Robert Bentley interviews Roy Moore for potential US Senate seat
Gov. Robert Bentley’s office confirmed Wednesday governor has interviewed five candidates this week to replace U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, including none other than suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore. Last month president-elect Donald Trump appointed Sessions U.S. Attorney General. Alabama’s junior senator is expected to step down once confirmed. By law, the governor is been tasked with appointing a replacement to the Senate seat. According to the governor’s spokeswoman Yasamie August, Moore — who was suspended from the bench for the remainder of his term for encouraging probate judges to defy federal order and refuse marriage licenses to gay couples back in Sept. — was “one of the top picks” made by the 400-plus members of the Alabama Republican Executive Committee last month. In addition to Moore, U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, state Sen. Cam Ward, state Sen. Arthur Orr, and state Sen. pro tem Del Marsh were also interviewed for the position.
I’ve got my two front teeth, so here’s what I really want for Christmas
All I want for Christma… I mean, the holiday… or is it holidays? Would it be ok if I said X-mas? No? Ok, back to Christmas. Let’s start over. All I want for Christmas is a lot. I want more cameras in city hall. What good is a fight between a mayor and city council if we can’t watch it? Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful for what we have. The post fight interviews and pictures of the bruises were more than I ever dreamed of receiving, but some surveillance tape would have given us MUCH more airtime on the national news. Any press is good press, right? (Try to not throw up for this next one.) I want more technology in the Governor’s mansion. If it’s true that the “oh-so-sexy-Bentley-Caldwell-Mason-someone-throw-acid-in-my-eyes” affair was originally exposed because he didn’t know his devices were connected, can you imagine how much fun we could have if he had Snapchat? Sweet kissy-face selfies accidentally posted as stories are what dreams are made of. Use of the “make me look younger and less wrinkly” filter would go through the roof! All I really want for Christmas is for the Trump cabinet to be completed so we can all move forward. I hear that he’s days away from naming Bud Bollweevil Secretary of Cotton. Shortly after, he’s expected to call on Colonel Sanders to head up the Chicken protection agency and I’m confident the members of Cobra Kai are going to make an amazing anti-bullying coalition. Finally, in an “unpresidented” move, the Hamburglar will be named both head of The National Health Committee and Secretary of Crime Prevention. 2016 was something else. We had plenty to talk about, but the tears and worry came alongside the chatter. Let’s hope that 2017 brings reasonable, capable, and thoughtful members of society to leadership roles. Let’s hope we appreciate this amazing country that lets us believe what we choose and that we don’t let those beliefs oppress or harm others. As a state, let’s look around and think about why we’re always 49th in everything. We can and will do better in 2017. If you guys don’t mind, I’m going to pass around this “thank you, Mississippi” card for everyone to sign. If anyone wants to throw in a couple of front teeth, they’d appreciate it. ••• Will Lochamy is co-host of the radio show, “Oh Brother Radio” on Birmingham Mountain Radio (107.3FM).
