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Paul DeMarco: With a new year upon us, Alabama state leaders must continue to address past issues

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Paul DeMarco: With a new year upon us, Alabama state leaders must continue to address past issues


By Paul DeMarco

A new year always brings hope for a fresh start in one’s life. For Alabama state leaders, the year 2024 requires going back to the basics to address chronic issues that have plagued the state, such as crime, education and poverty.

 

Paul DeMarco

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State representatives and senators made excellent progress in passing bills that strengthened the Alabama criminal justice system. Laws to stiffen penalties for fentanyl trafficking, retail theft and gang violence became law. In addition, the state’s generous good time laws were amended to reduce the amount of time inmates could earn for an early release from prison.

 

This session lawmakers need to address the problems with the state’s work release program that has allowed felons convicted of murder out unsupervised on the streets. Legislators also have to stop the slew of bills that have been pre-filed to gut the current parole board’s ability to keep prisoners behind board who had been convicted of heinous crimes. Week after week the headlines n 2023 have reported the violence in our state which should focus legislators on making public safety a priority.

 

As for education, this past year a historic $8.8 billion education budget and $2.8 billion supplemental allocation was passed to fund state public education. The monies have been used to pay for additional math and science academic enhancement, pre-k, teachers and salaries. Even with the massive infusion of money, the state is still ranked low in scholastic achievement and this past year the Alabama Department of Education reported that overall public schools actually declined from the year before. Thus, this upcoming session there will be a big push for education reform that includes school choice. The question will be what it actually looks like and how ultimatley it will make a difference in our state.

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Finally, we are three years past when Covid was at its peek and the Nation was shut down. Like other states, our small businesses and their employees suffered through the mandated lock downs. Yet, the economy is now thriving in the state as Alabama continues to attract new companies and existing businesses grow.

 

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey reports that there has now been $42 billion in new capital investment that has lead to both the most people employed in state history and the lowest unemployment. The state continues to receive allocades for its economic development efforts.

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The strong economy has lead to increased revenue, which lawmakers have used to fund more state services. And there are for hire signs everywhere you go, folks have to just agree to take those jobs. And while we approach a new year, there are plenty of reasons to believe 2024 will be another good one for Alabama business owners and their employees.

 

Thus, while there is optimism for the new year, Alabama state leaders must address the chronic issues are state has to move our state forward.

 

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Paul DeMarco is a former member of the Alabama House of Representatives and can be found on X formerly Twitter at @Paul_DeMarco



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Alabama

Alabama-Texas A&M free livestream: How to watch SEC basketball game, TV, schedule

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Alabama-Texas A&M free livestream: How to watch SEC basketball game, TV, schedule


The No. 5 Alabama Crimson Tide play against the No. 10 Texas A&M Aggies in an SEC basketball game tonight. The matchup will begin at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN. Fans can watch this game for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV Stream and Fubo TV. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users.

The Crimson Tide enter this matchup with a 13-2 record, and they have won seven consecutive games. In their most recent game, the Crimson Tide defeated South Carolina 88-68.

During the victory, Alabama’s star guard Mark Sears scored 22 points and shot 7-12 from the field. He also shot 4-6 from beyond the arc, so he will try to perform similarly this evening.

The Aggies also enter this matchup with a 13-2 record, and they have won nine games in a row. The team has a 4-0 record against ranked opponents.

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In their most recent game, the Aggies defeated Oklahoma 80-78. During the victory, Zhuric Phelps led the Texas A&M offense. He scored 34 points and shot 6-10 from three-point range, so he will try to continue his great play tonight.

Fans can watch this game for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV Stream and Fubo TV. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users.



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Alabama-based content creator reacts to possible TikTok ban

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Alabama-based content creator reacts to possible TikTok ban


MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – Some social media users are bracing for a possible ban on the popular social media app TikTok.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to ban the social media platform by Jan. 19 if the Chinese-owned company does not sell the platform due to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.

It’s a dilemma between free speech and national security.

“Many of the content creators on TikTok are Americans, so they are protected under the First Amendment, and it was also argued that TikTok could be seen as a public forum, and Americans have freedom of speech in a public forum,” Troy University Assistant Professor of journalism and communications Dr. Stefanie East said.

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Montgomery-raised content creator Funmi Ford says this ban could affect many Americans financially, not only content creators, but also small business owners.

“There are entrepreneurs that have used TikTok not only to get income but to get new clients,” Ford said. “There’s so many people that use this app to feed their families that I think it’s going to be really hard for them.”

