7. Another White House press secretary is out
- White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham will be stepping down and moving on to being First Lady Melania Trump’s spokeswoman and chief of staff, where Melania expects her to “excel.”
- It’s expected President Donald Trump’s campaign national spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany will replace Grisham as press secretary.
6. Alabama prisons are not about to do a jailbreak
- AL.com published an internal memo from the Alabama Department of Corrections that showed they were game-planning for a “worst-case” scenario where 185 inmates die from the coronavirus and the National Guard may be needed to maintain control but as of today, not one inmate has tested positive.
- This information was used by individuals who seem to believe that releasing inmates from prison and into society is the appropriate way to deal with the coronavirus, which obviously will not happen.
5. Birmingham employees will now receive hazard pay
- City employees that directly interact with the public in Birmingham will now receive a 5% pay raise during the coronavirus pandemic.
- The city has budgeted at least $500,000 for one month’s pay for these 2,000 employees. Those who receive the raise are law enforcement, fire and rescue, finance department, the mayor’s office, public works and more.
4. Wuhan is out of lockdown, European societies look to reopen
- After success with social distancing and, in China’s case, a total lockdown, societies around the globe are starting to open up with Austria opening up small shops on April 14 and larger stores to follow on May 1. Belgium, France, Spain, Denmark and others trying to figure out when they will start opening back up, too.
- America’s elite have declared war on this idea, regardless of what happens moving forward, with claims that we must stay locked down for many more months, 18 months and possibly much longer.
3. Sessions wants medical supplies made in America
- Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has released another portion of his plan on how we need to confront China, which is to produce more medical equipment in America instead of China.
- The plan would require federal agencies to use 75% of their health care spending on American-made medical supplies. Sessions said, “The Chinese Communist Party today controls the production and supply of too many goods and materials that are critical to America’s national security and our citizens’ public health.”
2. Governor Ivey upsets busybodies over a religious speaker
- In Governor Kay Ivey’s address where she announced the stay-at-home order, she quoted the Bible verse Isaiah 43:1-3 and invited Reverend Cromwell Hand to speak in which he gave a religiously-themed speech.
- The Freedom from Religion Foundation has sent a letter to Ivey’s office claiming that she has violated the First Amendment through the Establishment Clause by endorsing Christianity, but Ivey’s response through press secretary Gina Maiola was that she “has never shied away from her faith” and that the First Amendment grants everyone the freedom of speech and religion.
1. Alabama has over 2,000 cases, projections move downward again
- Alabama has now reported over 2,000 coronavirus cases. There are 64 deaths and 272 hospitalizations; the projected number of hospitalizations by the latest models had the state at 634, so Alabama appears to be handling this far better than originally predicted.
- Some of the early projections had Alabama with 25,000+ deaths and millions of infections. The most current projection by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation has Alabama 12 days away from our peak resource use and 634 total deaths.
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.