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Daily News Digest – June 17, 2022

Good morning!

Here’s your Daily News for Friday, June 17.

 

1. Vestavia church shooting kills 2, wounds 1

  • A gunman opened fire inside Vestavia Hills church, killing two people and wounding a third at a small group meeting Thursday, authorities said.
  • The attack occurred at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church, said Police Capt. Shane Ware. He said emergency dispatchers got a call at around 6:20 p.m. reporting an active shooter at the church.
  • A suspect was detained and the wounded victim was being treated at a hospital, Ware said at a press conference late Thursday. Police declined to identify the suspect or the victims, or provide further details on the attack, and said another briefing was planned for today.
  • The church’s website listed a “Boomers Potluck” for Thursday night. “There will be no program, simply eat and have time for fellowship,” the flyer read.
  • Read more HERE.

 

 

2. AUM Poll: Britt has commanding lead over Brooks in Senate runoff

  • A new poll conducted by Auburn University at Montgomery’s Department of Political Science has Katie Britt as the clear frontrunner over Mo Brooks in the Republican runoff for the U.S. Senate.
  • From June 8-15, the group surveyed 400 Alabamians likely to vote in the June 21 GOP run-off election.
  • They found that 50.4% of respondents said that if they were to vote today, they’d choose Britt. Just 29.5% said they’d vote for Brooks, while the other 20.1% were still unsure.
  • Read more from Maddison Booth and see the full poll results HERE.

 

3. Inflation hitting state agencies as budget leaders brace for possible recession

  • The Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles has a total of 501 vehicles, many of which staff use to do status checks on the 44,000 people the agency monitors.
  • The agency had previously spent about $66,000 a month on gas. Now, it’s about $125,000 per month.
  • “Even though we budgeted for inflation, none of us budgeted for this,” ABPP Director Cam Ward told a panel of lawmakers at the State House on Thursday.
  • In response to rising costs, Ward said the agency plans to park some of those vehicles later in the summer.
  • “It will mean a decline in supervision,” Ward said.
  • He was the first of several agency leaders Alabama House and Senate General Fund budget committees plan to hear from on how record inflation is impacting their budgets and operations. According to the fiscal division of the Legislative Services Agency, gas prices in Alabama have increased 181% between 2020 and 2022.
  • So far in the 2022 fiscal year, state government expenditures have totaled about $29.16 billion, Kirk Fulford, deputy director of the agency, told lawmakers. About 10% of those expenditures are items that are impacted by increased costs. Fulford said agencies with capital expenses are dealing with inflation. Lumber costs have increased 173% since 2020.
  • In May, consumer prices rocketed up 8.6% from a year earlier, the biggest jump since 1981
  • Read more from Mary Sell HERE.

 

 

 

4. Unemployment rate hits new low

  • Alabama’s unemployment rate continued to decline in May and now sits at a historic low of 2.7%, Governor Kay Ivey announced this morning.
  • That’s down from 2.8% in April and from 3.6% a year ago.
  • Likewise, Alabama’s average weekly wages are at a historic high of $1,004.65. That’s up from $995.44 in April and $878.06 a year ago. Ivey said wages are up 20% since 2019.
  • “We’re nearly a full percentage point below the nation’s unemployment rate, we’ve been consistently ranked as the having the lowest unemployment rate in the southeast, and our wages are growing at a remarkable pace,” Ivey said in a statement.
  • Read more from Mary Sell HERE

 

 

 

 

 

5. GOP, Dem Senate bargainers divided over gun deal details

  • Democratic and Republican senators were at odds Thursday over how to keep firearms from dangerous people as bargainers struggled to finalize details of a gun violence compromise in time for their self-imposed deadline of holding votes in Congress next week.
  • Lawmakers said they remained divided over how to define abusive dating partners who would be legally barred from purchasing firearms. Disagreements were also unresolved over proposals to send money to states that have “red flag” laws that let authorities temporarily confiscate guns from people deemed dangerous by courts, and to other states for their own violence prevention programs.
  • The election-year talks have seemed headed toward agreement, with both parties fearing punishment by voters if Congress doesn’t react to the carnage of last month’s mass shootings. A total of 31 people were slain at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, and an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. An outline of a deal has been endorsed by President Joe Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
  • Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, a lead GOP bargainer, seemed visibly unhappy as he left Thursday’s closed-door session after nearly two hours, saying he was flying home.
  • “This is the hardest part because at some point, you just got to make a decision. And when people don’t want to make a decision, you can’t accomplish the result. And that’s kind of where we are right now,” Cornyn said.
  • “I’m not frustrated, I’m done,” he added, though he said he was open to continued discussions.
  • Read more HERE.

 

 

Headlines

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Inside Alabama Politics – June 15, 2022

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Vestavia church shooting kills 2, wounds 1

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – AUM poll shows Britt leading Brooks in Senate runoff

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Inflation hitting state agencies as budget leaders brace for possible recession

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – US abortions rise: 1 in 5 pregnancies terminated in 2020

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – GOP, Dem Senate bargainers divided over gun deal details

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Orr working on bill to put cameras in special education classrooms

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Racing for the Speaker’s gavel

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – 2 US veterans from Alabama reported missing in Ukraine

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Fed’s aggressive rate hikes raise likelihood of a recession

 

AL.COM – Vestavia Hills church shooting: 2 dead, 1 injured at St. Stephen’s Episcopal, shooter in custody

 

AL.COM – 2 new Senate polls give Katie Britt commanding lead over Mo Brooks

 

AL.COM – U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorses Dale Strong in north Alabama congressional runoff

 

AL.COM – Rising prices, less supply: Here’s why it’s harder to find tampons in Alabama

 

AL.COM – Alabama’s longest serving state insurance commissioner retiring after 14 years

 

AL.COM – More people moving to Alabama than moving away, moving company data says.

