Good morning!

Here’s your Daily News for Thursday, July 22.

 

1. Update: Who’s running and who’s not

• The 2022 general election may be more than a year away, but the primaries take place next May and party qualifying ends in January.
• That means now is decision time for many state lawmakers on whether or not to seek another term in office.
• Alabama Daily News continues its coverage of which lawmakers plan to seek reelection and which are hanging up their political boots.
• Caroline Beck talked to Reps. Victor Gaston, R-Mobile, Joe Faust, R-Fairhope, Berry Forte, D-Eufaula, Rodney Sullivan, R-Northport, and K.L. Brown, R-Jacksonville about their plans.
• Read her full story HERE.

 

 

2. Shelby, Brooks and irrationality

• Even during probably the busiest week of the year so far in Washington, the Alabama Senate race is too good for Capitol Hill reporters to pass up.
• National Journal’s Zach Cohen caught up with U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby and asked about the race to replace him.
• Unsurprisingly, Shelby complimented his former chief of staff, Katie Britt, calling her “highly qualified” and “a very rational person.”
• That prompted Cohen to ask if Shelby thought Britt’s principle opponent, Congressman Mo Brooks was conversely irrational.
• “A lot of people would think so. Look at his record,” Shelby said.
• And that’s how a story is born.
• Also unsurprisingly, Brooks responded by calling Shelby part of the “Swamp” and criticizing him for withdrawing his support for Roy Moore in the 2017 Senate race after the sexual misconduct allegations surfaced.
• Read the full National Journal story HERE.

 

3. Infrastructure fails first procedural vote

• Senate Republicans rejected an effort Wednesday to begin debate on the big infrastructure deal that a bipartisan group of senators is brokering with President Joe Biden.
• The GOP argued it doesn’t make sense to begin debate on a bill that has not been finalized.
• “Around here, we typically write the bills before we vote on them,” and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
• Alabama Sens. Richard Shelby and Tommy Tuberville voted with their Republican colleagues against proceeding with debate.
• The Republicans on the bi-partisan negotiating team also voted against the motion to proceed, saying they need more time to finalize the bill text and pay-fors.
• “We’re voting no today because we’re not ready, but we’re saying we do want to take up this bill as soon as we are,” said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, a leader of the effort. “I think that’ll be Monday.”
• The nearly $1 trillion measure over five years includes about $579 billion in new spending on roads, broadband and other public works projects — a first phase of Biden’s infrastructure agenda.
• Meanwhile, Democrats continue to work on a much broader $3.5 trillion public works and social safety net bill that they are seeking to pass through budget reconciliation.
• Full story HERE.

 

4. Pelosi bars Trump allies from Jan. 6 probe; GOP vows boycott

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday rejected two Republicans tapped by House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy to sit on a committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, a decision the Republican denounced as “an egregious abuse of power.”
• McCarthy said the GOP won’t participate in the investigation if Democrats won’t accept the members he appointed.
• Pelosi cited the “integrity” of the probe in refusing to accept the appointments of Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, picked by McCarthy to be the top Republican on the panel, or Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan. The two men are outspoken allies of former President Donald Trump, whose supporters laid siege to the Capitol that day and interrupted the certification of President Joe Biden’s win. Both of them voted to overturn the election results in the hours after the siege.
• Pelosi has the authority to approve or reject members, per committee rules, though she acknowledged her move was unusual. She said “the unprecedented nature of January 6th demands this unprecedented decision.”
• McCarthy said Pelosi’s move will damage the institution of Congress.
• “Unless Speaker Pelosi reverses course and seats all five Republican nominees, Republicans will not be party to their sham process and will instead pursue our own investigation of the facts,” McCarthy said.
• Read more HERE.

 

5. SEC Media Days

• A lot happened in Hoover yesterday during SEC Media Days.
• First, Alabama Coach Nick Saban talked about the recent NCAA decision to allow college athletes to profit from their name, image or likeness.
• “There’s no precedent for the consequences that some of these things are going to create, whether they’re good or bad.”
• Of course, Saban had previously said that presumptive starting quarterback Bryce Young could make near seven figures in endorsement deals before even playing a college snap, something that surely caught the ears of big time recruits.

• Saban also discussed the Crimson Tide’s effort to get each of their players vaccinated for COVID-19. Saban said “pretty close to 90%” of his players are fully vaccinated, nearly triple the rate for the state’s overall population.
• “So every player has a personal decision to make to evaluate the risk of COVID relative to vaccine, and then they have a competitive decision to make on how it impacts their ability to play in games, because with the vaccine you probably have a better chance,” Saban said.
• Read more on that HERE.

• Texas A&M Coach Jimbo Fischer addressed comments he made earlier this summer saying of Saban “we’re going to beat his ass even when he’s there.”
• Fischer said he had no regrets about the comment and it wasn’t meant to be disrespectful toward Saban.
• “That’s what we’re here for, isn’t it? Isn’t that why everybody’s here?” Fisher said. “That’s what makes this league this league. That’s what we expect to do at Texas A&M. In saying all that, Nick and I are friends.”

• Finally, perhaps the biggest news of the day was a report that Texas and Oklahoma have talked to the SEC about joining the league in the coming years.
• Adding two members would give the powerhouse SEC 16 teams, the most in major college football. Losing two schools would be a devastating blow to the 10-member Big 12.
• The SEC recently signed a new television deal with ESPN that gives the cable TV sports giant all of its rights. It is unclear if adding Texas and Oklahoma would create an opportunity for the SEC to increase the value of those contracts for all its members and not just provide enough to cover additions at the current rate.
• Full story HERE.

