Presented by The Boeing Company.

 

 

 

1. Turkey invades, targets Kurds.

• Turkish ground forces seized at least one village from Kurdish fighters in northern Syria as they pressed ahead with their assault Thursday, launching airstrikes and unleashing artillery shelling on towns and villages the length of its border.
• Turkey began its offensive in northern Syria on Wednesday with airstrikes and artillery shelling, and then ground troops began crossing the border later in the day.
• Turkey has long threatened to attack the Kurdish fighters whom Ankara considers terrorists allied with a Kurdish insurgency in Turkey. Expectations of an invasion increased after President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision Sunday to essentially abandon the Syrian Kurdish fighters, leaving them vulnerable to a Turkish offensive.
• The Kurds, who have been America’s only allies in Syria fighting the Islamic State group, stopped on Thursday all their operations against the IS extremists in order to focus on fighting advancing Turkish troops, Kurdish and U.S. officials said.
• Trump’s decision to have American troops step aside in northeastern Syria was a major shift in U.S. policy and drew opposition from all sides at home. It also marked a stark change in rhetoric by Trump, who during a press conference in New York last year vowed to stand by the Kurds.
• Read the full story, including some analysis from forces on the ground, HERE.

 

2. Jones in a tight spot on impeachment.

• All this week, the Alabama Republican Party has been blistering Democratic U.S. Sen. Doug Jones trying to force him to take a position on impeachment.
• It’s a classic maneuver intended to pit Jones against a largely pro-Trump electorate.
• “We are all watching and will hold him accountable if he joins his party trying to upend our constitution,” Alabama Republican Party Chairwoman Terry Lathan said at a news conference.
• With impeachment talks in the news every day, it’s also hard to ignore.
• Jones addressed the proverbial elephant in the room this week during a town hall meeting in Cullman County.
• Kim Chandler was there to get his thoughts, plus some analysis from various political commentators on the impact impeachment might have on Jones’ political future.
• Read her story HERE.

 

 

A message from The Boeing Company.

 

• Only one Department of Defense program is capable of protecting an American city from a long-range ballistic missile attack – the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program.

• As the GMD prime contractor, Boeing engineers and experts work right here in Alabama to sustain this vital shield against an attack on our homeland.

• Boeing has led the industry team for development, integration, testing, operation and sustainment since inception of the program.

• This unique Boeing insight and expertise can be drawn upon as new ideas to modernize the system are conceived, and until then, GMD will continue to protect the nation 24/7.

 

 

3. Perez warns Worley on bylaw vote.

• Speaking of Jones, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind some help from the Alabama Democratic Party at moments like this. DNC Chairman Tom Perez is trying to help him out with that
• Perez sent a letter to Alabama Democratic Party leadership saying they must abide by the recently-adopted bylaws passed by a contingent of the State Democratic Executive Committee last week. He said any alternative bylaws adopted in an upcoming meeting called by Chair Nancy Worley would not be treated as legitimate.
• Worley said she would press forward, though, so this circus will continue at least for a while.
• That full story from Brian Lyman HERE.

 

4. Public Health proposes cutting public hearings.

• The Alabama Department of Public Health and its State Board of Health are proposing to eliminate public hearings prior to adopting rule changes.
• The move is raising concerns about transparency and access among some advocates, but the department says the change is intended to save the state money.
• “Ninety-seven percent of the time, no one shows up,” Brian Hale, general counsel for ADPH told Alabama Daily News.  Hale said whenever the department has a proposed rule change, a public hearing is set and a court reporter is hired to transcribe it for about $400. Hale said he or another attorney usually facilitate those hearings.
• Jennifer Crook, a certified professional midwife who lobbied the Legislature for years to decriminalize midwifery, is worried about the proposed change. Midwives go through ADPH to get birth certificates for the babies they help deliver.
• “For me, professionally, it is concerning that they could change a rule or create a new one that would affect our profession without us having the ability to publicly comment one way or the other,” Crook said.
• Hale said state law requires that the public have a way to communicate to the agency. Written comments could still be submitted, he said.
• “We’re not by any means cutting the public out, we want the public to participate,” Hale said.
• Read the full story from ADN’s Mary Sell HERE.

