PRESENTED BY THE POARCH CREEK INDIANS

1. Glenn, Phillips indicted on ethics charges.

• A Jefferson County grand jury on Tuesday brought back indictments for Southeast EPA Regional Administrator Trey Glenn and former Alabama Environmental Management Commissioner Scott Phillips.
• Phillips is accused of violating the state’s ethics laws, specifically provisions barring public officials from accepting gifts. Glenn is accused of knowing about or helping Phillips violate the law.
• There’s a lot we don’t yet know about the details of the charges, but they appear to be related to the North Birmingham EPA Superfund cleanup case.
• Glenn and Phillips previously had a firm together and were contracted to test EPA’s original 35th Avenue Superfund site. Former Rep. Oliver Robinson pleaded guilty while Drummond VP David Roberson and Balch attorney Joel Gilbert were convicted on charges linked to that project.
• That was a federal trial, though, and these are state charges. They are being brought by the Jefferson County District Attorney after an investigation with the Alabama Ethics Commission.
• Ethics Commission Director Tom Albritton released a statement saying the indictments are evidence of his team’s commitment to work with local DAs to enforce the state’s ethics laws.
• Read more from ADN’s Will Whatley HERE.

2. House GOP selects leadership.

• House Speaker Mac McCutcheon will retain the gavel for the next term of the Alabama Legislature. He was unanimously affirmed by the House GOP Caucus during their meeting on Tuesday.
• He and Speaker Pro-Tem nominee Victor Gaston will be officially chosen when the full House meets in the organizational session in January.
• Rep. Nathaniel Ledbetter of Rainsville was reelected to his post as Majority Leader. Along with McCutcheon, Ledbetter led the political effort to grow the House GOP by five members in the 2018 elections.
• Two second-term lawmakers are stepping up into leadership roles within the caucus: Rep. Connie Rowe of Jasper was elected to serve as Caucus Vice Chair, and Rep. Phillip Pettus of Killen was elected Secretary/Treasurer.
• Read the full story on House GOP leadership elections HERE.

A Message from The Poarch Creek Indians

• Being productive, staying connected and helping Alabama thrive are embodiments of the Poarch mission to create goodness out of what we have.
• That’s the message of the Poarch Creek Indians’ new advertising campaign that continues this week.
• Poarch’s 2018 campaign includes two much-anticipated commercials, “Land” and “Craft” — real stories about real people in the place they call home.
• Iconic images send hopeful messages about traditions, which fuel life and help lay the groundwork for a better future.
• Everyone that you meet on screen and in voiceover is Poarch Creek. All scenes and locations are authentic to the Tribe.
• Click here to watch the second spot, “Craft.”

3. It’s Moving Day.

• In case you hadn’t noticed, a lot of staff shuffling comes after an election.
• Whether it is a midterm, as it is nationally, or an end of a term, as it is here in the state, there tends to be a lot of churn after the elections.
• Such seems to be the case in the Trump Administration. The president already made his most anticipated change by removing Attorney General Jeff Sessions, but he’s ready to do a broader shake-up to prepare his White House for the next two years of divided government.
• White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke are all thought to be on the chopping block.
• That’s to say nothing of mid and lower-level advisers within the White House and various departments.
• Read more on that HERE.

• The House is in full shake-up mode. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy will soon be House Minority Leader, or at least he hopes he will.
• He’s trying to wrangle the votes to retain leadership of the Conference and fend off a challenge from Freedom Caucus leader Jim Jordan.
• Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi would very much like the Speaker’s gavel back, and it looks like she’ll get it.
• It will be a different Democratic Caucus on the Hill, though. Democrats are known for their ability to whip votes and stay united. But The Resistance has come to Washington, and they aren’t the go along to get along type.
• Pelosi might have her own Freedom Caucus to deal with, which will make things very interesting given such slim majority.
• Read more HERE.

4. Skip Tucker: Trump’s a fighter, but he let his best wingman go.

• Skip Tucker has figured out why liberals hate Trump and conservatives love him: he found a way to win.
• In his column this week, Skip talks about Trump the fighter and how his ability to win where others lost make him uniquely appealing to conservatives and horrifying to liberals.
• But, in forcing Attorney General Jeff Sessions out, he may have lost his best wingman in the fight.
• Here’s an excerpt:

• Read Skip’s full column HERE.

5. News Briefs.

• Florida’s ongoing recount battle heads back to a courtroom Wednesday. Lawyers for Democrats will ask a federal judge to set aside the state law mandating that mailed-in votes be thrown out if the signature on the envelope doesn’t match the signature on file with election authorities.
• This is the latest skirmish in Florida’s legally mandated vote recount, which is drawing national attention, including a stream of tweets from President Donald Trump.
• Trump on Tuesday called on Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson to admit that he lost his re-election bid to Republican Gov. Rick Scott. Trump implied, again without evidence, that officials in two pivotal South Florida counties are trying to steal the election.
• “When will Bill Nelson concede in Florida?” Trump wrote. “The characters running Broward and Palm Beach voting will not be able to ‘find’ enough votes, too much spotlight on them now!”
• Read the latest HERE.

• The recent recovery of three Native American artifacts stolen nearly 40 years ago could be the thread that unravels the mystery of the greatest antiquities theft in this part of the world.
• Hundreds of pottery vessels, bottles, bowls, ornaments and jewelry items were stolen from the Erskine Ramsey Archaeological Repository at the University of Alabama’s Moundville Archaeological Park in 1980. It was a shot in the dark when archaeologists and others contributed to a reward fund for information, which was announced in May.
• The publicity worked, leading to the recovery of three vessels in August.
• Full story from The Tuscaloosa News’ Stephanie Taylor HERE.

Headlines.

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