1. Two remaining statewide races, lieutenant governor and attorney general, got ugly at the end and will remain that way for the next 6 six weeks
— The crowded AG field all but guaranteed a run-off and incumbent Steve Marshall will have to beat back Troy King’s gambling money.
— In lt. gov. race Twinkle Cavanaugh’s name ID was unable to push her over the top; both of these campaigns have money and the willingness to go ugly.
2. There will be no gubernatorial run-offs, this race is all but over
— Both races for governor are over. It will be incumbent Republican Governor Kay Ivey versus the mayor of Tuscaloosa, Democrat Walt Maddox.
— Math is hard, but it matters — Kay Ivey beat all the Democrats combined and doubled Maddox’s totals. She is no Roy Moore.
3. President Donald Trump sends the media off the deep end with the NFL … again
— We can pretend that this whole story is “Trump vs. the NFL”, but it’s not, Americans view this as “Trump/Americans/the military/the flag/the anthem/apple pie vs. The NFL”.
— Upstart XFL declares that they will require players to stand, and a journalist think this is a First Amendment violation (it is not).
4. Birmingham is shedding bodies and jobs; regional cooperation could end that
— Birmingham metro is growing at half the rate of surrounding areas, and almost half of its graduates leave.
— The Bold Goals Coalition of Central Alabama’s Workforce Action Network suggests “a partnership of public and private sector groups looking to address gaps in education, health and financial stability.”
5. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell cancels summer recess; campaigns worry about what it means
— McConnell blamed “historic obstruction” by Democrats and canceled the four-week-long recess planned for August 3rd.
— The Senate leader said he wants the Senate, “to pass legislation, including appropriations bills, and to make additional progress on the president’s nominees.”
6. Gambling starts in Delaware; Alabama still shows no signs of movement on this issue
— At 1:30 p.m Tuesday, the state became the first state to start to allow gambling and tax it after the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992.
— Delaware’s Gov. John Carney wagered $10 on the Phillies to beat the Cubs, a bet he won.
7. Voters think blacks are doing better under Trump than Obama (not bad for a ‘racist’)
— Everything from kneeling NFL to travel bans to immigration is considered to have a racial tinge for the president of the United States; it has been a never-ending narrative.
— 28 percent of black voters say young black Americans are better off now than they were in the closing year of Obama’s presidency, when 15 percent thought they were better off.
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