7. A substitute teacher has explained how his gun fired in an Alabama classroom
— The 74-year-old substitute said he was sorry for what happened and hoped that the kids involved forget about the incident that injured a young girl. Henry Rex Weaver had a .380 and a knife in his pocket when he arrived at school. He said when he bent over, the knife wedged in the trigger and fired a round to the floor. Weaver was arrested for reckless endangerment, third-degree aggravated assault and possession of a firearm on school grounds. when AL.com asked him if he will be back in a classroom, he stated, “Oh, I could never substitute again.”
6. The 16-year-old illegal Guatemalan immigrant charged with traffic homicide in Mobile pleads “not guilty”
— Francisco Marcos Domingo Diego drove into oncoming traffic and killed 49-year-old Sonya Jones and then fled the scene. Diego is an illegal immigrant who claimed political asylum and then never appeared for his court date, and now he’s pleading not guilty to homicide by vehicle and leaving the scene of an accident where a death or injury occurred. Diego’s attorney, Michael Kaoui, spoke on his behalf, saying, “He was in a horrible wreck. This was not a purposeful act.” Kaoui also argued that Diego has never been in trouble with the law, and that he came to America to escape gang violence in Guatemala.
5. Jussie Smollett’s legal team is trying to take full advantage of charges being dropped
— First, Smollett fakes a hate crime, and now they’re attempting to paint him as the victim once again in this whole ordeal. Despite the mountain of evidence against Jussie Smollett, he was allowed to walk away without facing a conviction. Now, Smollett’s legal team is demanding an apology from the mayor and police chief of Chicago. Smollett’s legal team released a statement that said, “It is the Mayor and the Police Chief who owe Jussie – owe him an apology – for dragging an innocent man’s character through the mud. Jussie has paid enough.” And in a TV appearance, one of his lawyers argued the attackers may have worn whiteface like the Joker. The statement from Smollett’s legal team comes after Mayor Rahm Emanuel said at a press conference that Smollett should “pay the city back” $130,000 and write, “I’m accountable for the hoax.”
4. The debate over the funding of the Special Olympics is one of those debates that makes you hate politics
— Instantly demonizing your enemies is all the rage in Washington, D.C. and Montgomery. Policy differences are one thing, pretending your opponent has issues with disabled people is something that will get heads nodding on a cable news set. A Washington Post reporter dropped this word salad to a panel of cowards who let it slide: “I know we can’t always say this budget won’t get enacted & people on the Hill won’t allow this to go through. But a budget is a reflection of your values and it’s clear that the Trump administration is skeptical of people with disabilities.” And Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) said, “I still can’t understand why you would go after disabled children in your budget.” These are also the same people calling for post-birth abortions. At issue is a now reversed plan to cut $17.6 million from Special Olympics funding while Special Olympics had revenue of $148 million in 2017.
3. While President Trump says he may close the border, Congressman Mike Rogers (R-Saks) says we need to act now to deal with the crushing flow of migrants arriving at our southwest border
— This week, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) have experienced record-breaking numbers of apprehensions and encounters at the southern border. CBP tweeted about the issue, saying, “On Monday and Tuesday, [CBP] started the day with over 12,000 migrants in our custody. As of [Wednesday] morning, that number was 13,400. A high number for us is 4,000. A crisis level is 6,000. 13,000 is unprecedented.” Rogers called on Congress to stay in Washington, D.C. throughout the weekend to do its vital part in heeding CBP’s call to action. In a statement, Rogers advised, “Without Congressional action, the situation on the ground poses a serious threat to human life and national security. I call on my colleagues to work over the weekend to address the true emergency at our border. We need to act now, before it’s too late.”
2. The Alabama Pro-Life Coalition is pushing for a complete ban on abortion
— According to an attorney and member of the Alabama Pro-Life Coalition, Eric Johnston, one or more legislators will introduce the bill next week that bans abortion completely, without any exceptions of rape or incest. The bill that Johnston helped draft would make it a crime to perform or aid in a person getting an abortion. Johnston said that Alabama Pro-Life Coalition has never introduced a bill in Alabama that would outlaw abortion, but in November when Amendment 2 was approved, they felt that for the first time in 46 years there’s a reasonable belief that Roe v. Wade could be reversed. The Alabama ACLU wants this fight.
1. Trump is unchained as he starts his victory tour; A new poll shows a majority of Americans think he is cleared
— President Trump took to a stage in Michigan and held a rally less than a week after a summary of the coming Mueller report concluded, “[T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.” It appears there is contradicting evidence of whether the Americans are buying the summary, a CNN poll released Wednesday showed a majority believe Trump sill colluded and now a Harvard CAPS/Harris poll shows the opposite. The latest poll shows 64 percent of those polled accept the conclusion, 61 percent said they agree with the findings and 68 percent think Democratic lawmakers need to accept the special counsel’s conclusion.
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.