Robert Aderholt urges constituents to plan ahead for international travel in 2017
As cooler winter weather moves into the Yellowhammer State, Alabamians will soon be dreaming about warm spring getaways and summer vacations. Which is why, on Wednesday, Alabama 4th District U.S. Congressman Robert Aderholt released a Public Service Announcement regarding international travel in 2017 to ensure constituents prepare well ahead of their trips in order to avoid complications. “While winter has just begun, it won’t be long before Alabamians will start making plans for their spring break and summer travel,” said Aderholt. “If your plans involve international travel, you will want to find your passport now to make sure it won’t expire within six months of your travel dates. Aderholt went on to explain passport complications he’s seen many constituents face when trying to take international trips. “Not only can you not enter a foreign country if your passport has expired, many will not let you enter if your passport is set to expire within six months,” Aderholt continued. “Too often, we get calls from frantic travelers who, after getting to the airport, realize they can’t depart on their trip because their passport is set to expire. Fortunately, in some cases, we have been able to help the traveler, but in others their entire vacation was ruined with no refunds from airlines. “So, as you are putting away your Christmas decorations and dreaming of a vacation on a sunny beach overseas, take time to check your passport. You do not want to spend your vacation in a passport office or worse, losing hundreds of dollars.” For more information on applying for a passport and renewing a passport, please visit the following websites: Applying for the first time Renewing a passport
Alabama’s Bill Poole named one of nation’s ‘Top 24 Rising Political Stars’
Tuscaloosa-Republican state Rep. Bill Poole announced on Wednesday he was named to the newest class of the Aspen Institute-Rodel Fellowships. Part of the nationally-selected group of 24 elected officials, Poole will participate in the two-year fellowship designed to bring together lawmakers from across the country who have demonstrated an outstanding ability to work responsibly across partisan divisions and bring greater civility to public discourse. The Colorado-based, non-partisan selected Poole as one of the top 24 “rising political stars” in the nation, awarding him the prestigious Rodel Fellowship as a result. “These men and women represent the very best among the new generation of America’s political leadership,” former Congressman Mickey Edwards, the program’s director, said in announcing Poole’s inclusion in the scholarship class. “They have each won the notice and praise of their constituents and their colleagues and have shown a dedication to public service that is an encouraging sign in a time of great challenge.” The group will gather in Aspen, Colo. next year to hear presentations from nationally renowned experts in a variety of fields and to work across party and political divides in order to brainstorm solutions to the problems that ail the nation. Poole said he was humbled by his inclusion among the country’s top rising leaders and looks forward to working with the other elected officials who come from vastly different and distinct cultures, political philosophies, and approaches. “I believe Alabama is best served when its leaders surround themselves with the best information, the most innovative ideas, and leading experts in their fields to solve the important issues that face our state,” said Poole in a press release. “The Rodel Fellowship provides an incredible opportunity to communicate with leaders from across the nation regarding problems that we all face. I’m honored to have been selected for this prestigious program and I expect our work will provide me with useful information and materials that will have an immediate impact on my work as a State Legislator and on behalf of the citizens of Alabama.” Poole was first elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 2010 and reelected in 2014. He became chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Education Committee in 2013, which is responsible for passing the annual Education Fund Budget.
Alabama state senator’s controversial pre-filed ‘bathroom bill’ aims to protect privacy
Silently waiting for the upcoming 2017 legislative session, you’ll find dozens of pre-filed bills in the Alabama Legislature. Perhaps the most controversial of the current bunch is Rainbow City-Republican, state Sen. Phil Williams‘ “bathroom bill,” SB 1. Titled the Alabama Privacy Act, the bill aims to protect the privacy of public bathroom goers by mandating “[a]ny person or entity that makes restroom, bathroom, or changing facilities available to the public shall do so in a manner that ensures the privacy of each individual” using the facility. The bill specifies the types of public rest rooms that may be provided based on the gender of the user. According to the text, the requirement could be fulfilled in one of three ways: a single user facility; facilities separated by the physical gender of the users; or, if facilities are provided in a unisex/transgender manner, an attendant for each facility must be onsite to address any concerns or questions of the general public. For entities that fail to provide what Williams deems “appropriate” facilities to the public, they will face harsh civil penalties in the following amounts: A fine of not less than two thousand dollars ($2,000) for the first violation imposed upon the person or entity payable to the local governing body from whom the person or entity received its license to so provide the facilities. A fine of not less than three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500) for each subsequent violation. Williams also provides a private right of action in court for those individuals who have been harmed or aggrieved where the appropriate facilities were not available. “My legislation is designed to provide security to the public at large, and this bill could just as easily protect a transgender user of a public facility from being harmed as well,” Williams wrote in an op-ed back in May following President Barack Obama‘s executive transgender bathrooms directive. The president’s controversial directive stipulated that schools must allow students access to restrooms and locker rooms of their gender “identity,” rather than their sex, or lose federal funding .
