7. Great timing for Randall Woodfin to be endorsed by Biden

• Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin has announced that he’s been endorsed by President Joe Biden for reelection. Woodfin’s campaign announced the endorsement and released a statement by Biden that described Woodfin as “one of the great young leaders of our country.”
• Biden went on in his statement to mention how Woodfin has protected “the health and safety of the people of Birmingham to saving and creating jobs, to providing tuition-free higher education and fighting for voting rights, he sets the bar for making sure government works for the people.”

6. Labor trafficking investigation in Alabama

• The Enterprise area is under investigation for potential labor trafficking activity, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, so there has been a halt on placing unaccompanied minors from the southern border in the area. The suspicion is that teenagers were released to traffickers who sent them to work at poultry facilities.
• Similar investigations are taking place across the country as minors in Enterprise and Woodburn, Oregon, have been released to the same sponsor, in some situations. Now, both Enterprise and Woodburn have been marked as suspicious as the investigation takes place.

5. A student with muscular dystrophy has died of COVID-19, the first of the school year

• An incoming Cullman High School senior, Will Fowler, has passed away from COVID-19, according to a social media post from his cousin. The post remembered Fowler his positive attitude in light of the challenges he faces. It reads, “He had muscular dystrophy, but it didn’t stop him. He excelled in academics and loved being in the Cullman Bearcat Marching Band where he was the percussion front line section leader. He never complained about the challenges he faced every day and he had a heart of gold. I wish I had more time with him here on earth, but we will see you again one day.”
• Although Fowler never attended school this year, he is being counted as the first COVID-19 casualty of the year. Superintendent Kyle Kallhoff said, “The Cullman High School student body and faculty, as well as the entire Cullman City School System family, are grieving the loss of a classmate and model student.”

4. Brooks under fire after calling a wannabe terrorist a “terrorist”

• There was a bomb threat made on Capitol Hill yesterday. It was resolved after the suspect surrendered to authorities, but 49-year-old Ray Roseberry recorded a livestream of the situation where he indicated that he was threatening the attack due to frustration with the Biden administration.
• U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) addressed the situation by calling the man a “terrorist” and said, “[V]iolence and threats of violence targeting America’s political institutions are far too common.” Brooks angered many, for some reason, by saying, “I understand citizenry anger directed at dictatorial Socialism and its threat to liberty, freedom and the very fabric of American society.” He also encouraged people to vote in 2022 and 2024, concluding, “America’s future is at risk.”

3. Get booster shots out there sooner

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have already announced that booster shots for the coronavirus vaccine will be recommended soon, but the Alabama Medical Association has asked that the process for approving booster shots, at least for Gulf States, be expedited.
• President of the Medical Association Dr. Aruna Arora has pointed out that some in Alabama were vaccinated in January, and would now qualify for the booster shot, particularly health care workers. She added that health care workers being at risk “puts all patients at greater risk, whether they have COVID or not.”

2. Tuberville wants answers on what we left in Afghanistan

• A letter has been sent to U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin from U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and 25 other Republican senators demanding that there be answers provided on what U.S. military equipment was left in Afghanistan, which would likely be in the hands of the Taliban by now.
• The letter specifically mentions that the senators “were horrified to see U.S. equipment – including UH-60 Black Hawks – in the hands of the Taliban. The senators are requesting an inventory of the equipment left behind, as well as details on a plan to remove some of the equipment, and if there is intelligence on the “likelihood that the Taliban will seek to work with Russia, Pakistan, Iran, or the People’s Republic of China for training, fuel, or infrastructure necessary to utilize equipment they do not have the capabilities to use on their own.”

1. Biden admin obviously knew Afghanistan would collapse

• New intelligence has been announced that there were communications sent to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in July that the Taliban could take over Afghanistan if all of the U.S. military forces were removed from the country. The information had been sent from the U.S. embassy in Kabul on July 13. It was made clear that the Taliban takeover was likely. There were suggestions given on what could be done to decrease those chances.
• Now, the Taliban is back to enforcing their desired way of life, as some were protesting the Taliban rule in Afghanistan by waving the Afghan flag and celebrating the independence day and Taliban fighters opened fire on the group causing the crowd to disperse. Two were killed in a similar protest in another city.