7 Things: Control of the U.S. Senate appears to be in Democrat hands, Tuberville will challenge votes from Arizona, Brooks raises issues with Ted Cruz’s election commission and more …

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January 6, 2021

7. No charges in Jacob Blake case

Officer Rusten Sheskey who shot Jacob Blake on August 23 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, won’t be criminally charged, prosecutors announced. Blake was left paralyzed after the shooting, and the incident led to protests and riots in the area.
The three officers involved in the situation won’t be charged, as Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley said that he’d have to “disprove the clear expression of these officers that they had to fire a weapon to defend themselves.” Graveley added, “I do not believe the state … would be able to prove that the privilege of self-defense is not available.”

6. Decatur mayor played ‘Russian roulette’ and lost

Like a lot of Americans, Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling spent his holidays with his kids and their families and now feels guilty after multiple family members, including him and his wife, have come down with the coronavirus.
Speaking to AL.com, Bowling said he regrets the decision. He stated, “It’s Russian roulette. We enjoyed being with our children and our grandchildren and our son-in-law, but it came with a price.”

5. Woodfin still hospitalized as four Alabama mayors are sick

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin was hospitalized “to address symptoms connected to COVID pneumonia,” as announced by the City of Birmingham. Recent reports have him doing better.
At least four Alabama mayors have the coronavirus, with Auburn Mayor Ron Anders and Florence Mayor Andy Betterton joining Woodfin and Decatur’s Tab Bowling in the quartet of Alabama’s elected city leaders currently dealing with the infectious illness.

4. Study shows coronavirus cases and deaths are under-reported

A new study published by JAMA Network Open, a medical journal, where randomly selected blood samples were tested for coronavirus antibodies in 10 states shows that there may have been four times as many coronavirus cases in the country than what’s been reported.
This increased case estimate would mean that about one in seven people had the coronavirus by mid-November. The report also estimated that 35% of deaths from the coronavirus haven’t been reported.

3. Brooks isn’t on board with Cruz narrative

U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) has been gathering more support to challenge the Electoral College vote on January 6, and now he’s taking issue with some of what U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has said in support of this effort and advocating for an Electoral Vote Commission.
Brooks questioned how the Commission would get a vote. He also brought up how difficult it would be to have a panel “do a complete and thorough investigation that would divulge to the American people and members of the House and Senate how bad the voter fraud and the election theft has been in the November 2020 election cycle.”

2. Tuberville objecting to Arizona

U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) has announced that he’ll be objecting to the Electoral College votes from Arizona with U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), but he’s also “carefully considering additional states that may require my objection.” Senators Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) will also challenge Georgia and Pennsylvania, respectively.
Tuberville detailed that his objection to the votes in Arizona deals with “questions about whether … Arizona’s electors were selected in accordance with the duly enacted laws of the State of Arizona” as the Constitution requires.

1. Democrats poised to seize control of the U.S. Senate

Democrats appear to have picked up the final two U.S. Senate seats of the 2020 election cycle, giving them control of the body with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris poised to break a lot of ties in the chamber, but it is unlikely the Senate will see radical legislation ending the filibuster, adding states and raising taxes with the current make-up of the Senate.
According to reports, Raphael Warnock defeated incumbent Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), and it is expected that Jon Ossoff will also beat Georgia’s other incumbent Republican Senator David Perdue if he holds his 16,000 vote lead with 98% reporting.