Over Memorial Day weekend, at least 26 shootings were reported in major cities across Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. At least 10 people were killed and 17 others were injured. It was the latest example of rising homicides and gun violence across the Gulf states this year. Read more.
WASHINGTON — Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Huntsville, isn’t giving up on his claim that Donald Trump was elected president last year. “Somewhere in the neighborhood of 900,000 to 1.7 million non-citizens voted in the 2020 presidential election, overwhelmingly for Joe Biden,” Brooks told the Washington Examiner this week. He said former President Trump won "if only lawful votes cast by eligible American citizens were counted." The Examiner noted that Brooks didn’t provide any backing information for his claims, which have been rejected by the departments of Justice and Homeland Security, the FBI and numerous courts and elected officials. Read more.
Gov. Kay Ivey and some legislative leaders met Wednesday to discuss possible next steps after the governor’s proposal to lease three new men’s prisons stalled earlier this month. “No decisions were made today; this was simply an opportunity for an update on where we are and what needs to happen, going forward with respect to improving our prison infrastructure,” Ivey said in a written statement. The meeting included Ivey, Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn, Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed, R-Jasper, Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, and the Legislature’s two General Fund budget chairmen. Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, and Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Range. Officials did not disclose the details of what was discussed, but called the meeting productive and the first of several. Lawmakers earlier this year balked at a nearly $3 billion price tag on Ivey's 30-year prison lease plan and said they’d largely been excluded from discussions. Read more.
When replacement parts are needed for the Alabama State House’s electrical system, some have to be “scavenged” because the system is so old that new parts are no longer available. Meanwhile, the HVAC system has outlived its intended lifespan and is contributing to mold issues in the nearly 60-year-old, eight-floor building, according to a recent facility condition assessment by a Georgia-based engineering firm. The report has renewed discussions about the health and safety conditions of the building and the need for a new building, or at least significant renovations. The report and springtime presentation to the Legislative Council outlined some concerning conditions in the building and about $51 million in renewal costs needed in the next 10 years. The bottom line is that lawmakers need to act on the condition of the State House and the costs will be significant, Rep. Victor Gaston, R-Mobile, told Alabama Daily News on Tuesday. Gaston is chair of the Legislative Council, which owns the State House. Read more.
This story was originally published by ProPublica. In 2007, Jeff Bezos, then a multibillionaire and now the world’s richest man, did not pay a penny in federal income taxes. He achieved the feat again in 2011. In 2018, Tesla founder Elon Musk, the second-richest person in the world, also paid no federal income taxes. Michael Bloomberg managed to do the same in recent years. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn did it twice. George Soros paid no federal income tax three years in a row. ProPublica has obtained a vast trove of Internal Revenue Service data on the tax returns of thousands of the nation’s wealthiest people, covering more than 15 years. The data provides an unprecedented look inside the financial lives of America’s titans, including Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch and Mark Zuckerberg. It shows not just their income and taxes, but also their investments, stock trades, gambling winnings and even the results of audits. Taken together, it demolishes the cornerstone myth of the American tax system: that everyone pays their fair share and the richest Americans pay the most. The IRS records show that the wealthiest can — perfectly legally — pay income taxes that are only a tiny fraction of the hundreds of millions, if not billions, their fortunes grow each year. Many Americans live paycheck to paycheck, amassing little wealth and paying the federal government a percentage of their income that rises if they earn more. In recent years, the median American household earned about $70,000 annually and paid 14% in federal taxes. The highest income tax rate, 37%, kicked in this year, for couples, on earnings above $628,300. The confidential tax records obtained by ProPublica show that the ultrarich effectively sidestep this system. Read more.
On May 18, Katrina Grady, a nursing assistant for more than 20 years, stopped on the side of Warrior Road to provide aid to what she believed was an injured person in a car. The car was empty, and Grady’s family came under fire. Her 8-year-old daughter, Katilynn, was hit by a rifle bullet and injured in the shoulder and head. Grady was told by doctors that it was a miracle she was alive. “The doctors told me that if she had moved her head any other kind of way, it would have been another situation right now,” Grady said. Tuesday, Grady stood before a crowd at a press conference arranged by Mayor Randall Woodfin and made an emotional plea for change as her daughter stood off to the side. Woodfin announced formation of a $125,000 Gun Violence Against Children Fund, a collaboration with more than 20 churches and organizations to combat gun violence against children in the city. Crime Stoppers will administer the fund to pay $25,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of individuals responsible in each of five cases involving children under the age of 10. Arrests already have been made in a sixth case involving another child. “Never in a million years would I have expected something like that to happen,” Grady told the crowd. “For six kids to get shot, we’ve got to do better. Somebody knows who (did) this to my child and I want justice. It hurt me more than anything.” Read more.
The Birmingham Museum of Art will soon return several works of art to two Native American tribes that have requested them back. An ordinance passed Tuesday by the Birmingham City Council has cleared the way for the return of several items to the Tlingit and Haida tribes of Alaska. Read more.
Tony Petelos had planned to have his replacement in place before he retired from his position as Jefferson County manager. But a new county manager has yet to be hired as Petelos counts down to the end of his county career. He laughed Tuesday at the notion that the delay in hiring his successor is because it’s so hard to replace him. “The commission waited,” he said. “They lost two months before they decided to move forward with hiring somebody to do a national search. For two months, nothing happened.” Petelos’ last day officially on the job is Friday, June 18. He has vacation days lined up, so he will remain on the payroll for a while. His will be an uncommon retirement process, he said. “Technically, the way it works is when people retire, we're still paying them but they're not here,” he said. “They clean out their desk and they're gone. I'm gonna do mine a little different. I'm not gonna clean my desk out. I will come back if they need me on certain things.” Read more.
MONTGOMERY -- U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville made stops in the Capital City Thursday as part of his swing through the state during the Senate recess. After visits to Maxwell Air Force Base and the 187th Fighter Wing at Dannelly Field, Tuberville lauded the missions of Alabama's military installations and spoke of the importance of maintaining them. "There's a lot of tradition here," he said, speaking of Montgomery's history with the Air Force and the "Red Tails" legacy of the 187th. "It's important that we keep it going. Obviously, coming here in the future we've got one of the best weapons the world has ever known in the F-35. We're excited about that. I'm here today to walk around and take a look to see what we can do to move that up, get the needed buildings built quicker and faster..." Read more.
Alabama's new medical marijuana law is more than 100-pages long. We did the hard work and pulled out the highlights that may impact you. Read more.
