7. Amazon Alexa initially provided differing responses when asked why to vote for former President Donald Trump versus Vice President Kamala Harris, declining to comment on Trump while praising Harris’s background as a woman of color, her experience in law enforcement, and her plans to address racial injustice. Amazon later admitted the discrepancy was an error, which has since been corrected to ensure neutrality in responses.
6. Anti-Israel protesters demonstrated outside Columbia University, chanting “Free Palestine!” and calling for the university to divest from defense contractors while clearly siding with Hamas and siding against Israel, leading to arrests and scuffles. The White House is handling this different than in previous iterations of this issues by issuing a strong condemnation of pro-Hamas and pro-Hezbollah protesters, some protests even featured participants waving flags of these terror groups.
5. The continuation of the Alabama media’s desire to convince regular Alabamians how great it is that a influx of Haitians into northern Alabama is being brought in to do low-wage food processing and manufacturing work, suppressing wages and causing problems in this communities. The stories downplay the impact of these immigrants on local communities, schools, law enforcement, resources, cultural integration, and potential exploitation but U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville) is calling for legal immigration reform and brought to attention the fact that these students being brought to the community speak French Creole, which few school systems can accommodate and makes assimilation harder.
4. Alabama has made broadband access a priority, along with the federal government, sinking billions of dollars into the measure, creating the Alabama Digital Expansion Authority and investing in broadband accessibility grants with significant improvements, particularly in rural areas DESPITE massive costs. After the initial push, State Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Daphne) believes the costs per-home provided broadband are going to go up significantly and Elliott wants to use Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet has provided a market-driven solution that offers high-speed broadband without the need for costly infrastructure making it a better option for what is missing right now.
3. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell recently suggested that the inflation surge over the past three years is essentially under control, and they are now taking a victory lap by saying they achieved this without without triggering a recession which is untrue. Americans remain unhappy due to persistent high prices for essentials like food, gas, and housing. This disconnect between policymakers’ optimism and public sentiment poses challenges for Vice President Kamala Harris as she navigates economic dissatisfaction as she hopes for interest rate cuts to be able to campaign on.
2. Public school students in Alabama showed improved performance on the state’s standardized English language arts test, with third-graders making the most significant gains. The 2019 Alabama Literacy Act, focusing on early reading, contributed to 63% of third-graders scoring proficient, a 9-point increase from 2023. While math proficiency also improved in most grades, third grade saw a slight decline but the Alabama Numeracy Act attempts to replicate this plan but did not include provisions that would impact social promotions from one grade to the next which undoubtedly motivated students, teachers, administrators, and parents to focus on the task at hand with the reading problems.
1. In the final stretch of the presidential campaign, with early voting starting Friday in North Carolina, Vice President Kamala Harris is taking momentum from former President Donald Trump, with Harris flipping enthusiasm, money, and polling gaps in her favor, but some predictors suggest Trump is regaining momentum and poised to win, showing the race is tight. Both campaigns gearing up for a fiercely contested battle in key swing states of Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, Harris’ is trying to campaign is focusing on maintaining this momentum with a “joy” campaign with a compliant media tearing Trump down at all turns (see: Arlington National Cemetery “scandal”), while Trump’s team seeks to counteract it with aggressive ad campaigns both positive and negative.
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Dale Jackson is a thought leader for Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 5-9 a.m. weekdays on WVNN and from 10-11 a.m. on Talk 99.5 and News Radio 1440, with a rebroadcast Talk Radio 103.9 FM/730AM WUMP from 3-4 p.m.
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