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Daily News Digest – November 22, 2021

Presented by the

Alabama League of Municipalities

Good morning!

I regret to pass along the news that Caroline Beck, your trusted ADN reporter for more than three years, is leaving us next month for Colorado. Caroline has brought so much to our news coverage and to the Capital Press Corps with her tenacious reporting from the State House. While we hate to lose her from our team, I’m excited to see the great things she will do in her career.

Relatedly, we are now hiring! The world of Alabama politics is fertile ground for enterprising reporters. Please share our job posting with anyone who might be interested in joining the ADN team.

Here’s your Daily News for Monday, November 22.

 

1. Bill targets social media companies over free speech

  • Don’t look now but the 2022 legislative session is just 50 days away.
  • That means we will start to see legislation being introduced and agendas getting sharpened as lawmakers prepare for the last session of the term ahead of next year’s elections.
  • One such bill is Senate Bill 10, pre-filed by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, which would prohibit large social media platforms from blocking a user in Alabama or deleting the opinions or information they share.
  • The bill says if a “major interactive computer service” does discriminate against users based on what they share, it “shall forfeit to the affected user $100,000 for each offense, and an additional $100,000 for each day of the continuance of the offense.”
  • Senate Bill 10 defines a major interactive computer service as having more than 30 million users in the United States and more than $1 billion in annual global revenue. Read: Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Snapchat, TikTok, etc.
  • The bill, should it become law, does not protect content that violates a federal, state or local law or “solicits, facilitates, or incites the commission of an unlawful act.”
  • Read more from Mary Sell HERE.

 

 

2. Man arrested on charges of injuring Alabama trooper

  • A man has been arrested and charged with injuring an Alabama state trooper who was trying to arrest him, according to authorities.
  • Randy Lee Wade, 57, was arrested without incident in Sumter County at around 9 p.m. Saturday, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
  • Authorities with the United States Marshal Services’ Fugitive Task Force, the 17th Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force and the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the arrest.
  • The incident occurred Friday at Alabama Highway 28 and Interstate 20/59 in Livingston sometime around 11:45 p.m. Officials said no shots were involved, and the incident was described as a physical altercation.
  • Read more HERE.

 

 

A message from the

Alabama League of Municipalities

  • Since 1935, the League has served as the primary legislative advocate for Alabama’s municipalities, representing its members at the Alabama Legislature, in Congress and with numerous administrative agencies.
  • The League’s advocacy team (pictured above) diligently monitors all legislative activities and actively works to amend or defeat any legislation considered harmful to municipalities or the function of local government.
  • The advocacy team consists of Greg Cochran, Executive Director; Baker Allen, Director of Policy and Research; Bryan Parker, Director of Governmental Affairs; Lori Lein, General Counsel; and Kayla Bass, Director of External Affairs.
  • To view legislative information or to contact the advocacy team, visit www.almonline.org.

 

 

 

 

 

3. WSFA donates historic items to Archives

  • WSFA-TV in Montgomery has donated thousands of items including historic footage from the civil rights era to the Alabama Department of Archives and History, which will make the material available to the public.
  • The station gave the agency materials dating to the 1950s, including footage from news conferences by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., coverage of the Freedom Riders in 1961 and original film from the “Stand in the School House Door” by then-Gov. George C. Wallace in 1963.
  • The video also includes scenes from a visit to the NASA center in Huntsville by then President John F. Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon Johnson in 1962 and special reports on the death of former University of Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant.
  • Steve Murray, the Archives director, said archivists had long suspected the WSFA studios held valuable content for historical preservation, and his department jumped at the opportunity to add to its collection when a phone call came in late 2019.
  • Read more HERE.

 

 

4. Climate provisions in focus as budget plan goes to Senate

  • After last week’s House passage of President Joe Biden’s massive $1.75 trillion domestic spending plan, all eyes turn to the Senate, where the margin for error is even slimmer for the Democratic majority.
  • One big question mark is whether the bill’s major climate change provisions will survive or be altered, especially given the role of centrist Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who has been critical of some of them.
  • The bill seeks to impose a fee on methane emissions from oil and gas wells in an effort to reduce the carbon dioxide that contributes to global warming.
  • Manchin, whose state is a leading producer of coal and natural gas, has said he worries a methane tax could be used to drive energy companies out of business. He said before the House vote that he wants to make sure the fee is structured to incentivize innovation and not just “punish” energy companies “for the sake of punishing” them.
  • It’s just one example of how the process of passing the president’s top agenda item is far from finished.
  • Read more HERE.

 

 

5. Biden’s political standing worries Dems about 2022, 2024

  • It was supposed to be a moment of triumph for Joe Biden.
  • The Democratic president had just signed into law the most significant infrastructure package in generations. And he had done it by bringing Democrats and Republicans together, just as he promised during last year’s campaign. But when Biden arrived in New Hampshire last week to promote the $1 trillion package at the foot of a crumbling bridge, not all of his VIP guests were in the mood to celebrate.
  • “Democrats are concerned,” former state House Speaker Steve Shurtleff, a longtime Biden supporter who attended the ceremony, said when asked about Biden’s political standing. “I’m concerned about where we may be in another couple of years when people really start to gear up and start making trips to New Hampshire.”
  • Shurtleff was openly saying what a growing number of Democrats have been whispering for months: Biden’s political standing is so weak less than a year into his presidency that he may not be able to win reelection in 2024 if he were to run again. Such anxiety-fueled parlor games are common among Washington’s political class, but this one has spread to the states and constituencies that will play a central role in the next presidential election.
  • Read more from Steve Peoples HERE.

