NJN/am for Monday, April 9
Good morning! Another work week gets under way…
Weather: Terrific. Monday will have clear skies and high temperatures topping out around 77. Lows tonight will drop to near 50. More of the same for Tuesday, but temperatures will dip noticably, and Tuesday lows will fall to the lower 40s. We may see patchy frost Wednesday and Thursday nights. No rain in sight for the next week.
Traffic: There is blasting scheduled on I-65 in the I-22 interchange construction zone for Monday and Tuesday afternoons, beginning at 1:30. State and Fultondale police will set up a rolling roadblock at that time, with the delay expected to last no longer than 10 minutes. For up-to-the-minute traffic, check out the ALDOT traffic cameras.
Warrior man killed. Funeral services will be held today for Tony Brakefield, who died Saturday from injuries suffered in a one-vehicle crash on Rouse Road. Brakefield’s pickup truck ran off the road, according to Alabama State Troopers. He was transported to Cooper Green Mercy Hospital, where he died aged 53. Brakefield’s death is the third from one-vehicle crashes in the past 10 days in north Jefferson County.
“60 Minutes” anchor Mike Wallace dies. The longtime CBS newsman, best known for his dogged interview style and relentless investigations, passed away with his family by his side Saturday. He was 93. Wallace won countless Emmy and Peabody awards for his work on the CBS newsmagazine, of which he was one of two original anchors (with Harry Reasoner). Wallace is the father of “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace.
“Painter of Light” passes. Thomas Kinkade, who is widely credited as the most collected painter in history, died unexpectedly at his home in Monte Sereno, Calif. He was 54. Kinkade’s bucolic scenes, often with religious overtones (he was a devout Christian), were sole by the millions since the mid-1990s. Despite his faith, Kinkade had battled business and personal issues, including legal issues with owners of Thomas Kinkade Signature Galleries (one such gallery closed in the Riverchase Galleria in recent months), a separation from his wife, and an arrest for DUI. Los Angeles County medical examiners have scheduled an autopsy for today.
Sports: Perfection for Rockets pitcher. Bryce Jay pitched a five-inning perfect game Saturday against A.P. Brewer, as Gardendale won 10-0 in the nightcap of a doubleheader. The Rockets also won the first game 5-2, as Chris Walton struck out nine on his way to his sixth victory on the mound…. Mortimer Jordan swept a tri-series with Moody and Sumiton Christian on Saturday, with a three-run homer by Garreatt Suchey in the seventh helping Jordan come back to get past Moody 6-3…. Girls tennis: Gardendale wrapped up its sixth straight Jefferson County Schools tournament Friday, but had to win the No. 2 doubles match on a tiebreaker to squeak past Shades Valley. Kelsey Rembert of Fultondale won the No. 1 singles title; she’s the first Wildcat to ever win at the county tournament… Pro bass fishing: Gerald Swindle finished sixth at the Bassmaster Southern Open on Lake Norman, N.C., pocketing more than $8,000 in prize money… Golf: Bubba Watson, who played junior college golf at Falkner State in Bay Minette, won the Masters in a two-hole sudden-death playoff over Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa, the Open Championship title holder. Watson looked to be in big trouble on the second extra hole, hitting his tee shot on No. 10 into the trees, but he pulled off a miracle shot with a 9-iron and wound up on the green, about 20 feet away, while Oosthuizen carded a bogey. Watson needed just two putts to win. Oosthuizen jumped into the lead early in the round when he scored a double eagle – the rarest accomplishment in golf, even less frequent than a hole-in-one – on the par-5 second hole. It was only the fourth double eagle (called an albatross outside the U.S.) in Masters history, and the first in more than four decades.
Updates here throughout the day, at our Facebook page, and on Twitter.