7 Things: Tuberville turns down U.S. Senate debate, tourism in Alabama could suffer even with no coronavirus in the state, Brooks wants Congress to keep working and more …

7. Alabama city councilman arrested after wife’s death

• Robert Perry Warren, a Carbon Hill city councilman, has been arrested and charged with manslaughter after the death of his wife Lisa Warren. Robert Warren claimed that during an argument with his wife, he “lost his temper and pushed (his wife) backwards causing (her) to fall and strike her head.”
• He reported his wife missing on February 25, and it wasn’t until this past weekend that her body was found in a creek. Warren was arrested and his bond was set at $250,000. He has been deemed a “danger to the community and to himself.”

6. U.S. Highway 231 repair timeline to be announced this week

• ALDOT has scheduled a public meeting for Thursday to address the future plans for the damaged portion of U.S. Highway 231 in Arab to announce how long it’ll take until the road is repaired.
• Currently, there is excavation work that will have to continue for at least two months before the repairs even start. It’s estimated that the road being closed has impacted about 15,000 vehicles every day.

5. People are scared of the coronavirus

• With COVID-19 spreading across the country, a new Quinnipiac University poll shows that 54% of people are concerned about the virus, but 45% remain unconcerned. However, 58% of people are concerned that the outbreak will disrupt their daily lives.
• Of those who responded to the poll, Democrats were concerned about the virus while Republicans were not concerned about the virus. Two-thirds of respondents are confident in how the U.S. health care system and the government is responding to the virus.

4. Congress could go into recess over virus fears

• After U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and U.S. Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) have had to self-quarantine after coming into contact with a COVID-19 patient at CPAC, there is now talk that Congress could go into recess due to the virus.
• U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) said that “there appears to be some serious concerns in Washington to the point where we ought to shut down Congress, and that’s just the wrong message.” There is no official word yet on when or for how long a potential recess would be.

3. There’s still no coronavirus in Alabama

• There have been cases of COVID-19 reported in Tennessee, Georgia and Florida, but there are still no cases in Alabama, even though there have been 20 people tested so far, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health.
• Across the United States, about 729 people have tested positive for the coronavirus and 27 people have died across at least 35 states.

2. Alabama tourism could be impacted by the coronavirus

• Alabama Tourism Department Director Lee Sentell has responded to the U.S. State Department’s warning about traveling during the COVID-19 outbreak, saying that warning unfairly targeted a “specific segment of our travel industry.”
• The State Department warned about traveling by cruise ship due to an increased risk of the virus on cruises. Sentell said that people already understand the risk of traveling, stating, “They don’t need the State Department to make choices for them.” He added that it’s the responsibility of the government “to contain and wipe out this epidemic rather than to target a single mode of transportation.”

1. Tuberville turns down U.S. Senate debate; New polling shows he leads

• Former Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville doesn’t seem interested in debating former Attorney General Senator Jeff Sessions on Nextstar TV stations, with Sessions saying that Tuberville is “afraid” and adding that it raises questions about “standing up to Chuck Schumer.”
• A new poll by Cygnal shows Tuberville leading Sessions 51.5% to 39.5% with 9% undecided. Trump is playing a big role in this according to Brent Buchanan, Cygnal’s CEO & founder, who said, “Now that Trump has gotten involved, it’s unlikely the former attorney general will be able to overcome the gap in how voters see Tuberville’s as more strongly favorable. Trump may not be able to pull a candidate across the finish line, but he sure can keep a candidate from getting there first.”