7. Alabama’s slow population growth could cost Alabama a congressional seat and a lot of federal funding

— Alabama’s population only grew by 12,751 people, compared to Texas’ growth of 379,128. West Virginia, Illinois, Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York and Wyoming all lost population over the same period.

— The state’s slow rate of growth makes it the 34th fastest growing state. With reapportionment up soon, the state may lose a seat in Congress if the lawsuit Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-5) and Attorney General Steve Marshall filed against the government fails.

6. Alabama police department calls for people to turn away from Satan; Freedom from Religion Foundation attacks them

— The Opp Police Department posted on Facebook that the increased murders in the area are “BECAUSE WE HAVE TURNED AWAY FROM GOD AND EMBRACED SATAN. WE MAY HAVE NOT MEANT TO DO SO BUT, WE HAVE. IT IS TIME TO ASK FOR GOD’S HELP TO STOP THIS”.

— Keeping with the FFRF history of meddling and declaring all things God “illegal,” the organization claimed the post “decried Satanism” and excluded “minority religions and atheism.”

5. Congressman Mo Brooks announces he is a “no” on bipartisan criminal justice reform

— Republicans, the media and their Democrats were all ecstatic to see a criminal justice reform bill pass. Some called it a bill that will “make communities safer,” even though they call for less prison time for some crimes and more money to be spent on rehabbing prisoners.

— Brooks and the entire Republicans House delegation voted against the final version of the bill and explained, “It is only a matter of time before the verdict on this legislation is rendered: more crime, more crime victims, and more dead Americans. To cite but one major flaw, S. 756 as amended CUTS penalties for gun use during the commission of violent crimes. That is nuts! Further, this soft-on-crime bill even provides for early release of offenders who commit sex crimes, assault law enforcement officers, commit hate crimes, and assist with jailbreaks.”

4. President Donald Trump’s decision on Syria is widely condemned by GOP and it causes Secretary of Defense James Mattis to resign

— Defense Secretary James Mattis said he would resign at the end of February, telling the President that he deserves a secretary of defense “whose views are better aligned” with his.

— Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a Trump-ally, implored the president to change his mind on this matter, saying, “Take this opportunity to reassess our policy and how to withdraw with honor from Syria achieving real and lasting security.” The president responded by saying Graham was “against saving soldier lives & billions of $$$.”

3. More shenanigans exposed in Alabama’s 2017 U.S. Senate race include write-in schemes and “false flag” Russian bot scams

— A report was released claiming Democrat operatives “experimented” with “tactics now understood to have influenced the 2016 elections.” They created Facebook pages claiming to be conservative and pushing a write-in campaign so Republicans wouldn’t vote for GOP candidate Roy Moore.

— They launched a plan to create a narrative about Moore being supported by Russian bots, pushed it to national media outlets and then delighted as the national media outlets pushed the story for them.

2. Both ALGOP and U.S. Senator Doug Jones condemn the nefarious actions of those who misled voters in the election that put Jones in office

— ALGOP Chairwoman Terry Lathan called these reports “alarming,” adding she found it “deeply disturbing that Democrats took part in this sham.”

— Jones responded by saying he was “outraged,” claiming he had no prior knowledge and called for an investigation by the Federal Elections Commission and Department of Justice.

1. Trump reverses course on his course reversal on border funding as shutdown looms, House cooperates

— After saying he could accept a deal to avoid a shutdown without wall funding, the president faced a torrent of conservative criticism. He then decided he could not accept such a deal and demanded money for a wall.

— The outgoing House of Representatives went back to the drawing board and added $5 billion for the wall. The Senate will now take up the measure but a government shutdown is looming.