In reversal, US Navy won’t scrap traditional job titles
In the Navy, a corpsman will still be a corpsman. Navy leaders are dumping a plan announced in September to eliminate dozens of enlisted sailors’ job titles, some ending in “man.” They said sailors’ anger over the changes had become a distraction and they will look for other ways to modernize the system. “The bottom line is, we’re going to preserve all the good, we’re going to throw all the distractions overboard and we’re going to move on, stay on course,” Navy Adm. John Richardson, chief of naval operations, told sailors gathered in the Pentagon on Wednesday. “You showed us the way forward. … Thanks for teaching us that lesson.” The decision to drop long-held traditional titles and instead refer to sailors by their rank had signaled a sharp cultural shift for the Navy. Efforts to change titles that ended in “man” were in response to the Pentagon decision to open all combat jobs to women. In a memo, Richardson said that modernizing the job ratings or titles was designed to give sailors more flexibility in training and assignments. Switching to names more understandable to the civilian world, Navy leaders argued, would make it easier to get jobs once sailors left the service. But after hearing angry reactions from thousands of sailors, Richardson said Navy leaders believe they can find a way to provide better job flexibility without dropping the titles. The memo was released Wednesday morning, and Richardson and Master Chief Petty Officer Steven Giordano, the top Navy enlisted officer, announced it in the Pentagon. Giordano said the focus on titles had become a distraction from “our missions, our operations, our warfighting efforts.” Richardson outlined what he called a “course correction” in the memo, saying the Navy will continue to review ways to update the names. “Modernizing our industrial-age personnel system in order to provide sailors choice and flexibility still remains a priority for us,” he said. “We will need to tackle the issue of managing rating names.” The Navy called for a review of the titles in January, shortly after the Pentagon ordered that all combat jobs would now be open to women. The idea was to eliminate titles such as “chief yeoman,” ”corpsman” or “boatswain’s mate” – titles steeped in tradition but difficult for the public to translate or understand. Under the plan, sailors would have been known by their ranks, such as petty officer or chief. And job titles would be made more gender-neutral. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, who pushed the plan, said at the time that he wanted titles to better convey the job a sailor is doing. For example, few civilians know what a hospital corpsman does, Mabus said in June. A corpsman could be called a medic or an emergency medical technician, much like “messman” was previously changed to culinary specialist, he added. Sailors opposing the decision launched a White House petition and gained some support from Capitol Hill. They said that while they liked the idea of more flexibility, they wanted to hold onto their traditional titles. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Energy Dept. offers $2B loan to Louisiana carbon-storage project
The Energy Department said Wednesday it is offering a conditional, $2 billion loan guarantee to capture and store carbon dioxide at a planned Louisiana methanol plant, the latest element of President Barack Obama‘s strategy to slow global warming. The Lake Charles Methanol plant will use petroleum coke, a byproduct of oil refining, to make methanol, a chemical used in products such as paint, glue, plastics and formaldehyde. The captured carbon dioxide will be piped to oil fields in Texas, where it will be used to speed up oil production. The loan guarantee is the first to be offered under an advanced energy program to help promising technologies that are unable to secure private investors. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz called the loan commitment a milestone in federal efforts to capture and store carbon pollution, a key driver of global warming. Moniz called the Lake Charles project “a big step forward” for economic development and carbon capture, an emerging technology that has so far failed to live up to its promise. The loan guarantee is among a number of steps the administration has taken in recent weeks as Obama seeks to protect his environmental legacy before President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month. Obama on Tuesday designated the bulk of U.S.