Presented by the

Alabama Municipal Electric Authority

Good morning!

Here’s your Daily News for Wednesday, November 3.

 

1. Maps set for final passage

• Committees in the Alabama House and Senate approved the four bills containing new congressional, state board of education and state House and Senate districts Tuesday, readying them for final passage as soon as today.
• Each of the bills cleared committees without changes to the district maps. Some Senators attempted to make changes to the congressional map in the Senate General Fund budget committee, but were ultimately unsuccessful.
• House Democrats continued to voice their concerns over keeping counties whole, especially in Jefferson County which is split among three state board of education districts and seven Senate districts.
• Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, continued to defend the splits saying the map makers’ goal has always been to reach the least possible deviation in population between districts to ensure equal representation.
• “In order to get the deviations down you have to go to population centers to get the population,” Pringle said. “It’s about one man, one vote.”
• Now, the new maps are ready for final passage, which could happen today depending on certain factors. The Senate will convene at 9:30 a.m. and the House at 1 p.m.
• Read more from Caroline Beck HERE.

 

2. Vaccine exemption bills advance

• Alabama lawmakers on Tuesday advanced legislation aimed at protecting employees who choose not to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by setting out an easy process to claim a religious or medical exemption.
• The legislation comes as Republican leaders in many states have expressed opposition to the federal vaccine mandate, calling it an infringement on personal decisions.
• But Democrats said Republicans were authorizing people to “lie” to avoid getting vaccinated and thereby risk the lives of others, while the Business Council of Alabama said conflicting state and federal mandates put employers in a “no win position.”
• Senate Bill 9 from Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Fairhope, would mandate businesses requiring COVID-19 vaccinations to distribute a form where employees could claim a religious or medical exemption by checking a box. An employee submitting the form could not be fired over not getting the vaccination unless the business appealed and got permission from the Alabama Department of Labor.
• Senate Bill 15 from Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, prohibits an entity, institution of education or business from discriminating against a person who refuses to provide proof of immunization. It also says individuals who are fired or otherwise impacted because of their status can sue.
• The bills now move to the House of Representatives where they have been assigned to the House Health Committee. No meeting has been posted as of this morning.
• However, Elliot and Orr tell Alabama Daily News this morning that they expect a committee meeting to be called at 1:30 p.m.
• Read more from Kim Chandler HERE.

 

 

 

 

 

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• To learn more about AMEA and public power, visit www.AMEA.com.

 

 

 

 

3. Shipt starts home alcohol delivery

• Shipt, the Birmingham-based grocery delivery service, announced on Tuesday that it will now start same-day delivery of beer and wine from Target, marking the beginning of alcohol delivery in the state.
• “We’re thrilled to bring alcohol delivery to Shipt’s home state just in time for the holiday season,” Rina Hurst, chief business officer for Shipt, said in a press release.
• Earlier this year, the Legislature passed and Gov. Kay Ivey signed a new law allowing the home delivery of beer, wine and spirits. The law went into effect Oct. 1 but delivery services had to apply for licenses through the Alcohol Beverage Control Board.
• Retail stores, manufacturers and third-party businesses who want to deliver certain amounts of alcohol can apply. Those seeking an alcohol delivery license have to pay a $100 application fee and a license fee of $250.
• ABC spokesman Daniel Dye told Alabama Daily News that some other companies now approved to deliver alcohol in the state include Dippi, Pick Up My Things, and Deerfoot Spirits.
• Read more from Caroline Beck HERE.

 

4. GOP sweep in Virginia jolts Dems, tight race in NJ

• It had been 12 years since a Republican won a statewide race in Virginia, a streak that led many to consider the commonwealth permanently blue.
• But Tuesday night, the GOP swept the top statewide offices for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general, while also retaking the majority in the House of Delegates. Republicans won by tapping into pent up voter frustrations, including on the issue of education.
• And in a completely unexpected turn of events, a little-known Republican candidate for governor in New Jersey is in a photo-finish race against the Democratic incumbent.
• The elections were the first major tests of voter sentiment since President Joe Biden took office and suggest growing frustration. They also underscored that, with Trump out of office, Democrats can’t center their messages on opposition to him. The results ultimately pointed to a potentially painful year ahead for Democrats as they try to maintain thin majorities in Congress.
• And they put a new focus on congressional Democrats’ inability so far to pass Biden’s massive domestic policy legislation, though it’s unclear whether the defeat will be enough to jolt them into action.
• The GOP wins could also give congressional Democrats pause in pursuing such an ambitious agenda of massive spending and social change.
• Read more HERE.

 

5. Braves win it all

• Most of the season, it just seemed this wasn’t their year.
• They dropped their first four games, and soon injuries piled up. They lost their most dynamic player before the All-Star break. They were stuck below .500 in August.
• Yet out of nowhere, suddenly, these Atlanta Braves transformed themselves and took off.
• Jorge Soler, Freddie Freeman and the Braves breezed to their first World Series championship since 1995, hammering the Houston Astros 7-0 on Tuesday night in Game 6. Max Fried threw six dominant innings in a signature pitching performance to close it out.
• “We hit every pothole, every bump you could possibly hit this year,” Freeman said. “Injuries, every single kind of thing that could happen, that could go wrong went wrong, and we overcame every single one of those things.”
• How proud Hank Aaron would’ve been.
• Read more from Ben Walker and see more photos from Houston HERE.

