Free Republic

For centuries, a legend has persisted across the Ozarks. Lore holds marauding Spaniards once discovered a rich silver deposit within a cave somewhere in the hills, and then sealed it shut for future mining. Several variations of the tale are told, but one notion is constant, the treasure is said to still remain hidden. Many people in South-Central Missouri have searched for this fabled lost silver mine. Some went empty-handed to their graves after a lifetime of digging. Others got so far as thinking they found the site, and even had their ore tested at Missouri S&T. However, no great...

Football program generated $175.5 million in 2015-2016 fiscal year University of Alabama football means more to the city of Tuscaloosa than just bringing notoriety to the school and the state with a handful of national championships. The team also brings in significant cash flow and it could mean a major loss should the college football season get canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Mayor Walt Maddox told reporters on a video conference call that not having a season could result in about $2 billion in lost revenue. “It would be economically catastrophic for Tuscaloosa if there is no football season,”...

A police officer has been shot in Tuscaloosa. The shooting happened sometime between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at Short 17th Street and 33rd Avenue, said Tuscaloosa police spokeswoman Lt. Teena Richardson. That location is in a neighborhood in the western part of the city. The officer, shot in the face area, was taken to DCH Regional Medical Center. Richardson said no other information is being released at this time. Authorities said a suspect is in custody. This story will be updated as more information is released. "our thoughts and prayers tonight remain with this Tuscaloosa PD Officer who was...

The University of Alabama gave back a philanthropist’s $26.5 million donation and took his name off the law school Friday, a week after he called on students to boycott the institution over the state’s new abortion ban. Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr., a 70-year-old Florida real estate investor, said he has no doubt the board of trustees acted in response to his remarks, and he complained that the state of Alabama is only reinforcing its reputation as “the land of the backward,” full of “hicks.” University officials emphatically denied the decision had anything to do with Culverhouse’s stand on the abortion...

Alabama votes on Tuesday in a special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions, now the attorney general. The last polls close at 8 p.m. Eastern. Strong support for Roy S. Moore, the Republican, is expected in rural, mostly white parts of the state and in its northern half. The Democrat, Doug Jones, aims to create a lead in the urban counties that include Birmingham and Montgomery, and across a band of largely black counties. One critical battleground is a trio of smaller, whiter cities: Mobile, Tuscaloosa and Huntsville. Mr. Moore won a hard race in 2012...

It's hard to believe that today is the 5 year anniversary of the Super Tornado Outbreak that devastated the South, particularly Alabama. Remembering the 238 people killed in Alabama and the victims in other states.

Gov. Robert Bentley's wife of 50 years, Dianne, today filed for divorce, saying "their marriage has suffered an irretrievable breakdown," according to court records. The couple, both 72, were married in 1965 and have four children. Alabama's First Lady files for divorce Alabama Governor Robert Bentley's wife, Diane, files for divorce citing "complete incompatibility." The filing cites "complete incompatibility of temperament" and states they have been separated since January. The filing also lists her address as Tuscaloosa and his as Montgomery. "There exists a conflict of personalities which destroys the legitimate aims of matrimony and all possibilities of reconciliation are...

And gets it taken down . . . except for the fact that it's now everywhere (including here). Here’s a shocking piece of news for you: College sorority girls prance around, often in rather skimpy clothing, while engaging in generally mindless activities like, er . . . prancing around. They also put on makeup. They also shake their groove thangs and know perfectly well that you’re going to help yourself to a look. And if they want other girls to be interested in joining them, they know that the best way to make that happen is to show themselves, you...

A University of Alabama sorority has been slammed for their recruitment video which critics are saying is racially-homogeneous and lacks diversity. Alpha Phi, who are based at the Tuscaloosa campus, uploaded the footage to YouTube and it has since been viewed 500,000 times. But some have accused them of selling themselves on looks alone while one writer has said they are doing more damage to women than presidential candidate Donald Trump. The very glossy and professional film includes the group of 72, mostly-white, members partying and attending events inside their sprawling sorority house.

he Tuscaloosa Police officer who shot a family’s pet earlier this month has filed a lawsuit against a neighbor, claiming that she made untrue statements about the situation. TPD Officer Mike Azwell is asking for $10,000 from Deborah Bosch, who lives next door to his mother in the Eastern Hills subdivision in Tuscaloosa County. Bosch is not the owner of the dog that was killed, but she did call Tuscaloosa Police and made statements about the incident, according to the suit filed in Tuscaloosa County District Court Friday afternoon. The “slanderous, libelous and defamatory accusations” have caused the officer “injury...

