Donald Trump fires FBI director James Comey
President Donald Trump has fired FBI Director James Comey. In a statement, Trump says Comey’s firing “will mark a new beginning” for the FBI. The White House says the search for a new FBI director will begin immediately. Comey’s firing comes days after he testified on Capitol Hill about the FBI’s investigation into Russia’s election meddling and possible connections between Russia and Trump’s campaign. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Kay Ivey announces Baby Box program here to stay
Upon taking office, Gov. Kay Ivey moved to abolish the Office of Rural Development, leaving many to ask about the future of newly launched Baby Box Program. In March, under the direction of former Gov. Robert Bentley, the state began to offer new parents a box full of baby goods for free aimed to help improve family health care outcomes and reduce Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Syndrome (SUIDS). On Tuesday, Ivey put families across the state at ease when she announced her support for the continuation of the Baby Box Program. Implementation of the program has now transitioned to the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR). In 2017 alone, the program is expected to distribute up to 60,000 Baby Boxes across the Yellowhammer State, ensuring that every expecting family in Alabama has access to this free resource regardless of socioeconomic background. “The Baby Box program is important for expectant families in our state. Being able to provide this much needed resource is important for the promotion of a strong understanding of infant care,” Ivey said. “The information learned through this program is imperative during the beginning stages of life, because it helps decrease the infant mortality rate and increase awareness for all families. Children are our future and their future begins with a safe sleeping environment.” Looking forward, DHR will be reaching out to the organizations that have volunteered to help parents access the Baby Boxes and provide parenting education. DHR will also be actively recruiting new organizations to help new and expecting parents acquire their own Baby Boxes. “DHR is pleased to have the opportunity to continue this important program. Children are vulnerable at birth and continue to be at a heightened risk during the first months of their lives,” said DHR Commissioner Nancy Buckner. “Child deaths due to unsafe sleeping environments are totally preventable. Making sure that children have a safe sleep environment is one of the most important things we can do to protect infants.” All expecting parents living in Alabama are eligible to receive a Baby Box which includes newborn essentials such as diapers, baby wipes, activity cards, breast pads and nipple cream for breastfeeding mothers, onesie, waterproof tote bag and more. New parents interested in obtaining a Baby Box need only follow these three simple steps: Register for free online at babyboxuniversity.com as an Alabama resident. Be sure to include your correct contact information, including mailing address. Watch the 10-15 minute Alabama syllabus at babyboxuniversity.com. After taking a short quiz, you will receive a certificate of completion and be able to select local pick-up or direct delivery of your Baby Box. If you select direct delivery, your Baby Box will ship to the address you provided when you registered on Baby Box University. If you select local pick up, bring your Baby Box University certificate to the closest participating distribution site to collect your Baby Box.
Birmingham businessman Dom Gentile joins U.S. Senate race
Birmingham businessman Dominic “Dom” Gentile on Tuesday announced he’ll run for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions when he became U.S. Attorney General in February. The 51 Hoover, Ala. resident has never held public office and will kick off his campaign by traveling across the Yellowhammer State and talking to business owners, first responders, veterans, active military and citizens who want a fresh voice in Washington. “Dom will bring a fresh and innovative perspective to Washington,” states his newly launched campaign website. “Our politicians are broken. It’s not the system that’s broken; it’s the crooked, crony politicians, and he offers the voters a fresh alternative.” With a platform that includes supporting terms limits and only serving one full-term if elected; supporting the flat tax and dramatically reducing the size and power of the IRS; reducing health care costs and putting an end to what he deems “monopolistic behavior” of insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield; and removing government red tape — the University of Alabama alum is hoping to make the most of his political-outsider persona. He’s also using his first-hand experience as a small business owner as another selling point. “Over the last 13 years, Dom has grown his own business from nothing to a multi-million dollar enterprise. Dom knows how to create jobs and make a payroll. He helps people start businesses,” states his website. “Government is way too big and regulations are too burdensome for businesses. As a small business owner, Dom knows this first hand. Dom will work to reduce red tape.” Gentile joins an already crowded GOP race. Among those who have already thrown their hats into the ring, are Sen. Luther Strange, who was appointed to fills Sessions empty seat by former Gov. Robert Bentley; former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court Roy Moore; State Rep. Ed Henry; and President of the Christian Coalition of Alabama Dr. Randy Brinson. Other candidates may still join the contest in the coming days, with Republican State Sen. Del Marsh still on the fence. Meanwhile, Sens. Slade Blackwell and Trip Pittman are also considering a run, as is former Rep. Perry Hooper Jr. Ron Crumpton is the only Democrat in the race at this time. The deadline for candidates to qualify for the Senate run is May 17. The primary vote is August 15. The special election is December 12.
