PRESENTED BY the Stop The HIT Coalition
Good morning! Here’s your Daily News for Tuesday, November 27.
1. Latest from Galleria shooting.
- Ongoing protests over a police shooting of a black man at Riverchase Galleria continued Monday as demonstrators blocked Highway 31 beside the mall.
- A police officer killed 21-year-old Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr. on Thanksgiving night while responding to a shooting incident at the mall. Bradford was armed and holding his weapon, but police now say he was not the assailant that wounded two others.
- The actual gunman remains at large.
- Benjamin Crump, a lawyer for Bradford’s family, said witnesses have contacted his law firm saying Bradford was trying to “wave people away from the shooting” and the officer did not issue any verbal commands before shooting.
- “He saw a black man with a gun and he made his determination he must be a criminal,” he said.
- Some originally portrayed – and media including ADN reported – Bradford as a U.S. Army veteran. However, an Army spokesman said he was “administratively separated in August 2018 before completing training.”
- Hoover police said Monday that body camera and other video had been turned over to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA). “Release of any video will be done as ALEA deems appropriate during the investigation,” they said.
- Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato asked for patience from the community saying, “We all want answers and we believe with patience and focus the truth will be firmly established.”
- Full story HERE.
- Watch footage of the protests from WBRC HERE.
2. “What an amazing day for our country.”
- “Touchdown confirmed!” a flight controller called out, instantly dispelling the anxiety that had gripped the control room as the spacecraft made its six-minute descent.
- Flight controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California leaped out of their chairs, screaming, dancing and hugging, upon learning that InSight had arrived on Mars, the graveyard for a multitude of previous missions.
- The NASA spacecraft designed to drill down into Mars’ interior landed on the planet Monday after a perilous, supersonic plunge through its red skies, setting off jubilation among scientists who had waited in white-knuckle suspense for confirmation to arrive across 100 million miles of space.
- Alabama had a proud role to play in the mission: InSight was sent to Mars by booster rockets built by United Launch Alliance in Decatur.
- Indeed, it is the 18th NASA Mars mission in which ULA rockets have propelled spacecraft to pass by, orbit, or land on the Red Planet – a fact pointed out by Sen. Richard Shelby via twitter.
- Sen. Doug Jones, Rep. Mo Brooks and other Alabama leaders celebrated the mission on social media as well.
- Read all about it HERE.
A Message from the Stop The HIT Coalition
- Sen. Doug Jones: Don’t let Alabama small businesses and middle-class families get sacked by the 2020 Health Insurance Tax.
- Absent immediate action, the 2020 Health Insurance Tax will begin penalizing hardworking Alabamians on January 1, 2020 by driving up their cost of care as much as $450.
- Sen. Jones can help score lower premiums for Alabama’s 765,000 small business employees by supporting bipartisan legislation (S. 3063) to block the HIT in 2020.
- Ask Sen. Jones to help take S. 3063 to the end zone and support legislation to stop the 2020 Health Insurance Tax.
3. Mississippi votes today.
- Weird that every one of our neighboring states have had high-profile statewide races this year, right? Did we pass on the electoral juju or something?
- Mississippi’s Senate election today will settle the midterms for good. Appointed Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith is facing former Democratic Congressman Mike Espy.
- History will be made either way: Hyde-Smith would be the first woman ever elected to Congress from Mississippi, and Espy, 64, would be the state’s first African-American U.S. senator since Reconstruction.
- Hyde-Smith is likely to win. The latest polls show her up by as much as ten points.
- Democrats and media have pounced on some pretty careless and insensitive gaffes from Hyde-Smith, fueling a racial storyline that probably didn’t even need fuel in a year like this.
- President Trump rallied his supporters for Hyde-Smith last night in Tupelo and backed the Republican up saying “She stood up to the Democrat smear machine.”
- If Hyde-Smith prevails, the GOP would control the U.S. Senate by a 53-47 majority, meaning a two-seat net pick up for 2018.
- Read more about the election HERE.
- If you want to keep up throughout the day, I suggest following Jeff Amy on Twitter. You’ll remember Jeff from his time covering state politics at the Press-Register. He now reports for the Associated Press in Mississippi.
4. GM delivers punch to the gut.
- General Motors is slashing 14,700 factory and white collar jobs in North America and will close as many as five factories in Michigan, Ohio, Maryland and Ontario, Canada.
