7. April Weaver looking to replace Cam Ward
- State Senator Cam Ward (R-Alabaster) will be vacating his seat in the legislature to start as director of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles, and former State Representative April Weaver (R-Brierfield) has announced that she intends to run for that seat.
- In her announcement, Weaver said that she is “prepared to work hard and earn the votes of the hard-working citizens of Shelby, Bibb and Chilton Counties.”
6. Rudy Giuliani has the coronavirus
- President Donald Trump has announced that personal attorney Rudy Giuliani has been diagnosed with the coronavirus, and one of the most recent public events Giuliani attended was a hearing on Thursday at the Georgia Capitol.
- Previously, Giuliani’s son Andrew tested positive for the virus, and Trump confirmed the news about Rudy, saying, “Get better soon Rudy, we will carry on!!!”
5. Alabama amusement park getting crushed by the pandemic
- Point Mallard Waterpark in Decatur remained closed throughout 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, and now they’re projecting their losses for the year at more than $1.4 million. While this is just a projection, it’s more likely for them to increase than decrease.
- Although the losses are already high, Parks and Recreation Director Jason Lake anticipated that it would be worse. He said their “staff did a good job of cutting out unnecessary expenses.”
4. Trump campaigns for Georgia Republicans
- As the fate of the U.S. Senate, and Trump’s aggressive legacy, hangs in the balance, President Donald Trump ventured to Georgia to get out the Republican vote in a pair of runoffs he feels are crucial to the future of the nation.
- With Georgia going for who the media call President-elect Joe Biden, Trump urged Republicans to show up in spite of some who are suggesting sitting out. He said, “Friends of mine say, ‘Let’s not vote. We are not going to vote because we are angry about the presidential election,'” adding, “It’s almost like a protest. But if you do that, the radical left wins.”
3. Get paid to take the vaccine
- As researchers at the University of Alabama in Huntsville are working on natural treatments for the coronavirus, U.S. Representative John Delaney (D-Maryland) is proposing that people get paid $1,500 to take the coronavirus vaccine as an “incentive.” He added that the “faster we end COVID and the sooner everything returns to normal.”
- This wouldn’t require anyone to take the vaccine, which Alabama legislators are worried about. It would just offer more reason for people to actually get the vaccine as many are still reluctant at the thought. This plan would cost around $380 billion.
2. Almost no one is using the coronavirus exposure app
- Only 19 states have the coronavirus exposure app, designed by Apple and Google, widely available to their populations, and Alabama is one of them. Despite the app being available to help with contact tracing, not very many people are actually using the app.
- Only one in 14 people out of all the people in 16 states, Guam and the District of Columbia are actually using the app. In Alabama, only about 1-3% of people in the state have started using the app.
1. Some good news for Trump’s challenges
- The Supreme Court moved up the deadline for the state of Pennslyvania to respond to an argument by U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) who is arguing that Pennsylvania’s acceptance of lax vote-by-mail rules made the system unconstitutional. Kelly wants the court to rule that every mail-in ballot cast in the state be tossed.
- In Michigan, Judge Kevin Elsenheimer has allowed the forensic investigation of 22 Dominion voting machines in Antrim County, and the results from the investigation are expected to be available within the next couple of days.
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