New study: Alabama the worst state in America for working moms
The struggle is indeed real for working moms in Alabama. Not only do they have one of the toughest jobs in the world — raising children — but they’re also juggling the stessors that come along with having a job, and according to a new study by the personal finance website WalletHub, Alabama ranks as America’s worst state for working moms in 2017. In their latest study of 2017’s Best & Worst States for Working Moms WalletHub analysts to a look at Census data, other federal figures, as well as data from independent research groups to see how states compared for woking moms across the country. They focused on three specific areas: child care, professional opportunities, and work-life balance. Within those three areas, they analyzed 13 key indicators — such as cost of child care, quality of school systems, gender pay gap, families in poverty, and average commute time to work — to evaluate each state and the District of Columbia on a 100-point scale. Here’s how life as a working mom in Alabama ranks (1=best; 25=avg.) 47th: Day-care quality 28th: Pediatricians per capita 48th: Gender pay gap (women’s earnings as % of men’s) 48th: Ratio of female executives to male executives 33rd: Median women’s salary (adjusted for cost of living) 43rd: Female unemployment rate 40th: Parental-leave policy score 30th: Avg. length of woman’s workday (in hours) 48th: % of single-mom families in poverty Down from last year’s second worst state spot, it’s not all bad news for Yellowhammer State working moms. The state in ranked 5th in lowest child-care costs. If Alabama hopes to improve its ranking for 2018, there will need to be some policy changes from the state Legislature. Experts said in order to support working mothers in the U.S., mandatory paid leave policies like those that exist in European countries should be considered. They also said providing more accessible and affordable child care centers would help make the life of the working mom easier. “State and local governments could be leaders in establishing paid parental and care leave, and even consider family allowances that are provided in some European countries for families with young children,” said Linda Grant, Professor Emerita of Sociology at University of Georgia. “Children would be seen as a resource within communities. If governments provided such benefits, it would be an incentive for private-sector employers to do the same. As some state and local governments already are doing, they might encourage flexible work hour schedules in their labor forces.” Grant continued, “Governments can encourage the establishment of quality and affordable care centers in businesses or neighborhoods.” Here’s a look at how Alabama compares to the rest of the country: Source: WalletHub
GOP super PAC plans $2.6 million in TV ads for Luther Strange
The Senate Leadership Fund on Monday reserved a $2.6 million television ad buy on behalf of U.S. Sen. Luther Strange of Alabama, bidding to ward off challengers for the seat previously held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The super political action committee, which has ties to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, made the show of fiscal force ahead of an August GOP primary on which Strange will face several challengers, including former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore. Senate Leadership Fund spokesman Chris Pack told The Associated Press the buy is just the start of what the group plans on spending to support the Republican senator. The ads will start July 11 and run through the Aug. 15 primary. “A lot of people in glass houses are throwing stones in Alabama, and they will quickly realize that this won’t be going unanswered. This $2.65 million buy is just an initial down payment on Senate Leadership Fund’s commitment to supporting Senator Strange,” Pack said. Ever since a series of messy Republican primaries led to losses of winnable Senate races in 2010 and 2012, Republicans led by McConnell of Kentucky have worked aggressively to defeat fringe primary candidates in Senate races. Their goal has been to ensure that GOP Senate primaries produce mainstream Republican candidates who can go on to win the general election. The Senate Leadership Fund is run by a former McConnell chief of staff. The Alabama race is expected to be contentious. But the muscle flexing by the super PAC also sends a message that the challengers to Strange should prepare for a high-spending campaign. Strange was appointed to the Senate in February by then-Gov. Robert Bentley, who resigned last month amid fallout from an alleged affair with a top staffer. Bentley had planned for a 2018 Senate election, but new Gov. Kay Ivey, moved it up to this year, setting up what’s expected to be a four-month demolition derby among Alabama’s dominant Republicans. Bentley resigned to stop an impeachment push, pleading guilty to misdemeanor campaign finance violations to end a state investigation. Challengers are expected to try to batter Strange on his connection to Bentley, since Strange was state attorney general at the time of his Senate appointment. Three other Republicans have so far announced runs for the seat including Moore, who was suspended from his judicial duties after he urged defiance of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage. Party qualifying for the race runs until May 17. While Alabama has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in more than 20 years, a number of Democrats, including at least two state legislators, are considering running. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Alabama legislative preview: May 9 – May 10, 2017
With only six days weeks left in the Alabama Legislature’s 2017 Regular Session, Yellowhammer State senators and representatives are scrambling to push their priorities through the often laborious legislative process before time runs out. Here is a preview of what our representatives in Montgomery will be tackling this week: House: Convenes Tuesday at 1 p.m. HB574 caps incentives made by the Alabama Jobs Acts at $850 million and provides that the incentives are not available to qualifying projects for which project agreements have not been executed on or before December 31, 2019. It also extends eligibility for incentives under the act to projects for which project agreements have been executed on or before December 31, 2023, and exempts mega-projects. Sponsored by Brewton-Republican Rep. Alan Baker HB571 redraws districts for members of the Alabama House of Representatives following an order from a federal court decision, which declared certain districts unconstitutional. Sponsored by Daphne-Republican Rep. Randy Davis Senate: Convenes Tuesday at 2 p.m. To be updated when Senate posts Special Order Calendar. Unfinished Business There are still several issues left unfinished at this point in the session, including a prison construction plan, state budgets, autism legislation, as well as child care regulations.