-owned waters in the Arctic Ocean and certain areas in the Atlantic Ocean as indefinitely off limits to future oil and gas leasing. The administration also has completed regulations clamping down on oil companies that burn off natural gas on public lands and preventing coal-mining debris from being dumped into nearby streams. Meanwhile, the Army has delayed a decision on an oil pipeline to cross under a reservoir in North Dakota, saying it wants more study and tribal input. The loan guarantee is likely to be more warmly received by Trump than previous actions by Obama. Carbon capture is a key component of so-called clean coal, a concept that has been embraced by Obama and Trump both. The practice entails catching the carbon emissions from a coal plant or other source and injecting the gas underground for permanent storage or use in speeding oil production. If successful, carbon storage could allow continued burning of coal and other fossil fuels while releasing little of the heat-trapping gas that scientists say is the main cause of global warming. Lake Charles Methanol expects to break ground next year on a $3.8 billion plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana, 140 miles east of Houston. Don Maley, the company’s president and CEO, said in a statement that the Energy Department’s expected loan guarantee “represents the commitment of the federal government to promote innovative, clean fossil-energy technologies” and allow the project to be completed. The project is expected to create about 1,000 construction jobs and 500 permanent jobs. The plant will produce methanol, hydrogen, carbon dioxide and other chemicals from petcoke, a waste product from the refining of heavy crude oil. Moniz said on a conference call Wednesday that he has had “cordial” conversations with former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Trump’s nominee for energy secretary, but did not discuss the Lake Charles plant or other projects under consideration for Energy Department loans. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Lin-Manuel Miranda named AP Entertainer of the year
Winning a Pulitzer Prize and a clutch of Tony Awards in a single one year would be enough for anyone. Not Lin-Manuel Miranda. Not in 2016. The “Hamilton” writer-composer picked up those honors and also earned a Golden Globe nomination, won the Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History, wrote music for a top movie, and inspired a best-selling book, a best-selling album of “Hamilton” covers and a popular PBS documentary. A new honor came Wednesday when Miranda bested Beyonce, Adele and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, among others, to be named The Associated Press Entertainer of the Year, voted by members of the news cooperative and AP entertainment reporters. “There’s been more than a little good luck in the year itself and the way it’s unfolded,” Miranda said after being told of the honor. “I continue to try to work on the things I’ve always wanted to work on and try to say yes to the opportunities that I’d kick myself forever if I didn’t jump at them.” Miranda joins the list of previous AP Entertainer of the Year winners who in recent years have included Adele, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lawrence, Lady Gaga, Tina Fey and Betty White. The animated Disney juggernaut “Frozen” captured the prize in 2014, and “Star Wars” won last year. (By the way, Miranda wrote one of the songs in “The Force Awakens.”) When he hosted “Saturday Night Live” in October, he somewhat tongue-in-cheek acknowledged the rarity of having a theater composer as host, saying: “Most of you watching at home have no idea who I am.” They surely must by now. Miranda was virtually everywhere in popular culture this year — stage, film, TV, music and politics, while engaging on social media as he went. Like a lyric he wrote for Alexander Hamilton, it seemed at times that the non-stop Miranda was working as if he was “running out of time.” Julio D. Diaz, of the Pensacola News Journal, said Miranda “made the whole world sing, dance and think. Coupled with using his prestige to become involved in important sociopolitical issues, there was no greater or more important presence in entertainment in 2016.” Among the things Miranda did this year are asking Congress to help dig Puerto Rico out of its debt crisis, getting an honorary doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, performing at a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton on Broadway, lobbying to stop gun violence in America and teaming up with Jennifer Lopez on the benefit single “Love Make the World Go Round.” He and his musical “Hamilton” won 11 Tony Awards in June, but perhaps his deepest contribution that night was tearfully honoring those killed hours before at an Orlando nightclub with a beautiful sonnet: “Love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love, cannot be killed or swept aside,” he said. “Now fill the world with music, love and pride.” He started the year onstage in the Broadway hit “Hamilton” (which in 2015 had won a Grammy and earned Miranda a MacArthur genius grant) and ended it with a Golden Globe nomination for writing the song “How Far I’ll Go” from “Moana,” which was on top of the box office for three weeks this month, earning $165 million. “I’ve been jumping from thing to thing and what’s been thrilling is to see the projects that happen very quickly kind of exploding side-by-side with the projects I’ve been working on for years,” Miranda said. Though theater fans have long cherished his fluency in both Stephen Sondheim and Tupac, “Hamilton” helped Miranda break into the mainstream in 2016. The groundbreaking, biographical hip-hop show tells the true story of an orphan immigrant from the Caribbean