7. Biden and Buttigieg might make a trip to the Gulf Coast

• Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and President Joe Biden will likely make a trip to the Gulf Coast to review the Amtrak rail that would be from Mobile to New Orleans, which Buttigieg said he was interested in last week.
• Stephen McNair, a member of the Southern Rail Commission, said that Buttigieg mentioning the rail during his confirmation hearing “can’t be overstated.” Those in favor of the Amtrak plan are hoping that the full study to evaluate costs and potential impact on freight lines will be completed by Buttigieg’s visit.

6. Ivey goes out to see the damage, talks to Biden

• Governor Kay Ivey visited Fultondale, which was damaged by a tornado earlier this week. The storm killed a 14-year-old and injured many. Ivey said she received a phone call from President Joe Biden on the issue.
• Ivey said that she “shared with him what we saw today, both from the air and on the ground.” She added, “While the recovery will be tough, these communities are united. This is what makes Alabama so special.”

5. Wall Street being manipulated by Reddit users

• A large group of internet users have banded together using Robinhood and other trading apps to drive up the price of stocks, including Gamestop, Nokia, AMC and more. This could cost hedge funds billions while making individual users a lot of money and causing chaos in the market.
• This manipulation is terrifying investors to the point where there have already been calls for deplatforming (which has happened), for the government to get involved with regulations, and some even want trading halted on the stocks in question.

4. Huntsville mayor and religious leaders get the vaccine

• The 65-year-old mayor of Huntsville and four non-elderly black faith leaders received the COVID-19 vaccine, even though they do not appear to fall into any of the categories to be eligible for it. Alabama is currently in phase “1B,” which includes “essential workers at highest risk for work-related exposure and persons in identified age groups at risk for COVID-19 associated morbidity and mortality and people who work or live in congregate settings, including but not limited to homeless shelters and group homes.”
• Questions have been raised about whether these individuals were even eligible for the vaccine, but the reason for the vaccination appears to be to show minorities it is safe to take. The city of Huntsville responded to the criticism by saying, “Today’s event was geared toward those who don’t want to take the vaccine.”

3. They don’t have the votes to impeach, so…

• After U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) proved that the attempt to impeach President Donald Trump is certain to fail, U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) have attempted to convince their colleagues that moving to censure him is the more prudent move.
• Kaine told CNN, “If we can’t get to 67 votes for impeachment, there may be another way to hold President Trump accountable.” Now the two senators seek to bar him from future office, offering the same consequences, but it won’t require a trial or two-thirds of the U.S. Senate to enact.

2. New climate change-focused executive orders

• President Joe Biden has signed more executive orders that are in relation to climate change, but his orders will negatively impact American jobs as they eliminate federal subsidies for some energy sources and stop new leases for energy sources on federal land.
• Republicans have already pushed back against these decisions for the potential jobs lost. U.S. Representative Steve Scalise (R-LA) has said this decision is “beyond destructive,” adding, “Biden should consider the devastating consequences that eliminating American energy will have on hard-working families and our national security.”

1. New variant diagnosed in Alabama

• It’s been announced by the Alabama Department of Public Health that three cases of the new variant of the coronavirus have been diagnosed in Alabama. The “U.K. variant” of coronavirus is said to be more contagious.
• The cases were found in Montgomery and Jefferson Counties. Many other states, including Georgia, Tennessee and Florida have also found cases of this more contagious strain.