Sep 12, 2024

On this date in 1979, Hurricane Frederic made landfall just before 10 p.m. on Dauphin Island. Frederic took hurricane-force winds inland all the way into Choctaw County.

And while it brought powerful winds and heavy storm surge along the Gulf Coast, Frederic wasn't a monster rainmaker, at least compared to many other hurricanes, although NOAA records show that 11 inches fell on Pascagoula, Miss.

Fast-forward to today. Tropical Storm Francine may not bring that much rain to us in Alabama, but some places could see a few inches pile up between last night and today. Francine made landfall as a Category 2 Hurricane yesterday afternoon near Morgan City, La.

One clarification I want to make on yesterday's show. The former UAB researcher who won that $3.8 million civil suit against the school, Fariba Moeinpour, has been reported by NBC News to be a naturalized U.S. citizen. I called her an Iranian on yesterday's show. Indeed, she was born in Iran.

Today's report follows.

Ike

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Teenagers continued to be arrested Wednesday as threats of violence have swept over the state since last week's killings at a high school in Winder, Ga., reports AL.com's Carol Robinson.

Montgomery police announced that four students have been charged with making terrorist threats there: a 14-year-old, two 13-year-olds and an 11-year-old.

At Huffman High in Birmingham, a 14-year-old was charged in connection to a shooting threat. Similar arrests have been made in the Etowah County city of Southside and in Dothan.

And Eufaula City Schools canceled classes last Thursday after receiving a threat.

Said Birmingham Police spokesman Officer Truman Fitzpatrick: “I think that we are dealing with a generation that seeks attention at any costs.”

He said law enforcement is taking all threats seriously, even if you're just doing it for attention, and throwing all available resources at these threats.

U.S. Sen. from Alabama Tommy Tuberville is again finding himself at odds with Pentagon officials.

Last year Tuberville temporarily blocked the promotions of more than 400 military officers over the Defense Department's policy of providing leave and travel costs for service members who traveled across state lines to have abortions. He relented amid pressure from much of Washington, including fellow Senate Republicans.

This time, reports AL.com's Greg Garrison, Tuberville is trying to block only one officer's promotion.

You may remember when Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who's from Mobile, spent time in the hospital in January dealing with prostate surgery complications ... and not communicating that to the press or even the White House.

Well, Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Clark was a senior military assistant to Austin. And now he's up for a promotion to four-star commander of the U.S. Army Pacific force.

And Tuberville has expressed concerns about what Clark didn't do during Austin's time in the hospital. Specifically, that Clark did not notify the president about what a Tuberville spokesperson called a compromised chain of command. So he's announced that he's blocking Clark's nomination.

The Pentagon responded on Wednesday. Press Secretary Air Force Major General Pat Ryder said a review showed no gap in the chain-of-command during that time. He also praised Clark's experience and expertise: “And so, we would urge the senate to confirm all of our qualified nominees. As we’ve seen before, all of these kind of holds can undermine our military readiness.”

If you've frequented the Riverchase Galleria over the years, you might remember the mall guy.

Or the Elvis dude, or however you might've known him.

He was an older gentleman with a trucker's-style cap over his solid black head of hair and a trimmed but full goatee. To me he didn't really look much like Elvis, but he did have those black sideburns. And he spent a good bit of time walking through that mall.

AL.com's Jeremy Gray and Carol Robinson report that the man, whose name was Ron Freeze, passed away on Aug. 26 at UAB hospital.

A little background on the Galleria Elvis: His wife died young, at age 40 in 1985. He had two daughters who passed away within a few months of each other in 1999, and both those daughters had worked at the Riverchase Galleria.

They've been gone 25 years now, and during that time Freeze had gone on so many walks in that mall, that people began to recognize him, to wave or speak or even ask to have their pictures taken with him. He became a mall celebrity. And by many accounts, he was a friendly one. A GoFundMe has been set up to help with burial expenses.

Ron Freeze was 81 years old.

“I’m looking at each one of you,” Ivey said. “I know you have the potential to lead. We’re in a world where the challenges and opportunities faced are unlike any we’ve ever seen before. And the continuing need of good leadership cannot be stressed enough.”

Gov. Kay Ivey, speaking to students at a Montgomery elementary school on the 23rd anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks.

$500,000

That's how much two men defrauded from an unnamed professional athlete, according to a jury's verdict.

In 1913, 4-time Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens of Oakville.

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