who rises to the highest ranks of American society, told by a young African-American and Latino cast. The cast went to the White House in March to perform songs from the show for the first family and answer questions from school children. A version of the show opened in Chicago in October and a production is slated to land in California next year and in London soon. When the gold-winning U.S. women’s gymnastics team returned from the Rio Olympics, where do you think they wanted to go? “Hamilton,” naturally, which they did in August. The show’s effects were felt across the nation this year, cheered by politicians, stars and rappers alike and even helping shape the debate over the nation’s currency (Hamilton stays on the $10 bill, in part due to Miranda’s show.) But the musical also sparked controversy when the cast delivered a pointed message about diversity to Vice President-elect Mike Pence while he attended a performance in November. President-elect Donald Trump demanded an apology, which did not come. That kerfuffle was part of a “Hamilton”-heavy fall that included an album of celebrity covers and songs called “The Hamilton Mixtape,” as well as a documentary on the show that aired on PBS and attracted more than 3.6 million television viewers. Erin O’Neill of The Marietta Times said Miranda dominated entertainment news this year but, more importantly, “opened a dialogue about government, the founding of our country and the future of politics in America.” There’s more Miranda to come in 2017, including filming Disney’s “Mary Poppins Returns” with Emily Blunt (due out Christmas 2018) and an ambitious TV and film adaptation of the fantasy trilogy “The Kingkiller Chronicle.” “I’m back in a planting mode after a harvest,” Miranda said, laughing. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
U.S. election voted top news story of 2016
The turbulent U.S. election, featuring Donald Trump‘s unexpected victory over Hillary Clinton in the presidential race, was the overwhelming pick for the top news story of 2016, according to The Associated Press’ annual poll of U.S. editors and news directors. The No. 2 story also was a dramatic upset — Britons’ vote to leave the European Union. Most of the other stories among the Top 10 reflected a year marked by political upheaval, terror attacks and racial divisions. Last year, developments related to the Islamic State group were voted as the top story — the far-flung attacks claimed by the group, and the intensifying global effort to crush it. The first AP top-stories poll was conducted in 1936, when editors chose the abdication of Britain’s King Edward VIII. Here are 2016’s top 10 stories, in order: 1. US ELECTION: This year’s top story traces back to June 2015, when Donald Trump descended an escalator in Trump Tower, his bastion in New York City, to announce he would run for president. Widely viewed as a long shot, with an unconventional campaign featuring raucous rallies and pugnacious tweets, he outlasted 16 Republican rivals. Among the Democrats, Hillary Clinton beat back an unexpectedly strong challenge from Bernie Sanders, and won the popular vote over Trump. But he won key Rust Belt states to get the most electoral votes, and will enter the White House with Republicans maintaining control of both houses of Congress. 2. BREXIT: Confounding pollsters and oddsmakers, Britons voted in June to leave the European Union, triggering financial and political upheaval. David Cameron resigned as prime minister soon after the vote, leaving the task of negotiating an exit to a reshaped Conservative government led by Theresa May. Under a tentative timetable, final details of the withdrawal might not be known until the spring of 2019. 3. BLACKS KILLED BY POLICE: One day apart, police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, fatally shot Alton Sterling after pinning him to the ground, and a white police officer shot and killed Philando Castile during a traffic stop in a suburb of Minneapolis. Coming after several similar cases in recent years, the killings rekindled debate over policing practices and the Black Lives Matter movement. 4. PULSE NIGHTCLUB MASSACRE: The worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history unfolded on Latin Night at the Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando. The gunman, Omar Mateen, killed 49 people over the course of three hours before dying in a shootout with SWAT team members. During the standoff, he pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. 5. WORLDWIDE TERROR ATTACKS: Across the globe, extremist attacks flared at a relentless pace throughout the year. Among the many high-profile attacks were those that targeted airports in Brussels and Istanbul, a park teeming with families and children in Pakistan, and the seafront boulevard in Nice, France, where 86 people were killed when a truck plowed through a Bastille Day celebration. In Iraq alone, many hundreds of civilians were killed in repeated bombings. 