Posts by Cliff Sims — Page 4

ATHENS, Ala. — A local Alabama library is taking drastic measures in an effort to recoup roughly $200,000 in lost books. The Athens-Limestone Public Library over the weekend announced plans to begin enforcing city ordinance 93-1157, which penalizes library cardholders who “fail or refuse to return” books with a fine of up to $100 and […]

(Video above: Rep. Bradley Byrne delivers the Weekly Republican Address) WASHINGTON — While the 2016 presidential campaign has soaked up most of the media attention, Republicans in the United States House of Representatives have been laying the groundwork for their 2017 legislative agenda, with the strong likelihood that the GOP will maintain control of the […]

(Video above: Silver Wings Parachute Team descends into Jordan-Hare Stadium) Prior to Auburn’s game against Clemson on Saturday, the Silver Wings Parachute Team took to the skies above Jordan-Hare Stadium for an impressive display of aerial accuracy. The team is based at Ft. Benning’s U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence. “Formed in 1965 by the […]

WASHINGTON — United States House Speaker Paul Ryan on Friday announced Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-AL1) will deliver the weekly Republican address to the nation as college football kicks off around the country. “College football isn’t the only exciting thing happening tomorrow,” Speaker Ryan tweeted. “Don’t miss [Rep. Byrne’s] address.” Rep. Byrne traversed his south Alabama […]

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(Video above: St. Paul & The Broken Bones perform “All I Ever Wonder” on The Late Show) Alabama natives St. Paul & The Broken Bones are no strangers to The Late Show stage. In fact, they were surprise musical guests during the inaugural episode of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” last year. But in […]

PHOENIX, Ariz. — After accompanying Donald J. Trump to Mexico to meet with President Enrique Peña Nieto, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) returned stateside with the Republican presidential nominee to rally a crowd of supporters while donning a “Make Mexico Great Again Also” hat. “We’re on track to turn this country around,” Sessions declared before a […]

Gov. Robert Bentley’s latest attempt to end his impeachment ordeal has failed. State Rep. Mike Jones (R-Andalusia), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has denied the governor’s request to suspend the impeachment proceedings, as well as the request that certain committee members be recused from the hearings. “After careful consideration and a close examination of […]

(Video above: Montgomery Police set up “cookie road blocks.”) The Montgomery Police Department has launched a tasty new community building effort: cookie road blocks. Chason Smitherman, a local videographer and founder of Grow 334, a group of “story tellers devoted to growing businesses in the Alabama River Region,” captured footage of the Montgomery PD dishing […]

In what has proven to be an extraordinarily rare occurrence in the 227 year existence of the U.S. federal government, a major government construction project is poised to be completed both on time and under budget. The Dome of the United States Capitol is “8,909,200 pounds of ironwork bolted together in a masterpiece of American […]

NEW YORK, NY — In what one source close to the Trump campaign referred to as a “preview of what top leadership in a Trump cabinet could look like,” Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani will accompany Donald J. Trump to his Wednesday meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña […]

Longtime Alabama resident Scott Stantis is widely viewed as one of the best — if not the best — editorial cartoonists in the country. At one point he was the staff cartoonist for The Birmingham News. And although he’s now at The Chicago Tribune, which is one of the most high profile jobs in his […]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama drug dealers are lacing heroin — already one of the most powerful and addictive opioids — with a drug designed to subdue 13,000-pound African bush elephants, and the resulting synthetic mix is leaving a trail of dead bodies in its wake. The drug is called Carfentanil and health officials estimate that […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama elections officials are moving to ensure the state’s voting systems are secure in the wake of revelations that the voter databases in at least two other states have been breached in recent months. According to a Reuters report, “The Federal Bureau of Investigation has found breaches in Illinois and Arizona’s voter […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The State of Alabama is once again asking a federal court to intervene on the issue of Syrian refugee resettlement, arguing that the Obama administration is violating the Refugee Act of 1980, which requires that states be consulted before refugees are placed within their borders. A federal judge dismissed a previous suit, […]

We are heading into the peak of hurricane season, which means two things: No. 1: Everyone anywhere near the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico is more likely to be paying attention to what’s going on in the tropics; and No. 2: It’s going to once again become very apparent that the number of media […]

MOBILE, Ala. — A new analysis of Syrian refugee relocation in the United States reveals that no such refugees have been placed in Alabama, in spite — or perhaps because — of vocal concerns from citizens and lawmakers and a court battle between the Yellowhammer State and the federal government. “More than 7,500 refugees fleeing […]

Niche.com, a site that seeks to “make choosing a neighborhood, college, or K-12 school a more transparent process” by “providing reviews and insight from everyday experts,” has ranked Auburn University’s student body the “smartest” in Alabama. Niche’s “Smartest Students” ranking “assesses the intelligence of the students at traditional four-year colleges and universities in the United […]

“Robert Bentley is out of ideas,” Democratic gubernatorial nominee Parker Griffith proclaimed during his 2010 campaign against Gov. Robert Bentley. A cursory glance at his second term suggests Mr. Griffith may have been right, since Gov. Bentley seems to have ended up implementing — or at least attempting to implement — most of Mr. Griffith’s […]

San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick sparked controversy late last week when he refused to stand for the playing of the National Anthem before the 49ers game against the Green Bay Packers. “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” […]

The Philosophy of Nick Saban

Nick Saban will turn 65 this year, just days before Alabama travels to Baton Rouge to take on SEC West rival LSU in Death Valley. The Crimson Tide will be eight games into the season by then, and either on their way to once again meeting the perennial high expectations that come with being the […]

(Video above: Andy Andrews explains why you should forgive people who’ve wronged you, even when they aren’t sorry) “For a long time I thought forgiveness was like knighthood,” jokes New York Times bestselling author and Alabama native Andy Andrews, “something I would bestow on some lucky person who came crying and begging me to forgive […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — After spending roughly eleven hours debating Gov. Robert Bentley’s lottery proposal and working late into the night on Thursday, pro-lottery House members finally rallied enough support for the legislation to pass. The bill will send the first $100 million of lottery revenue to Medicaid, followed by a 90-10 split of the remaining […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — After spending roughly eleven hours debating Gov. Robert Bentley’s lottery proposal and working late into the night on Thursday, pro-lottery House members finally rallied enough support for the legislation to pass. The bill will send the first $100 million of lottery revenue to Medicaid, followed by a 90-10 split of the remaining […]