7. Fauci is resigning
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One of the highest-paid officials in the federal government, Dr. Anthony Fauci, will be resigning as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NAID), chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, and chief of NAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation.
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In announcing his resignation, which will become effective in December, Fauci stressed that he’s not retiring and said he will “continue to put my full effort, passion and commitment into my current responsibilities, as well as help prepare the institute for a leadership transition.”
6. Ford has laid off 6% of its workforce, more coming in other industry
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About 6% of Ford Motor Co.’s workforce has been laid off. This means that there were about 3,000 people cut from the workforce, with 2,000 of those being full-time salaried workers, and 1,000 being contract workers.
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In an email announcing the cuts, the company stated, “Building on this future requires changing and reshaping virtually all aspects of the way we have operated for more than a century. It means redeploying resources and addressing our cost structure, which is uncompetitive versus traditional and new companies … We are eliminating work, as well as reorganizing and simplifying functions throughout the business.”
5. Former Troy football player alleges sexual misconduct
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Former Troy University football player John Haynes has alleged that during his time at the school, he experienced varying levels of abuse, including sexual abuse and harassment. Haynes played for Troy during the 2020 season and has named three coaches in the federal lawsuit who he contends did nothing to stop the abuse but were aware of the situation.
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Haynes withdrew from Troy in 2020 and said that his suitemate and now Troy punter Jack Dawson subjected Haynes to verbal harassment, which included “sexual statements and homophobic slurs,” and “molestation and violence.”
4. Nearly a quarter of Alabama students altered college plans due to COVID-19
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A new report has detailed the way that students’ decisions with college changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Alabama, showing that 24% decided to completely cancel their college plans they had before the pandemic.
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In Alabama, there were also 14% of students that changed schools, 26% decided to get their education by different methods, and 13% are taking a lighter class load. Across the country, 36% of students have chosen to take online classes and other formats as opposed to traditional learning.
3. Tax rebates will be discussed in Alabama Legislature
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State Rep. Danny Garrett (R-Trussville) recently said on Alabama Public Television’s “Capitol Journal” that there will be tax rebates discussed in the next legislative session, an idea already floated by State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur).
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Garrett said, “[W]e have a lot of cash. We’ve not spent in the last couple of years what we could’ve spent according to the budget formulas we have. I think we absolutely will discuss tax rebates. We’re actually looking at the tax structure. We’ll be looking at really from the long-term structure that makes sense, so I think it’s something we’ll discuss.”
2. Election day in some Alabama cities
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In Auburn, Bessemer, Gadsden, Huntsville, Mountain Brook and Scottsboro, citizens go to the polls to decide how their local governments will operate over the next few years. These elections are usually low-turnout hum-drum affairs.
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National politics seem to be creeping their way into some of the local elections with elections in Mountain Brook and Huntsville dealing with transgender issues, CRT and other topics. In both cities, the local Republican parties have gotten involved with mailers or e-mails supporting candidates, with liberal groups offering endorsements as well.
1. Trump wants an independent investigation of Mar-a-Lago raid
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In a new legal motion, former President Donald Trump and his attorneys are requesting that there be an independent investigation conducted concerning the FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago, with the motion saying it was “unprecedented” and “unnecessary.” Speaking of unnecessary, Trump is now feuding with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) over U.S. Senate candidates and attacking his wife as “crazy.”
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Trump said of the raid, “They took documents covered by attorney-client privilege, which is not allowed. They took my passports. They even brought a ‘safe cracker’ and successfully broke into a personal safe, which revealed…nothing!” Trump went on to say, “ALL documents have been previously declassified. We are demanding the appointment of a SPECIAL MASTER to oversee the handling of the materials taken in the raid. We are further demanding that the DOJ be forced to turn over a REAL, without ‘plants,’ inventory of my property that has taken and disclose where that property is now located.”
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