A federal judge blocked Alabama’s strict abortion ban Tuesday, which was set to go into effect next month. U.S District Judge Myron Thompson issued a primary injunction Tuesday against the law, which would have made performing an abortion a felony in almost all cases. Abortion providers would face a sentence of up to 99 years in prison with no exception for rape or incest. The only exception is when there’s a serious health risk to the woman. Read more.
WASHINGTON – Members of the U.S. House of Representatives on Oct. 23 passed a measure aimed at combatting foreign interference in U.S. elections. HR 4617, which was approved on a 227-181 vote, would require U.S. political campaigns to inform law enforcement when they receive offers of foreign assistance. It also would close loopholes that allow foreign funds to illegally enter the U.S. electoral system; prohibit foreign spending on state ballot initiatives; prohibit U.S. campaigns from disclosing non-public information, including poll numbers, to foreign governments and their agents, and require sponsors of online political advertising to identify themselves in the ad, just as they must do in commercials run on broadcast channels. Alabama’s representatives split on the issue, with Democrat Terri Sewell voting for it and Republicans Mike Rogers, Robert Aderholt, Bradley Byrne, Martha Roby, Mo Brooks and Gary Palmer voting against it. Read more.
U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne officially entered Alabama’s 2020 U.S. Senate race Friday, and moments after signing qualifying documents, he fired back at criticism by some — including incumbent opponent Doug Jones — over his participation in a recent Republican protest of House impeachment hearings. “I’ve got years of experience and a track record of fighting and fighting successfully for the things that matter,” Byrne said. “We just had a fight in Washington this week, and I’ve proven as recently as just a few days ago, that I’m willing to do what it takes, to do whatever we have to do to fight for the values that matter to the American people and to fight for President Trump.” On Wednesday, a group of Republican congressmen, including Byrne and fellow Alabama representatives Mo Brooks and Gary Palmer, pushed into a closed-door hearing being held by the House Intelligence Committee. Republicans told members of the media that they objected to impeachment proceedings being held behind closed doors, which Byrne reiterated Friday. Read more.
Steve Ammons, chairman of the Jefferson County Commission’s committee on economic development, called another commissioner’s moving without his knowledge to require full commission approval to spend economic development funds “a slap in the face.” Ammons said he had no idea the resolution was coming up. “When it came up, honestly it was a slap in the face,” he said. Ammons and Commission President Jimmie Stephens were absent Tuesday when Commissioner Lashunda Scales presented the resolution in the commission’s committee meeting. Read more.
U.S. Sen. Doug Jones called a protest by Republican congressmen, including three House members from Alabama, a “political stunt” reminiscent of George Wallace’s 1963 stand in the schoolhouse door at the University of Alabama. “I thought it was (a) petty little temper tantrum. That’s all you can say,” Jones said Thursday during a phone news conference with reporters from Alabama. “I thought Alabama had moved beyond that after the stand in the schoolhouse door.” Alabama Republican Reps. Mo Brooks of Huntsville, Bradley Byrne of Fairhope and Gary Palmer of Hoover were among about 30 GOP members of the House of Representatives who on Wednesday pushed into a room where the House Intelligence Committee held impeachment hearings. That delayed testimony by a Pentagon official for about five hours, the Washington Post reported. Read more.
Plans to renovate the long-derelict Ramsay-McCormack Building in Ensley are underway. The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to approve a $4 million plan that could have the building revitalized and open by August 2021, developers say. The council’s decision comes just one day before a lawsuit against the city over the building’s renovation is slated to once again go before a judge. The 10-story office building, which was built in 1929, has been empty since 1986.
Commissioner Lashunda Scales presented a resolution at the Jefferson County Commission’s committee meeting to bring all spending from the commission’s economic development fund before the full commission. Scales’ resolution to consider the issue, which passed 2-1 with commissioner Joe Knight voting no, will be considered during Thursday’s commission meeting at the Bessemer Courthouse. Commissioner Steve Ammons, who chairs economic development, and President Jimmie Stephens were absent Tuesday. “We’d just like to have transparency with the public,” Scales said. Read more.
The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to appoint District 4 Councilor William Parker as its new president and District 7 Councilor Wardine Alexander as president pro tempore. Parker takes over from District 3 Councilor Valerie Abbott, who had held the seat since October 2017. The council’s vote was narrowly split between Parker and District 1 Councilor Clinton Woods, who had just been sworn into office after winning his first public election; he originally was appointed to the council in December. Abbott and District 8 Councilor Steven Hoyt both jockeyed for the decisive vote, repeatedly asking the city clerk to pass over them until everyone else had voted. Read more.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate last week defeated a Democratic bid to restore the Obama administration's "Clean Power Plan," which was aimed at reducing carbon emissions by coal- and natural gas-fired electricity plants. Senators voted 41 for and 53 against in the Oct. 17 vote, with both Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby and Sen. Doug Jones voting against the change. Read more.
U.S. Sen. Doug Jones on Thursday joined a bipartisan group of senators who questioned President Trump’s withdrawal of U.S. forces from northern Syria, leaving Kurdish forces vulnerable to attack by Turkey. Jones, a Democrat who represents a state where 62% of the vote went for Trump in 2016, has taken a cautious approach to partisan issues as Alabama’s 2020 U.S. Senate election approaches. He defeated Republican Roy Moore in a bitter special election in 2017 and is seeking to win his first full term in the Senate next year. He joined two bipartisan groups of senators Thursday in voicing concern about the administration’s action regarding Turkey. One group wrote a letter to Trump, and the other prepared legislation that would require the president to devise a strategy for dealing with the situation. Read more.
