The 7 Things You Should Be Talking About Today
1. Alabama is still cold and many government operations will be shutdown
— School districts across Alabama are either delayed or cancelled today.
— A winter advisory warning is in place for the entire state, with the exception of the coastal areas.
— Thursday will offer some relief but the cold will still be an issue.
2. President Trump found to be in “excellent” physical and mental health
— In news that will not make liberals happy, Navy Rear Adm. Dr. Ronny Jackson briefed the press on the president’s recent physical and gave him a clean bill of health.
— A bewildered press corps peppered the doctor with questions for almost an hour and seemed to be unable to grasp that the president is, in fact, healthy.
— Trump scored 30 out of 30 on a mental fitness test that he requested.
3. Steve Bannon could be in big trouble
— Bannon was giving testimony in a contentious House committee meeting that lasted more than 10 hours.
— While in the committee hearing he was hit with two subpoenas, one from the special counsel and one from the committee he was speaking to.
— The White House directed Bannon not to answer certain questions, but some sources report he is going to cooperate.
4. Gov. Kay Ivey should not be considering Luther Strange for Alabama Supreme Court
— Reports have circulated that Ivey is considering appointing former Sen. Luther Strange to the Alabama Supreme Court seat recently vacated by Glenn Murdock.
— Other potential candidates for the seat include a series of relative unknowns that include a Mobile judge and an attorney with the Attorney General’s office.
— Ivey’s choice of a politically toxic Strange could complicate her run for her election to her first full-term as governor.
5. Alabama could be the next state to collect racial data on police stops
— The Alabama Senate moved forward with a bill requiring local law enforcement to submit information about traffic stops to the Attorney General’s office.
— The information could be used by the AG’s office to demand training and possibly withhold funds.
— The bill also requires written policies that prohibit the stopping of motorists solely based on race, color, ethnicity, age, gender, or sexual orientation.
6. Alabama legislators still can’t leave marriage alone
— Legislators have been trying to get Alabama out of the marriage business since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that gay marriage was legal across the country.
— Sen. Greg Albritton’s bill would require judges to accept affidavits from couples as an official record of marriage.
— Current Alabama law allows probate judges to opt out of issuing marriage licences, some judges have done this as a protest of gay marriage.
7. Republicans lose another seat, setting a stage for 2018
— Democrat Patty Schachtner took a seat that Republicans have held for 17 years in Wisconsin.
— Trump won this district by 17 points less than 2 years ago and it now joins New Jersey, Virginia, Georgia, Kansas, and Alabama as states where Republicans have under-performed.
— The obvious trend is showing that Democrats are doing good heading in to 2018.
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