West Alabama Wednesday Briefing

Good morning West Alabama! It is Wednesday, April 23, 2025. This is the 114th day of the year with 242 remaining.

In Today's Briefing:

Weather
News
Sports
Morning Observations

Weather:

Periods of showers and thunderstorms are expected today across West Central Alabama. The high should be in the low to mid 80s and the overnight low in the upper 50s to lower 60s with a decreasing chance of showers. Any storms should remain below severe limits but there could be an elevated lightning threat.

Tomorrow into Friday morning from Lamar, Fayette and Walker counties northward there is a threat of excessive rainfall.

The Forecast:

Today

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly between 1pm and 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 81. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tonight

A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 7pm, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Thursday

A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 82. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph.

Thursday Night

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. Calm wind.

Friday

A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 85. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Friday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 63.

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News:

Wahl Claims White House Made First Contact About Trump UA Address

Alabama Republican Party Chair John Wahl is telling media that The White House reached out to the University of Alabama about the possibility of President Trump making the UA commencement address. At that point Wahl says UA worked with the administration to make the visit happen.

Not surprisingly, UA Student Democrats are voicing opposition to President Trump’s planned UA Commencement Address. They were quick to post a statement saying they, "...are shocked and disgusted to learn that our unpopular, divisive and authoritarian president will be involved in commencement." The statement called Trump a disgraced criminal. And there was a not-so-subtle threat from the group that they are actively mobilizing in response.

Current and Former Alabama Secretaries of State in Verbal Battle

Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen, the son of Cottondale State Senator Gerald Allen has announced he is running for Lt. Gov. Now, his predecessor John Merrill a former Tuscaloosa County District 62 State Representative is considering running for the position. That has sparked a verbal battle between the two former Tuscaloosans.

Allen reminded voters of Merrill’s past marital indiscretions. Merrill replied pointing out he has worked to restore and repair relationships damaged by the scandal and claims Allen has turned to personal attacks instead of talking about issues.

Explosives Report at Local Hotel Proves False

Tuscaloosa Police responded to a call at the Spark by Hilton Tuscaloosa off McFarland Boulevard near Skyland Boulevard Tuesday afternoon due to a call concerned about the potential presence of explosives. The EOD team and bomb dogs investigated a trailer on the property, but no explosives were found.

Buildings surrounding, the hotel were evacuated out of an abundance of caution.

Read More: No Threat After Bomb Scare at Tuscaloosa Hotel Tuesday Afternoon

Still No Contact from Missing Vernon Man

Ricky Metcalf has been missing since April 5th. His family and authorities have mounted numerous searches but have turned up nothing. He was last seen leaving the area of the 400 block of Harrison Court.

Metcalf's sister Sheila says her brother has disappeared before but has always come back. She waited a week before contacting the police, hoping he would reach out like he always does when he needs space.

Vernon Police continue to investigate and urge anyone with information to contact them at 205-695-7103.

UA Nursing Students Simulate a Disaster Response

West Alabama is no stranger to disasters and that fact makes the UA College of Nursing’s Tuesday disaster simulation all that more important. The Director of Simulation, Heather Cole, told news partner ABC3340 gaining realistic training for such a stressful event is critical. The exercise involved 60 nursing students.

Yesterday's simulation required collaboration between nursing students and first responders to mimic the demands of a real-life emergency.

Britt, Tuberville Sponsor Bill to Eradicate Feral Swine

Alabama Republican Senators Tommy Tuberville, and Katie Britt have joined other lawmakers in introducing the Feral Swine Eradication Act, which would extend and make permanent a pilot program to safeguard public health, agriculture, and local ecosystems against the threat of feral swine.

“Feral swine are a serious threat to the livelihoods of Alabama’s farmers. Feral hogs destroy crops, land, and undo months, if not years, of work by our farmers to feed our country,” said Sen. Tuberville. “Feral swine cause an estimated $50 million in damages annually to Alabama. Despite eradication efforts, the pigs are still running rampant throughout the South. And so today, I’m standing with Alabama farmers and taking action to fight back against this threat.”

There are approximately six million feral hogs across the United States, which cause more than $2.5 billion in damages each year.

Student Loan Collections to Resume May 5th

The Department of Education has now set May 5th as the date for the resumption of collections of delinquent student loans. That means the DOE will begin removing money from tax refunds, Social Security benefits and "later this summer" begin garnishing wages.

Figures from the Education Data Initiative show that 1.70% of student loan borrowers in Alabama were delinquent on their payments. That averages to some $35,000 per student borrower in the state.

