Presented by the
Alabama Trucking Association
Good morning!
Here’s your Daily News for Tuesday, April 27.
1. Marking ten years
- With lowered flags and somber ceremonies, Alabama will pause today to mark the 10th anniversary of a horrific tornado outbreak that killed more than 250 people statewide, caused billions in damage and reshaped entire communities.
- Gov. Kay Ivey issued an order for flags statewide to be lowered to half-staff and proclaimed a “Day of Remembrance” for a “horrible event that has impacted the state of Alabama forever.”
- In Tuscaloosa, where dozens were killed and entire neighborhoods were demolished, three new memorial plaques will be dedicated during ceremonies to honor victims and recall the horrors of April 27, 2011. The University of Alabama will toll its 25-bell carillon, Denny Chimes, 53 times to honor each of the people who died in the city.
- Tornadoes plowed across the Eastern U.S. over four days, killing more than 320 people in six states and causing an estimated $12 billion in damage. Thousands were injured in hardest-hit Alabama, and thousands of homes, businesses, churches and other structures were destroyed. Cleanup costs exceeded $100 million in Tuscaloosa alone.
- To help document the outbreak, the National Weather Service created an extensive online archive with details about the more than 60 twisters that hit Alabama.
- Read more about how people are remembering April 27 from Jay Reeves HERE.
2. Alabama will retain 7 congressional seats
- Alabama will maintain seven congressional seats under new census numbers released Monday instead of losing a seat as state officials had feared.
- The outcome is a relief to officials worried that Alabama’s population growth would not be enough to maintain its seats in the U.S. House. A drop to six seats would have decreased Alabama’s influence in Washington and kicked off a particularly difficult redistricting process.
- The census figures show that Alabama’s population grew by about 5% since 2010 to a little over 5 million residents in 2020. Alabama’s population growth trailed the U.S. as a whole, which grew 7.4%.
- The state has a resident population of 5,024,279, up from 4,779,736 in 2010. That is an increase of 5.1%. Alabama slipped from the 23rd most populous state, to the 24th.
- The Alabama population number used for reapportionment, which includes federal employees living overseas, is 5,030,053.
- “This data reveals what we’ve known all along – Alabama is a great state to call home, and many are choosing to do so. I am extremely pleased that we will keep all seven of our current seats in the U.S. House to provide valued and needed voices to advocate for our state and our people for the next 10 years,” Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement.
- Read more from Kim Chandler HERE.
A message from the
Alabama Trucking Association
3. U.S. growth slows: takeaways from the census
- The first batch of once-every-decade data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows a United States that is growing less quickly but still seeing its population shift to the South and the West.
- The data released Monday was relatively basic — containing national and state-level population figures and details of how they affect states’ representation in Congress. Still, it contained some surprises and pointed to some consequential trends.
- Read more about takeaways from the census HERE.
4. Aid approved for 8 Alabama counties from March storms
- President Joe Biden has approved federal disaster aid for eight Alabama counties where tornadoes and strong winds caused damage over two days in March, the White House said Monday.
- Biden approved assistance that can include grants for repair and temporary housing; loans for property losses; and other aid to individuals and businesses that were affected on March 25 and 26 in Bibb, Calhoun, Clay, Hale, Jefferson, Perry, Randolph, and Shelby counties.
- Gov. Kay Ivey said she had requested the assistance, which supplements state and local aid.
- Five people were killed when nearly a dozen tornadoes hit areas including Ohatchee, Helena and Hale County last month. Storms continued into Georgia, where the city of Newnan southwest of Atlanta had major damage.
- Story link.
5. Inside Alabama Politics
- Senate 2022 update
- Census: By the skin of our teeth
- When will the election be?
- More on Merrill
- Let’s talk about earmarks
- What’s next on prisons
- Legislative math: Medical Marijuana and gambling
- Ed Henry is back and he has a PAC
- New podcast
- RIP Bud Skinner
- Potpourri
A message from
AlabamaWorks!
- More than 800 training and education leaders from across the country met virtually this month for an Alabama-hosted conference on how to prepare America’s workforce for the future.
- The 2021 Alabama Interstate Talent Development Convening brought together experts from 41 states and Washington, D.C. to share talent development strategies.
- Watch and read more HERE.
