7. Another stimulus bill could cost $3 trillion

• A new stimulus package introduced by House Democrats would include another round of $1,200 stimulus checks, $1 trillion in funding for state and local governments, and continue the $600 in additional unemployment payments per week until January. 
• The package would also subsidize rent and mortgage payments, suspend student loan payments through September, and hazard pay for essential workers. While announcing the legislative package that’s being called the HEROES Act, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said, “This is a moment when many millions of our fellow Americans are in deep suffering. We must have empathy for our heroes.”

6. 100,000 small businesses are finished

• A study at the University of Illinois, Harvard Business School, Harvard University and the University of Chicago predicts that 100,000 small businesses will never operate again because of the coronavirus pandemic and the nationwide economic shutdown that followed. This accounts for about 2% of all small businesses and the jobs that go with them. 
• Restaurants are a particularly hard hit industry with 3% already closed. All of this carnage is happening as the federal government tries to float the economy with loans to 4.2 million small businesses out of the 30 million small businesses across the nation. 

5. State Rep. Weaver resigns to take Trump admin job

• It’s been announced that State Representative April Weaver (R-Brierfield) has decided to resign from her position in the legislature as she will be joining President Donald Trump’s administration, but it’s not been announced what position she’ll have. 
• Weaver has been a representative for the last decade, and in her resignation, she said it’s “been one of the greatest experiences of my life.” Weaver went on to say that she’s “excited to be able to use my skills and experience at a national level during this unprecedented time and I look forward to supporting President Trump’s initiatives and serving the people of our nation.”

4. Alabama Republicans want the legislature deciding where relief funds are used

• Cygnal was commissioned but the Alabama Senate and House Republican Caucuses to poll where Alabama Republicans stand on several subjects, including who they trust more to appropriate the relief funds Alabama has received through the CARES Act. 
• When asked if Governor Kay Ivey or the Alabama legislature should be in charge of stimulus funds, 67.5% said the legislature and 17.8% said Ivey. The survey also showed 66% approve of Ivey’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and 26.9% don’t approve. Overall, 69.5% view Ivey favorably and 26.2% view her unfavorably, whereas the legislature is viewed 70.3% favorably and 16.1% unfavorably. 

3. Coronavirus cases per capita vary widely across the state

• As the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation lowers the death projection in Alabama by almost half, the state still has more than 10,468 coronavirus cases across the state and at least 440 deaths from the virus. We’re starting to see which counties have been hit harder per capita than others, with Lowndes County having the highest case rate at 108 cases per 10,000 people. 
• Butler County is second with 101.8 cases per 10,000 people, while Mobile County has 36.2 cases, Montgomery County has 29.1 cases, Jefferson County has 17.3 cases and Madison County has 6.7 cases per 10,000 people. 

2. Apparently, it’s too soon to reopen

• White House coronavirus taskforce member Dr. Anthony Fauci was very skeptical about reopening the nation in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic, saying if we open too soon it will lead to “suffering and death” while offering no guidance for schools in the fall. 
• Brandon White of UAB has recovered from the coronavirus and now he’s saying that it’s too soon for the state to reopen, although Governor Kay Ivey decided to reopen restaurants, salons and churches a little earlier than originally planned. White says he’s “really concerned about that second wave,” adding, “That’s when we will start to see troubles with supplies.”

1. Large majority of coronavirus deaths in Alabama had underlying conditions

• In Alabama, there have been at least 428 deaths from the coronavirus, and of those, more than 95% of patients had an underlying condition before being diagnosed. 
• According to the reporting, 74% of deaths were with patients who were over 65 years old, with the overall age range being 50-92. The reporting shows 63% of those who died had cardiovascular disease, 57% had “multiple underlying conditions,” 39% had diabetes, 27% had renal disease and 25% had lung disease.