7. Health officials confirmed that several passengers from a cruise ship tested positive for hantavirus after arriving in America, prompting a major investigation into the rare but potentially deadly rodent-borne illness.

6. Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainesville) slammed a political mailer that he claims suggests GOP lawmakers supported taxpayers’ subsidies for college for illegal immigrants, calling the attack misleading and inflammatory, but a bill the candidates supported would have allowed some illegal immigrants to receive taxpayers’ assistance for tuition.

5. State Rep. Russell Bedsole (R-Alabaster) sharply criticized House Democrats for clashing with police during redistricting protests, declaring that respect for the rule of law cannot be conditional and must apply equally to everyone, meaning there could be consequences for lawmakers who broke rules and battled with police.

4. President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s latest response to a U.S. peace proposal as unacceptable while warning of more strikes if talks continue to fail, even as the U.S. paused some operations in the Strait of Hormuz, but attacks on blockade evaders continue, and experts stressed that any final deal must close off Iran’s pathway to nuclear weapons which Trump seems to see as a nonstarter.

3. Despite public outcry and absurd accusations of white supremacy, the Alabama special election bill advanced through the legislature as lawmakers approved measures, and this was signed by the governor, that could significantly alter the timing and structure of future congressional primaries.

2. A federal three-judge panel denied Alabama’s request for a stay in the ongoing redistricting fight, leaving the state’s congressional maps in legal limbo but advancing the battle to the Supreme Court.

1. Dishonest critics, including Alabama law school professor Joyce Vance as well as alcom‘s Roy Johnson and Kyle Whitmire, accused Alabama Republicans of old-timey racism, voter suppression, and Jim Crow 2.0 over the redistricting debate while clamoring for even MORE federal intervention, claiming the GOP’s push represents an attack on voting rights and democracy, while it simply corrects previous racially gerrymandered maps and allows the state to draw maps in the same way blue states do.

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Dale Jackson is a thought leader for Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 5-9 a.m. weekdays on WVNN.