Good morning! Here’s your Daily News for Tuesday, December 18.

 

1. Shutdown clock management.

• The fight over President Donald Trump’s $5 billion wall funds has deepened, threatening a partial government shutdown.
• The clock is now at four days, with time running out Friday at midnight.
• Monday brought few signs of progress. A partial shutdown risks disrupting government operations and leaving hundreds of thousands of federal employees furloughed or working without pay over the holiday season.
• These things almost always go to the last minute and sometimes there is more to it than meets the eye.
• Sen. Richard Shelby indicated there are other issues on the table than just a border wall.
• “There are ongoing negotiations. Not just on the wall but other things,” Shelby told reporters Monday evening after meeting with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
• It sounds like Republicans are pretty much waiting for the White House to make a deal with Democrats, which may or may not happen before the Friday deadline.
• Read more on the situation HERE.

 

2. Auburn gets coveted R1 designation.

• Auburn University is being elevated to an “R1”research institution by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education – a significant milestone that university officials say is a testament to their commitment to “life saving research.”
• Auburn goes from its former “high research” R2 classification to the “very high research activity” R1 label. The R1 designation by Carnegie is reserved for doctoral universities with the highest levels of research activity.
• Auburn President Steven Leath has made a recommitment to research his defining mission since coming to Auburn in 2016.
• Leath has strategically focused efforts for the University to serve as a partner to government, business and industry for the purpose of solving problems, creating and retaining jobs in the state and improving quality of life.
• “Auburn is on the move, and this prestigious distinction recognizes Auburn’s critical role in creating new knowledge and helping others live better lives,” he said.
• Read more about the new designation and Auburn’s efforts HERE.

 

3. Austal to build two more LCS.

• The U.S. Navy will contract Mobile-based Austal USA to build two additional Littoral Combat Ships in the fiscal 2019 budget cycle.
• The contract hasn’t been finalized yet but notice from the Department of Defense says it will soon be completed.
• Austal has already delivered eight of these ships with six currently under construction and three awaiting construction. With the addition of these two new ships, that means Austal USA is positioned to build 19 Independence-class littoral combat ships. Austal also builds the Navy’s highly-successful Expeditionary Fast Transports (EPF) in Mobile.
• The specific value of each contract is under the congressional cost cap of $584 million per ship.
• The news got positive reactions from federal lawmakers, including Sen. Richard Shelby, Sen. Doug Jones, and Congressman Bradley Byrne.
• The shipbuilder is Mobile’s largest employer.
• Read more from ADN’s Caroline Beck HERE.

4. Bradford family protests takeover.

• Relatives of E.J. Bradford are claiming that the state takeover of the investigation into his shooting by police is a bid by authorities to protect the officer involved.
• April Pipkins, Bradford’s mother, said the move by Attorney General Steve Marshall to assume control of the probe seemed aimed at shielding the officer.
• The family’s lawyers contend the case should have been left with newly-elected Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr, who is black, or given to Lynneice Washington, another black district attorney who handles cases in the western part of the county.
• Marshall took over the case last week after correspondence with Carr seeking to avoid conflicts of interest.
• The lead protester who has been aggressively denouncing police action actively campaigned for Carr’s election and the two have been pictured celebrating together.
• AG spokeswoman Joy Patterson said correspondence shows Carr “directly conveyed to Attorney General Marshall the presence of Carr’s perceived conflicts in this matter” and that Marshall “acted on standard procedure to assume prosecution.”
• “The Attorney General’s Office will ensure that the Hoover mall shooting cases are handled with the highest degree of fairness and professionalism as we pursue justice for all parties,” she said.
• Read more HERE.

 

5. Matthew Stokes: We’ll miss The Weekly Standard.

• Like many conservatives, ADN Columnist Matthew Stokes is lamenting the demise of The Weekly Standard.
• The magazine shut its doors this week, ending a proud tradition of thought-provoking journalism.
• The magazine was known most recently for never warming to President Donald Trump, which may have contributed to its downfall.
• Still, Stokes writes, that’s what you want out of a journal like The Weekly Standard.
• You’d rather have smarties making you think than sycophants telling you not to.
• Here’s an excerpt:

• Read his full column HERE.

 

News Briefs.

• The band Alabama will mark its 50th year together with a new tour in 2019.
• The announcement comes a year after founding member Jeff Cook announced that he has Parkinson’s disease.
• The Grammy-winning trio of Randy Owen, Teddy Gentry and Cook formed in 1969 in Fort Payne and went on to dominate the sound of country music in the 1980s, scoring dozens of No. 1 hits, including classics like “Mountain Music” and “Dixieland Delight.”
• Guitarist and fiddle player Cook announced in 2017 that he had been diagnosed with the chronic neurological disorder years ago and he would limit his touring with the band.
• Cook will perform on their new tour, which begins Jan. 10 in Detroit, as much as he’s physically able.

• President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order today creating a U.S. Space Command that will better organize and advance the military’s vast operations in space, U.S. officials say.
• Vice President Mike Pence will make the announcement at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
• Trump’s order is separate from his oft-stated goal of creating a “Space Force” as an independent armed service branch, but it’s considered a step in that direction. The move will launch a long and complicated process, requiring the Defense Department to pull together various space units and agencies from across the military services into a more coordinated, independent organization.
• The U.S. Air Force’s existing Space Command would be a key component of the new joint entity, raising space to the same status as U.S. Cyber Command.
• Alabama’s Rep. Mike Rogers has been a longtime proponent of creating a Space Force and has at times been considered a leading candidate to be selected by Trump to lead it.
• Read more HERE.

• A new report compiled for the Senate Intelligence Committee documents Russia’s sweeping political disinformation campaign on U.S. social media during the 2016 campaign.
• It was more far-reaching than originally thought, with troll farms working to discourage black voters and “blur the lines between reality and fiction.”
• Remember that Pokemon Go app? Yeah, the Russians were into that.
• It’s also still ongoing. Read more about that HERE.
• Meanwhile, a Yahoo reporter is now saying the dossier used to justify secret surveillance on Trump Tower was based on false information.
• This comes on top of news that Hillary Clinton hired a firmto help challenge and delegitimize the results of the 2016 election.
• It’s a big messy world out there.

 

Headlines.

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