TikTok has provided Ford with a way to share her culture from Accra Ghana and interact with other cultures. She fears without this social media platform, it may be more difficult to make those global connections.

“I feel like TikTok is one of the few places, because it’s video and it’s short form, you got to digest a lot of information, whether good or bad, that either widened your horizon, made you think differently, made you want to travel,” said Ford. “So with it possibly being banned, which we hope it’s not, it’s going to close a window to somebody else’s life, a window to another part of the world that you would not see otherwise.”

TikTok, as well as some of its users, have sued to block the U.S. ban contending that it violates First Amendment rights. The Supreme Court is now faced with the decision between those claims and Congress’ concern the Chinese government may have influence over the social media platform.

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President-elect Donald Trump filed a brief at the Supreme Court asking justices to temporarily block the law so he can “pursue a political resolution” once he takes office.

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SEC regular season conference winner odds for Auburn and Alabama basketball

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SEC regular season conference winner odds for Auburn and Alabama basketball


The SEC has taken the men’s college basketball world by storm this season. When this week began, the SEC had nine teams in The Associated Press top 25, including six in the top 10.

Auburn and Alabama are in the top 10 and making their marks as favorites to win the national championship. Before they cut down the nets in the Final Four, they will try to win a conference championship.

The SEC regular season conference winner odds for Auburn and Alabama show a pair of teams expected to be there at the end. That’s what we are examining today.

Note: Odds are based on the best value our experts find as of publication; check lines closer to game time to ensure you get the best odds.

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SEC regular season conference winner odds

These are the odds for each team to win the SEC regular season men’s basketball conference title from BetMGM Sportsbook:

Team BetMGM odds to win SEC regular season
Auburn -115
Alabama +450
Tennessee +500
Florida +800
Kentucky +1800
Mississippi State +2000
Texas A&M +2000
Ole Miss +5000
Arkansas 100-to-1
Georgia 125-to-1
Oklahoma 125-to-1
Texas 125-to-1
Missouri 200-to-1
Vanderbilt 200-to-1
LSU 250-to-1
South Carolina 250-to-1

The top five teams in this betting odds market rank in the top eight in this week’s AP poll. The next two are not far behind at Nos. 10 and 14. After that, the odds drop significantly, but even Ole Miss is a top-25 team.

Don’t nitpick about how the odds and rankings compare. Tennessee entered this week undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the nation but lost to Florida on the road by 30 points. With so much parity in college basketball, the regular season is more of a survival challenge than an expectation to win every game.

Auburn and Alabama were among the favorites to win the regular season title when the season began and both teams have played well thus far. They’ll be favorites if they win a large majority of their games and beat a couple of fellow contenders along the way.

Auburn SEC championship odds

Sportsbook SEC championship odds
BetMGM -115
FanDuel -130
DraftKings -105

No. 2-ranked Auburn (14-1) has lit the court on fire throughout its 14-1 start, including marquee wins over Houston, North Carolina, Iowa State and Purdue. The Tigers’ only loss came on the road against Duke.

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The biggest spark has been forward Johni Broome, who averages 18.7 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.7 blocks. His performance has catapulted him to the top of the Wooden Award odds listed by DraftKings Sportsbook. Broome has odds of -280 while Duke’s Cooper Flagg is at +230. No other player has odds better than 16-to-1.

Broome is the MVP, but five other Auburn players average at least 10 points per game. That’s an incredible feat in this day of college basketball.

The Tigers rank fourth in the nation in points per game with 87.9. They rank first in blocks per game with 6.9 and 26th in shooting percentage allowed at 39.2%

Auburn hits the road to play South Carolina on Saturday before returning home to face No. 14 Mississippi State on Tuesday. A home game against Tennessee looms Jan. 25.

Alabama SEC championship odds

Sportsbook SEC Championship odds
BetMGM +450
FanDuel +380
DraftKings +550

No. 5 Alabama (13-2) has had an incredible season with the only blemishes being losses to Oregon and Purdue. The Crimson Tide have big wins over Illinois, Houston, North Carolina and Oklahoma.

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The whole SEC schedule will be tough, but the next three games especially stand out for Alabama. The Tide play Texas A&M on the road, Ole Miss at home and Kentucky on the road.

Like Auburn, Alabama has balanced scoring at the top. Five players average double figures, led by Mark Sears’ 18.3 points. Fellow returner Grant Nelson has been pivotal, too. He averages 13.1 points and a team-high 8.8 rebounds.

If Alabama is going to win the regular season title, it will have to earn it over the final handful of games. The Tide’s final five games are against Kentucky, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Florida and Auburn.



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