7 Things: ‘Essential’ jobs being lost in Alabama, vast majority of Alabamians oppose the vaccine mandates, potential Ivey challenger calls for a wider vaccine mandate ban and more …

7. Shooting threat in Shelby County school area

• There has been a threat posted to Snapchat where a student said they would “shoot up” their school on October 27. Shelby, Calera and Helena County authorities are investigating the threat that claimed, “This is not one of those hoaxes. This is not a joke. I have not been bullied. I have not been misunderstood.”
• The threat also added, “At the beginning of 6th period, at 12:10, I will pull a Glock 17 out of my backpack and unleash hellfire on the lunchroom. I have plenty of ammo too.” The same threat has been made in other districts, according to authorities, but they are taking the post seriously and investigating and reacting appropriately. 

6. There are still Americans trapped in Afghanistan

• While it seems President Joe Biden has moved on from the situation in Afghanistan, there are still hundreds of Americans trapped in the Taliban-run country. The Pentagon has said that there are about 450 Americans in Afghanistan. 
• Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl confirmed the count but acknowledged that the Biden administration had previously said 100-200. He stated there are at least 439 U.S. citizens still in Afghanistan. 

5. Brooks: Biden should be impeached

• U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) criticized President Joe Biden on the crisis and the southern border and said he should be impeached for how he’s handled the number of illegal immigrants coming into the country. 
• This comes after news of a 3,000+ person caravan making its way to the southern border. Brooks encouraged the border states to defend their states, but he added, “[I] believe that it’s incumbent that we hold Joe Biden as president of the United States responsible for this gross violation of the United States Constitution and impeach him.”

4. Vaccine for kids age 5-11 endorsed, mandates will follow

• An advisory panel for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has endorsed the use of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine for children ages five to 11. This was expected, but now there are growing concerns over if school-age children will be required to get the vaccine if it’s approved.
• Vaccine approval for younger children has already been heavily criticized due to its lack of necessity since children of younger ages don’t contract the coronavirus as often or as severely. Dr. James Hildreth of Meharry Medical College has also raised concerns of unnecessary side effects if kids get the vaccine, saying, “If the trends continue the way they are going then the emergency for children is not what we might think it might be.” Further complicating this issue was a comment by Dr. Eric Rubin which is less than reassuring. He advised, “We’re never gonna learn about how safe the vaccine is until we start giving it.”

3. Agenda needs to be expanded

• Businessman and potential gubernatorial candidate Tim James called on Governor Kay Ivey to expand the special session agenda for redistricting so that the legislature would be able to address vaccine mandates since the current executive order issued by Ivey doesn’t protect enough people in the state. 
• James said, “the Executive Order reads more like a ‘resolution’ which expresses an ‘opinion or will’ more than a force of law.” He added, “We need a legislative act of law passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor against any employer mandate, both public and private.”

2. Majority of Alabamians don’t want vaccine mandates

• It comes as no surprise that a new poll taken by the Alabama Republican Party shows that 65% of Alabamians are opposed to the coronavirus vaccine being mandated, but there are 35% of people who support President Joe Biden’s mandate. 
• Only 13% of Alabama Democrats oppose the mandate, but 90% of Republicans oppose the order. One of the questions in the survey was if they want the government to regulate personal health decisions, and 12% said yes, 71% said no and 17% were unsure. 

1. Contractors in North Alabama being forced to walk off the job

• Some employees at United Launch Alliance in Decatur have started to protest the federal vaccine mandate put in place by President Joe Biden. Some workers, including Hunter Creger, have said that their religious exemptions were denied, and now they face being fired. 
• Creger said he’s “sick and tired of being walked on.” The company has released a statement saying, “ULA decided to require vaccinations to ensure the health and safety of our employees and to align with our U.S. government customer and industry direction.”