7 Things: More bad economic news, AG Garland leaves door open to prosecuting Trump and more …

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July 28, 2022

7. Republicans call on Biden to take a cognitive test

In the U.S. House of Representatives, a group of 54 Republicans wrote a letter calling for President Joe Biden to undergo cognitive testing due to questions over his mental fitness. U.S. Representative Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) leads the group in the letter.
In the letter, the representatives said they were writing “to express concern with your current cognitive state and to urge you to submit to a cognitive test immediately.” They added, “We believe that, regardless of gender, age, or political party, all Presidents should follow the example set by former President Trump to document and demonstrate sound mental abilities. While you have largely brushed aside these assertations as partisan political attacks, the left-leaning New York Times recently published an article outlining all of this in great detail. According to the New York Times, the increased scrutiny surrounding your cognitive state has been fueled by your recent public appearances.”

6. Alabama teacher was doing her job while teaching about religion

A teacher at Moulton Elementary has been accused of promoting Christianity back in April 2022 while discussing the Easter holiday with first-grade students, according to the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The foundation requested that the issue be investigated in a letter to Lawrence County Schools Superintendent Jon Bret Smith.
The letter alleges that the teacher “taught students about Jesus Christ and Easter, and also provided students with religious coloring book pages to take home.” Smith denied the need for an investigation and said, “The teacher was doing her job. Every teacher in the state of Alabama is charged to thoroughly teach the course of study. That is covered under two objectives in the first grace course of study.” Smith’s statement references Objective 11 and 12, which are to teach about a variety of issues, including culture and religion in the community.

5. Bomb threats called into colleges across the state

According to local officials, many colleges and universities across the state were evacuated on Thursday due to bomb threats called in for specific buildings. In North Alabama, Calhoun Community College and the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) were both impacted by the threats.
Others who issued alerts and evacuated buildings were Shelton State Community College, Wallace Community College, Jefferson State Community College and Auburn University. Some facilities, such as Auburn and UAH, were able to quickly end emergency notices. The situation is currently under investigation.

4. Garland won’t rule out prosecuting Trump

During an interview with NBC, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland discussed the current findings of the January 6 committee. He also didn’t rule out possibly prosecuting former President Donald Trump for his involvement in the events.
Garland said, “We intend to hold everyone, anyone who was criminally responsible for the events surrounding Jan. 6, for any attempt to interfere with the lawful transfer of power from one administration to another, accountable, that’s what we do.”

3. Tuberville would be willing to testify with January 6 committee; Says opinion remains unchanged

U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) revealed that he would be willing to testify before the House committee investigating the January 6 riot. He also clarified that his position on the election had not changed.
Tuberville said none of the committee’s findings that he had seen “would change my mind on anything that I’ve voted on.” Alabama’s junior senator was one of a handful of senators who voted not to certify the election results of 2020.

2. Manchin signs on to massive spending bill with a ridiculous name

For the entirety of President Joe Biden’s term, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has stood in the way of some of the more reckless spending on behalf of the Democrat Party. This includes repeatedly killing the “Build Back Better” plan over inflationary concerns. That is now over, as Manchin has cut a deal with the Biden White House and will now support the “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.”
The bill will surely harm the economy by raising taxes and increasing spending, while somehow stopping inflation. The bill still needs the support of U.S. Senator Kirsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), and the Senate Parliamentarian must sign off, so the pathway to passage is not guaranteed yet. U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) reacted to the news by saying, “Democrats have already crushed American families with historic inflation. Now they want to pile on giant tax hikes that will hammer workers and kill many thousands of American jobs. First they killed your family’s budget. Now they want to kill your job too.”

1. Business owners have a negative outlook on the economic situation

New survey data has been released by the University of Alabama that showed a majority of business leaders in Alabama had a negative view of the state and national economic situation. This data was based off the Alabama Business Confidence Index conducted by the university.
For the third quarter of 2022, the confidence index was at 47.3, which dropped from the third quarter of 2021 which was at 67. For the state confidence index, it was at 41.1. Nationally, the index was at 29.3. For a positive outlook, the index has to be at least 50 points.