EXCLUSIVE: Navy SEAL-Turned-Senate Candidate Calls Out ‘Disconnect’ Between Middle America, Washington
'when asked what inspired his run for the U.S. Senate seat, he noted that he and his wife prayed about it'
Another coach in the Senate? Auburn basketball's Bruce Pearl rumored as Tommy Tuberville's replacement
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) announced he is running for governor of Alabama, soon vacating a seat and prompting a potentially competitive Republican primary.
Tuberville was a successful college football coach at Auburn, Cincinnati, and more. Now, discussions are reportedly already under way to find his replacement, with another NCAA coach rumored to be the favored candidate for a 2026 special primary.
'The compensation is a little bit different.'
According to a report from Semafor, Auburn men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl has plans to run for the vacant seat and was on Capitol Hill discussing those plans last week.
The most obvious factor that could stop Pearl from running is his lucrative contract that is supposed to keep him at Auburn through 2030. According to On3, Pearl signed a contract extension in 2022 worth $6.28 million per year, totaling over $50 million.
At the same time, Tuberville told the media he does not want Pearl to run and does not think he will.
RELATED: GOP saboteurs join Democrats to derail Trump’s justice agenda
"The compensation is a little bit different," Tuberville told Semafor. "I wouldn't let [Pearl] do it because he did such a good job at Auburn. We need him there."
The basketball coach has an incredibly political social media timeline; his X feed is filled with shared posts that are pro-Israel and critical of Iran.
"Enriched Uranium is for a weapon, not power," Pearl wrote. "Iran says it will not give up its ability to enrich uranium against US demands. For Iran, it is a matter of national honor and part of their identity. If Iran had it, they would use it! Dismantle it now 4peace or Israel needs to do it."
RELATED: 'This will absolutely kill college sports': Dartmouth men's basketball ends bid to become first NCAA player's union— (@)
Pearl has been successful at Auburn since joining as head coach in 2014. He brought the basketball team its first conference championship in 19 years in 2018, with two more in 2022 and 2025. The 65-year-old is also responsible for Auburn's only two NCAA Final Four appearances: in 2019 and 2025.
In 2011, Pearl, then the head coach at the University of Tennessee, was accused of lying to the NCAA about an unofficial visit from an athlete attending a cookout at his home. Pearl was alleged to have told the athlete and his father not to mention it.
Coach Pearl did not respond to Blaze News' request for comment.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Trump reportedly considering NCAA payment limits through executive order following meeting with coach Nick Saban
The president has told his team to start looking into writing an executive order to limit the amount of money in college sports, a new report has claimed.
President Donald Trump met with legendary college football coach Nick Saban last Thursday when the president was in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to give a commencement speech at the University of Alabama.
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Saban spoke to the president about "NIL" deals and told him he thought the influx of money into college sports has been damaging.
Trump reportedly agreed with Saban and said he would have his aides begin to study what a potential executive order could look like.
Furthermore, Saban's suggestions allegedly did not include ending NIL payments, but "reforming" them, according to a person who was said to have direct knowledge of the meeting. Saban reportedly suggested the NIL payments were causing an uneven playing field and have resulted in an arms race among the bigger schools.
This echoed Saban's comments from January, when he claimed on a radio show that the NIL "model is unsustainable."
'There's some parity. Now that everybody can pay their players.'
It should be noted that Saban has been widely criticized for hoarding talent when he coached in Alabama and that name, image, and likeness rules have since leveled the playing field so that players at other schools can still receive compensation.
Even comedian Shane Gillis, a staunch Notre Dame supporter, said in January that Saban was sensitive to criticisms that he is upset that other schools can now pay their players.
"This feels different. Feels like we can win it. You know? There's some parity. Now that everybody can pay their players, Notre Dame has a shot. It's not just the SEC. It's not Coach Saban," Gillis said at the time.
The comedian revealed weeks later that Saban did not care for the comments when they both appeared on an episode of "ESPN's College GameDay."
Gillis said Saban exploded when he approached him, saying, "You think the SEC dominated because we cheated?! That's bulls**t!"
"He spazzed on me," Gillis laughed.
The NCAA declined to comment to the Wall Street Journal regarding a potential executive order. However, the outlet cited NCAA spokesman Tim Buckley, who said the governing body was confronting some of the challenges facing college sports.
The vast majority of the NCAA's money does not come from college football, though. As Blaze News reported, over 85% of the NCAA's revenue comes from college basketball's March Madness tournament. However, college football has some of the country's biggest young stars, who now generate impressive revenue streams for themselves through endorsements.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Young mother dying next to her 5-year-old son texted one word to reveal her killer in final moments, police say
An Alabama mother and her 5-year-old son were killed in a deadly shooting. The woman gave investigators one last hint of the identity of her killer in the final moments of her life, according to police.
Around 5 p.m. on July 13, 2024, police received a 911 call about a car accident in the Echo Highlands neighborhood of Birmingham, Alabama.
"She loved her baby so much. Everything he wanted, he had. Everything he needed, he had."
