7 Things: Trump endorses Tuberville, events start to get shut down over the coronavirus, Joe Biden closes in on the Democratic nomination and more …

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March 11, 2020

7. Alabama prisons are planning for coronavirus

The Alabama Department of Corrections said that its officials are working with Governor Kay Ivey’s coronavirus task force to prepare by following guidelines from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Alabama Department of Public Health.
ADOC spokeswoman Samantha Rose said they’re “taking proactive steps to protect the health and well-being of inmates and staff, including the distribution of educational information on prevention and intervention as well as screening inmates for signs and symptoms of the disease, as recommended by the ADPH.”

6. Lottery bill proposed has 70+ co-sponsors

A bill that would amend Alabama’s Constitution to allow for a state lottery has a ton of support in the Alabama State House. It is co-sponsored by House Speaker Mac McCutcheon (R-Monrovia), Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville), Minority Leader Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville) and over 70 other members of the House, which makes its passage in that body almost inevitable.
The big question about dog tracks and Indian gaming remains because the bill specifies the types of gambling that the bill does not allow, which is “any form of video lottery or the use of video lottery terminal or any mobile, Internet-based, monitor-based interactive game, or any simulated casino-style game, including slot machines, video poker, roulette, blackjack, or any variant of prohibited games”

5. Monument Preservation Act debate gets heated

As Alabama’s House of Representatives debated an updated bill that would stop local municipalities from tearing down any monuments, although Confederate monuments are the focus, a legislator decided to bring a rope to the floor to tie, as he put it, the bill to the falsely accused black men.
State Senator Rodger Smitherman (D-Birmingham) was objecting to the updated bill that would change the penalty for violating the law from a $25,000 fine to a $5,000 per day fee that the locality must pay.

4. Trump’s incentives helping despite coronavirus concerns

After the stock market took a hit due to concerns about the coronavirus outbreak, President Donald Trump backed “very substantial relief” for the significant areas of the economy that took a hit. The incentives caused the market to make a comeback.
Trump said, “We are going to take care of, and have been taking care of, the American public and the American economy.” However, the particulars are far from certain.

3. Biden the presumptive Democrat nominee

Former Vice President Joe Biden was the big winner on Tuesday with delegate-rich wins in Michigan and Mississippi. He now holds a seemingly insurmountable lead of at least 150 delegates over U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
With Biden as the presumptive frontrunner, the media and their Democrats will now rally around him by calling for Sanders to drop out and end this campaign to protect Biden from himself and not force him to debate on Sunday.

2. Events being canceled across the country, including Alabama

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin has decided to suspend “non-essential travel” for city employees due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak, Hunstville saw the 2020 Global Force Symposium & Exposition by the Association of the United States Army canceled, and there are rumblings of official travel from Redstone Arsenal being canceled with reports of teleworking being implemented as well.
College campuses, music festivals, sporting events are being canceled or postponed, with more to come. Washington State has issued an order banning large gatherings just like they have in California, and the state of New York now has a containment area set up.

1. Trump endorses Tuberville

At 8:54 p.m. Tuesday night, President Donald Trump tossed his full-throated support behind former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville’s campaign in the form of a tweet, saying, “Tommy Tuberville (@TTuberville) is running for the U.S. Senate from the Great State of Alabama. Tommy was a terrific head football coach at Auburn University. He is a REAL LEADER who will never let MAGA/KAG, or our Country, down! Tommy will protect your Second Amendment….”
Both campaigns are releasing polls showing the race in the best possible light for their candidate. Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Session’s Senate campaign polling shows a 45-45 tie while Tuberville’s camp’s latest numbers show Tuberville with a 52-40 lead.