- Why the cuts? Two main reasons: (1) consumers are no longer buying the sedans these factories make and, (2) tariffs on steel and aluminum cost GM $1 billion in production cost this past year.
- We make cars (including sedans) in Alabama. Should we be worried?
- On the first part, no. Consumers are apparently still buying the “foreign” sedans like the Accord, Camry and the Hyundai Sonata we build in Montgomery. Other Alabama auto manufacturers build vans, trucks and SUVs, mostly.
- On the second part, sure. Tariffs on steel and aluminum are making life difficult for a lot of manufacturers, and Alabama auto makers have repeatedly spoken out against them (see China story below).
- The best discussion I’ve seen on this was on Judy Woodruff’s NewsHour on PBS.
- Another informative read is transportation writer David Kiley’s write-up in Forbes.
- On a related and MUCH HAPPIER note, Made in Alabama’s Jerry Underwood has a great piece that can take you inside the Mazda-Toyota site selection process that ultimately led to the mega project landing in Huntsville. Give that a read HERE.
5. Trump’s big China meeting.
- America’s “dealmaker in chief” will be put to the test this week.
- President Trump is set to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, during the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Friday and Saturday.
- Unless the two leaders can achieve a truce of sorts, their conflicts will likely escalate: On Jan. 1, the tariffs Trump has imposed on many Chinese goods are set to rise from 10 percent to 25 percent, and Beijing would likely retaliate.
- Trump himself sought Monday to increase the pressure on China. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump said it was “highly unlikely” that he would agree to Beijing’s request to suspend the tariff hikes that are set to take effect Jan. 1.
- And he repeated his threat to target an additional $267 billion in Chinese imports with tariffs of 10 percent or 25 percent.
- Trump sounded confident…
- “I’m very prepared. You know, it’s not like, ‘Oh, gee, I’m going to sit down and study.’ I know every stat. I know it better than anybody knows it. And my gut has always been right.”
- Read more HERE.
Headlines.
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – ‘Flawless’: Alabama-powered NASA craft lands on Mars after perilous journey
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Hoover police shooting protest blocks road as mayor urges patience
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – How the ‘Project New World’ Mazda-Toyota site search ended in Alabama
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Mississippi votes: Last US Senate race of midterms Tuesday
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Global trade is at stake as Trump and Xi come face to face
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Mueller accuses Manafort of breaking plea agreement by lying
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Daily News Digest – November 26, 2018
AL.COM – Woman dies after struck by train in Athens
AL.COM – Cold temperatures to hang around for a while
AL.COM – Riverchase Galleria shooting: Protesters shut down highway, march to mall
AL.COM – Alabama families set record for adopting foster children
AL.COM – Cruising on: Carnival commits to another year in Mobile
AL.COM – GM to close 3 assembly plants, cut nearly 15K jobs in North America by end of 2019
AL.COM – Hurricane Michael recovery a painful road for many.
AL.COM – Castleberry, an Alabama speed trap town, may soon resolve lawsuit
AL.COM – Hoover offers ‘deepest sympathies’ after deadly Alabama mall shooting, vows transparency
AL.COM – Columnist Dana McCain: The Saudi problem from a Christian perspective
AL.COM – CenterState Bank acquires National Commerce Corp
MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER – Man arrested, charged in October armed robbery
MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER – Progress slowed, but Fairview Avenue bars and restaurant still planned for popular strip
MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER – Prattville man pleads guilty to sex charge
DOTHAN EAGLE – Massive restructuring approved for Dothan City Schools; one high school beginning next year
DOTHAN EAGLE – Dothan woman charged in stabbing death of man in apparent domestic incident
DOTHAN EAGLE – Dothan sanitation crews moving toward final debris pickup
DOTHAN EAGLE – Federal disaster loan centers to open in Gordon, Slocomb Tuesday.
DOTHAN EAGLE – Editorial: Day care changes show minor improvement
YELLOWHAMMER NEWS – Doug Jones discusses not representing the majority of Alabamians, Kavanaugh, gun control
YELLOWHAMMER NEWS – Does anyone know what ‘brandishing’ means in reference to the Riverchase Galleria shooting?
