West Alabama Monday Briefing

Good morning West Alabama! It is Monday, May 12, 2025. This is the 132nd day of the year with 233 days remaining.

In Monday's Morning Briefing:

Weather
News
Sports
Monday Morning Observations

Weather:

A Flood Watch will continue in effect across West Alabama through 7:00 this evening. More than two inches of rainfall spurred Flood Warnings across the area over this past weekend, and we are not through with the wet stuff yet. Shower possibilities are in the forecast until Tuesday night and then return again Friday and into the coming weekend.

Eastern Bibb and Perry counties are barely in an area of Marginal (1 in 5) Risk for strong to severe thunderstorms today that mainly stretch into east Alabama.

A Flood Warning remains in effect for the Black Warrior River at Selden Lock and Dam affecting Greene, Hale and Marengo Counties. The river is expected to rise above flood stage late tonight to a crest of 91.1 feet tomorrow evening. It will then fall below flood stage Wednesday evening. - Flood stage is 90 feet.

Clearing tomorrow night will give way to rain returning Friday and into the weekend, possibly making it difficult of the Tuscaloosa NCAA Softball Regional at Rhodes House.

The Forecast:

Today

A slight chance of showers before 10am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 10am and 1pm, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 1pm. High near 77. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tonight

A 20 percent chance of showers before 4am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around 60. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Tuesday

A slight chance of showers before 10am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 10am and 1pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 77. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tuesday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 63. Calm wind.

Wednesday

Sunny, with a high near 87. South wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Wednesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 68.

Remainder of the Week

Clear skies Thursday will see clouds return in the early morning hours of Friday with a 20% chance for rain Friday bumping up to 50% chances Friday night and Saturday. Highs will be in the summery mid to upper 80s but rain chances will exist throughout the weekend.

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News:

Rep. Sewell Calling Hand of GOP in Congressional Budget Debate

West Alabama Democrat Congresswoman Terri Sewell is taking aim at the Republican 2026 Budget in the house. It slashes $880 million from Medicaid and SNAP supplemental food assistance. She says 176,000-plus constituents in her 7^th Congressional District cannot afford the cuts, especially since 45% of the cuts impact children.

The congresswoman says it is unconscionable to give significant spending cuts and tax cuts, particularly for the wealthy, while cutting programs for children and low-income citizens.

The legislation does not include a per-beneficiary cap on federal Medicaid spending. Neither does it include a reduction in the minimum federal share to states, both of which were being pushed by conservatives. Still millions could lose health insurance coverage.

Sewell is demanding an up or down vote.

Greensboro Democrat Senator to Filibuster Remaining Legislative Days

State lawmakers are headed down the stretch of the 2025 legislative session. A week from Wednesday is the final day. But differing priorities have caused mounting tension between the two chambers.

Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton (D-Greensboro) has been the most vocal about the differences. He has a local bill that would allow for historical horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering at two locations in Greene County, something made legal by a constitutional amendment approved years ago.

But House Republicans have other priorities. At risk are 50 total bills in the lower chamber, including law enforcement and immigration legislation that Singleton could block with a filibuster if his bill is not considered.

“I’m gonna be like Noah on 40 days, 40 nights,” Singleton said on the Senate floor Thursday. “And that’s where we’ll be. If that’s what game they want to play, then I’m willing to play.”

House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter has vowed definitively the Singleton's legislation will not be on the docket.

Significant Security Breach Hits Alabama State Government

A “significant security breach” that has affected systems across the state was discovered on Friday night. Alabama’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) says it is not believed that Alabamian’s personal, identifiable information was retrieved by hackers.

OIT and an outside security firm have been working through the weekend to discover the depth of the breach and to mitigate it. They have discovered that some state employees' passwords and usernames have been compromised.

Cordova Police Await Forensics Report on Body Floating in the River

Cordova Police continue to investigate why the body of a white male was found floating in the Black Warrior River on Saturday morning. It was seen floating face down near the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) train trestle that connects Cordova with Dora. A bridge inspection crew spotted the body and informed authorities around 9:00 Saturday morning.

Authorities believe they have an identification of the man but have sent the body to state forensics for an autopsy and positive identification and cause of death. No further information will be released until the results are returned.

Execution in Brutal 1988 Walker County Murder set for June 10

If Gregory Hunt is put to death as scheduled on June 10th as scheduled, he will become the 4^th Alabama death row inmate to be executed via nitrogen gas. There have been only seven executions using nitrogen nationwide this year.

Hunt was convicted of the 1988 beating death of Karen Lane whose body was found in her Cordova apartment. An autopsy revealed she sustained 60 injuries, including 20 to the head.

Hunt, who was dating Lane, was convicted in 1990 and has been on "Death Row' since.

Gas Prices Continue to Plunge

Gas prices continue a downward trajectory according to Triple-A Alabama. It is down on average 3¢ a gallon nationally from last week, 1¢ statewide and in Tuscaloosa County, down an average 3¢ a gallon since last week.

On average a gallon of gas in Tuscaloosa County is $2.69 while the highest in West Alabama remains Perry County at $3.06.

Tuscaloosa Farmer's Market Adding Another Day

During June and July, the Tuscaloosa Farmer’s Market will be open on Tuesday afternoons 3:00pm until 7:00pm, as well as its normal Saturday openings 7:00am until noon The Tuesday openings will include not only area farmers but artisans, food trucks and games.

The Tuscaloosa Farmer's Market is a Certified Farmers Market under the State Department of Agriculture’s Farmers Market Authority. The market certifies that all of the food sold there is grown within 25 miles of the state line of Alabama.

The Tuscaloosa Farmer's Market is located at 1900 Jack Warner Pkwy.