Officers with the Birmingham Police Department responded to the scene and discovered a blue Nissan Maxima that had jumped a curb. The sedan was reportedly riddled with bullet holes. There were allegedly three shooting victims found dead inside the vehicle.
Investigators reportedly found 28-year-old Arkia “Kia” Berry in the driver's seat, her 28-year-old boyfriend, Eric Ashley Jr., in the front passenger seat, and her 5-year-old son, Landyn Brooks, in the back seat on the driver’s side.
Investigators recovered between 20 and 30 shell casings at the crime scene.
During a preliminary hearing on April 17, Birmingham homicide Det. Jarvelius Tolliver testified to a judge that investigators had located evidence found on Berry's cell phone.
Police went months without arresting a suspect. However, investigators discovered the mother's final one-word text message that allegedly directed cops to a suspect.
AL.com reported that Berry texted the word “Jaco” to a friend at 5:09 p.m. on the day of the deadly shooting. "Jaco" is the reported nickname of 25-year-old Jacorrian McGregor.
One of the homes in the neighborhood where the shooting took place had a surveillance camera that captured an image of a lime green Kia Soul at 5:07 p.m.
At 5:08 p.m., the blue Nissan Maxima driven by Berry is seen on video.
At 5:09 p.m., Ashley’s phone made a call to McGregor at the exact same time that Berry texted "Jaco" to a friend.
At 5:10 p.m., the Kia Soul was reportedly caught on camera speeding out of the neighborhood.
Tolliver noted the Nissan Maxima was not seen after that.
Police said the Kia Soul seen in the video was stolen.
The owner of the Kia allegedly told police that the car had been stolen five or six days before the shooting, but she never reported it stolen.
Police found the Kia Soul set on fire after the fatal shooting.
Tolliver said that McGregor and Ashley exchanged text messages earlier in the day that indicated they were planning to meet up.
Officer Tolliver noted that most of the text messages on McGregor's cell phone from the day of the shooting had been deleted.
Tolliver said of McGregor, "But he was having several conversations with people where they were talking about the incident that had taken place, and there were people telling him to lay low, stay out of sight, stay hidden.”
McGregor’s attorney, John Robbins, was asked if there were any witnesses who could connect McGregor to the Kia, and Tolliver replied: “I would say that Miss Berry was a witness. She texted his name right before she died.”
Police Officer Truman Fitzgerald told AL.com last year, "We believe some sort of interaction took place between the occupants of the victims’ vehicle and the suspects’ vehicle."
Jefferson County District Judge William Bell ruled there was enough probable cause to send the case to the grand jury.
McGregor was ordered to remain in the Jefferson County Jail without bond.
Aniya Berry, Arkia's cousin, previously told WVTM-TV that the slain mother and son were like "two peas in a pod."
"She loved her baby so much. Everything he wanted, he had. Everything he needed, he had. She took care of her baby the way she was supposed to," Aniya said.
Officer Fitzgerald stated at the time of the shooting, "Anytime we have a homicide, it affects us. But when you have a child, it affects you differently. In this case, we have a small, school-aged child that got caught up in the violence that’s taking place in our city. We have to ask the question, ‘When is enough going to be enough?'"
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
School employee makes shocking confession to police about sexually abusing student: Court docs
A school employee in Alabama was arrested after making a shocking confession to police officers about sexually abusing a student, according to court documents.
Amy Nicole Wigginton — a 41-year-old school worker from Rogersville — was arrested Friday and has been charged with two counts of a school employee engaging in a sex act or deviant sexual intercourse with a student.
Wigginton allegedly admitted to having sex with a student under the age of 19 on March 7 as well as on March 31. The Daily Mail said the encounters occurred at her home.
According to the Lauderdale County High School faculty and staff website page, Wigginton was listed as working in the "Child Nutrition Program."
The Daily Mail reported that Wigginton is a married "lunch lady" who "often shared images to social media with her husband and children."
Wigginton reportedly has been placed on administrative leave following her arrest, according to the Lauderdale County School District.
Citing court documents, WAAY-TV reported that Wigginton waived her Miranda rights during police questioning and confessed to engaging in sexual acts with a school district student on two separate occasions.
Wigginton allegedly admitted to having sex with a student under the age of 19 on March 7 as well as on March 31, according to court docs. The Daily Mail said the encounters occurred at her home.
The age of consent in Alabama is 16 years old, according to Alabama state law. However, victims up to the age of 18 cannot consent to sex with a school employee.
The Lauderdale County School District said in a statement: “The Lauderdale County Board of Education is aware of the allegations, and the employee has been placed on administrative leave."
"We will continue to cooperate with law enforcement officials, and have no further comment on this matter," the school district stated.
The Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office told WAFF-TV that the case is still under investigation, and the LCSO has no further comment.
Wigginton was booked into the Lauderdale County Jail, where she is being held on a $100,000 bond.
You can watch a local newscast from WAAY-TV here on the allegations against the school employee accused of child sexual assault.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Today's top stories
www.theblaze.com
thefederalist.com