Rising star

Hope Hull’s Ella Langley is the Academy of Country Music’s New Female Artist of the Year, reports AL.com’s Mary Colurso.

The awards ceremony comes later, but Langley found out she was a winner while she was on stage at a festival in Knoxville. Miranda Lambert came on a big video screen to tell her the news. Langley managed to choke out a “God Bless America.”

She’s also up for ACM Female Artist of the Year and six more awards related to the song and video for “You Look Like You Love Me,” her duet with fellow Alabamian Riley Green of Jacksonville.

Incoming ‘Jeopardy!’ money

Some education-related projects in Mobile are getting a boost thanks to W. Kamau Bell’s big win in “Celebrity Jeopardy!” reports AL.com’s Lawrence Specker.

Bell is a comedian and the host of the CNN show “United Shades of America.”

On “Celebrity Jeopardy!” he won a million dollars for the charity of his choice. His was DonorsChoose, which fulfills online classroom wish lists made by teachers.

Among the locations Bell chose was Mobile, where he spent time during his childhood and where his dad still lives.

Projects funded by Bell’s winnings include special-needs playground equipment for Orchard Elementary and novels for small-group study at Dodge Elementary. According to DonorsChoose, the money going to the Mobile schools totals about $53,000 and will fund 72 projects across 22 schools.

RIP Alexis Herman

Alexis Herman, a member of President Clinton’s cabinet and a native of Mobile, passed away Friday, reports AL.com’s Patrick Darrington.

Herman was the first Black U.S. Secretary of Labor, a position she held from 1997 to 2001.

She was director of the Women’s Bureau at age 29, in 1977, later served as CEO of the 1992 Democrat National Convention, and then joined Clinton’s transition team when he won the White House. Along the way she did work promoting diversity hiring in the private sector.

Congressman Shomari Figures, a Mobile Democrat, called Herman a “true hometown hero.”

Said Figures: “She was a fighter for civil rights and women’s rights, a giant in DC political circles, especially amongst Black women, and an all-around dynamic woman.”

Alexis Herman was 77 years old.

Friendly talk

We have a new survey to report on.

We like surveys because we know they are almost always accurate. At least in the moment they’re conducted. Involving the exact respondents who responded. Who were prompted with questions that were worded exactly so.

With at least that much confidence, a study Censuswide conducted for the call-answering service Answering Service Care found that Americans consider the Southern accent to be the friendliest accent in the U.S., reports AL.com’s Margaret Kates.

And why not? You can’t say “Y’all come” in just any dialect.

Note that only 38% of people found the southern accent friendly, but that was higher than any other. The Hawaiian accent came in second at 34%. Texas was tied for third, but we all know where most of that accent migrated from.

Alabama News Quiz answers/results

Overall results:

• Five out of five: 27.8%
• Four out of five: 28.4%
• Three out of five: 25.4%
• Two out of five: 13.7%
• One out of five: 4.5%
• None out of five: 0.3%

This sports figure with ties to our state was recently selected by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.

• Jalen Hurts (CORRECT) 60.9%
• Charles Barkley 31.0%
• Bruce Pearl 4.2%
• Rece Davis 3.9%

What are we most likely to see come out of the Alabama State Legislature this session?

• An expansion of the new school-choice law (CORRECT) 84.2%
• Teacher salary raises 10.4%
• A new charter school in Barbour County 4.8%
• A new graduation requirement to take three hours of College Football History 0.6%

Early next month, President Trump is expected to visit a college in this Alabama city.

• Tuscaloosa (CORRECT) 98.8%
• Auburn 0.6%
• Troy 0.6%
• Andalusia 0.0%

Alabama’s oldest hotel, the St. James Hotel, which originally opened in 1837 as the Brantley Hotel, is expected to reopen next month under new management in this city.

• Selma (CORRECT) 62.1%
• Mobile 23.0%
• Montgomery 14.3%
• Childersburg 0.6%

A new music festival is being planned for Birmingham in honor of …

• Sun Ra (CORRECT) 54.3%
• Hank Williams 27.5%
• Big Mama Thornton 16.4%
• The Beastie Boys 1.8%

More Alabama News

Born on This Date

In 1926, To Kill a Mockingbird author Nelle Harper Lee of Monroeville.

In 1952, keyboardist Chuck Leavell of Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. He’s played with The Allman Brothers Band, The Rolling Stones and many others.

In 1954, former Congressman and state lawmaker Mo Brooks.

The podcast

The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed South Alabama hybrid tight end and fullback DJ Thomas-Jones to an undrafted free-agent contract, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Thomas-Jones joins the Steelers as their fullback for the offseason after they failed to add one in free agency. They pursued All-Pro Kyle Juszczyk after he was released, but he chose to sign back with the San Francisco 49ers.

Thomas-Jones ran a 4.63 40-yard dash at his pro day after measuring 6-foot-1, 250 pounds. With MyCole Pruitt still a free agent, Thomas-Jones will plop into his role and compete with Connor Heyward and Donald Parham for bottom-of-the-roster snaps.

In 2024, Thomsa-Jones had 22 receptions for 191 yards and three touchdowns, with his best game coming against Texas State, where he posted 59 yards on five receptions.

He began his career at the University of Mississippi before transferring to South Alabama. While in Mobile, he was the starting tight end and worked as a fullback starting in his sophomore season.

Thomas-Jones was a native of Mobile, and returned home to play for South Alabama. He had over 200 receiving yards in his sophomore and junior seasons before seeing a dip in his production during his senior campaign.

Former Alabama tight end Robbie Ouzts, left, works against former Alabama tight end CJ Dippre during line drills at Alabama’s NFL football pro day, Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)