1. COVID-19 update

• There were 3,533 new COVID-19 cases confirmed Saturday and Sunday, bringing the total since March to 88,811, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health.
• The website BamaTracker, an independent site that analyzes ADPH data, noted that of 2,031 cases added Sunday, 532 were in Mobile County, the most added in a single day to Mobile County since tracking began.
• Jefferson County, the state’s most populated county, continues to report the most cases, followed by Mobile, Montgomery and Madison counties.
• BamaTracker reports the seven-day average of new cases was at 1,637 Sunday, down from a high of 1,851 July 19.
• Forty-five COVID-19-related deaths were reported over the weekend, bringing that total to 1,576.
• On Sunday, 1,529 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms. That number hit a high of 1,642 on Thursday, though the number of hospitals reporting each day varies slightly, according to ADHP.
• Sen. Randy Price, R-Opelika, said on social media on Saturday that he was now off the ventilator and responding well to his medication.
• Read the full update HERE.

2. State enters agreement to recruit South Korean STEM educators

• Alabama education and South Korean officials have signed a memorandum of understanding for a pilot program to bring much-needed science, technology, engineering and mathematics teachers here.
• The partnership includes the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, the Alabama State Department of Education, the Alabama-Korea Education and Economic Partnership and the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea.
• The program allows for a foreign teaching certificate conversion procedure. Selected South Korean teacher education graduates will participate in a two-year master’s program, the first year taught in their home country, the second at an Alabama university. They’ll then be able to work in Alabama schools.
• “We are excited to expand joint efforts between K-12 and higher education in Alabama to address our teacher shortage,” ACHE Executive Director Jim Purcell said in a written statement. “Through this program we will now be in a position to find qualified teachers to recruit in these high-demand areas.”
• The first group of selected students will begin the program in South Korea this fall.
• Read more from ADN’s Mary Sell HERE.

3. RNC: Decision on private Trump renomination vote not final

• The vote to renominate President Donald Trump is set to be conducted in private later this month, without members of the press present, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Convention said on Saturday, citing the coronavirus.
• However, a Republican National Committee official contradicted that assessment Sunday, emphasizing that no final decisions have been made and that logistics and press coverage options were still being evaluated, the official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
• While Trump called off the public components of the convention in Florida last month, citing spiking cases of the virus across the country, 336 delegates are scheduled to gather in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Aug. 24 to formally vote to make Trump the GOP standard-bearer once more.
• Nominating conventions are traditionally meant to be media bonanzas, as political parties seek to leverage the attention the events draw to spread their message to as many voters as possible. If the GOP decision stands, it will be the first party nominating convention in modern history to be closed to reporters.
• Read more about the renomination HERE.

4. Survey launches on workplace behavioral health

• The Alabama Workforce Council is asking employers to participate in a survey in order to research and eventually improve the health and wellbeing of Alabamians in the workplace.
• AlabamaWorks! and the Alabama Workforce Council have partnered with the Alabama Department of Mental Health, the University of Alabama and the Vital Initiative to create the 15-minute survey.
• “Our state’s labor force is the cornerstone of workforce development efforts, and this survey will help promote a healthier workplace and workforce that will continue to drive our 21st-century economy”, said AWC Chairman Tim McCartney.
• Employers of all sizes and from each industry sector are encouraged to respond to the survey.
• The results of the survey will be used to inform public policy decisions on workplace health promotion and help employers build effective, science-based workplace health programs for their employees, the press release said.
• Read more about the survey from me HERE.

5. Joe Biden nears final decision on running mate

• As Joe Biden nears the announcement of his vice presidential choice, the top contenders and their advocates are making final appeals.
• The campaign hasn’t finalized a date for naming a running mate, but three people who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the plans said a public announcement likely wouldn’t happen before the week of Aug. 10. That’s one week before Democrats will hold their convention to officially nominate Biden as their presidential nominee.
• Biden said in May that he hoped to name his pick around Aug. 1 and told reporters this week that he would “have a choice in the first week of August.” He notably stopped short of saying when he would announce that choice.
• Running mates are often announced on the eve of a convention. As Biden prepares to make his choice, a committee established to vet running mates has provided him with briefing materials. Biden will likely soon begin one-on-one conversations with those under consideration, which could be the most consequential part of the process for a presidential candidate who values personal connections.
• The leading contenders include California Sen. Kamala Harris, California Rep. Karen Bass and Obama national security adviser Susan Rice. The deliberations remain fluid, however, and the campaign has reviewed nearly a dozen possible running mates.
• Read more about the VP decision HERE.

News Briefs

• On Friday afternoon ADN reported that state Rep. Will Dismukes said he filed an annual statement of economic interests but The Alabama Ethics Commission said they did not have his 2019 document.
• We’ve now updated the story saying Dismukes filed the statement Friday night, according to the Alabama Ethics Commission’s website.
• Members of the legislature, as well as most other elected officials and public employees at state and local levels, are required to submit the reports each year. They were due April 30.
• Read the full story HERE.

• BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A south Alabama doctor has become the 30th person charged in what federal authorities describe as a fraud scheme involving a north Alabama pharmacy.
• Dr. Michelle Martine Jackson of Fairhope was indicted on charges including conspiracy to receive kickbacks and fraud, according to a news release on Friday.
• Jackson worked out of two clinics in Mobile, the statement said, and the charges are related to Global Compounding Pharmacy, which was based in Haleyville. Jackson allegedly got kickbacks in exchange for writing unnecessary prescriptions.
• Court records didn’t list a defense lawyer for Jackson, who is due in court for a hearing on Aug. 13.
• Two dozen of those charged in the case have pleaded guilty including the pharmacy’s chief executive and its chief operating officer.

• ORANGE BEACH, Ala. (AP) — A 15-year-old boy swimming with his father in the Gulf of Mexico off Alabama may have been bitten by a shark, authorities said.
• It happened about 1:20 p.m. Friday in waters near condominiums at Orange Beach, Orange Beach Assistant Police Chief Robert Howard said. Police said the teenager was near a sand bar when the incident occurred.
• Police told news outlets the teenager’s injuries consist of a “mild abrasion and a few small puncture wounds.” The father told investigators he saw a large number of small fish swimming around them and, as they were leaving the area, his son felt pain, Howard told news outlets. Neither the father nor the victim saw a shark or any large fish when that happened, police said.
• The victim’s family took him to a nearby hospital for treatment.
• Orange Beach Safety Chief Brett Lesinger tells WEAR-TV that it appeared to be a shark bite. Though rare, Lesinger said that would be the third time someone has been bit by a shark at Orange Beach in the past 10 years.

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