7 Things: Jones’ political career murdered, full exoneration for Trump, longer school days disputed and more …

7. Tuberville really wants you to know he isn’t a politician

• Former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville’s campaign for U.S. Senate has recently released a new social media video of Tuberville talking about how he’s running for Senate “to speak and be a voice for the people of Alabama.”
• Tuberville also said that “this country’s got a disease” of “career, corrupt politicians.” He went on to say that career politicians are “going to run for a paycheck” because campaigning is just part of their “career” and they want to be part of the “club,” adding a career politician will truly represent the people in Washington, D.C.

6. National anthem bill approved by an Alabama Senate committee

• The Alabama Senate Education Policy Committee has approved the bill by State Senator Gerald Allen (R-Tuscaloosa) that would require public schools play the national anthem at least once a week and at some sporting events.
• Allen said that schools within his district aren’t playing the national anthem, and his “hope” is the anthem playing will encourage people to “be great Americans.” However, State Senator Tim Melson (R-Florence) has expressed his concern with it, reasoning, “when the Kaepernicks move to a school district and the whole family sits down or takes a knee, what’s going to be the response in the community.”

5. Kimberly police officer dies at the hands of a career criminal

• Kimberly police officer Nick O’Rear was fatally shot Tuesday night during a pursuit on Interstate 65 South by Preston Johnson, who also attempted to shoot another officer from Warrior by firing into his vehicle.
• Somehow, Johnson had been arrested on 20 charges over the last 20 years and he has been convicted of six different felonies, yet he was released on his own recognizance in October 2019; he was out of custody when he committed this murder.

4. Will they get Trump this time?

• The investigations aren’t over, according to House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY), who said that even though the impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate is over he may be planning to subpoena testimony from former National Security Advisor John Bolton.
• Nadler also indicated that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has already given the approval to subpoena Bolton, who has already expressed that he would be open to testifying during the Senate impeachment trial.

3. Hurst says school schedule bill is being misinterpreted

• State Representative Steve Hurst (R-Munford) plans to sponsor a bill that would make summer longer for public school students, but said the information being spread that students could be in school until 5:30 p.m. is “a complete fabricated lie.”
• The bill would mandate summer break be from Memorial Day to Labor Day, but because state law only requires that schools maintain 1,080 instructional hours, Hurst has said that some schools could extend school days to lengthen breaks. According to Huntsville school board member Elisa Ferrell, she was notified of potential eight-hour school days by the Alabama Association of School Boards.

2. Trump is found not guilty

• The final vote in the U.S. Senate came down to 52-48 to acquit President Donald Trump first on impeachment article of abuse of power and 53-47 on the article of obstruction of Congress. U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) is the only senator to vote against his party.
• U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) voted to convict Trump on both charges, but U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) voted to acquit, saying that for the Senate to convict Trump on these charges “will dramatically transform the impeachment power” and that impeachment would become “a tool for adjudicating policy disputes and political disagreements.”

1. Doug Jones is totally done in Alabama

• Hours before the completely inevitable exoneration of President Donald Trump, U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) all but ended his career by announcing that he will vote for a long-doomed impeachment and go against the president in the state where Trump regularly gets his highest approval rating for no reason.
• This move surely pleased Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Jones’ out-of-state donors, as he has raised $816,844 out of state. According to the finance report, 40.87% of his out of state donors were from Washington, D.C., New York and California while he only raised $279,429 from Alabamians.