Good morning! Here’s your Daily News for Thursday, October 25.

1. The Boss.

• In profiling the two people running for governor, I wanted to get away from what drives the day and find out what drives the candidates.
• Today you can read about incumbent Gov. Kay Ivey.
• Come for the cool helicopter ride, stay for the candid discussion of Medicaid, linger through the disaster relief efforts, and hang on until the end for comparisons to her predecessors and why I chose this headline.
• THANK YOU to the Governor’s Office and the Walt Maddox campaign for allowing me this unique access to tell these stories.
• Also special thanks to my keen-eyed New York friend Taylor Hill for 1 a.m. copy edits.
• Full Kay Ivey profile HERE.
• And in case you missed the one on Walt Maddox, it’s HERE.

2. What kind of day has it been.

• A series of pipe bombs have been sent in packages to various high profile Democratic candidates or left leaning influencers and supporters.
• George Soros, Barrack Obama’s D.C. office, the Clinton’s suburban home, ex-CIA Director John Brennan at CNN (even though he does analyst work for NBC), and Former Attorney General Eric Holder.
• Whoever mailed the packages to Brennan and Holder put the return addresses as the office of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.
• The FBI also reported that shards of glass were inside the bomb to maximize the amount of destruction.
• President Trump spoke Wednesday condemning the bomb threats saying, “We have to unify, we have to come together and send one clear, strong, unmistakable message — acts or threats of political violence, of any kind, have no place in the United States of America.”
• But then later, he heaved blame on the media saying it should “set a civil tone and stop the endless hostility and constant negative and oftentimes false attacks and stories.”
• CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker, was especially tough on the White House for their past comments on the media and said in a statement on Twitter: “There is a total and complete lack of understanding at the White House about the seriousness of their continued attacks on the media. The President, and especially the White House Press Secretary, should understand their words matter. Thus far, they have shown no comprehension of that.”
• Amid the flurry of updates were also mentions of this being a liberal conspiracy set up by Democrats to help them win the midterms.
• Yep, we’re in crazy town.
• There has been no word of who actually sent the packages, although there are reports that the packages could have plenty of forensic evidence to trace who the original sender is.
• You can read more into the situation HERE.

A Message from The Alabama Petroleum Council

• The United States is the global leader in production and refining of natural gas and oil. It’s an American energy revolution that impacts all 50 states – including Alabama.
• Alabama ranked 18th in oil production in 2016, 16th in natural gas output that same year and natural gas continues to be the leading source of electricity generation in the state.
• The Alabama Petroleum Council exists to support policies that maintain this national energy resurgence – benefiting consumers and producing good-paying Alabama jobs.
• Stay connected to the Alabama Petroleum Council via Twitter.

3. Race Profile: Senate District 6.

• One of the most closely-watched legislative races in Alabama this year is Senate District 6, where first term incumbent Republican Sen. Larry Stutts faces a challenge from State Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow.
• Stutts won the seat from the one and only Roger Bedford four years ago, and only by 70 or so votes. So there are plenty of people willing to split their tickets here.
• Morrow is a Democrat who represents a healthy portion of Stutts’ district already, so he’s hoping that gives him a leg up.
• ADN’s Will Whatley took a look at the race and has a story on it this morning.
• Find out more about the candidates, what they’ve raised, who’s supporting them, and how to follow them HERE.

4. Stock Market plummets.

• The stock market fell for the sixth consecutive session Wednesday.
• The Dow Jones was down more than 600 points, while the S&P 500 dropped 3% and the tech-laden Nasdaq closed down over 4%.
• Stocks have been falling consecutively for the past three weeks and, despite the solid earnings reports from companies like Boeing and Altira, the market enters negative territory for the year.
• A number of concerns — like rising interest rates, uncertainty over the impact of the trade war with China and worries that the nearly 10-year bull market may be ending — set off a binge of selling.
• This sell off comes at a time when unemployment is as low as it has been in nearly a half-century and the economy expanded at a 4 percent pace in the second quarter.
• Declines in the technology sector generated most of the pressure: The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index dropped more than 4.4 percent, as shares in the tech heavyweights Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook all fell more than 5 percent.
• Homebuilding stocks were also a part of the problem: The S.&P. 500 homebuilding index dropped 3 percent after new economic data showed home sales slumped for the fourth straight month. The sector has been battered this year, falling more than 36 percent, as rising mortgage rates showed signs of slowing the sector.
• Is it the market blowing off steam or the start of a recession? Read more HERE.

5. News Briefs.

• State health officials announced Wednesday that a study did not find evidence of an eye cancer cluster at Auburn University during the early 2000s.
• The question drew national attention earlier this year when Allyson Allred, who has been battling the cancer since 2001, worked to connect other survivors who lived in Auburn.
• Read more HERE.

• Tom Butler has a new ad up today.
• He’s running for his old Senate seat up in Huntsville.
• Butler talks about his career as a pharmacist and how that can inform his decisions on the opioid epidemic and mental health.
• Watch the ad HERE.

Headlines.

 

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