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In vitro bills, Britt’s gig, AU perfection: Down in Alabama

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In vitro bills, Britt’s gig, AU perfection: Down in Alabama


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Temporary IVF fix?

Both chambers of the Alabama Legislature Thursday passed bills that would shield in vitro fertilization clinics from legal actions, reports AL.com’s Mike Cason.

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The bills are nearly identical, so it’s possible that early next week they’ll be able to give final passage to one for the governor to sign. The House of Representatives passed its bill 94-6, with four Democrats and two Republicans voting against it. The Senate passed its bill 34-0.

This almost certainly isn’t a permenent fix as lawmakers try to get IVF clinics reopened and operating after the state Supreme Court ruled that human embryos had the same rights as children according to the state Constitution. As a matter of fact, an early version of the bill on Thursday would have automatically repealed itself in June 2025.

That part was removed, but we can consider this a band-aid fix to keep and reopen the clinics.

One of the House sponsors, Decatur Republican Terri Collins, said she expects something more permanent to be carved out in the next year.

The debate we might expect includes the personhood issue (what point a fertilized egg becomes a person), whether the next step will be a state Constitutional amendment (the state high court ruling cited constitutional law), and how narrow or broad the clinics’ immunity should be.

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That is, will the immunity take away legal recourse from patients who suffer legitimate medical problems caused by IVF services?

Then again, maybe it wouldn’t be a government law without unintended negative consequences.

But can she rebut all that SOTU applause?

If, in this presidential election year, the Republicans were looking for a contrast to President Biden to give the GOP response to the State of the Union address, they sure found it in U.S. Sen. Katie Britt.

Obviously Biden’s a man and Britt’s a woman. Biden’s from Pennsylvania and later Delaware; Britt’s from Enterprise.

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And while Britt’s a freshman senator, Biden won a Senate seat during the same election that Nixon beat McGovern. Now 81, Biden had already been in Washington nine years when Britt was born.

AL.com’s Howard Koplowitz reports that House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Thursday that Britt would handle the GOP response that’ll be aired immediately after Biden’s speech on March 7.

Whether any of those differences I mentioned means a hill of beans will be up to the viewer. But one advantage Britt has is that she can say what she wants to say without being interrupted by insincere applause every 12 words — a staple of modern SOTU speeches.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey pointed out in a statement that Britt will be the first Alabamian to give the rebuttal.

“Sometimes the best man for the job is a woman,” the governor said.

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Perfecto

Right-handed pitcher Maddie Penta recorded the third perfect game in Auburn University softball history Thursday night at Jane B. Moore Field.

Now, for those not highly versed in softball or baseball, pitching a perfect game means nobody on the other team reached base at all. You don’t have to strike them all out, but you can’t allow any baserunners, even by a fielder’s error. So during in the last inning of a perfect game, behind the pitcher are seven fielders, all thinking “please don’t hit it to me.”

So on Thursday the Tigers beat Georgia State 8-0 in six innings. Penta, who threw a no-hitter just Sunday, topped that with her first perfect game. She struck out 13 of the 18 batters she faced.

Seen on Jeopardy!

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  • Clue: Auburn QB Bo Nix made an NIL deal with Milo’s, maker of this 2-word sugary drink – then transferred out of the South to Oregon.
  • Correct response: Sweet tea.
  • Clue: It’s the nickname of Alabama CB Ga’Quincy McKinstry, whose smile resembled this pitch “Man;” Now he has an NIL deal with the drink, oh yeah.
  • Correct response: Kool-Aid.

(These were easier than even our weekly Monday quiz.)

Quoting

“I never liked being punched in the face when I was younger. I was quickly reminded again of why I was never too fond of it.”

Florence Police Chief Ron Tyler, who was punched in the face while trying to arrest a man wanted in connection with a stolen vehicle.

By the Numbers

700

Only six high school baseball coach in Alabama have reached 700 career wins. The latest? Hewitt-Trussville’s Jeff Mauldin this week.

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More Alabama News

On This Date

In 2007, A tornado outbreak across the South included one twister that killed nine people in Enterprise, eight of them students at Enterprise High School.

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Alabama

How to watch Tennessee Volunteers: Live stream info, TV channel, game time | Feb. 28

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How to watch Tennessee Volunteers: Live stream info, TV channel, game time | Feb. 28


Labaron Philon’s No. 18 Alabama Crimson Tide (21-7, 11-4 SEC) hit the road to match up with Ja’Kobi Gillespie and the No. 22 Tennessee Volunteers (20-8, 10-5 SEC) at Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday, Feb. 28. The game starts at 6 p.m. ET.

We have more details below, including how to watch this matchup on ESPN.

Prepare for this matchup with everything you need to know ahead of Saturday’s college hoops action.

Tennessee vs. Alabama: How to watch on TV or live stream

  • Game day: Saturday, February 28, 2026
  • Game time: 6 p.m. ET
  • Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
  • Arena: Thompson-Boling Arena
  • TV Channel: ESPN
  • Live stream: Fubo – Watch NOW (Regional restrictions may apply)

Check out: USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

Watch college basketball on Fubo!

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Tennessee vs. Alabama stats and trends

  • Tennessee ranks 78th in the nation with 80.5 points per game so far this year. At the other end, it ranks 62nd with 69.1 points allowed per contest.
  • The Volunteers are thriving when it comes to rebounding, as they rank third-best in college basketball in boards (39.9 per game) and second-best in rebounds allowed (25.9 per contest).
  • So far this season, Tennessee ranks 30th in college basketball in assists, averaging 17.1 per game.
  • With 11.8 turnovers per game, the Volunteers are 257th in the country. They force 10.7 turnovers per contest, which ranks 224th in college basketball.
  • This season, Tennessee is making 6.9 threes per game (271st-ranked in college basketball) and is shooting 34.7% (139th-ranked) from three-point land.
  • With a 30.2% three-point percentage allowed this season, the Volunteers are 22nd-best in the country. They rank 182nd in college basketball by giving up 7.8 three-pointers per contest.
  • Tennessee has taken 67.3% two-pointers and 32.7% three-pointers this year. Of the team’s buckets, 75.8% are two-pointers and 24.2% are three-pointers.

