Alabama

Multiple Alabama freshmen named among top newcomers in college football

Published

11 months ago

August 13, 2023

Multiple Alabama freshmen named among top newcomers in college football

Alabama football enters the 2023 college football season with plenty of new faces, inexperienced players and true freshmen. While for many programs this may be a cause for concern, it’s not for Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide.

Losing Bryce Young, Will Anderson Jr., and Jahmyr Gibbs surely stings, but the next-man-up mentality allows for the Tide to reload instead of having to rebuild.

The incoming 2023 recruiting class for Alabama was ranked No. 1 in the nation, according to 247Sports, which is good for the program because it’s likely that a few will see some serious playing time.

ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren recently ranked the top 50 college football newcomers, which includes transfer and true freshmen.

Two Alabama freshmen made the list.

At No. 32 is running back Justice Haynes.

“Haynes was the No. 2 running back in the class behind Richard Young, who also signed with Alabama. Haynes is a 5-foot-11, 200-pound back from Buford, Georgia, and has already caused a stir during the spring, showing versatility in the spring game — two touchdowns on the ground another receiving. Haynes has the talent, and although he still has some competition ahead of him in Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams, he should be able to find reps this season.”

Freshman safety Caleb Downs also made the list at No. 26.

“Downs, a 6-foot, 190-pound recruit out of Georgia, was the No. 1 safety in the 2023 class. He’s a talented defensive back who has already garnered hype since enrolling at Alabama. The Crimson Tide lost safeties Brian Branch and Jordan Battle to the NFL, so there are open spots. Downs has every opportunity to see the field early this fall and, given his talent level, could become one of Alabama’s better players in the secondary.”

Both of these players will see the field in 2023, with Downs potentially serving as a starter in the secondary. While the entire season won’t rely on them, they are pieces to a much larger puzzle that could lead to the success of the Crimson Tide this season.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football as the 2023 offseason winds down.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on Twitter @SpurrFM.

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Alabama

Alabama NAACP decries Supreme Court granting presidents legal immunity

Published

5 hours ago

July 5, 2024

Press Room

Alabama NAACP decries Supreme Court granting presidents legal immunity

The NAACP Alabama State Conference issued a statement on Tuesday saying the organization was “devastated by the high court ruling in [the] Trump immunity case.”

Benard Simelton, the organization’s president, said that “the Highest Court in the land has failed to protect its citizens from the most dangerous threat to our society, and this ruling, coming from the United States Supreme Court, violates the trust put in it by its citizens.”

Released on Monday, the Supreme Court’s decision on Trump v. United States stated that presidents have “presumptive immunity” for all official acts and “absolute immunity” for all official acts covered by presidents’ “exclusive authority.”

All six justices that signed onto the majority opinion in Trump v. United States were appointed by Republican presidents, with three appointed by Trump himself. Simelton told APR the NAACP wasn’t expecting the ruling because they “thought [the Supreme Court] would put their partisan views and ideology aside and rule based on the court of law.”

Alabama Republicans were quick to publicly support the ruling. On a Tuesday radio show, Congressman Jerry Carl said America was “really, really, really close to becoming a third-world country” before the Supreme Court gave presidents legal immunity.

However, liberal politicians and many legal experts have called the ruling both anti-democratic and potentially dangerous. Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies, wrote that the ruling “is not what the Framers wanted” and “not what we should want either.”

“The NAACP does not support this decision,” Simelton said. “We think that presidents should be held accountable for their actions when they violate the law, when they’re in office and certainly when they’re out of office.”

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NAACP president Derrick Johnson called the decision “a danger to not only the African American community, but a danger to our society as a whole.”

Simelton explained to APR that he personally feels “this ruling will determine how our democracy will move forward.”

“If we determine that the president of the United States is above the law then everything that we work for in a democracy will be undermined and essentially done away with,” he noted.

Simelton said he believes Americans need to elect both a president who respects everyone’s rights and the limits of their office and members of Congress who can keep an eye on the president and on the Supreme Court.

Pointing to the 22nd Amendment, which formalized the two term limit for the presidency, Simelton stated that America “didn’t want a person becoming an office and staying there forever” and it’s “the same thing with the Supreme Court.”

“I think it’s time to start looking at term limits for the Supreme Court,” he proffered.

Simelton is not the only person to call for more checks on the Supreme Court in the aftermath of its recent controversial rulings.

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Senator Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, called it “disgraceful that Justices Thomas and Alito brazenly refused to recuse themselves from [Trump v. United States]” and said he’ll continue pushing for the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act.