 

AL.COM – Man convicted of murder stabbed to death at Donaldson Correctional Facility

 

AL.COM – More Alabama students are enrolling in summer learning programs. What are they like?

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Kristin Dowling builds up the LGBTQ+ community in Montgomery for the youth who need it

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Faster processing of disability claims for people with Alzheimer’s disease

 

Montgomery Advertiser – New MGMWerx director connects businesses, Air Force projects

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Woman arrested for shooting threats made towards Birmingham daycare

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Churches support community in wake of deadly church shooting in Vestavia Hills

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Vestavia Hills Police: 2 people killed, 1 injured in shooting at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church

 

Decatur Daily – Drinking water at DU, other utilities exceeds new EPA health advisory on contaminants

 

Decatur Daily – Rising fuel costs hurting bottom lines, causing services to be cut

 

Decatur Daily – Villarreal seeks annexation to apartments, Parker to start subdivision

 

Times Daily – 25 miles of Colbert roads to be treated

 

Times Daily – Sorrell extends reach of campaign

 

Times Daily – Temperatures could hit century mark in Shoals today

 

Anniston Star – Gary Steward shares hobbies with his family

 

Anniston Star – Weaver council debates keeping, returning or selling lake

 

Anniston Star – Joint meeting between Anniston’s council and school board promotes dialogue, funding

 

Tuscaloosa News – Series features free outdoor movies at Government Plaza in downtown Tuscaloosa

 

Tuscaloosa News – One year after shooting, Mueller dedicates memorial to two killed at Albertville plant

 

Tuscaloosa News – Faster processing of disability claims for people with Alzheimer’s disease

 

YellowHammer News – AG Marshall: ‘Biden is holding schoolchildren’s food hostage’ over ‘radical gender ideology’

 

YellowHammer News – U.S. Sen. Rand Paul: Mo Brooks is ‘unafraid’ to ‘stand up to big government Republicans’

 

YellowHammer News – PSC Commissioner Chip Beeker: ‘Joe Biden has failed America’

 

Gadsden Times – Mike Jeffcoat, former director of HSPRAC, raises questions about finances and firing

 

Gadsden Times – Faster processing of disability claims for people with Alzheimer’s disease

 

Gadsden Times – Officials identified inmate stabbed to death at Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer

 

Dothan Eagle – Alabama church shooting kills 2; EU recommends Ukraine candidate status; Warriors win NBA title

 

Dothan Eagle – As Russia presses assault, Ukraine given possible path to EU

 

Dothan Eagle – European Union commission: Make Ukraine a member candidate

 

Opelika-Auburn News – As Russia presses assault, Ukraine given possible path to EU

 

Opelika-Auburn News – T-shirts? Ice cream? Retailers cash in on Juneteenth

 

Opelika-Auburn News – ‘So they know they are fierce’: Girls STEPS aims to build self-esteen and create strong leaders

 

WSFA Montgomery – Vestavia Hills Police: 2 people killed, 1 injured in shooting at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church

 

WSFA Montgomery – Woman arrested for shooting threats made towards Birmingham daycare

 

WSFA Montgomery – Wenonah students suspended after guns were found on the school’s campus

 

WAFF Huntsville – Vestavia Hills Police: 2 people killed, 1 injured in shooting at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church

 

WAFF Huntsville – Increasing fertilizer costs are hurting many north Alabama farmers, may increase food costs

 

WAFF Huntsville – Churches support community in wake of deadly church shooting in Vestavia Hills

 

WKRG Mobile – EXPLAINER: Why is China denying Hong Kong was a UK colony?

 

WKRG Mobile – Russian superyacht Amadea arrives in Honolulu from Fiji

 

WKRG Mobile – As Russia presses assault, Ukraine given possible path to EU

 

WTVY Dothan – Churches support community in wake of deadly church shooting in Vestavia Hills

 

WTVY Dothan – Lakepoint State Park off-road course holds ribbon cutting ceremony

 

WTVY Dothan – Water World adds “Quiet Room” to park

 

WASHINGTON POST – Trump aides told him that using Pence to overturn election was illegal

 

WASHINGTON POST – A string of climate disasters strike before summer even starts

 

WASHINGTON POST – Caught in the culture wars, teachers are being forced from their jobs

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Caught in the culture wars, teachers are being forced from their jobs

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Trump, Told It Was Illegal, Still Pressured Pence to Overturn His Loss

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Live Updates: European Commission Recommends E.U. Candidacy for Ukraine

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Recession Fears Surge Among CEOs, Survey Suggests

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – After a Crazy Week in Crypto, Investors Wonder What’s Next

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Japan’s Kuroda Says He Won’t Raise Rates, Even With Weak Yen

 

 

 

Front Pages (images link to newspaper websites, which you should visit and patronize)

 

 

 

 

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