7 Things: McCarthy drama has Alabama flair; man unfortunately walks away after attacking cop SUV; and more …

7. Tuberville says the injury to Hamlin shows how brutal football can be

• Before U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) was a senator he was a head football coach at the highest levels. After the cardiac event involving Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin, he said, “When you’re watching this in a very important professional football game, millions of people watching, then you got everybody looking at this one person on the field. It just really opens your eyes to how brutal this sport is to be honest with you.”
• Hamlin is currently in a medically induced coma in critical condition, with normal vital signs but questions about his long-term prognosis is unknown at this time.

6. Musk thought Shelby was an enemy of commercial space flights

• Twitter, Tesla, and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk appears to be relatively happy to see former U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Tuscaloosa) leave the Senate because he thinks Shelby held back SpaceX by threatening NASA’s funding if they worked with SpaceX.
• Musk tweeted, because of course he did, “Shelby did his best to hold back SpaceX,” in response to a user commenting on Shelby’s distrust of commercial space flights.

5. Who will run for governor in 2026?

• The question about who will follow Gov. Kay Ivey after her current term is up is being asked in a new Yellowhammer News post, with obvious favorites Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth and Attorney General Steve Marshall leading the way. Former candidate and Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle is listed as well.
• There are some surprises in the names listed, including 3 U.S. House members: Reps. Jerry Carl (R-Mobile), Barry Moore (R-Enterprise), and Dale Strong (R-Monrovia). Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) even made the list. Not listed? The possible radio primary between Rick and Bubba’s Bubba and Dale Jackson.

4. Morons continue to put themselves and others at risk in Birmingham

• The criminal element in Birmingham is not very smart, not only are they filming themselves committing crimes and posting them on social media, but they are also stepping in front of police SUVs responding to the scene.
• Now the police officers are under investigation after striking a person as they tried to stop fleeing vehicles and other confrontations. This all stems from the attempts to stop the dangerous road racing and exhibition driving. This has to stop.

3. Alabama GOP delegation is all in for McCarthy

• With a large majority of Republicans in the U.S. House voting for U.S. Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to be the new Speaker of the House, it should come as no surprise that all six members of the Alabama Republican delegation voted for McCarthy.
• All six voted for McCarthy on all three ballots, and none of them show any sign of being peeled off. Alabama’s lone Democrat Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham) voted for her fellow Democrat Hakeem Jefferies (D-N.Y.).

2. Rogers says McCarthy should punish his foes

• With U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) still not enshrined as Speaker of the House and with the vote count and negotiations still ongoing, U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Saks) is ready to play hardball. Rogers says that McCarthy and other leaders in the House should not give the Republicans holding up the Speakership committee assignments.
• According to Politico, Rogers told the Republican caucus anyone holding up the inevitable should not have any committee assignments. This seems like a pretty drastic reaction to an attempt to embarrass McCarthy and gain leverage by gumming up the works. NBC News reported this as Rogers having “promised” they would lose their committee assignments.

1. McCarthy can’t close the deal, but the fight goes on 

• The American media was covering the delivery of pizzas to the office of U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), as if this was a negotiation ploy, as the 20 members of Congress who voted against his attempt to become speaker were meeting with McCarthy to hammer out new details. At this point, it is just a waiting game.
• The end of this race will likely be McCarthy as Speaker, but a Republican will undoubtedly win, with Democrats having no chance at winning the gavel. The No. 2 GOP vote-getter, U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), voted for McCarthy.