7. Officers denied service in Daphne
- After leaving court, a few Daphne Police Department officers went to Five Guys where employees reportedly turned their backs on the officers with at least one employee saying, “I’m not serving them.”
- A local TV station reported that the officers left the restaurant and went somewhere else and corporate is “working with the store’s franchisee to investigate this situation.” Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth expressed support for officers and criticized the incident on social media, saying on Twitter, “What direction are we going as a society when the men and women who protect us from harm cannot order a simple meal?”
6. Biden supports defunding police and whatever else the Democrat Party’s left-wing puts in front of him
- In an interview, former Vice President Joe Biden was asked if “some” police funding should be redirected, and Biden said “absolutely.” His 2020 presidential campaign has insisted that Biden doesn’t support defunding the police, but doesn’t think they need military equipment since this is how they “become the enemy” in communities.
- Biden also called for police reform and prison reform, saying, “It should be a rehabilitation system, not a punishment system.” It’s not surprising that Biden has taken this position as calls to remove funding from the police have grown more popular among Democrats.
5. Supreme Court decisions continue to roll out
- In a saga that has gone on for seven years, the United States Supreme Court has finally decided that moral and religious objections to birth control are a way around the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate. The media is framing this as a “conservative decision,” but the final ruling was 7-2 with liberal judges siding with Little Sisters of the Poor.
- In the case of President Donald Trump’s financial records and tax returns, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue their final rulings on the issues. Two of those dealing with subpoenas for records with the subpoenas are coming from the House Oversight Committee and the House Intelligence and Financial Services Committee. Trump claims that they don’t have the authority to request the records, but even if the court rules in favor of subpoenas, the records wouldn’t be made public unless done so by a court order.
4. Alabama small businesses getting more support
- A new program called “Revive Alabama” has been announced by Governor Kay Ivey that will provide $100 million in coronavirus relief for small businesses throughout the state.
- The maximum value that will be given out is $15,000; funds are available on a first come first served basis through the Alabama Department of Revenue. Revive Alabama is funded through the $1.9 billion the state received through the CARES Act.
3. Leadership at Redstone Arsenal under review for labeling MAGA racist
- U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) has said that some U.S. Army officials at the Redstone Arsenal in North Alabama might have violated the Hatch Act by using federal government resources to distribute “racist and partisan political propaganda.”
- In a statement released by Brooks, he says that officials distributed “materials that, among other offensive things, labels President Donald Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan or ‘Celebration of Columbus Day’ as white supremacist.” Brooks would like for the U.S. Army to conduct an investigation and hold the guilty parties accountable.
2. Madison County healthcare executive: Masks work — here’s how
- Now that there’s a mask mandate in Madison County, there was a press conference held where Crestwood Medical Center CEO Dr. Pam Hudson explained how effective masks can be in the community, saying that if just 80% of the community wears a mask, transmission of the coronavirus would be cut by 90%.
- Hudson said that the area has seen an increase in cases of the coronavirus, explaining, “Much asymptomatic transmission is likely going on.” She also encouraged people to consider “masking and social distancing as a temporary vaccination,” since an actual vaccine is still “months” away.
1. Masks ordered for Alabama schools
- While masks aren’t a requirement across the state for schools restarting in the fall, the Alabama Department of Education has ordered 2.5 million reusable masks, which would be enough for each student and staff member to have three.
- The department clarified that “local public health officials and local elected officials, local school systems will determine if facial coverings are required. There is not a statewide facial covering mandate.” Hoover City Schools and Montgomery schools have already said that they’ll have a mask requirement for pretty much everyone except for someone sitting at their desk in the classroom.
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