Jun. 27, 2025

We're taking a break on the weekly quiz for now, but it will reappear soon.

Also, today's a great day to listen to the podcast. We're talking about a Death Row inmate's case that some people believe needs to be revisited in light of DNA evidence -- but the state wants to keep its 30-year-old conviction.

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend,

Ike Morgan

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The meteor that appeared as a daytime fireball across part of the South Thursday was seen in some parts of North Alabama, reports AL.com's Patrick Darrington.

According to NASA, the meteor had split from a larger meteor and plunged to earth. It was not a typical space rock: It had a brightness measure that surpassed that of a full moon and added to its "fireball" appearance.

It was also seen in Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina.

A Muslim civil-rights group in Alabama is asking gubernatorial candidate and current U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville to visit a mosque, reports AL.com's William Thornton.

The Alabama chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations issued the invite after Tuberville referenced an "Islamic" atmosphere while more generally criticizing sanctuary cities and illegal immigration on "The Benny Show."

Tuberville said federal funding to those cities could be cut off: “President Trump can do anything he wants when it comes to the federal. Again, these inner-city rats, they live off the federal government. And that’s one reason we’re $37 trillion in debt. And it’s time we find these rats and we send them back home, that are living off the American taxpayers, that are working very hard every week to pay taxes.”

During the conversation Tuberville said there is a difference between what he called "good Muslims" and radical Islamists. He said those in the country illegally won't get any handouts down South.

“Bring your lunch with you because you’re not going to be welcomed if you’re going to bring that Communist, Islamic atmosphere with you. We’re not going to deal with it.”

CAIR attorney Britton Shields issued a statement inviting Tuberville to a mosque. It read, in part, that “American Muslims have been thriving in Alabama for decades, creating an atmosphere of fellowship, charity, and devotion to God.”

The FBI has paused plans to move its training facility to Huntsville's Redstone Arsenal, reports AL.com's John R. Roby.

How that might affect what ultimately moves from D.C. to Huntsville remains to be seen. A spokesperson for the FBI at the arsenal said a National Academy is still part of the FBI's "long-term plan" for Redstone. Although the FBI National Academy Associates posted on social media that “We’re pleased to share that the FBI has decided not to move forward with a National Academy pilot in Huntsville, citing infrastructure limitations.”

If you've been following Alabama news for a few years, you remember the poop train, a controversy in Central Alabama that involved sewage sludge from the Northeast.

If you've followed Alabama news for a few more years, then you remember the poop cruise.

The poop cruise was a February 2013 trip across the Gulf of Mexico aboard the Carnival Triumph, which was stranded at sea after an engine fire. The 4,000-plus poor passengers, bless their hearts, were without power, air conditioning or toilets that worked. They ran low on food and were eating tomato-and-onion sandwiches, and the tomatoes were store-bought.

What they did have, though, were those red biohazard bags, which they used as substitutes for a commode.

Hence the poop cruise.

Mobile had been out of the cruise business for a couple of years, but the city had the closest port to the Triumph and played the part of the gracious host.

If you want a detailed look at the very uncomfortable saga, AL.com's John Sharp reports that a documentary is out titled "Trainwreck: Poop Cruise." It has a run time of 55 minutes and is now available on Netflix.

Meanwhile, the Carnival Triumph underwent hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs and upgrades along with a name change to the Carnival Sunrise.

In 1880, Helen Keller of Tuscumbia.

In 1964, former San Antonio Spur Chuck Person of Brantley.

If you miss that feeling of sitting down with in-depth, local reporting, consider subscribing to the Huntsville Times, Birmingham News, or Mobile Press-Register. 

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We speak with AL.com reporter Ivana Hrynkiw, who's started a new investigative series with a story on a Death Row inmate who allegedly killed a woman at a crime scene at which we now know investigators collected only one person's DNA -- and it wasn't the guy found guilty.

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