Senators Tina Smith, D-Minnesota, and Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, were just two of the elected officials to call to expand the Supreme Court as Congress did in the 1860s and FDR threatened to in the 1930s.

If the Supreme Court is not expanded, the composition of the court will only change as justices retire or die while in office. Whichever presidential candidate is elected in November, in addition to their newfound immunity, will likely appoint one or more people to the Supreme Court to either weaken or entrench the current majority.

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Alabama

Ivey awards $11.2 million to expand EV charging availability on Alabama's interstates – Yellowhammer News

Published

12 hours ago

July 5, 2024

Press Room

Ivey awards $11.2 million to expand EV charging availability on Alabama's interstates – Yellowhammer News

Electric vehicles on Alabama’s interstates are about to receive a big boost thanks to $11.2 million in grant funding recently awarded by Governor Kay Ivey.

The money has been divided into fourteen individual grants. Thirteen will be going towards installing electric vehicle charging stations at fueling locations found across Alabama’s interstate system. The remaining grant will be given to Bevill State Community College in Jasper, to help train students on installation and the up keep of electric chargers.

“Having strategic electric vehicle charging stations across Alabama not only benefits EV drivers, but it also benefits those companies that produce electric vehicles, including many of them right here in Alabama, resulting in more high-paying jobs for Alabamians,” Governor Kay Ivey said. “This latest round of projects will provide added assurance that Alabamians and travelers to our state whose choose electric vehicles can travel those highways and know a charging station is within a reliable distance on their routes.”

ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell also emphasized the importance of the new funding.

“Alabama continues to make progress in installing charging systems for electric vehicles along major roadways,” Boswell said. “ADECA is pleased to support Gov. Ivey’s efforts to ensure that drivers who choose electric vehicles have access to dependable charging infrastructure as they travel the state.”

Grants awarded and project locations are:

Falkville

$768,782 to Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores to install two dual-port chargers at its location at 64 East Pike Road, off Interstate 65.

Gadsden

$331,807 to Silver Comet Energy Inc. to install four chargers at the RaceTrac Store, 1715 W. Grand Ave., near Interstate 59.

Hamilton

$656,166 to Love’s Travel Stop & Country Stores to install two dual-port chargers at its location at Marion County Highway 35, adjacent to Interstate 22.

Jasper

$2.4 million to Bevill State Community College in Jasper to expand its current HVAC Training Center to include workforce training resulting in certification for the installation, testing, operation and maintenance of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
$788,921 to Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores to install two dual-port chargers its location at 83 Carl Cannon Blvd., near Interstate 22.

Heflin

$656,166 to Love’s Travel Stop & Country Stores to install two dual-port chargers at its location at 6647 Alabama Highway 46, adjacent to Interstate 20.

Tuscaloosa-Cottondale

$581,200 to BP Products North America Inc. to install three electric charging stations at Travel Centers of America Tuscaloosa, 3501 Buttermilk Road, near Interstate 20/59.

Eutaw

$783,299 to Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores to install two dual-port chargers at its 7561 Mesopotamia Street location, adjacent to Interstate 20/59.

Clanton

$660,909 to Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores to install two dual-port chargers at its store location at 300 Arby Drive, near Interstate 65.

Montgomery

$581,200 to BP Products North America Inc. to install three chargers at Travel Centers of America Montgomery, 980 West South Blvd., adjacent to Interstate 65.

Fort Deposit

$759,024 to Priester Retail Stores Inc. to install two dual-port chargers at it store, 80 Bishop Bottom Road, adjacent to Interstate 65.

Evergreen

$867,238 to Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores to install two dual-port chargers at its location, 16101 U.S. Highway 84, near Interstate 65.

Atmore

$725,864 to Poarch Band of Creek Indians to install two duo-port chargers at Creek Travel Plaza, 4740 Jack Springs Road, near Interstate 65.

Irvington

$639,564 to Love’s Travel Stop & Country Stores to install two dual-port charges at its location at 8400 County Farm Road, near Interstate 10.

Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten

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Alabama

Aerial gunnery training shows Alabama’s 1-131st Aviation Regiment's precision and resilience

Published

20 hours ago

July 4, 2024

Press Room

Aerial gunnery training shows Alabama’s 1-131st Aviation Regiment's precision and resilience

The Alabama National Guard’s 1-131st Aviation Regiment showcased its skills and resilience during the unit’s recent annual training, conducting aerial gunnery exercises at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. Despite sweltering summer heat, the unit successfully engaged targets using the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) light machine gun from its aircraft, demonstrating precision and teamwork. Leadership praised the

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