7. More jobs on the way
- U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta visited north Alabama to take in the area’s tech boom by touring Calhoun Community College’s Decatur campus and Huntsville’s ADTRAN before traveling to Dynetics Technical Solutions to check out their manufacturing facility while touting the relationship between education and industry to create new opportunities.
- Dynetics CEO David King touted how Dynetics already employs over 2,000 people and signed Trump administration’s “Pledge to America’s Workers,” and said the company plans on hiring “700 new employees,” many of which will be in Alabama.
6. Supreme Court rulings please and anger everyone
- Issues of gerrymandering are used by both parties to maintain power in state legislatures and in Congress. Courts have been increasingly stepping in to redraw the lines and the Supreme Court has said that is not the job of the courts.
- The Supreme Court blocked the citizenship question on the 2020 census, for now, handing high-immigrant states like California a victory and leading President Trump to ask lawyers to delay the census “no matter how long” in hopes of eventually getting the citizenship question on the census.
5. Shelby is on a winning streak
- The U.S. Senate has passed the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which will provide $750 billion for national defense, as well as a 3.1% raise for troops. U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Tuscaloosa) has praised the passing of the NDAA, saying that it “is an essential step in providing our military with the means and resources to protect our nation efficiently and effectively.”
- There are several provisions within the NDAA that benefit Alabama, such as new opportunities for shipbuilding along the Gulf Coast, the authorization of three new military construction projects in the state and support for missile defense efforts in Huntsville and Troy.
4. Some say she is a victim, some say she is a criminal
- In the case of Marshae Jones, a new petition has gained 1,466 signatures asking for the charges of manslaughter against Jones be dropped after gaining a lot of attention over the last 24 hours. The case is even being used to reinforce the narrative that Alabama cares more about the life of a fetus than the life of a woman.
- In December 2018, Jones was five months pregnant and started a fight with Ebony Jemison, and after Jones initiated the fight, Jemison shot Jones and Jones’ baby died; charges of manslaughter against Jemison were dismissed, and Jones was arrested and charged for child endangerment. Bessemer District Attorney Lynneice O. Washington’s office said in a statement they are still deciding whether to prosecute Jones on manslaughter charges or a lesser charge “or not to prosecute it.”
3. Another Dem Debate
- The winners of last night’s debate were Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA), who dominated the stage and took on former Vice President Joe Biden’s past on bussing and segregation, and illegal immigrants, who learned that not only will they be welcomed at the border, but that they will also receive free healthcare when they get here. President Donald Trump also gets a win here as his potential opponents run further and further to the left with the help of MSNBC.
- The big loser in this debate was Biden, who took a pounding from Harris in the most viral moment of the night. He raised his hand when asked about free healthcare for illegal immigrants, and generally seemed confused at multiple times, including yielding his own time while defending his record on race and saying he would defeat Donald Trump on his first day in the Oval Office.
2. You paid a lot for the “Love Gov”
- In total, the cost of settling the lawsuit involving former Alabama Law Enforcement Agency leader Spencer Collier case was $1.02 million, with $525,000 being the cost of the settlement and the $498,456 the state paid in legal costs.
- Governor Kay Ivey commented on the issue, saying that the funds came from the General Liability Trust Fund, which is meant to cover the “damages arising out of the negligent or wrongful acts or omissions committed by the state employees or agents of the state.” In this instance, that means former Governor Robert Bentley.
1. McConnell crushes Pelosi as Democrats fold on border crisis
- After spending months pretending there was no crisis at the border and ignoring 17 requests for additional funding, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) collapsed, bucked the more progressive members of her caucus and passed a $4.59 billion humanitarian aid bill.
- As the Democrats on the debate stage and in the media continue to drag the Democrat Party to the left, Pelosi was under pressure to pass the bill by more moderate members of her caucus who weren’t willing to kill the Senate bill that passed 84-8 in the Senate to please Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY).
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