS OUT AS EARLY AS 10 P.M. MONDAY NIGHT. AND OVERALL, IT’S NOT A WHOLE LOT. BUT HERE’S THAT SEVEN DAY FORECAST. HIGH STICK AROUND IN THE 80S AS HIGH AS 89 FRIDAY AFTERNOON. A FEW CHANCES FOR ISOLATED SHOWERS THURSDAY THAT RETURNS SATURDAY A
Lawrence County crash kills mother and 2 children, injures 2
Updated: 7:42 PM CDT Apr 12, 2026
Editorial Standards
Video above: Weather forecastThree people died and two were injured, including children, in a northern Alabama car crash Saturday, according to our news partner WAFF.The Lawrence County coroner told WAFF that a vehicle driven by Ashley Hagood, 33, was hit on the side by a truck near Highway 157 and Highway 24 in Moulton.Hagood and her four children — Bryant Ballew, 13; twins Bryleigh and Brynleigh Pledger, 7; and Bentley Pledger, 10 — were inside the car at the time of the crash. Ballew and Bryleigh died at the scene, while Hagood was taken to a hospital, where she later died.Bentley and Brynleigh were taken to a hospital in Birmingham. According to WAFF, Bentley was taken off a ventilator Sunday afternoon. Brynleigh is recovering from surgery and dealing with brain swelling and bleeding, which doctors anticipated and hope the surgery will alleviate. Brynleigh also reportedly suffered seizures Saturday night.The crash remains under investigation, according to WAFF.
Video above: Weather forecast
Three people died and two were injured, including children, in a northern Alabama car crash Saturday, according to our news partner WAFF.
The Lawrence County coroner told WAFF that a vehicle driven by Ashley Hagood, 33, was hit on the side by a truck near Highway 157 and Highway 24 in Moulton.
Hagood and her four children — Bryant Ballew, 13; twins Bryleigh and Brynleigh Pledger, 7; and Bentley Pledger, 10 — were inside the car at the time of the crash. Ballew and Bryleigh died at the scene, while Hagood was taken to a hospital, where she later died.
Bentley and Brynleigh were taken to a hospital in Birmingham. According to WAFF, Bentley was taken off a ventilator Sunday afternoon. Brynleigh is recovering from surgery and dealing with brain swelling and bleeding, which doctors anticipated and hope the surgery will alleviate. Brynleigh also reportedly suffered seizures Saturday night.
The crash remains under investigation, according to WAFF.
Alabama
Deputies: Alabama teen arrested for threatening to kill student in Walton County
WALTON COUNTY, Fla. — A 16-year-old from Florala, Alabama, was arrested after making threats to kill another student on social media.
On Friday morning, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office said the student posted a picture of a gun online.
It was captioned with a targeted threat involving a student at Paxton School. The 16-year-old who attends the school made the threat.
They were taken into custody before school started.
Alabama
By The Numbers, Alabama A-Day 2026
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama football scrimmaged inside Bryant-Denny Stadium for its annual A-Day spring football finale on Saturday. The Crimson Tide spent two hours with the offense and defense fighting for dominance in the April sun.
The afternoon wasn’t exactly a game, but looked more like real football than the 2025 A-Day and therefore gave fans and pundits quality content to evaluate.
“I thought the guys competed again,” Kalen DeBoer said. “It’s a unique situation with our practices, two of them still being next week, so we’re not done yet. Get back to work Tuesday and Thursday, still got a lot of opportunities to get better, a lot of situational that we can get to. But it was a good back and forth, much like many of the other scrimmages; you can see how we orchestrate it with the ball where we spot it. There’s some advantages the offense gets towards the end. We’ve got to get that red zone work in, but there’s a lot of things to learn, a lot of situational stuff that we can get better at.”
Disclaimer: These statistics were taken by hand and therefore not official
Passing
- Keelon Russell: 21-33, 242 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT
- Austin Mack: 6-12, 101 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
- Jett Thomalla: 4-5, 44 yards
- Tayden-Evan Kaawaa: 4-5, 37 yards
Rushing
- Kevin Riley: 10 carries, 12 yards
- Daniel Hill: 10 carries, 31 yards
- AK Dear: 4 carries, 2 yards
- Trae’Shawn Brown: 6 carries, 19 yards
- Khalifa Keith: 1 carry
Receiving
- Derek Meadows: 9 Targets, 5 receptions, 69 yards, 1 TD
- Cederian Morgan: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 76 yards, 1 TD
- Ryan Williams: 3 targets, 3 receptions 60 yards
- Trae’Shawn Brown: 6 targets, 5 receptions, 50 yards
- Lotzeir Brooks: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 15 yards, 2 TDs
- Marshall Pritchett: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 8 yards, 1 TD
- Tyler Henderson: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 38 yards
- Rico Scott: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 30 yards
- Jay Lindsey: 2 targets, 1 reception, 5 yards
- AK Dear: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 16 yards
- Kevin Riley: 1 target, 1 reception, 5 yards
- Kaleb Edwards: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 27 yards
- Maurice Mathis Jr.: 1 target, 1 reception, 5 yards
- Mack Sutter: 1 target, 1 reception, 10 yards
- Daniel Hill: 1 target, 1 reception, 10 yards
- Noah Rogers: 2 targets
- Josh Ford: 1 target
Defense
- Ivan Taylor: 6 tackles
- Luke Metz: 4 tackles, sack, 2 TFL
- Red Morgan: 4 tackles, 1 PBU
- Caleb Woodson: 4 tackles
- Justin Hill: 4 tackles, 2 TFL
- Carmelo O’Neal: 4 tackles
- Cayden Jones: 3 tackles
- Jorden Edmunds: 3 tackles, 2 PBU
- Keon Sabb: 3 tackles
- Dijon Lee: 3 tackles, 1 INT
- Zavier Mincey: 3 tackles
- Duke Johnson: 3 tackles, 1 TFL
- Jireh Edwards: 2 tackles, 1 PBU
- Kendrick Bingley-Jones: 2 tackles, 2 TFL
- Mahri Johnson: 2 tackles, sack
- Abduall Sanders: 2 tackles
- Terrence Green: 2 tackles, 1 PBU
- Brody McCutcheon: 2 tackles, sack
- Jake Ivie: 2 tackles
- Yhonzae Pierre: 1 tackle
- Devan Thompkins: 1 tackle
- Xavier Griffin: 1 tackle
- Dre Kirkpatrick Jr.: 1 tackle, 1 INT
- Walter Sansing: 1 tackle
- Zay Hall: 1 tackle
- Jamarion Matthews: 1 tackle
- Grant Johnson: 1 tackle
- Griffin Hanson: 1 tackle
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