7. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has decided not to endorse a presidential candidate for the 2024 election, signaling a shift in its political strategy. This decision, driven by internal polling showing strong support (59.6%) for Trump among members, is a blow to Democrats, who have traditionally relied on Teamsters’ backing.
6. The most hilarious operation in history gets funnier as more explosions, this time in walkie-talkies, Hezbollah announced the deaths of five members killed by Israeli attacks, bringing the group’s death toll to 458 since the conflict began after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks. These announcements followed a wave of explosions in Lebanon, allegedly caused by Israel, targeting walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah, resulting in 14 deaths and over 450 injuries. Hezbollah pledged to retaliate against Israel, but this undoubtedly damages their ability to wage war by injuring a large number of fighters and disrupting communications.
5. Tuscaloosa City Schools are using taxpayer resources to promote a “yes” vote on an upcoming property tax referendum, which would raise ad valorem tax rates by 11.5 mills, or $345 annually, for a $300,000 home. But this is against a 2022 law that restricts public funds from being used to advocate for or against ballot measures, so sending e-mails and text messages on publicly-owned numbers and server, recruiting help from employees and students, and messaging on the district’s website in favor of the referendum is not permissible.
4. Alabama U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) led a group of Republican senators in an attempt to pass bills on border security and fracking, highlighting Vice President Kamala Harris’ flip-flops positions on these issues since launching her presidential campaign. The efforts were blocked by Senate Democrats, prompting Britt to criticize Harris for her “flip-flops” on the border wall and energy policies, “Here we have today a fracking bill that has been put on the floor and yet blocked by the Democrats. We have a bill here, just now, closing asylum loopholes, helping unaccompanied children get back to their family, but that’s been blocked by Democrats. Earlier you saw us put a bill on the floor that would help us build a barrier on the southern border, but yet that was blocked by Democrats.”
3. Iranian hackers contacted President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign in late June and early July with materials they had stolen from former President Donald Trump’s campaign, including internal research and polls. The Biden campaign did not respond to the emails, and the FBI confirmed this was part of a broader Iranian effort to interfere in the 2024 election.
2. U.S. Rep. Dale Strong (R-Monrovia) criticized the Biden administration’s immigration policies during a Homeland Security Committee hearing, expressing concern over the impact on Alabama’s small and rural communities. Strong questioned why Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who allowed illegal immigration to devastate their own state, would care about the effects on Alabama, “It sends a clear message to every American that they would allow this to happen in their own communities… if they don’t care about what’s happening in their own backyards, why would they care what is happening in Alabama? I think the evidence is obvious.”
1. In a new Fox News poll, Vice President Kamala Harris leads former President Donald Trump by 2 points in a head-to-head matchup, with 50% of support compared to Trump’s 48%. The shift in voter preference is largely attributed to Harris gaining traction among Hispanics and independents, both of which favored Trump in previous surveys.
Listen here:
Dale Jackson is a thought leader for Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 5-9 a.m. weekdays on WVNN and from 10-11 a.m. on Talk 99.5 and News Radio 1440, with a rebroadcast Talk Radio 103.9 FM/730AM WUMP from 3-4 p.m.
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.