Greensboro Citizens Complaining About Unfair Treatment

A group of Greensboro citizens are conducting a series of meetings claiming there is mistreatment going on in the city's police department and the Hale County court system. They allege there is corruption in both.

Sports:

Bama Baseball Picks-up Midweek Win at Samford

The 18th ranked Alabama baseball team defeated Samford 11-7 in Homewood last night. The Crimson Tide scored four late runs to ensure the victory. UA is 32-10 overall and a perfect 12-0 in midweek contests this season.

Tide Coach Rob Vaughn called the victory a good win against a very offensive minded team, "We traded blows for a while but got some huge hits and great bullpen performances late."

The Alabama pitching staff combined for 15 strikeouts in the game, the most strikeouts produced by the Tide this season.

Alabama is back home at Sewell-Thomas Stadium this coming weekend. They will be hosting Missouri for a three-game SEC series beginning Thursday, April 24. First pitch is set for 7:00pm on Tide 100.9 and the SEC Network.

Tide Softball Shutout Alabama State on the Road

Alabama Softball shutout Alabama State in Montgomery last night 7-0. The game was the Tide’s final non-conference regular season match-up. Bama is 32-18 overall and hosts Missouri this weekend.

The game marked Alabama's final non-conference game of the regular season. It was the Tide's fourth shutout of the season, the first away from the Rhoads House.

The weekend conference series with Mizzou:

Friday, April 25 – 6 p.m. CT
Saturday, April 26 – 8 p.m. CT – SEC Network
Sunday, April 27 – 2 p.m. CT

Former Tider Makes it to "The Show"

Former Alabama reliever Chase Lee has been called up to the major leagues by the Detroit Tigers. He becomes the 71^st player in Tide history to make “The Show”.

Lee appeared in 146 career minor league games prior to his first call-up, posting a 3.86 earned run average in 182.0 innings pitched. The Alabama native has produced a 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings mark since being drafted 164^th overall by the Texas Rangers in 2021.

Stillman Dominates Post Season Softball Awards

The Stillman College softball team was well represented at the HBCU Athletic Conference Softball Championship banquet Tuesday night. The Tigers walked away with 18 individual awards after a dominant year on the field.

Player of the Year: Lauren Haskins
Hitter of the Year: Lauren Haskins
Newcomer of the Year: Alex Erwin
Pitcher of the Year: Jasmine Wade
Utility Player of the Year: Katelyn Lankford
Coach of the Year: Joel Penfield

Stillman College returns to action at 2:00pm today and will face the winner of the Rust College and Oakwood matchup on the first day of the HBCUAC Softball Championship.

Shelton State Baseball Continuing Another Stellar Season

Shelton State is in a three-way tie for first place with Gadsden State and Coastal South with two weeks to play.

The Bucs are 36-10 overall and 20-8 in ACCC play.

The Bucs will play Southern Union next weekend and close out the regular season with Calhoun in two weeks.

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Wednesday Morning Observations:

President Trump will become the first sitting president to address commencement exercises. The event will be held the evening of Thursday, May 1, at Coleman Coliseum, according to a release from the University of Alabama.

Alabama GOP Chair John Wahl yesterday told media that The White House contacted UA about the potential for Trump's address. UA then worked with representatives of the administration to make the arraignments.

UA College Democrats have already made the feelings about Trump's appearance obvious, the hate the idea and voiced it in no uncertain terms...

UACD is shocked and disgusted to learn that our unpopular, divisive, and authoritarian President will be involved in commencement for the graduating class of 2025. This insult will not go unanswered.

The last time the disgraced criminal visited campus, he was able to turn the Alabama-Georgia game, the biggest college football game on our campus in years, into a political sideshow. We cannot allow this to happen with our commencement ceremonies.

For all of his meddling in UA affairs, Donald Trump lost our campus to former Vice President Kamala Harris last semester. UA is not a fascist playground.

The Trump administration kidnapped one of our Ph.D. students for no reason a few weeks ago and is holding him without bond at an ICE black site in Louisiana.

There is no greater insult than this.

The College Dems went on to vow they are "actively mobilizing is response to the president's appearance."

While anyone has the right to protest, here is hoping for the college Dems and their supporters to do it in a peaceful and classy manner. Don't embarrass yourselves or the university by acting like total a ass. Oh wait, that is the Dem mascot. Just show class, it will do more to get your point across effectively than misbehaving.

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