7. BLM in Birmingham demands mayor and police chief resign
- Even though all evidence shows that the officer-involved shooting that killed Desmon Ray, Jr. was a “good shoot,” activists in Birmingham are calling his death a “murder” and calling for resignations of the mayor and other leaders in the city. The video that has been released shows Ray firing at police officers before he was killed. Mayor Randall Woodfin says he is not resigning.
- BLM Birmingham co-founder Eric Hall called for Woodfin and Police Chief Patrick Smith to resign, and the group is even demanding personal condolences. Hall said, “This family has been demanding that the leadership of this community, Mayor Randall Woodfin, council members, the police chief, anybody in leadership should have come to this family to offer their condolences.”
6. Huntsville mayor and police chief under fire, too
- On Friday, Huntsville police officer William Darby was found guilty of committing murder in the line of duty. He has been released on bond and has continued to have the support of the Huntsville Police Chief Mark McMurray and Mayor Tommy Battle.
- Now, Battle and McMurray are facing criticism and calls to resign after showing their support for Darby. This all follows on the heels of a recent Huntsville Police Citizens Advisory Council report about the protests that happened in the city in 2020 that claimed the city didn’t do what it should have. After the protests, McMurray and Battle showed support for police.
5. Biden is still not Trump, and that is enough for some people
- New data released by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that 47% of Republicans say they approve of how President Joe Biden has handled the coronavirus pandemic so far.
- Overall, Biden’s approval rating is at 63%, and 71% of Americans approve of how he’s handled the pandemic. While 54% of people think the nation is on the right track, 44% say we’re on the wrong track.
4. Children 12 and older can now get the Pfizer vaccine
- The U.S. Food & Drug Administration has approved the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to be used on those 12 years and older, which comes after 2,000 volunteers between 12 and 15-years-old were given the vaccine.
- Of those who received the vaccine, none got the coronavirus, while 18 people in the group who got a placebo shot got the coronavirus. When receiving the same dose as adults, adolescents had the same side effects as adults.
3. Walk-in vaccinations are now offered at Publix
- In Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida, you can now get the coronavirus vaccine without an appointment at Publix.
- Both Moderna and Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccines are offered at Publix. This comes after there have been reports of a decreased rate of vaccinations in Alabama.
2. Gas prices are about to go up — hacking group is sorry
- The Colonial Pipeline shut down due to a cyberattack, which is likely to impact Alabama’s gas prices sooner than most other areas. Some of the others to be impacted first will be Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina. This is because the pipeline is the main supplier of fuel in these areas.
- The Colonial Pipeline provides about 45% of the fuel for the East Coast, which is about 2.5 million barrels per day. If the pipeline operation is restored soon, the impact on gas prices could be minimal, but the longer it’s delayed, the greater chance for a spike in prices. The group responsible has apologized for “creating problems for society” and their goal is just “to make money.”
1. No more federal unemployment benefits in Alabama
- The $300 per week additional unemployment benefits from the federal government will no longer be given to people in Alabama starting on June 19, as Governor Kay Ivey has announced. People are pretending this decision is racist, of course.
- While the media and their Democrats, including President Joe Biden, have decided to pretend this isn’t about government handouts keeping people from wanting to go to work, it clearly is. A Goldman Sachs analysis of the latest jobs report explains the obvious, saying, “[L]abor supply appears to be tighter than the unemployment rate suggests, likely reflecting the impact of unusually generous unemployment benefits and lingering virus-related impediments to working.”
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