Alabama

In Black pastor’s arrest, Alabama Supreme Court rules police can demand to see identification

Published

2 months ago

March 17, 2026

In Black pastor’s arrest, Alabama Supreme Court rules police can demand to see identification

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Ruling in the case of a Black pastor who was arrested while watering his neighbor’s flowers, the Alabama Supreme Court said police can demand to see identification during a stop if they are dissatisfied with a person’s verbal answers.

Justices issued the 6-3 decision last week after a federal judge presiding over a lawsuit about Michael Jennings’ 2022 arrest asked the court to clarify whether officers can demand to see a person’s identification under the state’s “stop-and-identify” law. The minister was arrested when he declined to show Childersburg police identification.

Justice Will Sellers wrote that state law, “does not exclude from its purview a request for physical identification when a suspect provides an incomplete or unsatisfactory response to an officer’s demand to provide his or her name and address and an explanation of his or her action.”

In May 2022, officers questioned Jennings in his neighbor’s yard. Another neighbor had called 911 because she saw an unfamiliar car and a “young Black male” around the house. Officers who responded found Jennings watering flowers and asked what he was doing.

Jennings identified himself as “Pastor Jennings” and told officers that he lived across the street and was caring for his neighbor’s yard while they were vacationing. Officers asked to see his identification and Jennings refused, saying he hadn’t done anything wrong. The woman who called 911 also later identified Jennings as another neighbor.

Jennings was charged obstructing a government operation. The charge was later dismissed.

Jennings sued the city and the officers for false arrest. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, but the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision. U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor then asked the state Supreme Court to determine whether the state law prohibits an officer from demanding identification if the person gives an incomplete or unsatisfactory response to questions.

Matthew Cavedon, director of the Cato Institute’s Project on Criminal Justice, said the decision is a “significant expansion of government power over people.”

The Cato Institute and the American Civil Liberties Union had written an amicus brief in the case arguing the statute does not authorize any demands for physical identification. Cavedon said the case centers on what happens if a person gives an answer that the officer doesn’t find satisfactory.

“The significance now for Alabamians is if an officer’s not satisfied with whatever answer you give, I sure hope you’ve got your driver’s license or passport on you,” he said.

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Alabama

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

Published

10 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.

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Alabama

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

Published

20 hours 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

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Alabama

Oklahoma State Baseball Live Scoring for NCAA Regional vs. Alabama State

Published

1 day ago

May 30, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma State Baseball Live Scoring for NCAA Regional vs. Alabama State

The Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Alabama State Hornets meet in the first game of Saturday’s action at the Tuscaloosa Regional on Saturday.

The Cowboys (37-21) and the Hornets lost their first games of the tournament on Friday. The loser of this game will be eliminated. The winner of this game will advance to another elimination game on Sunday between the loser of the USC Upstate-Alabama game, which follows OSU-ASU

Oklahoma State fans can keep up with the game here, including lineups and inning by inning details on the game. Check out Oklahoma State On SI’s NCAA Tournament Central for everything related to the Tuscaloosa Regional.