1. Trump: gun measures likely.

• In the wake of two mass shootings that claimed 29 lives in Texas and Ohio, President Donald Trump is signaling that he may pursue legislation requiring stricter background checks to purchase firearms. Trump will address the nation later today.
• After other mass shootings Trump has called for strengthening the federal background check system, and in 2018 signed legislation to increase federal agency data-sharing into the system.
• Also, the Justice Department moved to prohibit the sale of “bump stocks” after a 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas. But he and other Republicans have mostly resisted Democratic calls to toughen other gun control laws.

• Meanwhile, it is becoming clear that many more people likely would have been killed in both Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas, were it not for the swift action of police to neutralize the killers.
• The Dayton gunman was armed with a .223-caliber rifle with magazines capable of holding at least 100 rounds of ammunition when he fired off dozens of shots in a popular entertainment district.
• “Hundreds of people would be dead” had police not shot the assailant within 30 seconds, the mayor said.

• Alabama was home to multiple shootings over the weekend.
• A Tuscaloosa woman is charged with murder after shooting a co-worker at an automotive plant.
• There were four incidents involving gun violence in Montgomery….
• A man was shot and injured off E.D. Nixon Drive Friday afternoon.
• A man was shot and killed off the Mobile Highway on Saturday.
• Three people were shot and injured near Maxwell Air Force Base on Saturday.
• And dozens of shots rang out Saturday night in Old Cloverdale as two vehicles exchanged gunfire back and forth.

 

2. State data shows more violent offenders receive parole.

• In recent years, more violent offenders than non-violent offenders were paroled from state prisons by the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles.
• State data shows that 1,635 and 1,891 violent offenders were released in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
• As the state grapples with dangerous and crowded prisons, leaders are trying to find a balance between increasing parole numbers and ensuring public safety.
• Part of the reason why is that more of the state’s inmate population is considered “violent offenders,” so it stands to reason a higher percentage would be up for parole.
• This new data, obtained by an open records request by Alabama Daily News, comes amid changes in both the law and leadership governing the Board of Pardons and Paroles.
• It also has advocacy groups questioning the state’s sentencing statutes and practices.
• ADN’s Caroline Beck worked through the data and spoke with many of those involved in the reform efforts for her feature story, which is worth your time this morning.

 

A message from The Boeing Company.

 

• The Space & Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville brings together experts from government, industry and academia to share ideas and solutions for today’s toughest challenges in national defense and in space.
• This year’s symposium will offer discussions on defense capabilities across multiple domains, including land, sea and air, with an emphasis on space and cyber.
• Nearly 200 exhibitors — from large defense and aerospace companies to small and innovative start-up businesses — will showcase their latest technologies and products, setting the perfect environment for networking and learning. Titanium sponsor Boeing will feature models of legacy Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles, a Ground-based Midcourse Defense interceptor and the Compact Laser Weapon System.
• The Space & Missile Defense Symposium starts Tuesday, Aug. 6, at 9 a.m., and ends at noon Thursday, Aug. 8. For more information, visit www.smdsymposium.org.

 

 

3. Guy Martin: When the Cahaba runs upstream…

 

• You may remember Guy Martin’s contributed columns about things overlooked and misunderstood (to borrow a phrase) about Jefferson County’s environmental cases.
• He’s back this week with the first of a two-part piece on the historic efforts to protect the Cahaba River, the costs and benefits associated with them, and how all that impacts the local response to the Environmental Protection Agency in the coming months.
• Martin gets “in the weeds” on a lot of the data and measurements, but that’s probably important on a topic like this.
• Here’s an excerpt:

• Read Guy Martin’s full column HERE.

 

4. Matthew Stokes: GOP will miss Roby and Hurd.

 

• Matthew Stokes saw some bright spots for Alabama in last month’s Meuller hearings in Congress.
• By his observation, Alabama’s two Congresswomen – Martha Roby and Terri Sewell – stood out as fair and serious as opposed to some of their conspiracy-prone colleagues on both sides.
• But it was Roby’s announcement, not two days later, that she’s not running for reelection which makes her performance stand out in hindsight.
• Congress and the GOP are losing a statesman in Roby, and she’s not the only one, Stokes writes.
• Here’s an excerpt:

• Read Matthew Stokes’ full column HERE.

 

5. AP News Briefs.

• More than 150 previously unlicensed daycares in Alabama have gotten licensed by the state in order to continue receiving childcare subsidies.
• A 2018 state law required centers to get licensed by Aug. 1 to continue receiving the payments that help low and moderate-income families pay for childcare.
• Alabama’s Department of Human Resources said there had been 206 unlicensed daycare centers receiving the state subsidies. Of the 206 centers, 170 obtained a state license as required by the new law.
• Alabama exempts faith-based daycares from the requirement to get a state license. The facilities are not necessarily affiliated with a standing church, but can get the exemption by claiming a religious affiliation.
• The number of exempt daycares once hovered at about 1,000 but has dropped to 587.

• Opiods, meth and other drugs are ravaging Walker County in northern Alabama, authorities say.
• At least 254 people died from drug overdoses in Walker County between 2008 and 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• This equates to about 38 deaths per 100,000 residents each year — the highest rate of any Alabama county, for which CDC data is publicly available, Al.com reported.
• For years, drugs have plagued the county, where the economy was hard-hit when coal-mining jobs disappeared.
• In the small Walker County town of Sumiton, “I don’t know that you can find a family that’s not affected,” Sumiton Mayor Petey Ellis said.
• “If it’s not your son or daughter, it’s your nephew or niece or your grandchild,” he said.
• Read more HERE.

 

Headlines.

 

 

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