7. A federal judge has blocked New Orleans Saints fans’ attempts to ruin the Super Bowl
— Two Saints ticketholders wanted a restart of the NFC championship game because of a terrible “no-call” on an obvious instance of pass interference. The federal judge threw the case out and argued the court didn’t have a reason to force the league to restart the game.
6. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) wants an “intervention” from the intelligence community
— Schumer sent an unprecedented letter to Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats on Wednesday demanding that Coats and others intervene and demand a meeting with the president. Schumer then tweeted that it is “past time for U.S. Intelligence Community leaders to stage an intervention.”
5. Alabama Congressmen co-sponsor a bill to mandate concealed carry permits to be honored in other states
— Five of the six Republican members of Alabama’s congressional delegation cosponsored a bill that would allow residents with a concealed carry permit to cross state lines without fear of breaking the law. Some states have reciprocity agreements, but legal issues can arise if you carry in a state without one.
4. Democrats have asserted Donald Trump, Jr. called his father before the meeting with Russians at Trump tower and the calls were proof of collusion — turns out that is not true
— Multiple sources have told CNN that Donald Trump Jr. was actually calling business associates days before the meeting and not his father, according to Senate investigators. This has been cited as possible proof of collusion multiple times, but it appears to be another dead end.
3. Some good news exists in Alabama’s budgeting process: a department asking for less money
— Normally, state department heads come to the legislative budget hearings asking for more money and additional expenditure requests, but the head of Alabama’s Medicaid agency says it will need less money in the next fiscal year. Medicaid Commissioner Stephanie Azar will have $106 million left over from the prior year and is seeking $715 million, which is $40 million less than the current year.
2. President Donald Trump slams Democrats, including Alabama U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL), for their failure to rebuke Democratic Virginia Gov. Robert Northam’s comments on abortion
— While the media didn’t seem to care too much about the grotesque comments from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and the bill he is supporting, the president called it “terrible.” Trump is expected to address this in his State of the Union address and said he believes this energizes the pro-life movement. He stated, “I think this will very much lift up the issue because people have never thought of it in those terms.”
1. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) makes it clear there will be no funding for the border wall
— Pelosi proclaimed, “There’s not going to be any wall money in the legislation,” which could be setting up another government shutdown, or could lead to the president invoking an “emergency declaration to build the wall.” Trump tweeted about the impasse, saying “I’ve got you covered,” which all but assures he will act if Congress does not.
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.