7 Things: Tim James defiant in face of dishonest criticism over anti-LGBTQ school ad, Ivey capitulates to the AEA as she agrees to pass illiterate children and more …

7. Today is not the tax deadline

The tax filing deadline is normally April 15 of each year, pandemic years excluded, but this year, the deadline has been pushed back until April 18 because of “Emancipation Day” in Washington, D.C., which has closed the offices of the Internal Revenue Service.
On April 18 you can obviously still file an extension, but you have to pay on that day or you will be charged interest on what you have to pay. Do your taxes on time. It’s roughly the same time every year and will save you a lot of hassles. If this all surprises you, don’t feel bad because 56% of Americans don’t know when the filing deadline is.

6. Bipartisanship from Alabama’s members of Congress on U.S. Space Command

For well over two years, members of Congress from Colorado have begged President Joe Biden and the Department of Defense to remove the U.S. Space Command from Redstone Arsenal in Alabama with little success. After a briefing on a draft report of an investigation into site selection, Colorado’s delegation announced they were “more concerned” than before.
Thursday, U.S. Representatives Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville) and Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham) released a bipartisan statement supporting the move to Redstone Arsenal. Sewell also tweeted, “There is no better place for the U.S. Space Command headquarters than the Rocket City and I am confident that an objective analysis of the facts will yield the same conclusion.”

5. School prank brings pretty harsh punishment

Students at two separate schools in Chilton County thought it would be a good senior prank to swap places with friends from other schools. Apparently, no one noticed for half the day, but when they did, they seized their phones and towed their cars. Students have been kicked off of school teams, banned from graduation and prom, and suspended. Some worry it could cost them scholarships and opportunities.
Parents, students and people online are suggesting that maybe the school should relax on the punishments a bit because no harm was done and the long-term ramifications of all of this could be very damaging.

4. RNC will withdraw from Commission on Presidential Debates

Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has announced that the RNC will be withdrawing from the Commission on Presidential Debates as a way to reject the commission’s control on the debate process. McDaniel said, “The Commission on President Debates is biased and has refused to enact simple and commonsense reforms to help ensure fair debates including hosting debates before voting begins and selecting moderators who have never worked for candidates on the debate stage.”
ALGOP chairman John Wahl applauded this decision, saying, “Our complaints have fallen on deaf ears. The Republican Party is not going to be part of open bias against our nominee. Today’s vote was our only recourse.”

3. Elon Musk offers to make Twitter a private company

There is now an offer from Tesla CEO Elon Musk to turn the social media platform Twitter into a private company. Musk proposed this while making an offer to buy the remaining shares of the company that he doesn’t own for a total of over $43 billion.
Musk stated, “[S]ince making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company.” The forces of the media and finance seem to be moving against Musk’s gambit with many claiming democracy is at risk, especially if Trump tweets again, and Goldman Sachs saying the bid is too low even though they suggest Twitter sell at $30 a share.

2. Roughly 23% of 4th graders won’t be able to read at 3rd-grade level next year

Governor Kay Ivey has approved a delay in the 2019 Literacy Act, which will postpone the bill taking effect for another two years. The act requires that all public-school students in the state be reading at grade level to move from third grade to fourth grade.
The act will now take effect in the 2023-2024 school year. Ivey said, “We are making crystal clear that unlike what we are seeing in some other states around the country, Alabama is focusing on core instruction, and that means ensuring our students are proficient in both reading and math.” If the act had taken effect this year, about 23% of third-graders in the state would likely be held back.

1. Security added to LGBTQ charter school after Tim James ad

After gubernatorial candidate Tim James released a campaign ad criticizing the Magic City Acceptance Academy, an LGBTQ charter school in Birmingham, the school decided to add more security to the school while claiming students felt unsafe. James is not backing down, saying, “For a public school like Magic City Acceptance Academy to use $2 million of our state tax dollars to host drag queen shows for kids should anger every parent, grandparent and taxpayer in Alabama.”
The school’s principal, Michael Wilson, is asking for the James ad to be removed, saying it’s “scaring the hell out of our kids.” Wilson added, “The Tim James ad is nothing short of an adult bullying children. It’s causing more anxiety.” James’ main criticism over the school and others with similar practices are tax dollars used “to host drag shows for our children” and how there’s a lack of education at the institution. They did everything James alleged. No evidence has been shared to show these threats had police reports filed in response, even though specific incidents are being used by the media.