6. ATTACKS ON POLICE: Ambushes and targeted attacks on police officers in the U.S. claimed at least 20 lives. The victims included five officers in Dallas working to keep the peace at a protest over the fatal police shootings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana. Ten days after that attack, a man killed three officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In Iowa, two policemen were fatally shot in separate ambush-style attacks while sitting in their patrol cars. 7. DEMOCRATIC PARTY EMAIL LEAKS: Hacked emails, disclosed by WikiLeaks, revealed at-times embarrassing details from Democratic Party operatives in the run-up to Election Day, leading to the resignation of Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and other DNC officials. The CIA later concluded that Russia was behind the DNC hacking in a bid to boost Donald Trump’s chances of beating Hillary Clinton. 8. SYRIA: Repeated cease-fire negotiations failed to halt relentless warfare among multiple factions. With Russia’s help, the government forces of President Bashar Assad finally seized rebel-held portions of the city of Aleppo, at a huge cost in terms of deaths and destruction. 9. SUPREME COURT: After Justice Antonin Scalia‘s death in February, President Obama nominated Merrick Garland, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals, to fill the vacancy. However, majority Republicans in the Senate refused to consider the nomination, opting to leave the seat vacant so it could be filled by the winner of the presidential election. Donald Trump has promised to appoint a conservative in the mold of Scalia. 10. HILLARY CLINTON’S EMAILS: Amid the presidential campaign, the FBI conducted an investigation into Clinton’s use of a private computer server to handle emails she sent and received as secretary of state. FBI Director James Comey criticized Clinton for carelessness but said the bureau would not recommend criminal charges. Stories that did not make the top 10 included Europe’s migrant crisis, the death of longtime Cuban leader Fidel Castro, and the spread of the Zika virus across Latin America and the Caribbean. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Trump family drops access offered for charity donations
Donald Trump‘s children may see his move to the White House as a way to raise money for their favorite causes. Two recent fundraising pitches featuring the incoming first family were meant to benefit charities, but they also raised questions among ethics experts that the Trumps might be inappropriately selling access. Last week, Eric Trump tried auctioning a coffee date with his sister Ivanka to raise money for a children’s hospital. Now, Eric and Donald Trump Jr. are part of a venture that initially offered a private reception with their father during inauguration weekend in exchange for $1 million donations that would go to conservation charities. Some of those contributors could later go hunting or fishing with one or both of the sons, the invitation promised. These events are dissolving as quickly as they become public, suggesting the family is learning on the fly what’s acceptable. Trump aides say the Trump family has been focused on resolving the perception of conflicts when it comes to Trump’s business; how to handle their charitable endeavors has been a secondary concern. But in light of recent events, the Trump team is looking more quickly for solutions, said a Trump transition official, speaking on condition of anonymity to share internal discussions. Eric Trump canceled the coffee with Ivanka after The New York Times reported that some of the bidders were doing so to gain insight about the Trump administration. Hope Hicks, a Trump spokeswoman, said the hunting and fishing events reflected “initial concepts that have not been approved or pursued by the Trump family.” She added that the sons “are not involved in any capacity. Additionally, the president-elect is not aware of the event or the details pertaining to it.” The two previous presidents, Barack Obama and George W. Bush, expressly forbade immediate family members from such fundraising activities to avoid the appearance of selling access. “We kept it simple. We did not allow the first family to be auctioned off, which is what is happening here,” said Norman Eisen, who served as White House chief ethics counselor as Obama took office in 2009. Richard Painter, who filled a similar role for Bush, said the White House “strongly discouraged” the president, his family and top aides from fundraising for charities, and avoided altogether charity fundraising that came with any access to those people. Both said that while there’s nothing explicitly illegal about the charity fundraising, it diverges from the best practices of previous White House administrations. In an invitation that began circulating last week when the entertainment site TMZ posted it, Eric and Donald Trump Jr. were listed as honorary co-chairmen for a group seeking up to $1 million donations for a Jan. 21 inauguration event dubbed “Opening Day.” Top donors could enjoy other perks such as a “private reception and photo opportunity for 16 guests with President Donald J. Trump” and “a multi-day hunting and/or fishing excursion for 4 guests with Donald Trump Jr. and/or Eric Trump and team,” according to the invitation. A few days before the