Presented by

the Business Council of Alabama

 

 

 

 

1. With no more witnesses likely, Senate to wrap up impeachment trial

• Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee will oppose calling more witnesses in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, all but dashing Democratic efforts to hear more testimony and boosting odds the Senate will vote to acquit without new testimony in a matter of days.
• Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said late Thursday she would vote to allow witnesses in the impeachment trial, building momentum for the Democrats’ effort.
• But Alexander then said in a statement there was “no need for more evidence,” giving the Trump team the likelihood of a Senate vote in its direction.
• A vote on the witness question, expected Friday, could lead to an abrupt end of the trial with Trump’s expected acquittal.
• It would take four GOP senators to break with the majority and join with Democrats to tip the outcome. That is unlikely.
• Read more about the Senate decision today HERE.
• Read the highlights of the Q&A session from Thursday HERE.

 

 

2. Prison recommendations released

• As Alabama grapples with a prison crisis, a study commission created by Gov. Kay Ivey recommended Thursday that the state make a push to reduce recidivism, undertake sentencing reform and increase oversight and spending in the corrections system.
• The governor’s Study Group on Criminal Justice Policy returned its recommendations ahead of the legislative session that starts next week, but their success will depend on support from the state lawmakers.
• The state’s troubled prison system has been in the national spotlight. The governor created the group after the U.S. Department of Justice last year threatened to sue Alabama over excessive violence and other problems in its prisons.
• Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Champ Lyons, Jr., who chaired the group, wrote in a letter that the challenges facing the state prison system are “exceedingly complex” and “many decades in the making.”
• Read the full story from Kim Chandler, including the letter/report itself, HERE.

 

 

 

 

A message from

the Business Council of Alabama

 

 

 

 

3. Sessions releases new ad

• In the latest television ad for his campaign for U.S. Senate, former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions highlights his record of defending religious liberty and paints a stark contrast between the Obama and Trump administrations on the issue.
• The ad features black-and-white footage of a small church, whose doors have been chain locked and windows boarded up. Sessions describes a “war on religious freedom” from the “radical secular left,” while the footage eventually changes to color and the church is reopened.
• According to the Sessions campaign, the ad will play on broadcast and cable stations in all markets throughout the state. More detailed information on the size of the ad buy was not available Thursday.
• Watch the full ad HERE.

 

4. Federal grand jury subpoenas 3M over chemical discharges

• 3M has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury in connection to discharges from a chemical plant in northern Alabama that may not have complied with permit requirements.
• Michael Roman, the Minnesota-based company’s CEO, announced the subpoena during an investor conference call. The company faced lawsuits and public scrutiny last year after it was accused of releasing chemicals from its factory in Decatur into the Tennessee River without disclosing its actions.
• Read more HERE.

 

5. Auburn gets new state tag

• Good news for Auburn people: drivers now have a new design for the license plate supporting Auburn University.
• Launched this month, the new plates for cars and motorcycles feature a white background with the traditional interlocking AU logo on the left side, and blue and orange stripes with “Auburn” in orange across the bottom. The new design is a change from the previous Auburn tags that featured a lot more color and were unpopular with some fans.
• The outgoing tags really were unfortunate. You’d see a Georgia or Tennessee-issued Auburn tag and wonder, “how does theirs look better than ours?” Just one of those things we unfairly but unequivocally blame on Jay Jacobs.
• Read more from ADN intern reporter Abby Driggers HERE.

 

 

 

 

A message from

Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy

 

 

 

Headlines

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Governor’s group recommends prison system policy reforms

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Sessions touts record defending religious liberty in new TV ad

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – US advises no travel to China, where virus deaths top 200

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Trial highlights: Senators’ questions launch pointed debate

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Trump trial could end soon; Alexander says no to witnesses

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – New Auburn car tag available

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Federal grand jury subpoenas 3M over chemical discharges

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Op-ed: Ministers of justice: Prosecutors doing the right thing for the right reason

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Deteriorating power, sewer utilities lead to partial closure of state prison

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – 3 Senate Dems from red states waver on impeachment votes

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Ivey breaks shoulder after being tripped by her dog

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – John Mazyk tapped to chair Business Council of Alabama

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Missing Alabama woman’s death ruled accident; suspect caught

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Daily News Digest – January 30, 2020

 

AL.COM  – Bernie Sanders praised Alabama segregationist governor George Wallace in 1972 article

 

AL.COM  – Amtrak proposal has good ‘vibe potential’ and millennials want a yes

 

AL.COM  – Wuhan coronavirus no cause for concern in Alabama yet, experts say

 

AL.COM  – Recidivism is key issue for Alabama prisons, study group finds

 

AL.COM  – Conservatives meet, discuss Methodist plan for possible split

 

AL.COM  – At least 6 charged in Jacksonville State University rape case won’t be prosecuted

 

AL.COM  – Bradley Byrne responds: The fight for religious freedom for all

 

AL.COM  – Alabama prison crowding worsens 10 months after DOJ allegations

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Courtroom chaos: Tensions boil over during sentencing of man convicted in killing, child rape

 

