Glenn Stephens

State Adds 50 COVID-19 Deaths, 5,033 New Cases in Friday Report

The Alabama Department of Public Health added 50 deaths from COVID-19 in Friday's daily update, bringing the state's total for the pandemic to 12,153. With the spread of the coronavirus accelerating, the death toll has risen by an average of 30 deaths a day over the past week. The overall number of cases of the coronavirus rose Friday to 681,828, an increase of 5,033 from Thursday's report. Alabama averaged 4,014 cases a day for the past week. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

Nurses in Alabama Hospitals Feeling the Strain from COVID-19 Surge

Eleven months ago, Anderson Lopez Castillo was a recent graduate of Auburn University’s School of Nursing. His first job was in the Covid unit at UAB Hospital. “It has been a roller coaster ride of emotions, and emotionally draining,” Castillo said Thursday. “I am doing everything that I can for this patient, and the staff is doing everything they can, and we just can’t get ahead.” He said the worst part is losing a patient and then walking into another patient’s room. “You have to think this patient may have a shot at getting out of here.” Nurses in hospitals across Alabama, and particularly those in intensive care units, are feeling growing pressure as COVID-19 cases surge, complicated by the ease with which the delta variant spreads. With one of the lowest vaccination rates in the nation, Alabama has seen a dramatic increase in recent weeks in the number of new cases and the number of patients in hospitals. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

ADN Poll: Brooks Leads Senate Race, But Britt Has an Opening

MONTGOMERY — A new poll shows six-term Congressman Mo Brooks leading the field in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. But the survey, conducted last week by Cygnal for Alabama Daily News, also shows an opening for first-time candidate Katie Britt. Brooks, who has represented north Alabama’s 5th district since 2011, received support from 40.8%

by Mary Sell and Todd Stacy, Alabama Daily News

Sewell, Alabama’s Lone Congressional Democrat, Seeks to Strengthen Voting Rights, Defeat Party Infighting

Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, the lone Democrat in Alabama’s seven-member congressional delegation, is seeking to grow the party with a two-pronged approach — countering Republican-backed voting restrictions while raising money to protect Democratic incumbents against challenges from the left. First elected in 2011, Sewell has for four successive congresses introduced legislation to restore much of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, legislation that mandated federal oversight of election laws in areas with a history of racial discrimination. That historic legislation was largely struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013. The court's ruling that the law's requirements were outdated  led to state legislatures issuing a ream of voting restrictions in the wake of that decision. This year, Sewell again introduced the bill, House Resolution 4, newly named the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act in honor of the Alabama-born Georgia congressman and civil rights icon who died last year. Read more.

by Brett Davis

Commission on Pandemic Response Narrows Scope; Federal Help Sent to South Alabama Hospitals

MONTGOMERY -- The commission charged with analyzing Alabama’s response to the COVID-19  on Wednesday agreed on questions to state agencies about how they reacted early in the pandemic. The commission’s work comes as the COVID-19 delta variant continues to hospitalize more Alabamians, 2,845 as of Wednesday, 41 of them children, according to the Alabama Hospital Association. Across the state, 840 people with COVID are in intensive care units, making up 52% of ICUs’ populations. Hospitals are struggling to staff the needed ICU beds. State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris told the commission that a federal team of health care workers is being sent to a hospital in Dothan this weekend to handle the record-high number of COVID hospitalizations they’re seeing. Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Afghan Refugees Not Expected Yet in Alabama, Gov. Ivey’s Office Says

MONTGOMERY -- Gov. Kay Ivey’s office said Monday it is not aware of any Afghan refugees coming to Alabama as tens of thousands flee that country, Reports of hectic and desperate scenes from Kabul’s airport continue to emerge after the Taliban’s rapid takeover of the city last week. In the U.S., political divisions have risen on how to handle the wave of Afghan refugees. Some congressional Republicans and Republican governors have stated their willingness to accept refugees into their states, while other conservative voices have said they have security concerns about the rapid increase in refugees or that they are worried about “chain migration.” Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, along with 15 other Republican senators, sent a letter to President Biden urging him to act quickly to evacuate all “American citizens and all eligible Afghan partners” from Afghanistan. RepS. Mo Brooks, R-Huntsville, and Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, were the only members of Alabama’s delegation to vote against the Averting Loss of Life and Injury by Expediting SIVs Act, or ALLIES Act, which is meant to speed up the visa application process for Afghan citizens, USA Today reported. Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Leave Situation Could Become ‘Crisis’ for Some State Employees

As COVID-19 cases continue to increase in Alabama, a state employee group is asking for flexibility for workers who may have to quarantine. The Alabama State Employees Association is asking state agencies and departments to be “as creative as they can in helping all state employees through this pandemic,” Executive Director Mac McArthur told Alabama Daily News. “If this goes on for a while or gets worse, I would say this becomes a crisis issue for some of our members,” McArthur said. If in another month the delta virus is still increasing in case numbers and causing schools to close, “then I think our members will be looking to the administration (for assistance),” he said. Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

ADN Poll: Most Republicans Trust Vaccines, Value Health Care

MONTGOMERY — A majority of Alabama Republicans trust the COVID-19 vaccines and are concerned about the delta variant currently spreading across the state, according to a new Alabama Daily News poll. The poll also showed a strong majority of GOP voters believe all Alabamians should have access to quality health care, and close to a

by Todd Stacy, Alabama Daily News

Two Incumbents, Including President, Ousted from Board of Education

Two members of the Birmingham Board of Education, including President Daagye Hendricks, were defeated in Tuesday’s election, and a third incumbent was forced into a runoff. Challenger Derrick Billups got 55% of the votes to oust District 4 member and board President Daagye Hendricks. District 2 incumbent Terri Michal fell to Neonta Williams, who collected 56% of the vote in the two-candidate field. In District 1, challenger Sherman Collins Jr. narrowly led incumbent Douglas Lee Ragland in a three-way race, but neither got a majority and they will meet in a runoff Oct. 5. Each got 43% of the vote, with Collins leading by 13 votes. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

Six City Council Members Win Reelection; Parker and Hilliard Face Runoffs

Though two of them will have to fight for their seats in an Oct. 5 runoff election, Tuesday's municipal election proved friendly to incumbents on the Birmingham City Council, with six councilors retaining their seats outright, despite a crowded slate of challengers. Councilors facing multiple challengers had to receive over 50% of the vote to avoid triggering an Oct. 5 runoff election with the second-place candidate. Most were successful, but two — District 4’s William Parker and District 9’s John Hilliard — were not and will faces runoffs on Oct. 5. Read more.

by Sam Prickett