Alabama
Japanese shipbuilders tour Alabama coast as part of expansion mission
A Japanese shipbuilding delegation of government and industry officials recently toured Alabama’s coast as part of a mission to expand shipbuilding and defense capabilities in Japan and the U.S.
Alabama Department of Commerce officials, including Secretary Ellen McNair, and leaders from local communities participated in the U.S. International Trade Administration-led excursion, which also included Florida and Mississippi.
The tour was part of the ongoing collaboration under the U.S.-Japan Memorandum of Cooperation Regarding Shipbuilding. That memorandum, signed by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last October, calls for expanded shipbuilding capacity in both nations by aligning investment, procurement, workforce and technology initiatives.
“This visit provided an opportunity for our Japanese counterparts to see firsthand what makes Alabama a leader in maritime and defense industries,” McNair said. “The Alabama coastline is home to a globally competitive shipbuilding ecosystem – supporting both commercial and naval vessel construction.
“In the Mobile region alone, more than 16,000 workers are part of the maritime workforce within a short drive, supporting everything from advanced shipbuilding to repair and logistics.”
The Mobile Chamber and its Executive Vice President, David Rodgers, were key to creating the first-rate tour, McNair said.
“Alabama is playing an increasingly critical role in national defense,” Rodgers said. “Companies like Austal USA are delivering next-generation vessels for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, and recent expansions are helping to strengthen America’s shipbuilding capacity in Mobile and beyond.”
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves and Florida Secretary of Commerce Alex Kelly also met with the delegation.
The U.S. Department of Commerce will now work with interagency partners and Japanese counterparts to identify potential foreign direct investment opportunities resulting from the mission. Robert Stackpole, director of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Alabama office, plays an active role in Export Alabama and was instrumental in organizing this visit. He will be part of those conversations and will coordinate directly with the Alabama Department of Commerce on next steps.
“Our local, state and federal partnerships are key to our foreign direct investment growth,” McNair said.
Alabama’s relationships with Japanese companies go back decades, said Bob Smith, assistant director of Commerce’s Business Development Office.
“Japan is one of Alabama’s leading sources of foreign investment, with more than $10 billion invested since 1999, creating a combined 25,000 jobs,” Smith said. “The shipbuilding memorandum gives Alabama and our Japanese partners another opportunity to prosper and grow together while making both our countries more secure.”
International Trade Administration officials said the delegation tour is part of broader efforts to promote foreign investment into the United States, enhance industrial resilience and support the competitiveness of critical sectors across the U.S. economy.
“The relationship between Alabama and Japan is one of our most enduring and successful international partnerships,” said Christina Stimpson, chief officer for Commerce’s Global Business Office. “Over the years, Commerce and the Japan-America Society of Alabama have built strong connections through investment, business collaboration and cultural exchange, creating lasting benefits for communities in both places.
“This visit reflects the strength of those relationships and the opportunities that exist to deepen our cooperation in strategic industries like shipbuilding, where Alabama and Japan can continue to grow and succeed together.”
Courtesy of Made in Alabama
Alabama
TIDE HOOPS Alabama point guard commit Anderson Diaz reclassifies to 2026 cycle joins Crimson Tide program
Austin Mack’s Rose Bowl story is well known. The Alabama football quarterback nearly predicted it himself.
In the middle of a hotel conference room days before the 2026 Rose Bowl, Mack, faced with countless questions on his Alabama future with an NCAA transfer portal window looming, remained assured. Everybody has their own journey, he said. He’ll be ready when his time comes, he said.
“I’m one play from playing in the Rose Bowl vs. Indiana,” Mack said in December. “That’s kind of where my mind’s at.”
Crimson Tide fans know the rest of the tale: Ty Simpson suffers an injury in the second quarter against Indiana, Mack enters as Alabama’s quarterback and leads Alabama to its only scoring drive of the day.
Nothing really changed. Indiana, the eventual College Football Playoff national champion, pounded Alabama 38-3, ending the Crimson Tide’s season.
But this story is not about a scoreboard. To those closest to Mack, it represented an opportunity, one he’d been waiting for, one that continues to be talked about as the turning point of a career defined by patience.
The Rose Bowl wasn’t perfect for Mack. But it was a chance. And that’s all that Mack and those close to him were waiting for.
‘He’s got this’
When Aidan Mack tells his version of the Rose Bowl story, he always starts with a caveat: he didn’t know what was happening.
Aidan, sitting with his parents Brad and Lisa Mack, was in the stands in Pasadena. There was no commentary, no context. Just actions and questions. The Macks didn’t know Simpson cracked a rib in the second quarter, nor did they know why Austin spoke with a member of the training staff as he walked off the field for halftime.
Austin Mack warmed up with Simpson heading into the second half, and continued to throw through a three-and-out to open the third quarter: the final plays of Simpson’s Alabama career.
Then Austin took the field. And immediate support fell on the Macks.
Julie Simpson, Ty’s mother, turned to Lisa, connected eyes and said, mother to mother, “He’s got this.” All Aidan could do was turn to his father, Brad, and say, “Here we go.”
