7 Things: Impeachment fight finally on, Doug Jones tied to Schiff and Omar, indicted judges may not get paid anymore and more …

7. Alabamians are lazy

The Centers for Disease Control has released a list of physical activity levels by state for adults, and Alabama ranked fourth out of states with the highest inactivity level.
According to the report, 31% of adults in Alabama were reported as not being physically active. Mississippi ranked first with 33%, Arkansas second with 32.5%, Kentucky in third with 32.2% and Louisiana in fifth with 30.9%.

6. Biden slipping but still the favorite

Apparently, the idea that U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is a giant sexist monster didn’t successfully derail his candidacy. In fact, a new poll has him leading the Democratic field with former Vice President Joe Biden with 24% closely behind U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) lagging with 14%.
Biden finds himself in a precarious situation. He has dropped 10 points in this poll since October while Sanders has surged up 11.

5. Daycares could be taking on a new responsibility

State Representative Randy Wood (R-Anniston) has prepared a bill to file with the legislature called the Cash Edwin Jordan Act. The bill would require that daycares contact the parents or guardians if a child doesn’t arrive by 9:30 am.
The act is named for an 11-month-old that was accidentally left in the car back in September and passed away. Last year, there were 53 kids who died due to being left in a hot car last year across the United States, most of them being three-years-old or younger.

4. Sentencing reform is going nowhere in Alabama

In Montgomery, former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions spent time discussing President Donald Trump’s criminal justice reform bill. Sessions expressed his concern over the reduced sentences, saying he thinks some of them “went too far.”
Sessions went on to say the reductions made him “uneasy,” but he did go on to explain that he supported several parts of the bill, including educating and helping them successfully prepare for being released.

3. Indicted judge still getting paid — a state representative wants to change that

Limestone County Judge Doug Patterson has been indicted on felony charges, but he’s still on the state payroll and collecting his paycheck. Now, State Representative Andy Whitt (R-Harvest) is calling for Patterson’s resignation.
Whitt has said that Patterson shouldn’t continue to get paid if he isn’t a working judge, also mentioning how the other three judges in the county are overworked as they pick up Patterson’s work since he was suspended last year, but every month Patterson is getting paid $10,808.84.

2. Super-PAC is throwing punches at Doug Jones

U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) has shown no interest in opposing the impeachment of President Donald Trump, and now the super-PAC America First Policies has put out an ad against Jones, deeming impeachment as a “radical left” project.
In the ad, Jones is shown to be in agreement with people like U.S. Representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN). The ad features a clip of Jones saying, “This is not a witch hunt, this is not a hoax.” Publicly, though, Jones has told CNN that he will be reelected no matter how he votes, but in the public, he hasn’t stated how he plans to vote on impeachment.

1. White House lawyers are playing offense, Democrats want witnesses

With the impeachment trial against President Donald Trump opening in the U.S. Senate, lawyers for Trump came out and said that the House Democrats have “no case.” White House counsel Pat Cipollone said some of the Democratic senators “should be in Iowa,” referencing U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MD).
Cipollone added, “Instead, we’re here and they’re not ready to go.” When U.S. Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) took the floor, he called for a “fair trial” that he thinks most people don’t expect, as he believes people think Trump will be acquitted because of partisan politics, as if he is not partisan.