Tennessee vs. Alabama Odds and Spread

  • Spread Favorite: Volunteers (-4.5)
  • Moneyline: Tennessee (-222), Alabama (+179)
  • Total: 164.5 points

NCAA Basketball odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Saturday at 4:11 a.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.

Watch college basketball on Fubo!

Follow the latest college sports coverage at College Sports Wire.



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Alabama ‘Fully Aware’ of Losing Streak to Tennessee Ahead of Road Rematch

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Alabama ‘Fully Aware’ of Losing Streak to Tennessee Ahead of Road Rematch


TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Losing to a rival almost always hurts more than falling to another opponent during the regular season. Years of hatred, unforgettable moments and tradition boiled up into one game, and the delivery is nowhere to be found for one team.

No. 17 Alabama has won seven straight games and is eyeing an eighth on Saturday on the road against No. 22 Tennessee. This is the second time that Crimson Tide will face the Volunteers, as Alabama lost in Tuscaloosa in January.

The loss a month ago to head coach Rick Barnes and company brought UA’s losing streak against Tennessee to five games. It’s the first time that the Tide has dropped this many games to the Vols since 1968-72 — a streak that came two years before Alabama head coach Nate Oats was born (Oct. 13, 1974). It’s why Oats is not treating Tennessee as a faceless opponent or like any other team the Tide has faced.

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“Every year we’ve been here they’ve caused us issues,” Oats said during Friday’s press conference. “Our players, are fully aware that we’ve lost five in a row. They’re fully aware of what happened out there last year. I’ve taken ownership for my share of what happened up there last year.

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“We’re fully aware that they beat us at home. We haven’t lost very many home games in conference, period, really since we’ve been here, and they handed us one this year.”

After falling to Florida on Feb. 1, Alabama moved down to the ninth spot in the conference standings, and the college basketball world started to question whether or not the Crimson Tide would be a threat in the postseason.

But a switch flipped after that loss, and the current winning streak has Alabama tied for the No. 2 spot in the SEC standings. Everything seems to be trending in the Tide’s direction, as there are only three games remaining on the schedule.

Oats is in his sixth year as Alabama’s head coach. Following the retirement of former Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl during the offseason, Oats became the second-longest tenured coach for one team in the conference. The coach in front of him: Tennessee’s Rick Barnes, who has held his position since the 2015-16 season.

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Both Alabama and Tennessee have finished conference play in the top-4 of the standings since the 2022-23 season. The Crimson Tide was the regular-season and SEC Tournament champions in both the 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons, while the Vols won the 2022 SEC Tournament and were the conference’s regular-season champions in 2023-24.

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“So our guys know, but at the same time, we’ve got a lot of respect for how they play and what they do. We’ve got to come in with a healthy amount of respect for them, but we got to try to win this game.

“There’s a lot riding on this game. What happens in Arkansas-Florida, you’re either going to be all alone in second place if we could get a win, or you’re going to be one game out first. If you take a loss, now you’re in danger of losing a top-4 seed. They’ll be tied with us if we take a loss.”

“So there’s a lot riding on the SEC standings in this game here. They know that. They know what our struggles against Tennessee have Been as well.”

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Selmont seeks incorporation to become independent Alabama city

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Selmont seeks incorporation to become independent Alabama city


SELMONT, Ala. (WSFA) – An unincorporated community in Dallas County is seeking to establish itself as an independent city, hoping to gain control over local government services and community priorities that have long been managed at the county level.

Selmont, located across the Edmund Pettus Bridge from Selma, is home to approximately 2,700 registered voters and carries a significant place in civil rights history.

The community was the site of a pivotal moment during the Bloody Sunday march in 1965, when roughly 600 civil rights marchers were tear-gassed by Alabama state troopers, including 13-year-old Mae Richmond.

“People ask us ‘Were we afraid?’ No. We were not afraid. We were not afraid, first of all, even as a 13-year-old child, we knew that we were doing what God was permitting us to do,” Richmond, a 60-plus year resident of Selmont, said of the historic event.

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As an unincorporated community, Selmont lacks its own municipal government. Residents must contact the Dallas County Commissioner for public works services. It’s a situation that community leaders say limits responsiveness to local needs.

Erice Williams, a community activist leading the incorporation effort, said the change would fundamentally alter how the community operates.

“It would give us decision power and allow us to get funding that we can allocate to our own community that we can make our own priorities be clear and resolved at the same time,” Williams said.

Williams also highlighted the strain on current county services. “Connel Towns (county commissioner) is the only person we have to call, and the resources and time that he would have to serve our community is very limited,” he said.

Operation Selmont, the group spearheading the incorporation effort, is currently gathering signatures on a petition to present to the local probate judge. The organization needs approximately 500 signatures to move forward with the incorporation process and has already collected 40 percent of its goal.

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The next meeting for Operation Selmont is scheduled for March 6 at 6 p.m.

For longtime residents like Richmond, incorporation represents an opportunity to ensure Selmont’s future and maintain its identity for generations to come.

“That we will be able to teach and train our children to give them the strength that our foreparents had that they will be able to stand up for justice and for equality,” Richmond said of her hopes for the community’s future.

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