 

 

 

 

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Headlines

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Maps clear Senate, House committees, head to final votes

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Republicans advance bill for claiming vaccine exemptions

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Shipt announces start of alcohol delivery in Alabama

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – GOP sweep in Virgina jolts Democrats, tight race in NJ

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Hammerin’ Braves rout Astros to win 1st WS crown since 1995

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – New district maps advance in Senate, House

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – What’s on tap today: Anti-vaccine mandate bills

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Committee approves anti-COVID vaccine mandate bills

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Paul Sanford announces candidacy for Congress

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Memo outlines Mike Durant’s campaign

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Manchin throws a wrench into Biden plan works

 

AL.COM – Senator says Alabama bills to mitigate vaccine mandate face ‘uphill battle’

 

AL.COM – Warrior Met Coal strike has cost company $6.9 million

 

AL.COM – Deaths of male, female Alabama prison inmates under investigation

 

AL.COM – Congressional district plan advances; Homewood, Center Point districts in dispute

 

AL.COM – SBA loans, grants get big boost under ‘Build Back Better’ legislation

 

AL.COM – Alabama football’s economic impact ‘not just seven days a year’

 

AL.COM – Columnist John Archibald: Jon Meacham cancelled and this is what’s lost

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Alabama Senate approves bill requiring businesses to provide exemptions from COVID vaccine

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Autauga sheriff’s office charges two with drug trafficking

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Bond remains $10 million cash for Millbrook father facing aggravated child abuse charge

 

Decatur Daily – Maps clear Senate, House committees, head to final votes

 

Decatur Daily – Sloss to run for Limestone County sheriff

 

Decatur Daily – Athens to hold Dia de los Muretos Festival today

 

Times Daily – More Shoals manufacturing jobs moving to Mexico

 

Times Daily – Maps clear Senate, head to final votes

 

Times Daily – ‘Keep the Cheer Here’ has started

 

Anniston Star – U.S. Senate candidate Jessica Taylor hits the campaign trail

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Homeowners say Birmingham Water Works jackets found in sewer after water main break

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Former Ensley High School set to be demolished

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – 2 people plead guilty in kidnapping of prominent Birmingham businessman

 

Tuscaloosa News – Investigators probe fatal shooting, accidental death in Tuscaloosa

 

Tuscaloosa News – Alabama Senate approves bill requiring businesses to provide exemptions from COVID vaccine

 

Tuscaloosa News – Three wild and crazy moments from the last Alabama-LSU football game in Tuscaloosa

 

YellowHammer News – Add Oden to the list of state politicians opposing the Biden vaccine mandate

 

YellowHammer News – Brooks says Biden ‘appeasing’ Iran over sanctions lift, calls on president to employ ‘maximum pressure campaign’ against regime

 

YellowHammer News – Palmer raises objection to ‘un-American’ vaccine mandate — ‘Religious and other conscience exemptions are at the heart of the Constitution’

 

Gadsden Times – Alabama Senate approves bill requiring businesses to provide exemptions from COVID vaccine

 

Gadsden Times – Carver Community Revitalization Committee hosting First Saturday, annual Christmas parade

 

Gadsden Times – Council briefly discusses $1.75 million project, will wait to consider work at The Venue

 

Dothan Eagle – Governors and more: What to watch in Tuesday’s elections

 

Dothan Eagle – Yahoo pulls out of China, citing ‘challenging’ environment

 

Dothan Eagle – Biden lays out methane plan; jury seated in Rittenhouse trial; Virginia governors race down to wire

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Adams wins NYC mayor; Wu makes history winning Boston mayor

 

Opelika-Auburn News – U of Florida’s academic freedom reviewed over testimony ban

 

Opelika-Auburn News – What to watch in Tuesday’s elections across the US

 

WSFA Montgomery – Real Men Wear Pink raises over $160K for American Cancer Society

 

WSFA Montgomery – $10M bail upheld for father accused of breaking infant’s bones

 

WSFA Montgomery – Montgomery leaders call on judicial system to help tackle gun violence

 

WAFF Huntsville – Breeze Airlines seasonally suspending flights to Charleston

 

WAFF Huntsville – Fort Payne community mourns loss of beloved police captain

 

WAFF Huntsville – Huntsville Hospital hiring college nursing students to help RNs care for patients

 

WKRG Mobile – Pandemic, politics drive Xi’s absence from global talks

 

WKRG Mobile – UN report says Ethiopia’s war marked by ‘extreme brutality’

 

WKRG Mobile – In Iraq, election fraud claims fuel uncertainty, divisions

 

WTVY Dothan – Enterprise city council passes bee ordinance

 

WTVY Dothan – Ingalls Shipbuilding tank tester dies following work-related incident

 

WTVY Dothan – Arrest made in Oct. 23 Troy nightclub homicide

 

WASHINGTON POST – Republican Glenn Youngkin wins Virginia governor’s race

 

WASHINGTON POST – With Youngkin victorious, a post-Trump Virginia returns as a swing state

 

WASHINGTON POST – Youngkin’s balancing act with Trump pays off in Va. governor’s race

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Glenn Youngkin, a Republican financier, defeats Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia governor’s race.

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Here are five takeaways from Tuesday’s contests.

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Eric Adams Is Elected Mayor of New York City

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Financial System Makes Big Promises on Climate Change at COP26 Summit

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Biden Administration to Order Federal Agencies to Fix Hundreds of Cyber Flaws

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Supreme Court Weighs Challenge to New York State’s Concealed-Weapons Permit Law

 

 

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