7. Ivanka Trump visiting Tanner, Alabama
- The first daughter will visit the Alabama Robotics Technology Park located in Decatur to make announcements on expanded workforce development and apprenticeship opportunities in Alabama.
- Prior to her trip to Alabama, she tweeted about the “The Alabama Success story” since the beginning of the Trump administration, including noting that unemployment was down 2.5%, reaching an all-time low at 3.3%, unemployment insurance claims have gone down over 26% and wages are up.
6. Fake news media keeps pushing fake news
- America’s political media got ahead of itself again. In an effort to “get” President Trump, CNN ran with a story that claimed the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had to pull a spy out of Russia because President Trump had “repeatedly mishandled classified intelligence and could contribute to exposing the covert source as a spy.”
- The CIA responded to the reporting, saying it was “misguided” and “simply false” while The New York Times reported that the decision was made in 2016, which was obviously before Trump took office, but the false narrative continues to advance.
5. Alabama won’t participate in Google probe
- All states and territories, except for Alabama and California, will be investigating Google’s “potential monopolistic behavior” and it’s not clear why Alabama is not participating.
- While Alabama and California have decided not to be involved in the investigation, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico will join the other 48 states.
4. Mobile port expansion approved
- On Monday, the Alabama State Port Authority announced that the federal government has authorized improvements to the Mobile Harbor by deepening the bar, bay and river channels and widening the bay channel.
- The improvements will allow larger vessels to enter the port. James K. Lyons, chief executive officer for the Port Authority, said that when Phase 3 expansion is completed, “the port and its partner, APM Terminals, will have nearly $500 million in container intermodal assets to serve our customers.”
3. No more toll roads for now
- Alabama House Speaker Mac McCutcheon (R-Monrovia) on Monday said that as of right now, there aren’t any other toll road projects, but he also clarified that there isn’t just “a list of projects out there that are listed on a page that says ‘these are toll projects.’”
- However, since the Mobile Bridge and Bayway Project, there has continued to be speculation on the possibility that future road projects will be turned into toll roads.
2. Chris Elliot replaced
- Governor Kay Ivey has replaced State Senator Chris Elliot (R-Daphne) with State Senator Vivian Davis Figures (D-Mobile) on the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program-ⅠⅠ, and now Elliot is claiming that Ivey’s action is due to his opposition to the Mobile Bridge and Bayway Project.
- Elliot said that he wasn’t surprised by Ivey’s decision, stating, “It’s clear that the Governor’s office is disappointed with my decision to withdraw my support from her flawed I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway proposal.”
1. Doug Jones: Generic Democrat
- U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) spoke about gun control on Alabama Public Television’s “Capitol Journal” where he said that Democrats and Republicans need to be focused on saving lives, but Jones believes that “special interest groups have divided us,” and went on to emphasize, “This is not about guns. This is about saving lives.”
- While there is an attempt to paint Jones as a moderate, his words tell a different tale. He also explained that he thinks the issues around mass shootings isn’t just mental health because mental health issues have been discussed, and Jones said that “blaming this on mental health” hasn’t worked. He then took aim at “thoughts and prayers” saying that those aren’t solving the issues either.
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