76.6 F
Mobile
74.8 F
Huntsville
75.6 F
Birmingham
69.8 F
Montgomery

7 Things: Alabama U.S. Senate race becoming silly, Tuberville praises John Durham as most Americans believe spying scandal worse than Watergate and more …

7. People who tried to find shortcuts to degrees just stuck you with the bill

  • President Joe Biden’s administration has forgiven the student loans of about 16,000 individuals, totaling $415 million, according to the Education Department. These specific loans were forgiven after students proved that they were defrauded by their school.

  • Some of the schools that students attended were the ITT Technical Institute nursing school, Minnesota School of Business/Globe University, Westwood College, DeVry University, Corinthian Colleges and Marinello Schools of Beauty. Many of these cases showed that the schools falsely interpreted potential employment and salaries after graduation.

6. Anti-riot bill halted

  • Democrats in the Alabama Legislature have stalled an anti-riot bill in the House chamber when the legislation was added to the calendar. Democrats started a filibuster to prevent the calendar from being approved.

  • State Representative Chris England (D-Tuscaloosa) said that the legislation “is an anti-protest bill.” He added, “The way it’s currently worded is very dangerous. Depending on whether you like the speech or not, you could tell folks on strike to disperse and turn them into rioters if they don’t leave.” England said that the legislation “appears to be unconstitutional.”

5. Legislation to prevent income tax increases passes

  • To prevent an $87.7 million increase in state income tax, the Alabama Legislature has approved a bill to keep funds individuals received through the American Rescue Plan Act from being taxed. The bill is expected to be signed by Governor Kay Ivey.

  • These payments received were in the form of a child tax credit that was paid out monthly. After several months of payments, it was determined by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities that about 90% of the funds had been spent on essentials, such as food, mortgage, utilities, rent and clothing.

4. Florida has passed a common-sense abortion ban

  • A 15-week abortion ban has been passed by the Florida House of Representatives in a 78-39 vote. State Representative Jenna Persons-Mulicka (R-Fort Myers) described this as a “once-in-a-lifetime legislation to save lives.” A 2021 poll found that this position, while painted as extreme by the media and their Democrats, is supported by 60% of Americans,

  • The ban is not a complete ban since all abortions would be legal until 15 weeks of pregnancy. After that point, it would only be those where the pregnancy is a threat to the mother’s life or where there is a “fatal fetal abnormality.”

3. Illegal gambling is illegal, and it should be shut down

  • In the community of Eastern Valley in Jefferson County, there are bingo halls being run near a residential area, Valley Bingo and Moe’s Charity Bingo, which residents have said increased criminal activity in the area, decreased home value, and raised the price of insurance.

  • Residents of the area have asked that current zoning laws be enforced so the bingo halls are forced to relocate. Jefferson County Commission president Jimmie Stephens advised, “The entire situation is brought about because of the lack of enforcement of the bingo ordinances by the sheriff’s department.”

2. Tuberville praises Durham investigation, which many feel is worse than Watergate

  • U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has spoken in favor of the investigation by special counsel John Durham that revealed attempts by the 2016 presidential campaign for Hillary Clinton to tie former President Donald Trump to Russia. Tuberville isn’t alone. According to a recent poll, 65% of voters think Clinton’s spying scandal is “worse than Watergate” with 48% strongly feeling that way.

  • Tuberville said the Durham report “raises concerns, including whether data being monitored during the Trump campaign and administration was illegally used for political purposes.” He went on to say, “This filing does not need to be swept under the rug…I applaud Mr. Durham for continuing to pursue this investigation, and he should continue to follow the facts where they lead.”

1. Silliness afoot in the U.S. Senate race

  • It’s been reported that U.S. Senate candidate Katie Britt has visited with former President Donald Trump, who has endorsed U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) for U.S. Senate. Now, Brooks has said that the visit was only “to create a false narrative.” He argued the “tactic” to visit with Trump by the Britt campaign “has no substance.” Brooks added, “I understand why the opponents are trying to minimize the importance of Donald Trump’s endorsement and are grasping at straws to do that.”

  • As “news” of this meeting broke, Brooks and Trump announced a fundraiser for Brooks’ campaign at Mar-A-Lago with Brooks’ campaign saying, “President Trump has endorsed Mo Brooks, Donald Trump Jr. endorsed Mo just last week, and the day Katie met with President Trump he agreed to do a major fundraiser for Congressman Brooks at Mar-a-Lago. Whatever she said to [Trump], we appreciate it.” Meanwhile, the Britt campaign suggested that Brooks should drop out of the race, saying, “If Congressman Brooks truly cared about President Trump or the America First agenda, he would’ve done the honorable thing and dropped out of the race already,” which seems unlikely anytime soon.

Don’t miss out!  Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.