Alabama workers comp laws ruled unconstitutional
A judge has ruled that two statutes of the Alabama Workmans Compensation Act are unconstitutional, thereby rendering the entire act unconstitutional because of a non-severability statute. The Gadsden Times reports Jefferson County Circuit Judge Pat Ballard found fault with statutes capping recovery for workers permanently but not totally disabled at $220 per week, and capping attorney fees at 15 percent. The decision was a response to a lawsuit brought by a woman against CVS Caremark Corp. in 2013 after she suffered a lower back injury on the job. Attorneys presented evidence that the $220 cap was commensurate with standards in 1987, when the act was written, but was a fraction of minimum wage and poverty level standards today. Attorney Don Rhea says he hopes lawmakers will rewrite the act. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Barack Obama starts defining his new role in the age of Donald Trump
Former President Barack Obama is starting to define his new role in the age of Donald Trump. After dropping out of sight for a pair of glamorous island getaways, Obama is emerging for a series of paid and unpaid speeches, drawing sharp contrasts with Trump even as he avoids saying the new president’s name. He’s wielding his influence overseas, offering his support for some of the international political candidates who are clamoring for his endorsement. His aides are engaging in real-time political combat with Trump, including revealing Monday that Obama personally warned his successor against tapping embattled Michael Flynn as his national security adviser. Obama’s swift return to the spotlight has been cheered by some Democrats, who are still sifting through the wreckage of the party’s crushing defeats in the November election. But the attention surrounding Obama has also magnified the vacuum for new Democratic leadership, a reality that aides say is not lost on the former president. “He’s acutely aware that when the former president speaks, he consumes a lot of the oxygen,” said Eric Schultz, Obama’s senior adviser. “He wants to make sure we make room for the next generation of leaders.” With that in mind, Obama is picking his spots carefully. During a speech Sunday night in Boston, he urged members of Congress to have “courage” as Trump presses for the repeal of his signature health care law, recalling the Democrats who were swept into office with him in 2009, but lost their seats after casting votes in favor of the “Obamacare” measure. But he avoided a lengthy defense of the law Democrats muscled through in 2010 and did not critique the bill House Republicans passed last week. In an unusual move for a former president — particularly one who just handed the White House to the opposing party — Obama taped a video endorsing Emmanuel Macron, the eventual winner of the French presidential election. He backed Macron after Trump appeared to side with nationalist candidate Marine Le Pen, calling her the strongest candidate on terrorism and borders. Obama advisers say the former president is still navigating his role in international politics, but he is willing to consider requests for support from overseas candidates. Later this month, he’ll appear alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who faces elections later this year, for a panel on democracy. Obama’s stop in Germany will coincide with Trump’s first visit to Europe as president, likely setting up a stark contrast between the 44th and 45th presidents on the world stage. The former president is said to be reluctant to get into a tit-for-tat with Trump over every tweet or critique from the White House briefing room. But he has plenty of proxies willing to jump in for him, including on Monday, when three former Obama administration officials said Obama had personally warned Trump against hiring Michael Flynn as national security adviser. Flynn, who is at the center of the controversy surrounding Trump’s campaign and Russia, was fired after less than a month. The revelation from Obama advisers appeared to be sparked by Trump’s attempts to shift some of the blame for Flynn’s troubles to Obama by noting that the previous administration renewed the former military intelligence director’s clearance even after he was fired in 2014. Obama and Trump haven’t spoken since the inauguration, though an aide said Obama would take Trump’s call if the Republican reached out. The two spoke frequently during the transition, and Trump spoke about his surprise at their good relationship. But Trump stunned Obama advisers with his March 4 tweets accusing Obama of wiretapping his New York skyscraper during the election, an explosive allegation that has been denied by FBI Director James Comey and other national security officials. “I wouldn’t say I’ve been exactly great to him, either,” Trump acknowledged in a recent interview with The Washington Times. Obama’s re-entry in public life hasn’t been all smooth sailing. He was sharply criticized by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, his party’s most prominent liberals, for his plans to receive $400,000 to speak at a September health care conference put on by the Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald. The former president is said to have been unbothered by the criticism. Still, he and wife Michelle Obama moved swiftly to announce a $2 million donation for a summer jobs program in their home town of Chicago. Warren and Sanders represent one flank of the Democratic Party that’s trying to take control as the party tries to rebuild ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. Obama is expected to campaign and fundraise for candidates as those contests draw near, but his supporters are clear-eyed about his own role as the party tries to recalibrate. “The onus is on the next generation to lead the party in the Trump era,” said Dan Pfeiffer, a longtime Obama White House and campaign adviser. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Health care fight shifts to Senate, where GOP wants a reboot