Montgomery Advertiser – New shopping center planned for Pike Road will feature Publix

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Alabama prison crisis: Governor’s group recommends anti-recidivism effort

 

YellowHammer News – Tuberville says Sessions, Bolton ‘two peas in a pod’; Sessions stresses he didn’t write a book

 

YellowHammer News – Techstars Alabama EnergyTech announces Nate Schmidt as managing director

 

YellowHammer News – Rogers: Dems ‘more concerned with scoring political points against President Trump than protecting American lives’

 

Tuscaloosa News – Federal grand jury subpoenas 3M over chemical discharges

 

Tuscaloosa News – Marshals arrest most-wanted fugitive who faked death; dinghy was found in Orange Beach

 

Tuscaloosa News – Governor’s group recommends prison system policy reforms

 

Decatur Daily – New bill would create a state database for concealed carry permits

 

Decatur Daily – Decatur center combining early learning programs under one roof

 

Decatur Daily – Attorney General argues against secrecy in Limestone Sheriff Blakely’s prosecution

 

Times Daily – 3M reveals grand jury subpoena, 1,500 layoffs

 

Times Daily – Birmingham firm selected for RR overpass study

 

Times Daily – Sheffield High touted in state report on workforce development

 

Times Daily – SRO released after leaving weapon unattended

 

Anniston Star  – Business leaders should watch prison crisis, BCA leader says

 

Anniston Star – Nathan Hill, 2020 Citizen of the Year, on the front lines for Anniston-area defense work

 

Anniston Star – City leaders optimistic at Ward 3 meeting

 

Anniston Star – Ward 4 residents talk with Marsh about deannexation

 

Dothan Eagle – Houston County voters could face decision to add $5 to vehicle registration renewals

 

Dothan Eagle – Murder trial set to begin next week for Dale County man

 

Dothan Eagle – Slocomb police issue BOLO for missing person

 

Gadsden Times – Investigation, cleanup continue after fatal Scottsboro dock fire

 

Gadsden Times – Sheriff unveils new jail annex, provides details on new rehabilitation program

 

Gadsden Times – Some local schools see increase in flu absences

 

Troy Messenger – 19th Annual Leadership Conference opens tonight at Troy

 

Troy Messenger – Steer, heifer and goat show begins Saturday at Cattleman Park

 

Troy Messenger – TPD officer honored at Crimestoppers annual luncheon

 

Andalusia Star News – Cancer Freeze recipient: ‘God still has many laborers in the fields’

 

Andalusia Star News – Carver Community Center to host annual Black History Gala

 

Andalusia Star News – TAX SEASON HAS BEGUN

 

Opelika-Auburn News – COLLEGE GAMEDAY: What you need to know before ESPN’s GameDay arrives

 

Opelika-Auburn News – New look AU plates now on sale

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Lee Enterprises to buy BH Media newspapers, including Opelika-Auburn News

 

Daily Mountain Eagle – STEM momentum continues at Jasper Jr. High

 

Sand Mountain Reporter – Officials give update on Scottsboro dock fire

 

WSFA Montgomery – Man dies after shooting on Hilldale Drive in Montgomery

 

WSFA Montgomery – New program helps MPS students stay on track to graduation

 

WSFA Montgomery – Flu remains widespread across Alabama

 

Fox 6 Birmingham – New Birmingham fire chief, deputy & assistants to be sworn in

 

Fox 6 Birmingham – Suspect arrested after 23-year-old shot and killed in Birmingham

 

Fox 6 Birmingham – State trooper lucky to be alive in Opelika; ALEA reminds drives to move over

 

WAFF Huntsville – Doctor: New mom fails drug test after eating poppy seed bread

 

WAFF Huntsville – Bobo Volunteer Fire Department lacks funding for planned fire station

 

WAFF Huntsville – EXCLUSIVE: Off-duty 911 dispatcher saves Hartselle woman’s life

 

WKRG Mobile – Mississippi starts selling Powerball and Mega Millions tickets

 

WKRG Mobile – U.S. Marshal, sheriff describe capture of man who faked suicide to avoid child rape charges

 

WKRG Mobile – 2 controversial comedians performing in Mobile spark reaction from News 5 viewers

 

WTVY Dothan – GTECH gives students a head start on their future

 

WTVY Dothan – Appointed or elected state school board officials: you decide

 

WTVY Dothan – Gov. Ivey awards grant to help retain jobs in Eufaula

 

WASHINGTON POST  – Senate appears ready to reject witnesses in Trump impeachment trial, acquittal vote possible Friday

 

WASHINGTON POST  – Trump’s border wall, vulnerable to flash floods, needs large storm gates left open for months

 

WASHINGTON POST  – Trump administration’s Medicaid block-grants option touches off ideological fight

 

NEW YORK TIMES  – Trump Lawyer’s Impeachment Argument Stokes Fears of Unfettered Power

 

NEW YORK TIMES  – Helicopter in Kobe Bryant Crash Wasn’t Legal to Fly in Poor Visibility

 

NEW YORK TIMES  – Coronavirus Live Updates: U.S. Issues ‘Red Alert’ After Infections Skyrocket

 

 

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