 

5. Stacy column: Reed understands the moment, but isn’t lost in it.

• In case you hadn’t noticed, the election of Montgomery’s first black mayor is a really big deal.
• I wrote a column about the magnitude of the moment and how we ought not let it pass by without marking its significance.
• But even as we stop to take in the remarkable symbolism, there is real work to be done to make changes in a city fraught with hard-to-fix problems.
• Having talked with Mayor-elect Steven Reed, my sense is that he understands the huge significance of this moment, but also has a practical approach to using it to help him do his new job.
• That’s a long thought that can’t be captured in an excerpt, but here’s one anyway:

• Read my full column HERE.

 

News Briefs.

 

• The U.S. Supreme Court this week declined to review six Alabama death penalty cases, including two for the murders of police officers and the state’s first prosecution for the death of an unborn child.
• In a press release, Attorney General Steve Marshall said he was happy with the court’s decisions.
• “In each of these cases, a life or lives were tragically and viciously taken and a just sentence of death for the killer was handed down,” Marshall said. “Police officers were carrying out their duties to protect citizens, as they do every day, and they paid the ultimate price. A mother and her unborn child, and three more women, were brutally killed. The U.S. Supreme Court this week acted in its role as a last resort of justice, rightfully letting stand the convictions and sentences for these vile crimes.”
• The state’s first prosecution for the murder of an unborn baby happened in 2012 with the trial of Jessie Phillips.
• Phillips held his pregnant wife, Erica Phillips, in a headlock with a gun pointed to her head in 2009. She broke away but Phillip shot her in the head, killing her.
• Marshall prosecuted this case when he was district attorney of Marshall County and Phillips was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in 2012.
• Full story from ADN’s Caroline Beck HERE.

• HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama county grand jury has indicted a former nurse accused of fatally poisoning her husband with supplies stolen from the hospital where she worked.
• News outlets reported on Wednesday that Marjorie Nicole Cappello was formally charged with murder in the 2018 death of her husband, James Cappello. Madison County Assistant District Attorney Tim Douthit says authorities believe Nicole Cappello gave her husband a fatal dose of insulin. Jim Cappello was reported missing before being found dead in the garage of the couple’s Huntsville home.
• WAFF reports Huntsville police Investigator Michael DeNoon previously testified that Jim Cappello had become suspicious his wife was abusing drugs and was preparing to divorce her.
• Nicole Cappello’s attorney says he hasn’t received evidence from prosecutors yet.
• If convicted, she could face life in prison.

• PHENIX CITY, Ala. (AP) — Authorities say a man died after he refused to pull over for an Alabama county sheriff’s deputy and crashed into a utility pole.
• The Lee County Coroner’s Office says 42-year-old Heath Stafford refused to stop early Wednesday morning and tried to elude the deputy when he lost control of his pickup truck in Phenix City.
• Stafford had to be extricated from the vehicle. The coroner’s office says he was taken to a hospital, where he died from multiple blunt force injuries. The crash is under investigation.

• SPRINGVILLE, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama prison officer has resigned following his arrest on charges of having illegal drugs at the St. Clair prison in Springville.
• The Department of Corrections says 26-year-old Ivan Caldwell of Birmingham was arrested Monday on charges of trafficking drugs, promoting prison contraband and violating a pistol license.
• The agency says Caldwell quit following his arrest.
• Court records aren’t available to show whether Caldwell has a lawyer to speak on his behalf.
• Caldwell had worked for the prison system since 2017. The department says a vehicle search showed he had packages of methamphetamine and heroin.
• He was booked into the St. Clair County Jail.

 

Headlines.

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