 

 

Headlines

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Bill would prevent social media companies from blocking users over viewpoints

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Man arrested on charges he injured Alabama trooper

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – WSFA donates thousands of items to Alabama Archives

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – As budget bill moves to Senate, climate provisions closely watched

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Biden’s political standing fuels Democratic worry about 2024

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – US opens COVID boosters to all adults, urges them for 50+

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Indian tribes seek return of remains, artifacts from Alabama

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Cap on drug price hikes for privately insured sparks battle

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – US climate pledge faces test in Senate with global impact

 

AL.COM – Mother of convicted murderer holds daily vigil for son’s release after losing 2 grandsons to guns

 

AL.COM – In Kenosha and beyond, guns become more common on US streets

 

AL.COM – Contributor David Sher: Sick and tired of Birmingham being stereotyped as racist

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Autauga County Schools to unveil plan for new schools before Tuesday vote on increased property taxes

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Amazon’s $100M Montgomery project: Three things you need to know

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Man shot on Halloween dies, Montgomery police launch death investigation

 

Decatur Daily – Black Friday not going away, retailers say

 

Decatur Daily – Sleep in Heavenly Peace believes no child should sleep on floor

 

Decatur Daily – Health officials: Follow COVID precautions over holidays

 

Times Daily – Empty Table Fund off to a big start

 

Times Daily – 2 churches offering Thanksgiving meals

 

Times Daily – Bank Independent honors 2 scholarship recipients

 

Anniston Star – Deadline approaching for those under 65 years old who need health insurance

 

Anniston Star – CVS announces unspecified store closings

 

Anniston Star – Officials hope rain will extinguish Cheaha fire

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Woman killed in four car crash in Tuscaloosa

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Red Cross in critical need of volunteers giving blood donations

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Local businesses prepare for Black Friday shoppers

 

Tuscaloosa News – A Tuscaloosa man free on bail from a 2020 murder charge accused in Friday fatal shooting

 

Tuscaloosa News – Tuscaloosa police investigate after 19-year-old woman shot to death at Hay Court

 

Tuscaloosa News – Same event, new location: Tuscaloosa’s outdoor skating rink moves to Government Plaza

 

YellowHammer News – Labor Secretary Washington: ‘I feel really good about where we are’ on fulfilling SB9 vaccine exemptions duties

 

YellowHammer News – Ainsworth pledges pushback against Biden ‘un-American’ policies — ‘People are sick of what he’s doing to America’

 

YellowHammer News – Ag Commissioner Pate: USDA showing ‘some flexibility’ with school food shortages

 

Gadsden Times – Gadsden partners with Never Surrender in Pink Can Project

 

Gadsden Times – PET OF THE WEEK: Active, playful Bucky seeks his ‘furever’ home

 

Gadsden Times – Two efforts underway on Thanksgiving Day to provide people with a free meal and fellowship

 

Dothan Eagle – Report: Democracy backsliding across the world amid pandemic

 

Dothan Eagle – Democratic U.S. Rep. Peter Welch of Vermont to run for Patrick Leahy’s Senate seat next year, calls it ‘pivotal moment’

 

Dothan Eagle – World shares mostly higher as lockdowns, inflation loom

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Report: Democracy backsliding across the world amid pandemic

 

Opelika-Auburn News – IOC interview with Peng Shuai raises even more questions

 

Opelika-Auburn News – World shares mostly higher as lockdowns, inflation loom

 

WSFA Montgomery – Cheaha State Park closed as crews battle 2 wildfires

 

WSFA Montgomery – State fire marshal warns of Thanksgiving turkey fryer, oven fires

 

WSFA Montgomery – Black Belt Big Buck Photo Contest kicks off 10th year

 

WAFF Huntsville – TCSO: Teenager arrested in connection to deadly shooting of woman in Tuscaloosa

 

WAFF Huntsville – Man arrested for allegedly shooting dog with crossbow

 

WAFF Huntsville – Feeding the hungry for Thanksgiving

 

WKRG Mobile – Fatalities confirmed, more than 20 injured after SUV plows through Wisconsin holiday parade

 

WKRG Mobile – 1 injured after small plane crash in Bibb County

 

WKRG Mobile – MPD: Two men killed on Rangeline Road Sunday morning

 

WTVY Dothan – Good News Ministry holds annual Thanksgiving feast

 

WTVY Dothan – AP source: Florida fires Mullen after 6th loss in 9 games

 

WTVY Dothan – Headland businesses come together for Market of Hope

 

WASHINGTON POST – 5 dead, more than 40 injured after SUV plows into crowd at Christmas parade in Wisconsin

 

WASHINGTON POST – Two missionaries kidnapped in Haiti are ‘safe, in good spirits’ after release, U.S. aid group says

 

WASHINGTON POST – Facebook’s race-blind practices around hate speech came at the expense of Black users, new documents show

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Five Dead in Wisconsin After Driver Plows S.U.V. Into Holiday Parade

 

NEW YORK TIMES – As Thanksgiving Approaches, U.S. Virus Cases Tick Upward Once More

 

NEW YORK TIMES – From Katz’s Deli to Broadway, International Tourists Trickle Back

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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