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Good morning!

Here’s your Daily News for Wednesday, June 30.

 

1. Poole is in for Speaker

• We speculated yesterday he could be a field-clearing candidate for the House’s top job, now State Rep. Bill Poole says he’s all in to become the next Speaker.
• The Tuscaloosa Republican on Tuesday that he plans on running for Speaker of the House following current Speaker Mac McCutcheon’s announcement this week that he won’t seek reelection next year.
• Poole said his goal as speaker will be to collaborate with all members to set clear priorities, make sure all voices are heard, establish a transparent process and aggressively pursue the enactment of policies most important to Alabamians.
• Several other House members have been rumored to be considering running. House Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, told ADN today that he’ll seek the gavel. Vice chair of the House Republican Caucus Rep. Connie Rowe, R-Jasper, said she’s considering it as well.
• At least one other speculated candidate says he’s not running.
• House General Fund Budget Chairman Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, told ADN on Tuesday that he does not plan to run after consulting with several other House members and said he will support Poole in his run for Speaker.
• Read more from Caroline Beck HERE.

 

2. Inside Alabama Politics – Part Two

• Is Tim James getting serious about a run for governor?
• Mathis considering State Auditor run;
• Pendergrass gets wink and a nod in HD88;
• Could Merrill be running? We asked him;
• Speaker’s race update;

 

 

3. Census Bureau dodges challenge to controversial privacy tool

• The U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday dodged a challenge for now to its use of a controversial statistical method aimed at keeping people’s data private in the numbers used for redrawing congressional and legislative districts after federal judges refused to stop the technique’s implementation.
• A panel of three federal judges in Alabama rejected the state of Alabama’s request for a preliminary injunction to halt the Census Bureau from using the method called differential privacy. The decision in federal court in Opelika, Alabama, allows the Census Bureau, for now, to proceed toward its goal of releasing the redistricting data in mid-August.
• The federal judges dismissed counts brought by Alabama that said differential privacy would produce inaccurate data and was unconstitutional. They also dismissed a count by Alabama challenging the Census Bureau’s timetable for releasing the data, but they allowed that count to proceed for three Alabama politicians who joined the state in the lawsuit. The state of Alabama and the politicians also claimed in the lawsuit that the Census Bureau violated proper decision-making rules when coming up with differential privacy, and the judges allowed those counts to move ahead.
• Any appeal could go straight to the Supreme Court.
• Read more HERE.

 

 

4. Ivey, 19 other GOP governors oppose Supreme Court expansion

• Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and 19 other Republican governors on Tuesday sent a letter opposing any expansion of the number of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court, a long shot idea pushed by some congressional Democrats.
• The Republican Governors Association said the letter was sent to the Biden administration.
• “Historically, cases before the Supreme Court have served as the last legal defense of state sovereignty, protecting states and our citizens from federal overreach. As Governors, we have a vested interest in ensuring that our nation’s highest court remains independent and free from political pressure or partisan power grabs,” the letter signed by the 20 governors stated.
• Biden, facing pressure from activists, this spring created a bipartisan commission that will study the politically incendiary ideas of expanding the court and instituting term limits for justices, among other issues. Conservatives now hold a 6-3 majority on the court.
• Read more from Kim Chandler HERE.

 

 

5. Roads, bridges, jobs: Biden selling big infrastructure deal

• President Joe Biden declared America urgently needs a “generational investment” in its infrastructure, as he looks to sell voters on the economic benefits of the $973 billion bipartisan package that still faces an uncertain future in Congress.
• On Tuesday, Biden traveled to La Crosse, Wisconsin, population 52,000, and toured its public transit center, highlighting projects — including hybrid buses and road repair equipment — that would receive additional funding from the infrastructure bill.
• The visit to Wisconsin was the beginning of what the White House has declared will be a series of presidential trips to sell the bipartisan bill — and to reassure the nervous Republicans who helped craft it.
• The process briefly fell into disarray late last week as Biden suggested the deal would be held up until he received a much larger, separate package for infrastructure, jobs and education that would be determined solely by Democrats through Congress’ “budget reconciliation” process.
• Biden said Saturday that this was not a veto threat, and by Sunday the package appeared back on track. But there were still anxieties on both sides of the aisle.
• Some Republicans have questioned the wisdom of signing onto a bipartisan bill if it is linked to a party-line reconciliation bill that will contain a host of additional Democratic priorities.
• Read more HERE.

