7. The Democrat Party’s favorability has dropped to a record low to 29% in a CNN poll and 27% in a new NBC News poll. This could be driven by the GOP gaining among traditional Democratic voters and represents a 20-point drop since January 2021. BUT, a majority of Democrats in both the CNN poll and NBC poll want party leaders to continue focusing on stopping Trump after setbacks in recent elections and frustration over Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s support for a GOP spending bill helping avert a government shutdown; that obsession seems odd.
6. President Donald Trump ordered “decisive and powerful” airstrikes to show his desire to protect American assets and access to commerce by attacking Houthis in Yemen after years of harassment by the terrorists on commercial shipping. The strikes reportedly killed at least 31 people, according to Yemen’s Houthi-run Health Ministry. In response, the rebels released a video depicting American flag-draped coffins near wrecked warships, to which Hussain Abdul-Hussain, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said, “These terrorists really cannot tell the difference between delusions and reality,”
5. President Donald Trump says that he expects federal Pharmacy Benefits Managers reform by year’s end, saying that he will “knock out the middleman.” The U.S. House and Senate are pushing bipartisan bills to reshape PBM practices, reviving past efforts. The Alabama Legislature is working on this as well as addressing pharmacy reimbursements which might clash with federal moves as debate nears in the state Senate.
4. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized a federal judge’s attempt to block Trump administration’s deportation flights to El Salvador, claiming the order had “no lawful basis” since 261 illegal aliens, including 137 under the Alien Enemies Act, were already removed. She emphasized that the administration didn’t defy the court, as planes had left U.S. airspace before the ruling, and Supreme Court precedent limits judicial oversight of the President’s foreign affairs authority. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, accepting the deportees, taunted the judge’s timing with “Oopsie… too late,” while footage showed armed guards processing the alleged gang members, accused of serious crimes like kidnapping and assault.
3. The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is under federal scrutiny for allegedly using race-based scholarships and segregation, spotlighted by its ties to “The PhD Project,” accused of race-exclusionary practices. This investigation, targeting 45 schools, aligns with President Trump’s push to end DEI, exemplified by his executive order and the removal of a UA race-conscious scholarship after a 2023 Supreme Court ruling.
2. A monster storm ravaged the South and beyond, killing 37 people, including 12 from Missouri tornadoes, 8 in a Kansas dust storm, and 3 in Alabama, where Gov. Kay Ivey confirmed deaths in Plantersville, Winterboro, and Dallas County. Alabama saw damage across 52 of 67 counties, with Ivey commending emergency teams and praying for those affected saying, “we have reports of damage in 52 of our 67 counties. Our damage assessment continues. The sun has risen in Alabama, though. We pray for those lives we lost, as well as those who were injured. And we pray for our first responders, emergency management officials and linemen who are doing incredible work on the ground right now.”
1. The town hall drama continues with the American media and their Democrats. Alabama GOP lawmakers, including Rep. Dale Strong, are dodging town halls as anger rises over Trump’s DOGE-driven federal job cuts, particularly in the Fifth Congressional District with its high number of government workers. Sean Phillips, organizing a March 22 event in Athens, wants Strong to face constituents, even leaving an empty chair if he skips it (which he will). House Speaker Mike Johnson’s advice to avoid such meetings, coupled with Strong’s silence, frustrates residents like Susan Griffin who highlight Huntsville’s reliance on federal funds.
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Dale Jackson is a thought leader for Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 5-9 a.m. weekdays on WVNN and from 10-11 a.m. on Talk 99.5 and News Radio 1440, with a rebroadcast on WVNN at 10 p.m.
