7. The White House isn’t waiting for lawsuits to be resolved, dares courts to stop Trump
— Because a portion of the money for new wall construction is tied up in potential court cases, President Donald Trump will not spend any of the funds that are hung up on his national emergency declaration yet. While that plays out in court, the White House will use the funds available via the Defense Department’s drug interdiction program and the Treasury Department’s asset forfeiture fund. This total is around $3.1 billion.
6. Alabama’s ISIS bride really is trying hard to get back to the America she hates pretty badly
— After the State Department followed the president’s lead in rebuking the former Hoover resident’s attempts to return home, Hoda Muthana’s lawyers have decided to argue she has “birthright citizenship” and is entitled to return. Her family’s lawyer says her father was not a diplomat so she is entitled to the same “due process that any American citizen is entitled to,” and that includes potential jail time for her crimes.
5. The AP asks Governor Kay Ivey a stupid question in a story about Tennessee’s governor apologizing for attending an Old South Party at Auburn decades ago
— Tennessee Governor Bill Lee admitted to wearing Confederate clothing at frat parties in the past and apologized for what he had not realized is insensitive. As part of the story, the media outlet asked Alabama’s governor if she ever participated in any racial insensitive skits or used racially insensitive language without evidence or reason. She said she has not.
4. Small-town newspaper’s editor says he would do it again; He is also quitting and selling the paper
— After universal condemnation and national attention, Goodloe Sutton, the publisher of the KKK editorial. responded by publishing adoring letters to the editor, including one from an actual Klansman from Mississippi declaring, “The KKK is the nicest.” Sutton has been stripped of his journalism awards, removed from the University of Southern Mississippi’s Hall of Fame and is now planning on selling the paper that currently makes $6,700 in government-mandated legal notices each week.
3. You want more spending on roads, but you don’t want gas taxes
— Polling by the Alabama Forestry Association shows that Alabamians think their roads are fine. They still want more funding spent on roads, but they still don’t want a gas tax. Furthermore, when asked how much of a gas tax they wanted, three cents received over 55 percent of the response and 62 percent want a revenue-neutral approach, which means an equal cut in taxes elsewhere.
2. Jussie Smollett is arrested, embarrassed and then slammed by the president of the United States
— The hate crime hoaxer stood in a court in Cook County, Illinois, while the text messages from the actor to his “attackers” were shared laying out the plan to stage the attack and blame it on Trump supporters. Inexplicably, his TV show and some in Hollywood are supporting the actor. The president of the United States is not. He tweeted, “What about MAGA and the tens of millions of people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments!? #MAGA.”
1. Punches already flying in a potential GOP Primary
— Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-Mobile) is barnstorming the state in his first few days as an official candidate for U.S. Senate, but the Club for Growth is pushing Congressman Gary Palmer (R-Homewood). The group called Byrne a “fake politician” and released a poll showing Palmer leading Byrne with a formidable 57-26 lead. Seizing on the group’s misspelling of “Alabamians,” the Byrne campaign fired back, “Alabamians don’t need or want an anti-Trump DC based special interest group telling ‘Alabamans’ how to vote for their senator.” Other polls show Congressman Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) leading a larger field of challengers.
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.