Smiths Station softball removed from playoffs; Auburn advances to regionals
SMITHS STATION, Ala. (WRBL) — The Alabama High School Athletic Association has removed Smiths Station’s varsity softball team from postseason play after the school self-reported a violation of the AHSAA Contest Limitation Rule. According to a statement released by the AHSAA, Smiths Station’s softball program has been fined and placed on probation. The violation resulted […]
Multiple events planned across the Chattahoochee Valley on Saturday
COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) - Several community events are scheduled across Columbus on Saturday, May 9. The National Association of Letter Carriers will hold its 34th annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. Residents can leave non-perishable food donations in a bag by their mailbox, and letter carriers will collect the items. Donations will go to Feeding the Valley Food Bank in Columbus.
Operation Sweet Silence sentences Sinaloa Cartel member
COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — A Sinaloa Cartel member has been sentenced to prison in another Operation Sweet Silence case, according to the United States Department of Justice. Forty-one-year-old, Juan Carlos Torres-Arzapalo, of Mexico, was sentenced to 135 months in prison on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, after he previously pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy on Oct. […]
Auburn-area raccoon, Tallassee fox test positive for rabies
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Alabama Department of Public Health is urging people to keep their pets vaccinated against rabies after a raccoon in Lee County and a fox in Elmore County tested positive for the disease. On May 1, the raccoon was spotted acting strangely near Auburn, and the fox...
Lee County deputies searching for missing juvenile last seen April 19
Authorities are asking for the public’s help in locating a missing juvenile who was last seen in Opelika last month. According to officials, a report was filed on May 4, 2026, regarding the disappearance of 16-year-old Kyleigh Destin Gregory. Investigators say she was last seen on April 19, 2026, in the 7000 block of Alabama Highway 51 in the Opelika area of...
Georgia gas price increase affecting local driving services
COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — According to AAA, gas prices in Georgia have risen more than 30 cents since last month pushing the state average to just over four dollars a gallon. One local driving service owner who serves the elderly says he’s spending 30 percent more on gasoline this year compared to last year. “Last […]
Tornado watch in place for Alabama until Wednesday night
On Wednesday at 4:26 p.m. the National Weather Service released a tornado watch in effect until 11 p.m. for Barbour, Bullock, Chambers, Lee, Macon, Pike and Russell counties. Tornado watches and warnings: What you need to know. When it comes to tornadoes, understanding the distinction between a Tornado watch and...
WEATHER AWARE: Strong cold front threatens severe storms and flash floods
A strong cold front is bringing a threat of severe storms to East Alabama, with the main risks being flash flooding, isolated damaging winds, and a low tornado risk, lasting through Monday with temperatures in the upper 70s/low 80s.
Man sentenced to prison six years after Columbus Home Depot robberies
COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — An Alabama man was sentenced to prison on Wednesday for the 2020 robbery of a Columbus Home Depot. Demetrice Q. Suttles, 43, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was sentenced to serve more than six years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Clay Land on May 6, […]
National Prayer Day: We need it
Today is National Prayer Day, which matters because it does something increasingly rare in modern life: it calls an entire nation to pause at the same moment, for the same purpose. In a culture that moves at highway speed, this day is more like a red light at a quiet intersection in Russell County, Lee County, and all over Alabama – anywhere in our vast...