The United Auto Workers union said Friday it was creating a chapter at the only factory within auto giant Daimler’s global manufacturing system where workers lack union representation. The local chapter aims to represent the 3,400 US employees at a Mercedes-Benz plant outside of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in the southern United States, and is being formed with help from German trade union IG Metal.“This is the formation of a local union that will become the bargaining agent for workers at this facility,” said Gary Casteel, UAW secretary treasurer and vice chairman of the Daimler workers committee. “This isn’t a petition for...

Is This Oil Field the Next Bakken? By Robert Baillieul - April 17, 2014 Over the past few years a handful of energy companies have been silently buying massive tracts of land in a little known area of Louisiana. Early estimates suggest that this oil rich region could contain 7 billion barrels of recoverable oil… putting it on par with other prolific shale fields like the North Dakota Bakken and the Texas Eagle Ford. And their bets are starting to pay off. Many of the area’s big oil producers have reported spectacular numbers from their drilling operations. And this could...

Video of Herman Cain from local Alabama TV (clip) HERE (HIT ARROW @ WAFF-TV WEBSITE STORY TO STREAM STORY).I will say this, Herman Cain got heckled and boo-ed it seems by contingent of rather loud, rude Ron Paul supporters right when he was trying to give his Alabama speech. I just saw this separate clip of Cain handling these Paulbots last night. It was brilliant. He humiliated them publicly and the crowd burst forth with resounding applause and laughter. They were vanquished, embarrassed, and they shut up right away. Folks, it was the closest I have yet seen in Campaign...

Aren't you glad it's Friday? Do you want to maybe cry a little in celebration? Then check out this video, below, of Judy Pugh, whose home was destroyed by the tornadoes that swept through Tuscaloosa, Alabama on April 27. The ferocious twister left at least 39 dead in Tuscaloosa alone. Pugh cheerfully told local station WIAT that she rushed to the hallway with her three cats when the mile-wide tornado hit. The roof fell on top of her, but miraculously she and two of her cats were all in one piece. "I tried to get to my hands and knees...

<p>The tornado that tore through here late last month left 41 dead and 12 still missing. Whole neighborhoods now resemble bombed-out postwar Tokyo or Berlin. But this devastation is only part of the story. Tuscaloosa is now the scene of an inspiring volunteer relief effort taking place without the guidance of any central planner.</p>

The search for Tuscaloosa's missing TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) - Nearly one week after a dreadful tornado punched a hole directly through Tuscaloosa, search and recovery crews are struggling to pinpoint the whereabouts of at least 240 people. The number was updated from more than three hundred, Monday. Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox says he is holding out hope and praying, but in his heart he is worried that as more time passes the number of fatalities in Tuscaloosa will grow. Officials explain that the actual number of missing people in Tuscaloosa is constantly changing because as soon as they are able...

President Barrack Obama plans to visit Alabama on Friday to view the tornado destruction and meet with Gov. Robert Bentley, other state officials and victims of the Wednesday's storms. Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox said he could not confirm if Obama would visit Tuscaloosa, one of the hardest hit areas from Wednesday's deadly tornadoes. The White House Press Office did not release the president's itinerary other than to confirm he will be in the state. The press office said President Obama spoke Thursday morning with Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate about...

Some UA students are showing their support for CrimsonRide bus drivers through call-ins today, a day before the bus drivers try to negotiate a new contract with their parent company. First Transit. Currently the 50 to 60 drivers who work for CrimsonRide are demanding fair wages from First Transit, which provides bus drivers for the UA campus bus system. CrimsonRide bus drivers are not UA employees. They work under contract with First Transit, a transportation company. The University pays First Transit $55 an hour per driver, and each driver receives only $9.50 of that amount. In May 2009, the drivers...

FRANKFURT -- German car maker Daimler AG said Wednesday it will shift production of its best-selling Mercedes-Benz C-Class model from its core plant in Sindelfingen, Germany, to its Bremen and U.S. facilities, as part of a wider move to bring production closer to main sales regions and reduce exposure to currency fluctuation. "This step is essential for strategic and operational reasons, so that Mercedes-Benz remains competitive and can fully utilize future growth opportunities," said Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche. The move underscores a trend among auto makers to ramp up local production to reduce exposure to currency fluctuations and benefit from...

TUSCALOOSA | The Tuscaloosa City Council Finance Committee voted to move ahead with an $8.5 million bond issue rather than waiting a year as Mayor Walt Maddox recommended. The committee's vote is a recommendation to the full City Council, but a straw ballot of council members, who were all present at the committee meeting, indicated that a majority favors the bond issue. On a 20-year repayment schedule, the bond issue would cost the city about $650,000 a year in debt service. The council had asked Maddox for a recommended list of projects. The estimated total and the annual debt service...