invitation went out, a new nonprofit called Opening Day Foundation was registered in Texas. Paperwork filed with the state lists the two adult Trump sons and their Texas-based friends Gentry Beach and Tom Hicks Jr. as the nonprofit’s directors. The documents were first reported by the Center for Public Integrity. But Eric and Donald Trump Jr. had no idea they were named in the new nonprofit and have asked the Texas secretary of state to amend the filing to delete them, according to the Trump transition official. Mark Brinkerhoff, a spokesman for the event planners, also said Tuesday that the Trump sons should not have been listed as directors of the nonprofit. On Tuesday, the inauguration venture put out a new invitation, which stripped out all references of access to the incoming president and his immediate family, although Eric and Donald Trump Jr. remain listed as honorary co-chairmen. The $1 million donors can attend a private reception “with VIPs and celebrities associated with the event,” the invitation now says. And in place of the Eric and Donald Trump Jr. hunting and fishing trip, there’s more generic mention of a “multi-day excursion for four guests.” The walk-back follows a turnabout on the Ivanka Trump coffee after the Times report last week. “Today, the only people who lost are the children of St. Jude,” Eric Trump said after canceling the fundraiser for the children’s hospital. Painter and Eisen – the former White House counselors, who have been critical of Trump’s business entanglements and failure to publicly address them so far – said part of the problem with these charity fundraisers is that the president-elect has yet to explain which of his family members will be involved in the government and which will stay at the helm of his international business empire. They praised the Trumps for making quick adjustments after seeing bad press about the fundraising but said that doesn’t eliminate the need for Trump to develop and follow hard-and-fast rules as previous presidents did. “How many times are they going to have to stub their toe?” Eisen said. “If you continually have to reverse course and improvise, what is the point at which it becomes a sign of recklessness instead of willingness to do good will?” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Alabama lawmakers pre-file bills to limit judges’ ability to impose death-penalty
Alabama’s death-penalty law is the only one of its kind in the United States. There, a judge may sentence someone to death against a jury’s recommendation. Elsewhere in the country, every other state with the death-penalty — all 30 of them — require unanimity from a jury in the phases of sentencing. But in Alabama, a judge can overrule jurors’ findings regardless of the decision and impose his the death-penalty on his own accord. And it’s more than conjecture — of the 57 executions since the death-penalty was reinstated in 1983, 29 of them were the result of a judicial override. Two Alabama lawmakers are hoping to change that in 2017. Montgomery-Republican state Sen. Dick Brewbaker and Tuscaloosa-Democrat state Rep. Chris England have both pre-filed bills in their respective chambers that call for an end to judicial override. “We know of at least three cases in Alabama where an innocent (later exonerated) person was convicted of capital murder and the judge overrode the jury’s recommendations for life,” said Patrick Mulvaney of the Southern Center for Human Rights in an article published in the The Yale Law Journal. “We think that override is really a problem.” Brewbaker and England, are hoping SB16 and HB32 are the answers. 184 people who currently on death row in Alabama are likely hoping they are as well.
Robert Bentley plans special session on prison construction
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley says he intends to convene lawmakers to a special legislative session to approve spending on prison construction for the state’s severely overcrowded corrections system, which is currently under federal investigation. Bentley says the session will be held in the middle of next year’s regular session, forcing lawmakers to focus solely on the construction of new prisons. He claims holding the special session within the regular session will save taxpayers money as it will not require him to call an additional session. The governor discussed plans for the upcoming legislative session Monday, but he did not release any further details. Reports from the Alabama Department of Corrections show the state’s prisons are severely overcrowded and are in much need of reform. During the 2016 regular session, Bentley strongly advocated for a $800 million prison construction plan developed by Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn that included three new men’s prisons with roughly 4,000 beds each as well as a new women’s prison to replace Julia Tutwiler Prison. An amended bill ultimately passed the Alabama Senate, but due to it’s hefty price-tag, it died in the Alabama House of Representatives just minutes before the 2016 session wrapped-up. Bentley has promised to revive the proposal, calling it his “number one agenda item” in 2017.