It took blood, sweat and tears for Republican leaders to finally push their health care bill through the House last week. Don’t expect the process to be less arduous in the Senate, though more of the angst in that more decorous chamber will likely be behind closed doors. No one expects a new bill to be written quickly, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has started a process for producing one. Republican senators have made clear their measure will differ markedly from the House legislation, which has drawn withering criticism from Democrats who see it as a pathway to winning a House majority in the 2018 elections. “This process will not be quick or simple or easy, but it must be done,” McConnell said Monday. MCCONNELL’S WORKING GROUP McConnell dislikes surprises and drama. Both characterized the House’s chaotic four months of work on its bill, which saw revolts by conservatives and moderates derail initial versions and humiliate President Donald Trump and Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. McConnell has included himself in a group of 12 GOP senators essentially tasked with privately producing a bill that can pass the Senate. Republicans control the chamber 52-48. Democrats are virtually certain to unanimously oppose the Republican effort to repeal much of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. So Republicans are using a special process preventing a Democratic filibuster that would require 60 votes to end. McConnell will need 50 GOP votes to pass a bill, a tie Vice President Mike Pence could break. That means McConnell can lose just two Republicans, so his group has a strategically shaped membership. THE GROUP’S ROSTER Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., Mike Enzi, R-Idaho, and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chair pivotal committees. Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Cory Gardner, R-Colo., are from states that used Obama’s law to add hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries to Medicaid, an expansion they want to protect but the House bill would end. Gardner chairs the Senate GOP’s campaign committee. Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Mike Lee, R-Utah, are conservative firebrands who represent states that didn’t expand Medicaid but want additional funds for that program. Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, John Thune, R-S.D., and John Barrasso, R-Wyo., are in the Senate GOP leadership, and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., is an ambitious up-and-comer who frequently criticizes the House measure. Democrats and liberal activists have lambasted McConnell for appointing a group with no female members. POSSIBLE CHANGES Portman is among Republicans whose states dislike the House’s Medicaid cuts because they’d face a wave of constituents losing coverage under the health care program for the poor. The House would end the extra federal money states get for new beneficiaries under Obama’s Medicaid expansion by 2020, and some GOP senators want a delay. Much Medicaid money is used to combat the illegal use of addictive opioid drugs. That’s another reason for GOP senators from hard-hit Midwestern and Northeastern states to oppose such cuts. Obama’s law helps millions buy private insurance with federal subsidies geared to income and policy premiums. The House instead links its aid to age, with older people getting larger tax credits. Thune and others want to shift the subsidies more generous to lower earners. Cruz said House conservatives won “a positive improvement” with provisions letting states get federal waivers so insurers can charge some people with pre-existing conditions higher premiums, and letting states decide which medical services insurers must cover. He said “considerably more work” was needed to lower premiums. In addition, the filibuster-free process Republicans are using requires that legislative provisions be related to raising or decreasing the federal deficit, and not primarily driven by policy changes. Conservative health care analyst James Capretta says the odds for survival “are low” for House language allowing state waivers for higher premiums on people with pre-existing conditions. Also in jeopardy: a provision forbidding consumers to use federal subsidies to buy insurance covering abortion. The Senate parliamentarian will decide whether provisions must be stricken from the bill. The Senate could override that with 60 votes. POLITICAL ERUPTION The pro-Democratic group Save Our Care is running ads in 24 districts whose GOP House members backed the bill asking, “How could you do this to us?” Obama urged lawmakers to use “courage” to protect health care for poorer Americans, a rare public comment on public policy since leaving office. Underscoring political sensitivities, critics attacked Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, for saying at a town hall meeting that “nobody dies” from lack of health care. He later said that “wasn’t very elegant.” Republicans are advertising too. The American Action Network, with links to House GOP leaders, is advertising nationally and in Ryan’s district promoting the bill. