Jun 17, 2024

Welcome back.

We have the results to our seven-year anniversary edition of the weekly quiz down below.

Here are some headlines ...

Ike Morgan

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A ban on bump stocks was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, reports The Associated Press.

Bump stocks are the accessory that allows a semiautomatic gun to fire like an automatic.

This wasn't really a Second Amendment case but an argument over executive overreach. Did the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives overstep its bounds in banning bump stocks in the first place?

Bump stocks started showing up after the turn of the century, and the ATF did not classify firearms with the accessory the same as machine guns under the Bush and Obama administrations.

Then the Las Vegas mass shooting happened in 2017, when a man opened fire using a bump stock and killed 60 and wounded hundreds at a country music festival. With support from then-President Donald Trump, the ATF changed the classification and began treating firearms with bump stocks as automatic weapons. That is, they were banned.

The Supreme Court's 6-3 majority, made of the more conservative justices, found that the ATF was out of bounds because a bump stock doesn't technically make a gun automatic by definition. With a bump stock, you hold your finger in place and let the recoil of the stock do the work, but the trigger mechanism is used for each round.

Both conservative Samuel Alito, who voted with the majority, and dissent author Sonia Sotomayor made the point that Congress can change the law and make guns with bump stocks be classified as "machine guns."

The first tropical depression -- or maybe even tropical storm -- of the Atlantic hurricane season could form in the next couple days in the Gulf, reports AL.com weather reporter Leigh Morgan.

Don't look for it to impact Alabama, however. As a matter of fact, we aren't even expected to get any rain out of it. The disturbance has been working on parts of Central America and the Yucatan Peninsula and is expected to move into Mexico.

While that disturbance was given a high chance of development, there's also an area east of the Bahamas that was given a 30% chance of developing into a tropical system over the next seven days.

They serve as a reminder that we're already more than two weeks into a hurricane season that's expected to be a busy one.

To borrow a term from actual trademark holder Pat Riley: There has been a Three-peat of sorts in spring pro football.

After just three seasons.

The United Football League championship pitted the best of the former USFL teams against the best of the former XFL teams. And it wasn't even close, reports AL.com's Mark Inabinett, with the Birmingham Stallions shutting out the San Antonio Brahmas 25-0.

The Stallions won the USFL title during its first two seasons of existence. This season the USFL merged with the XFL to form the UFL.

Skip Holtz has coached the Stallions from the start. Sunday's win also avenged their only regular-season loss.

Among those playing for Birmingham on Sunday were guard Dionte Brown of Austin, Alabama, and wide receiver Marlon Williams of Mobile. Williams caught four passes for 36 yards.

Charles Barkley says he's retiring from television after this coming NBA season, reports AL.com's Mark Inabinett.

The "Quoting" section of this newsletter will certainly need more Alabamians to step up.

The former Leeds High and Auburn University star and NBA Hall of Famer has been a mainstay and a quote machine on TNT's "Inside the NBA." He joined the network in the year 2000, fresh out of the NBA himself.

TNT's deal with the league would end after this coming season if it doesn't find a way to renew it. Barkley said he's not jumping networks and that he's out no matter what happens.

“I hope it gives the rest of Birmingham a chance to come over to the west side and see what needs to be done.”

Condoleezza Rice, on Thursday's MLB at Rickwood Field game

Here are the results of this past Friday's quiz, which had seven questions from the seven years we've been doing the "Down in Alabama" podcast.

In 2017, 12 inmates escaped an Alabama jail in September 2017 after using what substance to cover a door number and trick a young jailer into opening access to the outside?

Peanut Butter (CORRECT) 58.3%

Duct Tape 27.6%

Silly Putty 11.6%

A Washcloth 2.5%

In 2018, a production of Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” became a Broadway sensation. The new take on the script was written by Aaron Sorkin and starred which Oscar winning actor as Atticus Finch:

Jeff Daniels (CORRECT) 56.3%

Matthew McConaughey 23.1%

Colin Firth 14.1%

Gary Oldman 6.5%

In 2019, Erin Howard, a Huntsville eighth grader became the city’s first co-champion of the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. After 20 rounds, eight spellers remained and the bee apparently ran out of words for them to spell and named the eight remaining contenders the co-champions. What was Howard’s final word?

Erysipelas (CORRECT) 67.8%

Tulisan 9.5%

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious 13.1%

Widjadidja 9.5%

Here’s a name you may remember from the news in 2020. Jeanne Marrazzo served as the director of UAB’s Division of Infectious Diseases and was on the cutting edge of Covid-19 research and at the forefront of the state’s public awareness efforts. In 2023, she took on a new role. What was it?

Director of NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (CORRECT) 54.3%

Director of the CDC 24.6%

Secretary of Health and Human Services 14.6%

Surgeon General 6.5%

In 2021, once again, Alabama failed to pass a lottery bill. But it did surprisingly pass legislation that would do what:

Allow alcohol to be delivered 7.0%

Authorize medical marijuana 27.6%

Spend a billion dollars on new prison construction 8.0%

All of the above (CORRECT) 57.3%

In 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States ordered the state of Alabama to do what? 

Redraw its Congressional districts (CORRECT) 92.0%

Respond to public records requests in a timely fashion 6.0%

Become a basketball state 1.0%

Build electric cars 1.0%

In 2023, a brawl erupted on a river front, leading to a viral video and days of conversation and jokes on the internet. Where did the brawl take place?

Montgomery (CORRECT) 80.4%

Demopolis 10.1%

Florence 5.0%

Gadsden 4.5%

Today is National Mascot Day. So feel free to celebrate any mascots you don't find offensive except, of course, Gators.

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