7. Trump makes appearance at Lynda Blanchard’s fundraiser

• President Donald Trump made an appearance at U.S. Senate candidate Lynda Blanchard’s fundraiser event held at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. It’s been reported that Trump wasn’t scheduled to attend the event.
• Trump was only at the event for less than a half-hour, but he did speak about Blanchard for a moment, saying, “[Y]ou’ve announced, and it’s a big story. I can say you did a great job as ambassador.”

6. Mobile teachers are getting a bonus

• Mobile County Public School System Superintendent Chresal Threadgill has announced that full-time employees are going to receive a $1,200 bonus. Threadgill said in a memo the district is finally “on a positive financial footing for the first time in history,” and added that the “patience” that it took “is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”
• Last month, there was a petition to give teachers a bonus or raise due to work conditions through the coronavirus pandemic, and Threadgill said that if they had rushed this decision, “that would have only resulted in only bare minimum bonus for some employees.” School systems across the country are considering bonuses in a year after the state of education has been less than ideal.

5. Mississippi is opening vaccine eligibility for everyone

• Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves (R) has announced that starting today, all residents in Mississippi will be eligible for the coronavirus vaccine. Reeves said, “Get your shot friends – and let’s get back to normal!”
• Before today, vaccines were available for those working at schools, first responders, anyone over 50-years-old, those with underlying health conditions and health care workers. By comparison, Alabama will be opening vaccine eligibility to those 55 years and older, more essential workers and those with underlying conditions on March 22.

4. Biden tax hike coming

• Now that the massive stimulus bill has been rammed through without a single Republican vote, the media and their Democrats are shifting their focus to a massive tax hike that would target businesses and high-earners. The first such increase since 1993.
• The plan includes increasing the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, higher rates for those earning over $400,000 annually, increasing the estate tax, higher capital gains taxes and more. The plan would delay the taxes until 2022 because they believe the economy will be recovered by then, acknowledging that this will negatively impact the economy.

3. Brooks is calling Fauci and Biden administration out on border crisis

• U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) and nine other Republican congressmen have come together to say that Dr. Anthony Fauci needs to do what he can to stop “a dangerous new foreign pipeline for COVID-19,” which is the southern border. The media want to make this about the Republicans’ response to President Joe Biden’s incompetence rather than his incompetence.
• The letter to Fauci mentions the “catch and release” policy from Biden that’s been restarted and that no one is being quarantined or tested for the coronavirus. The congressmen wrote, “Mexico now has the highest per capita COVID fatality rate in Latin America.”

2. Cases and hospitalizations fall to levels not seen in nearly a year

• Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are finally back down to the levels they were in the spring of 2020. This is with an average of 375 new cases a day in the last week; on Monday there were currently 413 people hospitalized.
• The last time Alabama had less than 400 cases per day was June 9, and the last time there were less than 500 people hospitalized was on June 6. This comes as vaccinations have continued to increase. The state plans to do away with the mask mandate on April 9.

1. Lowest unemployment since the beginning of the pandemic

• The Alabama Department of Labor has released the January 2021 unemployment rate, showing that the state is at 4.3% unemployment, which is the lowest it’s been since the coronavirus pandemic started.
• In January 2020, the unemployment rate was 2.7%, but Alabama Secretary of Labor Fitzgerald Washington said that “we are making progress.” He added, “More people were employed this month and fewer were unemployed, which is always good news.”