Jasper Police Looking for Those Who Have Fallen in the Line of Duty

The Jasper Police Department is reaching out to the community to locate family members of fallen officers from Walker County. These officers will be honored during the National Law Enforcement Memorial Day Ceremony on Thursday, May 15, 2025, at the Walker County Courthouse Square. The department is asking anyone with information to contact them at 205-221-6790.

Congrats to Stillman College 2025 Graduates

121 graduates, over 65% of whom earned honors, picked up diplomas during ceremonies at Stillman College Sunday. The commencement exercises were highlighted by a significant partnership with Google, which contributed a generous $30,000 gift to the college.

Read More: Stillman College Celebrates Class of 2025

Sports:

SEC Lands 14 of Its 15 Softball Teams in NCAA Regionals, Including Alabama

The SEC had the most teams of any college conference selected to participate in the NCAA Softball Tournament -14. Alabama (37-21) is not only one of them but will host a first-round regional this coming weekend.

The Rhodes House will welcome Jackson State (28-23) as the Crimson Tide's opening opponent at 2:30 Friday afternoon. That will be followed by an excellent 5:00pm matchup between Belmont (40-14) and ACC powerhouse Virginia Tech (41-11).

Bama has a history this season with Tech. They split two games in Tuscaloosa, losing 2-1 then winning 9-1.

The Tide's selection is the 26th-straight postseason bid and 20th-straight as a national host seed, coming in as the No. 15 seed.

If Bama makes it to the Super Regional they will face the overall #2 seed Oklahoma on the road. The won the regular season series with the Sooners 2 games to 1 in Tuscaloosa.

Bama made it to the WCWS in Oklahoma City last season as the #14 seed.

NCAA Tournament Top 16 National Seeds (SEC Teams Highlighted):

Texas A&M (45-9) SEC Co-Champion
Oklahoma (45-7) SEC Co-Champion
Florida (43-14)
Arkansas (40-12)
Florida State (46-9)
Texas (46-10)
Tennessee (40-14)
South Carolina (40-15)
UCLA (49-10)
LSU (41-14)
Clemson (44-12)
Texas tech (45-12)
Arizona (45-11)
Duke (38-16)
Alabama (37-21)
Oregon (47-7)

Also, in the tournament from the SEC:

Mississippi State
Auburn
Ole Miss
Georgia
Kentucky

Bama Baseball Bounces Back to Take Two from UGA

#6 Georgia (40-13 overall, 16-11 SEC), the top homerun hitting the team in the nation, run-ruled the #23 Crimson Tide (39-13 overall,15-12 SEC) in game one of their three game series 19-3 at "The Joe" this past weekend.

Battling the weather, the Tide bounced back to take games three and four to enhance their possibilities of hosting a first-round NCAA Tournament series. The Crimson Tide started Sunday by defeating the Bulldogs, 9-3, in the completion of Friday's suspended contest before taking the series finale, 5-4, in seven innings due to rain.

"That's a really good team over there." Tide head Coach Rob Vaughn told media during the post-game press conference. "Their offense is scary; they grind out at-bats and they've got power arms on the mound. I'm really proud of our kids. We got beat pretty good in game one the other day, and like I knew we would, we responded."

Alabama earned its first home series win over Georgia since 2015.

Alabama travels to Gainesville, Fla., for a three-game set to close the regular season, starting Thursday against Florida. First pitch between the Crimson Tide and Gators is set for 6:00pm CDT, airing on SEC Network+.

Come From Behind Birmingham Stallons Remain in First Place

The Birmingham Stallions defeated the Houston Roughnecks Sunday 33-25, but it wasn't easy. It took a dramatic come-from-behind effort, as the Stallions erased a 19-point halftime deficit at Protective Life Stadium. It was the largest comeback win since the UFL began.

The Stallions are tied with the Michigan Panthers for first place in the USFL Conference with identical 5-2 records.

Birmingham is on a two-game winning streak and hits the road Saturday for a noon CDT match-up with the St. Louis Battlehawks at the Dome of America Center in St. Louis. St. Louis is tied with D.C. with 5-2 records in the UFL Conference.

St. Louis is a 2.5-point favorite against the defending champion Stallions on Fox Saturday.

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Monday Morning Observations:

Congratulations to the Alabama Softball Team, Coach Patrick Murphy and the SEC for dominating the 2025 NCAA Post-Season Tournament. 14 SEC teams, including the Crimson Tide, will begin the battle to make it to Oklahoma City for the Women's College World Series.

This Tide team has struggled at times, and I have been critical o some of those struggles. But you have to give credit where credit is due. They play in the toughest conference in the county, as proven by how many teams the SEC placed in post-season. UA has played in every NCAA Tournament since 1999; Patrick Murphy's first year as head coach. That places the Tide among the best programs in the country year-in, year-out.

Not only did the SEC put 14 of its 15 schools that play softball in the post-season, nine (including Bama) are Top 16 national seeds. Eight of the Top 10 seeds are from the SEC.

Perennial softball powerhouse Oklahoma and Texas found that the SEC is no cakewalk but by joining the league, they have added to the strength and legacy of the conference.

The Tuscaloosa Regional will not be an easy one. UA opens with Jackson State Friday afternoon before Belmont and Virginia Tech do battle. Both Belmont and Virginia Tech posted 40-win seasons.

If the Tide wins their regional getting to Oklahoma City will have to go through Norman, OK and the number two overall season Oklahoma. The Sooners will not be good hosts after Bama beat them twice in their three-game regular season series.

Here is to the Tide and the SEC. May the WCWS look more like the SEC Tournament Part 2 because, "It Just Means More".

(Opinions expressed in Morning Observations are those of the author and are not necessarily those of the ownership, management, staff or sponsors of Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa.)

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Have a wonderful week and ROLL TIIDE!!

Source: West Alabama Monday Briefing