7. If you are avoiding a measles vaccine, you might want to reevaluate that plan
— Alabama does not have a measles issue right now, but Florida, Tennessee and Georgia are starting to see cases. Doctors from the University of Alabama at Birmingham believe it’s coming to Alabama. If you need to be scared further, health officials said during a press conference, “If you take ten people who don’t have protection and never been immunized have never had it you put them next to an infectious person 9 of them or 90% will get infected.” In total, the Centers for Disease Control is warning that there are now 626 cases of this completely preventable disease and the fear is that it will spread further.
6. State Auditor Jim Zeigler doesn’t want to be left out of 2020 Senate talk anymore
— With Representative Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope) and former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville already in the race, State Auditor Jim Zeigler doesn’t want to be overlooked. Zeigler sent and deleted a tweet that said, “State Sen. Del Marsh Out of U.S. Senate Race. Zeigler: ‘Since I formed my exploratory committee assessing running against Doug Jones, I have scared out Jeff Sessions, Will Ainsworth and Del Marsh – so far.'” So, along with claiming that he’s the reason some politicians are staying out of the race, on Tuesday he also said, “I’ve been left out of columns, analysis, polls, awards and campaign contributions. My middle name is ‘left out'” Regardless of being left out, Zeigler still believes that he can win in the ballot box, and went on to say, “They just leave me out of everything. But on Election Day I got 62 percent of the vote in November in my reelection for state auditor.” Zeigler has declined to enter the race, but he’s leaving the door open for the U.S. Senate if he sees an increase in support forming.
5. The bill that would’ve removed the requirement for a permit to conceal carry a firearm was shot down
— The bill was voted down in the Alabama State Committee on Tuesday in a 6-5 vote. State Senator Gerald Allen (R-Tuscaloosa) has been sponsoring the bill for years since he believes people shouldn’t have to buy a permit to exercise their Second Amendment rights, but the bill was not received well by all groups. Before the bill was voted on, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense, sheriffs and police opposed the bill and raised questions and concerns about safety issues and saying that the permit is an important law enforcement tool. Oddly enough, this bill passed the Alabama State Senate the previous two years and stalled in the State House.
4. Hillary Clinton thinks anyone else would’ve been indicted in the Russia probe, but maybe she’s forgetting about her absolutely illegal activity
— Ignoring that no one was indicted for conspiracy to collude with the Russians, Hillary Clinton claimed that President Donald Trump would’ve been indicted in the Russian probe if he wasn’t president. Her claim on obstruction of a non-crime is interesting given that Clinton herself instructed people to obstruct justice. Regardless, Clinton said, “I think there’s enough there that any other person who had engaged in those acts would certainly have been indicted.” Clinton is the last person, second-to-last if we included her husband, to be talking about obstruction of justice. Clinton deleted and failed to turn over thousands of emails she kept and sent on a private server. These included “top secret,” “secret” and “confidential.” Both Clintons should sit this one out.
3. With former Vice President Joe Biden ready to make his move Thursday, a new name is on the move
— It is all but official that Biden is ready to enter the race after going through a run of bad press over multiple allegations of creepy behavior surfaced that did not affect his poll numbers. However, the former VP has a campaign account with zero dollars and he lacks a political machine at his disposal because President Barack Obama is staying out of it. Biden remains in the lead with 27 percent of those polled choosing him over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) with 20 percent; upstart candidate du jour, South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg with a paltry eight percent. More importantly, the poll shows Democrats are motivated to beat President Donald Trump as 87 percent don’t care who the nominee is because they will vote for any of them.
2. Jefferson County is ending misdemeanor arrests; Marijuana users will benefit
— Instead of arresting people for nonviolent misdemeanor offenses, officers will be issuing tickets. Capt. David Agee, a spokesman for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said, “I think this is going to help a lot of people and get a lot of people back on track. Those who want to help will be able to get help.” This criminal justice reform will also include no longer arresting citizens for misdemeanor possession of marijuana, but if any misdemeanors are tied to more serious crimes then people could face jail time. Part of the motivation for this change is to save jail space and resources. As far as marijuana possession is concerned though, anyone in possession of less than 2 ounces (57 grams) will be fined instead of given jail time, and these crimes will be classified as violations instead of misdemeanors. The premise of this approach is that fewer people will commit crimes if you don’t enforce them and that those busted for pot possession are going to seek treatment. Let’s see how it plays out. Also, other local cities aren’t interested in this and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall suggested the county may need to “rethink” this dumb plan.
1. Alabama Senate Tourism Committee approves lottery bill
— The bill by State Senator Greg Albritton (R-Atmore) was approved in a 6-5 vote, and could be voted on by the Senate as early as this week. It’s estimated that the lottery would raise $167 million for the state of Alabama after expenses. The lottery bill will only include multi-state or intrastate games that are played with paper tickets or instant tickets, but it will not include any video gaming. Albritton has said that the bill will not change the status of any current legal forms of gambling. Gambling interests currently operating in the state in a quasi-legal status will attempt to spike this bill in the Senate. The question remains if the long-lusted for multi-state lottery will be killed by dog track owners and legislators that want to codify their actions. The Poarch Band of Creek Indians are the big winner with this bill. They would truly gain a monopoly on electronic gaming if this bill passes.
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.