“As a parent, you’re nervewracked,” Brad Mack said. “But watching him go out and operate, your heart just fills. It’s like, yes, he’s worked every day of his life for this moment right here.”
Brad, Lisa and Aidan Mack saw the quarterback they’ve always seen in Austin, one who came to life, one who confidently implored his offensive linemen not to look at the scoreboard and to simply play.
“It was a chance for him to go out and do what he does and be the guy,” Brad Mack said.
Austin showed athleticism. Austin showed maturity. Austin made throws. Austin made mistakes.
After years of waiting, that’s all Lisa Mack needed to see.
“That moment, I knew he could do the job,” she said.
‘It was incredibly rewarding for me’
Paul Doherty knows what Mack the starting quarterback looks like.
After two seasons of waiting, Mack had one season as Doherty’s quarterback at Folsom High School. But when Mack entered the Rose Bowl, production was not on Doherty’s mind.
Doherty was getting away from football, walking through an airport terminal after a quick San Diego vacation with his 8- and 10-year-old sons. One comment stopped Doherty dead in his tracks.
“Papa, Austin’s in the game.”
Suddenly nothing else mattered. Doherty found the nearest TV and watched.
Doherty knew what the moment meant. Mack dominated practice fields at Folsom, and whether he faced second-team reps or was leading the Bulldogs to a NorCal Championship against De La Salle, Mack never changed.
To Doherty’s two sons, Mack was an idol. As both sat in Doherty’s quarterback room during position meetings, they watched Mack take praise and criticism in stride. They watched Mack become a professional, soaking in lessons they may not realize until they are much older.
The process is what Doherty thought about while watching Mack at the Rose Bowl throwing completion after completion.
“It was incredibly rewarding for me,” Doherty said.
‘He is definitely capable’
Austin Mack’s Rose Bowl was something Kalen DeBoer had been waiting for, too.
Mack was in DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb’s quarterback room at Washington weeks after Mack’s 17th birthday. Mack showed his unwavering trust in DeBoer by following him and his staff to Alabama and remaining in his quarterback room despite hardly any significant reps through three seasons.
Mack is bought into the big picture. But DeBoer is also bought in. He saw, at the Rose Bowl, firsthand what Mack had developed into.
The energy came immediately, DeBoer remembers. Mack’s confidence and ability to execute quickly followed. There was no easing in, DeBoer said. Mack provided the spark, an inkling of light for the Crimson Tide to follow in the midst of extreme darkness.
“There’s an energy and a vibe you have about you, and he’s got that,” DeBoer told The Tuscaloosa News. “He’s a great teammate. I mean, a phenomenal teammate, and that’s not just what he wants to be. He’s going to be that naturally because that’s just who he is.
“He wants to be a starting quarterback. He wants to be the guy leading a team to a championship. He is definitely capable of that.”
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter or Instagram @colingaytnews.
By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer
MONTEVALLO – Fireworks lit the sky above Independence Hall, patriotic music echoed across the grounds of American Village and thousands of visitors from across Alabama gathered in Montevallo as Sweet Home 250 marked the state’s official celebration of America’s 250th birthday.
Held July 3-4, the two-day festival transformed American Village into the centerpiece of Alabama’s observance of the nation’s semiquincentennial, drawing what organizers estimate was the largest public event ever hosted on the campus.
“It was everything we hoped it would be,” American Village President and CEO Alan Miller said. “For two days, people from every corner of Alabama came together to celebrate our nation’s history, our shared ideals and the people who continue to write the American story. The response from our guests was overwhelming.”
The celebration came three years after Gov. Kay Ivey designated American Village as Alabama’s Semiquincentennial Celebration Capital, placing the Montevallo campus at the heart of the state’s America 250 commemorations.
For organizers, the festival represented the culmination of years of planning.
“This wasn’t something that came together overnight,” Alabama USA Semiquincentennial Commission Executive Officer Natalie Steed said. “Planning involved countless hours from American Village staff, volunteers, performers, first responders, state and local agencies and community partners. Without the support of the Alabama Legislature, Gov. Ivey and the Alabama USA Semiquincentennial Commission, this celebration could not have happened. It truly took a statewide effort to create an event worthy of this historic anniversary.”
Visitors packed the 188-acre campus throughout the weekend, enjoying performances by 18 Alabama musical artists, historical reenactments, military encampments, culinary demonstrations and competitions, educational programs and family-friendly activities.
Among the weekend’s highlights were Revolutionary War battle reenactments at Concord Bridge, a military flyover following the National Anthem and a fireworks display over the replica of Independence Hall that capped the Fourth of July celebration.
While the large-scale attractions drew crowds, Miller said many of the weekend’s most meaningful moments came through smaller interactions.
“There was an incredible sense of pride and gratitude,” Miller said. “Families were making memories together. Children were experiencing history in a hands-on way. People weren’t just attending an event, they were celebrating what it means to be Americans.”
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