7. Penn State, after firing James Franklin post-three losses and paying him $49 million to go away, is allegedly targeting Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer as a top target IF Alabama misses the College Football Playoff via an Iron Bowl loss.
6. 27-year-old Jack Andrew Smiley of Muncie, Ind., was fatally shot during an underage sex sting in Marshall County after resisting, fleeing, and brandishing a weapon, and injuring two officers.
5. Dan Kluver, a 42-year-old Minnesota factory worker, had his life destroyed after an undocumented Missouri worker used his stolen SSN from data breaches to get a fraudulent ID for employment; just a part of thousands of identity theft cases burdening innocent Americans.
4. Virginia high school assistant principal John Bennett and brother Mark face conspiracy charges for plotting violence against ICE agents after an off-duty officer overheard restaurant threats about the plans, which were spurred on by claims that ICE is “kidnapping individuals” off the street.
3. Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) warned the Public Education Employees’ Health Insurance Plan’s $540M in extra costs over 24 months from 10% usage increase, inflation, and medical hikes are unsustainable, and will lead to funds being diverted from potential teacher raises, buses, and construction, forcing lawmakers to choose between insurance funding and other priorities.
2. Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones (D-Mountain Brook) will announce his entry into Alabama’s 2026 governor’s race against Governor-elect National Championship-winning Coach U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn), while the media touts a poll that shows him being crushed by 19 points with the framing, “Democrat Candidate Halves Republican Lead in Alabama.”
1. U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) admitted on ABC she’s “not aware” of any illegal military orders from President Donald Trump amid backlash to a video with six Democrats urging troops to refuse such orders without specifics, citing concerns over Venezuela strikes and National Guard deployments. Vice President JD Vance called the statements “illegal” and Trump labeled the lawmakers as traitors/seditionists.
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Dale Jackson is a thought leader for Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 5-9 a.m. weekdays on WVNN.