 

 

Headlines

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – More lawmakers decide on election for 2022

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Infrastructure bill fails first vote; Senate to try again

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Pelosi bars Trump allies from Jan. 6 probe; GOP vows boycott

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Saban: “There’s no precedent for the consequences”

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – College coaches, administrators urging players to vaccinate

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Source: Texas, Oklahoma talk to SEC about joining league

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Alabama sees COVID-19 uptick

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Tuberville, Fauci discuss crediting Trump to encourage vaccines

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Rusty Glover enters State Auditor race

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Infrastructure bill in doubt; GOP threatens filibuster

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – SEC Media Days: Alabama, Georgia among SEC powers scoring in transfer portal

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Daily News Digest – July 21, 2021

 

AL.COM – ‘I’m sorry, but it’s too late’: Alabama doctor on treating unvaccinated, dying COVID patients

 

AL.COM – Alabama counties seek rule change for use of federal COVID funds

 

AL.COM – Alabama corruption trial turns to sheriff’s loans, casino trips

 

AL.COM – COVID-19 cases in Alabama rising fastest in Mobile, Baldwin counties

 

AL.COM – Columnist Cameron Smith: We have no vaccine for individual liberty

 

AL.COM – Columnist Kyle Whitmire: Vaccine fear didn’t come from nowhere

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Prattville police investigate possible murder-suicide after pair found dead on Shadow Lane

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Prattville movie theater on Cobbs Ford Road plans to reopen Friday

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Prattville man pleads guilty to child abuse where infant was the victim

 

Decatur Daily – Witnesses: Limestone sheriff borrowed thousands from safe holding inmate funds

 

Decatur Daily – Calhoun to divide $7.8 million in COVID-19 relief funds among students

 

Decatur Daily – Morgan schools planning after-school, summer programs

 

Times Daily – New lease approved for food pantry in former Sheffield armory

 

Times Daily – Bids for flooding fix to be opened Thursday

 

Times Daily – Glover enters State Auditor’s race

 

Anniston Star – City could spend $5 million on City Hall

 

Anniston Star – Season’s extra rain hurts produce growers’ harvest

 

Anniston Star – JSU trustees approve new stadium housing, dining hall

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – On Your Side: Spotting signs of human trafficking

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Hospitals across the state battling nursing shortages as COVID-19 cases rise

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Health officials say fall sports could be impacted by Delta Variant

 

Tuscaloosa News – Contractor hired to repair damage to Evergreen Cemetery

 

Tuscaloosa News – Brad Paisley’s Tuscaloosa concert: Here’s what you need to know

 

Tuscaloosa News – Cynthia Almond announces bid to seek District 63 House seat held by Rep. Bill Poole

 

YellowHammer News – Richard Shelby suggests Mo Brooks is ‘irrational’; Brooks responds by questioning qualifications of Shelby’s ‘former, relatively inexperienced employee’

 

YellowHammer News – Shelby, Tuberville oppose Biden tax hike aimed at family farms

 

YellowHammer News – Fauci acknowledges Trump COVID-19 accomplishments when prodded by Tuberville

 

Gadsden Times – Rainbow City teaching gardens nominated for Gannett grant

 

Gadsden Times – More than a dozen Alabama nonprofits seek support in grant competition

 

Gadsden Times – Council approves hearing on Olive Garden tax rebate, site would be old Logan’s location

Miranda Prescot

 

Dothan Eagle – Shootings during Milwaukee NBA Finals celebrations wound 3

 

Dothan Eagle – Antetokounmpo caps extraordinary postseason as Finals MVP

 

Dothan Eagle – Biden’s 3rd trip to reddish Ohio pushes his economic agenda

 

Opelika-Auburn News – The Latest: 2nd Dutch athlete tests positive at Olympics

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Judge: $150M initially for victims in Florida condo collapse

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Lawsuit seeks return of Columbus statue to Chicago park

 

WSFA Montgomery – AUM to connect jobs to people, fill key positions on campus

 

WSFA Montgomery – On Your Side: Spotting signs of human trafficking

 

WSFA Montgomery – Teen charged with capital murder in Talladega Co. homicide

 

WAFF Huntsville – Health officials at Athens Limestone Hospital treat patients who wished they had the COVID vaccine

 

WAFF Huntsville – Testimony, records reveal Sheriff Blakely gambling while on work trips

 

WAFF Huntsville – ADPH: More than 563K positive COVID cases as Delta variant increases

 

WKRG Mobile – Man sentenced to 10 years for setting truck with woman inside it on fire

 

WKRG Mobile – Free college classes available for fall at Coastal Alabama Community College

 

WKRG Mobile – Mississippi to file arguments in landmark abortion case

 

WTVY Dothan – ACOM welcomes students to campus

 

WTVY Dothan – Troy University to offer new “flex” learning option for select campuses

 

WTVY Dothan – Abbeville Police Dept collecting school supplies for students

 

WASHINGTON POST – White House officials debate masking push as covid infections spike

 

WASHINGTON POST – Southern California cities rebel against new mask mandate, hinting at delta variant drama to come

 

WASHINGTON POST – Bipartisan House probe of Jan. 6 insurrection falls apart after Pelosi blocks two GOP members

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Rising Rents Threaten to Prop Up Inflation

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Live Covid Updates: China Rejects Renewed W.H.O. Investigation on Virus Origins

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Pelosi Bars Trump Loyalists From Jan. 6 Inquiry, Prompting a G.O.P. Boycott

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – EV Batteries: The Next Victim of High Commodity Prices?

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – China Flood Death Toll Climbs as Rains Continue

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – China Rejects WHO Proposal for Second Phase of Covid-19 Origins Probe

 

 

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