7 Things: Another border funding battle, Roy Moore polling low early, 2020 debates start and more …

7. Appeals judges skeptical about minimum wage lawsuit

• Federal appeals court judges reviewed a lawsuit brought by minimum wage workers and civil rights groups against Alabama lawmakers for blocking wage hikes to target Birmingham, a mostly African-American city, in a way that disproportionately harms black workers.
• Judges didn’t focus on the claims of racism and discrimination, but instead questioned if the lawsuit was properly filed, as well as asking how a court order against the attorney general would make employers pay higher wages, but the appeals court has already been asked by state officials to reconsider the case in front of a larger panel.

6. Trump fires back at soccer star for saying she won’t come to the White House

• Soccer star Megan Rapinoe told a website, “I’m not going to the f*****g White House” and the president suggested she focus on her sport’s biggest moment, saying,  she “should WIN first before she talks!” adding, “We haven’t yet invited Megan or the team, but I am now inviting the TEAM, win or lose. Megan should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag, especially since so much has been done for her & the team. Be proud of the Flag that you wear!”
• Rapinoe, who is relevant for about three weeks every four years, is the same person who took a knee during the National Anthem (she is standing now) and considers herself a “walking protest” of a president who, until today, probably didn’t know she existed.

5. Chuck Schumer attempting to mislead the public

• Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) stood on the floor of the United States Senate and slandered Americans who believe in strong immigration policy, saying, “President Trump, I want you to look at this photo. These are not drug dealers, or vagrants, or criminals. They are people simply fleeing a horrible situation in their home country for a better life.”
• But the reality of this photo is very different and pretty obvious. The dead parent and child never once interacted with our legal system or touched our border. The only part of America that is to blame for these deaths is the part that calls for open borders and tells people that if they sneak in that they can stay.‬

4. Terri Sewell accuses Trump of lying

• U.S. Representative Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham) released a statement claiming that the Trump administration is lying about the importing of automobiles and parts as a national security threat, and is now calling on the Trump administration to publicly release the Auto 232 report from the Department of Commerce. She went on to say that she believes the reason why the report hasn’t been released is that the products aren’t an actual national security threat.
• Alabama Secretary of Commerce Greg Canfield is also raising the alarm on tariffs, advising, “The administration’s efforts to pursue fair trade are timely but we are concerned about an extended tariff war because trade negotiations through tariffs is not in the long term in anybody’s interest, particularly if it produces no results.”

3. Democratic debate winners and losers on night one

• The two big winners of last night’s debate were Joe Biden, who didn’t come up even with a double-digit lead, and President Donald Trump. Democrats took turns coming out in favor of all sorts of extreme policies, including higher tax rates, destroying private health insurance, abortion on demand, gun-grabbing, open borders and leaving the Taliban alone.
• There were many losers in this disaster, including Americans who are clearly not a concern for these candidates, MSNBC for hosting a debate that didn’t give us one moment that we can all point at to say was the best moment, and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) for being the biggest dog on the stage and fading into the blob of blandness. Wait, was she on stage?

2. Roy Moore may not actually be a threat

• A new poll, which was taken from 612 likely 2020 GOP primary voters, shows that Roy Moore is trailing at third place in the 2020 Republican U.S. Senate race with only 13%, leading to speculation that former Attorney General Jeff Sessions may not enter the race.
• The poll also showed that Secretary of State John Merrill was close behind Moore with 11.8%, former football coach Tommy Tuberville in first with 29.3%, U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope) with 21.4% and State Representative Arnold Mooney (R-Indiana Springs) with 2.2%. Also, 22.3% of participants responded as undecided.

1. Senate passes funding for crisis at the border; conflict is coming

• A bill that U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Tuscaloosa) negotiated that would provide $4.59 billion to address the border crisis was passed by the U.S. Senate on Wednesday with an overwhelming majority of 84-8 but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) wants to discuss the matter further and its passage in the House seems uncertain.
• Before the bill passed, Shelby spoke in favor of the bill, saying that it has “no poison pills” and has bipartisan support. He turned his address to focus on those in the House, asking that they “not derail the one bipartisan vehicle with a real chance of becoming law.”