1. Sessions to announce Senate run

Credit: @darth

• Did you hear? Jeff Sessions is announcing his candidacy for the U.S. Senate today. Or so say a bunch of sources talking to just about every media outlet on the planet.
• We tried to tell you. On Monday, I put Sessions’ chances of running at 90% because there’s always a chance something happens and he backs out. As the week went on, that turned into more like ????.
• Twitter will continue to be abuzz about it all day, as will FACEBOOK (sic) and whatever other social media you use. But if you want to watch it live, tune into Tucker Carlson’s show on Fox News at 7:00 Central when Sessions is supposed to be on.
• Interestingly, today marks one year since Sessions was forced out as U.S. Attorney General by President Donald Trump. You wouldn’t even write that in a screenplay.
• For their part, the candidates currently in the race – Congressman Bradley Byrne, former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville, Secretary of State John Merrill, former Chief Justice Roy Moore and State Rep. Arnold Mooney – all say they are staying in the race. Some of the candidates had some salty responses to the news that Sessions wants his old seat back, while others chose to keep their powder dry.
• Read more on that from Kim Chandler and Brain Slodysko HERE.
• Inside Alabama Politics subscribers got a peek at the only published polling that includes Sessions on the ballot test. I’ve taken that analysis piece out from behind the paywall and you can read it HERE.

2. Brasher nominated to 11th Circuit

• Andrew Brasher sure is moving up in the world quickly.
• Six months after being confirmed to the federal bench as a U.S. District Judge in Alabama’s Middle District, Brasher has been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Brasher was solicitor general in the Alabama Attorney General’s office before joining the bench. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and previously served as a law clerk at the 11th Circuit for Judge Bill Pryor.
• The Senate in May voted 52-47 to confirm Brasher. Interestingly, Alabama’s Senators were split on the nomination, with Sen. Richard Shelby voting to confirm Brasher and Sen. Doug Jones voting against. Traditionally, senators play a lead role in selecting and shepherding judicial nominations from their state, but Brasher, like most judges these days, passed on a straight party line vote.
• Read more HERE.
• And congrats (again) to Judge Brasher.

3. Impeachment hearings go public

• Democrats announced Wednesday they will launch public impeachment hearings next week.
• Up until now, all the hearings, interviews and depositions have been behind closed doors, with media reports depending on published transcripts and sources inside the room. Republicans have complained that many such reports have been selectively leaked by Democrats pushing the impeachment narrative. Now it all goes public.
• First to testify will be William Taylor, the top diplomat in Ukraine, who has relayed in private his understanding that there was a quid pro quo with President Donald Trump holding up military aid to a U.S. ally facing threats from its giant neighbor Russia.
• That aid, at the heart of the impeachment inquiry, is alleged to have been held hostage until Ukraine agreed to investigate political foe Joe Biden and the idea, out of the mainstream of U.S. intelligence findings, that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 U.S. election.
• To prepare for what’s ahead, the White House is beefing up its communications operations.
• Trump ally Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, and Tony Sayegh, a former Treasury Department spokesman, are expected to join the White House team to work on “proactive impeachment messaging.”
• Full story HERE.

4. Shelby announces $38 million in infrastructure grants

• U.S. Senator Richard Shelby today announced three new major infrastructure grants for Alabama totaling $38 million that will help state and local governments fund highway improvements.
• Lauderdale County got a $14.9 million grant that will help expand a stretch of U.S. Highway 72 (Florence Blvd) from four lanes to six lanes.
• Madison County will receive $9.3 million to expand Blake Bottom Road from two lanes to five lanes, easing traffic congestion around Redstone Arsenal and Cummings Research Park.
• And Gulf Shores got a $14 million for a project to increase capacity on State Highway 59 (we might all be using that one a little, amirite?).
• The grants are part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s BUILD program, which is aimed to fund projects that can boost economic development.
• “I look forward to working with my colleagues and Transportation Secretary Chao as we continue to prioritize the infrastructure needs of Alabama and the nation,” Shelby said.
• Read more HERE.

5. Chris England: After party election, let’s get to work

• Last weekend, State Rep. Chris England of Tuscaloosa was elected chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party.
• Of course, existing Chairwoman Nancy Worley called the meeting of the group that elected him illegitimate and tried (unsuccessfully) to get the courts to block it. The legal battle probably isn’t finished, but that’s for another day.
• Mr. England is moving forward with trying to put the party back together, and today he contributes an op-ed for the Daily News describing some of that work.
• Here’s an excerpt:

• Read his full op-ed HERE.

News Briefs

Alabama SGA warns students against “disruptive behavior”

• TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — The University of Alabama’s Student Government Association is warning students they could lose their block seating for the rest of the season if they “engage in disruptive behavior” during the LSU game.
• Jason Rothfarb, the SGA’s vice president of student affairs, sent out a letter citing the increased security at Saturday’s game between the second-ranked Crimson Tide and No. 1 LSU. President Donald Trump is expected to attend the game, and Alabama is warning fans to arrive early and expect longer waits getting into Bryant-Denny Stadium.
• A later statement from the SGA said the letter was “meant only to remind students about heightened security and the consequences of altercations or other behaviors unbecoming of a University of Alabama student, as defined in the Capstone Creed.”
• It said there was no “political context” intended and that “the SGA strongly affirms its belief in free speech and the rights of all students to express their opinions.”

Alabama tourism honored for civil rights promotion

• MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama’s state tourism agency is being honored for its work promoting civil rights travel in 14 U.S. states.
• The office was presented with an award recognizing its marketing campaign for the U.S. Civil Rights Trail during an industry trade show in London on Tuesday.
• The trail promotes museums, churches and other African American landmarks across the South. Promotional materials include video interviews with civil rights participants from the 1960s and photos of landmarks.
• Alabama oversaw the project in partnership with the Atlanta-based TravelSouth USA and the National Park Service. The trail includes sites from Kansas to Delaware, including all of the Deep South.
• The state won an award for best regional destination. A news release says other finalists included areas in Spain, India, the Canary Islands and the Netherlands.

Alabama couple convicted in death of malnourished baby girl

• HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — The parents of an 11-month-old girl who doctors testified died from malnourishment and a lethal dose of medicine have been convicted of aggravated child abuse.
• Al.com reports the baby’s father, Joshua Lee Foster, was found guilty in Madison County court on Wednesday. The mother, Porsha Dawn Bole, pleaded guilty to the same charge on Monday. They face 10 years to life in prison when sentenced in January.
• A state Forensic Sciences Department medical examiner testified that a fatal dose of a compound commonly found in sleeping pills and allergy medicines caused the girl’s death. The doctor said she weighed just 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) and was severely dehydrated and underfed when she died in 2018.
• Foster testified he never noticed his daughter was starving as he was often away working.

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