7. Over 100 Alabama pharmacists walked off the job to get media attention on the issue of Pharmacy Benefit Managers underpaying independent pharmacies. Legislation crafted by State Sen. Andrew Jones (R-Centre) seeks to stop PBM from underpaying pharmacies, a practice pharmacist Desak Hicks of Frisco City Pharmacy says forces losses like spending $500 on medicine but getting only $480 back, contributing to a 13% statewide pharmacy closure rate since 2018. Hicks, serving rural towns like Excel and Uriah after five local pharmacies shut down in 15 years, accused PBMs of raking in billions while “squeezing” independents out of business, rejecting the Alliance of Alabama Healthcare Consumers’ warning of SB99’s $900-per-person annual cost increase as a misleading ploy by PBMs to dodge reform. The Alabama Pharmacy Association echoes Hicks’ call for SB93’s protections, noting its potential to mirror states like Kentucky, which saved over $50 million with PBM reforms. Hicks vows to keep fighting even if legislative efforts stall while wary of profitability slipping away under current pressures.
6. The Alabama Senate passed a bill by State Sen. Will Barfoot (R-Pike Road) to impose harsher state penalties on Glock switches – illegal attachments that turn pistols into machine guns. It addresses a gap where local officers lack arrest power without federal involvement and moves to the House as part of Gov. Kay Ivey’s “Safe Alabama” package. Barfoot, who thanked State Rep. Phillip Ensler (D-Montgomery) for shaping earlier versions, highlighted its necessity despite federal bans, securing broad support from law enforcement and city leaders who see it as vital for clearer state enforcement. After floor amendments, Barfoot insisted the legislation focuses solely on outlawed conversions to enhance safety without overreach, a stance reinforced by its unanimous Senate approval.
5. Damien Laron McDaniel III, a 22-year-old Fairfield man imprisoned at Kilby Correctional Facility after his probation was revoked, now stands accused of 14 murders over 14 months, with Birmingham police adding three more charges for the deaths of Firefighter Jordan Melton in a fire station attack, Mia Nickson outside her east Birmingham home, and Anthony Lamar Love Jr. in a UPS lot ambush. Interim Police Chief Michael Pickett and Mayor Randall Woodfin emphasized the city’s unwavering commitment to justice, noting the profound community pain from McDaniel’s alleged acts, including two 2024 mass shootings at Hush and Trendsetters lounges, while McDaniel’s attorney John Robbins quipped the state fears his defense team. The cases, spanning a targeted firehouse shooting that left Sgt. Jamal Jones critically injured, an intentional killing, and a capital murder-for-hire with Nance, highlight a complex investigation with potential for more revelations, as authorities stress meticulous work over quick arrests to secure convictions.
4. DOGE cuts are reportedly hitting Alabama and U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham) initially tweeted that more than 100 workers at the Social Security Administration office in Birmingham were “unjustly terminated” by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, calling it a “reckless power trip.” Sewell would later note the American Federation of Government Employees indicated the cuts hit Social Security Region 4, covering multiple states including Alabama, severely lessening the blow. Sewell’s office, responding to constituent reports of job losses at the 1200 Rev. Abraham Woods Blvd. location, is working to pinpoint how many in Alabama’s 7th Congressional District were affected. Though the full scope remains unclear, she criticized Musk’s efficiency drive for harming her district’s workforce, pledging ongoing scrutiny of the situation as she gathers more details from those impacted by the sudden terminations. Reminder: Sewell would not have even met with you if you were fired over refusing to take the vaccine, which she was fine with.
3. Alabama’s senior U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) lauded President Donald Trump on Newsmax for his imminent deal to halt Russia’s three-year war in Ukraine, exchanging mineral rights for enhanced protections, a move he said finally pays back U.S. taxpayers after trillions squandered. Tuberville accused former President Joe Biden and Democrats of having the power to end the conflict earlier but choosing not to, suggesting their loathing for Trump, whom they call a “Putin apologist,” fuels a desire to see the war drag on rather than credit him with peace. He argued Trump’s plan proves his focus on rebuilding nations, not appeasing Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose struggles in Ukraine belie any threat to Europe, making Democratic resistance their “worst nightmare” as Trump succeeds where they failed.
2. President Donald Trump revealed that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have largely negotiated a deal allowing the United States to tap into Ukraine’s strategic minerals, including uranium and titanium, as repayment for tens of billions in aid, with Zelenskyy due in Washington, D.C., on Friday to finalize terms after a week of progress. Trump, who once mocked Zelenskyy as a “modestly successful comedian” on Truth Social amid their rocky exchanges, highlighted the pact’s focus on rare earths and energy, crediting his administration’s unique ability to broker peace with Russia, a point U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent echoed as a “win-win” economic partnership. Despite past friction, Trump claimed Putin raised no significant issues with the arrangement after talks, while Putin himself expressed openness to U.S. mineral investments in Russia and occupied Ukrainian territories, signaling a complex but advancing negotiation landscape.
1. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), facing a crumbling vote count, staged a stunning reversal with President Donald Trump’s intervention, convincing holdouts like U.S. Reps. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) and Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) to back a budget blueprint pivotal to Trump’s sprawling legislative goals, narrowly passing it 217-215 with only Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) dissenting. The rollercoaster day saw GOP leaders punt the vote around 7:30 p.m., only to resurrect it minutes later after Trump’s calls and Johnson’s persistence, revealing both the party’s fragility and the duo’s determination to push tax cuts, spending slashes, and border enhancements despite looming shutdown and debt ceiling threats. While moderates worried about potential Medicaid cuts and hardliners demanded deeper reductions, Johnson framed the vote as procedural, leaving the specifics of reconciling the House’s bold plan with the Senate’s narrower focus to future negotiations. So, the end result of all of this is still in the air.
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