West Alabama Monday Briefing

Good morning, West Alabama! It is Monday August 12, 2024.

It is the "Dog Days" of summer and while that typically refers to the hot, sultry, lazy days of August, it also is annually a time of blood shortages in Alabama and across the nation. Along with the holidays this is a period of time when normal donors are on vacation or otherwise distracted from giving lifesaving blood.

According to American Red Cross, "Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood for surgeries, cancer treatments, accidents and chronic illnesses. Regardless of age, sex, race or economic status, blood is a universal lifeline."

Of the 38% of people in the U.S. who are eligible to donate blood, only about 3% do so. During shortage periods that can put the lives of those in desperate need at risk.

Red Cross is conducting several blood drives throughout the remainder of August. The next is Wednesday 1:30pm to 5:30pm at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Tuscaloosa on Academy Drive.

You can check the American Red Cross of Alabama and Mississippi website for the locations and times.

LIFESOUTH is also conducting as series of blood drives this month. Go to their website for times and locations.

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It is a nice start to the work week this morning, but high heat is expected to return the second half.

The Forecast:

Today

Sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight

Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Tuesday

Sunny, with a high near 94. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Tuesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 72. Calm wind.

Wednesday

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 73.

Remainder of the Week:

Small rain chances and high temperatures in the mid 90s will exist Wednesday into the coming weekend.

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Topping News:

A major crash has snarled traffic all morning in Greene County. This one is near Eutaw and has resulted in both north and southbound lane closures. It is on U-S 11 at the 47 mile and ALDOT says it will take several hours to clear the debris.

Alabama’s Senior Republican U-S Senator Tommy Tuberville is calling for a congressional investigation into how the Veteran’s Administration is running $15 billion short of their benefits and health care budgets for FY24 and 25. VA blames increased hiring and pharmaceutical costs for the shortfall.

The investigation of a deadly early Saturday morning shooting at Creekwood Village Apartments on 40th Avenue in the city continues. Two men were shot, one died. This is the 22^nd homicide in Tuscaloosa County this year, the 16^th in Tuscaloosa.

Christopher Matthews has been charged with nine counts of impersonating a peace officer, one count of second-degree theft of property, and one count of identity theft. Matthews’ arrest is the result of a 4-month-long jury duty scam call case. He scammed one man out of $1500.

Students as Englewood Elementary in the Tuscaloosa County School System will have lunch in the classroom today. The move comes after mold was found in the cafeteria seating area. The cafeteria scored a 97 on its last health rating and some parents are wondering why the mole wasn’t discovered before school began.

Only 3% of those eligible to give blood do so and that creates a problem during the dog days of August when fewer people give. Both Red Cross and LifeSouth report there is a current blood supply shortage partly resulting from fewer people giving. All types of blood are need but "Type O" and "Type A" are most needed. You can go to both organizations website for a list of blood drives in the area this month.

Rush week is underway for sororities at UA and will culminate with Bid Day this coming Sunday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The coeds will then rush to their new sorority houses to meet their new sisters.

36% of UA’s undergraduate student body belongs to Greek letter fraternities and sororities.

The National Hurricane Center has begun issuing advisories on Potential Tropical Cyclone 5. It will likely become a tropical storm tomorrow as it crosses the warm waters of the Atlantic. Once this storm forms, it will take on the name Ernesto, the fifth named tropical cyclone of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season.

The storm is likely to impact parts of Puerto Rico, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The good news is steering currents are most likely to take the storm into the North Central Atlantic and not threaten the continental United States.

Topping Sports News:

The final top 5 medal count for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics reveals one of the best yet for the United States:

United States, 126 (40 Gold, 44 Silver, 42 Bronze)
Communist China, 91 (40 Gold, 27 Silver, 24 Bronze)
Great Britain, 65 (14 Gold, 22 Silver, 29 Bronze)
France, 64 (16 Gold, 26 Silver, 22 Bronze)
Australia, 53 (18 Gold, 19 Silver, 16 Bronze)

Team USA, as a whole, easily surpassed its previous Summer Games total medal haul of 113 medals in Tokyo.

The 2024 Paralympics begin August 28, with many of the same venues from the Paris Olympics hosting the best of the best across 549 events in 22 different sports.

No false starts, no illegal movements. "We were pretty clean." That was how new Alabama head Football Coach Kalen Deboer described Saturday's first scrimmage of the 2024 pre-season. That is good news coming off a season where Alabama shot itself in the foot repeatedly with false starts and illegal movement flags.

Click TuscaloosaThread.com throughout the day for local, news, sports and weather updates. Better yet, download the app.

Have a magnificent Monday!!