1. Impeachment push turns toward Senate

 

 

2. Inside Alabama Politics

• A Senate 2020 update
• State House shakeup?
• Battle for the Supreme Court
• Latest AL-2 analysis
• Another Higher Education funding fight?
• What about that teacher pay raise?
• Speaking of pay raises…
• Prison contracts in question?
• Marijuana Commission voting this week
• Agencies butt heads over training center
• Lurleen finally has a president
• Next legal advisor?
• Small town races

3. Woodfin endorses Biden  

 

4. Rep. Debbie Wood: Alabama’s Aerospace Companies Play a Pivotal Role in Our State’s Economic Growth

5. Joe Burrow wins Heisman by largest margin ever

• LSU quarterback Joe Burrow won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night in a record-breaking landslide, becoming the first LSU player to bring college football’s most prestigious award back to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 60 years.
• Burrow received 2,608 points and 841 first-place votes, a record 90.7% of all the first-place votes available.
• Burrow’s margin of victory of 1,846 points broke the record of 1,750 set by O.J. Simpson of Southern California in 1968.
• Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts was second with 762 points. Quarterback Justin Fields of Ohio State was third and defensive end Chase Young of Ohio State was fourth.
• Burrow transferred last year to LSU from Ohio State, where he was a sparingly used reserve. After finishing strong for the Tigers in 2018, he broke out this season, setting a Southeastern Conference record with 48 touchdown passes and leading top-ranked LSU (13-0) to its first College Football Playoff appearance.
• If you haven’t seen Burrow’s acceptance speech, do yourself a favor and watch it in the full story HERE.

 

News Briefs

Auburn’s Derrick Brown wins Lott IMPACT Trophy

• NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Derrick Brown of Auburn has won the Lott IMPACT Trophy given to the nation’s top defensive player who excels in both performance on the field and character off it.
• The senior defensive tackle received the award from Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott on Sunday night at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach. Brown was chosen over finalists Jordan Fuller of Ohio State, Evan Weaver of California and Isaiah Simmons of Clemson.
• Brown, a 6-foot-5, 320-pounder, had 50 tackles, including 12.5 for a loss and four sacks this season. Off the field, Brown made the SEC academic honor roll. He graduated from Auburn on Saturday. The Tigers will play Minnesota in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1.
• Brown is the first player from Auburn to win the IMPACT award, which stands for integrity, maturity, performance, academics, community and tenacity.
• Auburn will receive a $25,000 check for its general scholarship fund. The other finalists’ schools will receive checks for $5,000.
• Story link.

Updyke increases restitution payments

• OPELIKA, Ala. (AP) — The University of Alabama fan convicted of poisoning Auburn University’s landmark oak trees has increased his restitution payments since prosecutors threatened to have him jailed, court records show.
• One-time Texas state trooper Harvey Updyke has made $3,330 in court-ordered payments since an October hearing on whether he should be arrested, according to circuit court payment records.
• The amount is nearly half as much as Updyke had paid previously since 2013 after pleading guilty to poisoning the oaks at Toomer’s Corner.
• The increased payments came as Lee County Circuit Judge Jacob Walker considered whether to have Updkye jailed for failing to pay about $800,000 in restitution for killing the trees with herbicide.
• Updyke previously claimed in videos posted online that monthly expenses including rent were going up. But records show he made his largest payment of $1,266 on Nov. 6, and this month he made two payments of $399 each.
• Updyke lives in Louisiana and failed to show up for a hearing about the payments held in Opelika on Oct. 30. A letter from Updyke’s doctor said the 71-year-old man was too ill to attend, and court records show Updyke most recently used a hospice and palliative care facility for a return address.
• Updyke served more than 70 days in jail after admitting to poisoning trees at Toomer’s Corner, where Auburn fans traditionally rolled the trees with toilet paper after a win.
• Story link.

Kidnapping victim leads Alabama deputies to slain woman

• BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Authorities in Alabama responded to a kidnapping call to find an injured woman bound by zip ties who led deputies to a slain woman’s body, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said.
• The victim called the sheriff’s office on Friday and told deputies she was being held against her will at an apartment, but didn’t know where, news outlets reported. Deputies tracked her location to a Birmingham complex and discovered the caller bound and falling down a flight of stairs. She told them she had knowledge of a homicide and that may have been the reason she was kidnapped, Deputy Chief David Agee told news outlets.
• Her information led detectives to a wooded area about 4 miles (6 kilometers) away, where crews found a woman’s body in a secluded area, Agee said. The body was taken to the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office.
• Two suspects have been identified and a bulletin has been issued for a stolen rental car, Agee said.
• He added that detectives are still working to establish a motive, but it’s possible all those involved knew each other.

Authorities investigate county jail inmate’s death

• HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Authorities in Alabama are investigating the death of an inmate at a county jail.
• The Madison County Jail inmate died Friday afternoon in Huntsville, the sheriff’s office announced. The inmate’s name was not immediately made public, news outlets reported on Sunday.
• The agency said on Twitter that the death appeared to be related to a medical issue, but an exact cause is still being determined.

 

 

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