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7 Things: Flawed gambling amnesty bill moves forward after voice vote; Russian space nukes a threat; and more …

7. Special counsel Jack Smith REALLY wants former President Donald Trump on trial before the election for alleged election interference and Donald Trump REALLY doesn’t want that to happen. The presidential immunity question is sitting at the Supreme Court and will most likely not go in Trump’s favor. The special counsel clearly has the election on his mind when noting the “unique national importance” of the case and oddly stating that the “delay in the resolution of these charges threatens to frustrate the public interest in a speedy and fair verdict.”

6. A very smart protestor screaming obscenities at Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling’s house was arrested and is now facing a long term in jail after their bond was revoked. Alainah Dailey was arrested for disorderly conduct and held after her probation was revoked for a previous conviction over skip-scanning at a local Walmart. And, unfortunately for her, she is already facing legal issues in Madison County for felony third-degree escape after a DUI arrest. 

5. Unelected bureaucrats could potentially be getting put in their place this legislative session if the Legislature moves forward with plans to overhaul some government agencies and laws governing their actions. Activists who use these agencies as cudgels against citizens and as their own private soapboxes are not happy and are claiming librarians will be jailed if they can’t show smut to kids and that the Alabama Department of Archives and History can’t function unless they have lectures on Bull Connors’ sex partners.

4. A celebration for the Kansas City Chiefs was marred by gunfire with 1 person killed and 22 injured, including 8 children. Three black males were detained in the shooting, leading many to speculate that this was not a targeted attack but street violence that is very common in Kansas City.

3. The amount cap on school choice spending is under debate and the people who are overseeing a failing public school system are concerned that kids who leave that system may not be learning elsewhere. The two issues getting the most attention are a cap on suggested costs of $100 million (1% of the education budget) and how to increase it, while others want private schools to take the same tests public schools do but that is widely viewed as a poison pill to scare away private schools.

2. There is apparently a massive destabilizing national security threat, reported to be Russia’s desire to put nukes in space, and U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) wants President Joe Biden to declassify the matter to let America know what is going on. Other members of Congress say this is a long-standing issue, and there is no reason to be alarmed.

1. An Alabama House committee passes comprehensive gambling on a voice vote, but Rep. Allen Treadaway (R-Morris) was the only one reported to have voted “no” with an objection to an amnesty to previous lawbreakers in the bill. Treadaway has issues with repealing local gambling amendments that would still allow quasi-legal casinos to continue to operate into 2027 and a protectionist bid process that grants priority status to current gambling entities that the legislation would otherwise shut down. Treadaway says, “I can’t get past the fact that people will be rewarded who have continued to operate for years illegally and made millions. Open bid, open it up. And the state will gain from that.”

Listen here:

Dale Jackson is a thought leader for Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 5-9 a.m. weekdays on WVNN, on Talk 99.5 from 10-11 a.m., and on Talk Radio 103.9 FM/730AM WUMP from noon to 1 p.m.

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