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., was set to appear on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” after saying any GOP bill must pass “the Jimmy Kimmel test.” The talk show host last week delivered a tearful monologue describing life-saving heart surgery his newborn son had received and saying lawmakers must help people afford health care. LOOKING AHEAD The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office is expected to release its analysis of the House bill this month. It projected an earlier version would toss 24 million people off health coverage, a damaging blow that made it harder for House Republicans to pass their bill. No one is certain when the Senate might approve its bill, though some following the process think that could come by July 4. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
HBCUs question administration understanding of their purpose
A White House statement suggesting that construction funding for historically black colleges and universities might be unconstitutional reveals a fundamental misunderstanding that the schools favor blacks and other minorities over white students, advocates for the schools said Monday. Because they are called HBCUs “suggests to some that the institutions are for blacks and not others, or that blacks are provided preferences at these institutions. Neither is the case,” said Lezli Baskerville, president of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, a not-for-profit advocacy organization for HBCUs and other predominantly black institutions. President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to challenge under the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment a construction funding program for HBCUs, lumping it with other programs that he said “allocate benefits on the basis of race, ethnicity and gender.” The statement was attached to a spending bill he signed Friday to keep the government operating through September. It surprised many, considering Trump had promised to support HBCUs both during his campaign and during very public Black History Month meetings, when HBCU presidents posed for pictures with the president in the White House. Several HBCU advocacy groups said they immediately called the White House and were assured that the construction funding would be safe. “The administration intends to implement the HBCU Capital Financing Program,” the United Negro College Fund said in a statement. That part of Trump’s statement may have just been administration lawyers “perhaps not fully understanding the legal basis for federal HBCU programs,” said the organization, which supports HBCUs. Advocates pointed out that HBCUs do not discriminate on basis or race, ethnicity or gender. In fact, they were set up in direct response to predominantly white colleges and universities that refused to admit blacks or other minorities. Roughly a fifth of students and a fourth of faculty members at HBCUs are not black, advocates said. In fact, there are five HBCUs that are not even majority black, Baskerville said. Trump, in a statement on Sunday, said that his previous statement did not “affect my unwavering support for HBCUs and their critical educational missions.” The statement did not address whether the White House still thinks funding for HBCUs could be unconstitutional. Democrats immediately pointed to the statement as proof that Trump’s plans to support HBCUs were a mere public relations ploy. Despite his statements of support, Trump suggested funding for HBCUs in his budget at the same level as what was offered under President Barack Obama’s last budget. Democrats pointed to proposed cuts in federal student-aid programs, which they said would disproportionally affect minority students. “Sadly and shamefully, HBCUs, including the schools that President Trump met with, are left to wonder whether he wants to help or hurt them,” said Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Cedric Richmond, D-La., and Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. The Trump administration has continued to reach out to HBCUs, with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos agreeing to give her first commencement address as secretary at Bethune-Cookman University on Wednesday. DeVos said late Sunday she would “continue to be an advocate for them and for programs that make higher education more accessible to all students.” State NAACP officials called for university president Edison Jackson and Board of Trustees Chairman Joe Petrock to resign on Monday over the DeVos invitation, saying faculty and students have alleged intimidation tactics from university officials in an attempt to quash protests during the graduation. DeVos was criticized earlier this year for calling historically black colleges “pioneers” of school choice. She later acknowledged that the schools were created because African-Americans had been excluded from predominantly white schools. Trump also plans to move an office dedicated to these institutions from the Education Department to the White House. He has yet to choose a director for the Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
