7. Ivey will follow court’s decision on nitrogen hypoxia

• Gov. Kay Ivey has indicated that she will not intervene on the possible decision to use nitrogen hypoxia to execute Alan Eugene Miller. The execution method has never been used in any state and there’s an ongoing legal battle over whether the method can be used.
• When asked about the issue, Ivey gave a brief comment, saying, “All of that is part of a court process right now. I’m going to trust the courts.” Miller is scheduled for execution  Sept. 22.

6. There is still a mask mandate for toddlers?

• More than two years after the coronavirus pandemic started, there’s a group of senators that have joined U.S. Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD) in a push to end mask mandates in the Head Start preschool program. The group did so in a letter to President Joe Biden.
• There have been efforts in the Senate to end the requirement for the preschool program, but the letter states that “Biden unfortunately committed to vetoing it.” The letter goes on to say, “The nation must continue transition toward treating COVID-19 as an endemic condition and return to a sense of normalcy, and it is past time for Washington bureaucrats to allow Head Start programs to do the same.”

5. Alabama lawmaker continues promoting fentanyl legislation

• Drug traffickers busted with fentanyl in the state of Alabama will be looking at more jail time once they are busted if an Alabama lawmaker gets his way. State Rep. Matt Simpson (R-Daphne) warned about how dangerous this drug is, “it’s 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine, and it’s more addictive, as well. So, because it’s so addictive, they’re not worried about losing customers. Deaths are just a part of the program on what they have here.”
• Rep. Simpson says this is about both the lethality of the drug and bringing it in line with other drugs, “If you’re trafficking heroin, if you’re trafficking marijuana, if you’re trafficking cocaine, if you’re trafficking methamphetamines, you have mandatory time that you serve in prison; and the case in fentanyl – that’s just not the case in Alabama,” Simpson said. “They left that part off. Well, fentanyl has blown up so much in our state, use and distribution and traffickers, that we need to get fentanyl in line with every other drug in Alabama and come out and punish these people.”

4. Ivey has opposed student loan “relief”

• The plan by President Joe Biden to forgive student loans will cost every American, and now 22 governors, including Gov. Kay Ivey, have written to Biden asking that he reconsider his plan and how it will impact individuals.
• In the letter, the governors argue that even those who have decided not to get a college degree will now be paying for others’ decisions to take out loan, saying, “A high-cost degree is not the key to unlocking the American Dream — hard work and personal responsibility is.”

3. No, the border isn’t secure

• Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Katie Britt has responded to Vice President Kamala Harris’ statement that despite about 2 million migrants crossing the southern border, the “border is secure … But there are still a lot of problems that we are trying to fix, given the deterioration that happened over the last four years.”
• Britt has responded to these statements by saying, “Vice President Harris can’t change facts. Two million illegal immigrants in a single year isn’t a secure border; it’s a crisis. States like Alabama are facing the deadly consequences every day, as fentanyl steals lives and destroys families.”

2. Republicans have presented a 15-week abortion ban nationally

• U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has announced a plan that would make abortions after 15 weeks illegal across the country, with a few exceptions. Republicans and Democrats alike have already expressed their disapproval of the plan.
• U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said, “A nationwide abortion ban – that’s the contrast between the two parties, plain and simple.” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has also said the plan “is wildly out of step with what Americans believe.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) says this is a bad idea and wants it left up to the states.

1. Inflation has hit every industry, wages down

• New consumer price index numbers for the year so far show that inflation has substantially impacted nearly every industry with price hikes across the board. The overall consumer price index has increased by 8.3%.
• For the year, groceries have also increased on the consumer price index by 13.5%, baby food has increased 12.6%, airline prices are up 33.4%, oil has increased 68.8%, gas is up 25.6% (media will tell you it has dropped sharply), and electricity has increased 15.8%. While all prices have increased, average hourly wages have decreased 2.8%.