Listen and subscribe to our podcast here. Below you will find today’s report from Alabama.

Path of Destruction

Last week we had all kinds of concerns as powerful Hurricane Helene violently hit the Big Bend area of ​​Florida. As the weekend began, a major storm moved inland, dumping rain and causing damage in Georgia, South Carolina, then eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina.

In all, hundreds of water rescues have been carried out, according to Associated Press reports, including stories of people being pulled from roofs, millions without power, and the death toll approaching 100 and rising as rescue teams spread.

At least 25 people died in South Carolina, making it the deadliest hurricane since Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

North Carolina is experiencing its worst flooding in a century. More than two feet of rain fell on the Spruce Pine community from last Tuesday through last Saturday. Supplies were airlifted to the Asheville area.

AL.com’s Josie Howell reports that Alabama first responders are joining the effort in North Carolina. His crew, along with Swift Water Rescue technicians from Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook, Calera and Mobile, were in the Tar Heel State, according to the Prattville Fire Department.

DOJ vs. Alabama

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit over the Alabama Secretary of State’s efforts to remove non-U.S. citizens from the voter rolls so close to the election, AL.com’s Howard Koplowitz reports.

As you might expect, if you are not a US citizen and a resident of Alabama, the law does not allow you to register to vote here. Federal law makes it a crime for non-U.S. citizens to vote in federal elections.

Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen announced a program on August 13 to remove ineligible voters from the voter rolls. This was 84 days before the November 5 elections. This is a problem, according to the Justice Department, because the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 limits systematic purging of lists to more than 90 days before an election.

The Justice Department says the removal program could cause errors, confuse voters and remove eligible voters.

101-year-old building

Birmingham’s 101-year-old Bankhead Towers, where Alabama football teams once stayed before games at Legion Field, has been condemned by the city, AL.com’s Greg Garrison reports.

The Crimson Tide stayed in the building when it was a hotel during Bear Bryant’s first years with the program.

At an MLB baseball game at Rickwood this summer, Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson said he lived at Bankhead Towers during the 1967 season with the Birmingham A’s after he was threatened with burning down the apartment where he lived with white teammates.

Bankhead Towers has had problems before and underwent a $3 million renovation in 2004. City spokesman Rick Journey said current problems include fires and building and housing code violations.

The building is intended for elderly and disabled people.

Entourage at Bryant-Denny

The former president made it to the Alabama-Georgia game, in case you haven’t heard about it.

How you feel about this event is undoubtedly related to how you’ve felt about almost everything else since 2016.

On the one hand, former US Senator Doug Jones criticized Donald Trump’s decision to attend the game, arguing that Vice President and Trump campaign opponent Kamala Harris campaigned “where it mattered” while Trump was here in Alabama – certainly a case it was already closed. red state.

Meanwhile, current U.S. senators Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville joined Trump in the boxes. It was a somewhat surreal scene, regardless of which side of the election or game you were on, as television cameras showed the likes of Kid Rock, Herschel Walker, Hank Williams Jr. joined them. and John Daly. My guess is that Hershel and Bocephus made this group into a bipartisan group in the Alabama-Georgia sense.

While being in Tuscaloosa didn’t physically put him in a swing state, you can bet Trump knew he was speaking to a national television audience and a huge audience outside of Georgia, which is considered a swing state this year.

Meanwhile, CNN reported that Harris’ camp planned to fly a plane carrying a banner reading “Punting Trump at the Second Debate” over Bryant-Denny Stadium, but the flight was canceled due to weather, according to The New York Times.

More news from Alabama

Born on this day

In 1924, writer Truman Capote, born in New Orleans but spent part of his youth in Monroeville.

In 1954, NBA player John Drew from Vredenburgh.

Alabama News Quiz Results

Here’s how the quiz participants did in Friday’s news roundup:

This week it was announced that Birmingham Southern College would sell its campus. If the deal is finalized, who will be the buyer?

Miles College (CORRECT) 91.6%

UAB 5.6%

University of Alabama System 2.8%

Chinese company that owns TikTok 0.0%

According to a recent study, in what category does Alabama lead the nation?

Women arrested on suspicion of pregnancy (CORRECT) 57.3%

Improvement of reading comprehension among third-grade students 30.9%

Drug trafficking arrests per capita 7.3%

Beating Mississippi in state rankings 4.5%

Four Florida men were recently arrested for allegedly taking this item from the Bon Secour National Refuge.

Palmetto Berries (CORRECT) 84.8%

Sea oats 9.0%

Living sand dollars 3.9%

Manatees 2.2%

The mayor of an Alabama city announced this week that he will not seek re-election in 2025.

Mobile phone (CORRECT) 81.5%

Montgomery 9.0%

Huntville 6.7%

Birmingham 2.8%

This week marked the 70th birthday of a Tuscaloosa native who became the first black football coach in the Southeastern Conference.

Sylvester Croom (CORRECT) 77.5%

Charlie Strong 19.1%

Joker Phillips 3.4%

Bill Clinton 0.0%

Podcast