Headlines
INSIDE ALABAMA POLITICS – April 27, 2021
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Alabama recalls 2011 tornado outbreak that killed hundreds
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Pain, loss linger a decade after tornadoes
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Census shows Alabama will maintain 7 congressional seats
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Aid approved for 8 Alabama counties from March storms
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – What’s behind the growth slump? Takeaways from census data
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – J&J COVID vaccinations resume
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Bill would remove barriers, costs for local school projects, but contractors aren’t on board
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Alabama tourism weathered pandemic better than most states
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Daily News Digest – April 26, 2021
AL.COM – Alabama to keep all 7 congressional districts, Census announces
AL.COM – Gov. Kay Ivey proclaims ‘Day of Remembrance’ to mark 10-year anniversary of tornado outbreak
AL.COM – Several more Alabama school districts drop mask rules
AL.COM – Blue Origin formally protests NASA’s pick of SpaceX for lunar lander
AL.COM – 1958 Alabama NAACP Supreme Court ruling may protect Koch-backed group
AL.COM – UAB named one of America’s best employers for diversity by Forbes
AL.COM – Alabama man convicted of brutal murder when he was 14 to learn Tuesday if he gets chance at parole
Montgomery Advertiser – Alabama will hold onto congressional seats after 2020 census; population tops 5 million
Montgomery Advertiser – Tuesday runoff will decide next Montgomery City Council member
Montgomery Advertiser – Child critically injured, woman hospitalized after early morning shooting
Decatur Daily – Eastbound lane of Eighth Street Southwest to be rerouted Tuesday near Aquadome
Times Daily – Transportation department opening bids Friday for U.S. Highway 72 resurfacing project
Times Daily – Rogers High School principal Jamie Burks dies from COVID-19
WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Health officials urge public to be ‘accountable to fellow citizens’ and get vaccinated against COVID-19
WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – ‘To know Ky was to love Ky’: Community celebrates 7-year-old boy fatally shot in mom’s car in Hickory
WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Police searching for suspect after fatal crash in Homewood
Tuscaloosa News – PHOTOS: Interstate Arches Painted Crimson
Tuscaloosa News – California, Ohio men die in two-vehicle crash Saturday night in Sumter County
Tuscaloosa News – Investigators say argument led to fatal shooting in Tuscaloosa
YellowHammer News – Alabama to retain all seven U.S. House seats following 2020 Census
YellowHammer News – Palmer: Biden administration needs to acknowledge border crisis, work with Congress to solve it
YellowHammer News – Katie Boyd Britt named to Alabama Wildlife Federation board of directors
Gadsden Times – Gadsden Museum of Art to host several news shows starting May 4
Gadsden Times – Chase ends in crash, arrest in connection with drugs found in vehicle
Gadsden Times – ‘Divine connection’: Smith, Benson honored as Big Brothers Big Sisters Male Match of Year
Dothan Eagle – Biden expanding summer food program for 34M schoolchildren
Dothan Eagle – First census data on House seats being released on Monday
Dothan Eagle – Analysis: A reckoning on racism? Not for many leaders of GOP
Opelika-Auburn News – Biden’s first 100 days: Where he stands on key promises
Opelika-Auburn News – Leaked recording of Iran’s top diplomat offers blunt talk
Opelika-Auburn News – ‘Nomadland’ wins best picture at a social distanced Oscars
WSFA Montgomery – Auburn University warns of ‘suspicious’ man offering females rides
WSFA Montgomery – Alabama won’t lose any seats in Congress after 2020 census
WSFA Montgomery – Montgomery woman crowned Mrs. Alabama United States 2021
WAFF Huntsville – Workforce development program training young adults to strengthen community
WAFF Huntsville – Alabama population 100,000 people greater than predicted in Census
WAFF Huntsville – Monday is Confederate Memorial Day, and people are divided
WKRG Mobile – FDA may consider ban on menthol cigarettes as response to citizen petition
WKRG Mobile – Citronelle Police: Woman arrested, accused of letting teens drink at house party
WKRG Mobile – CDC: More than 5M have skipped second dose of coronavirus vaccine
WTVY Dothan – Four tornadoes confirmed during Saturday severe weather event
WTVY Dothan – Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office arrests man for kidnapping
WTVY Dothan – Jackson County Sheriff’s Office deputy saves injured alligator
WASHINGTON POST – The refugee cap the Biden administration touted — then ditched — is back on the table
WASHINGTON POST – New census numbers shift political power south to Republican strongholds
WASHINGTON POST – Cash payments spread from Congress to Stockton to Brazil — but notion of ‘universal basic income’ far from reality
NEW YORK TIMES – Covid-19 Live Updates: Crisis in India Deepens as Countries Pledge Aid
NEW YORK TIMES – Biden Seeks $80 Billion to Beef Up I.R.S. Audits of High-Earners
NEW YORK TIMES – After Failures to Curb Sexual Assault, a Move Toward a Major Shift in Military Law
WALL STREET JOURNAL – Archegos Losses Top $10 Billion as UBS, Nomura Add to Damage
WALL STREET JOURNAL – Apple’s Privacy Changes Are Poised to Boost Its Ad Products
WALL STREET JOURNAL – HSBC’s Profit Jumps as Global Economy Recovers
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