7. Did any money go to coronavirus relief?

• Reportedly, $15,255,733 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds went to programs that focused on “social activism” and “anti-racist” education at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

• The just over $15 million in funds was awarded in grants by IMLS to different organizations and activities, such as third-grade field trips that focused on “the story of a community-led effort to remove racist artwork from a historic carousel, as a tool for anti-racism education.” There were also funds given to a program that’s meant to “incorporate greater cultural fluency and responsiveness into their tours using an anti-racist lens” specifically focused on school-age children.

6. Something, something Donald Trump

• Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) recently commented on Governor Kay Ivey’s (R) primary win in Alabama, stating that it was an example of how President Donald Trump was losing influence with voters across the country. But Trump didn’t do anything to influence the ALGOP primary for governor.

• Hogan stated that Ivey, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R) and Idaho Governor Brad Little (R) winning their primaries was “an example of the fact that Trump’s influence is diminishing.” He added, “There are five different governors where Trump was attacking them. All of them won…all the incumbent governors that Trump went after have won their primaries.” Again, Ivey wasn’t one of these governors.

5. ALGOP’s John Wahl is doubling down

• Alabama Republican Party (ALGOP) chairman John Wahl has made it clear that one of his priorities is going to be changing the election system in Alabama to avoid Democrat influence in GOP primary elections.

• While on Alabama Public Television’s “Capitol Journal,” Wahl stated that the midterm elections “highlighted the fact that Democrats are purposefully using the Republican primary to influence the election of the Republican party.” Wahl has regularly voiced his support for closing primaries in Alabama so voters have to only vote with the party they’re registered with.

4. Tuberville pushes for changes in some DOJ operations

• U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn), joined by 14 other Republican senators and 20 representatives, sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland arguing that the Department of Justice should change its practice of directing legal settlements.

• Tuberville said that the practice currently allows the DOJ authority over settlements with partisan organizations. Tuberville outlined, “The Biden administration is attempting to take a page from the Obama playbook to funnel money to its political allies by requiring federal defendants to pay a portion of their settlement funds to outside activist groups. This corrupt practice is a prime example of executive overreach.”

3. Will Boyd is already calling voter suppression without a shred of evidence

• In the U.S. Senate race in Alabama, Democrat nominee Will Boyd has already claimed without evidence that voter suppression was taking place in the state, with his campaign website saying, “Not all Alabamians are being treated equally even though Alabama has been called the cradle of civil rights!” The website also states, “While African Americans make up 27% of the Alabama population, newly drawn congressional maps reflect only a 14% representation. The very inequities that go to the heart of why The Voting Act was needed have not been protected in Alabama.”

• Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill has regularly argued against the narrative that votes are suppressed in the state, most recently saying, “94% of all eligible Alabamians are registered to vote. So, we’re real, real proud of that. No state in the union can match what we’ve done in the same period of time – no state.” On the issue of new districts, Merrill said, “The Alabama Legislature drew the [congressional] districts too, and it’s my understanding just like when I was in office in the legislature, that they drew what they believed to be fair and representative districts of the population in the state.”

2. Drill, baby, drill

• After news of a potential offshore abortion clinic that was potentially coming to the federal waters off the coast of Alabama, Governor Kay Ivey spokeswoman Gina Maiola said, “We need offshore drilling, not abortions.”

• State Senator Chris Elliott (R-Daphne) also reacted, calling the project a “publicity stunt.” He went on to add, “One of the problems with trying to get around state law by going offshore is you have to come back to port. You cannot break state law and then come back to port where you have broken the law. That would preclude more Gulf Coast area[s].”

1. Illegal immigrants are being flown into Alabama

• An irregular pattern of late-night flights from the U.S.-Mexico border into Alabama has been detected. There is reasonable speculation that the Biden administration and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are now flying border-crossers into the Yellowhammer State.

• From June 29 to July 1, seven flights from the El Paso International airport to Alabama with flight logs showing that four of the flights left around midnight only to land in Alabama at 4:23 a.m., 3:48 a.m., 2:57 a.m. and 2:28 a.m. This is not the first time Biden’s administration has done this. Late-night flights to New York, Tennessee and Florida have been used to move illegal immigrants further into the United States in the past two years.