War of Words
Facebook, Twitter and blogs are abuzz today with news of a showdown between Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford and local tavern owner Jerry Hartley. Langford and Hartley verbally sparred at Wednesday’s meeting of the Five Points South Merchants Association. Hartley tells WBHM’s Andrew Yeager the confrontation erupted during a conversation about regional cooperation to address the problem of “brain drain.”
The mayor’s office did not return repeated calls for an interview. Langford did tell the Birmingham News that he had no intention of fighting and that he was simply defending the city’s reputation.
One side note to this story. Hartley is active in Free the Hops, an organization pushing legislation to raise the state limit on alcohol content in beer. Last year, Free the Hops boycotted Birmingham Budweiser — the distributor where Larry Langford is director of public relations. Hartley says that issue had nothing to do with his comments to the mayor.
The USS Edsall, sunk by Japanese forces in World War II, has been found
The USS Edsall was overpowered by a Japanese fleet in the Indian Ocean but fought valiantly to the end, the U.S. Navy said. It was found in deep waters south of Australia's Christmas Island.
Nintendo has launched a music app, seizing on the appeal of video game playlists
The Nintendo Music app lets you listen to dozens of hours of music from games like Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong.
Trump meets Biden in the Oval Office today. It’s a tradition Trump skipped in 2020
President Biden called his predecessor — now, successor — a threat to democracy. Today he'll sit side by side with President-elect Trump as part of the ceremony around a smooth transfer of power.
In Lebanon, residents fear Hezbollah could be hiding among people displaced by war
A neighborhood watch group in a Christian Beirut neighborhood is on the lookout for militant operatives, which could make the area a target for Israeli airstrikes.
‘Jump ball’ for Alex Jones’ media empire as it hits the auction block today
Live bidding will be private, and the future owner of Jones' company will be public once court papers are filed. The proceeds will go to pay Sandy Hook families who won defamation cases against Jones.
Israeli strikes kill dozens in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, medics say
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 46 people in the Gaza Strip in the past day, medics said. In Lebanon, warplanes struck Beirut's southern suburbs and killed 33 people in the country on Tuesday.
