7 Things: No collusion, legalized medical marijuana possible in Alabama, newspaper subsidies being targeted by freshman legislator and more …

7. Substitute teacher inadvertently fires a gun in a classroom and is arrested

— Friday, 72-year-old Henry Rex Weaver was teaching first grade at Blountsville Elementary when a gun in his pocket was fired and shrapnel from the event injured one student. While there has been a debate about whether trained and responsible gun owners should be able to carry firearms in public schools, this is not legal at this time. Weaver was unlawfully carrying the firearm in his front pocket when the incident occurred.

6. Former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) are the Democrats’ top choices to beat Trump in 2020

— Biden is at the top at 31 percent, Sanders is at 23 percent, Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) are both at 8 percent. Biden has support from those over 45 years old, while Sanders has the support of those under 45. Although Biden isn’t officially in the race, he is expected to make an official announcement in April. A majority of Democratic voters believe that Biden is the best candidate to beat Trump in 2020. Polling shows Biden and Sanders would beat Trump, by 7 and 3 points each.

5. State Rep. Andrew Sorrell (R-Muscle Shoals) continues to fight the war against unnecessary laws that require state tax dollars prop up newspapers

— State Rep. Sorrell voted “no” on the 10-cent increase for the gas tax because, as he put it, he believes there are areas the state government has waste that should be eliminated first. Speaking to Alabama Public Television, Sorrell said, “I have the legislative fiscal office trying to give me a number right now on how much the state of Alabama spends.” He added, “We could be saving the state millions of dollars a year.” He believes that his bill would help Alabama municipalities and counties save money and that all the legal notices could instead be posted online.

4. Medical marijuana is a real possibility in Alabama

— State Rep. Mike Ball (R-Madison) has a bill filed that would legalize medical marijuana in Alabama. Rep. Ball’s Leni’s Law and Carly’s Law both allow the use of CBD oil, but he wants to see more done. His new bill would allow people to receive a medical cannabis card and be exempt from the crime of marijuana possession. The bill may seem like a long-shot in Alabama, but it also has the support of Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon (R-Monrovia).

3. The report into Russian collusion is over — No proof of collusion or obstruction found

— FBI special counsel Robert Mueller’s report has been turned over to the Attorney General Bill Barr and in a letter to Congress, Barr quotes Mueller, saying, “[T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.” In addition to that, the report says the issue of obstruction of justice was not founded either. It stated they could not “draw a conclusion — one way or the other — as to whether the examined conduct constituted obstruction.” The investigation started in May 2017 and has finally ended with no indictment involving Russian collusion.

2. Alabama’s federal politicians react to the results of the Mueller probe and the attorney general’s letter

— AL.com gathered the response of multiple politicians and the reactions range from Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-Mobile) calling it a “waste of time” to Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham) saying it “poses more questions than it answers.” The strongest words came from Congressman Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville), who said, “I encourage Socialist Democrats and their radical news media allies to cleanse their souls and atone for their sins by apologizing to the American people for the fraud and scam they committed in an effort to delegitimize the 2016 election and enhance their own power grab and election prospects.”

1. Their media and their Democrats do not care what the report says — Non-stop investigations will go on

— Paying the special counsel’s report and their own words no mind, a lack of indictments will not deter those who have based their recent lives and careers on the premise that the Trump campaign was a Russian front from continuing that theme. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have declared it just doesn’t matter, saying, “Given Mr. Barr’s public record of bias against the Special Counsel’s inquiry, he is not a neutral observer and is not in a position to make objective determinations about the report.” This ignores not only their own words, but also the fact that Mueller himself said that he operated unimpeded and finished his report on his terms. Some members of the media have gone as far as to allege that it feels like we are witnessing “seeds of a cover-up.”