YELLOWHAMMER NEWS – Alabama Republicans split on whether to support Jeff Sessions in Senate race, should he run
TUSCALOOSA NEWS – No funding agreement reached between ALDOT, road commission
TUSCALOOSA NEWS – ‘Bob’ Monfore, attorney and longtime Tuscaloosa school board member, dies
TUSCALOOSA NEWS – Kira Lewis leads Alabama basketball to hard-fought win over Murray State
DECATUR DAILY – Mental health leading safety issue at DCS
DECATUR DAILY – Athens’ Scout Music House in final phase of restoration
DECATUR DAILY – Searching for the perfect Christmas Tree
DECATUR DAILY – Freezing temperatures in tonight’s forecast
TIMES DAILY – Work progressing on UNA School of Nursing
TIMES DAILY – Sheffield Board to discuss superintendent hire
TIMES DAILY – Insurance claim filed over stolen city vehicle
ANDALUSIA STAR NEWS – Board asks for meeting with architect, contractor
ANDALUSIA STAR NEWS – Christmas parades begin Thursday
ANDALUSIA STAR NEWS – Rowell uses medical skills to support firefighters
TROY MESSENGER – Trojans sweep: CHHS takes out Luverne in home opener
TROY MESSENGER – Troy police investigating second fatal shooting over weekend
TROY MESSENGER – Patriots host home opener
ANNISTON STAR – Nonprofits see need for Christmas season help
THE ANNISTON STAR – Ranburne council approves purchases, hears holiday celebration details
THE ANNISTON STAR – Former Jacksonville superintendent now interim leader of county schools
THE ANNISTON STAR – Thanksgiving kidnap and robbery attempt reported to Anniston police
GADSDEN TIMES – Man dead after jump from bridge
GADSDEN TIMES – Longtime council member Robert Echols dies, is remembered as stabilizing force in Gadsden
GADSDEN TIMES – Cleveland school security guard accused of raping multiple students
OPELIKA-AUBURN NEWS – Two injured in Friday morning shooting in Lanett
OPELIKA-AUBURN NEWS – Former Auburn resident tries to become country music star on Real Country show
OPELIKA-AUBURN NEWS – Make-A-Wish Alabama needs Lee County volunteers
CULLMAN TIMES – Fire injures one, destroys Hanceville-area home
CULLMAN TIMES – Arrests, incidents reports for Nov. 19-25, 2018
CULLMAN TIMES – Below freezing temperatures start tonight
SHELBY COUNTY REPORTER – Mike Jones resigns as Helena City Council president
SHELBY COUNTY REPORTER – Helena ‘Christmas to Remember’ happening Nov. 30
SHELBY COUNTY REPORTER – Uniting in prayer: Community gathers for 22nd Prayer Breakfast
THE MADISON RECORD – Banks to perform at Triana gala
THE MADISON RECORD – 21st annual Tuba Christmas slated for Dec. 2
THE MADISON RECORD – Resolution LLC seeks to serve community from new office space in Huntsville
DAILY MOUNTAIN EAGLE – Handel’s ‘Messiah’ performance next Monday in Jasper
DAILY MOUNTAIN EAGLE – Board reverses itself on Tanya Guin vote after $900,000 spent
DAILY MOUNTAIN EAGLE – State BOE looking at changes to math
NEW YORK TIMES – Manafort Breached Plea Deal by Repeatedly Lying, Mueller Says
NEW YORK TIMES – The Suburbs Are Changing. But Not in All the Ways Liberals Hope.
NEW YORK TIMES – Amy Klobuchar Is ‘Minnesota Nice.’ But Is That What Democrats Want for 2020?
WASHINGTON POST – Mueller says Manafort lied after pleading guilty, should be sentenced immediately
WASHINGTON POST – GM layoffs, shutdowns suggest U.S. economy may be slowing — and dent Trump’s claim of an industrial renaissance
WASHINGTON POST – Melania Trump skips unveiling of White House Christmas decorations, and the Internet fills in the blanks
USA TODAY – Why GM CEO Mary Barra killed Chevrolet cars, approved likely plant closures
USA TODAY – Mueller: Paul Manafort violated plea agreement, lied to FBI in interviews
USA TODAY – Mia Love says Trump has ‘no real relationships, just convenient transactions’
POLITICO – Dictators’ dilemma: Foreign state media cover Trump with care
POLITICO – Shutdown fight over border wall nears
POLITICO – Contradicting border chief, Trump claims 3 officers ‘very badly hurt’ by migrants
Front Pages (images link to newspaper websites, which you should visit and patronize)