7 Things: Another potential vaccine shows promise, Alabama’s state superintendent says to keep schools open, AG Marshall believes Confederate monument removal was illegal and more …

7. Trump legal team in disarray

• Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has criticized President Donald Trump’s legal team for their claims throughout the election and the voter fraud claims, saying that they’re “a national embarrassment.”  
• Christie also said that it’s time to stop challenging the results of the election. He added that if Trump has evidence of widespread voter fraud, he’s “had an opportunity to access the courts” and present the evidence.

6. Appeal filed in Pennsylvania after Trump lawsuit was thrown out

• In Pennsylvania, legal battles over election results continue as President Donald Trump’s legal team has filed an appeal after U.S. Middle District Judge Matthew Brann ruled against the request for an injunction that would prevent the state from certifying the election.
• With his ruling, Brann said, “This Court has been unable to find any case in which a plaintiff has sought such a drastic remedy in the contest of an election, in terms of the sheer volume of votes asked to be invalidated.

5. Former State Rep. Alvin Holmes has passed

• Over the weekend, former State Representative Alvin Holmes (D-Montgomery) passed away. He was a member of the legislature from 1974-2018. State Representative Chris England (R-Tuscaloosa) described Holmes as “a great Democrat and a fighter.”
• House Speaker Mac McCutcheon (R-Monrovia) released a statement about Holmes, saying that he “was not only a champion of civil rights in Alabama but he was also a champion of all taxpayers.”

4. Merrill under fire for social media comments

• Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill has come under criticism for some comments he made on social media after retweeting a post that referred to “Black Lives Matter’s war on whites” and another post that said, “[W]hen patriots decide it’s time to fight back it’s gonna be ugly.”
• These posts led to a heated exchange between Merrill and a man named Michael Richard, who has admitted that he was “trolling” to get a negative reaction out of Merrill. Merrill ended the interaction when he told Richard, “You may also consider having a sex change operation so you can become what you were intended to be. You’re done here.” Merrill then blocked him. The secretary of state said that if he could do it over, he “would certainly have done it a different way…that’s not productive.”

3. Suit filed against Madison County for removal of Confederate monument

• In Huntsville, a Confederate monument was relocated from the Madison County Courthouse to the Maple Hill Cemetery. Now, Attorney General Steve Marshall has filed a suit against the county for unlawfully removing the monument.
• The Madison County Commission believed that they acted within the letter of the law since they applied for a permit to remove the monument and didn’t receive a response within the required 90 days. Since the monument is over 40 years old, Marshall has said that the removal couldn’t be legal.

2. Eric Mackey doesn’t suggest shutting down schools

• State Superintendent of Education Dr. Eric Mackey appeared on Alabama Public Television’s “Capitol Journal,” where he discussed the idea of shutting down schools across the state as coronavirus cases spike.
• Mackey said that while it’s Governor Kay Ivey’s decision about whether to keep schools open, he “would not recommend that.” He also believes “we should probably try to finish out the school year as best we can and hope that after a vaccine comes, things get a little better faster.”

1. Another coronavirus vaccine and a moved up timetable

• With two potential vaccines approaching FDA emergency approval, the results for AstraZeneca’s new vaccine show an effectiveness rate of “around 90%,” which shows how fast the potential end of the pandemic could be upon us.
• While appearing on CNN, Operation Warp Speed advisor Moncef Slaoui said the rollout time for a vaccine could be as little as 48 hours. Slaoui stated, “We are ready to start shipping vaccines within 24 hours from approval. ” He added, “[H]opefully people will start to be immunized, I would say within 48 hours from the approval.”