7. Police officer suspended over rap video
- Jon Newland, a Homewood police officer, was recently suspended and demoted from corporal to officer over a video he posted of himself on May 16 where he references a chokehold.
- Newland’s suspension was only for three days over the video where he says “my ways are a blaze of mysterious smoke, around your neck I flex this choke.” and Sgt. John Carr said that Newland wasn’t “representing himself as a Homewood Police officer in any official capacity.”
6. Birmingham protest “leader” arrested
- “President” of the “Birmingham Justice League” Carlos Chaverst was arrested on charges related to incidents in Birmingham, Hoover and Homewood on charges ranging from inciting a riot, bail jumping, driving with no insurance, driving with a suspended license, using tag of improper class, impeding the flow of traffic and even DUI.
- The Hoover charge stems from an incident where he attempted and failed, to incite a riot on Facebook Live by saying, “We’re going to burn that (expletive) up. We’re fixing to make Hoover our little (expletive).” Chaverst claims he was in Chicago when he did this, which means he wanted other people to be destructive while he was safe in another state.
5. Tuscaloosa goes digital-only, more to follow
- The Tuscaloosa City School Board is the latest school district to decide to move all schooling online in the fall. Superintendent Mike J. Daria cited the unknowns of the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the reasoning of his recommendation.
- These decisions were expected when the state offered flexibility to its school districts and many expect three school districts in North Alabama to follow suit and make a similar decision at a joint press conference to be held later today.
4. $1 trillion coronavirus package isn’t far enough for Democratic leadership
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has already shown opposition to the proposed $1 trillion coronavirus relief package that’s to be considered by Republican U.S. Senators, which is a counteroffer to Pelosi’s $3 trillion HEROES Act.
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has, of course, shown skepticism of the $1 trillion package. He also argued that Republican efforts are inadequate, but the package would include another stimulus check for individuals, more funding for the Paycheck Protection Program, and $105 billion for education, a large amount of which would be used to help schools reopen.
3. Court upholds voter requirement
- The voter identification law in Alabama has been upheld by Judge Lisa Branch and Senior Judge Ed Carnes of the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, with Branch writing that “no reasonable factfinder could find, based on the evidence presented, that Alabama’s voter ID law is discriminatory.”
- Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said in a statement that the decision “is a major victory for the security and integrity of elections in Alabama.” He continued in his statement to emphasize how on the regular visits his office makes to counties around the state to issue voter ID’s “to see that every eligible resident of our state, who is interested, is registered to vote and has a photo ID.”
2. Pandemic going to get worse before it gets better
- During his first coronavirus briefing since April 27, President Donald Trump addressed the virus, saying, “It will probably, unfortunately, get worse before it gets better.” He also couldn’t help himself from calling it the “China virus.”
- Trump encouraged people to wear masks, saying, “Whether you like the mask or not, they have an impact.” He noted the progress that’s recently been seen with vaccine development, adding that “they’re coming a lot sooner than anybody thought possible.” Trump went on to mention that his administration is working to make testing with more immediate results available.
1. Illegal immigrants won’t be counted in Census
- President Donald Trump has issued a memorandum that will prevent illegal immigrants from being counted in the 2020 U.S. Census toward the redistribution of U.S. House Representatives, and U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall are praising this decision.
- Marshall and Brooks filed a lawsuit back in 2018 trying to prevent illegal immigrants from being counted in the Census. The memorandum specifically states to “exclude” those “who are not in a lawful immigration status.” Both Marshall and Brooks agree that Alabama would likely lose a congressional seat if illegal immigrants are counted.
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