7 Things: Severe weather an issue for large portions of Alabama, Port of Mobile secures federal dredging funds, first primary in the nation and more …

7. Sanctuary cities are coming under fire

U.S. Attorney General William Barr has announced new sanctions that would be imposed on sanctuary cities, since, as Barr described it, those governments obstruct the “lawful functioning of our nation’s immigration system.”
Barr also announced that the Department of Justice will be filing lawsuits against sanctuary cities, counties and states for unconstitutionally interfering with federal immigration enforcement. Some of those in the lawsuit are the State of New Jersey and King County, Washington.

6. Alabama hospital has been suing patients

Last year, Jackson Hospital sued about 1,300 patients for unpaid bills. A handful of the patients sued had bills of less than $200.
At least one woman, Tara Harriel, is claiming that she wasn’t notified of her outstanding balance until she was served a notice of the lawsuit.

5. Alabama a conservative state, the universities are not

A list released by Niche, which was conducted through student surveys, showed the most conservative universities across the country, and none of the campuses in Alabama made the top 10.
The first mention Alabama had on the list was Samford University in Birmingham, which came in at 16th. The second most conservative for Alabama was Troy University at 65th, Auburn University at 96th and the University of Alabama 138th.

4. Chris Pringle is building a wall around Pelosi’s office

In a new campaign ad, State Representative Chris Pringle (R-Mobile), who is running for the First Congressional District seat, says, “I know how to build walls, so in Washington, I’ll help President Trump build his.”
The wall he’s building is around a replica of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) office on Capitol Hill. Pringle also states, “I’ll build whatever wall it takes for America to stop illegal immigrants and stop these radical socialists.” He then adds under his breath, “Commies.”

3. Bernie surging, Biden slumping, Buttigieg climbing

Quinnipiac University has released a new poll that shows U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has surpassed former Vice President Joe Biden in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary just ahead of the New Hampshire primary.
In the poll, Sanders moved up to 25%, Biden dropped to 17%, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg surprisingly had 15%, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) had 14%, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg had 10% and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) came in at 4%.

2. Port of Mobile has received final funding for dredging, gas tax pays Alabama’s cut

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has budgeted $274,300,000 for Port of Mobile, which will provide the last amount of funding needed to dredge the port. U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) had a big hand in making this happen.
Shelby worked to increase funding for projects like this to 75% from 50%, and secured the funds in the Fiscal Year 2020 appropriations process while announcing the funding. The senator mentioned how this project has been a decade in the making and noted this is a “victory for Mobile and the entire state of Alabama.”

1. Severe weather all over Alabama

Heavy rainfall across Alabama has led to canceled or delayed schools, swollen rivers and concern for more problems moving into Tuesday evening with most parts of North and Central Alabama under a flood watch.
The flooding is expected to be so bad that the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office has placed four flat-bottom boats located near different flood zones and a trained swift water team at the ready, but they would rather you avoid rising water altogether to keep everyone safe.