 

 

Headlines

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Inside Alabama Politics – June 29, 2021 Part Two

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Rep. Bill Poole announces run for House Speaker

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Census Bureau dodges challenge to controversial privacy tool

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Ivey, 19 other GOP governors oppose Supreme Court expansion

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Roads, bridges, jobs: Biden selling big infrastructure deal

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – House Speaker Mac McCutcheon will not seek reelection

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Crews spend 5th day atop shaky pile of collapsed concrete

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – ‘It definitely feels early’: GOP’s long race to 2024 begins

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Daily News Digest – June 29, 2021

 

AL.COM – Trump rally dispute at battleship park roils Alabama

 

AL.COM – US Supreme Court leaves eviction moratorium in place despite plea from Alabama property owners

 

AL.COM – FBI Director Christopher Wray visits Huntsville for celebration at $1.3 billion campus

 

AL.COM – Congress expected to remove Confederate statues from Capitol

 

AL.COM – United Airlines orders 70 Airbus jets, with many to be made in Mobile

 

AL.COM – Alabama removes toddler from Michigan family found with marijuana

 

AL.COM – Gas prices in Alabama continue to climb, up $1 per gallon over last year

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Wish list: Montgomery leaders brainstorm best way to use $85M in federal money

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Elmore man convicted of murder in shooting case

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Live large in the country with this home near Tallassee

 

Decatur Daily – Feeling like an Olympian: Hartselle’s Quanesha Burks’ dream comes true with trip to the Tokyo games

 

Decatur Daily – Jackson pushes for Carrie Matthews pool opening

 

Decatur Daily – Alabama families that switched to homeschooling say they won’t go back

 

Times Daily – ALDOT bills Sheffield $307K for services

 

Times Daily – County Line Road bridge repair project begins today

 

Times Daily – NWSCC camp focuses on STEM

 

Anniston Star – Jacksonville flood study provides possible solutions

 

Anniston Star – Former senior director is now Ranburne’s city clerk

 

Anniston Star – Progress reported in goal to add 500,000 newly credentialed workers by 2025

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – J&J vaccine patients may need MRNA booster

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – UAB pediatrician explains ways to keep your child hydrated this summer

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Gadsden Airport Authority hires more attorneys prior to rendering plant litigation

 

Tuscaloosa News – Sawyerville woman charged with attempted murder in Maxwell Circle shooting

 

Tuscaloosa News – Alabama troopers investigate three deadly vehicle crashes Monday in surrounding counties

 

Tuscaloosa News – Free indoor movie series starts Friday in Tuscaloosa

 

YellowHammer News – Nathaniel Ledbetter announces his candidacy for speaker of the Alabama House

 

YellowHammer News – Bill Poole running for speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives

 

YellowHammer News – Ivey denies involvement in preventing Trump event at USS Alabama — ‘She is fully supportive of President Trump’

 

Gadsden Times – PHOTOS: Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl for Kids’ Sake

 

Gadsden Times – Guntersville man charged with capital murder in apparent ‘road rage’ shooting

 

Gadsden Times – Marshall County man dead after domestic call, standoff

 

Dothan Eagle – Florida officials pledge multiple probes into condo collapse

 

Dothan Eagle – Asian shares advance despite weaker factory data, outbreaks

 

Dothan Eagle – New Israeli foreign minister in the UAE on 1st state visit

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Florida officials pledge multiple probes into condo collapse

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Roads, bridges, jobs: Biden selling big infrastructure deal

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Highlights of Republican-authored Wisconsin state budget

 

WSFA Montgomery – Death investigation underway following Tuesday Montgomery shooting

 

WSFA Montgomery – ‘Armed and dangerous’ woman sought by Millbrook police

 

WSFA Montgomery – Police seek Ala. cemetery shooting suspect accused of killing 1, injuring 3

 

WAFF Huntsville – Huntsville Amphitheater at MidCity nearly halfway through construction; opening 2022

 

WAFF Huntsville – Dining at Town Madison: The latest restaurants coming to the area

 

WAFF Huntsville – One person hospitlazed after car rolls over on Governors Drive

 

WKRG Mobile – Two people shot on Williams Street in Mobile Tuesday night

 

WKRG Mobile – Fourth of July celebrations along the Gulf Coast

 

WKRG Mobile – Nurse mom goes into early labor, coaches 9-year-old daughter to deliver her baby sister

 

WTVY Dothan – Coffee County BOE names the next superintendent of Coffee County Schools

 

WTVY Dothan – Auburn hoops star indicted on sex charge

 

WTVY Dothan – Southeast sees increase in unemployment claims

 

WASHINGTON POST – The building trembled, then all she saw was dust. Condo collapse survivor recounts escape in lawsuit.

 

WASHINGTON POST – On narrow vote, Supreme Court leaves CDC ban on evictions in place

 

WASHINGTON POST – South Dakota governor sending National Guard to Mexico border on mission funded by GOP megadonor

 

NEW YORK TIMES – New York Mayor’s Race in Chaos After Elections Board Counts 135,000 Test Ballots

 

NEW YORK TIMES – ‘We Are Waiting for You’: An Agonizing Vigil for Surfside Families

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Masks Again? Delta Variant’s Spread Prompts Reconsideration of Precautions.

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Delta Variant’s Spread Outpaces Australia’s Covid-19 Contact Tracers

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Stock Futures Point to Fifth Month of Gains for S&P 500

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Treasury Yields Signal Investors’ Waning Economic Exuberance

 

 

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