If you knew then what
you know now, would you have changed
that horrid outfit?
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Read more haiku.
Without a trace: In case you were wondering, it’s been one year since Natalee Holloway, a teenager from Mountain Brook, disappeared in Aruba — and it seems that no one’s any closer to finding her than they were May 30, 2005. Certainly, that fruitless investigation has been a boon to cable news operations, including:
Classy.
• Holloway case a mystery after a year of ‘catch and release’ [CNN]
The usual suspects: The Birmingham News spent its one-year anniversary piece talking with Holloway’s family and friends for a Sunday story. How bored is the News with this series? It barely even bothers to update its all-Natalee story index, omitting its own stories from the last two months.
Who can blame them? Holloway’s disappearance is a blip among the 834,536 people reported missing in 2005 — the entire crowd of the Alabama Theatre supposedly vanishing every single day. We’ll have an update when she’s located — or the 10-year anniversary.
• Holloway family deals with topsy-turvy world [Birmingham News]
Life after death: John Allen Muhammad was convicted today of six sniper shootings in Maryland, facing a possible life sentence without parole. Which would mean something, if he weren’t already under a death sentence in Virginia for shootings there. The trial was seen as insurance, in case the Virginia case was overturned on appeal. It was an anonymous tip that led police to presumably the first shooting of the spree — in Montgomery in 2002 — in which fingerprints found at the scene belonged to Lee Boyd Malvo, Muhammad’s convicted accomplice in the Beltway murders. Both are apparently still fair game for another trial in Alabama, someday.
• Maryland jury convicts sniper [Associated Press]
Also:
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We have no country of our own,
We who sleep in glory;
We died your hatreds to atone,
Still you shun our story.
— “Arlington,” Marian H. Neudel
Wishing you a safe and sound Memorial Day.
You worry too much.
You’re going to make yourself
sick, you know that, right?
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Read more haiku.
Taylor Hicks, the new American Idol, is caught in a whirlwind of media interviews. The Birmingham native spoke to reporters via teleconference earlier this afternoon about the meanest thing Simon Cowell said to him, why his dream woman should cook and what he would’ve sung (or not sung) on the show.
• The big secret
Honestly, I never watched the show until I was on it. While Bo (Bice) and Ruben (Studdard) were on “American Idol,” I was trying to work and perform. All the reactions were genuine because I didn’t know what was going to happen next. It was a great thing to go through not having watched it before.
• Going gray as a teen
I didn’t know what to make of it. It kinda just slowly grew on me, literally.
• Staying gray
Me and Dean the hair artist for the show had been battling back and forth on it. I didn’t change it when I was 18; I’m not changing it now.
Before the booth: If you want to vote in the primaries on 6/6/(0)6 and you haven’t registered, today is your last chance. The registrar’s office has more info: 325-5550 (Birmingham) or 481-4105 (Bessemer) for Jefferson County and 669-3913 for Shelby County. You can also find more info online for Jefferson County. What’s at stake? We’re glad you asked …
• Deadline to register to vote is May 26 [Birmingham News]
Wedded abyss: Alabama already has a law prohibiting gay marriage. But on June 6, voters can also amend the constitution to prohibit gay marriage. There’s an inappropriate joke about covering your ass, but we won’t make it. Meanwhile, are gays becoming more accepted in Alabama? Said one Montgomery school board employee: “We believe in hospitality — being kind to people whether you approve of their lifestyle or not. But the homosexual community is trying to force us into accepting something that’s immoral.” Why, just the other day, a gang of roving gay men forced us to have an appletini … and we liked it. The shame, the shame.
• Gay marriage ban vote nears [Montgomery Advertiser]
Get the leader out: Meet the major candidates, and read about their stances on taxes and education. Then vote. If you don’t, then you love/hate the Ten Commandments and/or lotteries and/or gay marriage. Traitor.
• Gubernatorial issues [Birmingham News]
Pepper denizens: A friendly reminder: Pepper Place Saturday Market kicks off Saturday in Lakeview [map] and runs through Oct. 7. But don’t wake up Oct. 8 and be all like, “I totally meant to go, but I kept forgetting, and I had to go out of town …” Blah blah blah. Our pal Franklin Biggs of Franklin’s Homewood Gourmet will make ginger-marinated peaches with pound cake just for you at 9 a.m. But if you’re inclined to sleep in, the market will also be at Linn Park downtown from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays starting June 7. Now, no excuses.
• Pepper Place market opens this weekend [Birmingham News]
Also:
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Send us your news tips.
Congratulations to Taylor Hicks, the 2006 American Idol!
The 29-year-old Birmingham native won the title Wednesday night before an estimated 36 million viewers. And today, he’s front-page news across North America.
Check out the full gallery of nearly 200 newspapers covers, as well as our favorites on the jump.
Binge and merge: Regions Bank and AmSouth Bank, two big Birmingham-based financial institutions, are one. The estimated $10 billion deal, announced today, would create a Top 15 bank that would actually remain based in Birmingham. At stake: $140 billion in assets, $100 billion in deposits, 2,000 offices, 37,000 employees and more than 2,800 ATMs in 16 states. Closer to home, a combined 6,000 local jobs are on the line, with layoffs looming as an inevitable side effect of the deal. Wait, weren’t we opposed to same-sector marriages?
• Regions, AmSouth to merge [Birmingham News]
The word on Wall Street: So far, investors are lukewarm about the merger. [stock prices: ASO | RF] “The companies say they can wring $400 million in annual cost savings out of the combination, including $150 million next year. That would amount to 10 percent of their combined expenses. The companies will also take $700 million in restructuring charges.” Just as long as they continue to give away free toasters. They still do that, right?
• Investors Shrug Off AmSouth-Regions Merger [Forbes]
Merge is the new black: The Regions/AmSouth deal is third largest bank takeover in the past three months. Capital One and Wachovia (which bought out Birmingham’s SouthTrust in 2004) have recently announced upcoming takeovers. It’s just the start of merger mania, experts say, as smaller regional banks join forces to compete against bigger institutions. Potentially good for investors, potentially bad for customers dependent on competition for accounts and service.
• Regions-AmSouth tie-up may herald more bank mergers [Reuters]
Also:
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Sweeps season concludes
with crazy stunts, surprise deaths.
Back to a real life.
• • •
Read more haiku.
For “American Idol” fans, it’s all about soul as gray-haired Taylor Hicks won the title tonight.
The 29-year-old Birmingham native defeated Katharine McPhee in the final week of the top-rated reality TV singing competition on Fox. Hicks becomes the second man and the second Birmingham resident to win the “Idol” crown, following Ruben Studdard’s victory over Clay Aiken in 2003.
“Soul Patrol!” said Hicks onstage at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. “I’m living the American dream. Thank you, Soul Patrol. Thank you, America. Thank you to the fans. Thank you to the American Idols.”
Hicks wins a recording contract and is expected to release his first single, “Do I Make You Proud,” by June. Hicks and McPhee received new cars during the telecast.
